Unknown Legends

by KTWizard

In a land he doesn't know, he is surrounded by things he can't understand. Rules, Government, Weapons, Schooling, even their Goals. They are all unknowns, but so is he to them. Link, and the memories of his friends. But there is one common rule between their world and his. The Unknown has the Advantage. So he will remain just that as long as he can. [Pre-Season 3, Min-Canon Change]

53. Dawn Breaks

Despite being a general, war was never a common sight. They were not in such desperate times that war was widespread and requiring constant management from his part. The outposts had to be maintained, the soldiers prepared, hunters as well, all of that was obvious and necessary. But there was a fine line between preparing for war and fighting in it.

War had come and gone, even if it was just one hectic battle, but the results of the war remained.

His eyes poured over his scroll as damage reports came in from the city. Buildings that were destroyed in the ensuing panic, from Grimm climbing the structures to try and raid Vale, from the Leviathan's beam, what little wasn't blocked, and even more from the fighting to kill the Grimm. No blame was put on the soldiers or children who did fight. It was either damage done to the structures and landscape of Vale, or it was risking death on the civilians. For holding the line, they chose well.

But that didn't give him any peace as his eyes scanned the rest of the report, a constantly being updated document, provisional for the Councilmen and for himself to look over, so they could be aware of the initial assessments. It wasn't damage of the integrity of the city, easily replaced with time and Lien.

It was the loss of life, the death toll, and he had to watch as the number climbed.

Bodies that were seen being eradicated by the Grimm, others being found as the town was already in the midst of trying to clean up the damage, ships being pulled ashore with Grimm infesting their hulls, and even more being reported lost at sea. He couldn't even imagine the number of people in the outreaches of the Emerald or Foreverfall Forest that were now at the mercy of those Grimm. Hopefully the contracted Hunters could reach them, but he couldn't guarantee anything.

No guarantees could be offered to any family members missing a loved one. It was a lesson taught early and harshly to new recruits, to never offer promises on the welfare of the missing. There was never a guarantee they were safe. But before, it was always when they were going on patrol or pursuing a mission that the hunters in the area couldn't afford or risk doing.

Now, it was a war zone. And there was more than just one family desperate for answer. There were hundreds. And Ironwood had to look at them all, or nearly all of them, crowding the port of Beacon's shores and looking desperately through the crowd.

Civilians pushing one another, twisting shoulders and trying to scream out for names he didn't know, but knew they cherished more than the kingdom itself. Even if the destruction of Vale had been postponed by the forces of Hunters and Ganondorf… they had still lost someone. And all General Ironwood could do as he watched was pray that they found who they were looking for.

But with the hundreds of families, and likely just as many loved ones, missing in the rubble or at sea, he knew it would be foolish to think they all would be found.

"Most people complain about paperwork when it comes to their occupations," Ozpin spoke beside him, stepping up to him with his cane in hand. He didn't need to look to see he was grasping the handle tightly, just as unnerved and furious about this situation as he was. "But I would willing spend weeks in my office doing nothing but signing papers and lawsuits if it meant I could deliver a child back to their parents, or have brother and sister embrace again." He was looking at members in the crowd with stories he knew. It was what he always did. Ironwood was looking at them all, however. And he could only see the despair shift through them.

"More are incoming from the Bullheads," he spoke as evenly as he could. "A fair number were waiting in the air above the sea, too afraid to dock in any shore while the sky was still darkened and the Grimm were approaching. I have estimated another five Bullheads doing such." It made Ozpin chuckle next to him.

"Five," he repeated. "Do you believe they will have all the missing in there?" He did not, and he wouldn't answer so callously with a lie. "No, there will be some thankful embraces shared, some cries of relief, but I fear even more tears will be shed before the day is done. That is not even to consider the time it will take to search Vale for all who are missing." Of that, he could speak.

"Compared to most settlements that are attacked, the damage done to Vale is rather low." He spoke factually, not ignorantly. He swiped away the death toll on her Scroll to bring up the prospective damages again. "Majority of the affected areas are on the shore line, with nearly two dozen buildings seemingly 'raided' for lack of a more appropriate term, by the Grimm. Of those, many of our students were able to hold them off on the adjacent streets with both their armaments and Dust. The damage done is most superficial, as there is no structural damage to result in major collapses."

"None?" He didn't sound convinced. "Forgive me James, but I have difficulty believing that, especially after what we witnessed from even leagues away." That was true.

"I cannot speak for Patch, as we don't have any eyes on the island yet, but I can swear that because of the actions of our students or someone else," he was careful not to mention the name of the most hated man in the world at the moment. "The Leviathan's attacks were greatly reduced. I am not implying those buildings may be opened for the public today, as the water damage and Grimm attacks will leave it compromised for sure, but not nearly so much as a bomb going off and leading to the building's utter ruin." No one would wish for that.

"I see… then I suppose we should offer our students fair praise." The Beacon Headmaster turned towards an approaching Bullhead, watching as another family came out of it, screaming as they all joined the crowd with haste. So disorganized. "And I do believe that a fair number of these Bullheads are coming from Patch as well, aren't they?" He was a smart one regardless.

"They are. It appears that Ruby Rose has done an excellent job at protecting them, so they could escape." Even as he watched the families join the crowd, angry at himself that there was no one from the Military hear yet to set up a check in station, he knew that her family members were waiting at the docks as well. "I only hope that she is not one of the missing at the end of the day. I truly hope not." Even if she wasn't one of his soldiers, she was just a young girl eager to help.

He didn't need to tell Tai about finding his daughter, or not finding her. Especially after that horrifying call she had concluded with. Men feared many things, but none so great as the loss of their children.

"I can only hope as well," Ozpin replied. "I hesitate to put faith in Ganondorf, though he appeared eager to fight. But not even Saria was willing to trust him, and he gave her new life." Saria, the Spring Maiden. How could he possibly forget?

She was standing at the edge of the crowd, on the shore line where it was so dangerous to put herself, right in the flight path of the Bullheads. Be that as it may, he wasn't concerned for her. A girl, or more accurately some immortal spirit, capable of hearing trees and sensing life leagues, if not the world away, didn't leave him worried she'd be hit by a flying carrier. It wasn't as if he could convince her to wait for Ruby to return anywhere else.

Not when he could see Raven, Yang, and Tai all sitting near her as well. No, more accurately, Tai was sitting, as well as he could, held up by Raven. Yang was standing between them and Saria, indecisive of whether to wait for her sister to return or stay close to her father. She had gotten that trait of herself from her father, no doubt. The man always looking to satisfy all parties.

"I will need to do something for Ruby," he spoke, refusing to address whether she was found or not. "A girl who was able to save all these civilians without orders or requests. She deserves high accolades for this." He was sure that no one would disagree.

"The same respect must be given to the students in Vale as well," Ozpin returned. "I doubt we'll see them on any Bullhead today, likely spending the rest of the time helping the searchers comb through the little rubble there is in Vale, searching for the lost family members." He knew he was correct. Many of them came from displaced homes. "Glynda has already booked rooms for them in Vale to stay in, and I am sure many more of them will require as much aid when they get back." That surprised him.

"You think they are injured?" He hadn't received any reports of that, only Aura exhaustion at worst.

"No, but I do not believe they can look upon any number of dead bodies, especially those wounded by Grimm, then walk back here and expect to attend class the next week." Ah, mental, that made sense. The first sense of war and the first sight of what it meant. Ironwood nodded in agreement.

"I can have some of my best therapists here. There is an unsurprising need for them, given the general layout of the settlements." It was true that many stationed soldiers couldn't bear the sight of a family torn apart by a Grimm. The children would be just as susceptible to that trauma. "Though with all of this occurring, it may take time. The stationing of all the families will take days alone."

"Just days?" Ozpin curiously asked. "I was under the impression it took weeks, if not months, in war zones." That was the difference, however.

"But this is not a war zone. It is, by all accounts a singular attack." Though neither were about to comment they knew very well this was anything but a war. "The damage is localized, not far spread, and we will put our efforts into it. It does benefit us that my military is already here, and already stationed. That removes much alone." His friend hummed in response, perhaps out of admittance or refusal to thank Ironwood. He wasn't insulted.

Instead, he looked at another Bullhead approaching, another out of many with families crowding around to look at it as well. Nothing but a few from the crowd, but more that were doubtlessly making their way out to desperately search for loved ones. He sighed, unwilling to look away, though it was all his hear wished for.

But when the hanger opened up, he was thankful for the steel in his heart.

For he was among the first to see a ruby red cape come running out. It, and the Faunus in emerald green clothing walk behind her.

"By Dust," he commented breathlessly, watching Ruby Rose come almost barreling out. "That's her that's… how did I not receive notice!?" His surprise turned to fury that the pilot had not contacted him. Especially after he had put in a mandatory updates order! That pilot would have hell to pay!

