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Red vs Blue vs RWBY: Incursion Cast

Ruby Rose - Young huntress and hero, leader of Team RWBY

Weiss Schnee - Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, refined duelist of Team RWBY

Blake Belladonna - Stealthy Faunus and former member of the White Fang, ninja-like member of Team RWBY

Yang Xiao Long - Golden-locked brawler of Team RWBY, Ruby Rose's older sister

Leonard Church - Leader of Blue Team. Asshole

Lavernius Tucker - Percy second-in-command of blue team, more of a lover than a fighter

Michael J. Caboose - Newest member of Blue team, dullest crayon in the box. Hates Taxes

Sarge - Regimented and elderly leader of Red Team. Hates the dirty Blues

Richard Simmons - Second-in-command and science officer of Red team, complete kiss ass

Dexter Grif - Lazy private on Red team

Delano Donut - Newest member of Red team

Tex - Agent of Project Freelancer, ex-girlfriend of Church

Doc/O'Malley- Neutral medic with an evil AI jammed in his head

Lopez the Heavy - Robotic mechanic of red team, currently ahead of himself

WARNING: For those who aren't aware, this story is a sequel! If you wish to avoid spoilers for this story's prequel, The Defenders of Remnant, then I suggest you read that first. Again, this is a sequel. The specifics of the first story's events will be spoiled for you! You have been warned.

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion
Chapter 1: The Best Laid Plans

Ruby Rose. You're the bravest, kindest, most genuine person I know.

The girl who gave Roman Torchwick what for, who wanted to become a huntress since she was just a little girl…

You are a better hero than I could ever hope to be.

The boy was stabbed, driven through by an obsidian sword.

I'm happy to call you my friends. My family.

Blood dripped down the blade. Her body swelled up with anger and pain. She could feel the tears on her cheeks. Then suddenly, it all just turned to white.

Ruby's eyes shot open and she found she was breathing heavily. Her chest was tightened and her head was drenched in sweat. She took a few moments to slow her breathing and calm down. She was alright, she was in her room at home. And her nightmare was just a memory, albeit a painful one. But she had nothing to worry about. She was safe, and he was safe. Peter Parker was home, a world away. And she was here. She really missed him sometimes. They had spent so much time together, he, Ruby and the rest of the team, that going this long with him gone was still just… strange. Sometimes the day felt partially hollow, like a piece of her everyday life was just gone.

It had been just over a month for them since he and the other heroes had left Remnant. In that time, life had somewhat returned to normal. Vale had repaired almost all the damage done to the city, but work on the Beacon Campus had barely gotten underway. In the meantime, Professor Goodwitch would hold classes in the Vale Library.

Ozpin was still gone. The official story was that he was missing, and that huntsmen would continue to search for him until it bore fruit. In reality, he was dead, killed by Cinder when she opened Beacon up to attack. Ruby was one of the few people that knew, the rest being Goodwitch, her Uncle Qrow, General Ironwood, her teammates, and their sister team, JNPR. And they had to keep their mouths shut about it, among other things.

Ruby yawned and threw her feet over the side of her bed, pushing the covers off. She stretched her arms out and felt her shoulders and back pop. A chill went up her spine and she stood up. She was dressed in a two-piece black and red pajama outfit. She rubbed her eyes groggily before exiting her room and heading to the front of the house, where the kitchen and living room were. Her father, Taiyang, was making plates of eggs and bacon for the three minors of the household. Ruby saw her older sister Yang sitting in one of the chairs brushing out her golden locks, the brush catching on her thicker hair.

Meanwhile, sprawled out on the couch, still out cold asleep, was Ben Reilly, the honorary brother of the household and younger genetic replica of Peter Parker himself. He was about Ruby's age physically, but in terms of actual existence, was short of three months. Before Peter left, he and her father had come to some agreement to let Ben live here. Ruby was grateful for that. Ben was just as much a friend as Peter was, and it was nice to have someone 'her age' around for once. Everyone else was older. She guessed it was nice to feel like the big sister for a change.

"Food's ready," Tai said.

"About time," Yang said after finally brushing her hair out. She tossed the brush aside and got up to get her plate. Ruby wandered over to the table as well.

"Morning, Yang. Morning, Dad," She yawned.

"Morning, sweetheart," Tai smiled before placing a plate in front of his youngest daughter. "Eat up, then get dressed. I wanna make it to Vale by noon."

"Ugh, why do we have to come with for stupid errands?" Ruby groaned.

"Because part of those 'stupid errands' is figuring out when school will start again. After I drop a few things off back at Signal, we'll be going straight to Glynda. Maybe after, we can grab lunch on our way out."

"Ugh, fine," Yang rolled her eyes.

"What's with you guys not wanting to go to Vale?" Tai questioned.

"Dad, Beacon was attacked. We fought in an actual full out battle and survived," Yang said. "You know what Uncle Qrow says: 'A day out there is worth a week at Beacon'. After something like that, we are so beyond school!"

"Well, tough. You're still going. Now seriously, hurry up." Tai stepped out of the room to go get changed himself. "And can one of you wake up Ben?"

Yang rolled her eyes and slipped Ember Celica over one of her arms and fired it upwards. The bang of the gunshot startled him awake and he fell off the couch, hitting the floor with a thud. "I'm awake…" He groaned groggily.

"Yang, the roof!" Tai exclaimed from across the house.

"Nailed it," Yang smirked.d. Ruby was about halfway done with her food when her scroll chimed. She set her fork down and took her scroll in hand to see a message that surprised. Her surprise must've shown on her face, as Yang looked at her curiously. "What is it?" She asked.

"It's… General Ironwood," Ruby said.

"What's Ironwood messaging you about?" Yang questioned.

"He says he wants us for a mission. Apparently Weiss and Blake are already on board. If we're interested, come see him in Vale at the temporary Beacon site as soon as possible." The two sister's traded glances, then began to scarf down their food at a rapid pace. By the time Ben had pulled himself to his feet and slogged over to the kitchen, the two sisters had cleaned their plates and already rushed back to their rooms to change into their huntress outfits.

Ben groggily looked around the now empty room with a glass of juice in his hand. "Morning…" He deadpanned to no one in particular before sipping his drink.

---

Ruby hopped into the passenger seat of the truck and buckled herself in while Yang hopped into the truck bed. "C'mon, Dad, hurry up!" Ruby called excitedly.

"Yeah, I know, just a sec!" Tai called back as he came out the front door, and Ben stood in the doorway behind him. "Sure you can take care of the house while we're gone?" Tai asked him.

"Yes, sir. I'll also fix the roof," Ben assured.

"You sure you don't wanna come into Vale with us?" Tai asked.

"I'd rather enjoy the quiet life a little while longer before going back to the city," Ben said.

"I understand," Tai nodded and smiled. He patted Ben on the shoulder before heading over to the truck. "We'll be home tonight. And no wall crawling in the house!"

Ben rolled his eyes. "I know."

"I know' doesn't mean sit on the ceiling as soon as we're gone either," Tai said as he sat himself in the driver's seat and slammed the door shut. He slid the key in and started the engine, then the truck pulled away from the homestead. Yang gave Ben a wave from her truck bed seat as they drove up the hill. "So, what is this I hear about James giving you guys a mission?"

"We don't know," Ruby answered. "All he said was he was in Vale and had a mission for our team, and that he was waiting with Goodwitch if we were on board."

"Eh, I don't like this. It's out of the blue, and you're supposed to be on break during all this. But you two have made your feelings clear about staying put, and I know better than to try and stop the women of this family," Tai relented. "We're still stopping at Signal first. If James has something for you, I wanna hear it."

"Fine, just go faster!" Ruby insisted.

"I'm going, I'm going, the port is still a while's to go." Tai replied defensively. "While you're sitting there, text Ben and tell him to get off the ceiling."

---

Ironwood waited patiently, with Glynda Goodwitch standing next to him less patiently, an annoyed look on her face.

"I don't know how you talked me into this, James," Glynda sighed.

"Because you know the possibilities with what we've made. What it can do for us, and for them," Ironwood replied.

"It's dangerous," Glynda frowned.

"They are simply escorting the shipment. I wouldn't put them at risk if I didn't think they could handle it, and the Ace Ops are preoccupied. Besides, they played a large role in the Battle of Beacon, and they knew some of the people who have traveled through."

"As I recall, so do you," Glynda said. "And if this is just a shipment, why does it matter who guards it?"

"My point is they know the potential of the material and are skilled enough to protect it if necessary. Oz had faith in them. That combined with their record is more than enough for me."

"I still don't like this," Glynda shook her head.

"Just let them take a chance," Ironwood said.

"If something happens, James, it's on you."

"I am fully aware of that. But they will be fine, Glynda."

"They better be…" Glynda furrowed her brow.

"General Ironwood!" A female voice called out. The two adults turned to see none other than Weiss Schnee and Blake Belladonna approaching, weapons holstered and standing at the ready. "I hope we aren't late," Weiss greeted.

"Not at all, Miss Schnee. In fact, we're still waiting to see if your leader will turn up," Ironwood replied.

"Ruby and Yang aren't here?" Blake questioned.

"No, but I imagine they're on their way, if they are as eager as you are," Ironwood chuckled.

"Eager isn't the word I'd use," Tai said as he and his daughters approached as well.

"Tai!" Ironwood smiled and approached the father, putting a hand out to him. "It's good to see you, old friend."

Tai stared at Ironwood's hand before hesitantly shaking it. "Yeah, you too," Tai replied unconvincingly.

"I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, I wanna hear about this mission you have for my girls. As I understand it, Beacon isn't back in session yet, and all contracted missions have been rescinded until the city is back on its feet. An out of the blue message from you in the morning isn't exactly what I expected," Tai frowned. "I figure this better be good."

"Well, you're welcome to hear. I'm sure once you hear it, you'll be interested as well."

"I doubt it…" Glynda muttered.

"So what's the mission?" Ruby asked, her teammates all standing at her side.

"To explain that would require some preamble. It's important you know what you'll be protecting in this mission," Ironwood said. "In light of recent events, and the otherworldly nature in which some of our foes and allies pertained, it is of my opinion that should a larger threat come from another world we could hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned. If Remnant is to defend itself, we must be ready, which means we need some understanding of what is out there."

"Wait… you mean you're trying to prepare for more multiversal encounters?" Blake asked.

"But Taskmaster and the others are dead. What else do we have to worry about?" Yang questioned.

"While it's true that our current threat has been dealt with, that doesn't mean more won't come, and we must be ready. So, I've had my best minds come together to create a prototype material that, if harnessed correctly, has potential to be able to open rifts throughout the multiverse in a much safer fashion than that super collider under Merlot Industries," Ironwood explained.

"You mean… you might actually have a way to travel between worlds?" Weiss asked.

"It's a work in progress, but like I said, you must know what you are protecting." Ironwood pulled a small disk-shaped device out of his hand and pressed a switch to show a hologram of a pale blue dust crystal with white shining star-like sparkles in the gem. "I present to you, X-636, or as we have taken to calling it, Cosmic Dust."

"Cosmic Dust? I've never heard of that before," Blake said.

"You won't have. My scientists created it. It's a synthetic Dust, one that if works as intended, will open up the door to the multiverse for us," Ironwood said. "We could create a defense for anything, cure any disease… visit distant friends." Ironwood stressed that last part and gazed down at the four huntresses. He knew if they weren't in before, the promise of being able to see their good friend would sell them.

"You mean we could…?" Ruby started. Ironwood nodded. "As a matter of fact, I promise you that if you escort this shipment of X-636 from here to the halfway point to Argus, where Specialist Winter Schnee will take over, the first test with the Dust will be to see if we can't get you to see Peter Parker again."

The members of Team RWBY traded glances, but there wasn't much to think about. Within seconds, they all already had the same answer. "We'll do it," Ruby said.

Glynda sighed, then looked at Tai, who was oddly quiet. "Taiyang. You're quite silent," She noted.

"Well… synthetic Dust is certainly… a thing. Everything else…" Tai said warily. He looked over at Ruby, who gazed up at her father concerningly. He let out a heavy sigh. "It sounds like a good opportunity. I don't see the harm in it."

"Well, with that out of the way," Ironwood said before pocketing the small device, "The bullhead with the Dust is waiting for you. Good luck, Team RWBY."

"Thank you, sir! We won't let you down!" Ruby cheered excitedly. "Go, Team RWBY!"

---

Ironwood led the team to the aforementioned bullhead, and after a warm goodbye to their father, Ruby and Yang were the first to enter, with Weiss and Blake taking up the back. The Huntresses filed in and the ship began to take off before the door was even closed.

"See you soon!" Ruby waved to her dad as they rose up into the air. The door finally shut on them, and with a boom like thunder, the ship flew away, soon out of sight and earshot.

"They'll be fine, Tai," Ironwood assured him.

"I wanna believe you, but I just have this sinking feeling in my stomach…" Tai sighed.

"Fatherly concern, I'm sure," Glynda added.

"You don't seem so convinced yourself, Glynda," Tai noted.

"She's wound tight, and reasonably so. We're in a new age now," Ironwood said. "Anything can happen. It's a heavy weight on all of us."

"So where's Qrow?" Tai asked.

"On a mission, looking for a… person of interest," Glynda answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I just haven't seen him since he brought Ruby home, and you know how little he picks up the phone."

"If we hear from him, we'll let you know," Ironwood promised. "And thank you for the seal of approval, Tai."

"It doesn't seem like too much. Plus, I know how much that Peter kid means to them. You should've seen them during his recovery. Every second of every day was spent well until he left. He was practically a part of the family."

"Speaking of which, how is Mister Reilly doing? I understand you've taken him under your roof," Glynda said.

"He's doing alright. He more than pulls his own weight. He's happy. And that's good enough for me," Tai said. "Which reminds me, I should be getting back to him. It'll already be late when I get back, and the one thing I don't trust him to do is cook."

"Have a good night, Tai," Ironwood smiled.

"You too, James. Glynda," Tai replied before walking away, and leaving the two behind. Once he was gone, Ironwood turned to Glynda.

"Have you heard from Qrow?" He asked.

"Of course not," Glynda frowned. "And we shouldn't expect him so soon. It takes time for Ozpin to come back, let alone find us."

"We can tough this out until then. I know we're all fully capable. Otherwise Oz wouldn't have trusted us."

"I hope you're right. Or we're in for a very rude awakening."

---

The four members of Team RWBY sat together in the cabin of the bullhead, with a single Atlesian officer piloting the ship. They'd already made their way past the borders of the kingdom of Vale, the earth below them being the wide expanse of trees that made up the Emerald Forest. Next to their seats was a door to the cargo hold, where large crates of the X-636, the "Cosmic Dust", sat waiting.

"I'm so excited to team up again!" Ruby smiled.

"It's only an escort mission. It's nothing too exciting," Weiss said.

"But you heard Ironwood! This new Dust could let us see Peter!" Ruby replied.

"She's right. I'd say this is an important mission to us," Blake agreed.

Weiss felt her chest tighten in anticipation. "I suppose you're right," She agreed. Weiss started to gently rub her thumb over the glimmering crystals on the snowflake necklace hanging from her neck, a gift from the very person they hoped to reunite with at the end of this. "And I suppose the quiet would be an opportunity for us to catch up."

"Yeah. How's Vale coming along?" Yang asked.

"The city's back on its feet for the most part," Blake answered. "Beacon hasn't been touched though. I don't think Goodwitch wants anyone near it."

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"We're not sure," Weiss answered. "Whenever we ask her about it, she never gives an answer."

"Guess even after all this, she still has a stick up her-" Yang started, then suddenly alarms sounded in the ship.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked the pilot.

"Proximity alert," The pilot answered. "But I'm not getting anything on the actual scanners."

"Yang, Blake, go check the cargo hold!" Ruby ordered. Her teammates nodded and ran through the cabin to enter the back part of the ship.

"I don't get it, where-?" The pilot started to question aloud. Then a long, furred black arm with white claws broke through the roof of the ship and wrapped its long, spindly fingers around the pilot's skull. Ruby only saw it for a moment before the pilot pulled up through the hole in the ceiling. Weiss and Ruby looked up in horror for a moment before the ship began to tip forward and plummet. Weiss leapt for the controls and pulled up on the control yoke to bring the vehicle back to an even level.

"Be careful!" Yang called from the back. "Dust just spilled out everywhere!"

"And we just lost the pilot!" Weiss snapped back. Blake, in the hold with Yang, frowned, as she felt something was terribly wrong. She then looked at the bay door, and seeping inside through the crack was black airborne substance like a curving smoke.

"Guys?!" Blake called out. Yang quickly took Blake's side and saw the same thing. The smoke kept seeping through, forming a cloud that became thicker and thicker. The cloud shifted and made a solid form. Suddenly, in the cargo bay with them was a single Grimm. It was a quadruped creature with short, wide snout with its teeth overlapping over its jaw. It seemingly lacked eyes, but had canine ears and quill-like spines on its back.

"What is that thing?" Yang wondered.

"It's not like any Grimm I've ever seen," Blake replied. "Guys, we have a Grimm in here!" Ruby quickly rushed to the hold with them.

"Woah!" Ruby exclaimed.

As soon as Ruby entered, the hound-like Grimm paused and snarled at her in particular.

"I don't think it likes you," Yang noted. The Grimm kept snarling, then turned its head to one of the crates. It placed its paw on one of the crates, and Ruby's eyes rounded.

"No!" She quickly unfolded her weapon, the scythe named Crescent Rose, and leapt forward. She swung her weapon down and cut the Grimm's hand clean off, also taking a section of the crate off with it. The Grimm howled and stumbled back as crystals of X-636 spilled out onto the floor.

"The Dust!" Blake exclaimed. The Grimm snarled, and eyed one of the crystals. Ruby followed his eyeline, but before she could move, it already took the crystal in its dark paw. Immediately, the crystal in its hand as well as all the ones scattered on the floor began to vibrate violently, and the star-like specks in its look began to shine brightly, turning the crystals white. Then each crystal's light became harsher, as if each one was a sun. Soon the entire cargo hold was filled with the harsh white light.

"What's going on back there?!" Weiss exclaimed. She looked over her shoulder only to also be blinded by the ever-growing white light. She felt her body become weightless, and then nothing.

---

His head was pulsing and his vision blurry when he first awoke. His armor felt heavy on his aching muscles, and his stomach felt so turned over, it felt like he could vomit at any second. It took him far too long to realize he was sprawled out on the ground. "Uuugh… what happened…?" He groaned. Suddenly, another armored soldier in pink stood over him.

"Hey, he's awake!" The pink one called out.

"I still wanna know why I don't get a laser gun," He heard another man out of his vision say.

"Shut up, dumbass," A third one scolded.

"Guys, Tucker's awake!" The pink one called out again.

"Huh?" The soldier with the third voice, the one wearing maroon armor, approached Tucker as well. "Hey hey hey, take it easy, Tucker. You've been out a while."

Then the second voice, one belonging to a more robust man in orange armor, popped up as well. "And I thought I was lazy," he remarked.

Tucker took a chance to sit up and find his balance. He glanced at his own teal/cyan/light blue-ish armor, then up at his surroundings, which was a sandy deserted rocky desert landscape, then back up at the three others before him. "Ugh… what's going on? Who are you people?"

"He has amnesia!" The pink one proclaimed. "Tucker, don't worry, you are safe. We are the Reds! We are your mortal enemies! Wait, that didn't sound right…"

"Tucker!" Another, more annoying voice said. Suddenly, with that one little urge to punch this one in the face, everything came back to him. The new one was a younger-sounding man in dark blue armor, Caboose. And the three before him were members of Red team. Donut was the pink one, Simmons was the maroon, and grif was the orange. Their leader Sarge, wearing basic red, must've been nearby too. So was his leader Church, wearing a slightly darker blue than his own. "Tucker! I am so glad you are alive," Caboose spoke in an odd fashion, with slightly spaced out words, his speech pattern not clear if it was for the benefit of others or himself.

"Caboose? You sound so dumb, but you look so different," Tucker said. He was right, the armor they were wearing wasn't quite what he remembered it as, but that could've also been whatever hit he'd taken.

"We're in the future! Things are very shiny here!" Caboose claimed. He really must've hit his head then. Tucker, not Caboose. Tucker remembered him being stupid before, so this was nothing new.

"The future?" Tucker repeated. "Oh, I can't fuckin' wait to hear this one."

"Obviously," another gruff voice with a southern accent sounded from behind him. Tucker turned to see Sarge carrying his trust shotgun in hand as he approached, "Lopez's weather matrix combined with the power of bomb twenty-one created an explosion so large, it created a temporal rift in time, that cascaded throughout the-"

Tucker cut him off. "Woah woah woah, wait a second, wait a second. I don't understand."

"Sarge, can we do the skit now?" Donut asked like a giddy child.

"Yeah!" Caboose agreed.

"Yes!" Simmons added.

"I don't wanna do that dumb skit," Grif replied.

"Fine," Sarge relented, "But only because I wanna see Grif be miserable. I miss the old days…"

Suddenly a deafening boom filled their ears, and out of nowhere above them an airship with a flaming engine shot through the air above them, coming down for a crash landing. The ship narrowly missed the small clearing they were in and crashed just outside, obliterating one of the rocky pillars jutting out of the sand on its way down. The Reds and Blues could hear the sound and feel as the ground shook from its impact. After a few moments, a solid pillar of smoke rose from the crash site.

"Well, looks like we can put a pin in my suffering and go see whatever the fuck that was," Grif said before starting for the crash site. "Ships falling from the sky. Told you it was the apocalypse, Simmons."

"Name one apocalypse movie where you actually see the helicopter in the process of crashing," Simmons exclaimed before following his friend.

"Point taken."

"Well, I guess we're doing this now, as if this day couldn't get any weirder," Tucker remarked as he followed suit.

"Aw, I was really wanting to do the skit! I rehearsed for an hour!" Donut complained.

"Shut it and fall in line, numb nuts," Sarge commanded as he followed as well. Donut sighed before following his commanding officer, as well as the others. Once they all reached the crash site, they saw it wasn't a kind of ship they recognized, like the standard army Pelican gunship. "Huh. That's weird. I don't recognize the model."

"You think someone's inside?' Simmons questioned.

"Well the ship didn't crash itself," Tucker said. "Should we open it?"

"We might as well. Might have supplies for the apocalypse," Sarge said.

"Yeah, you'll still have to explain all this 'we're in the future' bullshit to me later," Tucker said.

"That's what the skit was for…" Donut whined. Tucker slid down the slope down to the back of the ship, where the back cargo door was twisted half-open, with wires hanging out and sparking from their ripped ends.

"Hey, someone help me open this!"

"I got it!" Caboose said, approaching the door himself.

"Caboose, I appreciate the help, but I don't think you can do it on your own," Tucker warned. Then, without a sign of any effort, Caboose gripped the ship's cargo door, tore it free from its remaining hinges, and dropped it to the side.

"All done!" Caboose proclaimed proudly. Literally everyone else stared at him silently for long moments. "Why is everyone staring at me?"

"Caboose, you are, uh,... very strong," Simmons remarked.

"Thanks! My mom always said I was a growing boy," Caboose smiled under his helmet.

"I don't know whether to be really impressed or extremely fucking terrified," Tucker muttered to himself.

"Onwards, soldiers! And let's forget any of this happened! Right. Now…" Sarge said as he entered the ship first. The others soon followed. The harsh sunlight from outside poured in, revealing storage crates torn apart the place, crystals of some kind littering the floor here and there. Sprawled across the floor were three young women unconscious, with weapons that could only be theirs laying on the floor next to them. "Looks like we have some survivors after all. A couple little ladies."

"You mean girls still exist in the future? This is my kinda apocalyptic future," Tucker smirked.

"Woah, slow your roll, Jared Fogle. They're teenagers. When means keep your hands away from where they don't belong."

"Ah, what? Kids? That blows, and not in the fun way…" Tucker groaned.

"You need help," Grif remarked.

"Simmons, Grif, Caboose! You three get these kids outta here and set 'em up in the clearing. Tucker and I will inspect the cockpit for more survivors. Maybe we can even get this baby flying again," Sarge commanded.

"Uh, about that, Sarge?" Simmons said. "There is no cockpit."

"What?" Sarge went further in and joined his lieutenant at the front of the ship. Or rather, where the front used to be. The entire cockpit section of the ship had been torn off, nowhere to be found. "Well, that plan goes out the window. Alright, new plan! We get the little missies outta here, and go from there. Maybe when they wake up, we can get a better handle on what's going on."

"Yes sir," Simmons nodded before returning to the cargo hold.

Sarge sighed. "This is gonna be a long day…"

---

Ruby's eyes slowly opened as her senses returned to her. When that white light took them, it felt like an out of body experience, like she was weightless, stripped down to just her soul. Now that she felt her body's weight again, it felt heavy. Drained. Now that she was herself again, she could feel the soreness of her body. Once her vision cleared, she realized she wasn't on the ship, and was instead sat against a rock pillar in a desert landscape. At either side of her were Yang and Blake, still unconscious. Ruby rubbed her head gently and saw that a man in blue armor holding a small firearm was pacing back and forth around the general area, talking to himself quietly.

"Uh… hello?" Ruby said. The blue soldier suddenly turned and ran up to her.

"Oh! You're awake!" He yelled, his louder voice sounding harsh to Ruby's ears. She winced, but tried to stay polite.

"U-Um, who are you, and where are we?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, um, I am Michael J. Caboose, and this is the future!" Caboose answered. The answer didn't help Ruby at all, and she assumed she would have to find someone else to talk to. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Aside from a slight headache, I'm fine," Ruby answered, surprised at his concern. Caboose put out a friendly hand to help pull Ruby to her feet, and she happily accepted with a smile. At least Caboose seemed like a good enough person. "Nice to meet you, Caboose. I'm Ruby."

"That is a nice name," Caboose said.

"Thanks. Yours is too," Ruby replied. He sounded a little childish, but she didn't mind it. It made him seem more genuine. She couldn't help but smile.

"Ugh…" Ruby heard Yang groan. Ruby turned around and saw that her sister and Blake were starting to come around. "Ruby? What's going on? What happened?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Ruby said before helping her sister up. Caboose walked over and helped Blake to her feet as well. "This is Caboose. He was watching over us until we woke up."

"Hello!" He waved, despite standing right in front of them.

"Caboose, this is Blake and my sister Yang," Ruby said.

"Hello!" Caboose repeated.

"Uh… hi," Yang awkwardly replied, before then turning to her teammates. "Do you guys remember what happened at all?"

"I remember that Grimm, then everything was just all white," Blake answered.

Then suddenly, a thought popped into Ruby's head. "Wait… where's Weiss?" The three huntresses looked around, and realized the heiress wasn't with them. Ruby then turned to Caboose. "Caboose, was there anyone else on the ship with us?"

"No, there were just the three nice ladies sleeping on the floor. You're the nice ladies," Caboose clarified.

The three of them traded glances. "Caboose, can we go see our ship?" Blake asked.

"Um… I think the sergeant would like to talk to you first," Caboose said.

"I mean, we might as well," Yang said. "We gotta find out where we crashed somehow."

"Alright then, Caboose," Ruby said. "Lead the way."

"Yay! This way, new friends!" Caboose said before running ahead.

"He's definitely… peculiar," Yang noted as they began to follow.

"He seems nice," Ruby said.

"Well, let's hope his team is at least a bit more organized," Blake said.

They would soon be disappointed.

---

"They destroyed it all, Simmons," Grif said, facing both Simmons and Tucker. "Those damn stupid bastards. They blew it all up! Damn them! Damn them to hell! Those damn dirty apes!"

"Calm down, Grif. We don't know that the whole world is like this," Simmons replied.

"Yes it is, they destroyed it all," Grif kept with it. "I guess the society of men just wasn't meant to survive."

"Hey, how about this, how about we explore more than two square miles before we jump to any conclusions?" Simmons suggested.

"It was definitely nuclear weapons, that's what did it. And the explosions caused massive power outages which caused all the failsafes to fail, which released super bacteria from a secret lab," Grif continued.

"Oh, come on," Simmons groaned.

"That caused a huge plague, and as the victims died, they rose from the dead twelve hours later to roam the Earth and feast on human flesh."

"What?"

"A handful of gritty survivors from all walks of life were able to keep the legions of infected radioactive undead at bay using only their wits and an inexplicable understanding of agricultural science and engineering. Everything was looking good, and that's when the meteor hit."

"I think you just quoted every crappy Hollywood apocalypse movie ever," Simmons regarded.

"Nah, Hollywood doesn't understand apocalypse," Tucker chimed in. "They think that just one thing from everyday life goes away and that changes everything. Like in Road Warrior it was gas, and in Water World it was land."

"What went away in The Matrix?" Simmons questioned.

"Sunlight," Tucker answered.

"I thought the missing element was plot," Grif jabbed.

"I'm talking about Matrix one," Tucker deadpanned.

"Oh, right," Simmons said.

"Face it, Simmons: the age of man is done," Grif said grimly.

"If all that stuff is true, then what happened to the zombies? What aren't they still around?" Simmons asked.

Grif answered, "The meteor killed them!"

"And what about the super bacteria?"

"It was infected by alien bacteria brought by the meteor and was wiped out by a massive bacteria-on-bacteria plague. Very ironic."

"Okay, then why haven't we been infected by the new alien bacteria?"

"It only infects other bacteria. Are you even listening to me?!" Grif exclaimed.

"Do you guys ever get anything done, or do you just stand around and talk all day?" Tucker questioned.

"We don't get paid enough to do stuff," Grif replied.

"What about Church, you idiots? How are we gonna get him from the past to the future?"

"I guess he can just wait," Grif suggested. "That's how it usually works."

"But when he gets to the present, he'll just get destroyed like everything else."

"Well, he'll just have to fix it on his own then," Simmons said.

"And if he's successful, he'll get to live through the coolest apocalypse of all time!" Grif added.

Sarge approached the trio quickly. "Simmons, Grif, get your keesters over here. The survivors are awake."

"Oh, can't wait to see this," Tucker said as they followed Sarge.

"Seriously dude, get help," Grif remarked.

The multi-colored soldiers filed down into a more open area, where Caboose and Donut were waiting with the three young women from the ship. "Well look who's finally awake," Grif remarked.

"These are our new friends: Ruby, Blake and Yang," Caboose introduced.

"Thank you, Caboose," Blake awkwardly thanked the strange blue soldier. She was already learning it was better to just let Caboose do his thing.

"Welcome to the land of the living, little missies," Sarge greeted. "I'm Sarge, leader of Red team. Seems you've met the resident bricks already, so those three dirtbags up there are ones you have to get acquainted with. The maroon one is Simmons, the fatass in the orange is Grif-"

"Hey!" Grif exclaimed.

"-And the schmuck in teal is Tucker."

"'Sup," Tucker said.

The introductions were certainly different than the three huntresses expected. These people were certainly keeping their heads spinning.

"We appreciate your help, Sarge," Ruby said gratefully, "But are you sure you didn't find our friend on the ship as well?"

"No ma'am," Sarge replied. "You three were the only ones aboard. If your little friend was in the cockpit of that ship, she could be long gone. That thing was torn apart."

"So… if we ended up here… where did Weiss end up? Ruby questioned aloud, looking at her sister and teammate concerningly.

---

The man in purple armor looked down at the unconscious girl in white sprawled out on the beach near the shoreline facility. She was just out of reach of the ocean's water, so she laid in the sand completely dry. A strange rapier-type weapon laid at her side.

"Well… things have certainly gotten interesting," O'Malley chuckled.

Weiss: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...

"We picked up new friends!" Caboose proclaimed.

"New friends?" Tex questioned.

"Um, hi!" Ruby greeted with a small wave. "I'm Ruby, and that's Yang and Blake."

"What'd ya find, Tex?" The gruff red asked.

"Well, O'Malley's holed up in this fortress. He's been fortifying his defenses for a few days now,"

"We have to get past the gun turrets and get into the building."

"Then we attack O'Malley," Sarge said, gripping his shotgun extra firmly.

"No," Tex corrected, "That's where we plant this." Tex gestured to a large basketball-sized metal orb sitting in the sand next to the group.

"We're planting a volleyball…" Caboose said.

"It's not a ball, it's a bomb," Tex corrected.

"I scouted a location inside the base where we can set it off and take the whole place down," Tex said. "I marked the spot with a big X."

There's someone else in there too, and I don't think she's helping them. Girl in white clothes, maybe a hostage of some kind," Tex said.

"What? That must be Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed.

---

"Hire her to help you save your friend and get Lopez back," He elaborated. "She'll do anything for money."

"How are we supposed to pay her without money?" Blake asked.

"Why don't you trade her a favor? Have her do this for you, and you guys owe her a favor," Tucker suggested. "That's how these freelancers get stuff done, right?"

"That'll work," Tex agreed. "I'll help you, and the four of you have to do something for me."

"Ok, we'll do it," Ruby agreed.

---

"Duck!" Donut and Yang called in unison. Yang grabbed Sarge and pulled him to the ground and Donut leapt to the floor just before a storm of bullets rained down on their position.

"Yang, Caboose, we'll hold 'em off from up here. You two take the bomb and try to sneak in the front of the base."

"Sounds better than sitting here doing nothing," Yang said.

"I'm pinned down, I need assistance!" She called over the comms.

Oh, she better thank me for this, Tucker thought. He rushed up to the red and held the object in his hand firmly. "Hey asshole!" The zealot stopped firing and turned his attention to Tucker. Tucker smirked under his helmet and pressed the activation switch on the small hilt he had in hand. From the hilt came two four-foot long blue energy blades that curved out in parallel.

"Huh?" Was the only thing the zealot uttered before Tucker rushed up and struck him with the weapon.

---

"Yang?!" A voice said. A familiar one to Yang. She turned her head to see Weiss just down the hall. Her eyes lit up and she immediately dropped the bomb right onto Caboose's foot.

"Weiss!" Yang exclaimed.

---

"Whatever you do, Don't. Touch. Anything. Apparently you're this culture's version of the apocalypse. You're gonna destroy this building, and somehow bring about doom for their entire race."

"Uh… Caboose, where's the bomb?" Yang asked the blue soldier.

"Oooh, I put it on the X, like I was supposed to," Caboose answered.

"Uh oh…"

"And whatever you do, don't touch the glowing weapon thing they have stored there. And if you do, definitely don't bring it into the main building, otherwise the whole place is gonna lock down and you're gonna be trapped."

"Whassup, dogs?" They heard Tucker call out from the entrance before a harsh metal grinding signified the main gat into the facility closing and locking.

"Aah, the door closed!" Ruby exclaimed.

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion

Chapter 4: Grimm Tidings

Everyone had rushed to the front entryway of the facility where the large gates had just closed and locked down, preventing anyone from getting out. Yang and Caboose together had attempted to tear the gates open, but despite their strength and the dusty, rusty and aged appearance, the metal doors were tougher than they looked. Everyone had quickly begun to search around for a way out of the facility, but every door, including the ones that used to lead out to the catwalks outside, had also closed and locked. They didn't budge any easier either. Now the Reds, Blues and Team RWBY were panicked, anxious to get outside before the moms went off, which on it's timer only left two minutes until a fiery demise.

"Just two minutes left," Grif sighed.

"Men, I don't want this to sound pessimistic," Sarge said, "But I'm absolutely certain we're all gonna die!"

"I think that's a totally objective assessment of the situation, sir," Simmons agreed.

"That is not objective!" Weiss exclaimed. "Maybe if you three helped instead of sitting around, we'd have found a way out by now!"

"We tried hitting those metal window shutters open, but they won't budge past a certain point," Yang said. "Plus, they're as heavy as the bomb was. Seriously, what is it with metal being so heavy in this place?"

"Guess you're not as strong as you thought, huh?" Grif remarked.

"Is now really the time?" Blake frowned at the comment.

Ruby turned to her white-clad teammate. "Do you think your glyphs and ice Dust could shield us? Like they did at the train crash back during the Grimm attack on Vale?"

"Not if the bomb's as powerful as they say," Weiss shook her head.

"Guys, that counter's getting real low!" Grif exclaimed, seeing the timer drop below a minute.

"Tucker, Caboose, let's try those windows again!" Yang exclaimed.

"We're all gonna die, starting with Grif!" Sarge cried. "Everyone, get ready to kiss your ass goodbye! Simmons, you can have the honor of kissing mine."

"Unbelievable! Your lives could be about to end, and you'd rather sit there and panic than do anything about it! What kind of soldiers are you?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"The kind that don't do well under pressure," Simmons answered the rhetorical question.

"Hey, everybody. What's up?" A new voice asked. Everyone looked between the bars of the front gate to see a new soldier standing there outside, wearing a shade of blue slightly darker than Tucker's, but significantly brighter than Caboose's. He held a sniper rifle in his hands.

Caboose wheeled around to face him. "I am so happy you made it in time to die with me. We will get to be smithereens together!"

"That won't be necessary, Caboose. Hey, Gary, how you doin?" The man said.

"Not bad," A robotic voice played through the facility's PA system, echoing throughout the stone and metal halls, "Although my static ion sub-matrix is a little itchy."

"The computer can talk?" Simmons questioned.

"The computer's name is Gary?" Yang followed up.

"How have you been, Church?" Gary asked.

"Good, thanks for asking," Church replied nonchalantly. "Listen, could you do me a favor? Could you shut off the bomb, please?"

"No problem."

The bomb, which had still been counting down at this point, ticked down to a single second left on the counter, before the beeping stopped and the timer, as well as the bomb itself, was deactivated.

"That could've been done the whole time?!" Ruby cried out. "And you didn't say anything?!"

"You didn't ask," Gary simply replied.

"Oh, unbelievable!" Weiss snarled in pure anger.

"Welcome to this world," Blake deadpanned.

"Gotta say, it's really great to see you guys, but, uh, what's with the new entourage? You didn't turn into post-apocalypse bandits and kidnap little girls while I was gone, did ya?" Church asked.

"It's a long story," Sarge answered.

"You seem like you're in a good mood, Church," Tucker noted.

"I learned a very valuable lesson in my travels, Tucker. No matter how bad things might seem-"

"They could be worse," Caboose finished.

"Nope," Church shook his head. "No matter how bad they seem, they can't be any better, they can't be any worse. Cause that's the way things fuckin' are, and you better get used to it, Nancy. Quit your bitchin'."

"Where have you been?" Caboose asked.

"You want the long version or the short version?" Church asked.

"How about the version that gets us outside faster?" Weiss suggested impatiently.

"Fair point," Church relented. "Hey, Gary, go ahead and take the place off lockdown. I think you've scared 'em enough." Momentarily, the gates swung back open, and everyone was more than happy to exit the facility and enter the courtyard, far enough away from the main facility to feel safe again.

"Finally, we're out of there," Grif sighed in relief.

"Was waiting until the last moment really necessary?" Blake asked.

"Ah well, I like to make an entrance. And hey, hell of a first impression, right?" Church replied.

"Something like that," Weiss said.

Church turned to all four huntresses. "So, uh, hi. I'm Church, leader of the Blue Team. You mind telling me who you guys are before Caboose tries to explain it?"

"Well, you see-" Caboose started.

"That wasn't a request, moron," Church cut him off coldly.

"Well," Ruby started, "I'm Ruby, and this is my sister Yang, and our teammates Weiss and Blake."

"We've heard a lot about you, Church," Yang said.

"Yeah, well, there's one bonus to Caboose: at least when he doesn't shut up, he'll talk about me like I'm God or something," Church chuckled. "So how did you come across our merry band of idiots?"

"Their ship crashed where we woke up," Simmons answered for them. "We helped them out, and they needed help finding Weiss. They were initially gonna help us find you too, but, well, look how that turned out."

"Yeah, nice save, red. Looked like you were about to piss your pants thirty seconds ago."

Ruby leaned close to Yang and whispered, "Does he sound like Dad at all to you?"

"Hm… a little, I guess," Yang answered.

Church's voice caught their attention again. "Hey, so, if you have your teammate, does that mean you're gonna skedaddle? We kinda got our own thing going here. Kids just make things more complicated."

"For one thing, we're not kids," Blake replied.

"And even if we could go, it looks like you guys need help with this O'Malley guy, right?" Ruby added.

"No offense- Ruby, was it?- But we have things under control here," Church said.

"Like hell we do," Grif cut in. "Besides, we're fighting an evil AI who wants to destroy the world, and you're saying 'no' to more help?"

"Yeah, I am. I'd say we're doing a pretty stand-up job."

"We got hit by a bomb that sent us into the future!" Tucker exclaimed.

"So? We dropped the ball once. You guys took his base, didn't ya? Even stevens," Church said.

"The same base we were about to die in?" Sarge added.

"Hey, they woulda died with ya. What did they do so far that shows they're worth keeping around?"

"Yang's strong enough to lift a car," Simmons pointed.

"So can Tex if you pay her enough. Hey, speaking of which, where is she?" Church asked.

"She's supposed to be up in the sniper position we left her in," Blake answered.

"I'll call her up," Sarge said before getting on the comms. "Tex, do you read? We're in the clear and the bomb's been deactivated. And your little blue boyfriend showed up."

"Oh, come on, dude," Church groaned.

"I repeat, do you read, Tex?" Sarge continued. No response came from the other end of the transmission. "I said, are you there, Tex?" Again, nothing. "That's weird. She's radio silent."

"Hold on a second," Church said before hopping on comms as well. "Hey, you rotten bitch! Get your ass down here!" Everyone was left stunned by Church's non-hesitant vulgar display towards Tex, who everyone else feared in some way or form. At least the Reds and Blues did. But again, no response came. "Huh, she really isn't there. In that case, something really isn't right."

"I suppose that's one way of going about things," Weiss sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"Ruby, the Dust!" Blake said.

"Hm?" Ruby swung the backpack down off her shoulder and held it in front of her before opening it. Inside, the crystals of Cosmic Dust were faintly pulsing with a pale glow, the star-like dots inside the crystal shining with the pulse's rhythm.

"What's going on? What is that stuff?" Donut asked.

A black armored body was then sent flying through the air above them, catching their eyes. Tex's body slammed into the side of the facility before dropping down to the dirt below. The large group of soldiers and huntresses turned around to see a black-furred canine creature perched atop the large turbine across the courtyard. It snarled before letting out an earth-shaking howl.

"It's the Grimm that attacked the ship…" Ruby muttered.

"It must have been lured here by our panic over the bomb," Blake deduced.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Who cares? It's obviously not friendly, so just shoot it!" Church ordered. All of the colored soldiers immediately took aim and fired at the Grimm. The storm of bullets began to put the Grimm off balance. It howled before leaping off the turbine, aiming straight for the group. "Move!" Everyone cleared out just before the Grimm smashed down, cracking the very ground beneath it. As soon as Team RWBY had recovered, they all drew their weapons. Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose into it's full scythe form, Weiss pulled Myrtenaster from her waist and aimed the point of it's rapier-like blade forward, Blake drew gambol shroud in one hand and held the sheathe like a weapon of its own in her off hand, and both parts of Ember Celica formed over Yang's forearms.

"Woah! Kick-ass!" Tucker remarked before he was swatted away by the Grimm. The creature roared again, and started for Church when a series of Dust rounds hit its side. It snapped around to see Yang and Blake as the culprits. It snarled and started to sprint for them. Both of them had hold of part of Blake's long ribbon, and Yang used her weapon to launch herself further away from Blake. The two stretched out the ribbon until it tightened and blocked the Grimm's path. Its lunge brought it right to the ribbon, clotheslining it and sending it flat on its back. Yang leapt onto the beast's torso and quickly began to punch the Grimm in the head, firing a shot from her gauntlets with each strike. It was at first caught off guard and fell victim to the repeated attacks, and Yang wasn't letting up. But after a few more moments of suffering the force of the strikes and the burns left by the fire Dust in Yang's gauntlets, suddenly Yang's fist was caught in the black paw of the creature, which then suddenly began to shift.

With harsh cracking and tearing like broken bones and cutting flesh, the Grimm's hand transformed, changing from the hand of a canine to a more human-like one with longer, thin, spindly fingers and white claws of bone at its fingertips. "What the hell-?!" Yang was then thrown off the Grimm. The creature then flipped over and its other arm transformed exactly as the first one did. Even the other huntresses were left in both horror and confusion.

"That's not supposed to happen…" Weiss noted.

"What's not supposed to happen? What is this thing?!" Simmons asked.

"It's what brought our ship down," Ruby answered, partially telling the truth.

"How do we stop it?" Church asked. Ruby thought for a moment, then turned to her pale teammate.

"Weiss, we box it in, then use your glyphs to keep it still long enough for us to kill it," Ruby ordered. Weiss nodded, then Ruby turned to the rest. "We keep it contained. If we can keep it in one place long enough, we can trap it."

"Well, it's better than no plan at all," Tucker said.

"Tucker, you, Grif and Simmons loop around the turbine, block that path off," Church commanded.

"You're not our boss," Grif scoffed.

"You wanna survive the scary monster to trash talk later, or do you wanna keep being a dickhead?" Church replied.

"F-Fair point," Grif stammered before he, Tucker and Simmons left to take the long way around the turbine.

"I'll watch Weiss, keep her guarded for whatever it is you're planning," Church volunteered.

"And the rest of us?" Tex asked as she joined the others, recovering from the attack from the Grimm.

"We close in, and block any of its escapes," Ruby answered. "If we push it towards Tucker and the others, we can trap it."

"You have a lot of explaining to do after this, kid," Tex said.

"Uh, why is it just standing there?" Blake asked. Ruby looked forward, and saw that the hound-like grimm was just standing there, ears perked up like a curious dog.

"It can't understand us, can it?" Sarge asked.

"It shouldn't be able to," Yang said, though a sense of unease was in her voice.

