Order vs Chaos

by ShadowsEmbrace13

The Vytal Festival is a time of peace and celebration. This isn't the case for everyone and, at the end of the day, victory and defeat can be a matter of opinion. Every day must end and a new danger is always ready for tomorrow. The price to pay can be very high. 'Destiny's Web: Bk III'

25. A Life Changing Week

AN: In no way am I connected to Rooster Teeth

---

Monday.

This year, second years went on their mission four weeks before the end of the school year.

The trio had talked a lot about what they wanted to do. The location wasn't difficult; they wanted to be out of Vale, they would be in Mistral next year for the tournament and Atlas was Atlas, so Vacuo it was. Deciding on their job was much harder.

Most other students were heading to big cities and/or villages. Ruby however chose a little village around a hundred miles outside the official Vacuo borders. It was just starting up but the buildings and defences were there. The only thing missing were the civilians.

A few civilians were retired Huntsmen and Huntresses so they should be fine. They had decided to allow a single team from a Combat School to stay there for a few days for the experience. They had initially wanted a team from Shade, but none of them wanted the mission. APRT, the only other first year team to qualify for the previous Vytal Festival and who they fought in the first round, had recommended them.

Ruby had liked the look of it and the other two had shrugged with an air of 'why not'. So that was where they were going.

Mercury wasn't going to be with them this time. He was doing his final exams over the next few days.

Ruby wished him luck. If Initiation was anything to go by, he would need it.

The airship opening was enough to have Ruby wishing for transportable air conditioning. Vacuo was hot. And they hadn't even stepped out into the elements yet.

Emerald had insisted they pack light and summer clothing, though she kept to t shirts. Yang had certainly done so, enjoying crop tops and shorts. Ruby hadn't managed to find many combat skirts suitable, but she had enough for a few days. A great perk to bottomless and weight free backpacks; there's always room for more.

As much as she wasn't looking forward to it, she needed to go clothes shopping if she wanted to return to Vacuo for any longer. Especially if she came here in their summer.

"Right Remedy! Let's get to it!"

Yang punched her fists together. "Oh yeah!"

Emerald rolled her eyes with a fond smile.

Unlike most other teams, they didn't have a professor sent along with them. The local Huntsmen had volunteered to watch over them. REY didn't have any problems with that.

First objective: get to the village.

Which, when looking at the map, may be harder than first appeared.

"Is it a good idea to build a village in a dead end of a canyon?"

"Depends on their defences," Emerald stretched. "And if there are such things as escape tunnels. The problem there will be stopping the Grimm from accessing those tunnels."

"Then a hatch," Ruby offered. "That will keep the weaker and younger Grimm out. Making the hatch control small will mean that the older Grimm smart enough to figure it out won't be able to do anything about it."

"Before we go too far in this," Yang interrupted with a happy smile. "How about we get to the village first? They might already have trapdoors in the canyon walls."

"Right!" Ruby returned her attention to the map.

If we're here and that's where we need to be…Then that path might take us there but that path might be a shortcut or that might be a cliff…Or we might be over here…

"Ruby, when was the last time you had to read a map?"

"Last week. In Dr Oobleck's class."

Emerald rolled her eyes. "That doesn't count."

"Then never. Until I met you, I hadn't been far from home." She had already told them that before, but it needed repeating.

"I seem to recall an entire class with Professor Peach when she did nothing but talk about how to read a map."

Ruby pretended she didn't hear that.

Because Emerald did have a very good point.

Why didn't maps come with a 'you are here' marked on them?

How close do we have to get before our scrolls get signal again?

"Hey!"

Yang had plucked the map out of her hand. She hummed, glanced around and studied the map again. "Okay. So we're here. So we need to go south." Yang looked around. "Except that the first landmark telling us we're going the right way is in a mile."

Where are Eris's aura animals when you need them?

Talaria was with them, in Ruby's hood. They could send her.

Emerald pointed. "South's that way. Worst comes to worst, you can use the sunset. Which is in about ten hours."

"Alright then." Ruby pointed in the same direction as Emerald. "Let's get going."

Yang saluted and started walking.

Talaria flapped her wings (giving Ruby a much needed breeze) and took off into the skies.

The trio fell into step easily.

"Are either of you struggling with that essay for Dr Oobleck?" Ruby asked.

"Which part?" Emerald asked. "The part with Atlas or the part with Mantle?"

"The part with Atlas, actually. I mean…How did a country that didn't need many warriors because there were no Grimm somehow form a military strategy?"

Yang thought about that. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't what the essay was on."

"Well, technically it's not but that's the next step right?"

Emerald shook her head. "And that's probably going to be in the next lesson. Personally, I looked up military protocol and used that as a reference. Can't remember the book off the top of my head, but I know where in the library it was. It's almost certainly checked out by now."

The essay wasn't due until after the holidays so Ruby wasn't too worried. She was just confused. "So he's not looking for the time in-between? He just wants now and how it might have started?"

"Yep," Yang replied. "He wasn't clear about it though. I had to ask him to spell it out when I passed by his classroom."

That did make it easier. "Right but does that include the school and military-"

Talaria flew down and hovered in front of Emerald. She hissed at her in what Ruby now associated with Parseltongue.

Ruby and Yang stayed quiet as Emerald hissed back. Talaria responded again.

How did people find this so creepy? It's so cool.

Emerald sighed. "Talaria says there's someone lying very still not too far from here."

"Best go check on them," Yang replied almost cheerfully. Her attention went to Talaria. "Which way?"

Talaria flicked her tail and began to fly. She had finally found the right speed for the three to follow at a run.

The heat started to get to Ruby though. "How far Talaria?"

There was a response.

"Talaria says 'flat rock to house'," Emerald translated.

Ruby scanned her surroundings. There was nothing in the way and the rocks weren't too large so if she aimed up before continuing. "Is it in a straight line?"

"Yes."

"I'll go on ahead then." Getting an agreement from Emerald, Ruby triggered her Semblance.

'Flat rock to house' was very simple and self-explanatory. Ruby knew that distance, even if she didn't know the actual measurements, and so knew exactly when to drop out of the petals. But she stopped about a second too early on purpose.

Don't rush in. If you can, evaluate then act.

She might not have time to evaluate from what Talaria had said but she needed to start thinking like a leader and a Huntress.

Ruby landed in a crouch, glancing around.

Nothing.

Just the slight breeze and complete heat. Two cacti and a few tiny rocks.

No Grimm. Almost certainly no one else nearby.

With no dangers around, Ruby dashed to the person in the sand. He looked a little older than her, maybe twenty something. He was dressed in shorts and no shirt. She knelt next to him and had a look.

He's breathing. Okay. Don't see any blood so he might not be injured. He's almost certainly dehydrated. Heat stroke maybe? He looks burned. Maia would have a better idea.

Ruby dropped her bag next to her and routed around in it for one of the ten water bottles she carried. Finding it easily, she found unscrewing it was much more difficult. She wrapped her shirt a little around the cap and tried again. A little effort and it was off.

Carefully, Ruby began to pour the water over the burned skin. Then over the not yet burned skin.

I should have brought Maia with me.

Ruby knew they taught 'field medic' in Beacon, but not until next year. She thought that was a mistake but to be fair, the team would normally have a professor with them.

Was Ruby supposed to move him? They needed to get him to a hospital and fast. Ruby had no idea where the nearest hospital was or how to get to it.

Okay. If Emerald says it's okay, Yang can carry him. Talaria can search from the sky for settlements. If she doesn't see any, we take him to the village where we know we can get scroll signal. If we can't move him, I run to the nearest village and send help. No, I go ahead to get help either way. I don't know where I am but I know the direction from where Yang pointed on the map. If not…

Ruby glanced around. Were there any landmarks?

The answer was no.

She checked her scroll again. Still no signal.

Seeing that his skin was dry again, Ruby poured the rest of the water bottle.

Maybe I should get him to drink some.

Emerald finally arrived.

"Next time Emerald, you're coming with me."

Emerald nodded. "Yeah, I realised that just after you took off." She came forward swiftly and knelt down, placing a hand on his back. She closed her eyes and focused. "…Right. Dehydration. You did the right thing there Ruby." Ruby sighed in relief. "There's not much I can do for him except stabilise him and stop the rest of the skin from burning. The dead skin will have to be peeled off before I can repair it, but best to find shade for that."

Yang studied the map again. "There's no settlements marked on this." Talaria returned from the sky and shook her head. "Talaria can't see one either."

"Then we go to our destination," Ruby stated. "That's not on the map either and we know it's there. Do you know where we are and where we need to go?"

Yang's finger traced across the map. Then she tapped it. "Yeah. Got it. Southeast."

Emerald's free hand went up and pointed. "That way."

"Right," Ruby nodded. "Can we move him?"

"Yeah, he's mostly fine save for dehydration and a lot of burns. Unfortunately, it's dehydration and is very fatal in the middle of a desert."

"I've got some sunscreen in my bag," Ruby offered. They all did but it was worth mentioning.

Yang carefully picked him up and balanced him on her shoulder. "Bit late for this guy, I'm afraid."

Emerald shook her head slightly. "No, it'll be fine after I re-grow the dead skin if I can scrape it off. He got any ID on him?"

"Not now," Ruby stated. "Let's get moving. We'll stop at the first bit of shade. Artemis, how far is the village?"

Yang considered. "At least three hours."

"Then we had better get going."

The walk was quiet. They made a steady and strong pace. After about five minutes, Ruby started to get a headache, so she lifted her hood up. That helped a lot. Yang's free hand moved her hair over her shoulders. Emerald was unaffected as far as Ruby could tell. She was walking with her eyes closed; feeling the environment.

She began to drift off course a bit. Ruby and Yang followed her, keeping careful track of how they drifted off track.

Twenty minutes later, Talaria chittered. She raised her claw in the direction Emerald had picked.

Ruby caught sight of a huge, widely branched tree through Crescent Rose's scope.

"There. We'll stop there."

"Good," Emerald muttered. She opened her eyes again. Once under the shelter, she carefully took the man from Yang's grip and laid him down again. "Let's see…" She drew one of her weapons, blade out.

Yang must have seen Ruby's wince. "Keep a lookout Ruby."

Ruby nodded. After a moment's thought, she hopped up into the branches for a better view. Quick reflexes had her catching a water bottle before it hit her. "Thank you." She chugged down half of it immediately.

Mercury could use his aura to protect him against extreme temperatures. Could she learn how to do that or was that only Aura Wielders or only Mercury?

I wonder how he's getting on.

Ruby kept looking around. She couldn't see much in the way of life. Just a lot of sand and dirt. No animals, not even birds, or people. It was actually quite depressing. Nothing like home. There was life everywhere there.

What was this guy doing out here in the middle of nowhere?

Emerald had said he was going to be fine, so Ruby knew he would be fine.

"All done Ruby!" Yang called up. With a casual swing of her legs, Ruby hopped down. "And remember, we found him like this. He wasn't burned or anything."

Ruby couldn't see any burned skin at all. He looked perfectly healthy. "Of course he wasn't." Ruby didn't want to bring unwanted attention to Emerald. While Ruby would use healing on any who asked or needed it, the power was Emerald's and she was the one who decided how to use it.

"Do you still think he needs a hospital?" Because that was something they needed to keep in mind.

