If I could even explain the writing hell that was the first part of this chapter, we'd be here all day. Not much changed from the original draft, but man was it hard trying to put the ideas to paper. Just how it goes, unfortunately.

Hope you enjoy the chapter nonetheless!

Chapter 56: Baggage of Secrets

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.(Chapter Start)

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October 14th

Monday

Clear

Azura had been one of five students on the entire airship as he exited it and stepped foot on Beacon grounds once more, the sharp chill of the morning air bringing a sense of calm to his tired body. As he walked forward, however, his nerves did come to slowly eat away at him, knowing that he had to explain where he had been and also that he had no valid excuse whatsoever.

"You're on your own with that one, I've got nothing."

Summer's words did not reassure him, but he appreciated the sentiment behind it. Luna was following just behind him, seeming to be acting like some knight to their king, which did at least tell him that he had some protection should one of his friends choose to be violent with him. He didn't expect them too, but he also couldn't put it past Yang or Nora to accidentally rough house him when he had some aches in his bones.

The sunrise casted long shadows as the brilliant emerald green of Beacon's tower washed over the central fountain of the front side of the school grounds, encapsulated in the shadows as Azura stepped into it. He had never quite appreciated the beauty of the academy, now relishing in the peace it set out.

"Beacon really does have an apt name." He murmurs to himself, looking past the statue of the fountain to the green tower itself.

"That was certainly the idea, yes." The ever-so familiar voice of Ozpin came from behind Azura, surprising the boy. "Though, I can't say what the idea of disappearing in the shadow of twilight last night and only appearing with the sunrise means."

Azura whirled on his feet to look at the headmaster with wide eyes. "Ah, headmaster Ozpin!"

"That is indeed who I am." He quipped, sipping from his morning mug of coffee. "I hope whatever made you leave school grounds the night before a school day was worth it."

"Oh, that...um…" Azura stutters, faltering in his words as he looks for an excuse. "Decided to take a night out in the city, you know?"

"Well, in that case, I'd say that you should think a moment more about the dates before you decide to do that."

"Yeah, probably." He says back, scratching the back of his head with a chuckle. "Did you need me for anything, headmaster?"

"No, not right at this moment. I simply saw it fit to approach you while on my morning walk. You typically are running your laps this early, yet you look like you've run a marathon and then some already. All in...your normal attire, battle or not."

"You know how us teenagers can get."

Ozpin smirks, tapping his cane twice. "That I do, Azura. That I do." He tapped it once more. "Well, I shall bid you farewell now. I do think I see some of your friends coming towards you."

He turned, paused, then turned back around.

"On second thought, I might ask for you to join me in my office in the coming days. I think we've waited for another...session, long enough."

"Of course. I, uh, won't be going anywhere tonight, I promise."

"Good to hear. I shall see you around, Azura."

Azura smiled at the man and nodded to bid him farewell, sighing and shaking his head as he saw the old man turn and walk away. He wasn't quite sure if he was quite in the right mindset for it, but he would be willing to try. Both he and Summer had agreed to, had they not?

Shrugging, he pushed past the fountain and down the main strip of path that led towards his intended destination of the student dorms. He had to face them head-on sooner or later, and he wanted to just get it out of the way. He meandered slowly, though, wishing to talk with Summer about any plan they might have.

"There's always escaping, you know." She offered, already knowing his thoughts. "If they choose to not believe whatever we come up with, that is. They have reason to lock you down at this point, I'd say."

"Striking it out on my lonesome is getting rather commonplace, isn't it?" He asked her, slightly amused by his own words. "Can't really settle down, though. Not when the fight is out there."

"I agree, but remember Pyrrha's words. Wouldn't put it past her to be adamant about following through with making you relax and enjoy the small things of each day."

Azura nodded slowly, glancing at Luna as she watched him while sideways in the air and smiling at her. "Not wrong."

"Maybe you should watch your team partake in their tournament fight when that happens? To at least alleviate their worries."

"I do want to, you know that. It's just a matter of when it happens and if I don't need to help Avis or Neo."

"Or Croc, it seems." Summer huffs playfully, and he could practically feel her smirk. "She's a cute enough girl, no?"

Azura physically stopped walking and exhaled heavily as he pinched his nose. Luna stopped a second later and turned to look at him with slight concern, coming closer as confusion took her expression. He waves her off with a small smile, only mildly disappointed with Summer. It took several moments for him to start walking again, his mental tone conveying exasperation.

"You aren't going to play matchmaker, Summer. I think I see where Yang might get it from."

"Fine, fine. So serious nowadays."

Her words are still playful, bringing a smile to Azura's face. He couldn't really stop himself from doing so.

