Hey, guys! Writer's block... it isn't fun, but I'm sure most of you know that already. Anyway, summer is off to a good start, my online classes aren't totally overwhelming yet, and it's nice to have a bit of time off. If my brain would just start working during this time, that would be great. As always, be sure to follow, favorite, and comment thoughts and reviews for the story. Any and all ideas are greatly appreciated. Enjoy the next chapter!

Only at the break of dawn would the King of Totum call his land "quiet." His city was almost constantly filled with the sounds of his citizens bustling to and fro, while the land itself faced daily threats from within and without. Perhaps it was due to the previous night's festivities, but the aged man was happy to see the world could afford at least a moment of sleepiness.

"My king," came a voice from behind him. Halos turned around to his dark skinned captain bowing before him. In his moment of tranquility, the king somehow didn't notice the man enter his throne room.

"Good morning, Acrose," Halos said with a nod. "I was hoping you would at least take an extra hour of sleep. Won't Selena miss you when she wakes up?"

"If she isn't moving, she's sleeping," the armored man said. "She'll probably sleep past noon, just like she always does on these days."

"Perhaps you should take a page from her book," the king said with a small laugh.

"There's too much to be done for idleness, my lord. Many of our visitors will begin their journeys home today and my men and I need to oversee such a mass movement."

"Most of them will be enjoying their rest, my friend, as you should too. You've always had a passion that keeps you awake, but there isn't anything wrong with a bit of idleness."

"Forgive me if I disagree."

"You are pardoned."

The king held back a laugh at the disgruntled look on the guard captain's face. The man certainly wasn't his cohort, with him being only a few years older than Risse, but Halos still considered the warrior a dear friend, one who could be teased when it was funny. Acrose had never been one to simply relax, and the king knew just how much it annoyed him for it to be pointed out.

"So," Halos said, "where has Dunden gone off too? If I recall, he still had a session this morning."

"He did," Acrose said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Summer was spectating when… Prince Risse showed up… and…"

"They were at each other's throats?"

"Per the usual," the replied.

Halos sighed at the thought of Summer and Risse's feud. Even he, one with the whole authority of the courts, would hate to oversee their resolution. It was a matter that no one but no one wanted to be involved in, and one to be avoided if at all possible.

"After their spat," Acrose continued, "the princes left to meet some dignitaries from Ánemos, while Summer went off to who knows where. That woman never seems to follow rhyme or reason."

"This coming from the person who married Selena."

"It's different with her," Acrose said with the faintest red on his face. "She's like the sea, beyond any real control. Summer is just… strange."

"Our lives will always be strange, my friend. You yourself wear a Shard, so you must realize that."

"But you gave Beta to Prince Aero," Acrose said in a low tone. "Why?"

Halos was a bit shocked at the captain's sudden question, but he was not surprised it was eventually asked. He turned away from him with a low expression and looked out a window to see there was still some darkness in the western sky. The king reached up to his necklace and lowered his remaining hand when he realized his necklace was no longer there.

"I am sorry, my king," Acrose said quickly, kneeling down on one knee. "I spoke out of turn."

"It is fine, Acrose," the king responded. "I'm sure all are curious."

"I'm sure of the same," he replied. "You have given the Shards to… strange choices before. I trust you, my king, enough to not question many of your judgements, but… may I speak freely?"

"You may."

"I must ask," he said softly, "why not give the Beta to Risse?"

Halos once more fell silent. He had more than a few reasons why Aero would be the one to wear Beta. It was not an easy decision to make, and it was one he prayed would never come back to harm them. His concern was for the safety of the world, and this was the best, and hardest, choice he could make.

"There are several reasons, Acrose," he finally said. "Risse… he isn't able to use the stone properly, or at least not with control he should. I fear my father's influence spread to far over him, or maybe he simply isn't meant too."

"Can we…?"

"Can we trust him?" Halos said, looking back to see Acrose nodding.

"I don't mean to make accusations."

"I know," he replied, "but I ask you continue to have faith in me. Risse will do what is right when he needs too. He is her son, after all."

Ebony.

"It may be wise," the king continued, "to put the same trust in your own son."

Acrose remained silent, something the old king feared would happen. No one understood unexpected arrivals more than he did, and he hoped the captain would one day find his own means of acceptance.

"If you'll excuse me," the man said in a serious tone, "I must attend to my duties."

Halos waved his hand, signaling the man was excused. Acrose bowed to his king and silently made his way towards the door. The king nearly spoke up again, but decided to let the captain be. There would always be conflict in Totum, both from within and without. Looking out to the full moon raised above the western sky, the King of Totum waited once more for a day of peace and quiet.

