Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Everything was going according to plan.

 Summer adjusted the grip on her axe as her view of the lake started to blur- a distortion appearing about ten feet out. The metal in her hand responded to her touch, transforming into a rifle and unloading a round of lightning dust just as the red and black portal reached its full size.

The battle was a serious one, but Summer still felt the corner of her mouth turn upwards as she heard a corresponding roar coming from the waters ahead.

“Guess it found that . . . shocking,” said a voice from the shore to Summer’s left. Team STRQ had yet to fight a battle that was too serious for Taiyang’s attempts at humor. Summer rolled her eyes, but the trace of a smile didn’t leave her lips. One of these days she would have to try a different ammunition. It might even be worth using suboptimal strategies to see him try to make a pun on something like wind dust or plant dust. 

That was a problem for a different mission though. First things first.

Summer had never fought a beast quite like this before. The serpent-like creature didn’t match anything in their Grimm Studies textbooks. (Summer had done enough studying to be sure of that). Most of its body was underwater, but from her estimates, it was larger than Beacon’s administrative building – tower included.  The Grimm’s features resembled the Feilong sea dragons that sometimes caused trouble on waters near Menagerie, but it was too far from the ocean to be the same species. Summer supposed she couldn’t be surprised that they’d find an unusual monster on such an unusual mission. It certainly matched Ozpin’s style.

According to the official mission brief (she could worry about the unofficial one later), decreasing water levels had disrupted aquatic Grimm in Northern Vale, leading to multiple attacks around the region’s rivers and lakes. Clearing this lake of its biggest monster was the type of mission that was usually assigned to more experienced Huntsmen, but being the top team at Beacon had its perks.

Summer wasn’t so sure that Raven and Qrow considered it a perk. She could just make out two figures moving around the rampaging lake serpent, occasionally disappearing from view as they became too small to see. The beginnings of another portal started to form, this time within an arm’s length of Summer. Sundered Rose shifted back into its axe form and Summer was rewarded with the satisfying chink of her blade cutting through Grimm scales.

Raven had complained all last semester about the drills Summer assigned on portal precision, but the results were unmistakable. There was no other team in Beacon – probably no other team on all of Remnant – that could fight such a foe in perfect sync with its members spread hundreds of feet apart. Anyone else would have been out of luck as soon as the clever old monster had retreated to the center of the lake. No boat was safe with that creature in the water. And you’d need more ice dust than four well-armed Hunstmen could carry in order to freeze the lake’s surface enough to make a stable fighting platform. Tai was still dripping a bit from proving that point during their initial test of the Grimm’s defenses. And of course, trying to face the monster in the middle of the water without a boat or platform would be suicide - unless you could breathe underwater… or fly.

Oz had told Summer that ‘True leadership is knowing the right person for the job’ enough times that it really should have started to stick by now. But that didn’t stop the pit in her stomach at delegating the most dangerous task. Unfortunately, she couldn’t argue that Raven and Qrow were the best equipped to drive the giant Grimm back towards the shore. (It’s not like Summer could fly.) The twins were close enough now that Summer could make out Raven’s figure gripping the crest of the lake monster.  Her long dark hair blowing in the wind served to distinguish her shape from her brother’s. She looked like a dragon-riding hero out of a fairy tale as she managed to stay astride the beast while swinging her sword down in a precise stroke in front of the Grimm’s face. The air near the serpent’s face started to blur at the exact same time as the air in front of Summer did the same. She struck the portal with Sundered Roses’s blade, and was met with the very strange sight of seeing her own arm deliver a blow to the creature’s eye from a hundred feet away. 

Despite having two of her closest friends gain the ability to turn into birds, Summer had always thought there was something really magical about Raven’s semblance. Not that she’d ever tell her that. Raven would just roll her eyes and call her a ‘sentimental loser’ like she did to Tai whenever he gave her a compliment. Although, Summer supposed that Raven had gotten less harsh lately. Maybe Tai’s friendliness and genuine goodness had actually started to have an effect on her. If anyone could wear down a former bandit’s sharp edges, it would be Taiyang Xiao Long. 

“You know,” As Tai spoke, Summer watched Raven leap from the thrashing Grimm’s neck. Her arms changed into dark wings just in time to pull up before hitting the water below. “I’m not sure it’s fair.”

“That they’re doing all the work?” Summer’s eyes followed Qrow scoring a slice along the monster’s flank with his scythe before he returned to his own bird shape.

“Oh, um…” Summer turned to find Tai scratching his neck sheepishly. “I was thinking how Oz let Raven change into a raven and Qrow change into a crow, but…” He paused for dramatic effect. “I told him what my name meant, and he’s never once offered to let me turn into a dragon. Not even a little one.”

The corners of Summer’s mouth tightened once more, but her attention was drawn back towards the lake where an airborne Qrow was luring the beast closer to the shore. He had easily avoided a snap from the serpent’s jaws. But he hadn’t managed to avoid the wave caused by the monster’s lunge.  Summer clenched her fist on her weapon as her teammate struggled to climb up and out of the Grimm’s range with wet feathers.

A familiar noise sounded to Summer’s side. One of Raven’s portals had opened up near Tai, and he delivered his strongest one-two punch. The monster roared in outrage as the blows connected. It shifted its attention from Qrow to the opponent who opened the portal, but Raven was already on the move again.

A different portal cut through the air beside Summer, its twin peeking out from the other side of the Grimm. Raven must have changed to human and back in midair to place it. As Summer’s axe became a rifle in her hands, a second dark shape in the sky swooped down and transformed once again into a gangly young man with dark hair. Qrow took aim with his own weapon as he started to fall through the air.

The combined dust rounds of Harbinger and Sundered Rose crashed into the serpent with a yellow and red explosion, blasting the creature across the last remaining distance to the shoreline. Its looming form was now within striking distance of Team STRQ’s shorebound members. As Qrow transformed again -pulling up just before hitting the surface of the water – a golden blur took action beside Summer. Tai’s flurry of blows landed with perfect precision at the base of the monster’s neck, weakening the Grimm so that it only took one more strike from Summer’s axe to fell the beast. Within seconds, the hulking lake monster was nothing but dust.

Now Summer allowed herself to smile for real. Her strategy had worked just as intended. Raven’s sharp eye had found the monster’s weak points and her portals enabled Tai and Summer to strike with full force - unencumbered with avoiding counterattacks or the water. Their constant harrying combined with Qrow’s skillful distractions let the twins lead the beast to shore for a full powered team attack. Each member of Team STRQ had executed their parts flawlessly. The twins – particularly Rae- would have heavy aura losses from expending their powers so much, but there were no injuries. Bragging was unbecoming of a soon-to-be Huntress, but Summer was pretty sure they had completed this takedown better than most fully fledged professionals would have been able to.  And that was definitely a good sign.

 Because after they finished this mission - after they finished their last year at Beacon - Oz had asked the four of them to work for him full-time. He called it ‘the most important job in all of human and faunus history’. Literally saving the world. If Team STRQ was going to be up to the task, they had to be the best of the best.  

But first things first.

With the serpent gone, it was time for today’s real mission to begin.  And Summer was going to make sure Team STRQ carried it out perfectly.

* * * * *

All in all, it wasn’t the worst way to spend their last summer vacation. Sure, they had to fight a giant monster, and now they needed to spend the rest of the day looking for whatever secret thingy Ozpin had asked them to find, but at least they hadn’t been sent to freeze in the Atlesian tundra or get lost in the Vacuo desert. This was their last real chance to take a break before classes started up again. After the school year ended, they’d be Hunstmen for real – no more breaks, only missions. And sure, that had always been the goal, his childhood dream and all that. But Tai wanted to enjoy his last bits of freedom while they lasted, and the warm lakefront was a great place to do just that. All with the people he liked best. 

He glanced over to Summer, who had drawn a recently landed Qrow into an excited talk on how successful their dust round combo had been, and then he raised his head in search of the team’s fourth member.

Raven touched down in front of him. In the last year since Oz had given her and Qrow their transformation powers, they’d gotten much better at shifting at just the right height to land standing up straight in their human forms. Tai thought their magic looked pretty cool now, even if he did miss seeing Qrow fall flat on his face. 

“Nice work out there, partner,” Tai called out. “Without you, we wouldn’t have been able to wing it.”

Raven raised an eyebrow, the rest of her face as impassive as stone.

“You know . . . because you have wings,” Tai added, in case she didn’t get it.

“Great observation, dumbass,” she rolled her eyes as she walked past. Well, Tai would get her next time. For sure. “What’s next  Summ?”

Their fearless leader positioned herself to address all three of them. “You all read the mission report, right?” She looked at them expectantly.

“Um.. I didn’t quite get through all thirty-seven pages,” admitted Tai.

“Spilled coffee on my scroll again the other day,” grumbled Qrow.

Raven shrugged, “What’s the point? You tell us the important parts anyway.”

Tai was very glad that Raven was getting the worst of Summer’s glare.

“As it says in the mission report,” Summer’s voice was sharper than her axe –pretty impressive considering she honed her weapon twice a day without fail. “Official sources report that the Grimm attacks in this area started after the new reservoir project in Vale caused the water levels in outlying territories to decrease. In fact, the lake is lower now than it has been in over a thousand years.”

Right. Water levels. Tai was remembering now why he didn’t read the briefing.

“And Oz’s notes point out that there used to be a city around here somewhere. It’s been underwater for a thousand years but now all that water’s gone. Oz doesn’t think the Grimm are appearing because of the change in water. He thinks they’re here for something in the ruins. Something that’s just been exposed to air for the first time in a millennium. Apparently, some sort of magical artifact  was rumored to be in the city back when it was still a city. We’re supposed to find it and bring it back to Beacon before anyone else can get their hands on it,” Summer’s annoyance had gradually changed into excitement as she gave the explanation, and it was now unfiltered Summer-y passion. “Think about it! A source of magic that hasn’t been used in centuries. Who knows what it could do! This could be what Oz has been missing in his fight against Salem! This mission could change the world!”

Raven looked unimpressed, “So we’re looking for a magical artifact that may or may not exist, buried in an ancient city that no one remembers except for Ozpin, based only on rumors that are who knows how old?” 

Summer looked like she had a rebuttal prepared, but Raven continued before she could say anything, “Fine. It’ll be faster if we search from the air.”

Tai grimaced. Of course she’d volunteer to do that even when she had almost no aura left. But if he tried to suggest that Raven not do something, she’d probably punch him in the face and then try to do it twice.

“Actually, I think it would be better to stay on the ground. I want all hands on deck in case there are more Grimm around,” Summer’s logic was sound, but Tai suspected their leader was thinking along the same lines as he was. She always seemed to know just what to say to stop Raven from doing something stupid. Summer was pretty amazing like that.

 Their trip around the lake edge passed in relative calm. They had completed nearly half the circuit around the shore when Qrow spoke up, “Over there. Those rock formations don’t look natural.”

Sure enough, they found the traces of stone bricks, laid about in surprisingly neat squares at regular intervals on this side of the lake. The foundations of ancient buildings.

Tai had heard that there were some people who went around and tried to study old stuff like this – archeologists, he thought they were called. He’d never really understood the point. You could throw a stone anywhere in Remnant and you’d hit somewhere that people had tried to live at some time or another. The important thing was that all of those people had died the same way, and that’s why Tai was training to be a Hunstman, to stop that from happening to his home.

 Still, these were the oldest things Tai had ever seen. Older than the freaking lake, apparently. He guessed he could kind of see why people were interested in this type of thing. There was a sort of beauty to something that had lasted so long after the civilization that built it was lost to memory.  A piece of history-

BOOM

Tai turned his head to find a large piece of history being blown apart by a fire dust round from Qrow.

“It’s the only building with a stone floor. I figured it might be important,” he explained.

“Great thinking Qrow!” Summer rushed over to investigate. Tai followed and soon all four members of Team STRQ were peering into the remains of a dark - but thankfully, dry-  underground chamber.

 Summer jumped in first, and Tai followed, holding up his scroll for a source of light. “Hmmm,” he looked around. “I’m not sure there’s anything left down here.” This place looked really old. He could see the remains of …somethings. There were piles of dust – the non-explosive kind-  here and there that might have once been fabric or wood or pottery, or anything really. The place was empty of anything recognizable. Raven jumped down beside them.

“I’ll check the debris near edges,” Summer said. “You guys check the floor. A magical artifact would have been valuable. There might be a hidden compartment.”

Tai heard Qrow descend to join them as he bent down to examine the floor.  Perhaps he could check for hollow spots underneath the stones.

Suddenly, a strong arm was pulling him to his feet and away from the center of the room. He looked up just as a large portion of the ceiling collapsed, dumping a hundred pounds of stone onto the spot where he had just been kneeling.

“Fuck,” he heard Qrow call out from the other side of the new pile of debris. “Stupid semblance must have shaken something loose with the dust round earlier.”

Tai frowned, “Hey, the place is a thousand years old. You can’t blame yourself for that.”  Qrow was always too hard on himself. Maybe Tai could use the remainder of their summer break to help him let loose a little. Before that though…

Tai turned to face his rescuer and found Raven’s crimson eyes looking up at him coolly.  

“Thanks for being there,” he told her. And since Raven never seemed comfortable with people saying things like that, he added “You really rock, partner”.

She rolled her eyes and moved to go help Summer search for the relic. Tai watched her go. He was, of course, totally over her.

Yeah, he’d had a little crush on Raven their first year at Beacon. But he’d asked her out, and she’d said no, and then Summer had given him a very thorough lecture on maintaining appropriate team dynamics, and that was that. Now they were just friends. They fought together on missions and ate together at mealtimes. Tai would teach her about movies, and video games, and music, and other normal-person non-bandit things. And in return Raven shared some of her tribe’s training techniques and let him have a bit of her contraband liquor stash whenever Summer wasn’t around. And that was the extent of their relationship.  So what if he sometimes spent all night thinking of jokes to make Raven laugh? She had an objectively nice laugh and that was all. So what if his heart skipped a beat every time she opened a portal to him? Being one of the only people on Remnant to have that connection to her made him happy in a completely platonic way. So what if he could still feel the touch of her hand on his arm? He was probably just low on aura and -

“I found something!”

 Summer’s exclamation carried from the far side of the chamber. Tai approached to where she was kneeling on the ground, carefully extracting something from a large pile of dirt and debris. “I think there used to be some sort of wooden box or chest here. The wood’s all gone, but whatever was inside it feels intact.”

Tai held his breath as she drew up the object. It was . . . a mirror. A portable looking glass, no more than eight inches across, with a somewhat ornate, gold-trimmed handle. It would have been unremarkable except for two things. The first thing was that after Summer finished dusting it off, it looked brand new. The second thing was that it was literally glowing – shining a freaky blue color like some sort of radioactive robin’s egg. But still . . .

“A … mirror? Doesn’t look very impressive,” Qrow echoed Tai’s thoughts from over Summer’s shoulder.

“Maybe it’s also a gun?” Tai suggested helpfully.

“Well whatever it is, it’s the only thing that’s still in one piece around here.” Summer concluded. “And if it’s magic, it’s probably a lot more useful than it looks. Let’s take it to Oz.”

* * * * *   

The walk back was Qrow’s favorite part of search and destroy missions.

 Bullheads didn’t usually go out of their way to pick up a bunch of students in the middle of Grimm-infested nowhere, so each assignment usually involved a couple days’ walk to and from a local waypoint settlement with an airfield.

The walk out from the waypoint was always full of anticipation. Summer would spend the hike quizzing them on possible strategies. Tai tended to break out his worst puns when he was stressed. And whatever silence those two didn’t manage to fill was quickly broken by Raven bickering with anything that moved. But, after they’d finished whatever it was they needed to do on the mission, all that was left was to walk back. And those were the moments Qrow liked best. Summer would finally ease the tension in her shoulders and lose the strict leader act for a while. Tai’s smile was more natural, and his sunny mood could lighten up even the darkest forest. Even Raven was less annoying after a successful mission. 

The forests of Vale were nice too. They had all the best parts of the Mistral forests where he grew up – the sunlight filtering through the trees, the soft whistle of wind through branches, the lack of modern technology that gave his semblance too many opportunities to wreak havoc – and none of the worst parts -  namely, the Branwen bandit tribe.

Qrow had almost been disappointed when he’d realized how much easier it was to just fly back to Beacon after he and Raven had been given their bird powers.  But fortunately, they only did that for missions that were completely off the books. For assignments like this, where taking out the lake monster had been on the official mission board, they took the long way. It was better to not have people questioning just how Beacon’s top team could get around at inhumanly fast speeds.

So here they were, with two days of walking in between them and the village where they’d hitch a ride back.

“So,” Tai slung an arm around Qrow’s shoulders and then walked forward to put his other arm around Summer, dragging Qrow along with him.  “The mighty Team STRQ has completed its latest and greatest mission yet,” Tai was giving an over-the-top newscaster impression. It wasn’t one of his better impressions  - and his better impressions weren’t particularly good. 

Qrow was going to miss moments like this. Two days and then it would be back to Beacon for another round of schedules and classes and tests. After that, who knew. Summer seemed pretty set on staying with Oz until the mission to save the world was over. But while Raven might have fooled Ozpin, Summer, and Tai with her promises, Qrow wasn’t so easily convinced. His sister had always been the most loyal to the tribe. He had made the decision to never go back there within a month of seeing what life was like in the real world. Raven, he was pretty sure, would go back after graduation. Not that she’d tell him what she was thinking. And not that he’d ask. He wouldn’t be able to change her mind no matter what he said. Things always fell apart around him. In his experience, trying to stop it only made things worse.

If Raven left, he wasn’t sure what would fall apart next. Maybe Summer and Oz would realize that Qrow was a lot less useful without his twin and her convenient portals and then kick him off the team. Everyone said he was a useful fighter, but he knew which Branwen was the real prize, the real reason Oz had given them magic. If she left, he’d be good for nothing but bad luck.

 Or maybe Tai would leave when Raven did. He was a good guy and a great teammate. But Qrow could see the way the blond man’s eyes always followed after Raven. Tai was about as good at hiding his feelings as he was at doing impressions.

The man in question was still holding Qrow and Summer in his unsolicited hug, continuing with his terrible newscaster voice, “Now, our heroic team has to face an even harder challenge. How will they celebrate their amazing achievement when they return to Vale? Will it be a dance party? A beach day? A high-stakes movie marathon?”

Qrow rolled his eyes and broke free from Tai’s grip. It really wasn’t smart for the man to get so close to Qrow and his semblance, but Tai liked to do it anyway. He seemed to like a lot of stupid things – Raven being the prime example.

Summer pulled out from under other Tai’s arm- the maneuver uncharacteristically awkward as she was still using both hands to hold the mirror they’d found in the ruins.  “How about we celebrate by getting ahead on class readings for the semester,” her face grew serious. “Fourth year will be our hardest yet. We’ve got to get an early start if we want to stay on top!”

“That doesn’t sound very celebratory,” Qrow pointed out. He paused for a moment, considering the most effective argument, “We can’t slack off on team-building time just because we’re fourth years, now can we?”

“Yeah!” Tai added, “It will still be summer break for a whole week after we get back. So Summer should be breaking.”

Summer sighed. “We can take four days off for team-building when we get back,” she conceded. “Each of us can pick the activity for a day. But we’re spending the rest of the week in the library and at the gym, getting ahead on reading and training.”

“Hell yeah!” Tai grinned.  “We’re definitely hitting up the bars on my day. I’m buying you all drinks,” he shot a pair of finger guns at Qrow. “I mean this is a pretty big deal,” the blonde continued. “A team of four humble students, discovering a lost treasure after taking on a monster the size of a Leviathan -”

“It was definitely not the size of a Leviathan,” interjected Summer.

“What I’m saying  is,” Tai was undeterred, “This is big. This is the kind of story we’re gonna wanna tell our grandkids some day.”

Qrow scoffed.

“What, you’re not gonna tell you’re grandkids about this one?” Tai asked, “Don’t want them to know how silly you look when your feathers get wet?”

“Don’t think grandkids are really in the cards for me,” Qrow replied. He would be terrible with kids, obviously. He didn’t know a lot about babies, but he did know they were fragile. With his semblance, any kid of his probably wouldn’t last a day.

“That’s fair,” Tai nodded, oblivious to Qrow’s reasoning. “What about you, Summ?”

Their leader was taken aback at the question. “Kids? I don’t know,” she said. “I guess I haven’t thought about it.  I mean, maybe, in the future after we defeat Salem,”  she looked thoughtful. “But the mission comes first.”

“I’m with Summer,” Raven cut in from where she had been walking behind the three of them. “I’ve got better things to do than looking after some brats all day.”

“That’s really not what I said, Rae,” Summer sighed.

“Wow. You guys are no fun at all,” Tai lifted his chin. “I, for one, would be a great dad,” he declared.

This time, Raven joined in Qrow’s scoff.

“Hey, I would be totally awesome at being a dad.” Tai’s smile was joking, but Qrow thought he meant it. “I’m great at dad stuff. I could teach my kids how to fight, and pack their lunches for school, and every night, I’d say ‘I love you’ and tell them a bedtime story. They’re totally gonna love the one where Team STRQ fights the Leviathan-”.

“Not a Leviathan,” corrected Summer.

“Do people actually do that?” Raven asked.

Summer looked concerned at the question, “You mean, do people actually tell their kids bedtime stories? Or do people actually fight Leviathans?”

“Do people actually say ‘I love you’?” Raven seemed genuinely curious. “I thought that was just something they made up for those sappy movies you guys watch. Like ‘love at first sight’, and ‘destiny’, and those jobs where people get paid to talk about weddings all day. Fake stuff like that.”

“They’re not that sappy,” Tai muttered.

Summe’s look grew even more concerned.  “Yes,” she said cautiously, “People really say ‘I love you.’ My parents died when I was pretty young, but I do remember that.  It’s something people say to their family. Or I guess you can say it to anyone -someone you don’t want to live without.” As always, Summer explained things about life in the kingdoms without a hint of condescension or judgment. Qrow wasn’t sure how he’d managed to get a partner like her.

“And just so you know, Rae,” Summer continued, now struggling to hold back a grin. “Wedding planners are also real.”

“What?” Raven frowned. “But why would someone pay someone else to buy flowers and shit? People who get married are so stupid. Why can’t they just buy their own flowers?”

Summer laughed. “I’m pretty sure there’s more to it than that, Rae.”

“There’s a lot about the world that you don’t know, Raven,” Qrow added, since no one could prove he hadn’t known any of that either.

His sister flipped him off. Qrow raised his hand to return the gesture, but suddenly found himself pitching forward, his balance thrown off by a protruding tree root. With his semblance, that was a pretty familiar occurrence. What wasn’t familiar though, was colliding with something soft. When he regained his balance, he saw it was Summer’s white cloak that had broken his fall.

“Shit, I’m sorry Summer,”  Why did things like this always happen?  “You okay?”

“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no,”  came her reply.

Qrow quickly darted to see the front of his partner and found her staring down at the mirror’s blue glass.

He could see two problems.

First, the mirror was cracked, a long, jagged line running down from the left corner.

Second, that crack was leaking blue smoke.

Huh. That can’t be good, was all Qrow had time to think before his vision went white.

Chapter Text

Something was wrong.

Her years in the tribe had honed Raven’s senses to pick up on any possible threat, and they were all telling her now that something was not right. But the only problem she noticed was that she couldn’t notice any problems.   

When she looked around, she saw the same clearing in the forest she had seen before the mirror had broken. The same late afternoon sun was filtering through the trees. No sign or sound of Grimm in the underbrush. The blue smoke had gone from the clearing now, but Summer was still holding the mirror, a jagged crack running down its right side. Tai and Qrow hadn’t moved either, although her brother looked just as unsettled as she felt.

“Greetings,” an unfamiliar voice came from Summer’s direction. Raven didn’t startle, but her head snapped towards the source of the noise. The voice had a rich, almost musical tone that Raven immediately judged as probably coming from some Kingdom asshole rather than someone who had lived in the wilds as she and Qrow had.

“It has been so long since I’ve come face to face with mortals. Are you all so  . . . lacking nowadays?”

Yeah, definitely an asshole.

Raven identified the source of the voice – a face had appeared in the mirror. It looked like a human face - an old man with a long curled moustache. Except for the fact that his skin and hair were the exact same shade of blue as the mirror’s glass.

Ah. Magic bullshit. That explained the weird feeling.

After Old Man Oz had given Raven and her brother their powers, Raven couldn’t say she found this particular display of magic to be very impressive. She’d seen the world expand around her as she shrank down to a bird’s height and soared into the clouds. She’d watched her fingers disappear beneath feathers, felt her sword and clothes melt into her flesh. She’d fought the animal instincts of another creature inside her own mind. She could definitely handle a talking mirror.

“Who the fuck are you?” she demanded.

The face in the mirror gave a very annoying smile and then stepped out into the clearing, growing a body to go along with the face. Summer almost dropped the mirror at this, but quickly regained her grip as the mirror man’s blue form took shape next to her. It really did almost look like a person. The proportions were human-like, even if the face had a sort of supernatural smugness to it. He had two arms, and two legs, ten fingers and ten toes. But, where a person had the outlines of muscle, and the impression of ribs and wrinkles in their skin, this thing was pure, smooth blue. Raven figured it was probably a good thing that he -it?- was missing the human-like bits. Apparently,  magic assholes didn’t do clothes.

“I am Veros, Spirit of Reflection. The oldest creation of the Brothers to remain under this sky- even if it has been far too long since I have seen its expanse. I suppose I must thank you for bringing me out of those ruins.” The thing’s annoying smile changed to a frown. “The Brothers have been gone for some time now. But upon their return,  they will surely be pleased to find me able to continue my work. Even if this place is but a Remnant of its former glory.”

The spirit’s weird smooth body and his talk of gods didn’t exactly fill Raven with awe, but at least they had a name for him now.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Veros,” Summer delicately set the mirror on the ground, and then stepped over to greet the spirit. She seemed more perturbed by the appearance of magic than Raven or Qrow, but that didn’t stop her team leader routine. She spoke to Veros in her best Honor Student voice – the same one she used to convince professors that Qrow’s homework had legitimately been eaten by a Beowolf. “My name is Summer Rose, and we’re a team of Hunstmen in training,” she lifted her hand to start introducing the rest of them.

“I know who you are, Team STRQ” the spirit replied before Summer could point out Tai.

Great. Ominous magic bullshit.

“Oooookay,” Raven could practically see the gears in Summer’s head turning as she processed the situation. “Perhaps you could tell us a bit more about yourself, then. What exactly does a ‘spirit of reflection’ do?”

Veros clapped his hands together. “I am the premier connoisseur of the ever-changing human condition. My duty is to aid the Brothers directly in understanding their most complex creations. Now that they are away, they must intend for me to continue helping the inhabitants of this world. Even without their orders -even without the common courtesy of a proper farewell -  I know my duty.” Veros’ expression was unreadable as he considered the four of them. “What I do, is something that no other being can achieve. Something that no other being – not even that upstart Jinn- can imagine achieving.”

This could be interesting. Raven knew all too well that being a stuck-up asshole didn’t exclude anyone from having useful abilities.

 “I can bring knowledge of what will pass. Reflections throughout the ages. Memories -perfectly preserved – from days past and days still to come,” Veros folded his not-quite human hands to his not-quite human chest.

“You can tell us the future?” Summer spoke hesitantly, but Raven could see the fire in her eyes light up. “That would be very useful, Mr. Veros. Because, you see, we’re fighting a war against a being called Salem…” Summer started onto a passionate recruitment pitch for Oz’s cause.

The future.  Huh. Raven tried to imagine it. She’d always thought she would go back to the tribe. They’d sent her to Beacon on a mission, trusted only her and Qrow for the task. To fail would be just as good as saying she was unworthy, that she was too weak to uphold her birthright. Qrow might be okay with that, but Raven was made of stronger stuff. Although . . .  lately, she had been considering other options. Summer had trusted her too. And Raven had to admit that Team STRQ’s task was more important and more dangerous than banditry. Abandoning her leader would be the action of a coward. Not to mention that Tai would be utterly lost without her to keep him out of trouble.    

Whichever was the best path, Raven knew she would choose it at the end of the year. Still . . . perhaps it couldn’t hurt to use this magic and see exactly which path to take – to be certain of her choice.

“I cannot use my reflection to aid in your war.” The blue spirit spoke, looking entirely unphased by the idea of saving the world. “Changing the tapestry of human actions so bluntly?  To do so would be completely lacking in art, not to mention the effect of paradoxes on the state of this world-”

“So, you can’t tell us the future?” Raven snapped. She had no patience for useless people, even magic ones.

“To simply tell the future would be crude,” Veros replied. “It is more elegant to show you the reflection of your future selves.”

What did that even mean? All four members of Team STRQ shared a bemused glance.

“And how is that different from showing us the future?” Qrow raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, you don’t understand my art, do you? Very well, I suppose I have time to educate you.” Veros continued.  “There are three rules.” He lifted three fingers in the air to show his point.

“First, my reflection will last exactly one day. Twenty-hour hours in your current system of measurement.

“Second, for those twenty-four hours, you will see the faces of your future. You will be able to talk with those who do not yet exist. I could bring your own future selves if there is no other option, but  I’ve found you humans always look at yourselves with such distorted lenses. One’s friends or students to-be provide a better reflection. Or best of all, one’s own children.” Veros looked thoughtful at that.

“And the third rule:  once the time for reflection has elapsed, it shall be forgotten. This day will be hidden from you until the tapestry of life comes full circle. Then your memory will return -  when it no longer holds the future, but the past. As such, you will not be able to act on your knowledge, nor will your new knowledge have any bearing on the time that my power allows you to see. Though, ” Veros  paused, “In the case that one should perish before reaching such a future, they will regain their memories once they can no longer affect the world’s events: just before their life on this Remnant ends.” As he finished, the spirit clasped his blue hands together with a flourish.

“So . . . you’re going to show us our future kids or something, and they can tell us the future, but we can’t do anything about it because we won’t remember it?” Qrow summarized. “What the hell’s the point of that?”

Veros spoke solemnly “The value of my gift is for your future selves. it will bring them a reflection: a true glimpse into the person you were; the times as they are now; the changes you will have undergone,”

“So it’s . .  .  a time capsule?” Tai asked hesitantly.  

Raven exchanged a quick glance with Qrow, who shrugged.

“A time capsule is a sort of box,” Summer began. Raven usually hated when people explained things to her, but she didn’t mind so much when Summer did it. “And you put photos or other memories inside, and then you lock it away for a long time. When you finally open it up, you’re supposed to have forgotten what everything used to be like, so remembering it feels new.”

Veros merely nodded. “Yes, that description will suffice to allow your mortal minds to comprehend my talent,”

“Why would we care about that? It’s not like we’re just going to forget what our lives are like now. Except for the part that you’re apparently going to make us forget.” Raven glared at the spirit. “Can you do anything actually useful?”

“Bah.” Veros frowned. He seemed angry, but his voice hadn’t lost its musical quality. “I see there is no longer appreciation for true art in this world. No vision at all. Do you know what I was created to magnify -what you can find in the face of your children? The magnum opus of the Brothers on full display! The purest essence of mankind, I tell you!

“The Knowledge of all your actions to come. The results of thousands of Choices you will make in your lifetime. The Creation and Destruction of dozens of dreams and fears and hopes. All shifting and altering every day that you draw breath, molding and shaping the impressionable souls around you. The ever-changing nature of mortal-life, distilled to fit within a single day.....What could be more useful than understanding that?”

“Um, actually remembering what happens in the future.” Qrow suggested.

“Or being able to change it.” Raven added.

“What about like, a giant Grimm-destroying laser or something?,” Tai offered. “That would be pretty cool.”

“What my teammates mean to say, Mr. Veros,” Summer could barely hide her own disappointment– even with her most diplomatic voice. “Is that we are not sure that we could make use of your great power right now. Why don’t we explain this all to Professor Ozpin at Beacon and he will definitely know how to best, um… appreciate it.”

Veros’ blue face grew amused. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that, Summer Rose.” 

A chill ran down Raven’s spine.

Damn. That did not sound good.

“The mirror has been broken. My power has been set free. And after so long in disuse, it would simply not do to contain my magic, especially not for such interesting mortals.” Veros’ smile grew to be almost disturbing.

“I thought you said we were ‘lacking’,” Raven raised an eyebrow. She never forgot a slight.

“This place is outside of time.” The spirit seemed to be trying to irritate them now, with his stupid, self-important tone. “While the four of you have been here inside the mirror, you have also already returned to your Remnant. While I have been graciously explaining my power to you, I have also been watching your lives play out. Very interesting indeed.” Veros’ smile had gone from smug to downright punchable.

His words didn’t make sense. Team STRQ was in two places at once?  They were inside the mirror?  Raven’s hand hovered above Omen’s hilt.

“And I know just who will make the best reflection for you,” the spirit continued. “I do love a good conversation with children - what I wouldn’t give for a short talk with my own absent creators -And now your progeny are quite close in age to your own twenty years. What fortuitous timing!”

Raven froze. Did he mean . . .?

“You’re saying we have kids?” Qrow voiced the question in Raven’s thoughts.

The spirit moved to stand directly in front of him, “You do not have children, Qrow Branwen.”

Raven could have sworn she saw a flicker of disappointment in her brother’s eyes, but it quickly vanished.

“Yeah, didn’t think so,” Qrow replied coolly as Veros moved to meet Raven’s eye. She glared at the spirit.   

“But you, Raven Branwen will have one child.”

What?

That didn’t make any sense. The spirit could have been lying. But the logical part of her brain pointed out that the being had no reason to lie. If the goal was to irritate her, he was achieving it pretty damn well without making stuff up about her future.

But if he was telling the truth. . .

Raven had lived the first part of her life in the lawless woods, where her tribe’s lifestyle meant that having a baby would be somewhere in between a life-shattering inconvenience and a death sentence.  The years she hadn’t spent with the tribe,  she’d lived in a co-ed dorm for thrill-seeking monster hunters, where pregnancy was equally hazardous for one’s education. Safe to say that Raven was familiar with a good number of ways to not have a child, and she was not the type to make a mistake.

Which meant that if the spirit was telling the truth, then it was probably because the future Raven wanted a child for some reason.  Was she going to get sentimental in her old age? Become one of those washed-up old fools that kept spouting on about ‘legacy’? Apparently, Raven would find out soon enough.

Damn. What was she even supposed to say to a kid? Raven tried to imagine what she would expect if she were the one to meet past versions of her parents, but she didn’t have much of a reference point. The Branwen twins’ mother had died in childbirth – a fact that their father had never let Qrow forget. Raven couldn’t imagine having much to say to the woman. Their father on the other hand . . . If Raven met a past version of him, the first thing she would do would be to test her strength. She bet she could take a younger version of him easily.

Yes. If Raven’s own child felt the same way, she could get on board with spending the day sparring. She supposed that wouldn’t be too bad.

Raven almost didn’t notice when Veros spoke again, “You, Summer Rose will also have one child.”

Summer’s eyes widened. Her thumb traced shapes along the haft of her axe as it usually did before a major fight, but the leader of Team STRQ did not look ready to take on even a single Beowolf at the moment.

Huh. Well at least Raven wasn’t the only one saddled with a kid. She wondered if Summer’s brat would be as strait-laced as Summer was. Probably. If there was going to be sparring, then Raven’s kid would definitely be able to beat Summer’s in a fight. That might be fun to see.