"Appreciate it, Summer. For trying to keep the mood light."

"Just don't make it a habit." She says dryly, causing him to laugh to himself quietly. "It's the least I could do."

Luna turns her head to look at him once more, and this time he indulges her by tapping his fingers rapidly along her hand for a moment.

"Nothing to worry about, mother. Just some friendly banter between Summer and I."

Azura stepped past her, finally reaching the dormitory buildings and entering them. If he was lucky, he might run into Blake first before anyone, since he doubted they wouldn't be awake by now. His pace was casual and slow, though he started to pick it up as students began exiting from their dorms or coming down the halls. Waving to some who recognized him, he tried to make it through the influx of third year or early bird students without having someone ask why he might smell of ash or look like he just got roughed up by someone.

Making his way up the stairs, he reached the floor where the JNPR and RWBY, as well as most of the first year dorms, were located. Turning a corner and down another hall, then turning again, he was surprised to find that both of the doors to his friends' dorms were open and more surprised to see Ruby run out of her dorm and into the JNPR dorm. She glanced at him like she hadn't recognized him, then stopped right at the door and leaned back to look at him wide-eyed.

There was concern in her eyes, so he jogged forward to meet her before she slammed into him like Nora likely would, thinking that the concern between the dorms was for him. It was rather chaotic for someone who had been missing since before everyone was sleeping, though.

"Azura! You are in big trouble, mister...but there's something more important right now."

"Huh?!" Azura asked, startled by the words. "What happened?

A mixture of voices all called out at once as Ruby's exclamation of Azura's names caught their attention, the doors to both dorms now being blocked by everyone coming to the edge of the room to see for themselves. As Azura scanned their faces, he noticed two things in particular.

"Where's Pyra? And Aurora?" He asked calmly, not wanting to assume the worst, but unable to not see the concern or panic etched into their faces. "Did something happen?"

"We woke up and found that Pyra was missing without a word of where she might have gone." Ren answered, always the epitome of calm and to the point.

The words, spoken calmly, did anything but keep Azura calm. Worry and panic seeped through his body, bracing him into a serious calm demeanour. He knew better than to panic immediately, at the very least.

"And Aurora seems to have just left without anyone knowing. I had been in the shower, and the only other one who had been awake was Weiss." Blake offered, her sleek and wet hair confirming her words. "But she had been out of the room when Aurora was still there."

Weiss nods, her frown deep. "I went out to return some books I borrowed from a third year student, she was gone by then."

"Her scroll is still in our dorm, too…" Nora says, her normally joyful tone now timid.

"Enough with the telling of events, we have to find them!" Ruby said, her hands shaking with both boundless energy and an anxious desire to not be standing around.

"She's right, we can worry about classes later." Jaune followed up, a strategy forming up in his mind. "There's nine of us here, so let's split into three groups. Ren, Nora, and I will go around the central part of the school and see if we find her or Ozpin to ask if he could use the school's systems to find them. Pyrrha can go with Weiss and Yang to go around the backside of the school and through the buildings since the main strip of them are all there. That leaves Blake, Ruby, and Azura to go out to the front side of the school and maybe the initiation forest if it does come to it. Sounds good?"

He got nods from everyone, then smiled awkwardly.

"Let's do it, then. Keep communications open with everyone, better to be updated."

They all moved down the hall in unison, wanting to make sure they found their missing friend and the child under their care. No one made mention of Azura having been missing since yesterday, which he was extremely grateful to them for prioritizing Pyra and Aurora.

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.(Line Break)

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"Have you found either of them yet? Ozpin?"

"Haven't seen him. And no, nothing yet, Ruby. We just have to keep looking, they can't have gotten off of Beacon yet. Assuming they would have reason to leave the school grounds at this time."

"Okay. Just…"

"We'll find them, Ruby."

Azura watches as an anxious smile comes to her face. "Right. Call Pyrrha and that group, we'll search along the cliff edge."

She ends the call on her scroll, sighing heavily once she closed and pocketed it. Her head turns to the slowly rising sun, biting her lip. Azura eyes Blake, who gives him a knowing look. They had been helping in the search, but could see that it was biting away at Ruby. And he knew it all too well, they had a responsibility to Aurora as her caretakers, as well as his added responsibility of finding his partner.

He places a hand on her shoulder gently, grabbing her attention. "Jaune's right, Ruby. It's only a matter of time. Remember, you aren't alone in your search here. We all want them to be found."

"It's as important to us as it is to you and Azura. If nothing else, Pyra is our friend and Aurora is...well, she's to be protected." Blake offered her own encouragement. "Should we split up further?"

