"Here!" Rig yells, poking his finger straight through the paper map.

"Atlas?" Spirit raises an eyebrow. "I honestly wouldn't have guessed in a million years."

"Yuh-huh. To be exact- right here actually-" Rig adds, ripping an arc clean across the entire continent. "Oops."

"Rig! No!" Spirit screams as he grabs the two pieces from him. "That was the last one in stock!"

"It's ok. We can always just buy more, right?"

"No, we can't!"

"What's the big deal? It's just a map," Nima interrupts.

"Where I'm from, we don't just 'waste' stuff like that," Spirit argues.

"What's there to waste? Isn't Vacuo just desert and badlands?"

"You... that's-" he sputters.

"Why don't you tell us where you're from, Nima?" Flora asks.

"Oh, why not," Nima hops off the table she was sitting on. She circles the lower-middle of Sanus. "My place was somewhere around here."

Flora's face lights up, "Oh, that's not too far from where I grew up! My city's just on the coast a bit away-"

"'Somewhere'?" Spirit scoffs over Flora, his face still red. "What, did you get lost on your way here?"

"No, I didn't. It's just..." Nima averts her gaze to the ground. "Just lay off it, alright?"

"What's the big deal?" Spirit crosses his arms. "It's just a map, right?"

Nima narrows her eyes as she looks at him, causing his smirk to fade.

"I said, lay off."

She storms past Spirit and out of the room. He stares at the wall in front of him as a storm of thoughts begin brewing in his head.

Rig coughs.

"So, uh, Flora? You said you were from this place, right?"

Flora's long dress rustles as she shifts uncomfortably. With a striding start, Spirit marches out of the room.

"Yeah, I guess I can tell you about it," Spirit hears just as he closes the door behind him.

-XX・XX-

"TIMBERRRRR!"

Spirit lifts his head as he hears Rig whooping. The little details of his surroundings slowly materialize, from the couch cushions beneath him, to the bookshelves against the smooth, stone walls, lined with covers ranging from fairytales to engineering. Sitting up on Kanoa's couch, he turns to the living room's sole window, catching a behemoth pine tumbling down out of the very corner of the view.

He rubs at his face.

"Riiig…"

"EVEN BIGGERRR TIMBERRRR!" Kanoa shouts over the din.

Another tree snaps from its base before hitting the ground. The sound gets muffled as Spirit buries his face into his lumpy pillow.

"Hey no fair-"

-XX・XX-

"-you're not allowed to use electricity!" Rig protests.

"You're the one with an axe!" Kanoa laughs, felling another tree.

Rig grins, narrowing his eyes and sticking out the tip of his tongue. In one air-warping push, he gravity rushes through three trees in a row, his axe moving as a blurry neon stroke.

"I also have powers," he boasts, hands on his hips.

Kanoa leaps over his head, swinging her mace to deflect a leg-sized pine needle. She lands with a smirk, "Try not to kill yourself with 'em."

Rig blows a raspberry at her, "Fine, that's like what, you- one, me- more than that?"

"If I'm correct, it's 43-me, 42 you."

"Wait, are you counting the needle just now?"

"Maybe," she winks, then slings the axe over her shoulder. "I'm gonna go take a water break, no cheating."

Rig giggles as he shoves his axe head into the ground, "Cheating's for losers- and Spirit."

Kanoa walks off in between the graveyard of stumps they created, tracing a finger over a few to feel their bark. Stepping over a few pieces of formerly water tower, she approaches her house. The walls are a plaster white, and the roof has shingles, unlike most of the other buildings neighboring it. Small, arched windows embed themselves with no sills across two stories.

Kanoa comes in through the door and enters the dusty square sitting room. Her warm-auburn hair sticks equally hotly to her white tanktop as she dodges out of a sunbeam and makes her way towards the living room at the back. Her hand brushes past the soft felt of a giant old sofa chair as she enters, setting eyes on Spirit's limp form laying on the couch.

"Hey Spirit," Kanoa greets him. "You're finally up."

"Cut me some slack. It's been a while since I slept on something soft. That, and taking a bath with Rig would probably leave anyone feeling more exhausted than refreshed."

"Uhh…"

"You know what I mean."

"I don't think I do," she snickers.

"Right," Spirit sighs, "Anyways, laughter and violent deforestation are the last things my migraine needs. What are you guys even doing out there?"

