At the point in this volume where I'm just considering ending V4 either this chapter or the next since basically everything in V4 has already happened or is about to happen. Thinking about it, in the end, it really doesn't make a huge difference, but I feel like I am at least at the point where I can end the volume and say that it was a good spot for it. We'll see what happens.

Transition

The Blind Huntsman

Chapter 111

Volume 4, Episode 11

Complications

Qrow turned the bottom of a bottle of pineapple juice up to the ceiling and drank the entire thing in one go. It was a sweet flavor, not something he was used to. He had to fight the temptation to order any of the liquor from the top shelves of the bar he was in. He still didn't want to go back to relying on drink like he used to all the time, he had a promise to keep still, and if there was anything he believed in more it was keeping those promises. It wasn't so bad, being sober all the time became his new norm. Took some practice, but he was proud of himself for how far he'd come. Marron would be proud of him too, he imagined. He felt the familiar pang of guilt and sadness hit him when he thought of her. Watching her and her daughter die was difficult, traumatizing, and it wrecked his emotions to the point where he almost fell back on old bad habits. Thankfully, his niece and his best friend were there to stop him from relapsing fully. He was grateful to them for that.

Something he also noticed was that he'd become much more chaste. The waitress offering him the top shelf winked at him and even left her scroll number on the receipt when she handed it to him, but he didn't pay her any mind. The old him would have jumped at the chance at getting some, but he was... more mature now? It felt wrong thinking that, but in the end he just wasn't interested. He was there for bigger reasons than being around women. There was a deal he needed to hash out and he was waiting for that person to come and make it with him. He knew that she could feel him calling for her through her semblance, that was how his sister's semblance worked. Whenever a person she has bonded with thought of her, she knew, and depending on what those thoughts are or how much danger you were in, she might just show up to help you or ask you just what the hell you were saying about her. Qrow laughed at a certain memory, remembering himself doing just that and then later getting jumped by his own sister right after he'd finished a difficult workout. It hurt then, but he laughed about it now.

Surely enough, about twenty more minutes into enjoying several fruity drinks and basking in their various flavors. His sister had finally answered his call for her. A portal ripped itself through reality a few feet away from him, and Raven stepped through. Her red eyes rimmed with a bloodshot white and her sword for once missing from her side. Honestly, she looked like a wreck, nothing like what he expected her to look like after so long.

"You look like shit." Qrow commented as he watched his older sister of a few minutes spit off to the side and fall into the chair across from him. "Something happened?"

"As if- Hup! - Y-You'd care, Qrow." Raven stammered, propping her head up on one elbow and letting the other limply hang off the ledge of the table.

Qrow leaned back, surprised. He'd never seen his sister like this before. "Are you drunk?"

"What do you want, Qrow?" Raven asked, bloodshot red eyes glaring at him. "You've been calling for me for two hours. Here I thought you never wanted to see me again. What was it you said? You-"

"I know what I said, Ray," Qrow sighed. "I know what I said. Things changed though, and I've been doing a lot of thinking. You're my sister Ray, it doesn't matter how shitty you can be sometimes, but we're always going to come back to one another."

"Hmph… still so soft," Raven said, rubbing her other hand down her face. "If you're going to ask about the kid, I don't know where he is."

"Kai?" Qrow raised an eyebrow. "Honestly Ray, I don't even know if he's still alive. Figured he would have come back already if he was-"

"He is," Raven confirmed, burping suddenly as Qrow watched her. "Can feel him… He's more than alive, he's doing his own thing though."

Qrow always held hope that Kai was alive, but after Beacon's fall and the ruin of Vale, it was hard to keep that hope up for good. There was so much going on. So many Grimm, terrorists, bombs, and even Salem herself coming to wreck the city. Yang, Orchid, and the kids all believed that he was still out there somewhere, but after finding the bodies of Rick and Brick Violet, who were last seen with Kai, it was… difficult to accept. Hearing the confirmation from Raven however, sparked that hope to flare once again.

"Can't you portal him to us?" Qrow asked, leaning forward suddenly. "Why haven't you done so already!? He's been out there by himself for who knows how long. Salem-" he stopped himself from speaking too loudly of her name. "Salem and her people will be looking for him if he's still alive, you know that."

