Chapter 4. Farewells and Fairytales

Even with the CCTS restored, neither the governments of Vacuo and Mistral nor the headmasters of Haven and Shade were eager to resume the Vytal tournament. Ozpin and Ironwood had ended the teleconference with heavy hearts, knowing much remained to be done in the interests of repairing trust and cooperation. However, the impending return of Teams ABRN, BRNZ, and especially SSSN provided an opportunity of its own, one that Qrow and Team JNPR could capitalize on.

"Are you sure about this, Oz? Using kids as ambassadors could really bite us if it doesn't work out." Qrow, pessimistic as ever, took another sip from his flask as he leaned against the wall, looking at the headmaster with a dark skepticism.

Ozpin regarded him as coolly as ever, taking a sip from one of Taiyang's undecorated coffee mugs.

"The people of Mistral and Vacuo deserve an explanation, and who better to deliver that explanation than the huntsmen and huntresses in training who were here at the time? Granted, Team SSSN may be considered unreliable given their connection with Team RWBY, but people are nervous right now. The truth will reassure them, and as long as we remain ahead of our enemies, no one should have reason to doubt it. Besides, there are larger issues to focus on right now."

"And Ironwood? What are you gonna do about his secret little programs?" Ozpin sighed.

"I wasn't completely happy with his explanation for keeping Miss Polendina secret from us, either. But I have his word that there will be a moratorium on that kind of experimentation for the time being, and Penny herself is a valuable ally, and a good friend to Miss Rose."

Qrow sighed. Ruby had certainly been distraught at the android girl's destruction, and as much as he didn't trust Ironwood, and trusted his robots and the rest of Atlas even less, Qrow had to admit that Penny Polendina herself was an entirely different question. He nodded.

"Fine. I'll watch the teams from Mistral and see if there's anything else to find over there. Do we have an eye in Vacuo at all, or are we just hoping evil doesn't like the desert?"

An eyebrow raised itself on Ozpin's face. Oops. He'd have to back off the sarcasm when he wasn't so intoxicated. For the moment, he listened to Ozpin's response and dismissal, then went on his way to prepare for another cross-continental espionage mission.

That evening, three teams gathered in the suddenly-cramped kitchen of the Rose-Xiao Long house on Patch. Sun and Blake stayed by one another's side the whole night, in part—though only in part—so that Sun could support Blake after her injury. Ruby, Qrow, Taiyang, and Weiss took turns keeping company with Yang, who was still recovering from her disastrous fight with Adam. Jaune and Pyrrha were stuck fast to one another, while Weiss occasionally glanced over at Sage, who was busy with Scarlet, Ren, and Nora; the pirate and the grenadier were laughing their heads off, while Sage and Ren appeared, somehow, to be deep in conversation.

They talked, laughed, ate, and made plans and promises to reunite in the future. Ruby gave a toast to their friendships and futures with a glass of cookie-inflected milk, then emptied her glass before anyone else could raise theirs. Jaune and Pyrrha kissed again, to cheers and later complaints from Yang that she hadn't been there. Taiyang and the Mendicant argued over whether Yang's prosthetic should be made with Atlesian or Gallifreyan technology.

Eventually, word of the Mendicant's identity and age made their way around the room, coupled with the rumor that he had, in fact, been to Remnant before, and a gradual silence came over the kitchen as everyone looked to the Time Lord expectantly. He sighed, took a sip from Qrow's flask—the Huntsman snatched it back, not having noticed its theft before—and gathered himself, resting a new staff on his knees. At last, he began.

"As I think you've all heard by now, I am not human, nor am I from this world at all. I am a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, which orbits a star in the constellation of Kasterborous, many universes apart from this one. Ages ago, my people waged a war, the Time War, against a race of beings called the Daleks, creatures filled with a hate fiercer and more purposeful than that of the Grimm. They sought to eradicate all life in the universe, in every universe. My people fought them, but it was a difficult struggle. Much was lost, only to be regained and lost again, and eventually we were near defeat, and it was in what seemed like one of the last of these battles that my story and the story of the Time Lords diverges.

