"Hey, you feel like talking anytime soon or what? It's silent enough down here already, and you've never been the kind of guy to keep his mouth shut for more than five minutes." Qrow's fingers twitched around the hilt of his weapon as Tai slowed his climb to a humble pace.

The two hunters had made it a quarter way down the ruined pit with nothing but the dusty wind and the sounds of the occasional loose rock to keep them alert. Qrow glanced at the wristband provided by Captain Harman that glowed a pale blue and blinked green whenever it registered a loud enough noise.

"Those Atlas guys really are nosy." Qrow assumed the metal wristband doubled as a voice recorder, or a monitor of some sort that was more than happy to invade its holder's privacy, but the trade for a potential save in the last minute before death seemed like a worthy trade off.

"Hey, Qrow?" Tai's voice hummed over the crusty air. "What do you think of our team right now?"

Qrow felt a weight drop on his shoulders. He'd been too busy colluding with Ozpin and the other Valesian council members to give his personal life much thought, and the idea that his close friends were on the verge of a mental breakdown stabbed at his heart. Qrow winced as a sharp pain nicked his finger from the rock his left hand had clasped around. If he'd been a tad more aware, he would've reached for the overhang next to his knee and sought a safer route down the smoother stones.

"Wake up, Qrow. Of all things to die from, a pathetic fall is one of the worst ways to go." Qrow growled under a harsh breath. "I mean, for Oum's sake, I can transform into a damn bird whenever I want! At least, I've been able to for most of the time that I need to..."

"By the way..." Tai went on and hopped onto an edge of rock about two feet wide. "How have you and Port been getting along? I know you guys talk every now and then, but I was surprised to hear from Oobleck that you both have been visiting Beacon almost every day. Well, up until now, that is."

"How the heck do you know about that?" Qrow was at a loss for words. He assumed he was pretty good at keeping secrets, but apparently he was an open book for an amiable man like Tai.

"Thumbelina tends to gossip." Tai replied with utmost confidence. "And she saw you and Port when she went to ask Ozpin for a job as a teacher. Apparently, Thumbelina wants to trade her sniper rifle for a flask of dust and an explosive laboratory. Granted, she's always been a dust fanatic so I can't blame her curiosities. That, and Oobleck's also wanted to dive deeper into the ancient mysteries of the world, so he'll be joining an expedition led by Atlas' Headmaster in Mistral with permission from Mistral's council of course."

"He's rambling," Qrow thought. "That's not a good sign. Whatever's eating at him has got to be serious. Alright, best get the worst part of the day over with. Here we go..."

Qrow cleared his throat and assisted Tai down the last stretch of jagged rock before reaching am plateau of smooth stone that stretched as far as the eye could see. When Qrow peered into the eerie darkness, he could see the shadows of pillars tall and thick as aged pine trees that supported the roof above. Qrow knew that his home kingdom had ruins that stretched farther than the dunes its desert had to offer, but never in his life had he witnessed such an elaborate tunnel system.

"Qrow... tell me honestly. Are you happy with how are team is right now?" Tai sighed and crossed his arms to show that he wasn't moving another step until he got an answer.

"We both know what I'm thinking, Tai." Qrow snapped. "We're both frustrated with how things have been moving along, and frankly, I'm fed up with all this drama."

Qrow's face pinched up and his gut twisted. He never considered himself an emotionally stable person, but when compared to the average psycopath, he was in pretty decent shape all considered.

"I know..." Tai muttered. "What if... it's finally time we went our separate ways and split off from being partners to being a supportive group of friends and families?"

Qrow's brain screeched to a halt and his eyes widened while his lips pressed shut. "Whoa, you're not pulling a Hawkins, are you?"

Tai allowed a dry chuckle to slip past his stern mood. "No... I'm nothing like my fellow blonde, at least in terms of personality. Although, I might be treading down a similar road of avoidance seeing how I can never seem to hit the nail on the head when it comes to my issues."

"Okay?" Qrow grunted.

"Qrow..." Tai said softly. "I have a wife, and two beautiful daughters who are bursting with energy and boundless curiosities that will ask all sorts of questions. It's my job as a parent to not only provide answers, but do so in a way that will stick in Yang's and Ruby's heads for the rest of their lives; and so far I'm doing a terrible job at it."

