At Clark's feet, a straight yellow path led up to a large log cabin. The house's lights were on, shining out into the night and reflecting off the golden sunflowers in the front. Through the windows, Clark could catch glimpses of team JNPR. He'd heard that they were staying at Ruby and Yang's house, but this was the first time he'd seen it for himself when visiting.

It shouldn't have taken him this long to come here.

Clark took a deep breath and marched up to the door. After a few raps on the wood, he waited. It was a few seconds before someone came up to answer it, and the frosted glass allowed Clark a decent view of who it was. With his hearing helping to confirm it.

Mr. Xiao Long, or Tai, the name he preferred to be called, opened the door and greeted him with a polite smile. "Oh. Hey Clark, you here to spar? It's a bit too late, you should probably wait until tomorrow."

"Actually sir, I'm here to talk to Ruby."

The man's eyes widened a bit. "Really, what about?"

Clark hesitated for a moment. "It's . . . about something that happened during the attack on Vale. It's a bit too personal to get into details, but I have a few questions for Ruby."

Tai's smile faded and he nodded in understanding. "I think I get what you mean. It was terrible, what happened in the city. Come on in." He invited Clark inside with a wave and closed the door behind them. "Ruby! One of your friends is here to see you!" He yelled up to the second floor.

A high-pitched reply came down a second later. "I'll be down in a bit!"

Tai turned back to Clark. "That could be a few minutes. You want anything to drink while you wait?"

"No, I'm good."

"Okay then. You can wait in the living room with Ruby's friends, I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

Clark nodded and followed Tai to where a group of teenagers whooped and cheered. The TV was on, and Clark recognized a few of the sounds coming from it.

"Hello everyone." Clark waved when he entered.

"Clark!" Jaune, who sat on the couch with Ren, swung his head and faced him with wide eyes. The others gave polite greetings, and Ren was the first to turn his attention back to the fighting game on the screen.

Huh, it was the same one Team CFVY had liked.

"I-I didn't know you were coming," Jaune said. "You're here to see Ruby?"

"Yeah." Clark raised an eyebrow at the signs of impatience from Ren. "You should probably go back to playing. Ren's being kind enough to wait, but that might not last for long."

"Oh!" Jaune turned back. "Sorry. Um, Nora, Pyrrha. Do either of you want to play instead?"

"Me!" Nora's arm flew up and she received the controller from him. Pyrrha didn't argue, and from the indulgent smile on her face, she didn't really seem to mind either.

"So . . . um," Jaune stood up from the couch and rubbed the back of his neck. "You're here for Ruby. Is it for some secret Dart"-he whispered the word- "thing?"

"No."

"Really?" Strangely enough, he seemed surprised by the answer.

"Really."

"Are you sure?"

Clark narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I'm here for something else. Even if I wasn't, I wouldn't ask her and exclude you."

At that, Jaune grinned with embarrassment. "Wow, um, thanks. It's kind of dumb, but I was kinda worried that you'd like her more cause, you know, you're both speedy and . . . stuff." He gave a small, nervous laugh.

"I don't choose friends based on how fast they are."

Jaune beamed. "Yeah, of course. It sounds ridiculous when I say it aloud. I mean, what was I thinking?"

"I get it, my mind goes to strange places when I'm nervous too." Clark's eye flitted over to the wall, footsteps were coming down the stairs. Even without his level of hearing, it would have been hard to miss the creaks. "Anyway, looks like Ruby's coming down, I guess I'll see you around Jaune."

"Right, later!" Jaune waved as Clark left the living room.

"Clark!" Despite the much higher pitch, the surprised yelp from above was a nearly identical echo of Jaune.

Normally, combined with the fact that she looked like a deer in headlights, Clark might have found it funny. However, instead of laughing, he held up a hand in greeting. "Yeah, me."

"You're the one who came over?!" Ruby gripped the banister and gulped.

"Hey, can you keep the noise down?" Tai peeked out of the kitchen. "Your friends are respecting that rule, why can't you?"

The rebuke seemed to extinguish her nervousness immediately. Ruby stomped and glared at him. "Dad! Why didn't you say that Clark was the one who was here?!"

"Should I have?"

"Yes!"

"And why is that?"

"B-because-"

As Ruby failed to come up with an answer, Tai's lips curled. "Oh? Could it be that my little girl's grown up and started showing interested in guys?" He teased.

"What, no! It's not like that!" Ruby's eyes widened and she shook her head furiously.

