Welcome back, everyone!

Why am I posting this on a Sunday? Easy: Fire Emblem Warriors is addictive beyond comparison and I've been playing all day Friday and Saturday. I had this chapter completed before the Hiatus, so not much is changing here.

Expect a new chapter for Fire Sword: Fated Incursion next, but if it isn't out by Friday, it should be out on Saturday.

"Any malfunctions yet?"

Matthias had requested help from Gwinn in order to fix his Skell quicker. Gwinn was monitoring the Skell's readings while Matthias was piloting it, running tests on the equipment itself. So far, Matthias had his hopes up for how the Skell's test results would end up. The Outfitters had let them use the training room to test the Skell's functionality at Matthias's request and after they had some time open for them to use.

Matthias looked over the cockpit's controls. "Nothing out of the ordinary. It looks like the Skell itself is operating at maximum potential."

Gwinn nodded. "How about the weapons?"

Matthias input his command. The Skell moved with his direction, reaching over to the shoulder mounted sword. It grasped the handle and swung it forward. Once it finished the maneuver, the Skell returned the sword to its place on the right arm. Matthias input the next command, making it move its left arm and grab the assault rifle on its hip.

Matthias grinned. "It looks like we're almost finished here. All that's left is to test the shields."

Gwinn tapped something on his control panel, releasing two small aerial probes with small ether pulse guns attached. Matthias responded by inputting another command. The Skell brought up its right arm and activated a blue reflector shield. Gwinn forced the probes to attack, shooting two shots immediately at the shield. Upon hitting the shield, the ether bolts flew right back at the probes, colliding with them and sending them to the ground. Gwinn ran out from behind the control panel and grabbed the small flying robots as they fell.

Gwinn looked them over for signs of damage. "A quick recharge and they should be up and running again." He turned back to Matthias in his Skell. "All systems go?"

The Skell stepped forward and knelt on one knee, releasing the hatch with Matthias inside. "Absolutely," he said, dropping out of the cockpit. "Thanks for the help, Gwinn."

Gwinn shrugged, smiling a sheepish grin. "I'm just helping another friend out anyway that I can."

Matthias laughed. "Take more pride in your work, Gwinn. You helped me get back out onto the field. It's worth more than I could ask for."

Gwinn shook his head. "This was all you. I just wish we could get some more testing out of the Skell itself."

Matthias smiled at his comrade, looking past him towards the doors to the training facility. "I have a feeling that we'll get the chance."

Gwinn turned to see who he was talking about. Walking towards them from the entrance was none other than Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. Ruby had upgraded her armor for the scarlet colored Reigner Mark II, designed to be sleek and evasive in combat, yet concealed as much skin as possible. Yang, on the other hand, had donned the gold-based Ignition Mark III armor, designed to focus on offensive measures and aggressive strikes, but left her neck and upper arms exposed. Matthias had his eyes on Ruby's huge grin at the Skell, while Gwinn was focused on Yang's seductive smile.

Matthias noticed this and let out a hearty laugh. "Gwinn, you have a lot to learn."

Gwinn shook himself out of his paralysis. "I wasn't looking! I swear!"

Yang and Ruby both burst out laughing, Matthias following shortly afterward. Gwinn blushed in embarrassment. Yang wrapped him in a large bear hug. "I didn't know you liked the girls, Gwinneth Paltrow!"

Ruby laughed even harder. "That's priceless! I'm penning that nickname for you."

Gwinn scowled. "Try me, Craterface!"

This shut the huntress up quick. "Hey!"

Matthias chuckled slightly from the nicknames. "What's with this 'Craterface' nickname?"

Ruby blushed. "On my first day at Beacon Academy, I almost exploded a hole in the school by sneezing."

Matthias shook his head. "First impressions are usually the hardest."

Ruby looked up at the new face. He towered over her, royal blue armor and golden accents. His hair, beard, and goatee all connected and formed a massive lion-esque mane. He wore the royal blue and golden recolor of the Unbroken Mark V armor, designed to prioritize strength and defense over all else. Ruby could see that he carried a longsword on his belt and a raygun on his back, which looked more like a rocket than a gun.

Ruby finally stopped staring when she heard him say something. "Gwinn, would you fill me in?"

Gwinn snapped to attention. "This is Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long from Team RWBY."

Matthias grinned. "The sisters, then." He extended his hand towards Ruby. "Matthias Rightgard, Team Leader for my Interceptor squadron."

Ruby shook his hand, wincing from his strength. "Nice to meet you."

He let go, reaching out toward Yang, who pulled him into a bearhug. "You need to learn this, Matthias. I'm a hugger."

Matthias chuckled. "Not my usual forte, but I'll adapt."