Emerald thought about it, then nodded. "Probably a good idea. I've fixed the short term damage and I can't sense anything wrong, but there are lifelong effects that can result from this. He still needs a hospital."

Ruby offered Emerald an unopened bottle of water from her bag. She took it with a grateful smile and swallowed over half of it.

"We'd best get going then. We've got a few hours to go and this detour probably added time."

"It would be a good idea to duck into any shade we can find."

"Agreed," Yang smiled. Again she picked their new companion up. "So which way now?"

/

Mercury decided to wait until after the first class of the day started before heading to the Headmaster's Office. That gave him time to deal with anything if it came up. With so many teams leaving on their missions, it was a possibility. However, there was no 'now is a bad time message', so he assumed all was well.

As expected, Ironwood was in there too.

"Headmasters," Mercury greeted.

"Mr Crawford," Ozpin nodded. "Are you sure you wish to continue?"

"Yes." Because at this point, he had put far too much effort into this course and he could leave Vale at the start of the next school year. "So what exactly is this final test?"

"Mane Graduation. There are three parts to it," Ironwood stated. "The first part is written tests. There are four exams: one for each Kingdom. Each exam is six hours long, with all four spread over two days. The qualities tested include prioritisation, dedication, memory and determination. We also wish to know that you understand the different Kingdoms and nearby areas."

Going to tell me each part just before I do it? More fun for me. And I'm pretty sure this also tests for stubbornness.

Six hours each? Mercury had spent longer than that researching topics and it was difficult for most to remain focused for that long, especially on paperwork. This was a necessary skill, particularly when tracking down bounties, so he wouldn't complain much.

"Okay. What sort of exam? Normal questions or essays?" Essays were not fun to write and frankly, Mercury was very sick of them.

"Both," Ozpin answered. Typical. "You need to complete two exams today, but you can choose the order you wish to complete them. You have an hour between the exams."

Strict timetable and need to balance work with physical demands. Relevant so far. Mostly.

Hang on. "So I can pick two Kingdoms I know best and revise for the other two tonight?" There wouldn't be much time to, but it was a possibility.

"If that's what you wish. However, you are required to remain on school campus, specifically in your dorm except for meals in the cafeteria. You can study from whatever notes you have there, but you are not allowed in the library or to use other students' work. If you talk to anyone, you cannot tell them anything about any of the tests."

Interesting. I keep it secret, they can test the next one as fairly as they did me. No wonder I couldn't find any reference to these tests anywhere other than the fact they existed.

"I accept that." He didn't have any notes in his dorm and he doubted the girls' notes would be too useful as they had yet to study many of the subjects. He couldn't revise much for any of them, but he wasn't worried. "Today, I'll start with Vale and do Vacuo afterwards."

"If you'll follow me." Ironwood gestured to the lift. Ozpin rose as well, obviously tagging along.

Okay. We're going somewhere I won't be disturbed and cannot cheat. Simple enough.

Except that they stopped halfway down the tower.

The lift doors opened to reveal something like a classroom. Eight desks scattered around the room with a ninth one obviously for a teacher at the far end. From that angle, they could easily keep an eye on all of the others. A stack of papers rested on it. There was no other furniture, but the entire back wall was a window.

Mercury had honestly forgot about this room, but then it had only been seen for a minute after Ruby decided to hit all the buttons in the lift after the dance.

"Why eight desks?"

"It's the most that's ever been needed." Ironwood stepped in and settled behind the teacher's desk. He opened a drawer and placed another, larger stack of papers down.

Ozpin placed a hand on Mercury's shoulder. "Good luck."

"Thank you." Mercury stepped forward. He looked at the papers that had been in the drawer and wasn't surprised to see it was his test. There had to be around thirty pages in it, if not more. "Any desk?"

"Any desk," Ironwood confirmed.

"No clock?" Mercury didn't need one, but a lot of people didn't have his timekeeping. It was odd it was missing.

"That is part of the test. You may be on a deadline and not have access to one." He held out his hand. "Scroll."

Mercury dug into his pocket and handed it over without a fight. He would complain if the man started to get into it, but from the look of another stack of papers that was hidden behind his test, Ironwood was going to use this to catch up on his own paperwork. Mercury picked up his exam and selected a desk that was in the sunlight, but not at an angle the sun would be in his eyes. He would probably need to pick a different desk later.

The lift doors closed.

Ozpin was almost certainly returning to his office.

"You can start when ready Mr Crawford."

Rather than jump straight into it, Mercury chose to look through the paper first.

Let's see…Questions on laws, traditions, festivals new and old, history and current politics. Nowhere near as bad as it could be. This is just going to take ages. Six hours is not looking very generous. These questions also want focus on instinctive and base knowledge. Makes sense; it would take months of revision to do this properly and they don't give you that.

The last question was an essay on the inaccuracies of one of the questions on this paper, which he had to figure out himself.

Mercury picked up the pen and began to write.

/

The village was exactly where it was supposed to be.

Ruby had used her Semblance in short bursts of five minutes. They had a rough idea where it was but weren't completely sure. She had memorised the route for inside the canyon, so she could leave the map with the other two.

As she ran around what should be the final corner, she found a man waiting there. He was dressed for combat, had a sword gun and ammo in a belt over his shoulder. She jogged to a stop.

"Mr Soarlane?" He was who they were supposed to be meeting and he looked like the man in the photo.

"That's me. Miss Rose, is it? Where's the rest of your team?"

Ruby caught her breath. "They're…They're coming slower. We found someone unconscious in the desert. I ran on ahead."

His face turned serious and his tone hardened. "How far back are they?"

"About twenty minutes. We didn't want to risk him with my Semblance."

"Come with me." He turned on his heel and headed down the canyon at a good pace. Ruby trotted after him. "How does he look? Does he have burned skin and crusted lips?"

"I didn't get a good look. My teammate thought we could move him and I said I would go on ahead. They still have the map so they won't get lost."

It wasn't buildings the way Ruby thought of them. They looked like very specialised and multi-compartment tents. The tops were different shapes, but there were far less pointed tops than round ones. Some had two 'rooms' while others had three. Those were glass windows though and the doors were proper doors; not a tent flap entrance.

They were heading to the biggest one directly in the centre of the settlement, right next to the well. The sheets were green and weren't flapping in the wind. The windows were tinted and it had five 'rooms'.

"Is this a hospital?" Ruby asked. It was certainly a medical tent, but how sophisticated was it?

"Yes. It doesn't have any complicated machines yet, but it can deal with someone lost in the desert. Do you know who he is?"

Ruby shook her head. "No. He's not carrying a scroll or any other ID. There was no one else around either. Is there anyone missing?"

"I haven't been told of it but we'll talk to Corona. She'll know."

Inside the tent/building was very cool. And cold compared to outside. There were mats and bean bags on the floor. There were even toys for younger children. The ground almost felt like sand as it shifted a little under her weight, but it was firm and didn't move as much as sand. There was only one way to go and that was the way Mr Soarlane was heading. Oddly enough, this door opened the way a tent did; able to unzip.

The next room was a bit bigger than the last. There was an examination table in the middle and wooden cabinets with glass doors along the wall. There wasn't much else.

Oddly, there were two other connecting doors.

"Why are there two doors?"

"One is an isolation ward. The idea is that we can separate people with contagious diseases until they can be treated. That way leads to two connected rooms of wards."

"Why two?"

"We can use the far room for someone who needs to be here for a few days and we don't need to send them to a different hospital. Broken bones or weapon discharges. The closest room is for overnight observation and somewhere to put a patient if we need this room for someone else."

Ruby circled around the room.

It wasn't big, but it didn't feel small. But when Ruby counted the steps, it was only the size of her living room.

I suppose this isn't a big village with many people.

Mr Soarlane frowned. He peeped his head into the 'isolation' room. His confusion wasn't solved and he walked over to the other side to disappear into the connected rooms. Two seconds later, he appeared.

"Corona's in the back ward with Honey. I'll wait with them. You go to the entrance of the canyon to wait for your team. Bring your guest here."

"Yes sir."

Ruby quickly exited, making sure to close the door behind her.

She nearly ran straight into someone. Luckily, she managed to react in time.

"Umm…Hi."

The boy was about eight or nine. "Whatcha doing here?"

"I'm a Huntress. I'm here to help until the fun but banned and dangerous stuff gets here." Children were here already. Ruby hoped they were to stay in the village until everyone was sure they were safe. "Sorry, but I need to wait for my friends."

"Can I come?"

Ruby smiled at him. She shook her head slightly. "Sorry, but I'm going to the edge of the canyon. I don't think you should leave the village yet."

He crossed his arms and pouted, puffing his cheeks out. "I'm tough. I'd be fine."

"I don't doubt it, but I don't want to get you or me into trouble."

"I won't get into trouble."

"I will. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay," he chirped back and ran off.

Remembering herself at that age, Ruby decided to check over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't following.

Although…I do still do that when Uncle Qrow leaves home sometimes.

The little boy didn't follow her out of the village.

Emerald and Yang still hadn't arrived. There was no sign of Talaria either.

They're fine. It's just taking them a while to get here. Maybe I shouldn't have gone this far ahead…It would be a good idea if the situation was far worse but Maia says he's fine so he is.

A thought popped into Ruby's head. She checked her scroll. She had full bars of signal.

Okay, so we can call for help if something goes wrong this week or even if they just need more supplies. If there are children here, then they must feel quite safe from the Grimm. I didn't see any tunnels into the dark in the rock and I was really looking. I think I saw a couple digging through one of the dirt patches where there was no sand. Dad has bags like that sometimes, so something to do with gardening?

Ruby didn't know how long she was brooding and thinking for, but finally Emerald and Yang appeared. The man was still unconscious.

"They've got a medic tent; we're supposed to bring him there."

"Lead the way," Yang replied, shifting her weight a little to balance better.

Talaria landed on Ruby's shoulder and chittered. She tapped her claw carefully.

[Ally pack? Threat?]

"They're not a threat." Ruby moved one of her straps cautiously to avoid an accidental tear. "They're fine."

"So let's get going," Emerald stated.

Ruby nodded and began to backtrack through the canyon. Emerald and Yang followed after.

It might just be Ruby, but Emerald felt a little more guarded than normal. But then, maybe it was just because she was back in Vacuo and she had bad memories of it. Or maybe it was something she sensed as a Maiden. There wasn't as much life here to sense as back home and maybe that was putting her more on edge. Or maybe there was nothing wrong with her and she was just seeing things.

Ruby would keep an eye on her.

It was probably nothing too bad.

When they reached the village, the unconscious man was rushed into the tent.

Rather than get in the way in what could be a genuine emergency, the trio scattered around the village and tried to be as helpful as possible. They were here to help, after all.

---

Tuesday.

Yang yawned, stretching out.

They had spent the rest of yesterday running simple errands for the adults in the village. Ruby had spent quite a bit of time playing with the children. They had even carved a 'corner' out for football; both kinds. Yang's favourite had been helping to dig the field they had marked out for vegetables.

Today, there was supposed to be a lot of resources arriving from the Vacuo Kingdom including tools, food and building material.

They had been given one of the spare 'guest' tents to sleep in. Yang was honestly surprised how much like a house it was. They couldn't feel the sand underneath them, the two rooms were actually nicely cool and the sun was almost blocked out when the curtains were across so it was possible to sleep in until a better hour of the morning.