Her dad steamrolled straight over her denial and rubbed his chin as he looked Clark up and down. "You like older guys, huh? You should probably wait a few years before you start pining after Clark though, at least until the age difference isn't a big deal."

"Dad!"

Tai chuckled. "Alright, alright, just thought I'd start things out light-hearted. Don't stay up too late, Ruby." He slinked back to the kitchen before his daughter could respond.

Once he left, Ruby buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Just kill me now."

"That's going a bit too far, isn't it?" Clark said with a small smile. "Although I'll admit, most parents are embarrassing, but your dad really doesn't pull any punches."

"You have no idea." Ruby's pout disappeared once she began fidgeting with her fingers. "So, you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah, is there somewhere we can talk in private?"

She nodded. "Sure, nobody's in the spare bedroom right now."

Ruby brought him up to a room that was pretty bare. Aside from a bed, drawer, and lamp, the only other objects in the room were team JNPR's belongings. Sleeping bags, suitcases, and weapons.

Right, it was time. Clark took a deep breath and asked the question. "Ruby, how have you been holding up after the attack on Vale?"

Her eyes dimmed, and she looked to the floor. "I-I've been okay I guess. It was really horrible, what Cinder did. I know a lot of people died, but it could have been a lot worse if you hadn't saved the city."

He couldn't meet the honest gratitude in her gaze and turned away. "I . . . did what I could." He'd helped, but thinking about that night only brought to mind the mistakes he'd made. "Are you okay though, really?"

"Yep," she answered.

Huh? Clark narrowed his eyes and listened carefully. She . . . wasn't lying. The only emotion she showed now was confusion. How was that possible? He hadn't known her for long, but there was no way Ruby could just brush off-

Wait . . .

"Ruby, you do know what happened to Penny during the attack? Right?" Clark asked.

The surprise and worry on her face confirmed his suspicions. "No, did something happen? I thought it was weird that I couldn't contact her these past couple weeks. Did she get hurt?"

She really didn't know. How could Qrow not have told her? Why?

It didn't matter why, not right now at least. What was important was that it was up to Clark to tell her, she deserved to know what had happened to her friend.

"You should probably sit down first." She did so without a word, but the concern and fear on her face spoke volumes. "That night, just before the attack, my double kidnapped a friend of mine and used her as a hostage. Penny and I left the city to confront him and . . . things went bad. I was caught in a trap, but Penny saved me. I tried to fight him off so she could escape with my friend, but . . . " Clark's head hung low in shame. "I'm sorry, she died fighting by my side."

"Sh-she died? Penny's dead?" Her pleading tone cut into him, as if she were begging him to say no. To tell her that it was a mistake.

Clark's lips pressed together, and he nodded.

For a few moments, Ruby stared at him. Stunned. Then, she turned away and hid her face behind her hands. Even so, he could see her shake and hear the sniffles as her tears came. He'd expected this, but it didn't ease the weight on his shoulders.

"Ruby, I . . . " He paused. What was he supposed to say? What could he say?

His eyes raced around the room, searching, but he didn't find what he was looking for. He turned his gaze back to Ruby. "I'm sorry, I promise I'll be back in a second, okay? Just wait here."

Her only response was a small nod. She still wouldn't meet his eyes.

Clark headed out of the room, and almost walked into Yang. Who had a motorcycle helmet under her arm.

"Whoa!" She backed up and gave him some space. "Hey, I heard you were here. You in a rush to go somewhere?"

He shook his head. "Do you have any tissues?"

"Uh, sure, in my room." Thankfully, she seemed to sense his urgency and moved quickly down the hall. She entered one of the doors, and once she came out, she passed the box over to him. "What do you need them for?"

"They're for Ruby." He said, already heading back to give them to her.

"Ruby?" Yang's casual curiosity vanished and was replaced with concern. She followed behind him. "Why does she need tissues?"

As an answer, Clark opened the door to the spare bedroom. Ruby still sat on the bed, wiping her face with her hands.

Yang rushed over immediately and sat by her side. Wrapping her arms around her sister and holding her. "Ruby? Hey, what's wrong?" Yang's voice was soft, little more than a whisper. The younger girl didn't respond, her sobs wracked her body and she took erratic breaths.

The blonde whirled her head to face Clark and ripped the box of tissues from his hand. "What happened? What did you do?" Her teeth were bared and her eyes red.

"I told her that our friend, Penny Polendina, died during the attack on Vale," Clark said.