"We know the plan. Let's go," Ruby said. The group then split up quickly, and all simultaneously began to fire at the Grimm. It recoiled and snarled, and attempted to escape their direct line of sight on all fours. "Guide it to the turbine!" Everyone began to form a semi-circle around the creature, never letting up their gunfire. The hound kept running forward, towards the exit of the facility, when suddenly Tucker, Simmons and Grif came onto the path and blocked its way. The Hound didn't stop though and instead launched itself upwards on its two front human-like hands, and midair it began to change again. By the time it landed on its feet, the feet and legs had shifted and changed to make the creature bipedal. It rose back up and stood tall before looking down at the soldiers, standing well above their height. Drool dripped from the creature's snout, and started to dive forward for Simmons when suddenly a black glyph with a snowflake appeared below it. It glanced down at it, then back up as everyone surrounded it again. It was then pulled flat onto the ground with extreme force and pinned there by the glyph.

"Fire!" Sarge commanded, and everyone laid into the Grimm with their firearms. The bullet storm eventually kicked up a dust cloud, but everyone kept shooting until they had emptied their mags, and only when things quieted down did Weiss release the glyph. The cloud was so thick, they couldn't see through it, and the Huntresses couldn't feel anything with their aura.

"Is that it? Did we get it?" Yang questioned. Blake listened intently. Not just with her normal ears, but her faunus ears as well, hidden under the bow atop her head. She didn't hear anything in there at first, but then-

Her eyes widened. "Everyone, move!" She exclaimed. She, Tex and Ruby leapt out of the way instantly, but everyone else was caught off guard as the Hound's arms stretched out from the dust cloud in a sweeping motion, reaching out impossibly far as it swatted the rest away. Ruby, Tex and Blake landed on their feet as the dust cleared, and the hound was still standing tall.

"What does it take to kill this thing if not that?!" Tex yelled. The Hound perked up and sniffed the air, before its head slowly turned and swapped glances between Blake and Ruby, as if picking a target next. "What's it doing?"

Ruby was confused at first as well, then it hit her. She and Blake were both carrying backpacks full of the Cosmic Dust. "It wants the Dust!"

"The what?" Tex questioned.

"The crystals in our backpacks, it must be drawn to them," Blake clarified. The Hound's eyes stuck to Blake as she spoke, sending a shiver up her spine. It snarled and shot one of its hands forward, stretching again right towards the faunus. Blake called upon her semblance, leaving a shadow clone in her place as she flipped away. She fueled the clone with Ice Dust to entrap the Hound's hand once it struck, but right before it would've connected, the Hound suddenly stopped, then pulled its arm back. The clone shattered on its own. "Wait, why did it stop?"

The Hound's neck then began to snap back and forth with harsh breaks of bone, before it re-centered, and it let out a low growl. "Bella… donna…" The name came from its snout in a rumbly voice. Ruby and Blake's eyes rounded.

"Did… Did that Grimm just talk…?" Ruby questioned aloud.

"H-How does it know my name?" Blake added.

"Let me guess, it's not supposed to do that either," Tex deadpanned. "You have a lot of explaining to do after this." Tex then drew her pistol from her side and emptied the mag quickly into the Hound's fur, forcing a pained growl from its mouth. Tex rushed forward as she loaded in another mag and began firing again. The Hound took a swipe as she got close, but she leapt over the attack and brought all her strength into a kick down onto the Hound's armored skull. The bone armor cracked, but Tex's foot bent the opposite direction as well, breaking with a screech of metal. She fell to the ground awkwardly, and the Hound used its other hand to slam down onto Tex, then grabbed her and threw her away. Tex's body collided with Blake, flooring both of them.

A burst of rose petals suddenly appeared before him. Ruby shot from the cloud and brought the blade of Crescent Rose downward. The Hound moved to counter the attack, but Ruby used her semblance again to speed around behind the Grimm. As soon as she was out of the petal cloud again, she went for a horizontal swipe with her scythe, only for the Hound to suddenly turn around and catch the weapon by the handle. Ruby's eyes shot wide open. "W-What?!" The Hound's free hand formed a fist and struck Ruby in the gut, launching upwards, then caught her foot mid-air and slammed her back down, shattering the ground upon impact. Ruby tried to get up, but the Hound brought both fists down on top of her again with a powerful ground smash, blowing all the air out of her lungs and breaking her aura.

Ruby groaned in pain and held her ribs, unable to stop the creature as it wrapped its spindly fingers around her throat with one hand and held her skull with the other. She looked up at it in fear, feeling her heart race and recovering breath catch in her throat. It brought it's snout as close as possible and gave her a few strong whiffs, as if memorizing her scent. It pulled its snout away after a few moments and stared down at her menacingly, then let out a low growl. "Ruby… Rose…"

"H-How do you know my name…?" Ruby rasped, feeling the Hound's fingers slowly tighten on her throat. The Hound didn't say more, and instead took its hand off her skull and pulled it all the way back. Its claws sharpened, and it seemed to be priming to strike down on her.

"Hey, creature!" The Hound paused and turned its head to see Church taking aim with his sniper rifle. "Leave that kid alone!" Church then pulled the trigger. The sniper round zoomed across the battlefield-

-And missed the Grimm entirely, not even skimming it. "Ah, what the fuck?! I swear, someone's fucking with this thing when I'm not looking!" While the Hound was distracted, Ruby saw Crescent Rose laying on the ground next to her. She quickly grabbed her weapon, transformed it into its firearm form, aimed upwards, then pulled the trigger. The shot blew a hole right through the Grimm's jaw and sent it stumbling back, off of Ruby, who soon dropped her weapon to the ground and laid her head back, her strength feeling drained.

As the Hound stumbled back and turned, Yang's fist connected with the still-attached side of his jaw, then Ember Celica fired again and blew a new hole in the side of its head. It stumbled into a different direction, colliding with part of a shipwreck. Tucker stood atop the wreck, his energy sword in hand, before leaping off of it and landing on top of the canine creature, driving the sword into the Hound's back. The Hound screeched, then slammed its back into the wreckage, flattening out Tucker and taking him out of the battle. More bullets struck its neck. It wheeled its head around to see all the Reds charging for it, firing their rifles at it, then saw Weiss, Church, Caboose and Blake approaching from another direction. The Hound now realized it was at a disadvantage. It screeched harshly, hurting the ears of all who heard it, as another bone-crunching transformation took place in its body. After a few moments, bursting from its back came a pair of pitch black wings with blood red membranes. With one powerful movement, the Hound blasted off into the air, then began to flap its wings, flying away from the facility and far out of sight.

"Thank god, it's gone…" Grif sighed in relief.

"Ruby!" Yang cried as she rushed to her little sister's side, helping her to her feet. Ruby felt tired and weak. Weiss and Blake soon took her side as well. "Ruby, are you alright?!"

"I'm fine, Yang…" Ruby groaned, holding her own head gently. "I-I've never seen a Grimm like that before… what was that?"

"I have no idea," Weiss shook her head. While Ruby was kept standing by her teammates, the Reds and Blues all rushed to them, and in front of them all, Tex aimed her pistol right at the Huntresses. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I don't know what the hell that thing was, but it seemed like you four had some idea," Tex snapped. "That creature, those crystals, your weapons and abilities; you four have a lot to explain, and you're going to answer all of my questions. Right now."

"Can't you see that she's hurt?!" Yang snapped back.

"I don't care. Consider this the favor you owe me if you have to, but you're going to spill!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, she's right, youngin's," Sarge agreed. "We've tried to let you take time and help you save your friend. Now we have, and then we get attacked by a monster straight outta hell. To put it bluntly, you're far beyond owing us an explanation."

"But-!" Weiss started.

"No, they're right, guys," Ruby groaned. "We need to tell them." Her teammates didn't seem to agree, but as leader, they had to follow Ruby's call. "S-So… where to start… We're kind of… from another universe?"

A moment of silence passed, then Tex fired a bullet into the dirt at their feet. "Strike one. There won't be a two if you lie to me again."

"Hey! Believe us or not, it's the truth!" Weiss snapped. Tex aimed her pistol at Weiss, but Church pushed her weapon down.

"Hey, maybe let them finish talking before putting a bullet between their eyes," He said.

"Oh come on, Church, you really believe this crap?" Tex questioned.

"I know to let someone get more than one sentence in before deciding if they're crazy or not. I know killing is kinda your thing, but maybe humor me for, like, five minutes?" Tex growled in frustration, but lowered her pistol anyway. "Great. Now you keep talking before I can't convince her not to blow your brains out."

"Okay… well…" Ruby started, "We're from a world called Remnant. We're huntresses, warriors trained to protect people and fight monsters like the one you just saw called Grimm. We were escorting a shipment of valuable cargo when that hound thing attacked us. What we were protecting was this…" Ruby slung the bag off her back and showed the Cosmic Dust to the multi-colored soldiers.

"And what is that stuff exactly?" Sarge asked.

Weiss was the next to elaborate. "On Remnant, everything we use is powered by a natural crystal substance called Dust. This is an artificial variant we were protecting that was supposedly able to open rifts into other worlds."

"Guess it worked a little too well," Yang commented.

Blake continued, "When that Grimm attacked our ship, it somehow activated the Dust's properties and sent us here. That's when we met all of you."

"I think you guys know the rest," Ruby finished. "So… do you believe us?"

"See, I'd like to tell Tex to shoot you now, but considering the weird shit I've been through the past few weeks on top of the nightmare monster, I think I'm just gonna believe you," Church said.

"What?! Church, you can't be serious!" Tex exclaimed.

"Well, think about it," Simmons cut in, "It explains everything we were wondering about. Plus, everything they did tell us was true. They were attacked, had very important cargo to protect, and they really did need to find their friend. Why tell the truth about all that then lie to us about this? Plus, multiversal theory has existed for decades to help explain-"

"Dude, we do not care," Grif interrupted.

Caboose added, "Plus, they are new friends! And friends trust and help one another." Ruby smiled wide at Caboose's sentiment.

Tex sighed. "Y'know what, fine. I'll let it slide. But know this, brats: you step out of line once, I'll kill all of you for the fun of it."

"O-kay, how about you go back up to the facility and make sure that bomb of yours really doesn't go off?" Church suggested.

"Hmph," Tex grumbled before doing just that, walking back up the path towards the main building.

Church turned back to the young huntresses. "Sorry about her. She's kinda… y'know, a rotten bitch."

Yang snorted hard. "That's one way to put it for sure. And you dated that?"

"Oh, they told you that, huh? Yeah, I was the only one who could talk to her like that. In some ways, I guess I still am."

"So, you explained most of the stuff we were wondering, but what about those weird powers you guys have?" Simmons asked inquisitively.

"Those are our semblances, abilities powered by our Auras, which is an energy itself powered by our souls," Weiss answered.

"Interesting. Any chance I could pick your brain about this stuff for a little while?" Simmons asked.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Weiss replied before she and Simmons broke off from the rest of the group.

"So what do we do now?" Ruby asked the blue leader.

"I guess just hang out for now. At least until we get a lead on O'Malley or that thing comes back. Besides, looks like you could use a break," Church answered.

"I really could," Ruby agreed.

"Take the chance while you have it. Who knows what else could get thrown at us next." Church then walked off as well, while the Reds went off towards where the warthog was parked.

"Y'know, I kinda hear it now. He does sound like Dad," Yang said.

"Speaking of which, I hope he's doing okay. Who knows how long we've been gone over there…?" Ruby said, looking down at her feet.

Yang put her arm around her sister and hugged her from the side. "Don't worry, sis. I'm sure Dad's doing just fine."

---

"What do you mean 'you've lost the ship'?!" Tai exclaimed. Ben could hear him from outside the house. He had never heard Tai yell before. He was always gentle, mellowed out. He hadn't known Tai to be an angry man in his month's time living in the Xiao Long household. But whatever had pushed him over the edge, it had done so quickly. Ben stayed where he was though, reading while sitting on the living room couch.

Meanwhile, Tai had Ironwood on the other end of the call. "It means that the ship's transponder went silent as soon as it crossed Vale's borders. This could just be a simple tech problem, Tai," He responded.

"Or it could be exactly what I was afraid of, James! I didn't want them going on a mission so soon to begin with! It's only been a month since the Battle of Beacon!"

"Exactly why we needed to do more and do so soon. This mission was of the utmost importance. If I had other options, do you think I would've endangered your daughters unnecessarily?"

"I should've known better than to let them do this…" Tai frowned.

"They are trained and skilled. They fought well at the Battle of Beacon, and your youngest single-handedly turned the tide of the battle. Even when those warriors from the other world came to our aid, we were still fighting a losing battle. Vale would've been wiped off the map had Ruby Rose not petrified the Wyvern and killed Cinder Fall."

"She's fifteen!"

"She's a Huntress, Tai. She knew the risks and signed on of her own accord. I promise you, we will find that ship and they will return home, but don't put this weight on yourself. They made a choice that would help the world. It's what warriors do. I thought you would remember that. Don't turn this into another Summer situation."

"Say her name again, and I will come up there and show you what I remember about being a warrior," Tai threatened.

Ironwood sighed. "I'll let you know when we have something. Goodbye, Tai." The line cut off, and Tai pulled his scroll away from his ear and growled, before letting out another heavy sigh.

"Dammit…" He pocketed his scroll and tried to calm himself before opening the front door and re-entering the house. Ben looked up from his book.

"What was that about?" He asked.

Tai sighed again. "They lost track of Ruby and Yang's ship. They're looking for it now. This is exactly why I didn't want them going."

"If something really happened, I know Ruby and Yang can handle themselves. Plus they have Blake and Weiss with them, right? I'm sure they're fine."

"You sound like Ironwood…" Tai remarked.

Ben set the book aside. "When they first saved me, they did everything they could to make sure I was protected and unharmed. They wouldn't let me become the slave of someone else ever again. They stood up to their allies and friends to ensure my freedom. Nothing can keep them down. Even if they are in danger, I genuinely believe nothing can stop them from coming home."

"I hope you're right, and that I'm just overthinking things. It really could just be a tech problem…" Tai said.

"You should take it easy. I'll make some tea to help calm your nerves, Ben said before getting up and heading for the kitchen.

"When did you learn how to make tea?" Tai questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"When you're stuck in a room with Blake Belladonna and Weiss Schnee for weeks on end during the Vytal Festival, not much to do but talk and learn new things. At least what you can in a dorm room or an Atlas lab," Ben replied.

"Well, I wouldn't mind a cup then," Tai smiled a bit. "Dose mine with aspirin, though, I'm starting to get a migraine."

Church: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion…

"Well, O'Malley's holed up in this fortress. He's been fortifying his defenses for a few days now,"

"That's where we plant this." Tex gestured to a large basketball-sized metal orb sitting in the sand next to the group.

"We're planting a volleyball…" Caboose said.

"It's not a ball, it's a bomb," Tex corrected.

---

"Hey, everybody. What's up?" A new voice asked. Everyone looked between the bars of the front gate to see a new soldier standing there outside, wearing a shade of blue slightly darker than Tucker's, but significantly brighter than Caboose's. He held a sniper rifle in his hands.

"The computer can talk?" Simmons questioned.

"The computer's name is Gary?" Yang followed up.

"How have you been, Church?" Gary asked.

"Good, thanks for asking," Church replied nonchalantly. "Listen, could you do me a favor? Could you shut off the bomb, please?"

"No problem."

---

"So, uh, hi. I'm Church, leader of the Blue Team."

---

The large group of soldiers and huntresses turned around to see a black-furred canine creature perched atop the large turbine across the courtyard. It snarled before letting out an earth-shaking howl.

"It's the Grimm that attacked the ship…" Ruby muttered.

"It must have been lured here by our panic over the bomb," Blake deduced.

---

With harsh cracking and tearing like broken bones and cutting flesh, the Grimm's hand transformed, changing from the hand of a canine to a more human-like one with longer, thin, spindly fingers and white claws of bone at its fingertips.

"That's not supposed to happen…" Weiss noted.

Bella… donna…" The name came from its snout in a rumbly voice. Ruby and Blake's eyes rounded.

"Did… Did that Grimm just talk…?" Ruby questioned aloud.

"H-How does it know my name?" Blake added.

---

"Ruby… Rose…"

"H-How do you know my name…?"

---

"I don't know what the hell that thing was, but it seemed like you four had some idea," Tex snapped. "That creature, those crystals, your weapons and abilities; you four have a lot to explain, and you're going to answer all of my questions. Right now."

"S-So… where to start… We're kind of… from another universe?"

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion
Chapter 5: Defusing the Situation

"You got this thing where?" Church asked Tucker, in reference to his new energy blade weapon that he now held ignited in his hands. In the small group discussion were Church, Tucker, Yang, Tex, Caboose, and Blake. They stood just outside the gate leading inside the facility.

"Right up there," Tucker answered, gesturing to the giant turbine, which despite all the battle around it today, still continued its slow rotations.

"I don't know if it's a good idea if you keep that thing," Blake said cautiously. "Isn't it part of some kind of apocalyptic prophecy?"

"I'm with Blake on this, I don't trust that thing, let alone you," Church added.

"You're just pissed because you don't have one," Tucker replied.

"No. You must have me confused with Tex. She's been staring at you non-stop since you found that thing." They all glanced over to see Tex staring intently at the glowing blue weapon in Tucker's hand.

"She's staring at it more than Ruby does with weapons…" Yang remarked.

"That's not true," Tex denied after a long moment of silence, her gaze still glued to the energy sword.

"You haven't taken your eyes off it," Blake said.

"Yes I have."

"Then why haven't you looked at us the entire time we've been talking?" Church questioned.

"I've already seen you, Church. Not too impressed. And I just don't like them," Tex said.

"The feeling's mutual," Yang deadpanned.

"Man, that thing is really shiny…" Tex said in awe at the sword.

"Yep," Tucker agreed.

Church returned his eyes to his teammate. "Man, I still think… The computer told me that thing is a very important relic for some ancient culture. Don't go swinging it around like that if you're gonna keep it."

"Yeah? Well I think it's just a kick ass piece of bling," Tucker replied nonchalantly, still ignoring the warnings. "And who are you gonna believe; me, or some super smart stupid talking computer?"

"My money's on the computer," Blake said.

Suddenly, a burst of rose petals blasted through and Ruby stood at the edge of the group, next to her teammates. "Guys! Come on! We found something!" She exclaimed before grabbing Blake and Yang and speeding away again, leaving a trail of floating rose petals as she sped off.

"That is still gonna take some getting used to," Church remarked.

"What was she talking about?" Tucker questioned.

"I dunno, but let's go find out. I don't trust them not to do something stupid." Church said as he ran off to follow Ruby. The other three followed suit.

The burst of petals sped to where the warthog was parked, and where all of Red Team as well as Weiss were waiting, then dissipated, and Ruby, Yang and Blake stood in its wake. Yang and Blake were left dazed and discombobulated.

"Ruby… never do that… again…" Blake groaned while holding her head.

Ruby nervously chuckled. "Sorry."

Sarge turned to the Huntresses. "Men, Team RWBY, thanks for meeting me on such short notice, so covertly."

"Didn't have much of a choice," Yang said while rubbing her head in nausea.

Grif added, "No problem. Had to move my lunch with the Pope, but uh, he was cool with it. He owes me. I helped him pick the hat."

"Shut up," Both Simmons and Weiss frowned in unison.

"I don't want the Blues finding out about this meeting, so I want us to all agree here and now to keep this between ourselves," Sarge requested.

"But why would we need to do that?" Ruby questioned.

"Because the blues are our enemy! As a fledgling Red yourself, I thought you'd know that by now."

"Not this again…" Ruby shook her head. "Sarge, the Blues aren't your enemy. You're all on the same side."

"Now that's hogwash. It's Red versus Blue! And as our enemies, they cannot know about our secret meetings!" Sarge exclaimed.

"It's not so secret if you're screaming at the top of your lungs," Church said as Blue Team approached.

"Dagnabbit! Blue invaders! Coming to steal our secrets!"

"Seriously, Sarge, that's enough," Weiss said.

Church snapped his vision to Sarge as well. "Look, Red, I don't know if you've already forgotten, but the big bad wolf just showed up to eat us a couple hours ago, and there's still an evil AI on the loose. The last thing I need on top of that is you morons doing something completely stupid that will get us all killed. We're not doing more of this 'behind closed doors' crap."

"Church is right," Blake agreed. "So long as O'Malley and that canine Grimm are both out there, we should try to be on the same page for now." Sarge let out low grumbles of anger, but Church paid him no attention.

"So, what is it that's so important?"

Weiss was the one to answer. "Simmons and I were in the middle of fixing the radio as well as our scrolls when we picked up a distress signal."

"What kind of distress signal?" Tucker asked.

"Oh, y'know, the kind they make when everything's totally fine and they're just checking- What do you think? The kind that means they're in fucking distress!" Simmons replied sarcastically. Weiss seemed to share his sentiment.

"Grif, could you play the signal again?" Weiss asked the orange-armored soldier.

"Sure," Grif replied as he hopped in the driver's seat. He switched the radio on, and the signal replayed itself.

"Distress! Distress! We don't need any more distress. Distress! Woah man, it's a lot of distress!"

"That's all it says, it doesn't even say where or who," Simmons said.

"This seems too fishy to me," Blake regarded.

"That's funny coming from you," Yang remarked with a smirk, earning her a slug in the arm from her teammate.

"We know who it is," Sarge said, "It's on the Red Army open channel. That means the Reds have survived into the future. Dontcha see what this means?"

Grif sighed. "That we have absolutely no hope of ever getting out of this army…"

"No! It means we must have beaten the Blues! Otherwise there wouldn't be any Reds left," Sarge corrected. "Finally, victory is ours! Wait a minute, this means I missed the entire war, aw dammit!"

"Is this all he worries about?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Every. Damn. Day," Grif answered.

Yang put her hands on her hips. "Everything must be great, Sarge, hence the distress call."

"Maybe it's not a distress signal," Donut said. "Maybe it's a dis-tress signal. Maybe it's an open invitation to some formal ball!"

"O-Kay, let's go with Sarge's version," Grif said, weirded out.

"Can you figure out where the signal's coming from?" Ruby asked Simmons.

"All I can tell is the direction. I have no idea how far it is," he answered.

"Why not?" Sarge asked. "I thought you were our unofficial Science Officer."

"That just means I'm smart. If you want me to multiply two big numbers in my head, that I can do. But I can't measure radio signals with no equipment!"

"What's thirty-two times… fifty-six?" Tucker prompted.

"Thirty-one thousand, four-hundred fifty-two," Simmons instantly calculated.

"Is that right?" Sarge asked.

"Yes," Simmons replied.

"That's impressive," Weiss remarked.

"Eh, you know, it's a gift."

"So, what, are you guys gonna go chase this red signal?" Tex questioned.

"That's the idea," Sarge said. "And the little rosebud and the snowflake offered to come with us."

"You what?!" Yang and Blake both exclaimed in surprise at their teammates.

"Well, duh!" Ruby replied. "Someone needs help! What kind of huntresses are we if we don't help someone in need?"

Weiss added, "Not to mention, that Grimm is here with us, because of us. We can't leave it roaming around here. Before we can even think of finding a way home, it's our responsibility to destroy it. If that distress signal involves the Grimm, we're more than willing to take it down."

"Did you forget the part where it folded all of you?" Tex remarked.

"I didn't see you faring any better," Weiss replied. Tex had no response for that.

"So, when do we head out?" Blake asked.

"See, the thing about that is…" Ruby started.

Weiss finished for her. "That Hound is attracted to negative emotion like a normal Grimm, but we think it's also attracted to the Cosmic Dust. I think it's better if we don't have it all in one place."

"So we're planning on splitting up again? When we just got back together?" Yang questioned.

"Not our first choice," Weiss said.

"But if we wanna get home, we can't just let that Grimm have it. This way, even if he gets one bag of it, he won't have the other," Ruby added.

"So you two are going off with the Reds while we stay here?" Blake questioned.

"She's got a point, y'know," Sarge cut in. "That Dust stuff seems really important. If that dog thing comes rolling back around, it's best not to have all your eggs in one basket."

Church added, "And since you don't trust us with it, which is fair in all honesty, you guys should take it in two separate directions for now."

"Since when do you care?" Tex questioned.

"Since I nearly got mauled by a werewolf. As far as I'm concerned, for right now we're on the same page," Church said sternly. "The Reds and half of Team RWBY take one bag of Dust and follow the distress signal. Then, even in the worst case scenario of walking right into the jaws of that monster, we still have a bag and two badass huntresses with us if it comes knocking. And then even if it comes back here, you guys will be far away."

"I guess you've got a point," Blake relented.

"Question is, who goes where?" Yang added.

"I've been stuck in this facility too long already. I'm not staying here," Weiss said.

"I've felt cooped up too long now. I wanna see some action!" Yang said with a confident smirk before she slammed her fists together.

"In that case, Blake and Ruby, you guys will stick with us," Church said.

Ruby frowned at this. "But, the distress signal! I have to help whoever's in trouble!"

"Ruby, I know you want to help, but we can trust Yang and Weiss to get the job done," Blake assured her leader. Ruby let out a low whine.

"Hey, I could also use your help with Caboose," Church added.

"Me? Why my help?" Ruby asked.

"For some reason, Caboose seems weirdly comfortable with you in particular, and he listens to you. Maybe he's forming this weird obsession with you like he did with me, but whatever it is, it can help us corral him so he doesn't do something stupid."

"I don't know whether to feel flattered or weirded out by that…" Ruby replied uncomfortably. "But I guess if I have to."

"Well, it's settled then," Sarge said. "The snowflake and the spitfire come with us."

"How will we keep in contact with our teammates?" Blake questioned.

"Oh, about that," Simmons said, "While we were messing with the jeep's radio, Weiss and I were also working on connecting your scrolls to our radio frequencies. Ruby and Weiss's are already connected, so I'm sure they can show you guys how to do it before we leave."

"That's actually really helpful," Yang smiled. "Thanks, Simmons."

"While I'm thinking about it, where is Caboose?" Ruby asked.

"What are ya talking about, he's right-" Church turned to where Caboose had been standing, only to see empty space. "-here. Y'know, for someone so loud and annoying, he is so quiet when he wants to be. Well, no time like the present to start learning how to Caboose-sit. C'mon, let's find him before he somehow still finds a way to blow us up." Church, Tucker, Ruby, Blake and Tex all headed inside the facility.

"Welp, let's start packing up," Sarge ordered.

---

The Blues, Ruby and Blake entered into one of the main rooms of the facility, where Caboose was standing alone in the middle of the room. "Caboose, what are you doing in here? We thought you were with us, you missed the entire plan!" Church said.

"Oh, don't worry. Andy was listening and told me everything," Caboose replied.

"Andy? Who's Andy?" Church questioned before turning to Tucker. "Are you- Are you Andy?"

"I'm not Andy, I'm Tucker."

"No- I know. What's your first name?" Church asked.

"Lavernius," Tucker answered.

"Lavernius? Well then who's this Andy g-.. Wait a second," Church had started to turn back to Caboose, but wheeled right back around to Tucker. "Are you black?"

"Me?"

"Yeah."

"Does it matter?" Tucker questioned.

"No. I'm just curious," Church said.

"Well if it doesn't matter, then why are you curious?"

"I don't know, I guess that's just something I should've picked up on after all this time."

"Y'know what else you should've picked up on? My fucking first name!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Language!" Ruby cut in.

"So then who's Andy?" Blake asked Caboose.

"This is Andy," Caboose said before gesturing to the defused bomb sitting in its marked spot on the floor near his feet. "Andy, this is Tex and Tucker, and Ruby and Blake. The red one is Ruby, the black one is Tex, the other black one is Blake, and the other other black one is Tucker."

"Andy's the bomb?" Ruby raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Uhh, Andy prefers the term explosive american," Caboose corrected.

"I can't tell if he's fucking with us or is literally that retarded," Tucker remarked.

Ruby defended Caboose, saying, "Hey, be nice!"

"He told me all about what you guys were talking about," Caboose said, ignoring the blatant insult Tucker dished out. He then turned back down to the bomb. "Didn't you, Andy?" He spoke to the spherical weapon as if expecting it to speak back. Only painful silence filled the room. "Yes, and then we talked about all our adventures. Did you know that he used to know Sheila? Isn't that right, Andy?" Again, silence filled the room, only the wind outside creating audible noise.

Blake asked, "Um, Caboose? Are you hearing the bomb talk right now?"

"Say something, Andy," Caboose growled under his breath sternly. "You are embarrassing me in front of my friends!"

"Caboose, I think you're losing it," Tex said.

"This is already driving me crazy. I'll be right back," Church said before exiting the room. "Make sure he doesn't arm that bomb somehow." He left that room and went up to the power room with Gary's terminal, stopping in front of the screen to talk to the computer voice. "Gary, I need you to tell me some more about the alien race that needs Tucker's sword."

"I do not know anything about them," Gary replied.

"You don't know anything about the aliens who programmed you?"

"Correct. Instead, they filled all my memory banks with information about The Great Destroyer and his race."

"You mean humans?" Church questioned.

"That is not what they call you, but correct."

"Why, what do they call us?" Church asked.

"Shisno," Gary simply answered.

"That's an insult, isn't it?" Church guessed.

"Perhaps this can best be explained in the form of a knock knock joke." Church let out a heavy sigh at the mere mention, previously having been bombarded with the computer's jokes for quite some time previously. "Knock knock."

"Who's there?" Church asked unenthusiastically.

"You are."

"You are who?"

"You are a dirty dirty Shisno. Ha ha ha."

"Alright, what does it mean?" Church asked.

"What is the most foul-smelling animal on your planet?" The computer replied.

"Um… a skunk. Wait, so Shisno means skunk?"

"Not exactly. Does a skunk defecate?"

"Yes," Church replied through tightened lips, getting more angered by the term as the conversation went on.

"And does the skunk's defecation in turn produce its own excrement?"

"Ew, no!" Church responded in a disgusted fashion.

"Then there is no equivalent for Shisno in your language," Gary deduced.

"Gross."

"Like you would not believe."

Church desperately wanted to change topics now, so he figured there was only one other thing to bring up to steer away from this topic so it didn't remain at the forefront of his mind. "Hey, did that bomb ever talk to you?"

"The bomb? No, never."

"Yeah, I didn't think so," Church replied, somewhat relieved that one thing started to make sense. Bombs couldn't talk, and this was just another one of Caboose's-

"Andy and I are not on speaking terms right now." Dammit. "He is kind of a jerk."

Church heard another voice come back from the other room, that told him his sanity was only going to be dropping today. "I'm not the jerk, you're the jerk, jerk."

"That was very rude," Gary responded.

"Eh, shut up ya Shisno!"

"What I wouldn't give for a normal day…" Church groaned before returning to the bomb room.

"You're trying to tell us that this bomb can talk?" Tucker questioned as Church walked back in.

"I'm not telling you that. He's telling you that," Caboose clarified, gesturing to the bomb on the floor next to them all.

"Yeah, and I'm standing right here. You can talk to me," The bomb, Andy, added.

"If you could talk this whole time, then why didn't you just- wait, why am I talking to a bomb? I'm not doing this!" Tucker said.

"What, am I not good enough to talk to?" Andy questioned. "Who do you think you are? Some kind of too-good-to-talk-to-a-bomb type?"

"Maybe it's a good idea not to piss off the explosive device," Church deadpanned.

"Did Gary say anything about the bomb being able to talk?" Blake asked the blue leader.

"Uhh.. just that this whole place is gonna be destroyed by us, and that Andy here is probably the thing that does it," Church replied.

Ruby said, "Well that's… not good."

"I don't think so. Buncha Shisnos if you ask me." Andy said hatefully. "And no one did ask me, which I find insulting!"

"Alright alright, calm down, Andy, calm down-" Church started, but the bomb's anger just continued to rise.

"Don't tell me to calm down! I am calm! Look at me! I'm calm!" Church quickly turned to Ruby and gave a mute gesture to talk to Caboose. She caught on and turned to the blue soldier.

"Uh, Caboose? Could you please ask Andy to calm down before he blows us all to smithereens?" She politely asked. Caboose immediately turned to Andy.

"Andy, everyone here is your friend, and no one wants to hurt you," He gently assured the explosive.

"Yeah, right…" Andy replied in a rolled-his-eyes tone, but was audibly more calm.

"C'mon, Andy, think of a happy place! Now what makes you happy?" Caboose asked.

"Being in the middle of a huge explosion!" Andy exclaimed.

"Uh, less happy place, Caboose!" Ruby quickly said.

"U-uh! Th-Think calming thoughts! Let's count backwards from ten! Ten… Nine… Eight…"

"NO!" Everyone exclaimed.

---

Simmons was sat in the passenger seat of the warthog, still stewing over the distress signal, while Sarge, Grif and Weiss stood around the vehicle. Yang sat in the position of the gunner seat, but kept her hands off the gatling turret mounted there.

Simmons said, "Okay… I'm ninety-five percent certain that the distress signal is coming from… that way." Simmons gestured with a glance which direction he was talking about.

"Excellent work, Simmons," Sarge congratulated. "Alright, let's get ready to roll!"

"Only ninety-five percent certain?" Grif questioned.

"Grif, if there's one thing that I've learned from working with you, it's that there's always margin for error," Simmons harshly replied.

"Ooh, cold," Yang remarked. "And Weiss didn't even say it."

"Oh, hush you," Weiss snapped back.

Sarge added, "Excellent comeback, Simmons. And nice follow-up, Yang. That's a burn."

"Oh, I burn alright," Yang smirked.

"Well har har, Simmons, look who's so smart," Grif sarcastically replied. "It's pronounced margarine, dumbass."

Simmons stared right at Grif in disbelief. "Seriously, if I ever meet the guy who assigned you to our squad, I'm gonna kill him."

"Well if you're ninety-five percent certain it's that way, which way is the other five percent?" Grif questioned.

"Where do you think, you dolt? Every single other direction!" Weiss frowned, her patience growing thinner and thinner with most of these soldiers by the minute. Simmons was the only one in her opinion so far on this Red Team that showed signs of any real intelligence.

"Then I think that's the way we should go," Grif said, angering Weiss further.

"You have to be the dumbest person I've ever met!" Weiss exclaimed.

"If you don't like it, Ice Queen, then stay here with the Blues. I'm sure Tex would love your company," Grif replied. Weiss growled, her pale as snow face turning red in fury.

"Can I stab him?" Weiss asked their commanding officer.

"If we need to use him for food, you have the green light," Sarge replied. "I'll even let you filet his corpse and serve it up like a sushi bar."

Donut then approached the group. "Hey Sarge! I was up on the windmill again, and I think I found a route we can take outta here!"

"Great! Yang, Grif, get the cart attached to the back and let's get outta here!"

"I'll go let Ruby and Blake know we're leaving," Weiss said before heading inside. She rounded the corner into one of the main rooms to see the Blues, Tex, Blake and Ruby surrounding the defused bomb on the floor.

Caboose then began to talk to the bomb. "You are in a cool river, where no one disturbs you, or calls you names. Like Bomby. Or the Exploding Jerk. There are sheep nearby, the kind that don't blow up! You are happy. But not overly happy! Regular happy."

"Breathe in through your nose, and out through the mouth," Tex said, taking deep breaths herself to accentuate her point, also talking to the bomb. "Again. In through the nose, out through the mouth."

"Would you like candles, Andy?" Blake said gently. "Or some incense to calm the nerves?"

Then Gary piled on. "Hey, Andy. Knock Knock."

Andy let out a sigh. "Who's there?"

"Inner peace and serenity."

"I already heard that one."

Weiss, without a word spoken or ever being noticed by anyone else in the room, slowly turned around and walked out, heading back outside to the parked warthog. "What are you doing back so soon?" Simmons asked. "That was a fast goodbye."

"Is something wrong?" Yang asked her teammate.

"I have seen all I need to see," Weiss replied before hopping into the makeshift truck bed/cart the Reds had made for room for the Huntresses to get here in the first place, which had now been attached to the back of the warthog. "I want to leave this world as fast as possible."

---

Along the beach shoreline, not far from where Doc had found Weiss or the Reds and Blues had entered the power facility's grounds, O'Malley stood in front of a small army of green armored soldiers wearing the basic military armor. They were robotic soldiers created for the express purpose of ending the Reds and Blues, and now the little girls who had interfered, once and for all. The head of Lopez sat atop a ledge above all of them as the spanish-speaking robot began to order his troops.

"[Come my robot army. Today is the day of our glorious victory.]"

O'Malley cackled before addressing the troops himself, a large rocket launcher in his hands.. "And now the hour is at hand. It is time, my robot minions! At last, we will seize our destiny!"

Then Doc cut in. "Do we really need to seize destiny? Can't we just invite it to our online circle of friends?"

"Quiet, you fool! And quit sending me those invites, they're repulsive." O'Malley cleared his throat and quickly regained his composure to continue addressing the troops. "Prepare for battle! We will break upon their fortress like an evil wind! Crushing our opponents with lightening speed! Attack!"

"[Charge!]" The robots all called. They all lurched forward to the facility-

-and walked at a snail's pace, barely making a few feet in a full minute. "You there, hurry along! And you in the back. Lopez, can't you speed them up?"

The severed robot head replied in it's signature Spanish, "[This is their maximum velocity.]"

"This isn't what I asked for!"

"[You said you wanted a day of victory. At this speed, they will win in exactly twenty-four hours]." O'Malley just let out a sigh as he watched his robotic minions practically crawl up the shoreline.

---

"So we cool here?" Church asked.

"I think we're finally calmed down," Blake answered in mild relief.

Caboose added, whilst looking down at Andy, "Yes. We are all better now. We are not mad, and we are definitely not thinking about exploding at all anymore."

"Hey… are you talking about me?" Andy questioned.

"What? Nah!" Ruby nonchalantly waved him off. "We just wanna make sure everybody's happy around here!"

"Don't say 'we', you really mean me! I mean, you. Which in this case, is me."

"No no no, uh… we're, uh, talking about Tex," Church deflected.

"Excuse me?" Tex responded in an annoyed tone.

Church muttered to her, "Hey, you wanna die in an explosion? Play along." Church then turned back to Andy. "Yeah, um, I don't know if you noticed but she's uh, she's kind of a bitch. Isn't that right Tex?"

"Church…" The freelancer growled.

"I don't know…" Andy said suspiciously.

"Come on, Tex…" Tucker muttered.

"Yes, we're talking about me," Tex relented.

"Sounds like you're patronizing me," Andy replied.

"No really. It's me. I'm a bitch."

"Heheh, keep going," Church chuckled with a smirk under his helmet, a hint of smugness in his voice. He was loving every second of this.

"And I need to be calmed down all the time."

"Or what happens?" Church asked rhetorically.

"Or else I get so mad that I kill people on my own team," She threatened, slowly turning to stare daggers at her ex.

"I see your point…" Church muttered, letting the teasing go now.

Caboose said, "Tell him about the moodiness. And the crankiness."

"Also mention how you like to punch people in the head while they sleep," Tucker added with an edge to it.

"That was you?!" Caboose gasped. "I thought the tooth fairy was mad at me!"

"Poor Caboose…" Ruby mumbled, recognizing more and more instances where the blue soldier seemed like the butt of every joke.

"Wow. She sounds like a real handful," Andy remarked.

"Alright, listen here you little newb firecracker-" Tex started.

"Woah woah woah woah!" Church cut her off. "See what we mean, Andy? Volatile."

"I am so going to remember this, Church," She warned.

"You should sleep with your pillow on top… of your head…tonight," Caboose whispered to Tex, seemingly making an attempt to threaten her.

"Don't do that, Caboose," Ruby said.

"Yes, that's very funny, make all the threats you want. As long as everyone is calm and peaceful and there is nothing to make us excited, I don't care," Church said evenly.

BOOM!

An explosion rocked the side of the facility, and small arms plasma blasts began firing toward the facility as well. O'Malley's voice could be heard over all of it. "Attack, my robot minions!"

"I could almost feel that coming right as I finished the sentence," Church sighed.

Grif: Previously,  on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...

"I should've known better than to let them do this…" Tai frowned.

"They are trained and skilled. They fought well at the Battle of Beacon, and your youngest single-handedly turned the tide of the battle. Even when those warriors from the other world came to our aid, we were still fighting a losing battle. Vale would've been wiped off the map had Ruby Rose not petrified the Wyvern and killed Cinder Fall."

"She's fifteen!"

"She's a Huntress, Tai. She knew the risks and signed on of her own accord."

"I'll let you know when we have something. Goodbye, Tai."

---

"What happened?" Andy wondered aloud.

"To what?" Tucker questioned.

"The big monster! It's dead, look!" Andy said. The others glanced around until all their eyes landed on a sand-caked cow skull half-buried in the ground.

"That thing? You've gotta be kidding me!" Tucker exclaimed in disbelief.

So… we're not gonna fight anything?" Ruby questioned.

"I guess not," Blake said, sheathing her weapon.

"I don't know what else we're supposed to do, but this whole 'great quest' thing is turning out to be complete bogus, just like I said it would be," Tucker said.

---

"What's wrong? Not scared of little ol' me, are you?" Yang smirked.

"Xiao… Long…." The Grimm snarled hoarsely.

"So you do know all of us… what are you?" Yang questioned.

"Need… Dust…" The Grimm said, avoiding the question entirely, if it even understood it.

"Well sorry pal. That's our shipment, and we need that Dust to get home."

"Remnant…" The Grimm said.

---

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Tex exclaimed.

"Watching your back, which apparently wasn't needed," Blake said solemnly

"Well, whatever happened here, I think they're all dead."

The sounds of heavy footsteps made them stop and take aim. As they got closer, a large form made of black fur and bone-like armor rounded the corner and glared their way. Spikes grew from it's back and was almost the size of the hallway itself.

The Ursa Major narrowed its eyes and howled at them.

"Son of a bitch…" Tex cursed.

---

RvBVRWBY: Incursion

Chapter 10: Grimm Matters

As the pot of tea shrieked atop the stove, Taiyang quickly turned off the flame just before it bubbled over. He sighed and turned towards the living room. "Hey Ben, pot's done!"

"Be right there," the boy replied. He was on his scroll typing away, really only half paying attention to Tai. Tai leaned on the counter and looked over at him.

"Who are you texting?" He asked.

"Penny," Ben replied. "I wanted to see if she heard anything about the ship."

"Don't worry about it. Ironwood will let me know as soon as they have something. Thanks, though. How is Penny?"

"She's good, but… with all this Dust business going on, the establishment of that outpost they're wanting out here is being postponed." Ben sighed. "Just means longer until we see her again."

"Sorry, pal. I know you were looking forward to it," Tai said with a small smile. "But look at it this way: it's not canceled or anything. Sure, it'll be longer until it happens, but you'll still see her again. Besides, you two talk like every day, right?"

"Well…. Yeah…" Ben said. "But-"

"But actually being there makes a difference?" Tai raised an eyebrow.

"Um… yeah. How did you know?"

Tai chuckled and sat across the room from Ben in a one-person chair while Ben sat on the couch. "After Ruby was born, I stayed home and became a full-time dad while Summer kept going on Huntress missions. She could be gone for weeks at a time. And being apart like that, it's not easy. But so long as I didn't focus on the fact that she was missing, just that she would be back, it made things easier. I'm doing it for Yang and Ruby right now."

"I guess that helps… thanks, Tai."

"Anytime, kid," Tai smiled. It all seemed to put Ben somewhat at ease. It was sometimes difficult for Tai to help or talk to Ben. Having raised two daughters, helping a young man adjust to things, especially with the young man's history, was a challenge. But so far, he and Ben had gotten along pretty well. It had only been just over a month, but Ben had begun to form his own place in the family. Tai liked to think he helped with that.

A knock came at the door, drawing both of their attention. "I got it," Tai said. He stood up and walked towards the door, and opened it partially to see who was visiting.

"Hello, Tai…" Raven Branwen greeted, her arms uncomfortably crossed. But she did have a small welcoming smile on her face. Tai's eyes widened, and he glanced back inside.

"Hey, Ben, make your cup and go hang out in one of the rooms for a few, okay?" Tai requested.

"Um… alright," Ben said. He made himself a cup of the fresh tea then relegated himself to Ruby's empty room. Only then did Tai open the door all the way and let Raven inside. She hesitantly entered, and Tai closed the door behind her.

"I just made tea."

"It's alright. I can't stay long," Raven said.

"Please," Tai insisted before going over to the pot. Raven started to protest, but it died on her lips. She let out a soft sigh and sat herself at the kitchen table. Tai quickly filled a cup of tea for her and gently placed it in front of her on the table.

"Thank you." Raven gave a small nod and carefully picked the cup up. After just a few moments, Tai sat across from her with his own.

"How have you been?" Tai asked.

"I should be asking that of you," Raven said. "Both of your daughters are missing."

"Yang is your daughter too," Tai countered.

"I trust her to handle herself, and take care of Ruby. But I know how you get. You worry."

"I'll be fine. Ben's been helping. I'll admit, it's weird even for me, having another kid around, especially a guy. Raising only daughters, guess I never thought about it the other way."

"I'm sure babysitting a drunk Qrow counted," Raven said with a small smile before sipping her tea. Tai laughed as well and did the same. Then suddenly an uncomfortable quiet filled the room. Despite the month attempting to reconnect, things were still awkward between the two. After years of being apart, and the reasons they were so, one month wasn't nearly enough time to repair the damage done. But they were both trying.

"So… how is the tribe?" Tai asked, breaking the silence.

"We're… in the middle of some changes," Raven answered.

"What kinds of changes?"

"It's… It sounds ridiculous out loud…" Raven sighed.

"No, c'mon, tell me! I wanna know," Tai said cheerfully.

"Well…" Raven took a breath and averted her eyes downwards before sipping her tea. "We're… shifting away from our previous purposes."

"So you're gonna stop being bandits? That's great! And, uh, do what exactly?" Tai questioned.