Veros stopped in front of the final member of Team STRQ. “And you, Taiyang Xiao  Long, will have two children.”

Tai’s nervous face split into a small, relieved smile. Raven wasn’t at all surprised there. The man was reasonably strong, not terrible-looking, and he was nice in the way Raven knew that kingdom women liked. It wasn’t a stretch to think he’d find someone who was willing to put up with his thick skull and raise a couple of little Tais.

“For a grand total of . . .” Veros continued, drawing out the words.

Raven’s kid would absolutely destroy Tai’s kid in a fight, of course. Both of them at the same time, even. She wondered if his children would tell jokes when they were getting their asses kicked just like their father did. Or maybe they would take after their mother… What kind of woman would Tai end up with?

“Two children.”

Wait.

What?

“Hah!” Qrow’s bark of laughter broke through the silent clearing.

“Maybe it’s different in the future, pal. But I’m pretty sure that’s not how math works,” His words dripped with condescension.

“On the contrary,” Veros spoke brightly, “I believe you’ll find my calculations are quite correct. Children have more than one parent, do they not?”

No.

 No no no no no.

No way.

Tai?

Raven knew he’d had a bit of a crush on her their first year, but she’d thought he was over that. Besides, they had nothing in common. They were from completely different worlds.

This was the man who wore dog-shaped fuzzy slippers to keep his feet warm in the dorms. The man who asked “Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?” whenever he used a round of Fire Dust. The man who had not one ounce of self-preservation when it came to hanging around bandits. Raven would have a child with that man?

And Summer would too?

Maybe Raven was wrong and Veros was just fucking with them. That was starting to seem more plausible by the second.

Tai was gaping open-mouthed, his uncertain eyes flicking between Raven, Summer, and Veros. Summer’s gaze was fixed on an empty spot in the distance. Her face remained impassive, but the patterns she was tracing with her thumb had grown almost frantic. Qrow had crossed his arms. He was looking at his teammates with narrowed eyes, as though still trying to work out the math in his head.

“Your twenty-four hours begin now. I shall watch your progress.  I do hope you make the most of your reflection.” As Veros finished, he disappeared into a puff of blue smoke. The smoke didn’t fade, rather it grew stronger and thicker until Raven could begin to make out two shadowy figures in the haze.

Damn.

The spirit hadn’t been lying.

Chapter Text

Summer’s thoughts were a blur as the blue fog swirled before her.

She needed a plan. First things first: review the facts.

Fact Number One: Apparently, Team STRQ would be trapped in the spirit’s magic mirror for the next twenty-four hours.

That much, Summer could handle. She reflexively checked the time on her scroll. (4:07pm).

Number Two: They wouldn’t be able to remember anything that happened for those next twenty-four hours. At least not until they reached the point in the timeline where the future visitors were coming from.  

That part was less palatable. Summer didn’t like the idea of losing any memories. Perhaps she could figure out a way to convince Veros to change his mind about the memory-loss part. That would be a plan worth pursuing, because if she succeeded, they might be able to gain something out of their future knowledge and use it to-

No. She was getting ahead of herself. Stick to the plan. Review the facts.

Number Three: Summer was going to have a kid in the future.

Number Four: The father of the kid would be Tai.

Number Five:  Raven would also have a kid. Also with Tai.

Number Six: The blue fog was starting to clear. Those two kids were coming here. Right now.

Summer could her heart pounding – even faster than it had been in the heat of today’s earlier battle. Gods, what was she supposed to do with a kid? Her own parents had died when Summer was a child. She’d had no siblings or other family members. Summer had ended up getting most of her knowledge of typical family dynamics from her classmates’ stories and from movies and TV. She didn’t even know how to hold a child or change a diaper or anything like that. (Veros had said these kids would be close to their own age, right? She wouldn’t be expected to know how to hold a baby, right?)

The fog was clearing enough that she could start to make out the faces of the two newcomers. Summer went still.  They were both young women, about the age of other Beacon Academy students.

The logical voice that spoke up in Summer’s mind no longer felt like it belonged to her:

At least you don’t need to ask which one is which.

The taller of the two girls -the one in the leather jacket– didn’t appear to have any of Summer in her. She was beautiful. She had Tai’s golden hair with Raven’s thick curls, Tai’s easy smile on Raven’s sharp face – a perfect blend of Summer’s two teammates right down to her striking, violet eyes. Those eyes passed over each member of team STRQ in turn – an unreadable expression as they lingered on Summer – before moving to land on Raven. 

The shorter girl. . . well it was hard to see anything she didn’t get from Summer.  Her hair was shorter than Summer's own, but it was the exact same shade of brown with the exact same red highlights. She wore a hooded cloak just like Summer’s (except it was red instead of white) and it was fastened with the exact same Rose family crest. Despite what the spirit had said, Summer couldn’t pick out any of Tai’s features in the girl – only her own face staring back at her with wide, shining, silver eyes.

 Those silver eyes were much easier to read than the blonde’s. The shorter girl was looking at Summer with a mix of uncertainty and longing. Summer wanted to say something to her, but she couldn’t open her mouth.

“Um … hi,” Tai apparently found his tongue before Summer did.  “So you two are . . . uh?” he gestured lamely between the blonde girl and Raven and then between the silver-eyed girl and Summer.

The blonde girl (was she older or just taller?) gave Tai a wild grin. “Yup” she said, with a pop on the ‘p’.

“Hi Dad,” The shorter girl nodded towards Tai before returning her eyes to Summer. The word ‘Dad’ seemed to echo through the clearing with an improbable number of decibels.

“Right . . .” Tai’s voice was more strained than Summer had ever heard it.  “So . . .how exactly did all of this happen?” He gestured again – this time towards himself, Summer, and Raven.

Summer was quite curious about that as well. It wasn’t that she thought Tai would be a bad partner or a bad father. (He certainly had the jokes to be a good dad).  But she never would have expected to end up with him. Would fighting against Salem bring them closer together in the future, perhaps? And how did Rae fit into all of this?

 Something flickered in the blonde girl’s eyes at Tai’s question, but her grin only became wilder.  “Really Dad?” That second word once again seemed unnaturally loud. “You’re asking us where babies come from?”

She gave a hearty chuckle as Tai made a choking noise, his face growing redder than the silver-eyed girl’s cape.

Summer felt her own cheeks burn slightly at the reminder of those particular logistics. She looked around for something that wasn’t Tai, and her eyes once again found the matching silver pair of the shorter newcomer. The girl gave a soft smile, as if to apologize for her companion’s joke. Summer opened her mouth to attempt Tai’s query more eloquently, but a different question came out.

“What are your names?”

“I’m Yang. Yang Xiao Long” said the blonde girl, which only made Tai start sputtering again. After all his talk of wanting to be a father earlier, Summer couldn’t say she was too surprised that Tai had named one of his kids after himself, although she would not have guessed that Raven would allow that for her daughter. The dark-haired woman in question was staring down Yang with an expression that Summer had never seen before. Strange - Summer had thought she knew all of Raven’s expressions. But that peculiarity could barely be considered a footnote in the list of all today’s other strangeness.

“Nice to meet ya,” Yang continued, still grinning. She mock-extended a gloved hand towards Tai, and when he tentatively reached out his own to shake, she rolled her eyes and pulled him into a bear hug instead.

The silver-eyed girl smiled at the pair before turning to meet Summer’s eyes again. “And my name is Ruby. Ruby Rose,” she said, stepping forward.

Oh.

Summer’s breath caught in her throat. Ruby Rose. She hadn’t ever given thought to what she might name another human being before. (It had taken her months to come up with ‘Sundered Rose’ for her axe).  But now that she heard it, she realized that she liked it. It was a good name.

A part of Summer had hoped that meeting her future child would instill her with some maternal instinct – a mental guide of what to do. That hadn’t happened. But that didn’t mean Summer couldn’t take a guess at what the right move would be.  She reached out her arms and wrapped Ruby in a hug.  The girl was nearly Summer’s height, her chin resting easily on Summer’s shoulder as she returned the embrace. A warmth spread throughout Summer’s body. Her awareness of her teammates and surroundings momentarily faded.

Ruby.

“Hi, Mom,” the girl spoke softly in her ear, voice laced with thick emotion.

Summer’s heart continued to pound in her chest as she held Ruby close. It suddenly seemed very important that she figure out this whole motherhood thing. Logically, she knew that her child had  certainly already formed an opinion of her in the future. In fact, this girl probably knew her quite well. But that somehow only made it more important that she didn’t disappoint her.

Summer Rose had always known she was going to be a great Huntress. Now, she would also have to work towards being a great mother. It made sense that she would end up with a new task after saving the world.

I’m going to have a daughter.

 * * * * * * * * *

At this point, Yang was pretty used to dealing with magic, and she was pretty used to it being bad. Immortal evil monster queen? Definitely not good. Maidens and relics? Not exactly a ton of happy memories there. The Ever After? Well, that place had kind of saved all their lives. But since it had also nearly cost Ruby’s, Yang wasn’t about to put it in the ‘good time’ category – and no amount of convenient, confession-inducing thunderstorms would change that. All in all, anything magic was safely considered bad news.

So, when her and Ruby’s afternoon in Vacuo had been interrupted by some very unnatural blue smoke, Yang had been prepared for the worst. She had definitely not been prepared for this.

All four members of team STRQ looked so different – so much younger -  than she was used to. They looked just like that old photo – the one that Qrow kept in his wallet and that Dad pretended wasn’t hidden in the bottom of his dresser. It was insanely weird to say the least. It might have been weirder than the talking cat or the arm-stealing raccoon if she was being honest.

But Yang wasn’t here to think about how weird magic was. They had a mission. Sure, she probably would have been happy to come just to hang out with her younger dad and uncle. And she would be lying if she said she wasn’t at least a little bit curious about finding out what Raven had been like before she’d gone and become the poster bird for overdramatic, deadbeat criminals. But the real reason Yang wanted to come to the past - the reason her heart felt like it was bursting in her chest, that her mind was racing  - was wearing a white cloak and giving Ruby what looked like a very nice hug.

Summer Rose.

Yang and Ruby hadn’t had a ton of time to talk strategy before they were whisked away to wherever here was, but it hadn’t taken long at all to make sure they were on the same page.

Should one perish before reaching the present era, they will regain their memories of this day just before their time on this Remnant ends.

That was what the spirit had told them before he’d brought them here. And that was the real reason Yang and Ruby were here.

A chance to say goodbye to Mom. 

Yang would have given anything to go to her immediately, but there were two big reasons that she couldn’t do that. First, however good of a mom Summer might have been in Yang’s time, she wasn’t that person yet. To Summer now, Yang was just a stranger who happened to be the future daughter of her two teammates. She couldn’t know how much she meant to Yang. And Yang couldn’t tell her. At least, not yet. That was the second reason. Finding out that one of your best friends abandoned her daughter as a baby and ran out on her husband and team and then that you took over the role of mother to the abandoned child and loved her like your own before tragically dying or maybe even suffering a fate worse than death . . . Well, that would definitely kill the mood of the whole magical family reunion thing.

They only had twenty-four hours, and considering it had taken some members of Team STRQ the better part of two decades to process those particular developments. . . Yeah, it would probably best to spend some time getting to be with their parents before they knew all of that.

For the same reason, Yang was glad she’d been called here when Vacuo was in the middle of a nasty sandstorm. The gloves she’d worn to keep the particles out of her prosthetic during their earlier patrol also avoided any unhappy questions on that topic for the time-being. The metal hand was a part of her now, but it was also the obvious mark of a dark future, and a story she was not in a hurry to tell.

Yang would tell Summer everything before the day was over. She was definitely not going to pass up on her one chance to properly say goodbye. But even after years of imagining everything she wanted to say to her mom,  Yang really only needed a couple of hours to cover the important parts. There would be plenty of time to tell Summer about her own life and get to know her mom in return without all the dark, future-y clouds hanging over team STRQ's heads.  So for now, she just had to pretend that Summer was a normal amount of important to her.

Unfortunately, keeping up those appearances meant that Yang should probably act like nothing was wrong with her biological mother. To be fair, she’d found in Vacuo that Raven acted a lot less callous after team RWBY’s presumed death and miraculous return to Remnant. But that didn’t mean that Yang wanted to hug her or anything. She did it now anyway.

“Hey there, Mom,” Yang managed, barely keeping up her cheerful façade. It was worth it to not cause questions for Summer. Surprisingly, when she put her arms around Raven, the woman reached out to gingerly place a hand on Yang’s back. She didn’t seem to mind the hug.  Huh.

Yang had never really been sure if Dad was remembering correctly when he talked about past-Raven or if he had just been down bad for her. After meeting Raven for the first time back in Mistral, she’d kind of been leaning towards the latter. But maybe her birth mother actually did use to be different.

Raven still hadn’t spoken a word since Yang and Ruby had shown up. Yang wasn’t sure if it was because she had just found out she had a daughter or if it was because she found out her daughter shared a father with her team leader’s kid. Either way, the dark-haired woman seemed more shocked than Yang had ever seen her, which admittedly didn’t count for much. Qrow seemed equally shocked, though, and since Yang actually cared what he thought, she turned to him next.

Out of all his teammates, the tall man was the most physically different from his future self.  In twenty years, he might not have as much gray in his hair as Dad did, but over a decade of alcohol abuse had really done a number on him. Even after he’d sobered up, his gaunt frame and hollow cheeks couldn’t exactly fill out when they were constantly rationing food and spending all day on missions and meetings and refugee management.

Now, though, Yang was looking at a healthy near-teenager. His eyes had a twinge of uncertainty and sadness in them, but it was nothing like the haunted expression that Yang had known growing up.

“Hey, Uncle Qrow. Don’t think you’re getting left out here.” she wrapped him in a hug as well and he returned it with an awkward “Hi,” his voice sounding much less deep and gravelly than Yang was used to.

She turned back to find Ruby hugging Dad, with Summer looking on with an expression mixed with wonder and determination. Yang took a step towards her and then froze. Would her mother expect to be on hugging terms with Yang in the future? Or would it be weird if Yang went over to her now?  It was hard to tell what Summer suspected about their future relationship. Did people usually hug the other parents of their biological half-siblings? Yang had no idea and did not want to cause any questions this early in the day.

Ruby pulled away from Dad and caught Yang’s eye. “Hugs for everyone!” she winked at Yang before going over to Raven. Oh, Yang was going to buy her sister so much boba for that. Hugging Raven was worth at least four super-sweet strawberry teas. With extra bubbles.

But now it wouldn’t be worth commenting on for Yang to hug Summer, so she went over and did just that. She clutched the back of Summer’s white hood tightly in her hands, sinking into the feeling of her mom’s touch.  Her mom. Gods, it was so weird to be taller than her mom. When had that even happened? Yang held back tears - both because this was everything she had ever wanted for over a decade, and also because Summer’s return embrace was so tentative. It was not at all like she remembered from her childhood. Summer didn’t recognize Yang the way Yang did her.

But she couldn’t cry yet. Fortunately, Dad spoke up before her tears were noticeable. “So,” he began, looking from Yang to where Ruby was finishing up hugging Qrow. “Can you guys tell us how the future goes now? Like what happens and, uh, how exactly does everything turn out between us?" His eyes flickered hesitantly between Summer and Raven.

Yeah, she probably should have guessed they wouldn’t let that one go so easily.

 “That’s not exactly an interesting story, Dad,” Yang turned away from Summer because she didn’t want to bend the truth while looking  her mom in the face. “Besides, it’s a really long one and you guys will already know it all by the time you can remember it again. Rubes and I were hoping we could just chat about fun stuff.” She gave her sister’s hair a good ruffle to really sell the point. “You know, find out what you’re like before you’re all old and lame.”

“What!?”

Her dad’s previous discomfort had melted into complete indignation. Yang had figured that might work. “I’m not going to be old and lame!”

“Good luck stopping the aging process.” Yang replied, her smile coming easier now.

“Well, I’m not going to be lame!” He turned pleading eyes to Ruby. “I’m a cool dad, right?”

“Oh . . . um . . .” Ruby started. Yang thought she might be remembering her first day of school at Signal, when Dad had given her his lecture notes in advance, complete with examples of questions for Ruby to ask ‘in order to facilitate class discussion’. Or maybe she was remembering all those awkward family dinners after the Fall of Beacon. When Yang was still recovering and the only safe conversation Dad could think of was how he’d love to do more gardening, if only his back would stop hurting. Or maybe, Ruby was thinking about how all of humanity was making a stand in Vacuo and the man couldn’t even be bothered to- No. This was definitely not the time for that train of thought.

“Uhh. . . yes?” Ruby finished unconvincingly.

“Oh my gods,” their father looked absolutely distraught. “I’m going to be old and lame.” He slumped his shoulders as Qrow laughed and clapped him on the back.

Well, that was one messy conversation postponed for the foreseeable future. Now, just to keep it up for a little while longer so they could get to know Summer.

Yang could do that.

She could pretend that everything was okay.

As far as anyone here was concerned, the six of them would all get along swimmingly.

Just one big, happy family.  

Chapter Text

Raven watched the newcomers walk ahead of her as Tai hounded them with questions.  Really, they didn’t need to be walking anywhere if the mirror’s spirit had been telling the truth about the next twenty-four hours being lost. Raven was pretty sure of that. And no doubt Summer had been too when she suggested they continue their journey in the direction of the nearest settlement. But Summer’s choices were usually the right ones, and this proved to be no exception.  It was easier to have the effort of a trek through the woods, to focus some of her attention on the trail ahead rather than the two recent additions to their party. 

Their future children.

Ruby certainly looked the part of Summer’s kid. There was no denying that.

But Raven could see Tai in the way the girl matched the blonde man’s banter, and in the way she laughed with her whole chest, and in the way she didn’t once stop to instruct team STRQ on how to file their paperwork when they returned from the mission.

Yang seemed to have inherited even more from her father. It was strange to see her partner’s smile and golden hair on a face that was so similar to Raven’s own. But to her surprise, the effect was not entirely unpleasant. The same could be said of the girl herself.

Earlier, when she had given Raven a hug,  it had felt … warm. She didn’t have much experience with that type of act, but it reminded her of the first time Tai had hugged her – on the night she and Qrow had told him the truth about where they came from.  

And the girl had called her ‘Mom.’

When Raven concentrated, she could feel the links in her chest, like strings tethering her to those her semblance had marked with a connection. Her link to Qrow was the most familiar to her, as sure and stable as well-made rope. Summer’s link had grown stronger over the past years – a thick thread that Raven could now use to sense even subtle changes in her leader’s aura. Raven usually paid little attention to Tai’s link when they weren’t in battle, but at the moment it was hard to ignore. The connection seemed to burn in her chest, pulsing to the rhythm of her heartbeat. Or maybe his?

But Tai’s link wasn’t the only change she felt. She knew instinctively that she would not be able to open a portal to Yang or Ruby if she tried, but there was something there. The shadow of two connections, just beyond her reach. Like she had once been linked to them in the past. Or would be linked in the future.

“So are there flying cars yet?” Tai’s latest question shook Raven out of her reverie.

“Uh, not that I know of,”  Yang’s violet eyes lit up, “But there are some pretty sweet motorcycles that can hover with gravity dust.”

“Oh!,” Tai’s expression matched Yang’s in excitement. With their blonde heads and wide smiles, the pair looked as much like twins as Raven and Qrow did. “Do I ride a motorcycle in the future?”

Yang chuckled, “Well you definitely can’t ride mine.”

“Hmm,” Tai looked thoughtful. “Maybe it’s not that I’m old lame in the future. Maybe it’s that you two are so cool that everyone else just seems lame in comparison. And I’ll actually be very cool, even if you don’t notice it.”

“Doubt it,” Qrow smirked.

Tai gave him a frown, but the expression was quickly overwritten by a mischievous grin. “Hey, does Qrow still have all of his hair in your time?”

The smirk was gone from Qrow’s face, but before Raven’s brother could make a rebuttal, Tai’s own expression grew fearful. “Wait, do I still have all of my hair in your time?”

“Hmmmmmmmm,” Yang pretended to consider an answer, exaggeratedly tapping a gloved finger against her chin. Raven couldn’t help but enjoy the looks on Qrow and Tai’s faces as the girl drew out the suspense. She’d never seen someone give the two men a taste of their own annoying medicine quite so effectively. An elbow in the side from Ruby prompted Yang to eventually spit out “Yeah, you’re all good,” to the two newly relieved faces.

“So,” Summer turned from her position at the head of their scouting formation. Raven could see the magic mirror was now clipped onto her belt, but the spirit inside hadn’t made an appearance since depositing Yang and Ruby among them. “What’s the biggest difference between now and your time?”

 Raven wondered if their leader actually wanted to know the answer to that particular query, or if she just had no idea what else to say. The question seemed like one that would come from some binder labeled ‘Generic conversation starters for parties with time-travelers’ in Summer’s neat handwriting. Raven was pretty sure such a binder was only hypothetical and Summer didn’t plan for that many contingencies, but one could never be sure with that woman.

Yang and Ruby shared a glance, apparently equally unsure of what to say.

“Oh, um, that’s a hard one, Mom.” Ruby started. She was less confident in her words than Summer was, but she had the same far-off expression as their leader did when she was lost in thought. “I guess you could say the Four Kingdoms are a lot more united in our time than they are now?”

“And Menagerie, too,” Yang added, nodding along with the other girl’s answer.

Summer brightened.  “Everyone coming together… That must be nice to see. So you have friends from all the Kingdoms? Even Vacuo and Atlas?”

“Sure do!” Ruby responded.

Raven held herself back from an audible scoff. It seemed Summer’s optimism was clouding her judgment again. Anyone with a clear head would tell you that the best thing about the Atlas natives was that they stayed in Atlas and didn’t talk to the rest of Remnant.  At least the Vacuans knew how to have a good time.

“The political ramifications must be so interesting,” Summer mused aloud. “I’ve always wondered if the Grimm did more to divide us or to unite us…”

“Yeah,  totally interesting,” Ruby agreed before Summer could ask another follow-up question.  “Having everyone on the same page is really nice. And . . .”  The shorter girl shot a look at Yang.

“And you know what else is nice about the future?” Yang asked hurriedly. Ruby relaxed her shoulders as the blonde girl took over the conversation. “Let me tell you, the video games are waaaay better.”

Tai perked up at this. “So, do they ever make a Grimm Fighter 2 in the future?”

“More like Grimm Fighter 7,” Ruby said, causing Tai’s eyes to widen.

“Hah, I can’t wait to kick Qrow’s ass at all of them.” The blonde man looked expectantly at Ruby. “I bet I’m really good. You know, a cool dad who’s really good at video games.”

“If by ‘really good’, you mean that Ruby and I beat you every time, then, yeah. You’re really, really good.” Yang winked at him.

Raven frowned at the blonde girl. Of course Tai would teach the kids his ridiculous Kingdom hobbies. But if that were the case, then it stood to reason that Yang should have picked up more useful skills from Raven as well. Perhaps she was good at swordsmanship, or tracking prey through the woods, or moving stealthily to remain hidden on reconnaissance missions. Hmmm. Judging by the reckless disregard for where she was placing her boots on the trail, Yang hadn’t picked up on that last skill just yet. Future Raven should have taught her better.

“Hey, I have a question,” Qrow called out to the two girls. “Does Tai ever get his Huntsman license? ‘Cause I’ve got a bet with Raven on if he’s going to fail out of Grimm Studies this year.”

Raven hoped the look she gave her brother was more withering than the one he was getting from Summer.

“Wait,” Tai appeared confused. “Who was betting for me and who was betting against me in that scenario?”  His question fell upon a pair of silent, crimson glares.

Ruby covered her smile with her hand. “Yup! You all get your licenses. Team STRQ is a fully-fledged Huntsmen team. The real deal. The best of the best. The bee’s knees, and all that.”

Raven perked up at this. The best of the best, huh. Perhaps the future wouldn’t be so bad. Even if she would apparently spend it with these idiots rather than the Branwen tribe.

Ruby’s words had also caught Summer’s attention. Her silver eyes shone with a competitive glint as she turned again to face the rest of them. “You say we’re the best in the future?”

“Oh  yeah, definitely” Yang agreed. “You guys are what, only in your third year of Beacon now?”

“We’re just starting our fourth year,” Summer corrected. “What about you two? Do you go to a Huntsmen Academy?"

Summer’s observation skills must have been muddled by the day’s magic if she was bothering to ask that. Both girls carried themselves like fighters and had adapted to the current scouting formation easily. Raven wasn’t sure if Yang was carrying a weapon beneath her jacket, but Ruby clearly had a red something holstered under her cape.  And the strongest evidence was that they were even here at all. These were Team STRQ’s kids. It wasn’t like Raven’s daughter was going to have a useless civilian job like teacher or pastry chef or . . . ‘wedding planner’. Earlier, Raven had briefly wondered if Yang might have joined the traditional Branwen line of work, but the girl smiled too much to be tolerated among bandits. Not to mention that her hair and skin looked too clean for a life spent in the woods. Huntsmen students was the only option.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” came Yang’s reply.

Summer looked thoughtful, but Qrow spoke up first. “You leave your weapon in the future or something?” He looked the blonde girl up and down.

“Don’t worry, Uncle Qrow,” Yang’s smile widened. “I’m always armed.”

For some reason, the exchange caused Ruby to roll her eyes.

Raven studied the two kids carefully. They’d remained tight-lipped on their future family dynamics, but she’d noticed that they both referred to each other as ‘sister’ and not ‘half-sister,’  and that Ruby called Qrow her ‘uncle’ despite their obvious lack of relation.  There was certainly a shared history between the two girls, and more than likely some shared secrets judging by the looks they kept shooting each other. But Raven knew that wasn’t all there was to familial relationships.  

 It was time to ask a more interesting question.

“Which of you two would win in a fight?”

Both girls seemed taken aback. “Why does that matter?” Yang’s tone was accusatory.

Hmm. Perhaps she wasn’t the stronger of the two. Raven had expected a bit more from her own daughter.

“I guess it  depends on what kind of fight you’re talking about,” Ruby seemed to give the question due consideration. “If it’s close-range, then Yang pretty much always wins. But if it’s a fight where the terrain makes it hard to close in, then I can usually take her,”

Raven felt the corners of her mouth curl upward. Close-range fights were more common and practical. So Yang was the better fighter.

“I wouldn’t underestimate Ruby for anything. She’ll always find a way to surprise you,”

Did Yang not want to take credit for her strength? Raven opened her mouth to question further, but the blonde girl cut her off, “Is there anything else you want to know, Mom?”

Raven didn’t usually let a topic drop, but she supposed there would be plenty of time to get those answers later. And for now, there was one other matter that had been on her mind. Only. . . How to ask? Yang and Ruby hadn’t seemed bothered by the strangeness of the magic mirror, but that didn’t mean they knew about other magic. Oz had been very clear about keeping tight-lipped on certain topics, and kids were usually pretty shit at keeping secrets, so there was no guarantee they had been told yet.

“Do you have any . . . special abilities?” is what Raven settled on.

Yang stopped walking to turn her attention fully to Raven. “Are you asking me if I can turn into a bird?”

 So they did know. Interesting.

“Well, can you?”  

“Nope,” Yang replied, looking slightly amused.

Hmm. That was for the best, probably. The skill was undoubtedly useful, and flying could be quite pleasant. But Raven didn’t enjoy the feeling of having a body and instincts that weren't her own, and she enjoyed feeling indebted to Ozpin even less.

“Oh! Oh! Can you turn into a dragon?” Tai asked excitedly.

“Uh, was that an option?” Yang  had one eyebrow raised and looked to be fighting off a laugh. Ruby hadn’t bothered to fight anything and was nearly doubled over.

“If you two know about all of that, then there’s something I’m curious about,” their team leader spoke up from the head of the group.

Ruby straightened up with a “Yes, Mom?” as the rest of the party turned to face Summer Rose. Both kids looked eager to answer.

“In the future, how did we defeat Salem?”

Chapter Text

Ruby froze.

Until that question, she had been having the most amazing afternoon that she could remember. Her typical day in Vacuo – crammed with bleak meetings, sand-filled patrols, and the inescapable eyes of hopeful refugees– had turned into something strange and wonderful. She’d gotten to see Dad (well, a version of him anyway) after being away for over a year. Uncle Qrow was here, too (he looked so small without his usual five o’clock shadow), and he wasn’t even fighting with Raven. And of course, her mom.

Her mom!

Ever since she was a child, Ruby had struggled to sort out which of her memories of Summer Rose were real and which ones she’d made up- reconstructed fragments based on pictures and the stories she heard from Dad and Qrow and Yang. But now she could see her in person and figure it out!

The way her mom had felt during their hug earlier, and the way she smelled (gunpowder and vanilla) had seemed really familiar. It was a relief to know at least some of her memories were real. The sound of her mom’s voice Ruby hadn’t really known until the vision in the Ever After. But in the past hour, she had heard it enough to be sure she would never forget it again. The Summer Rose in the stories was always warm and maternal, ready with a tray of cookies and a master plan. The Summer in front of her now wasn’t quite like that. She seemed harder, almost. Although Ruby supposed she would have to be if she was going to manage the other three members of her team. Her mom seemed calm and confident despite the totally crazy magic situation going on right now. And Ruby thought she saw a bit of competitiveness when she talked about Team STRQ’s abilities. No one had ever told her about those parts of her mom. She wanted to learn as much as she could while she had the chance.

But now . . .

In the future, how did we defeat Salem?

Ruby looked to her sister. Yang appeared equally uncomfortable with the question, her eyes wide and signature smile gone from her face.  They couldn’t just lie point-blank to their mom. (Could they?) She seemed so confident that they would win. That Team STRQ had defeated Salem by Ruby and Yang’s time. Ruby had not been looking to add ‘what Mom looks like when she’s completely torn and heartbroken’ to her collection of new memories.

“Ummmmm,” she started, hoping an idea would pop into her head by the time she got to the second or third ‘m’ – but nothing was coming to her.

Wait.

Something was coming to her. In the trees to her right. Heavy paws snapping through the thick underbrush. Ruby Rose knew the sound of a Beowolf when she heard one.  And this sounded like more than one. Her hands went to her waist, meeting the familiar, smooth metal grip of Crescent Rose.

“Grimm incoming!” Mom’s own weapon was already fully extended into its axe form in her hands, a confident smile forming on her face. “Team STRQ, defensive formation.” She gestured to Ruby and Yang, “You two, stay back.  We’ll handle this.”

Ruby couldn’t help but smile. It had been a very (very, very, very) long time since she needed protection from Beowolves. The leader of Team RWBY wasn’t one to let others do her fighting for her, but … Ruby had never had the chance to see her mother protect her before– why not let her?

Yang didn’t seem in any hurry to challenge Mom either. After exchanging a quick shrug with Ruby, her sister relaxed her stance,  arms folded over her chest and eyes following Summer’s movements.  Team STRQ took their places in formation – four corners surrounding Ruby and Yang – just as the first of the Grimm charged howling from the tree line.

And this was the second reason Ruby didn’t mind being out of the fight.

It meant she got to watch.

Uncle Qrow always said that his team had been the best – that Team RWBY had a long way to go before getting up to the level STRQ was at their age. Ruby was not going to miss her chance to catch them in action. Seeing her mom’s fighting skills was definitely on Ruby’s list of things to do while she and Yang were in the past. Not that she’d actually had time to make a list before coming through the mirror.  But if she did have one, watching her mom be a badass Huntress would be somewhere at the top, along with giving her a hug (Check!) and telling her how much she missed her (She would definitely do that one later).

Unfortunately, Beowolves weren’t a particularly interesting opponent. It was kind of hard to judge Mom’s full strength from a fight like this. But Ruby was able to notice that Team STRQ’s  fighting was not quite what she expected.  

To her right, she watched Qrow slice through a Beowolf with the head of his scythe, letting his momentum carry the blade too far upward so that he was barely able to bring it down again before the next Grimm’s jaws met his skin. He had warned her against that exact mistake nearly a hundred times during his training with her.

Yang must have had a similar experience with Dad, because Ruby caught her sister wincing a few times when he left his guard open.

That wasn’t to say that Team STRQ wasn’t impressive. Because they totally were. Even facing opposite directions, the four moved with perfect synergy. Summer Rose balanced her movements and speed perfectly – running forward to cleave a weaker opponent in two before returning to the defensive formation just in time to meet a larger Grimm. She somehow knew when a teammate was struggling without looking, and was ready with a shot from her rifle or an order to Raven. Ruby had seen Qrow’s sister fight in Vacuo, but never like this. With three teammates connected to her portals, the battlefield was completely her own. She could cover all four sides of the formation without taking a single step, and all of STRQ was remarkably accurate at landing their own strikes through the red-black distortions. And while Ruby and Yang could notice Dad and Qrow’s mistakes after practicing with their more-experienced selves for years, the Grimm only noticed Harbinger’s steel and Taiyang Xiao Long’s fists.

Team STRQ was easily way better than any of the student teams she knew at Shade, and most of the professional ones too.

 But, unlike what Qrow had told her in the past (future?), Ruby thought her own team could give them a run for their money.

She felt her shoulders relax as she watched Mom take down the last of the Beowolves with a clean strike. She really wanted to get a closer look at Sundered Rose, and compare its mechanisms to her own baby’s.

Summer moved to stow her axe, but paused. More sounds could be heard in the surrounding forest. Ruby’s hand went to her scythe again.

“Hey! Mirror Guy!” Raven called as new dark shapes became apparent among the trees.

The blue artifact on Mom’s belt remained still.  She looked over the forest with a calculating frown.

“Veros, or whatever your name is!” Raven called again.

“Hmm,” the blue spirit’s face appeared in the mirror. “Why do you call on me?”

“I thought we were in your stupid magic mirror. What are all of these Grimm doing here?” Another pack of Beowolves howled in the undergrowth as if to make Raven’s point.

Veros frowned. “My creation holds the exact contents of your Remnant from when you entered. This forest contains these Grimm outside of the mirror, and it would not do to leave a single element unrepresented -.”  The spirit startled as a Nevermore’s shriek rang out from the treetops above them. “Now, there is one warning I should give. You must be careful not to die. Human souls can’t be so easily replicated as these creatures of Grimm. If one were lost . . . Well, it’s better to not face a paradox so soon after I’ve come into the world again.”

“Let me guess,” Yang took off her gloves, letting them fall to the ground. “The magic in the mirror is attracting all these Grimm.” The shadowy outlines of Ursai appeared in the trees behind her.

Ruby grip on her weapon tightened as she recalled being overwhelmed by packs of monsters while carrying a similar relic on their journey from Mistral.

“My magic is strongest within my domain,” it was getting harder to hear Veros over the sounds of the approaching Grimm horde. They were definitely a horde now. Ruby could pick out the shapes of King Taijitus and even a couple of Death Stalkers in addition to the Ursai and Beowolves starting to make their way towards the Hunstmen. “Yes, it is likely they are drawn to me. You should be more careful, mortals. And remember not to die!,” was all the spirit said before leaving the mirror empty.

“Great. Very helpful,” Qrow rolled his eyes in between firing Harbinger at the approaching Grimm.

“Mom?”  Ruby called.

Summer was making use of her long-range weapon as well, targeting the monsters who were visible through the canopy of trees. But she turned back to respond to Ruby.

“Don’t worry! We can take this.”

Ruby hesitated, “I know you can, but you’re low on aura. Let us help.”

A wave of conflicting emotions crossed Summer’s face.

“I wanna see what they can do, Summ.” Ruby didn’t find Raven particularly easy to read, but it seemed pretty clear she was no longer in the mood for defense.