"Calm yourself, James," Ozpin ordered him in kind. "Before you jump to conclusions, ask first the relevance of what we are seeing." He had no idea what his friend meant, even after he watched Yang jump up from where she sat, rushing over to Ruby and all but throwing herself on to her sister. Even with the cacophony of the crowd, he could swear he heard her wails as she clung to her.

Yang was nearly crushing her younger sister, putting her face into the pocket between Ruby's shoulder and neck, pulling her tight enough to lift her from the ground. Ruby didn't appear to mind. Doing the same action and letting herself dangle in her sister's embrace. Though he could not hear the words, and very much doubted he'd be able to make them out if he was nearby, he was sure they were exchanging thanks and apologies. For the supposedly ominous last phone call, and for still returning home.

They were soon met by Raven, her helping Tai hobble over to them. The tearful relief of being reunited was short lived, he could plainly see, as Ruby Rose saw her father. The man who was missing an arm and a leg. Her terror became evident as she exploded in her sister's embrace, reappearing in petals before her father, looking him over and speaking something he couldn't make out.

But the brave man that Tai Xiao Long was only had him putting his good hand on his daughter's head, petting it, before drawing her into an embrace, one that she wrapped herself in. Raven was smart to leg to there, even if Yang all but pushed her out of the way as she approached. She looked awkwardly at the family, the father of two daughters, and couldn't make heads or tails of what to do. It was not an uncommon place, not in the middle of morning.

Red eyes turned back to Link however, and Ironwood knew that they had to approach. Because her hand was on her blade a moment later.

"Clear a path, James," Ozpin all but instructed, as he started to walk ahead. "I cannot even think of what Raven maybe thinking to do, and I don't care to see more violence in the middle of this." He was not the only one. The General, iron body hidden beneath his suit marched forward through the crowd. He could make out the panic if a few of his nearby soldiers, far too little for a crowd this size, but he waved them away.

He made his path through, head rising above the rest of the people to see the group of interest on the other side. He could make out Ruby and Yang both holding their father up, him with his hand slung around his youngest daughter. Yang shouting something at Raven, who was standing before Link, and the Faunus looking back at her. He didn't have the pace to say it yet, but there was something concerning about Link being here.

Last he had recalled, it was Ganondorf who was on Patch, and he was the one facing Roman. For Link to be here, and no Ganondorf in sight, either bode exceedingly well, or grounds for deep dread. But that was a question to come up later. For now, he had to reach them.

And breaching the edge of the crowd, Ozpin and Ironwood came upon the group, the noise of the rest of the people muted as they took in what they saw.

Raven was standing in front Link. Sara was standing between them. Raven had her blade drawn and aimed at Link. Ironwood was prepared to enact medieval punishments for thieves at that moment, cutting off their hands.

"Raven, what the fuck!?" The general put away the blonde's sudden curse. It was one he honestly shared in sentiment. "Put the sword away! Now! In case you're that much of a social outcast, now is not the time!" Indeed it was not. But that did not make her red eyes so much as blink.

She was staring at Link. And he was staring back at her, with a hand on his own blade along his back, staring immensely sharp with… Ironwood had to blink for a moment. Were his eyes silver?

"Raven, put down that sword this instant," he ordered now, speaking on what was important and pushing past what wasn't. "Despite the circumstances, I have not forgotten that you are a wanted criminal on three of the kingdoms and guilty of many accounts of theft and blackmail. If you do not prove yourself an ally in this moment, I will face no questions should I place you in custody." It was an empty threat, because she could vanish in a moment.

"Lower your blade, Raven Branwen," Saria spoke now. "Do you believe using force is proper at this moment? Do you think any questions will be answered or relationships strengthened by the cut of your steel?" Obvious answers were unspoken, even as Raven stared on.

"I am not lowering my blade," she returned, staring at the Faunus still. "Not until he tells me why he has that sword." Link's blade? Ironwood looked between them again. And now that he did, he could tell that it was odd that both Tai and Ozpin were quiet as well. Ozpin would keep himself quiet until necessary, but Tai would yell normally. But a glance showed that he was holding Ruby close, and staring past Raven towards Link as well.

"The blade is Link's. It always has been." The answer came from Saria, one of few she gave. "Do you think it important enough to you that you will threaten him before me? Are you, one who has seen what I am capable of, assured that threatening him is your wisest action?" The Spring Maiden half the height of Raven Branwen, stepped forward as if she were a giant among dwarves. Considering what he had seen and heard of her doing, it was appropriate.

"I do." But Raven was as stubborn as her brother. Ironwood crushed his hand into a fist at her admittance. "Because that is not his blade. That is a sword that belongs in the ground, and I do not care what reason he has for taking it! Especially since it cannot be used!" She growled at the words, and Ironwood felt himself lost. Just as before, he pushed through it.

"I will not ask again, Raven," he interjected, stepping forward now to put himself within swinging distance of her. Farther from the crowd, still distracted by their own turmoil, was all the better. "Lower the sword, step away, and pray that the answers we get through questions do not have me arrest you. I dare to think your own daughter will not be against it."

Now he got her to glare at him. Good.

"Yeah! Don't hurt Link!" Ruby shouted now, earning a glance from him. Her father looked down at her, even as she balanced him, silver eyes stained with red. Tears, obviously. "H-He did a lot back on Patch. A-A-And if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be here! Or it was because of Ganondorf I wouldn't, but Link was the one who fought Roman! Ganondorf just held up the moon and I fought off the Grimm and so much happened but you can't threaten him for using that sword!" Her father was holding her tighter now, to the point that Yang was only standing by. What was so significant about that blade?

"Tai, speak some sense into that girl," Raven, charming as ever, only ordered her ex-husband to act on Ruby. No one missed Yang growling, even if it was ignored. "Tell her how not even Summer could use that blade, and taking it from her grave is not something I'm about to forgive!"

That… explained a great deal very quickly.

"Summer… I do not know the name," Saria, however, did not. It was not surprising that she didn't. "However, I do know the sword that Link carries. It was the blade forged to be bane against evil, and the very sword he used in Hyrule, for many fights and many years." It had been? Ironwood looked to Ozpin, seeing the Headmaster bowing his head and furrowing his gaze. "You may claim it to be many things, but I am not mistaken that the sword is his."

"Prove it then," Raven quickly spoke back. "Prove that it is your sword. I don't care how just do it." She snarled, and probably ignored Yang behind her doing the same thing. "Because I don't care how strong you are, if you ransacked Summer's grave for that sword, then I'm going to risk death for it." That was too far.

"You will control yourself, Raven!" Ironwood finally shouted, knowing that some faces in the crowd had to be on them. "My threat still stands and I will side with Link if you do not-" SHINK! The sound killed his words. And turning to face Link, he saw why.

The blade was pulled out of its sheath, and it was a beautiful sword. Though he preferred guns and bullets to solid steel for slicing, he could acknowledge a well-made blade when he saw one. And the sword in Link's hands, longer than his arms and looking as if it had never seen a battle before, gleaming so brightly, was a truly beautiful one at that.

"My word… my god…" Ozpin cursed next to him, though Ironwood didn't pay the man much mind. "You did… you did pull the blade. You freed it." Though his words were still confusing. Thankfully, he was not the only one capable of working through moments of unease.

"Is that fair evidence for you?" Saria questioned Raven again. The taller woman looked down restlessly, breath unable to catch in her shaking lungs. "Do you need more than this, after you proclaimed the blade unusable, or should he have to use it against you? In truth, I do not wish for it myself. So, I must instead ask if you can put your blade away. And if so, will you?" The girl proved her age when she spoke, and Raven looked down at her, dragging her eyes away from the sword.

But carefully, uneasily, she slipped her katana away, letting the hilt hit at the top of the scabbard. Ironwood let out a sigh of relief, small, but still relevant. He did not hear the same sounds from Ozpin or Tai, not even after Link spun that long blade and put it away, sliding it home along his back. He could not understand yet why it was so significant. It wouldn't be long until he knew why, however. He would find out.

"Thank you," Saria, in the meantime, bowed her head towards the dark-haired woman, even if Yang looked on disbelieving still. The Spring Maiden turned and looked up at Link then, the danger behind them put away, and she smiled brilliantly. But it was only then her voice began to shake. "Link… it is… I am glad to see-" She got no further.

In a move that beget his history, Link was on his knees and holding the smaller girl in his arms. Her pulled her close and pushed his head into the crevice of her neck, holding himself there and pulling her close. The Spring Maiden didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around his head, holding him close like a child. Through the curtain of her emerald hair, he could just make out her smile.

