"I'm beginning to remember now.."
"Why I hate them so much.."
"It was back then, when Oz told me.."
...
(Long ago)
It was another cold day in Coldrock. A younger version of Kai is seen punching a rock, leaving cracks on it. There's a man sitting on a bench watching him train.
"Kai.." said by the man who was watching young Kai train
Young Kai turns around as he halts his training "Yeah Oz is something wrong?" young Kai tilts his head curiously
Oz shakes his head as he slightly smiles "no, not at all Kai" then his smile disappears "There's something I must tell you"
Young Kai nods as he runs to the bench that Oz is sitting on, Kai gets on the bench as he sits beside Oz
"What is it?" young Kai asked as he leans closer to Oz with a look of curiosity
Oz sighs to himself first before patting young Kai on the head with a smile
"Kai.. do you trust me.."
Kai nods his head as he smiles back at Oz "Of course Oz, you're my friend"
Oz smile's softens as a tear falls down his cheek
"I'm so glad Kai.."
"And I trust you as well" Oz spoke as he gently caresses young Kai's hair
"That's why I must tell you.."
"Everything.."
...
"He told me everything.."
"His past, his children.."
"His wife…"
"He told me the true threat of our world"
"And that she's immortal.."
"He said I should know, it's only fair because of how much I trusted him.."
"He thought I'd resent him, reject him now that the reason I fight could be in vain"
"But I didn't.."
"Because he's my friend.."
"And friends don't abandon each other.."
...
...
Kai continued to stand in front of the group, who were still trying to process what just happened
"I've gotten stronger.. Too strong.."
"S-such power.." whispered a disbelief Elm
"W-what speed.." spoken by Harriet as she continues to shake
Clover clears his throat as he tries to maintain some semblance of composure "D-did you know you can do that.." Clover points towards the crater Kai made as a result of his power
Kai looked at his hand which was steaming a bit "I do now.." Kai said as he crushes the steam in his hand
Marrow's eyes widened as he heard Kai's response "A-are you kidding!? I've never seen anyone do what you just did!"
"The Grimm didn't even fall, it's like they exploded by the sheer force of those attacks" Vine spoke up as he observed the the spots where the Grimm where at
Winter spoke last "With no weapon either, J-just what are you.."
"I'm Kai.."
"You told me your general might know Oz.." Kai bluntly spoke as if what he just did moments ago meant nothing to him
"Take me to him.."
The group finally pulls themselves together, realizing their mission once more
"R-right" Winter nods as she looks over to the Ace Ops who nods in agreement
"L-lets let the general know.. We finally have service now" Clovers said as he pulls out his scroll
(Atlas, Military headquarters)
The general better known as James Ironwood sat at his desk, looking through reports submitted by other soldiers
But in his mind he begins to wonder, what's taking them so long?
He doubted they were in trouble. After all they were the Ace Ops, they were his strongest huntsmen. Heck they even had Winter, his second in command assisting them in the expedition
But still.. It's unlike them to take so long without reporting back so much as a check up
Until he heard his scroll ring, He dug through his papers on the desk to find his scroll. As he picked it up to see the caller, his doubts vanished
He let out a sigh of relief as he answers "Clover, good to hear you're okay"
Clover spoke from the other side of the call "Okay would be an overstatement sir"
James's eyebrows furrowed in concern "What do you mean? Did someone get hurt?"
"More like we found someone. And sir, you have to meet him" Clover spoke with a serious tone
James's started to take this more seriously "I'll send an airship right away, hang on"
"Yes sir" Clover spoke as he hangs up
James's puts down the scroll as he wraps his hand together
"What did they find.."
(Back with the group)
Clover hangs up the scroll as he turns towards the group and Kai
"Okay, general's sending an airship"
Kai head tilts in confusion
"Airship?"
Harriet looked at him in confusion "Y-yeah, I'm guessing they didn't have those back then"
"It's our transportation, imagine a flying boat" Marrow joked a bit which Kai gave no reaction to
"Flying boat.."
"How long.." Kai spoke as he turns to Winter
Winter looks around "Ten minutes, maybe more"
Kai's eyes furrowed upon hearing Winter, Kai looked around and spoke "Where is it.."
"Where's what?" Elm questioned
"The general"
The group shared a glance before Vine spoke "Up there" Vine pointed towards Atlas in the sky
Upon looking up, Kai's eyes widened
"W-what is that.."
"What is that.." Kai spoke as he continued looking at Atlas in very far distance
"It's Atlas," Clover explained "A lot has changed since then I'm sure. But the general's up there, that's why we need to wait for an airship"
Kai looked at his hands as he looks back up at Atlas
"No.. No more.."