"No, more eyes is better in this case. That's why Jaune put us the way he did." Azura said, shaking his head. "Come on, we can make fast progress with the cliffside."

They moved off with a newfound haste, Azura in the lead this time. They slowly jogged along the cliffside, having already passed the airship dock and not finding them there. He occasionally took a moment to look at Ruby, if only to make sure she wasn't losing confidence in the search, recalling all the times she had been anxious for him or any of her friends. Yang's words from months ago came to his mind, about how Ruby had been known to have a nervous breakdown in previous events. Whether Summer influenced his desire to keep her in check didn't matter to him, just that he had to do it.

Luna was several meters away from them, flying over the cliff's edge to get a good aerial view of the forests and valley below her. Azura knew that his mother's maternal instincts were in full swing at this moment, especially since he knew that she was rather fond of Aurora. Knowing that they were all searching with everything they had filled him with a confidence that wiped the tiredness from his aching body. They just had to find them, and that was the hardest, and only, part of a search.

They slowed down when they reached the farther edge of the academy grounds, right along the far left corner of Beacon if he faced it from the window in Ozpin's office, which overlooked the entire school. The only building here was identical to the other far corner of the front of the academy, a garage for weapon maintenance and vehicle storage or repairs. The one on the opposite end housed Bumblebee, so Azura wasn't sure what he would find in the other one.

Unlike the other garage building, this one had a second floor to it, meaning that there was more ground to cover. Luckily for them, the second floor appeared smaller than the main floor of the building and basement levels. As the three of them approached, he thought of how they should go about looking for their missing people. He stopped at the entrance of the garage, examining the building for a moment before turning to look at Ruby and Blake.

"I think we should split up a bit for this. I don't want to spend too much time here if it's for nothing, especially when we can spend it searching somewhere else. Can you search the second floor, Blake?"

She nods quietly.

"Great, thanks. Ruby and I can sweep the larger floors together."

"Sounds good. Let's go." Ruby said swiftly, already moving to enter the building before them.

Azura and Blake looked at each other, then shrugged and made to follow closely after her. The layout was mostly the same on the ground floor, which would make their lives easier, but the addition of a set of stairs in the far back corner of the building did not go unseen. As Blake moved towards the stairs, looking through the windows of the side rooms full of various things, Azura moved towards Ruby who was standing in the middle of the room. She seemed to be doing an initial look over everything before making any decision.

"Lien for your thoughts?"

Ruby looks at him pensively, lips thin. "I can't believe I didn't notice that Aurora was missing. As much as Pyra also being missing worries me, she's also much more able to take care of herself than Aurora."

"Worrying about what happened won't do anything, you know that." He says, putting a hand on her back. "We'll find her, Ruby. We'll find them both."

"I hope so…" She mutters under her breath.

He cracks a smile. "I know we'll find them. We won't stop searching until we do."

"Always the optimist, I see."

Her words were dull, but he could hear the laughter bubbling behind them.

"Like you're one to talk." He chuckles lightly, dropping his hand. "Come on, we'll search the ground floor while Blake is above." He glances at Luna. "Take the floor below and see if they're down there."

She nods, flying off to do what he told her to do.

"I'll take this side, you take the other?" Ruby asked, tilting her head slightly.

Azura could see the stress building in her eyes, complying with the way to save time. "Of course. Let's go."

They separated to search their own areas of the garage, with Ruby going around the open area that made up the majority of the ground floor while Azura was next to the doors and had the side rooms. As he made his way through, he didn't think that either of them would be in one of the workshop rooms, but decided to check each of them as he walked by them one by one.

They worked in silence as they searched, the only noises being the pinging of their scrolls as Jaune or Pyrrha would message their own progress. Much like Azura, Ruby, and Blake, they also haven't seen anything. He wondered where Ozpin was at this moment, having hoped that Jaune and his group would have found the man by now. Access to the cameras would be a great boon to their search.

Azura entered the fourth workshop room and began his quick sweep through the small room when he saw Luna burst into the room with her tail whipping excitedly. While startled by his mother barging in, he was quick to compose himself and ask her the only question on his mind.

"Did you find either of them?"

Luna nods rapidly, zipping off without any form of explanation. Azura quickly moved after her, running through the hall and into the central area of the garage's ground floor. He saw Blake coming down the stairs and a frowning Ruby looking over at him with some confusion, waving his arm for them to follow as he sprinted past, calling back to them.

"Luna found one of them! They're here, in this building!"

The sound of two pairs of feet running after him told him all that he needed to know, following Luna as she moved down the stairs with that same excited haste that she was now imbued with. Once they were down in the basement level, Azura kept after his mother as he looked to both sides, seeing no one within sight whatsoever. PIllars and some vehicles blocked his vision, making it hard to see the final destination that they were being guided towards, but he kept moving without doubt in his heart.

