An enormous boulder hovered in the air, studded with large purple crystals. The same as the others scattered throughout the region. Then, after a few seconds, it descended at a steady rate. Looking closely, a figure could be seen on its underside, somehow supporting the object's weight in his arms. Once he reached the ground, he set down the boulder without a sound. The rock was far too large to fit inside the tower, but the spectacle was visible to Salem from her window.

Then, he vanished.

"Was that demonstration satisfactory, ma'am?" He asked, and Salem turned her head to the opposite side of the room. From the reactions of Watts, Cinder, and the underlings she'd gathered in Vale, they hadn't been able to follow his movement either.

Rather than answer him, Salem asked a question of her own. "Watts, how heavy is that boulder?"

The man wondered for a moment. "Based on its size, the rock would easily weigh hundreds of tons. Perhaps even over a thousand."

Truly? Salem returned her attention to the individual that Cinder had brought. "And these abilities of yours are innate? They're not the result of a Semblance, aura, or magic?"

He nodded. "Yes, I was born this way."

Salem glanced outside the tower to the results of the demonstrations of his abilities. Molten slag from the heat emitted from his eyes, ice formed from his breath, and shattered rubble made simply by the force of his fists. With his speed and flight, he was a powerful individual.

How could he exist? Ozpin shouldn't have been able to create something like him, not even at the height of his magic.

However, Salem couldn't discount the possibility. "Cinder," she said.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You have done well to bring him here."

It was slight, but the displeasure in Cinder's face was apparent to Salem. After all, she'd taught her much of what she knew of concealing and mastering her emotions. "Thank you."

How tiresome. Cinder's importance as the Fall Maiden still held, but Salem wasn't responsible for reassuring her servants' egos.

"Now," Salem aimed her gaze at the man across the table. "I don't believe you've mentioned your name."

"I don't really have one," he said with a small, rueful smile. "I just go by what I am. A traveler, although Cinder and the others call me Trav sometimes."

"I see. Traveler, Cinder has mentioned that there is another like you. The one in Vale called the Dart. She says that he was the reason why she failed at Beacon, and the one who eliminated the Grimm she'd lured to Vale. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"Could he be persuaded to side with us?"

Cinder surged up from her seat with wide eyes. She seemed shocked by her own actions but forced out the words. "M-ma'am, you can't be serious?"

Salem merely narrowed her eyes, but that was enough for Cinder to quail under her gaze and sit back down.

Watts sneered. "Disgraceful. Set aside your personal vendettas and control yourself."

"Watts, that's enough," Salem said. "Cinder, do you have an objection to this 'Dart' joining us? If he has the same capabilities as the Traveler, he would be of much use."

"I realize that," Cinder admitted. "However, he won't work with us. I doubt he'll ever fight for our cause."

"And why is that?"

"Because that's not the kind of person he is." All eyes aimed at the Traveler, who had answered in Cinder's place. "He and I, I suppose the closest way to describe us would be twins. I know him. He's the type of person who'll sacrifice himself to save others, who'll go out of his way to do nice things for people because he wants to, and he won't ever raise a hand against innocent people. It's hard to even get him to fight not-so-innocent people."

Cinder nodded. "Yes, the Traveler is right, Clark Kent would never join us."

Salem considered their words. She wouldn't tolerate either Cinder or this newcomer denying her a useful servant out of personal distaste, but their opinions corresponded with Watts' reports on the Dart, or rather, Clark Kent. He wouldn't join them willingly.

Forcing him was a possibility, but Salem's techniques for doing so were unreliable. Magical or otherwise.

"Very well then, he will not join us." Salem decided, and noted the relief from Cinder and the Traveler. "However, you have said something which interests me, Traveler. What do you mean when you say that the 'closest' description of you and Kent would be twins?"

"Exactly that, twins is about as close as it gets to describing us. We're not exactly human or faunus, we're . . . something else." As a demonstration, his skin transformed from flesh to a chalky gray. The previous hint of his inhumanity was evident now. It was far deeper than a change in skin color, a glance at his eyes revealed the alien mind behind them. "Although there are a few differences between us."

For the first time in centuries, Salem was truly surprised. She wondered for a moment whether he was like her. A creature that had survived the destructive pools of the God of Darkness.