"There, there, it's alright. I am here, for now," she spoke, petting him over his cape, hands moving over his longer Faunus tipped ears. "You went through many horrible things recently, I know this. But you are safe now, and you have come home." Perhaps not his home, but it was home with her here, he could tell. So much for the Faunus at least.

Link did not let her go, still clearly holding onto her and keeping her close. He was silent as he watched, him and the others. Perhaps a few words from Ruby and Yang, but they were children who enjoyed the sight. He was a man who had seen men come back from battle and war. This was much the same. If not more.

Afterall, the last Link had seen Saria, she had been dead.

He let it sit for a time then, before letting the inevitable continue.

"Link," Ozpin started first, to Ironwood's minor surprise. "I do not mean to rush your reunion, but I hope you are aware that we know little of what occurred while you were on Patch." The Faunus looked up from Saria's shoulder, looking at him with silver eyes. Silver, how odd it was. "And foregoing Summer's sword on your back, and how you were able to draw it, we do not know what happened to the island, the moon, Roman, or even just you. For example, what your eyes are now silver."

"Yes… they are silver," Saria spoke again, drawing herself away from Link. She took a moment, still within arms reach to blot her eyes dry. But she focused on Link when she was done, and the Faunus on a bended knee to face her. "What did happen to your eyes, Link? For all the time you were in the Kokiri Forest, you had honest blue. Why have your eyes turned to soul-rending silver?" He didn't respond or at least not in a way that Ironwood could here.

"They were also glowing," Ruby, however, did. He turned to face her, everyone did, including Tai still on her shoulder. "Mine did, too I think it was hard to tell, my own eyes glowing. But it was when we were looking up at Roman and he was all demony and Ganondorf was there and we couldn't even look at him without causing him pain. And then there was the sword that was glowing, too. It was… yeah, there was a lot going on."

"I trust that there was," Ozpin answered honestly. He had more experience handling children. "And I can tell you and Link fought well and hard to return." He looked at Link he was started to rise again, though clearly unwilling to separate himself from Saria for long. "But I am more curious on what specifically transpired. That, and what it is we must do next."

"First the questions of the past," Saria followed up. "Then we can decide on the future." She looked up at Link, grinning, only to turn towards Raven, the woman having drawn herself back and away. "Perhaps we can discuss this without the curious ears of those nearby?" And it was an excellent suggestion.

"I concur," Ironwood agreed. "I don't suppose we may borrow your office again, Ozpin. Assuming Glynda will allow us." She had so far been working with the relief efforts. Though he didn't appear perturbed by the question.

"Of course," he replied. "Yang, Raven, Tai, can you perhaps wait while Ironwood and I discuss with Link and Ruby about-" He did not get far.

"No," Tai was quick to interrupt. "You may not interview my daughter after everything that happened there without me nearby." That went without saying. "And considering that the last time I took my eyes off of Raven she ran into the woods, I don't want her out of my sight either." That was perhaps a less convincing reason.

"I'm coming, too." Yang interjected. "I just watched and heard everything else. There's nothing that's going to be said that'll be surprising to me. Sides, I am on my sister's team. And you're not going to tell her anything that she's not going to spill to me later." That was, considering what he was aware with the Schnee siblings, highly probable.

"Very well then." Just as probable as Ozpin immediately relenting. The crafted devil that he was. "I have no objections. Ironwood?" The ball was in his court now, was it?

"I have none either," he relented. In truth, he had many, but he knew better than to question two beings that had the powers to control the world and another that had seemingly destroyed a power comparable to Salem "But I will be recording this debrief. As stated, we are at a lost for what happened, and everything that is to be said will be an answer later. Is that understood?" It was not for discussion.

"I don't mind," Ruby was quick to answer, and smile. "I mean, you are okay to walk, right Dad? Well, not walk like with two legs, but walk with someone. Cause I mean you could jump there or-" she cut herself off with an eep, from her father putting his hand on her head, messing her dark hair.

"Your sister carried me down and you can carry me there," he replied honestly. "I got a feeling I'll be getting a can or something else soon anyways. But I'm not about to wait on that to hear what happened. Last time I heard your voice it was minutes to midnight, and I will be listening to how you got out of it." Ruby had the good graces to blush at that.

"Very well, then let us go." Ozpin picked up his cane and motioned with it. "And do understand, Link and Ruby. The questions we ask will be invasive, but not insulting. We only need to know what happened and why. I hope that is understood." Ruby nodded affirmatively, but Link did not. It made the general narrow his gaze, but he dropped it when he met those silver eyes.

They were far sharper than the blue he remembered, and he didn't have a reason in mind to challenge a man who could stare like that.

Besides, he would get his answers soon. Then they could decide on what to do.

---

To say the day was hectic was to compare a monsoon riddled sea to a napping child's breath. His prior four decades in this body hadn't been so hectic or paranoia riddled as the last few hours he had endured. He had walked to and from his tower, surveyed the management of the refugees from Vale, and then watched the heroes from Patch return, and stir only more confusion in his soul.

Answer had to be gotten, and he knew that many would agree. Glynda did when he came back up to his tower, after being gone for only a scant two hours. She was quick to remove herself, proclaiming that she had to be closer to the population to manage who was present, waiting for the Military assets to arrive. The council wouldn't bother them, not since Ironwood told them they were interviewing those who had supposedly slain the responsible parties and would send a detailed debrief their way. And even the rest of the crews who were ignorant of his job were likely just as at ease that hew as talking to the man and child who had seen the pits of hell and returned.

He could easily be accused of exaggeration, but given the hellish landscape Ruby and Link described, though the latter through Saria's tongue, it was hard to argue against it.

Instead, he listened as the two of them narrated a tale he though more appropriate for a fairytale, and likely one day would be recounted as one. All the while James told of what would be listed in a report and what would be too fantasia to even consider telling others. Many details fell into both categories, but all obvious. No one would believe that Roman became some sort of demonic creature with the mask, but it would plain to observe the death of Ganondorf, and the mask sealed.

He listened to them intently, but just as well as watching Yang looking over Ruby as she spoke. Like an elder sister, or perhaps a surrogate mother, looking out for the small details that would be an indication of some peril. There were none as far as he could see, but he was not about to tell a sibling to note dot over another. There was cruelty, there was apathy, then there was stupidity. He had done enough of the first, and he dared not even tread into the later.

All that said, and the tale wrapping up, Ozpin knew it was time to confirm the results of the grand battle Ruby Rose and Link had participated in. He had to confirm it, for assumptions were not permissible now.

"That is quite a story," Ozpin spoke first, earning the ire of most in the room. "Apologies, I do not mean to say you fabricated it, only that it is hard to hear all that happened and not think of it like some fantasia tale. I truly do believe what you have both said, only admitting it will take some time to wrap my head around it." That placated most of them.

"I can't even believe it," Ruby seemed to agree. "I mean, I was there, and fighting and stuff, but geez! It's like incredible that I can even say I was. All those Grimm and that moon and the sky?" She spun her head as she spoke. Why, he couldn't say. "Feels like its all trapped in my head now." Better there than forgotten.

"I may suggest writing a report… or perhaps journaling those thoughts," James spoke up, diplomatic as usual. "An often-employed measure of therapy is to write down what you recollect, so you can afford to forget it. Otherwise you may feel guilt over forgetting it." And there was his friend with the slivers of wisdom that came with his post.

"You still keep a diary, don't you Rubes?" Yang asked, or perhaps teased, her sister. "Yeah, right under the bed, got that lock on it, password is-"

"LALALALALA! Dad's right here and he doesn't need to know that!" Ozpin had to smile there, listening to the girls talk, and their father grinning behind them. Even if the sight of his former student, maimed as he was, did little to improve his mood, and much to sour it. "And I can write it down, in a diary I do not have, and then… I guess I'll just… I don't know." And the mood was twisted again.

"Perhaps while it is fresh on your mind, you can recount a few queries I have," Ozpin spoke again. "Firstly, you can confirm that Roman is dead. Not merely missing." It would be too easy for a talented to thief to fake his death, but Ruby shook her head something fierce in denial.

"Nu uh, I saw it. He's dead." She lifted her hand and tapped her forehead with her forefinger. "Link stabbed him, right there. I could see in one side and out the other. That's dead, maybe even deader than dead." Well, that was certainly a sure way to kill someone.

"And you can confirm this, Link?" The Faunus nodded, his posture stiff and arms crossed. If Ruby was relaxing in her seat, surrounded by family, then Link was still on edge and on guard. Saria did little to help. "And what of Ganondorf then? Is he dead as well?" Link spoke, but Saria answered.