The explanation calmed Yang down, and she refocused her attention on her sister. "It's okay, it's okay, let it all out." She patted Ruby's head and repeated the words of comfort. After a couple minutes, she took out a few tissues. "Here, let's clean you up too."

"I-I can do that b-by myself." Ruby said between sniffs and grabbed them. "I-I can't believe I just started crying and couldn't move. This is so embarrassing."

"It shouldn't have to be," he said. "I think it's great that Penny has people that would cry for her."

"Y-yeah." Ruby blew into one of the tissues. "She was your friend too?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Back then, I never would have thought that I shared a friend with the Dart."

"She did a great job of keeping my secret," Clark said fondly. He leaned back against the wall and a faint smile reached his lips. "She was a really good friend too. We sparred actually, when I was introduced to her. Even though I thought she was a bit strange when we first met. What about you?"

"Strange? Yeah, I guess it was the same for me too. I met her when my teammate bumped into her, she talked to us while lying on the ground for the first couple minutes." A brief flicker of nostalgia ran across her face.

Clark kept going. "I'm glad I met her though. Do you remember how cheerful she was about everything? It was almost impossible to be in a bad mood when you were with her."

Despite the tears, Ruby managed a smile. "Yeah, you're right. Especially when she started to practice telling jokes, she actually got pretty good at making them."

"Oh yeah, that! Her sense of humor actually caught me off guard a lot. I remember one time she joked about accidentally telling people that she knew the Dart. It startled me pretty bad."

Ruby giggled. "She must have practiced that one a lot. I remember her doing that with me early on with a lot of jokes."

"I heard. She try the screws loose joke out on you first?"

"Yeah! She loved that one since she thought it fit her super well."

They continued talking about Penny for quite a while. Yang excused herself a couple minutes in, but the two hardly noticed as they reminisced about their mutual friend. She'd had quite a few quirks that they'd found odd at first, like her strange way of speaking, but both had learned to appreciate it them. They also had plenty of stories to share. How Penny had once shown Ruby how she'd played off a magnet getting stuck to her "hair". The few times Clark had helped Penny ditch her supervisor so she could have fun and some limited freedom. And her hugs. They'd both experienced them, but unlike Clark, Ruby couldn't easily withstand Penny's enthusiastic greetings. The girl had been able to jump far and squeeze hard.

Clark hadn't realized how much he appreciated being able to talk about her like this. Even though Penny had gotten better at socializing, she'd confessed that she hadn't had much success making more friends. It would have been heartbreaking if Clark were the only one to mourn her. Until now, the only other person he'd thought would feel the same way was Ironwood.

He'd been so wrapped up with his own issues that he'd forgotten to consider that Ruby would have grieved as well. Checking up on her late was better than never, but that didn't excuse him.

As they talked, Ruby regained some of her cheer. Her smiles and laughs still held tinges of sadness, but they were a far cry from the devastating sobs from earlier.

"Anyway, I guess I should probably get going," Clark said. It had taken almost an hour until their conversation had naturally come to an end. "Will you be okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah . . . it might be a while, but I'll be fine."

"Before I go, can you give me your scroll?" He asked. Once she offered it, he added his contact information and returned it to her. "I know it can be rough sometimes. One second, you might be totally fine, but the next, it might hit you harder than it has in days. If that happens and you need someone to talk to, you can call me."

"Really, I can?" She looked down at her screen with a smile.

"Of course, see you later." He said, and she called out a goodbye as he left the room.

Only a few feet down the hall, Yang stood to the side. Her back was up against the wall, and her eyes slid over to him.

"I suppose you heard all of that?" He asked. Clark had assumed as much when he hadn't heard her footsteps leave. "You could have stayed with us if you were worried about your sister."

"I didn't know Penny that well, I would have only gotten in the way," she said.

"If you say so, but I don't think Ruby would have minded. Good night." He walked past her and started heading down the stairs.

"Wait."

He paused on the first step and turned back to face her.

"Sorry, about earlier," Yang said. "And . . . thanks for talking to Ruby."

He smiled. "It's fine. I'm glad I could help."

\\\\\

Clark was the first to arrive, early by only a few minutes. He greeted Qrow and waited off to the side with hardly any luggage. He focused on the distance to the port in silence.