If so, the Traveler didn't mention it. His skin returned to its previous state while he elaborated on the differences between him and Kent at Salem's request.

They had nearly identical abilities, but Kent lacked the Traveler's flight and used a different source of power. The Traveler used a mineral that contained enormous amounts of energy, distinct from Dust, which he called kryptonite. Watts vouched for his claims of the potential of the substance with an excited gleam in his eye, a sign of how the mineral had piqued his curiosity.

However, it was incredibly rare according to the Traveler, although it could last him for quite a while. He also mentioned how sunlight weakened him and forced his skin gray. A reaction which Kent lacked.

Then he told them that, like a mirror opposite, Kent instead took in sunlight and weakened in the presence of kryptonite. However, it would be difficult for even the Traveler to use it effectively on him. Kent could feel its presence from a distance, and he could blast any pieces of it with his eyes or escape with his speed.

After the Traveler had offered the information, Salem made her decision. "Listen closely, all of you." The others looked to her immediately. Apprehension filled Cinder's underlings, but Salem focused on the Traveler. "I will not tolerate Kent working against us, I want him dealt with."

"Do you want us to kill him?" Interestingly, the Traveler spoke without a trace of hesitation or argument.

"Perhaps, does that present an issue for you?"

The Traveler grinned, his unnatural perfectly lined teeth visible. "Nope, I'll happily volunteer to do it. But I need to ask him a few questions first."

"Questions? Of what kind?"

"Just things that only the two of us would care about. Questions about our home."

Salem contemplated his request and rested a hand on an arm of her throne. "As long as it doesn't interfere with eliminating him, you may do as you wish with Clark Kent." She respected the wishes of her servants, but they needed to know where they stood.

"Thank you." He lowered his head slightly. No doubt Cinder had taught him to do so to show respect. "Would it be okay if I have Cinder and Dr. Watts' help to do so?"

"As long as it doesn't interfere with their other tasks, but eliminating Kent takes priority."

"I understand. It might take time, though. I've already failed once, and this time I want to keep an eye on him before I strike. Will that be a problem?"

Time? Salem had an excess of it. Even if all her plans were to fail this instant, that would only mean a setback of years, decades at most. She agreed to his request.

He thanked her with a grin, and with her permission, her servants left.

The enigma behind Kent and the Traveler's nature was of interest, but ultimately there were more important matters she needed to consider. The Traveler was skilled, but Salem had recognized his feigned politeness and respect, and seen the arrogance behind them.

She'd seen it in a number of previous servants, and while all of them had learned to defer to her properly, this one might prove a challenge.

Salem smiled. How interesting.

\\\\\

"Seriously, didn't that lady give you the creeps?" Roman's voice was low. His unease was still present hours after their introduction to Salem.

Neo couldn't say anything back, but He heard her nod in response.

"You know, you should show her some respect." He walked around the corner of the tower's walls, His lips curled in a casual grin. "That lady's our boss."

"Y-yeah, I guess you're right." Roman's heart beat a little tempo of fear at His appearance, but Neo's reaction was the real treat. She backed up behind Roman and kept her eyes on Him.

"What's creepy about her anyway? Is it the way she looks?" He flashed His skin gray for an instant, a smile still on His face.

"No no, it's nothing like that!" The criminal grinned, but the sweat on his brow was easily visible.

He had to hold in his laughter at their nervousness. Did they really think He would care what they thought of His appearance? "Then what is it?"

"It's this whole place!" Roman spread his arms wide and pointed out the window. "We're deep in the Grimmlands, and the sky's red, and Grimm are crawling out from the ground. Plus, there's some lady at the center of it all ordering Cinder around."

He shrugged. Creepy? This place was like a kiddie pool compared to the Phantom Zone. Pretty nice, actually. A lot of the sunlight was blocked, and it was a lot more quiet here than in a city or even normal wilderness. Plus, there were a lot of interesting things he'd found with X-ray vision.

But it was understandable how a human would react. "Yeah, I get it, I didn't expect the Wicked Witch of the West either."

"What?"

He smirked. "Nothing, just a joke from some story I heard." He walked forward. Cute, how they tensed up. "Anyway, I came here to ask you two a favor."