"No, not dead," she began. "Ganondorf holds a Golden Power, and he cannot be killed so long as he holds it. Instead, using the Sacred Blade, he was sealed away. In stone." She licked her lips as Link spoke on, nodding with some sign of affirmation. "He asked to be sealed away, perhaps out of guilt or knowledge that he had too much power for the world. And he did it while holding onto Majora's Mask." Ruby took that as a sign to chime in.

"Yeah! That is what happened!" She almost rose from her seat with the answer. "She took the mask and talked about how he had done enough and he was still hated, so he asked Link to seal him, not kill him, and then Link stabbed him right through the gut. CHINK!" She made the sound of a sword as she stabbed forward. "And then when he pulled it out, he started turning to stone. I mean, everything turned to stone. Him, his clothes, and his cape. And that really creepy dangerous mask."

"Would he be difficult to find?" Ironwood spoke now. "I do not wish to imply we would, but I cannot think that no one would want to find this… statue, for lack of a more appropriate term. But I can't help but imagine it would take only a well-placed chisel to free him." Link shook his head at the suggestion.

"It would take something of extraordinary power to free him now," Saria answered, more from knowledge. "A door may be opened with great force, but what would you use first to unlatch it? What would be more appropriate to undo a seal?" He knew that one.

"A key," Ozpin answered, fingers thrumming on the top of his cane. "And I can assume that the key is that blade of yours, Link." He did his utmost to look impassive about the sword, but it was a difficult challenge for even him. It was one that Tai and Raven were utterly failing. He could not fault them for it.

How else were they supposed to act, staring at the blade that Summer had carried for nearly her entire career as a Huntress, yet never was able to pull from its sheath?

"That's correct," Saria added. "It is Link's blade, and one he has used since he left the Kokiri Forest." But not while he was in it. It didn't come from those Lost Woods then. "It was sealed in a temple's walls, and placed into stone for only the spirit of the hero to draw. No descendant or sibling could can draw on it. Only the spirit of the hero." And a direct answer again.

"Oh! Oh! Ganondorf talked about it, too!" His attention was on Ruby in a moment, watching her nearly bounce in her chair. Tai was looking at her anxiously. "He said it was the Master Sword and it was the only thing that was able to hurt him before! He kept saying that it's what made Link go from Super to Awesome! Well, okay, I may have been the one thinking that, but it's true! I mean, as soon as he pulled it, his eyes got all silvery like man and both of us were able to just stare at Roman or Ganondorf or the Grimm and get them to start shirking away!"

She cupped her own eyes and bent her fingers, like binoculars. And though Yang laughed and pushed her hair out of the way, Ozpin gripped his cane all the tighter. He knew that Ironwood was doing much the same beneath his folded arms. He could not swear to how, but that was affirmation of what he thought.

Link's blade had unlocked the silver eyes of Ms. Rose. Hers and, apparently, Link's as well.

"Yes… silver eyes," Ozpin whispered curiously, enough to gain attention of the others. "You said that you have not always had those eyes, Link?" He looked at the man's very much silver eyes as he asked it. The Faunus did not answer immediately, instead shaking his head after a moment.

"I am curious about your eyes as well," Saria spoke next. "I have seen you draw your sword before, but your eyes were always the peaceful blue. What else did you do to make them so sharp and cold? When did you let your gaze turn to one of destruction?" What a curious way to ask about silver eyes. Did the Spring Maiden know about them as well?

"Wait, those eyes mean destruction?" Ruby, however, felt it time to interject. "You mean my eyes are destructive? Like dynamite? I mean, Link was able to look hard enough at the Grimm to turn them to stone, but I don't think that's a bad thing, right? He's not going to turn us to stone, is he? No, wait, am I?" Though the question could easily be seen as one of worry, Ozpin had been around children enough to know a joke when he heard one.

"The only thing you'll turn to stone is your old man with how much worry you heap on him," Tai did as well, and was able to calm his child with a hand on her head. The youngest in the room had her head put into her shoulders with the strength of the man's grip, even with one arm. "You can ask your sis, I 'bout turned to stone after that last call you gave us."

"Maybe you, but I'm pretty sure I about melted the room, dad." That she did, Ozpin could recall. "Seriously Ruby, I get being a hero's all about what you want, but don't go doing that again. Remember that fine line we talked about?"

"Yeah, I do," Ruby answered remorsefully, only to bounce back in a way only a child could. "But Ganondorf called me a hero, too! He even said that with my eyes it was proof that I was a hero. And I remember thinking at the time that no one is more qualified to call someone else a hero other than the bad guy, and Ganondorf was a very bad guy, right?" How curiously wise of her to point out.

"A bad many trying to find redemption, I'd say," Ozpin corrected. "But how odd for him to call you a hero, when you were no more able to harm him than anyone else. Unless you were able to do something to him. Were, you Ms. Rose?" The girl shook her head immediately.

"Nu uh, nope, didn't even try," she crossed her arms as she answered. A firm denial. "He just said that I had the same look as Link, and kept talking about some time when Link had defended a princess or something, which is kind of cool that I was supposed to be like that… but it is kind of awkward to say that in front of you… sorry about that." She bit her lip as she looked up at Link.

But the Faunus, for perhaps the first time since entering the room, smiled back at her, waving off her concerns with a grin that was like his eyes. Silver, shining, and attention grabbing.

"Speaking of things like Ruby," Tai started in. The drop in his voice was all Ozpin needed to hear to know things were about to take a turn for the worst. "That sword of yours is a lot like the one our old team leader had. In fact, it was the one thing she couldn't pull out of it sheath. Her or anyone else." Yang and Ruby looked at their father curiously. Everyone else did so on edge.

"Even though she couldn't she still brought it with her almost everywhere she went," Raven spoke in now, eyes burning on Link as she spoke. "In her room, to exams, first missions, anywhere she thought she could take it and it wouldn't get in the way. The largest good luck charm was what Qrow called it, but I called it what it was. A nuisance." She was still baring her teeth at him.

"Considering that we never even got it out of the damn sheath, most of us started to think it wasn't a sword at all," Tai continued on. "To the point where after she got her Hunter's License, she hung it up in the house whenever she went away, thinking that one day she would be strong enough to pull it out."

"I was told half the reason she became a huntress was to become strong enough to hold it," Raven, perhaps as a form of mockery, looked towards Tai as she added to him. "And just kept saying that she knew she was a great huntress as soon as she was able to pull it out."

"But no one could," Tai seemed to agree. "Not just me and Qrow, the instructors got in on it, trying to pull it out." The man leaned back in his seat, perhaps to balance himself with his missing limbs. "If I remember correctly, you had a tough time with it as well, didn't you Oz?" He disliked that nickname, but it was one he and Qrow both used often. Now was not the time to correct.

"That is true," he admitted. "I hoped to see the blade as well, but thought it was a prank on your part, or more accurately Qrow's, when I couldn't pull it. I even recall what Ms. Rose said after I was unable to free it." The name, this time, made Link stare at him. He wondered why.

"I remember, because it's the one time I laughed in front of you." Raven found it appropriate to smile then. "She said it meant she had to be a better huntress than you were a hunter. It was enough to get you to hold still. Probably the one time it got me and Qrow to laugh together as well." But she was sincere when she said it, oh so sincere.

"Yeah, that's the kind of blade she had," Tai spoke up, turning his gaze back to Link. It wasn't the fiery red of Raven's, but it was no less chilling, even if he was half as capable as before. "So, I have to ask you now, Link. Why do you have her sword? Or better yet, how can you use it?" The question hung in the air.

Link didn't answer, by a manner they could see or hear. Instead, he stared at Tai, silver eyes moving from him to Raven and back again. It was a staring contest, perhaps, but one that would be decided with far more force than a blink. The tension in the air was thick enough to weight down on him, and he loathed the feeling.

"The sword… came out of mom's grave," Ruby spoke up, seemingly out of nowhere.

But more shocking than her admittance of where it came from, even if Ozpin, Raven, and Tai were already aware, was Link's reaction. Watching the stern gaze of the warrior shift from confrontational and controlled, to wide eyed appalled. No… perhaps… scared? He had to blink when he saw it.

"Yeah, Ganondorf, that is… he sensed there was something around her. I-I was there because I was out of Aura… and strength… and I thought it wanted to be near mom." She had said as much before. "But Ganondorf, he said that he sensed something peaceful, and dug the sword from her grave. I tried to stop him, until he pulled it out… and then threw it me." She looked down at her hands, seeing them shaking. "He said he couldn't hold it, and I didn't understand, because I couldn't pull it out either. He just said… that it was for the hero. After that, I-I just took off." And then the rest of the tale unfolded.

The vile man of Link's past had sensed the blade, the weapon that Saria proclaimed was responsible for his death, or sealing perhaps, and had delivered it to Link again. The connection between them was too great to ignore. But just as impossible was the history he knew existed in it.