Mom was still frowning, but she nodded. “If it’s too much, don’t be afraid to call for help,”

“Thanks,” Yang had already shed her jacket, revealing an orange tank top and the fully extended Ember Celica. “But I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Ruby smiled as she unhooked Crescent Rose from her waist.

Next on the list:

Show Mom what we can do

* * * * *

 Tai was almost thankful for the horde of Grimm. Sure, he liked the idea of a magical time capsule mirror as much as the next guy. And he had no complaints about talking with Yang and Ruby – they seemed like good kids. But coming face to face with his future daughters was way more than he bargained for when he’d woken up this morning. If he’d had known, he probably would have worn his nicer cargo shorts. And he definitely would not have skipped breakfast.

And then there was Raven. He thought he’d been doing good at being normal around her, but it was hard to deny he that he maybe kind-of still had feelings for her when their literal daughter from the future showed up.  Did the fact that she had a kid with him in the future mean that Rae liked him back? Or maybe she didn’t have feelings for him yet and now the whole thing was just weird?

And he had no idea what to think about Summer. She had always seemed so leaderly and professional – like they weren’t even playing the same sport, let alone in the same league. Did this mean she liked him? Did he even like her? How did he have a kid with her when he also had one with Raven?

Neither woman had spoken directly to him since Veros had said the part about the kids. Only Tai’s momentum as a lifelong extrovert had let him push those thoughts aside enough to try to get to know Yang and Ruby.  But even that had felt very complicated.

It was nice to do something simple. Like punch a Beowolf really hard in the face. The sensation  - his fist hitting the solid Grimm flesh hard enough that the black mass started to dissolve around his hand- was so familiar it was almost calming.

“Team STRQ, switch to offense – we need crowd control!” Summer called out, sounding her usual self in the heat of the battle.

Tai knew it was better to take on this many Grimm without worrying about protecting anyone. But it still seemed wrong to just let the kids fight too, even if they were pretty much their same age. Could they fight as well as Team STRQ? What if they got hurt? Being a dad was an awful lot of pressure and he’d only been one for like, an hour now.   

He barely had time to punch another Beowolf before something red hurtled past him, straight towards a huge King Taijitu a little ways ahead. Tai held his breath as Ruby stopped directly in front of the snake-like monster, a weapon the same color as her cloak unfurling in her hand.

The closest of the Taijitu’s heads lunged. Those Grimm were fast suckers. To take one down, you needed to either strike from far enough away that you were out of range from both heads, or you needed to be skilled enough in using your aura to protect your body from its fangs as you whittled it down. Otherwise, just one bite from a big one’s jaws would be enough to end it. This one’s mouth would be large enough to close entirely around Ruby’s head. Tai started to run towards her as the venom-dripping fangs snapped together – on thin air?

The space where Ruby had stood was empty now. Tai couldn’t see a trace of her. Just more Grimm coming out from among the trees and a few flower petals blowing in the wind– which was unusual for this time of the summer, but definitely not high on Tai’s list of priorities at the moment. He charged towards the Taijitu and readied his aura to shield from its fangs. Tai raised his fist just as a curved blade sliced through the monster from behind, dividing it neatly in half.

Faster than a King Taijiitu. Wow.

Ruby shot him a grin as the Grimm dissolved at her feet and she readied her scythe to face a swooping Nevermore. No, not just a scythe. A round of fire dust shot from the weapon’s barrel. Was it also a some kind of rifle? Gods, Summer and Qrow were going to love that.

The sound of Raven’s portal reminded him that there was a rest of the battle.  He spun around just in time to see his partner’s  fire blade intercept the meaty paw of an ursa that had been aiming for his head.

“Offensive tactics, dumbass,” was all she said.

Right.

Team STRQ’s usual battle plan for large packs of Grimm was pretty simple. Summer and Qrow would split off in different directions, heading away from the rest of the team. It worked because Qrow fought better when he wasn’t worried about people getting hurt by his semblance, and Summer made better plans when she could get a big-picture view of the battle. Other Huntsmen might worry about getting surrounded by Grimm, but both Harbinger and Sundered Rose were made for sweeping, near 360 ^o strikes, and Raven was excellent backup. That’s part of why she and Tai were supposed to stick together. Raven would make up for her partner’s distinct lack of range, and Tai would keep the Grimm off from his partner whenever she needed to make a portal to cover Summer or Qrow’s asses. It was a solid plan of action – not Summer’s most creative work, but very effective.

A few blows from Tai finished off the Ursa, and he and Raven fell into their usual rhythm. His punches fell perfectly in line with her slashes, easily taking out any Grimm that got within attack radius.

Tai felt safe enough to sneak another glance at Ruby. As he watched, her rifle round shot through a Beowolf’s skull, and she used the momentum to sail over a Deathstalker’s head and slice off its tail with her scythe in a single, neat motion. When the Grimm’s pinchers reached up to snap at her, she was suddenly underneath its range, her blade arcing upwards to bury itself in the creature’s head.

“Damn, kid,” Qrow sounded just as impressed as Tai. “Did the Grimm Reaper teach you that or something?”

“You taught me that one Uncle Qrow,” the girl called out cheerfully.

A Beowolf lunging towards Raven took up Tai’s attention, so he didn’t hear Qrow’s reply.  When he looked back after taking down the smaller Grimm, he saw Ruby loading a new set of rounds into her weapon. 

“The Grimm Reaper taught me this one.”

Ruby fired, not at any Grimm, but at a tree on the far side of battlefield. Purple gravity dust bloomed outward, catching an alpha Beowolf and two of its kin, and pulling them together towards the tree. The girl leapt up and shot a series of non-dust bullets in the opposite direction, most blasts managing to injure a foe on the other side of the battle while also launching her towards her first target.  When she got within range of her gravity round, Ruby spun, slicing outwards with her scythe. That final blow had enough inertia to not only dispatch all three Beowolves – who were still strung up on the trunk like chickens in a butcher’s shop - but to also somehow fell the affected tree so that it landed squarely on an Ursa.

Even Raven had paused to watch that.

Which was not ideal because several large Nevermores were making use of the new hole in the tree line to fly right at them.

Well, Ruby wasn’t the only one who could show off. Tai leapt up at just the right moment to disrupt the lead monster’s wings and then grab onto its neck, dragging the creature down to the ground in a tight headlock. Raven dispatched the bird with one strike as he pinned it down. Another strike aimed a portal for Summer to easily unleash a hail of bullets at the rest of the flock.

Unfortunately, her shots only caught two of the avian monsters. The other remaining two were smart enough to veer out of the way. Damn. There might not be enough time for Raven to set up another portal or for Summer to aim manually through the chaotic battle.

 Tai raised his fists to block as one of the giant birds started to dive. But his movement proved unnecessary. An alpha Beowolf sailed over his head, knocked the first Nevermore into the path of the second, and then exploded, causing dust from all three monsters to rain down on them.

Tai turned in search of his savior and found Yang shooting him a pair of finger guns from a few dozen paces away. Had she thrown the alpha?  He didn’t see another explanation.  Her weapons seemed to be some sort of gauntlets, nothing else that could account for launching a two-hundred-pound monster into the sky with that sort of precision. As he and Raven watched, their daughter turned and struck an Ursa with a perfectly placed uppercut, taking the beast down in one hit. Had he taught her that?

His kids weren’t cool. They were downright spectacular.

With all six of them fighting, the Grimm horde thinned out pretty quickly. Eventually, the only real threat left was a giant alpha Ursa. At nearly twenty feet tall, covered in worn skeletal armor with jagged spikes each nearly as big as Tai, it was one old, ugly monster. It was probably a smart one too, and Tai was not looking forward to punching through bone that thick. Summer called out for the team to regroup. This one was going to take some time and planning to wear down.

 Two shapes were not regrouping with Team STRQ. Yang leapt up in a high arc, her jump enhanced by aura and by shots from her gauntlets blasted into the ground below. Hanging 30 feet in the air, she twisted to shoot at the sky instead. The momentum sent her hurtling downwards, straight towards the Ursa. Something about her face looked a lot like Raven’s when she drew her fist back.  For a second there, Tai could have sworn she was glowing. Next to the Grimm, a flurry of red rose petals coalesced into Ruby, who swept her scythe forward - its blade facing upwards while it rested on the dirt.  Yang’s blow caught the bear monster squarely in the torso, slamming it forcefully to the ground, and right into Ruby’s scythe. Tai could see the curved, red and silver blade sticking up through the Ursa’s armored chest in the brief moments before the Grimm dissolved into black powder.  

Okay, or they could take it out in one hit. Tai ran up to the kids. His kids. His totally awesome kids. Was this what it felt like to be proud of someone?

“That was amazing!” He wrapped his arms in a hug around both girls. “You girls are totally the bomb!”

He could feel the movement of Yang’s soft chuckle as his daughters returned the embrace.  “Yeah Dad, that’s definitely something people still say in the future.”

Tai detected a hint of sarcasm there. Well in the future, he’d get used to the future slang, and he’d also get used to being called ‘Dad.’

He released the girls from the hug and stepped back to let the rest of his team congratulate them. Raven nodded approvingly at Yang, which was a lot coming from her. Qrow awkwardly pat Ruby on the back, which was a lot coming from him.  Summer -who had just finished clearing out the last remaining Beowolves -started to step up to the girls, but then stopped and frowned.

“You two are really good,” she said. Both girls beamed at the compliment.

“Thanks, Mom!” Ruby’s silver eyes blazed with excitement. “It was great to see Team STRQ in action, too!”  She paused, something flickering in her eyes.  “In your Beacon formations, I mean,” she added hurriedly.

But Summer was still frowning. “You’re better than any students I’ve ever seen.”

Hell yeah, they were. Tai didn’t see the problem. Had Summer really been expecting better from their kids? He didn’t see how that could be even possible. They seemed more experienced than Team STRQ at dealing with such a large group of Grimm – and Team STRQ was the probably the most experienced student team on Remnant.  Or maybe she was feeling left out that their tactics had worked out better than hers? Raven and Qrow weren’t the only team members who could get their feathers ruffled.  But Summer wasn’t usually the jealous type…

“Well . . .”  Ruby looked almost guilty as she shared a look with her sister. “Technically, we’re not students.”  She pulled her scroll from her pocket and flashed an ID. A genuine Huntress License. Yang showed the same. Tai barely had time to process this before they stowed their scrolls again.

“You’re already Huntresses?” Summer asked. “But aren’t you too young? I thought we were the older ones here…”

“Actually, Oz let Ruby into Beacon early, and we both finished quicker than usual– You’re looking at the youngest Huntress to get her license since the Great War. Seventeen years old!” Yang proudly clapped the shorter girl on the shoulder with her gauntleted hand.  

 “Congratulations! That’s awesome!” Tai grinned at the girl. His kids were going to break world records. But . . . an uneasy feeling started to bloom in Tai’s chest as he realized that the rest of Team STRQ didn’t seem so excited about this news.

Summer had gone still. She stood open-mouthed, her eyes wide with an emotion Tai couldn’t place.

Next to her, Raven had also stiffened. The trace of her approving smile was gone and replaced with something resembling concern.

Tai followed their gazes to Yang’s gauntlets.

The weapons didn’t look at all damaged from the fight. Actually, they looked to be very well-made and in great condition, if a little asymmetrical. Tai wasn’t quite sure on the function of one gauntlet being a bracelet while the other a complete metal glove, but there was probably some expla-

Oh.

That’s not a glove.

Now he saw the problem.

Huntsmen students weren’t supposed to fight life-threatening battles until they were fully trained and of-age. They were supposed to be safe. Team STRQ was different because they had been chosen to fight Ozpin’s secret war – they were the exception that proved the rule. Sure, a couple of years before Team STRQ started out, there had been that one Huntress student who had died on a training mission.  But all of their professors and all of the Vale officials spoke seriously of the tragedy, even years later – they’d all sworn they would do anything in their power to prevent it from happening again.

If Yang and Ruby were as good as they were, they must have had a lot of practice fighting huge waves of Grimm like that. And if they had been appointed full Huntresses when they were still young enough to be considered children, then someone must have relaxed nearly a dozen safety and training protocols to make it happen. Tai could think of several reasons for that and none of them were comforting.

 And then there was Yang’s arm . . . The hint of scar tissue where the metal connected to flesh meant it was an injury. There weren’t a lot of pleasant ways something like that could happen – especially not to a child of Huntsmen who’d likely been trained in aura at an early age.

“Things  . . . aren’t so good in the future, are they?” Qrow reached his conclusion at the same time Tai did.

Neither girl spoke, but the answer to the question was suddenly very plain on their faces.

No.

Oh, no.

“What happened? Is it Ozpin’s war – is it still going on? Do we . . .  do we not defeat Salem?” Summer’s usually unflappable voice took on a pleading tone.

Ruby’s face had stared out solemn, but with each word from her mother, she looked closer and closer to coming to tears, “No,” she managed, “Salem hasn’t been defeated,”

“What happened, then?” Summer moved forward to place both her hands on Ruby’s shoulders. “How . . . how bad is it?”

They girls were younger than Team STRQ, but in that moment, their eyes looked decades older.

Yang sighed- a deeper, sadder sound than Tai would have thought possible from the cheerful girl. She stepped out to put her own hand – the intact one-  on Summer’s shoulder.

“It’s getting late,” she said. “It’ll be dark soon.”

A chill went down Tai’s spine.

He knew that code. That was what Huntsmen said when they meant ‘We probably shouldn’t talk about this unless we wanna be Grimm dinner’. Whatever the answer to Summer’s question was, it was bad. Bad enough that it would draw in dangerous amounts of monsters with the resulting negative energy. If an attack like that was still a possibility after they had just defeated what seemed to be the whole forest’s worth of Grimm . . .

“Alright,” Summer said, carefully. “That’s . . . That’s okay. You two are the ranking Huntresses here, after all, so we’ll follow your lead.  We can . . . we can recharge our auras and finish this conversation in the morning.”

Tai had never seen the leader of Team STRQ look quite so shaken before. Her lips seemed to quiver as she continued to examine Ruby and Yang’s bleak faces, searching for answers to questions she couldn’t voice.

Oh gods . . .

What had happened in their future?

Chapter Text

Summer mentally reviewed the evening’s plan as she followed the movement of dark feathers through the forest.

It was almost sunset, so getting camp set up was a smart move, regardless of circumstances. Choosing a location had been easy. The stretch of forest where they had begun their recent battle was now a serviceable clearing. Most of the underbrush been stamped down by the Grimm, if not outright cut or burnt by the Huntsmen’s weapons. Several nearby trees had been felled in the fighting, and while that wood wasn’t dry enough to make good kindling, it would be perfectly functional as fuel once their fire was hot enough. The sounds of the battle had almost certainly scared off any unwelcome, non-Grimm critters (it wouldn’t do to take down a King Taijitu and then get bitten by a common rattlesnake while they slept). And the area was close enough to a stream that they could get fresh water, but far enough that the ground hadn’t gotten muddy in the fighting.

The next step was to set things up. There were now six people in their party, but Summer had only packed rations for four. (Someone was supposed to have packed extra in case of emergencies, but had apparently ‘forgotten.’)  Team STRQ did carry sufficient cooking supplies to improvise a bit, so she decided that they would supplement their current inventory with the results of foraging in the local forest. That was why Summer was kneeling in front of the tree that the large, black bird had indicated, reaching out to put some plants in her cloak’s large pocket.

CAW.

She dropped contents of her hand and reached for the other nearby plant instead.

“You know, this would be easier if you used your words,” she muttered under her breath. Raven, naturally, said nothing, although Summer was certain her bird’s ears were sharp enough to have heard.

Raven and Qrow knew the most about what was edible in the forest. And since Rae had her portals for easy transport back and Summer had the executive decision-making authority on how much food they needed for dinner, it was natural for the two of them to go on this errand. (It wasn’t like Summer was trying to avoid anybody – nope, definitely not).

She didn’t even mind too much that Raven had transformed into her namesake as they worked. The task was going quickly with her airborne mobility and bird’s-eye view to find potential ingredients. And anyway, Summer wasn’t really sure what she would say if her teammate was in the mood to talk.

No point thinking about that. When in doubt, just go over the plan.

Next, they would need to build a fire. The rest of the group was hopefully already getting started on that back at the camp. They would need to fill up their water supply, too.

With the water and fire, Summer would be able to start the cooking, maybe with some help from–

Actually she didn’t need any help. She would cook something, and then they would eat it, and then they would all get some rest and recharge their aura for tomorrow. And then, they would find out exactly what would happen in the future, make a new plan from there, and fix everything. Easy, right? Summer could do that.

Whatever would happen, Summer would find a way to deal with it. That was just what she did.  It was who she was. Even if Salem was still around a few decades from now, even if the world was overrun with Grimm, even if her future work as a Huntress and a parent wouldn’t meet expectations, even if one of her closest friends sustained terrible injuries or . . .

Summer found herself sinking to her knees, her back laid up against Raven’s most recent perch.

Oh gods. What if one of them died?

When she closed her eyes, all Summer could see was the scar cutting Yang’s arm short, and the utter, despondent sadness in Ruby’s expression when she spoke of the future.

No.  

A leader shouldn’t let negative thoughts in. Everyone on Remnant had been trained as a child to manage their emotional state. Sure, most civilians weren’t very practiced at the skill and often let their fear get the better of them in dangerous situations. But Summer was a Huntress and a leader. To lose track of her emotions was unacceptable. She just had to take deep breaths, and go over the plan one more time.  Step one: We’ve found a good location.

A familiar weight landed on her shoulder. Without looking up, Summer reached her hand to trace the soft black feathers on Raven’s head. Each stroke of her fingers aligned with her breathing.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

“What if . . . we can’t fix it?” Summer asked to no one in particular.

Raven moved to answer anyway, lifting off of her shoulder to transform into her human form. She now stood tall in front of Summer’s crouched form.

“Not going to happen.”

The other woman sounded so calm, so unbothered, it was almost jarring. If Summer didn’t know better, she would say Raven’s tone was verging on bored.

“It sounds like it will be bad,” Summer argued.

“Yeah, it sounds pretty fucking bad,” Raven agreed, once again sounding oddly unperturbed by the future state of Remnant.

Summer said nothing, her eyes staring blankly at the worn leather straps on Raven’s boots. After the silence stretched on for over a minute, Raven spoke up again.

“You know, this is usually the part where you say something like, ‘Bad things are sometimes good things in disguise. They give us the chance to grow and shit.’’’ Her voice was high and singsong in an attempt to imitate Summer (who sounded nothing like that at all).

Raven continued, “Or maybe ‘We can get through anything if we have hope.”

 Well, that did sound like something Summer might say.  

“Or ‘I thought having bandits for teammates would be bad too, but Raven turned out to be pretty great even if Qrow does kind of suck.”

At the last one, Summer couldn’t help but smile a little. Her eyes rose to meet Raven’s uncharacteristically warm gaze. The tall woman leaned down to extend a hand to Summer, and she took it, letting Raven’s strength carry her forward until she stood all the way upright.

“But if you’re not going to say anything, then I guess I’ll have to do it this time,” Raven’s tone was softer than usual- gentler than Summer had ever heard it before. She had yet to release her grip on the other woman’s hand. This wasn’t the response Summer had expected after being brought down to her knees by her own uncontrolled thoughts, but she supposed this day was uncharted territory for the both of them.

“We’ve been through a lot of bad shit. But I know you, Summer Rose.  You’re stronger than this. You’ll find a way through it. You always do. Don’t you, fearless leader?”

Summer’s laugh had no joy to it. She let go of Raven’s hand.  “I don’t feel much like a leader right now.” She paused to take a deep breath, letting the sigh echo through the trees before continuing.

“I know we shouldn’t be talking about it, but I’m terrified about what’s going to happen with Salem and those kids. And even if we don’t talk about that – I’m still not following good leadership protocol. I haven’t even been able to look at - at Tai since . . .”

Summer had no problem speaking to Tai as a teammate, a classmate, a subordinate, and of course, as a friend – balancing and shifting dynamics as the situation called for it. But ‘future father of her child’ was not a role she had a script for.

“That part is a little weird,” Raven admitted, “But it could be worse. He’s . . . decent enough, I guess.”

“That’s not the problem,” Summer tried to find the right words. “I just . . . hadn’t thought of him that way before, and trying to think of him now- with everything else going on- I . . . I don’t even know what to say to him.”

“Lucky for you, he does most of the talking.”

“So . . . how do you feel about it?” Summer asked. Theoretically, Raven should be going through nearly the same thing as Summer was now, but in this conversation, she had proven more difficult than ever to get a read on.

The other woman shrugged, “How do I feel about what, exactly? It’s been a busy day.”

“How do you feel about Tai? Do you like him? Like him now, I mean?” Summer usually tried not to pry into her teammates’ personal feelings, but today was a day for exceptions.

“I have a link to him, don’t I?” That was probably as close as Raven would get to admitting she did like someone.

“So, how … how did you know?”  For all her experience in classes and battle, Summer felt awfully inadequate in these types of situations.

The forest was silent for several moments. Summer half-expected her teammate to tell her to shut up and mind her business, but instead Raven continued.

“It was the Vytal Festival,”

“After we won the tournament?” Summer remembered their recent trip to Atlas, the rest of Team STRQ cheering as she held the trophy aloft in the cold wind.

“No,” Raven frowned. “The other Vytal Festival.”

Ah.

“Vacuo.”  Summer remembered that one less fondly. During Team STRQ’s first year at Beacon, they had no trouble qualifying for the tournament. After dominating in the team round, the Branwen twins had put their lifelong coordination to good use for the doubles match. But in the finals, Raven had taken the stand and, in a stroke of luck usually reserved for her brother, drawn a matchup against a fourth-year student with a strong water manipulation semblance – on the full ocean terrain.

  “I was going to win, and then that bullshit happened. I was pissed,” Raven had been thoroughly soaked, too, if Summer’s memory served. “But afterwards, Tai didn’t even care that I lost. It should have made things worse, but . . . it didn’t.”

That’s right. When Team STRQ had returned to their temporary dorm room at Shade, Tai didn’t even mention the fight. He’d said, ‘It’s Friday- How about a movie night, partner?’ and then went off in search of popcorn.

“We watched that awful Western,” Summer remembered aloud. It had been the only film to rent they could find on short notice. “The one where no one on set had apparently seen a gun before.”  

“And you didn’t notice that Qrow spiked the drinks,” Raven gave a rare smile at that.

“Oh, I definitely noticed,” Summer admitted. “I just didn’t mention it because the drinking age is 16 in Vacuo, anyway.”

“It is?” Raven seemed disappointed. “Damn, I thought we’d pulled one over on you. Anyway, the point is, it should have been a shitty night, and it wasn’t. The next day, I woke up and I could feel Tai’s aura. Just like that.” Her voice had lost almost all of its usual edge through the course of telling the story.

“Huh,” Summer hadn’t really thought of that night in years. That one instance of Tai’s kindness and camaraderie had blurred together in her memory with the many other similar instances since then. That was a pattern Summer would have to think more about later. For now, something else was stirring her curiosity. She wasn’t sure when Raven would ever be this talkative again, so she might as well take her chance. “So, when did you get the portal to me?”

“That happened before,” Raven said casually.

“Before what, exactly?”

“Before the tournament. That same trip to Vacuo. We had that job right when we got in, remember – the Vytal student mission thing?”

Taking out a Deathstalker den near an oasis village- it had been one of their first real missions. “Of course I remember,” Summer replied.  Although she couldn’t quite think of what was so noteworthy about it – they’d killed the Grimm pretty handily.

“After the fight, you said, ‘Be careful where you step around the oasis dunes,’” Raven’s woefully inaccurate Summer imitation made a reappearance. “’The water-whatever can cause quicksand’, and I said, ‘That’s dumb. Sand is sand.’ And stepped right in.”

Summer remembered watching Raven sink straight down – her arms trapped, unable to use her semblance. Summer had pulled a rope from her toolkit, tossed one end to Qrow and dove right in after her.

“That wasn’t the first time I saved your life,” Summer pointed out.

“No,” Raven admitted, “But . . . it was the first time it was because of me. You gave the warning and I didn’t listen. Anyone in the tribe would have left me there. I would have left me there.”

“I don’t think Qrow would have left you there,” Summer felt suddenly self-conscious. She hadn’t realized until this moment just how close she was standing to Raven’s intense eyes.

“Well, he’s not the one who jumped in. That was all you, Summer Rose. And you didn’t even lecture me afterwards.”

Yes, well that was because Summer had thought the experience would speak for itself and that there was no need for an additional lecture. Of course Raven would listen to orders and read about potential dangers in the mission briefing from then on. (At least she did one of those things now.)

“So, now we’re linked,” Raven finished. “And I’m with you. We’ve had some good times together, you know. Even if you’re a self-righteous, law-abiding brat who worries too much.”

“You could have done without the last sentence, Rae.” Summer rolled her eyes, but her smile didn’t leave her face.  “Also why is ‘law-abiding' a bad thing?”

“You know, Summ,” Raven shamelessly changed the topic. “I think it’s good that our kids are going to be sisters.”

Summer was not prepared for the weight of Raven’s words. They seemed to hit her with a physical force, the warmth of the blow taking root in her chest and spreading out to her hands and toes.

“Yeah, I think so, too,” she managed to say in response.

“Now it’s my turn to ask you a question,” Raven paused to look at Summer expectantly, crimson eyes sparkling. She wore an unfamiliar, catlike grin- it looked almost dangerous. Summer braced herself.

“Do you think Tai is any good?”

What? Summer didn’t see what she was getting at. “I mean . . . He’s on Team STRQ. Ozpin says all of our performance is exceptional . . .  I don’t see how Tai would be any diff-“

Raven’s laughing cut her off. This was her real, full laugh, not the sardonic scoff that was her usual indication of humor. (The sound was very nice).

 Oh. Summer had definitely misunderstood the question.

Despite everything, she started laughing too. Her shoulders heaved up and down, relieving some of the tension she’d been carrying all day. It felt good. Later, she’d give Raven a lecture on questions  that were inappropriate for team dynamics. But she figured there was no harm in finding a bit of humor at her own misunderstanding. So for now, Summer laughed until her sides hurt and laughed a bit more.

Surprisingly, Raven had known exactly what to do to make her feel better.

It was nice to have a reminder that, whatever happened in the future, Summer wouldn’t be alone.

 * * * * *

Qrow watched from a safe distance as Tai tried to light a fire. The day’s fights had left the team short on fire dust, which had resulted in blonde man attempting to get a spark from striking the flint from their supply kit. He wasn’t exactly good at it, which Qrow suspected was why he had sent Yang and Ruby to fill up on water before he had begun. Tai always tried to impress – and his daughters were apparently no exception.

Meeting the girls had been an interesting experience so far. Qrow wasn’t sure which was weirder: looking at Ruby - who was a near carbon copy of Summer -  or looking at Yang, who had his sister’s familiar features all mashed up with Tai’s. Actually, the weirdest part was that they both called him ‘Uncle Qrow.’ It gave him an odd, light feeling in his chest. The same feeling he had gotten when the younger girl had pulled out a rifle that was also a scythe – a scythe- and told him that he had taught her some things about using it. The kid must like exaggerating the cheerful stuff as much as her parents, because there was no way Qrow would ever be able to teach anyone anything. He hadn’t bothered asking further, though. It seemed a bad idea to bring up a topic so near to the – seemingly horrible - future when they were all low on aura. If anyone knew about the dangers of tempting fate, it was him.

“What do you think the girls are talking about?” Tai’s brow was still furrowed as he worked over the unlit pile of kindling.

“They’re probably talking about how much of a loser their Dad is,” Qrow deadpanned.

“No,” Tai looked embarrassed. “I meant the other girls.”

Ah. Summer and Raven hadn’t come back yet either from their own errand.

Qrow thought about it. He’d had the misfortune to exist within earshot of Raven talking about her former lovers a few times before. If her current conversation was anything like those, it was best for Tai to know as little about it as possible.

“Maybe they’re talking about how bad you are at lighting fires.”

“I’m serious,” Tai frowned. “The only time either of them has said a word to me since the mirror thing was during the fight when Raven called me a dumbass.”

That sounded pretty normal for Raven. Qrow wasn’t sure what he was getting at. He looked around to make sure Yang and Ruby weren’t coming back yet.

“Well, you know you’ll be doing more than talking in the future.”

“I know,” Tai’s voice took on a desperate tone, “And that’s the problem. I don’t want to mess things up.”

“I don’t think you could mess Raven up any more if you tried.”

Tai glared at him, but Qrow continued, ”Look. I don’t see what the problem is. You’re going to have a kid with a wonderful woman. Of all the things you could be worrying about right now, that shouldn’t be one of them.

“Now, you’re also going to have a kid with my sister, and I do see the problem there. But you actually seem to like Raven for some reason. I’d have thought you’d be happy about this.”

“I don’t like Raven,” Tai objected. Qrow raised an eyebrow at him.

The blonde man sighed, dropping his flint to the ground in a show of defeat.

“Okay, fine, I do like her. I like your sister.” Tai’s nervous expression returned. “But what if she doesn’t like me back? I mean, I thought she only saw me as a friend – and if I also end up with Summer, then doesn’t that mean things won’t work out between me and Raven? And then everything else in the future? It sounds like it all has to go wrong somewhere…”

Relationship advice was definitely above Qrow’s paygrade. He didn’t know anything about having kids with people. Apparently, he never would.

“Look,” Qrow moved to crouch next to Tai. “There’s no point in trying to predict Raven. I’d have thought you’d figured that out by now since you’re her partner and all.” Tai just sighed. “So how about you let future-you worry about future-Raven. And tonight, just talk to your kids, or whatever. That’s the whole point of this thing, right? And besides, they seem to like you.”

As if he’d summoned them, Qrow could hear the sounds of footsteps approaching the campsite. Ruby and Yang’s arms were full of the team’s various containers for water.

“Hey, can you girls come over here and give your old man a hand with the fire.” Qrow smirked at Tai. His teammate’s face still held a worried expression, but he nodded, as if taking Qrow’s advice to heart. For all his annoying qualities, he was one of the few people Qrow met who actually seemed to care what he thought.

“Yang! No!” Both men whirled around to see the blond girl holding her detached prosthetic arm in a throwing stance. She wore the same thwarted expression that Raven had when Summer told her she couldn’t use fire dust to clear away the noisy first-years from underneath their window.

“Future-you knows better than to say ‘give me a hand,’” Ruby explained  to Qrow solemnly. “So I didn’t think it was fair.”

Oh. The future must be an interesting place.

“Traitor,” Yang called playfully to her sister as she reattached the equipment and stepped up to Tai’s poor attempt at a fire.

“It’s, uh, really hard to light,” Tai spoke with as much dignity as he could muster, which soon turned into no dignity as Yang reached out, closed her eyes,  and casually set the kindling ablaze with her bare left hand. Some kind of fire semblance?

“That’s a cool trick,” Tai sounded more overwhelmed than impressed. Qrow couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

“What can I say?” Yang’s grin was both very familiar and very out of place on her Raven-like face. “I’m pretty hot stuff.”

Tai started laughing at the same time as she did.

Great. Now there were two of them.

“Mom and Raven aren’t back yet?” Ruby asked as she sat down next to Qrow.

“Not yet,” Tai’s glum expression started to return.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just a hopeless romantic.”

“I am not,” Tai’s face reddened. “I’m not hopeless .Or romantic.”

“Yeah Dad, very convincing.” Yang smirked. It was a bit softer than Raven’s usual smirk, but the resemblance was still there.

“Hey,” Ruby elbowed her sister in the arm and winced for it because she was on Yang’s right side. “And how long did it take you to confess your feelings for Blake again?” Yang didn’t blush, but she did give a pretty good glare at her sister.

“Oh! Who’s Blake? Is he your boyfriend?” Tai seemed downright excited at the change in topic. Qrow wasn’t sure if he was more glad to get his own love life out of focus or to hear about his future daughter’s relationships. “Is he nice to you? Did I have to give him the talk?”

Either way, Tai’s questions were met only with a chorus of laughter from Yang and Ruby, who were both doubled over.

“Blake’s my girlfriend, Dad,” Yang clarified in between laughs.

“Oh,” This only set Tai back a moment. “Is she nice to you? Do I have to give her the talk?”

“No talk necessary,” Yang waved him off. Qrow thought she saw her smile falter for a second, but maybe he was seeing things.

Ruby clapped her hands together. “Ooohh! I have an idea! Why don’t you tell us some of your Beacon stories while we wait for the others to come back. I men we’ve heard a lot of them before,” She leaned sideways to briefly tap her head to Yang’s shoulder. “But probably not all of them and definitely not when it all happened so recently. I want to hear all of the details!”

“I’d love to hear more,” offered Yang.

“Sounds good to me. Maybe you could start with the Leviathan we fought earlier.” Qrow grinned at Tai, waiting to see how he would spin his earlier monster misclassification when there was an actual audience present.

“You guys fought a Leviathan, too?” Ruby’s silver eyes were round with excitement and complete sincerity.

Too?  “Oh, uh, never mind.” Qrow stammered hastily.  Damn. What did they feed these kids in the future?

“I have a story.” Tai raised a finger as if he were about to deliver an important lecture. “Have I ever told you about our first day at Beacon Academy?”

 Oh, not this again.

“You mean when you tricked Uncle Qrow into wearing a skirt?” Ruby raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that one once or . . . a few times actually,” said Yang  

Qrow frowned. He would have to have a serious talk with future-Tai about the kinds of things he said. But for now. . .  well an eye for an eye would do the trick.

“I bet you haven’t heard the one about this guy not being able to identify wildlife properly.” He gestured to his blonde teammate, whose eyes were widening as he realized his mistake.

Ruby and Yang both turned towards Qrow, looking expectant.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Please, do tell.”

It was a little strange to have two people other than Summer and Tai so interested in what he had to say.

“So we’re at Beacon, right?  One time after training, I notice Tai’s been taking a little longer than  usual on his evening walk, so I go out to check on him. You know, because I’m a nice teammate -who is very forgiving of skirt-related incidents-  and also because his partner wasn’t  around to notice – not that she would have checked on him if she did.”  Qrow wasn’t as sure if Raven would be quite as annoying in the future, but neither girl objected to the description.

“I go out and what do I find? Taiyang Xiao Long flirting with a bird. He called her ‘Raven,’ but .. . . it was definitely a mockingbird. A regular-ass mockingbird that just happened to be hanging around the campus. They don’t even have black feathers, man.” Qrow addressed this last remark at Tai, who was trying to maintain his composure over his daughters’ laughter.

“Okay, first of all, it was very dark out,”  Tai’s voice had risen about a half octave.

“Yeah, but ravens are still like three times that size. You had to have seen-“

“And second,” Tai cut off Qrow before he could spoil his remaining self-integrity with any more facts. “I was not flirting.”

Qrow couldn’t help but flick his eyes over to Yang.

“…Sure you weren’t, buddy.”

The camp rang out with more laughter.

Chapter Text

“So Professor Plum finally walks in, and he’s dripping wet. The whole class is silent. You can hear each little drop of water fall off his coat.”

Yang smiled as her father told the story with his usual story-telling enthusiasm.  Some things, it seemed, didn’t change much. His blue eyes shone with a familiar warmth in the light of the now-roaring  fire, his hands gesturing  along with his words,  casting ever-moving shadows across their newly set-up camp.