When the exit to the garage came into sight, the long tunnel that led to Vale sprawling out ahead, he saw Aurora crouched down on both knees next to someone, unable to see who because of Aurora being in the way and his own mind not wanting to get his hopes up. Ruby shot right past him like a bullet, red rose petals scattering into the air as she yelled out with a mixture of relief and joy.

"Aurora!"

The young girl turned, unsurprised to see them as Ruby only barely stopped herself from barrelling right into her. Whether that was due to her semblance or the noise they were making didn't matter, but what Azura finally saw past Aurora did. It was Pyra, in her Beacon uniform, clutching at her head with tears streaming down her face. The sight caused Azura to trigger his bonded semblance, rose petals flying into the air as well. He slowed down as he came close, skidding to the ground as he grabbed onto Pyra.

He couldn't even speak at first, staring at Pyra as he breathed heavily. His ears rang and his heart was beating faster than he could imagine, eventually bringing the girl close to him with a hug. It hurt him to see her in this state, and it hurt even more to know that he could have done more beforehand. How long had she been dealing with whatever this was and he hadn't even cared enough to notice?

"Pyra? What's wrong?" He asked softly, trying to see her face.

She pushed her head into his chest to hide it, the only sign that she was listening to them other than grabbing onto his likely dirty sweatshirt with both of her hands. Azura slowly rubbed one of his hands along her arm to try and help calm her down, looking over to Ruby and Aurora. He saw Blake using her scroll just behind them, likely trying to tell everyone that their search was over.

Aurora, however, was staring back at Pyra and looked at him with pink eyes as wide as saucers.

"She's...unhurt physically." The girl stuttered, like she couldn't quite speak at the moment. "But her emotions…"

Azura filled in the blank, looking back at Pyra and then clutching her closer. Did Aurora's semblance catch Pyra's emotions all the way from the dorms? He could only wonder what the girl's emotions were like at the current moment, in that case. It did nothing but make him feel even worse, the thought of him neglecting his own partner in favor of the matters in the city was not a good one.

He could feel Blake's and Ruby's gaze drilling into him as they all processed Aurora's words. The itch to tell them to back off did burn on the tip of his tongue, but he knew that it would only be an attempt to blame someone other than himself, so he held it in without a word. A sigh escapes his lips, looking at Aurora now. Knowing that she saw his emotions made his next words ignoring that fact feel worse.

"Are you okay, Aurora?"

The girl nods slowly. "Can we go back now?"

"Yes, of course." Ruby answers, glancing at Pyra feebly grabbing onto Azura for a moment. "Both of you could use the rest."

Azura rose to his feet in silence, carrying his partner once again. The fact that this had happened multiple times reaffirmed something within him, a desire so strong that he deemed it to be a priority now. He had to tell her everything, she deserved to know. And maybe being in the know would allow him to let her aid him in some way that didn't put her in harm's way. But first, he would discuss it with Blake.

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.(Line Break/character shift)

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The forest smelled of death to Qrow, sniffing at the air as he walked beside Folina through the trees and bushes. He disliked the aura of the location, but he knew fully well that it was also the only location the Nightmare would hide out in. A sidelong glance at his companion showed that she was completely calm and let her weapons rest on her back. The black staff rested against her shoulder while the blindingly white curved sword, shaped as a scythe head with a handle, hung along it.

Her weapons had always intrigued the weaponsmith in him, with how her weapons looked like they were made from nature itself and were just as sturdy and terrifyingly powerful or sharp as any other weapon. The black staff was clearly made of some lightweight metal, along with the curved blade, but could never be quite sure what metal it was. The staff itself looked like it was wood with how elegant the carvings were, a deep red seeping from them that swirled into red leaves around the weapon, while the curved sword had grooves along its edge that he knew was made to tear Grimm limbs off easier.

"If you are to stare at my weapons, I'd prefer you to not do it when we are investigating an ancient Grimm's location."

"Hey now, we're currently walking in a peaceful location." He snarked, holding a hand up with Harbinger in the other. "Besides, I don't see you holding your weapons if you're so serious about it."

"Because I do not need them. I have protection of my own." She responds, glancing at him. "Or has the old man already forgotten that?"

Qrow rolls his eyes. "I'm not old enough to forget such a thing. You're a scary woman when you want to be, you know."

"Good." Was all he got in response. "Come on, we're closing in on the village."

"What's left of it, anyways." Qrow muttered.