How could the weapon that Link used for all of his trails be one in the same with Summer's unusable weapon? It did not make sense.

"That is the blade that Summer used for so many years," Ozpin finally declared. "I interviewed her myself, as I did with her daughter, and even then, she had that blade nearby." He ignored the curious glances from Ruby, rapidly moving from him to her father. "That was well over twenty years ago now. You, on the other hand, do not look a day over thirty. In addition, I am aware that you fought Ganondorf and performed your many other deeds well beyond your youth." He listed out the facts he knew, letting them sit before continuing. "So, Link, I must inquire, how am I to reconcile a weapon present here twenty years ago yet being used by you perhaps less than ten or so ago?"

The timeline simply did not piece together, and he was desperate to find the link between them. Because until he did… this was just another keg preparing to be blown.

Then, Link spoke. Or as well as Ozpin could tell he had. For not the first time, he wished he had that piece of machinery that allowed Winter to hear him. Perhaps Ironwood had forgotten to bring in it in the hectic situation surrounding the Moon Fall and all else. But regardless of the reason, it left Link speaking, and everyone else waiting for Saria to follow.

"The story… for how Link lost the Master Sword… involves his daughter." She appeared no more at ease telling this story than Link looked to even remember it. His blade, Summer's sword, was the sharpest item in the room, but those silver eyes were a close second. "Namely… for how she was lost to time. I recall the story myself, but the tale would take hours to tell, and he has a far more important question to ask first." The Forest Maiden looked no more pleased to speak than Link did to listen. "Can you swear this blade, possessed by a woman named Summer… was in the grave it came from?" Ah… an obvious question.

"No! No, she wasn't!" Ms. Rose, however, was the first to react. "We never… mom went away on a mission and just… she just didn't come back." Any peace the girl brought before was quickly eroded under the torment that shone in her silver eyes now. A harsh contrast for the terror in Link's. "Mom… she was going on a mission, and when she didn't come back… we… made a grave for her." Even if she was speaking, Ozpin kept his eyes glued on Link.

It let him see the Faunus tremble as she spoke, hanging on every word that fell from her lips. His emotions were so raw, so plain and easy to see. Not just in the movement of his eyes, but his slacken jaw, hands held up as if to grasp something, desperate to hold something. Saria looked at him worriedly, but did nothing else. He knew what was coming. So did Ozpin. But the relief of what was going to be said was momentous. So much so that it couldn't simply be assumed. It had to be said.

"Then you gave up on her?" It was Saria who spoke next, and Ozpin didn't see Link pose the question. "Mark a grave in her name and never check to see if she lived?" The question evoked the obvious response in Raven.

"Of course, we did!" She yelled out, standing and knocking her chair back. "She was our leader! She was my friend! You think I would just take her missing and assume she was dead!?" If she tried to shake Link, it didn't work. It only made Ruby and Yang look up surprised, Tai grasping his youngest daughter with his only good arm. "I went out and looked for her for months! I didn't rest until I scoured every square inch of land she was supposed to be in! I looked absolutely everywhere for her! I didn't' give up until… until…" the life drained from her. Tai took over from there.

"Until I said it was enough," he looked no happier to continue. "I didn't think it was worth it… I didn't-" those were not the correct words to use.

WHAM! And fast as a train without breaks, Link had grabbed Tai by the neck, slamming him against a far wall.

"GRAH!" The man yelled as he was held up, hand grasping at Link's golden gauntlet, failing to pull it away. The Faunus held him up with a sure grip, unwilling to let go. Even as Ozpin and everyone else rose, Raven was behind the Faunus a moment later, blade laid over his neck threateningly. It didn't make him release the man, and Tai's features showed torment.

"You… gave up on her?" Saria posed the question, and this time he couldn't be sure if it was Link she was speaking for or herself. She only walked up, ignorant of the frightened children and made woman between her and her charge. "You assumed her dead and did… nothing?"

"I had… a daughter to raise!" Tai shouted, even as his foot kicked underneath him. Ozpin realized after that boom of impact that Ironwood had drawn his revolved, and he was ready to slap it out of his hand. "A daughter that needed to know the truth! And Summer… was gone! It's been twenty years! A-And she's… still…" He couldn't speak further. He couldn't breathe.

"Release him." Raven commanded, lowly. "Let him go or not only will you lose your answers, you will lose your head." It was a threat he knew she'd carry through with.

For that tense moment, Ruby and Yang unsure of where to jump to or what to say, Tai dangled against the wall, held up by Link's hand and his rage. Even if all Ozpin could see was the back of his emerald hood, he could tell the Faunus was prepared to take extreme actions, for something he had little information on. Little, but surely enough.

"Link," Saria spoke up instead, putting a hand to his leg and catching his attention, through the tension of it all. "If he is who he says he is, he is the father to your descendant. Would you truly wish harm on him?" It was the oddest way to phrase the obvious question. But it brought about the appropriate response.

"GUH!" Tai sucked in a breath of air as he was let go, hitting the ground and losing his balance. He couldn't keep himself up, lacking an arm and a leg, and collapsed on the ground. Raven, perhaps showing she was not as ruthless as she wished to be, quickly took the sword from Link's throat and jumped to his side. Yang and Ruby were not far behind.

Link looked down on them, Saria by his side, as the tension in the room had been alleviated, but not dispersed. It was still there, the idea of terrifying answers looming over them, but it wasn't gone. And Ozpin watched on, unsure if there was any word he could utter to balm the situation.

"Tai," Saria spoke. "Link has… something to give you." That earned a great amount of attention.

Just as much as watching the Faunus grab at something within his tunic, any number of items from what Ozpin could remember. And while he expected it to be an item of sentimental value, to prove the blade was his or have Tai swear over it as proof of what Summer had once held, he instead produced something more akin to the Bunny Hood or Magic Cloak that belong to Yang and Blake respectively.

It was a plate of armor, shining gold and outline in red, and produced as mysteriously as everything else Link had shown. But Ozpin had no time to admire the regalia.

SLAM! Because in no time it was shoved against Tai's chest, locking against him like a chassis. If he made a noise of surprise or pain, it was quickly taken away as the armor grew. That was the only word Ozpin could relate to it. It grew.

The armor climbed over his good arm and leg, like a suit of fine plating that covered his biceps and forearms, slithering down his thighs and calves to cover them in a thick gold-plated steel. Red lining and clothing covered the joints between his legs, and hid any mark of his clothing beyond the outlines of his skin. But were that all it did, it would be marvelous but curious.

No, instead, the armor also took over the missing arm and leg for the man, growing upon them as if they were there. Raven was quick to jump away, pulling Yang back by her hair.

Tai didn't look pained or admonished by it, instead, holding up his arm as the armor grew as if it were tracing where his hand used to be. Bending by his command, even as plate metal grew. Flexing his fingers, as the details of his gauntlets came to be, and then twisting his shoulder, showing the full range of motion of the device. It was no different for his leg, as he looked down to see his sprawled limb, or what once was that limb, now stretched out with the same thick plating as his other leg, a red clothing hiding where his knee should have been, and doubtlessly concealing the mechanism behind its motion.

Tai said nothing, looking at the gold armor that covered his body, looking over it and bending his arms and legs to test it. More than his one good limb for each side, twisted and flexing effortlessly. The missing limbs did the same, and it made Yang grin next to him, mirroring her father's growing expression. Elation was too subtle a word.

"Major Armor," Saria spoke, surely for Link at this point. "Made by the sages for a warrior outclassed in number. To fight on when all his limbs were broken and only his will survived. It will not last forever, but can be fueled by the power of Dust once more." How on Earth did they design it for that? Ozpin knew from Tatl and Tael that the concept of Dust was foreign to them. "From what I can tell, that is the word you best use to describe Rupees. It will allow the armor to move, and should help you function without the use of your arm or leg." If that was the case… it was a magnificent gift.

"Holy… holy shit!" Tai let out, only to bite his tongue. "Ruby, Yang, don't repeat that. Raven, don't tell me I'm dreaming. You," he left off with, pointing at Link with his new golden hand. The Faunus didn't respond.

Instead, he gave Tai time to push off the wall with is fake limb, as Ozpin couldn't think of what else to call it. Yang and Ruby were next to him, ready to catch him, but it was not necessary. The former student of Ozpin's was able to hold himself up, the false leg of his holding his weight well. He looked down at himself, looking over his golden clad body, trying to make sense of it, but smiling brilliantly through it. Even if he didn't understand it, he clearly loved it.

