She had been meditating for a while before she fished out the diary and started writing. Nothing special about this one, however. Unlike Sunset's it had no intricate designs, or spells that communicated across time and space.

It was entirely possible though, that Luna might be able to arrange for something like that, capable as the mare was to seemingly do almost anything. Had it not been for the unfortunate set of events during her last mission, and the memories they shared, she would have considered her an actual goddess.

As it was, it had been not Alicorn, immortal Luna, but Counselor Luna, who had suggested she put her thoughts on paper. In a way, it was the perfect medium. She had so much to say… especially to a certain someone. And so, she had been writing for almost an hour already, and yet she hadn't even touched on covering everything.

This was intimate… raw and… in a way, her legacy. And she wanted it to be just right.

"Hey, so you weren't at the meeting earlier."

Laetitia looked up from where she was writing to smile at Sunset. She hoped the smile didn't reflect how tired she felt right now. How drained and vulnerable. Luna was there, in the back of her mind, her magic had slowly begun to repair the damage her body had suffered already simply from being cut off like that.

"Oui, sorry Sunset, I am… just not strong enough right now to be of much use. I have requested Chrysalis to let me remain for this mission… as I am, I will only drag you down and you will have much to worry about, to also have to worry about little Laetitia."

Sunset sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead in frustration. "I just wish I could do something. It was horrifying to see you… just... "

"I know, and I am very sorry that I have made you worry, but this is why I cannot go now, yes?" Laetitia smiled and took Sunset's hand, kissing her knuckles and pressing them then to her forehead. "I don't want you to worry. I will be okay, and getting better. I will be able to go on missions with you soon."

Sunset licked her lips, heart beating fast, but nodded, pulling Laetitia in for a hug. "I'll see you soon, then."

"I would say stay safe," Laetitia replied, wrapping her arms around Sunset as well, "but I know you too well."

Sunset chuckled. "You do." She pulled away, grasping both of Laetitia's hands. "You rest, okay? Get better. We'll talk soon."

Laetitia sighed, quickly kissing Sunset's hands again and letting them loose. "Well then. Go."

Sunset nodded and turned, walking towards the door of the barracks.

"Mwen renmen ou, ma chérie."

Sunset stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "What?"

Laetitia smiled and shook her head. "A silly phrase from my homeland."

Sunset shook her head, smiling as well. She hesitated, seemed to reconsider, took a deep breath and left the room.

For a moment Laetitia watched the empty doorway, not knowing if she was expecting or hoping for Sunset to return, but her Captain was gone. She chuckled a little at her wishful thinking before sighing and turning back to writing.

Ember walked into the conference room she had booked for her team. The Avenger was still on its way, so it gave them some time to review the information they had and plan ahead.

It wasn't often that Chrysalis sent multiple teams on a mission, and she would have to coordinate with Sunset to make sure things went smoothly, but that meant all of her team had to be on the same page.

Dragon team was the go-to team for missions involving a large, known number of MECs or several hacking targets and generally sought after for Urban missions.

After all, besides herself, Security and Breaker were also specialists; Fridge specialized in shredding through armor with his heavy weapons, and, while Coyote was a Ranger, her skills lay more in the infiltration aspect, rather than direct combat, like Sunset.

Although—to be fair to Rangers all over—Sunset was more like the strange hybrid daughter of a Skirmisher and a Ranger, so it was inaccurate to use her as a direct example.

Her team was all there, and she was glad to see the relative rookie of the team, Trojan, settling in fine with the others.

At first it had been odd for the others to have a sniper like Trojan on the team, but it proved extremely useful, especially once the units were exposed. The additional backup was solid, he was one hell of a shot and it gave her urban team a good boost in adaptability, something she was sure they would need before the day was over.

Now it was a matter of how to not only meld properly with the particular crazy that went alongside Menace, but also Lily Shen's involvement. If anything happened to Lily, it could really affect XCOM's chances.

In fact, personal feelings aside, she thought Chrysalis was being particularly stupid in sending Shen along for the ride, although it was entirely possible that the Commander knew something she didn't.

Maybe Lily was also an alien.

She sighed. "Alright! Listen up! I know we're teaming up with Menace for this one, but I want to make something very clear: if any mistakes happen, it won't be from our side. We're playing it like we always do: methodic, to the point and as quickly as possible."

"How are we going to coordinate with Menace, eh?" Fridge asked, grimacing a little. "Their methods are really not our own."