It wasn't drastic enough to be a cold shoulder, but Clark hadn't exactly warmed up to Qrow after their talk a few days ago. Which had been when Clark had informed him that he'd told Ruby about Penny's death and had asked why Qrow hadn't.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

It had been . . . hard to explain, and Qrow doubted that he'd done the best he could, but the gist of it was that he'd misunderstood a few things. He'd wanted to spare Ruby some worry. She got really attached to weapons, and even if Penny had been a less advanced robot she probably would have been upset. Plus, he'd assumed that Ironwood would just get Penny rebuilt, in a few months at most. Ruby'd be able to talk to her then.

That had shocked Clark, who hadn't even thought it possible. According to him, Ironwood hadn't acted like he was able to bring her back. Although Clark had conceded that her body might be rebuilt, he'd been certain that her memories couldn't.

Which had made Qrow feel pretty damn shitty, and even though Clark said he understood, he still hadn't agreed with Qrow hiding the truth from his niece.

Ten minutes later, the kids arrived. Slightly late, although it probably would have only mattered to people like Goodwitch or Ironwood. Ruby waved enthusiastically from the front of the group, and Clark did the same with a slight smile. After that, Qrow had the fun responsibility of herding a bunch of teenagers to the gate to show their tickets and verify ID. Some issue with Pyrrha cropped up, who for whatever reason covered her face with a hood and sunglasses, but they got through.

"There it is," Qrow said as the group approached the passenger ship. It was a decent vessel. Nothing too fancy, since they only needed something to bring them to Mistral. He checked for spots suitable for arriving or leaving bird form. Not that he'd need to, but it never hurt to be safe. The antenna was too open, but the side of the air shaft up top looked good. "The Swift, huh?" He read the name at the front.

"Hope it's not accurate." Yang said. "Otherwise we might get a repeat of what happened last year. Right, vomit boy?" She grinned at Jaune.

"D-don't call me that!"

Ruby giggled at his horror. "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that."

"Great, I wish I could," Jaune replied.

"Oooh, I'm sensing that it's about to be story time," Nora said and leaned forward eagerly. "Tell!"

Qrow barely listened while Yang told them about something that had happened months ago. He was more focused on pushing them up the ramp to get on board, since they were just standing around holding up the line while his niece recounted her story. Whatever it was, the important part was that it had ended with Jaune throwing up.

"You have motion sickness?" Clark asked Jaune. "Is that something we're going to have to worry about on the trip?"

"No! No, I was just really nervous that day." Jaune said. "I had a lot to worry about, you know. Wondering if I'd pass initiation and get into Beacon."

"Hm, I don't know . . . " Yang elbowed Clark. "Maybe you should be on standby in case we need a quick cleanup."

Clark faced Jaune and made a request. "Please don't make me clean up your vomit." His expression was just slightly too serious to be genuine.

Apparently, Jaune didn't get the memo. His eyes were wide and he shook his head furiously. "I wouldn't! No way, if I throw up, I'll take care of it myself."

"Thank you." Clark nodded, which only ramped up Jaune's embarrassment.

"Guuuys, I think that's enough." Ruby said, with a well-meaning smile toward Jaune. Her and Clark's softheartedness ended Jaune's ribbing and they calmed him down, although Yang looked like she wanted to take it further.

By the time they were on board and had taken care of their luggage, which in Yang and Ruby's case had meant chucking suitcases in their room, they walked around deck to explore. Not that there was much to see, so Qrow stayed in his room while everyone else left.

Later on, he briefly caught a view of the group at the front of the ship from his window. Pyrrha wore the same hoodie and sunglasses that she had when coming on board, and Qrow hadn't missed how her team surrounded her so no strangers would get close. Weird, but as long as it didn't bother him, he wasn't going to ask.

Clark and Ruby were closer to the front, Ruby was jumping around and pointing at something in the distance. It was too far to make out Clark's face, but he seemed to have lost some of his doom and gloom. It was hard to do otherwise around Ruby. She was like an adorable, excitable little kid, especially around Clark because of his Dart thing.

Although what was weirder was how Yang stood off to the side and seemed totally okay with Ruby gushing over Clark. Qrow had no idea what had gone on with her, but she'd been super protective of Ruby around him. And for whatever reason, that had stopped a couple days ago.

Well, as long as things didn't get violent, that was fine with Qrow.

\\\\\

After making her way down with soft, silent steps, Pyrrha peered out from the corner. Right, then left.

Good, both directions were clear. It was unlikely that anyone would be out this late, but in her experience, it had never hurt to be careful. Even now, she waited. As if someone would jump out of the shadows the moment she came out.