Tai slammed a fist against the nearest face of stone which uttered a few loose pebbles to topple from the precarious ledges above. "So far, all I've taught Yang and Ruby is that I'm a dishonest man who doesn't have the courage or wit to protect the people who have done nothing but love me and respect me. Dear Oum, Jaune must hate me now! My ex-wife kidnapped him all because I couldn't get the message across that Jaune wasn't the result of my marriage with Summer! What kind of uncle am I?!"

Tai's breaths grew labored, yet not a single tear was shed as his teeth ground to a close. "Sam and Carla too... those old folks don't need this sort of drama in their aged lives. From what Hawkins has told me, the kindness those seniors have is something that should be cherished and seldom used, yet here they are, using their valuable old years protecting kids who should be roaming free across Patch without a care in the world! Oum... I wonder what Trifa thinks of me now..."

"Damn." Qrow cursed after a heavy swallow. "He's been carrying all of this up until now... and I never even bothered to ask him about it until it was too little too late. I'm a pretty crappy partner, aren't I?"

"Whoa, hold on." Qrow brushed his spiky hair and shook his head. "Sure, you're a real piece of work, but there's no way you're a bad person. Trust me, I've dealt with all sorts of shit-heads who couldn't see past their own egos, and to keep a long story short; they're all dead. So don't start digging your grave with all these depressing thoughts, because after we've settled things here, we're gonna clear up all the clutter between us, Summer, and Hawkins."

Tai closed his eyes and raised his head toward the dim light that could barely be seen above them. "You've got a way with words, Qrow, that's for sure. Although, as much as I appreciate your input, I've gotta get this off my chest... I think it's best if team STQH officially disbands from here on out."

Qrow was not an oblivious man, at least, he considered himself sharper than the average hooligan; yet he'd missed the mark by a mile and then some since he came to a completely different conclusion than that of his closest friend who he considered a brother.

"Tai?" Qrow scratched his head and pondered over what he'd just heard.

"I'm not saying we should separate out of spite." Tai said solemnly. "It's just that... whatever chemistry we had as a team isn't there anymore, and our priorities are veering too far off from one another to share the same road. I want to be a father, Qrow, to share the smiles and frowns that come with parenthood so that I can pass onto the next life knowing I did everything I could to set up my daughters for the lives they'll have to experience on their own."

Tai took a few paces forward, crossed his arms, then moved back to his initial position. "I think Hawkins feels the same way. Ironically, despite being the most stoic out of the four of us, he's the one who wants to move on and allow us all to search for what we desire; yet its the three of us who are trying our hardest to maintain a fake status quo. Heh, you know what's crazy? Hawkins and I had a talk the night before he decided to rescue Jaune on his own, and what he wanted to talk about left me absolutely speechless!"

"And what exactly did he ask you?" Qrow inquired with ears all too ready to devour the potential gossip his friend had to offer.

"Well..." Tai began. "He asked me how I was able to woo an amazing woman like Summer... and if it was possible if he'd ever be able to do the same so he could give Jaune a proper mother."

If Qrow's jaw could dislodge from its sockets to hit the ground, it definitely would have along with the rest of his head. Hawkins, the man known for having a sternness that could rival iron, had lowered his defenses to ask the man who had married the woman he loved for advice? Now, this was a brain turner in more ways than one.

"I really didn't know what to say..." Tai shrugged with a hint of shame on his face. "All I could tell him was that I happened to meet Summer by chance, and I seized the opportunity when my relationship with Raven went sour. Heh... I sound like a sleaze when I say it like that, don't I? Jumping from one woman to the next and putting my eldest daughter through the trauma of not knowing who her birth mother is. Oum... I guess I'm a worse person than I assumed."

Qrow said nothing and gave his friend a hard pat on the back that seemed to jostle the latter out of his depressive funk.

"Oh, I did give him my opinions on Glynda though. To be honest, I think she and Hawkins would be a good match, don't you think? They both carry themselves in a noble manner, and seem to share a lot in common. The last time I chatted with Glynda, I happened to mention chess, and the face she made was one I'll never forget. Apparently, she thought Hawkins broke some sort of secret agreement they had, and swore she would get back at him one way or another for it. I still have no idea what secret they shared."

Qrow rubbed his chin. "Wait, but what about Shyarly?"

Tai blinked. "Shyarly?"

"Yeah, the shark Faunus Ms. Rumpole brought with her. She's beautiful enough to be a top model, I won't deny that, and she's got the kind of solemn allure that's right up Hawkins' alley in my opinion." Qrow said and his partner gave a contemplative nod.

"You think we've found Hawkins' type?" Tai asked with a short smile.