"This…" he started holding up his fake limb. "Is something I wouldn't think of getting for free from Ironwood, and that's just because it feels like something that would be worth a kingdom's income." Ozpin glanced at Ironwood, seeing the man nod his head in agreement. Fully body robotic limbs, self-actuating, and not needing calibration. It certainly acted important. "An you're just giving it to me… care to share why?" Link was saying something, Ozpin could tell that much. What, exactly, he couldn't say. He could only wait until Saria spoke again. He didn't need to wait for long.

"Link gifted the Magic Armor to you because… if by accident or intent, you have answers that he has been searching for." He had? Ozpin wasn't under any idea that Link was looking for anything aside from Navi. If that was a rouse, however, then perhaps he was speaking honestly now. That only raised questions for what else he was hiding. "And if what he believes is true… then you hold more value to him than the Magic Armor does."

That, thankfully, was a positive message to leave off on. One that was carried in sentiment by Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. More than that, he could even see a bit of relief in the eyes of Raven Branwen. Not much, enough to be noticeable to others. But he had seen her trained for four years and then worked under him for some more. He knew the subtlety of her actions, and this was one of them. Be it for the worth of the armor or not, he couldn't be sure.

But that Link was gifting Tai something like that was a positive step. Now… they only needed to see where the conversation headed.

Before it could begin, however, he felt James tap on his shoulder, earning his attention but not his gaze.

"I just received word from the Council," James spoke up next to Ozpin, not bothering to attract his attention. "They said they wish to expedite the Vytal Festival, having it proceed earlier than anticipated. I imagine they wish to use it as proof that no force of nature can break the unity of our kingdoms." How appropriately beneficial to their image.

"Thank you, James," Ozpin returned. "I will have to think on that, but later. Far later from now." Even if he wanted to, he couldn't think he'd be able to dedicate a serious thought to the Vytal Festival at this moment. Momentous as it was for the kingdoms, it was a far secondary concern to this. "I think… I will need to talk and discuss it at a later date. I hope you will be open for my call when I am ready." He did not push the issue, thankfully.

"Of course, Ozpin," he agreed with a sighed. "In the meantime… I suppose I will help Glynda with the efforts in Vale. You should know she has already put your students to work with looking through the rubble and steering the displaced citizens." That seemed appropriate, as they were already there.

"Thank you, truly," he spoke again. "But if that is all… please give me a moment. For I suspect they will need several before we can go on." His eyes never left the sight in front of him.

For all the years he had lived, and all that he had done, Ozpin couldn't forget that what he was watching was what mattered the most. For all the wars and terrors of the land, this was what always brought home the most nightmares to roost.

A family reuniting, across words and perhaps even time, under the death of a loved one. There was nothing that could be said to ease that burden.

Silence was already loud enough.

---

Because of who his dad was, and what he did for a living, he'd seen a lot of war zones. Maybe just battlefields, as they were called, or the left overs of a fight, but all the same thing. The place where life and death were waged, and then the battle was finished. Walking back into there with a Scroll or Tablet in hand was one thing, but walking into it after being there was something else entirely. It was the difference between hearing about a nightmare and living.

Walking through the broken pavement, pushing away large sections of the road, and flipping over fallen streetlights and cars, it was hard to forget that he had been standing here less than an hour ago. He had run from here when the giant monster coming in from the sea decided to open up its mouth and spit fire. And not in the way that Russel would describe a good mixtape, if those even existed.

No, he was standing right where he was before Penny had shouted that the thing was going to blow, unleash a level of damage that was basically guaranteed to wipe them and a good portion of the city out, and Weiss had told them to run. They had, but he didn't expect her to stay behind.

Even less than that, Cardin didn't expect this part of the city to still be standing right now, not after everything he saw.

"It's insane, isn't it?" Dove whispered next to him, and Cardin couldn't even look over at him to confirm it. "It's like a complete different place, man." It didn't just look like it, it felt like it.

The buildings were still standing, but with massive chunks of them basically peeled off. Their windows were blown out, the street torn up, and it was the same sight for blocks and blocks in either direction. Torn up streets, sidewalks, torn down buildings, and basically ruined electrical lines. It was only a miracle that none of the buildings had outright fallen over yet, or else it would have worked a hell of a lot worse. This was where they stood as a chokepoint, but the Grimm had raided from the sea and there wasn't just one spot in from there.

Even then, compared to when they were all fighting here, with the giant moon with that nasty face, the black sky, and the Monster Sea Grimm walking up towards them, it was hard to say which was worse. Who was he kidding, he knew which one.

This one, because this was the situation they had to clean up and search. The last one didn't even feel like Vale. Maybe that was what the really horrifying part was. He couldn't even recognize his home while he was fighting in it, not until he and his team were searching through it.

"The sea's way too calm for me," Dove spoke again. "I mean, I get that I'd prefer it, but just… its like looking a barren wasteland under a blue sky, or watching someone smile at someone else tearing up, you know? It just… it doesn't look right." Considering the last time they were here it was basically tidal waves of Grimm coming in from the shore, Cardin could understand, he just didn't want to put much thought into it.

"You think it could have been worse?" Russel asked, jumping over an upturned part of the street. Cardin recognized that one. That was the one he tore up when he was holding Penny back while she was firing that giant laser of hers. "I mean, yeah, it was bad, but if this is what happened while we were here… what the hell would it look like if we just stayed back at Beacon?"

"I don't want to know," Cardin honestly answered. He was already drained, and that was just because he fought through a horde of Grimm and then had to spring like a bomb was going off, only to sprint back when they found out that the calamity was put on hold. "Whatever could have happened, we stopped it."

"That is affirmative, Team Leader Cardin," Penny spoke up next to them. Unlike the rest of them, she appeared to have no issue skipping through the rubble. Maybe that was because she was crushing it beneath her boots. BOOM. Literally. She couldn't be that heavy, but she was strong. "Without the intervention of the confirmed 34 Hunter Students present for the confrontation with the sea-faring Grimm, the amount of damage would have likely spread approximately 0.45 miles further into Vale, including total destruction and lost of the nearby buildings. This includes compromising the internal structure of nearby buildings. Without the intervention of TEAM CFVY's ballistics and Weiss Schnee's ice Dust use, the amount of Grimm likely would have caused significant enough damage to result in total collapse, which further would have increased the area of affect by-"

"I get it Penny, I get it." He emphasized, holding up his hand. He just felt drained, and he didn't want to hear how it could be worse. "Let's… lets just keep looking. We don't know who else could still be here." Or even worse, who they found. "How many people did they say were still missing?" He asked Penny because God knew if anyone recalled it, it would be her.

"There are still one hundred and twenty-eight civilians still unaccounted for. An estimated ninety-two were in Vale at the time of the Moon Construction." He looked up at her, confusion riddled on his face. "Moon Construction is the event pseudonym assigned by approximately 87% of the CCTV sources, including official Military records." He nodded at it. Even though this was caused by Grimm and not the moon, it was kind of hard to forget that thing.

Like he thought before, the difference between hearing and living in a nightmare.

"Right, well, like they said, we're going to search this place out. Can't wait for the hunters to get here if someone is trapped, and I'm not going to let Aura-less people walk in here. 'Specially if there are any more Grimm around here." That made Dove come up short.

"You think there could still be more of them? I mean, after everything that happened, you think there could still be more Grimm roaming around?" He looked behind him as if expecting one to be lurking there. Cardin had to hold his hand back from slapping him upside the head, messing up his bowler cut.

"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, and if there's anyone trapped or hiding, that'll get their attention," Russel called out correctly. "Plus, I mean, unless I missed it, we didn't exactly drop some automatic Grimm killing bomb, right? The big guy was pushed over, but there's nothing to say there aren't still small fry scurrying in the shadows." That was the real threat, too.

"Right, it's why we are here," Cardin emphasized again. "Everyone else is either working with the Military to help the rest of the civilians, and I've got a pretty good feeling that we wouldn't exactly inspire people there." They weren't exactly like JNPR, and had a literal All-Star as the face of their team. Dove had to laugh at that, and Russel shrugged.

"Are you sure, Team Leader Cardin?" Penny, however, had to ask. "I am able to speak approximately fifteen different languages, and I can assure I would be most proficient in being able to communicate with any individual." He cocked a brow at her, ignoring Dove striking a robotic pose and moving his jaw up and down.

"Penny, when we get back to the room, I'll be sure to fill you in," Cardin promised. "For now, lets just get to looking." Because he wouldn't want to be stuck in this rubble, and he knew anyone who was would be absolutely terrified. And they didn't need more Grimm walking around. Not now at least.

"Affirmative, Team Leader Cardin," Penny saluted, before vaulting over a column of stone and vanishing from sight. He wasn't worried about her, seeing as she was something beyond them.

"Hope it doesn't seem mean if I think she still scares me," Dove spoke up next to Cardin. "Not like she's scary and I want to leave scary, but more like, I have no idea what she's thinking scary." Cardin rolled his eyes.