Yang thought she could settle down here if she tried to, if it was a little more interesting but then Vacuo was supposed to be 'interesting'.

Talaria chittered at them before she took flight. She settled in Ruby's hood, somehow finding space even though she kept it up to protect her from the sun. She curled up and kept out of sight.

Their first stop was the medical tent.

The trio slipped into the 'waiting room' quietly. Ruby did knock for the examination room. "May we come in?"

The door opened like a normal door. How did that work?

A middle aged woman stepped out, tightening the sleeves on her work shirt. Oddly enough, while she was the definition of smart-casual, she wasn't dressed for the normal Vacuo heat. "You are the visiting team, correct? The ones who found Mr Coal?"

Yang didn't know a Mr Coal, but there was only one person she could be referring to.

"Mr Coal?" Emerald asked. "Is he awake?"

"He is and would like to see you." She held the door open. "I must ask that you keep it brief."

"Is he okay?" Ruby asked as they stepped through.

"All things considered, he is doing very well. It could be a lot worse." Yang mentally complimented Emerald, but didn't say anything. "But he does need his rest."

"We only want to check he's fine." Emerald replied.

Yang was far more curious than that. How did this guy wind up in the middle of the desert, nowhere near as badly hurt as he should be considering he must have been there for at least hours? Was he alone or had he been with others?

"As I said, keep it brief." She waved her hand in a shooing motion. When Emerald opened the door, the woman made no attempt to follow.

Ruby and Yang went straight to the occupied bed. Emerald seemed to linger behind for a moment.

"Mr Coal?" Ruby started, almost hesitantly. She wasn't sure what to say. "How are you feeling?"

He did look better, Yang thought. There was more colour on him and some of the red was beginning to fade. The freshly, forced grown skin was looking healthy from what Yang could tell.

Of course, the reason that Emerald was so good…

Yang had triple checked her backpack that morning. The well in the village was connected to an underwater source: a lake at the end of underwater streams that collected a lot of rainfall from mountain ranges. In other words: refill water bottles as needed and wanted. Sunscreen and sunblock were a must and easy to find. The bags might be bottomless, but they still needed to find the stuff they put in it. The more stuff in it, the harder it was to find what you're looking for. Yang only kept essentials in her bag and left everything else in the 'tent'.

Yes, she was being a little paranoid but she was dedicated on nothing happening this trip. Preferably ever but definitely not on this trip.

"Much better," Mr Coal smiled. "I understand you were the ones who found me?"

"Yes sir." Ruby looked like she wanted to say something else, but after a soft sound of some sort, stayed quiet.

"Then I'd like to thank you." Mr Coal studied Ruby for a moment before continuing. "There wasn't anyone else with me."

Ruby relaxed a lot. Her worry last night had been that he had been with someone and they had missed them.

Emerald was being oddly quiet.

Yang scratched the back of her neck. "Can I ask what you were doing out there? Grimm hunt?"

"It was an airship problem I had to manually fix. As you didn't find the airship, I know they made it and are safe."

"Definitely no sign of an airship crash."

"Then it was worth it."

The woman from before entered then. "Okay, that's enough."

"Okay," Ruby replied cheerfully. She waved to the man on the bed. "Good to see you better Mr Coal."

"Good luck Remedy. And again, thank you."

"Take care."

All's well that ends well.

Yang stretched out in the sunshine. "Right. Entrance to the canyon." She checked her scroll. "We've got twenty minutes."

"Plenty of time," Ruby nodded. "Though it would be better to arrive sooner rather than later. Maybe if we're both early, we'll start early."

Yang hummed. She glanced at Emerald. "What do you think?" It was a silly question, but Yang had noticed how quiet Emerald had been. She certainly wasn't a chatterbox but something was off.

Emerald shrugged. "Why not?"

"Are you okay?"

"Nothing wrong yet."

"Do you have a problem with Vacuo? Or this village in particular? Because it's a little unfair as this village has only been here for a few weeks."

"A select few people in Vacuo that are going to stick to the bigger cities if they're still alive. Don't worry about it unless they show up. Which they shouldn't."

Ruby frowned. "What kind of people?" She dropped her voice. "People you've stolen from?"

Emerald hummed. "…Nah, they didn't really care in the end; I never took much. They almost respected me for my skill. No, I really pissed off someone else. Crime boss sort of thing."

"Is that why you left Vacuo?" Yang asked. She had always wondered; it wasn't easy to sneak onto an airship to Mistral and there was no way she walked. But Emerald had always dodged the subject.

"The main reason."

Vacuo had a reputation. It was supposedly the nesting ground of thieves and bandits. Yang thought that was a little unfair, but she liked their motto: 'if you can survive here, you can live here'. Maybe she would eventually settle down here in about 50 years time.

First though, she wanted a lifetime of excitement.

It certainly seemed like she was getting it today. Soarlane was checking his weapons and properly too. He was also carrying a lot more ammo this time. Sure signs that trouble was expected.

Perfect.

"So what are we doing today?"

He rechecked a gun that Yang was sure he didn't have yesterday. "Today we're setting up motion sensors around the perimeter of the canyon and a camera at the entrance. An early alarm system."

"How far out are we putting them?" Emerald asked.

"A mile." Yang pulled a face. This was going to take a while. "They've got a good range and they sync up, so we don't need to set up as many as you think."

Emerald tilted her head, thinking. "And as there are no buildings in the desert, there's nothing to block the signal. What about the weather?"

"Specifically designed to withstand even the worst weather conditions." He lifted up a large, cube bag. "Right. Let's get moving."

"Right!" Ruby saluted.

Yang grinned and cracked her knuckles.

Today was going to be a good day.

This was what being a Huntress was about.

/

It was about six in the afternoon when REY returned to the village.

On the way back, Talaria stretched and took off into the sky. Ruby thought that was more than fair; she had kept hidden even when she spun around to kill two packs of Grimm. She was a little worried, but Talaria knew to stay hidden. She would probably remain in the air until it was dark enough to come down.

Then again a Faunus might see her but then what did that matter? They wouldn't think it was a dragon and would think they just missaw a bird.

The first stop was to check that the people were receiving information from the motion sensors and that there weren't any problems they needed to go out and fix.

The second stop was the shower block. Ruby had never been so grateful for cool water.

How can it be this late and still be so hot? Why can't the sun set sooner?

It had been a long day, but it had felt like a long day before midday. Yang had said it was just the heat and that Ruby would get used to it. She was grateful that they only came across two packs of Grimm, but the rest of the day had been a little dull. Ruby liked being at the destination and doing her job, not all the travelling in-between and there wasn't even pretty sights around.

The shower was what she needed to refresh.

Now energised, she wandered around the village. Emerald had drifted to the little farm patch. Yang had disappeared off somewhere. What Ruby didn't know, she couldn't tell Dad.

The little boy Ruby had met before and now knew as Helio trotted up to her. "Hello Ruby."

"Hello Helio. What happened this time?" So far, Helio and his friends were unable to go ten minutes without getting into a play fight or something that ended bizarrely. Ruby almost knew what it felt like to be Professor Goodwitch. Almost.

"Can you the referee? Agua's in a strop."

Ruby pretended to think about it. "Does he want to play?"

"Well yes, but we need a referee."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright then."

Helio grinned at her and shot off.

One of the adults, Nura, walked to her. "The children like you."

Ruby smiled at her. Then she frowned. "Is that a bad thing?"

"You're a Huntress-"

"In training."

"Not to them. You're interesting and fun. Children like interesting and fun." She looked after them fondly. "Would you mind watching them for an hour or so?"

"Sure. Is something wrong?"

"No. Just supply sorting."

Ruby did remember the supplies arrived that morning. "Okay. Any kids I need to keep an eye on?"

"Dawn is an unrepentant cheater and Zia is learning her Semblance of energy transfer. Have fun."

"Energy transfer?" Ruby murmured. Why did that sound familiar? "I'll keep an eye on her."

She had better catch up with them.

/

"Yang, I literally finished an hour ago. How do you know this is not just a drunk text?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain it, just…What do you mean you only finished an hour ago? It's half eleven!"

"Some idiots caused some trouble that meant I needed to wait until the supervisor was free. I'll just pass the message on-"

"No!" Yang growled. "Eris, please. They're in trouble, I'm sure of it. And if the professors find out…"

"…Find out what?"

"Please. It'll only take a minute."

"You hope and you're expecting trouble."

"You can handle it. Look-"

"Fine."

"-I know I'm asking a lot but…What?"

"I said fine." Mercury hung up and rubbed his temples. He had better not regret this. He turned to the window and hopped out, not bothering to open it.

He headed straight out to the edge of the school area before summoning his aura Grimm. He didn't want an airship and, quite frankly, he couldn't be bothered to hide from the security cameras so they would know he left if they decided to check it.

After landing in Vale, he quickly dismissed it. He shifted into fox form and took off at a trot.

Being a fox was very different from being a person. His eyes were not much different than normal except where movement was involved (which was either coyote or human, Mercury didn't know) but his other senses…

Smell alone was incredible.

There was no wind tonight. Fluffy (he would get his revenge on Ruby for that) lifted his snout and breathed deeply.

There were a lot of scents…human or Faunus scents; he didn't yet know the difference…Nothing nearby.

There was the slight rumble of a car, but that was far away.

Fluffy continued.

He knew where he was going. Yang had at least given him a location: docks. However, while the situation was bleak, he wasn't so desperate to dash there. He wasn't far off but only an idiot ran into a situation without having any idea what would happen.

Besides, Raine and her team were rather survival smart compared to a lot of Beacon students.

Not that they should even be out this late unless they were out clubbing or something like that. Her team have been on their missions for the year already.

More important, what did Yang mean? There aren't many things that can get you expelled from Beacon and that must be the worry if Yang was that against getting proper professionals involved. Let's think…murder is doubtful. Theft possible but also very doubtful…Hang on.

Surely they are not unlucky enough to wind up coming across a drug trade?

Raine wouldn't. Sapphire wouldn't. Arvish…might. He had self-esteem issues and was easily manipulated. Tuddar had a very black and white view of the world so…also possible if the right buttons were pressed.

Mercury expected to be proved wrong.

He could smell blood.

He sat back on his haunches, channelled some aura into his legs and hopped onto the top of the warehouse.

No one watching that would think he's a real fox, but he could only smell people on the other side of the warehouse. One: they would need to be a Faunus. Two: they would have to watch a precise spot at a precise time. Safe to think he was fine and wasn't spotted.

Just my luck.

Okay. I know…two men in that circle. They were at LiaGuard so if they see me, that would get…interesting. I don't know the other three but they look like mercenaries. The one in charge…I don't know at all.

Tuddar wasn't looking good. He was on the ground, unmoving. The blood scent was from him, but said blood wasn't visible. If he was breathing, it couldn't be seen.

There was no sign of the rest of the team.

The message Raine sent Yang: 'Docks. Help.'

Very little to go on. There was no mention of how many of her teammates were there, so it could just be Raine and Tuddar. There was also no mention of the professionals, so Yang knew more than she was saying.

Mercury was sure he could pick up another recent scent though and that one had a tint of adrenaline. Fear or terror. That could be a third teammate or an unrelated civilian.