"Well… I can't say it's any less violent."

"We've known each other for twenty-five years, and even with how nice Qrow can be, he's not the most gentle drunk. I'm not surprised. Let's hear it."

Raven's eyebrow twitched, but she sighed again. "Instead of aiming our strength on just anyone, we're going to begin to use it on Grimm, the White Fang, and other marauders that would attack settlements across Sanus."

"That's… actually great. So, you're changing the tribe from raiders to almost a group of rangers?"

"Something like that, I suppose…" Raven said before taking a drink.

"If you don't mind me asking, what brought all this change on? I mean, not to open old wounds or anything, but… I thought I would never see you again. Then you show up before the Battle of Beacon wanting to reconnect, and now this stuff with the tribe. What happened, Raven?" She didn't answer right away, still seemingly hesitant on continuing the topic. "It's alright if you don't want to answer, I don't wanna pressure you."

"It's… something personal. Someone not unlike myself said things that made me reconsider some of my choices," She said. "And after he was gone, it all came down on me at once. I was left to figure out what to do. So I came to this. For all I know, these could be all the right choices or all the wrong ones."

"Well, that's the thing. Every choice we make, every action we take, it's a learning experience. You never know until you try."

"Don't pull your parental lessons on me, Xiao Long. Remember what happened when you tried to do that kind of thing when we were students?" Raven replied.

"You were fresh away from your tribe and you broke my collarbone," Tai chuckled, unphased by the darker undertone. "Not the best way to start day one as Team STRQ." His laugh made Raven smile a bit more as well. "I miss those days. I wish things never changed."

"Me too…" Raven agreed quietly. The room fell painfully silent again. Raven took another uncomfortable sip before setting the cup aside. "Perhaps I should go. I did say I couldn't stay long."

"Already? But you just got here."

"I know," Raven sighed. "But I have a lot of work to do. Changing a tribe's motivations from 'attack and rob all' to 'protect the travelers of the night' isn't easy. I can't stop their aggression, but if I can aim it at specific targets, I'll consider it a victory."

"Well, let me walk you out," Tai said before standing from the table.

"Tai, you don't-" Raven started.

"Please, I insist," Tai insisted.

"Alright," Raven relented before also standing up. Tai led her back to the front door and held it open for her. She walked through and Tai closed it behind both of them as they came out into the yard.

"Do you know when I'd see you again?" Tai asked.

Raven shook her head. "Once the new system is underway, I can't afford to leave the tribe for too long until we fully adjust. Vernal can only do so much to control them."

"I get it. If I went fifteen years without seeing you, I can go a few months if need be," Tai said, clearly disappointed, but not put down by it.

Raven frowned a bit, noticing the disappointment in his eyes. "It won't be another fifteen years, I promise," She said, half joking.

"Well… have a safe trip," Tai wished her.

"And you keep yourself together," Raven replied. "And if you absolutely need me, you know how to reach me."

"Okay. Well… see you later then?"

"Yeah. See you," Raven replied awkwardly. The awkwardness moved on to the silence, then before another word was said, Raven's form changed into that of her namesake and she flew off away from the homestead. Tai let out a heavy sigh.

"'See you later then'? Really Xiao Long?" He scolded himself.

---

The group heard gunfire from inside the base, the shots echoing off the icy cliff walls. "Well so much for the stealthy approach," Tucker remarked.

Ruby fumbled for her scroll and quickly dialed her teammate. After a few rings, Blake picked up. "Blake! What's going on in there?"

"It's Grimm! And not that talking one! We're being chased by an Ursa Major!" Blake exclaimed.

"What?! How are more Grimm here?!"

"Are you serious? There's more of those things?! Fuck that noise, I'm outta here!" Tucker said before turning back towards the tunnel. He stopped dead, though, when multiple sets of red eyes filled the tunnel now. Approaching them was a full pack of Sabyrs, saber tooth-cat-like Grimm, which snarled with a bellowing growl as they began to approach. "Oh shit…"

The lead Sabyr lunged for Tucker. Tucker cowered and braced himself for the hit, but while the Sabyr was in the air, a Dust round blew through its head, killing it instantly. Tucker looked around to see Ruby with Crescent Rose in her hands in its sniper configuration. "Use your weapon!" Ruby exclaimed.

"I said I didn't wanna kill monsters!" Tucker cried.

"Would you rather be eaten by monsters?" Ruby raised.

"Fair point," Tucker relented before igniting his energy sword. Another Sabyr leapt for him, and he threw out a fearful swipe of his weapon, yelling as he did. The sword cut through the Grimm like butter, and its body disintegrated quickly. "Woah, shit!"

"Get away from the tunnel!" Andy exclaimed. Everyone sprinted from the tunnel before the rest of the pack could pile onto them. As they ran down to the clearing outside the base, the Sabyrs followed them. Ruby would glance back and shoot them one by one as they kept running for the base. As they made it to the yard, however, they were cut off by a mix of Sabyr and Ursa. The group skidded to a stop, and were quickly boxed in as the Grimm surrounded them. Even the Sabyr that were chasing them blocked them in.

"Now… that's a nice kitty…" Caboose said to them in a frightened way.

"Don't be afraid," Ruby said. "These things are drawn to negative emotion, and get stronger with it."

"It's kinda hard not to be afraid when you're surrounded by monsters!" Andy exclaimed.

"At least they can't eat you!" Tucker cried.

"What do we do?" Caboose asked Ruby.

"We fight them?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"Easy for you to say! You have super speed and a kick-ass sniper scythe!" Tucker replied.

"How else did you expect to get out of this?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Running away sounded good at first!"

"They're getting closer!" Andy cried. Sure enough, the Grimm were closing in, giving the group less and less maneuverability room. Even if she charged through to break their ranks and clear a path, the other monsters would leap in and kill the Blues from the other side. She didn't have a good way of clearing the pack from all around them. Unless…

"Pack in as close as you can together! I have an idea!" Ruby ordered.

"You mean like the idea to run down the hill into the open for these things to kill us?" Tucker remarked.

"Just do it!" Ruby stressed. Crunchbite, Tucker and Caboose all backed up until they were right against one another.

"Great, now we're packed together like a bundle of snacks!"

"Don't move!" Ruby said before she leapt up into the air and sped even further upwards, her form turning into that of a burst of rose petals. At the peak of her height, from the orb of petals came down a hailstorm of dust rounds, raining down hell upon the Grimm. Almost every shot found a mark, killing Sabyr's and Ursai with one bullet. Ruby was using her super-speed to shoot each Grimm individually, but to the others it looked like constant rain of bullets. The monsters began to evaporate one by one. After mere moments, at least half the herd was dead. Ruby's form returned to normal and she dropped to the ground, though she immediately began to stumble. Caboose caught her before she fell over.

"I've got you," he assured her.

"Thanks, Caboose. Sorry, I must've overdone it…" Ruby groaned while massaging her head.

"Well, don't drop on us yet! There are still some of these things left!" Tucker exclaimed. As he spoke, a Sabyr leapt for him. He quickly bisected the creature mid-air. Its two parts flew in opposite directions before fading away. "But I can definitely get used to this thing!"

Crunchbite let out a few sounds of communication, and Andy quickly translated. "He says what we're here for should be nearby! Maybe it can help with these things!"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Tucker said as an Ursa swiped at him. He narrowly avoided the attack then cleaved the bear-monster's paw off. It howled out in pain just before it was decapitated as well. Another Sabyr leapt for the Blue, but Ruby sniped it in the head right out of the air. Its body dissipated before it got anywhere close.

"Crunchbite, lead the way!" Ruby commanded.

"Blarg," Crunchbite replied before sprinting across the yard towards a smaller side building attached to the main facility. Crunchbite and Tucker ran up the ramp leading to a terminal of some kind, but it simply gave off a holographic display. Ruby and Caboose stayed at the base of the ramp to cover their backs, using their respective weapons to shoot the Grimm before they got close.

"Tucker! Use the key and open the gate!" Andy yelled over the gunfire.

"Key? What key? I don't have a key!" Tucker replied.

Crunchbite roared, and Andy hastily translated, "Your sword! Use the sword!"

"Oh god, the sword is a key? Just when I thought this quest stopped being lame!" Tucker took his sword and swiped it through the holographic display. It let out a chime, and a ramp along the main facility lowered down, revealing another alien craft of some kind sitting alone on a walkway. "What is that thing?!"

Crunchbite let out excited sounds before tossing Andy away into the snow without a second thought and sprinting for the craft. "'The Ship'? What ship?! No one told me about a ship! Hey! Come back here you stink nugget!" Andy exclaimed.

"Where is he going?!" Ruby asked.

"I think he's ditching us!" Tucker answered. Ruby turned back to see that the entire Grimm horde had grouped up, and began to approach them en masse. Ruby and Caboose shot into the horde to kill them, but as soon as the frontrunners were gone, those further back in the pack took their place.

"It's not working!" Caboose exclaimed. Ruby frowned and changed Crescent Rose into its scythe form, preparing to dive into the pack herself, when a large section of the facility wall above them broke off and crushed most of the pack by itself, also splitting the monsters up. On top of the rubble was a stunned, but still alive, Ursa Major. Blake and Tex also dropped down from above, landing right next to their allies.

"You guys alright?" Tex asked.

"We're fine! But where have these Grimm come from?" Ruby questioned.

"No clue. We just came across them inside," Blake replied.

"Speaking of which…" Tex said, gesturing to the recovering Ursa Major. Ruby quickly shifted Crescent Rose back to firearm form and fired a shot that burst right through the Major's neck. The creature stumbled before toppling over and dissipating. By then, only a handful of lesser Grimm remained. They quickly shot down the rest of them, clearing the immediate vicinity of the creatures.

"So what's going on? Where's Crunchbite?" Blake asked. As if on cue, the craft Crunchbite had crawled into shot off into the air and began to leave the group behind.

"Hey! What's that thing? Where's he going?!" Tex exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Andy responded. "He just kept saying, 'there it is, there it is!'"

"I thought you said there was no reward at the end of the quest," Tex said.

"I didn't know!"

"Oh, if you're pissed about that, wait until you find out that this sword is really a key," Tucker added.

"A what?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Andy…" Tex growled at the bomb.

"Hey, don't blame me! I'm just the translator!"

Caboose looked up at the ship to see it begin to turn back, aiming its guns right at the group. "Um… I think the alien is coming back…" Everyone else's gazes came up as well.

"I think he's coming back to kill us!" Blake warned.

"Get down!" Tex exclaimed. Everyone dove out of the way into the snowy ground, and the ship's guns fired-

-just to tear right through an Ursa that was approaching the group from behind. The Grimm let out a whine as its torso was burned through with plasma and it faded away.

"Oh, he wasn't coming to kill us. He was saving us," Caboose noted.

Ruby let out a sigh of relief. "That's a good alien… which is not a sentence I thought I'd say a week ago."

"Well, a deal's a deal. He still owes me that ship, Andy!" Tex claimed. "Tell him to bring that thing down here, and-" A loud boom sounded as the alien ship erupted into flames and blew apart, the main pod crashing down into the snow not far from the group.

"Crunchbite!" Ruby cried out. Blake and Tex quickly drew their weapons again.

"You still want me to tell him? Heh heh… Cause, I think it's down already!" Andy remarked.

"Tex!" a voice called. They all looked up to see a man in white armor with a rocket launcher in his hands, smoke still wafting from one of the twin barrels, standing atop the highest ledge of the facility.

"Wyoming?!" Tex exclaimed.

"Connecticut!" Caboose randomly added.

"They're not playing a game, Caboose," Tucker deadpanned.

"Well, if they were, I totally would've won."

The man in white, Wyoming, who spoke in an English accent, continued. "Well, it appears I've spoiled your little game! So sorry, chums!"

"That was my ship!" Tex exclaimed.

"Oh dear! Then I stand corrected! I'm not sorry!" Wyoming retracted.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Tex snarled.

"All out of change at the moment! Catch you next time! Cheerio!" Wyoming said before turning and disappearing from sight.

"Get back here!" Tex yelled before quickly ascending the side of the facility to catch up, quickly disappearing herself.

"Tex, wait! We're supposed to stay-!" Ruby called out, but Tex was out of earshot already, leaving the other four, and Andy, behind. Ruby sighed. "...together."

"Seems she has something personal to deal with," Blake said. "Well, in the end, the quest was nothing important, just like we thought. But it's only posed more questions. What are more Grimm doing in this universe? We need answers."

"Hell to that. I just got done fighting terrifying monsters, and that wasn't even part of the quest. The way I see it, we can either try and follow Tex, finish the quest, or we just call it quits and go back to Blood Gulch," Tucker suggested.

"You really are a coward," Blake frowned while crossing her arms.

"What do you want from me? I'm a lover, not a fighter," Tucker said. "Besides, if we go back to Blood Gulch, there's probably a chance you'll be back in radio range to call your friends. Our radios have been worth jack all since we started this quest bullshit."

"If more Grimm are in your universe, we have to find out why. They shouldn't be here," Blake said.

"If they're here, I think it has to do with that Hound Grimm that brought us here in the first place," Ruby said. "If we want answers, I think it'll be with it. For now, we should meet back up with Weiss and Yang. Then we can figure out what to do."

Blake sighed, but nodded. "Alright." The group then headed off for the next tunnel, leaving the base, and the questions, behind.

"Hey, guys? Are ya forgetting something? Like the talking bomb? Guys?!" Andy exclaimed.

---

Yang finished the last coat of paint on the alien speeder, then tossed the now-empty can aside. "Finished!" She backed up next to Grif so they could witness their work together. The base paint job was a sleek black, but the other colors overtook it where it seemed like almost a highlight. The main color was yellow, covering the dome front of the vehicle. The wings-like antigravity generators on the side were painted a dark orange. Across the dome front was also an orange flaming paint job outlined in black, like a hot rod. Geometric black highlights also ran along the sides. The seat behind the larger front was also painted the same sleek black.

"Now this is sick," Grif said proudly.

"Any ideas for a name?" Yang asked.

"I was thinking Blaze, because of the orange flames."

"I don't think piloting a speeder named Blaze inspires confidence. They might think it'll actually go up in flames," Yang crossed her arms.

"Got any better ideas?"

"Hmm… I was thinking… Firefly," Yang said.

"That's… actually pretty good."

"Well then, Firefly it is," Yang smiled. She then kneeled down and spoke to the vehicle. "Wait till I bring you home. Bumblebee will have some competition."

"Like hell. I'm keeping this thing," Grif said.

"I stole it, I did most of the painting, and I named it, so it's mine," Yang countered. "So Firefly goes home with me. Wanna argue about it?"

"Not particularly," Grif relented. "Gotta say though, it's really bad ass."

"I'll say," Church said as he approached. "What is this thing?"

"O'Malley's ride. I jacked it on our way out," Yang said proudly.

"Nice. Must be one of the alien rides from the war. You can drive this?"

"There's a learning curve, but we're getting there. Grif and I can learn to drive anything if we put our minds to it," Yang smirked.

"What are you even doing here? Don't you have your own base to be at?" Grif asked.

"Yeah, but it's kinda empty, and after earlier, I'm just gonna stick near you guys until everybody else gets here," Church answered. "Besides, Sheila's starting to weird me out."

"Weird you out how?" Grif questioned.

"I don't know, maybe a tank's version of jealousy. I don't know if she likes Yang or Weiss very much. Especially Weiss."

"Guess even artificial women have that instinct," Yang shrugged. "I wonder if Penny would…"

"Well, it sucks to be you, Blue. This is our base, plus you have a tank over there. Get lost before Sarge finds out," Grif said

"Hey, buddy? You're not my boss," Church replied.

"How organized are you guys supposed to be anyway? I mean, you're not the only Red and Blue soldiers around, right?" Yang asked.

"There's supposed to be more, but all the ones we've met so far are either stupid or crazy," Church answered. "We used to have a central command too. Command would call and give me the orders and I would pass those along to everybody else. Okay, it works like this. I would get on my radio like this, I'd say, uh… 'Come in, Blue Command, come in. This is Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha, do you read'? And then normally this, uh, really annoying guy would come back and he would say-"

"Hello, hello, come in, hello," Another voice on the radio said.

"Huh. That did really sound like Vic. Nice impression work," Grif complimented.

"Uh… that wasn't me," Church said. He slowly clicked his radio mic back on. "Hello…?"

"Hello, come in Blood Gulch, can you hear me, hello?"

"What? Vic? Is that you?!" Church exclaimed. "It's been eight-hundred years, how have you survived this long?"

"Oh, no way dude, Vic is dead. This is Vic's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson! Vic Jr!"

"And you- and you work with Blue Command?"

"Oh, right dude. Good one dude. 'Blue command'. Wink."

"What do you mean, what, wait, what does that mean?" Church questioned. "I-Is the war over? Did we win?"

"Dude, I gotta lot to catch ya up on," Vic Junior replied.

---

Wyoming let out a sigh of relief, having lost Tex, taking a moment to rest. They were still in the snow, and the landscape helped him slip away in his white armor. Not to mention, the terrain itself being as rocky and dangerous as it was alongside a significant head start meant he had just enough time to break before moving on, just to be safe. He had set himself up against a rock twice his size to catch his breath, his helmet set to the side so he could get some fresh air instead of getting the processed air that comes through his helmet's filters. He was a man with brown hair and a curly mustache. He was counting the time before he needed to move on.

Four minutes, twenty-three seconds.

Four minutes, twenty-four seconds.

Four Minutes, twenty-five seconds.

Spending more than five minutes on rest with an active pursuer was not advised by the Director of Project Freelancer. Really, it wasn't more than two minutes, but Wyoming knew Tex wouldn't catch up before he took off again. Whens he first debuted in the program, she was an overwhelming force. But since then, her quality when compared to lower ranked freelancers like him was almost level. She'd become almost predictable.

Five minutes.

Didn't mean he would wait for her to actually get her hands on him. He started to stand up, taking his rifle in his hands, when the shadow of the rock behind him suddenly got taller, and began to move. He quickly snapped around to see a creature of black with no eyes, a canine head and spindly hands. Wyoming emptied his mag into the creature's torso quickly. It howled and slipped off the boulder, but caught itself on the ground. Wyoming rushed to try and reload, but in a single lunge, the Grimm leapt over and sliced right through the weapon with its claws. Wyoming stumbled back, but went into a combat roll to put distance between himself and the monster. He pulled the rocket launcher off his back and crouched down, quickly taking aim with the explosive weapon.

The Grimm growled at him, and Wyoming locked in. "Goodnight, you oversized mutt," he said before pulling the trigger. The rocket sped from one of the launcher's twin barrels blasting right for the creature-

The rocket stopped dead in the air as the Grimm's spindly fingers were wrapped around the cylindrical center of the rocket. It had caught the projectile midair, its thruster still blasting away. Wyoming stared for a second, stunned at the monster's reaction speed. Before he could process it further, the Grimm spun around and let the rocket fly back towards the Freelancer. It exploded at his feet and sent him flying. The launcher was lost from his grip, and he slammed back down onto the snowy ground, smoke wafting from his armor. The Grimm let out a low chuckle, then walked over to Wyoming's body. The Grimm flipped him over to see his torso armor was scorched, but mainly undamaged, but now part of his face was burned. The freelancer let out a groan and looked up at the creature. The Grimm pinned his body down with one hand and leaned down, his snout getting close to the freelancer's face. Wyoming was afraid, terrified.

"You…. you are…. their enemy…" The Grimm snarled. "The soldiers… the black armored one…"

"Wh-What the d-devil are you…?!" Wyoming stammered.

"The result…. of a witch's curse. Death…. made…. flesh…." The Grimm then opened its maw, and from its mouth came a downpour of black liquid matter, Grimm Matter. It splashed down onto Wyoming's body, covering him in it. It then began to seep into his mouth and down his throat, drowning him with it as well. After long, awful, horrifying moments of it spreading across and throughout his entire body, the matter stopped coming down on Wyoming. The Grimm closed its mouth and stepped away. Wyoming's body began to convulse and thrash back and forth, as if something was trying to tear through his body from the inside. While the body jerked up and down, back and forth, bones snapping and skin tearing, the Grimm turned around and spewed more of the black matter, creating a large puddle of it in front of itself. It backed away, and from the puddle crawled out a trio of Beowolves, spawned into the world from the puddle itself. They came out scanning around and howling, then the other Grimm snapped at them, snarling harshly. The three Beowolves whimpered and kneeled down to the Hound, bowing their snouts to the ground in submission.

The Hound chuckled and turned back around to see Wyoming on his feet, staring ahead with now pitch black eyes and red irises. From his eyes also dripped Grimm Matter like tear tracks.

"What… is your… name?" The Grimm asked.

"Agent Wyoming, of Project Freelancer," Wyoming answered.

"Who… are… the soldiers?"

"Simulation troopers, meant only for training amongst our program, regulated as such for low performances on UNSC qualification tests," Wyoming answered again.

"And the one… in black armor?" The Grimm questioned.

"Agent Texas of Project Freelancer."

"The only one… who poses a threat… besides Team RWBY…" The Grimm noted. "How… do you feel… Agent Wyoming?"

"How do I…?" It then seemed as if Wyoming's mind was coming back to him, and he glanced at himself, then whipped some of the Grimm Matter from his cheek. "What have you done to me…?"

"Made… you… more…" The Grimm answered.

"What's the catch, mate? I didn't exactly sign up to be drowned in creek water," Wyoming remarked.

"Didn't expect you… to survive. But now that you have… I have a… proposition."

"Something tells me I don't have much choice in the matter."

"Not really…" The Grimm chuckled. "Those soldiers… the other Agent… they are your enemies?"

"More or less," Wyoming said.

"The girls with them… the huntresses… Team RWBY…. are mine. Together… we can deal with them all… at once."

"Interesting proposition. But what if I say no?" Wyoming raised an eyebrow.

"That… Grimm Matter… keeps you safe from them," The Grimm said, gesturing to the three Beowolves waiting for their command. "I can… take that Matter back… then… it's lunch hour… capiche?"

"So… we're a regular Wallace and Gromit then?"

The Grimm chuckled, as if actually amused. "Something… like… that…"

"Well, we better get going, then, chap. Avoiding Tex should be our main concern for now," Wyoming said.

"Agreed," The Grimm nodded. It snapped back and barked at the three Beowolves. They stood up and rushed out into the snow in the opposite direction.

"What are they doing?" Wyoming asked.

"Buying… time…" The Grimm answered. "Let's… go."

Previously,  on RvBvRWBY Incursion...

"Key? What key? I don't have a key!" Tucker replied.

Crunchbite roared, and Andy hastily translated, "Your sword! Use the sword!"

"Oh god, the sword is a key?"

---

"'The Ship'? What ship?! No one told me about a ship! Hey! Come back here you stink nugget!" Andy exclaimed.

"Well, a deal's a deal. He still owes me that ship, Andy!" Tex claimed. "Tell him to bring that thing down here, and-" A loud boom sounded as the alien ship erupted into flames and blew apart.

"Tex!" a voice called. They all looked up to see a man in white armor with a rocket launcher in his hands, smoke still wafting from one of the twin barrels, standing atop the highest ledge of the facility.

"Wyoming?!" Tex exclaimed.

---

"What are more Grimm doing in this universe? We need answers."

"Hell to that. I just got done fighting terrifying monsters, and that wasn't even part of the quest. The way I see it, we can either try and follow Tex, finish the quest, or we just call it quits and go back to Blood Gulch," Tucker suggested.

"You really are a coward," Blake frowned while crossing her arms.

"What do you want from me? I'm a lover, not a fighter," Tucker said. "Besides, if we go back to Blood Gulch, there's probably a chance you'll be back in radio range to call your friends."

---

"Now this is sick," Grif said proudly.

"Any ideas for a name?" Yang asked.

"I was thinking Blaze, because of the orange flames."

"I don't think piloting a speeder named Blaze inspires confidence. They might think it'll actually go up in flames," Yang crossed her arms.

"Got any better ideas?"

"Hmm… I was thinking… Firefly," Yang said.

---

"What? Vic? Is that you?!" Church exclaimed.

"And you- and you work with Blue Command?"

"Oh, right dude. Good one dude. 'Blue command'. Wink."

"What do you mean, what, wait, what does that mean?" Church questioned. "I-Is the war over? Did we win?"

"Dude, I gotta lot to catch ya up on," Vic Junior replied.

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion

Chapter 11: Down with the Sickness

"Well, welcome to our little slice of hell," Tucker said as they looked out at Blood Gulch in front of them. "Can't believe I'm back here."

"I mean, it doesn't look that bad," Ruby said with a positive tone.

"Try living here a few years, and then tell me that," Tucker replied. The five of them were just outside Blue Base, where Church stepped out and saw them.

"Oh, look who's back, the conquering heroes. What's up, guys?" He greeted. "Hey, where's Tex?"

"Gone," Tucker answered.

"Where's the alien?"

"Dead," Blake said.

"How'd the quest go?"

"Failed," Ruby said, her positive tone quickly changed to a sadder one.

"Yeah, y'know, I probably didn't even need to ask that last question, did I?" Church said.

"Eh, I wouldn't say failed," Andy said while being held by Caboose. "But these guys definitely screwed everything up for us."

"What?! But we didn't even do anything!" Tucker said defensively.

"Exactly," Andy said. "You let the girls do all the work and got the alien killed!"

"Yeah, but doing nothing is what we do, so technically we didn't screw anything up," Tucker replied.

"It's true. I have a first place ribbon in doing nothing," Caboose said. "It's the same ribbon as last place. It's purple…"

"It's not all on them," Blake defended. "There were more Grimm, and another Freelancer that showed up, Wyoming. He killed Crunchbite, then Tex chased after him."

"Wyoming? Was Tex ok?" Church asked concerningly.

"She's fine. None of us are that lucky," Tucker remarked.

"Who's Wyoming, exactly?" Ruby asked the Blue Leader.

"One of Tex's old freelancer pals, kind of a douche. Look, anytime you guys have new information for me, just tell it to me as soon as possible, okay?" Church said.

"You got it," Ruby nodded.

"Thanks," Church said, somewhat relieved. "Look, I'm sure you guys are tired from the trip, so make yourselves at home. I'll see if I can pick up Tex on the radio."

"Are we done with this conversation? Cause I'm super hungry. Do we have any food?"

"Yeah. Show the girls the way to the mess hall too, I'm sure they have some kind of hankering," Church said. Tucker, Caboose and Blake entered Blue Base, but Ruby stayed with Church. "What, you're not hungry?"

"Not particularly, but I was also wanting to see how you were doing. We haven't seen you since the facility," Ruby said.

"I'm fine, made here all right. Showed up just in time to help your friends fight off that big bad wolf thing. We sent it packing," Church said.

"The Grimm was here?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Uh, yeah. It apparently chomped down on a couple of those crystals of yours, but after we shot it with a tank, it bitched out. Haven't seen it since."

"It ate the Dust?"

"Yeah, not exactly what I'd call a good snack, but it only got a couple crystals. The rest is over at Red Base." Church glanced over and saw the Firefly approaching. "Speaking of which…"

Ruby turned just as the Firefly came to a stop, and Yang hopped out of it. "Ruby!" she exclaimed. The elder sister sprinted up and hauled the younger into her arms, constricting her in a tight but warm embrace.

"I'm okay, Yang…" Ruby said through strained breaths.

"Yeah, touching family reunion," Church said with little energy. "I'm gonna see if I can reach Tex." Church then took the ramp up to the top of Blue Base, away from the two huntresses, out of sight.

"Man, he is such a buzzkill," Yang remarked. "So what's going on? Where's Blake?"

"Inside. Where's Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Back at Red Base with Simmons. They've been trying to figure us out a way back to Remnant for a couple days now."

"Any luck?" Ruby asked.

Yang shook her head. "I'm sure they'll figure it out though. They're both smart. So what did we miss?"

"We have quite a bit to catch you up on," Ruby said.

---

Weiss stood outside Red base, leaning herself against the wall in the shade. Just like she found herself doing often recently, she was gazing at the snowflake necklace hanging from her shoulders, thumbing the gems embedded in its design absent-mindedly. Her and Simmons had continued to create failure after failure trying to utilize the Cosmic Dust. But she felt they were gradually getting closer to answer was staying just out of reach, she could feel it. But at the moment, she was so frustrated she didn't even want to look at the Cosmic Dust right now. She needed a breather. She needed to focus, if they had any chance of getting home. And if she can learn how to create a universe-traveling device to get home, she could even then use it to visit his world. That was the hope, the promise she and her team were given upon accepting the mission to transport the Dust. That was why she was pushing herself so hard. That was her goal. And she refused to let anything stand between her and that goal, even whatever this new Grimm was.

He would know what to do. But what would he do…?

"Hey, Weiss?" Simmons said as he approached. Weiss's eyebrow twitched, but she took a deep breath, let go of the necklace, and glanced over.

"Yes, Simmons?"

"I have the lab set up for the next test, if you're ready."

"I'll be there in a moment," Weiss said.

"Are… you okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I'll be there in a moment," Weiss assured.

"A-Alright. See you in a minute," Simmons said before returning inside Red Base. Weiss took another deep breath.

We'll be seeing you soon. I just know it, she thought to herself. She then followed the Red Lieutenant inside.

---

Church, Caboose, Ruby, Yang and Blake stood outside Blue Base as they could hear painful moans and groans coming from inside, those of Tucker, who lay down just inside. "Man, he sounds terrible," Yang said.

"Yeah, he's been like that since the swamp," Caboose said.

"Swamp? You guys were in a swamp?" Church asked.

"Yeah. It was dark and swampy," Caboose said. "I wasn't scared at all."

"Is this why you guys came home so fast?" Church questioned.

Blake shook her head. "We came here because the alien died and Tex ran off. Didn't exactly leave us with a lot of other options."

"Oh yeah. And the glowing sword turned out to be a glowing key," Ruby added.

"Yeah, a glowing key that could still stab people," Church said.

"So it's a sword that just happens to function as a key in very certain situations," Yang said.

"Or it's a key all the time, and when you stick it in people, it unlocks their death," Caboose said. The three huntresses stared at him awkwardly while Church seemed mainly unaffected.

"God damn, I'd love to live in your world for about ten minutes," He remarked.

"Yeah. I have a really good time," Caboose said cheerfully.

"Sure seems like it," Yang slightly chuckled.

More of Tucker's pained groans could be heard from inside. Church glanced back at the doorway inside. "Hey Tucker, you okay?" He called.

"Ugh, why don't you guys come in here…?" Tucker replied.

"Because it might be a contagious disease?" Blake replied. "And if you're sick like this already, it means we don't already have it."

"Plus, he threw up right next to me ten minutes ago," Yang added. "I thought I was done with that after meeting Jaune… ugh."

"Hey, you don't suppose that sword is making him sick, do ya?" Church questioned.

"It's unlikely, but not impossible," Blake said.

"We don't know anything about it, though. Maybe it runs on radiation and it's poisoning him."

"Doesn't that give less of a reason for us to enter the base?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, fair point."

"On that note, I'm going to go check on Weiss, let her know we're back," Blake said.

"Here, I'll drive ya back. Be back soon, sis," Yang said before she and Blake headed for Firefly.

"Well, guess it's just us now," Ruby said.

"Eh, this stuff with Tucker is bugging with me. Do you have anything useful?" Church asked.

"We could always ask Andy. He seems to know a lot," Ruby suggested.

"Huh, good point. Let's ask him." The three then approached the bomb, which was set in the dirt behind base. "Hey, Andy, what the hell happened to Tucker on this little adventure you guys took?"

"How should I know?" Andy asked defensively. "Ask Little Red over there, she was on the journey too! So was Caboose!"

"Yeah, but they don't know anything. And he's acting way off."

"He ate all my food and threw it up. Could've just thrown it on the floor and cut out the middle man," Caboose said.

"Yeah, that was gross. Glad I didn't eat beforehand," Ruby remarked.

"Plus now he's moody as hell," Church added. "I went to ask him if he was feeling better earlier, and he practically bit my goddamn head off!"

"He was fine on the trip. Maybe he's allergic to you. I mean, I get nauseous when I look at ya" Andy rudely replied.

"Well, did he come into contact with anything weird? Like, any strange plants or animals, or… like super flu viruses, or…" Church paused and glanced at Ruby, unsure he should say the next thing to pop in his head. He turned back to Andy and said, "You get the idea."

"Oh, come on, you're surprised he's sick? I haven't seen the guy wash his hands, not once!" Andy said.

"We're just worried, Andy," Ruby said. "If it's something contagious, it could put all of us out of it. And if that Grimm ever came back around, we'd stand no chance."

"I'm gonna go take a vitamin," Caboose said.

"Oh, don't bother, it's too late for you anyway. We need to start thinking about me," Church said.

"Tell you what, send me in, and I'll run cleanup. Don't' worry about it, I'll take care of everything," Andy said. Church and Ruby traded unconvinced glances before looking back down at the metal orb before them.

"We're not letting you blow up the base," Church deadpanned.

"C'mon! Just a little explosion! Five, ten megatons tops! A-All your scary germs will be gone! Nothing left but the cockroaches! Germ free cockroaches!"

"No, but that does give me a good idea. Technically, you can't get sick," Church said.

"So we can send Andy in to check on Tucker, and he could tell us what's wrong!" Ruby smiled.

"I ain't no nurse," Andy replied. "I go in there, all you're gonna get is an explosion. If you want a medical diagnosis, go see a doctor."

Church paused for a moment. "Hold on, what did you just say?"

"I said you don't need me, you need a doctor," Andy repeated. The two blue soldiers traded glances, while Ruby scratched her head.

"Please don't do it," Caboose begged.

"Uh… is something wrong?"

"Uh, yeah. Kinda. I just realized who we need to call for this," Church said. "Do me a favor, don't tell Weiss."

---

Weiss stared angrily at the smoldering wreck of yet another attempt at utilizing the Cosmic Dust, with the melted metal and now shattered Dust crystal billowing smoke from their result of every attempt so far was the same. Their attempt at a machine to harness the Dust? Destroyed. Each Dust crystal they try to harness? Shattered to pieces alongside the experiment. The most they learned from all this was that failure to utilize the artificial Cosmic Dust results in the crystal's destruction. And when it came to her and Yang's share of the supply, they had used almost half at this point. Days of work wasted, and if they weren't careful, they might find themselves with no way home at all.

But what were they doing wrong? What was she doing wrong?

"Well… mark test twenty-three as a failure. But hey, we've gotta be making some progress, right?" Simmons said.

"In what way are we making progress?" Weiss replied flatly.

"We're narrowing down what kind of format of machine could work. Mimicking your guys' weapon blueprints or something similar isn't quite working, which means we're ruling out incompatible ideas," Simmons elaborated.

"And we could run out of Cosmic Dust before we find the correct one!"

"Hey, don't start yelling at me! I've spent the past few days doing nothing but helping you!" Simmons snapped back. "I could've been doing other things!"

"Like what, standing around and talking all day?!" Weiss frowned.

"No! Well… maybe?" Simmons replied nervously. Weiss groaned and threw her hands up. "Hey, in my defense, that's all we did until you guys showed up!"

"I need…" Weiss felt her anger start to build, but she refused to let out. She kept it in, taking a deep, strained breath. "I need more time away from this."

"Well good, 'cause you got it," Sarge said as he stood in the doorway, catching both Simmons' and Weiss's attention. "You're never gonna believe who just showed up in the canyon."

"Who?" Simmons asked.

"Come up top and see for yourself," Sarge said before leaving and heading up. Weiss and Simmons traded glances before following suit. When they reached the top of the base, Yang was peeking through the scope of a sniper rifle aimed towards Blue Base, and at her sides were Grif and Blake.

"Why do you have a sniper rifle?" Weiss asked her teammate.

"Cause we don't own any binoculars," Grif answered for her.

"You have access to military grade equipment and weapons, but there's not a single pair of binoculars in this base?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"You underestimate the mediocrity of our command," Simmons said.

"Here," Yang said while handing off the sniper rifle. "Take a look."

She dropped the rifle into Weiss's hands. Its weight caught Weiss off guard. She almost fell to the floor with it, but managed to keep it in her grip and haul it up high enough to look through its scope, aiming towards Blue Base. And through that scope she saw a familiar set of purple armor that only fed the fire of her anger at the moment.

---

"Now be careful. Don't give away our position with maniacal laughing," O'Malley said as he stood just outside the boundaries of Blue Base. "We don't know what to expect from these fools. This could all be an elaborate trap, and we don't want to be caught off guard."

"You mean get caught in a trap before we spring our trap," Doc corrected.

"Precisely, you fool, now shut up. At least we have a lookout." O'Malley turned his head to see Lopez's head resting on one of the rocks jutting from the sandy dirt of Blood Gulch. "Lopez, what do you see up there?"

"[Nothing much. Just like always]," Lopez replied in Spanish. "[Man, this place sucks.]"

O'Malley took a few steps closer to Blue Base, seeing for himself that no one seemed to be around. "Hmm… it's quiet. Too quiet," he remarked. Then a sniper shot zoomed right by his head. "Now suddenly, it's too loud. I preferred it when it was quiet."

"Alright, hold it right there!" Church exclaimed as he, Caboose and Ruby appeared atop blue base, weapons in hand. Ruby and Church had their snipers aimed right at O'Malley, the former having taken the shot.

"[I see people now. I think they have guns]," Lopez warned too late.

"Yes, I see that! Thank you for keeping us informed," O'Malley replied sarcastically. "Moron."

"Yeah, that was just a warning shot, O'Malley. You make any funny moves, the next one's gonna go right in the middle of your visor!" Church warned.

"You think you could make that shot from here?" Caboose asked.

"Uh, probably not. I was actually trying to hit him that time," Church muttered to reply. "I swear to god, I think somebody fucks with the sights on this thing when I'm not looking."

"Maybe I can help you with your aim sometime. I use a sniper too!" Ruby offered.

"Ruby, focus, crazy psycho in front of us. And my aim is fine."

"I knew it! This was just some elaborate scheme to lure us into an ambush!" O'Malley exclaimed.

"First of all, calling you on the phone and inviting you over…? I don't think that qualifies as an 'elaborate scheme'. And secondly, we're not ambushing you. We just wanna lay down some ground rules for your visit," Church said.

"I'm not very big on rules, you know," O'Malley said.

"It's true!" Doc agreed. "We have a system back at the evil lair where we each clean on different days, but I always end up doing it!"

"Shut up!"

"And he always leaves the milk out!"

"You fool, be quiet!"

"And don't even get me started on the phone bill."

"He Doc, I see you're still swimming around in that head somewhere too," Church greeted the medic. "

"Well, it's not the ideal situation, but any relationship requires work if you can-" Doc started.

"You fool! This isn't a relationship. I'm just using your body to fulfill my evil plans. When we're done, I'm going to throw your rotten carcass into a swamp and let the beasts feed on your injuries!" O'Malley cackled before feeling the tip of a blade poke into his back.

"I don't think so," Weiss said coldly.

"[Watch out. I think there is someone sneaking up on you,]" Lopez warned, again too late.

"Thanks for the update," O'Malley deadpanned.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss questioned, keeping Myrtenaster's sharp point pressed against O'Malley's back.

"We got a house call. Church invited us," Doc answered.

"He did what?!" Weiss exclaimed, an even larger frown forming on her face.

"Look, long story, we'll explain why here in a second. For now, just keep him there," Church said. "Look, O'malley, don't get any bright ideas about jumping into anyone else today. We've got our radios off, and if you try something, we now have two badass warrior chicks that can kick your ass. So here's how this is gonna work: you're gonna come in, gonna take a look at Tucker, you're gonna tell us what's wrong, and then you're gonna leave."

"Mmm… what do we get?" O'Malley asked.

"We can't seriously be trusting him?" Weiss asked.

"No, we don't, that's why we have guns on him," Church replied through gritted teeth, getting annoyed by Weiss. He then turned back to O'Malley. "What do you want? And I should warn you, Tex is not here. So if you have any cute ideas for her, don't bother."

"Well a standard physical usually requires a twenty dollar copay. Hey! Ask 'em what kinda health insurance plan they have!" Doc said.

"Shut up, let me negotiate," O'Malley hissed, but then Weiss pressed her blade against him more firmly.

"You won't negotiate anything," Weiss said.

"Oh, but we will. We want something from you, but we're not going to tell you what it is until we need it!" O'Malley cackled.

"Why would we agree to a condition when we don't even know what it is?" Ruby questioned.

"Yeah, we're not doing that," Church said.

"Oh yes you are, or your little friend Tucker will die, die a most horrible death, and you know his blood will be on your hands," O'Malley said threateningly. Ruby frowned and glanced over at Church. He returned her look, indecisiveness coming over him.

"You can't seriously be considering this!" Weiss exclaimed.

"I mean… do we have much of a choice?" Ruby asked Church.

Church sighed. "No, not really. Alright, fine, O'Malley."

"Yes! We've also been told a twenty dollar copay is standard."

"Fine," Church said tensely. "Weiss, bring him around."

"And we want the twenty dollars up front!" O'Malley added before Weiss jabbed him with her weapon, urging him forward.

"Fine!" Church said impatiently as he, Caboose and Ruby headed for the ramp.

"And in cash!"

"Ugh, whatever!"

"Aha, you moron! If you used the credit card, you could have gotten airline miles! Or at least the thirty day grace period with no interest. You fiscally irresponsible fools!"

"Caboose, gimme twenty dollars. Wait, give me thirty dollars," Church ordered.

"Today is going to be a long day," Weiss groaned.

---

"C'mon, double time it! That goes double for you, Grif!" Sarge ordered as he, Simmons, Grif, Yang and Blake.

"Why are we always double timing it anyway?" Grif asked through strained breaths. "Can't we ever half time? Or how about no time?"

"You would say or do anything to do less work, won't you?" Blake questioned. "How did you ever get assigned here?"

"I'm pretty sure that's why he was assigned here," Simmons said.

"Why are we even running again?" Grif questioned. Sarge, who was at the head of the group, stopped, making everyone else stop behind him. They all turned around to face Grif.

"Because Weiss ran off to O'Malley. Not only do we need to ensure her safety, but if O'Malley is here, that also means Lopez might be here," Sarge answered.

"You mean your foreign-speaking robot that ditched you?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"And then tried to kill you? Why would you want him?" Blake added.

"Because stored inside Lopez is information Command sent us for the next phase of the war," Sarge said.

"But how do we even know he still has the plans?" Simmons asked. "Last time we saw him, all that was left was a head. Maybe he stored the files in his legs, or his chest."

"You idiot, who stores memories in their chest? Don't you know anything about biology?" Sarge scolded. "The chest is strictly reserved for digestion."

"Maybe they'll send us more reinforcements like last time. Donut's arrival was a real turning point in the offensive," Grif said sarcastically.

"Where is Donut?" Yang questioned. Simmons glanced ahead of them to get the answer.

"There he is! Looks like he's talking to something." The group all looked forward to see Donut ahead of them, seemingly speaking to something propped up on one of the large rocks jutting from Blood Gulch's soil.

"I think… I think it's Lopez's head," Blake said.

"Lopez?!" Sarge exclaimed before running up to the pink-armored soldier. "Donut, where did you find him?"

"Right here," Donut answered.

"How were you two talking? Lopez, do you speak English now?" Simmons asked.

"[No]," Lopez answered.

"Well then why did he just say 'no' in English? Busted," Yang said.

Donut said, "I took four years of high-school Spanish. That's the best way to learn any language."

"What have you two been talking about exactly?" Blake asked.

"Oh, the usual Spanish fare. I told him my name, I asked him what his name was, I asked him if he knew where the bathroom was, how much the ticket for the train costs, and I asked him for the check."

"[Please make the pink one stop talking to me]," Lopez begged robotically.

"Ask him if he has the plans. And if he missed me." Sarge ordered.

"He did miss you. With turret rounds, remember?" Yang reminde,d earning a jab in the arm from Blake.

Donut took his order and turned back to the head of Lopez. "[Lopez, do you know what time it is? I am going to the beach with my cousin who likes to play tennis. I ate a pencil. Adios!]". Lopez seemingly stared at him, despite only being a robotic head.

"Something tells me he said nothing close to what he was supposed to," Blake said.

"Looks like he's not talking, Sarge."

"Alright, he wants to play tough, huh? I built an override code for just this event," Sarge said. "Lopez: give me root access. Priority: Delta one."

"[Priority Access requested. Please state the Access Code]."

"The access code is… Access Code!" Sarge stated.

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me…" Simmons sighed.

"Ah, bitch about it later."

"[Access Code accepted. Greetings, Sarge, would you like to play a-]"

"Lopez! Replay the intel message from command," Sarge ordered.

"[Ok,]".

"He said 'ok'. Maybe Yang's right, he is faking," Grif said.

From Lopez's head then came Vic's voice, however, it also came through speaking Spanish. They all let out a collective groan. "Oh, come on, the recording is in Spanish? That doesn't even make any sense!"

"It kinda sounds like the guy Church was talking to, Vic Jr." Yang said.

"Eggs Benedict Arnold! Those dirty traitors!" Sarge exclaimed.

"Wait, how did Vic have kids? I thought he had a vasectomy," Donut said. Everyone stared at him blankly and silently, creating an awkward tension in the air. "Well that's just what I heard!"

Blake turned back to Lopez's head. "Well, if we really need to translate it, the Blues' bomb Andy is a translator. We could use him to figure out what Lopez is saying."

"Blake, are you actually getting involved?" Yang questioned with a smirk.

"We're already knee-deep in it. Besides, without Weiss working with Simmons to get us home right now, it's better than just sitting around," Blake said.

"Let me get this straight, we're going to steal a bomb from our enemies, a bomb that can be remotely detonated might I add, and then we're going to bring it back to our base and all huddle around it. What a great plan!" Grif said sarcastically.

"Well, sure, it sounds stupid when you put it like that," Simmons said.