"I would have already if I could." Raven said, not even looking at Qrow as she spoke. "I can't use my semblance with him anymore. I don't know why. Probably because something about him changed. Can't really blame him either, the kid's been through shit, hell, and piss and then went back in for three more rounds."

"You can't-" Qrow rubbed his temples, refraining from raising his voice. "Do you at least know where he is."

"In Mistral."

That was something, at least. "Where in Mistral?"

"Somewhere. Come on Qrow, you know my semblance isn't perfectly accurate like that." Raven complained. "Did you just call me here to bitch about Kai or is there something actually important you need from me? I'm sorta in a shitty spot right now, so I'd rather go back to the tribe and get some of those things fixed than sit here."

Qrow sighed. He was disappointed but at least he knew that he was still out there somewhere. And by the sound of it, he was close too. Maybe he was trying to find them in turn. It wasn't an impossible thought. It would give others hope too.

"I talked to Lionheart earlier about Ozpin," Qrow started again. "We know he died at Beacon and I've been visiting the place we agreed to meet at for his next life every Thursday at the same time every week. Nothing yet, so we're starting to get a little worried."

"Good. I could care less what happens to Ozpin." Raven snarled. "Let him rot away somewhere in some other person's body. We'd all be better off without him."

Qrow chose to ignore his sister's usual ramble anytime Ozpin was mentioned. "Look, right now, Mistral is building its own army, Atlas is supporting them and gearing up for a potential invasion on their front as well, and the new spring maiden is accounted for-"

"So, Vernal really is dead then." Raven said, hysterically chuckling for a few seconds. "Stupid girl… thought she'd be smarter than that."

Qrow didn't know if Raven's laugh meant that she was amused by Vernal's death or if that was her way of showing grief. Either way, he let her have a moment of silence and allowed her to reach over and grab his drink, downing the rest of what he didn't finish.

"Bleh, why the hell are you drinking this kiddy shit?" Raven spat as she heaved on her own breath.

"Because I'm not drinking anymore." It would be rich of him to tell his sister not to drink, so he didn't say that. "Anyway, we are afraid that something is going to happen at Haven. Something has to happen. Cinder's on a power high, she's going to try and attack and kill Orchid and steal the relic. We can't let that happen, but I don't know if we can handle it on our own. Another kingdom cannot fall."

He didn't notice it until now, but at the very mention of Cinder Raven tensed up and grabbed either side of the table, squeezing it until her fingernails started digging into the wood. Qrow watched her curiously, wondering why she was reacting in such a way.

"No." Raven said, angry out of nowhere. "No, I told you time and time again, I am never coming back. I can't. Not after everything."

"Why not Raven?" Qrow asked, leaning in again. "Your daughter is fighting where you're hiding back in the tribe. Kai is fighting out there where you're hiding. I'm fighting, children are fighting a war that most adults would break down just hearing about. Pretty soon, I'm sure the rest of the world is going to start fighting too. Salem isn't going to be able to remain a secret for much longer, not after she appeared in Vale herself during the invasion. There's no point in hiding anymore."

"You don't understand, Qrow." Raven said, teeth bared and eyes wide with hysteresis. "I can't. Come back."

"Tell me why." Qrow said. "I know this can't just be because of Ozpin or Tai. Not anymore. Yang told me about what you said, told me that you met with her before Beacon fell."

"Tch, of course she did." Raven sighed. "I don't know what I expected of her…"

"So what happened?" Qrow asked. "What deal did you make? What promise do you regret that makes you unable to come back? I want you to come back, Raven, I… ugh, I want to have a sister again."

"Don't say that." Raven said. "Don't lie through your teeth like that, and right to my face no less."

"Unlike you, Raven." Qrow stood his ground. "I care about my family."

"You know nothing!" Raven screamed, standing up so abruptly that she threw the chair she was sitting in several feet back. Qrow was leaning all the way back in his chair now, Raven reaching for the hilt of a sword that wasn't there. When she realized that, she cursed and clenched her fists, cracking the table as she slammed her fists back down into it. Every other person in the bar was looking at them now, and knew better than to interrupt them. "You think you know but you don't! Things changed, Qrow. You were right about that. Things have changed and now I have to watch over my own ass and the asses of the tribe! And you say you want my help? Fuck off. That's my answer to you."

Swearing under her breath, Raven spun on her heel and reached out a hand, creating yet another portal back to the tribe.