The men began to walk towards a certain warehouse. They began to spread out.

Surround. Someone's in there they want.

Could be Raine.

The unknown scent headed off in a different direction. Still straight towards what was a dead end, but a different direction.

"It's just a kid. She's harmless."

"I've thought that before," Something Brown scoffed. Fluffy gave a fox grin. The man still had the scar. "Treat her like a fully experienced Huntress."

Raine was the simple group: stable background and no trauma.

"You worry too much." They did listen though.

Fluffy hopped down. Sticking to the shadows, he ran across the concrete, paws barely on the ground. He kept away from the people, using the buildings to break up his shape and shadow.

Arriving at the back wall before the group can cover it, Fluffy shifted back into Mercury and he crouch-walked through the wall at the corner.

The danger of phasing was that he had no idea what was on the other side. He could be walking into anything, hence why he didn't use it often and wanted to keep it secret.

Why are warehouses always full of crates?

A quick glance showed they were empty.

Spotting Raine wasn't easy. In fact, he found her using her shadow from the moonlight. She was curled up and shaking.

"Raine?"

His reflexes were quick and he covered her mouth before she could even jump. She jerked and grabbed his arm. Seeing that it was him, she let go again. She nodded and Mercury withdrew the gag.

"Yang?"

Mercury nodded. He glanced back and listened. The door hadn't opened yet, so they were still outside.

"Anyone else?"

Raine understood. She began to relax a little. Gain a little more confidence. "Tuddar and Sapphire. Tuddar, he…I don't know where Sapphire is."

Sapphire was the one that Fluffy had smelt on the opposite side of the docks. He hadn't seen anyone heading towards her nor a scent unaccounted for, so the group outside were the only ones.

Raine had very little aura. It had obviously shattered and was only just regenerating.

"Okay. I'll handle this. Just wait until I send for you. You'll know it's me." Simple form would be the messenger. He summoned it and sent it through the roof, silent eyes in the sky.

She frowned. Then she scowled and went to stand. Mercury swiftly put a hand on her shoulder to keep her down.

"Mercury I'm going with you-"

"No. You'll get in my way." She opened her mouth again and Mercury realised part of the reason she had suddenly gotten so forceful. Everyone at Beacon knew that he had been the first kidnap victim. "I made mistakes that night and I've trained hard since. I'll be fine."

He didn't let her argue. He slipped away and around the crates.

They had surrounded the door.

Mercury would rather not use his aura animals in the fight yet. He had a few seconds to think of a basic plan.

Friendly fire and bottleneck.

Mercury didn't go into a corner. That was the first place they would attack. He stepped on top of the crate, crouched down and waited in full view of the door.

The bang of the door getting blasted off the hinges covered up the bang of a Dust grenade from Pandora.

It wasn't Mercury's problem if they didn't have their aura unlocked. They were in the wrong line of business. Besides, it was the ones that got away that came back to haunt him.

Mercury closed his eyes for a moment.

They're retreating. Not happening.

Two were about to bolt. Three of them were still aiming at the entrance, but were backing away and were looking at the ground. The blowback of bodies had brought everyone to the entrance door.

Mercury moved.

A fire sword was very situational. With no wind, it was more contained. Swift movement required more heat and 'fuel' (aura) to maintain. The fire sword was the intimidation.

The vine was more practical.

Maybe I'll ask Melody for tips on controlling more than one at the same time.

Instinct moved him. Mercury focused on the weapon and his targets; his dodging was all reactive. He quickly determined who was a threat, who was going to run, who was for show and who had never been in a proper fight before.

"Aren't you-?"

Mercury roped him into the other person who would recognise him. He remembered them as sadists and if they thought Mercury was still a toy, they were going to stick around.

"Isn't he-?"

"Yeah. The pet. What are the odds?" Almost laughing.

Good. They were interested. That made things easier. After all, they were in LiaGuard prison for a reason. They couldn't walk away.

They had also never realised that Mercury had always been tied down for a very good reason. He never bothered to escape as he knew he couldn't. Killing everyone hurting him was fair game and Cinder would have just shrugged and said they should have followed orders.

Within seconds, they were out cold.

The rest liked terror tactics just as well. That would work against most opponents. Against opponents that aren't intimidated and go for high, possibly fatal damage straight away, it was a waste of energy.

Mercury switched to the aura sword.

They have no idea how to work together.

Shattering an opponent's aura by touch still took a lot of concentration. He wasn't ready to risk it in the middle of unknowns; he still had too little successful practice for his liking and that was without using Pandora at the same time.

But he didn't need it here.

In five minutes, he had six unconscious bodies around him.

Hmm. What to do now?

The noise hadn't brought Sapphire out of hiding.

Tuddar also looked like he was breathing.

The winged fox went to Raine to tell her it was safe.

Mercury went straight to Tuddar. He placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to aura read him. Getting a little feedback, he scowled. He reached over and moved his arm.

A needle rolled across the concrete.

Oh, it's not just drugs. It's Dust drugs. And from the marks, he's been a user for at least a month. Where did he get the money for that? And the contacts?

That was definitely going to get him kicked out of Beacon.

At the moment, Beacon was the least of Tuddar's worries. Dilated pupils; blocked airway; slight convulsions now. He was suffering from an overdose.

Raine ran up to him as he manoeuvred Tuddar into the 'recovery position'. "Is he okay?"

"No. Call an ambulance and stay with him." There was nothing more Mercury could do for him. "I'm going to look for Sapphire." He created the winged fox again. "That'll stay with you."

Sapphire was out cold. She was also suffering from an overdose, but the mark was in her neck. No signs on her arms or legs meant that she wasn't a user.

Not really supposed to move her so…

He made the winged fox speak to Raine again as he moved Sapphire into the 'recovery position' as well. The hospital wasn't too far so it shouldn't be long.

As it happened, five minutes.

He got the simple questions ('did you see her take it?'; 'do you know what was in the needle?'; 'how long?' etc.) They didn't ask anything about him and Sapphire was taken into the ambulance with Tuddar and Raine.

He himself called the police station afterwards, wishing it was a slow night so he wasn't waiting ages.

"Vale City Police."

"There's been a…incident at the local docks. There was an altercation and a group of mercenaries I think are unconscious on the ground. Two of them are 'undesirables'." Undesirables. Code word for 'LiaGuard escapees'.

"Understood. Police will be there in five minutes."

Wonderful. More waiting and an annoying conversation. "Understood," he echoed.

The next phone call would be the worst for him.

Second worst. Although, I don't think I'll be telling Tai and Felix about this.

"Mercury? If there's a problem, you can come to my office."

"About that…" He wasn't supposed to leave his dorm. This had almost certainly ended his Mane Graduation tests. "I'm not at Beacon at the moment. I'm at the docks."

"And why are you at the docks?"

"There was an incident. I'll be back soon." Mercury hung up and let out a breath.

Looks like I'll be putting off my personal travel for another two years.

Now he just had to not give stupid answers to the police when they asked him stupid questions. He was a teenage kid; good for underestimation. That came with downsides too.

But he had no interest in mentioning ARTS or Yang. He would use generals and mention to Arvish tomorrow that Tuddar might need help getting over the addiction. That was going to be a difficult discussion.

What fun.

Might want to message Yang though. Won't mention this cost me my final tests though. There's no need or point of that.

He headed back to keep an eye on his prey from earlier.

---

Wednesday.

There was a knock on the dorm door at five in the morning.

Mercury looked up from where he was reading a manual on the newest bike on the market. Yang had good taste in vehicles, if nothing else.

No, that was definitely my door. Who else is up at this hour?

He slipped out the chair and opened it, only to blink at Ozpin. "Why are you here?"

He chuckled. "Collecting you for your first test today."

"I thought I was automatically disqualified after last night." Not that he was complaining, but he didn't want the possible license revoked for a technicality.

"That was never technically made a rule and was mainly for the Kingdom exams. I have spoken with Raine and your isolation was continued. She had no idea what you were doing."

Ozpin had spoken to Raine. Mercury had never mentioned names. "What did you talk to Raine about then?"

"Her team and her academics. What else?"

Mercury sighed. "And how are her team?" The problem with overdoses was that there was little he could do other than call for professional help. Drugs were bad enough. Dust drugs were even worse.

"I can say they survived thanks to your actions and are recovering. Raine would like to speak to you at some point and that won't be a problem for the tests." More connections. Mercury didn't visually respond. Ozpin studied his face for a moment before continuing. "Sapphire will be released tomorrow but Tuddar will be in for longer."

Mercury still didn't comment. He wasn't sure if Ozpin knew and he wasn't going to give him any hints.

Ozpin gestured to the hallway. "Shall we?"

Without more prompting, Mercury shut and locked the door behind him before following the Headmaster. "So what am I doing today? More essays?"

"No. Today is completely practical. I don't imagine it'll be too stressful and honestly, you already proved you can pass last night. However, it is a tick in the box."

"So I'm fighting?" Finally. He knew it was in the test somewhere; there was no way they were sending someone out into the world early unless they were satisfied they weren't going to get killed before the end of the first week.

"Among other things. And let's pretend you're not an Aura Wielder for the day."

"I agreed to that at the beginning of the week." If something happened that meant he couldn't use his aura, which he knew Dr Watts had been working on, then fair enough. "So a test for endurance and survival skills?"

"Among other things."

Mercury snorted. He realised they were heading to the airships. "So where are we going?"

"Edrad."

"Never heard of it."

"Well, it's not taught in any schools. It is an area exclusively for Mane Graduation tests."

Mercury smiled.

/

REY had gotten their fight.

For some unexplained and not discussed reason (underage drinking party), a pack of sixty Grimm were approaching the village from both the south and the north. Nine Huntsmen took the north while seven and REY took the south.

And I didn't like wasps before. Griffons are cool; Lancers are creepy and can go to hell.

Yang also found Lancers were near impossible to ride and had no problem judging the distance from their brethren exactly to impale Yang and not the one she was joyriding.

There were no cannon fodder Grimm here. Death Stalkers were plentiful and were the 'weakest' thing they were fighting.

"Hey, anyone else see that little lizard thing?"

Uh oh.

Yang glanced around.

Talaria had her teeth in a Griffon's right eye. The Griffon was not happy about this. It was thrashing, smacking its head on the floor and even slashing its head with its talons. It acted a little rabid.

"She's with us," Emerald called. "We found her on a mission and we were allowed to keep her."

The Huntsman caught the Death Stalker's stinger for a moment before dropping it onto a King Taijitu. "She won't attack us?"

"Not unless you attack us first."

"Then fair enough."

That was far less hassle than Yang expected.

For the first time, it was really driven home to Yang the huge difference between an experienced Huntsman and her. They weren't just crushing the opposition; they were…practical. They didn't play with the Grimm; didn't try to enjoy the fight.

Kill one; stun the other; move on.

Yang had already been saved from crippling injury by Emerald and Mr Soarlane. Emerald hadn't even had time to scold her for such a rookie mistake.

Which, today, Yang was willing to let go.

Mercury had called her last night after his little trip and he wasn't happy. He bluntly told her that a possible drug dealing was something he needed to know upfront and that could get someone killed if they didn't know what they were walking into.