"C'mon, let's move. Somebody grab Lopez's cabesa," Sarge ordered.

Sarge: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...

"I ain't no nurse," Andy replied. "I go in there, all you're gonna get is an explosion. If you want a medical diagnosis, go see a doctor."

Church paused for a moment. "Hold on, what did you just say?"

"I said you don't need me, you need a doctor," Andy repeated.

"Uh… is something wrong?"

"Uh, yeah. Kinda. I just realized who we need to call for this," Church said.

---

"So here's how this is gonna work: you're gonna come in, gonna take a look at Tucker, you're gonna tell us what's wrong, and then you're gonna leave."

"Mmm… what do we get?" O'Malley asked.

"We can't seriously be trusting him?" Weiss asked.

---

"You mean your foreign-speaking robot that ditched you?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"And then tried to kill you? Why would you want him?" Blake added.

"Because stored inside Lopez is information Command sent us for the next phase of the war," Sarge said.

---

"Lopez! Replay the intel message from command," Sarge ordered.

"Oh, come on, the recording is in Spanish? That doesn't even make any sense!"

"Well, if we really need to translate it, the Blues' bomb Andy is a translator. We could use him to figure out what Lopez is saying."

---

"Those soldiers… the other Agent… they are your enemies?"

"More or less," Wyoming said.

"The girls with them… the huntresses… Team RWBY…. are mine. Together… we can deal with them all… at once."

"Well, we better get going, then, chap. Avoiding Tex should be our main concern for now," Wyoming said.

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion

Chapter 12: Breaking Down

Doc exited Blue Base and stopped in front of the group of Church, Caboose, Ruby and Weiss, with Weiss keeping a hand on the pommel of Myrtenaster, which she reluctantly agreed to sheathe at Ruby's insistence. But she refused to take her hand off it.

Doc said, "Okay, everybody, I'm ready to give Tucker his physical now. Would any of you like to assist?"

"That's just a fancy way of saying 'hold the vomit bucket'," O'Malley chuckled.

"Uh, sorry, I'm busy," Church quickly said.

"Sorry, no. Gross…" Ruby shivered.

Doc turned to the other blue soldier. "Caboose?"

"I can't," Caboose answered.

"Well, why not?"

"Oh, because, uh… I am allergic to things that I don't want to do." Caboose then puts on a very unconvincing fake cough.

"Okay, just more fun for me!" Doc said almost cheerfully.

"Not so fast," Weiss said. "I'm coming with you."

"Wait, really Weiss?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not foolish enough to let O'Malley out of my sight. If he has to be here, I'll keep a close eye on him," Weiss said.

"Oh, what are you gonna do with that little needle of yours? Pick your teeth with it?" O'Malley remarked, clearly unimpressed.

"I could puncture your body a hundred times over before you realize it," Weiss replied coldly. "That's just off the top of my head. Want to keep playing the punishment game, or get to work?"

"Fair point," O'Malley relented before they went back inside Blue Base together.

Meanwhile, just across the ridge, the Reds, Blake and Yang scoped out the Blue Base, with Sarge at the head of the group with a sniper rifle in hand. "It looks like the Blue's have teamed up with O'Malley! Those dirty backstabbers! And corrupting a fellow red, too!"

"Our enemies teamed up with our enemy. How is that a backstab?" Grif questioned.

"Also, when did Ruby become part of your team? You guys are great and all, but we're not exactly planning to stay around to fight for you," Yang added.

"Let's just get in there and acquire the exploding translator thing so we can figure out what Lopez is saying," Sarge said.

"[You're just going to be disappointed]," Lopez said.

"I agree, Lopez, time is of the essence," Sarge said, not understanding what the robot actually said.

"Why do you bother replying if you don't actually know what he's saying?" Blake questioned.

"[Thank God. Someone with even a modicum of common sense. My prayers have been answered]", Lopez said.

Sarge turned around and aimed the sniper rifle back towards Blue Base, then spotted Andy sitting in the dirt alone next to him. "I see the bomb. He's right next to Caboose."

"Sarge, I hate to point out the obvious, but since we can see them with the sniper rifle, why don't we just shoot 'em?" Donut suggested.

"Donut!" Yang and Blake exclaimed simultaneously.

"Shame on you, Donut!" Sarge exclaimed. At first, the Huntresses thought Sarge was showing a small amount of restraint towards his supposed enemy, but then- "A sniper rifle is a coward's weapon! When you kill your enemy, you wanna look in his eyes so he knows you're the one who beat him to death!" Both Huntresses mentally and literally facepalmed. "It also gives you a chance to deliver some really zippy one-liners. Like, 'I hope you brought your wallet, because the rent in Hell gets paid in advance'!"

"Oh my god…" Yang and Grif both simultaneously sighed and shook their heads.

"Or my personal favorite, 'You just got Sarge'd!' Classic," Sarge chuckled. Blake and Yang traded glances before stepping away from the group entirely, slipping away. Meanwhile, the Reds continued talking. "Yep. Hand-to-hand combat is the old school way to kill your foes. It hearkens back to the honored traditions when combatants respected one another. Killing a man with your bare hands says we're all equals as men. Except I'm slightly more equal 'cause I'm still alive and you're dead. Of course, dropping a nuke from fifty-thousand feet is totally acceptable. I mean, let's face it, there's just not enough time in this busy world to show everybody the courtesy of a good strangling."

"See? That right there is why society is going downhill," Grif said. "Everyone's in such a hurry these days-"

"Yeah yeah, we get the point, wasting time. Okay, what was the plan, Sarge?" Simmons asked, cutting off his teammate while doing so.

"You fellas stay here. I'm gonna head up there with Lopez and-" Sarge began to answer, then noticed the Huntresses' absence. "Wait, where did the girls go?"

---

Weiss and Doc returned to the trio outside, with Weiss clearly having a disturbed look on her face.

"Weiss? What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

"Just… just let Dufresne tell you…" Weiss shuddered.

"So, I figured out what's wrong, and you're not gonna like the diagnosis," Doc said.

"Which is ironic, because I think it's absolutely delightful!" O'Malley cackled, clearly enjoying himself.

"Just tell us, Doc. We can take it," Church said.

"Your friend is-" Doc started, but Caboose cut him off promptly.

"Dying?" He asked.

"No, he's not dying, he just has-" Doc tried to explain, but Caboose interrupted him again.

"No chance to live. I knew it!" Caboose cried.

"Caboose, one more interruption out of you, and he's gonna have two patients," Church threatened.

"Hey, cut it out!" Ruby defended. "He's just worried about Tucker!"

"Who we'll never hear about if he doesn't let Doc answer the goddamn question! Now zip it." Ruby scowled at Church and crossed her arms.

Doc sighed. "How do I say this…? Your friend is…" he then paused, not continuing further.

"Why are you pausing? Caboose is not gonna interrupt you this time," Church said.

"No, that was just for dramatic effect," Doc chuckled. "He's pregnant."

"Oh good… wait, what?" Caboose said.

"Preggers," O'Malley snickered.

"Alright, are we paying for this service? 'Cause if we are, I want a refund. And if we're not, I want a refund anyway." Church said.

"It's true…" Weiss shivered. "There were two heartbeats in his body. And unless Tucker is a freak of nature with two hearts, it's the only explanation."

"How is that a logical explanation?!" Church exclaimed.

"I never said it was logical. Trust me, nothing about this is logical."

Church turned to Ruby and Caboose. "Alright, one of the three of you has some explaining to do."

Andy was laughing at the diagnosis with an entertained glee in his voice. "Don't look at me! Tucker's not my type!"

"How does a guy get pregnant…?" Ruby wondered aloud.

"Um, maybe we should have the doctor explain… uh, just how… babies are made, you know?" Caboose said slowly. "Uh, in case someone… in the group, uh, may not exactly know how… that… happens."

Church was furious and annoyed as it was. Caboose being Caboose was pushing him over the edge. "Oh my god, Caboose, shut up! Andy, blow up. Girls, go home. Doc, you're fired, get out of here! I'm going to go shoot Tucker."

"What?! Church, wait-!" Ruby started to say.

"No!" O'Malley cut in. "You said we had to tell you what was wrong! You didn't say we had to be right, or that we had to fix him, you fool! Read the fine print, classic blunder!"

"First of all, I am right," Doc said. "And we are going to help him."

"What?!" Church, Weiss, O'Malley and Ruby all exclaimed simultaneously.

"Look, no one's ever seen anything like this before! I don't know anything about what caused this or how to help him. But with heart and true determination, we can get him through this!"

Ruby smiled a bit, only for Church to quickly kill that mood. "Yeah, we don't want heart and determination, Doc. What we want is a degree from an accredited medical institution."

"Why don't you just come see for yourself?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," Church relented. Both he and Ruby began to follow Doc and Weiss back to Blue Base.

"Are you coming, Caboose?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, I think I need to stay here and guard… this rock. From Tucker. Because I'm pretty sure that's how this all started." Caboose gestured to one of the towering rock pillars next to him.

"What's wrong? You seem nervous," Ruby said concerningly.

"What if Tucker is contagious? I do not want to catch pregnancy!"

"Hey, no one is pregnant!" Church exclaimed. "And seriously, Caboose? When we get done with this, we gotta have a little talk, man. There's a book I got we can read together."

"I'd like that," Caboose replied, sounding a bit more positive. It brought a small smile back to Ruby's face.

"We'll be right back, Caboose," She said assuredly.

"Maybe you can have the bowling ball fill you in on some of the basics," O'Malley snickered. "Let me get you started, there's three holes."

Weiss hit O'Malley in the back with the pommel of Myrtenaster. "Shut it and keep moving!"

"I'm going, I'm going. Wretched wench," O'Malley cursed.

"I could still stab you," Weiss threatened with an icy tone. As the others filed inside Blue Base, Andy spoke to Caboose.

"Hey, Caboose? Level with me, pal. I don't really look like a bowling ball, do I?" he asked.

"No, Andy. You're not nearly that fat," Caboose replied.

"Cause I've been working out, y'know? Dumbbells… push ups… crunches- what?!" Yang sped by and swiftly grabbed Andy from the ground, sprinting out of sight.

"Yoink!"

"Andy?" Caboose said before turning around, and letting out a gasp, seeing a skull on the ground where Andy used to be. " Oh… my… god! Andy! You're dead! How could this happen?! You were so young! It's all my fault!" Caboose's tone turned to one of sorrowful tears. "I should've seen the warning signs! I didn't even know you were smoking! It works so fast! You had so much to live for! So much exploding to do! Oh god! Who will blow stuff up now?! I don't want to live in a world without exploding! You hear that, God? Are you proud of yourself? Why couldn't you just take Tucker instead? He can't explode… At least I don't think he can… but even if he could it wouldn't be the same… Andy's exploding was special! Why, God, why…? Oh, Andy!"

Yang returned to Blake hiding behind one of the boulders. "Got him quick and easy. He's a bit lighter than last time, too," Yang said.

"Finally! Somebody noticed! You know how hard it is to maintain this figure?" Andy said.

"It looks like Caboose is taking your fake out a little too literally, though," Blake pointed out, gesturing to the weeping Caboose.

"Man, what is wrong with that guy?" Yang questioned aloud.

"Too much to list," Blake shook her head. "Let's get Andy back to the Reds."

"Man, Ruby has her hands full with that one," Yang remarked about Caboose.

---

"Ugh, I don't believe this!" Church groaned, still not convinced with Doc's diagnosis. The unconscious Tucker lay on the floor at their feet.

"It's true! Your friend Tucker is pregnant. See?" Doc said as he aimed his tool right at the unconscious blue soldier, the tool itself lighting up a bright green once aimed at him. "My little gizmo lights up green to indicate pregnancy."

"I thought it lights up green to indicate flesh wounds," Church replied.

"Yeah, also that."

"And infectious diseases," Church added.

"Yeah, it lights up green for just about everything. It takes a while to figure out the difference." Doc aimed the tool at Weiss for demonstration. "Like this green indicates a high level of anger stemming from suppressed feelings of inadequacies."

"If that thing keeps talking nonsense about me, I'm going to shove it up your-!" Weiss started, before Doc shifted its aim to Church.

"And this green means impotency. Oops! That green causes impotency. My bad, Church."

"Oh, that's okay, I wasn't using it anyway," Church said.

Doc lowered the tool before continuing to speak. "See, these tools can be confusing sometimes. That's why doctors have to go to school for so long. Not that I'm actually a doctor, mind you."

"And that's never been more apparent than with this diagnosis."

"What diagnosis…?" Tucker groaned as he came to, slowly getting to his feet.

"Tucker, you're alright!' Ruby said in a high pitch.

"Your voice is giving me a migraine…" He whined.

"Congratulations, Tucker, you're pregnant," Doc said cheerfully.

"With bastard," O'Malley added with a chuckle.

"It's not mine, I wasn't even in town that weekend…" Tucker said dazily, clearly not in the moment mentally yet.

"Tucker, don't listen to him, he's a lunatic, man," Church said. "He's got no idea what he's talking about."

"Uh, you want me to go over the green light thing again?" Doc asked.

Suddenly, Caboose rushed inside carrying a dusty, dirty skull in his hands. "Doctor, help! My second best friend is dead! Fix him!"

"Caboose, slow down. Who's dead now?" Ruby asked.

"Andy! Andy's dead, look!" Caboose cried before showing off the skull to the group.

"Um… I don't think bombs have skulls, Caboose," Ruby said.

"Doctor Doc, please help him," Caboose begged.

"Uh, I don't know what I can really do to help him. My first-aid procedures aren't very effective after decomposition," Doc said.

"Where did you even get that?" Church asked.

"First Tucker dies and now Andy!" Caboose cried.

"Tucker isn't dead, he's pregnant," Weiss corrected, a shiver running up her spine. "Which is still more disturbing."

"It's not mine, we weren't even going steady!" Tucker exclaimed.

"Stop that," Church said.

"Hey look man, I've been saying that for a long time. It's going to take a while to get used to this."

"Pig," Weiss remarked under her breath.

"You're not pregnant!" Church insisted.

Weiss turned back to eye the skull in Caboose's hands, and thought it looked familiar. "Wait, I think that's the skull Sarge was using in the tests to replace Simmons."

"The what now?" Ruby questioned.

"Long story."

Church sighed. "Of course… everyone stay here. I'll be right back." he then started for the exit.

"Wait! What do you want me to do about the pregnant guy?" Doc asked.

"It's not mine," Tucker said. Church stopped dead and wheeled back around on Doc harshly.

"He's not pregnant!" Church stressed each and every word.

"And what about Andy?" Caboose asked.

"And that's not Andy! Just look, stay here!" Church ordered before running out the door. Tucker began to let out pained groans as he sunk back down to the floor.

"Would this be a bad time to mention that my stomach just started hurting really bad…?" He said.

"Oh boy… Caboose, Weiss, better go boil some water," Doc said.

"I said before, you're not leaving my sight. Besides, Ruby, you work better with Caboose, maybe you could-" Weiss tried to turn to her leader, only to see her missing with a trail of floating rose petals leading in Church's tracks. "Oh, you little brat!"

---

Andy and the head of Lopez were sat next to each other in the dirt. Andy played Vic's voice back in English as Lopex spouted it in Spanish. "Here are your orders for winning the war: eliminate the enemy. Okay, also, try to do better than you are currently doing and please win, thank you."

"Well… that was a complete waste of time…" Yang sighed.

"I don't know about that, Yang, there was actually some viable tactical information in there, right Sarge?" Simmons said.

"Simmons, have you lost your last marble? That was pure nonsense!" Sarge exclaimed.

"For once, we agree," Blake said.

"'Eliminate the enemy'? What kinda plan is that? I think Command has lost it."

"Lost it? When did they have it?" Grif said.

"Uh, speaking of the enemy, here comes one now," Donut warned, looking out at Blue Base.

"Hey, let's eliminate him. Then we'll have one less thing on the to-do list," Grif said.

"I don't think eliminating him is gonna be easy. It looks like he's bringing his tank with him," Donut added. Simmons and Yang took his sides.

"Hmm… no, I don't think the tank is even moving," Yang said, narrowing her eyes to try and see it clearer.

"Yes it is! Look!" Donut insisted.

"Donut, I am looking," Simmons replied, "And if it was getting closer, it would be getting bigger."

"It is getting bigger, compared to that tree!"

"What tree? There aren't any trees out here!"

"Nope. Definitely not moving," Yang said.

"Yes it is! See? Look closer!" Donut exclaimed.

BOOM!

A tank shell exploded just up the hilly terrain behind the group. "You're right. It is coming closer," Simmons finally agreed.

"Run!" Donut cried.

"Get behind cover!" Blake added. The group sprinted out of the open and into a cluster of boulders that ended up shielding them from Sheila's rain of cannonfire.

"Return fire, men! I'll call for reinforcements," Sarge said before getting on the radio. "Come in Command, come in!"

"Hey dude, come in," Vic replied. "Hey, what's going on? That sounds like fun."

"Vic, we need help!"

"Someone's gotta stop him from shooting at us!" Blake called over the thunder-like shots of the cannon. The five of them besides Sarge peeked over the rocks to see Church with Sheila parked just a little bit away from them.

"Hey Blue!" Simmons called down. "We're only going to give you one chance to surrender!" Blake facepalmed and let out a heavy sigh.

"We're doomed…" She groaned.

"C'mon, if they were actually able to kill each other, it would've happened long before we got here. I say we just enjoy the show," Yang smirked.

"You're too relaxed about these kinds of things, Yang."

"Wha- Why would I-" Church started to reply to Simmons before another shot from Sheila interrupted him. "Hey, hold on a second Sheila. Why would I surrender?"

"Um.. because you're outnumbered," Simmons replied.

"Bullshit, dude, I got a tank! People with tanks are never outnumbered!" Church responded.

"Church!" Ruby exclaimed as she sped by, catching up to them, leaving behind a long trail of rose petals leading back to Blue Base. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Look, I've got a missing girlfriend, a guy who's pregnant, an over hormonal bitchy princess, an idiot who thinks his pet just died, and our worst enemy is hanging out in our base right now. So I really, really, REALLY don't have time for this horseshit right now."

"Uh, what was that part about the pregnant guy?" Grif questioned.

"He's not pregnant! That's impossible!" Church cried.

Andy, meanwhile, chuckled at the entire chaotic scene. "Yeah, unless the alien impregnated him. 'Cause that's what they do. They infect the host with a parasitic embryo. But you already knew that, right?" Church and Ruby spun onto Andy with scrutinizing looks. "Right…?"

"What?! No! Why didn't you tell us that could happen?!"

"Uh… I mean, uh…alien baby? How could that have happened? I'm as shocked as you are," Andy said, suddenly pretending to play dumb.

The radio frequency came to life with it's usual static-ey sounds as Caboose called on the Blue Army channel. "Come in, Church, come in."

"Caboose, what did I tell you, man?!" Church exclaimed, his voice cracking as it reached a whole new peak of volume and anger. "You're not supposed to use the radio while O'Malley's here! Oh great, now I'm on the radio too."

"Oh, that's why I'm calling to tell you, um, the Reds already used their radio and O'Malley is gone," Caboose informed his leader.

"Oh my god!" Church groaned.

"That's right, Blue!" Sarge exclaimed. "We've called in the cavalry! As we speak, the glorious Red command is sending a ship to aid us! No doubt it's a battle cruiser of the highest magnitude. It's time to end this thing once and for all!"

"Sarge! We're supposed to be working together until the Grimm is taken care of, remember?" Blake furrowed her brow, her faunus ears beneath her bow twitching as she herself got angry.

"Congratulations! It's a… thing. Eugh," Church could hear Doc say from the other end of the transmission, followed by some high pitched gurgling noises.

"I need to vomit…" Weiss could be heard moaning.

"The bucket's just over there. Take your time," Doc said.

"What was that?" Church questioned.

"Uh, that's the other thing I called about. Tucker had his gross baby," Caboose answered.

"It's not mine!" Tucker cried.

"He is not PREGNANT!" Church howled. "Sheila, stay here. If anybody moves, shoot 'em." Church then started back for his base.

"Church!" Ruby called. She let out a groan before running to follow him again.

"I think Church is starting to crack down," Yang remarked.

"A baby? Wait up, I wanna see!" Donut said before running to start following Church.

"Donut, get back here! Wait for the ship!" Sarge ordered. Donut stopped in the open field to turn back and face his CO.

"But Sarge, we don't know when the ship is going to get here! It's coming all the way from Earth. That could take days, or weeks, or months, or even years!" Donut exclaimed just before the massive form of metal that was a spaceship suddenly plummeted from the sky and crashed right on top of him, cratering the earth from the impact. The remaining Reds, Blake and Yang stared in shock and surprise, keeping the air dead silent for just a few moments.

"Ship's here," Simmons said.

"Shotgun." Grif called.

---

Tex had followed Wyoming out to another facility, crawling up and down with both Red and Blue grunts. As she made her way through the base with ehr armor's cloaking device on, she picked them off one by one, tailing Wyoming all the way through. She stopped just as Wyoming entered a separate room, going through a door guarded by a grunt of both colors.

"Look alive…" Wyoming muttered as he walked by. After the door closed, the blue grunt turned to the Red one.

"Crikey, boss seems like he's in a bad mood today," he said.

"No kidding," The Red grunt replied.

"What's gone up his bum, eh?"

"Nobody gets in to our-" The Red started to say, before the blue cut him off.

"Hold on a bit… you hear that?" Tex stopped moving. She was trying to make for the door without the grunts noticing her, but her footsteps had made just the slightest noise.

"Hear what?" The Red grunt questioned.

"Come on, you gotta hear that one.!" Tex made the split decision to move quickly. She bashed the Red's skull with the butt of her gun, slamming him onto the floor instantly. The Blue grunt was quick, and immediately opened fire as her cloaking unit was disabled. She rushed for cover behind one of the metal support pillars in the room. The Blue took the brief chance to reload, before slowly moving to angle himself to a flanking position around Tex. He quickly took aim with his Battle Rifle, Tex's head right in his crosshairs.

"Gotcha now, mate," The Blue grunt said, before he noticed a hissing sounds right below him. "What's that noise?" He looked down to see a plasma grenade stuck to his foot, and lowered his rifle in defeat. "Crikey…"

BANG! The grenade exploded and sent his body flying upwards through a hole in the ceiling, shooting hgh up into the sky. Tex rounded the corner and started for the door Wyoming passed through. "I hope I didn't scare you fellas," She remarked as she exited. The Blue's body slammed back down just before the door shut behind her. She followed a linear hall for a few rooms before finding herself outside in the snow again, with nary a thing in sight. She couldn't help but feel she was walking into a-

A honking horn sounded as a Warthog suddenly was zooming full speed for her, the tusk-like tow hooks aiming to skewer her. She quickly leapt back into the doorway, and Wyoming crashed the car into the side of the building.

"Well well, look who abandoned her mates to follow me," Wyoming said. "I'm flattered, of course, but you'll pardon me for not acting surprised, Tex. And it seems you've kille dmy two best guards, Oh, bugger."

"Oops. Sorry about that," Tex replied insincerely.

"Perish the thought, my dear. Tomorrow is payday. You actually saved me quite a bit of money. Kill anyone else and I might have to start paying you commission!"

"Where is he?" Tex asked sternly.

"Oh right, and here I thought you were spending all this time trying to get close to me. Tsk tsk," Wyoming replied.

"Cut the shit. Where is he?"

"Yes, he asks about you too, Tex. It's almost as if you two are of the same mind."

"That's not funny," Tex said coldly.

"Sorry, but I can't play matchmaker today. I'm entirely too busy!" Wyoming said before slamming his foot down on the gas. Just as the car took off, Tex sprinted forward and leapt onto the driver's side of the Warthog. She pummeled on Wyoming, denting his armor and cracking his helmet. Wyoming grunted and threw the car into a slide. Tex looked up, seeing a wall she would slam into quickly approaching. She leapt off the warthog before she was smashed between the vehicle and the wall, rolling to a stop as the car pulled ahead.

"Dammit!" She cursed.

"Ta-ta for now!" Wyoming waved as he drove far away from Tex. She growled and pulled a sniper off her back. She took aim at the warthog, but instead fo shooting it's driver, she shot the bumper. What she shot wasn't a bullet, but a tracker. It attached itself to the green hull of the vehicle as it sped away. Tex crouched down to catch her breath. She needed to find Omega. And if anyone knew, it was Wyoming. And he would lead her right to him.

"Come in, Wyoming," A voice played through Wyoming's helmet radio. He clicked the switch to answer.

"Wyoming here, go ahead."

"Did she take the bait?"

"Indeed. Hook, line and sinker, mate. Hook, line and sinker…" Wyoming chuckled.

"Excellent." The voice let out a laugh before the transmission cut off.

Wyoming drove in silence for a few moments. Then he reached out to his other, newer partner. "I'm not sure about telling Omega about our new partnership when we meet up. He's the most unstable fragment from the entire program. He just cares about killing, that one."

Didn't… stop you… from working… with him… The Grimm snarled, it's booming voice filling Wyoming's head.

"I was just in it for the cash, mate."

It's… not always… about the money…

"Couldn't disagree more, chap," Wyoming said.

Besides… he is… useful. Could be… exactly… what we need….

"Don't say I didn't warn you. What do we do about Tex? She's being awfully persistent. I don't think we can lose her."

Don't… have to. Just… stir it up… enough… and she… will be just… as useful.

"And what would you mean by that?"

You'll… see. And then the Grimm's presence was gone.

"Reginald, old boy, what have you fallen into…?" Wyoming asked himself before putting all of his attention on the road ahead of him.

Wyoming: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion..

"Those soldiers… the other Agent… they are your enemies?"

"More or less," Wyoming said.

"The girls with them… the huntresses… Team RWBY…. are mine. Together… we can deal with them all… at once."

---

"Wyoming?!" Tex exclaimed.

---

"So, I figured out what's wrong, and you're not gonna like the diagnosis," Doc said.

"Which is ironic, because I think it's absolutely delightful!" O'Malley cackled, clearly enjoying himself.

"Just tell us, Doc. We can take it," Church said.

"How do I say this…? Your friend is…" he then paused, not continuing further.

"Why are you pausing? Caboose is not gonna interrupt you this time," Church said.

"No, that was just for dramatic effect," Doc chuckled. "He's pregnant."

"Oh good… wait, what?" Caboose said.

"Preggers," O'Malley snickered.

---

"There were two heartbeats in his body. And unless Tucker is a freak of nature with two hearts, it's the only explanation."

"How is that a logical explanation?!" Church exclaimed.

"I never said it was logical. Trust me, nothing about this is logical."

---

"Congratulations! It's a… thing. Eugh,"

"What was that?" Church questioned.

"Uh, that's the other thing I called about. Tucker had his gross baby," Caboose answered.

"A baby? Wait up, I wanna see!" Donut said before running to start following Church.

"Donut, get back here! Wait for the ship!" Sarge ordered. Donut stopped in the open field to turn back and face his CO.

"But Sarge, we don't know when the ship is going to get here! It's coming all the way from Earth. That could take days, or weeks, or months, or even years!" Donut exclaimed just before the massive form of metal that was a spaceship suddenly plummeted from the sky and crashed right on top of him.

"Ship's here," Simmons said.

"Shotgun." Grif called.

---

The Grimm they fought before placed its spindly fingers on the table, gripping the remaining two Cosmic Dust crystals. It lifted the crystals up and dropped them into its maw, swallowing them whole. After a brief white glow emanated from its body, the quills on its back shrunk down some.

---

"Did she take the bait?"

"Indeed. Hook, line and sinker, mate. Hook, line and sinker…" Wyoming chuckled.

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion

Chapter 13: Out of Mind

He kneeled down outside the small shop's front door and began to pick the lock. He worked slowly, aiming to keep it quiet and unnoticeable, though he did also quietly hum a tune to himself as he worked. It was a simple lock, so it wasn't going to take long, not long at all. Especially for a former freelancer like himself. He could be in and out with whatever was inside without anyone noticing.

"Alright, freeze!" A vaguely familiar female voice called behind him.

"Oh…" he mumbled to himself. He had to have been getting sloppy. He was better than this. But situations like this were what the pistol was for. He began to talk to fill time as he slowly pulled the sidearm off his belt, his back still to the woman. "Sorry, officer. I, uh, lost my keys to my shop here and I was trying to figure out a way to, you know, um…" He took the safety off his pistol and stood up, ready to snap around and open fire in a second.

"You never were a very good liar, York," Tex chuckled, in an almost friendly and entertained way. York turned around, still not loosening the grip on his sidearm.

"York? I haven't been called York in a really long time. Hello, Allison," York replied coldly.

"I haven't been called Allison in a really long time," Tex recalled. She then gestured to the door behind the former freelancer in yellowish-green armor. "You down to petty theft now, York? Seems like a waste of your talents."

"Hey, whatever pays the rent," York said. "There's not much call for a former infiltration specialist these days."

"I think that's about to change. There's a place I need to get into and they don't want me to get into it."

"Y'know, they never do. What do you think, D, should we trust her?" York turned, prompting the empty space next to his head with the query before a small, green holographic man in similar armor appeared there.

"Hmm… that depends. Is he still with her?" The construct asked.

"What the- you still have yours?!" Tex quickly aimed her rifle at the construct, immediately put on full alert by it's presence.

"Alarm, threat level raised. Seventy-one percent chance of violent outcome!"

"Okay, take it easy…" York said.

"Chance of defeating Agent Omega Texas in combat is extremely unlikely," The construct reported.

"What's going on here?!" Tex questioned.

"Thank you, D," York said to silence his construct. "Look, put the weapon down, Tex. Delta's not a threat to anyone, never was. Y'know, if anyone should be nervous about onboard passengers around here, it should be me."

Tex reluctantly lowered her rifle. "Well don't be nervous. Omega's gone."

"Chance of defeating Agent Texas: still very unlikely," Delta continued.

"Okay, I get it. Thank you, retire now," York ordered.

"Executing." Delta's holographic form then faded away from sight.

"Let's go inside," York suggested before walking away from the shop, leading Tex back across the commercial district of the town they found themselves in to a run-down apartment complex, up to a third-floor rental that looked even shabbier than the building itself, with a rusted fan attached to a high curved ceiling. The place was tidy enough, but this was also due to lack of much. A large mattress with a raggedy blanket sat on the floor, and in the corner was a small but ancient-looking TV set.

"Nice place. You furnish it yourself?" Tex remarked.

"Actually, I had an interior decorator help me… She's dead now." York said dryly, with little energy. He seemed tired, in more ways than one. Clearly, ever since leaving the program, life wasn't kind to him. "Look, Tex, are you absolutely sure he's not anywhere in that head of yours?"

"Omega's gone. That's why I'm here," Tex answered.

"Oh… let me guess: he's gone, but that's not good enough. You wanna kill him, too."

"He spent a lot of time in my head, York. You know what it's like; whatever they think, we think. Whatever we know, they know."

"Yeah, I'm familiar," York chuckled dryly. "Remember all Reggie's dumb knock-knock jokes?"

"York, this is serious. Omega wants to do a lot of bad things. I already know where he is, I just need your help to get in."

"Why?" York asked.

"He's not alone. Wyoming," Tex answered.

"Ah, speak of the devil. Okay, let's say I do this. What's in it for me?"

"Payback. How's the vision in your eye?"

"Still blurry. Hurts when I read," York answered evenly.

"Well then, how 'bout a little revenge?" Tex suggested.

"Y'know, technically you're the reason I have one bad eye."

"No, technically I'm the reason you still have one good eye."

York sighed and glanced to his side again. "What do you think, D?"

Delta's small form appeared in the air next to York once again. "Agent Texas poses a serious risk to any mission. The spontaneous ejection of A.I. can be catastrophic to the psyche of an agent."

"She seems okay to me," York defended.

"May I remind you what happened when program Gamma removed itself from Agent Wyoming?"

"That won't be necessary, D. Look, what's your recommendation? We in or we out?" York asked his A.I. partner.

"Tactical Matrix is incalculable. Outcome is uncertain. Chance of success is unknown. But… a little payback would be nice," Delta concluded.

"We're in," York said promptly.

---

Church strode towards Blue Base with an angered pe in his step, going uninterrupted until Ruby cut him off in a burst of rose petals. "Church, slow down!" She cried.

"Ruby, you cannot stop me from going into my own base," Church said.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?! Rolling up with a tank, shooting at everybody?!"

"Look, I have had a very strenuous week, if that wasn't obvious. That's not including the fuckin' wolf man that keeps showing up. Sorry, sister, if it's a bit too much to handle!" Church then pushed past her and entered the base.

"Rrrg, why do you have to be such a jerk?!" Ruby groaned before following him inside. They came down to the first corner turning into the base where Doc was waiting. From further inside, the violent slamming and throwing of objects could be heard, causing quite the ruckus.

"Hey Doc, what the hell's going on in there?" Church asked.

"Church, everything's fine. The patient's just resting," Doc answered.

"That doesn't sound like Tucker's resting to me," Ruby remarked.

"That's not Tucker, that's our new arrival. He's gotten a lot of energy since his first feeding." Doc clarified. Ruby's face lit up.

"The baby's here?" She asked.

"Tucker fed the baby? Gross," Church gagged.

"Actually, Caboose was kind enough to donate some know what they say, 'it takes a village'," Doc said.

"How'd you get him to agree to that?"

"It's amazing what Caboose will do if you promise him a cookie and a glass of orange juice."

"But doesn't Caboose hate needles?" Ruby said.

"No needles. Turns out, if you just expose some bare skin, the little guy just digs right in! It's like a miracle to see nature at work!" Doc marveled. Behind him, Caboose stumbled absent mindedly into the hallway, clearly spaced out.

"I feel dizzy!" he said.

"Caboose, are you alright?" Ruby asked concerningly.

"Tucker's kid drank half a gallon in one go. Ain't that cool?" Doc said. "I think he's gonna be a linebacker. Or a vampire. Or a vampire linebacker! That'd be crazy."

Ruby went to Caboose's side. "Hey, you okay, bud?"

"There was a hurt-ey feeling, and then everything got all blurry…" Caboose replied.

"Where the hell did Weiss go? The little bastard get her too?" Church asked.

"No, his teeth couldn't make it past her aura. She's just outside vomiting. She filled the bucket, so I just sent her out to hurl on your old grave," Doc replied.

"Thanks," Church deadpanned.

"Anyway, blood is pretty important, so Caboose is bound to have some side effects like dizziness, or nausea, or sensitivity to light-"

"I think I'm going to stop standing up now…" Caboose said before falling forward flat onto the floor.

"Caboose!" Ruby cried.

"- Or passing out," Doc finished.

"Church…" Caboose groaned. "If I die, I want you to have my orange juice. And Ruby can have my cookie!"

"I'd find that nice if you weren't on the verge of death right now…" Ruby said.

"How can Tucker sleep with all that racket?" Church questioned.

"Sleeping? He's not sleeping… he's in a coma," Doc said.

"Alright, that's it. Get out of the way, Doc, I'll take care of this," Church said.

Doc shook his head. "I don't think so. A newborn is really susceptible to infection and disease. And cuddling! I only wanna expose it to as few people as possible, which right now are myself, Caboose and Weiss."

Church chuckled a bit. "Doc, don't worry, I'm not gonna give it a cold. I'm just gonna go in there, step on its neck and shoot it in the head. Because that's how I roll."

Ruby was appalled by Church's awful plan. "What is wrong with you?!" She shrieked. "You can't kill a baby!"

"It's not a baby, it's an abomination to nature."

"Sorry, you're not getting in," Doc denied him.

"Doc, seriously, you can't keep me from going inside my own base," Church said.

"Church, don't make me pull rank on you," Doc threatened.

"Rank? What the fuck- I outrank- you don't outrank me, I'm captain!"

"No, you're a private with a dead captain," Doc corrected. "The last time I checked, that makes you a private. With a dead captain."

"My body… is trying to die…" Caboose groaned. Ruby frowned and worked to get him into a sitting position against the wall so he could rest comfortably.

"Ok fine, then we're both privates, you don't outrank me," Church continued, completely ignoring Caboose.

"No, I'm a Medical Super-Private, first class!" Doc proclaimed.

"That's not a real rank."

"Yes it is," Doc insisted.

"Since when?" Church questioned.

"Uh, since I sent them a letter every day for four years requesting that promotion."

"They promote you for that?! You haven't even used your weapon!" Church exclaimed. ]

"Leadership isn't about firing bullets and stabbing people, Church," Doc said. Ruby was about to cut in and take Doc's side maybe even remind Church what a real leader was supposed to be, when Doc continued and ruined all of that. "Leadership is about being able to tell others to fire bullets and stab people." Her forming words of agreement died in her mouth.

From his now propped up spot against the wall, Caboose asked, "If I've been bitten, does that mean I'm going to turn into one of them…?" This made Ruby smile a little and she gently patted his shoulder.

"No, Caboose. I think you're safe," She assured him. If there's one person she still held in a somewhat high regard on this team, it was Caboose. He wasn't the smartest, but that wasn't what mattered. He was pure, honest, and childish in the best ways. It made Ruby hope for the other members of Blue Team.

The entire canyon suddenly rumbled as something made an impact back outside with a resounding boom. It shook the very floor beneath their feet. "The hell was that?!" Church exclaimed.

"I didn't feel anything…" Caboose moaned.

"I'll be right back-don't feed any more of our soldiers to the alien," Church said before running back out the door.

"Okay, but I can't make any promises," Doc replied.

"Will Caboose be okay?" Ruby asked Doc.

"He'll be fine. Wanna come see the baby?"

"Yes!" Ruby squealed.

---

"Simmons, status report!" Sarge ordered.

"Status report? A ship just fell out of the sky and landed on Donut!" Yang exclaimed. "He could be dead!"

"Could be?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Poor Donut, I'll miss him like a sister," Simmons said.

As they talked, a metallic tapping could be heard. Blake's faunus ears twitched under bow. "Do you hear that? It sounds like tapping."

"You're absolutely right! That sounds like Morris code!" Sarge agreed.

"Don't you mean Morse Code?" Yang said.

"Morse, heh. That sounds ridiculous. This means Donut is alive and trying to contact us! Now, get to tappin'!"

"Maybe we can lift the ship off of him somehow," Simmons suggested.

"Great idea, Simmons! I've read reports that people can get enormous strength in stressful situations. There was one woman who lifted a car off her baby."

"Yang's got insane strength, why not have her lift it?" Grif suggested.

"This thing's a little too big for me to lift over my head or anything like that," Yang said. "I'm strong, but that's still a lot."

"Well what if we tried getting into the ship and lowering the landing gear? That might raise the ship-" Simmons began to suggest, until Sarge cut him off.

"Or, we could build an army of clones that could lift the ship-" Sarge started.

"I think the jack in the Warthog might be able to lift it-"

"Could develop a machine that shrinks the ship, or that makes Donut gigantic! Or both."

"Or we could try digging underneath the hull."

This back and forth continued as Yang, Blake and Grif watched. "Y'know, I could tell before, but this is another prime example of why you guys never get anything done," Blake said.

"Tell me about," Grif replied.

"I got it! A levitation ray!" Sarge exclaimed. "I think I have a spare in the base! I'll be right back." The Red Commander then ran for the Warthog and leapt into the driver's seat, hitting the ignition as soon as he landed in the seat.

"But sir-!" Simmons started, calling over the now roaring engine of the jeep.

"Simmons, there's not time to chat about your crackpot theories! This is a crisis situation. Tiem to save us all, with science." Sarge then hit the gas and drove off back towards Red base at the other end of the canyon.

"Sarge just drove away with our jack, didn't he?" Grif sighed.

"And our shovels," Simmons nodded. "Sometimes I'm amazed our entire platoon hasn't starved to death."

"The fuck are you guys doing out here, breaking the canyon?" Church questioned as he approached the ship.

"Fuck off, Blue. A ship just crashed on one of our guys," Grif snapped back.

"What, this ship?" Church asked, gesturing to the metal hulk cratered into the earth next to him.

"No, another ship. Then that ship left, and this one crashed in the exact same place," Blake deadpanned.

"Where'd it come from?" Church asked.

"It's a spaceship, it came from space," Grif answered.

Church turned his head and slowly inspected the ship top to bottom. It was mostly undamaged, and could also be carrying valuable cargo. "Dibs."

"What?" Simmons asked.

"Dobs. I just called dibs. This is my ship now. Dibs," Church said.

"No it isn't, jackass, we found it first!"

"By found, do you mean 'turned Donut into a pancake right in front of us'?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but you didn't call dibs. I did. Dibs. See?" Church said.

"You can't call dibs on a spaceship! That's ridiculous!" Grif exclaimed.

"Yeah, yes I can," Church chuckled. "Dibs. See? I just did it again. Now get the fuck away from my ship, tomato can."

"Don't call me tomato can…" Simmons said through gritted teeth.

"Try and take it then," Grif said.

"Uh, okay. Sheila?" Church glanced over his shoulder, gesturing to the Blue's tank aiming its turret right at the Reds.

"Fuck! You forgot about that too, didn't you?" Grif said.

"Yeah, kinda," Simmons sighed.

It was then that Church also heard the metallic tapping coming from the ship. "The hell is that tapping noise? It sounds like morris code."

"Morse," Simmons and Blake simultaneously corrected.

"Well what does it say?" Church asked.

"It says 'tap, tap, tap'. We don't know," Grif said.

"We were going to translate it when you showed up with your bad attitude and tank," Blake furrowed her brow.

"No, when I showed up, you were standing around doing nothing," Church said. "Just like the last fifty times I interrupted you guys. Anyways, I'll take my ship."

"It isn't your ship. They called, it came, it's theirs," Blake said.

"I dunno, I don't see any markings on it," Church said.

"You can't have the ship!" Simmons proclaimed.

"I'm not asking for it, it's already mine. Right Sheila?"

"Actually, i kind of like it. I think it is mine," The tank responded with a slight attitude.

"Hey, are you okay?" Church asked his vehicle. The two got into a conversation while the others stood there and watched.

"I think there's something wrong with their tank," Yang noted.

"Yeah, I noticed," Grif deadpanned.

"I've got an idea," Simmons began to suggest.

"Woah, okay, hold on a second. Before you get too deep into this, let me remind you that we don't exactly have a good track record when it comes to our plans and that tank," Grif said cautiously.

"The tank is clearly malfunctioning in some fashion. We could try to take it out if we find a way," Blake said.

"Well only one part of it has to function for me to get turned into a cloud of orange mist."

The conversation between Sheila and Church was coming to a head. "Okay, just be cool," Church said.

"I am cool. You be cool," Sheila replied.

And during this entire hectic mess of an interaction, up came Sarge returning on foot to the crash site. "Bad news, fellas, I couldn't find that levitation ray, but I did find the remote control to- hey! What's goin' on out here?! Waddaya think you're doing you lousy blue!"

"I'm just trying to figure out what the deal is with this spaceship," Church answered.

"Dibs!" Sarge called.

"Too late," Everyone else said at the same time.

"Dagnabbit! Why do I leave you to guard anything? Everybody knows about the international dibs protocol, and the no take backs accord!"

"See guys, this is our ship. And by ours, I mean mine, and my…" Church turned to see Sheila driving away from the crash site, giggling under her digital breath as she left her leader behind to deal with the consequences of his own actions. "... eighty ton… friend…" he turned back around to see the other five staring at him scrutinizingly. "Um…" The three Reds immediately took aim at Church with their weapons.

"We're going in circles here…" Blake sighed while rubbing her eyes in an irritated fashion.

"I'm gonna be right back…" Church then ran off right back for his home base.

"Hey Blue! You know that ship you called dibs on? Well I got next! Hah! Now the ship is mine again!" Sarge called after his fleeing enemy. "Now let's see if we can get this thing movin'."

"So, Simmons, you said if we get in we can use the landing gear to push it up?" Blake asked.

"Theoretically," Simmons said.

"Alright. I may not be strong enough to lift it, but I can definitely pry that door open!" Yang said before stretching out her muscles. She then approached the back of the ship, cracked her knuckles, then leapt up and grabbed onto the top of the ramp. She dugs her fingers into the metal, bending and deforming it into her fists, then with a surge of strength ripped the entire back ramp off with ease. She pulled the metal off of the ship before tossing it aside. "Definitely easier than trying to pick up the whole thing."

"Wow, you're really strong! Thanks for that," A voice said. A person came from inside the ship into the newly made opening. Grif rushed to the front of the group as soon as he recognized them.

"What are you doing here?!" He exclaimed.

---

Church approached the base and headed inside to find Caboose back to being sprawled out on the floor, having fallen over from where Ruby had attempted to prop him up. "Caboose, where's Doc?" he asked.

"He and the girls took the baby for a walk…it's growing up so fast…" Caboose weakly answered. "Seems just like yesterday he was born…"

"Well actually that's because he was born today. Like an hour ago."

"We need to cherish these times… I wish I knew how to scrapbook…"

"Where's Tucker?" Church asked.

"Still in a coma…" Caboose answered.

"Great!" Church groaned. "Tucker's out, Sheila's on the fritz, and now Doc and the girls are babysitting! Caboose, if we survive the next five minutes, I'll be fucking amazed." Church then ran for the back door to the base to find the other three.

"I'm fine by the way!" Caboose called. "Don't worry about me… I'm so cold…"

---

Tex and York crouched behind a large boulder, watching a mid-sized base with a large tower on a shoreline overlooking the ocean, the stone that composed the building caked in dirt and worn down by time. A place where O'Malley, or Omega, was supposed to be. But so far, they hadn't seen the rogue AI or his current host at all.

"Okay, I'm officially worried," Tex said while staring at the base through the scope of a sniper rifle. "There hasn't been any movement in days. It looks like they've bunkered down, or left."

"Yep," York agreed. "What do you think, D?"