When a few seconds passed, Pyrrha's shoulders loosened and she relaxed. She made her way to the railing and leaned forward, her eyes focused on the distance. The night sky truly was dazzling out at sea. The only lights here that could possibly obscure the stars were the few that came from the ship itself. The flat sea was like the bottom of an enormous dome and lack of clouds in the clear sky made for an incomparable view.

The beauty before her eased her mind, but not completely. This trip was only a small reminder of what awaited her in Mistral.

Pyrrha straightened her back and turned her head up. With her eyes closed, she let out a breath.

"That's a pretty heavy sigh."

Her eyes flew open and she whirled around to the source of the voice, but there was nobody behind her. Where had it come from?

"Up here."

She looked up, and if her vision hadn't already adjusted to the darkness, she would never have spotted him. Even after announcing his presence, it was difficult to see him. Clark stood up on in an alcove near the top of the ship, almost hidden in the shadows. He seemed to be wearing darker clothing as well, was it intentional?

"Oh, hello," she said. It felt silly to greet him so casually, but how else could she respond to a man waiting in the shadows?

"Hey. Sorry, did I startle you?"

"No, not at-perhaps a little," Pyrrha admitted. Somehow, it just seemed pointless to try and lie to him. Perhaps it was his eyes, which almost shone in the dark, and even with his flat expression, his gaze was piercing. "May I ask, what are you doing up there?"

"I . . . had trouble sleeping," he said. Then, he stepped out into view and dropped down next to her with hardly a sound. "I thought I might come out to relax."

"Up there? In full black clothing?"

He shrugged. "I wanted to be by myself and that seemed like a private spot. It looks like you're doing the same thing. Is something wrong? You sounded upset."

"I-I suppose I did. You're right, but it's something I'd prefer to keep to myself," Pyrrha replied. She tried not to sound rude, but she found Clark was a difficult person to talk to. He wasn't rude or unfriendly, but somewhat distant. Which was understandable, given that he'd lost friends in the attack on Vale, but his mourning wasn't a barrier Pyrrha could easily overcome.

"Hm, that's fair. Although if you're going to comment on my clothes, I think that I should get to do the same. Does your outfit have to do with why you came up here?"

Her outfit being her red hair tied up in a bun and hidden inside a hood, a pair of baggy pants, and the sunglasses that she had on hand even in the middle of the night. "It does." It would have been ridiculous to claim otherwise.

"I wondered what was up with your outfit when we got on," he said, and paused for a moment. "You're a famous athlete, right?"

She nodded. "I was a tournament fighter back in Mistral."

"More than that, you were a champion, right?"

She nodded again. "Yes. Did you hear about that during the Vytal Festival?"

"I did, but it's more that Jaune's also mentioned how you're a very skilled fighter. Amazing actually, according to him."

Jaune had? Pyrrha's cheeks flushed and her eyes darted away. It surprised her, but she soon realized that it was exactly something Jaune would do. He'd sing high praises of their whole team to anyone who'd listen. Not just her.

Pyrrha cleared her throat, she needed to set matters straight. "I consider myself skilled, but not amazing. Jaune has a tendency to exaggerate."

Clark narrowed his eyes and seemed to consider something. What, Pyrrha didn't know, until she realized just how her reaction to Jaune's compliment must have looked.

However, before she could comment on it, he shrugged. "Well, amazing or not, I could probably learn a lot from you. Do you have any advice for my hand-to-hand lessons?"

Combat training, combat training was safe. She could talk about that for hours if she needed to. "Actually, I have more general advice. Hand-to-hand isn't my primary style, and you already have Yang's father to give you proper instruction. With him, Yang, and Ren as sparring partners, I think you'll learn much. Although I think it's strange that you're focusing solely on close combat."

"How come? Is it a bad thing?"

"Well . . . yes. Even though your enormous strength and toughness makes that a very viable option, there's much more you could do. Even without strength or durability, your speed would make you a very difficult opponent, but the style you're going for doesn't take much advantage of it. The same could be said about your other abilities, such as your eyes and breath, which give you the invaluable option of attacking from a distance or redirecting your opponent." Pyrrha was used to considering how various individuals, usually other competitors, could apply their Semblances. Clark was different in the sheer number of abilities he had, but ultimately it wasn't too different from what she was used to.

"I see what you mean." Clark rubbed his chin. "I found some interesting applications for them at Beacon, but there's a reason why I'm not practicing with them. Besides heat vision, they're not very effective against the person I'm expecting to fight. He shrugs off almost anything besides my fists."