She had been very quiet during that call. She had felt guilty enough dumping the problem on him, especially given what happened last time he went out on his own, but she was desperate. He should be fine. She would have gone herself if she could, but he was the only one she could trust.

But…

She shook it off.

Now though…

Now was the time to let that anger, worry and desperation out.

It was time to trigger her Semblance at half aura.

She had never done that before. Even when it triggered due to anger, her aura was lower than it was now. There might not be much power-up at this point, but it was better than before.

Yang grabbed a Lancer's stinger. She pulled and twisted. If she could pick up enough speed, she could use it like a battering ram for the ones in the sky.

The problem was that Lancers could fly the full 360⁰. Yang wasn't hitting anything.

However, what she was doing was making the Lancers behave predictably. Everyone else was quick to take advantage of it.

On top of that, the longer Yang held on, the lower her aura went and the more she powered up. Humans were not built for this kind of strain.

Once she was strong enough, she pulled it down to the ground fully and punched it hard enough to kill it. The opponents in the sky were a little far off for Yang's liking so she focused on the ones on the ground.

Another pack of three showed up. But Yang wasn't sure was she was looking at.

It was some large, cat like figure. Two teeth dropped past the jaw, the head looked more like a shell or maybe glass and its back was littered with quills sticking out. Five claws instead of four and the final one was placed like a thumb. All three were the size of a fully grown Griffon.

Bullets seemed to just bounce off them.

"What are they?" Emerald asked, backing off a little.

"I don't know," Ruby replied, readying Crescent Rose. "I've never heard of Grimm like that."

"Neither have I," claimed one Huntsmen who was focused on a Beringal until it finally collapsed. He backed off and had a proper look. "And I've been all over the globe."

Could they be…new?

They pounced.

Yang caught the jaws, but one of the long canines slashed against her arm. She could actually see deep marks in Ember Celica. In fact, that one wouldn't fire; it was that damaged.

"Damn it," Yang snarled.

These things were powerful. Overpowering even her and she couldn't move to get the proper angle to push back properly.

It was hissing. She could feel its breath on her neck. The stench of blood.

Then spikes jutted out of the neck.

Yang shifted just in time to avoid one in her eye, but it still pierced her. Almost panicking, she shoved. With her aura now in the red, the force was finally enough.

It only sprang back a few feet and leapt once more.

Only after Yang rolled out of the way did she realise it wasn't aiming at her.

Emerald had been doing quite well with hers. She had kept it in front of her despite its leaps and bounds and kept it at a distance. It was stalking around, almost circling.

She noticed the second one nearly too late. It had targeted her from behind.

Flipping to the side only bought her time. The one in front was on her instantly.

This isn't happening.

Yang charged. She jumped into the air and landed on the closest one's back.

It didn't like that.

It growled and was about to roll over. Having done the job, Yang looked to the second one.

That screeched and couldn't get off Emerald quick enough.

In its eye was a dagger.

Yang hopped off hers, grabbed its muzzle and threw it further away. It landed on its feet. The spike mane retracted with no sign it was ever there.

Emerald was back on her feet.

"You okay?"

"Fine. Just surprised. Grimm don't hunt like that normally, even in packs."

The stabbed one clawed at its head. The dagger finally dropped to the sand. A silver Dust dagger.

"How long have you had that?" And where did she get it? Yang was sure Mercury still had his father's or whatever had been reforged-

Oh. Yang did remember she thought Emerald had swiped one of the others.

"A while."

There was a scar on its face now.

A bellow and the third cat-like Grimm that the two had been ignoring collapsed. It began to fade away.

The closest one, Yang's, charged at the Huntsmen. The other Grimm, which had been hanging back out of some sort of chivalry apparently, now attacked with more ferocity.

Very soon, the 'cats' were lost in the sea of black and white.

Yang's next close call came from a King Taijitu that had been lurking underground.

How long until this ends?

Yang was having fun. To a degree.

But she had been separated from the others. She thought everyone had been.

Don't think. Just fight. Sort it out later.

After half an hour, the numbers began to thin.

Enough for Yang to notice Emerald was carefully using Maiden power to kill them quicker. She evidently thought the situation called for it and Yang agreed.

Another ten minutes passed. Finally, there was nothing but black bodies.

"Report." No idea of who said it.

Silence.

"Remedy fine," Ruby gasped out. She was sitting down, gathering her energy.

There was a brief quiet. Yang caught her breath.

Mr Soarlane spoke. "Kilo's dead. So's Jeffrey. No sign of Aster anywhere, dead or alive."

Emerald glanced around. She began to walk carefully, picking up her dagger. "I don't know about the others, but there's only one dead cat Grimm. The other two aren't here."

Yang took a quick look around herself. She couldn't see them either. Surely they hadn't dispersed already?

"Okay. Let's get the wounded and get out of here." The man turned to Emerald. "Can your winged lizard keep an eye out for us?"

Talaria nodded to him. She flew up again.

"She understands me."

"Don't worry about it." Ruby pushed herself up. "She was made to see if she could be controlled by people. We never questioned it much."

Yang thought about that. The magicals had originally duplicated dragon eggs to learn about their behaviour on a smaller scale. But if their intention had been control or communication and magic was all about intent…

I'll talk with Eris about that. Or Maia later.

For now, they had to return to the village and recover.

Two dead and one missing.

"Should we go look for Aster?" Ruby asked. "He could still be alive."

Mr Soarlane took a moment to think about it. He searched the horizon and sighed. "We have no idea where he went. He could be in one of these." He gestured to the black mist. "Let's get back and help the people we know can be helped."

Ruby's shoulders slumped at that.

It was a solemn walk back to the village.

Yang stayed close to her sisters. That could very easily have been them lying there in the sand. She had lost sight of them for a long while and if they had been in too much trouble, she wouldn't have been able to help.

/

Mercury was in a fight as well. He also made a mental note to never complain about Mountain Glenn again.

Edrad was little more than an island that took two hours by airship to get to.

There was literally nothing but Grimm here and was so densely packed it was impossible to not see at least six at once in any direction. As far as he could tell, the only Grimm that wasn't here were Goliaths. There were even Nevermores that had no reason to stay on the island.

On top of that, Mercury had had to hand over all his weapons. He kept his boots but wasn't allowed to fire them. It was pure close quarters combat.

And he was loving every second of it.

Ozpin and Ironwood remained behind a glass wall that was apparently made up of the same glass in video games. The thing didn't break even under a truck sized Beringal and the Grimm quickly lost interest in them; choosing to focus on the prey they weren't blocked off from.

"Do you restock this place?" Mercury asked as he bounced off an Ursa Major to land on a Griffon.

Ozpin waited for him to return to the ground on a dead Nevermore before replying. "The island restocks itself in a few months. It is part of the reason we have this Mane Graduation at this time of the year."

"Why do they keep coming here?"

"We believe it's for the students we test here. They didn't come before."

Mercury considered that. The other answer was Salem ordered them here and that didn't fit. "How many have they eaten?"

"None."

"How many have they killed?"

"None, though there have been many close calls."

If they were used to fighting with weapons and then had to give them up, no surprise. I would expect casualties.

None of the Grimm here were young. They were all at least a decade old, many older. Nevermores could fly anywhere so maybe they did return year after year to see if there was new prey. After all, they hadn't targeted the airship.

That was a little weird.

Besides, if the Grimm are here, that's a few days they're not terrorising somewhere else.

These Grimm could adapt. They moved as a group. They played on advantages of the others.

And none of that was a match for Mercury.

Might come here every year for some fun if they're not doing Mane Graduations. It's also a nice bolthole for me if I need it.

There were some plants that were edible. A few trees were undamaged as well. He was sure he could see the sun reflected from a water hole.

Maybe it's not just human prey they're after. Maybe a species of animal returns here. They look like nests so maybe birds?

The only thing Mercury regretted was that the fight was over all too soon, but he wasn't stupid enough to muck about. One mistake could cost you your life.

His leg stomped the final Beowulf into the ground.

He sprang off that leg, spun in the air and landed. He glanced up at whatever danger he thought he had sensed and had avoided.

Ozpin.

Who then came at him.

This is more like it!

Mercury had no doubt Ozpin was holding back but it was still a good challenge.

The man was fast, powerful and apparently fighting in a life or death situation. Throw in the fact he had centuries worth of experience and this could be the toughest fight in Mercury's life.

Duck, dodge, hit, dodge, dodge, dodge, hit, sidestep, roll, catch, dodge…Catch?

Now Ironwood decided to get in on the fight.

But now Mercury was apparently allowed his weapons. Not that they gave him time to reattach them. He dropped the knife sheaths and kept Pandora in his hand.

This is the most realistic situation so far.

The objective probably wasn't to win; Mercury didn't think he could. The objective was to convince the two he was skill enough in combat. That wouldn't be difficult. The fight itself would be.

At first, Ozpin and Ironwood moved independently. They acted like two people who happened to want the same person dead.

Half an hour later, that changed. Now they were fighting together.

Mercury had been managing well when they were acting independently. He could outmanoeuvre them, use their added height against them by sticking low and even cause one case of friendly fire. He wasn't winning, but he hadn't been losing either.

That was flipped instantly to being almost always on the defensive.

Okay, fighting like this isn't working. Let's try something else.

There wasn't much in the environment he could use but there was some.

Mercury flipped back. He missed both with his kicks, but that was fine. That was to get them to step back.

Then he tackled Ozpin back. He spun and threw him in the lake.

Not a common strategy over the ages, apparently.

He hopped over Ironwood, clipping Pandora to his belt. He made sure Ozpin couldn't sneak up on him. The man had already gotten out of the lake, but he still had a few seconds before he was in striking distance. As far as he was aware, Ozpin didn't have any long range.

Mercury might be able to overpower Ironwood if he really tried, but why try? Reversals worked so much better.

Just because he had a favourite fighting style didn't mean he couldn't use others. That had made finding one suitable for Ruby much easier.

And it was that style he was using now. Great for fighting larger and more powerful opponents. Little jabs for minor damage but using Ironwood's own strength and power for the major damage.

Mercury's greatest advantage wasn't strength. It wasn't even adaptation. It was endurance. He had far superior stamina to anyone he had come across.

Ozpin re-joining the fight didn't change much. Mercury was as slippery as his name; dodging blows and wriggling out of grapples for his own. He put the two on either side of him as close as he could. Then he just waited and adapted.

Finally, Ironwood and Ozpin jumped back. A raised hand called a halt to the fight.

Mercury relaxed out of his stance, but he remained cautious. This could just be a trick. "That's it?"

"That is it," Ozpin lowered his hand. "You have my word."

So far, that hadn't been broken and was obviously supposed to put him at ease. It didn't much, but he was half convinced. Did the fact they attacked him when he wasn't ready for it complete that lesson or was he getting a refresher course in a minute?

"Qualities?" Mercury asked. He wasn't sure there was more.

Ironwood answered that. "How you managed under pressure and many enemies along with how you handled a surprise attack. We need to be sure you can handle people as well as Grimm."

Mercury folded his arms with a raised eyebrow.

"Another tick in the box," Ozpin smiled. "However, that is it for today. I want you to head to the infirmary when you get back before you do anything else. Remember: you are not to talk about these tests with anyone."