Delta appeared between the two of them. "If Omega is inside the building, we must enter to locate him. If he has already left, that building contains the only clues to his current location. In either scenario, we must-"

"Let's go," York said, cutting off his A.I companion before he and Tex moved up towards the building. They moved up closer until they were just a few dozen meters away from an entrance into the facility's grounds.

"Okay then, stick to the plan," Tex said. "We split, maintain visual, no radios, movement on fours. Sync?"

"Synced," York echoed.

"Go."

York entered the grounds first. Tex waited four seconds before following, keeping distance between them as they made their move. "York, I am concerned," Delta said. "I have been monitoring Agent Texas, her vital statistics are well above normal." York stopped next to a boulder near the courtyard entrance and aimed his rifle straight, letting Tex pass him up and take the lead.

"I'm sure she's just tense, D, okay?" York assured. After a few seconds, he followed Tex's path further in. "I am too, and I'm not fighting something that lived in my head for a few years."

"Agreed. But the anomaly is worth noting. Once we encounter the target, her emotions may make her actions erratic," Delta said.

"What can I tell ya? Just one of the things that makes us human, D."

"Excellent point, York. I was not looking at it from a flawed perspective. I will try to do so in the future."

"Well it sure would make these conversations easier," York said. "Thanks for coming down to my level, D."

"I am here to assist."

York and Tex's alternating pattern continued until they made their inside, meeting up in a small empty room near the center of the main building. Upon entering, they put themselves back-to-back and scanned the entire room with their weapons up, both seeing nothing else around besides themselves.

"No vis," Tex reported.

"No vis," York echoed. They lowered their weapons and Tex turned to gesture to a holographic display hovering against one of the walls.

"There it is. Bust the lock and this teleporter will take us up top," Tex said.

York approached the display and inspected. "Woah woah. You said an encrypted lock. This is a holographic lock."

"Is there a difference?"

"Yeah… hence the two names."

"So can you open it or not?" Tex questioned.

"Of course I can!" York said defensively. "It's just much harder. I just brought it up 'cause I wanted you to realize how kick-ass I am." York then crouched in front of the lock and began to interact with the display, beginning to hack his way through the lock.

"I'm convinced, get to work," Tex said impatiently.

Delta reappeared next to York's shoulder. "York, why are we doing this?" he asked. "Killing Omega will not repair the damage he did to your optic nerve."

"I'm not doing it to fix my eye, D. I'm doing it because my eye is broken," York said.

"I apologize, but that does not make sense to me."

"Omega and Allison were always the best. No one could compete with them. Not me, not Wyoming, not Carolina or Maine, not anybody. Trying to beat them when I should've given up is how I got hurt in the first place."

"Oh. So it is pride," Delta deduced. "I was registering an emotion, but I incorrectly categorized it as 'stupidity'."

"Yeah, they're closely related." York finished hacking the lock and suddenly a green teleporter whirred to life.

Tex ran over to it instantly. "Okay, I'll take the lead. Give me fifteen seconds then follow, sync?"

"Sync," York nodded. Tex ran through, and York mentally prepared himself for whatever he might run into up there. "I need you to stay tight, D, watch my bad side."

"Of course. Watching left," Delta confirmed. "Executing in three… two… one… execute. Good luck."

"Thanks," York said before sprinting through the teleporter. He came out on the walkway above, seeing a stopped Tex looking out in front of them both. He paused to take in the same sight: dead Red and Blue soldiers sprawled on the ground. "What the hell…?"

"I saw the same thing back at the snow base. All the sim troopers, dead. There, they were mauled and torn apart. But these are clean kills. But it can't be the same things. These guys have bullet wounds and gashes."

"What kinda things are we talking about here, Tex?" York asked. They then both heard animalistic growling and snapped around to see two Beowolves approaching from behind.

"Those kind!" The two freelancers opened fire on the Grimm creatures. They withstood the bullets long enough to lunge for Tex and York and split them up. Tex's Beowolf slashed down at her. She slid out of the way then bashed the butt of a rifle into its eye, stunning it long enough to empty a whole mag into its skull. The monster howled and swiped at her horizontally. She barely escaped it's sharp claws before firing her last few bullets through its neck, killing it.

York was more evasive. He repeatedly avoided his Beowolf's attacks, but he didn't have time to do much else. Especially with his bad eye, he was lucky to be doing this much. "High right, bearing diagonally," Delta warned. York dodged the monster's next attack, which came bearing down just where Delta said. "Swiping both arms low." York leapt up as the Beowolf slashed both arms downwards, then he kicked both of his legs outwards, bashing the soles of his armor's boots into the Grimm's face, stunning it long enough for him to land, aim his rifle, and shoot it right in the neck. The monster yelped before toppling over and disintegrating. York returned to his feet only to see a third Beowolf charging down the main path for both him and Tex. Both soldiers took aim, but Tex fired no bullets.

"Dammit, jam! Cover, cover, cover!" Tex exclaimed. She dove for cover while York shot the Beowolf's legs out from under itself, causing it to stumble and now slide on the ground towards them. He then tried to run to his right for cover-

"Alarm!" Delta warned, but all too late. A three-round burst found its home in York's left side. He let out a pained cry as his dive for cover turned into his body slamming into the side of the walkway. Tex poked out from cover to see Wyoming at the other end of the walkway towards the tower with a Battle Rifle in hand, the barrel still smoking from hsi shot on York. Tex growled before pulling her sidearm out and killing the injured Beowolf with two shots to the head, then threw a grenade at Wyoming before its body even had begun dissolving. Wyoming dove for his own cover just before the grenade exploded into flame and shrapnel.

Tex took the chance to sprint across the open walkway and crouch behind cover next to the bleeding York. "York, are you okay?!"

"It's that damn left side…" York groaned.

"D, info," Tex ordered. The holographic form of Delta appeared above York.

"York has sustained two wounds to his upper-left chest. Recommend evac stat," he reported.

"Just… need a minute…" York said through strained teeth.

"Administering field stint and analgesic," Delta said. York fell into unconsciousness as Delta ran painkillers through his suit.

"Wait… Tex… don't-don't let him…" York tried to spit out before passing out.

"York is now unconscious. Alarm: target Alpha has reloaded." Delta could see Wyoming peeking out of cover, loading a fresh mag into his rifle.

"How bad is it, D?" Tex asked.

"York will not survive," Delta answered matter-of-factly.

"Okay, D, hop into me. I'll host you until we get outta this," Tex ordered.

"Thank you, Allison, but I would prefer to stay, with York. he will need me to maintain his pain medication." Delta said.

"An A.I can't fall into enemy hands, D. If you're in there when he dies, you know what the armor's protocol will do to you."

"I would prefer to stay with York," Delta said.

Tex mentally sighed. She knew there was no way to convince the A.I to leave his dying host. "That's very kind of you, D…"

"It's just part of what makes us human, Tex."

Wyoming peaked around the corner of his cover to see Tex slowly approaching. He smirked and stepped out before opening fire on her. She didn't seem to move. She had to have been suicidal. Then he realized the bullets weren't hitting here, but just passing through her. "What's this…?" he wondered aloud. She seemed to stop, before the gun of the real Tex was put to his head.

"Don't move," She warned. "Thanks for the light show, D." The first Tex became green and transparent, and Delta's voice began to speak from it.

"I'm here to assist," he said. "However, I am afraid I will not be able to assist you further. York's armor is beginning to shut down." Delta's voice became distorted and scratchy. He himself was beginning to go offline with the armor.

"I understand," Tex said.

"Good luck to both of you," Delta said.

"Both of us? You must be failing if you wish your enemy luck," Wyoming said.

"Good and evil are human constructs, Reginald. I was merely attempting to be courteous." Delta's voice became so distorted it was unrecognizable, and then the hologram flickered from life completely.

"Well, one more freelancer gone. I'm afraid the reunion committee will be none too happy to hear about that," Wyoming remarked.

"Can it. Tell me where Omega is and don't play dumb with me," Tex commanded.

"Hardly. I do believe our dear Omega is currently killing all your friends in that miserable canyon."

"What? Why?"

"I might have mentioned you were there," Wyoming said. "He's quite keen on making your acquaintance again."

"But you saw me at the snow fortress!"

"Tex, may I remind you, I still have a contract on some of those people at Blood Gulch. I figured why not kill twelve birds with one stone, eh?"

"Well, you just signed your death warrant. Wait a second… twelve?"

"Heheh. Noticed that, did you? You weren't the only ones I saw at the snow fortress, Tex. The children of team RWBY have also made the hit list," Wyoming informed.

"But how do you know who they are? And why would there be a bounty on them and the sim troopers?" Tex questioned.

"Oh, I have a separate contract on them. And let's just say that one is a bit more…"

"Personal." Tex was sent flying back with the swipe of a black furred hand. She slammed into one of the storage crates in the walkway, and Wyoming quickly grabbed her rifle and tossed it over the side of the walkway. She grabbed her sidearm again only for the talking Grimm's claws to swipe it away, then grab her whole body and lift her up. She struggled to get out of the monster's grip, to no avail. It chuckled at her before slamming her into the floor and pinning her there.

"What the hell is going on?!" She exclaimed.

"Tex, I'd like you to meet my new associate. He has quite the eye on those girls you've become so chummy with. So why not deal with them all at once? An alliance was only logical," Wyoming said.

"You actually partnered up with this thing?!" Tex continued to struggle, but the Grimm's strength simply outmatched hers.

"We shared a common interest. Besides, who doesn't like a good team-up?"

The Grimm sniffed the air, then snarled at Tex. "You… have… the Dust…"

"She does, now does she? Let's relieve her of it, then," Wyoming said. He crouched down and searched Tex's pockets, relieving her of any grenades or ammo left, then found four small crystals of Cosmic Dust. "Crown jewels if there ever were any. You must've relieved this from Miss Belladonna before your split in the to bring them back to Command for analysis, no doubt."

"How did…?" Tex began to wonder.

"I… have been… watching. The huntresses… will not… escape me… again," The Grimm growled. It then turned to Wyoming and put out its free hand. Wyoming dropped the handful of Cosmic Dust crystals into its dark palm. The Grimm then opened its maw and dropped them down its blood red gullet. It swallowed, then it let out an ear-piercing howl. Its veins began to glow white light, as if the energy of the Dust itself was painfully spreading through its entire body. As the energy spread, the Grimm bared its sharp teeth, and its form slightly shrunk down, its thick hide shallowing down by a small amount. Then the bone armor around its face cracked open, and two new red eyes blinked open where there were none before. Soon, the light subsided, and the Grimm took a few breaths before recovering.

"You alright, mate?" Wyoming asked.

"I'm fine…" The Grimm's voice was also slightly less bassy and bellowed, as if it was just an inch closer to being like a human's voice. "Just need… more of… that Dust."

"Then our business is done here," Wyoming smirked, then looked down at the pinned Tex. "You see, my dear, Omega has already moved on to someone else, and you'll have no way of telling who. But you'll find out soon enough." Wyoming began to chuckle.

"Until we meet again… Allison…" The Grimm snarled, before then hauling her up and throwing her through the air with ease. She flew through the air, out of th ebase's courtyard, and into the crashing waves of the ocean before them, becoming lost to the currents.

"Well then, we best be off, chap. We have a meeting to attend." Wyoming then started for the teleporter, only to notice that the Grimm was not following him. Instead, it was staring at the corpse of York. "Something wrong?"

"No." The Grimm sprouted its wings and shot off into the air. Wyoming looked after it as it flew, then went through the teleporter.

Ironwood: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...

"Congratulations! It's a… thing. Eugh,"

"What was that?" Church questioned.

"Uh, that's the other thing I called about. Tucker had his gross baby," Caboose answered.

"A baby? Wait up, I wanna see!" Donut said before running to start following Church.

"Donut, get back here! Wait for the ship!" Sarge ordered. Donut stopped in the open field to turn back and face his CO.

"But Sarge, we don't know when the ship is going to get here! It's coming all the way from Earth. That could take days, or weeks, or months, or even years!" Donut exclaimed just before the massive form of metal that was a spaceship suddenly plummeted from the sky and crashed right on top of him.

---

"How can Tucker sleep with all that racket?" Church questioned.

"Sleeping? He's not sleeping… he's in a coma," Doc said.

"Alright, that's it. Get out of the way, Doc, I'll take care of this," Church said.

Doc shook his head. "I don't think so. A newborn is really susceptible to infection and disease."

"Doc, don't worry, I'm not gonna give it a cold. I'm just gonna go in there, step on its neck and shoot it in the head. Because that's how I roll."

Ruby was appalled by Church's awful plan. "What is wrong with you?!" She shrieked. "You can't kill a baby!"

"It's not a baby, it's an abomination to nature."

---

"Do you hear that? It sounds like tapping."

"You're absolutely right!

This means Donut is alive and trying to contact us! Now, get to tappin'!"

"Maybe we can lift the ship off of him somehow," Simmons suggested.

---

A person came from inside the ship into the newly made opening. Grif rushed to the front of the group as soon as he recognized them.

"What are you doing here?!" He exclaimed.

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion

Chapter 14: Sibling Fights and Open Mics

Church approached the group of Doc and Ruby urgently, and immediately cut to the chase of the conversation. "Hey, Doc, we got problems, man. I need to call Command." Doc, and even Ruby that matter, were not looking Church's way at all, but instead looking down. "Hello?! Earth to Doc?" The trio finally looked up and Doc responded.

"Don't you wanna say hello to our new friend?" Doc asked.

"What?" Church looked down to see a small alien creature, very reminiscent of Crunchbite, staring back up at him.

"Honk?" It prompted.

"I don't… I ca-I can't, I don't… This is…" Church stumbled, words failing him with how unfathomable this was. Up to this point, he didn't believe a damn word about the pregnancy. Or the baby. But now that the creature was in the flesh in front of him right now, he had nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"He's adorable, right?!" Ruby squealed with glee.

"I can't deal with this right now."

"Blargh!" The baby said.

"Shut up, you're disgusting," Church said.

"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Doc, what is Vic's number?" Church asked, ignoring Ruby altogether.

"What for?" Doc asked.

"For reinforcements! Wait, unless you've had specialized combat training in the last ten minutes."

"Did you forget the warrior girls around?" Doc asked.

"Yeah, they're not gonna kill Reds for us. So tell me the goddamn number!"

"Come on, Church, everybody remembers Vic's number! Didn't he ever teach you the song?"

"He has a song for his number?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, his jingle," Church groaned. "Alright, I'm gonna make the call while the song's stuck in my head for the next hour."

"Honk!" The baby chirped.

"And do me a favor, kill that fucking thing would you?"

"Church!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Shut up, I'm on the phone," Church chastised before turning to the side.

"Hey dude!" Vic's voice rang from the other end of the call.

"Vic! Hey, it's Church! I need-"

"This is Vic! Ba-ba-ba, V-I-C-K, doodalee doo! I'm not in the ca-sita right now so leave your low down at the ding dong! Hata." The call then beeped, forwarding Church to an answering machine.

"Hey Vic, this is Church, I need to-" Church started, only for the voicemail system itself to cut him off with a robotic female voice.

"You have reached the voicemail system."

Church groaned. "Ok ok, come on…"

"To leave a message, just wait for the tone."

"I know how to leave a goddamn message…" Church's frustration grew with every passing moment. He was not in the mood to deal with annoying technology on top of everything else.

"When you're finished recording, just hang up, or press pound for more options."

"Really, hang up? No shit," Church deadpanned. "I was just gonna keep talking until he decided to check his voicemail."

"For delivery options, press five."

"Just give me the damn beep!"

"To leave a callback number, press eight. To page this person, press six."

"Come on!"

"To repeat this message, press nine."

"I will fucking stab you, computer phone lady!"

"Church!" Ruby shouted sternly again.

"Quiet!" Church snapped.

"To hear these options in Spanish, press dos."

"I HATE YOU!" Church growled. Finally, the beep came, and Church impatiently began to record his message. "Vic, it's Church, I need t-"

"I'm sorry, but this person's voicemail box is full."

Church painfully groaned. "I'm gonna kill myself, I'm gonna kill myself…"

"What was all that about?" Doc asked.

"Doc, we are royally screwed. Half our team is down, and the half that's left sucks. So all the Red's need to do is attack us, and we're dead."

"Did you guys forget we have a truce until the situation with the Grimm was solved?" Ruby questioned.

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out. Remember when it attacked us twice? Is the situation solved yet?"

"Hurnk!" The baby said.

"Oh, right, and I have to kill this fucking thing."

"Church!" Ruby yelled.

"What the fuck do you want?! You're ringing the 'Church' bells, is that it? Pretty sure I've heard it twelve times today!" Church snapped back.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk all the time?!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Red, in case you missed the memo, the situation is royally fucked. That's not counting any of the shit the Reds just got. Who knows what could be in there? Could be a whole new squad, or a freelancer! Or…!"

---

"Grif's sister?!" Simmons, Yang and Blake all exclaimed simultaneously.

"Yeah, isn't that cool?" Sister said cheerfully. She wore a set of yellow armor slightly brighter than Grif's orange.

"Y'know, I always knew there was a genetic possibility that Grif would have blood relatives," Sarge said, "But I always held on to the hope that he was a horrible byproduct of an experiment at a turd manufacturing plant!"

"That's disgusting," Blake recoiled at the comment.

"Yes, he is," Sarge said.

Grif approached the landing ramp of the ship and stared at his sister. "Go home," He said sternly.

"What?" Sister questioned.

"Go home, right now. Get in your ship, uncrash it, and fly it home," Grif ordered.

Sister scoffed. "Whatever. Make me."

"As much as I don't wanna spoil my reputation as a do-nothing slacker, I will not hesitate to beat you senseless and drop you in that ship myself."

"I thought you would be happy to see me!" Sister exclaimed.

"I think he's just being overprotective… in his own way. Maybe?" Yang guessed with an unsure shrug.

"Alright, missy, there's just one thing I don't get; How'd you join the army?" Sarge asked.

"What do you mean? I just signed up" Sister replied.

"But you're a… y'know, you got lady parts."

"So?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"So, unless is this is the cooking and sewing army…" Sarge started.

"No, I meant to join the real army," Sister corrected.

"Does your gun shoot brownies?"

"What?" Yang and Sister said simultaneously.

"You'll have to excuse Sarge. He comes from the old school," Simmons said.

"Actually, they told me I was too young," Sister said, "So I grabbed an extra suit of armor, and busted a shuttle!"

"I like the carefree style, Sister," Yang nodded approvingly.

"Glad you learned something from me," Grif said.

"No, I'm just kidding," Sister chuckled. "I always wanted to do something like that, though."

"Then why did you join the army? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard!" Grif said.

"Well, you always looked after me when mom ran away to join the circus."

"W-Wait a second, hold on. Your mom's in the circus?" Simmons said with interest. "You've already made my insults forty-five-percent more efficient by just saying that one sentence."

"Was your mom a flaming sword swallower?" Sarge asked. "We could use somebody to replace Donut."

"Nope. You know how circuses have a bearded lady and a fat lady? Well, my mom plays both! Because she's, like, super talented!" Sister answered.

Yang burst out into a fit of laughter while Simmons grinned in amazement. "Oh my god… is it ok if I record everything you say?!"

"Sure! Anyway, Dex always looked after me. But when he went away, I didn't wanna be alone."

"'Dex'?" Blake repeated.

"Because my first name's Dexter," Grif sighed.

"So let me get this straight," Simmons said, "You felt scared being alone, so you decided to join a war?"

"She's a Grif alright," Sarge remarked.

"Wait a minute, doesn't all this mean that she was the one who was tapping?" Blake pointed out.

"Yeah, I was wondering why you guys didn't answer," Sister said.

"None of us know Morse Code. It's outdated," Simmons replied.

"No, I mean, if she was the one tapping, then that means Donut isn't alive trapped under there," Blake clarified.

"Well, then what happened to Donut?" Grif questioned.

"The cool thing is that I was lucky enough to get sent here!" Sister continued. "They said your commander died, and I needed to replace the missing man."

"What? Our commander's not dead, I'm the commander!" Sarge exclaimed in a confused fashion.

"And an excellent one at that, sir!" Simmons brown-nosed.

"Thank you, Simmons."

"Yeah, your commander died, and one of the troops was going to be promoted, and I was sent to replace the missing troop!" Sister said.

"Wha-Wha-What's this about a promotion?" Simmons stammered.

"Sounds like command made some kind of mistake," Sarge said.

"I dunno, Sarge, I thought you said Command never makes mistakes. That must mean you're dead," Grif said with a grin.

Simmons moved closer to Sister. "Seriously, what was the promotion thing? I'm sure I heard something about someone getting promoted."

"They said one of your troops would be promoted to replace your dead CO," Sister repeated.

"One in particular? One like me? A maroon one?" Simmons questioned obsessively.

"Simmons, relax a little. Sarge isn't dead, so you're not getting promoted," Blake said.

"Don't ruin this for me, Blake!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Sarge, let me just say I'm really sorry you died," Yang said with a mock sad tone.

"Yang!" Blake frowned.

"Don't be stupid, Yang. How can I be dead if I'm standing right here?!" Sarge said.

"Well if Command is wrong about you dying, Sarge, couldn't they be wrong about other stuff, too?" Grif suggested, teaming with Yang to mess with Sarge further. Like, what if the blues don't suck? What if the blues are awesome?! This changes everything!"

Sarge stared blankly forward as if thinking the whole situation over.

"Sarge, you can't even begin to take this seriously, right?" Blake said.

"Men, get the shovels from the Warthog!" Sarge ordered. As Simmons and Grif went for the jeep, Blake grabbed Yang's shoulder.

"What are you doing?!"

"Hey, we gotta make our own fun somehow!" Yang said defensively. "Weiss has the whole find-a-way-home thing handled for a little bit, we can afford to mess around a little."

"I wouldn't exactly call this 'messing around'," Blake said.

"Relax, Blake. Everything will be perfectly fine," Yang assured.

---

Weiss held her now-empty stomach uncomfortably, still feeling nauseous from the birth of Tucker's disgusting alien child. She stayed only to make sure O'Malley was watched by someone capable, and because Ruby ditched her with them anyway. By the time she, Doc and Caboose had all realized O'Malley had bolted, she was too far into helping with the birth to stop. She was able to hold onto the contents of her stomach until blood and bodily fluids filled the floor of the room, at which point she filled Tucker's vomit bucket herself. Doc was able to bring the creature into the world before directing her to somewhere outside which she learned after vomiting there was Church's grave. Needless to say, she was feeling this was one of the worst days of her life.

She felt sick in more than one way now, she was annoyed by near every single soldier in this godforsaken canyon, constantly on edge from the Grimm and O'Malley, and concerned about finding a way back to Remnant.

Or maybe not Remnant. Maybe, just maybe…

She once again held her necklace in her palm, looking down at the crystals shining from the sunlight of Blood Gulch. It felt like she was looking at it everyday, not only to anchor herself to the moment, but to remind herself of the endless possibilities with the Cosmic Dust if utilized correctly by Atlas. Not only did she have faith Atlesian scientists could really use the Dust to unlock the multiverse, she would have to do so to return home. Something else to give renown to her family's name besides what her father had done with the Schnee Dust Company. Weiss Schnee, renowned huntress, heiress to the SDC, and the mind behind utilizing the first artificial form of Dust to open Remnant to an infinite cosmos? Quite the resume.

And if she really can figure it out, maybe a certain Earth would be a nice destination. Pay the man who got this very necklace for her a visit. Her memories of the month before this mission came to the surface.

Watch that. It cost me a small fortune, he had said.

I'll protect it with my life, she had replied. It almost never left her neck since. It's value to her wasn't the Lien spent on it, but what it represented. A time she wished she could go back to. But with the Cosmic Dust, there was just as much potential moving forward. And once she figured out how to utilize the Cosmic Dust, and she could comfortably travel from Remnant, she knew what universe was her first stop.

"Weiss?" She heard Ruby call out, breaking her from her train of thought. She let out a low sigh before looking up to see her leader approaching. "Hey. I wanted to check up on you. Doc said you were, like, throwing up everywhere. Are you feeling alright?"

"Nauseous, but fine," Weiss replied. She then started back for Blue Base, but Ruby grabbed her arm.

"Weiss, Yang told me about what you said about Beacon, on your guys' way here from the beach. And how you've been staring at your necklace."

"So?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"You can talk to me, Weiss. To any of us. We're part of a team, remember?" Ruby said concerningly.

"A team stranded somewhere we don't belong," Weiss replied. "Hence why I'm trying to prioritize finding a way home before these quote unquote 'soldiers' drive me insane, or even get us killed."

"That's not fair. They're not warriors like us," Ruby defended.

"You and I know there's more wrong with them than their combat skill," Weiss frowned while crossing her arms. "I've heard your arguments with Church."

"Ugh, Church can be… difficult, and kind of a jerk, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't help while we're here."

"Help with what? Killing each other?"

"With not killing each other! Don't you care if they live or die?"

"Of course I do. As a huntress, it is my duty to protect those who need it. But that doesn't mean I have to like the people I protect," Weiss said in an almost hateful tone.

"What's going on with you? Why are you being so… so distant, and rude?" Ruby questioned.

"Because we shouldn't be here. Because this was supposed to be a simple transport mission, and now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way home, stuck with the biggest group of complete dolts I've ever met! That's not counting the intelligent Grimm hunting us and the Dust! So I'm sorry if I seem a little cranky to say the least!"

"That doesn't mean take it out on us! That's not how we get out of this!"

"And neither is participating in these morons' shenanigans! What exactly have we accomplished of worth the past few days? Go on an imaginary quest? Steal and paint a random vehicle? Help a disgusting man somehow give birth to a disgusting creature? Fraternize with an evil AI that wanted to kill us, which is also now on the loose? Perhaps if we focused on our main priority of getting home, we could've been back by now!"

Ruby frowned and furrowed her brow. "And leave the Grimm here to kill everyone? That thing isn't just trying to kill us, it knows us! Yes, getting home is important, but whatever this thing is, we have to deal with it too!"

Weiss started to protest, then sighed and rubbed her head. "You're right, I'm sorry… I… I don't know what's come over me…"

Ruby took a glance at Weiss's necklace, a gift the heiress had cherished for months now. "I have a few ideas," Ruby said. Weiss looked back up at her leader. Ruby gave her a small smile. "I miss him too. We all do. And we'll see him again. Trust me, once we're home and we can use the Cosmic Dust? We'll figure out how, together."

"Right… thanks, Ruby."

"That's what friends are for!" Ruby smiled widely. Weiss couldn't help but smile as well. "We should get back to them, make sure they don't kill each other. Right?"

"Right," Weiss nodded. The two walked back toward Blue Base together, spotting Church and Caboose atop it together. They ascended the ramp up to the roof to figure out what the two were up to. Church was at Caboose's side as he watched across the canyon through the scope of his sniper.

"See him there? Right there. The yellow one," Church said, trying to guide Caboose.

"The one next to Simmons. That's Grif," Caboose replied.

"The other yellow one. Dumbass."

"That's Yang!" Caboose said.

"The other other yellow one," Church said tenuously.

"Oh, that new yellow person! Ye-Oh, yes, of course, yes, uh… he looks very scary, yes! And I know that because I am looking right at him! Right now! Yes! He's yellow! This is very interesting!"

Church let out a long, tired sigh. "You don't even see him, do you?"

"Y-Yeah, I don't even know how to use this thing," Caboose admitted.

"Yellow armor… what does yellow armor mean? Is it like some kinda… Special Ops guy or… Man, this can't be good for us."

"What can't be good?" Ruby asked as they approached.

"The Reds have a new guy from that ship that crashed. Thanks for that, by the way," Church replied.

"Wait, what if they got their own medic?" Caboose suggested.

"A medic? Caboose, we're not that lucky," Church said.

Behind them, Tucker came up from the inside of the base unsteadily, still clearly not all in the moment yet. They all turned around to face him. "Well, look who's finally awake," Weiss remarked.

"What the fuck happened?" Tucker asked.

Ruby made the attempt to answer. "Well, you see, uh, you were impregnated by the alien guy as part of a big mission of his to save his people from-"

Tucker turned to Church. "Can I get the short version of this?"

"Yeah; you got knocked up, you got knocked out," Church answered.

"That about sums it up," Weiss shrugged.

"Oh, right. I need to start working out. Lose this baby weight," Tucker said.

"Try helping with a birth. Weiss vomited so much, she probably lost twenty pounds," Church remarked. The heiress slugged him in the arm.

"What are you guys doing up here anyway? And what's that huge thing?" Tucker asked.

"The Reds called in a ship and it landed on Donut," Church answered. "Now they've got new hardware, and a new soldier."

"Who, that girl?" Tucker said.

"Wha-girl?!" Church spun around to look at the crash site again. "That's a girl?"

"Duh! The yellow one, right?"

"That's just Yang," Caboose said.

"Again, other other one," Church corrected.

"Wow, you have really good eyes," Ruby regarded.

"I have too. I never get to use the fucking sniper rifle!" Tucker complained.

"You're positive that's a girl? How can you be sure?" Church questioned.

"Dude, look who you're talking to."

Weiss glanced over and saw a large vertical rectangular metallic frame with green energy filling it embedded into one of the walls of the roof. "Church, what's that?" She asked.

"Hm?" Church followed her gaze over to the machine. "Oh, that's our teleporter. Thing's a piece of shit though, so we never really use it."

"That's it!" Weiss beamed.

"What is?" Ruby asked.

"Simmons and I were trying to harness the Cosmic Dust by constructing things similar to our weapons so we could try to trigger it like our weapons, but we're trying to travel somewhere. I was going about it wrong! Church, could we use your teleporter?"

"Use it for what exactly?" Church asked hesitantly.

---

The Reds, Yang and Blake stood before a dug-up hole with the pile of discarded soil next to it, ready for Sarge's funeral.

"This is ridiculous…" Blake facepalmed and shook her head.

"Sh, we're about to start!" Yang said with a mischievous smile.

Simmons took center stage and stood before the grave. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to pay our final respects to Sarge.

"But I was so young! And violent!" Sarge cried out, on the verge of actual tears.

"And that's what makes this so tragic," Grif said indifferently.

"Grif and Yang have a few things to say about Sarge together," Simmons announced.

"Wait, what?" Blake looked up, then at her teammate, who was already heading to the front with Grif. Yang gave her a wink before she and the orange-armored soldier took center stage.

"Hey everybody, great to be here!" Grif greeted like a stage performer. "What can I say about a guy like Sarge? I mean, besides good riddance. Heyo!"

"Careful Grif, you don't wanna kill the audience before we even begin!" Yang smirked.

"Oh my god…" Blake rubbed her eyes and looked down in disbelief.

"Sarge was a good soldier. Now he makes a better corpse!" Yang continued.

"But seriously, Sarge lived a great life. And now that he's dead, our lives are looking pretty great too. Zing!"

"Come on, is this a remembrance or a roast?" Sarge complained.

"Quiet in the front row, please," Yang said.

"This is the worst funeral I've ever had! You loser's better step up the crying, pronto!"

"Oh, don't worry sir. I've written a stirring speech that is sure to tug at everyone's heartstrings," Simmons assured.

"Good to hear it. Now get with the eulogizing," Sarge ordered.

"On it, sir." Simmons rushed up front before ushering Yang and Grif out of the way so he could take the spotlight back. As Grif and Yang were pushed out, Blake took her teammate's side.

"What was that?" Blake questioned.

"I know, I didn't even get to my A material," Yang chuckled. Blake glared at her.

Simmons cleared his throat before beginning his eulogy. "Hello, everyone. I'm here to say a few words about our friend, Sarge."

"Boo, you suck!" Grif berated.

"Grif, get off the stage!" Simmons exclaimed. He then cleared his throat again before continuing. "Ok, like I was saying, I'm here to say a few words about Sarge."

"Boo, you suck!" Yang heckled. Blake elbowed her in the ribs, but she couldn't help but stifle a chuckle.

Simmons, however, ignored her. "As you all know, Sarge was a magnificent leader and he was a great inspiration to all his troops."

"Simmons is right, this is so emotional… Where's my hanky?" Sarge said through sniffles.

"He was a man of honor, discipline, and character," Simmons continued.

"It's like he's saying what we're all thinking!"

"If he was saying what I'm thinking, he'd be yawning," Grif remarked.

Simmons still continued, "But perhaps his greatest accomplishment as a military man-"

"Tell it!" Sarge cried.

"-And a friend-"

"Preach all, preach all!"

"-was developing my considerable skills as a soldier and a leader."

"What-?" Sarge paused.

"As you all know, Sarge's untimely demise leaves a gap in our command structure, a gap that is best filled by Sarge's right-hand man, a man that has a vision for Red Team!"

"What in Sam Hell is going on?!" Sarge exclaimed.

"I think Simmons is campaigning for your job," Blake said.

"At your funeral. Classy," Grif said with a modicum of respect.

"That's a power move if I've ever seen one," Yang smirked.

"The red army is faced with a difficult choice, the choice of who will lead us to glorious victory! Let's hope they choose a great candidate, a candidate whose armor is actually a shade of red. Sarge would've wanted it that way. Choose Simmons. It's the only thing Sarge did in life, so don't let his whole existence be in vain. Enclosing- somebody died, vote for me," Simmosn finished.

"Is this the kinda thing you guys do all day?" Sister asked.

"Pretty much," Grif answered. "Just run with it- it's the only thing that keeps you from going insane from boredom."

"Yeah… or we could raid the medical supplies for morphine?" Sister suggested.

"Yeah… wait, what?" Grif questioned.

"I think it's your turn, Sister," Yang gestured to the front of the group.

"Awesome!" Sister said giddily before swapping places with Simmons.

"Oo oo oo, can I go again?" Grif asked. "I just thought of a swear word that rhymes with Kentucky."

Sarge stared disappointingly at his Lieutenant. "You couldn't even wait for me to be buried, could you?"

"Your death was in the past, Sarge, and we need to look to the future - a future filled with Simmons," Simmons replied.

"He isn't dead!" Blake exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Sister began her speech. "Hey, everybody. Um… I'm new here and I didn't know Sergeant very well, but he was really old, and that's gross. Anyway - when you're old and gross, you're probably going to die and that's kinda sad. But when you think about it, all your friends are probably dead too, and if they're not, then they're definitely old and knowing old people is even sadder than being dead. So, anyway, whatever. Peace out."

"That was… surprisingly morbid," Yang said.

"This is a miserable excuse for a ceremony!" Sarge exclaimed. "Where's the flag folding? Where's the twenty-one gun salute?"

Simmons answered, "Sir, the flag is an important part of our inventory. We can't just go around having impromptu flag foldings because we feel like it."

"And I was in charge of the twenty-one gun salute. Unfortunately, we don't have twenty-one guns, so you'll have to settle for what I call the 'double bun' salute. Starts in just a few moments," Grif said.

Sarge sighed in disappointment. "I'll just get in my grave now."

"Yeah, maybe that's for the best, sir," Simmons agreed.

"Wait, we're not seriously burying him alive, are we?" Blake questioned.

"Well, yeah. I'm dead, so I get buried," Sarge said.

"But you're not dead!" Blake exclaimed. "Your Command made a mistake."

"If Command made a mistake here, that means they would have made mistakes before. Which just doesn't sit right with me, little missy. So if they say I'm dead, I'm dead," Sarge replied. "Now, you two dirtbags, grab the shovels and-" He was then cut off as Yang's fist connected with his skull. "Agh, the back of my head!" Sarge crumpled to the ground unconscious. The entire group looked up at Yang. She saw all the attention was on her and shrugged.

"I said I'd have a little fun, not actually go through with burying him," She said.

"If you didn't actually kill him with that punch," Grif remarked.

"He's fine," Yang said.

"He would've been fine buried. He had three hours of oxygen in his suit, tops," Simmons said.

"And after three hours?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"We'd actually have a dead commander," Grif replied.

Simmons' radio whirred to life and he heard Weiss's voice in his ear. "Simmons! Simmons, come in!"

"I hear you, Weiss. What's up, I thought you were busy at Blue Base?" Simmons answered.

"I think I just figured out our Dust problem! Get your equipment and come to Blue Base as soon as you can!" Weiss said.

"Uh, I'm kinda busy with something over here-"

"Now!" Weiss snapped.

"Uh, I, uh, yes ma'am!" Simmons panicked before running towards Red Base for his equipment. "Why do girls always have to be so scary?"

"Sounds like we're making a trip to Blue Base," Yang said.

"Wonderful," Blake said unenthusiastically while rolling her eyes.

---

Tucker, Church and Ruby all stared down at the alien baby, who stared back up at them with curiosity. "So, this is it, Tucker! Your little monstrosity, your little abomination of nature," Church said.

"Shut up, he's cute!" Ruby defended the infant.

"Uh, what do I do?" Tucker asked Church.

"Why are you asking me?" Church replied.

"I don't know how to be a dad! This isn't the way I planned it!" Tucker exclaimed.

"You planned this? Tucker, I had no idea!"

"No no, I mean I always wanted to have that ideal father-son relationship," Tucker said.

"Aw, that's actually really-" Ruby began to say, but as usual, the sentiment quickly turned sour.

"You know, where I see him for like eight hours every other weekend and send checks to some woman I hate," Tucker finished.

Ruby sighed and muttered to herself. "Nevermind…"

"It's emotional conversations like this that make me miss my mom," Caboose said. Ruby half-heartedly smiled and patted Caboose's arm. It somewhat echoed her own thoughts right now. They've been gone from Remnant so long. What was her own father thinking right now? He was hesitant to let her and Yang go in the first place, and then something like this happens. He had to be freaking out right now. Her worry didn't help anytime her and Church got into an argument. It's not quite the same, but Church sounded eerily similar to Tai, and imaging her father with the same tone and extreme emotion in those moments, it kept her on edge.

"All right, look, let's leave these two alone, let 'em do a little bonding," Church said.

"Hey, don't leave me here with him! What am I supposed to say?" Tucker asked.

"Ask him if he likes baseball," Caboose suggested.

"It's an alien baby, Caboose," Church deadpanned.

"Ask him if he likes tee-ball!"

"Alien, Caboose! 'Alien' was the key word in that sentence!" Church stressed.

"I don't know what those are either," Ruby said.

"And you're from another universe, so you're technically an alien too. So my point stands," Church said.

"Seriously, don't go. I don't even know where to start!" Tucker said.

"Tucker, he's part of an alien race whose only purpose seems to be to tell huge, grandiose lies to people, so that they can seduce them and then impregnate them. So… why don't you start with that? You know, common ground," Church suggested.

"Yeah, I think I'll just stick to baseball."

"Tell him about how his dad got to third base with you!" Caboose said.

"Caboose!" Church exclaimed. Ruby growled under breath when Church snapped at Caboose for the hundredth time, but he moved on too fast for her to do anything about it. "C'mon, let's go make sure Weiss and Simmons don't blow up our base." Church ran back towards the base, and Caboose quickly followed. Ruby joined after a momentary sigh. They walked back up to the roof of Blue Base, where Weiss, Yang, and Simmons had dozens of cables and wires hooked up to the Blue Base teleporter, and attached to the side of it was a device holding a capsule containing a Cosmic Dust crystal.

"I'm telling you, this one better not blow up the entire base," Church said tenuously.

"No promises," Weiss replied.

"What makes this different from your other attempts to use the Dust?" Yang asked.

"Before, we tried to make something from scratch to harness the Dust's energy. In reality, we should have adapted the Dust to pre-existing constructs," Simmons answered. "Creating something new requires so much trial and error, and since a crystal is destroyed with each of our failed attempts, we could run out of Dust before finding the right prototype. But if we adapt the Dust to something already designed for travel, especially something also energy-based like the teleporter, there's a higher likelihood of success."

"Good. The sooner this nightmare ends, the better," Church remarked.

Weiss stood up from the capsule, having made sure it was safely secured, then picked up a controller wired into the machine. "Once we activate the mounted capsule, the energy from the Dust will mix with the energy from the teleporter, and hopefully create a rift back to Remnant," She said.

"Well, fire it up!" Yang said.

"Everyone stand back, just in case it goes south," Simmons warned. Everyone moved further away from the teleporter, and once everyone was far enough away, Weiss hit the switch. The white Cosmic Dust crystal began to glow brightly, and energy from it began to flow into the teleporter, like a white mist mixing with green gel. It started to mix almost perfectly.

"Th-That's it! I think we did it!" Simmons exclaimed.

Then something began to go wrong. The mixture became less symmetrical, and sparks of electricity began to shoot from the teleporter frame. "You just had to say something…" Yang groaned.

"Oh fuck me…" Church muttered.

"Get down!" Ruby exclaimed. Everyone dove down and hit the deck just before the energy blasted out in a massive wave and their vision was overtaken by white, and a harsh ringing filled all their ears. Ruby's head began to ache. The harsh ringing felt like it would last forever. Then amongst it, she thought she heard a voice, one she swore was so familiar. Or rather, it was two voices, mixed together, a male and a female. Both familiar, yet unrecognizable.

Ruby…? The female said.

Rose… The male said.

She knew both of those voices. But how?

"Ruby!" Yang's voice snapped her out of whatever trance she was in and opened her eyes. She looked up to Yang, who had a slightly worried look.

"Yang…?" She groaned. "What happened?"

"C'mon, get up. We have company," Church said. Yang helped her sister to her feet, then took in the sight around them. Surrounding Blue Base was a horde of Grimm, snarling and drooling at them. Ruby furrowed her brow and took Crescent Rose off her back, unfolding it into its full scythe form, ready for the oncoming battle.

---

Ironwood frowned as he looked out the window at the snowy terrain of Atlas, an endless sheet of white as far as the eye could see. Still nothing on the missing shipment, or Team RWBY's whereabouts. In his hand was his scroll, and he looked down at it. His thumb hovered just over Winter's contact. They had to scrub the mission. Nothing was coming for it, and resources were being wasted. If they didn't pull it now, the rest of the Atlas Council would, then reprimand him for it. He had to stop while they were ahead. He took a deep breath before beginning to bring his thumb down.

A rapping came at his office door. He pulled his thumb away from the scroll, then pocketed it. "Come in," he called across the room. The doors to his office slid open, and in ran one of his officers, a young woman who couldn't have been older than mid-twenties.

"Sir! We just detected a large burst of energy a few miles outside of Argus's borders!" She reported.

Ironwood's eyes rounded and he snapped around, quickly approaching his subordinate. "What kind of energy?!"

"Unknown, sir. But I was told to come report to you right away," The officer said.

"Hmm… if it's possibly the Dust…" he muttered to himself, holding his chin in thought. "What is Specialist Schnee's status?"

"Currently en-route back to Atlas."

"Are there any huntsmen in the area around Argus, off-duty or otherwise?" Ironwood questioned.

"Yes, one. Team JNPR from Beacon, currently off-duty," The officer nodded.

"Tell Schnee to head to Argus and enlist JNPR's aid. I can't afford to split our troops up further right now."

"Yes sir," The officer nodded before starting for the door. Ironwood turned around and pulled his scroll back out before swiping through his contacts, looking for one in particular. Once he found it, he called and held the scroll up to his ear, impatiently waiting for an answer.

The call clicked and a gruff voice greeted him. "General. Surprised to hear from you so soon. Didn't think we'd talk until the Beacon Outpost staff list had been put together."

"We have more pressing matters. I'll be sending you coordinates for a rendezvous. You'll meet Specialist Schnee and the Huntsmen under her command on the ground. She'll fill you in from there. I'll have Ciel cover for you in Mantle until this is taken care of."

"Understood, General."

"Report when you reach the rendezvous point. Good luck, Specialist Castle." Ironwood then ended the call before once again pocketing his scroll.

Donut:  Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...

"You see, my dear, Omega has already moved on to someone else, and you'll have no way of telling who. But you'll find out soon enough." Wyoming began to chuckle.

"Until we meet again… Allison…" The Grimm snarled.

---

"They said your commander died, and I needed to replace the missing man."

"What? Our commander's not dead, I'm the commander!" Sarge exclaimed in a confused fashion.

"And an excellent one at that, sir!" Simmons brown-nosed.

"Thank you, Simmons."

"Yeah, your commander died, and one of the troops was going to be promoted, and I was sent to replace the missing troop!" Sister said.

---

"Sheila, open the canopy!" Church exclaimed as he, Simmons and Yang ran towards the tank.

"A 'please' wouldn't hurt your tiny organic body, would it?" Sheila replied nonchalantly.

"Seriously, Sheila! In case you didn't notice, there's an army of monsters around!" Church cried as Grimm began to move from Blue Base over to them.

"I didn't hear the magic word," Sheila said tauntingly.

"Sheila, what the hell is going on with you?!" Church exclaimed.

"It has to be something wrong with me, doesn't it?"

---

When the Grimm finally noticed her presence, it lunged for the vial. In that split-second, Ruby only thought of one thing to do: she quickly fired her weapon right at the vial and its mechanism. As soon as the round connected, the teleporter blasted out a massive burst of energy that both blinded Ruby and sent her flying off her feet.

The smoke billowing off the Grimm's body had completely cleared, and Ruby saw through the opening in its head. Peering at her from the pitch black abyss of its body was a pair of eyes, human eyes, one black with a red iris and the other scarred white.

---

"I got ya, youngin'," He said as he helped her to her feet. That's when the ground below them shifts, cracks in the dirt quickly forming. "Uh oh. That's not good…" The ground below them caved inwards, and the two red leaders fell through.

"Ruby!" Ruby heard her older sister exclaim before they were falling far out of earshot into whatever was below.

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion

Chapter 16: As Above, So Below

The group of Church, Yang, Sister, Blake, Simmons, Tucker and Grif circled around just outside Blue Base after the dust settled.

"Well, I think it's official, no more experiments in or around my base. I've had more than enough of the otherworldly boogeyman monsters. I don't even want those crystals on our property, got that?" Church said.