Kanoa reaches for the sink and hesitates, then pulls out a water keg from the cupboard below.

"Tree-chopping contest."

"... Whyyyy?"

"Because you need trees for wood. And wood burns. Like half of my village did," she replies, deadpan.

Spirit freezes up.

"I'm just kidding, ya' know. Don't take things so seriously," she says with a shrug.

Spirit groggily watches her down most of the keg straight from the lip of the jug. She gulps a couple more times, noticing him staring, then stops.

"Want some?"

He recoils a little before surrendering to the dryness inside his mouth. "A little."

"Don't worry, I'll get you a cup."

"Yeah, that'd be better, thanks."

Kanoa pulls a small, clay mug out of her cupboard. After pouring the water, she places it within arm's reach of Spirit.

"There's something I wanted to ask you," he says as he grabs the cup, hands slightly shaking.

"Yeah?"

"You said you wanted to become a Huntress, right? Why not just go for it? You're pretty strong after all. You could've made it to Beacon on your own, Grimm infestation or not. Plus, it's not like there's much here for you."

"It's exactly because of the Grimm infestations that I can't go." Kanoa turns to the door of the house, which had been left ajar. "I stayed because even if I could be out there, they needed me more here. This is the kind of place so far out that if something breaks, it stays broken. That goes for people too. I couldn't just leave it."

"Even if they don't respect your wish to leave?"

"Don't get the wrong idea. They care. It's just that, they're more worried about disrespecting the Elder."

"'Worried,' huh?"

"What?"

Spirit swivels the water inside his cup, "Speaking from experience, I'm just thinking your village's problem is a lot more deep-rooted than you think."

A large crash rumbles from outside. Kanoa sticks her head out of a nearby window.

"Rig! I said, no cheating!"

"That was a house! I swear!" Rig's shout echoes back.

"A house?!"

Kanoa bolts out the door, with Spirit following suit. Outside, the walls of the ruined house where Rig squared off with a Grimm finally breathed their last, having toppled over and unceremoniously spilled out into the street. Upon a glance and realizing no one was injured, Kanoa exchanges relieved glances with a few villagers that had come outside.

Spirit walks up to her. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, nobody was inside when it came down, thankfully."

"That's a relief."

"I'm booored," Rig moans as he approaches, moving past idle townsfolk.

"You're not giving up, are you?" Kanoa teases.

"No, I just dropped by to check on my old buddy over here." Rig waves at Spirit, "Hey, how ya doing?"

"We should probably start to get going-"

"Excuse me, but," one villager with familiar eyebrows interjects as he looks at Rig, "you're the visitor chopping down trees with Kanoa, right?"

"Yup, the name's Rig."

"Well there, Rig, my family and I would appreciate some of the wood you're handing out as soon as possible. Otherwise, we're worried our house might end up like this one."

"Coming right up! Just give me a little break first before-"

"Nah, we're finishing this now," Kanoa smirks.

"Oh yeah?! You're on!" Rig eggs her on with a goofy grin. He faces Spirit again, "You were saying?"

"... Just don't take out the whole forest while you're at it, alright?"

"Uh, sure? Didn't think of ya as a nature lover, Spirit. Don't worry, we'll leave a few behind, right Kanoa?"

Rig turns back around, only to realize Kanoa is making a dash back to the forest.

"Hey! You said no cheating, Kanoa!"

"You got your break! Let's go," she yells back.

Rig swings his arms back, face beaming as he leaps with a gravity rush. Air whooshes behind him, blasting Spirit and the townsfolk with wind. The villagers disperse back to their usual routines, save for the one who approached Rig.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're travelling with Kanoa's friend, yes?"

"Unfortunately," Spirit replies, moving some of his dark hair away from his eyes. He finally recognizes the villager once his sight is clear of any obstacles. "Oh, you're the farmer from yesterday."

"That I am. And I thank you again for saving my life."

"It's fine, really," Spirit says, staring at the farmer's huge eyebrows, "Just part of the job. Or at least it would be if, you know, we… had licenses."

"That would have been a little more reassuring, yes," the farmer chuckles. He looks towards the forest with Spirit as they hear Rig and Kanoa hollering and hacking away at nature. "As for work, there should sometimes be a time for play, too. Why not join them?"

"I think I'd be a bit useless there. Rig's better suited for that sort of thing. My department would probably involve sitting on a watchtower and keeping guard." Spirit looks at the farmer. "Speaking of towers, it's a shame that the local transmission tower around here collapsed. Would've been useful to contact some real Hunters and Huntresses over the CCT to take care of things when we leave."