"Yeah, I know." That Mercury could believe. "Do you think you could convince Tai and Qrow that I'm capable after today?"

The men responded together: "No."

"Thought not."

Ozpin chuckled. "Let us return."

/

Emerald was working with the medics and Yang was with the adults talking about the deaths and Grimm packs recently. Specifically, that cat like Grimm that even Mercury and Uncle Qrow had never seen.

Ruby might be team leader, but they had specifically requested her to keep an eye on the children. Honestly, Ruby would have picked this anyway. She didn't have the knowledge for Emerald's job and she didn't want Yang's. Discussing death was never easy and the fact it had been an underage drinking party gone bad that brought them, a pastime Yang was familiar with and Ruby wasn't…

"Can she have babies?"

Talaria had returned to Ruby as soon as they returned to the village. Many of the children and adults saw her, so Ruby was using her for a little show and tell. Mr Soarlane was next to her as adult supervision and to learn about this creature no one had ever seen before. Most likely making sure she wasn't a threat.

"No, she can't. Sometimes though, I think she's adopted us as her hatchlings." Ruby knew that as a fact.

"Can we touch her?"

They had asked this already. The first time, Talaria had bared her teeth so Ruby had said no. She was sticking to that but she could see why they asked. Talaria was resting on a small rock, looking perfectly at ease at being the centre of attention.

"Afraid not. She's not tame or domesticated or anything like that. She just doesn't attack people."

"Does she eat people?"

"No." Technically, Peruvian Vipertooths (Viperteeth?) did. Talaria had never eaten a person. Attacked yes, but not eaten.

"What does she eat?"

"She likes meat. The rawer, the better. I have caught her eating bugs so I guess she likes the taste of them too."

"Where does she live?" Helio asked that. His eyes had never left her.

"I honestly don't know. We found her in a lab and we can't find anything like her anywhere. We think she was made." That was a load of lies but it would do for the purpose. "So she lives with us."

Dandy wasn't happy with that. "Why did you get to keep her?"

"She was very young and somehow imprinted on my teammate, so he got to keep her. Now she's a little older, she doesn't mind traveling with us and not him."

There was a little muttering as the elder ones told the younger what imprinting was.

"But he's a boy. Shouldn't she have imprinted on a girl?"

Ruby shrugged. "He was who she saw first. Gender doesn't matter apparently. Or she didn't know the difference at that age."

"How smart is she?" Zia asked. "I mean, they said she can understand us, so can't she do a few tricks?"

Talaria bared her teeth again and growled.

Zia jumped. The others leaned forward, fascinated.

Mr Soarlane shifted. Ruby could almost feel his gaze.

"She's not a pet. She doesn't do tricks." Ruby turned a little to look at Mr Soarlane. "She sees them as hatchlings. She'll scare, but not hurt." Unless they try to hurt her or her pack, but Ruby didn't mention that.

Just like she hadn't mentioned Talaria was venomous. All three had the anti-venom anyway and Talaria never went out of their sight.

"If she was born in a lab, why is she protective of hatchlings she can't have?" Helio blinked and tilted his head.

Talaria tilted her head in mimicry.

"We don't know. We assume she's the only one of her kind and that she's not natural because we've never found a reference to others. The notes in the lab suggested she was created but none of us could really understand them."

"How do you know she's a girl?" Dawn asked.

Ruby got the feeling she was going to be here all afternoon.

She mentally shrugged. There was nothing wrong with that.

Now how was she supposed to answer this with the story she had made up?

/

Mercury had returned to his dorm after dinner and settled down with one of Emerald's murder mysteries. He was normally okay with these, but he had never had to deal with a locked room mystery before.

He was halfway through and convinced it was the wife with the clever use of mirrors and wigs when there was a knock on the door.

Rolling his eyes, Mercury got up to open it.

"Blake?"

She looked at him with hard eyes. "We need to talk Ares."

This never goes well. But if that's the name she's using, then it's not me she's angry at.

Mercury stepped back and let her in. She sat on the bunk bed while he took the double.

"What is it?"

"Adam killed Sierra Khan this morning."

Whatever Mercury was expecting, it wasn't that. "That's not good."

"In her own throne room."

"That's even worse." He took a deep breath. "So he has a lot more influence than originally thought or he managed to get his supporters into key positions. Both are worrying. What do you need from me?"

"Information. The people you used to work for and who else he is working with."

Mercury sighed. "The person I used to work for is dead. Everything else came from other sources. There are certain things I can't tell you but…Where to start?"

"You visited the White Fang once," Blake stated. "You can start there."

That led into Maidens and Salem; two things that he wasn't going to bring up with Blake. However, that is how Salem and Adam first interacted through proxy. How to phrase this?

"My employer, Cinder, was interested in power. She was also interested in the destruction of Beacon and the other schools. Don't ask me why; I didn't care so I don't know. She went to discuss a 'revolution' with Adam. This was when I was with her. At that point, he dismissed us. He thought he was supporting a human cause and wanted no part in it."

Blake considered. Mercury knew Yang had told her a little, but Yang didn't know much to tell. While she hadn't named names, Blake had obviously managed to pick up who she was talking about.

"And he was coerced into changing his mind."

"Yes. It was a week later that Cinder and I went different ways, so I don't know for sure. What I do know is that Cinder was looking for power and I'm not talking weapon here. I mean power like other Semblances; more spiritual power and abilities. When I fought her on the last night of the Vytal Festival, I knew she had succeeded. I think this power is what convinced Adam. She also wasn't above emotional blackmail."

"So the train was Cinder's idea."

Or Salem's. "I think so. At that point, she had a load of other people working for her. Roman Torchwick for example. She had contacts across the continent and even in other continents. When she died, someone else just carried on. Adam's part of a much larger network now, but he's their main attack dog. But now all these people are out of prison, I think he's moving more on his own."

Blake nodded. "From what I hear, he's not after equality anymore. He's after superiority."

From a practical and survival standpoint, Mercury could understand why. He also knew that wouldn't end well for anyone. "Sierra Khan didn't agree, I take it?"

"She told my father she wasn't interested in a war she couldn't win. That was why the violence was so focused."

"It also helped with the message of revolution. Faunus killing innocents and sympathisers just puts out the message that they are rabid monsters." Mercury rubbed his temples. He may be a Faunus, but he had never had any opinion of the White Fang until Cinder tried to negotiate with them.

"So you see. The problem is that violence has been so successful."

"That's not exactly the problem. The people who see Faunus as equals tend to be the ones who don't bring it up. The shopkeeper who barely notices the difference and only as an explanation as to why someone has an extra set of ears. That is progress. Adam making a huge deal of it isn't helping."

"I am aware of that." Blake put her head on her fists, considering the problem. "Who are Adam's contracts? Do you know?"

"Not really. From what Zephyr told me," she straightened, "Adam is operating mainly on his own. They get him the resources and information he asks for, but they don't really contribute."

"Zephyr?"

"He told me things. Things he thought I needed to know. Adam was one of them. He mostly works on his own now, but he keeps in contact with others. Especially the Faunus who escaped the prison. Those can be looked up; I can't add anything to that."

"I see." Blake took a deep breath. "The problem is that we have no idea what he's going to do next."

"The White Fang is split into two. What are you going to do Metis?"

"We can't fight under the same banner. I'm going to take the White Fang back." Blake looked him in the eye. "And I need your help."

"My help?"

"I'm not stupid Ares. You're going to pass the Mane Graduation. Then you're going to get out into the world. Beacon and Vale are too small for you. All I'm asking is that if you hear anything, you let me know immediately. Trouble is drawn to your team like a magnet and you know what to look for."

Mercury chuckled. Having a Huntsman in your pocket was a handy thing. "I promise. But I'm not leaving until the start of next year."

She nodded in acceptance. "Can I ask you something? You being a Faunus…"

Mercury shrugged. "Thing is, people look at me and see human. Even if they're told, unless they care enough to remember, they'll think I'm human and to them it doesn't matter. I don't care either way. For now, let's not give out the message that Faunus are equal to humans when their appendages are amputated, shall we?"

"A fair point."

"If the girls do start this CCTS web videoing, maybe I'll put it in the profile because there is no way they are not roping me into it. For the game dubs, we don't have personal profiles."

"Web videoing?"

"You don't know about that yet? Lucky you."

Blake laughed. "What's in it for you?"

"The ability to not have to call my overprotective guardians every night. They see the video and they know I've been fine for that week."

"Like I said: trouble magnet."

Mercury smiled before he got serious again. "I want to keep it quiet for now though. I can walk into Faunus banned bars without a problem and bars are an excellent source of info. Like I said: I'll let you know."

"Would you be willing to meet with my father?"

"What for?"

"Devil's Advocate. And I want you to follow the Albian twins. Something about them really rubs me up the wrong way but I can't prove it. A Huntsman License gives you that authority and you are a paranoid nutjob that would follow them to make sure of their motives."

"True." Blake was certainly growing as a leader, even if Mercury wasn't one of the ones under her. "I'll get back to you on that next week. Let me at least get the License before we start making plans."

It wasn't like he had anything better to do and Adam was proving to be far more of an unknown than even he thought.

"Yes. Thank you."

The White Fang under Adam classified any human for extermination and apparently also every Faunus who disagreed with them.

No, Mercury was more than willing to help with this problem.

---

Thursday.

Ruby was filling the four remaining water bottles early in the morning when Nura approached her. "Hello."

"Ruby, have you seen Dawn this morning?"

Ruby took a moment to think about that. "No, I haven't. Is she okay?"

"I'm sure it's fine. She's chosen to play hide and seek apparently. Just let me know if you see her today."

"Okay." There were a lot of hiding spots around the village.

Today was another check on the motion sensors. While they had picked up on the horde yesterday, a few of them had gone offline. They needed to get them up and running again.

It was going to be a long day again, but it was an important one and any job well done was rewarding.

She was a little worried about the two big cat like Grimm that got away. They didn't attack like any Grimm Ruby had come across so far. They had also chosen to pick Emerald out. She was going to ask Professor Port about that.

But she still had two days to enjoy.

/

"That's it?" It was just a test that didn't even last an hour.

"For today, yes. If you pass this, you have one last test tomorrow."

"But this?" Mercury handed over the tablet. He had finished within the hour but it hadn't been easy. It was clearly designed to see which his most instinctive responses were.

"Yes." Ironwood placed it on the desk. "This is the most subjective of all the tests, tomorrow's test included, so it is the most debated."

"You managed to mark the Kingdom papers the same day I completed them." It may be an ethics and morals test but it was still ridiculous to be the only thing to do today.

"There were guidelines for that and it is rather difficult to fail."

Mercury rolled his eyes. He headed back down the lift.

Now what to do?

Tomorrow's test. Singular.

All the students were in class or on a mission.

No. Not all of them.

Mercury went to Vale, this time by airship. He slipped through the streets until he arrived at the Vale City hospital. With the lobby empty, he approached the receptionist.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Tuesday night, two students from Beacon were brought in. I know one's returned. Can I talk to the other one? Tuddar?"

She typed a few things on her computer. After a moment, she turned back to him. "Third floor. Sixth door on the right from the stairs."

"Thank you." That was easy.

The ward was easy enough to find. There was no one around but then it was Thursday lunchtime. People would either be in school or in work.

