The rest of the day was somber. Ryder wasn't himself. Everyone could tell he was deeply depressed. Why wouldn't he be? He just learned his home world was destroyed. his family and friends all dead. Everything he held dear back home was gone. Wiped away by a single War. He was devastated and it seemed like he shut down. It was almost like he lost the will to keep fighting. Which was a serious problem for the group as without him, they might not be able to locate the last Dragon Ball, and they won't know how to use them. But they group didn't know what to do to help Ryder. They had no idea how to handle the situation. How do you comfort someone who basically lost everything? Weiss did try to comfort him, but nothing seems to be working, and she feels powerless to help.
Right now, Ryder finished writing a letter to leave for his friends. He was leaving for Vale to tell Kairos the fate of Earth. Kairos deserves to know, Earth was his home too. Once he put the letter down, he pressed two fingers onto his forehead and searched for Kairos' Aura. Before he can teleport to Kairos' location, he hears someone enter the room.
"Hey, kid. You in here?" Qrow asked.
Qrow walked in and saw Ryder about to teleport.
"What are you doing?" Qrow asked with narrowed eyes.
"Heading to Vale to tell Kairos what happened to Earth. He deserves to know." Ryder explained.
Qrow just nods.
"That he does." Qrow said before noticing the letter. "Well, I'll tell everyone where you're going. Better than a simple letter."
With that, Qrow turned around and walked out of the room. Once he was gone, Ryder resumed his search for Kairos' Aura signature. Once he finds it, he locks onto it and prepares to teleport. He then activates his Magic and teleports, his form vanishing into thin air.
[Vale]
Somewhere in Vale City, Kairos was standing on the roof of a building, the wind brushed up against his body and he didn't seem bothered by it. Things are clearing up for Vale City. Less Grimm to deal with, but Beacon is still a hot spot so liberating Beacon is not happening any time soon. Besides that, Kairos has been training alone since Glynda has been very busy with Vale and the Council. Kairos hears a noise behind him, and he turns around. His eyes widen as he sees Ryder standing there.
"Ryder?" Kairos asked, surprise to see his Rival here.
Last Kairos knew, Ryder left to continue searching for the Dragon Balls. But he noticed something was wrong immediately; Ryder's expression wasn't his usual one. He looked depressed.
"Are you okay?" Kairos asked.
"No." Ryder answered. "I'm not."
Hearing that, Kairos decided not to press him further.
"So, how goes your search for the Dragon Balls?" Kairos asked.
Ryder then begins to tell him everything. The Battle of Haven, the Death of Cinder Fall, his reunion with Team RWBY, JNPR, Qrow and Ozpin, the fact that there is one Dragon Ball left to find, the Relic of Knowledge situation, his new relationship with Weiss, and of course.... the fate of Earth. When Kairos heard that Humanity on Earth is gone, and the Earth is nothing but Fire and Ash. He was stunned but not devastated. Sure, he felt sadness that Earth was brought to ruin by WW3, but he didn't take it as hard as Ryder.
"That... Is a lot to take in." Kairos said, sounding calm yet stunned.
"You don't seem devastated about Earth." Ryder pointed out with a glare.
Did Kairos not care about the Earth? Earth was Kairos' home too.
"I'm not. Because I didn't have much back home." Kairos revealed.
Ryder gave a look of confusion, his previous anger quickly vanishing at this new information.
"Look. I'm not one for this kind of thing, but..." Kairos hesitated. "Back home, I didn't have much. No real family to call my own. I grew up in an orphanage, so family wasn't a concept to me. Most of my time on Earth was uneventful. I didn't form many attachments. But then I arrived here, on Remnant. Here I found some of the things I lacked. I found Purpose, I found a home. A true home."
Ryder was surprised to hear all of this. He had no idea Kairos had little in his life.
"Then, Glynda found me. I didn't trust her at first, but over time, she become a kind of... mother figure for me." Kairos revealed. "She trained me. Look what I'm trying to say is, I wasn't that attached to Earth, but Remnant. I found more than I could ever find back on Earth and so have you."