The farmer raises a bushy eyebrow. "CCT?"

"Yeah, you know? CCTS? Cross Continental Transmit System?"

The farmer's expression remains unchanged. Spirit's stomach knots a little.

"How… how far out are you guys, exactly?"

"Oh, you know. We keep to ourselves. In these times, villages isolating themselves is the safest way to go. With people though, not so much."

Spirit raises his head at the last line. "Are you trying to hint at something?"

The farmer raised a hand. "Let me put it this way. Gardens should be fenced off. But the seeds usually need someone else to care for them if they wish to grow."

Spirit remains silent. The farmer places his hand on his savior's shoulder.

"Consider that my way of repaying you."

And with that, he walks off. From the corner of his eye, Spirit sees Rig and Kanoa come shuffling back from the forest.

"Don't beat yourself up, Rig. Growing up around here means logging's as much part of my chores as doing the dishes."

"But I'm not good at doing dishes…" Rig mumbles, sounding genuinely dejected.

"Rig," Spirit sighs, "I'd hate to nag, but we were only given one night."

"But our Scrolls aren't charged," Rig protests.

Spirit takes a deep breath, then turns to Kanoa, "I assume you won't be able to help us, but would you happen to have any Scroll chargers lying around here?"

Kanoa scratches her head, "Wait, hold up- are we talking about the same kind of scroll here?"

"First the tower and now this-" Spirit shakes his head as his face scrunches up, "You people seriously don't know?"

He pulls out his Scroll and opens it. The screen lights up for a couple seconds, briefly showing a miniature radar with two dots right on top of each other before flickering out and dying.

"Oh, neat. So it's like a flashlight that only works for a second," Kanoa says.

Spirit's cheeks flush, "We just need to charge it. Could you see if there's anything around here that can generate power?"

Kanoa shrugs, "Guess I'll search the basement. I'll be just a sec."

She heads back into her house. Spirit pulls Rig off to the side.

"What did you two talk about while you were levelling half of the forest?"

"Oh, you know, just woodsman things. What, are you trying to get the scoop so you can hit on her?"

"I'm asking because she told me her village's traditions are holding her back from being a Huntress."

"Well, that's good, isn't it? She won't be coming after us anytime soon."

"That's not what I'm referring to, Rig. The people here don't like the outside."

"So?"

"So, it means they don't like outsiders either. I'm saying that we should leave here as soon as possible because there's bound to be some folks that are getting antsy with us running around, cutting down trees and blowing up water towers."

"A little worry never killed anyone- plus, we're trying to help."

"Can you say the same about the Grimm? We'd be more helpful leaving sooner rather than later."

"But-"

Rig is interrupted as the two of them catch someone moving in the corner of their eyes. Kanoa comes back out of her house, lugging a rusty, cylindrical barrel with a fuel gauge on it. She walks up to them and drops it onto the ground with a crash.

"Hey-hey, watch it! Don't break it even more, we need that!" Spirit panics.

Kanoa puts her hands on her hips and looks down at it, "I don't think that's possible."

"What is it?" Rig butts in.

"This old thing looks to be a power generator, but without Dust fuel cells, it's about as good as the world's unwieldiest paperweight."

"How are we going to power it then?" Spirit asks, an eyebrow twitching.

Kanoa shrugs, "Idunno. Got any Dust?"

Rig's face lights up and he starts fumbling with a pouch hanging off his bandolier. His fingers grab onto something and he withdraws his hand, hoisting the found object into the air.

"Tadaa!" he says, showing off one of his shotgun shells.

The brass-colored base is topped with a transparent case, chock-full of sparkling orange powder. Kanoa reaches her hand out, but then Rig recoils.

With a downcast expression, he whimpers, "But, this is almost my last one…"

Kanoa motions to him with a curl of her fingers and Rig reluctantly complies, dropping the shell into her hand. She uncaps the generator, busts open the shell, and pours in the Dust. With an "Ahem," and a "Here goes nothing," Kanoa kickstarts the old thing.

It shakes violently, sputtering and coughing out black smoke before it stabilizes and the gauge starts ticking. Spirit hooks his Scroll up to the generator and after a few seconds, it lights up again.

"Huh. That actually worked," he murmurs.

"Good thinking, Rig," Kanoa says.