"Raven wait-" It was too late. Qrow reached out and grabbed nothing but air as Raven stepped through the portal and closed it behind her.

"What the hell is going on with you, Ray?" Qrow asked himself as he took that hand back and planted it on his forehead. "Geez… when did this go all wrong with you? Agh, now I have bad news to bring back to the kid and Lionheart, great."

Defeated, Qrow apologized to the bartenders and the waitresses and left some money behind to pay for the broken table that his sister had left behind. It was the least he could do for the sorry folk that let him sit in there for several hours. The second he was out of view from any prying eyes, he turned back into a bird and flew off. Making his way back to Haven with some new topics to think about.

Oscar let out a long yawn as he walked his tired legs over to an Atlesian ATM design gifted to Mistral about a decade ago. It still worked now and according to Ozpin, he'd be able to access his old Beacon personal treasury that he had made and deposited much of his unneeded money into it. It was for situations like these where Ozpin wanted to rid himself of the issue of starting from nothing again after dying. It basically allowed him to skip most of the usual struggles of life, and Oscar was shocked when he told him the amount of money that was left in it.

Sixty million!? Oscar's mind screamed as his mouth physically dropped. He had to heavily restrain himself from shouting it out loud. How in the world were you able to save that much all on your own!?

"The job of a headmaster pays much," Ozpin admitted. "Although you must keep in mind that while I was never an exceedingly wealthy person in any of my reincarnations, I have been able to reincarnate a total of eight times during the generations of succeeding the invention of electronic banking. With all the time of eight lifetimes, I was able to accumulate a rather exceptional sum of wealth."

Exceptional? More like overwhelming. Oscar remarked.

"You can fret all you want about your newfound wealth after we withdraw some of it. Now go, I'll explain to you all of my details when you get-" Oscar raised an eyebrow when Ozpin cut himself off suddenly. He also felt the sudden need to look around, feeling the immediate concern and worries of the former headmaster inside his head. He knew exactly what he should look out for when he saw a hulking brute of a man wearing a green jacket over a tight black shirt that showed off his oversized muscles. Fear ran through his mind as he recognized the man, despite never meeting him until now. What made things worse was that the man was walking toward him. His only saving grace was that he appeared to be busy, talking on the scroll to someone.

"Don't get his attention," Ozpin warned, making him turn his head away. "That man is Hazel Rainart, he is one of Salem's henchmen. As I am now in your body I wouldn't stand a chance to defeat him."

What do I do!?

"Nothing, remain casual, as if he isn't there at all." Ozpin said, his voice being the only reason Oscar wasn't panicking beyond panic right now.

Can't you take control?

"No, Hazel is obsessed with vengeance over the death of his sister. She died on a training mission, and he blames me for it." Ozpin explained. "We used to work closely together, he knows who I am and he can see through my facade. He's done it before."

Well, that's fantastic… Oscar forced himself to look away from the hulking man and walked right past him. Lend a stealthy ear to hear what the man was saying into the scroll. Normally he wouldn't have been able to from a reasonable distance but Ozpin's presence gave him better senses. He worked the ATM with practiced finesse, listening in as he did so.

"Yes Tyrian, you can tell her that I made it to Mistral," Hazel said into the scroll, sounding somewhat frustrated and annoyed with this Tyrian he was speaking with. "No, I have not been successful in locating our little escapee. The land is too vast, and all I have to go off of is a report of the sudden disappearance of some farm boy from the middle of nowhere."

Oscar's heart skipped a beat, his fingers began to shake, the fear taking hold.

"Yes, I visited the aunt of the boy," Oscar wanted to gasp but he was too scared too. What could they have done to his auntie!? If what Ozpin said about Hazel was true, that meant that he was a bad guy who would do evil things to hurt him, and by extension, him as well. "No, I didn't do anything to her. I'm not deranged like you are," sighing heavily in sync with Rainart, he felt extremely relieved. Oscar waited for a good long while, which felt like hours as Hazel remained silent, looking into his scroll at a man with yellow eyes and thick brown hair. He couldn't hear what that man was saying, but he recognized the name Tyrian from Ozpin's memories and knew that he wasn't good news either.

"You found the Matsuoka boy…?" He was barely able to overhear what he was saying. "The fact that you are speaking to me now without so much of a scratch on you speaks volumes. I must say, I didn't expect you of all people to be able to hash something out with Malikai's boy."