"Even so, that seems rather short-sighted. If you're training in order to prepare against only one kind of opponent, you're not well-prepared against anyone with even a mildly different fighting style."

"True, but I'm not a fighter like you guys. I don't really plan to do much combat against anyone other than against my double."

Pyrrha frowned. "I suppose that works for you, but even so, you would still benefit from sparring against more varied opponents and learning more than hand-to-hand. There's a sort of-a sense you develop after enough experience, you begin to notice patterns that show up in any fight. How an opponent is going to attack, whether or not they'll try to get some distance, whether they plan to give up or not. You're good at copying forms and reacting, but from what I've seen, you haven't developed a finer feeling for combat yet."

"I can't disagree with that," Clark said. "How long did it take you to get that sense?"

"Only after months of rigorous practice, my family hired a very skilled coach who had me train against a very diverse group of people. After that, I spent years honing it. I still am, actually."

He nodded and turned his eyes out to the sea. A finger tapped against the railing. "I guess there's no shortcut for me, then. Not that I expected there'd be." He turned back to her. "Thanks for the advice."

"There's no need to thank me." She shook her head with a polite smile. "Any of the others could have likely told you the same."

"Maybe, but I still think that I should return the favor with some advice of my own." Then, with a strangely intense gaze, his casual demeanor vanished. "Your feelings for Jaune. Don't take too long to show them to him, you might regret it."

"F-feelings?!" Despite her best efforts, heat crawled up her neck and cheeks. "You're mistaken! He and I, we're just partners . . . " She trailed off and turned her eyes aside in embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?"

"It is. I could tell, and I haven't even known you guys that long," he said. The faint flickers of amusement in his eyes made her want to jump overboard and sink to the bottom. Thankfully, he turned away and looked up at the sky with a slight, nostalgic smile. "Although not that long ago, I probably wouldn't have noticed. I wasn't the most perceptive with these kinds of things, I didn't even notice when my two closest friends back home started developing those kinds of feelings." His previous solemn expression returned. "I'm serious though. Take it from someone with experience. You might regret not telling him sooner, especially considering the people we're up against."

"I . . . I'll keep that in mind."

"Please do, but be careful. I don't mean that you should rush and blurt things out because you won't get the chance to do so later. You're close friends, and something like this could put that in danger. " Clark must have seen the questioning look on her face, because he immediately began to add more. "I know it sounds like I'm going back on what I just said, but I'm not, I'm giving a deeper explanation. You have to find what works for you, not base the decision off my regrets. I'm just warning you against what could happen. How someone close to you can die before you're able to build up your relationship together."

"I-I'm sorry." The words came out almost automatically at his somber tone. She hadn't even known he'd actually experienced that loss, but it only took a glance at his current expression to tell.

"It's . . . fine. Just remember what I said."

"I will." She promised. Pyrrha knew what Cinder was capable of and had accepted the risk to her life, but she hadn't even considered what it might mean for her and Jaune. "Thank you, I think I'm going to turn in for the night."

"No problem. Good night, and good luck with Jaune."

She left with a blush, and headed up the stairs and back to her room.

\\\\\

Clark briefly watched Pyrrha return to her room. He hoped things worked out between her and Jaune, but what caught Clark's interest more was her behavior when she'd first come out on deck. It had to be because of her fame, people didn't dress like that unless they wanted to ward off attention.

It had to be difficult, going that far just so she wouldn't be recognized by others. It struck Clark as a bit excessive, but maybe it really was necessary. There were dozens of other passengers, and he had no idea if she was famous enough that they'd recognize and badger her.

Still, even if it wasn't needed in this case, she must have found it necessary at other times. Having to hide her face every time she went out in public, being greeted by fans if she was revealed. Clark didn't think he'd be able to do the same, and he would have needed to if he'd ever exposed himself back on Earth, or even as the Dart here on Remnant. He hadn't seen it happen to Pyrrha yet, but team CFVY's experience at the Vytal Festival was telling. Sure, many who'd recognize him would probably be nice, like Ruby or Jaune. But even those two had offered their admiration before they'd even met him, before he'd earned it. It rubbed him the wrong way, and the possibility of being hounded by strangers wasn't something he wanted to deal with either.

Clark hopped back up to his hiding spot and leaned back against the wall. His eyes focused on the distance.