The ground begins to shake, surprising the group. However they knew what was causing it
"Hey buddy! What are you doing!?" Harriet shouted through the noise of the rumbling, looking at Kai who's preparing for a jump
Then a large boom erupted from Kai, and then..
he was gone
The group appears shocked as they process what just happened
Then they looked up and saw that Kai
Jumped..
So far, so high, so fast..
At this point they couldn't even see him anymore, they just knew one thing..
They need an airship asap
(Atlas, city walls)
At the base of the walls stood two men. They were armed, presumably on watch. Definitely bored to say the least
'Hey" spoke one soldier
"Yeah.." spoke the other
"Do you ever wonder why we–"
*Crash*
The two soldiers are interrupted by what sounded like a missile, they quickly got their stuff together as they aimed at the newly large crater in front of them
But what came out of the crater, was Kai
Kai stood back up as he braced himself for the crash, He looked at the two soldiers who looked at Kai with mixtures of emotion
"H-hey.. Where the hell did you come from!?" spoke one soldier
"How did you get here!?" the other soldier question
Kai bluntly spoke as he looked around, unfamiliar with his new surroundings
"I jumped.."
The two soldiers looked at each other with confusion and concern
"W-why.." spoke the first soldier
"The general.. Where is he.."
The soldiers looked at each other again
"O-okay.. Listen pal, we don't even know you. we can't ju-"
"One is Griffin, the other is Simon.."
"You're Griffin" Kai pointed towards the soldier on the left "and you're Simon" he pointed towards the second soldier on the right
The soldiers gasp at his sudden knowledge of their names
Griffin spoke with fear "H-how do you know our names.."
Kai ignores the simple question with his own "Where.. Is.. The general.."
Griffin looks at Simon for help. As he does so Kai looks around at the city behind the walls, like he's searching.
"L-look, how about we call him.." Simon proposed
"Y-yeah yeah, we can do that. Just wait ok–"
Kai points to a building inside the walls "He's there.."
The soldiers turn around to see where Kai pointed, only to find that he pointed at the exact place Ironwood would be at. The tallest building in atlas
"Y-yeah, but we have to let yo–"
Griffin gets cut off by Kai who jumped again
Kai jumped with the same amount as power as the first jump, blowing Griffin and Simon onto the floor
The two got back up quickly to see that Kai jumped towards headquarters
"Simon! Call the general now!"
(Atlas, Military Headquarters)
Ironwood continued to sit at his desk as he patiently waited for the Ace Ops and Winter's return. His train of thought was ruined however by a call on his scroll
Ironwood picked it up, expecting it to be Clover. But instead it said "wall outpost"
"General speaking" Ironwood spoke through the line
"G-general!" said loudly by Griffin on the other side of the call
Ironwood spoke again "What's the issue?"
"Someone's heading your way! You need t–"
*Crash*
The crash knocks the phone out of Ironwood's hand as he turns around
He sees the source of the crash
Kai standing there, with a hole in the wall of Ironwood's office
Kai stood back up as he turn towards Ironwood, who's in the process of picking back up his scroll
"T-thank you gentlemen" Ironwood spoke to the scroll as he hangs up
"James Ironwood.."
Kai blinks once "You're the general.."
Ironwood nods as he maintains composure
"You must be.." Ironwood trails off as he waits for Kai's response
"Kai.."
Ironwood nods as he glances at the giant wall Kai just made getting here
Then dozens of soldier barge into the room, all armed
"General are you okay!?" spoke a soldier who had their weapon trained on Kai
"Put your hands in the air and surrender!" commanded another
Kai eyes furrowed as he looks at the soldiers before looking back the Ironwood
"Don't.." whispered Ironwood "stand down.."
"What General.."
"I said stand down!" Ironwood shouted as he looks at the soldiers
The soldiers looked at each other, before hesitantly lowering their weapons
"Yes sir" the soldiers spoke in unison
"L-leave.."
The soldiers nod as the begin to back up out of the door, shutting it again
Ironwood sighed in relief before looking back at kai, who seems unfazed by the situation
"He's scared.. But his semblance.. It's telling him something else.."