This time, he felt Ozpin's metaphorical heart skip a beat. What did that mean? He knew that the Kai guy was supposed to be a good guy and someone they can trust and rely on, but this was contradicting that entire concept now. Tentatively, Oscar left a finger on the screen and listened deeply, becoming deeply interested in what else they could say.

"Something the matter, boy?" Hazel said, looking at him directly.

"I- Um…" Oscar felt sweat drip down his brow. "No, I… I'm okay, just thinking to myself, really."

"Think while looking in a different direction," Hazel said after a humm. "Don't worry about that, it's nothing concerning you. Make sure you extend that news to Fall, we don't want her ideologies getting in the way of our boss's plan." With that, Hazel hung up, and spared Oscar one last look. Oscar looked away and hoped to God that he wasn't suspicious of him. Thankfully, the withdrawal was complete and he was able to get a thick wad of cash out of the ATM, stuffing it in his pocket instantly once he could. Then calmly, he turned away from the ATM and from Hazel, and walked toward the open door of the train. The entire time, Oscar could imagine the heavy stomps of a mountain chasing after him, the thought scared him, and the minute he was able to disappear behind the corner of the train's entrance he darted to the nearest empty seat and hid himself beneath the window.

Hazel watched him go and let out another hum. Then turned away and went off in a different direction. "Strange boy." He muttered out absentmindedly.

"Oh God," Oscar said, feeling his heart beating a thousand times a minute. "That was close. Way too close."

"What did he mean by that…?" Ozpin asked out loud, not even considering asking him if he was alright. "Kai… you couldn't have, could you? No, I can't believe it…"

"Do you think he betrayed us?" Oscar asked quietly.

"It is very unlikely. That boy's resentment toward Cinder Fall is insurmountable. He blames her for the downfall of his life and rightly so." Ozpin then sighed within his mind. "However… it wouldn't be the first time a member of the Matsuoka dynasty betrayed me."

"Have some faith," Oscar said as he felt the train begin to move. "I don't think a guy like him can be swayed so easily. Not with what I've seen from your memories. He sounds like a determined guy. Someone with a lot of hate, anger, and spite within him, but… he cares about his friends." He remarked whimsically. "He would never hurt them… at least, that's what I get from you."

"No, you are right," Ozpin replied. "Thank you for reassuring me. You truly are like-minded to myself, I can see why you were chosen for my soul to incarnate into."

"I'm guessing that's a compliment," Oscar said. "So thanks… Also, now what? We got to the train, and we're on our way to the city. What do we do when we get there?"

"We are going to meet with a man named Qrow, speak with Headmaster Lionheart, and our next order of events would be to secure the relic of knowledge and then search for our greatest ally."

"You really are relying on that guy a whole lot…" Oscar remarked.

"I am. We need him now more than ever. Or more frankly, we need the power of his eyes. He is the strongest silver eyed warrior to exist for a long time, and he still has room to grow." Ozpin explained. "He has only begun to tap into his full potential."

If you rely on him so much, Oscar said, returning to using his mind to communicate after getting some strange looks from bystanders. Then why are you keeping so many secrets from him?

"Ah… I see you have been able to access further memories." Ozpin said.

I have. Oscar confirmed. He hates being lied to. If we need him so badly, we should tell him the truth. He narrowed his eyes, a sudden wave of anger and disappointment washing over him as he thought of another memory he was able to access.

No matter how hard he might take those truths.

"In time, Oscar." Ozpin promised. "What I do I always do for a reason. I applaud you for maturing so quickly to acclimate to your new role, but there is still much more for you to learn. You will understand why I do what I do in time. For now, those secrets will remain secrets."

If you really think that's the best course of action… Oscar sighed.

"I do. Telling him that he's related to me and Salem would be difficult enough, but how he was born blind despite being a silver eyed warrior is a complete other debacle he should never discover or have to experience." Ozpin explained. "Trust me Oscar, I know what I am doing."

"I really hope so." Oscar said, leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes, feeling the weight of fatigue over the past couple of months making his body feel heavy and lethargic. Sleep overcame him quickly, and when he woke up, he hoped he'd finally be in Mistral.