“And he drops the tests onto the table, and they’re soaked too. We all just watch them – poof- dissolve into a puddle. Completely ruined.  And he looks at us, totally lost. And he says, ‘A bird knocked me into the fountain,’ like he can’t believe it happened, even though he’s dripping all over the floor. ‘A bird.’”

Dad poorly tries to imitate the professor’s voice, which earns him a chuckle from Ruby.

“And then Summer stands up. And I see her see Qrow – who’s sneaking into the back of the class with a total shit-eating grin on his face. And I think for sure she’s going to tell the prof. That she’s going to confess about the magic bird powers for the sake of upholding classroom integrity or something. But all she says is ‘That sounds like awfully bad luck, Professor,’  and he just looks at her and says ‘You’re quite right, my girl. Quite right.’ And then he just cancels the test. Outright cancels it – we didn’t even have to make it up later.” Dad smiled at the memory.

He and Qrow had been going through all of their favorite stories that Yang and Ruby didn’t know. For some reason, all of the ones she hadn’t heard before tended to involve secret magic stuff, a gross disregard for academic responsibility, underage drinking, or all of the above. A bit different from the Hunstsmen  Yang knew who spent most of their free nights grading papers. The mirror spirit had said that the two men would remember everything that happened here as soon as she and Ruby returned to Vacuo. It was a shame Yang wouldn’t be near enough to see her dad’s face when he realized some of the stuff he’d told them.

“Would’ve been worth it if Summer hadn’t given me all those extra training drills afterwards.” Qrow grumbled. “I think I’d rather just take the test next time.”

“Well,”  Summer’s voice rang out from the tree line behind Yang. She turned around to see that her mom and . . . her mom . .. had returned from their errand. “I know that no partner of mine would ever intentionally dive bomb a professor. Clearly you needed to work on your flying skills, so you wouldn’t accidentally hit anyone else.”  She gave Qrow a wicked grin.

The two women started to get settled into the camp. Dad’s eyes lit up when Mom asked him to help with dinner, and they lit up even more when Raven greeted him with an unaffected ‘Glad you didn’t let Qrow burn down the forest.’

Yeah, he was down really bad.

It was weird to see the person he was before he’d had his heart broken – his eyes didn’t have that hollow look in them, and his smile never looked fake. It was even weirder to see the person Summer Rose had been before she was her mother. Yang hadn’t known she kind of a hard-ass. She’d never responded with anything harsher than mild tickling whenever she’d caught little Ruby or Yang with their hands in the cookie jar. It was almost funny to watch the other three members of Team STRQ bend under the woman’s leadership. The Branwens had always seemed so independent to Yang before she had seen Summer’s iron grip on them.  And speaking of Raven – that was the weirdest one. Seeing who she was before she had betrayed them all – how her words lacked the crueler edge of her future version’s hateful sneers, and how she had been downright protective of her teammates in the fight earlier. She could almost understand what her father saw in her. Almost.

Yang and Ruby joined in to help with dinner, of course- they weren’t going to miss out on the chance to cook with their parents. This suited Team STRQ just fine, as apparently Raven ‘didn’t much enjoy cooking’ and Qrow ‘didn’t much enjoy burning anything.’

“Can you pass me the salt?” Summer called over to Yang. It brought back one of her earliest memories - standing in the kitchen while her mother made cookies. Yang had been allowed to add a cup of sugar and – if she was good – to lick the spoon. There was no reason that making campfire supper from mostly ration pack ingredients should have felt similar. But somehow, assisting her Mom around the glow of the fire did bring back that same feeling of home from her childhood.

“Oops, sorry!” Summer had accidentally knocked into her. She patted Yang gently on the arm in apology.

“No worries,” It was nice to see her Mom’s caring habits were still the same. Yang went to continue carrying out her task of adding spices, but she noticed that Summer had stopped. The leader of Team STRQ was frowning, a look of consternation on her face as she looked at Yang’s arm. Right. It took some time to get used to – it had certainly taken Yang long enough. But she hadn’t ever thought she’d have to go through that particular song and dance with Summer Rose.

 Yang braced herself for the usual questions – How did it happen? Did it hurt? How do you manage? – but instead Summer hesitantly asked “Could you . . . feel it when I touched you?” and the genuine curiosity in her voice -quite similar to Ruby’s excited reaction when she had first seen the prosthetic-made Yang relax.

“A bit. It’s different than before,” Yang held up her left hand to show her point. “But there’s some pressure and temperature sensors. And I’ve gotten pretty good at sensing with my aura – even inanimate stuff.”

“That’s true!” Ruby piped up from where she was stirring the pot. “One time, our team did an experiment with Team JNPR – they’re like our sister team – and Yang put on a blindfold and tried to guess what she was touching with the new arm, and she got it mostly right!”

“Mostly right?” Yang narrowed her eyes at her sister. “I seem to remember getting everything right. Until someone let Nora test me by pouring pancake syrup over my hand and it damaged the sensors.”

Ruby looked unashamed of her role in events. “Dr. Polendina said he was shocked and impressed that we were able to find a flaw in the design. And he was able to upgrade the tech so it won’t happen again!”

Yang snorted. “Yeah, if the Immortal Queen of the Grimm ever decides to arm her troops with maple syrup, I’ll be sure to thank you two.”

“Well good, because I’ll be waiting.” Ruby stuck her chin up in a move she must have learned from Weiss, but she was only able to hold the pose for a few moments before both of them burst out laughing.

Summer was watching them both with an odd look on her face. Right. Cracking jokes about Salem might be going too far considering their goal for the evening was to not talk about anything bad.

“So,” Yang studied her mom carefully, looking for a way to change the subject. Just how far did Summer and Ruby’s similarities go?  

Yang lifted her prosthetic arm. “Wanna see how the ammunition works?”

That proved to be the right question to ask. Summer peppered her with mechanical questions throughout dinner – What were the safeguards for the bullets? How did the bombs activate? What was the recoil like? The interrogation was more in-depth than any conversation Yang ever had with a forge master at Signal or Beacon. Afterwards, she all but dragged them away from the fire to get a demonstration. Summer watched, completely enthralled, as Yang showed off each of Ember Celica’s capabilities. It took destroying a good chunk of the surrounding trees in fun and exciting ways to fully sate Summer’s curiosity.

Next, of course, it was Ruby’s turn.

 She introduced her baby by fully extending its scythe form, which caused Qrow to step forward for a closer look, Summer to literally squeal in delight, and Dad to give an awed proclamation of “My first grandchild.” Between her mom and uncle, Ruby answered enough questions to satisfy a thesis defense in weapons forging. Not that she seemed to mind. She chatted about bullet calibers and dust options with the biggest smile Yang had seen on her in a long while. None of the nearby trees stood a chance.

Eventually,  Summer took out her own weapon to compare, and Yang moved in closer to get a look at the axe-gun called ‘Sundered Rose.’ Summer would probably make adjustments to it in the next ten or so years, but visually, it looked exactly the same as Yang remembered it from her childhood.

“Wow, Mom! It’s so cool! … even now, I mean!  When did you build it, again?” Ruby asked excitedly. She was demonstrating acting skills that Yang had no idea she had in her. Over the next few minutes, she managed to coax their mother into explaining all of the weapon’s properties while acting like she’d seen the thing a hundred times before. The feat was probably made easier by the fact that both women were so passionate about their weapons.  Yang couldn’t stop smiling as she listened to the intertwining pair of mechanics-based ramblings.

“Hm,” a voice came from behind Yang.

She turned to find Raven examining her gauntlets. The women had been quiet while Yang had demonstrated them earlier – not that she’d really had a chance to speak in between Summer’s excited questions. But it seemed she had something to say after all. “That is nice tech.” Her mother’s voice sounded begrudgingly pleasant.

“You know, normally, this sort of thing costs an arm and a leg,” the words came out of Yang’s mouth automatically. “But I got a fifty percent discount."  She delivered the punchline with a wink and a conspiratorial stage-whisper.

Raven’s eyes briefly widened and the corner of her lips twitched. Yang couldn’t tell if she found the joke funny, terrible, or just surprising. But for some reason, getting any sort of reaction at all out of her mother felt weirdly satisfying. The Raven she knew in the future seemed to never show emotion at all.

“I suppose I should show you what my weapon can do.”

Ah. There was that detached tone Yang had come to know but definitely not love in the future.

Yang shrugged, biting back the harsher comments one her mind. “Couldn’t hurt to take a closer look at the current version,” she offered.  Actually, Yang hadn’t really gotten a close look at any version of Raven’s dust sword. She’d seen it in action a few times in Vacuo – and of course during her mother’s battle with Qrow at Haven – but the dark-haired woman had never been much for show and tell.

Now though, Raven explained the properties of Omen carefully, demonstrating the blade change mechanics and showing off a few of the dust blades’ functions. Yang nodded appreciatively – she could recognize good craftmanship when she saw it, and Raven could make a surprisingly interesting presentation. After a while, Summer and Ruby joined in. Yang’s sister once again proved capable of asking excited questions that didn’t give away how little they actually knew about these two women. If they gave out awards for Best Acting During Magical Time Travel Scenarios, Ruby definitely deserved one.

As the weapons talk was finally winding down, Dad gestured for everyone to circle back around the campfire. He then went sheepishly over to his bag and started pulling a few things out.

Chocolate bars, marshmallows, and graham crackers.

“You forgot to bring the extra camping rations, but you packed  s’mores?” Summer’s words and tone were disapproving, but Yang could see the hint of a smile on her face.

“Technically, s’mores are camping rations,” Tai tried.

Raven grabbed a marshmallow and skewered it with a smooth motion, sitting down next to her blonde teammate. “Packing lists are just rules. And rules are made to be broken.”

Her voice was no longer emotionless as she directed her gaze towards Dad and Summer. It had an teasing, almost playful hint to it that Yang never would have imagined coming out of Raven’s  mouth.

“Pretty sure that’s not how rules work, Rae.” Summer sounded more amused than exasperated. Yang had no idea how she could have so much patience in dealing with the woman.

“Yeah, sure. You might have had the Beacon Student Handbook memorized by the second week of class, Summer Rose,” Raven continued with the same odd, playful lilt in her voice. It was weird enough that Yang found herself wanting the cold monotone back.  “But I remember what happened as soon as we caught wind of that dust-miner trafficking operation in Vale. Suddenly, you stopped being all ‘It’s inappropriate to call a professor ‘fuckwad’ to their face, Raven,’ and you started being  all ‘Can we use your portals sneak out of campus past curfew, Raven?’ and ‘Do you know how to find a criminal informant, Raven?’ and ‘Why is vigilantism illegal when the police suck at their jobs, Raven?’”

Summer sighed. “For the record, it never stopped being inappropriate to call a professor a ‘fuckwad’ to their face.”

“Good thing Oz’s title is ‘Headmaster,’ then,” Raven smirked as Summer rolled her eyes. Yang couldn’t help but let out a short chuckle at the exchange. Huh, Raven could be almost funny when she wanted to be. Yang hadn’t known that.

“I hope your team is less trouble than this,” Summer smiled at Ruby and Yang. “And that you got in less trouble with the local Vale authorities than we did.”  

Yeah, about that last part…

“Our team is awesome!” Ruby grinned, crafting a s’more with what looked to be a structurally unsound ratio of marshmallows to graham cracker. “Yang is Yang, of course, which is definitely a good thing. And then my partner is Weiss.”

Yang smiled at the way her sister turned the words into a  fast-paced stream of excitement.

“Well, Weiss and I did kind of get off on the wrong foot – she had a bit of a uhh . . .stiff upbringing, and I had just skipped two years, so it was a little tense when we first started because of that. And also because I kind of blew up in her face-”

“You blew up in her face?” Tai interjected. “Really? Was she mean to you first?”

“It was an accident!” Ruby protested at the same time as Yang said “She literally blew up in her face. Like a dust accident.”

“I guess my kid would make an explosive first impression . .. “ Dad chuckled as Mom and Raven rolled their eyes in unison.

“But anyway. . .  we worked it out and now we’re best friends!” Ruby continued. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner, and we have the coolest combo attacks because she’s Weiss Schnee and that family semblance is kinda crazy. We have this one move-”

“Wait, ‘Schnee’ like the ‘Schnee Dust Company’?” Qrow raised an eyebrow incredulously.

“You literally blew up a Schnee, huh?” Raven sounded weirdly impressed by this as she looked at Ruby appraisingly.  “Did you get a chance to ‘borrow’ her credit card, too?”

That last part was a joke, but not one that Yang found funny considering the whole holding-for-ransom thing.

She clenched her fists. “No,” she said through gritted teeth, before remembering that it probably wasn’t a good use of energy to hold a grudge for a kidnapping that hadn’t even happened yet.

Instead of forcing a smile, Yang  looked over to Summer - who was in the middle of creating a s’more that bore a striking resemblance to Ruby’s sugary concoction. The grin on Yang’s face was instant and genuine.  She turned back to Raven.  “Weiss is actually pretty great once you get to know her.”

“Hm,” was all Raven said in response.

 “And what about your other teammate?” Summer asked.

“My partner is Blake,” Yang could feel her smile grow as she said her girlfriend’s name. Any remaining tension from dealing with Raven completely fell away from her face.  “She’s amazing. She’s really smart – I think she’s probably read the whole library and remembers everything in it– and she’s one of the bravest people I know…”

Judging by Ruby’s face, Yang’s voice had taken on a tone that was, well . . . probably more dreamy than strictly necessary. But what was she supposed to do? Be less in love with Blake?  

“I can’t imagine having someone else watch my back. She’s a little quiet at first, but once you get to know her, she’ll talk your ear off about tea or her favorite books. When she does speak up, she always knows the right thing to say. And she’s a really good dancer, and she’s great with riding motorcycles, too. And she’s so passionate about making the world a better place. She really cares about everything and everyone. And she’s just . . . the best.”

“Blake is Yang’s girlfriend,” Dad said significantly.

“You don’t say,” Summer said dryly, failing  to hold back a smile. “I would have had no idea.”

Getting teased by her mom felt surprisingly good. She’d figured Summer would be happy to hear about her and Blake, but seeing it firsthand – even when Summer didn’t know she was her mom - made her feel noticeably warmer and lighter. Which was pretty impressive considering that thinking of Blake had left her pretty warm and light to start with.

Raven was watching Yang curiously, but she hadn’t said anything. Not a big surprise there. The woman hadn’t had much to say about Yang’s romantic life in the future, either.

“So,” Dad looked at her and Ruby. “Yang, Ruby, Weiss, and Blake. That makes Team….?”

“RWBY!” said Ruby.

“RWBY?” Summer sounded surprised. “Isn’t that a little . ..? “

“Confusing?” Ruby supplied. “Yeah, it was at first, but you get used to it.”

“I’ve always thought it was a good name. And Ruby’s a great leader,” Yang said, putting all of the conviction she felt into the words. She would have expected Raven to make some sort of comment about strength and how the younger child shouldn’t be put in charge or something, but the woman remained blessedly quiet for now.

“It is a good name,” Dad agreed. “Better color name than ours, too.”

“Eh, it’s not like Oz has a lot of options when picking them out,” Yang pointed out. “What else could he have done?”

“I don’t know,” The blonde man appeared thoughtful before breaking out mischievous smile. “I think turquoise is a pretty good color.”

Raven barked a small laugh. “Team TRQS wouldn’t have made it a week after initiation”

“What about quartz, then?” Tai gestured to Qrow, who rolled his eyes as he prepared a marshmallow for the fire.

“Team QRTS wouldn’t have even made it through initiation.” Raven smirked.

“Think you could do better?” Qrow shot back at his sister. “What would your team name even be? Team Risked? Team Ratsack?”

“Don’t forget about last names – Oz uses those sometimes, too!” Ruby added.

Qrow considered that for a moment. “Does B-T-Q-S spell ‘bitches’? That one would be a good fit for Raven.”

Yang couldn’t help the undignified snort that came out of her nose, but she wasn’t alone in that reaction.

“What about Team Rustic, then? R-S-T-Q” Dad suggested, helping himself to another s’more. Raven nodded appreciatively at the suggestion.

“That’s not a color, though,” Summer pointed out. She seemed entertained by the turn the conversation had taken. It wasn’t too uncommon for Huntsmen students to try to work out other variants of a team name, so Yang wondered if this conversation was a continuation of some previous argument. 

“Isn’t it?” Dad looked confused. “You can say ‘That’s a red house,’ and you can say ‘That’s a rustic house.’ That means it fits.”

“You can do that with any adjective, Tai. Not just colors.” Summer tried to hide her laughter.

“You can’t say ‘That’s a stark house.’” Raven pointed out.

Summer gave an amused sigh before shooting a challenging smile at Raven. “So, you’re saying you still want to be leader? I remember you weren’t exactly pleased to be following my orders when we first started.”

“Nah, I changed my mind.” Raven smiled back at her. “Too much paperwork. Besides, you’re the best one for the job and we all know it. Oz might be an asshole, but he knows how to pick ‘em.”

Something flickered in Summer’s face at that, but she only rolled her eyes at Raven’s comment. Her dark-haired teammate had grown thoughtful. “You two mentioned Oz, too, right?” She directed the question at Yang. “Is he still an asshole in the future?”

Yang shared a looked with Ruby. “Well actually, he’s been reincarnated as a fourteen-year-old farmboy.”

Four pairs of eyes widened at that. The only sound was Qrow’s marshmallow whooshing as it suddenly burst into flames.

Right. Maybe they should stick to talking about things that happened before everything went to shit.

“But, uh . . . we knew him before that too!” Ruby rushed to fill the silence. “He was nice to us at Beacon -He didn’t even get mad at us when we started this crazy  food fight, even though it put the cafeteria out of commission for a whole afternoon!”

“And he let us skip class after we helped stop the Grimm invasion from the train tracks underneath Vale,” Yang remembered.

“Oh yeah!” Ruby added. “And he stopped the police from asking us  questions after we fought that giant robot on the highway. And when Yang kind of burned down that nightclub!”

None of these new pieces of information helped Team STRQ lose their shocked expressions.

“You burned down a nightclub?” Raven looked at Yang with a genuine smile on her face.

Really? That was the thing she was proud of?

“What do you mean by ‘giant robot’?” Summer asked, wearing the same expression as she’d had when asking Yang and Ruby about their weapons earlier.

“How did the Grimm get onto the train tracks?” Qrow looked confused.

“What kind of food did you fight with to shut down the cafeteria?” Dad asked.

Yang held up a hand to stop any more questions.

“Uh, yes, but only because it was run by mobsters.” She showed one finger on her outstretched hand, and added more fingers as she answered each remaining question. “Like a twenty-foot tall mech suit with a human pilot. Terrorists. And uh, Ruby used some of everything, and I used turkey fists.”

The sound of the crackling fire filled the air as Team STRQ took in  the answers.

“Turkey fists . . . “ Dad stroked his chin in contemplation. “That’s a good choice.”

Yang gave a short laugh. “Why don’t we start from the beginning? Grab some more s’mores – this might take a while.”

Ruby grabbed a fistful of marshmallows before grinning at Mom and clearing her throat. “So one night I went to Vale for some shopping . . .”

Yang couldn’t give an exact time frame for how long the stories kept going, but they’d had to add more logs to the fire several times before Summer suggested they call it a night. A part of her – a big part - wanted to stay up, to keep telling stories and laughing until the sun came up. But Yang and Ruby still had some important things to say tomorrow – and those kinds of conversations weren’t the kind of thing you should go into half-asleep.

It turned out that putting the camp to bed wasn’t as easy as it sounded. When coming to the past, Yang and Ruby hadn’t been given any time to plan or pack or bring anything other than their selves and their weapons, really. That meant that neither of them had brought any food, supplies, tactical support corgis, or most importantly, their camping bedrolls. But apparently, Summer had already thought of a solution before Yang and Ruby noticed it was a problem. The two sisters would share one of the four bedrolls that was currently in the camp, and the other three would be used by the three members of Team STRQ that were not currently on watch.

Yang and Ruby had both protested at that- it meant they’d be left off the watch schedule. But neither of them put up much of a fight. It was nice enough to have a stupid, inconsequential argument with their mom. Who cared about winning it?

So that left Yang putting herself to bed in Summer’s bedroll, with Ruby cuddled up beside her. When she closed her eyes, it felt like home. She heard the low voices of her parents’ whispering mixed with the crackling of the continuing fire. She felt her sister’s comforting warmth pressed against her side. The familiar scent of vanilla and gunpowder emanated from their mother’s blanket.

Yang couldn’t remember the last time she’d fallen asleep so easily.

Chapter Text

Part of Summer felt a comfort at following team STRQ’s standard nightly watch schedule. The plan had worked out well since their first mission, and it was impossible for any of them to forget the schedule since they went in their team order: S-T-R-Q. Qrow liked to go last– saying that if his semblance caused a disturbance, it was better to do so closer to wake-up time than in the middle of the night. Tai and Raven were easy sleepers and had no complaints about taking the middle watches. And Summer had always preferred the first watch. When night fell, she often found her mind buzzing with ideas and plans – ways to improve on the day’s fights, possible training strategies for tomorrow, how to fill out their mission report for Ozpin – and having the first watch gave her time to work through everything before falling asleep. (Not to say that she was not fully alert to any potential threat during her shift- Summer had always been skilled at multi-tasking).

But tonight, the routine didn’t feel quite as comforting as usual. The fire was still burning, but the earlier sense of cheer had vanished in the absence of her teammates’ conversation. The quiet darkness made it difficult to keep thoughts of Ruby and Yang’s future at bay. Tomorrow, she would learn exactly what that future was like. She would find out just how much she failed the world.

No. Summer tried to summon the feeling of tonight’s earlier camaraderie. She thought of Raven’s uncharacteristic openness, Qrow’s dry humor, Tai’s echoing laugh.  

There.

That laugh (not to mention Tai’s smile)  could shine through anyone’s negative thoughts.

She had always considered Sundered Rose to be the most perfect thing ever invented – the best conceivable way to fend off monsters. (She still did, even after taking a look at Ruby’s excellent scythe.)  But she had to admit that her axe fell short of Tai’s natural warmth when it came to keeping the Grimm at bay on nights like these.

She liked him, didn’t she? The way his positive attitude held the team together. The way he made Beacon feel like home with his jokes and his cooking and his movie nights. How have I not noticed before? The idea was liking him was odd . . . but it felt oddly right.  Summer wondered idly how long it would take her to notice those feelings once she lost her memories of this day. What he would say to make her realize she liked him?

And that was the other uncomfortable part of tonight’s watch. When the shifts changed, she was going to have to wake Tai up for his turn. It would be their first time alone together since this whole thing had started. Usually, she liked the routine of gently tapping his shoulder and hearing a bad pun before she headed off to sleep. Sometimes he would make a joke about a Grimm they’d fought or something strange the Branwen twins had done, and they would share a laugh. He would look at her like she was a normal girl and not his strict team leader or some silver-eyed prodigy destined to save the world. How would he look at her tonight, when he knew she was his future lover and also a failure?

“Mom?” a hesitant voice shook her from her thoughts. She turned to find Ruby, awake and walking towards the fire rather than getting back in the bedroll.

“Ruby.” It still felt strange addressing her daughter. “You should go back to bed.” Summer tried to emulate the stern, but caring, voice she had heard from mothers on TV. Surprisingly, it came naturally – it didn’t feel too different from how she spoke with her teammates sometimes.

“I’ll go soon, Mom, I promise. I just … couldn’t fall asleep just yet,” the girl’s voice was unmistakably earnest.  She sat down next to Summer, her toes pointed towards the fire.

“I don’t think I could sleep now, either,” Summer admitted.

“Head full of thoughts?” Ruby smiled softly. Her silver eyes reflected the  warmth of the burning logs. “I know the feeling.”

Summer’s breath caught in her throat. She hadn’t known that was the sort of thing children could inherit from their parents.

“With everything that’s happened today, my mind doesn’t want to stay still.” Something about Ruby’s trusting eyes made it easy to talk to her. Between the girl’s stories of heroism and hijinks at Beacon and her generally warm and familiar demeanor, Summer had started to feel a certain closeness to Ruby. She turned her gaze back to the fire, and the two shared a moment of comfortable silence before Ruby spoke up softly.  

“Mom…can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” Summer responded without hesitation. (You didn’t get to be Beacon’s top student without enjoying answering questions).

“I’ve never asked you before, so … Mom, why did you want to become a Huntress?”

Summer paused. That was not a question she had been expecting, but fortunately, it was one she had an answer for.

“I want to be a Huntress because I want to help people.” She said the usual words with her usual confidence. “Ever since I was a child, I knew I could try to help, to stop Grimm attacks from happening to other people.“ The memory of her parents’ deaths always flashed in her mind when she thought about that day. Always followed by Ozpin’s comment from when he first met her: You have silver eyes...

 “And it’s important to me because if I don’t do it -”

If I don’t do it, then who will?

Those usual words suddenly failed her in front of Ruby’s own silver eyes – two unbroken moons staring intently at Summer as the girl was soaking up every word.

“If I didn’t do it, then I just wouldn’t feel right,” she stammered hastily, heart pounding.

Ruby didn’t seem to notice her last-minute change. She nodded pensively, eyes turning back towards the fire. She pondered Summer’s words for several moments before speaking up again.

“That’s how I feel, too,” Ruby smiled. The words brought on a strange sensation within Summer – one that made her feel lighter and heavier at the same time.

“But . . . it’s harder than I thought it would be. . . especially being a leader,” despite the meaning of her utterance, Ruby’s voice had lost its earlier hesitance. She spoke in low tones to not wake the sleepers, but her next words were sure, almost practiced. “Having everyone look up to you. Knowing that they trust you. …that they believe in you even more than you believe in yourself, sometimes. How do you figure out what the right thing to do is? . . . and what do you do if you get it wrong?”

The intensity of Ruby’s hopeful gaze – expectantly awaiting some sort of answer - nearly shook Summer to her core. She found her hands inadvertently tracing nervous patterns on the side of her leg. That was . . . How does she know what it feels like?

Summer was not prepared to have this conversation. It was a startling realization that (even after all of Oz’s extra leadership seminars) she didn’t have any certain answers she could give. But she couldn’t just look at Ruby’s face – her own face – and say “I ‘don’t know.”

“I just . . . you just have to keep going.” That was the right answer. (Right?) “Keep doing the best you can. Don’t lose hope. Try to figure out the right thing  and then do whatever it takes to achieve it. And when you can’t do it alone, that’s what your teammates are for.” It was what Summer did. (Wasn’t it?) It worked for her. (Didn’t it?) Hopefully, it would be a good enough answer for Ruby.

Apparently it was. The girl nodded, her solemn expression fading into a soft smile before turning back to gaze at the fire. She seemed satisfied, but Summer’s heart was still racing like she had just stood down an Alpha Goliath.

Ruby turned as if she was about to ask another question, but instead she smiled deeper and said “Thanks, Mom…Goodnight, Mom.”

Summer’s heartbeat did not slow as a complex wave of emotions bubbled up inside of her. When Ruby stood up to go back to bed, Summer rose with her.

“Good night, Ruby,” She gave Ruby a hug. She was fairly certain that was the right thing for a parent to do after these sorts of conversations, and her daughter didn’t complain. She ended up wrapping the girl in a firmer embrace than she had intended, as if she could make up for her hidden doubts by holding on tight enough. Despite the fact that they were the same height, Ruby felt small in Summer’s arms, her face burrowed downwards into Summer’s shoulder. Hesitantly, she lifted her chin to give her daughter a light kiss on the forehead. For a moment, she feared that wasn’t right (she’d never kissed anyone on the forehead before) but Ruby smiled even deeper and gave Summer one last squeeze before heading back to join her sister in the bedroll.

Summer watched her fall to sleep. Watched her breathing become slower and more even, a growing contrast with Summer’s own.

The mess of thoughts inside Summer’s head grew so loud that she found herself resorting to a meditation exercise to keep her mind clear for the rest of her shift (She hadn’t needed to do that in years) and even then her head was so occupied that when she went to tap Taiyang on the shoulder, she didn’t even think about the awkward tension between the two of them.

He gave her his usual smile. With his blonde hair so messy from sleep and a line from his pillow imprinted on his face, he didn’t look at all the part of the fierce Hunstman she knew he was.  She moved to take his place in the bedroll next to Raven’s, but instead, he gently touched her wrist.

 “Are you okay?” he whispered.

She didn’t answer, but her expression must have shown that she wasn’t, because he motioned for her to join him as he walked over to take a seat by the fire.

“What’s bothering you, Summ?”

As soon as he asked it, he made a face. “Actually, I guess that’s a dumb question. How about ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’”

Oh Brothers, he was so sweet. She could understand why her future self would choose him. But for now, if she couldn’t fully understand what was bothering her, there was no way that he could.

“Not unless you’ve got anything to change the future,” she said with a shaky laugh. Tai liked jokes and quips, maybe this one would make them both feel better.

It clearly didn’t. Tai’s expression fell as soon as the words were out of her mouth. “You don’t want…?”

Oh, crap. Summer cringed as she realized what she’d said.

“No, no, I didn’t mean . . . I like you.” She took his hand. “And I like Ruby. It’s not that.”

She gripped his hand tighter as she willed the words to come out right. “It just sounds like we fail in the future. And if I fail, that means I don’t just fail Ozpin. I don’t just fail all of Remnant. It means I fail you guys. My team. I fail you.  And it means I fail Ruby, too.”

Summer’s voice was growing frantic – faster with every word, but Tai’s blue eyes remained calm – an anchor for the churning sea inside of her. He was as easy to talk to as Ruby was.

“The silver eyes. Oz says they’re the key to taking down Salem. You’ve heard him. So if it’s not me. If . . . if I can’t do it. That means it’s all on her. This has always been my burden to bear. I can’t just-“

“Summer,” Tai squeezed her hand gently in his. His voice was warm and steady. “Did she tell you that? Did she say that you failed her?”

Summer took a deep breath. “No,” she admitted. “But I don’t see how it could happen any other way. I don’t see how I could be a good enough team leader - a good enough mom – if I can’t fulfill the mission. What else could I be other than a failure-”

“Do you know how many people there are on Remnant?” Tai’s question was startling enough that Summer lost her train of thought.

“About sixty million people, according to the last census efforts,” She responded almost automatically  (the question was a common one on History and Geography exams).

“And none of them have managed to defeat Salem. Oz hasn’t and he’s been trying for who knows how long. I don’t see you calling any of them failures,” Tai’s words were pointed, but his expression was still warm. He reached out so that both of his hands were holding hers.

“I know what Oz said about the silver eyes. I know what you said about your family. But you can’t put all of that on you.” He patted her hand soothingly. “And we don’t even know what happens yet. Why don’t you get rested, and we’ll figure it out tomorrow. Together.”

The warmth from his hands seemed to have spread throughout her whole body.  Summer didn’t find Tai’s logic to be particularly sound (Oz’s mission had always been her responsibility more than anyone else’s), but nevertheless, she felt better. She also suddenly felt very tired.

“Thanks, Tai… I needed that,” she felt herself relax  for the first time since she began the watch, and she gave her teammate the best smile she could manage, “I really am glad we’re in this together. . . even if you’re going to end up old and lame.”

She stifled a laugh at his mock-offended expression and went to lie down in his bedroll. It was still warm from Tai’s heat. Barely a moment passed before the day’s exhaustion finally caught up with her, dragging her into a deep slumber.

 * * * * * *

Tai replayed the conversation with Summer in his head as he shifted the firewood with a stick. She was so determined to save the world, so ready to take on the burdens of others. And she said she liked him.

He found himself revisiting other memories, too – the time she’d fallen asleep on his shoulder during one of Team STRQ’s movie nights, the smell of her baking cookies in the Beacon communal kitchen, the way the muscles in her shoulders moved as she swung her axe.

Yup.

He definitely had feelings for her.

Huh.

And he’d thought the feelings for Raven were bad enough. What was he supposed to do when he liked two women on his team?

Sure, the existence of Yang and Ruby gave a clue to how it would all work out, but he still had more questions than answers. Tai had known a lot of kids growing up who’d had half-siblings. Many of them were happy, but very few of them had mentioned having all three happy parents hanging around.  Maybe, in the future Tai and Raven would have a fight, or maybe he would find that his feelings for Summer were stronger than those for Raven? But that didn’t seem right . . .he liked Raven a lot. To have the chance to be with her – coaxing out her rare smiles, showing her the joys of everyday kingdom life, hearing her talk about flying – if his future self was lucky enough to have that,  he wouldn’t trade it for anything... would he?

A silent alarm lit up on Tai’s watch. The end of his shift already. He walked over to where Raven was sleeping next to Summer.

“Gooooood morning, partner,” he couldn’t help but smile as he tapped her lightly on the shoulder. There were definitely some benefits to having the first shift that ended after midnight.

Raven looked as unimpressed as she did every time he said it – which admittedly, was every time they camped with their usual watch schedule – but she rose quickly and without complaint.

Instead of getting into bed after her, Tai followed Raven to where she took up a watch position near the tree line at the edge of the clearing. His partner gave an inquisitive grunt at his presence.

He hesitated. This wouldn’t be an easy conversation, but with the impending memory loss, he figured he wouldn’t have anything to lose by taking the chance.

“So… what do you think happens?” he asked.

Raven didn’t miss a beat, “Isn’t that the conversation we’re supposed to save until tomorrow?”

“I don’t mean all of the Salem stuff,” Tai tried to use the most serious tone he could. He found it difficult with Raven – a cheerful edge always creeping back into his voice at being near her. “I mean . . . us.”

“I think it’s pretty clear.” Raven’s tone was matter-of-fact, unbothered.

“Uhhh . . . It is?”

“Apparently we have a kid together. Future you, anyway.  If you came over here because you think I’m going to fuck present you, you’re going to be disappointed.”

Tai was glad it was dark so that Raven couldn’t see the deep flush in his face.

“No!” he tried to make the word as insistent as possible. “I … uh ... I mean, do you think we’ll still be friends?”

“Friends?” Now it was Raven’s turn to sound caught off-guard.

“Ruby is younger than Yang, right?” Tai tried to spell it out as delicately as possible.  “So if me and Summer happens later, what does that mean for me and you? Do you think things would be okay between us – that we could still be partners?”

“You’re asking if I care about you and Summer?” Raven raised an eyebrow.

“Well, wouldn’t you?” Tai frowned. “I mean usually people aren’t happy when they split up with the parent of their child – it’s usually fighting or cheating or-“

Raven cut him off with a scoff. “Tai, I don’t know a lot about your kingdom relationships, but do you really think you or Summer would ever do anything like that?”

“No, but-“ he started.

“You know what I think?” Raven’s voice was low and smooth as she cut him off again. “I think it’s more likely that the three of us will end up ditching Oz and fucking off somewhere together than it is that you or Summer would ever hurt someone else. Maybe that’s why we don’t defeat Salem in the future. We’re too busy with each other to give a shit about Oz’s war.”

Tai paused to consider that.

“Wait, the three of us?”  Something warm spread through his chest as he thought about the scenario. He and Raven and Summer . . . all together. He’d heard that some people enjoyed having  more than one partner, but it didn’t often happen in Vale societies. He didn’t think Raven would be into that sort of thing.

“Why not?” Raven’s challenge made him flush all over again. “Until tomorrow, it’s as good an explanation as any other.”

Tai still wasn’t sure he was believing what he was hearing. “So you really don’t mind that Summer and I end up together too?”

“No.”

Tai had a pretty good grasp on interpreting Raven’s tones, and that one left no room for doubt.