Roman eyed him cautiously. "What kind of favor?"

"I want to learn how to fight with knives. Cinder's busy, so I thought I'd come to you two."

"Why not ask Mercury or Emerald?"

"If I need advice on how to kick things, shoot guns, or use chain-scythes I'll go to those two." He shifted His speed and moved forward, taking a moment to appreciate their uncomprehending eyes. With them unable to notice, much less react to, anything on these time scales, it was easy for Him to reach around Neo and pick up her umbrella. "Plus, you already have this adorable little thing." He pushed the button to pop the blade up.

They both started at the sudden sight. Well, sudden for them at least.

He sheathed the blade and tossed the umbrella back to Neo, who clutched it to her chest protectively.

"So, what do you say?"

"S-sure, we'll teach you anything you want." Roman reached for a cigar, his fingers shaking. "But I really think you should ask Mercury, he was trained by his dad, a pro assassin. I'm sure he knows his stuff."

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

\\\\\

"So you don't use any special gadgets?" asked Jaune. "Or a motorcycle or anything?"

"That's weirdly specific, why would I use a motorcycle?" As Clark spoke, dim memories of his behavior under red kryptonite came to mind.

Okay, maybe him using a motorcycle wasn't as far-fetched as it sounded.

"No reason, it was a long shot anyway with your super speed." Jaune slumped back in his chair, and for some reason he handed Ruby a twenty lien bill.

She accepted it with a pleased smile and leaned forward. "Okay, my turn! I've always wanted to ask about this, did you have any contacts in the police? Someone you could trust to get you information?"

"No. If I wanted information, I usually asked Ozpin or Qrow," Clark answered.

He hadn't expected their level of curiosity about how he used to operate as the Dart. Among the questions they'd already asked were what hours of the day he usually patrolled Vale, or what buildings he'd keep watch from. He wasn't sure what was so interesting about that, but they ate up his answers anyway and fired off more questions from a seemingly unending supply.

It was nice to see how excited they were, though. He was a bit uncomfortable with the fixation on him, but he'd promised that he'd get around to answering whatever they wanted about the Dart. Now was a good time, since he'd already gone to Patch to train with Tai for the day and snuck back on board.

He'd chosen his room to discuss Dart stuff. It wasn't the biggest, but three people could fit in comfortably, and he could easily keep an ear out in case anyone happened to pass by and listen. Clark had sat at the desk provided in the corner while the other two had found their own chairs.

A few questions later, Ruby brought up the Grimm he'd lured back to Mt. Glenn and how he'd made sure that none were left behind. Or if he'd killed the ones that had been. He explained that he'd actually used heat vision to spur the slower ones along, and he'd avoided killing any Grimm that night. Although he had seen some smaller ones get trampled.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

However, this time he had a question of his own. "Your team was the one that went to Mt. Glenn, right?"

"Um, yeah," Ruby eyes dropped and rubbed the back of her head.

Clark winced internally. Right, that must be a sore spot for her. "I read about what happened, I'm glad you guys were there to help everyone."

Some light came back into Ruby at that. It was actually kind of scary how much his opinion seemed to matter to her. To the both of them, really.

Clark thought back to the incident. "You know, Ozpin actually asked me to go along with you guys for that."

Ruby gasped. "He did? You mean we could have met back then?"

"Actually, I probably would have been skulking around and reporting to Qrow without you even knowing I was there. At least until I realized the scale of what was going on down there, there might have been a team up then."

"What happened? How come you didn't come along?"

Clark shook his head. "I got distracted by something else, a lead on someone dangerous that had come to Remnant with me. I thought I needed to deal with him first, but instead he ended up with the same abilities as me and escaping."

"So that waswhy you were out of the city during the Breach?" asked Jaune.

"It is. You know, sometimes I still think of how I could have handled it better. How I could have still come back to Vale in time to help." Twenty-two people had died, and Clark kept the thought to himself. He didn't want Ruby to feel guilty. At least she'd been there and done her best.

"I-I don't think it's healthy to dwell on it and blame yourself," Ruby said. The concern in her eyes a striking contrast to his own self-pity.

"That's true, thanks." He smiled so she wouldn't worry. "Anyway, Jaune, there's something else I've been wondering. Is there a Nicholas Arc in your family?"