Raven sat at the end of her tent drinking a tribal ale. Weiss watched on with Malienna resting on her bed on the other side of the tent after another training session with her and the other bandits. Weiss knew why Raven was so out of it, Cinder coming by out of nowhere and demanding her allegiance or else she and her whole tribe would be killed by Grimm was something that would at least stress out most. Weiss understood, and she still felt disappointed in the way that she acted. Raven was a huntress, even if she wasn't exactly legally active at the moment, she was trained to be a huntress. In her mind, she should be acting like one. She said as such, getting the tribal leader's glare as her first response as she set aside her ale for once.

"I don't need to hear that from you too, girl. I know exactly what I'm doing," Raven said, shaking her head when she saw that her canteen was empty. "Get me another one of those, will you?"

"No, I think you've had enough," Weiss said, crossing her arms defiantly. "Are you just going to sit there and give up without so much of a fight?"

"By all means girl, tell me what I can do."

"Use your semblance, move all the tribe members into Mistral through your brother, and fight with them when the time comes," Weiss explained. "You're stuck in this fight whether you like it or not now, so you should at least fight with the right side."

"Right, and then after we're done fighting - and that's assuming that we'd win against whatever the hell she's going to throw at you fucks this time around. My entire tribe gets arrested." Raven snapped back. "Especially with Mistral and Atlas gunning for us. Whatever good deeds we'd do would be thrown out the window if just one innocent civilian says that we hurt them or someone they knew in the past."

"That's your own fault," Weiss said, her tongue sharp and honest. "You all chose the lives of bandits. An outdated, outlawed way of life. But at the very least, spending a few years in a cell is better than being killed by Cinder."

"Girl, let me tell you something," Raven said, leaning forward and beckoning Weiss to come closer. "We didn't choose this life, we were born into it. You don't know our history, Mistral was heavily reliant on tribal ways back when all these buildings and infrastructure never developed. You think back then what we did wouldn't be considered just everyday life? The world developed too quickly, after just a few centuries cities started to rise, and soon after the kingdoms and soon after that the Academies. Less than a thousand years, humanity went from the tribal era to where we are today."

"It sounds like you had plenty of time to grow out of those ways then," Weiss replied. "And I know the history of the world, Raven. You don't need to lecture me."

"Well I'm not done yet, so listen." Raven snapped. "We tried. The Branwen tribe tried to get out of this life. But the grand principality of Mistral refused to take us in. They called us savages, outlaws, and our culture was outdated. We used to be a lot larger, we used to have many other tribes under us, but we were all nearly wiped out. Now, this is all we have left." She gestured around her and to the camp outside. "Just one measly camp. Only reason we haven't been totally wiped out yet is because we keep ourselves hidden and we rely only on ourselves. They aren't good people." She admitted. "But they are my family, and I need to return the favor they've been giving me and make sure they don't get wiped out just because I feel like I need to do the right thing."

"I… I can understand that." Weiss admitted, sighing. "But I will not help you hurt people. Malienna would not help you kill people."

"By all means, I'll hand you two right over to Qrow and Ozpin before that happens," Raven said, shrugging.

"That means that we might have to fight." Weiss pointed out.

Raven chuckled. "Then I hope you've been getting stronger, girl."

"Is that really what you want?" Weiss asked. "Does it bring you satisfaction to hurt those you've bonded with?"

"Who says that we've bonded?"

"Your semblance. When you opened a portal to me earlier." Weiss remarked. "Malienna explained to me how your semblance works. You need a bond with the person you're trying to portal to. You can't deny that."

"Considering I can't open a portal to that brat's brother anymore," Raven said. "Bonds can be broken."

"Would that please you?" Weiss asked. "You'd break every bond you've ever made if you help Cinder. Oh wait, you've done that before, haven't you?"

Raven narrowed her eyes at the heiress. "Careful girl, be very careful what you say next."

Weiss leaned forward, arms crossed and eyes defiant. If there was one thing she picked up on during her time there, it was not to fear those stronger than her.

"You've broken bonds by running away from everyone who loved you. So of course you'd do it again, but this time just for the sake of survival as you put it. All you care about is strength, but there's more to strength than just being the strongest. But hey, you're not even that." Laughing, Weiss flicked her hair over one shoulder. "Definitely not by the way you've been sitting there pissing yourself and getting drunk ever since Cinder showed up and spanked you with her words. It must be depressing, realizing that you're too weak to even be considered a threat."