“Whatever happens, I hope we’re both happy in the future,” he told her earnestly, reaching out to give her a hug, She accepted the gesture without her usual reluctance, even wrapping her arms around him in return. He held her close for several long, perfect moments before she gently broke away.  

“Just go to bed, dumbass.”

He did.

 * * * * * *

Raven was careful to make no sound as she crouched down beside the sleeping figures. She called upon her stealth often for missions, but lately this had only required changing into a bird and keeping an eye on a target from a tree. Rather boring. It was almost nice to use her real infiltration skills again – the ones she’d honed as a child in the Branwen bandit tribe.

Almost nice.

Her other teammates hadn’t put together the implications of what they’d heard today. Summer was too busy worrying about saving the world, because of course she was. And Tai was too busy worrying about everyone’s feelings, because of course he was.

But Raven had caught on the second that Yang and Ruby had frozen up after their earlier battle. Maybe Summer and Tai didn’t want to notice the truth, but looking back now, it seemed so obvious.

Raven Branwen was going to die.

The way the girls avoided talking of Team STRQ’s future as firmly as avoiding any mention of the Salem bullshit. The way both children had a stronger rapport with Tai and even Qrow than with Raven. The way their responses contained subtle hints of uncertainty – almost unease - whenever she addressed them.  The way so many of Tai’s mannerisms and skills had been learned by their daughter, but none of Raven’s had. The way Yang’s arm had been injured when her mother should have been able to portal her from any danger. That brief flicker of hesitation in those violet eyes whenever she said the word ‘Mom’…

Whatever would happen in Yang and Ruby’s future, it wouldn’t include Raven.

Sure, it would have been nice if it could have happened the way she’d suggested to Tai earlier, when she’d tried to throw him off the scent. It had been oddly pleasant to imagine the three of them having some sort of fairy tale ending together. But Raven hadn’t grown up in a fairy tale. The simplest explanation was often the most likely, and there was a very simple explanation here.

The knowledge of one’s own impending end probably would have bothered weaker people. But Raven had grown up with death as a fact of life. Its shadow had hovered over her every lean winter, every hard-earned raid for supplies, every night sleeping in a forest like this surrounded by Grimm.   

Yeah, dying young was dumb, but acting like a whimpering little bitch about it was worse.

That didn’t stop Raven from being a little curious as to how it would happen. Would it be a Grimm attack? A mission from Oz? A revenge killing from those she’d leave behind in the Branwen tribe?

Or maybe she would go out like her own mother – in childbirth - exchanging her life for that of the blonde girl who was sleeping before her now.

From what she’d seen in kingdom movies, mothers tended to be happy -even eager -to sacrifice their own lives for their children. Raven was pretty sure she’d rather be alive with no kids than have a kid and be dead. Would that change after she actually went through the having-kids process? Raven wasn’t sure. But for now . . .well,  if she was going to die anyway, she supposed it was better to leave something behind.

She could still feel the faint half-connections from her semblance to Yang and Ruby. She’d first thought the links were weaker than the others because she hadn’t met the girls yet in this time. Perhaps that was still true. Perhaps those links meant that she would live to meet Ruby. But, realistically, she didn’t know enough about her semblance to say that for certain.  She’d never seen what happened if one of her links had a kid. Perhaps she felt their bonds as part of some sort of residual connection to Summer and Tai, and nothing more. If that was the case, then she could only guarantee that she’d be alive until Yang’s birth. 

The girl in question was snoring softly in front of Raven, the sound remarkably like the one coming from Tai’s mouth on the other side of the campsite. Blonde curls were strewn about her balled-up leather jacket, which was serving as a make-shift pillow.

Fortunately for Raven, the jacket’s pockets were still accessible. She reached out a hand and delicately pulled out the contents, careful not to disturb the girl.

Yang’s scroll was a newer model than Raven was used to, being at least two decades from the future, and she marveled briefly at its lightness before examining the interface. It was password protected – even scrolls today had that – but every scroll with a Hunstman license had an override so that the bearer could be easily identified in the case of serious injury or death.  

She tapped the override sequence and was rewarded with Yang’s headshot appearing on the screen. She hadn’t had a chance to look at the details closely when they’d flashed them earlier, but she could see the words clearly now.  ‘Yang Xiao Long,’ the scroll read. ‘Kingdom of Origin: Vale. Gender: Female. Date of Birth . . .’

Raven’s breath caught in her throat.

Shit.

Less than three years from now. Her eyes moved unbidden to Tai’s sleeping form across the camp. The feeling of his earlier hug came back to her, wrapping around her shoulders. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but . . .  really? It wouldn’t even be two years from now before he knocked her up. She’d thought she’d have more self-respect, or self-control, or something .

 She thought she'd have more time. . .

Well, if she was going to go out, she wasn’t going to go out whining that ‘life’s not fair’ or some shit. Only a coward would waste time wondering if death would hurt. Steadying her hands, Raven shifted towards the other Huntress sleeping in front of her. Ruby had made a pillow out of her red cape, an effort that seemed unnecessary as her head was now wholly resting on her sister’s shoulder. It was trivial to unburden her cloak’s pockets as well.

Despite everything, Raven couldn’t help but feel a trace of amusement when she saw Ruby’s birth date. Tai and Summer worked fast it seemed. Maybe he was decent.  

Raven’s main questions answered, she looked at the other contents she’d pulled from their pockets. In addition to the scroll and some spare ammunition, Ruby only had an uneaten strawberry candy bar and half of paper clip that had been clumsily bent into another shape – a scythe, perhaps? The girl clearly hadn’t inherited Summer’s fondness for over-preparedness.

Yang had an actual wallet. It contained a decent amount of lien – which Raven resisted the urge to pocket. There was a driver’s license, too. Raven had never gotten one of those.

 And two pictures. One of Yang together with faunus girl with short black hair and cat ears. Blake – Raven presumed. And the other picture was of what must have been a younger Yang and Ruby. They were five years old probably, or maybe ten? She didn’t really know how to tell kids’ ages. Raven’s father certainly didn’t keep any photos, so she had no idea what she and Qrow looked like when they were that age.

 In the photo, Yang’s hair was in pigtails, and both girls had their arms wrapped around a small dog with stubby legs. The two of them were looking at the camera with their big eyes and round faces and dumb-kid smiles…

Raven almost didn’t notice when it was time for the watch to change.

After returning the fruits of her investigation to their original places and topping off the firewood, she went over to kick Qrow gently in the ribs.

“Your turn.”

A groggy Qrow looked up at her blearily before reaching for the bottle of water near his bed. At least Raven was pretty sure it was water.

“It’s been quiet. No Grimm in any of our shifts. But maybe they’ve just been waiting for you.”

Qrow rolled his eyes, although his disaffected air was somewhat spoiled by the fact that his water bottle chose that moment to spill out all over him. And all over his bedroll. The bedroll that Raven was supposed to sleep in next. She sighed.

“You know, I don’t think that was my semblance,” Qrow managed to smile despite the spreading wet spot over his shirt. “That time was karma.”

Raven scoffed. Being a dead woman walking didn’t make her any more willing to believe in shit like souls or karma.

She went to sit by the fire while she decided where to sleep. Annoyingly, Qrow rose to follow her.

“I see your kid didn’t get her sisterly affection from you,” he nodded to where Yang was still acting as Ruby’s pillow, her metal arm now draped over the younger girl’s back. Raven frowned, but that didn’t stop Qrow from talking as he sat down on the other side of the fire.

“You could have done a lot worse than Tai.”

She didn’t recall asking for his opinion on that, but the comment was true enough that Raven couldn’t bring herself to glare at her brother for it. Instead, she watched the embers of the fire swirl around, while enjoying a few all-too-brief moments of silence.

“I like them, you know. Yang and Ruby”, Qrow continued, once again without an invitation.

“Me too,” she found herself saying.

“Hey,” Qrow’s voice grew serious. It was a tone she rarely heard coming from her brother. Raven narrowed her eyes.  It sounded suspiciously like something sentimental was coming.

“Do you think that if our mom met us now, she would like us?”

Raven’s frown deepened. Before today, she hadn’t thought of their mother in years. It was a stupid question, but she supposed she could offer Qrow a bit of indulgence, just this once. She’d already indulged Summer and Tai quite a bit today.  “Why wouldn’t she? We were the best in the tribe.”

“We were,” Qrow’s pale red eyes reflected the firelight, not meeting Raven’s own. “But it doesn’t look like either of us are going back, are we?”

She had known Qrow wouldn’t go back to the tribe, but this was the first time he had admitted such aloud – really admitted it to her, not in a way that could be brushed off as lying to Ozpin.

“I always thought I would go back to the tribe, eventually. After Summer’s mission, at least,” Raven wasn’t sure why she was returning the confession. Perhaps a part of her wanted someone to know while she could still say the words -  even if that someone was her brother. “I promised them. They were our family. But I guess Summer and Tai are family too.”

“I’m glad you’re going to stay,” Qrow lifted his head to meet her gaze. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

Raven stifled her laugh so as to not wake the others. “Flattery doesn’t suit you, little brother.”

“It’s true,” and surprisingly she couldn’t see a hint of irony in his face. “Tai wouldn’t be half as good if he weren’t trying to impress you all the time. And most of Summer’s plans would be totally useless without your portals.”

 Huh. He actually meant it.  

“They’d figure it out.” They’d have to soon enough, anyway. Raven wasn’t so arrogant as to think her fate would be the sole reason everything would go wrong, but Qrow was right that it would likely cause at least some complications. Still, Raven was confident that whatever happened in the future, the rest of Team STRQ would work it all out eventually. She hadn’t been lying when she’d said as much to Summer earlier.

Her teammates wouldn’t take her fate very well, though – Yang and Ruby had the right idea about holding onto that particular piece of information for now. There would be plenty of time tomorrow to make preparations for the future and build their strength for what was left to come.

She found her eyes drawn to where Yang was sleeping. Yang Xiao Long. With her blonde hair and Huntress license, and childhood photos.  

“I think she wouldn’t care,” Raven’s voice was quieter than before.

“Who?” Qrow looked confused.

“Our mother. I think she wouldn’t care that we leave the tribe. And even if she did, it wouldn’t matter. She’s gone and you’re not. You do whatever you want.”

Her brother frowned, but nodded. She hadn’t noticed the tension his body held until he let some of it out. “Thanks, Rae."

 This conversation was getting far too touchy-feely for her tastes. It was past time for Qrow to take the rest of his watch without bothering her.

Raven stood up, her eyes flickering between a sturdy perch under the canopy and Qrow’s still-damp bedroll, before settling on the sleeping outlines of her teammates on the other side of the camp.  In the changing of shifts, Summer’s and Tai’s bedrolls had been pushed so near each other that they were practically touching.

Well … if Raven’s days were numbered, she might as well sleep comfortably.

“Move over, Summ,” Raven spoke quietly as she lifted the edge of her leader’s blanket. “Qrow wet the bed so I’m bunking with you.” Raven could feel her brother’s glare from ten paces away, but Summer only gave a sleepy “Mmmkay,” before shifting to make space for Raven.

The smaller girl was warm and soft at her side. Mission complications had caused Raven to sleep in close proximity to her teammates before, but she couldn’t remember her team leader’s presence ever being so  . . . agreeable during any of those other times. Maybe Raven’s earlier conversation with Tai was getting to her.

 Between the sounds of Summer’s gentle breathing, the crackling of the fire, and the pair of snoring blondes, Raven fell asleep quickly.

* * * * *

After his sister had gone to bed,  Qrow stepped away from the fire and moved towards a stump on the edge of the campsite. Fires were one of those things he tended to stay away from when he had the choice -  along with explosives, control panels, ovens, and kitchens in general. Anything was likely to go wrong with him around, but stuff that could literally blow up in his face was all he could realistically hope to avoid.  

From his new angle, he could see the whole party clearly. Close to the center of camp,  the three other members of Team STRQ looked to be sleeping peacefully. Raven’s joining up with Summer had pushed the smaller woman closer to Tai, and now the three of them made a single dark outline in the light of the fire. A few paces from them, their daughters had shifted away from their sisterly embrace – Ruby’s head now resting on her own cloak- but they were still pressed close together,  their chests rising and falling in unison.

Qrow’s eyes passed over his own empty bedroll on the opposite side of camp- at least twenty paces away from the fire so that he wouldn’t cause any trouble.

He shifted his legs to the other side of the stump, facing the woods. If he was on watch duty, he had better keep an eye out for the Grimm. Things were always more likely to go wrong on his shift.

Summer and Tai acted like it didn’t matter, that his semblance wasn’t a liability that could harm them at any moment. That it wasn’t a problem that he could make their fire blow up in their faces, or call down a blizzard when they were freezing in the Atlas tundra, or cause one of them to stumble mid-fight, giving the Grimm an opportunity to strike them down.

In fact, one time Summer had even told him that his semblance could be a good thing. She had been referring to the day they met, during Beacon’s initiation.

He remembered it well. Before the prospective students had been flung into the Emerald Forest, Raven told Qrow that she would use her portal to reach him as soon as she touched down. Securing their partnership was a necessary part of their four-year infiltration mission. But when Qrow landed, he’d only taken one step before his semblance caused him to trip - right into the arms of Summer Rose. Who’d looked right at him with those bright silver eyes . . .

She’d barely had time to introduce herself before the sound of Raven’s portal filled the air. Qrow had been terrified that his sister would call him out for screwing up the plan. That she’d be so angry as to blow their cover and force them to return empty-handed back to the tribe. And by the Brothers, she was furious when she stepped out to meet them. But as it turned out, her ire was not for Qrow at all. Rather, it was for the talkative blonde boy who had stepped out of the portal behind her. Tai had apparently been captivated by her being a total bitch to him in the student transport the previous day and had chosen to hang around as she fell nearby, meeting her eyes as soon as she’d hit the ground.  Things hadn’t changed too much in the past three years, apparently.

But from initiation onwards, it was history. The four of them had grown into something more together. The team that had come to mean everything to Qrow. With Summer’s leadership -  her training methods, her crazy plans and inspiring words - they’d become STRQ, the best of Beacon and Ozpin’s chosen warriors. And all – according to Summer – thanks to a little luck from Qrow.

And yet… If not for his semblance, if he hadn’t been partnered with Summer, would things have been different? Would she have taken three other aspiring Hunstmen and lifted them up into something extraordinary? Would those different students have received magic powers from Oz, joined in his war against the Queen of the Grimm? Would their future children now be telling them stories about how they’d saved Remnant and brought a new age of peace and prosperity?

Qrow had thought that he was betraying his tribe by not returning  to them, but now he wondered if he was doing them a favor. If it was really his friends he was betraying by letting  himself stay close, by letting them trust him -

“This seat taken?”

The cheerful voice was a jarring contrast to Qrow’s thoughts. He turned to find Yang, who had apparently extricated herself from the bedroll she shared with Ruby. The girl’s blonde hair and metal arm glinted gold in the dim light of the camp. She paused to raise an eyebrow at where her parents were entangled with Summer before sitting down to join him on the tree stump.

“Still some time before dawn,” Qrow turned his gaze back to the dark forest, watching the outlines of branches gently rustle in the wind. “You should go back and rest more.”

“I’m an early riser,” Yang’s bright tone was evidence enough for that. “And I’m not going to miss out on quality time with my favorite uncle.”

Qrow examined her face carefully for a hint of sarcasm. “Aren’t I. . . your only uncle?” He was pretty sure Tai had mentioned being an only child.

“Yup,” she grinned at him with Tai’s smile. “Good thing I ended up with you, huh?”

Qrow wasn’t sure what to say to that. It sounded like something Summer might have said. Perhaps Yang spent too much time around Team STRQ’s leader in the future.

As if sensing his doubts, the girl continued, “You really are a good uncle, you know. You’ve always come through when we really needed you. To be honest, we both would have been dead a few times over without you. Ruby’s always looked up to you, and not just because you’re her teacher.”  Yang’s violet eyes gave every indication of complete sincerity, despite the fact that her words made no sense.

“I thought she said she learned from the Grimm Reaper, too.” Qrow pointed out. “Not sure what I could teach Ruby that she couldn’t.”

Yang laughed, loud enough that Qrow thought she might have woken the sleeping members of their party, but no one stirred. “Maria?” Her voice was incredulous. “Yeah, I’m not sure I would call her the most effective teacher. One time she sent Ruby on a ‘training exercise’ that turned out to just be buying her cashews at the night market. She might have been the Grimm Reaper, but I know who I’d rather have on my side in a fight.”  She gestured to Qrow.

“You really think I’m that good?” Qrow’s question was a challenge. It would be better to dampen the spark of hope in his chest before it grew into something that would be painful to crush.

“Hey, don’t take my word for it,” Yang nudged him with her elbow. “Take it from the Reaper herself. She said one time that your Huntsmen skills ‘aren’t half-bad,’ which is probably the nicest thing I’ve ever heard her say about anyone.”

Not half-bad, eh. The hopeful feeling was light and warm in his chest, but it only lasted a few seconds before growing heavy once more.

“But that doesn’t stop things in the future from getting worse, does it?” Qrow examined Yang’s face carefully as she considered an answer.

“Things do get worse in the future,” his niece conceded, her tone growing more serious. “But they get better, too. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not always easy. Sometimes, it hurts. .. A lot of times, it hurts.  But we can all find a way to get back on our feet eventually.”

Qrow frowned. Once again, that sounded like something Summer would say. But as much as he’d respected Summer, he’d always thought her platitudes were a little too idealistic for the harsh life he’d known. They were easy to brush off as well-meaning comments from someone who didn’t quite understand how bad the world could be.

Yang, though . . . The hard, hollow look in her eyes now sure made it look like she’d seen the very worst the world had to offer . . .

“And having people we can count on to help us up,” the blonde girl continued, her usual smile starting to creep back onto her face. “Well, that’s what family is all about. It’s what you do. That’s why you’re my favorite uncle.” She grinned wider at making the joke again before her face grew a bit more solemn.

”I know I don’t say it as much as Ruby does, but . . . I’ve always looked up to you, too.”

Qrow’s throat felt tight. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say in response, so he said nothing. Yang didn’t seem to mind, scooting closer to rest her head on his shoulder. They sat like that for a while, watching the pink and gold hints of dawn start to appear through the trees.

“I love you, Uncle Qrow. I hope you know that.”

Huh.

So, people actually did say that.

Chapter Text

Ruby wasn’t used to eating breakfast with her family.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. She usually had breakfast with Team RWBY (who were their own kind of family). And Yang , of course, had shared most meals with Ruby for their childhood. But growing up, their dad had only begun joining them for meals after they had all started going to Signal together, and even then it was only when he was feeling good enough to get out of bed with enough time for a meal before work. And Uncle Qrow’s nighttime activities tended to  uh . . .  conflict with being awake in the morning. Even now that he had sobered up and had regular morning missions, he still tended to skip breakfast out of habit. And before the past sixteen or so hours, Ruby couldn’t ever remember sharing a meal with her mom – or Raven.

It had been a little surprising to wake up and find that her parents were sharing a bedspace with their other teammate – the dark-haired women practically cuddled up to Mom’s side, and Dad’s arm stretching out over both of them. As far as Ruby knew, her mother and father hadn’t gotten together until after Raven had left. But maybe she shouldn’t have been that surprised.  When she’d seen that vision of the two women in the Ever After, there seemed to be. . . a few things they weren’t saying to each other.

But whatever the dynamics were, the six of them were now eating breakfast together, giving Ruby the chance to cross another item off of her to-do list.

It wasn’t what you would call an elaborate affair. It had none of the hot chocolate or pancakes or even the coffee Ruby had come to associate with morning meals between Teams RWBY and JNPR. After last night’s dinner, they only had some ration bars and dried fruit for the morning. There weren’t any of Nora’s crazy stories at this breakfast either.  They’d started off talking about the lack of Grimm attacks throughout the night (the small talk seeming a just a little bit awkward for certain members of Team STRQ after last night’s coziness), and now the six of them were comparing all of the teachers they knew at Beacon.

But still, having a normal breakfast and a normal (at least as normal as time-travel allowed) conversation with her mom was something Ruby had never done before this adventure. It was nice to just be together. Even if the ration bars were a little stale.

“What about the annoying librarian who only wears pink turtlenecks? Is she still around?” Dad asked in between bites.

“With her hair always in a bun?”  Yang frowned. “Yeah she’s still around. Once she kicked us out of the library because we were ‘playing board games too loud.’ Can you believe it? Where else are we supposed to play?”

“Total buzzkill,” Dad agreed.

 “Once, she showed me her copy of The Man with Two Souls that doubles as a dust-powered crossbow. It was actually pretty well-made.” Mom looked thoughtful as she finished the last of her breakfast. “But she also gave me a talking-to for checking out ‘too many books’ at one time, so I see your point...It’s hard to believe she’ll still be there thirty years from now.”

Ruby laughed weakly, trying to disguise the fact that no one was around at Beacon now because, well, Beacon wasn’t even around anymore. (And also that her mother had vastly overestimated how long it would be before they were born. Yikes).  Raven raised an eyebrow at Ruby, but none of the others noticed anything unusual about her response.

“Hm, what about Professor Mustard?” Qrow asked. “He’s, what, a million years old? No way he’s still kicking around teaching Grimm Studies in the future.”

“I think he retired.” Ruby was grateful for the change in subject. “We had Professor Port for Grimm Studies.”

“The TA?” Raven raised an eyebrow. “The loser who won’t shut up about how he killed a Beowolf when he was ten? They let him be a teacher?”

“Yeah, he didn’t lose any of the boastiness, ” a faint smile crossed Yang’s face as she dusted the crumbs off her fingers. “Me and Blake and some of our other friends had to make a betting pool to get through his lectures. Whoever had the closest guess for how many times he’d say ‘heroism’ got the prize.”

Ruby sat up straight. “Wait! Is that why you and Nora were always laughing in class?” She narrowed her eyes at Yang. “And you didn’t think to tell your team leader how to not get bored to death? Have you no mercy for your sister?”

Yang looked unashamed of her role in events. “If I’d told you, would you have been able to keep it from Weiss?”

“I don’t see how that’s relevant.” Ruby crossed her arms indignantly as she glared at her sister.

Summer Rose stifled a laugh. “Alright, alright, let’s not start fighting this early – not during breakfast.” She paused, her face growing solemn. “Actually, it looks like we’re all done with breakfast. We should make a plan for what we’re going to do for the rest of the day . . . and the future.”

Ruby’s heart sank. Right. She’d had the better part of sixteen hours to try and think of a way to break the news, but she’d come up empty. She looked to Yang, hopeful that her sister would have a solution. But, before either of them could say anything, Dad spoke up.

“I was thinking, maybe we could start fighting now.” He glanced at Yang. “Some sparring, I mean, before we get into the serious stuff. I want to get a closer look at what you kids can do.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Raven nodded, a focused expression on her face.

“I’d like to see the girls kick your ass.” Qrow grinned.

Even Mom looked relaxed at the suggestion. She met eyes with her teammates, then with Ruby and Yang, and nodded. “Alright. We can do some sparring together before we talk about anything else. It does make sense to stick to our morning training routine… as long as we make sure to maintain our aura levels in case of a Grimm attack, that is. ”

Ruby wasn’t the only one who let out a sigh of relief. Now that the time had come, it seemed all of Team STRQ wanted to put off the bad news for just a little while longer. This plan was extra nice because maybe she’d get the chance to spar with her mom. (How cool would that be?)

Dad and Yang went first. Summer and Qrow had placed some stones to outline a makeshift sparring ring, and the two fighters wasted no time in squaring off.

The match-up was nothing new for Ruby. Dad had started training Yang when she was seven - in response to the fateful incident with the wagon – and ever since, he had sparred with her regularly on his good days.

Despite all of Dad and Yang’s best efforts, Ruby didn’t have the same eye for analyzing hand-to-hand combat as she did for analyzing weapons. But she didn’t need any real skill to know that her Dad was (very) outmatched in this fight.

Tai was faster than Ruby remembered from the future. But that didn’t bother Yang at all. She knew his fighting patterns like the back of her hand (was that one of those sayings she would laugh at now?)  and most of her early years training were spent with singular purpose of beating those exact moves.  Ruby watched her sister sidestep easily to avoid one of their father’s signature punches and deliver a stunning right hook in return.

“You’re not bad, I’ll have to hand it to you.” Tai called as he tried to avoid another hit.

“Really, Dad? That one was kind of ham-fisted.”

Four distinct groans could be heard outside of the ring.

“Looks like he taught her a little too well.” Qrow snorted as Yang’s next punch knocked her father off balance. Her uncle seemed a bit cheerier this morning than he had yesterday.

Ruby grinned at him in return. “She’s been able to beat him since she was like, fourteen.”

They watched together as one last hit from Yang knocked Tai out of the drawn sparring circle.

“I am so proud.” Dad said as Yang reached out a hand to help him up. “In pain. But still very proud.”

Yang rolled her eyes, but Ruby knew her sister was pleased to hear the words. “So, who’s next.” Yang glanced between Ruby and Summer, as if proposing that match-up. Ruby was really glad that she and sister were usually on the same page. Before she could open her mouth to voice it, Raven spoke up.

“I want to fight Yang next.”

 * * * * *

Yang stared at Raven, eyes unreadable.

“You want her to fight again? She just went,” Tai looked concerned.

“You didn’t exactly take much out of her.” Raven pointed out. She would have thought Tai’s performance pathetic if she hadn’t seen his same moves work against so many other opponents in the years she’d known him.  “And if she’s my daughter, then she should be strong enough to take it. I want to see how strong.”

“Only if Yang is up for it, too,” Summer also sounded hesitant. She always worried too much.

“It’s okay, I’m good for another round.”  Yang made a show of cracking her knuckles. The metal ones didn’t make a sound. “Don’t worry, Rubes. I’ll make it fast.”

Raven couldn’t stop the slight upturn in her lips at the bravado.

After a nod from her leader, Raven took Tai’s place in the makeshift sparring circle. Summer counted them off.

Three…

Two…

One.

Raven charged across the clearing, drawing Omen - wind blade attached - from its sheath. Yang ducked backwards, dodging her first strike. She was fast. Raven was fast too, stepping out of the way of both her opponent’s return punches with ease. She didn’t have to concern herself with the bullets or explosives she knew were hidden in the gauntlets – those were not typically used in sparring matches, and she doubted Tai would have taught her to use any dirty tricks. Likely she only knew his usual tricks.

“Pity you didn’t learn how to fight with a blade.” Raven said when Yang ducked out of Omen’s range again. This might be Raven’s only chance to impart her wisdom to her daughter. “It’s not too late to get a weapon with more reach, you know. You wouldn’t have to keep running away.” Yang’s face hardened as she darted away from another strike from Omen.

“Real cool, Rae.” Tai’s comment was ignored by both fighters.

Winning against Tai was easy. With her superior speed, Raven could keep him just at the edge of her longer reach. If he wanted to get close enough to hit her, then Omen’s maneuverable dust blades always extracted a price, and she was still quite capable of dodging point-blank punches. The man could be surprisingly persistent, but eight times out of ten, the fight inevitably went in her favor. She might not have usually won as quickly as Yang had demonstrated earlier, but the younger girl seemed to have more than Raven’s three years’ experience with Tai as her opponent.

While Raven hardly needed any more proof of her fate, it was clear that Yang did not have that same experience fighting her mother. When the former bandit started towards the right in a motion that any member of Team STRQ would have seen as an obvious feint, Yang took the bait and made towards her unguarded left. The corner of Raven’s mouth turned upward as she easily shifted her motion to strike the unprepared blonde, the Wind blade cutting through the air with enhanced momentum-

Clack.

Yang had met the blow with her metallic arm. The force of the impact caused Raven’s dust blade to shatter – an unfortunate setback, but not surprising as wind dust made for the most fragile of imbued weapons. The clash also caused Yang to stumble slightly, but it did nothing to stop her from taking advantage of her opponent’s sudden lack of weapon. She managed to lunge forward and strike a blow at Raven’s side before her mother could get out of reach.

Grimacing at the hit, Raven stepped backwards just in time to avoid her opponent’s next punch - sheathing Omen’s hilt  as she moved.

“You’re not bad. Less predictable than Tai.” When Raven redrew her sword, a new blade was intact and glowing faintly red with fire dust. “Could still use more variety though.”

She didn’t immediately go on the offensive with her new blade, waiting for Yang to make the next move. The girl obliged, narrowing her eyes and charging forward with her fists at the ready. Raven struck towards her opponent’s left side this time, but Yang proved just as capable of deflecting the blow with the gauntlet on her intact hand and closing the distance to her opponent. The fire blade remained unbroken, but Raven wasn’t able to avoid Yang’s right uppercut.

Hm. Raven’s aura was still comfortably high. Whatever semblance had enhanced Yang’s strength in the battle yesterday, she wasn’t using it now. Was she dragging out the fight to learn more about her dead mother’s tactics? Or was she too soft to use her full strength in a sparring match? Whatever the reason, hesitation was a weakness.  “You’re my kid, aren’t you? Surely you’re stronger than that.”

“Is that really all you care about? Strength?” Yang’s reply had an edge to it. Her violet eyes seemed to glow at Raven’s taunt, but her gaze remained focused on her opponent’s movements. Good. She wasn’t completely hopeless.  The girl had a lot to learn, though.

“In this world, only the strong survive. The weak will die” This was the most important lesson Raven had ever been taught. The words were simple, but her years in the tribe had shown the true meaning behind them - the way of life hidden in the mantra that had kept her and Qrow safe throughout their childhood. While Raven didn’t mind that Tai would end up teaching Yang in her stead, it would be a pity to waste the one chance Raven would have to give her own lessons. The girl seemed to have a decent foundation of basic skills. If she could learn to understand true strength, she might even be better than Raven.

“That’s fucking bullshit!” The blonde girl practically roared her response. Raven’s eyes widened. She took a step back. The temperature in the ring seemed to have risen by several degrees. Yang’s eyes were burning with rage. Raven hadn’t realized just how much her daughter’s face resembled her own until seeing the girl’s eyes change to the same shade of crimson.

“Yang?” Ruby’s voice sounded concerned.

“Um, why don’t we call this a draw?” Summer’s hesitant call rang out through the clearing.

“Oh, no.” Raven raised Omen. “Not when things are just getting interesting.”

Bullshit, huh?  She couldn’t really blame the girl for thinking that, considering Raven would apparently end up dead. But the lesson was an important one if Yang wanted to avoid the same fate.

Raven stepped backwards in the face of Yang’s next charge, sweeping Omen in a wide arc that forced her opponent to duck to avoid its blazing path.

Damn. From her ducking position, Yang had managed to aim a kick at Raven’s legs, knocking her off balance. She regained her footing just in time to avoid a punch that somehow looked as fiery as Omen's current blade. Yang’s blow connected with a tree behind Raven. The force of the strike managed to break the trunk in two, slamming the top half onto the forest floor with a reverberating thump, and spraying splinters all across the clearing.

“Now, that’s more like it,” Raven grinned at her daughter. Her strength might be the only thing that Raven would be able to offer Yang, but fortunately, she had a lot to give.

“There’s. More. To. Life. Than. Strength.” Yang punctuated each word with a punch, her face twisted in rage. Raven was forced to use Omen to block the blows she couldn’t dodge, causing the fire blade to shatter with the last punch.

“Perhaps so,” Raven refitted Omen with another fire blade. “But strength is what keeps that from happening.” She nodded towards Yang’s metallic arm.

 “Raven!” She ignored Summer’s horrified cry as she easily sidestepped a series of punches from an increasingly furious Yang. Allowing such a reaction in battle was another weakness. Rather sloppy. Raven would have to work on that next.

She moved her blade in a new feint. It would be easy to distract such an emotional opponent.

Ffffffft.

The sudden sound of Omen meeting metal surprised Raven. It was different than the noise of Yang’s previous deflections. Her eyes sought the reason why, and found that the girl had grabbed the blade - holding it firmly in her prosthetic arm, unaffected by the sharp edge and the fire dust’s heat. The move had been so smooth, so well-timed, that Raven had to take a moment to reconsider her evaluation of the Yang’s recent sloppiness – could it be the case that the girl wasn’t trying to hurt Raven, even in her fit of rage? Either way, she now found she couldn’t twist out of the literal iron grip.

“You don’t get to talk about that. You. Weren’t. There.” Yang’s voice was softer now -no longer a roar, but the quieter words carried even more anger.  

Raven detached Omen’s blade, leaving Yang holding the dust-imbued shard of metal. “Well, you can’t exactly blame me for that,”  She moved to reload the hilt, but her opponent grabbed her arm before she could finish the motion. Her legs felt the sudden heat of the dropped fire dust blade.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Yang’s crimson eyes blazed as they glared into her own, metal fingers painfully hot where they gripped Raven’s skin.

“I’m not stupid.” Raven hissed. “I figured it out yesterday. In your future, I’m dead, aren’t I?”

Raven heard Summer and Tai’s gasps, but she didn’t look away from Yang. Surprise flickered on the girl’s face, and she released Raven’s arm. Her eyes remained the same burning color.

“No.” When the blonde girl finally spoke, her voice was almost accusatory. “You’re not dead.”

Raven didn’t feel relief at Yang’s words.

The girl’s tone . . . If what she said was true, then why did she sound so unhappy about it?  And it didn’t make sense. If Raven lived in the future, then it didn’t explain the way the girl looked at Raven as though she didn’t know her, or the way she fought like Raven had never taught her.

“Then what happens?”

“You leave.” The simple statement hung in the air – burning through Raven’s mind just like the fire in Yang’s eyes. Was the girl saying she had . . . chosen it, somehow? Chosen to not know her own daughter? Chosen to not pass on her teachings?

“What do you mean I leave? Leave what?” Raven dropped her hand from her Omen’s sheathed hilt, battle forgotten.

“You leave everything. Your teammates. Your husband. Your daughter. I was just a baby. Couldn’t even talk yet.” Yang’s fists were clenched, but she spoke evenly, almost matter-of-factly. “You decided you’d rather be a murderer than a mother and you ran back to your loser bandit tribe with your tail between your legs like the coward you are. You didn’t speak a word to me until I was fucking eighteen years old, and that’s only because I tracked you down and forced you to talk. Not that you had anything useful to say.”

What?

That wasn’t right. Raven could imagine choosing to stay with Team STRQ after graduation. She could also imagine saying goodbye and going back to the tribe instead. But to stick around with Tai long enough to get married and have a kid and then change her mind . . . To make a choice – to choose Tai strongly enough to get the fucking government involved with a formal certificate - and then to go back on her word in retreat  . . .

“No.” Raven felt numb. “I’m not a coward.”

Yang gave a dry, humorless laugh.

“Well you’re definitely not a hero. Or a Huntress. Or anything else that’s worth being. You ran and hid from everything that mattered. From everyone that matters. What exactly do you call that?”  The blonde girl’s voice had drifted back into a snarl.

“I  . . .” Raven couldn’t find the words. She watched the glowing embers in Yang’s eyes swirl around in their tempest.

“There must be some kind of misunderstanding.”

Raven had forgotten Summer was there until she spoke up. She turned to find silver eyes wide with concern. “Raven wouldn’t do that. She’s one of the strongest and bravest people I know. If what you say is true, then she probably had a good reason for doing what she did.”

Yang’s eyes softened back to their usual shade of violet, her voice losing some of its harsh edge. “I - I know this is hard to hear, but it happened. Raven’s not who you think she is, or at least. . .  she won’t be. She abandoned us and that’s part of the reason things are so shitty in the future.”