-x-

"What's this word say?" asked Zek, leaning over in his waiting room seat with a book in hand.

"One," answered Oobleck, glancing away from his own magazine.

"And this one?"

"Two."

"And this one?"

"Red."

"And this one?"

"Blue"

"Aaannndd this one."

"Fish."

"Thank you."

"Don't we have more important things than reading a children's book?" Aero said halfheartedly.

"That depends," his friend replied, "does openly discussing the sheer amount of Behemoth sized waste we just stepped in in a crowded hospital room sound like a good idea?"

The prince stared at the obligated-by-hospital-rules-to-wear-a-shirt faunus, his expression letting him know he wanted a serious answer. Despite their friendship and Aero's own… understanding of Zek's brand of coping, the boy wished his friend would allow him this one thing.

Seemingly in response to the boy's glare, Zek put the book down with the rest of the reading materials and gestured for them to leave the room. Aero rose from his chair and followed the black-haired boy into the hallway. He turned around as he left to see the trailing eyes of Blake, Weiss, and Oobleck on them, but none of them said a word and went back to waiting for word on their teammate's father.

"Well," Zek said after walking a bit, "since I don't even know where to properly start with this, let's just go with Tau."

"Tau?"

"You felt it, right?" the faunus asked. "I mean, obviously you literally did feel it, but you know what I mean. That Shard and Zeta… I can't even describe it. The second you unlocked that box I felt like I was getting kicked in the soul. How is that even a feeling?"

"I don't know, but I understand. It was from the Omega, that's for sure, but it doesn't make any sense. None of it."

Aero slid down the wall to the floor and put his head between his knees, desperately trying to process what he'd seen in the ruins. What little remained of his city was either in ruins or buried in the earth, all while things from his nightmares were sleeping beneath it all. Between Ris… Rize showing up and the aura he'd felt, it was driving him insane.

"How could Fractals be down there?" Zek said almost as if thinking out loud.

"They were far beyond recognition," Aero added. "Maybe some left over from Rize's attack. A couple thousand years would give them more than enough time to mature."

"I don't know of anyone who could lock them up in Dust like that though. It looked like it had to have grown around them, but no one knows what makes Dust veins spread. It's impossible someone could've placed them there on purpose, and who would think of using the crystals as a prison?"

"I don't know," Aero said, his tone getting softer.

"What about your little episode, then? Things always start getting crazy when the Shards get involved, but you looked like a ticked off thunderhead with swords down there. I was honestly a little scared you were gonna start attacking us."

"I don't know," he said again. "Maybe it was the stone. I felt… well, it hurt to be around. Maybe the pain from touching it just made me… act out."

The blonde could tell by the look on his friend's face he was worried about the effects Tau could have had on him. He vaguely remembered using Beta to help Zek put the Shard back in it's box, but the pain nearly made him pass out, something he was glad he didn't do for the umpteenth time. After that, he didn't even have to strength to take it with them.

"We have to go back for it," Aero added. "We shouldn't just leave it where anyone could find it. I just… didn't have the strength to pick it up at the time."

"I'd rather have that thing cast to wind and flown to the farthest edge of the world," said the eagle, "but sure. Having it in our bedroom sounds nice."

The two sat in silent for a few moments, trying to make heads or tails of what to do. Aero knew Zek wouldn't stop until he had all the answers, but answers were meaningless if the right questions weren't asked. That being said, there were certain questions Aero was dreading. Rize's appearance terrified him, but the other shocked him just a bit deeper.

"It was Quinn, wasn't it?"

There it is.

"She was the one who locked the Shard away, right?" the archer continued while Aero sat silent. Surprisingly, and thankfully, the normally fast-mouthed faunus gave his friend a moment of silence to collect his thoughts.

"It was her aura that unlocked the door and the cube," the boy said after a few moments. "Dayyani still has traces of it from when we forged them, and that's all without mentioning no one else can work with Adamantine like that. It had to have been her, but…"

"I know," Zek responded, "but it looks like we're gonna have to do a bit of traveling to find out more. The text on the cube said whoever made it was heading for "My dearest friend's favorite garden." If it really was Quinn who made it, and she was heading where I think she was heading, we might need some wheels. And a boat. And maybe some bug spray."

"I don't want to get any of them more involved than they are," the prince responded. "This is our problem. If it means they're in danger, we'll just find our own way home."

Aero looked away for a moment and realized how little thought he'd actually put into returning to his own time. Maybe he was still somehow riding the shock of being in Summer's home, but deep down he couldn't force his own homesickness away. If they ever wanted to return to Totum, or maybe even stop the ruin it fell into, they were going to need the Alpha back. Until then, they were basically trapped.