Raven tore her sword out of her scabbard and Weiss lunged back, whipping out Myrtenaster and preparing to defend herself. Raven kicked aside the table across from her and stomped toward Weiss.

They would have begun to fight if one of the bandits from outside didn't run into the tent just as Raven was getting ready to throw the first slash. The instant he walked in, he saw what was happening, and then proceeded not to care.

"Raven!" The young man shouted, blonde hair fraying and blue eyes wide. "Jay has just come back, and he has someone with him!"

Raven kept glaring at Weiss, not even looking away to address her subordinate. "Then deal with it, Drake. You don't need me for every little thing."

"It's not just that!" The bandit named Drake exclaimed. "It's that blind kid! The one that you used to train!"

"What!?" Raven, Weiss, and a now awake and energized Malienna all shouted at the same time. The fight that was just about to go down between Weiss and Raven was forgotten as all three of them pushed past Drake and outside and ran toward the gate. It was slowly being opened, and two men and a girl were seen standing behind said gate. Raven felt her heartbeat much harder and faster, sobering her up as she recognized Matsuoka just by seeing his bare feet first. A small smile started to grow and she felt her eyes become glassy. She didn't realize it before, but she missed the kid. She missed him a lot. She was worried about him, she would admit that much. She would happily admit that to her former student and forget what was just about to happen. Weiss was ecstatic to see him as well as the gate opened all the way, revealing him at last. He looked so much older now, he was taller, more broad with muscle, his skin and face were dirty but he still wore that blindfold of his to cover his blind eyes. When he heard Weiss and his sister screaming his name and them running toward him, he broke into a smile and let go of Jay. It didn't even process through her mind that he had a prisoner, but that didn't matter. Raven watched as Weiss and Malienna jumped into the arms of Kai, hugging him tightly and him hugging them back. Holding Malienna for an extra amount of time as he checked for anything wrong with her. It was a touching reunion, and when they were done Weiss went back for yet another hug. It had been so long since she's seen any of her friends, and she was afraid that Kai didn't make it through the battle of Vale.

It became hard enough to watch and Raven felt the uncomfortable desire to hug the kid as well. She walked toward him, hands on her hips and a more controlled smirk on her face as she moved. "Well, well, well," she drawled sarcastically, watching the boy's head swivel her way. "You've grown a lot, Little Kai, I guess I can't call you little anymore though-"

Raven stopped in her tracks when Silver Ebony was torn out of its scabbard. Kai Matsuoka, her former student, stood in front of Weiss and his sister protectively. The girl that was with him revealed herself to be Neo, and she held her small sword out as well, willing to fight alongside him. It was so unexpected, Raven even went as far as to hold up her hands in surrender rather than take her own sword out.

"Raven," Kai said her name so venomously.

"Kai," Raven called back. "W-What are you doing?"

"You had my sister," Kai's voice was accusing, and unforgiving. "You had my sister this whole time. Why did you never portal to me? Why did you never even try to help me!? Do you have any idea what I had to do to get myself all the way here!?"

Something dawned upon her, all she could hear was the ringing in her ears as she took in what Kai said. He didn't know. He didn't know that she couldn't help him, and she wanted to the entire time! But therein also came the confirmation of her earlier theory…

Kai Matsuoka had changed into a person her semblance no longer recognized. And now he was there in front of her, threatening her and the tribe. Somehow, it felt familiar… and she felt sad knowing that from his perspective, she was the bad guy.

She thought she'd be used to this by now but… this was new.

And there we go. In the end, I did decide to end Volume 4 here. It seems like a good spot. Kai has finally reunited with his sister, Oscar and Ozpin made it to that train station, Mistral and Atlas, Qrow and the others are all preparing for war against Cinder, Ruby, Blake, and Tai are gearing up for a fight as well. I don't see a reason to keep this volume going with all of that about to come underway. So with that, V4 comes to a close. Probably the shortest ending to a volume there'd probably ever be for this story, but I am proud of it.

I aim to make V5 much more dramatic and action-packed. So get ready for that! I will try and get it finished before I ship out to basic training, but I make no promises. I only have two months and a handful of weeks. I don't get as much time to write anymore, but when I do I always try to make it impactful. See you guys later.

Boy… I can feel the clock ticking? How much stuff do we have to have ready before you go off to basic training? A lot of it isn't even writing related. Heh. -CrowSkull.