"I know," Ember said. "But we have our orders and we'll have to make it happen. Fortunately, Sunset is, if anything a team player, so once we figure it out, I can count on her sticking to the plan." She raised an eyebrow. "Anything to say, Gerry?" she asked when she caught him whispering something to Coyote and Trojan, making both of them cover their mouths and try not to laugh or snort.

Security shrugged. "Just sayin' boss, I can't wait to see you and Sunset pull the old Rabbit-season vs Duck-season routine."

Ember's eyes narrowed. "I watched Looney Toons when I was a kid too, Security. So enlighten me. Why do you expect that?"

"Are you kidding?" Breaker spoke up, amusement clear in his eyes. "Before you two got your own team each we all watched you dish it out to see who would be in charge."

"In fact," Security jumped in, "You usually never bothered to work together, remember? Mock battles were never the Commander and Ember, it was Ember versus the Commander."

"Yes, well," Ember crossed her arms, glaring at them, "she's not called the Commander anymore."

"But she's still Sunset, and you're still Ember," Coyote pointed out.

"The question is," Security spoke up, "which one of you is Daffy Duck, and which one is Bugs?"

"Neither," Ember stated, "this is not a mock battle, not a joking matter. We need to be on our top game."

"Are you trying to show up Menace?" Fridge asked.

"No! We're professionals. We're not turning this into a competition." Ember frowned and ignored the looks, money exchange and taking of notes, making a point to remember who was the bookie. They would regret this.

"In any case, I suppose you have all studied the information we have?"

The group nodded.

"Are we really trusting this ADVENT bitch?" Trojan finally asked. "Do you know how many times I've wanted to choke her to death? She's the one that reported that Orange Vine was destroyed by unexpected tsunamis."

"Funny you mention that," Security said, "because I remember being so pissed about that one, you know? That time that she reported it was so… callous that I went to watch again on the archive…"

The screen behind Ember crackled a little before Sweetie Belle, in her smooth, ADVENT reporter dress, smiled at the cameras.

"And in unfortunate news today, the Settlement of Orange Vine, located in what used to be the Yucatan Peninsula, has suffered heavy damage and reports are coming in indicating a total loss of life. On the line we have representative Marcos Valencio of the ADVENT Research Center in former Guatemala. Marcos, thank you for joining us."

"Hello Sweetie, the pleasure is mine."

"We have heard conflicting information from what occurred there, here are in fact some scenes from the destroyed town, which is submerged mostly under sea water. Can you give us a hint as to how this happened?"

"Of course, as you well know from ADVENT's attempts to help the locals slowly upgrade the living conditions of several settlements, Orange Vine was one of our areas of focus."

"Of course, we can never forget the efforts made to assist Heaven's Deep, Arcadia's Hope, and New Dahka."

"Precisely."

"All of which were also destroyed by natural forces."

"An unfortunate, but sadly inevitable result of living in the fringes of civilization, rather than joining it."

"Clearly. But, I'm sorry to interrupt you, Marcos. You were about to tell us how these poor people living away from the glory and kindness of the Elders would end up so completely unprepared for the fire and blasts created by unexpected Tsunamis."

"Ah, well, you see… that we still can't explain, we can only assume that the people of Orange Vine were not as benevolent as we had thought. Those were probably caused by them, rather before the Tsunami hit."

"One would think they wouldn't aim their guns at their own houses."

"Yes, well, these people are savages, miss Belle, now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to work so this never happens again under our watch.

"But of course, all glory to the Elders, and we thank you for doing a tremendous job to further the outreach of ADVENT."

"Good night, miss Belle."

"Good night! And now, back to you D—" the transmission cut off as the recording ended.

Ember smirked. "Maybe she's not so bad, but we'll have to make our minds once we meet her. Sunset might trust her, but keep your wits around you, okay?"

"Understood!"

"That'll be all," Ember said, nodding with her head to the door. "I can feel the Avenger slowing down. Gear up and meet at the hangar. It's Rabbit season."

Author's Notes:

A quick reminder/list of characters:

Fei Hung Yeung aka Ember - Specialist
Fabio Giordano aka Fridge - Grenadier
Gerry Doyle aka Security - Specialist
Bjorn Karlsen aka Breaker - Specialist
Sarah Hawkins aka Coyote - Ranger
Greg Rose aka Trojan - Sharpshooter