"You know," Zek said, "Summer's family is involved. You can't change the fact they'll try to help us, especially now that you owe a certain Speedster quite the debt."

"I'm too tired for this, Zek," he said to his smirking friend. "You can tease me later. How does that sound?"

"Me? Tease you? Never. Besides, I didn't explain that much about your little stunt to anyone… mostly."

"I should suspect a storm just when things start clearing up, shouldn't I?"

"You should probably ask Snow about that," he replied. "In the meantime, you need some rest. I can't pick that cube up on my own, and, seeing as how I practically carried you here, you're in no shape to use aura like that for a bit."

Aero sighed and looked away from his friend, feeling somewhat frustrated at himself. He knew pride was dangerous, but he was still a prince, someone born with strength and prestige others could only dream of, and he couldn't even lift a stupid box at the moment. He knew Adamantine's properties were in part to blame, but he still felt weaker than he should have.

Speaking of the precious metal, Aero still had the new issue of helping Ruby fix her weapon. The sight of the scythe's blade shattering, leaving the girl standing defenseless against the crystalline demon, still made his blood run… well, he wasn't sure. It was warm, yet freezing, something that gave him, surprisingly enough, a kind of dread filled nostalgia. He started to ponder the feeling further, but the sight of a white haired man in the corner of his vision distracted him.

"Professor Ozpin," Aero said as he stood up, "what are you doing here?"

"I heard that a friend of mine was injured in a cave system beneath the Emerald Forest," he replied. "I thought I should check in and see if how he and the rest of you were doing."

"I've been better," said the prince.

"This hasn't exactly been a "good" day for us," the faunus added.

"I've heard. Despite working at a combat school, I haven't seen many broken legs."

"Take this from someone who has," said Zek, "they usually aren't much fun to watch. Usually."

"Uh-huh," said Ozpin, not really knowing how to respond to that. "I understand there are a lot of questions being asked right now, but how about we go see how Mr. Xiao Long is doing first."

"Sounds good to me," said the eagle, trying to stretch his wings without ripping his shirt. "Seriously though, 20 lien for a hospital gift shop shirt is criminal. Speaking of which, I take it our furry buddies were picked up."

"Yes," he replied as they started their walk. "They were picked up shortly before your evac shuttle arrived, all of them knocked unconscious. It was probably one the easiest arrests the VPD has ever had."

"What about the Tinman?" asked Zek. "Did you tell him about all the you-know-whats in the I-know-wheres?"

"Do you mean your map and the General?" Ozpin asked, to which the emerald eyed boy nodded in response. "That's… complicated. I'll explain it to you when we're somewhere a bit more private."

Aero could see his friend push back the urge to pry deeper into the subject of the White Fang. He wasn't sure what it being "complicated" meant, but he felt Ozpin should be trusted enough to be patient with. Summer had given her recommendation more than once, and that was more than enough for him.

"Alright," the faunus finally said. "Let's just get this over with. I'm not a fan of hospitals."

"Do you have something against them?" Ozpin asked.

"No," Aero interjected, "he just has a preference. How is your back doing, by the way?"

"It comes and goes," he said with a half smile, "and my only preference is the best of the best. Wing pain, bruised head, sore plucking fingers, and more! There's nothing Jen couldn't patch up."

They finally made it to Taiyang's room, now filled up with several of their comrades, and looked into see…

"...yep," Zek added. "Even something as gross looking as that."

-x-

The rainforests lying west of Mistral is considered by many to be one of the deadliest places in Remnant. There are no shortage of poisonous plants and vicious predators, including the crocodilian Sobek which lurk in the swampy waters beneath the trees. These Grimm are masters of stealth attacks, so it only spoke all the higher of her skills as the red haired girl dodged the leaping beast.

Dodging to the side, Pyrrha readied her shield and spear as the monster came around for another attack, it's massive jaw open wide. The girl responded by throwing her shield into the beast's mouth, knocking out several teeth and causing it to flinch in pain. She leapt up to grab a hanging branch as the forward momentum carried the lizard head first into a tree. The monster didn't even have time to react before the warrior released her grip and jabbed her spear into it's head, finishing it off with a muffled gunshot.

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Pyrrha decided to head back toward civilization by following the trail of slashed tree trunks she was careful to leave behind. There were certain landmarks filling the swampy area, many of which she knew well from her childhood, but finding golden leafed trees and temple ruins were more troublesome than making her own path through the training grounds. She did one last scan to make sure nothing was poking its head out of the water and leapt into the trees to jump and swing her way home, completely unaware of the pair of yellow eyes looking down at her from above.