Raine was in the private room. She barely looked at him before returning to her book. "Hello Mercury."

Tuddar was asleep in the bed. There was no movement from him.

"Hi." He pulled up a chair. "The rest of your team?"

"Arvish has gone to lunch and Sapphire's gone for a mandatory blood test. They'll be back soon."

He waved at the bed. "How's he looking?"

Raine sighed. She closed the book and put it on a table. "They think he'll pull through. Luckily it was blue Dust he was using and that's the most docile to use. But drugs are drugs…Yang and I talked yesterday. You were angry at her. That was unfair."

Mercury spoke casually, never raising or hardening his voice. "Maybe as I'm sure you told her not to tell anyone and I know how seriously they take promises. But she suspected it was to do with drugs. That was information I needed to know before walking into it. Drug dealers are a) very callous and dangerous people, b) they often have a lot of people just as dangerous as they are and c) someone on drugs is nigh on impossible to predict and that's before a Semblance is taken into account. Concealing that information could have got all of us killed."

Raine scowled. "Nothing happened. You managed fine."

The door opened behind them. Mercury ignored it.

"I managed fine because I was half expecting it. There aren't many things that can get you chucked out of Beacon and all of them are remarkably dangerous. I planned for the worst." His eyes flickered to the bed and back. "What happened anyway?"

Raine didn't say anything.

"He deserves to know." Arvish dropped a lunch box in front of Raine. "Go. I've got it from here."

Without a word, Raine took it and left the room.

"You didn't tell the police anything useful."

"No," Mercury confirmed. "I only told the paramedics what they needed to know. Same with the police. I like my privacy and I assume everyone else does unless they tell me otherwise. This isn't any of my business. But if there are Dust drugs in Beacon, I want to know more. My family is still here and Yang already knew about it or suspected it."

Arvish tapped his fingers on the table. He was very nervous.

"We don't know. Sapphire caught Tuddar with a needle on Monday. They had a row and he stormed out. He wouldn't talk to us. We share a room; we know he didn't come back that night. When he left Beacon, we knew. I messed with the cameras around the school while the girls went after him. You can guess what happened after that."

Explains where Arvish was but I think he was putting the cart before the horse there.

Fluffy's nose had given him a good idea what happened. "Something you've got to keep in mind is that this isn't the movies. Most people who stumble across this end up dead one way or another. If all he's doing is buying, then he's got a better chance but he needs to get clean. And he's not going to be happy with you when he wakes up."

"I suppose you'd know," Arvish responded scathingly.

"Drug addicts tend to live alone, be homeless or come from an unstable background. I saw plenty of them in my captivity, so yeah. I've got a rough idea."

Arvish flinched at that. "Sorry. That was out of line."

"It's fine. But that's the sort of attitude that's going to get through to him. Tough love. He'll hate you for it at first, but either the drugs will kill him or the people selling them to him will."

"I do know that." He ran a hand over his face. "This is going to be tough."

"So what are you going to do?"

Arvish glared at him. "He's my teammate. My responsibility. I'll stick by him, through thick and thin. Even if he hates me for it."

"Even if he's no longer your teammate?"

"He'll always be my teammate, even if he's not. I'll fight for it though. He shouldn't lose his dream because of one mistake."

Mistake, huh.

Mercury glanced at Tuddar before turning back to Arvish. "Raine asked for me the other day."

"She wanted to say 'thanks'."

"For showing up or for not telling?"

"Both." He looked at Tuddar. "But I suppose it's too late now."

"It was a stopgap measure at best. He needs help. People don't kick it on their own. Does he have parents?"

"He does. I called them last night and told them. They want to take him home as soon as they can."

"That is their right."

Arvish didn't reply.

Sapphire appeared. She gave Mercury an odd look, but she sat down next to Arvish and waited.

/

Headmaster Ironwood put the tablet down with a sigh.

"We always knew he would pass this, James."

"You knew Oz. I suspected. It's different. We both know this is lies. He doesn't think this way."

"Does it really matter if he acts that way? I can think of a few of my fourth year graduates over the years that I was hesitant of."

James could think of a few of his. It was part of the reason he was pleased they joined the military. "None of them are as inhuman as he is."

"A product of his childhood. I can only hope he is a one off."

"You can see my concerns about releasing him into society. I would prefer him having more time, especially after LiaGuard."

"As would I. However, what is the alternative? Imprison him again?"

James sighed. "This is a no win situation."

Ozpin skimmed through the tablet again. "I disagree. When he is in the field, he had shown no behaviour that is worrying."

"He knew he was being watched." James leaned back. "When he graduates, he can do whatever he likes with no supervision. He was raised by a sadistic psychopath in a very isolated environment Ozpin. I have no doubt he behaves this way because we could have killed him if he didn't. There is no reason for him to continue after earning a Huntsman License."

"Perhaps." Ozpin conceded. "I think he'll surprise you. Last night, no one would have blamed him if he killed Brown and Bushing. Yet he did not."

"Given what they did to him, that's not too encouraging. He also has not required a therapist."

"For which I am thankful. I fear for that therapist. He does recognise that however. He was aware of that at Mountain Glenn when Emerald could have done with one. He is aware of normality, even if it does not apply to him."

"I'm not going to win this argument, am I?"

"If Mercury passes the final test tomorrow, then what you or I think is irrelevant. We can't avoid it."

Of all the tests, the final one was always going to be the one Crawford would fail if he was going to. It was what the majority of students failed on.

"I'm just saying I think he needs more time."

"And if he fails, then he'll accept another two years at Beacon amicably. He can easily enter the third year with everyone else. The students know what happened to him; they wouldn't push him."

All the evidence had shown Crawford was normal if a little anti-social compared to his group of friends. That was part of the problem; there was no evidence that he had tried to rip a woman's soul out. James was sure Crawford was showing them what they wanted to see.

"He murdered two people in the magical world."

"Indeed. Qrow would have done the same in the first instance and it was practical the second. However, we only have his account on the second murder. What I can say is that he is always careful to avoid innocents getting caught in the crossfire."

"Something he is likely to stop as soon as he's free."

"Possibly. We won't know until we have witness accounts to his behaviour when he thinks no one is watching."

"Ozpin. He is a high functioning, paranoid sociopath." James thought a moment before conceding. "Save for his family. I will give him that. Even then though, I think he thinks he has to care about them. I believe he is a disaster waiting to happen."

"You missed out the nutjob description." Ozpin chuckled at James' face. "A 'paranoid, high functioning sociopathic nutjob'. His friends are aware of that and it's a bit of a joke with them. For him anyway; they don't like other sociopaths. I cannot deny that might be his mind-set though. Perhaps Mercury himself doesn't know…I do have a question for you James."

"I'm listening."

"You have two people, both capable of life changing and life ending actions. You have one person who has good intentions, but commits multiple crimes and manipulates people into doing his bidding. For a 'Greater Good', as it were. This is a man that cares about the forest, but does not see the trees. On the other hand, you have someone who you know is selfish and only moves in his own self-interest. However, all of his actions benefit everyone else as well as him. He will save a village because it has a restaurant he likes, but he still saves the entire village. Who is the more dangerous? Who do you trust more?"

Crawford had killed the changeling in Atlas. He may have done it because it had taken his shape, maybe he did it because a changeling was a very dangerous enemy to have in the war against Salem. He had still killed the changeling and that had saved many lives, even if that was not why Crawford had done it.

"That…is not easy to answer." However, put that way, James could see why Ozpin was not too worried. "I do see your point."

"The point is moot. We cannot fail him on the tests he has completed. Tomorrow is the most important test."

James accepted that. He pushed the tablet to the side. "How many of your students could pass it, do you think?"

Ozpin considered. "I would say four off the top of my head and even then I'm not confident. I do know that Ruby and Yang wouldn't pass it. The Emerald we met would. The Emerald now, I am not sure. Yours?"

"Honestly? Possibly six, depending on how they are feeling that day."

The Mane Graduation was designed to be far more difficult than the final exams at the end of fourth year. Remnant was very dangerous, very unpredictable and very unfair. By making the tests so hard, it discouraged students from trying to show off by taking it. They needed to be certain these kids would survive the real world. Since the schools were founded, only three had ever passed it.

"I said the same thing about Qrow," James reminisced. "He certainly surprised me. I suppose his son might too." He was sure Qrow aggravated him on purpose for his own amusement. Otherwise, he was a very good friend and look how he started out.

"I think that's why Mercury listens to him. Personally, I think that is the most telling. After everything Mercury went through with his father, he accepts Qrow as a stepfather. He shouldn't have done that, yet he did."

"Mr Crawford could destroy Remnant if he wanted." James was certain of that.

"I don't doubt it." Ozpin sounded very cheerful.

"Then let us hope he takes after his stepfather and not his father."

/

"We're a babysitting service now?"

She scowled as the man smirked at her and left her at the table.

"Take heart child. You haven't had your chance yet."

"I am getting tired of waiting."

"Patience. Your time will come."

Grimm white skin and searing red eyes-

Emerald shot up. Panting. Heart hammering.

[Easy Maia. You're okay.]

Maia?

Right.

Maia.

[Yang. I-I'm okay.]

[I'm sorry.] Yang rubbed her back gently. [That was Salem, Maia.]

[S-Salem?] That thing was Salem?

Ruby groggily woke up. "Maia?" Her eyes cleared instantly and she sat up. "Are you okay?"

"N-Nightmare. It'll pass." Need to move. Couldn't settle. Glanced down. Hand shaking. Emerald took a deep breath. "Get some air."

Emerald had had nightmares before.

Never one like that.

Meditation.

Emerald sat down, closed her eyes and deepened her breathing.

Focus.

Life. Search for life. Life is real and the nightmare is in the past. Not my memory.

Ruby was next to her now. Yang on her other side. Talaria curled up in the tent. Corona Moon sitting up near her home. Clay Hawthorne was standing guard with two others.

What is that? That feels like-

A lightning bolt cracked to the ground.

The cat Grimm shot back. It had a three year old child in its jaws.

Ruby moved. Her energy collided with the dark aura.

Emerald opened her eyes.

The child was only on the ground for a moment. The Grimm snatched it up again and bounded up the cliff face. No one dared shoot.

Ruby went straight after it.

Yang grabbed her working gauntlet and followed, the path up very irregular.

Emerald took off as well, sticking to the canyon. She kept her eyes closed; kept feeling the environment. The Grimm stayed up on top of the cliffs and if it dropped the child, he would die. It also wasn't heading towards the exit to the canyon. It was using the snaking route instead.

The other Huntsmen were farther back than Ruby and Yang.

Ruby didn't have Crescent Rose with her and Yang had used up all her ammo. Emerald couldn't comment; she didn't have her weapons either.

It leapt off the top of the canyon into one of the dead ends and headed into the walls. Tunnels.

Emerald took a left turn, then a right. She entered the tunnels from a different hole in the wall; one that was near impossible to see in the daytime, never mind night.

Ruby followed the Grimm.

Yang was behind; too much to see where Ruby went.

Two unarmed teenagers against a cat-like Grimm in near pitch black, little room tunnels where the Grimm has a hostage. This is the most ridiculous situation I have ever been in.