"I'm starting to think that's a good idea…" Yang admitted.

"Good. Cause I have enough problems as it is without needing to survive your wild dog attacks. That being said, we probably shouldn't mention any of this to Command," Church said.

"Yeah, we'll probably sound like a bunch of psychopaths. Until we find Sarge, I'll call up Red command and give them some kinda cover story, to make sure they don't find out about this," Simmons said.

"Why would you call Red Command?" Sister asked.

"To create a cover story, I just said that!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Why don't you call our guys?" Sister questioned.

"'Our guys'?" Grif repeated.

"Yeah, the Blue Guys!" Sister said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Tucker said.

"The Blue guys! The guys that sent me here in the big ship!"

"Oh my god…" Yang facepalmed.

"Uh, yeah, this might be a bad time to bring up the fact that my sister is colorblind," Grif said.

"WHAT?!" Simmons exclaimed.

"I don't get it. What's the gray guy so upset about?" Sister whispered to Blake.

"That he nearly buried his commanding officer alive over this," Blake answered. "Who still ended up underground anyway."

"Oh my god, what's wrong with you?! Why didn't you tell us you were a Blue?!" Simmons questioned.

"Because-" Sister started.

"And don't say 'because nobody asked'!"

"But nobody did ask!" Sister replied defensively.

"I would be laughing my ass off if I wasn't completely livid," Church said.

"Welp, welcome to Blue Team, Sister!" Tucker said.

"Hey, we can still keep her," Grif said.

"We can't do that, she's on the other team! She'll kill us in our sleep!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Do I get to do that?" Sister asked. "That would be awesome!"

"Sister is a freaky one, but I don't think she'd go that far," Blake said.

"Besides, she's color blind. We'll just tell her we're Blues," Grif said.

"Didn't you just admit to her you're Reds?" Church questioned.

"Yeah? Well she's fucking dumb too. Look-" Gif turned to his younger sister. "Hey, we're Blue now."

"Woohoo, go Blue, let's win!" Sister cheered.

"See?"

"Man, she might give Caboose a run for his money. And I'm not even sure he has an IQ," Church remarked.

"Oh please, she'll figure it out," Simmons said.

"No she won't," Grif denied. "In high school, she got kicked off the cheerleading squad three times for rooting for the wrong team."

"No, she can't stay," Simmons shook his head.

Yang added, "Besides, with you, Simmons and I going below ground to look for Ruby and Sarge, and Blake keeping an eye on Weiss, she'll be left alone. Just let her go over to Blue Team, at least until we get back."

"Plus it's not like Blue Team goes around killing its own members or anything," Simmons finished.

"Dude, I wouldn't bet money on that if I were you," Tucker said.

"Fair enough, I guess," Grif said. He then turned back to his younger sibling. "Yeah, okay, you're a Blue."

"Touchdown, go Blue! Woohoo!" Sister cheered again.

"No, I mean we're Red, but you're Blue. That means you're going over there with those assholes."

"Dude, we're standing right here," Tucker said, then gestured to Church. "He's the asshole, not me."

"Don't be snarky," Church said.

"Sorry dude, it's the hormones. I just had a baby!"

"Why can't I come with you guys?" Sister asked Grif.

"Because I said so. Now move it. Call me if you have any problems, and don't embarrass the family. Think of Mom," Grif said.

"Don't do me any favors, bitch," Sister barked before marching over to the Blue side.

"Wow. She's definitely got a mouth," Tucker remarked, followed by a muttered, "Bow-chicka-bow-wow."

Yang went over to Blake as Simmons and Grif began to leave the group. "Be sure to let us know when Weiss wakes up," She said.

"And let us know when you find Ruby," Blake replied. Yang nodded with a smile. Blake smiled as well before the two quickly hugged. "Good luck." Yang then left with Grif and Simmons. Blake then turned to Church. "Is Doc with Weiss right now?"

"No, I have Caboose setting her up in our barracks. I don't think he's actually capable of hurting you guys at the very least, so it's probably fine. I have Doc talking with Sheila. She's been acting weird lately."

"You mean weirder than your average talking tank?" Blake raised an eyebrow.

"She's been acting distant and weird. Plus she's been saying these random threatening things. Then, in the middle of that giant-ass battle, she refused to let us in until Yang threatened to tear out her power supply. Kinda reminds me of somebody else…" Church said.

"So why is Doc talking to her?" Tucker asked.

"What, you didn't hear the 'threatening' part of what I just said? I'm not going over there."

"Why not send Caboose? Aren't they like, in love, or something?"

"Am I missing something here?" Blake asked.

"Long story. Besides, I've had about all the cross-species babies that I can take for a while," Church said. "The last thing I need is a junior Caboose running around with a 130 millimeter cannon for a head. Tucker's little devil spawn is enough for me."

"Don't talk about my kid like that," Tucker suddenly said angrily through gritted teeth.

"You alright?" Blake asked.

"I dunno. I think I'm getting into this whole 'parenting' thing. I caught myself looking at minivans the other day, blegh."

"Of course you are. That's why you need a babysitter for a newborn. I'll be sure to nominate you for 'dad of the year'," Church quipped.

"Don't judge me," Tucker said before walking towards Blue Base, presumably to go find his alien child.

"Anyway, Doc's going to find out what's wrong with her and give her a little tune up,' Church finished.

"But he's a medic, not a mechanic," Blake said.

"I know. I figure Doc's mechanic skills are probably about as bad as his first aid skills. He's either gonna fix her by accident, or make her completely inoperable, and then I can go down there and figure out what's really going on. Either way, I win."

"I'd applaud you having an actual plan if it didn't involve a human shield," Blake frowned.

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers, I'm working with what I got here." Church then turned to Sister, his newest recruit. "Well, uh, welcome to Blue team. I guess we should give you, uhh, some kind of orientation or something like that. So that's, uh… that's the base there. This is the outside of the base. Inside's on the inside. Go through that door, right there. Get to the inside. Uh, it's got a basement. There's the middle part and there's the top part. Got some… y'know, blue flags here, on the outside. Those come in handy when you're… y'know, trying to identify the color of the base. It's Blue."

"You don't know what you're doing, do you?" Blake questioned.

"Eh, not really. Flowers, our old commander, didn't exactly leave a guidebook for whoever was in charge next. Guess he didn't expect to die of an aspirin overdose in the middle of nowhere," Church replied before refocusing his attention to Sister. "Anyway, that uh, pretty much covers the base, so… anyway, yeah, that's it."

"Cool," Sister simply said.

"I'm Church. I'm the leader. Everybody looks up to me. Pretty much the only rule on the Blue Team for rookies is, don't kill the leader. That's me."

"That's it?" Sister asked.

"That's it," Church nodded.

"Sounds easy."

"Yeah, well, we're still waiting for someone to follow that rule. So anyway, uh, tell me about yourself. What's your training?"

"Training?"

"Yeah. What have you been told so far?"

"Oh right! That's the base, and you're the leader, and I shouldn't kill you," Sister replied, copyingback all of Church's instructions. "Ever. Did I pass?"

"No, I mean like what kind of military training do you have? Weapons?" Church questioned.

"Eh, sounds violent," Sister said.

"Operations?"

"I don't even know how that works."

"Communications?"

"Say what?"

Church lets out a heavy sigh, the reality of Sister's incompetence dawning on him. "I'd ask intelligence, but I'd just be wasting my time. Starting to think the Reds dodged a bullet." It was then that Tucker returned with Junior at his heel. "Well, moving on, this is Tucker."

"Sup?" Tucker greeted.

"Hey," Sister reciprocated.

Church continued, "Tucker's job is to do… what? I guess nothing."

"I'm just chillin'. That's the only rule on Blue Team, rookie, be cool," Tucker said.

"I thought the only rule was don't kill the leader," Sister said.

"Yeah, but we break that rule all the time. That's what makes us so cool!"

"Blargh!" Junior piped up.

"Oh cool! You have a dog?" Sister said. Blake stifled a laugh quietly, letting out a suppressed snort instead. Church also stifled laughter.

"That's my kid," Tucker said in an offended tone.

"Oh cool! You have a kid that looks like a dog?" Sister said.

"Nice save," Blake remarked.

Church saw Caboose exiting the base now as well. "Hey, y'know what, I think I have the perfect tour guide for you! Hey, Caboose, come here!"

Caboose came as soon as he was called and joined the group. "The mean girl is asleep and quiet in the bedroom," Caboose reported.

"Yeah, that's great," Church said in an uninterested way. "Anyway, I think Caboose here can tell you everything you could possibly need to know about Blue Base."

"Is she also a mean girl, or a regular girl?" Caboose asked.

"Caboose what did I tell you?"

"That there are no regular girls…"

"Exactly. Alright, so just stick with him, ask him any questions you have, and just don't bother me. Or Tucker. Or Blake."

"You have awful leadership skills," Blake said.

"You wanna tour her around?" Church questioned.

"Yeah, Sister, you should definitely go with Caboose!" Blake quickly said.

"Uh huh, that's what I thought," Church said triumphantly.

"What do I tell her?" Caboose asked.

"Well, I already know the rule," Sister said.

"Oh, I hate that stupid rule!"

"Go show her Doc and Sheila," Blake suggested.

Caboose turned around and pointed across the field to the other side of Blue base, where Doc was still conversing with Sheila, with Doc barely being more than an obscure purple figure in the distance from where they stood. "The purple one is Doc, and the big one is Sheila," Caboose gestured.

"Y'know, I was really hoping that would take longer. And further away," Church sighed.

"What about the black one?" Sister asked.

"You already know who I am," Blake said confusingly.

"No, the other black one," Sister said.

"Oh, that's Tucker. But you can't tell because of the armor," Caboose said.

"No no, the one in black armor! The one standing right behind you guys?"

The air was filled with silence for just a few moments as a realization dawned on all of them, with Church verbalizing their thoughts all into one word:

"Fuck."

---

Yang, Simmons and Grif stood around the gaping hole in the earth where Sarge and Ruby had fallen, peering through to see a long drop down into a cavern of some kind. "Looks like there's a cavern running right under Blood Gulch," Simmons noted.

"A cavern? A cavern like a cave? Like a cave with bats?' grif suddenly and quickly asked, going into a small panic.

"I don't know. Why, are you afraid of bats or something?" Simmons asked.

"Afraid of bats? No. Why would I be afraid of bats? And why would you even ask that question? Are there bats or something? That's kind of a weird thing to ask for no reason," Grif said, still quickly and nervously rushing through his words.

"After all we've been through the past few weeks, you're scared of bats?" Yang raised an eyebrow with a slightly amused smirk creeping up to her lips.

"Is it getting dark? We should be getting inside," Grif suggested.

"It hasn't gotten dark here in three fucking years, asshole," Simmons replied, clearly annoyed. "You're going down there. Now."

"Why? What do we really need Sarge for anyway? All he ever did was yell at us a bunch and tell us we suck! We'll just split up his duties. You yell at me, and I'll tell you you suck!"

"Shut up and get in the hole, Grif!" Simmons exclaimed.

"You suck, Simmons! Oh man, this new system is already working out great! We should've thought about this years ago!"

"And what about my sister?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure she's fine, she's as badass as the rest of you guys!"

"Okay, Grif. I tried to be nice. Either you get in the hole yourself, or I throw you down there at full force," Yang threatened.

Grif stared at her for a few hard seconds. "You wouldn't…"

"Hm… you're right," Yang agreed. "But he would." Simmons bashed Grif in the back of his head with his rifle, sending the orange soldier into the chasm below, screaming his entire way down.

"That's for the bullshit with the tank, asshole!" Simmons called after his teammate. "Man, I needed that…"

"See you down below," Yang winked before jumping down as well. Simmons followed close behind.

Grif kept screaming his entire descent before slamming down into the dirt at the bottom, landing harshly as both Simmons and Yang landed on their feet. Grif groaned as he got to his own two feet and recovered his rifle. "You didn't have to push…"

"Yeah, I didn't have to, but it sure was fun! And cathartic. I got a cool screenshot from my visor of you flailing, too!" Simmons said with an entertained glee. "Guess who has a new desktop wallpaper? This guy!"

"Hey, can you send me that? I wanna make it into a poster when I get home. Get it framed and hung up in my room," Yang said.

"Har har, very funny," Grif said dryly. "Now that I'm done being the punching bag, can we focus now?"

"Right. Let's find Sarge and Ruby," Simmons said.

---

"Shit! Get down!" Church exclaimed as the entire group dove for cover behind Blue Base as gunfire and grenades came down on top of them.

"Who is that?!" Sister asked.

"That's Tex!" Tucker answered.

"Woah, he's a bad ass! He's kinda hot!" Sister complimented their attacker.

"Tex isn't a guy, she's a girl!" Tucker corrected.

"Oh, sorry-she is a bad ass… she's kinda hot!"

"She's actually Church's ex-girlfriend!"

"Oh yeah? Why aren't you guys dating anymore?" Sister asked the Blue leader.

"Are you seriously asking that question right now?!" Church questioned.

Caboose said, "last time I was shot, I got a purple heart. Yeah, I-I hope this time I get a purple lung. Y'see, eventually, I-I hope to build an entire purple person! And we will be best friends!"

"Maybe you should ask for a purple brain," Tucker insulted.

"You're just jealous, because you have no friends!" Caboose replied.

Tucker then turned to their leader crouched down next to him. "Why is she shooting at us?"

"How do I know? And why are you acting like this is unusual?" Church replied.

"Well, go out there and tell her to stop!" Tucker said.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that," Church said sarcastically.

"Uh, aren't you like, the leader or something?" Sister asked.

"Uh, yeah Sister, I am the ladder, which is why I am officially appointing you as our field negotiator."

"Awesome!" sister cheered.

"Yes, congratulations, we're all very proud of you. Your first job is to get Tex to stop firing at us!"

"Cool." Sister then stood up, poking her head out of the safety of cover to scream across the field. "HEY TEX! STOP SHOOTING YOU STUPID BITCH!"

"Nice negotiating," Tucker said.

"She stopped firing. I think that actually worked. Maybe she's outta ammo… lemme check," Church said. He poked his head out, and within that same instant, a sniper round tore through his head. His body dropped down and Church now only stood in his corporeal ghostly form. "Nope. She still has ammo."

"Nice recon work," Tucker remarked.

"I'mma go get my body back," Church said.

"Yeah, good idea," Tucker said.

"Wait, hold on. Where the fuck is Blake?"

Tex reloaded her rifle and prepped to move when she heard a gun cock behind her. In an instant, she moved and grabbed Blake by her wrist, flipped her over and slammed her onto the ground, pinning the faunus down. "Can't get the drop on me twice, you little brat," Tex hissed. Then the black blade of Gambol Shroud was suddenly against her throat, and the Blake in front of her disappeared, merely a shadow clone. The real Blake kept her weapon right against Tex's neck. "Son of a bitch…"

"What do you think you're doing?" Blake questioned.

"What, you're surprised by this?" Tex asked.

"Not really," Blake admitted.

"You got me," Tex relented. Blake scowled, but slowly pulled her sword away. Tex returned to her feet and they rejoined the Blues, who were still crouched down in cover on the other side of the base.

"Hey, Tucker, is my body on straight?" Church asked, back in his body already.

"Dude, I don't even know what that means," Tucker replied.

They then noticed as the two black-clad women joined them. Church stood back up to his full height. "Tex, what is your problem?!" He questioned.

"My problem is that O'Malley isn't in Doc anymore. He's jumped into someone new, and I'm not trusting anybody until I find out who," Tex answered.

"Yeah, we already knew all that. We are on top of the situation," Church replied.

"You are? Then who did O'Malley jump into?" Tex asked.

"Oh. Yeah, I meant we were on top of everything right up until that point," Church said.

"Typical."

"None of us are infected, Tex, but I am a little worried about the tank. She's been acting really weird lately. Can an AI implant in a…" Church's words trailed off as he saw Tex's glare change from him to Sister, and she held that glare the entire time he was talking. "Tex?"

"Who's the new girl?" She asked.

"What? Who, Sister? Oh, she's just a new recruit."

"You mean to tell me I'm only gone a few days, and you guys get yourselves another new girl?!"

"Oh… umm…"

"Woah- tread lightly, dude… tread lightly…" Tucker warned.

---

Ruby's vision came to her as her ears were filled with a harsh ringing. Her mind had gone to black before they had even hit the ground. Now as consciousness returned to her, her head felt dizzy, discombobulated. Had her aura not protected her, she'd have been in a worse state. That being said, she could feel that her aura was gone, presumably broken by the fall.

"Yow… what in the-...?" She heard Sarge groan painfully. At least he was alright as well. She pushed herself up, Sarge doing the same next to her, and the two red-clad leaders got their bearings.

"You alright, Sarge?" Ruby asked.

"Feelin' a little sore, but otherwise fine. What happened up there?" Sarge replied.

"I'm not sure… I remember the Grimm… then I think the ground caved in below us… are we under Blood Gulch?"

"Hm, possibly. There are caves up and down the place. Wouldn't be surprised if this is one of 'em."

"Oh, hey guys!" a cheery voice greeted. The two turned around to see Donut approaching, unscathed, alive and well.

"Donut! You're alright!" Ruby smiled.

"Nope. Not a cave. This is hell," Sarge said.

"What are you guys doing down here?" Donut asked.

"Part of the canyon gave way during a fight. Sarge and I ended up falling down here," Ruby answered.

"Well it's great to see some familiar faces. I've been exploring down here and found some really crazy stuff. Look!" Donut gestured just down the path of the open cavern, and constructed in between a few pillars of rock down the way was an abandoned and damaged Blue outpost, much like the one above ground, just degraded.

"Well, that fort there looks like a Blue Base!" Sarge deduced.

"Yeah, but look at that!" Donut gestured to a large, unrecognizable purple transport of some kind, also abandoned and damaged. They knew right away they weren't going to get it to work.

"What is that thing?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know, but it sure looks like that thing Yang stole from O'Malley. Before she painted it, at least."

"Donut, why didn't you report this?" Sarge questioned.

"I couldn't. My radio broke when I fell!" Donut answered.

Ruby's eyes rounded as she suddenly remembered her sister and teammates above ground. "We need to call them and let them know we're okay!" She fumbled for her scroll and pulled it out of her pocket, only for the screen to be shattered and one of the ends to be barely hanging on. Her scroll must've been demolished in the fall. She let out a disappointed whine and tossed the destroyed scroll aside, letting it sit to become another forgotten object in the cavern.

"Not to worry, Ruby. My HUD says my radio is workin' just fine. Huh, looks like I'm actually being raised right now. One sec," Sarge said before turning to the side. His radio turned on to static until Simmons' voice filled the airwaves.

"Come in, Sarge. Are you there?"

"Hello! Is that you, Simmons?" Sarge answered.

"Sarge, we're down in the cave with you. Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay," Simmons asked.

"Is Ruby with you? Is she alright?" Yang asked quickly as she joined on the frequency as well.

"We're both fine. What's your location?" Sarge asked.

"We're looking for you right now, but this place is huge," Simmons said. "Yang and Grif are with me and we're on top of some kind of peninsular outcropping."

"Uh… Yang is on top of Grif's what?"

"No, we're on a peninsular ledge, trying to find you."

"Roger that. We found Donut and we're all in one piece, so you just sit tight and we'll find you," Sarge replied.

"Roger that. Simmons out." The radio clicked off and Sarge turned to his two companions.

"I just talked with Simmons on the radio. I told them to hold still and we'll come to them."

"Sarge, I don't think you realize how big this palace is," Donut said. "There's no landmarks or anything. Just one rock after another that all look the same. Finding them would be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Sounds easy to get lost in," Ruby said.

"They said they were standing on some kind of a… penis no-"

"Oh, I know where that is. Let's go!" Donut said before running ahead to lead the way.

"I'm not surprised," Sarge said before following. Ruby glanced around and saw Crescent Rose sitting in the dirt. She bent down and picked her beloved weapon up, then wiped the soil and dust off it. Once she was content, she changed it to it's boxed up form, hooked it onto the back of her belt, and also followed.

---

"I swear, I heard something that time," Grif insisted.

"You didn't hear anything," Yang said. "Just like the last twenty times."

Grif was silent for a few moments until another dripping sound could be heard. "There! Did you hear that?"

"Yes, I heard dripping water. A running sink could terrify you."

"Sounds like bats!" Grif exclaimed, still hung up on the possibility that the flying mammals he feared called the cavern home.

"Bats aren't made of liquid. Bats don't drip," Simmons said, also growing frustrated with his teammates untamed fear.

"Bat water!" grif cried.

"There are no bats, dude!" Yang said.

"You don't know, what if you're wrong?" Grif whined.

"Ok, idiot, let's assume I'm wrong. Let's assume there are bats. So what?" Simmons said. "You're wearing state of the art biomechanical body armor. It's designed to deflect bullets and absorb explosions. What can a five ounce flying rodent possibly do?"

Grif stared at him hard for a second before saying, "So basically you're saying that you think there are bats?"

"Sure, why not?" Simmons sighed, resigning to defeat with Grif.

"I'm getting the fuck outta here!" Grif said before starting in the other direction, but Yang grabbed his shoulder and pulled him right back.

"Nuh uh. You're staying right here while we wait for Sarge and Ruby, mister," She said sternly.

"Could we at least go stand by the light?" Grif asked, gesturing to one of the installed and, more importantly on lights just a few yards down the path.

"No. I told Sarge we weren't gonna move, so we're not moving. That would be moving, and thus would violate our strict 'no moving' policy," Simmons said.

"Hey, you know what else might be in the cave, Simmons? Snakes," Grif said.

"You're an asshole, Grif. Why would you bring up snakes?" Simmons said, a twinge of fear sneaking into his own tone.

"I'm just saying, I know you don't like snakes, and snakes do live in caves, and we are in a cave, and snakes like to crawl right up next to people in caves, and then they-"

"Alright, screw it, I'm gonna go stand by the light," Simmons quickly relented before moving at a brisk pace over to the active light.

Yang sighed and shook her head. "You're both pussies." Yang joined them under the light, the trio huddled together under the light as if it could actually protect them.

"Sarge should be able to see us here, right?" Simmons questioned.

"It's a light, so I sure hope so. He's not that old," Yang said.

"Now that I think about it, if we're in a cave, why are there lights down here?" Grif asked.

"That's… actually a good point. Who else could be down here?" Suddenly she felt a spike of pain as something pierced her neck, so fast and sudden her aura didn't come up to stop it. She held her neck and tore out a pink needle-like crystal from her skin. As soon as she took it out, she began to feel dizzy and drowsy. She dropped to her knees wearily, then toppled over out cold on the ground.

"Yang, you alright?" Simmons asked concerningly. Then a needle pierced his neck too. "I-Is that a snake…? Get it off…." Simmons quickly toppled over unconscious.

"Simmons? Yang?!" grif exclaimed, then one pierced his neck as well. "Ow…" He turned around as his vision blurred, still keeping on his feet. Eight more shot into him all over, from head to toe. "Ow!" One final needle shot into his groin, and his vision became nothing but a blurry mess as a handful of figures entered his obscured vision. "Oh, hey look… bat people… please don't eat me, bat people…" Grif said drowsily before falling over and slamming onto the ground.

---

Tex took Sister off to the side to speak privately, separate from Blake and the rest of the Blues. Afterwards, Doc returned to the rest of the group at Blue Base, having just finished his conversation with Sheila. "Ok, I talked to Sheila. You guys were right, she definitely seems a little odd," he said.

"Yep. So what do you think?" Church asked.

"I think she seems like there's something wrong," Doc answered.

"That's your diagnosis? That's why we sent you down there, man! Because we knew something was wrong!"

"I'm a medic, what do you want from me?" Doc asked.

"How about fixing her?" Church suggested.

"Well, surprisingly, my medical training didn't really cover internal combustion," Doc said sarcastically.

"Told you," Blake said to Church.

"What a shitty medical school," Church said. "Just go back down there and see if you can reboot Sheila."

"Reboot her?" Doc repeated.

"Yeah, dude, that's how you fix broken stuff," Tucker added. "You turn her off, and turn her back on again. She'll be fine."

"I don't think that'll work," Doc said.

"That does sound a little far-fetched to solve the problem," Blake agreed.

"Please, it always works. We rebooted the toaster, the TV, the teleporter- we even rebooted Caboose's armor once. Though, that took a lot longer to come back online than we thought it would," Church admitted.

"It was dark and I got to hold my breath," Caboose said. "I'm pretty sure there were no side effects."

"I don't much believe that either," Blake said.

"Oh no, I meant it won't work because I'm not going back down there. She's not exactly in the best of moods," Doc said. His words were punctuated by Sheila firing a cannon shell into the cliff face behind the group. "See?"

"Yeah, we need to get someone sneaky down there who can turn her off," Church admitted. He then glanced over in Blake's direction.

"Hell no," Blake cursed. "Besides, I wouldn't even know how."

"Eh, fair point," Church agreed.

"How about Tex?" Tucker suggested.

"Yeah, we couldn't afford it. If only we knew someone that Sheila trusted, and it would have to be someone kind of dumb, so that we could fool him into betraying that trust for our… purposes…" The whole group spun around to face Caboose, who stood there in confusion, not understanding the reason they were staring at all.

"Hey… everyone is looking at me… I love when they do that. Hi everybody!" Caboose said.

Church turned to Blake. "Not a word of this to Ruby."

"Not a word," Blake agreed.

"Well, I suppose I should figure out a way to get Tex to reboot Sheila. Man, I'm gonna have to call in a lot of favors for this one…"

"What favors could you have stored up with a woman who broke up with you?" Blake questioned.

"She didn't break up with me, it was mutual," Church corrected.

"Mutual in what way? Mutual in the sense that you wer eboth single th emoment after she dumped you?" Tucker said.

"Yeah, that way," Church deadpanned. "C'mon, Caboose. Let's go explain the plan to Tex. Wish us luck!" Church and Caboose then ran over to Tex just as Sister was starting on her way back over as well.

"Yeah right," Tucker said. "Hey, when she kills you, I'm gonna sell your armor to that pink guy on the Red team! I hear he's in the market!"

"Hey, who's the yellow soldier?" Doc asked, now notcing Sister as she wa smacking her way back over.

"That's Grif's sister. She dropped in a little while ago," Blake answered, not intending to make a pun out of it. She'd curse Yang for that later.

"No one told me about a new arrival," Doc said. "I'm supposed to examine everyone before they assume active duty!"

"Don't sweat it, I already checked her out for you. Diagnosis: F-I-N-E," Tucker said smoothly. "That spells fine."

"Thanks, but I think a trained medical professional should be the one to do-"

"I'm a doctor! A doctor of love! PhD. Certified love-ology. General her-ass-titioner. Sexocologist."

"You shouldn't be proud of yourself for any of that," Blake said.

"First of all, love is not an officially recognized medical specialty. And also, PhD's? Heh, not really doctors!" Doc said.

"Dude, you're a dork," Tucker said.

"Hey!" Sister greeted as she finally made it to them.

"Hey, Sister," Blake replied. "Meet Doc."

"Hi!" Sister said.

"Uh, hello, nice to meet you. I'm the medic. If it's alright with you, I need to give you a quick physical examination since you're new. Do you want to come in the base where you might feel more comfortable taking off all your clothes?" Doc asked.

"Sure, lead the way. See you, Tucker. Later, Blake," Sister said before she and Doc ran inside the base. Tucker was left in stunned silence by the whole interaction.

"What the fuck just happened…?" he said aloud.

"I guess Doc just had better game than you," Blake said with an entertained smirk. Despite the enemies and problems they faced, Blake was actually enjoying the downtime with the Reds and Blues. Sure, they fought a lot, but what friends don't? It was both entertaining and just plain fun to be around them. The only wrinkle in that was Tex. She didn't seem to care about the well being of the soldiers at all, despite having been in a relationship with one of them. That detachment worried Blake about what Tex would be willing to do. Because of this, Blake always kept her guard up when Tex was around. She had begun to understand and even somewhat trust some of the Reds and Blues. They had helped her and the team without question, so they were good people, even if not the purest or brightest. They were just people, people stationed in the middle of nowhere with just each other. Tex was a different story, indifferent to their problems, and even being a problem herself. Whatever all this was, it was just a mission to her. Blake would be ready if that mission meant fighting the freelancer for real.

Blake then noticed as Weiss was groggily exiting the base as Doc and Sister went inside. She quickly went to join her teammate. "Hey. Are you feeling alright?" Blake asked.

"I imagine this is what a hangover feels like…" Weiss groaned. "Do you mind catching me up?"

---

Ruby didn't talk much as they walked along the path through the cavern, her and Sarge following Donut's lead through rock formations and even more abandoned constructions. Donut mentioned something of even finding bodies of Red and Blue soldiers, just as dust and dirt covered and forgotten just like everything else below, but thankfully Sarge opted to move forward with Ruby with them. Ruby's mind was dwelling on something else though.

The battle up above came back to her mind. After the Grimm destroyed the Cosmic Dust container, also destroying the crystal in the process, the blast had injured it, opened up to reveal what had to have been a person below its black fur. Those eyes weren't that of Grimm. And what felt even stranger to Ruby was that the pair of eyes she saw inside had felt somehow… familiar. But how? From where? How would she know who hid under that mask of a Grimm? She hadn't been able to see the rest of their face, it was shielded by the blackness of their monstrous body. But what would she have seen if not?

"Sarge, I found Simmons! He's over here sleepin' on the job!" Donut called from ahead. Ruby's attention returned to the here and now as she and Sarge approached Donut. At their feet, only just now coming into consciousness, was Simmons.

"Donut… I'm not sleeping… I was drugged…" Simmons groaned as he started to get up. Ruby quickly moved to help him to his feet.

"Sorry, Sarge. He's not sleeping; he's doing drugs."

"Shut up, DOnut, I'm not doing drugs, we were attacked!" Simmons exclaimed.

"Where are Yang and Grif?" Ruby asked. The four quickly looked around to find that Yang and Grif were nowhere to be found.

"Probably out scoring this guy more drugs," Donut said.

"They must've tranqued us, taken Yang and Grif."

"Who would wanna take Grif? Garbage collectors?" Sarge questioned.

"The people who ambushed us! We have to find them. Luckily I implanted a tracking chip in Grif's armor, which should lead us to both of them," Simmons said.

"How fast can you track them?" Ruby asked.

"Gimme just a few seconds… and… got 'em. They're a tenth of a mile… that way," Simmons gestured.

"Then come on, let's go!" Ruby exclaimed before sprinting ahead. Without her aura, she didn't have her semblance to help her, but that wouldn't stop her from ensuring the safety of Grif or her sister. The thought that the Grimm was involved somehow popped into her head, and with that thought, the image of those strange yet familiar two eyes. But she shook it from her mind. It wasn't important right now, so she ignored that twinge in her memory, and just kept running ahead, with the Red Team following suit behind her.

O'Malley: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...

"Ship the Dust where it could be used, then when General Ironwood figured it all out, we got to visit their Earth. That's when that Grimm attacked our ship, and brought us here."

"Well, look on the bright side, at least you found us!" Donut said cheerfully.

"Yeah, it could've been a lot worse ya," Sarge agreed. "Besides, as far as I'm concerned, now you're honorary members of the Red army! Glad to have ya here. And don't worry about that hellhound. We'll send it back to kingdom come, and help you girls all get back home! Got that?"

---

"Memory's a bit fuzzy, but there was the weird thing and another guy talking about some kid and a sword, some kind of deal they made."

"Oh, wait! I forgot about the bomb! The bomb!" Grif exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's a good way to prove you aren't insane; Just start screaming 'the bomb! The bomb!'". Simmons remarked.

"The bomb was there! That's how we could understand what was being said!" Grif clarified.

"He means Andy, the talking bomb Tex built.

"A kid and a sword…" Ruby repeated out loud. "That sounds like Tucker to me."

"So?" Simmons questioned.

"So if they were asking about him, I think Tucker's in trouble."

---

"Caboose! The omega A.I has been missing, and everyone has been attempting to find him. If you continue to act erratically, they may mistakenly think he is inside of you, and take drastic measures against you," Sheila warned.

"Oh. I wouldn't want them to do that," Caboose said.

"Exactly! Luckily, I know where Omega is."

"What do you think, Tex, can we turn her back on again? Disable her guns or something?"

"Not a chance, she's a wreck back here. I'm not even sure how she was operational anyway," Tex answered.

"She could only be moved over if we had a similar class of vehicle," Tex explained.

"Similar how?" Blake asked.

"It'd have to be military hardware with sophisticated enough onboard computers," Tex replied.

"Like, say, a UNSC ship that just so happened to crash-land?" Blake suggested. "We could transfer Sheila into there."

---

"It looks like a camera feed showing different parts of the canyon. Look, there's our base!" Grif said.

"Ah, yes, another incredible observation from the Stating the Obvious Department. Thanks for nothing, numbnuts

---

"Um… are we sure we want to put her in this ship?" Church questioned.

"It's still flyable, but I'm gonna remove the ignition coil just to be sure," Tex said. "If O'Malley is in her somewhere, they aren't going anywhere without it."

"You want me to hold it?" Church asked.

"Are you kidding?"

"Well, thought it was worth a try."

---

"So every freelancer has a special equipment and A.I?" Blake asked.

"Mostly, yeah," Tex answered.

"Wait a minute," Church said. "Your armor was invisibility and your A.I was Omega."

"Right."

"What was Wyoming's A.I?" Church asked.

"Gamma," Tex answered.

---

"Hello. This is Church, Gary. Or should I call you Gamma?"

---

Vic called and said we should attack Red base right away, and for some reason he thinks it's a good idea for some of us to go through the caves," he explained.

"Why would we do that?" Weiss questioned.

"That's just it. We know the Reds are underground looking for Sarge and Ruby, and the timing of this is just… weird. Something's going on, and I don't like it."

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion

Chapter 18: Deja Vu

The forward group walked along a fairly precarious path alongside the wall of the canyon, slowly making their way out to Red Base and, hopefully, spot a possible trap from a distance. No dice, though. As Church scanned the entire Red side of the canyon with his sniper, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No movement, no obvious traps, nothing. He let out a sigh. "I don't see anything."

"Weiss and I will move up. You two stay here," Tex said.

"You want us to cover you?" Tucker asked.

Weiss scoffed. "Oh, please…" She rolled her eyes and immediately started forward as if it was the stupidest question she'd ever heard.

"Just don't run away," Tex added before joining her.

"You don't have to be bitches about it!" Tucker snapped back. Church aimed his scope back at Red Base, giving it another careful scan.

"I don't see anything at all. With Red Team underground, who else could even be here?" Church questioned.

"Man, I hate that I never get the fucking sniper rifle!" Tucker whined.

"Oh yeah, boo hoo. All you got is your stupid awesome sword, I feel so sorry for you."

"Come on, dude, just once! Let me use it just one time! I won't ever ask again! Pleeaaasee! Please please please please!"

"Can I use the sword?" Church asked.

"Oh, hell yes!" Tucker replied.

"Alright, fine, here." The two traded weapons, with Church dropping the heavy rifle into Tucker's hands while Tucker gave up the sword hilt to his leader.

"Oh, kickass! Heh heh! Okay, no, wait. How do I zoom? Wait, I'm zoomed!" Tucker said. He looked through the scope of the rifle unsteadily while Church struggled to activate the sword.

"Hey Tucker, this sword doesn't even work! What a fuckin gip!" Church cursed.

"Now how do I- wait, what is this thing?" Tucker asked, completely ignoring Church's complaints.

"Okay, whatever dude, just don't-" Church tried to warn.

BANG! BANG!

"OW!" Tex exclaimed.

"What the-?!" Weiss shrieked. Tucker had accidentally pulled the trigger twice, shooting Tex in her back end and nearly taking off Weiss's head, the round instead going through her off-center ponytail.

"The fuck?! Did you just fire that thing?!" Church yelled.

"Oops! That was an accident!" Tucker said. Through the scope, he could see both Tex and Weiss turn around with infuriated looks about both of them, then begin to come back towards the two Blues.

"We're supposed to be sneaking, dumbass! Gimme it back!" Church ordered.

"Umm, yeah, okay. Take it back," Tucker agreed. He gave the rifle back to Church and took his sword back as well, clipping the handle onto his belt.

"I knew there was a reason I didn't let you use this thing all these years." Church turned around as Tex and Weiss approached. "Hey guys, what're you doing back?" Tex brought her fist smashing down on the top of his head, then the pommel of Myrtenaster caught his jaw. "OW! What the fuck did I do?!"

"Asshole!" Tex cursed.

"I told him to be careful with that thing. He's just not very good with it," Tucker said.

---

"What? They're invading our base! And we're not even there to defend it! Oh the humiliation!" Sarge exclaimed. The Reds, Ruby and Yang saw as the Blues and Weiss moved onto the grounds of Red Base.

"I don't think it's an invasion, Sarge," Yang said. "They could just be looking for us. We wouldn't know if they've been trying to call us down here, we have no signal!"

"Or they're being lured into a trap," Ruby added. "We need to find a way back to the surface, warn them that they're after Tucker."

"The youngin's right. If anybody's gonna kill those Blues, it's gonna be me!" Sarge proclaimed.

"I guess that's the spirit," Ruby nervously chuckled. "Let's find a way out of here."

"I'm sure Simmons knows a way. Right, Simmons? Simmons?" She glanced over to the Red lieutenant who was staring intently at the monitor.

"Uh-huh. Yeah, I agree…" He said absently.

"Dude, you're not gonna be seeing any more naked girls on there," Yang said.

"Shut up! You don't know that! Stop saying that! She doesn't know what she's talking about…" Simmons growled and grumbled.

"We still need to find a way out. I'm all turned around down here," Grif said.

"I have an idea. Follow me," Donut said before moving out. The others followed him back across the precarious chasm and all throughout the cavern back to the spot where they started, just outside the abandoned underground Blue Base, and to two lifeless bodies that he had mentioned before. Ruby kept a distance between herself and the bodies though. "See? These are dead Blues."

"Yes, Donut, we're all very happy about the corpses," Sarge said. "Sicko."

"So these are Church and Tex's original bodies, huh? I'm surprised they don't reek of rot yet,"
Yang noted.

"Don't you get it? When you guys fell, you fell down here. When the Blues buried these two guys, they fell down too,' Donut explained.

"So we must be right under the Blue base!" Ruby deduced.

"So any exits around here would lead back to the surface outside the base," Simmons added.

"Then onward, men, to victory!" Sarge cried.

"Ugh, this war sucks…" Grif sighed as the Reds and Yang quickly ran on to find the nearest exit tunnel. Ruby, though, stopped to glance at the dead bodies. A small thought crossed her mind, as well as the image of the mismatched eyes again. Before she could dwell on it, though, her sister called her forward, and she ran to catch up with the others.

---

The Blues and Weiss scanned the entire exterior to the base, finding nothing awaiting them. If it was a trap, so far it wasn't a very good one. They regrouped atop Red Base to discuss their next steps.

"Alright, well, I guess let's break up into teams and search the base," Church suggested.

"Got it," Tex nodded. Then her radio whirred to life, followed by the unpleasant sound of Caboose's voice.

"Tex! Tex, are you there, Tex? I know who O'Malley is!" He said.

"Is it even worth checking inside? There's no one here," Weiss said.

"Yeah, probably. Just Command screwing up again. What else is new?" Church said.

"Does that mean we win?" Tucker asked.

"I suppose so. I guess we have two bases in the middle of a boxed canyon now," Church said.

"Whoopdie-fucking-doo," Tucker remarked.

"Right Tex?" Church turned around to find Tex aiming the barrel of her Battle Rifle right at his head.

"Don't move, O'Malley," Tex said coldly.

"Oh, crap…"

"Don't. Move," Tex stressed her words individually.

"Ooh, busted! Kill him, Tex! I got fifty-to-one odds if his next death is caused by anyone but Caboose!" Tucker said almost too enthusiastically.

"Tex, what are you doing?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"Tex, I am not O'Malley," Church said.

"Bullshit, it all makes sense now! You were the one who told Gary where we were, and you wanted the ignition coil for the ship after we uploaded Sheila!"

"That's all coincidental. That doesn't make me evil, that just makes me a bad leader," Church reflected.

"As much as I surprise myself by saying this, I agree with Church. He is an awful leader-" Weiss started.

"Gee, thanks," Church deadpanned.

"- and a resounding idiot, but he isn't O'Malley. If he were, we would've known by now."

"Yeah, I wouldn't have exactly had time to cook up an evil plan dealing with monsters and morons all week," Church added.

"Why would Caboose tell me it was you?" Tex questioned.

"You're trusting that dolt's word?" Weiss raised a curious eyebrow.

"That's right," Caboose said as he came on everyone's radio signals.

"Dude, I'll tell you what, if you get me killed again, I gotta tell ya, this time I'm gonna be a little pissed," Church said.

"Sheila told me that O'Malley might be inside Blue Leader," Caboose said.

"And that's you," Tex said.

"I'd hardly trust the words of a malfunctioning tank either," Weiss crossed her arms.

Church nodded. "Yeah, she's not exactly batting a thousand recently. Besides, I was never officially promoted to Blue Leader anyways. That's-..." Church's voice suddenly trailed off as a realization hit him. "Oh no…"

---

"So by the time I got home it was four AM, and when my mom asked where i was, I told her I was riding around on the train all night, which I guess is technically true-" Sister was regailing Doc and Blake about one of many stories she had decided to retell while they started searching the caves, stories that would haunt the back of their memories for as long as they lived. It was at this point that Doc cut her off.

"Uh, yeah, we don't have to talk about stuff any more. Let's just walk, and not talk. Ever again," he said uncomfortably. Blake silently agreed with the sentiment, holding herself uncomfortably as she tried to cleanse her mind of every mental image Sister had given her.

Sister stopped as Blake and Doc moved ahead and looked back to the trailing Junior who was a ways back down the path, trying to catch up. "C'mon, little guy, hurry up!" She urged the grub.

"Hrnk!" Junior squealed as his large, inhuman feet trotted in the dirt to catch up.

Looking for some kind of distraction, Blake absentmindedly looked around the tunnel until her eyes fell on a very familiar robotic head sitting in a corner collecting dirt and dust. "Lopez?"

"[Hola]," Lopez greeted in his robotic Spanish.

"Oh, it's you," Doc said with barely contained unenthusiasm.

"[Whatever. Some way to treat your sidekick. Gone for days and you don't even look for me,]" Lopez replied.

"You know him?" Sister said.

"You speak Spanish?" Doc asked.

"Uh, of course I do. It's the year twenty-five-hundred and I'm from America."

"Oh, cool," Doc said, only half listening. "Tell him O'Malley's gone." Sister spoke the language, which Blake didn't understand a word of, but clearly she messed something up if Lopez's tone and reaction were anything to go by.

"[Your Spanish sucks]," The robot said.

Blake was so distracted by the situation, she didn't hear the footsteps behind them until the two others were already upon them. "Hi there. I don't think we've met," A man said. Blake snapped around with Gambol Shroud already in its firearm form, aiming the barrel directly at the newcomers' heads. One of them was a human man in standard dark blue armor like Caboose's holding a Battle Rifle in his hands. The second was another fully grown alien like Crunchbite was, who wore golden armor plates instead of blue. "I'm Captain Butch Flowers and this is my friend."

"Hi, nice to meet you!" Sister greeted cheerfully. "Hey, wait… wasn't I sent here to replace you?"

"Honk?" Junior let out a curious sound as it peered at his kin and the supposedly dead Blue captain.

Flowers looked back down at the young grub. "Hey there, little guy." His voice quickly became distorted, switching between a normal pitch and a low, bassy register, glitching between the to like his own voice was corrupted audio. "I've been waiting a very, very long time to meet you."

"O'Malley," Blake furrowed her brow.

"The one and only. Gotta say, puppeteering a dead body is something new for me, but I'm kinda liking it. Plus it's creative. I gotta hand it to that slimy dog, he's original. I almost feel bad copying him like this."

"What are you-?" Blake started to question.

"Oh, come on, Blake, none of you have figured it out yet?" Flowers burst out into a fit of mad laughter. "Oh, you are in for a big surprise. I took a glance around in that head of his without him realizing it, and oh boy, the stories I could tell. Unfortunately, little faunus, we're on a bit of a tight schedule, so we're just gonna have to move this along quickly."

Blake was focused on O'Malley, aiming her reticle right at his head, that she only knew the alien had fired a needle from its weapon when it hit her side, shattering on her aura. "Agh!" She quickly took aim at the alien next, but the brief change of attention was all that was needed. O'Malley took the chance to rush forward and slam her into the wall, blasting the air from her lungs. She hacked out a harsh cough as she slid to the ground, but switched her weapon to its blade form and drove it through O'Malley's torso as he stood over her. He just chuckled, however.

"Did you forget this body is already dead?" He chuckled darkly. He bashed the side of her skull with the butt of his rifle, sending her to the ground and putting a harsh ringing in her ears. Before she could even recover, he stomped his foot down on her head, knocking her out cold. The alien quickly corralled Doc, Sister and Junior on its own. O'Malley pulled the short blade from his torso and let the weapon hit the dirt. "Grab her. We have to be on time."

"Blarg," the alien replied with a confirming nod.

---

"I am not O'Malley, I'm telling you, it's Flowers!" Church exclaimed. At this point, Tucker had his weapon aimed at his leader as well.

"Liar! Flowers is dead!" Tucker said.

"When would I have had time to make some kind of evil plan when I've been too busy dealing with you, Tex, the fucking boogeymen monsters, these four teenagers, that new yellow freak, and that stupid disgusting kid of yours?!" Church yelled, losing his temper on everybody who seemed to have not even a modicum of common sense.

"Okay, okay," Tucker relented, lowering his gun. "Man, I hope if Flowers is alive that he doesn't want this armor back."