The remnants of log cabins and other man-made homes laid scattered across the clearing, splattered by a black residue with a mixture of blood within. As Folina had told him, there was no one to be seen. The only signs of life being here recently were the destroyed buildings, blood trails, and ripped clothing buried in the mud. Whoever was the group that lived here seemed to have no weapons, Qrow noted mentally.

It also reminded him to keep an eye on Folina herself. A glance towards her showed a solemn look on her slightly dirtied face, seeming only slightly disturbed by the area. Despite fashion being the name of a Huntsman, they often got dirty and disheveled in the field.

"I haven't been inside the village since I first warned them of the Nightmare. I had hoped that everyone who heeded my warning had left already."

"Some didn't?" He asked.

Couching down to examine the gouge marks of some Grimm in the mud, Qrow noticed that they were large enough to be a major Ursa, at the least. When he realized there was no response to his question, Qrow turned his head to look at her and saw the woman staring into the empty center of the clearing. He stood, walking over to stand at her side.

"Folina?"

She remains silent, simply waving her hand as, much like when he saw Azura's and Folina's semblance for the first time, a ghostly figure became apparent. It was a child, about six or seven years old, crying over what Qrow assumed was the blood spot where her body was before getting taken by the Nightmare for whatever it was doing. Despite everything Qrow had seen in his life, it was never easy to see a dead child.

He watched Folina take one step forward and pause momentarily before moving forward like she hadn't frozen up, walking right up to the child and crouching down in front of her. Qrow walked forward slowly, finding himself slightly curious to see how someone with such a semblance interacted with the dead.

The ghost child lifted her face from her hands, tears dripping down her face and vanishing before hitting the ground.

"Who are you?" She stuttered, her voice choked up and raw.

Folina tilts her head to the side. "I'm here to bring you to your parents. Would you like to see them?"

Joy beamed from behind teary eyes, and Qrow felt something tug from within his dark heart at the face.

"Mom and dad?" The ghost girl asked, more excited as she took a step towards Folina. "I can see them?"

Folina's answer was spoken softly. "Yes...but I need you to answer a question for me before I can bring you to them. Can you do that?"

She gets a nod in response. Qrow remains silent, preferring to not interrupt what was happening.

"Where did the scary faceless creature go after the attack? Do you remember where it ran?"

The girl raises a shaky arm and points behind Folina and to the right. "It ran that way."

"Thank you for answering my question." She says with a soft smile, raising a hand towards the ghostly visage of the girl. "Why don't we see your parents now."

The girl takes Folina's hand with a smile this time, fading away as Folina's hand glows before vanishing altogether. Qrow was surprised, to say the least. He watched Folina stand back on her feet, dusting her skirt off, then look over at him like nothing had even happened.

"Don't think I've seen that one yet." He says, arms crossed over his chest. "Always full of surprises."

"You say that a lot about me. I think I am aware by now."

"I just mean the ghost thing. Didn't think you could also show them to me like that."

"Also?" She asks, a tone of curiosity in her voice before she slowly shakes her head and begins to walk in the direction they were given. "We may discuss this another time, Qrow. We need to investigate further. That Grimm won't find itself."

"Yeah, yeah." Qrow mutters with a lazy wave of his hand as he walks after her. "This thing certainly knows how to hide for us knowing the general area in which it is hiding."

"It has survived for centuries on end because of its stealth alone. Leaves no tracks to trace, doesn't rage across land or disturb anything but the lives of what it hunts, and has only rarely been seen, only to take the kill after a battle."

"Until now, that is."

"Yes, until now. I wonder if it is growing stir crazy, knowing where its target is located." Folina wondered aloud. "Or perhaps trying to draw him in."

"A Grimm that smart...while I would prefer them to not exist at all, at least they are so rarely occurring in the wild." Qrow mutters, shaking his head. "Least it killed every other Grimm around. We've seen so few."

"I have my doubts about that. From what Ozpin said about it and the recent encounter in Vale, it can both control Grimm and also be able to...almost draw power from it. It could be doing both, and we'd be none the wiser."

"You don't have to tell me twice. I wouldn't want to be facing that thing alone, not when it has an army at its disposal at least."

"Hm." She hummed, only acknowledging his words. "I do have to wonder...if the opposite could occur."

"The opposite? Of what?" Qrow asks, looking at her from the side.

"Nothing to worry about, Qrow. Just a thought for me to think over." The woman answers before stepping forward and pulling ahead of him. "Let's move, we have a lot of ground to cover before heading back to our temporary camping location."

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.(Chapter End)

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And unlike the first part of the chapter, this came out buttery smooth and without issue. Rather weird how writing works like that, huh?

Have a nice day/evening!