"Dove, do you have any idea what any girl is thinking about." The sudden turn made Russel spit out a bark of laughter, and getting the tanned haired boy to look up at him.

"Hey! I at least have had a girlfriend before! I don't need you telling me what girls are thinking." Cardin put on a smirk as he started walking, looking around the larger portions of rubble, trying to make sure there wasn't anyone buried beneath it, or any obvious blood to find.

"Apparently you do, because you lost a girlfriend already, too. Guess that means you don't know what she was thinking!" Russel putout the comment before laughing some more, leading to dove picking up a large chunk of stone and chucking it at him. It sailed over his head, clear over it. It wasn't like they were aiming for one another any ways.

"Better to have had one then to act like you've been with one!" He countered, pointing up at the only one among them not wearing armor. "Or are you going to keep trying to sell that your hair is a chick magnet. Far as I can tell, it's the best repellent I've ever seen!" Okay, he had to grin at that, mostly because his partner grabbed at his spikes like it was a personal affront.

"Chicks love the hair! Means I'm a guy who knows how important this stuff is!" The return was as stupid as the argument. "Better than to talk to somebody who acts like a pretty boy but can't even keep their eyes open for longer than ten seconds." Now their leader shook his head, walking past them. Trying to get them to stop was just not worth it.

They continued to chide and jab at one another, but he had already put them out of his mind. He had to keep looking, and they'd eventually get how important that was. If they didn't, then they could carry that blame later. If he didn't look at all… then that was going to be on him. Besides, what was a bit of hide-and-seek after fighting the Grimm? Better he finds and smash them than a soldier who didn't have a leg to stand on.

He pushed his way down the street, unsurprised to see a fair number of pipes showing beneath the concrete, beaten up and definitely going to need a lot of repair after this. He knew enough to know there was going to be months spent on this road, if not the section of the city. Confirming the foundation for the buildings, including the utilities, double-checking the patchwork, stress testing the new lighting systems, laying down the concrete layers appropriately, and that didn't even account for the rebar. There was going to be a lot of work to do.

"Hup!" He let out the noise of effort as he jumped over one section of building, feet pounding the concrete as he landed. He brushed off his pants, marching forward and looking around again. He didn't need to look for.

Because with all the ruin around him, it was blatantly easy to see the white dress lain up on a collapsed piece of rubble. It and the girl wearing it. Cardin reacted.

"Hey!" He shouted, feet already running across the rubble towards it. "Hey! Weiss! You alive!?" He shouted the words, as he ran, sure that the rest of his team would join him soon. They could catch up.

As he approached, he was quick to find that her head rose up at his call, and he was even more thankful to see that she was alright, in a sense. She wasn't moving much, but she reacted to him and she was looking at him. Both major positives.

"Cardin…" she spoke his name when he got close enough. He got to his knees next to her, looking her over. From head to toe, checking for abrasions, lacerations, and hemorrhaging. Basic First Aid. That included not moving the injured person until it was deemed safe. "Wouldn't think you'd be the first to find me. Thought it would be Ruby first. That girl always following at my heels." He let her talk; it was a good sign.

"Haven't seen her," he replied honestly. "But putting her aside, what about you? You hit anything? Smash anything? Anything broken?" Had to ask all of that first. "Let me know before I start checking you out. Don't want to make something worse." Her eyes, looking as tired as he felt, dropped as she gazed at him. It was hard for him to believe disrespect could be so easily put to physical form.

"You will do no such thing," she commanded as if she had a choice, or it was a good option. "Blake has already looked me over, and she is as able as you are… or near it." Blake? She was here?

"I haven't seen her around. Where'd she go?" He asked, already looking around the girl. But the heiress only shook her head.

"She went to go find help as well. With her Magic Cloak of course." Yeah, that thing. He remembered her putting it on after she was burned by Ganondorf. "I managed to convince her to find someone else to carry me, because I still cannot risk the military not turning on her, especially if she walked up carrying me." Wouldn't that be a sight.

"One of the Twili carrying a Schnee, injured and nearly unconscious, out of a war zone. Sounds like mixed messages to me." Wouldn't you know it, it got the girl to smile. And he did with her, even if he felt like putting his head on the concrete block she was lying against and catching some z's. She looked ready to as well. "So, she's out there then. You think she'd catch up if I started to carry you back. Figures that one of us has to." Her eyes looked up at him again, before rolling in her sockets.

"I suppose it will be either you or one of your teammates, won't it?" He nodded. "Any chance I may convince Penny to have the privilege?" This time, for maybe the first time in his life, he had a one-up statement on the Schnee.

"Only if you don't mind being carried over the shoulder like luggage." He had to laugh as she looked at him scornfully. "Hey, I wouldn't tell her to do it, it's just what she did to Sky before, saying it allowed or greater motion in one hand. Trust me, she'll do it, and you know it." Team RWBY had spent just as much time around her as he had, if not more.

And watching the Schnee Heiress bit her lip as she thought about it was great, almost perfect. If he had the time to take a picture of her, he would have done it. Turned it into a background shot for his entire team. But priorities mattered, and the girl lain out like this was high priority.

"Very well, you may… carry me," she remarked scornfully. He grinned as he started to slide his hands under her. "Though I warn you, I will not stop any of my teammates from eviscerating you if you try and get handsy." He wouldn't dream of it.

"I like my body the way it is," he replied. "Keep your skirt tight, princess. I'll get you back to civilization." He carefully lifted her up. She was a light thing, compared to the hundreds of pounds he typically benched with. It was just as easy to balance her, seeing as she was half his size. "Once I get you back, and can start worrying about everyone else."

"Everyone else…" He let the comment sit, not knowing if it was a question or not. "You mean civilians. How many are missing."

"According to Penny, over hundred twenty or something like that." She shivered in his hands, but he ignored it. She'd just deny it anyways. "Maybe ninety are here, and I don't even know if you're on the list or not. It's why I gotta come back here once I get you to the rest of the Military. They got a station setup for relief and all that."

"Of course they do. Atlas Military always prioritizes the lives of civilians in all of its works." He wanted to laugh at it, but there was a reason they didn't just launch nukes at the thing they were fighting. The city was right next to it. "Still… I cannot believe that this could have been worse, if Ganondorf hadn't jumped in." That brought him up short.

"Wait, that guy was here?" He looked down at her in shock, even if she just looked up at him patiently. "How the hell are you and the cat still alive even?" She scowled at his remark, but he put it away. "Seriously?! How are you alive? Wasn't he the dude that burned Blake?"

"He was," she curtly replied. "He was also the man who threw lances at the monster that shredded it like paper." That seemed a bit unimaginable. It must have been written on his face, and she was fluent in body language, because she read it right off of him. "I believed it as well as you do, but I cannot deny he was able to stave off the first bomb that thing was firing at us, before throwing conjured lances at it with speeds comparable to light. So fast they flew I couldn't imagine them anything else."

Cardin let out a slow breath of air as she spoke, trying to put his mind away from it. But he couldn't. Even as he stepped over the rubble and back the way he came, he kept thinking about that man landing in front of him and showing off that kind of power. It just… it wasn't something he could stand tall in the face of.

"Terrifying, I know," Weiss added on. "Blake was just as scared as you are. I don't know if it was luck or good fortune that had him rocketing off after he was done. Destroying the monster, so many Grimm along the way, then shooting out again. Half this damage is due to the beast just jumping away. I can't even imagine what it would be like if he actually attacked." This time, he could.

"I'll just take whatever Penny said the monster was going to do and then add to it." He had overpowered the beast after all. "But if he's gone, I'll take it. Better than fearing I'm gonna turn a corner and see-"

"FRIEND CARDIN!" He freaked.

"GAH!" "WHAG!" He shouted and jumped, and it made Weiss lurch just as much in his arms. She gripped him as he held her closer, looking down at the person who had shouted at them, only to swiftly turn his freight into anger. "Penny! What were you thinking!" Weiss appeared just as angered as he was.

"I apologize Friend Cardin! To you as well Friend Weiss! It is good to see you are well, after Friend Blake told me to look for you here." Well that was some news. "But I have a query for Friend Cardin, not Team Leader Cardin." She said that like there was a difference, and he was gritting his teeth as he waited for it. "My sympathetic systems have been trying to compare the emotional state of those present with myself, to, as described by others, putting myself in their shoes." He sighed, trying to figure out where she was going with this.

"Spit it out Penny," he tried not to growl, he really did, but after screaming in front of him while he was imagining a monster. Not a good place to start. "You've gotta have a point for this."

"I do!" She hastily added. "I have been dedicating so much of my work to friends and instructors and allies that I forewent a previous friend whom I have not seen in sometime." Okay, she was concerned for a friend.