Jaune jolted at the sudden attention placed on him. "Um, yeah, he's my dad. You know him?"

"He was in charge of a group of huntsmen on a mission I went to a few months ago. My first and only mission actually."

"Really?" Interest filled Jaune before he fully realized what Clark had said. "Wait, why was it your only one? Did something happen?"

"He kicked me off for being useless."

"What?!" Ruby leapt to her feet and beside her, and Jaune's jaw dropped.

Clark burst out laughing. He'd expected that kind of response, but their extreme reactions were just too much.

"Did-did he really do that?" asked Jaune. "Oh my god, I'm really really sorry. He can be really strict and-

Clark held a hand up to stop him. "No no, it's fine. Honestly, I should thank your dad for doing that. He was trying to teach me something."

"Really, what was it?" Ruby sat back down and had calmed down. Curiosity had replaced her shock and she sat up a bit closer.

"Well, before you judge, it was back when I still wasn't familiar with Grimm and thought they might be like normal animals." Clark went on to describe the mission in Highwood and the non-lethal methods he'd kept to when neutralizing Grimm. Jaune's dad hadn't accepted that and had taken him off the mission. There had ended up being an issue later though, and Clark had come back to help and ended up killing his first Grimm accidentally. Although he'd still refrained from killing more.

After Clark had finished his story, he couldn't help tilting his head and grinning. "You think I was crazy for refusing to kill the Grimm, don't you?"

"No! No way we'd think that!" Jaune answered immediately and Ruby was quick to agree. There was no hiding their thoughts, though. It had been written all over their faces when he'd told them about his refusal to kill Grimm. Ruby and Jaune had worn the same surprised and confused expressions that team CFVY had.

It was kind of embarrassing, actually. How he'd behaved when lacking such basic knowledge.

"Anyway, that's the story of my first Grimm hunt. I hope you don't make fun of me." The nervous frown on Clark's face made it seem like he'd be devastated if they did. At least, it would have if the lips hadn't purposefully been drawn so far down.

Ruby giggled, the sight clearly too much for her. "No way. You killed a Nevermore by jumping through it, who would even try to make fun of that?"

Clark shrugged. "What about you guys? What were your first Grimm hunts like?"

They both blinked and stared at him.

"Should I not have asked that?" Had he done something wrong? Team CFVY hadn't seemed to mind him asking it.

"It's fine," Ruby said. "I just didn't think you'd be interested in our stories."

Jaune nodded. Although he was looking aside and fidgeting with his hand.

"I'm plenty interested," Clark said. His eyes narrowed slightly at Jaune's sudden nervousness. "You want to go first Ruby?"

"Oh, um, sure! Okay, so I think I was . . . twelve? No, thirteen. Anyway, at Signal we went on supervised trips into the forest to find Grimm. I guess the first one I went to would be my first Grimm hunt? But it's not that interesting, we barely did anything while the teacher demonstrated how to exterminate a Beowolf."

As it turned out, Ruby wasn't the most linear of storytellers. She tended to interrupt herself with details such as the habits of a friend who'd been with her or her opinion of the class, or mention a separate, related incident offhand before continuing.

Even so, it was still very entertaining. The excitement in Ruby's voice was accompanied by her waving her arms wildly or jumping up at a particularly thrilling part. Somehow, the story of her first Grimm hunt turned into an amalgamation of several. There had been times when she'd hunted Grimm with her sister, her father, and even with friends during school. Moments which she tied into what she considered her first Grimm hunt. When she'd fought a pack of Beowolves all by herself.

She'd only been fourteen. Maybe the fact would have been more shocking to Clark if Ruby wasn't fifteen now, although she was quick to point out that she was nearing sixteen in a month.

Finally, Ruby described her encounter with Beowolves in the forest during winter. She'd held Crescent Rose, the weapon she'd lovingly crafted and practiced with for years. Then, she'd put her signature technique into practice. Combining her Semblance and the recoil from her shots to propel herself and slice through the Grimm. All the while she added in anecdotes of past experiences with family and stuff she'd learned.

Clark kept most of his focus on Ruby during her story, but he made sure to keep an eye on Jaune. The blond had put on a face of casual ease, but his nervousness hadn't diminished.