Yang let go. "You're the first one to not squirm from my hugs."

Matthias frowned. "From pain?"

"Yep."

Matthias shook his head. "You'll have to try harder."

Ruby looked over to his Skell. "Are you testing some new weapons?"

Matthias shook his head. "My Skell was badly damaged a while ago and I had to run some calibration tests."

Yang crossed her arms. "We've just finished our team's tasks for today and wanted to do some on our own."

Matthias thought about it. "Come to think about it, maybe you two could help."

Gwinn's comlink buzzed. "It's Irina. I have to go."

Matthias gestured for him to go ahead. "Go on. I'm sure she'll need your help."

"Thanks Matthias." Gwin then rushed out of the facility.

Yang popped her neck. "She's got him on a leash for this whole week."

Matthias shook his head. "Anyways, I need some help on a mission I've been assigned."

Ruby pulled out her Hecate III and cocked it. "What's the mission?"

Matthias crossed his arms. "My group was charged with taking down a local tyrant and in the process lost my Skell's raygun. Furthermore, I had to replace the power core and rebuild a few parts."

Ruby cocked her head to one side. "I thought you said the Skell was repaired now."

Matthias nodded. "It is, but the tyrant is still out there. I would bet that someone's tried taking it down again, but they may have failed in the process."

Yang popped her knuckles. "So, you want us to help you defeat it?"

Matthias snapped his fingers together. "Bingo."

"Which tyrant?"

"A troublesome Forfex by the name of Agil, the Insurmountable. He's been attacking a nopon village in Noctilum and leaving their wares in a mess."

Ruby shouldered her rifle. "What are we waiting for?"

Matthias nodded. "It's not so simple. While I could drive over there in my Skell, you two would be forced to run all the way there."

Yang shrugged. "So we're calling for evac?"

Matthias shook his head. "I could see about getting you two some installed handles to ride on the back, but-"

"That won't be necessary," a familiar voice called from behind them.

The two huntresses turned to see N-Sight standing behind them, holding two small devices that looked like gas-powered nailguns. "I've got something for you two."

Ruby's eyes gleamed at the gifts. "What did you make this time?"

N-Sight hoisted one of the handguns into the air. "Introducing the Mark V Grappler. It uses a newly designed beam that allows for gripping onto any metal object without interfering with its electronic circuits."

Ruby grabbed the other one from him, firing it upward and sending a thick beam towards the roof, grasping onto a support beam. She pressed a button on the side, boosting herself upward, where she hung from the ceiling. "This is SO COOL!"

N-Sight handed the other one to Yang. "This goes along with another item. Do you remember those rounded shields they had you test last week?"

Yang took the grappler from his extended hand. "Yeah, the ones that reflected bullets to other targets?"

N-Sight pulled out a pair of those same shields, which were steel-plated and smooth to the touch. "They were added to the weapons console two days ago. Emm helped me test a theory with these things."

Yang could not have prepared herself for what he showed her. "There were two straps that looked like they attached to your feet."

Yang picked up on of the shields. "You're saying that we can surf on top of the ground by putting these on our feet and grappling onto the Skell while it's moving?"

N-Sight nodded as Ruby dropped from the ceiling. "That sums it up nicely, yes."

Ruby grabbed the other shield from N-Sight. "This is SO AWESOME!"

N-Sight looked over to Matthias. "I just need to see your Skell to check on where they can place their beams."

Matthias gestured towards the Skell. "Go ahead and help yourself. We'll leave when you've finished your tutorial on this."

It didn't take them long to figure out the basics, so they set out only fifteen minutes later. Matthias had his Skell in drive mode, allowing him to travel faster to Noctilum. Ruby and Yang found that if they grappled onto the cannon on his back, they could spin around him on their shields in combat. Matthias enjoyed the idea, but he wasn't so sure of how it would work for their fight against Agil.

As they traveled across Noctilum, Ruby began surfing left and right on the shield. She slid across tree stumps, used a few Tirkins as springboards, and slid across the water with ease. Yang was doing the same, but she was using larger indigenous creatures as ramps. Yang got twice as much air time as Ruby did, making her younger sister's eyes light up with ideas.

Finally, they reached the grounds where the Tyrant lived. Matthias changed his Skell into combat form and the huntresses began circling him on their shields. Ruby grabbed her sword with one hand while holding the Grappler in the other. Yang managed to deactivate the Grappler at the right angle to fly right at the forfex. She raised the shield as she drew nearer, bouncing off of the Tyrant's shell and denting it. She flipped backward and slid next to Matthias's Skell, which had already drawn its rifle and opened fire.