She pats him on the head, to which his eyes widen as if he's just seen the secrets of the universe.

Spirit thinks to himself for a second before groaning, "Even if we get our Scrolls charged, we won't have any signal."

"Well, I might happen to know a little something about that kind of stuff."

"Go on?"

Kanoa siddles up to the two of them and speaks in a quieter voice, "Once, when I was little, I built a ham radio, you know- like the bottlecap knob and steel wool mesh kind. Didn't get much of a chance to play around with it, cuz' it got lost in all the junk in my basement, but I think I might be able to make a new one."

"How long would that take?"

"A couple of hours, maybe? I'm not too keen on making one, though."

"What? Then why even offer to make a new one in the first place?"

"Because to be honest, I'm a little curious. I didn't really ever get to use it back then, but even still, I didn't tell anyone here I'd made one."

Spirit cocks his head, "Because of traditions?"

"Because I didn't want to bring shame to my grandfather."

"Isn't there any other way we can get a signal?" Rig intervenes.

"Well, I mean, there has to be a CCT tower around here," Spirit points to the sky over the forest horizon, "The spacing of the other towers we've been travelling by indicate there has to be one nearby."

"Maybe we can use the radio as a transceiver," Rig figures, then motions his flat palms as if bouncing an invisible ball back and forth, "and -ping-pong- find the tower by bouncing a weak signal between the two. Plus, that way we won't have to give away the village's location."

Spirit and Kanoa stare at him for a second, speechless.

"Yeah," Kanoa says with a lip trill, "That, actually sounds like the best of both worlds."

"You up for the task?" Spirit asks.

"Yeah, guess I'll be back whenever I'm done. Where do you want to meet up?"

Rig opens his mouth to say something, but Spirit speaks over him, "Just outside of the village. Then, we head straight for the tower."

Kanoa shrugs, "Suit yourselves."

-XX・XX-

Slowly but surely, the sun crawls down the increasingly orange sky as the dense tree cover around them starts to cast even longer shadows. Kanoa, Rig, and Spirit kick their way through underbrush as they march through the dense forest.

"Can I eat this one?" Rig asks, pointing to a little grey mushroom with a brown cross on its head.

"It'll kill ya," Kanoa replies curtly.

"How about this one?"

"That'll turn ya blue."

"What about- this one!"

"Well you'll turn blue- and then it'll kill ya."

"This... one?"

She scratches her chin, "Actually, I'm not sure about that one."

"Deal!" Rig says giddily, shoving it into his mouth.

"Gaaaah," Spirit groans, "We've been out here for HOURS."

"The signal's growing stronger, I swear," Kanoa pleads, shaking the small metallic box in her hands for emphasis.

The little mesh speaker on the radio beeps like a weak heartbeat.

"What if we get lost out here?" Spirit continues.

"Don't worry, I'll be able to find you pretty easily."

"What do you mean?" Spirit asks.

"Well, I just kind of have a feel for it. Guess growing up in the sticks means you get used to catching onto subtle clues."

"Like footprints?" Rig butts in with an emphatic stomp.

"Yeah, I guess."

The radio starts to beep more steadily.

Kanoa jerks into motion, "I think we're onto something!"

"I second that guess," Spirit squints into the distance, "Considering there's a giant metal spike jutting out of the ground over there."

Rig sees the metallic tip over the treeline and dashes off past his companions. Spirit fails to grab him.

"Rig! Wait!"

Rig slows down only a few yards ahead of them, staring upwards as his grin melts. Spirit and Kanoa follow suit. Their jaws drop at the sight of the twisted and rusted metal bars in front of them, almost distorted beyond recognition. The tower leans noticeably to the left, due to several warped struts in its midsection. While the base is slightly more intact, all the wires running along its height are severed as shattered lights line the perimeter.

"It looks a little… broken," Rig comments.

"'Broken' would be an understatement," Spirit replies, "What happened to this thing?"

"Maybe a storm knocked it down," Kanoa suggests.

"I doubt anything natural did this. And it's not like the Grimm would have a grudge against it, either."

While Rig begins to climb the old steel as if it's an oversized jungle gym, Spirit walks up, placing a hand against the tower.

"This has to be sabotage," Spirit says.

The look on his face as he turns to Kanoa makes her frown.

"What? Don't tell me you think I did it!"

"Not necessarily you."