If Ruby could get the child away from the Grimm, then Emerald could electrocute it. The problem was that they had been only ten feet away from it earlier and hadn't seen it. Would never have known it was there. There was no way Ruby could see it now. Emerald only could because she could feel it. The child was still alive and physically unharmed, but he was silent.

Okay. I make Ruby hallucinate my orders and descriptions, but we'll only get one shot at this.

With Ruby behind it, she would end up on the same side as Emerald. With Yang not following, Emerald could then attack it properly.

They had to time this perfectly.

Ruby had yet to run into a wall so she was somehow managing.

Emerald reached out with her Semblance. {Ruby, when I say, use your Semblance to go up and then forward at a bit of an angle. Twist to grab the kid and get behind me.} She made sure to include images with her instructions. She wasn't sure how much Ruby could see.

She 'saw' Ruby nod her head. She was right behind the Grimm now.

The Grimm was staring at Emerald. It bared its back teeth. The child shook a little in its jaws.

Emerald sent a breeze against the underbelly.

{Now!}

It jolted a little in surprise; bounced a bit.

In the millisecond that the jaws loosened the tiniest amount, Ruby snatched the child.

Emerald side-stepped to avoid getting crashed into. Ruby hugged the child close, protected him from the danger and sight of the coming fight. They relied on Emerald to protect them.

Emerald would not disappoint.

Shard of rock shot out of the walls. The Grimm had no time to react. It was speared and pinned.

It didn't roar. It didn't show any anger or hate. It just studied her.

It took a lot of electricity and rock spears to kill it.

It just stared at her.

Even as it dissolved, it just stared at her.

---

Friday.

Crawford looked at the fire pit. He looked at Ozpin. He looked at the fire pit. He looked at Ozpin.

"Can I at least mention to the others that there was a lava pool involved?"

Ozpin considered. "That only Mercury."

Upon reflection, James had no issue with that either. If anything, it would give the students the wrong impression and less likely to succeed.

Crawford studied the small cavern around him. There was nothing there; not even a pebble. All there was: a fire pit fifteen feet along and twelve feet across reaching from wall to wall. The ceiling was barely above head height.

"So what's this test?"

"It is a scenario. You are leading a clan of people to their homeland. This is your obstacle in the path. No one has aura, including you. No one has weapons other than police guns, including you. There are several small children in your group, babies included, and there are elderly people also. You are running low on food and ammunition. Your job is to get across to the other side of the pit to continue your journey."

There was a brief silence.

"…And what qualities is this supposed to test?"

"That's part of the test."

Crawford thought for a moment. "And I assume that leaving someone behind is an automatic fail."

It was that attitude that worried James about this teenager.

However, Ozpin was not wrong in that this would still be a mind-set that saved everyone, even for the wrong reasons.

"How long do I have?"

"As long as you need."

"And how helpful can you be?"

"As helpful as one of the clan members would be."

"So how did they get past this before?"

That was not a question any of the others had asked. James rested his head on his knuckles. He was looking for troubling behaviour and attitude, but he tried to be open to positive.

At the moment, Crawford was asking for advice from someone more familiar with the situation than him. That was a good sign.

"They originally had a…shall we say…ramp like ladder. They were aware this was here. However, you lost it and the materials during a prior Grimm attack. Nothing remains."

Crawford began to pace along the edge. He was taking in information. "How long can the weakest manage being near this lava pool?"

This had not been considered but it was another point in his favour. "In these conditions, less than two minutes. However, they are staying back so you can study the path forward without worrying about them."

Crawford stopped and considered. "Without aura, we wouldn't be able to get within five feet of this without serious and probably fatal problems. Babies can't go anywhere near it."

That Crawford knew that was a good sign. Many people these days thought that lava was harmless until they literally fell into it and even then they thought they had time to escape.

"This is a hypothetical scenario Mercury. Hence why there is no time limit. Your lack of aura is mainly to remove the more…obvious solutions. For the sake of argument, let's say the babies have the same resistance as an adult."

James smiled at that.

"Spoilsport." Crawford returned his attention to the fire pit. "Okay. If there are babies, then we either play catch with them, which would almost certainly kill them, or we find a different way. Very few people can jump that distance and even less with the height available…"

This was going to take some time. The record had been five hours.

James was honestly looked forward to the result. From what he was hearing so far (even if he was uncertain why Crawford was brainstorming aloud), there was a possibility he would make a fine Huntsman, even if it was for all the wrong reasons.

This test was the most telling of them all.

/

It was difficult to say Ruby woke up. She had never dropped off back to sleep after…

There was no sign of Dawn. It was thought she had been taken by that cat Grimm Wednesday night and no one had noticed…

Today, they were going hunting for the third one and place extra security to avoid a repeat of last night.

REY were guarding the village. The adult Huntsmen had decided that the three were good enough to manage if it appeared there and it wouldn't be able to hide in the night again. They would be back before that.

Emerald remained in a meditative stance, sitting against one of the walls near the entrance. Once they learned she was trying to sense intruders the way she had last night, everyone left her be. Ruby made sure she ate and drank, but also let her be otherwise.

Later in the morning, Emerald began to play a song on her ocarina.

The mood in the village seemed to relax as the soft notes carried.

At the moment, Yang was entertaining most of the children.

Ruby was near Falkner and his parents. He was playing with a plastic digger as if nothing had happened last night.

Talaria landed on her shoulder. She chittered and nuzzled her cheek.

"Thanks girl."

Ruby finally looked away and focused on the damaged Ember Celica. Her toolbox was next to her. The casing might look a little odd when Ruby was done, but she would work. She would fix that part when they got back home.

Tension began to seep out of her as she slipped into a meditation of her own.

/

"Okay. I give up."

One hour.

Mercury had set that target for himself, though he hadn't expected to need to hold himself to it. Once the hour was completed however, he accepted the fact.

He couldn't do it.

The scenario was so remarkably unlikely that it was almost laughable. How convenient that he had to search for mundane, yet genius solution. Maybe they were only looking for one solution, so they had to remove everything else. There was nothing in the cavern that could help, there was nothing within the clan that could help and there was nothing he would have that could help.

Leaving people behind was not allowed. In this situation, that would be near everyone except those that deserve medals for the long jump.

There was no practical way to get a fully grown, healthy person across. It followed that no one unhealthy (age or sickness or whatever) could get across.

This was a waste of time now.

Ozpin held his gaze firmly and blankly. "You give up?"

Mercury glanced back at the lava pool. "Yeah, I admit defeat. Honestly, if this was somehow the actual situation, I would have given up ages ago and backtracked to find a different route." He began walking back the way they came. "I'll see you at the beginning of next year, Headmaster."

With him taking the advanced course, he knew the material of the following years. He would help the others learn and could use his spare time better. Before, Jaune and Pyrrha had organised the materials necessary for their study sessions, but he could do that now. He would ask to move his work for the garage and escape room to the weekends; he would sit down and talk with his bosses about that.

Perhaps Jagoda would be willing to teach him some things about video making. That gave her to more time to focus on her studies if she needed it and gave them more flexibility when others from different years were voice recording.

"Mercury."

Ozpin hadn't moved, so he wanted to talk. Confused as to why as he thought that not knowing the answer was the result for the rest of his life, Mercury turned back.

He caught the object thrown at him. It looked very familiar. In fact, it was almost the same as the flask Qrow had. "Ozpin, I'm disappointed not depressed." He looked at the man, hiding a scowl. Thinking on what he could put in this other than alcohol, he supposed it could be useful in the future. "What is this? A consolation prize?"

"Congratulations Mercury Crawford. You passed the Mane Graduation, with distinction."

Mercury waited a second to make sure he hadn't misunderstood, though there was little to misunderstand. He glanced at the lava pool before returning his attention to Ozpin.

Ozpin smiled. "Mercury, the task was impossible. You chose not to attempt it and instead give up. That was the correct answer."

Interesting.

Throughout all the previous tests, especially the Edrad test, there was an underlining determination. With one task left, it was very tempting to just keep trying until a solution presented itself. That was why Mercury thought there was only one solution. That there wasn't one at all honestly hadn't crossed his mind.

"So this was a test of judgement."

"Yes. Stubbornness is a useful trait and so is pride, but they need to be tempered. You can make the jump across the pit. If you had or submitted any solution, then you would have failed."

This is the most likely reason the Mane Graduation was kept under wraps. If the participants knew that the answer in the last test was to give up…

Mercury smiled. "Making a scenario that is challenging but not so obviously impossible to give the game away must have been difficult."

Ozpin chuckled. "For you, even more so. We normally have resources scattered around the cave to make the impression stronger, but we couldn't be sure you wouldn't find a legitimate way across for yourself and others using them."

Mercury had thought the cave was unnaturally bare.

He brought the flask up. "So this is for the celebratory drink?"

"It's a gift from me and in some Kingdoms, you are old enough to drink. It holds temperature remarkably well. I'm sure you'll find a use for it."

Qrow style, in other words.

Mercury turned it over. "You want me to be a teenager."

"You are a qualified Huntsman Mercury. Do what you will."

I do have a list of things on my to-do list. I wonder…

"If the girls wind up destroying Beacon now, what does that do for the betting pool?"

Ozpin took a moment to consider that. "I believe we all need to make new bets. First, we have some paperwork to complete."

"The root of all evil. That's why I'll never take over the world."

"No, you'll destroy it."

"And how am I supposed to pass the time after everyone is dead? Everyone who wants to commit genocide is being very short sighted in my opinion."

"Mercury, never go into politics."

/

After lunch, Yang sat down next to Emerald and began to play her kalimba. Both were familiar tunes; both sang through the air in perfect union.

Ruby had already decided she wanted to play an instrument. She wanted something that complimented theirs.

All of the Huntsmen returned to the village an hour before sunset. They had been unsuccessful in finding the third cat Grimm. Emerald had stabbed it through the eye with a silver Dust dagger, so maybe it had learned to stay away.

Mr Soarlane sat down next to Ruby as many of the villagers remained near the musicians. "Well Ruby? Did you enjoy your stay?"

"I did yes. I also learned a lot."

"…What did you learn?"

Ruby subconsciously counted the children. There was one missing. There would always be one missing.

"It was always a dream. Being a Huntress. Yes, bad things happened. My family did their best to shelter me from that and when they couldn't, prepare me for it. I try to learn. I try to learn from bad things; how to do things better. We failed in that. People died. This is the Remnant that I knew existed, but you don't see within the Kingdom walls."

Yang was looking right at her. She continued to play without missing a beat.

"You saved Falkner last night. Completely suicidal but you didn't hesitate in going after him. We will always be grateful for that. You and your team are welcome anytime."

"He's just a scared kid. I'd do it again any day, no matter how many scoldings I get." She turned her head a little to see his face. "Do you have kids?"

He had that smile. A smile that was so common on many parents. "I do. They're grown up now. Living their own lives. One's a Huntsman and the other's a lawyer."

"So which has the more dangerous job?"

Mr Soarlane chuckled. He then settled his gaze on Ruby's sisters once more. "So you don't want to quit?"

Ruby didn't need to think on that.

"No. It's the best job in the world. Just look at those kids. They're happy and full of hope. That's worth fighting for. Every tear shed is worth that one second of joy."

---

AN: I am sorry this chapter has taken so long to write and I know it is very long. I stop chapters where it is a natural place and in this case, that was the end of the week.

Thanks for reading.