"You're wearing your dead captain's armor?" Weiss questioned.

"He wasn't exactly using it," Tucker said.

"You are unbelievable…" Weiss sighed in disappointment.

"So wait, what the hell is going on?" Tucker questioned.

"I think we've just walked into a-" Tex started.

"Trap?" Another voice said.

Tex sighed. "Wyoming." The other three saw Wyoming standing right behind Tex with the barrel of his rifle aimed right at her head.

"Now, if I was O'Malley, I would've known that was gonna happen," Church said.

"How comforting," Weiss rolled her eyes.

"Yes, hello," Wyoming said. "So sorry to sneak up on you when you were busy quarreling about… well whatever it is exactly you people do here. I'm guessing some kind of ditch digging or something."

"Blue team doesn't even have shovels," Tucker said. "Which kinda sucks cause our guys are the ones who keep dying."

"And it looks like that trend is going to continue," Wyoming threatened.

"Oh what, you're here for Tex?" Church asked. "Because if you are, she's right here. All yours buddy, go for it."

"Not at all. I'm here for both the alien child and all the little huntresses-to-be. They're very important to certain people."

"Do you really think I'll just give up without a fight?" Weiss questioned. Then suddenly she was pinned to the ground by two Beowolves, their massive forms forcing her smaller frame down. One of them bit her arm harshly. She let out a pained yell and lost her hold on Myrtenaster. The weapon rolled from her fingers onto the floor. One of the Beowolves picked it up and tossed it across the roof to Wyoming, who caught the rapier and attached it to his belt.

"No, Miss Schnee, so we had to take precautions. Not that fighting you would even be difficult, mind you. You're the weakest link in your team. You haven't had a single victory in your time here. You let O'Malley hold you captive, and the Grimm has been able to defeat easily twice now, stealing the Dust from right under your feet every time. Your teammates have had to save you consistently. You can't even summon echoes to your aid like your sister can," Wyoming said. One of the wolves smashed its fists into her back, taking all of the air from her lungs, leaving her a hacking, coughing mess for a few moments, crumpled on the ground. The two Beowolves then backed away, standing guard around the Blues and her, as if waiting for their next command. "No, you're not a threat at all, Miss Schnee."

Church furrowed his brow under his helmet and subtly turned on his radio, creating a direct channel between him and Caboose. C'mon, Caboose, pick up… He thought to himself.

After a few rings, Caboose's voice finally filled his eardrum. "Yes! Hello evil Church. What can I do for you?"

"So, Wyoming," Church said, "You just showed up here and decided to attack us."

"Uh, my name is Caboose," Caboose said confusingly.

Church continued, hoping Caboose would eventually pick up on the message. "And now you've caught us at gunpoint, and it looks like we're in big trouble."

"That doesn't sound like something I would do. I think you have the wrong number."

"Here at Red Base. Wyoming. You found us and took us prisoner." Church stressed. "At the Red Base. Wyoming."

"Red base, no, uh, I'm on the ship. The shiiip. Sheila, i think O'Malley has driven him crazy, um, he's talking nonsense."

God dammit, Church cursed in his mind. Where's Ruby when you need her? Still, he continued. "If only someone nearby, someone with access to a tank, somehow knew what was going on and could help us. Someone for instance, in blue armor. Who somehow knew about the situation, and figured out what the fuck other people were talking about, and tried to fucking help us."

"Yeah, he's definitely crazy," Caboose said.

"Why do you keep explaining things to me?" Wyoming questioned. "I understand the situation perfectly. I ambushed you, you're quivering in fear."

"Yeah, what are you, the narrator now or something?" Tucker added.

"I just want everyone to be on the same page about Wyoming, ambushing us, at the Red base," Church repeated.

"We know," Tucker said impatiently.

"Wyoming. The bad guy."

"We know!"

"And we're here at the Red Base. Which isn't the Blue Base, or the caves, or the cliffs, or that weird tree, or the windmill."

"We get it, dude, we're standing right here," Tucker said. As Weiss struggled to get up, Tucker cautiously went over to help her to her feet, seeing the Beowolves watch the two of them intently, drooling as if waiting on a meal. Tucker got Weiss to her feet and helped her stand as she recovered. Without her weapon, she was just as exposed as the others.

"Maybe we should take this from the top," Church said impatiently, but he tried to keep himself calm. Just do what Ruby said, be patient with him, don't treat him like an idiot… He mentally groaned as he tried to get Caboose to the conclusion he needed. "Do you want to write this down?"

"No!" Tucker exclaimed.

"I think your friend here has lost his marbles," Wyoming remarked.

"Oh, you want to see crazy, wait until you try to take my fucking kid!" Tucker threatened. "What do you want with him anyway? He never did anything to you!"

"It's not what he did, it's what he's going to do," Wyoming corrected. "That child is very special."

"Yeah, I know. I guess I should've read to him more, or something," Tucker said.

"Not that kind of special, you half-wit. I mean he's important."

"Red base. No one is in the state of Wyoming!" Church said angrily.

---

"Shouldn't we rethink this plan?" Grif asked as they continued to search for a way out, getting closer and closer to the surface.

"Why?" Sarge asked.

"We could be walking right into a trap just like the Blues, and we're just gonna roll up on them? Haven't we learned the hard way that doing that is a bad idea?" Grif questioned. "They could know exactly what we're doing and be ready for us."

"Grif's right," Ruby said. "So far, we've gotten out of bad situations by either luck or outside help. Crunchbite and his ship helped clear out the Grimm back at the snow base. We've barely held out against that talking Grimm. I only beat him last time because I used the Dust power cell to hurt him. We need a better plan."

"Exactly! Winging it has gotten us this far!" Sarge said. "Our enemy can't know what we're doing if we don't know what we're doing!"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! If we go out there without a plan, we're gonna die!" Grif exclaimed.

"Will you all shut up? You're giving me a headache!"

The group turned to the new voice to find a very familiar metal ball sitting in a murky puddle in the cave. "Andy? Is that you?" Yang asked.

"No, I'm the other talking bomb, Francis," Andy sarcastically replied. "Pleased to meet ya, ya bimbo."

"Wow, I did not miss you at all," Yang crossed her arms.

"I thought you were busy helping the enemy," Simmons said.

"Nah, they didn't need me anymore. Apparently, that revived guy learned enough alien language to get by, and then it was 'what have you done for me lately'?"

"Hey, what was that deal they were talking about when I was all drugged out?" Grif asked.

Donut cut in, "Grif, I'm proud of you. Admitting you have a problem is the first step."

"Fuck off, Donut," Grif said.

"Baby steps, Grif. Baby steps."

Andy, meanwhile, went on to answer Grif's question. "That new alien is here to find the old one, and he revived the blue guy to help him. But then something happened to him. I don't know what, started actin' all funky."

"O'Malley," Ruby deduced.

"The alien revived him?" Simmons questioned.

"Yeah, they don't treat life and death the same way we do. Fact, that little guy that everyone think-" Andy started.

"We don't have time for this! Let's go!" Sarge said. Everyone started to move for the exit.

"Wait, take me with you!" Andy cried.

"Andy, we're going into battle unprepared, low on ammo and with no support. What use could we possibly have for a bomb?" Sarge asked before he and the others all quickly left him behind.

"I could always act as a lookout! Or a spy…! Or a chef… or, y'know… you could always use me as a bomb…" Andy whined, once again being left behind by the others. It was then that he noticed the robotic head sitting on the ledge above him to his left. "Oh, hey Lopez!"

"[Up yours]."

The others followed the tunnel until they finally reached the surface, and sunlight. "Oh, sun, how I missed you," Yang smirked. Everyone quickly ran ahead until Red Base was within sight.

"There's our base!" Sarge said.

"Looks like they're in trouble!" Simmons added.

Ruby peered closer until she recognized the white armor of the only other freelancer she knew. "It's Wyoming, and a couple of Beowolves. They captured the Blues and Weiss!" Ruby cried.

"Why aren't the Beowolves tearing him apart?" Yang questioned.

"Doesn't matter. We need to get across the canyon before they tear them apart," Ruby said.

"Tank!" Donut exclaimed.

"Huh?" Ruby turned around to see the Blues' tank roll through. She let out a cry and dove out of the way just before its treads ran her over. The vehicle continued as if nothing was in its way. "Sheila! Sheila, hold on!" She called after the tank, but it did not heed. She furrowed her brow and sped forward with her semblance, using what little aura she had recovered to propel herself forward.

"Ruby, wait!" Yang called after her.

---

"That little alien of yours has a very important destiny to fulfill, and we're going to make sure he does it," Wyoming said.

"Well he's not here, so guess what? You're shit outta luck," Tucker said.

"I'm well aware, one of my partners is taking care of that little acquisition right now. I'm just here to tidy up a bit," Wyoming said.

"How'd you sneak up on us anyway? Tex, I thought you were supposed to be good at this stealth stuff."

"I am," Tex said before she was enveloped by a shimmer and disappeared.

"Oh no, Tex has gone invisible. Whatever shall I do? Fret. Worry," Wyoming said sarcastically.

"Dude, I wouldn't sound so smug," Church warned. Then he saw the tank approach and park right in front of Blue Base, the main cannon pointed right at the roof. "Haha, yeah! Hey, it worked! I can't believe Caboose came through! How you like that, Wyoming? We even have our tank now. Boo yeah, motherfucker!"

"Ho ho ho ho, your tank?" Wyoming chuckled.

"Knock Knock, Church," Gamma greeted from the tank.

"Oh, shit…" Church muttered.

"Dolt," Weiss grumbled.

"Why is it that something dramatic seems to happen every five minutes? I mean, I can't possibly be the only one out here noticing this trend."

"You know, I really can't thank you enough for leaving your tank completely unattended. It was very kind of you, old chap. Makes your defeat and humiliation so much easier," Wyoming said.

"Yeah? Well, great, glad we could help. I'm sure if you give us enough time we'll just kill ourselves, save you some ammo," Church said.

"If it makes you feel any better, your death is for a very noble cause. Well, somewhat noble at least," Wyoming said.

"What do you want with Tucker's kid anyway?" Church asked.

Before Wyoming could answer, Tucker suddenly interrupted, loudly saying, "What? How did we get here?! What?!"

"What's wrong with you?" Church asked.

"With me?! What's happening?!"

"Please stop screaming in my ear…" Weiss groaned, still holding her stomach and using Tucker for support.

"Um, we're being held prisoner? Where the hell have you been?" Church questioned.

"What?! How?! I'm so confused!" Tucker exclaimed.

"What do you mean 'how'? Are you retarded?!" Church replied.

"Guns, Grimm and a tank jog your memory?" Weiss added.

"But Tex! She-!" Tucker started.

"I know. Tex'll take him out," Church said quietly.

"Oh, right, Tex. You mean… her?!" Wyoming swung the butt of his weapon outward, smashing it into Tex's face, knocking her out cold and uncloaking her. "Poor Tex. Never could figure out when she'd been beaten."

"But… how did he know where she was?" Weiss questioned.

"What do you mean? That's where she was before!" Tucker said.

"Before what?! Tucker, have you gone insane?!" Church cried.

"Wait a minute, what's going on?" Wyoming said.

"I think he knows," Gary said.

"I think you're right," Wyoming agreed.

"Church! I am coming to help!" They heard Caboose's voice down the canyon, and could see the blue soldier sprinting their way. "Don't start without me!"

"It's the idiot. Take care of him. Quickly," Wyoming ordered.

"Right," Gamma replied. The tank's turret swiveled to aim right at the Blue private.

"Caboose, no! Stay back! Don't get near the tank!" Tucker yelled. Too late, though. The machine gun turret opened fire, and countless bullets tore through Caboose's body, splashing his blood onto the dirt a thousand times over. There was already a puddle by the time the body hit the ground.

"Caboose! Nooo!" Church cried.

Ruby stopped as soon as she saw it, the gunfire and the crumpling body falling to the ground. Her eyes rounded and tears threatened to flow as they built up in her eyes. "Caboose!" She shrieked. She sped over to his body quickly. "Caboose, please be alright!"

"Go! Move!' Tucker exclaimed. He pushed Church forward and heaved Weiss up and carried her as both he and Church sprinted off the roof just before the tank's main cannon fired on their position, killing both Beowolves instead. The two sprinted for the nearest boulder jutting from the ground to use as cover. "Look out!" The tank fired again just as they got into cover. Church glanced around the corner to see Ruby at Caboose's body.

"Dammit… dammit!" He cursed. Losing Caboose was something in itself. But he could see Ruby's tears falling from her eyes. She didn't need to see that.

"I'm telling you, he's dead. Just like last time," Tucker said with almost no surprise, as if one of his own teammates wasn't just gunned down in front of him.

"Tucker, start making sense, right now," Weiss growled.

"This already happened. Wyoming shot Caboose, Tex jumped Wyoming and killed those Grimm, and then-"

"Tex is unconscious!" Church exclaimed over the gun and cannonfire.

"Fucking A, I know! That's what I'm saying!" Tucker said. Church peered out from cover again to see Wyoming shooting at them with his rifle. When the freelancer stopped to reload, Church snapped his rifle out and fired a round right into Wyoming's head. His body fell back and slammed onto the roof of Blue base instantly.

"Oh! I hit him! I hit him! I can't believe I hit- I mean- I knew this sniper rifle was awesome!"

"This is just like last time! Once Wyoming lost, everything seemed to-"

---

Suddenly, Tucker was back atop Blue Base, with Wyoming and Church bantering and Weiss leaning on him to stay on her feet, just as if nothing had even happened. "...reset."

Ruby was crying over Caboose's body one moment, then before she knew it, she was back in the middle of the canyon, halfway across just as the tank she was chasing reached Red Base. "W-What…?" She was confused, and even a little stunned. Had Caboose not died? What was going on? It was then she felt vibrations from her backpack. She quickly threw the bag of her shoulder and peered inside to find that the Cosmic Dust crystals were glowing, active in some way. Whatever it was, she didn't know. But she quickly threw the bag back over her shoulders before speeding forward again, hoping to stop what she saw from coming true. _

"You know, I really can't thank you enough for leaving your tank completely unattended. It was very kind of you, old chap. Makes your defeat and humiliation so much easier," Wyoming said.

"Yeah? Well, great, glad we could help. I'm sure if you give us enough time we'll just kill ourselves, save you some ammo," Church said.

"If it makes you feel any better, your death is for a very noble cause. Well, somewhat noble at least," Wyoming said.

"What do you want with Tucker's kid anyway?" Church asked.

"What is going on?!" Tucker cried out yet again.

"Uh, we're being held prisoner? Where the hell have you been?" Church questioned.

"Church, don't you remember any of this?!"

"Tucker, what the fuck are you talking about?" Church asked.

"He knows," Gamma warned.

"How the devil is he keeping up with us?!" Wyoming exclaimed.

"Irrelevant. Eliminate him," Gamma said. Both he and Wyoming took aim, and Tucker moved just as he did before, picking up Weiss and urging Church forward.

"Go, move! Tex, look out! He knows where you are!" Tucker warned.

"What?!" Tex uncloaked and ran off with the others.

Just as before, Caboose began his sprint across the canyon as well. "Church! I am coming to help! Don't start without me!" He called out.

"Shit, I forgot about Caboose!" Tucker cursed. Wyoming turned to see Caboose approaching, but as he took aim, a burst of rose petals collided into Caboose, moving him out of the way just before the shots were fired. As soon as Ruby got Caboose out of the way, she switched Crescent Rose into sniper form and in a single half of a second, took a shot that tore through Wyoming's armor and sent him sprawling onto the roof of Blue Base.

"Oh shit! Nice, Ruby!" Church congratulated.

"Aw, crap!" Tucker said.

"What do you mean 'aw crap'? Ruby just saved Caboose and took down Wyoming!" Weiss questioned.

"Yeah, I know, but somehow Wyoming keeps looping us through the same events over and over again, and no one but me seems to remember! I don't know how, but any time he gets hurt, thing just start-"

---

And he was back. Blue Base. Wyoming being a dick. Church none the wiser.

"Yeah? Well, great, glad we could help. I'm sure if you give us enough time we'll just kill ourselves, save you some ammo," Church said.

Damn. I gotta think smarter than this. I know! Just play along… Tucker thought to himself. "Yeah, and what do you want with me kid, anyway?" he asked the freelancer, stealing the same line he knew Church was going to ask.

"You don't… remember?" Wyoming asked.

"Remember? You never told me anything!" Tucker replied, playing dumb.

"I think it worked that time," Gamma said.

"Apparently," Wyoming agreed. "Keep your eye on him next time."

"The fuck are you guys talking about?" Church asked. "Oh, you know what, nevermind, keep talking. Waste time until Tex kills you."

"Oh right, dear Tex. You mean… her?!" Wyoming swung the butt of his weapon outward, smashing it into Tex's face, knocking her out cold and uncloaking her. He walked over and stood above her unconscious form. "Oh, poor Tex. Never could understand when she'd been-"

Wyoming was cut off as pure plasma tore through his torso, the twin blades of Tucker's energy sword burning like a flame in his body. "Beaten?!" Tucker finished for the freelancer.

"Reggie!" Gamma exclaimed.

"Ruby, I'm serving you up here!" Tucker exclaimed. Down the canyon, Ruby smirked and slid one of the Cosmic Dust crystals into her magazine, then took aim. Wyoming panicked when he realized what was happening.

"Wait, no-!" The freelancer begged. Ruby took aim, dead center on Wyoming's torso, right between where Tucker's blades were protruding now.

"Gotcha," She said before pulling the trigger. With a blinding flash of white light, the Cosmic Dust crystal sped across the canyon until it found a home lodged inside Wyoming's chest. Tucker pulled his blade out and shoved Wyoming aside before picking up Weiss again. "Everyone, move!" Tucker exclaimed. He took Wyoming's sniper rifle with one hand and helped Weiss to her feet with the other, then the two followed him off the roof of Blue base.

Wyoming pulled himself up to his feet, then looked at the crystal embedded deep in his torso. It began to emanate a bright, almost harsh, white light. Both his armor and body began to develop cracks and fractures emanating the same light. He could feel the energy flowing through him, tearing him apart from the inside out. "No… nooooo!" As the energy built up and up, and Wyoming's body could no longer contain it, a massive surge of it blasted out in a single, massive explosion that consumed his body. As the blast subsided, his half-scorched white helmet dropped from the sky into the dirt, wafting smoke as the heat and energy dissipated, serving as the one, the only, the last reminder of Agent Wyoming.

---

Ruby, meanwhile, quickly sped off to where Caboose would be. She caught him just before he started calling out. "Caboose, wait! Other way!" She pushed the blue soldier back and the two ran back just before the first of the tank's shells landed. They hid behind another one of the massive rocks jutting from the dirt of Blood Gulch, letting them catch their breath.

"That… was close…" Caboose panted. After a few moments of recovering the needed air for their lungs, Ruby quickly hugged Caboose tightly.

"Glad you're alright, Caboose…" She said. It felt like a weight was off her shoulders. She then let go of him. "Alright, Caboose. I'm gonna need you to do something for me."

---

Tucker started leading Weiss and Church to the backside of the base. "Tucker, how did you know what was happening?" Weiss asked.

"Cause of Wyoming! You know how Tex said every Freelancer had an A.I and a special ability? Well I think Wyoming can loop us through little segments of time, and he just keeps doing it over and over again until he wins."

"Wait, what? How many times did we loop?" Church asked.

"Too many. I thought about what you said with the copies when you traveled back in time, Church, so I thought of something to fix that," Tucker said. He led them around the corner where multiple versions of Wyoming stood, but they weren't exactly all together. They were pulling apart and fading away, one by one. A small army of them, turning into nothing.

"Wha… but- how?" Church questioned.

"Somewhere in those loops, I found out Ruby was aware of it too, because of the Dust. So we figured, if it helps resist the time bullshit, it can end the time bullshit, copies and all," Tucker explained.

"You know what, I kinda like this all knowing badass Tucker. He's certainly a lot better than the old one," Church said.

"I guess a warrior's look fits you after all," Weiss said with a small smile.

"See? I'm not all bad," Tucker replied.

---

As the tank kept firing on the Blue Team's approximate position, a few bullets hit its side. Gamma stopped firing and turned to see Caboose standing in the open. "Hey! Big mean tank jerk! Why don't you pick on someone your own size? Yeah, that's more like it!" He called out. Gamma immediately began to give chase, and Caboose sprinted away, back towards the ship. He ended up stopping just a few dozen feet from the ship and turned around to see that the tank had almost already caught up with him.

"Uh oh. Uh-okay, uh, Ruby… uh, here it comes… Ruby? Ruby…." Caboose began to stammer nervously as the tank approached. The tank then stopped just a short distance away and Gamma aimed its cannon right at Caboose. "Uh, yeah, I-I didn't really mean anything, I-I just wanted to say, um… hi?"

Ruby burst from a cloud of petals holding a large metal jack connected to a thick cable, then plugged it into the tank's back control panel. "Now, Sheila!" She exclaimed.

"What?! NOOooooo…." Gamma tried to yell out, but his voice slowly died out and the tank's turret lowered.

"Did you get him, Sheila?" Ruby asked.

"I have him! He is currently isolated behind a firewall. He is attempting to get through, but it will take some time. He is not that smart," Sheila reported over comms.

"Great, Sheila! You're the best!" Ruby smiled.

---

"Gamma is trapped, Tucker!" Ruby reported.

"Great job, Ruby. Get everyone and meet up at Blue Base. We still need to find O'Malley," Tucker said, then cut the comm.

"Look, one of em's still alive," Weiss said. She gestured to one of the last remaining Wyoming copies, already half-faded from existence, but still clinging on to life.

"What's your plan, Wyoming? Why are you here, and what do you want with the kids?" Church questioned.

"He already told me," Tucker said. "My kid is the last part of that big prophecy we thought failed, he's supposed to become some big religious savior for their whole race. And he's only getting Team RWBY for that Grimm!"

"You were working with the Grimm?" Weiss questioned.

"Enemy of my enemy, I suppose," the Wyoming weakly said.

"There's still more to that prophecy?" Tex asked.

"Yeah, so they wanna make Junior fulfill that prophecy and have O'Malley infect him. Then they can use him to enslave all the aliens by corrupting their religion from the inside," Tucker said.

"That's horrible…" Weiss shuddered.

"No, that's our job… to win the war, rrrg.. At any cost.." Wyoming said.

"Yeah, well good luck. I'm pretty sure the Grimm would backstab you, and your plan failed. Now that we have you, all we need to do is stop the other two, and Tex will be more than happy to do that," Church said.

"Oh, on the contrary, my friend… now that she knows our plan, not only will she not stop us; our dear Tex is going to help us."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure she'd be happy to help O'malley," Church said sarcastically. "Ain't that right, Tex?" No immediate response came. "Tex?"

"He's right," Tex said.

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed.

Tex immediately clicked on her radio. "This is Freelancer Tex, broadcasting on an open channel!"

"Tex, what are you doing?!" Church yelled.

"You want me, O'Malley? Come and get me. I repeat, this Freelancer Tex broadcasting on an open channel!"

Church quickly turned on his radio as well. "This is Private Church, broadcasting on an open channel!"

---

Ruby finally caught up with the Reds and her sister, the latter of whom quickly brought her into a tight embrace. "Ruby! What were you thinking?" Yang said in a panic.

"Don't worry. Wyoming's taken care of and Sheila's trapped Gamma. All that's left are the Grimm and O'Malley," Ruby informed. "Have you seen Blake?"

"I thought she'd be with you," Yang replied.

"Then we need to find her next," Ruby said.

The warthog pulled up with Sarge, Simmons and Grif inside. Donut caught up on foot. "When I connected your scrolls to our radio frequencies, I added tracking functions like I did to Grif's armor. You could probably find Blake that way," Simmons said.

"Thanks, Simmons. Yang, you should take Donut to find Blake. The Reds and I will help the Blues wrap things up here," Ruby said. Yang seemed hesitant, but nodded. She and Donut ran the other way.

That's when the radio filled with the comm chatter back with the Blues. "This is Freelancer Tex, broadcasting on an open channel!"

"This is Private Church, broadcasting on an open channel!"

"This is Weiss Schnee on an open channel!"

"Why are the Blues on the radio?" Grif questioned.

"I don't know," Simmons said.

"Well get them off! We can't have anyone getting infected by O'Malley!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Hey, Blues! Shut the fuck up!" Simmons cursed as soon as he joined the frequency. "Get off the radios and quit running our batteries down!" He then paused and le tout a deep chuckle. "Do it now, or I will kill every last one of you, and then everyone els where as well - just to prove a point!"

Everyone stared at Simmons as soon as he finished speaking.

"Simmons just got infected, didn't he?" Grif asked.

"Yep…" Ruby replied.

"Fuck."

Before getting into the finale of RvBvRWBY: Incursion, I'd like to address the recent news we've surely all seen by now. Rooster Teeth as a corporate entity is shutting down after 21 years. This news was hard to hear. I've been an avid fan of RT's productions for over a decade of my life, especially RWBY, Red vs Blue and Death Battle. While we don't actually know what will happen to these series, as they are technically owned by Warner Bros., it still is something sad to see. I hope that we still get see especially Red vs Blue and RWBY to the end, but this is an end of an era for a company that defined internet-based entertainment as we know it today.

Without further ado, though, enjoy the finale of RvBvRWBY: Incursion, and as Monty always said, Keep Moving Forward.

- Shad

---

Ruby: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...

"Yeah, so they wanna make Junior fulfill that prophecy and have O'Malley infect him. Then they can use him to enslave all the aliens by corrupting their religion from the inside," Tucker said.

"Yeah, well good luck. I'm pretty sure the Grimm would backstab you, and your plan failed. Now that we have you, all we need to do is stop the other two, and Tex will be more than happy to do that," Church said.

"Oh, on the contrary, my friend… now that she knows our plan, not only will she not stop us; our dear Tex is going to help us."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure she'd be happy to help O'malley," Church said sarcastically. "Ain't that right, Tex?" No immediate response came. "Tex?"

"He's right," Tex said.

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed.

Tex immediately clicked on her radio. "This is Freelancer Tex, broadcasting on an open channel!"

---

"Short version: Tex is trying to help the bad guys kidnap Junior and enslave an alien race. She just hopped into Caboose's head, so I need to follow her. Do me a favor, if I'm not back in ten minutes, disable the ship. If Tex gets out of here with O'Malley and that kid, there's no one that's going to be able to stop her."

"Alright. Let's go blow up that ship," The Red commander said as he hopped into the jeep.

"Wait! Church said to wait until he gets out!' Tucker said.

"He's right! We need to give him a chance, Sarge!" Ruby agreed.

"That's nice and all, youngin', but blowin' stuff up ain't a democracy.

---

You know how our Dust has been working off and on?"

"Yeah?"

"The natural properties of Dust disappear when it leaves Remnant's atmosphere," Blake explained.

"Then why could I still use my Dust? I haven't had that problem at all," Ruby said.

"Because you're the only one of us who always had a bag of the Cosmic Dust with them at all times," Yang said. "Think about it, that stuff is the only Dust that works fine no matter what."

---

"Church was right. Omega won't stop at just the aliens. If he has his way, he'll conquer your entire universe," Weiss warned.

"That's a chance I have to take! You wouldn't understand!"

"What dont' we understand? You're doing something beyond crazy, and we gotta keep you from doing it," Tucker said.

"Give me the sword, Tucker," Tex ordered.

---

"We have to stop her, right now!"

"No problemo, Blue," Sarge replied. "Andy, you there?"

"I'm here, coach!" Andy replied over the radio.

"What's going on?!" Church asked.

"Tex is hooking up Wyoming's helmet to the computer," Andy informed.

"Ready for your job, soldier?" Sarge asked.

"You bet!"

"Alright then, son - do what you were born to do- detonate," Sarge ordered.

---

You're supposed to some kind of badass heroes, but you were there when Sarge put a fucking bomb on the ship! But did you stop him? No! So guess what? It's not only him that killed her, you killed her!"

Ruby stepped back with a few stutter steps, tears forming at the ends of her eyes. "I… I-I…"

---

"I…. I know…" Ruby stammered.

"Know what?" Weiss asked.

"I know those eyes…. I know who the Grimm is…"

Taskmaster… Anthony…" Ruby shivered, fear beginning to crawl up her spine now. "Enough of this. No one else has to die."

"Is that what you thought when you fed me to a pack of Grimm? Left me in Mount Glenn to be torn apart?"

"I'll get back to Remnant, give Salem her dues. But first, I'll do what those idiots Wyoming and Omega couldn't, and deal with you." The crystal then began to glow, just as the Dust had done when they'd been transported in the first place.

"No!" Ruby moved to try to take the Dust away, but then her vision was all white.

---

"Oh! Morning, sweetie!" The woman smiled gleefully at Ruby.

Ruby's eyes rounded. Her grip loosened and Crescent Rose clattered onto the floor. She didn't want to believe her eyes. She could barely form anything beyond a single word:

"M-...Mom…?"

---

RvBvRWBY: Incursion

Series Finale

Chapter 20: Why We're Here

The Reds and Blues had fallen behind. Ruby was across the canyon in an instant, and her teammates weren't far behind her. They were far faster than the soldiers of Blood Gulch, who were only just now reaching the outskirts of Red Base.

"If it's not one thing, it's another!" Church growled.

"We get it, you're mad. You sound like a broken record!" Grif groaned.

"Fuck off, Red! You blew up my girlfriend!" Church snapped. The entire group stopped as the arguments broke out.

"Oh really? I thought you were blaming the children for that," Sarge remarked, making his stance on Church's previous outburst clear.

"Well at least they weren't the ones to actually put the fucking bomb on the ship!" Tucker defended his leader. "Seriously, are you insane?!"

"Actually I can answer that one for you, and the answer is yes," Grif remarked.

"How would you feel if I put your sister on a ship and blew it to kingdom come, huh? How about that?!" Church screamed. "On top of that, you all are still breathing with actual bodies! I'm a fucking ghost!"

"I thought that was Caboose's fault," Donut said.

"Most of our bodies," Simmons corrected. "I had to give Grif my organs because of you guys!"

"Which reminds me, I hope you have another liver. I think I've already killed this one," Grif said.

"God dammit, Grif!" Simmons cursed. "I told you to take proper care of my organs!"

"Oh, so I'm at fault now?" Grif responded.

The entire group broke out into a senseless storm of accusations and arguments, leaving the entire group forgetting what they were doing in the first place. Caboose was the first and only to notice as the pale, disheveled man stepped out of the base, with Ruby's bag of Dust strapped on his back. Normally, Caboose was friendly and trusting from the start, but even he knew something was immediately wrong with the man he saw. He aimed his rifle up at the man as the man turned to soldiers with an almost entertained smirk, watching them still argue and fight amongst one another. He began clapping loudly and slowly, eventually ending the fight as the Reds and Blues all turned to face their adversary.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Sarge questioned.

"I've gotta say, I'm impressed. No matter the situation, you all somehow manage to turn it into a battle amongst each other," the man said. "It's quite entertaining, but it's also gotten progressively dull."

"And who the fuck are you?" Church questioned harshly.

"Who am I?" He chuckled again. "Well, I guess I have had many names now. Taskmaster. The Grimm. Mercenary. Monster. But to you… I am the Grimmaster."

"Hold on a second… you were that thing? Big, black, furry dog from hell? That's you?" Tucker asked.

"The one and only," Grimmaster smirked.

Sarge aimed his shotgun at Grimmaster. "Then where are the girls, dirtbag? Fess up or eat lead!" The rest of the Reds and Blues quickly aimed their weapons as well.

"Oh, you mean Team RWBY? That's right! Let them come out, shall we?" He then bared his right hand. Embedded in the back of his hand was the corrupted Cosmic Dust crystal, it let out a sickened black glow, and the members of Team RWBY filed out of Red Base one by one.

"Thank god you guys are alright!" Sarge said. "I was worried…. you'd…" The red commander slowed as soon as they all got a clear look at the huntresses, though. They took stances at Grimmaster's sides, with Ruby and Weiss on his right, and Yang and Blake on his left. Their eyes were flat, lifeless, as if they weren't even awake, but their bodies stood on their own two feet. Their veins faintly glowed the same shade as the corrupted crystal.

"What's wrong, Sarge? Cat got your tongue?" Grimmaster cackled.

"What have you done to them?" Church questioned.

"The Cosmic Dust warps reality on small levels. It's not powerful enough to, say, shatter a moon. But if it can open tears in reality and ignore causality, it's more than capable of taking, at the very least temporary, control of the minds of a few little girls with the help of a little Grimm matter. They're still conscious in there somewhere. But their bodies are mine to treat as my puppets for the next few minutes. Inside their heads, they're living in their own little fantasy worlds. Who doesn't love a good fairy tale?"

"What do you want with them? What do you want with us?" Church asked.

"Oh, what I have with them is personal. Only Wyoming really cared about you morons. To me, you're just collateral," Grimmaster shrugged.

"Collateral?" Tucker repeated.

"Oh, did I forget to mention? I'm going to have them kill you brutally. Then, when they eventually come out of this little mind control, they'll realize the horror of what they've done. Then I'll leave them abandoned here with your corpses while I skip along happily back to Remnant, kill a witch, and get my girl. I'm sure you can relate to that last bit, right Church?" Church let out a growl. Grimmaster laughed heartily. "Oh, right, you can't! Your girl's mixed in with piles of flaming shrapnel that are probably still falling from the sky like little snowflakes. Because… of… me."

"Motherfucker!" Church cursed before immediately aiming to kill him with his sniper rifle. Before he could even look through the scope, a bullet tore through his possessed robotic body's shoulder. He stumbled backwards, and Caboose quickly caught him before he fell over. The Barrel of Gambol Shroud was smoking, Blake having taken the shot.

"Before they tear you to little pieces, do you want to know something, Leonard Church? All of you, really. These four little girls, they've been through things. Things you could only imagine. And even after a victorious day almost two months ago now, they feel a part of them is missing without their precious superhero friends. Boo-fucking-hoo, right? But get this: they actually started to feel like it was getting better with you idiots. Imagine that? They actually think you're their friends." Grimmaster let that information sink in before continuing. The soldiers traded brief glances amongst one another. "Especially this one." He walked over to Ruby and firmly gripped her skull. Caboose stepped forward suddenly, but Church grabbed his arm. "See? Right there. Let's start there. The dumbest of you all, the problem causer, the dipshit that kicked off all your problems. At best, he's a pet to you, one you wanna go back and put down like Old Yeller. But this little hero, bless her; little best friends with him instantly."

"And she is one of my best friends!' Caboose proclaimed before aiming his gun up again. "So let her go!"

"Hm… no," Grimmaster replied.

"Are we gonna be here listening to your bullshit monologue all day so you can keep fueling your ego? You're putting me to sleep," Grif remarked. "And that's not hard to do."

"Tucker," Church whispered to his teammate, not moving at all as to not give any sign he spoke at all. Tucker picked up on it and did the same.

"What?" He whispered back.

"We've got to break the girls free from whatever mind control he's got. But if it's anything like O'Malley, I can get into his head as a ghost to try and fix this. When I do that, the girls might attack you guys. Think you can live long enough for me to get us all out of this?" Church asked.

"I don't think we have much choice," Tucker replied.

"Hmph. Alright fine," Grimmaster said. "I have things to do after all." He glanced at the huntresses at his sides. "Kill them." He then strode back to Red Base, and the possessed huntresses all readied their weapons.

"Hey, Church, now would be a good time for your plan," Tucker said. Church didn't respond immediately, and kept staring ahead. "Church?... You've already left your body, haven't you?" Church's body then tipped over and fell onto the ground, kicking up a dirt cloud. "Figures." He then looked back forward at the four controlled warriors before them all, who bore battle ready looks, ready to kill. "Oh, fuckberries…"

---

Ruby stared wide-eyed ahead, her vision fixed on the woman in front of her. She looked like Summer Rose, but she couldn't be. Ruby's mother was gone, dead so soon in her life she was barely even a memory to her own daughter, and yet here she stood right in front of her.

"Ruby!" She heard Yang exclaim behind her. Her sister rejoined her, having come out of her own room down the hall. "What's going… on…?" Then Yang saw her too. Summer. Yang quickly adopted the same look as Ruby.

"Oh! Good morning, Yang!' Summer said sweetly. Then as she noticed her daughters' shocked looks in unison, she raised a confused eyebrow. "Are you two alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"M-Mom…?" Ruby stammered meekly.

"That's me! Your mother!" Summer chuckled confusingly, a small smile growing on her face. "Seriously, you two alright? It's not like it's the first time I've walked through the front door." Summer then crossed the living room where she set her weapon Sundered Rose, a wood and golden axe-rifle hybrid, onto two hooks nailed into the wall, turning her back to them.

"Yang… this… this can't be real…" Ruby whispered to her elder sister.

"I know… I know…" Yang repeated herself, seemingly more for her own benefit than Ruby's. Summer Rose had been dead most of their lives, and yet here she stood. But how?

"This… this has to be Taskmaster, or Grimmaster, or whatever, right?" Ruby asked. "The Dust… he had the Dust. It has to have something to do with this!"

"It could," Yang said. "We still don't know the first thing about the stuff. But that still begs the question, what exactly is this?"

"I don't know…" Ruby said, her eyes constantly drifting over to the woman who seemed to be her mother. Seeing the face and form of her in the flesh made it hard for Ruby to focus on anything else. Summer had gone over to the kitchen and embraced their father, wide smiles on both of their faces. The two parents would then look lovingly into each other's eyes, as if their family hadn't been missing an important piece nearly all of Ruby's life.

Ruby wondered, no she wished, that this reality could be true. But deep down, she knew it couldn't be. Right?

---

Weiss's head was pulsing, making her feel off-balance and dizzy, as if the world itself was spinning like a top threatening to tip over. She didn't even realize there was ground below her until she slammed down onto it. Her entire body now felt sore, and the side of her face stung. She felt a liquid running down the side of her face. Even as she lay on the ground, she gently touched her temple, feeling a cut running vertically down just to the left of her eye and brow. Her own touch made it sting. She inhaled sharply and pulled her hand away to see blood staining her fingertips.

My scar… how did…? She wondered to herself, then heard a harsh metal screech behind her. She rolled over onto her back to find she was in a large, ornate arena-like hall, and towering over her was a massive suit of armor holding a longsword in its hands. The Arma Gigas. This is… my test?! How am I here?! Weiss groaned and forced herself up, propping herself up by driving Myrtenaster into the ground and holding herself up with her own upper body strength. She glanced up to see a higher walkway above the arena, and found four silhouettes watching her from above. She knew them instantly; her older sister Winter, her younger brother Whitley, and her parents, Jacques and Willow. But… Mother wasn't watching me that day…

She glanced back at the Arma Gigas, which stood ready for their battle to continue. She furrowed her brow and steeled herself, returning to her full height and pointing the tip of Myrtenaster forward. Blood dripped off her chin and splashed onto the floor and her scar hurt like hell, but she ignored it. She had won this battle before, she would do it again.

The Arma Gigas roared and raised its long blade above its head, breaking out into a sprint across the arena. Weiss quickly raised her own weapon above her head before driving it into the ground and shooting ice Dust, quickly sending a tidal wave of sharp ice towards the walking suit of armor. The ice quickly enveloped the lower part of its legs, trapping it into a single position. Weiss pulled her blade from the ground with her right hand, then brought the pommel of her weapon up to her left shoulder. She switched cylinders and activated her fire Dust, which quickly creating a shield of flame around her rapier. She then leapt forward.

The Arma Gigas was quick to respond, cutting itself free from the ice, then using the backswing to aim for Weiss. Instead of avoiding the attack, Weiss leapt onto the flat edge of the massive sword as it passed by her, then dashed toward the Arma's wrist. She leapt up, flipped and slashed its metal palm, sending the oversized weapon out of its owners hands and into the back wall of the arena. As Weiss landed gracefully and skid to a stop, the Arma's hand quickly became consumed by flame. The Arma howled, then stared down at the much smaller Huntress. It began another rush, but as it took its first steps, one of Weiss glyphs, albeit a much larger one, blinked into existence beneath its feet, and the Arma Gigis was suddenly launched high into the air.

Before it had even begun to descend, Weiss created several normal-sized glyphs that fired torrents of ice into the Arma's body, weakening it even further. She then launched herself up into the air as well with another glyph. She flipped gracefully into the open air until she was above her falling opponent. Time slowed to a crawl, as if the world itself was in slow motion. Weiss formed another glyph at her feet and aimed her rapier forward. In half an instant, she was shot forward like a human bullet. She blasted through the Arma Gigas's torso and landed firmly on the ground. The Arma's chestplate turned to shrapnel, and the rest of its body burst into blue-white flames. Before long, only icy-like crystals remained of the armor, raining from above onto the ground below like shining snowflakes.

Weiss stood tall as the last crystals hit the ground, blood still dripping from the gash on her head. But she was numb to the pain of it now. She glanced up at her family, watching down on her. "So, Father, now that I've finished this foolish test, will you let me go to Beacon?"

Weiss remembered this day clearly. Her father never liked the idea of Weiss being a huntress. Her father liked to be in control. Winter had already left him to be in the Atlas military on her own, and Weiss doing the same for Beacon meant he would not have a hold on them, or at the very least not as strong of one. He didn't care about being a caring parent or husband; he married into the family for the wealth and power that came with being the head of the Schnee Dust Company, grooming Whitley into being an heir exactly like him and often abusing his wife. A cruel, self absorbed man with no emotional attachments to the family he had made.

On this day, he had had a frustrated look, his brow and mustache curling up in anger at Weiss's victory. Have it your way, he had growled.

That's why it surprised Weiss when her father stepped out of the shadows, arm linked with Willow's, and they both wore smiles on their faces. When her father replied, it wasn't with contempt or venom, but warmth and pride.

"Of course we will, Weiss. You've proven yourself to us," He said. Weiss's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but also confusion.

"I-I'm sorry… w-what…?" Weiss stammered.

"The Arma Gigas was the best way we could test your combat skills, ensure that you really were strong enough to go out into the world and fight its greatest dangers," Her mother Willow said. "If you bested that, we have no doubt in our minds you will bring pride to our family name, just as your grandfather wished."

"G-Grandfather?"

"Your sister took the same test before she joined the military. You both passed with flying colors," Jacques smiled.

"Congratulations, sister," Whitley said.

"I'm sure General Ironwood will be watching you with great interest once you start term at Beacon," Winter said.

"We are so proud of you, Weiss," Willow said, wearing a loving look on her face, leaning slightly into Jacques' side. The rest of her family wore proud smiles as well. Deep down, she knew this wasn't right, that this was wrong, warped. But right now, she didn't care. She felt elevated, and her own smile grew on her face. This was a reality she could get lost in.

---

Church snuck into Red Base carefully, though his corporeal feet never made a sound. He came to an end of the hall and peered around the corner into a small room that had to be Simmons' lab, where the Grimmaster was working on something just out of sight, scraps of metal and machinery splayed everywhere leftover from Simmons and Weiss's experiments. Church slowly entered the room and began to sneak up on the villain.

"Why do you care, Church?" Grimmaster suddenly asked.

Church stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

"Why do you care about their well being?" Grimmaster asked, still keeping his back to the Blue Leader as he kept working. "You said it yourself, they ruined everything. Sure, they're here because of me, but they keep pulling you into trouble, and they didn't save Tex."

"You're the reason she's gone in the first place," Church replied.

"Am I?" Grimmaster questioned. "That was all Omega's plan. I wasn't involved."

"I don't believe you," Church said.

"Think about it, Church. Remove Team RWBY and I from today's events, and what changes? Wyoming and Omega still enact their plan, you still defeat Wyoming, who then informs Tex of their goal. That was her choice. She chose to help enact a plan that would endanger your entire universe. The Reds planted the bomb and killed her. What part did we play in that?"

Church didn't have a response for that. He lowered his head slightly as the realization dawned on him. Ruby, Weiss, none of them were at fault. And he had lashed out at a girl who only wanted to do right.

"That's the truth of us as humans. We are violent, feral creatures. Push us into a corner, we will lash out. The Grimm are nothing compared to us. The greatest monster of all… is man."

"Yeah, and you're a prime example," Church replied.

"You're not wrong," Grimmaster smirked. "And soon, many will remember that."

"We're not letting you out of our world," Church said sternly.

"You're not letting me?" Grimmaster laughed heartily. "Church, Church, and how are you gonna stop- Hrk!" Church didn't wait another second before phasing into his body, breaking into his mind.

"Y'know, you egomaniacs talk too much," Church remarked.

"Get… out!" Grimmaster growled.

"Let.. the girls… go!"

"They'll be let go… rrrg, when I'm done and your friends are dead!" Grimmaster snarled.

"Not happening!" Church exclaimed. He pushed further into Grimmaster's mind, then a flash of white hit him, stunning him. The white took a while to reside, but as it did and Church's vision cleared, he found himself somewhere completely different from Blood Gulch. He was suddenly on a beach of some kind, a shoreline hugging the edge of a massive, vast ocean before him. "Huh…? Where the hell am I?"

He began to hear bustling activity behind him, and spun around to see a large port city packed full of people, stretching across the island. What struck him as even stranger, though, was the people themselves. Seemingly human at first, but they each had an animal attribute. Extra pairs of ears, tails, fins, scales, claws, fur, wings, the list continued. It put Church into a surprised shock for a few stunned moments before he could mutter anything else. "Okay…" He took a few more glances around. "I must be in one of those fantasies that douchebag mentioned… which means one of the girls is here. But where? There's so many people, I wouldn't know where to start…" He then sighed heavily. "This is gonna take a while…"

After stopping random citizens, which Church learned were called Faunus, who didn't seem to at all mind he was dressed and equipped for combat, and asking about each member of Team RWBY individually, he finally got directions from a woman with bat-ears and large wings. She pointed him towards the center of the city, where a large compound sat for the Belladonnas.