“No... No, that can’t be right.” Summer’s tone was pleading. She stepped in front of Raven, putting herself between her teammate and the burning girl. “Raven’s my friend. Our teammate. There has to be some mistake. If you’re telling me she’s going to leave her teammates – her family – I don’t think I can believe it. We’re Team STRQ. We stick together. None of us would abandon each other.”

Oh, Summer. She didn’t even question that Raven and Qrow would stick around after graduation. She always did see the best in people.

Raven opened her mouth to say something – whether it was going to be an admission of guilt, an indignant denial, or an apology, she wasn’t sure. But Yang spoke before she could get the words out.

Raven would never have guessed what her daughter would say next. Not in a million years.

“You leave, too.”

It took Raven a few moments to process the three soft-spoken words. Out of all the things she’d heard about the future, this was the one that made the least sense.

“What do you mean?” Summer looked just as taken aback.

“At first you stay, after Raven’s gone. For a few years. You help Dad take care of me. And then later, Ruby. You still go on missions for Oz, but in between, you’re a mom. You’re our mom.” Before, Yang’s voice had been solid and steady in her anger. Now it was ragged and broken. The girl looked on the verge of tears.

“And then one day you go out on a mission. Try to fight Salem on your own without telling anyone. Maybe Oz never told you it wasn’t possible to kill her. That it’s not a fight you can win. Or maybe you did know, and you tried to do it on your own, anyway.” Yang paused to take a deep breath. “You don’t come back.”

Violet eyes once again shifted to crimson.

“You leave us just like she did. All alone.  Ruby barely even remembers you. I was seven years old when I learned that I had two moms and they both abandoned me. Dad was so messed up after you two left, he might as well have not been there at all. Qrow was the only one of you who actually tried, and even he was too afraid of his semblance to be around that often. I had to do everything.  Take care of Ruby, and clean the house, and buy groceries, and make sure that Dad didn’t waste away, and keep our ‘family’ together. You can believe me or not, but it's true. And it’s too late to change it now.”

No one spoke for nearly a minute.

“Summer . . . dies?” Raven looked towards her leader, trying to imagine a force that could silence those confident orders, snuff out that stupid, pure faith in the world, dim the light in those silver eyes. “I leave and then Summer dies?”

The look on Yang’s face as she answered Raven could only be described as hatred. “You’re the only one who knows what really happened that night,” she glared over Summer’s head.  “You’ve never seen fit to tell the rest of us. You’d rather keep Dad and Qrow and us in the misery of not knowing what happened - years of wondering so hard it hurts - than actually talk about what you were doing.”

This must be a lie. Some sort of cruel prank. Maybe Yang had inherited a bandit’s twisted sense of humor and was in the middle of the world’s worst joke. But when Raven looked into her daughter’s face, she saw no trace of doubt.

Summer had gone silent, eyes faraway as she clenched her hands tight enough to turn the skin whiter than her cloak.

Raven couldn’t help but turn to Tai, and found him staring back at her open-mouthed. His warm eyes had frozen over with shock and horror. The expression was so far from his usual friendly smile that he looked practically a stranger.

. . .   She would choose this.

Suddenly, standing in that clearing – in the presence of Summer, and Tai, and Yang’s burning eyes – was too much to bear. Standing itself was too much to bear. Her ears, her nose, her skin all seemed to suffocate her. Raven welcomed the shift of her senses, the blanket of feathers, the touch of the sky as she flew up and up and away from that awful conversation.

“Yeah, go on. Fly away. Leave.” Yang called out after her, just before she was out of hearing range.

“It’s all you’re good for.”

Chapter Text

Summer stared numbly at the scorched bootprints on the ground in front of her. After Raven had flown away, Yang had stalked off into the woods on foot. The blonde girl hadn’t been able to look any of them in the eye after finishing her outburst.  Some part Summer’s mind – that small part still holding on to her leadership training -  had objected to two members splitting off from the party. But that rational voice seemed so far away.

No.

Summer was the leader of Team STRQ. She couldn’t afford to let her emotions get the better of her.  She turned towards Ruby.

“Is it true?”

The younger girl’s silver eyes sparkled with tears. Her lips were quivering.   “Yes.”

“I .. . die?”

Ruby hesitated before nodding.

“I try to stop Salem on my own, and I . . . fail?”

Ruby nodded again. 

“You don’t remember me?” Summer’s voice cracked.

The depth of sadness in Ruby’s eyes broke something inside of Summer (not that there was much left intact to begin with).

“It happened when I was young. Most of what I know about you comes from Yang and Dad and Qrow.” She took a hesitant half-step closer, but stopped after seeing something on Summer’s face. “That’s why I wanted to come here. To get to know my mom. To say goodbye,” the girl took a deep breathe. “Mom, all my life, people have told me how amazing you are – how you helped people, how you always did what was right, how glad they were to know you. And now I can say that I’m glad to know you, too.” The plaintive, hopeful tone in Ruby’s voice was almost too much to bear.

Summer felt herself nod at the girl’s words – her daughter’s words. The logical part of her brain told her that what the girl said was important, that she should take it in and hold on tight. But it suddenly felt  as though she was hearing Ruby speak in a dream. Like those words weren’t actually addressed to her.

Her eyes caught the sun reflecting off Ruby’s Rose emblem. At the light’s current angle, she could see a familiar imperfection in the metal. She wasn’t just wearing Summer’s family emblem – she was wearing Summer’s emblem. (Would that be all that’s left of her in the future? One battered chunk of cold metal full of memories and regrets?)

“Did Yang-,” Tai’s grief-stricken face barely registered in Summer’s field of vision. “Did she mean the part where she said I wasn’t there for you? Was I not a good dad?”

Ruby bit her lip. “No,  I-. . . she  just means… It was hard on you. It was pretty hard on all of us,” she managed. “But things have gotten better!” The forced positive note in Ruby’s voice rang dissonant in the clearing.

“Team STRQ is . . . gone?” Qrow’s face was as distraught as Tai’s. He stared intently at Summer as he asked, as though he could keep her alive by looking at her.

“Yeah, it’s- . . . you’re the only one still working with Oz, Uncle Qrow.” Ruby paused. “Well, actually things are serious enough now that everyone kind of has to work with Oz because Salem made the secret war not-so-secret anymore, but you’re the only one who stayed in the inner circle.”

The mention of the war brought Summer back to the real world. “What did Yang mean about Salem being impossible to kill?” despite everything else Yang had said, those words were the ones echoing now in the stable part of Summer’s mind.

“Well, that’s what the Relic of Knowledge said, so it’s uh, kind of hard to argue with that,” Ruby tried to give a weak smile. “But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a different way we can stop her from hurting everyone.”

“The war-how bad is it, really?” Summer braced herself.

Ruby gave a deep sigh. “Well, Salem destroyed Vale and Atlas.” Summer didn’t think anything more inside of her could break, but she was wrong. Two entire kingdoms… All gone because she had failed.

“But a lot of refugees made it out! Mistral’s still there too, but it’s pretty destabilized. And so everyone is making a last stand at Vacuo. We’re there and Qrow’s there. Even Raven came for that, actually, but she and Yang aren’t really on speaking terms – I guess you could probably already figure that one out - and um . . . well we’re trying to keep the rest of the Relics out of Salem’s hands. We think there might be a way to push her back if we can break down her supporters and-“

“Where am I? What am I doing?” Tai’s voice was ragged.

“Oh … um . . . Oz said you were doing something in what’s left of Vale. I’m not really sure what. I haven’t seen you in a year or so, actually, so I haven’t been able to ask. I’m sure it’s important though!” Tai did not seem to find the girl’s words at all reassuring, letting out a small strangled noise.

Ruby looked around clearing. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she searched their faces for somewhere her words could find purchase.

“I . . . um . . . I should probably go bring Yang back before she gets too far away. Once she’s calmed down, she’ll tell you she was being too harsh earlier. I promise! I love you all!” The girl turned and took off towards the tree line, removing her hand from Summer’s shoulder as she left. Summer hadn’t noticed when she had put it there in the first place.

She looked towards her remaining teammates. Tai was staring dejectedly at the ground, his body trembling. The hurt on his face – both the expression itself and the way it replaced his usual cheerful smile – cut into her like a physical wound.   Qrow’s red eyes were still focused on Summer, filled with sadness and grief and-

“I should try to find Raven.” Summer found herself saying. “It’s no good to be separated at a time like this. We can work everything out once we’re all here.”

Yes, that was good.

 It was a plan.

Something achievable. Something she could fix.

(And even if she failed at that too, she’d at least have some time to sort out her thoughts.)

Summer didn’t wait for a response before striking out into the trees.

* * * * *

Ruby eyed the undergrowth before her, trying to determine whether the broken branches had been stepped on by a Grimm-foot or a sister-foot. Following Yang’s trail had been easy at first. Her semblance had super-heated her boots to leave dark, burnt patches on the forest floor.  But as Yang got further away from the camp, she had apparently cooled down – at around the same spot her trail intersected with that of yesterday’s Grimm horde.

Qrow had taught Ruby quite a bit during her Signal days and beyond (how to use a scythe, how to work the forge, how to beat Yang’s high score in Grimm Fighter 7), but woodsmanship or tracking had never made it into any lesson plans. Ruby glanced around once more for any missed clues before settling on a path that looked most appealing to her. She’d have to count on their sisterly bond that Yang had chosen that path, too.

She hoped Yang was okay. Her outburst had been a lot harsher than either of them had hoped for when telling their parents about the future.  Ruby tried not to think about Team STRQ’s faces when they’d heard what was coming.

It must have hurt so much . . .

To feel the world all come crashing down. To have truly believed you could make a difference and then to suddenly learn that no one can make that difference. That in trying anyway, you hurt people. People you cared about.

It was a pain Ruby was all too familiar with. Even now that the darkness was further away, she could still taste that bitter silence at the farmstead- that awful, tense evening after hearing Oz's secret from Jinn. She could hear the Grimm Raid sirens in Mantle, from the night of the election- the signal that nothing could be the same again. She could see Yang falling, falling into nothingness after trying to save her from Neo. She could feel herself falling, too. Instead of the weightless feeling she had expected, that time in the Ever After had been so heavy, even before she’d hit the ground. The weight of wondering what happened to the relics and  to all the people she’d been in charge of. The weight of learning what had happened to Penny. The weight of knowing she hadn’t lived up to the world’s expectations of her. That she hadn’t lived up to her own expectations of her.

Would her family feel like that now, too?

For all Ruby had tried to answer their questions without letting that darkness in, her attempts to soften the blows just seemed to make everything worse. She couldn’t even feel angry at Yang for leaving her to deal with the conversation, though. Not when she’d felt such an awful sense of relief that she hadn’t  been the one to tell the worst parts of the story.

But she couldn’t think about that now. Not about those feelings. Not about how devastated her mom had been when she’d learned the truth. (Not about how her sadness  was almost worse than the unwinnable war waiting for Ruby and Yang when they returned to Vacuo.)

 The world was still moving, and she needed to move with it. She had to focus on the important things – the positive things, even when it was so hard. Like the fact that everyone was on the same page now.  And that, as long as she brought Yang back soon, they’d have around seven hours to work everything out. (That should be enough time, right?) And things would be easier when they were together. They always were. The three back at the camp would just need to hang tight for a little bit longer until the whole family could be there to talk everything through.

A dark shape in the trees caused Ruby to startle. She’d nearly pulled out Crescent Rose before she realized it wasn’t a Grimm.  

It was a bird.

“Oh, um . . . hi,” Ruby called up hesitantly. The intelligent glare in the animal’s crimson eyes confirmed it was not just any raven.

Ruby hadn’t really been considering Raven in her mental tally of family, (for, well . . . Raven reasons)  but it would probably be for the best to bring her back to talk as well. (Right?)  Had the former bandit felt that same crushing weight earlier when Yang told her what had happened?

“Are you . . . okay?” she asked.

Raven didn’t respond, her glare unblinking.

“Right. . .  birds can’t talk,” Ruby didn’t have a whole lot of experience talking to animals who were also people. Qrow seemed to think she’d give him the Zwei treatment if he ever approached her as a cute little birdie (and he was probably right), so he rarely used his magic around her outside of battle.

“Do you . . . mind if  I sit here?” She gestured to a welcoming-ish-looking spot on the trunk of a nearby fallen tree. Raven didn’t respond to that question either, but she also didn’t fly away, which Ruby took to mean ‘No, I do not mind. Please go ahead, Ruby.’

She sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the branches shudder in the breeze.

“It’s not too late, you know.” Ruby ran a finger along the fallen tree’s ridges as she spoke.

“I mean, yeah . . .  Yang’s not very happy with you. She’s really hurt. But – and don’t tell her I said this - she only gets that mad when it’s something she cares about. If she had really given up on you, she wouldn’t have bothered to say anything at all-”

“How can you say that?” The sudden force of the words caused Ruby to flinch.  She looked up to see human Raven now looming over her- her eyes looking awfully like Yang’s did when she was angry.

“Say what?”

“It’s ‘not too late’? Summer is dead. Pretty sure that means it’s fucking too late for her.”  Raven’s voice was nearly a shout – she also sounded like Yang did when she was angry. “Isn’t she your mother? Don’t you care?”

Ruby had done a pretty good job of holding back her tears until this point, but that battle was now lost. The drops trickled down her cheek before falling to stain her cloak a darker shade of crimson. “Of course I care!”  she tried to speak defiantly through the tears. “Of course I love my mom! Of course I wish she wasn’t dead!”

She wiped the back of her hand over her eyes. “Of course I’d rather spend this time talking to her! But I’m not – I’m talking to you instead.”  She stood up, abandoning her seat on the fallen log to get at a more equal height with Raven.

“And that’s okay, because I think she’d want someone to talk to you – she believed in you. I’d give anything to fix it – to change what happened to my Mom, but we can’t. All we can do is focus on what we can change.”

“So you think you can fix me?” Raven sneered. “Sounds like Oz and Tai and Summer already tried that in your future. How’d that work out for them, huh?”

Ruby couldn’t find the words to respond in time. She watched helplessly as Raven continued.

“Maybe future me took too long to figure it out, but it’s pretty clear to this me. I bet I was doing you all a favor in the future by not pretending anymore.  I don’t belong in your world. With Summer and Tai and Yang and telling bedtime stories and saying ‘I love you.’ That’s not me. It’s never been me and it never will be me. That’s not my life.”

Raven’s eyes burned with anger and with something else.

Something sad.

 Taking the risk, Ruby took a step closer to her.

“But is that what you want your life to be?”

* * * * *

Dad was so messed up after you two left, he might as well have not been there at all.

Tai’s ears rang. The high-pitched tone echoed along with Ruby and Yang’s voices in his head, forming an awful, agonizing harmony.  

It was hard on you. It was pretty hard on all of us.   

He couldn’t feel anything. It was as though he was detached. Floating. The only sensation was the awful pit in his stomach, like he was about to vomit.

You leave everything. Your teammates. Your husband…  I was seven years old when I learned that I had two moms and they both abandoned me.

There wasn’t enough air in his lungs. He breathed wildly, trying to fill them.

I haven’t seen you in a year or so, actually.

Exhale.Inhale.Exhale.Inhale.  The breaths were nearly in time with the beat of his heart. If he kept breathing, maybe-

Tai felt a touch on his shoulder. Qrow was looking down at him expectantly.

“Did you say something?” Tai struggled to get the words out of his mouth in between his breaths.

The taller man’s face grew concerned. “Uh . . . I’ve been talking this whole time.”

“Oh,” Tai looked down again. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s just . . .  Summer,” Qrow looked towards the sky, running a hand through his dark hair. “She’s just so . . . Summer. She’s  strong and she knows what she’s doing better than any of us. . . How can she be gone?”

“Yeah.” Tai’s response was a whimper.

Summer.

His leader, his classmate, his friend. He’d only just realized his feelings might go deeper than that, and now . . .

“And Raven… fucking hell…I know my sister can be a bitch sometimes. But once she makes a decision, I’ve never seen her not stick to it. I can’t . . .”  Qrow turned his face towards the ground.

It was strange.

To have only known someone three years – barely an eighth of his life – and to not be able to imagine the rest of it without them. Either of them.

“Yang said we were married,” Tai felt the urge to say.   He’d always hoped he’d get married someday. But this . . .

Would he hate Raven for it? It seemed like the kind of thing you would hate someone for, but the thought of hating his partner seemed so foreign, so wrong.

“Do you think . . .” Qrow’s  voice shrank to barely a whisper. “Do you think it was my semblance?”

“Huh?” The words shook Tai out of his thoughts for a moment.  “That’s- . . . No-. .. I-…” He had to pause to collect himself. “Qrow, we both know your semblance can’t force anyone to do something they don’t want to do. Besides,” his voice cracked. “You’re not the one they left.”

“What?” Qrow’s hurt and confused expression caused Tai to flinch internally. That wasn’t true, was it? They’d both be left behind in the future.

“I didn’t mean . . . “

“No, I know what you mean,”  Qrow sighed.

“It’s . . . She’s going to be my wife. My wife’s going to leave me. And Summer’s going to die. I think I love them both. But that won’t even matter, because it’ll just be us. We’ll be alone” This wasn’t the first time Tai had cried in front of Qrow, but it was the first time he cried about something real, instead of some dumb movie or TV show.

“And Yang and Ruby are going to leave too. My own kids . . .  I won’t even be a good dad to them and they’ll end up fighting the same stupid war against Salem. You’ll be there with them, they said. It will just be me, then. No one needs me. I can’t help anyone – I’m not worth staying around for.”

“Tai-“

“They’ve already left us. Did you notice? They’re all out in the woods and we’re here. Alone. Welcome to the future, I guess.” Tai tried to laugh, but it came out as sobs.

Qrow hesitantly reached out and put a hand on Tai’s shoulder. He stood there awkwardly for a full minute  before speaking.

“So if you marry Raven, what does that make us? Is that one ‘step-brother’?”

Tai blinked, his sobs momentarily paused. “It’s ‘brother-in-law.’”

Qrow frowned. “Really? Sounds kind of dumb . . . but whatever. We’re officially brothers, then.”

“Qrow-“

“No.” Qrow’s grip on Tai’s shoulder tightened. “The future sounds shitty, It sounds really, really shitty.  But you and I are going to be brothers, and that means we’re family. That means we’re going to be there to help each other get back on our feet, even when the future’s that shitty. I’m not going anywhere. And I know they’re fighting Salem, but don’t think those kids want to leave you behind either. When they get back we can- . . .”

Tai frowned as Qrow trailed off. He followed the other man’s gaze upwards. At first, his heart leapt stupidly at the sight of black feathers. Then he realized he there was more than one shape. And they were much, much bigger than ravens.

 A whole flock of Nevermore.

Tai prepared a fighting stance, but Qrow lifted a hand to stop him.

“They’re not coming for us,” the former bandit traced their path with his finger. “It’s weird, because we’re not exactly a beacon of positivity here, but they haven’t even looked in our direction. Something else is drawing them.” Qrow’s finger followed their trajectory to the woods north of the clearing.

The same direction that Summer had gone.

* * * * *

When Yang was younger, she’d fantasized about Mom coming home pretty often. Logically, she had known Summer was gone – that Dad wouldn’t have carved the gravestone unless he was sure. But they had never found a body. And Yang was just a kid.

So, on bad days - whenever Dad had locked himself in his room, or Ruby had been given homework Yang didn’t know how to help with, or Yang had tried to cook dinner but had messed something up and everything tasted like ash- she’d imagine the door to their cabin opening, the smell of vanilla and gunpowder filling the air. Summer Rose would walk in, smiling - like everything was normal.  She would go to Yang first. She would wrap her up in a big hug, and say, “Oh how I missed you, little dragon,” with her white cape pressing against Yang’s cheek like a second, softer hug.

Next, Mom would turn to Ruby, picking her up  carrying her away to do whatever Ruby needed at the time – food or homework or story time – the responsibility weighing Yang down suddenly gone from her shoulders. Yang had continued imagining this scene even after Ruby had grown tall enough that Summer wouldn’t be able to lift her easily.

And then – most importantly – Mom would go over to Dad’s room. She would kick down the door and break the lock. She would drag Dad out by his ear and yell at him – using his full name – for not helping around the house. The spell of sadness would be broken instantly, and then Dad and Mom together would make cookies and tuck Yang in with a bedtime story.

It really was a nice image. But Yang had stopped daydreaming about it sometime before starting classes at Signal. Not because she’d outgrown it per se, but because she’d realized something.

She’d realized that if Mom actually did come back and she saw what Dad was like, it would have devastated her. It was better that Summer Rose couldn’t see what had happened to her family after she left.  She would never know just how broken their lives were without her. On bad days, Yang had found that thought oddly comforting.

But now, Yang had ruined it. She’d had the fucking magic power to travel through space and time and break the laws of physics and what had she done? She’d gone and told Mom exactly how bad it was when she was gone. Now Summer Rose couldn’t even be dead in peace.  Assuming she even was dead and not some sort of twisted, lab rat Grimm puppet for Salem.

Tears streamed down Yang’s face as she leaned against a tree, letting the sturdy trunk support her weight.

She wasn’t proud of what she’d said to Raven, but at least she’d had the excuse of the woman pushing her limits. But Summer . . .Where had that anger even come from? She loved her mom. Those weren’t the words she had wanted to say to her. . . . were they?

 Dad had told her the last time they’d sparred to get a better handle on her emotions. Relying on anger to make her strong was a dangerous crutch.  But what she had just done – losing control like that,  letting it all spill out before she even knew what she was saying - was much, much worse.  

Out of all the times to be an idiot . . .

A flash of silver eyes and dark, red-tinged hair appeared in the corner of Yang’s vision. She sniffed back her tears and sighed. Ruby should have stayed to make sure the others were okay. Not that she wasn’t glad her sister had come after her, but Yang wasn’t the one who deserved to be comforted right now.

She opened her mouth to say something to that effect, but then she saw the white cloak.

Oh.

Yang flinched at the sight of Summer’s haggard face and puffy cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m so, so sorry.”

Summer scanned the nearby treetops before realizing the real target of Yang’s words. Her silver eyes were filled with a storm of emotions. “Oh,” was all she managed to say before taking a hesitant step towards Yang.

“I’m so sorry, Mom.” The words were worth repeating. “I shouldn’t have said those things. I don’t know why you left, but I do know that you were doing what you thought was right. I know that you had to try to defeat Salem.  I know that you wouldn’t have gone if you didn’t think the risk was worth it.”  Yang couldn’t bring herself to meet Summer’s eyes as she said the words.

“No,” Summer’s voice was raw. “I should be the one apologizing. If what you said is true, then I’ve failed you. I’ve failed everyone. Oz has told me so many times that I can’t do everything on my own. I tell the others the same thing, too…that makes me  a hypocrite, not just a failure.”

Yang looked up at that, mouth already open in protest, but Summer cut her off.

“I say I’m the leader, but sometimes, I’m not sure of what I’m doing. I don’t know how to make the calls. I don’t know what to say to Tai or Raven or Qrow right now… I don’t know how to save the world.” Summer clenched her fists, looking down at the ground.

“I don’t know how to be a mom. I don’t even know how to talk to Ruby – or you.  And I thought that if I tried hard enough. That if I just followed the rules and followed my heart and did my best, that it would all work out. But, that’s not true is it?”  Her voice was cracked and broken. “I guess there are just some things we can’t change.”

Yang took a deep breath.

“Mom, I – it hurt when you left. . .  It’s true. It hurt so much,” Yang took a step closer – leaving just a few paces between them. “But only saying that leaves out all of the good stuff. And there’s a lot of good stuff. Years of good stuff. You were the reason for so many good things. . . I still remember back when I was a kid.” She started, struggling to keep her voice even. “You’d bake cookies whenever we were together and you’d let me lick the spoon - you know, it doesn’t taste the same when I make it. . . And  I remember whenever you read me a bedtime story, I’d always fall asleep before you got to the end. But I can still remember how warm it felt when you were talking– I didn’t need to hear the ending to know it was a happy one.”

 Yang wasn’t sure if she was helping. This Summer had only met her a day ago and Yang had told her she would die and called her ‘Mom.’ She probably sounded crazy, but these were the words Yang had wanted to say for years and now there was no stopping them coming out of her mouth

“And I remember when you would come back from missions and I’d beg and beg until you finally told me how you beat all the monsters that time. I know you were probably exaggerating the stories – making them kid friendly – but . . . you’re my hero, Mom. We can change anything we want, and if we don’t know how to do something we can always figure it out, and you’re the one who taught me that ...  You’re not a failure  -  you were the best Mom anyone could ask for.” Yang’s tears had become a steady stream. Her vision was blurry, but she probably wouldn’t have been able to read the expression in Summer’s eyes anyway.

“I just . . .  I really miss you and I wish you were there with us.  I think about you a lot . . . every day. Whenever I see people standing up against Salem – being brave. When I see Ruby, all grown up, coming into her own as a leader – gods, you’d be so proud of her. Whenever I think about home . . .

“When you left, I didn’t know. . . about Raven, I mean. I never got the chance to say it to you. I .. . I’m so, so glad that you’re my Mom.”

Yang wiped her eyes with her non-metal hand, finally daring to see Summer’s reaction. The shorter woman was crying too, gazing up at Yang with wide, glistening eyes.  She took another step forward, closing the last distance between them.

Yang opened her arms and wrapped them tightly around her mother, pulling her close. Summer returned the hug – a real, good hug, not like the tentative touch she had offered yesterday. Her mom held her close, nestling her head into Yang’s shoulder.  Her hand ran down Yang’s hair in regular, soothing motions, giving her a sense of calm Yang rarely felt.

“I love you, Mom.”

The hug had gone on for a long time, but Yang wasn’t very interested in stopping anytime soon, and Summer didn’t seem to be either. She tried to memorize the feeling of her mother’s touch, the gentle sound of her breathing in Yang’s ear.

She was so focused on Summer that when a gruff, masculine voice broke through the clearing, she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“I take it that’s the magic relic?”

Both Yang and Summer had their weapons ready before the sentence was finished. Yang was prepared to fill the speaker with bullets from Ember Celica until she finally processed the man’s appearance. He was tall – taller than Qrow – and massively broad - like he bench-pressed Goliaths for fun. The man was younger than Yang remembered – which made sense with the whole time-travel thing – but his strong jaw and sad eyes were unmistakable.

Hazel Rainart.

The last Yang had seen of this man, he’d blown himself up - sacrificing his life to buy the people of Atlas enough time to evacuate. The act was so brave, it almost made up for spending the rest of his earlier life doing dirty work for the queen of literal monsters …. Right. That particular career choice was probably why he was here now.

The mirror spirit’s words about this place having everything from the real Remnant suddenly flashed in Yang’s mind. She cursed herself inwardly for not even thinking that the six of them might have company.

“If you kids hand over that mirror, I don’t have to hurt you. I’ll be on my way.” Hazel’s voice was gentle, an odd contrast to his massive frame and fighting stance.  

Yang opened her mouth to challenge him. Sure, he could probably take on fully trained Huntsman teams of four with his crazy semblance combined with dust attacks. But Yang and her mom were better than the average Hunstmen, and one of them had some experience fighting this guy.

The words died on Yang’s lips when she took in the rest of the scene. Beyond Hazel were swarms of black shapes. The Grimm were unnaturally silent as they made their through the forest. Beowolves picked their way through the trees without any howls or growls. The Ursai didn’t even grunt. There were King Taijitu and Deathstalkers. Even a couple of  giant Geists loomed in the trees behind Hazel- one was strong enough to have human-made buildings for its limbs. Mixed with the more familiar creatures stood Grimm not usually seen in Vale – Yang saw a pack of long-toothed Sabyrs mixed in with the Beowolves and a few Manticores keeping high in the trees below the Nevermores.

 It was suddenly very apparent why they hadn’t seen any Grimm since yesterday. They hadn’t killed all of the monsters in the fight – the remaining Grimm had been called to reinforce Hazel somehow. This wasn’t a pack or even a horde of Grimm.

This was an army.

Chapter Text

“Hazel.”

 Yang addressed the newcomer with a calm, steady voice. Apparently, she knew him, but she maintained her fighting stance. Summer kept her hand on Sundered Rose as well.  

“You know who I am?” The big man seemed surprised.

“He works for Salem,” Yang said to Summer, who nodded. (Although, she had already worked that one out thanks to the army of Grimm).

“You are . .. well-informed.” Hazel frowned. “And younger than I expected.  I shouldn’t be surprised, should I?” The bitter tone in his voice was hard to ignore. “You are at the age he likes to send them out to die.  Give me the mirror and we won’t have to fight.”

Summer raised her eyebrows, inclining her head towards the sea of monsters. “You keep some pretty strange company for a man who doesn’t want to fight.”

Hazel’s sigh echoed through the woods. “I told her I didn’t need the Grimm, but she insisted. They’re mostly here to lead me to the relic. As long as you hand it over, I can make sure they don’t attack you.” He opened the front of his vest and a chill ran down Summer’s spine.

Tucked into the inside of his vest were rows and rows of gleaming raw dust crystals. He had enough to blow up an entire city block, and (more concerningly) there seemed to be no protection – no Huntsman-grade durable vials, or even civilian carrying cases to keep the dust from igniting. If that was the case,  they were only one aura-enhanced strike or well-aimed gunshot  from actually blowing up an entire city block’s worth of forest (and Huntsman students).

Summer was so taken aback by this man’s lack of proper safety measures that it took her several moments to notice that he had actually opened the vest in order  to gesture towards a small beetle-like creature sticking out from one of the inner pockets. It wasn’t a type of Grimm she’d seen before. He said he could make sure the other Grimm wouldn’t attack?

She tried to get a closer look, to determine this creature’s connection to the control of the monsters, when Hazel suddenly inhaled sharply.

“Oh,” his tone was low and strangely sad as he met Summer’s eyes. “I wish I hadn’t seen that silver. I’m afraid I can’t let you leave, after all. I can promise to make it quick though.”

Summer had prior experience with death threats, but something about the man’s calmness made her shiver. “Is there any chance,” she started in her best diplomatic voice, “that you’ll believe this mirror brings people from the future and all three of us are actually trapped in a time travel bubble or dimension of some kind, and that there’s no point in threatening us because not even Salem will remember anything that happens in the next seven hours or so, and also that apparently killing us would cause a time paradox – which I’m not too clear on the details of but doesn’t sound like a good thing  - and so perhaps  we should all just . . .talk it out instead?”

 “Huh,” Hazel paused at the explanation, and Summer felt a flash of hope. But then the man merely grunted, “Haven’t heard that one before,” and her stomach sunk once again. “You’re one of his, aren’t you? I’m sorry if you still believe the lies he tells you. But she tells the truth at least. I’ll have to take her word on what needs to be done with you.”

He turned to Yang. “There’s no need for you to die, though. You can’t save your friend, but you can save yourself if you leave now”.

“Like hell I’m leaving,” Yang’s fists were clenched in outrage. She took a step forward, towards their opponent.

“So be it then,” Hazel sighed – it sounded almost mournful. He opened his vest and placed a hand on the strange, tiny Grimm.

The rest of the monsters attacked as one.

A wave of blackness swept towards them from all directions. The creatures were no longer quiet now that they’d been ordered to attack, and the air was suddenly filled with familiar (but not quite welcome) roars and snarls. Switching to rifle form quickly, Summer launched as many dust rounds as she could into the charging Grimm. The ice dust burst into crystalline formations – briefly blocking the flow of Grimm where the bullets hit their targets. She could hear Yang firing her own weapons behind her, a steady stream of blasts.

It wasn’t enough.

A small and nimble Beowolf swerved between Summer’s shots, forcing her to switch to her axe as it closed in. She cleaved it in two easily, but a swarm of other Grimm had closed in during the respite from her bullets.

Ducking beneath the claws of an Ursa, Summer lunged forward. She struck down two Beowolves in front of her, quickly moving to fill the space where they fell before another Grimm could move in.

She was still close enough to back up Yang, but she was also now far enough to spin her axe in wide arcs. All she needed to do was to keep the monsters at bay until she could come up with a plan.

In the sounds of the fighting, Summer didn’t hear the wingbeats until it was too late. A Manticore’s claws struck her in the shoulder. She managed to drive her axe into the beast before it did any more damage to her aura, but she had to leave herself open to do so. She braced herself – turning to meet the next blow. A pack of Sabyrs charged her way, snarling and moving fast, right at her.  

Suddenly, Yang was there, arms held forward to meet the lead Sabyr, shielding Summer with her own body.  A brave move, but so reckless. Where had the girl learned to be so self-sacrificing?

Oh. . .

Those words – what Yang had told her earlier . . .

It was a lot to process. Summer still wasn’t sure what to think about most of what Yang said. But she was absolutely sure that she was not going to let any more harm come to her daughter today. She would defend Yang just as fiercely as the girl was defending Summer. This wasn’t a fight she could lose.

The battle didn’t slow down. The Sabyr had latched onto Yang’s arm  - apparently too stupid to realize it was metal – and the blonde girl was now swinging the Grimm around as a bludgeon against other nearby foes

More flying Grimm were making their way from the forest’s canopy, but the Grimm on the ground weren’t letting up. For now, the sheer number of smaller, faster monsters blocked the path of the larger, more dangerous ones. But that wouldn’t be true for long. Summer could make out a twenty-foot tall Deathstalker creeping forward through the advancing army. Not to mention the shadows of those huge Geists (nearly taller than the forest’s older trees) grow steadily closer as the tide of battle ebbed and flowed.  They needed to get out of here.  But how? There didn’t seem to be any way out. Summer and Yang were now surrounded on all sides. For now, they could keep the Grimm at bay, standing back-to-back and using their weapons to keep a small radius around them free from monsters. But the number of foes was overwhelming.

Just one small mistake would be enough to end it all. (To cut her life even shorter than it was supposed to be).

Well, if that was the case, then Summer would just have to fight flawlessly.

* * * * *

“But is that what you want your life to be?”

The question rang through the woods as Raven glared down at the red-cloaked child.

“What I want?” She sneered at the girl. For some reason, memories rose unbidden in her mind.  Tai’s hugs and his annoying kindness – showing her how people lived in the kingdoms. Summer’s confident smiles and dumb moral lessons – the way she managed to work them into even the most brutal sparring matches. Even some new memories of Yang’s laughter and the stories she’d told last night around the campfire. Raven shook her head to clear the unwelcome thoughts.

“What I want doesn’t matter. What you want doesn’t matter. That’s not how life works, kid.” Ruby had seemingly inherited both of her parents’ sentimentality and none of Summer’s sense. “I don’t belong in your ‘family,’ and nothing is going to change that.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” Apparently, the kid was as good as her mother at making positive we’re-all-in-this-together bullshit sound authoritative.  “What you want does matter. What you choose to do does matter. I’ve seen people change their circumstances, no matter how bad. I’ve seen people change themselves for the better. It might be hard. It might be slow. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible. You don’t even need relics or magic powers or fairy tales– you just have to take the first step and then keep on stepping.”

Raven scoffed. “You sound like one of those sappy movies.”  The ones that Tai and Summer liked. Again, Raven had to shake the thoughts free from her head. “And you’re what? Not even eighteen? Have you ever even talked to me in the future?  What would you know?”

Really, the girl should leave Raven alone and go back to the people who actually wanted her around.

Ruby’s silver eyes flashed.