"I'd say that story beats out mine," Clark said once Ruby had finished. "And it portrays you a lot better than mine does for me. Were there really fifty Beowolves?"

"Th-there might have been less than that," Ruby admitted with a slight blush.

"Hmm, okay. Although I am wondering about whether to trust that the rest of the story is accurate."

"It totally is!"

"Alright, alright, Jaune?" Clark saw that his question had raised a few blond hairs on the back of the neck. "What about you? Want to tell us about your first Grimm hunt?"

He laughed, but with a clear nervous tint. "It's nothing special. The first ones I killed by myself were a few Ursai."

"Oh yeah, I remember that," Ruby said. "That's right, you hadn't fought Grimm before Beac-

"Y-yeah, that's true!" Jaune jumped in. "But only because my education was, um, less formal."

"Jaune . . ." Ruby let his name hang as she gave him a questioning look.

Clark raised an eyebrow. Obviously something was up with Jaune, but Clark wasn't going to pry.

"Well, despite the lack of details, I think that's good enough for me." Clark interrupted the wordless exchange of expressions between the two. "Anyway, do you two have any last questions about what I did as the Dart?"

"Last questions? We're done already?" Jaune asked.

"Yeah, you can't have that many left. Right?"

Ruby and Jaune's eyes met for a moment.

"Would that be a bad thing if we did?" Ruby said.

Were they serious?

Yes they were, it took only a glance at their expressions to tell. What more could they want to know? It honestly boggled his mind that they'd have more to ask, especially after he'd told them more about the Dart than he'd ever thought anyone would want to know.

"Okay, just one more for now. The rest you should save for some other time," Clark said.

"Alright, I think we know what to ask then, it's something every Dart fan wants to know." Ruby looked to Jaune, and he nodded. They both leaned forward for the answer. "What's the 'S' stand for?"

"Oh, that." The ever-present weight of the crystal in his pocket made itself felt, but Clark shrugged it off. "You know, I'm surprised you guys didn't ask me that sooner."

"We wanted to see if we could guess it right first." Jaune explained. "We thought of it signifying 'safety' or telling bad guys to 'stop' what they're doing. Before we met you we thought your name might start with an 'S'-you know what, never mind. I think it's better if you just tell us."

Clark chuckled. "Well, it might surprise you, but the symbol's not an S."

"It isn't?" Ruby's brow furrowed in confusion.

"I know it looks a lot like one, but it's actually the crest of my birth family." Clark reached into a cabinet for some of the ship's stationery. After he ripped off a page, the barest amount of heat vision blackened the paper, and the crest of El appeared in an instant. "It also represents hope on my birth planet, and I thought it was something unique that would work."

"Birth planet." Ruby repeated, then she shook her head and laughed. "You know, it's really easy to forget that you're an alien, and then you say stuff like that. I never would have thought that was what the 'S' meant."

"Remember, not really an 'S'." Clark reminded her gently. Immediately, he noted footsteps approaching his room. A pretty distinct walk, he didn't even need to focus his hearing further or look to know who it was. "Anyway, I guess that's it for today. Your uncle's outside."

As if on cue, Qrow knocked on the door. "Ruby, other kid, you can finish slobbering over Clark later. I need to ask him a few things."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cried out, both her and Jaune flushed at the accusation.

By that point, Clark had opened the door. Just in time to see Qrow roll his eyes at the two teenagers. "Don't pretend like that's not what you were doing. Get outta here, this is important adult stuff."

"Actually Qrow, can we talk on deck?" Clark said. "I want some fresh air and sunlight."

Qrow shrugged and agreed, so Clark locked up his room, and they headed up. Meanwhile, Ruby and Jaune went the other direction.

"Psst, hey Clark!" Ruby's voice was a sharp whisper. If it had been otherwise, Clark might have tuned it out. "Can you autograph another paper with the 'S'- I mean, crest on it later? So Jaune and I can each have one?"

Autograph. Clark had seen them take the paper he'd burned the crest on, but it still felt weird that someone would want something he'd signed. Although he understood, there'd been some celebrities back home that Clark would have liked the autographs of too. Football players, mostly.

Maybe he could do it sooner rather than later though. No . . . he shouldn't mess around like that.