What had he said to Pyrrha? That he'd come up here because he'd had trouble sleeping? He supposed it wasn't completely false, in a way, but he wanted to keep the real reason close to his chest.

He hadn't meant to, but somehow his coming up here had turned into a lookout for Grimm. It wasn't necessary, the ship had a number of defenses. Clark didn't particularly want to stay out here either, but it gave him something to do. His vision could penetrate the water with ease, allowing him to keep an eye on the nearest Grimm even though it swam miles away and hundreds of feet under the murky water.

He supposed heading back to Vale was an option, but . . . he wasn't really needed there. Crime was at an all-time low after Cinder's attack. That was partially due to the increase in police presence and security. Although what was a bit surprising was just how much the tragedy had prompted a response in aid and relief. There were plenty of charity organizations providing donations, and many of the city's own citizens had volunteered to help in any way they could. Rebuild, run shelters for the now numerous homeless, offer an ear to those who'd lost loved ones in the attack. Clark had even heard of a few gangs coming together after the tragedy to help, and criminal activity had declined massively in other ways too.

What did Cinder think of that? According to Qrow, the attack must have served as more than a way to get the Relic in Salem's hands. Attacking the city of Vale had global fallout, and it was almost certainly meant to spread fear and place suspicion on Atlas for their supposed role in the attack.

It had worked, there was panic from the fact that it was even possible for Vale to be attacked, much less during the Vytal Festival. Ironwood's swift departure was a strong indicator of the general attitude towards him too. Even so, the people of Vale were already starting to overcome the crisis and there was a small, but vocal group of people who were spreading the truth about the virus that had taken over Atlas' machinery. They weren't going to roll over that easily.

It made Clark proud, in a way, and he was thankful that Ruby had prompted him to read up on the relief efforts. Qrow might laugh at the thought in his cynicism, but there was good in people as a whole. No matter what universe they were from. Whatever Salem planned to do to that good, stomp it out or extinguish it, she wouldn't find it easy.

The aquatic Grimm in the distance wasn't making a move to approach the ship, it hadn't ever since Clark had spotted it hours ago. By this point, he only spared glances at it while he watched the stars and recalled the names of the constellations he'd learned months ago. With telescopic vision, the movement of the stars was easily visible. If he wanted, he could see stars blink out and set on the edge of the horizon.

He could hear the ship under him as well. The sound of Dust providing energy to the engine, the swish of water pushed through the propeller, even the lapping of the waves against the sides of the ship. More than that, the people inside as well. Most were asleep and breathed deep and easily, their heartbeats steady. The few who were awake, pretty much only members of the crew, were calm as well.

Clark hadn't come out here to relax, even though that was what he'd told Pyrrha, but the regularity of it all was calming. Boredom did settle in eventually though, and scans of the distance didn't reveal any Grimm as close as the one he'd already found. Clark didn't find himself with any more late-night visitors either.

He went through the forms he'd run through with Tai. Thanks to training with Ms. Goodwitch and Qrow, Clark had already known to follow through on a straight punch to give it the most power, how to add even more by twisting his hips or bringing up strength from his legs. Also, one of the first and most effective things he'd learned was to bend his legs and keep his feet shoulder-width apart to maintain balance. With their instruction, he'd even learned how to best take or dodge hits when he'd spent years shrugging off most of them or occasionally evading with casual super-speed. He was a far better fighter than the oblivious Clark Kent that had arrived on Remnant all those months ago.

However, while a good amount of beginner knowledge and moves were there, practicing these forms helped him to apply them immediately. Without thinking about them consciously.

A right fist shot out, the opposite leg extended back to add strength to the hit and support from the recoil that would have resulted if he'd hit anything solid. Which would have been substantial with any of his real power behind it. The next move was a jab from his left elbow downward. He twisted his hips and made sure he wasn't left defenseless by blocking with his right arm.

For the first few rounds, he practiced the movements at a speed that would have been impressive for a normal person, but lacking to a huntsman. Then, he gradually upped the ante. At a certain point, if anybody had seen him, the most they would have seen were blurred limbs. Yet still he went faster, faster than even he'd ever been capable of before this point, so fast that only one other person on Remnant would have been able to count the dozens of moves he'd made in an instant.

Yet while he practiced, his mind turned to the application of his other powers and the 'combat sense' that Pyrrha had mentioned. She was right. Clark had put a lot of focus on hand-to-hand, and he didn't have what she'd described. The ability to read an opponent and respond appropriately.