Qrow tried to smile, but couldn't bring himself to perform the action. The magician of STQH was a puzzle that was not easy to comprehend even after being put together. That, and Hawkins was a secluded man who rarely broke out of his stoic shell. However... that night on the hill when Hawkins dared brave into the world of love... shattered due to the innocent naivety of both Summer and Tai who the magician loved and respected.

"No. You're way off the mark with that guess." Qrow grunted.

"Wait, what?" Tai requested for his partner to elaborate, but the raven-haired man refused to speak further on the matter and shifted their conversation to their original objective of rescuing Hawkins and his son. However, their intentions would be delayed by the arrival of a third party, who stuck out like a sore thumb in the gloomy environment of the crumbling ruins.

"Hmm?" Tai noticed his friend's change of mood quickly and turned around to see a young girl, who he assumed to be on the verge of transitioning into her teenage years, wander out from the darkness and halt the moment she laid eyes on the adult hunters who stood at the base of a convenient hole that led to the outside world.

"Um... hello?" Qrow fumbled for words. Of all the folks he expected to encounter in this vast tunnel system, and innocent looking girl was the last thing he expected. The same went for Tai, and both the adult duo and the young lass were at an awkward impasse.

"D-Does..." The girl stepped back and slipped her hands behind her back. "Does that hole lead to the outer parts of the ruins?"

Qrow and Tai shared a look, and they both shared a careless nod.

"Yes, it does, but what in Oum's name are you doing down here? Not to mention, how on earth did you manage to survive in a place like this all by yourself?" Qrow demanded in a stern tone he did not intend and chided himself as the girl shrunk from his approach.

"Are you..." The girl's nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed cautiously. "Are you from Haven Academy?"

"We know the place." Qrow allowed. "But our allegiance is to the kingdom of Vale before the other kingdoms. Why, would it make any difference if we were under Haven's umbrella?"

"Qrow..." Tai nudged with a whisper. "Look at her, she's scared half to death and looks more like a cornered animal if anything. I don't want to take any risks that might lead to her getting hurt."

Qrow sighed. "I know that. But I don't want her to get the idea that we're trying to mislead her. Right now, the truth is our best bet to getting the best possible outcome."

"Vale... which means you take orders from Ozpin, right?" The girl lowered her head and bit her lower lip. "No matter where I go, I'll be hunted down until I can't run anymore... fine. If that's the way its going to be, then I'll have to settle with a deal and wait for a better opportunity to get my freedom."

Qrow scratched his head. "Hey, we can hear you, y'know."

The girl jumped and uttered an adorable squeak that made Qrow laugh. "Well, to be completely honest, you weren't the person my partner and I came down here to rescue. We're actually looking for a gloomy looking guy with long blonde hair, a pale complexion, and deep crimson eyes. His son is also a priority, except his skin is more on the fair side and his eyes are more along the lines of a cerulean sort of blue. Have you seen either of them?"

The girl froze at the descriptions and adopted a shameful expression. "Y-Yes, I have seen someone who looks like that, but I doubt that he's alive given what been lurking down in the tunnels..."

"Let me guess, it's a horde of Grimm, right?" Qrow lamented at the idea of fighting in an enclosed space where beasts of unspeakable horror could tear his limbs off.

"N-No..." The girl trembled. "I-I've never seen a monster like it before. Its supposed to be a King-Taijitu, but it has three heads and spits green poison and has limited speech."

"That sounds nasty." Qrow felt a chill pass down his spine. Grimm were supposed to be nothing more than the definition of blind evil. To hear that the nightmarish monsters were growing intelligent was enough to put off his appetite for at least a week. Or maybe three days if there was a liquor shop around.

"Phew! What kind of stench is that?" Tai suddenly gagged as his peers covered their noses in disgust.

"It smells like decades worth of garbage somebody decided to dump in a wasteland." Qrow coughed and felt the urge to puke. He glanced at the young girl, who quickly ran behind him with the definition of fear plastered on her paling face.

"Don't tell me..." Qrow groaned.

"I-It's the monster I was talking about!" The girl wailed. "It's the mutated snake!"

"Let usss feassst!" The crazed Taijitu slithered out from the darkness with boney skulls and fangs with red eyes that were hollow and malignant. As the gigantic beast moved, its sheer size put the tunnels around it under duress causing several stones to break free from their lackluster foundations.