Oh, what the heck. If the Dart had fans, then Ruby and Jaune were the best ones he could have hoped for. They'd placed him on a pedestal, sure, but at least they were kind and respectful.

Qrow was ahead of Clark on the stairwell. If their positions had been reversed, it might have been a challenge. Right now, what he had to do was simple.

Qrow's foot started to lower onto the next step.

Clark turned around and descended the stairs to his room. Once he opened the door, he retrieved another piece of paper and burned the El crest onto it. Not in a rush, Ruby and Jaune deserved better than something that was hastily scrawled.

It was good. It should be, after all, he'd had a lot of practice with carving the symbol with his eyes.

Satisfied, Clark headed up the stairs and found Ruby and Jaune. It looked like a breeze had thrown Ruby's hood up, and Clark ducked under the red cloth hanging in the air. Once he got a view of their faces, he saw that they were both admiring the autograph he'd already made.

He folded up the second one and placed it between Ruby's fingers. Then, he returned to his place behind Qrow.

Whose foot finally came down onto the step.

"Hey, what the-Oh my god!" Ruby's delighted scream was loud enough to be heard normally. "Clark, you're the best! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Wow, maybe a super-speed drop-off had been the right choice. If he'd given it to them normally, he would have been tongue-tied by a response like that.

"Clark, can you use your X-ray eyes and see what my niece is screaming about?"

"Sure." Clark made a show of squinting through the walls. "It's something I gave her, I guess she didn't look at it until now."

\\\\\

Qrow got up on deck, followed by Clark. The sky was a clear blue, with a few clouds blocking the sun. Further in the distance a brighter patch of ocean approached the ship, the wind pushing the cloud and its shadow away.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" Clark asked once they got up to the railing.

"Do you know that this trip's been really quiet?" Qrow asked.

"It has?"

"Yeah. Normally, a Grimm or two should have shown up by now, but we haven't even changed course. Everything's right on schedule."

". . . Is that supposed to be a bad thing?"

"Clark, don't play dumb. It's not as entertaining as the real thing," Qrow said. "I know you've been killing any Grimm that come near the ship."

"Yeah, I have." Clark's eyes briefly scoured the area. Qrow had seen that expression often enough to know that he was making sure nobody was close enough to hear them. "You still haven't answered me though, is that a bad thing? You're acting like it is."

Qrow shrugged. "It might not be, but what if I said that it might be a good learning experience for the kids to deal with aquatic Grimm?"

That made Clark hesitate, but only for a second. "Then I'd say that you can do it some other time. When you're not risking the lives of any passengers on board."

"Good answer." Qrow said. "That's not what I'm worried about though, the ship would probably shoot down any Grimm before we got the chance to. What I'm worried about is why you're doing this. Grimm aren't that common out here, you'd need to keep watch for hours to spot any."

"Qrow, I only need a few seconds to tell you if there are any Grimm within ten miles. Even if they're in the air, under the ocean, or digging through the seabed."

"Okay showoff, but I've asked around," Qrow pointed at him accusingly. "The crew detected that explosion or whatever you did, and it was in the middle of the night. Plus, one of the kids said you were just waiting up at the top of the ship in the dark."

Clark narrowed his eyes and didn't say a word. Nothing to deny Qrow's findings or explain himself.

Qrow sighed. "Clark, I'm not mad or anything. I'm actually grateful that you're saving us some work and reducing the danger to everyone here, but I've seen people do things like this before and it usually doesn't end well."

Hunting Grimm was a dangerous job, and when teams that had lasted for years lost members, Qrow had seen the survivors respond in several ways. Some were able to mourn and move on, but the ones that couldn't were sorry sights. A few abandoned the job permanently, others retreated into themselves to become shells of who they'd been before.

That had happened to Tai when Summer had died, and it had taken years to get him somewhat back to normal. Qrow couldn't deny that he'd also started drinking a lot more around then.

Besides that, a lot of huntsmen had reacted by throwing themselves into their job. Hunting down Grimm without rest. Sometimes it was motivated by hate, but it was a lot more common for huntsmen to keep accepting missions so they wouldn't dwell on the dead. It was always terrible to see those whose licenses had to be suspended and receive mandatory aid before they could go into work again. They demanded more missions, even resorting to screaming scathing insults at innocent government workers.