Like his fight with the phantom in the mountains. It had been a mess, far different from the training with Ms. Goodwitch and Qrow, and even from the spars with Penny. Yet even then, his freeze breath had been useful as a rushed reaction. It hadn't damaged the phantom, but distractions and feints were pivotal too. Obviously, Clark would need to work on his close combat, but he should probably take Pyrrha's advice and spar with more than those with the same style. After all, the phantom could fly, that wasn't exactly conventional hand-to-hand.

Sometime later, the Grimm in the distance began to head towards the ship. There was no mistaking it, somehow its red eyes focused on an object too far away for it to see. Which meant whatever sense the Grimm used had finally alerted it the people on board.

It resembled a shark, most closely to the Great White but much larger, closer to the size of a whale. A Mega, according to Clark's rushed education back at Beacon. Its bone armor was minimal, mostly just jagged lines above its eyes and smooth studded plates across its underbelly. Any more armor would have likely built up too much drag against the water to swim effectively or make it sink. If no one did anything, it would reach the ship in ten minutes.

It was easy enough for Clark to swoop down to the surface of the water unseen. In the next flash of motion, he was directly above the Mega and dove straight down after it.

Not that long ago, Clark would have just led the Grimm away. He hadn't realized what that had meant back then. He'd claimed to, that he understood and accepted the consequences, but he hadn't. This was a Grimm, not a normal animal. No normal animal would hunt down humans with unrelenting aggression, no normal animal would grow indefinitely without food or water, no normal animal swarmed and killed people when they were at their most vulnerable and afraid.

Clark swam down to the Mega, which had noticed him and changed direction. It opened its mouth to reveal rows of serrated teeth, each as large as Clark's hand.

There were a variety of ways Clark could kill it. Heat vision, he could even see the Grimm's brain and aim for it with ease. Or he could just wait for the creature to close its mouth around him and tear it up from the inside. Or even underwater, Clark could build up the speed to just ram straight through it.

Instead, he tried something different. Lex had once developed a sonar machine that had killed aquatic wildlife for miles around, and Arthur Curry had also shown Clark just how much more devastating bombs could be underwater.

The reason why was evident even now. Underwater, Clark's hearing picked up far more than what it did on land. There were many he didn't recognize, strange cricks and screeches that were pretty baffling, but he ignored them.

It took a lot of force to compress water, and a pressure wave didn't dissipate and pass through an organism here the same way it did in air. Which meant that sound traveled incredibly well through water, one example that Clark knew offhand was that whales could hear each other's calls from hundreds of miles away.

However, what was more relevant to the Grimm rushing towards him was the more general fact about propagating pressure waves. Clark's thunderclap could get some pretty devastating results on land, it would be interesting to see exactly how it would work underwater. It would take an enormous amount of strength to force his arms together with enough speed, but enormous strength was his specialty. It would be simpler to just punch it, but if Clark ever came across multiple Grimm later, this might work out better.

The Mega came close enough to the surface that moonlight penetrated the depths and glinted off its bone and Clark made his move. His arms slammed together so quickly that gaps in the water trailed them, gaps which rapidly collapsed as the rush of liquid filled them and added to the intense boom and unexpected flash of light. He'd braced himself for this, but the sound was still almost painful as it rang through his ears.

The effect on the Mega was immediate. The Grimm's hostile red eyes went out, and its body went slack. On the surface, the damage appeared to be only some deformation of its face and cracked bone. However, its internals were goop. Stretched and squashed by the pressure wave that had passed through. Already, its fins were dissolving. The fragments sank, rather than being blown away like they would have above the surface, before even they disappeared.

What surprised Clark was the boom echoing off the seafloor and reaching him in only a couple of seconds. He'd forgotten for a moment just how much faster sound was underwater.

Clark turned his eyes back to the ship. It was too far away to see the rush of water that had shot out of the surface, but his thunderclap would have definitely been detected by sonar. Although who was going to think that he was responsible? Maybe Qrow and the others if they happened to ask the crew if they'd detected anything strange, but otherwise it should be fine. This was just a test run anyway, if more Grimm showed up, he could use less conspicuous methods.

With that, Clark leapt out of the water. In midair, he spun quickly enough for the water to fly off. Not the best method, even with the speeds he was capable of, but he could get rid of the rest by using a mirror and some heat vision. He flashed towards the ship, and he didn't leave even a droplet on board until he entered his room. Not even when he turned through the halls with such speed that the water should have been jolted off with ease.