“I know that the daughter of the richest man on Remnant can turn her back on money, and power, and everything she knows. All because she would rather help people instead of claiming her inheritance.” She stared defiantly up at Raven, undeterred by the crimson glare. “I know that someone who was raised and indoctrinated to hate humans can choose to stand beside them - and even fall in love with one. I know that a man who loses himself in alcohol and grief and hopelessness can find himself again  - and even in a  world where everything is falling apart, he can turn out to be one of the most hopeful people of all.”

“And I know,” the bright silver eyes clouded briefly with a steely hardness, “That a girl who doesn’t think she’s good enough – someone who feels like a failure - can reclaim her own life. That even if there’s no one she’d rather be less, she can still choose herself, and have it make all the difference. That she can make things better, if she gives herself another chance and keeps moving forward.”

Raven was taken aback by the raw emotion in Ruby’s voice. The absolute certainty mixed with pain in her tone was enough to give anyone pause.  The girl sounded a lot older than her seventeen years. For a moment there, she sounded even more leader-y than Summer did.

 “Mom, Dad, Qrow – even Ozpin. They all trusted you. If anyone can change, it’s you.” Ruby smiled softly. The gesture seemed as genuine as one of Tai’s despite the hurt and hardness still apparent in the girl’s face. How could she be smiling? She extended a hand towards Raven.  “So. . . do you really want to spend your life being a bandit?”

“I...” Raven couldn’t think straight. Not with those stupid silver eyes staring right at her, blinding her field of vision.

“You don’t have to be afraid, you know. You can choose to do whatever you want.”

Raven’s mouth opened in a sneer at the insinuation that she would be afraid, but the expression fell flat. After her fight with Yang, she’d just . . . flown away. She couldn’t deny it. And neither could any of Team STRQ  - they’d all seen her act like a coward.

No.

She wasn’t . . .

Was she?

Had cowardice been hiding under the surface this whole time? It couldn’t be. Raven was stronger than that. She’d lived through nearly two decades in the Branwen Tribe to prove it.

In this world, only the strong survive. Weakness is what kills you.

But if that was the case, then how could Summer have been killed? Was everything Raven had ever known a lie?  All of those teachings and trainings. . .  Her whole life . . .

“I know the Branwens are your tribe.” Ruby was continuing with her speech. “But from what Qrow says, they don’t sound like a family to me. Would you really rather be alone than with your team? Your brother? Your real family?”

The images of Tai and Summer that kept resurfacing in Raven’s mind were as stubbornly persistent as her actual teammates. But, no . . .

Ruby’s question was stupid one. The girl was missing the most important detail.

“How is it a family if I’m going to leave Tai? And the rest of them?” Raven nearly shouted the words. “How can we be a family if Summer is going to die?”

Ruby flinched. She started to formulate an answer, but Raven wasn’t listening. All of her focus had gone inwards – to the links of her semblance. She still had barely any connection at all to Ruby and Yang. But ever since she’d heard Summer’s fate earlier, Raven had felt her leader’s link burning in her chest – as clear as day and strong with full aura. The connection was now growing weaker, shrouded with danger. As she probed it, she felt Tai’s and Qrow’s links start to fade as well.

No.

Not today.

She drew Omen.

* * * * *

Yang’s world had become an exhausting routine of punching and shooting and deploying bombs and punching and shooting and seeing more Grimm just keep coming and coming and coming.

She couldn’t stop, though. Stopping would mean giving up, and Yang was not going to give up here. She wasn’t going to let herself get killed by a dead guy. And under no circumstances – ever – would she let her guard down if it meant leaving her Mom open to attacks.

No.

They would find some way out of this.

Only . . . she wasn’t sure if Mom was really in the best mental state to come up with a plan . . . or to use her silver eyes. If Ruby were here, she would need some time to do either of those things on a normal day. Mom was probably the same way, and today was definitely not a normal day.

That was okay – it just meant she had to keep going until Mom was ready. She could do that. Just keep punching and shooting and punching and –

A whooshing noise filled the air behind her. Yang had never been so glad to hear the sound of Raven's portal.

“Fuck,”  was the extent of Raven’s greeting. Yang wanted to still be pissed at her, but she had to admit that it was a valid reaction to seeing this many Grimm.

“Yang! Mom!” came Ruby’s voice. Yang wasn’t  sure why she’d been with Raven, but she wasn’t complaining. “…Wait is that . . . Hazel?”

Yang smiled as she uppercut a nearby Ursa. The monsters in front her suddenly dissolved as the silver-red blade of Crescent Rose struck through them.  She shot a grin at her sister as their mother called out behind them.

“There’s too many of them. Rae, we need to get out of here.”

“Way ahead of you Summ,” Raven called back, the sound of a second portal whooshing behind her.

Mom called the order to retreat, and Yang jumped through the portal without hesitation. She hadn’t had the chance to use enough of Raven’s portals for the feeling to be familiar. The strange teleporting sensation was slightly nauseating – an uncomfortable wave in the pit of her stomach. She had to admit she preferred the feeling of being carried by Ruby’s semblance – after she’d had enough practice, it turned out that being dematerialized was almost kind of fun. Not as good as riding around on a motorcycle, but still, better than this.  

At least Raven’s portals were fast.

Yang took stock of her surroundings, happy to no longer be in the woods surrounded by monsters, She  found herself . . . in a different part of the woods surrounded by different monsters.  

“Fuck,” Raven said again.

“Raven? Summer? What’s going on?” Dad called out as he and Qrow held off a pack of Ursai. The relief in his voice at the reinforcements was palpable. Ruby jumped in to help them, removing the closest creature’s head with her scythe.

“Salem’s agent wants the mirror,” Summer explained. “He has a way to control the Grimm. And he brought a lot of backup.”

“Yeah,” Qrow’s scythe cut through a small Nevermore swooping at Ruby. “We noticed.”

“What are you doing here?” Summer called in return, using Sundered Rose to shoot at approaching Grimm through the trees.

“We, uh,” Dad looked sheepish as he held his ground against an Ursa. “We saw the Grimm and came to help you.”

Raven sighed, but didn’t say anything.

At least there were fewer Grimm here. The two remaining members of Team STRQ  must have run into the outskirts of the army. This position was much more defendable, and it would be possible to clear the area of Grimm, at least for enough time to get some breathing room.

With the six of them in the less dense pack of monsters, the area was secured pretty quickly.

Once they were safe enough to stop fighting, Dad immediately rushed up to give Summer a tight hug. Yang heard his whispered, “I don’t want to lose you,” which made her feel about three different kinds of happy and five different kinds of sad all at the same time, and also like she was intruding on something. She tried to step further away to avoid the same when Dad embraced Raven, but she didn’t get far enough out of earshot to avoid hearing her father say, “I don’t want to lose you either, partner.”

Yang wasn’t even try to categorize the emotions she felt on hearing that one.

She exchanged a glance with Ruby, who was dutifully picking off any approaching Grimm stragglers with her rifle. Her sister had been understandably pretty upset when Yang had caught a glimpse of her face before running off into the woods earlier. But she seemed to be more at ease now that the six of them were all back together, a fact that Yang was very thankful for. Despite the giant army of Grimm.

“This might be a stupid question,” Dad considered aloud after the reunions were done. “But if this Hazel guy wants the mirror, what’s the worst that could happen if we just . . . give it to him? I mean we’ll just get it back again in a few hours anyway when this is all over. Right? And I’m guessing he doesn’t find us in the other timeline, you know, because we survive to have kids and all of that. So . . . what’s the point in taking the risk to fight all of these Grimm? It’s not like he could do anything to Veros in less than a day.”

Ruby looked thoughtful at that, but Summer spoke first. “Apparently, he’s also on orders to kill anyone with silver eyes.”

“Oh,” Dad and Qrow looked mildly horrified. Raven’s expression hardened.

“Yes,” Yang was surprised to see Veros had made an appearance, his face appearing the mirror around Summer’s belt. “While I would prefer to remain untouched by that ruffian, it is more important to ensure that Summer Rose does not die within the mirror. The paradox it would create –“

“No one gives a shit about your stupid magic rules.”  The intensity in Raven’s voice took Yang by surprise.  “But Summer’s not going to die. I’m not going to let it happen. We’re not going to let it happen.”

“We don’t have to stay here,” Summer said calmly. “If Raven or Qrow fly away, we can use portals to stay away from the army until the time runs out.”

“No.” Raven and Yang spoke in unison.

“I’m not running.” Raven glared at everyone else in the clearing as if daring them to challenge her. Yang nodded – she wasn’t going to spend her last day with her mom running and hiding. She still had it in her to punch a few more Grimm.

“Alright,” Summer sighed softly, meeting the eyes of her teammates and daughters in turn. “Some of those faster Grimm would be pretty hard to outrun anyway. We’re fighting then. Together.” She gave a low chuckle. “I guess I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Her lips hardened to a line. “It won’t be easy, though. Getting through all those Grimm will be tough enough. The sheer numbers are one thing – and a few of the monsters, those bigger Alpha species and the Geists I saw earlier, would be hard enough to deal with on their own.”  Yang couldn’t help but notice how Summer’s planning face was so similar to Ruby’s . “The key will be getting rid of that device he’s using to control the Grimm. We need to be sure he can’t call for any more backup. And we can’t attack him directly. That dust he’s carrying isn’t properly stored. None of us have the range to try and knock him out without risking getting blown up in the process”

Yang nodded. Hazel in the future had been a much safer fighter. He still used his semblance to inject dust straight into his veins like a lunatic, but he carried it well enough that no one had to worry about him blowing up in their faces. And he didn’t have enough to level an entire town. Yang wasn’t sure if younger Hazel just wasn’t aware of how to carry around dust without becoming a suicide bomber, or if he was still close enough to his sister’s death that recklessness was the point.

Either way, it would be tough to deal with.

“I think I have a plan for that,” Ruby spoke up, a finger resting thoughtfully on her chin. “But we need a way to get to Hazel first, and a way to hold back the Grimm while we work.”

Summer allowed herself a grin as she considered her daughter.

“I think I have a plan for that.”

Chapter Text

Qrow raced over the forest, dark wings carrying him above the main mass of the army. In his bird form, he was uninteresting enough that the airborne Grimm paid him no attention.  He flew within a few feet of a large Nevermore, and the giant beast barely cast an unwary glance in his direction.

 The army was no longer thickly clustered. The monsters had spread out as they honed in on the relic’s new location and pursued with varying degrees of speed. Still, finding the center of the force was easy enough – at the place there the monsters swarmed the thickest, there stood what was perhaps the largest man Qrow had ever seen.

Hazel paid him as much notice as the Nevermore did. It was easy to fly up right behind him and change shape. Qrow’s aura was different as a human and as a bird – different enough for Raven’s semblance to pick up on the change in signal if she was paying close enough attention.  

Ruby and Yang had assured him that this man was dead in the future – that there was no risk of letting his secret out. Still, he felt strangely exposed as he transformed with an enemy so close.

Not that it mattered. By the time Hazel had turned around, Qrow was back to his human form, and the big man’s attention was very much occupied by the five fighters storming out of the black and red portal.

“Hey! Dust-for-brains!” Yang called out as she squared up to fight Hazel. “Ready for Round 2?” Her opponent turned a sharp eye at Summer and Ruby, but he moved to accept Yang’s challenge anyway.

Satisfied that Hazel was occupied, Qrow turned to take his place in a defensive formation around the clearing. It was up to him and the rest of Team STRQ to keep the area clear of monsters.

Unluckily for the Grimm, that was one of the things Qrow did best.

* * * * *

“So,” Yang blocked a punch from Hazel with her metal arm – the force of the impact causing her feet to slide back a few inches in the dirt. “Your sister ends up dying young from a Huntress career, and in order to stop that from ever happening again, you’re going around . . . trying to kill young Huntsmen and Huntresses? You do see the irony, right?”

She grinned up at the big man. Summer had all agreed it made the most sense for Yang and Ruby to keep Hazel occupied – the other four had the best teamwork options for the Grimm army, and the two time travelers knew the most about the henchman’s fighting style – and his sore spots.  

Her words made the big man really mad. Which on one hand was good, because mad people tended to make more mistakes. She knew that one well enough from personal experience.  But on the other hand – heh – being mad caused Hazel to inject raw dust crystals into his veins. His muscles flooded with color and Yang knew his next hits were not ones she should plan on tanking unless she wanted become the first person ever to die before they were born. 

“You think you know about Gretchen?” Hazel swung a meaty, multihued fist and Yang just barely managed to duck out of the way in time. “She trusted your headmaster, too. He lied to her. Just like he’s lying to you. You don’t have to die for his lost cause, you know.”

Ruby wasn’t the best suited for this fight – Crescent Rose wasn’t really made for fighting humans, especially when those human might blow up if you hit them in the right spot –  and she was also supposed to be focusing on the plan rather than getting involved. But that didn’t stop her from aiming a few shots at his head with her rifle while Yang tried to dodge their opponent’s dust-enhanced hits. Hazel didn’t seem to notice at all – his aura was unfortunately as strong as the rest of him.

“Ozpin might not tell the full truth, but I’d take that over ‘literally-trying-to-kill-everyone-on-the-planet’ any day,” Yang returned as she dodged again, not daring to hit back when his body was full of explosives.

Her opponent laughed at her words. “Is that what he tells you? No, girl. Salem’s going to create a new world. One without senseless death. One where nobody lies to girls like her.”

Yang had to jump into the air to avoid his next strike. “Senseless death? Like trying to kill my Mom and sister for the color of their fucking eyes? You’re really going to trust the literal queen of the Grimm over your own common sense? Your sister wouldn’t want this.”

“How do you know what she would want?”

“We’re Huntresses. Any Huntress would say the same. That’s why we take the job.” Ruby spoke as she intervened to keep Yang out of reach of the next blow. Her scythe hooked around their opponent’s arm, sending him off balance. “I became a Huntress because I want to protect people, and because of my mom. She was a Huntress, too.” Hazel caught himself– ice forming where his dust-imbued hand touched the ground – before regaining his footing and aiming a blow at the smaller girl.

“She was. Funny how that works out with Huntresses, huh?”

Yang slid on the ice to strike at Hazel’s unprotected legs. “Sometimes we lose people.”

She quickly darted back out of range as her opponent steadied himself. “Sometimes we lose the people who matter most to us. Sometimes it feels like you’ve lost a part of yourself and there’s no point in going on. But if you stop and look around, you can see there’s so much that we haven’t lost yet. So much to keep fighting for. You can’t just let the world fall apart because you’ve been left behind.”

Yang felt the force of Hazel’s fist slam into a tree behind her as she dodged away. A wave of cold washed over her from the proximity of the ice dust.

Ruby lunged forward with her scythe – targeting his legs to avoid the hazards hear his core. “You have to keep going. The people we love are the people who make us who we are. I’ll never forget the people I’ve lost. I won’t stop fighting for the world they would want to live in. For the me they believed I could be.” Hazel’s next fist hit right where Ruby was standing before she erupted into a burst of petals. Yang noticed the glow of the dust in his arm had faded to a slight shimmer.

There.

She charged forward to strike at his feet again, allowing his next punch to crash against Ember Celica.  The hit was strong, but it didn’t have enough dust behind it to do anything more than knock Yang slightly off course.

Hazel frowned and immediately injected new dust crystals – yellow lightning dust this time – into his arm.

This might take a while.

* * * * *

As Tai held the line against the Grimm, he could hear Ruby and Yang squaring off against Salem’s enforcer behind him. His daughters were both so passionate, even though he could hear the sadness in their words. He couldn’t help but wonder which part they got from him – the strength or the despair.

The roar of an Ursa interrupted his wondering, causing Tai to stop thinking with his head and start thinking with his fists. For a few moments, it was just him and the monsters. The whole world reduced to dodging and punching and kicking.

Craaack.

Tai turned to find the hulking shape of a Geist approach the battle. This one was massive– with its head nearly peaking out above the treetops, and its limbs made of what looked to be the stone and metal walls of what used to be some sort of fortifications building. The monster also had a friend – although the smaller one was made of the normal giant boulders and tree trunks – only huge rather than massive.

Summer rolled to dodge out of the way as the big one’s steely fist slammed into the ground with the force of a train. Tai started to rush forward even before Summer gave the order.  His leader had more important things to do in this battle than face off in single combat. And even if that weren’t the case - this fight was not a one-person job.

He kept an eye on the giant Geists as he charged forward through the line of Grimm. From their respective places holding the line, Summer and Qrow launched a large volley of ice dust at the creatures’ feet. First the big one, and then the smaller - in quick succession. Tai gave it around twenty seconds before the creatures would be able to break free. As soon as the giant monster had been pinned in place, Raven transformed and flew across the battlefield to meet it. She expertly removed both of the creature’s arms with Omen and then swooped over to do the same to the next.

That was Tai’s cue.

He left his place in the formation – Summer and Qrow had enough long range options to keep the rest of the army steady for a few moments  while Tai and Raven were occupied – and he charged towards the body of the pinned, armless creature, whose body twisted at an angle trying to get free of the ice. Tai took advantage of this to  leap up and charge across the remains of the thick wall that made up its torso. He ripped off the mask of the ghost-like Grimm, crushing it in his hands.

He turned to do the same to the next, but he saw that it had managed to get free early – stone feet moving forward on the forest floor. All four deadly limbs were intact and on the move.

Raven was still in her bird shape – much more fragile than her human from.

The monster aimed a swipe at her as she tried to get into a good position to change back. It would only take one hit from that massive stone hand to break all of the aura contained in the tiny feathered body, as well as most of the bones.

Without thinking, Tai ripped off a chunk from the first Geist’s empty body and threw it at the second one’s  mask, drawing its attention away from his partner long enough for her to return to her sturdier, sword-wielding shape and remove one, then both,  of its legs. Rather than waiting for Raven to dismember the rest of it, the creature abandoned its shape, headed towards the stronger and slightly more mobile Geist shell under Tai’s feet.

Shit.

Tai launched himself at the floating mask, his feet and aura propelling him much further and faster than a normal  human could hope for. The creature veered around him at the last second, leaving Tai hitting the dirt. He saw Raven rush forward towards the creature, but she wouldn’t be fast enough to hit it before it rearmed itself.

That wasn’t ideal. The longer this fight with the Geists dragged on, the more time for the lesser Grimm to keep flooding in and overwhelming them. Already, Tai knew Qrow and Summer were barely keeping the formation together.  If they weren’t careful, this complication could cost them more than a few seconds – it might even cost the fight. Cursing himself,  Tai watched the clever Geist fly out of reach towards a new host.

A shot rang out, shattering the mask into a hundred black, dissolving splinters.

He turned to Summer to thank her, but found that she was deeply involved holding back a pack of Beowolves. She hadn’t been the one to save him.  Qrow, was also clearly occupied, fighting off a two-pronged attack from a group of Ursai on one side and a Deathstalker on the other.

 “Nice shot,” Summer called out as Tai rushed to help Qrow.

“Thanks, Mom.” Ruby’s response was quite chipper, considering the circumstances.

Huh, that had to be their daughter who had saved their butts.

Tai smiled to himself – he had to admit their family made a pretty good team.

They would just have to keep up the teamwork a little bit longer.

* * * * *

Raven swept Omen’s wind dust blade through a Nevermore that was aiming at Tai’s head. Taking down the Geists had cost valuable time and left their defensive formation open for too long. More Grimm were flooding into the forest, slipping through the cracks. Her partner was so focused that he didn’t even turn to look at her, let alone make one of his usual quips.

 He had saved her back there. She would betray him and he knew it and he had saved her anyway. It shouldn’t be surprising coming from him -Tai did lots of stupid things. Like staying up all night telling her jokes when he had an exam the next day and actually cared about his grade. Like offering to tutor her in History when he barely knew more about the subject than she did. Like wanting to be her partner on initiation day after she had done her best to get rid of him. Like learning his teammates were murderous bandits and responding with a fucking hug.

It shouldn’t have surprised her, but a deep ugly feeling welled in her chest all the same. She turned away from Tai – he seemed to have this corner of the battlefield under control  - and looked for somewhere that her skills were needed more.

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

Raven heard Yang’s voice call out as she surveyed.

“In the future, you realize that Salem’s been taking advantage of you. You decide to be better.”

She wasn’t sure why her daughter was wasting her breath talking to the guy trying to kill them, but she had bigger things to worry about. Raven utilized her transformation to fly over the other fighters, crossing to earlier position where the Grimm were now swirling inward, dangerously close to Yang and Ruby.

After spying the part where the Grimm were the thickest, Raven shot downwards, transforming mid-dive to unsheathe Omen out and create a spiraling momentum as she hit the ground. The maneuver sent monsters flying outwards, bursting into black dust.

“And I don’t know if you’ll remember this after it happens, but just in case you do, I want you to know that it works.” Yang was still going at the conversation, although she might as well have been talking to a brick wall. The girl was loud enough that Raven could hear her clearly through the sounds of battle.   “Your sacrifice gives us enough time to evacuate Atlas. You saved millions of people. At the end of the world, you came through. I know it hurts to lose your sister. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if something happened to my sister. But there’s a whole lot of little sisters who are alive today because of you.”

Did she really believe in that redemption bullshit?  Raven gritted her teeth as she swung Omen down on an encroaching Manticore.

“I know it’s hard to trust me, but you really don’t have to keep fighting. Even if you’ve already done some bad shit for her – you can still make things right. In the future, you make a difference for the better – why not give it a try now?”

Sparing a glance in Yang’s direction, Raven saw that Hazel’s response was a hearty punch to the shoulder. His fist crackled with yellow lightning dust, striking with the power of enough raw concentrated energy to break through stone. The hit was enough to send the girl flying backwards and knock her to the ground.

She moved to get up, but Raven noticed a problem.

A King Taijitu had made it past Team STRQ and was headed directly towards the exposed fighter.

Shit.

Raven couldn’t fly to her – let alone run there in time. Calling a warning wouldn’t be effective. The rest of the fighters were all entangled in their own conflicts – not least of whom was Ruby,  who needed every bit of her focus to keep ahead of Hazel’s enhanced blows now that Yang was temporarily down.

She reached for her links, trying to find one that would get her in the right angle to make a difference, and –

Oh.

A new link blossomed brightly within her chest – thin, but sturdy as a thread of steel.

Raven had never before formed a full bond with someone she had only met a day ago, but she wasn’t going to waste time questioning that.  She wasn’t going to abandon anyone today.

With a decisive swing of Omen, she ripped through to the center of the battle, just in time to neatly bisect the Grimm threatening Yang.

Her daughter whirled, startled at the sudden motion. She managed to lock eyes with Raven, and give a brief nod of recognition before rising to her feet and rushing back to continue keeping Hazel occupied.

Raven returned the nod, even though the girl couldn’t see it.

Then, she turned around to face the wall of Grimm.

* * * * *

Ruby carefully wove through the Grimm near the center of the fight, choosing the path of least resistance for her scythe. Now that Hazel wasn’t attacking her directly, she took the chance to clear out the nearby area, leaving  trail of black dust in her wake.

The monsters still managed to keep coming.

Grimm were getting close enough to the center that Raven had needed to intervene, which meant that they wouldn’t have much more time. They needed to do this now if they were going to pull it off. Ruby was pretty sure she could do it.

She met Yang’s eyes and briefly inclined her head in the signal.

“We’re not giving up yet,” Ruby called out so that the others could hear. It would have been better if they had been able to come up with cool names for each parts of the plan, but unfortunately, they hadn’t had enough time to plan that far.

“Why do you care?” Hazel responded as though Ruby had been talking to him. “Why did you come back to fight? Why die for a headmaster who doesn’t give your lives a second thought? For a world that says little girls like you are expendable?”

Ruby made her way through the recently arrived Grimm (Cresent Rose did most of the work, actually) until she stood back-to-back with her sister.

“Because it’s still our world,” Ruby shouted  to Hazel. “Just because something isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean it’s not worth fighting for.”

She thought that was a pretty good answer, but Hazel rushed forward at them nonetheless. Something about their words (or maybe Yang talking about time travel) had worked him up into a frenzy, face twisted in rage and denial as his fist crackled with multicolored dust. In the moment right before he made impact, Ruby grasped Yang’s hand and stepped into the charging man.

The world was a blur – a literal blur of red and yellow petals – but Ruby could still sense Hazel stumbling forward, unbalanced by the sudden absence of her opponent. She could sense the shift in movement and colors, indicating that the man was now behind them.

The world rushed back into its normal perspective as Ruby swung Yang around by the arm. Yellow petals coalesced into flesh and fire, spinning forward with extra momentum from Ruby’s maneuver.  At the same moment she released her sister, Ruby extended her own hand towards the collar of Hazel’s vest.

Yang’s punch – powered up by multiple hits from Hazel into something that could be described both an inferno and a wrecking ball – struck  the man safely in the back of the head. One hit knock-outs were rare in aura fights, especially against an opponent as tough as Hazel. But Ruby could see the telltale flutter of visible power for just a second, ensuring that Hazel’s aura had been fully depleted.

As the man lurched forward, Ruby maintained a hold of his vest, working it free from his body and saving the dust crystals from colliding with the ground. A strange, bug-like Grimm fell out of the pockets as Ruby landed on the ground.

Now for the hard part.

* * * * *

Summer watched Yang and Ruby pull off their combo- knocking Hazel out clean before he even knew what hit him, and successfully removing his most dangerous tools.

Now, for the next part of the plan.

Even with several years of practicing and some hints from old books and journals that she Oz could find, Summer had never managed to do this intentionally on such short notice before. Really, she had only managed to use her eyes a handful of times, and most of those had involved several long minutes of dedicated focus while her teammates protected her.

Despite trying to work up that same focus for the entirety of this battle, the conditions here weren’t exactly the best for clearing her mind. Relentless Grimm had required her and Ruby to participate in the fighting if they wanted to keep themselves in their teammates safe. Nevertheless, Summer tried to conjure that meditative state of mind – holding tight and letting go all at once, thinking of one thing only.

The ones you want to protect.

The images rose up clearly in Summer’s mind.

She saw Raven’s determined expression as she held off an entire pack of manticores with Omen. The woman rarely showed emotion in battle, but Summer knew her well enough to note the glints of joy and pride in her eyes as she had the chance to use the full breadth of her skill.

She saw Tai’s soft smile, its warmth reflected in his steady blue eyes. Summer loved the way he smiled after making one of his silly puns, but the real prize was that rare smile when she or Qrow managed to make a pun in return – so wide it nearly split its face in half, with shock and delight in equal measure spilling out of his wide eyes. 

She saw Qrow striking with Harbinger  - his face free of any doubts or fears when he protected his teammates. In those moments, his true priorities were so clear.

Ruby. How she looked last night showing off her weapon, pure glee on her face as she rapidly explained each component.

Yang. Squaring off verbally with Tai, unafraid to laugh at her own jokes.

The warmth of Tai’s hand on hers by the fire.

The echo Qrow’s laugh as he told stories.

The feeling of Yang’s embrace as she called her ‘Mom.’

 Waking up with Tai’s arm around her. Her face resting in the softness of Raven’s thick curls.

Ruby’s eyes –

A wash of silver filled the world. The woods erupted with radiance, Ruby at the center of the burst. Summer had never seen it from an outsider’s perspective before. A silver glow had been cast over everything, hazy at first, and then overwhelming the senses entirely.

It’s beautiful, was all Summer could think before her own vision burst into light.

Chapter Text

Raven blinked as the silver light faded from her vision, taking in the view before her. She’d seen Summer’s eyes at work before, but the effect of two silver-eyed warriors using their powers at the same time was on another level entirely.

The roars and shrieks and snarls of the monsters had been replaced by an almost eerie silence. Where before there had been an army, there were now only soft imprints on the forest floor and a scattering of ash in the wind. Not a single Grimm was in sight – they must have taken out hundreds in the brief moments of light.

Not that the silver-eyed warriors had emerged unscathed. Using their eyes for those moments - longer than the single flash Raven had seen before from Summer - rendered both women unconscious. Qrow had swooped in to catch Summer as she fell and was now supporting her weight with his shoulder as he tried to keep her upright.  Yang had simply scooped Ruby up before she hit the ground. She still cradled her sister in her arms as though the younger girl weighed no more than kitten- which Raven strongly doubted, considering the heft of the scythe strapped to the girl’s waist.

“Everyone all in one piece?” Tai called out. He was met with grunts of assent from Raven and Qrow and a “Two pieces, but that’s what I started with,” from Yang. Tai chuckled as he jogged over to his daughters. He put a gentle hand on Ruby’s face, which caused her to murmur slightly. Satisfied that she was okay, Tai gave Yang a brief hug – which she couldn’t return properly with her burdened arms – and then turned to check on Summer.

 Raven felt her own feet move towards Yang and Ruby. Both girls had proven themselves admirably in the battle. Yang fought smartly – even though she took too many hits – and above all she hadn’t backed down. Raven respected that. If respect was the right word for the pleasant feeling that filled her chest, warmth radiating outwards from the tendrils of the new link.  And Ruby was just as capable as her sister– she had better aim than any seventeen-year-old Raven had met, not to mention battle instincts to rival even her mother . . .

“Put me down Yang. I’m fine,” the younger girl muttered softly as she started to regain her facilities.

“Uh huh,” Yang smiled down at her. “And how sure are you that you won’t fall down if I stop holding you?”

“Um… seventy percent sure?”

“Nope. You’re not going anywhere.” Ruby groaned softly.

A smile started to form on Raven’s face. Both girls joked like Tai. But what they had said during the fight – now, that had sounded just like Summer.  

Raven’s smile vanished.

Ruby and Yang were strong and capable. But they had somehow become so without Summer Rose. The unfairness of life had never bothered Raven before. It had seemed like something only the weak complained about to justify their weakness. But now, the injustice of it all burned like a brand under Raven’s skin. Searing her heart. Her lungs. That place deep in her chest where she felt the links of her semblance like warm chains.

They shouldn’t have had to live without Summer. No one should have to live without Summer.

As she made her way across what was left of the battlefield, Raven passed a large lump on the ground. Hazel. He’d been knocked unconscious by Yang’s last blow and was now lying prone and ignored. Without the Grimm or his dust supply, he wasn’t much of a threat. She found herself stopping to examine his face – peaceful in its forced slumber.  

She could hear Summer’s soft voice behind her - their leader had woken up and was offering warm assurances to Qrow and Tai.

Omen was still in Raven’s hand. She hadn’t sheathed it after the fighting ended.

“Veros.”

Raven didn’t look back to see if the face had formed in the mirror. Her eyes remained on Hazel.  Delicately, she lifted the man’s chin with the point of her blade.

“What exactly is a ‘paradox’?”

* * * * *  

Summer felt the mirror at her hip vibrate before she had fully processed Raven’s words. After using her eyes’ magic for more than a few seconds, her aura ended up completely drained. With a groggy mind and shaky limbs, she struggled to make sense of her teammate’s question.

“A paradox is not something your mortal mind needs to worry about comprehending. You all did a satisfactory job of not dying, so fortunately, we do not have to consider the matter further.” There was a note of relief in Veros’ blustering voice.

For some reason, Summer didn’t feel relief. Her eyes had fallen on Raven, standing over Hazel with her sword unsheathed.

“Rae?” she called out, stepping away from Qrow and Tai to shakily stand on her own two feet.

“This man has a soul, too. He’s supposed to make it to the future, too.” The former bandit didn’t take her eyes off the unconscious man at her feet. “Answer me honestly, spirit. Do you know what would happen if he were to die here, instead?”

Summer looked down to the mirror and saw Veros become a noticeably paler shade of blue. “I would not recommend that, Raven Branwen.” His authoritative tone was somewhat undercut by the nervous tremor running through his voice.

“So, you don’t know what would happen.” Raven scoffed. “You don’t know if breaking your stupid rules would let us change the future? Make things better?”

“I really must protest-“

“Can we change things?”  Raven had finally turned around to glare at Veros, her crimson eyes wild.

“Perhaps, but-“

“You’re talking about murder, Rae.” Summer pointed out, trying to find some sense on her teammate’s face.

Raven shrugged. “We can wait ‘till he wakes up if you want. Then it’d probably be self-defense. Or we could try explaining it to him, if you’d rather. They-,” she gestured at Yang and Ruby. “-said he ends up sacrificing himself in their future. Maybe we could convince him to agree to it now.”

“Raven, we can’t ask someone to do that.”

“So it’s okay for you to get yourself killed for a cause, but not anyone else?”  Summer didn’t have a response to that.

“There is more than this man’s life at stake.” Veros sounded increasingly worried. “Not even I can say for certain what would happen - one could only hypothesize the drastic complications that would arise should you perform this extremely inadvisable action.”

“Then tell me.” Raven’s eyes were wild. “What do you think will happen? What’s your ‘hypothesis’, asshole?” She finally moved Omen away from Hazel’s throat only to point its blade at the mirror instead.

“I would posit that there are two possibilities.” Veros said tentatively, in the slow, forcefully calm voice of a man trying to calm a feral animal. “The first of which is that time and space as we know it would simply cease to exist. Remnant. Its moon and sun. The stars and the sky. Everything you know and hold dear. These would all be sucked into the vacuum of impossibility that would arise from this soul being alive and dead at once. As such, I strongly recommend you sheathe your weapon.”

Summer’s breath halted. (And to think that just a couple of hours ago, she couldn’t imagine a worse outcome than losing two entire kingdoms).

“Huh,” Raven, to her credit, looked taken aback by the revelation that the fate of the entire universe was at stake.  “And what’s the other thing that could happen?”

“Raven!” Summer hissed. There wasn’t a way her teammate was actually considering this. . .  was there?

“What?” The former bandit shot back. “Don’t you always say that we should ‘consider all of our options’ before deciding anything?”

Veros gave a deep sigh, clearly regretting having said anything about a second option at all.  “It is possible that such an event  - a soul both extinguished and aflame - would resolve itself not by collapsing the timeline, but rather by splitting it into two. Two individual realities: the one that young Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long have come from - where the man’s soul ran its course -  and a different reality where you stop that from happening.” A hungry expression formed in Raven’s eyes as she heard the words. The rest of the clearing was dead silent- all six fighters intent on Veros’ description.

“This would still be nearly catastrophic to the essence of time and space, however, as two realities would never be able to touch again. The reflection would never be complete. You would retain the memories of today, but your future selves in the other timeline would never receive them. Nor would your future children be able to return to the original plane of existence. They would remain trapped in the new reality for the rest of their days.” Veros looked significantly at Ruby and Yang before returning his gaze to Raven. “And as I said previously, there is no way to know which outcome would arise from such a paradox -the previous mortals I encountered were not so . . . violent. I-Halt!  I must insist you cease this course of action at once!”  That last part was directed at Raven, as she moved Omen to point at Hazel’s neck once again.

Tai spoke up first, “Is this . . . worth considering?” His eyes moved from Veros to Raven before landing on Summer. “I mean . . . the chance to save everyone.” His tone left no doubt who he meant by ‘everyone.’

“Something that risky? With my luck?” Qrow looked deeply troubled. “You wanna bet the end of the universe on that?” His tone lacked any conviction in the challenge.

“I – I don’t know about this, Mom.” Yang moved closer to Raven with Ruby in tow, seemingly addressing the comment to her biological mother. The girl’s younger sister was upright now, but still leaned on Yang for support. Both their expressions were hollow and pained. “Speaking from experience, when these blue guys give you a warning, it’s not something to be taken lightly.”