Clark wasn't a conventional huntsman, and he'd seemed to have gotten better after spending time with Ruby and the others. Still, staying up in the middle of the night to kill Grimm wasn't healthy.

"Alright, I admit that I'm keeping watch, but you don't need to worry," Clark said with a smile. One that Qrow didn't find entirely convincing.

Looking at Clark, Qrow couldn't even tell if he was staying up late to watch for Grimm. No bags under his eyes, no fatigue, it seemed like he was still getting enough sleep at least.

Qrow sighed. "I'm not going to make a big deal of this, but at least promise me that you'll go talk to a therapist when we land in Mistral."

"A therapist?" Clark gave him an offended look. "I'm not crazy Qrow."

"Who said anything about being crazy?"

This time, Clark mirrored Qrow's confusion. "Isn't that the assumption when someone needs to go to a therapist?"

"No? What? Clark, it's only been a few weeks since your friends died. I suggested a therapist because they can help with the grief you're feeling." Qrow said.

"I don't know . . ."

"What's the matter? It's not a big deal to talk things out with a therapist."

"I guess it isn't on Remnant," Clark said, and he stared out at the ocean for a few seconds. "Fine, I'll think about it."

"Really." Qrow responded dryly to the textbook dismissive answer.

"I will."

The huntsman sighed. That seemed like the best he was going to get out of Clark right now, no point in hounding him about it. Qrow cocked his head curiously. "Is it really like that on Earth? People only go to therapists if they lose their minds? Do they only go to a doctor when they're dying from cancer?"

That got a snort of laughter from Clark. "No, I guess we just view therapists differently. Maybe we think they're less important because we don't have Grimm that are attracted to negative emotions."

"Sounds messed up if you need Grimm to think therapists are helpful."

"It's a different attitude," Clark said a little defensively. "But I guess there's a little truth to what you said. Do you talk to a therapist?"

". . . Sometimes."

Clark raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes?"

"I don't exactly keep a regular schedule, Ozpin had me flying around on lots of missions, and there's a lot I have to keep secret. I can change some details to hide stuff about Salem though, so I try to go at least once or twice a year. Tai and my nieces nag me if I don't."

"There are people back home who I could confidently say have never seen a therapist," Clark said, his tone thoughtful.

Qrow's eyes widened. Hell, Clark's world really was weird. "You know, it's been a while since I heard you mention your home. You don't really seem to talk about it much with Ruby and the others."

"Yeah." Instead of explaining why, Clark leaned forward on the railing and looked out into the distance. Then, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his crystal. "That's because I don't think I can go back."

The crystal had cracked, the fracture ran down across the 'S' and branched off into smaller tears down the sides. The few times Qrow had seen it, it had been alien at a glance. The way the light had hit it-there was no way to describe it, the crystal was just otherworldly. Now, it seemed little more than a dull, blue rock. It was a sad sight, especially since he knew what it had been.

"Oh, crap. Sorry, I didn't know," Qrow said.

"You don't have to apologize." Clark hid the crystal back in his pocket.

"Well, you don't have to worry. We might still be able to figure something out." If they found Ozpin soon, he could help.

"Maybe," Clark replied, but he didn't seem too hopeful.

Qrow couldn't blame him for that. His eyes turned away, unsure what to focus on in the awkward mood.

Eventually, his eyes fixed on something. "Huh."

"What is it?" Clark asked.

"Can you use your super eyes and make sure you're seeing the same thing I am? Are those marks on the Sun?" Incredibly enough, some clouds blocked the light in just the right way for Qrow to look up without pain. They were small, but there were dark regions. They didn't move with the rolling clouds, and it sounded crazy, but they were on the Sun.

Clark followed his gaze and stared up. Even when the clouds flew by and Qrow had to turn away so he wouldn't be blinded.

"They're sunspots." Clark said. "Magnetically active regions on the Sun that are cooler than the rest of the surface, still very bright, just darker in comparison. I guess we're at a sunspot maximum right now."

"Oh, that's neat I guess."

Qrow glanced back up to see if he could spot them again, but the clouds had moved on. It was too bright now.