Yang stepped off of the shield and drew her guns. "So," she asked Matthias through her comlink. "What's the plan?"

Matthias reloaded the rifle on his Skell. "This guy is susceptible to staggering. If you can catch him off balance, I can bind him with my Skell. If you knock him off-balance, we'll have a clear opening."

Yang nodded. "It's time to kick things off with a YANG!"

Ruby was still spinning around the Skell, still grappled onto the cannon. She surfed around the two Blades and brought her sword into Agil's jaw, slashing off the appendage and knocking him back. Ruby slid around Matthias once more before releasing the Grappler's trigger and smacking into the Tyrant, sending the crab-like monster tumbling off of its feet.

Yang shrugged. "Or we could do that?"

Matthias shook his head inside of the Skell. "You'll need to build up momentum to pull off one of those moves."

Ruby stepped off of her shield with her hand on her Hecate III. "Open fire!"

They didn't have to be told twice. Yang unloaded everything in her clips and put away her guns. Matthias fired off a missile rack and the cannon on his back, sending homing rockets and plasma fire towards the Forfex. Agil was then able to stand and jump onto the Skell. Matthias activated his falchion on his hand, but it wasn't needed. Yang had already jumped onto the Forfex and punched it four times, enough to make it lose its grip on Matthias's Skell.

Yang then kicked it forward before rushing in for a close-quarters uppercut. "KIDO YASHI!" she roared, leaping almost eighty feet upward and crushing the Forfex's forehead with her fist.

When she landed, Ruby had her sniper rifle lined up for a headshot. "I've got it!"

The shot connected, piercing the shell and passing through the other side. The Forfex blew apart, spraying blue goop all over the two huntresses and the Skell.

Ruby wiped the goop from her eyes. "Yuck. Now I know how N-Sight feels."

Yang shook herself off. "You could say this was a STICKY situation!"

Matthias stepped out of his Skell. "Is this a one-time thing, or do you have a habit of making puns?"

Yang shrugged. "It's a habit. Don't be so CRABBY about it!"

Matthias shook his head. "I'm getting too old for this sh-"

Yang snapped at him. "LANGUAGE!"

Matthias shrugged. "English."

Ruby had to laugh at that one. "I'm writing that one down when I get the chance."

Matthias looked over to the downed Forfex. "Now that this is over with," he turned to face the two sisters. "Let's get you two cleaned up."

Ruby cocked her head to the side. "You mean you have a water hose built into that Skell?"

Matthias had to laugh at that one. "No, not this one." He pointed back towards the cavern behind him. "We can wash off at the Nopon Village near the water."

Yang pretended to tip a hat towards him. "Then lead the way, Matthias."

Back in NLA, Weiss was working with Leroy, Mika, and Lin, who were interested in learning how Dust operated. Weiss was using Myrtenaster as a demonstration tool to explain the types of offensive and defensive uses for the substance. Lin had sent a sample of each type to the labs last week, so she was expecting the results soon.

Weiss finished her demonstration and sheathed Myrtenaster. "I believe that covers everything on Dust and its capabilities. Anything else?"

Mika nodded. "I think that's interesting what it can do, but how was it originally harvested?"

Weiss popped the cartridge on her rapier. "We mine areas with large amounts of Dust crystals and refine the material to make the powder. It can then be used to power weapons, phones, or even used as an offensive weapon."

Just then, a tall man ran in wearing a lab coat and round spectacles. He was carrying a large briefcase with a clipboard in his other hand.

"Miss Lee Koo! Miss Lee Koo!" He stopped in front of Lin to catch his breath.

"What is it Arthur?" Lin responded.

"It's about your samples you sent to the lab. I've got good news and bad news."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Let's start with the good news."

Arthur adjusted his glasses. "The good news is that we found a way to recreate the same powder with materials mined here on Mira. The so-called 'Dust', you used to use, could be another type of weapon we use similar in nature to Ether."

Lin smiled. "And the bad news?"

Arthur frowned. "Refinement will take nearly a month or two and testing could take up to another two or three."

Weiss shrugged. "It's better than what I thought it would be." She looked down at Myrtenaster. "Is there anyway to speed up the process?"

Arthur looked over to his clipboard. "There is one way, but I'm sure that you won't like the answer."

Weiss shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"I'll need testers like you who know what the solution is capable of."

Weiss nodded. "What is there to lose?"

N-Sight: Finally, we're getting to how Dust is going to be implemented!

Weiss: Are you sure we'll be able to work with this?

N-Sight: Almost undoubtedly, but there are some hiccups we need to sort out.

Weiss: Meaning?

N-Sight: Campaign alteration for the next chapter.

Weiss: And I had my hopes up...