Qrow parried the smaller rocks with his weapon, but jumped for dear life when a boulder the size of a house landed within an inch of his person. Tai fared no better, as he struggled to avoid the impaling stalactites from above while keeping the girl close to him and out of harm's way.

"Qrow!" Tai yelled after running around for dear life. "The Grimm's got an injury below its right eye, if we're gonna take it down, we gotta go at its blind spot!"

"Y-You actually think we can beat that thing?!" The young girl screamed.

Qrow squinted at the grimm's swollen gash that dripped with green ooze which corroded the earth it pooled upon. With a reluctant sigh, Qrow ordered for Tai to stay clear of the carnage to come, and dashed forward with reckless bravado. The Taijitu lunged forward, long fangs missing their mark and sinking into the earth while Qrow took the liberty to jump on the monster's head to hack at its wounds.

"I'm gonna hurl!" Qrow forced down the bile stirring in his throat as a putrid green liquid spilled from the Taijitu's wounds assaulted his nostrils. "I've never seen this from any Grimm before, so why is it that this stupid snake is the exception? And for Oum's sake, why does everything that's bloody monstrous in this world have to smell like shit that a cow farted on?!"

/-/

"Whoa... what was that?" Emerald glanced at the ceiling above and saw some of the pillars that supported it shake. She reached out and grabbed the closest thing to her, and blinked foolishly when she realized she'd grabbed Hawkins' pant leg.

"Probably some loose rocks." Hawkins said bluntly. He stared at Emerald's hand for a short while, then dismissed her existence entirely but did not request her to release her grip.

"Hey, so you're Jaune's dad, right?" Sun interrupted without a care in the world. "Is he going to be as tall as you when he gets older? Because I'm starting to regret that I stole his share of apples when he wasn't looking if that's the case."

Hawkins rolled his eyes. "It was expected for someone of Jaune's nature to get bullied in a rough place like Vacuo, but considering all he had to deal with was the prattling of a simpleton, I suppose he was lucky this time around."

Sun tilted his head. Hawkins' articulate speech was too advanced for a lad who lived without any access to a proper education, but Emerald kept pace and took note that the man she held onto was a well read fellow. The pathways through the tunnels had reached a slow incline, causing Emerald's legs to feel the strain which slowed her to a snail's pace. Sun offered to lend a hand, but his assistance was more verbal as all he did was cheer Emerald on while pretending to lead the group onward.

"Huh?" Emerald gasped as she felt a pale hand clasp the top of her head. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

Emerald feared for her life when she looked up and saw Hawkins' crimson gaze. However, despite her expectations, Hawkins lowered himself a knee and asked if she was alright and needed to rest. Emerald's heart quickened. She could read between the lines, and understood that a man of Hawkins' character did not bother with the weak. If she were to break now, she'd be left to die in vain.

"Are you hurt?" Hawkins said wearily. "You're left leg is slightly swollen."

"N-No! My leg has always been this big!" Emerald said frantically and waved the injured appendage to prove her point no matter how much it hurt.

"I don't have time for a child's immaturity." Hawkins grumbled and picked Emerald up by her collar.

Emerald knew her time was up, that despite all her efforts and blessings, her luck had finally run out and she was destined to be abandoned once again...
Why else would Hawkins wrap his arms around her and carry her comfortably against his chest? Not to mention the stiff straw wrappings he'd put over her leg that kept it steady and eased the pain.

"Is this too tight?" Hawkins asked and looked down at the perplexed Emerald who meekly shook her head and nuzzled her teary visage against the magician's chest.

"T-Thank you for not leaving me behind..." Emerald cried softly and felt a small warmth surround her rapid beating heart. This sensation was almost like that of Shyarly, though Hawkins' cold demeanor lacked the empathy the shark faunus presented.

"Can I get carried to?" Sun asked and gave the magician's pant leg a tug. "I'm tired too."

Hawkins frowned. "You stole from my son, and you are not injured as far as I can see. You will walk for the remainder of our journey as a penance for your misdeeds. Am I understood?"

Sun may not have been able to comprehend Hawkins' articulate speech, but he was sharp enough to read the mood and wisely closed his mouth; then nodded respectfully while Emerald blew a petty raspberry his way with a childish smirk.

Hawkins may not have been a knight in shining armor, but he carried himself with an air of prestige that put Emerald at ease. Confidence? Was that the word Emerald was looking for to describe the man who'd saved her? No, responsible and dependable sounded just right, and Emerald dared to pray that she could be allowed to remain by his side for as long as he would allow.