So this is Blake's mind, Church thought. I have questions at the end of this. He thanked the woman and quickly started off to the compound, quickly making his way across the island, which he also learned was called Menagerie. After only a few minutes, he found himself just outside the compound, waiting at the base of a staircase that led up to two ornately decorated doors .

"Well, Blake, time to wake up," Church said to himself before ascending the staircase. Before he even made it halfway up, the doors above swung open. He stopped short on one of the landings between sets of stairs and looked up. He saw Blake and a young man about her age, perhaps slightly older, exiting the compound together with interlocked arms and smiles. The young man had short red hair, bright blue eyes, and wore a black suit jacket and dress pants. His Faunus trait seemed to be dark horns that sprouted from his head and curved backwards with the swipe of his hair. Church noticed something different with Blake, too. Instead of wearing her bow, atop her head were a pair of black-furred feline ears.

So I'm not crazy for seeing her bow move from time to time, Church thought.

"Do you have to leave so soon, Adam?" Blake asked the young man.

Adam reluctantly nodded. "Unfortunately. Lord Ghira is sending me as Sienna's bodyguard during the hearing in Vacuo. We have the equality we've always wanted, Blake. There's just some ironing out to do. But I'll be back soon, my love. I promise." Adam squeezed Blake's hand tenderly, and she brought the hand up to the side of his face. For some reason, she had some memory of Adam having a horrid, stamped in mark scarring his face, but that's not what she saw right now. Adam had barely a blemish, his sky blue eyes untouched.

"See you soon, then?" Blake asked. Adam nodded with a small smile. The two started to lean closer to each other.

"Blake!" Church exclaimed. The two young faunus pulled away from one another and turned to the soldier.

"One of your human friends?" Adam asked.

"I-I…" Blake stammered. She then furrowed her brow and rubbed her head, a small headache overtaking her, her thoughts becoming scrambled. "Ch-Church…?"

"Blake, I need you to come around," Church said. "What we're seeing right now isn't real. That Grimm guy is using the Dust to control your minds until he finds a way out of Blood Gulch. If you don't break out of this, he'll have you kill all of us and leave you without a way back home!"

"I don't know who you are, but this is her home," Adam said defensively, furrowing his brow and placing a hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword.

Church ignored the bull faunus and kept trying to get through to Blake. "I know this is probably the happiest possible world you could live in, but that's just what he wants! So you won't want to break free. C'mon, Blake, hasn't anything felt wrong about this world?"

Blake seemed to think about it, and the fog that filled her mind began to clear. This world was wrong. She hadn't been to Menagerie in a long time. And she certainly wasn't still with Adam. But this was her perfect world. A world where Faunus had achieved equality, where she had never run away from home, where those close to her weren't twisted by the unjust evils of the world.

But that didn't happen. She had left her parents behind in Menagerie. She had joined the radicalized terrorists the White Fang had become. She had done so at Adam's side, and became intimately close with him. And Adam had turned twisted and cruel, becoming the bloodthirsty beast many believed the Faunus to be, because they hadn't achieved equality. That was the harsh reality, one that now returned to her.

"This isn't real…" she said.

"Blake?" Adam said. She turned to her former lover and saw that his face now had the familiar scarring stamp burned onto his skin, the letters SDC in a rectangular box like a tag imprinted on him forever, and the whitened damaged eye dead center. Blake stepped back from Adam and gripped her weapon firmly.

"I'm sorry, Adam. But we haven't been like this for a while. Because of you," Blake said.

"But we could be," Adam said.

Blake shook her head. "The White Fang, my family, you… it's all in the past. I have to keep moving forward..." Adam frowned, and suddenly the mask of the White Fang appeared on his face, covering his scars. He then quickly reached for his own weapon, but Blake was faster. In the same instant Adam gripped the hilt of his own weapon. Blake had already moved and cleaved his right arm free at the joint. He cried out and dropped to his knees as he fruitlessly cradled his bleeding joint, blood running between his fingers and dripping onto the stone below them.

"... while you're trapped by the past," Blake finished, sheathing Gambol Shroud with a determined look on her face.

"Well, that was easier than I thought," Church remarked. "Sooo…. Cat ears, huh?"

"You won't say a word of this to anyone," Blake said threateningly.

"Nope, not at all. I'm cool, I'm cool," Church said quickly. "So, uh, you'll probably come out of this in a minute, so I'm just gonna hop on over to the next angry teenager trying to kill all my friends. Bye."

Church then simply popped out of existence in front of her. After a few moments, the shorelines of Menagerie turned to a harsh white light, then once that receded, the dirt covered Blood Gulch. She rubbed her head painfully as her true senses came to her. She let out a groan before realizing she was holding her blade to the neck of Simmons, who was quivering with fear.

"Uh… please don't kill me…?" He whimpered.

"S-Simmons…?" She quickly pulled her weapon away and stumbled back. "Ugh, my head is killing me…"

"Oh thank God… I take it that means Church got you out?" Simmons asked with a relieved tone.

"Yeah… ugh, what did I miss?" Blake asked.

"See for yourself," Simmons said. Blake saw her three teammates battling the Reds and Blues, the latter just barely surviving. "We don't have a chance!"

"You do now," Blake said, rushing to protect the residents of Blood Gulch from her crazed teammates.

---

As Menagerie disappeared from around Church, the environment shifted and changed until he found himself somewhere new, somewhere completely different. The sand turned to tile, the open sky changed to chandelier-filled ceilings, and the faunus changed to humans in fancy suits and dresses. Suddenly the stairwell he stood on leading up to Blake's family compound changed to a staircase in the entry hall of a mansion. He still stood halfway up it. He looked down at the ground floor and at the next floor above to see the suits and decorated dresses walking back and forth with wine glasses in their hands, letting out privileged laughs among their small talk.

"Let's see; fancy mansion, rich snobs, and the smell of cologne only Donut would wear. This is Weiss's mind alright," Church remarked. "Now where is the bitchy little princess?"

---

Jacques repeatedly tapped the rim of his glass with a spoon as if it were a bell, trying to gather the attention of his guests. "Everyone, everyone! Please, a moment!" he called out. The dozens of conversations amongst his droves of rich spectators went silent. Jacques smiled and placed his hand on Weiss's shoulder, who stood next to him proudly with hands behind her back, a confident smirk on her face. "First of all, thank you all for coming tonight. It's been quite the turnout. But let us not forget that tonight is a celebration for my daughter, Weiss! Beacon's top Huntress in just a single year, who fought valiantly against the White Fang, who helped to bring about victory during the Battle of Beacon! This is her celebration!"

The crowd broke out into cheers as they raised their glasses, and those without drinks clapped for the Schnee heiress. Jacques did the same as the others who had drinks, holding his small wine glass gently above his head in a gesture of support. He gave Weiss's shoulder a squeeze as well, and flashed her a warm smile. Weiss smiled in return and felt herself relax.

"Enjoy tonight, Weiss. This is all for you," Jacques said.

"Thank you, Father," Weiss happily replied. Jacques patted her shoulder, then left her to speak with a few waiting nobles eager to speak with the SDC CEO. Weiss placed her own hand on her shoulder, feeling the warmth left by her father's. It almost made her smile wider. She was so distracted by it, she didn't notice the blue-armored soldier until he was right in front of her.

"Hey, Weiss!" Church exclaimed, startling her and snapping her from her stupor. "Good, you're here! Alright, I'll make this quick. I know you probably think this is real, but it's not. It's an illusion created by-"

"-created by him, I am well aware," Weiss cut him off.

"Wait, what? You are? Then why aren't you trying to get out of here, get your body back? It's kinda out there tearing us to shreds as we speak!" Church said. "What are you doing here, twiddling your thumbs?"

Weiss sighed. "You wouldn't understand…"

"Look, I get this is supposed to be a world where you get what you want, but it's a lie! You can't stay here forever! What is so important that makes you want to stay here and knowingly be lied to?" Church questioned.

Weiss sighed again and looked over to her father, who now had her mother at his arm, both happily engaging in conversation with the other rich folk over drinks. "My family…" Weiss said softly.

"Your family?" Church repeated.

"Back home, back in reality… my family isn't so picturesque. My father married my mother simply to gain our inheritance. She was merely a trophy wife to him. Property. My sister and I were no different to him. We were his to control. It's my younger brother he molded to be his heir. That's all he wanted. Our money, our power, our Dust, our entire inheritance and empire. He didn't care about the rest of us." Church stayed quiet, listening intently as Weiss began to pour out her misery. "The only time he laid a hand on us was to strike us. Never a hug or even a pat on the head. He left my mother broken and alone, leaving her with just her drinks and pointless parties. That left me and my sister on our own. All we had was each other."

"So… that's you became a huntress?" Church asked.

"Somewhat…" Weiss frowned. "I could die here, or any other world out there, and my father wouldn't notice, let alone care. We are only family by name. I always envied Ruby and Yang for having a loving father that cared for and raised them. It's something I could never know… I know this place is all an illusion, Church, but… but there's one thing my wealth couldn't buy: a loving family. I guess… I guess I just want to live this white lie a little longer…"

Her words weighed on Church, leaving him speechless for a short time. Weiss looked away from him, taking a moment to attempt to compose herself. She held herself tightly, unable to stop her body from quivering from built-up emotion that threatened to burst through the surface. Church was used to seeing her either being cool and collected to the point of apathy, or being overly angry and annoyed at almost everything. But now he was seeing the real Weiss for the first time. She wasn't a privileged brat, she wasn't an outright horrible person. Who he saw was just a kid, yearning for the paternal attachment she never had, even though she knew completely that what she was seeing was a fantasy. But it was her fantasy.

Church broke out of his thoughts as the shimmer of a single tear ran down Weiss's cheek, then dripped off her chin onto her collarbone. At first, his feeling of regret for how he treated her was all that was there. But then he noticed something missing from Weiss's pale neck. "Yeah, this world is great for you and all. But if it's so perfect here, where's your team? And where's that necklace you always keep around your neck?" He asked.

"H-Huh?" She quickly felt around her collarbone and looked frantically, but her precious snowflake necklace was nowhere to be found.

"Look, family can be rough. I get it. I get that you want to feel 'normal'. But you already have people who care about you. You got your team, and whoever gave you that necklace. Don't focus on what you lost, focus on what you have. And if you don't get out of this dream that guy's made for you, you could lose that too," Church said. "You and I might not get along very well, Weiss, but we both know we can't let this guy get away with what he's done. He's already taken away something… someone important to me. Don't let him do the same to you."

Weiss swallowed hard and wiped the tears from her face, then furrowed her brow and steeled herself. "I will make him hurt for this," She frowned.

"Do it for the both of us, 'kay? You'll be outta here in a sec, and I still need to get Ruby and Yang out of their own heads. See ya in a minute," Church said before suddenly popping out of Weiss's make-believe world. After Church was gone, her parents approached her with concerned looks.

"Weiss? What's wrong, dear?" Willow asked. She looked at her parents, the temptation to still stay gnawing at her, and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I wish this could be us, but… but it isn't. If we were, I may have never become a huntress. And a huntress is what I am," Weiss said, stepping away from the imaginary recreations of her parents. She took Myrtenaster from her hip, held it above her head, then drove it into the ground, pulling the trigger to fire ice dust, using it to form a thick shield of ice around her. As she did, everything around her flashed white for a moment, then it faded back in. She had still made an ice shield around her, but it was much larger, and around her were Tucker, Caboose, Grif and Sarge.

"Weiss? That really you, youngin'?" Sarge asked. Weiss smirked and nodded.

"Everyone alright?" She asked.

"Uh, depends. Do you define getting ready to be torn apart by a pissed off blonde 'alright'?" Tucker asked. As if on cue, Yang's fist burst through the thick ice wall. She then grabbed the barrier itself and tore a large hole through it, pushing through with ease. She wore an infuriated, but possessed, look on her face as she stomped inside. Weiss moved to defend the soldiers, but Yang backhanded her to the side, sending her flying until she slammed into her own ice barrier. Then the blonde turned her gaze back to the soldiers.

Without skipping a beat, Sarge blasted her with a shotgun slug, keeping her at bay for the briefest of moments. Before he could pull the trigger a second time, Yang lunged forward and struck Sarge in his gut, sending him stumbling back. Yang primed a follow up blow when Caboose grabbed her arm and actually held her back, then pulled her into a headlock.

"No! We are your friends!" He exclaimed. Yang bashed the back of her head into his, stunning him long enough to get free of his grip, then roundhouse kicked him away from her. Suddenly, several ice shards struck her. She cried out and snapped around to see Weiss on her feet, glyphs in the air behind her and Tucker and Grif at her sides, weapons aimed up at Yang.

"C'mon, Yang, snap out of this!" Weiss exclaimed. "If you can hear me in there, whatever you're seeing, you have to know it's not real! Come to your senses and see what you're doing!" Yang, however, was unresponsive, showing no signs that Weiss's words were getting through. Yang simply emptied the empty shells from her gauntlets and loaded more ammo in, then entered a combat stance with both fists up. The heiress furrowed her brow.

"You will let her go… " Weiss twirled her blade and drove it into the ground again. A larger glyph blinked into existence right behind her and the other two. Rising from it came a familiar set of armor, kneeling down one one knee with a hand on the pommel of its sword. The helmeted head glanced up, then the Arma Gigas rose to its full towering height, pulling its weapon from the ground. "... or I will make you."

"Holy shit…" Tucker marveled.

---

Church's world changed from Weiss's manor to something starkly different; he found himself outside a small forest homestead, a truck parked out front and lights on inside the main house. "Well, process of elimination, this has gotta be Ruby or Yang. Maybe both. Is this their home?"

"Uh, hey there!" A voice said.

"Huh?" Church glanced to see a man with blond hair come out the front door of the house.

"Can I help you with something?" Tai asked.

"Uh… yeah, yeah, uh… you wouldn't happen to know where Ruby and Yang are, would you?" Church asked.

"Are you a friend of theirs?"

"Uh…" Church sighed. "I-I guess I am. But I messed up, and they need my help."

"Well, they should be back any minute with their mom. They were out gathering a couple apples for dessert tonight. Summer's gonna make pie. You're welcome to stay if you like," Tai offered.

"Thanks, but I'm kind of on a timetable here," Church replied. "You sound really familiar by the way."

"Yeah, you do too. But I can't place it," Tai said, holding his chin thoughtfully. "Have we met before?"

"Eh, maybe in another world," Church replied.

"Church?" Church turned to see Ruby and Yang staring at him, each with small baskets of shiny red apples in hand.

"Huh. That was unrealistically fast. Not that I'm complaining," Church thought aloud.

"Church, what are you doing here?" Yang asked as she and Ruby approached, setting their baskets down.

"I'm here to get you out of your own heads. While you're trapped in this fantasy, that lunatic has control of your bodies. The guys are doing their best to survive, but I've already freed Weiss and Blake. Once I get you out of here, we can finish taking care of this mess," Church said.

Yang momentarily held her head, a sudden ache squeezing her skull, but her mind became clearer, as if a mental fog had been swept away. "You're… you're right. We need to get back out there," She agreed.

"Ruby, you with us?" Church asked. Ruby was looking away, silent. "Ruby?" For the briefest moment, Church could see a tear roll down her cheek, then she was gone in a cloud of rose petals. "Ruby, wait! Oh come on! Is everyone's perfect world related to some kind of childhood trauma?!" Church exclaimed.

"I… I can't blame her…" Yang sighed.

"What's your guys' deal?" Church questioned.

"Summer, Ruby's mom, the woman who raised us both… she's, uh… she's been gone a long time back home. Ruby never really got to know her. Now she's in a world where Mom never died, and she doesn't want to let it go…" Yang said.

"Jesus, I… I can't imagine that. Losing a parent and not knowing them… but how come you're not torn up about this?" Church asked.

"Summer's just one of the things eating me up… My mom being one of them. I guess I never fully bought into this fantasy because there's still enough wrong with it for me. If it was just my fantasy, my mom would be here too. But she isn't. Whatever he did to us, he lumped us together. But I can't leave without Ruby. I won't," Yang said.

"I'll, uh… I'll go talk to her."

---

Ruby stood on a cliff edge overlooking the sea around Patch, looking down at a small piece of land. This was where her mother's grave was supposed to be, sitting here against the horizon where the sun sets, the words Thus Kindly I Scatter engraved on her tombstone under a carved emblem of a rosebud. But it was gone. The land was unused, the soil unmarked. Her mother was still alive here, in the flesh. She knew it was a lie, that she's only living her greatest fantasy, but she had fallen into it. She had let the fairy tale take over, and now she couldn't let it go.

"Ruby?"

Her mother's voice both warmed her heart and sent a chill down her spine. Ruby hugged herself firmly.

"Ruby, what's wrong?" Summer asked, slowly approaching her daughter. No, not her daughter. This wasn't real. She wasn't real. Even though Ruby wanted it to be. She felt Summer's hand gently grip her shoulder. "Ruby. You know you can talk to me…"

Ruby had to force words from her mouth, her throat tightening, her own sorrow and anxiety threatening to choke her. "This… isn't… real…." She quivered.

"But you want it to be?" Summer asked, seemingly unfazed by Ruby's words, echoing the young huntress's own thoughts. Ruby weakly nodded, clutching herself even tighter with tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to drip down at any moment.

"I want… I-I want to be a family again… I want my mom…" It didn't take long, but she couldn't keep her tears from running. She began to sob and furiously wipe her eyes. Summer gently pulled Ruby into her embrace, wrapping her arms around her daughter lovingly. Ruby clung to her mother as if her life depended on it, squeezing Summer's waist with all her strength. Summer slowly caressed Ruby's head as Ruby wept into her chest. "I don't want to let go…" Ruby cried.

"I know…" Summer said softly. She sat down in the grass, pulling Ruby down with her. She set Ruby's head against her shoulder, then wrapped her white cloak around her child, holding her close with her arm under the cloth. Ruby accepted her embrace. The two looked forward as the sun was beginning to come down, moments from touching the horizon. "... but you must know you have to go."

Ruby didn't say anything. She didn't have any words to speak as her heart was sinking to the ground. Summer, though, bore a small smile. "Have you ever wondered why we're here, Ruby?"

Ruby weakly chuckled a bit. "I hear it's one of life's great mysteries…"

Summer giggled. "Yes it is. But it's not because it's an answer out of our reach. It's because everyone has a different answer, and none of them are wrong. Life is what we make it. Our reason for being here isn't predetermined by something out there greater than ourselves, it's something we choose. We forge our own paths, and you chose the same as me: a huntress, a hero. A protector. We've chosen to use our lives to ensure others will continue. Our stories are about ensuring more stories can be written. It's our badge, and our burden."

"But… but you're gone… you didn't get to finish your story," Ruby said.

"Every story, every fairy tale, has an ending, Ruby. And I had mine. But the highlight of my story isn't my life as a huntress, or my death away on a mission. The best part of my story was the start of yours," Summer said. Ruby looked up at her mother. "You've done so much already, and I am so proud of you, Ruby. But you have to keep writing your story. It's ok to look behind you, to remember your beginnings, but you can't let the past become your future. You have to keep moving forward, and be happy that you don't have to do it alone. You've made friends, grown your family beyond me, each with their own stories, stories you are a part of too. And right now, you all have a chapter to finish." Summer stood up, pulling Ruby back to her feet as well and wiping her face clean of tears with her thumb gently.

"That is why we are here: to ensure our stories are written and told to the end," Summer said.

"And I still have some writing to do," Ruby sniffled. She wiped her nose and eyes quickly, then looked back up at her mother. This would likely be the last time she ever saw her mother outside of a picture frame or fuzzy memories. She frowned a bit and then hugged her mother again tightly. Summer returned the embrace with a tenderness only a parent could. "I love you, Mom…"

"I love you too, Ruby," Summer replied. She rubbed Ruby's back lovingly, then leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead before pulling away. "Now, move forward." Ruby smiled, but the moment was bittersweet. But she knew what she had to do.

"Ruby!" Church called as he approached. Ruby snapped around to see the blue leader running towards her. He quickly joined her and began to speak. "Ruby, look, I'm sorry for what I said. I was an asshole. Tex wasn't your fault, and I shouldn't have-"

"It's ok, Church," Ruby smiled. "I'm ok. And I'm ready to go."

"I-uh… a-alright then," Church said. "You okay?"

"I am now," Ruby nodded.

"Alright. You should be coming out then. I'll meet you out there, okay?"

"You got it," Ruby replied. Church popped from existence, and then Ruby could see the horizon start to become pure white, the illusion destroying itself. Ruby glanced back to where her mother had stood, but only white rose petals remained, going up into the wind gusts, floating away. Kindly, she had scattered.

Ruby let out a breath and closed her eyes just as the rest of Patch became nothing.

After a few moments, she opened her eyes, and she was back in Blood Gulch, sitting on the ground with both her teammates and the Reds and Blue surrounding her, all of whom were worse for wear. "H-Hey, guys," She weakly said.

"How do you feel?" Doc asked.

"Weird," Ruby said simply. "But I'm myself at least." Church approached and put a hand out to her. She gladly took it and was pulled to her feet.

"Are you ready to finish this?" Church asked her. Ruby nodded and gripped Crescent Rose tightly.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that." Everyone looked towards Blue Base, where Grimmaster had stepped out, the spare bag of Cosmic Dust strapped on and a gauntlet-like machine equipped to his right hand, and attached to the backhand of the gauntlet was the corrupted Cosmic Dust crystal. "I must say, I'm a little disappointed none of you are dead. But it doesn't matter."

"It's over, Masters," Blake said.

"Yes, it is. Just not the way you think," Grimmaster said. "I watched as you created prototype after prototype, attempting to craft a way home. Thankfully, with a few ideas from the late Gamma A.I, I have my own." He pressed a button on the gauntlet, and the attached Cosmic Dust glowed. After a few seconds, with a loud SNAP! sound, a tear in reality appeared, creating a rift with a white interior and a faint but pulsing orange glowing outline. Everyone quickly aimed their weapons.

"Don't even think about it, asshole," Church threatened.

"Or what? You'll shoot me? You couldn't hit the broadside of a-"

BANG! A sniper round tore through Grimmaster's torso, making him stumble back a few steps. He held the wound out of pain at first, then pulled his hand back to reveal a gaping hole in his torso from where the bullet blasted through.

"How's that for my aim, bitch?!" Church remarked. "Suck on that!"

Grimmaster gritted his teeth, almost snarling as black matter inside his body filled the wound and sealed his skin. "Just enough Grimm matter left for that…" he groaned. Ruby dashed forward, closing the distance between them in an instant. Grimmaster was actually caught off guard, and quickly called upon the Dust to create an energy barrier between him and her, but the blade of Crescent Rose broke through, getting stuck halfway.

Ruby narrowed her eyes. "You said a name before, like they were behind everything. Salem," She said. "Who is Salem?"

Grimmaster smirked and snickered. "You'll find out soon enough. See ya later, Little Red." He then let go of the barrier and fell back through the rift, which promptly closed behind him. He had escaped.

Ruby sighed, then shifted her weapon down before attaching it to the back of her belt.

"So… that's it?" Yang said. "We're stuck here? We can never go home?"

"Not necessarily," Weiss said.

"What do you mean? He took all the Dust, didn't he?" Tucker asked.

"Not all of it," Weiss said, then emptied the tumbler of Myrtenaster to reveal a single Cosmic Dust crystal. "He didn't take the crystals we put into our weapons to make our other Dust work."

"So we still have a way home!" Ruby smiled.

"Hey Simmons," Church said, getting the Red lieutenant's attention. "Think you can get our portal up and running again?"

"With a bit of time and tools, yeah, I could," Simmons replied.

"Well then hop to it, Simmons! We're burnin' daylight!" Sarge ordered.

"Yes sir!" Simmons replied.

"Let's get to work then," Blake said.

---

It took about a full day's work, but after hard labor and plenty of crossed wires, the group were able to reconstruct the Cosmic Dust machine and reconnect it back to the Blue's teleporter.

"We learned from what happened last time. Now we have more makeshift dampeners to keep the energy conduits from overloading. Now, we shouldn't lose control of the portal when it turns into a rift," Simmons explained.

"So we shouldn't have another horde of Grimm come through," Weiss added.

"'Shouldn't'?" Grif repeated.

"Hey, let's take the small victories, alright?" Church said. "Fire it up, let's see it."

Weiss nodded and brought the machine to life. Just as before, the energy from the crystal began to mix with the energy from the teleporter.

"Please don't blow up, please don't blow up-" Simmons began to repeat.

"Sssh!" Yang snapped.

The energy kept mixing, and the base itself began to vibrate as the energy built up. But just as it felt like a burst of energy was imminent, it subsided, and the green energy of the teleporter mixed with the white energy of the Dust, creating a contained rift within the portal's frame.

"It… it worked! We actually created a multiversal rift! I'm a genius!" Simmons exclaimed.

"We're geniuses, you mean," Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Er, yeah! That's what I meant!" Simmons corrected himself.

"So this is it, huh? You're going home?" Church asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess so," Ruby said.

"It's, uh… I'd definitely gotten used to having you guys around. Good and bad, I guess… I guess maybe things won't be the same without you guys," Church admitted.

Ruby smiled. "We'll miss you too, Church." She quickly gave him a hug, which caught him off guard. He wanted to protest, but instead he patted her head.

Weiss glanced towards Simmons. "I guess this is goodbye then," She said.

"I guess so," Simmons said awkwardly. "It was kinda nice having someone else with a brain to talk to."

"Likewise," Weiss replied. "You have your quirks, but you certainly do have a talented mind."

"Maybe if you guys are ever in the neighborhood again, we could come up with something else this revolutionary," Simmons said.

"I'll write down some ideas," Weiss smiled.

"Looking forward to it," Simmons said.

"Well, I guess this is it, Grif," Yang said. "It's been fun."

"Ah, don't sweat it," Grif said. "With all of our luck, chances are you guys'll be back with more monsters on your tail."

"Think you'll be too lazy to join?" Yang asked.

"Like I said, nobody can know I actually care," Grif replied, chuckling a bit.

"Bring it in, big guy," Yang said before pulling Grif into a hug.

"You just had to get the fat joke in there, huh?" grif deadpanned.

"Of course," Yang deviously snickered before pulling away.

"Will you bring Firefly with you?" Grif asked, gesturing to the painted alien speeder parked in the dirt just outside Blue base.

"I don't think she'll fit through the portal," Yang sighed. "But hey, picking her up means I have a reason to come back."

"I'll be waiting," Grif said.

"Welp, youngin's, this is goodbye. You'll forever be remembered in the Red army hall of fame!" Sarge said.

"I refuse to believe that's a real thing," Blake said.

"Blake, don't be so mean," Ruby said.

"'Course it's real. It consists of me, me, another me, and then you! Leaders take the charge," Sarge said.

"I'm sure," Blake said with a small smile. "Besides the vengeful Grimm monster and evil A.I, it really was fun with you guys."

"Feel free to come back through the neighborhood sometime. Just maybe without the big bad guy baggage," Tucker said.

"Well, once we figure out a way to use the Dust safely, we'll make the trip," Ruby said.

"Do you really have to go?" Caboose asked sadly.

"Yeah, we do, Caboose," Ruby replied softly. "But hey, cheer up! We'll be back eventually!"

"Do you promise?" Caboose asked.

Ruby smiled and leapt up, hugging Caboose tightly, albeit awkwardly. "I promise." Caboose hugged back, and the two split.

"I will miss my friends."

"We'll miss you too," Blake smiled, Caboose's sincerity warming her heart a bit. "But we have a home to get back to."

"And we should be getting back to it promptly," Weiss said as she and Yang joined their teammates. "There's no telling how long the energy will remain stable."

"Which kinda brings me to something important," Ruby said before turning to all the Reds and Blues. "We saw what Wyoming and Masters were trying to do, the kind of danger both this Dust and the multiverse brings. No one else in this universe can know about us or the Dust."

"You want us to keep things under wraps if we can," Church said.

"We know that's asking a lot, considering what's happened, but-" Ruby started.

"Done," Sarge cut her off.

"Really?" Ruby questioned.

"Ruby, consider the past month or so we've just lived through. If the best way to keep that from happenin' again is to keep things quiet, consider it done," Sarge said.

"Yeah, the last thing we need is another Omega or 'Grimmaster' running around," Church said. "We'll keep things quiet. As far as our world is concerned, you were never here."

"You guys should get going. I really don't wanna risk this thing exploding," Simmons warned. Ruby glanced up at Church for a brief moment, who ushered her on.

"Get going. I'll feel better knowing you guys make it home alright," Church said. Ruby gave him a smile, and the team filed through the portal. First Blake, then Weiss, then Yang, their forms phasing through the energy as they left Blood Gulch behind.

When Ruby reached the teleporter frame, though, she paused, and took one last look back at the Reds and Blues, who were looking at her as she was passing through. It stung a bit, having to leave them behind after making friends. But now she understood why another of her friends had to do the same. Their stories are their own, and hers was no different. She smiled, although bittersweetly, and stepped through the portal. Her vision was overtaken by white for a few moments, then before she knew it she was stumbling onto clean patches of grass, not the brownish vegetation of Blood Gulch, but the familiar dark green of Patch's plantlife.

"Guess they really meant it about going back home," Yang remarked. "Dad's gonna be so pissed…"

"You think that's bad?" Weiss question. "General Ironwood and my sister will be a whole different level of lividity."

"Guys, I think we should just be glad we made it back to Remnant in one piece," Blake said.

"Girls…?" They all turned to see Tai and Ben in the doorway of the Xiao Long household, shocked expressions on their faces.

"Oh, uh… hey, Dad…" Ruby said awkwardly. Within seconds, Tai crossed the distance between them and hauled his two daughters into his arms.

"I'm so glad you're alright!" he exclaimed in relief.

Meanwhile, Ben went to Weiss and Blake. "You guys okay?"

"It's… been a strenuous few weeks," Weiss said.

"We're fine, but… it's not all good news," Blake said.

"Yeah, we need to talk about that," Ruby said, pulling herself out of her father's arms. She then looked at Ben cautiously. "Ben… he's back. He's alive."

Without even saying a name, Ben seemed to understand. It could've been the look in her eyes or the tone in her voice, but he just understood. His relief washed away, replaced by concern and fear. He stumbled back a bit as the revelation hit him. Weiss quickly grabbed his arm to try and keep him steady. Ruby frowned as the weight of what Ben was told seemed to instantly crush him.

---

"This is… troubling to say the least," Ironwood said, pacing the Xiao Long living room back and forth as he processed what Team RWBY told him. They omitted most of their exploits in Blood Gulch, believing that they should do as the soldiers were asked to do: keep quiet about what had happened there. Mostly. They told Ironwood about Grimmister's survival, and that most of the Cosmic Dust was destroyed, save for the bag that Masters took with him. But everything else like Wyoming, Omega, the aliens; they kept that to themselves. "If Masters is alive, then the threat is far more real and far closer than we expected."

"I'm sorry we weren't able to stop him," Ruby apologized.

"No, it's alright. You four did the best you could, I imagine," Ironwood replied. "Just as we must now as well. And you're certain there was no X-636 remaining?"

"Most of the shipment was destroyed or lost in the crash," Blake said. "What we did have with us was either destroyed or taken by Masters."

"I see…" Ironwood replied. "In that case, X-636 shipments will from now on be supervised by me or my specialists personally. No more of you will be put at risk for Atlas's endeavors."

"There's something else, General," Weiss said.

"Yes, Miss Schnee?" Ironwood said.

"When Masters was back, he mentioned a name: Salem. Who is Salem?" Weiss asked. The four huntresses all looked to the Atlesian leader for an answer. Clearly, it wasn't a question he was expecting. His eyes widened momentarily, then quickly narrowed.

"I figured he was working for Salem. The motives lined up too well," ironwood said.

"But who is Salem?" Yang asked.

Ironwood sighed, then moved to take a seat across from the team. "I take it there's no point in trying to lie to you. But let me make myself clear: what I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room. If you so wish, I will inform Team JNPR of this information on my way back through Argus, but that will be the end of it. Do you swear it?"

"Yes, General," Ruby nodded.

"Very well then," Ironwood sighed. "Salem is an immortal being who would wish nothing more than to see humanity wiped from the face of the planet. She is the witch that created the Grimm, and she's the one who orchestrated both the hunt of the maidens and the attack on Beacon."

The eyebrows of all four huntresses shot up in surprise. "She's behind… all of it?" Yang asked.

"All of it," Ironwood said evenly. "We win every day we keep the maidens out of her grasp. So that has been our mission all this time. The initiative to create things like X-636 is in the hopes of not only winning our stalemate with her, but to prevent other threats like Masters from ever harming Remnant again." The members of team RWBy were trading concerned glances among one another.

Ironwood sighed. "I've left you with much to think about. I will go. I hope to see you on my next visit when Beacon is in session." Ironwood stood up and left the house, leaving only Team RWBY there to ponder.

"Salem created the Grimm?" Yang said.

"There's an actual woman behind the slaughter," Blake said.

"What are we supposed to think after we learn something like that?" Weiss questioned.

"I don't know…" Ruby admitted. "But if there's one thing we do know, it's that the General is working to beat her. Ruby pulled three Cosmic Dust crystals from her pocket, holding them in her palm. "We've seen what these can do on their own. If Ironwood is making defenses like this, we just might turn the tide against Salem." The team smiled a bit and looked at the Dust crystals. No, their fight, their story certainly wasn't over. But with what they've learned and what they now have, it is the end of one chapter, and the beginning of the next.

---

It had been days since Team RWBY had returned to Remnant. Things had gotten quiet around Blood Gulch. No freelancers, aliens, or monsters to disturb the peace. The Reds and Blues hadn't even begun fighting again. There was just too much on their minds. The Reds were back at their base, doing God knows what, while Tucker, Doc and Sister were below inside Blue Base. Church and Caboose stood atop it, hanging around silently as the day wore on.

"Church?" Caboose said suddenly.

"Yeah?" Church replied.

"You ever wonder why we're here?" Caboose asked.

"You know, Caboose, I used to not care. I just went along with orders and hoped that everything would work out for me. But after all that's happened, you know what I've learned? It's not about hating the guy on the other side because someone told you to. I mean - you should hate someone because they're an asshole, or a pervert, or a brat, or a snob, or they're lazy, or arrogant, or an idiot, or a know it all, or too nice for their own good. Those are reasons to dislike somebody. You don't hate someone because someone told you to, you have to learn to despise people on a personal level. Not because they're Red, or because they're Blue, or something else entirely, but because you know them," Church said. Then he paused for a moment. "Then when you know them, you know there's more to it. You see some of the reasons why they are the way they are. And maybe, just maybe… they aren't entirely insufferable douchebags."

"..."

"..."

Caboose stared at Church awkwardly in silence before speaking again. "I meant why are we up here in the sun when we could be standing down there in the shade." He gestured to the large shadow cast by the base in the harsh sunlight of the gulch, which would get them out of said harsh sunlight.

"Oh…" Church said. "Yeah, okay, let's go stand in the shade." Church walked down the ramp off the roof. Caboose didn't follow him at first, instead quickly reaching into his pocket and retrieving a singular white crystal that gave off a faint glow. It was the same crystal they used to send Team RWBY home. And it would be the same one he would try to use to see them again.

"Caboose, you comin', man?" Church asked.

"Oh, uh, coming, Church!" Caboose replied. Caboose quickly pocketed the crystal again and joined his leader. One day he would see them again. He'd make sure of it.

---

The End

---

The Reds and Blues will return...

... in RvBvRWBY: Reunion

RvBvRWBY: Incursion Easter Eggs and References

---

Chapter 1: The Best Laid Plans

- The designation for the Cosmic Dust, X-636, originally comes from the RvBvRWBY stories written by both DokTumaVA and Ac3Productions. I created the term 'Cosmic Dust' to separate it from the other stories and out my own spin on it, while still paying tribute to those stories.

- At this point in time, the Hound (Masters) has scrambled memories. The reason he snarls at Ruby in particular is because she was the only member of Team RWBY present for his "death" in The Defenders of Remnant, and thus would have some vague recollection of her and only her at this point.

Chapter 2: New Faces, New Colors

- Sarge's "ice cream social" line is a reference to a similar line he says in RvB Season 1

Chapter 3: Heavy Metal

- The Tex jealousy scene plays out here first instead of later with Sister

- The scene where Caboose and Yang both pick up the bomb is meant to scale strength in a comedic way. At their base strengths, meaning Yang without her semblance boosting it, Caboose is stronger than Yang. This is flipped in the finale when possessed Yang has her semblance and deals with Caboose easily.

- This chapter has the first instance of Tucker's "I'm a lover, not a x" line.

Chapter 4: Grimm Tidings

- This chapter marks the start of the running joke that Church sounds like Tai. Both characters are voiced by Burnie Burns.

- This first encounter with the Hound is heavily meant to mirror the similar scene from Volume 8

- Church's line of "Hey, creature! Leave that kid alone!" is a reference to a lien Raphael says in the Batman vs TMNT movie, which is itself a reference to a Pink Floyd song. (Bonus: This reference was also made in the previous story, The Defenders of Remnant. "Hey Creature!" Count: 2)

- Right after the aforementioned dialogue is the start of the running joke of Church's aim against the Hound in particular.

Chapter 5: Defusing the Situation

- Yang references her trailer song

- In the original show, Grif is the one who stumbles on the Blues trying to calm Andy. Here, it's Weiss who does so.

Chapter 6: Knock Knock

- When we visit Saphron and Terra in Volume 6, Adrien is a toddler, two at oldest. Given this is two years prior to where that scene takes place in prime RWBY, rewinding two years would mean Adrian is less than a year old, so I made him an infant.

- We of course don't get Pyrrha after the Battle of Beacon, so when writing her few scenes throughout the story, I tried to imagine what her mind would be on and what could be potential for her story going forward, starting with the trauma caused by being involved with the maidens.

- This is the first chapter that Weiss begins to show her lingering to the events of The Defenders of Remnant, which ends up being the story arc for all members of Team RWBY, but Weiss especially: letting go of the past in order to move forward. Weiss is shown to be the most emotional about the Defenders leaving Remnant, though later on in the story Ruby explains how it affected them all.

Chapter 7: Hunting Time

- The start of this chapter is the first instance in which Ruby's direct intervention by taking care of him has altered his behavior/response in a conversation.

- There were a handful of scenes I had in mind from the get go of even planning an RvBvRWBY story in this era of the series. Weiss shooting Grif with a sniper while he was screaming was one of them, and Weiss seeing the tank with Simmons was another.

- Caboose's line of "Blue vs Red, it's weird when you say it backwards" is a reference to a line he says to Wash in Season 6.

Chapter 8: An Unexpected Party

- The Chapter title is a reference to the first chapter of The Hobbit.

- Weiss talks common sense into Simmons, which in turn cuts out his entire "Becoming a Blue" story from the original show.

Chapter 9: The Bogus Journey

- The chapter title is a reference to the second Bill and Ted film.

- This chapter marks a consistent trend for any fights against the Hound. Unless he was massively overwhelmed, Team RWBY and the Reds and Blues consistently lose. In the first battle, it's only driven off when they all attack him at once. Here, he's only beaten because he was shot by Sheila, but he dealt with Weiss easily.

Chapter 11: Down with the Sickness

- The chapter name is a reference to the song of the same name by Disturbed.

Chapter 12: Breaking Down

- Doc's line of "Oh, what are you gonna do with that little needle of yours? Pick your teeth with it?" is a reference to Game of Thrones, in which the same line is said about Arya Stark's weapon, Needle.

- The Hound says the line "It's not always about the money", a line used by Kingpin multiple times throughout The Defenders of Remnant. This was meant to widen the mystery of it's identity a bit, opening the possibility of it being Fisk, though just to make it confusing. Masters was always the intended identity. he says it because he now has a deeper understanding of the phrase on different levels. He became the primary villain of The Defenders of Remnant to consolidate power and freedom for himself for one, then he became close with Cinder for two, and now he had a personal vendetta for three, all of which go beyond his initial reasoning just being hired for money.

Chapter 13: Out of Mind

- This chapter marks the point where the relationship between all of Team RWBY and the Reds and Blues, with Ruby finally realizing just how awful or selfish they can be, helping to build to the breaking point in the penultimate chapter with Church's outburst, ultimately rectified when Church selflessly saves Team RWBY from Masters' control.

Chapter 14: Sibling Fights and Open Mics

- As elaborated on in the final two chapters, the two voices she hears when the teleporter explodes are her mother and Masters respectively

Chapter 15: Two Fronts

- I initially had a bit more planned for the Remnant side of the battle and Castle, but cut it for both time and chapter length, so Castle's appearance was limited to just a cameo, and the battle's main focus was the Blood Gulch side.

Chapter 16: As Above, So Below

- At this point is where it is noticeable that Team RWBY, especially Yang and Blake, are cursing more frequently. This is part of the idea that Team RWBY and the Reds and Blues are rubbing off on one another, with the huntresses becoming more vulgar and the soldiers getting a little more selfless as the story progresses.

Chapter 19: Omega

- I wanted to include Caboose mindscape version of Yang and Blake as well, but due to both time constraint san dhow it would slow down the pace of the chapter, opted against it. They could definitely appear in the future though.

- Church mentions Caboose wouldn't understand that Tucker's sword only works for him. While I considered changing it to where Ruby helped him understand that, and thus making Church's job more difficult, I again felt it interrupted the flow of the chapter and cut it. Though it would have been another great example of Ruby greatly helping Caboose process and understand things he otherwise wouldn't.

- In the fight to stop Tex, Tex does not fall for Blake's shadow clone fake out. She had already been snuck up on by Blake twice in the story, and learned to be ready for it.

- Grimmaster knocks out Yang with a single punch. This is to help establish that in his renewed form, he is objectively the strongest being left in Blood Gulch

Chapter 20: Why We're Here

- Grimmaster explains the limits of Cosmic Dust as he understands it (ex: can affect causality, restore other Dust's properties, open rifts, temporarily control minds. But can't be directly used as a weapon, isn't destructive). This was to keep this substance from being overly broken. It has defined limits and can't do much beyond those limits.

- In this chapter, there is no grand final battle, no boss fight against Grimmaster. The reason for this is because we just had two of them back-to-back with Wyoming and Tex, and on top of that this entire story has spent time showing that even a weakened Grimmaster (him as the Hound is weaker than he is now) is stronger and more skilled than anyone else present in Blood Gulch. It would be a pointless fight. So instead, the "final battle" is Team RWBY having to fight their desires, to let go of the tragedies of their pasts and not let it take them, and they need the Reds and Blues to help them to do it, especially Church, who just had his own life crumble around him. It's a fight to let things go, and to me that works more and is more impactful than just three back-to-back brawls.

- The particular scene in Weiss's fantasy against the Arma Gigas is the version of the scene from RWBY: Ice Queendom.

- While I'm sure some could criticize for this, part of Blake's fairy tale world is still being together with Adam, specifically an Adam who never became twisted by rage from growing up oppressed by humans. He and Blake were a couple in the past, and despite leaving him Blake always cared for him a little up until his death in prime RWBY. I personally believe in her perfect world, where Faunus are truly equal and the horrible things of her past didn't happen, she and Adam would still be together.

- Blake cuts of Fake Adam's arm, just as she does in the previous story The Defenders of Remnant.

- By the end of the story, Church is the only resident of Blood Gulch to know Blake is a Faunus

- Weiss is the only one not completely taken over by the illusions, but still willingly stays in her fairy tale world

- In The Defenders of Remnant, Weiss never fully summoned anything. Summoning the Arma Gigas here is the first time she has learned to do so. This was intentional. There was so much going on in The Defenders of Remnant that I purposely saved the finish to that story thread for Weiss for here, hence why it's brought up from time to time throughout this story.

- Church is consistently missing sniper shots at Grimmaster/The Hound throughout the story, but just before the end of it all, actually manages to hit him.

- Another factor of thsi story that was always going to be there was Masters as the Hound, and Ben's reaction to him being alive. Part of Ben's story in The Defenders of Remnant was becoming free and independent, breaking free from Masters' influence. Now a future story thread can be him dealing with the fact that the man he despises so much is still out there.

- Team RWBY become aware of Salem from Ironwood instead of Qrow.

- This chapter is a completed story arc for Church as much as Team RWBY. Throughout the story, he tolerates the huntresses less and less up to his outburst in the previous chapter, not seeing their own struggles running parallel to his. This final chapter is him understanding why they are the way they are, which is reflected in his final dialogue as well.

"You have to learn to despise people on a personal level. Not because they're Red, or because they're Blue, or something else entirely, but because you know them... Then when you know them, you know there's more to it. You see some of the reasons why they are the way they are."

This alters his original dialogue, which ends on a harsh, angry note. Instead, it's gentler. He's learned and grown from his time with Team RWBY.

Epilogues

- The scene with Oscar is pretty much ripped from Volume 4/5 of the original show. I included this just to tease things moving forward.

- Salem easily overpowers Grimmaster, even though he has the Cosmic Dust. This is meant to highlight the power scaling of the story. Grimmaster is stronger than Team RWBY, but Salem is much stronger than Grimmaster.

- Salem's cabal is cut down to just herself, Watts, Tyrian and Hazel.

---

Those are the Easter Eggs, References and some clarifying points to make throughout RvBvRWBY: Incursion. I can't thank readers enough for the support of this story, and I hope you'll continue ot support my future stories as well.

As mentioned before, the next two stories in my shared continuity of stories, which I have coined as "The Defenderverse", are Spider-Man: Born Again and a redone Smash: Emissary. Still doing the pre-write, but they should begin before too long. Thank you again, and I hope you check out my work as it comes out. Keep moving forward.

- Shad