"If you're about to tell me that my village had something to do with this-"

"Well, it seems very likely, considering you had zero idea this thing even existed here in the first place."

"Are you kidding me?! If the Grimm wouldn't go for it, then why would my people?!"

"Precisely because they think the Grimm would."

"GUYS!" Rig calls from above.

"Not now, Rig. And could you get down from there?!" Spirit yells back.

"NO, I THINK YOU REALLY NEED TO SEE THIS!"

"Fine," Spirit sighs, offering Kanoa his arm.

"Huh?"

"Grab on, we're going up."

"I don't do heights."

"GUYS!" Rig repeats.

"Ugh," Kanoa groans and takes hold.

Spirit shoots a hook onto the rung below Rig and the two zip up. When they arrive at the top, the pair are greeted by a paralyzing view.

A vast clearing in the trees is littered with the ruins of geometric buildings, their faded gray facades jutting out at odd angles like a cemetery after a hurricane. Slinking across crumbled bridges and crawling out of dark burrows in the collapsed walls of homes are dozens- no, hundreds of Grimm of all shapes and sizes. The void black of their nightmare-wrought frames and the purplish smog of their exhales seem to emanate into the air, casting a palpable cloud of death over the whole scene of decay.

"Wha-?" Kanoa sputters.

None of them can muster the courage to say a word as they hang precariously from the creaking metal rungs, bathing in the sun's last eerie light. Their trance is broken by a rung giving out from beside them and clattering to the bottom.

Spirit turns to Kanoa.

"Are you convinced now?"

-XX・XX-

Travelling in mutual silence, they return in time to trade the sunset for lights in the village windows that appear one by one, mimicking the stars above. As soon as they arrive at her house, Kanoa splits off.

"Wait-Kanoa, where are you going?" Rig calls out.

"I need to think some things over," she mutters, just before entering her house and slamming the door behind her.

Spirit looks at his partner. "Well, Rig, can we get out of here now?"

Rig nods silently.

"Oh- uh- okay then." Spirit scratches the back of his head. "Really?"

Rig is still.

"Great. Let's book it," Spirit says as he already starts jogging away.

Rig follows him up until the buildings start to thin, then until the trees start to crowd, then stops. Hearing the lack of thunderous footsteps behind him, Spirit turns on his heel.

"What? You need to take a leak?"

Rig's eyes are downcast for a second before they slowly move up to match Spirit's eye level.

"We should wait for Kanoa."

Spirit's scoff is loud enough to echo between the pines, "Are you serious?! You saw what they were hiding! And I was stupid enough to think for even a second that we were the ones who were going to put them in danger!"

"But- we didn't help anyone! All we did was make it worse- because now she's gonna want answers."

"Listen. I'm at my wit's end. See, there's a point where it bends," Spirit motions with a palm at hip level. "And there's a point where it breaks," he moves his hand up to his neck. "And we're here," he barks, stretching his hand upwards as far as he can reach.

"Can we wait- please?"

"Do you not understand the meaning of 'wit's end'?"

"Do you not understand the meaning of friends?"

Spirit winces, pursing his lips and turning away.

"So," Rig starts, "Can we wait? Just a little bit?"

Spirit leans up against a nearby tree, crossing his arms.

"Spirit?"

"Fine," Spirit finally replies, still refusing to make eye-contact. "Let's just bother everyone some more. But you're dealing with them. See what I care."

Volunteering to prolong the previous vow of silence, the pair waits, watching the moon tick up into the sky. Listening to the intensifying orchestra of the night, hoots and cricket fiddles allow the moment to claw its way into their every drowned-out thought.

Eventually, a rustle of leaves relieves their anxiety. Out from the shadows emerges Kanoa, walking on tiptoe. Rig hides around the edge of a tree, and as she walks past them, he pops out.

"Hey there!"

Kanoa jumps back and pulls out her mace in one motion before she absorbs the familiar face. Her surprise melts into annoyance, and then, reassurance.

"See Spirit! I told you she'd come!"

"But why?" Spirit asks.

"Because you were right," she admits. "They're hiding something from me, and from everyone else too. And I'm curious and confused and I think I just need some space to think things over. It's hard not to feel like I owe you guys for cracking my eyes open, either..." She trails off. "More importantly, I think that the best thing I can do to protect them all is to go out and find help."

A few seconds after she finishes, Spirit gives her a blank stare.

"All right then," he says, "Let's go."

-XX・XX-