"Who is it Penny? Is it anyone I know?" Weiss looked just as ready to ask. "We've got to hurry this up because the longer we wait-" She didn't let him finish.

"Friend Cardin, do you believe Friend Sky is also well?" That brought him up even shorter.

"Wha-?" He asked almost dazed. "Sky? I mean, no, but he's not even near here. Last I talked to him, he was back with his family near Menagerie. That's like across the world from here." It was a hell of a lot safer than they were right now. "Why, you hear something went wrong?"

"No, I have no Military or CCTV reports regarding the region, not past the White Fang incident." Good, but also raising a lot of question. "I was trying to put myself in his shoes, as was said, and trying to see if I could replicate the emotional state of others. I believe I have succeeded, but now I am concerned for friend Sky. Do you believe it would be proper to call him?" He honestly didn't think she was close enough to him for it to matter. But then again, Cardin was.

"That's a… that's a good point," he returned. He looked down at Weiss, who looked back up at him. "I'll give him a call now. Why don't you take Weiss back to the base? You can do it faster than I can." She looked up at him in a panic.

"Wait! But you said-" She had no time to recant or deny the offer, as Penny was quick to grab her.

"Of course! Team Leader Cardin!" She replied, holding the heiress in her arms, with just as much ease as he had. "I will get her to the Military Post hastily." He was unsurprised to see her shift the Heiress in her arms.

"Wai-HIII!" And then get thrown over her shoulder, a strong arm flattening her skirt and leaving her bent over the red head. Cardin had to grin, knowing that he might die later for this. "Penny! This is not how you carry someone who is injured!"

"I am aware Friend Weiss, but it is the most expedient method to recover you and anyone else I may sense on the way back. So please bear with it, and we will return shortly." She spun and began jogging, the girl hopping on her shoulder as she did so. Cardin got a good look at the outright betrayed look on her features, staring at him and promising bloody murder after this. He'd take it, but only if there was nothing going wrong with Sky.

Damn Penny, she had him worried to. He was already grabbing at his Scroll, ignoring the way that Weiss was yelling at him. She could handle being carried by Penny for a mile, no issue there. Bigger problem was Sky, or at least it seemed like one now.

He hit his contact, hit his number and waited for the ring.

And it was ringing. And ringing… and ringing… ringing…

---

There was a phone ringing next to him, but he couldn't reach it. It was ringing with the tone he set for his team, but he couldn't grab it. It wasn't far from him at all, but he couldn't even reach for it. He could only listen to it. He couldn't dare look at it.

He couldn't take his eyes off of the house that was burning. He couldn't look away from his home being burned to ashes in front of him.

It was impossible. An impossible sight to turn away from. It wasn't just his home that was burning, but everything with it. He and his family had watched the pillars of darkness, the sky turn black, heard about the Faunus being lit on fire, but none of it had come here, none of it. None of it until now. And now, everything was burning.

His home, the fields they worked, the forest around them, and even his family. Especially his family.

It was why he was crying. Everything else could be replaced, but they couldn't. They never could be. But they were burning alive, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. There was nothing he could have done to stop it. It happened so fast that no one could have done anything. Not Link, not Ganondorf, not even Ozpin himself. No one.

Sky couldn't do anything as his family was being immolated in front of him, nothing but watch in horror.

As his mother screamed as she tried to run away, burning from the waist up and turning to ash soon after. Nothing as his father tried to shield him and his sister, only slowing the flames and turning to the same black ash, coating his kids in his remains. Nothing as his sister was snatched from his hands and burned in the grip of the monster that took them screaming his name, and him unable to do anything.

Nothing, there was nothing he could do. Nothing as he watched his family burn, and his home with it. Everything gone in the blink of an eye, and too fast to react, too fast to do anything but watch. Watch and cry as his life was unraveled before his eyes, and he couldn't do a thing to stop it. There was still nothing he could do.

With bleeding stumps for arms, and missing off of his leg, there was nothing he could do but hobble on the ground. Hobble, bleed, and sob brokenly at the sight that perforated his mind. The last sight he would ever see, and it was his family and home being burned to cinders.

That, and the monster responsible walking from the homestead no worse for wear. Walking as if it were a routine project for the beast, carrying a large lance in one hand, helming a blade at the tip, and with her tights emphasizing her muscular figure. A being he saw walk up to him with boots digging trenches into the ground and white hair glowing like a demon's horns in the fire. He stared at it as it walked through the flames, careless of them licking the skin she bore.

Sky looked at her and cried, because he knew who it was, and he couldn't believe who it was. He couldn't believe that someone who saw with adoration, respect, and grace to be responsible for this, for all of this. It was just impossible. But his butchered form could see nothing else.

Nothing but the figure grasping her Naginata as she walked through the fire, stopping in front of him, just in time to slam a heel down on her Scroll, shattering it and any hopes he had to have his call answered. A tear stained face looked up, passive red eyes staring back down at him. He looked up and stared, unable to speak clearly through his tears and torment.

"W-W-Why…" he barely was able to whisper, joking as his lungs filled with blood and tears. "W-Why did… did…" he couldn't get it out. It was still too hard to speak, let alone breath. But the figure understood. She clearly did.

She understood enough to bend down, balancing herself on her weapon and letting her face lean over his. The same pale face he had seen for weeks at Beacon, before leaving by his own accord. The face that had saved him while he was in the desert, who had asked of him if this was the life he wished to lead, before convincing him to find happiness free from conflict.

But now she was gazing down upon him, with the blood of his burned family wet on her weapon, and their ashes painted across her suit and skin. Looking down at him with eyes that matched the fire, and yet with tendrils of darkness clawing beneath her pale skin. He looked at her and he cried, knowing that there was nothing he could do.

"I apologize Sky, for what little it is worth," she spoke to him as if it mattered, as if it fixed anything. "I truly did wish for you to find peace away from battle. I did not speak falsely to you before." He could not believe. He couldn't believe her. There wasn't any way someone could say something like that while looking the way she did.

There wasn't a chance in heaven or hell that Sky was going to believe a word of what Impa said, especially not while she looked like a monster from the same Nightmare he ran from.

"You were talented in many ways, and I wished for you to find peace with your family. I did not know of them… and I never wish to kill those I do not know." Her words were met by her raising the tip of her lance down on him, bearing its sharp end at his exposed neck. He couldn't even twist his head to avoid it. He could only sob, wet and brokenly, as she aligned her strike. "But you know me, and I cannot afford to have you remember me."

SCHINK! And his life was taken from him.

Impa stared down at him for a moment after, watching his head roll back, separated from the rest of his body. As quick a strike as she could manage, leaving only his tormented expression frozen upon his features, staring still at the fire that had claimed his family. Her palm found his eyes, lowering the lids and hiding the vision from him. He didn't need to stare at it in death.

"I truly am sorry, Sky Lark," Impa spoke again. "But you saw my capabilities in the Tower of the Nightmare. And my queen will not allow any to know of it and chance to speak freely of it." She spoke more for herself than him.

Because he was already gone from this world, freed from its torment and mortal shackles. He was free to find his family again, in either the Deep Shadows all Shiekah fell into, or the Holy Realm that all Hylians sought to ascend to. He would find them, because he was a smart squire, just not a dedicated one. In death, he would have nothing else to work towards.

Impa sighed once more, loathing her deed as she stood. Blood on her Naginata, the flames licking her back, matching the dark tendrils of her queen's power flowing just beneath her skin, visible to any naked eye. She stared at them, watching as they played at the tips of her fingers, doing the same around her face. She stared and waited, wondering if they would command her further.

But they did not, and she was thankful for it. It meant she could return to the Badlands, back to the queen she was sworn to. The queen she and her family had served for generations, and not even death and genocide would keep her from serving dutifully.

She strode away from the flames, leaving Sky to burn with his family. It was the most mercy she could offer. She knew it wouldn't be enough.

---

Author's Note: So I was joking about it on the Discord, but I am serious about this now. I have been rereading my documents, and I can tell the reason a lot of people get turned off is likely because the innumerable amount of spelling and grammatical mistakes I make. I have always tried to read through and correct most of them, but it's clear that grammar and corrections is not my strong suit.

That said, I would greatly appreciate having a proofreader for my upcoming stories. I know there may only be another 15 chapters left to this story (not trying to spoil, just what I plan), so I am hoping that someone would be willing to help me out with it.

FF has a sort of file sharing for it, and I can do that, but I can also share Google Docs for you if you prefer.

If you'd like to help edit my chapters, and OF COURSE get credit when they go live, please let me know and I'll DM you.

Thank you again, and please don't wish death on Impa quite yet. There is a reason for her sudden change. I promise you.