Coming Home

After about a Month, Ryder thought that it was wise to return to Vale to inform his allies about his progress with the Dragon Balls. These allies being Kairos, Taiyang and Glynda since they know about the orbs. Theodore assured him that Vacuo will be fine without him and that he'll keep his eyes open for any Dragon Balls in his absence. Before he left Vacuo, he trained a little to try and push past 10X but couldn't.

It's like there's some kind of barrier between him and his goal. Almost like an inhibitor on his power. He doubts he hit his limit, so he keeps trying to push further up the power scale. But as he flew back to Vale, he was getting increasingly nervous as he somewhat feared how his friends would react. He did just leave them without saying goodbye or letting them know where he was going. His biggest fear is that they hate him now for what he did. Guess that's just his anxiety talking. 

He flew low above the trees and had to deal with some Grimm that attacked him. It wasn't anything too serious, so he dispatched them with ease. He held the Dragon Radar in his hand in case it picked up any Dragon Balls along the way. He gave a quick look at the radar but saw nothing on the radar. He then stored it away in the satchel he had for safe keeping. He looked forward and saw a familiar sight. The ruins of Beacon Academy and the city of Vale.

As he flew over the city, he looked around and saw that the citizens were living their lives normally while countless Huntsmen were present at every turn. Given what happened during the Vytal Festival, he can't blame them for the increased security. Ryder then spots Glynda on top of a building talking to a Huntsman. He waits for the Huntsman to leave before he makes his approach. 

Glynda sighs as she overlooks the City of Vale. She hears someone land behind her, so she turns around while grabbing her weapon but stops when she sees Ryder behind her. 

"Ryder." Glynda said, sounding surprised to see him. 

Glynda quickly returns to her professionalism and puts her weapon away. 

"It certain has been some time since you've been in Vale." Glynda said. 

"That it has." Ryder said. "How's everything going?" 

"Still struggling with the Grimm, but we're managing. Kairos has been a great help." Glynda said. 

"Speaking of Kairos, how has he been?" Ryder asks. 

"Keeping up with training, fighting Grimm, mostly the usual." Glynda said. 

Ryder nods in silent acknowledgement as he absorbed the information. Glynda looked at Ryder more thoroughly and saw that he was troubled. So, she wanted to change the subject. 

"Anyway, how has your search for the Dragon Balls been going?" Glynda asked. 

"Good. I got Four orbs now." Ryder said. "Three more and we're one step closer to beating Salem." 

"Do you plan on stopping by at Patch?" Glynda asks. 

"Kind of. I plan on informing Tai and Kairos." Ryder said. 

"I suggest going to Patch. Tai and Yang would be happy to see you again." Glynda said. 

Ryder was confused because she didn't mention Ruby's name. He was about to ask her why she didn't mention Ruby, but a Huntress climbed onto the roof and rushed over to Glynda. 

"Glynda! We have a number of Grimm near the docks." The Huntress said. 

"Lead the way." Glynda ordered before turning to Ryder. "Sorry for cutting this short, but there is something I need to take care of." 

Ryder nods, understanding that she has to go. He watches as Glynda and the Huntress leave him alone before he leaps into the air and flew away. His destination was Patch to pay a quick visit to Tai before looking for Kairos. He went full speed to reach Patch a lot faster and he nearly passed his destination. He almost passed the house because he wasn't paying attention. His mind was stuck on the Dragon Balls and what happened with him regarding his first kill. He slowed down and began his descent. As he descended, he spotted Tai outside tending to flowers. It was good to see a familiar face again. Ryder lands behind Tai and brushes off any dirt that got onto his clothes because of his landing. Tai turned around and was surprised to see Ryder, he set down his gardening tools and got the dirt off his hands as he then stared at Ryder with surprise in his eyes. A smile then found its way onto Tai's face. 

"It's good to see you're okay." Tai said, smiling. 

"Good to see you too, Tai." Ryder said, returning the smile. "Can we talk? It's important." 

"Oh yeah, sure. Just let me take care of the tools." Tai said, gesturing to the tools lying on the ground. 

Ryder walks over and helped Tai take care of the tools before the two entered the Rose-Xiao Long house. Once they got inside, Tai shut the door and walked past Ryder towards the living room with the Earthling following. Once they reached the living room, Ryder sat down on the couch while setting the satchel he had on the coffee table in front of him. Tai sat down beside him and gazed at the satchel containing the Dragon Balls. 

"So, how many have you found so far?" Tai asked. 

"Four in total now. All I need to find is the last 3." Ryder said. "Which is easier said than done. I have a lot of ground to cover." 

"Wish there was some way I could help." Tai said. 

"There isn't much you can do unfortunately." Ryder said. "Besides, it's better if I do this alone." 

"it's not good to tackle things on your own." Tai said. 

"I don't want my friends, or any I hold close to get hurt." Ryder defends. 

"Well, ironically, you pushing people away will hurt them." Tai said, almost jokingly. 

Ryder looked at the floor as he absorbed those words. 

"Listen." Tai starts, getting Ryder's full attention. "It's impressive to be able to tackle challenges alone, but it's admirable to tackle challenges together." 

Ryder kept a silent gaze on Tai before looking back at the floor, honestly considering his words. Maybe he should get help from his friends. 

"So, when you get the chance, let your friends help you. It's a lot easier to protect those you love when they're close." Tai said. 

Tai looked at a photo on the coffee table of his old team. He reaches forward and grabs it with a somber expression. 

"Trust me. It's a mistake I made." Tai said with a somber tone. 

Ryder looked at the photo and saw 4 people. Qrow was one of them, but he saw two others. He remembers who they are. Raven Branwen and Summer Rose. Tai talked a lot about them before Ryder entered Beacon. Ryder's attention is drawn away from the picture when he hears a gasp. He turns his head to the source and saw Yang halfway down the stairs looking at him with wide eyes. Ryder stands up as Yang quickly walks down the stairs. 

"Yang, I'm sorry for leaving without saying anything." Ryder said as Yang approached him. 

Yang stands before her best friend and looks into his eyes with a glare. Ryder was nervous from the gaze. Yang's glare then softens as she hugs him. Caught off by the act, Ryder didn't know what to do. 

"I'm glad you're okay." Yang said. 

Ryder smiled hearing that before he returned the embrace. 

"Good to see you too, Yang." Ryder said. 

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Author's Note: By the way, there is a romance in this story. Can you guess who it's between?