"You're scared.." Kai spoke
Ironwood awkwardly chuckled "You did just jump into my office on the highest floor"
"They said you might know Oz.. Where is he" Kai asked, ignoring Ironwood's comment
"Oz.." Ironwood said to himself before realizing something
That's the same nickname I called
"Ozpin.." Ironwood said as he look back up at Kai
Kai eyes widened slightly as Ironwood spoke
"Do you mean, the wizard?" Ironwood questioned Kai's knowledge
Kai's expression returns to a neutral state as he nods his head
It was Ironwood's turn to be surprised, seeing that this man knew who Ozpin is
"How do you know.." Ironwood asked
"He's my friend.." Kai responded as he walked slowly closer to Ironwood
Ironwood began to question in his mind, Is this the man Clover wanted me to meet..
"Where is he.." Kai asked, breaking Ironwood's train of thought
Ironwood looked back at Kai who is standing on the other side of the desk
"J-just.. Give me a minute" Ironwood requested as he dug for his scroll in his pocket
Kai continues to stand there as he observes Ironwood's action
Ironwood hastily pulled out his scroll once again to search for Ozpin's number. He press the contact as soon as he saw it
The scroll rings..
And rings..
Ironwood looks at Kai with an awkward expression
Then the scroll answers
"James, it's unusual for you to make random calls like this" Spoke a woman through the call
Ironwood expression's tenses as the caller was not who he expected to be
"Glynda.. Where's Ozpin.." Ironwood nervously asked
"He's on a stroll around the academy.. Why?" Glynda questioned
"I need to speak to him, now" Ironwood said
"Is something wrong?" Glynda asked
"Where's Oz.." Kai spoke to Ironwood
"Who was that James?" Glynda asked, this time with concern
"Someone who knows Ozpin, and I mean really knows him" Ironwood explained as he looks back at Kai
"Where is that.."
Ironwood blinked as he was interrupted by Kai
"E-excuse me.."
"Where was that.." Kai pointed at the scroll
Ironwood looks down at the scroll as Kai points to it, He takes a moment to consider Kai's question
"Vale.. in the Sanus continent.." Ironwood answered
Kai looked around the office, before pointing to the right
"Sanus.. That's.."
"East.." Kai said as he continued pointing east
Ironwood turns his head to the east as where Kai pointed
"Y-yes that's right.. But you would need an airsh–"
Ironwood trails off as Kai walks toward the wall on the east side of the office. Kai places a hand on the wall before shattering it with a simple punch. A shockwave echoes throughout the room, causing Ironwood to flinch in surprise
"James!? What happened!?" yelled Glynda from the other side of the call
"K-Kai! Wait!"
Ironwood stares in shock as he sees Kai leap out, causing the ground to crack in the process. As Kai leaves, Ironwood walks to look out through the newly made hole in the wall as he loses Kai in the clouds
"James.."
Ironwood raised the scroll up to his mouth as he spoke "Get Ozpin.. Now.." before hanging up
Then all of a sudden, The Ace Ops and Winter barge into the room. Finally having made it back to Atlas
"General!" Winter called out as they observe the room
They notice two large holes in the walls, one each on opposite sides of the office. It doesn't take long to assume the culprit
"It was–"
"Yes.." Ironwood nods as he turns towards the group
"And I want you to tell me everything that happened in that cave.."
(Vale, Beacon Academy, 30 minutes later)
Seen moving hastily throughout the school, Glynda searches for where the headmaster could be..
He wasn't in the tower, he wasn't in the training field, where could he be?
Glynda continues to search with haste, even asking students who passed by her if they've seen the headmaster. They all gave the same answer
No…
Glynda walks outside as she catches her breath, she stares for a moment at the sky.
Before..
"Miss Goodwitch.." spoke a man approaching her from behind
"O-Ozpi–.. I-I mean headmaster.." Glynda clears her throat as she quickly approaches him
"You seem awfully out of breath" Ozpin raises an eyebrow "Is something wrong?"
"Where were you.." Glynda questioned
"I was giving Miss Rose some words of encouragement.. Why.."
"James called.. He needed to speak to you"
"Is that right? What about?"
"He said someone wants to see you.."
"Someone?"
"Y-yes, and James said the man knew you.."
"Did you catch his name?"
Glynda expressions turns to one of slight embarrassment
"N-no I'm not sure. B-but I heard James shout.."
"K-Kai.." Glynda finishes speaking, waiting for Ozpin's expression
Ozpin's smile fades from his face as he hears that name. A name he never forgot..
Then the ground begins to shake, Glynda appears surprised..
But Ozpin remains silent
"An earthquake?" Glynda as the shaking can be felt all around the academy
"No.." Ozpin quietly spoke as he stared forward
"It's.."
*Crash*
A large crater can be seen in front of Ozpin and Glynda, and what stepped out
Was..
"Kai…"