Ryder respectfully remained quiet, he figured Kairos wasn't done speaking and he didn't want to interrupt.
"Listen, Ryder. I know you lost... a lot." Kairos said. "Earth was your home; you had a home back there. I didn't."
"Now, I don't have it anymore." Ryder brought up.
"No, you still have it." Kairos said.
"What?"
"I've been speaking with Tai ever since you departed. He sees you as the son he never had." Kairos explained. "Your close with Ruby and Yang, you have a relationship with Weiss, and you made all kinds of friends. Whether you realize it or not, Remnant has become a home for you just like it did for me."
Ryder just stood there taking this all in. Maybe Kairos was right. While he did lose Earth, he didn't lose everything. He still had so much on Remnant. Weiss, Yang, Ruby, Tai, Jaune and the others. He still had them. He still had Remnant. He still had so much to fight for. All Ryder did after this revelation was smile.
"Thanks, Kairos." Ryder thanked. "I needed that."
"No problem." Kairos said. "So, what will you do now?"
"Well, since I informed you on Earth. I was going to return to the others in Argus and continue with our journey to Atlas." Ryder said. "Wanna come with?"
Kairos just grinned.
"A chance to bring the fight to Salem?" Kairos asked. "Count me in."
Ryder smiled hearing this. Team RK has reformed after all this time.
"I just need to brief Glynda before we leave." Kairos said.
"No need." Glynda said.
Both Ryder and Kairos turn to her voice and see Glynda standing there.
"Glynda." Ryder greets.
"Good to see you, Ryder." Glynda greeted back before looking at Kairos. "I heard enough to know the situation. Besides, I believe it is best you join him anyway."
"What about you?" Kairos asked.
"Vale still needs my care." Glynda answered. "So, I'll be busy with Vale.
Kairos just nods, accepting what his mentor had to say.
"Good luck, both of you." Glynda said.
"With what we'll go through, we'll need it." Ryder said, then turned to Kairos. "Ready?"
"Of course." Kairos said.
Ryder placed his fingers on his forehead and held a hand out to Kairos.
"What are you doing?" Kairos asked.
"It's how i teleport. I'm hoping i can teleport the two of us." Ryder said.
Kairos didn't even bother to argue. He grabbed Ryder's hand and within seconds, the two vanish into thin air.
[Argus]
Team RWBY, JNPR, Oscar and Qrow were waiting for Ryder to return. Weiss paced back and forth in the living room, worried for her boyfriend. Ruby watched her pacing and got worried about her.
"Weiss, it'll be fine." Ruby said.
"Will it?" Weiss asked anxiously. "What if he doesn't come back?"
"He will." Qrow assured.
Weiss went to talk but Ryder and Kairos suddenly appear out of thin air. Everyone was relieved to see Ryder again but surprised to see Kairos. It's been months since they've seen Kairos. So, seeing him suddenly appear is a shock. They also noticed something different about Ryder. He was no longer depressed, it seemed like he was cheered up. Kairos lets go of Ryder's hand and looked at the group.
"Everyone." Kairos greets.
Ryder turned his head to Weiss just as she rushed him and embraced him, he nearly fell over from the impact. Weiss then let go of him and looked him in the eyes.
"Ryder... are you-" Weiss went to speak but Ryder cut her off.
"I'm fine, Weiss. Thanks to Kairos." Ryder said.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
Ryder looked at everyone. He smiled at them all.
"I may have lost Earth, but I still have you guys." Ryder said.
Ryder looked at JNPR and Blake.
"My friends...."
He then looked at Ruby and Yang before looking at Weiss.
"And Family." Ryder said, smiling warmly.
Weiss smiles back, just happy to see him back to his old self.
"So, what now?" Nora asked.
Ryder turned to her.
"We head to Atlas." Ryder declared.
--------------------------------
Author's Note: We're in the long final stretch! The Final Battle with Salem is approaching, just many more Chapters to go.