"In the darkest hours—or days, aeons, it doesn't matter—in the darkest times of the Time War, the creator of the Daleks, a man called Davros, unleashed plagues even more terrible than his fondest creations. Among those were the Skaro Degradations, creatures of shadow and fear, of chaos and evil. To you, they are known as the creatures of Grimm."

"But how did they get here?" The question came from Ruby, and was greeted with a sad smile.

"The same way I did. It was at the Siege of Kalepsis Five. I was locked in a battle with the Skaro Degradations when an arm of the shadow slipped aboard my Tardis. Something went wrong, a wrench came up in her gears, and we tore a hole in the fabric of time and all fell through together. The hole sealed the moment we were through, and now I wander the multiverse, trying to find a crack in the walls through which I can slip to get back home. I've been keeping an eye on the Degradations, too; I tracked them here some time ago, but until my Tardis and Professor Ozpin brought me to the aid of Miss Nikos, even this universe had slipped away from me."

"So what now?" This time, the question came from Sun, who wore an unusually somber expression. Qrow spoke up.

"I'll follow your team back to Mistral, and we'll make sure everything there is under control. Might not hurt to have Team JNPR visit around Winterfest, either, but that's something for Ozpin to consider. Meanwhile, the Mendicant will be my counterpart in Vacuo, and you all will rest, recover, and keep training. You can all tell how unprepared we were this time, and if we want to win we'll have to be able to bring these battles to their turf on our terms. And everyone else will work to rebuild."

The rest of the evening was a more somber affair, as everyone's thoughts turned to the coming struggle, and no one seemed willing to make an attempt at resurrecting the earlier good humor. Nora and Ruby were silent, and even Sun refrained from cracking wise. At last, Sun saw Blake up to rest, JNPR and SSSN spread themselves out on the larger, softer pieces of furniture in the house, and the rest of the permanent and temporary inhabitants had retired, save one. The Mendicant picked up his staff and quietly slipped out the door. It was time to start thinking about how to truly end the Degradations.

The next morning, after SSSN and Qrow had departed, Ozpin stood alone atop the cliff by the Beacon docks, facing out toward the ruins of Vale. On far left platform, a long-range transport sat idling. As he watched the late sunrise, he recalled his long-ago admonishment of a young Qrow Branwen: "They don't give out medals for second place." Of course, Team STRQ had been awarded silver in that year's Vytal Tournament.

Someone had come up behind him as he was thinking, and now they spoke. "Time I headed out, Oz. Keep me up to speed, and don't hesitate to call if something comes up. Mistral's where all the action is, anyhow."

It was the Mendicant. Ozpin sighed in self-recrimination. "I should thank you," he began. "If you hadn't interfered, this could all have gone much worse, and I'm afraid a great deal of that is my own fault."

The Mendicant chucked. "Everything could always go worse, Oz, and everything could always go better. You aren't the only one who's made mistakes over the years." He laughed again, mirthlessly. "For that matter, where's that sister of Qrow's? Anyways, be careful with the Tardis. As soon as you're ready to reinstall the CCT—or if anything happens at all—call me. The old girl can take care of herself, but only to a point, and I'll be damned if I let those creatures get ahold of her."

He stopped abruptly, closing off the mental floodgates that last thought had threatened to open. "One last thing: Ruby Rose. She'll need a mentor; I doubt we'll be able to do this without her abilities, and we don't have long now." Holding his staff, he stood beside Ozpin and looked out across the ruined city.

"I've left behind situations far more dire than this, Oz. There's a time and a place for that. But we have a chance to end this here and now, and I'd do a lot more than just take the slow path for a little while if that's what I get in return."

The waiting transport was the Time Lord's ride to Vacuo, and the Mendicant raised a hand as he stepped aboard. "We'll share a glass of that Corellian brandy I gave you when I get back, eh? For old times' sake."

Ozpin nodded in reply. "For old times' sake, my friend."

The transport's hatch closed, and the vessel lifted off into the sky. Ozpin looked back out across the city and sighed once more.

"For old times' sake, and so much more."