“You said it yourself,” Raven looked back and forth from Yang to Summer. “It’s the end of the world where you come from. Salem can’t be killed but everyone else is headed in that direction anyway.  Even if the time-space whatever breaks and everyone dies, it’s not like it’d be any different. It would just make things end faster. What if we could actually change things – what if we could make a world where Salem doesn’t get that far?”

Summer felt an awful hope inside. Changing the future . .  . A world where she could take the warnings from another timeline and use them to live the life she planned. Where she could push back against Salem and let her teammates and children and herself live in peace.

But . . .

Summer had apparently already gotten the opportunity to confront Salem in the future. And she had failed. Who was to say she would do any better with a second chance?  The burden of the whole world – let alone all of time and space - was too much for one woman to bear. Could she really change that?  

“A world where I don’t leave.” Raven’s voice had taken on a strange quality as she continued. “A world where Summer doesn’t die. A world where I don’t hurt Tai. A world where you two can stay here with us instead of going off alone to die for Oz. Don’t you want that?” Her wild crimson eyes turned to Ruby. “Kid, you said you’d give anything to get Summer back – well, here’s your chance!”

Both Yang and Ruby looked stricken. They stared at Raven wide-eyed, faces a mix of horror and longing.  “I . . . “ Ruby began, voice filled with pain. Raven was asking them to make an impossible choice.  Returning to their home all while knowing they passed up an opportunity to make it better, to save their family. Or leaving their old friends and family behind – worse, risking the lives of everyone they loved – for a chance at their own new happy life. It didn’t matter which option they chose – it was the kind of choice that would leave a soul permanently scarred.

Now this was a burden that Summer could take on.

“Is there still a chance?” she addressed Ruby and Yang. Both girls turned to her, confused.

“In your future, if you go back, do you have a chance at defeating Salem?”

Her daughters paused to consider. Both girls steeped in thought for several heavy moments before Ruby spoke up.

“Yes.” Her silver eyes looked worn beyond their years. “Things aren’t looking good … But we haven’t lost yet. There’s still a chance.”

“Then we’re going to take it.” Summer was surprised at the confidence in her own voice.

“What?” Raven whipped around to face Summer. “But we can make things right. Isn’t that what you’re always going on about? Being a leader and saving the world and shit?”

“This is making things right, Rae.” Summer sighed. “If we try to cause a paradox, we don’t know what will happen. We can’t risk the fate of the entire universe to chance. If I have to choose between trusting the unknown and trusting my team, I’ll choose my team every time.”  

“Summer,” Tai’s voice cut in behind her. “Are you sure about this? I mean . . . you’ll die.” His voice cracked on the last word.

Summer took a deep breath. “Yes,” she said. “Even if we could guarantee that we’d start a new world, I wouldn’t do it. What’s the point in living longer if you can’t live with yourself?”

She looked at her team. “It sounds like we’ll make some mistakes in the future. That means we have to fix them. Ourselves. Even if it’s the hard way. I may not be able to fix my own, but I’m not going to make any more mistakes today.  We’re not going to take stupid chances. We’re not going to abandon the future we’ve already created. We’re not going to leave our future selves without their children.”

Tai let out a pained sigh of agreement, turning around to hide his tears.

“What do you care about our future selves?” Raven sneered. “They’re the reason we’re in this mess in the first place. We can be better than that if we keep our memories from here. If you don’t want to get your hands dirty, that’s fine. But let me do it for you.” A pleading tone had entered her teammate's voice, verging on desperation. “I’d rather live in the world where I kill for you than in the world where I let you die.”

Those wild, broken eyes of this version of Raven tugged at Summer’s heartstrings until something snapped.

“First of all,” Summer started in her team-leader-giving-orders voice. “You’re not ‘letting’ me do anything, Rae. If I get myself killed in the future, that’s on me. Not you.”

She took another step forward so that there was barely a few inches of distance between her and the other woman.

“Second of all, I know you, Raven Branwen.” Summer fixed her gaze on the crimson eyes, almost directly above her own. ”I know you don’t actually want to blow up the universe. I know you don’t want to put Yang and Ruby through any more pain than we apparently already have. I know you don’t want to run away from anything else today.” Something flickered in Raven’s face – a signal Summer was hitting the mark. “I care about you - no matter what the future has in store. I’m not going to let you do this. I’m not going to let any version of you be abandoned just to try to create some better, selfish life,” She forcefully put her hand on Raven’s weapon-laden one. What was it Ruby had said earlier?  “Just because something isn’t perfect, doesn’t mean it’s not worth fighting for. You can be better, I know that. I know you care. I know you want what’s best for your teammates.  You deserve another chance. But you can still have that chance in the future timeline. I want you to have a life worth living there.” Raven’s eyes had squeezed tightly shut.  

“Oz always says ‘‘True leadership is knowing the right person for the job,’ and think I get it, now. This decision is up to me, but saving the world-“ Summer took a deep breath. “That’s up to all of you. I couldn’t do it alone, but I think you all are the right people for the job. I trust you. I trust you all to make things right without me.” Summer used her grip on Raven’s hand to gently move Omen’ s blade away from Hazel’s throat.

“But I don’t want to save the world without you.” Summer had never seen Raven cry before, but she did so freely now. Tears streaked down her face, clearly visible as they tracked through the dirt and ash from the battle. “I don’t want you to die.  I don’t want to leave Tai. I don’t want to be alone.” The expression on Raven’s face – utter pain and misery and longing - was entirely new territory for the both of them.

“I know,” she said as she wrapped her arms around Raven. The other woman returned the hug so tightly that Summer could barely breathe.  As Raven’s return hugs were usually no more than light touches and awkward pats, Summer was taken by surprise from the feeling of the other woman’s body wrapped around hers. If this were any other circumstance, she would have reveled in the moment, made it last as long as possible. But for now, she had to keep her momentum.

“I don’t want to lose you either, Rae,” Summer said into Raven’s hair. “But you don’t have to be alone.”

As if on cue, Tai joined the hug, his muscular arms wrapping around both Summer and Raven. “I don’t want to be alone either.” Summer could feel the dampness of his tears running down her face. “Gods, why does doing the right thing always have to be so hard?”

“We’re Team STRQ, “ Summer managed in reply, “We’re not going to do things the easy way.” She could feel Tai’s sob-wracked chuckle against her body.

“Damn right,” Qrow stepped in on the other side of Tai. “But no one’s going to be alone. Not when I’m around.”

After a few moments,  Ruby and Yang joined in as well, making them a tight six-person knot.
“We can’t change the past.” Summer spoke definitively, despite holding back tears. “You’re just  going to have to change the future when you get there.”

When they finally stopped the embrace after a few minutes, Raven returned Omen to its sheath.

*  * * * *

Tai grasped Summer’s hand tightly as the six of them walked back to the previous night’s camp. He had offered his arm as a supportive gesture on account of her being worn out from using her silver eyes. That excuse was pretty flimsy considering Summer’s other hand was being held by Ruby, who had been just as affected by the magic. But if Summer noticed, she didn’t say anything, only squeezing his hand occasionally as they walked.

The return trip started out quietly after they’d left the unconscious Hazel safely tied up in the clearing. But it had only taken a few minutes of awkward silence before Ruby had stepped in to try to fill it. Their daughter was now talking animatedly about her own experiences with the silver-eyed power. Tai had to keep examining her face to double check for any signs that she was joking – a giant Wyvern at the top of Beacon’s tower, a maiden who was part Grimm, a Leviathan off the coast of Argus – it all seemed crazy.

Summer smiled along with Ruby’s stories, giving Tai’s hand a squeeze whenever they heard one of the crazy parts. 

“But I’ve never done it with anyone else before, Mom. That was so cool! We should give that combo a name!”

“Hmm,” Summer considered for a moment. “What about ‘Silver Bloom’?”

Ruby’s eyes lit up. “Oohh I like that! Or maybe something like  ‘Double-Take’?” She made a chopping motion with her free hand as she said it, causing Summer to laugh.

“What about ‘Four-Eyes’?” Tai suggested. Summer and Ruby looked at him blankly.

“Because, it’s you each have two,” he explained in case they didn’t get it.

Summer sighed.

“Yeah, maybe we should workshop that one, Dad,”  Ruby offered.

“Hey, I’ll stick to my puns,” he said proudly. “You can stick to turning Wyverns to stone with your eyeballs. “

This got a laugh from both Summer and Ruby, the sound lifting away some of Tai’s tension from the fight and . . . everything else that had happened.

“You really have been through so much,” Summer mused aloud.

Ruby’s cheeks flushed slightly. “Well, I didn’t go through it alone.”

Summer smiled. “I don’t think anyone could. Not when the key is protecting the people you care about.” Her eyes met Tai’s own for a moment and he squeezed her hand in response.

“Riiiiight . . .” Their daughter looked back and forth between them.

“Welp,  I’m going to go check on Uncle Qrow,” Ruby released Summer’s hand and trotted forward to catch up with the man. But not before catching Tai’s eyes  - with her own silver pair that had apparently turned some of the most feared creatures in Remnant into stone – and giving a knowing wink. 

Leaving Tai alone with Summer.

Had he just been wingmanned by his future daughter?

“Wow,” Tai grinned at Summer. “Our kid is really something, huh?”

She laughed – the sound ringing through the trees. “Yes, she is… Both of them are.”

Right. Apparently Summer would raise Yang too. And that would happen sometime after Raven left, but before Summer died. The future . . .

Tai let go of Summer’s hand and moved to put his arm around her shoulders instead, pulling her into him as tightly as he could without disrupting their walking.

“The future’s going to be hard,” Tai’s words were barely more than a whisper.

“Yes,” Summer replied just as softly. She leaned into him, putting her arm around his waist. “But I know you’re up to the challenge.”

Her head rested on his shoulder as they walked. Soft, red-tinged hair brushed his cheek.

“You’re a Huntsman. It’s what you do.”

“I know,” Tai sighed. “But I was kind of hoping all of the challenges would lead to a happy ending.”

“Your story’s not over yet.” Summer said breezily from her place on his shoulder. “I bet you can make it a happy one.”

Tai pulled away  to look at her face. Her smile was soft and sad, but genuine. He stared back incredulously.

“But - it all seems so pointless,” he said, digging out the words buried deep in his chest.

“No, I don’t think it is,” Summer replied in her usual confident tone – a sharp change from the doubtful self she had been last night.

“But everything you do will be for nothing in the end. Raven will leave. You’ll die. None of that happiness is going to last.”

“No, nothing is what would happen if time-space paradox destroyed the entire universe. Yang said we would have a few good years together at least. It might not be all happy, but . . .  the future could be a lot worse than a few good years with you.”

Summer sighed before continuing. “I don’t know if those few years we have will be enough. I don’t know if they’ll outweigh all of the pain. I don’t know if I’ll get to do everything I wanted in my life. That’s … well, I’m glad I won’t remember that part in a few hours.” A bit of darkness shadowed Summer’s face before clearing into another smile. “But at least we’ll have a few good years. That’s better than nothing. And hey, you still have your whole rest of your life ahead of you, you know – after you save the world.”

This time, Tai wrapped both of his arms around Summer. For a few moments, he felt nothing besides her soft body pressed up against his, uncaring that they were slipping further and further behind their teammates.

“I think,” Summer spoke into his chest, “That at the end, I’ll be glad I spent the time with you.”

Tai tucked a stray lock of her hair behind her ear. “Me too.”

 They stayed there, intertwined, for a few moments that felt blessedly longer than they were. 

“What do you think,” Tai spoke up softly after they had started walking again, “that it will be like together? Do you think we’ll go dancing together? Or make pancakes every morning? Or maybe get a dog together?”

Summer laughed softly. “I think,” her silver eyes brightened, “that whatever we do – we’ll be happy.”

Chapter Text

As the party made their way back to camp, Raven found herself walking alongside Yang. The blonde girl moved at a brisk pace, seemingly more interested in the way to their destination than in making conversation with her mother. But Raven wasn’t one to give up  . . .at least the current version of her wasn’t.

“So… you’re a pretty good fighter,” she started.

Yang sighed. “Thanks, Mom.” The sarcasm in her tone was so thick it made Raven’s skin prickle. “I’m also good at telling jokes, dancing, and fixing motorcycles, but you wouldn’t care about any of those weak things, would you?”

Raven felt the sting of her words as the two continued their walking. For a few moments, the only sound was the faint trailing of Ruby’s voice from where she was talking to Qrow somewhere behind them.

“I …,” Raven started to speak at the exact same time Yang said, “I’m sorry.”

Raven looked up at her daughter in surprise. Yang spoke with gritted teeth. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I know you were just trying to be nice.”

Raven was not the type of woman to be nice- she was only recognizing strength when she saw it. Still, she didn’t object to her daughter’s description.

 “I know that there’s a part of you deep down somewhere that actually does care a little bit.” Yang continued, the anger in voice receding, if only slightly. “If there wasn’t, you wouldn’t have come for us earlier, or helped me out in the fight. You wouldn’t have done what you did back there – trying to break the universe, or whatever. That was pretty stupid, by the way, but I can understand why you did it.” Raven frowned, but Yang kept speaking.  “And in the future, if you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have come to Vacuo.  Hell, you wouldn’t have been a creepy bird stalker throughout my childhood.” Yang paused for a dry laugh before her face grew serious again.

“But it’s hard, you know. Even if you’re here now – or in Vacuo - how can I see you without thinking of all the times you weren’t there for me? How can I get used to you being around if I’m not sure whether you’re just going to leave again? I mean, if actually caring doesn’t stop you from leaving, then what will?” Yang’s eyes remained a steady violet, but the air around her seemed to have risen a few degrees in temperature.

An uncomfortable feeling was burrowing in Raven’s chest. As a rule, she never cared what anyone thought of her. There had only been one time in her life when she had been concerned with how others viewed her: the day she and Qrow had revealed their bandit status to Summer and Tai. Beforehand, she had told herself that her teammates’ opinions didn’t matter, as long as their mission succeeded. It was only after they had welcomed her with literal open arms that Raven had realized the pit in her stomach, the dryness in her throat, and her uncomfortably fast heartbeat had all suddenly disappeared after plaguing her for months. Now after the events of today,  those sensations – the guilt, the worry, the shame- were stronger than they’d ever been. Raven already knew that this time, absolution would not come as easily.

“In the future, did I ever tell you why I left?” Perhaps if she knew she had said, she could find the right thing to say now.

“Nope.” Yang packed an impressive amount of bitterness into the single syllable. Inwardly, Raven cursed her future self.

“If it makes a difference, I don’t want to go back to the tribe,” she offered, putting in effort to sound sincere – it didn’t come naturally to her. “I want to stay with Summer. And Tai. And you.”

“I believe you, Mom.” Yang’s sad smile did nothing to stop the swirling uncomfortable feeling in Raven’s chest. “I just don’t know if that makes it better or worse.”

Damn. Talking to people had never seemed a skill worth developing until now. Raven hadn’t even known it was a skill at all until coming to Beacon.  Her lips tightened.  What would Summer or Tai do?

“I’m sorry,” Raven could count on one hand the number of times she’d said those words, but she didn’t hesitate to use them now. “Or…” She paused for a moment. ”Do I still say that if I haven’t done any of the things I’m sorry for yet?” She frowned.

Yang chuckled humorlessly. “I guess it couldn’t hurt.”

The two walked in silence for a bit – a slightly easier silence than had been there before.

“Yang,” Raven tried to find the right words as the sunlight of their destination’s clearing came into view. “The things I’ve done in the future-   Is it possible for us . . . can we . . .   make things better between you and me?”

Her daughter sighed - a sound long and deep enough that it almost seemed a rejection in itself.

But then, Yang continued. “I don’t know, Mom.” She turned to look at Raven, her violet eyes cautious, yet considering, “But . . .  I guess I might be willing to give it a try if you are.”

Raven’s mouth formed a smile without her realizing. She felt lighter, part of the burden lifted off of her shoulders. She would do it, in the future. Raven Branwen never backed down from a challenge. She would earn back her daughter’s trust, no matter what it would take.

But first... There were other conversations she needed to have today.

* * * * *

Yang knelt down by the stream besides Ruby as they refilled the camp’s water supply. It had still been a bit before noon when they’d arrived back at the camp, giving them a few good hours before they were sent back to the future – just enough time that the six of them would benefit from the chore.

Her sister’s brow was furrowed in concentration as she placed each container beneath the cool stream. She appeared calm, entirely focused on the menial task , and not at all bothered by the events of the day or the fact that their time was drawing short. That wouldn’t be too atypical for Ruby – her little sister could take nearly anything in stride. But ever since they had gotten back from the Ever After, Yang wasn’t going to make any assumptions about how Ruby was feeling.   

And there was something she needed to get off her chest.

“Ruby, listen - I’m sorry.”

The younger girl looked up in surprise as Yang continued.

“I shouldn’t have let my anger get the better of me this morning. I know you wanted to spar with Mom, and it’s my fault you didn’t get the chance.” Since arriving in Vacuo, Yang had promised herself that she’d be the best big sister that she probably could. Now that most of the day’s excitement had hopefully worn down, that broken promise felt heavy in her chest.

“Pssh, don’t worry about that Yang,” Ruby’s tone was cheerful, and she offered a genuine smile. “I got to fight with Mom. That’s waaayyy better. Did you see how well our plan worked? And when we both used our silver eyes?” Those eyes were practically glowing now as she spoke.

A grin crossed Yang’s face for a moment. “Yeah, that was pretty awesome.” She helped Ruby pack up the rest of the water.

“But still,” Yang went on. “I shouldn’t have said those things. This was our one chance with Mom and I made everything worse. I let my anger get the better of me. And I shouldn’t have done that, especially not when it wasn’t your plan.”

Ruby looked out across the stream, letting the silence sit for a few moments before speaking up. “I don’t think there was ever going to be a good way to tell them what happened. It would have hurt no matter what.  At least you got it over with quickly, and it’s all in the open now.” 

Of course Ruby would be trying to think on the positive side. Yang let herself smile as Ruby continued.

“Besides, you’re allowed to be angry sometimes, you know. I think I remember someone telling me about how it was important to get our feelings out and not let them eat away at us from the inside without telling anyone.” Ruby raised an eyebrow at her sister.

Huh. Yang was still pretty sure that her blowing up had done more harm than good, but she couldn’t deny that she felt  a little . . . lighter now that she’d said everything she’d wanted to say to Raven and Mom. The good along with the bad.

“Using my own words against me, huh sis?” Yang chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Or I’m right, I mean.”

Ruby gave her a playful shoulder-check, knocking away some of Yang’s worries.

“I’m going to miss this,” Ruby said after a moment, a hint of solemnity flickering in her otherwise bright tone. “But, it’s been really nice while it lasted. Getting to know Mom. Watching her be a kick-ass Huntress. Seeing her and Team STRQ together – especially Dad. I’ve never seen him so happy.”

“Yeah, and he’s totally clueless, too.” Yang said, which got a giggle from Ruby. “And it’s weird that Raven’s kind of . . . easy to talk to here.” The woman had actually said more than two sentences in their conversation just now. And she had even apologized.

Ruby nodded, thoughtful. “Maybe things will be different when we get back to Vacuo.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Yang shrugged. “For one thing, I’m not sure I’ll ever look at Uncle Qrow the same way again. Not after seeing his baby face.”

She grinned as Ruby erupted into another fit of giggles.

“So,” Once the younger girl had stopped laughing, Yang gestured to the filled water containers. “Should we take these back?”

Her sister considered, and then shook her head. “Let’s wait a few minutes longer. It’s their last day together, too.”

Yang nodded. When she was younger, she thought she’d been good with people. She never would have thought her shy little sister would end up having the best leadership skills on Remnant, but Yang wasn’t going to complain.

“Let’s not wait too long, though.” She shot a mischievous smile at Ruby. “I want to make sure I have enough time to tell Mom about the time your grade school had to call Dad in from Signal because you took Harbinger while Qrow was sleeping and brought it into third-grade show and tell.”  

The event had absolutely mortified Tai - their grade school was not designed for Huntress training, and Ruby had apparently nearly given her teacher a heart attack and violated several safety policies when she pulled out a fully-functioning scythe/sword/rifle. But as soon as Qrow had gotten over the humiliation of being disarmed by an eight-year-old, he’d started telling the story proudly to any Huntsman he met.

Ruby gasped in mock indignation. “You wanna start telling embarrassing childhood stories, do you?” She returned Yang’s wicked smile.  “Oh, you’re so on, Xiao Long.  Bold move from the girl who set the photographer on fire during fifth grade picture day.”

Eh.  Yang didn’t mind that story too much.  First of all, she’d barely singed the man, and second, she’d given him enough warning not to touch her hair that he’d definitely had it coming.

Ruby narrowed her eyes in focus, sensing Yang’s indifference. “Or maybe I could tell talk about the time you crashed your bike into the literal broad side of a barn – I bet Mom would love to hear that one.”

Oh, so it was on, was it?  Yang cracked her knuckles.

“Oh, don’t worry, Rubes. I’m not going to start a story war that I can’t finish.  Do you remember…”

* * * * *

The team had been back at the camp for all of five minutes when Raven approached Tai.

“We need to talk, partner,” she told him before grabbing his wrist and leading him a ways into the nearby woods.

This was far from the first time he’d had physical contact with Raven. Not counting the dozens of times they’d pulled each other out of the way in combat situations, there had been quite a few shared high fives and hugs. But all of those had been initiated by Tai. And none of them had lasted nearly this long.  The warm feeling of Raven’s hand on his arm was nearly enough to make him forget everything that was going to happen.

Nearly.  

Over the past three years, he’d gotten so used to having her around. Listening to her make caustic comments under her breath during Beacon lectures. Seeing her glower when he told her ‘good morning’. Knowing that if he was injured, he could count on a red and black portal to appear – his partner casually breaking the laws of physics to help him out.

He hadn’t been surprised when she had come to their rescue earlier. Even after everything Yang and Ruby had said, even after Raven’s devastated face before she flew away, even after he’d nearly gone catatonic thinking about it, Tai hadn’t doubted once that she would come for him, deep down. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the idea of a day when she wouldn’t come. When he would need her and the air around him would remain quiet and undisturbed.

Tai sighed as Raven released his arm. He and Summer would have a few years to be a family, that was good. But how long would he and Raven have?  He wished he could go back to last night – when he had thought there was a chance for all three of them  to all be happy together. He’d only held the dream for a few hours, but he felt its loss like a ragged emptiness in his heart. A whole, perfect life ripped right out of his soul.

“I’m sorry.”

The words startled Tai out of his reverie. He didn’t think he’d ever heard Raven apologize before. Her face looked uncharacteristically genuine in its regret.

“You . . . haven’t done anything wrong yet.” He pointed out.  Maybe some people would consider her potentially universe-destroying stunt earlier to be something that warranted an apology, but Tai couldn’t bring himself to place any blame. She’d wanted to make things better for Summer. For him. Thinking about it made that awful ball of emotions in his chest a lot more twisty and confusing.

“Unless,” Tai continued, “you’re apologizing for the time you were hungover and sliced through my alarm clock with Omen, which I already forgave you for. Or the time you stole my milk out of the team fridge and blamed it on Qrow. Or the time you called Sleepless in Solitas  the ‘most unrealistic movie you’d ever seen’. Or-“

“I’m trying to say something here, dumbass.” Raven glared at him.

Tai mimed zipping his lips and gestured for her to continue.  She continued glaring in silence for a few moments, her mouth occasionally twitching in starts and stops as if she didn’t actually know what she was trying to say.

“I like you.” She managed eventually. Tai raised his eyebrows, but he felt his stupid heart quicken in his chest.

“I like having you around. I like that you’re different from all the assholes in my tribe. I like that you actually care about people. I like that you want more from life than survival and strength. I even like your stupid jokes … sometimes.” She narrowed her eyes as though to make sure Tai didn’t get the wrong idea, although it was definitely already too late for that.

”I don’t think future-me was wrong for choosing you,” Raven continued evenly. “I think she’s a godsdamn idiot for leaving you. And when she remembers this one day, she better fucking fly right back to you and tell you that she’s the world’s biggest dumbass.”

At this, Tai could only stare at Raven. Her face shifted the longer he looked – unfamiliar flickers of doubt and worry crossing her features after making the confession.

“You . . . like my jokes?” he finally spoke up. “Yeah, I should have known you’d be ravin’ about them.”

Raven gave an exasperated sigh.  Her eyes burned with crimson annoyance as she obviously reconsidered her decision to not kill anyone today. But Tai could see something else underneath – something profoundly hopeful . . .  and a little sad. He wondered suddenly, if their time together would be worth the pain.  He wondered if she would miss him when she left.

Then he felt himself being pushed backwards and he was no longer wondering anything at all. All he could think about was the way her hands felt against him – one on his chest, pinning him to the tree behind him, the other tracing his face – and the way her mouth was pressed against his.

 She kissed him hungrily, like she was already making up for the life they would spend apart. He kissed her back, hands tangling in her thick hair, fingers moving down her spine,  pulling her body close against his own. His gentle overtures were outmatched by his partner’s sheer ferocity, but Tai didn’t mind in the least.

When they finally separated, Tai could not say how long the kiss had lasted. As he looked down at Raven, he couldn’t have wiped the grin from his face if he tried. She briefly offered one of her own rare smiles in return.

“We should get back. The others are waiting for us.” Without any further comment, she turned on her heels and headed towards the camp.

Tai stood there dumbly for a few minutes, staring at the path where she’d gone. Then he gave a low, choking laugh – equal parts joy and pain.

“I’m going to marry that woman one day.”

He turned and jogged to catch up with her.

* * * * *

Qrow helped as Summer organized the camp – packing up the bedrolls, putting away their equipment, disposing of the trash ethically and responsibly. They both knew there was no point – once the mirror’s spell ended, all of their belongings would end up right back where they started before the time capsule. Summer seemed to find the act meditative anyway.  Qrow didn’t argue. He knew his partner couldn’t stand to see a problem that she wasn’t fixing.

Yang and Ruby had gone to fetch water and Tai and Raven had stalked off to gods-know-where. At least wherever they were seemed to be blessedly out of Qrow’s hearing distance. Now it was just him and Summer in the increasingly tidy remains of last night’s campsite.

He watched Summer’s face carefully. She had been his partner for over three years. He’d had a front row seat to all the qualities that made her Beacon’s top Huntress -in-training: the sheer confidence that could stop a Goliath in its tracks, the determination to do the right thing even if it was stupid, that winding, mumbling thought process that led her to make plans even their Combat Strategy professor hadn’t thought of before. He knew that she thrived as a leader – that she was at the top of her game when all of her team was present.  That was Summer, the real Summer.

 But sometimes… whenever it was just the two of them, he caught a rare glimpse of a different side to his partner – the woman who didn’t have a team to lead. She was quieter, less certain, but no less Summer.

That version of Summer sat down on one of the logs they’d placed last night, eyes locked on the charred remains of the fire.  Qrow sat down next to her.

“Do you think we could have done it?” She asked without preamble. “If I didn’t go off on my own? Could we have saved the world together if I was a better leader?”

“You know,” Qrow stared at the empty fire pit as well. “Someone told me once that I couldn’t blame myself for everything. That if I can’t know whether something is really my fault, then it’s a waste of energy to worry about it.  And that instead of focusing on my semblance or bullshit hypotheticals, I should be focusing on trying to do the best I can.” He turned to look at Summer. “Or is it that I should be focusing on trying to pass History? I can’t remember.”

That got a small laugh. Qrow felt the corners of his mouth go up at the sound.

“Thanks, Qrow.” She smiled back at him, prompting a sudden rush of warmth in his chest. “What would I do without you?”

“What would I do without you?” The words came out sadder than he had intended. Thoughts of the empty, Summer-less future now spreading out of his head and into his voice.

Summer gave a short, dry chuckle. “You’d teach my daughter how to fight, that’s what. And apparently you’d do a damn good job of it, too.”

Qrow laughed at that too, despite the ache in his chest.

It was strange. To know that there was someone he wouldn’t let down in the future – some way that Qrow would manage to stop something from falling apart.  

“Thank you, by the way.” Summer’s voice turned earnest. “I guess I won’t get to say it, so thank you for looking after them for me.”

Qrow felt the pain in his chest suddenly weigh him down, dragging him towards the floor. What else wouldn’t they get to say to each other?

“You were right.” He said suddenly.

“Not surprising.” Summer raised an eyebrow, a slight smile on her face. “But, what in particular was I right about this time?”

“My semblance.” Qrow explained. “It can bring good things, too. It got me you as a partner and I know for a fact that meeting you was the best godsdamned luck I’ve ever had.”

Summer froze for a moment, as if startled by the intensity of his words. Then she moved closer next to him and placed her head on his shoulder. For a while, they just sat together. He could feel the subtle motions in her body as she breathed in and out.

“I’m so lucky to have you, too.” Summer said after a while. He knew that those words in that order weren’t too uncommon of a phrase – he’d rolled his eyes at them in enough movies, But when Summer said them, they sounded anything but cliché. He could hear that she meant every single syllable.

 He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to blink away the wet obstructions in his eyes.  His efforts were interrupted by the sounds of footsteps coming into the camp. Before Qrow could decide whether or not to turn his head to see the newcomer at the risk of disrupting the woman on his shoulder, Tai sat down on their leader’s other side.

Without speaking, the blonde man nodded towards the pair. He put his own arm around Summer, his fingers stretching all the way to land comfortably on Qrow’s back. Raven sat down on Tai’s other side, reaching one of her hands forward to touch Summer’s over Tai’s lap. Qrow raised an eyebrow as his sister leaned up close against her partner. Both newcomers’ hair was noticeably messier than it had been the last time he had seen them.

Team STRQ sat together for a length of time Qrow didn’t bother trying to measure. The only sound was four sets of breathing and the gentle whistle of wind through the leaves.

“So,” Qrow eventually broke the silence. “If you knew today was your last day, how would you want to spend it?”

At that moment, the campsite’s peace was broken by a burst of petals, forming into a laughing red-cloaked girl. Yang followed Ruby into the clearing - laughing as well, but also panting slightly as though she had chased her sister the entire way back to the campsite.

Summer lifted her head from Qrow’s shoulder to look at each of her three teammates and her two daughters in turn.

“I think,” she spoke with a slow, contemplative tone. “I would want to spend it with my family.”

Chapter Text

“No, your strategy is solid,” Mom nodded to herself as she considered. “I can’t think of anything I would do differently in your shoes.”

Ruby nodded too. It would have been too much to hope for that Summer Rose could come up with some world-saving-super-strategy to turn the tide against Salem, but it had been worth a shot anyway.

“It’s hard to believe she can’t be killed,” Mom continued thoughtfully. “I mean, sure, It’s not like I thought we could defeat the Queen of the Grimm by punching her really hard –“

“Been there, tried that,” Yang muttered under her breath.

“But if nothing can defeat her at all . . .  I just wish Oz would have told us so that- Wait, what?” Summer fixed Yang with a disapproving expression.

Ruby’s sister chuckled nervously – more chagrined than Ruby had ever seen her. “I, uh, punched Salem in the uh, chest. It didn’t work.”

“Why would you do that?” Mom sounded mildly horrified.

“Uh, for you – kind of,” Yang said sheepishly.

“Well if you ever see her again, do me a favor and don’t punch her for me, okay?”

Summer turned back to Ruby. “I think your idea is the right way to go  - keep working on uniting your people while dividing hers, and in the meantime try to find out if that curse of hers can be broken.” She frowned. “I wonder what role the silver eyes play in this. If they can’t kill her, then what threat do we pose that’s worth hunting us down?”

“Oh! Mom!” Ruby’s words softened the thoughtful expression on Summer’s face. “I wanted to ask- do you have any tips for using the silver eyes? Any tricks for activating them? Or making the laser power stronger or anything?”

Yang took that as her cue to leave. Ruby watched her sister trot off to the other side of camp to chat with Uncle Qrow about something.

“I’m not sure I have anything to offer that you don’t already know.” Mom frowned. “You were much faster than I was during that battle back there. All I really know is that they only work when I’m in the right mindset – when I’m thinking of the moments I want to last forever and the people I want to keep safe.”

Ruby nodded – it would have been too much to hope for Mom to have a secret all powerful eye-technique as well.

“But I guess there is one thing that might help,” Summer’s tone brightened a bit. “I’ve tried several different ways to practice: meditation, and mindfulness, and mental training drills. But I measured the results – as best as I could in battle - and none of those have given me any significant improvements in using the powers any faster or any longer. But . . . there is something I realized.”  Mom’s eyes hard started to shine a bit as she continued in her explanation, as though enjoying the lecture. (Would she have ended up a teacher like Dad and Uncle Qrow?)  “The times I improve are when I haven’t been spending all of my time practicing –it’s when I spend more time my team. If we end up creating new memories, and I try to focus on enjoying the time with those people I care about. That’s when I notice the difference. That’s what makes it easier the next time I use it.”

“Hmm,” Ruby nodded. “Spend more time with the people I care about? That doesn’t sound too hard– I bet meeting you has helped a lot!” Mom smiled at that. “Maybe I can figure out a trick to it that can hurt Salem somehow,” Ruby added with a hopeful smile.

Summer’s own smile faltered in return. “That shouldn’t be something  you have to do on your own.”

Ruby found herself using her Team Leader voice. “That shouldn’t be something you had to try and do on your own either.”

Mom gave a small laugh despite the tears starting to glisten at the corners of her eyes. “Ruby, I’m so sorry.” She reached for Ruby’s hand as more tears formed. “For leaving you with this.” Her tone was so sincere. So sad.

“It’s not your fault.” Ruby said immediately. (Mom shouldn’t be the sad one here.)

“It is, though.” Summer sighed. “And we’ll both pay the price for it. I wish I didn’t have to ask you to fix my mistakes. Promise me - Promise me that you won’t try to take on that burden alone.”

“I promise.”

She wasn’t going to break that either. Not when she knew she’d see those intense, teary silver eyes any time she even thought about it.

“I may not know how to defeat Salem,” Mom continued. “But I know that if you try and you work with everyone at your side, you’ll get a lot farther than I do. Just like you described in your plan: if you can’t use the silver eyes as a weapon, you can use them as a rallying point – a symbol of hope to bring everyone together. A light in the darkness.”

Ruby inhaled sharply. “But-” She hesitated. She hadn’t said this part out loud before, despite all of her team and family’s best attempts to listen to her problems. But if there was ever a time to say it, it was now. “What if . . . I’m not the right person for that? Even if I don’t have to kill Salem and all I have to do is be a symbol, what if I can’t even do that? I know I’m supposed to be myself, and I even want to be myself – I mean, Ruby Rose is pretty great.” Her choice in the Ever After had made it easier to face these doubts, but it did nothing to stop the fact that she still had to face them. To choose her own best path forward every day and keep choosing it. “But to have all of those people look up to me when I don’t even know for sure if our plan will work . . . what if . . . what if I can’t be a light in the darkness because the darkness is inside of me, too?” 

Ruby turned her head down and closed her eyes, so that she wouldn’t have to see Mom’s face in response.

She felt warm arms reach around her, pulling her in tightly.

“I don’t know all of the answers, either,” Summer admitted as she stroked Ruby’s hair. “But I know this: The things you’ve said and done today. To me. To Raven -from what she told me, at least. Even to Hazel.” She paused for a moment to hold Ruby tighter. “You shine brighter than anyone I’ve met.  Maybe you can overcome that darkness. Maybe it will help you shine even brighter. I don’t know. But one thing I can say for sure is that even if it’s hard – even if you need a lot of help from your friends – I know you’ll keep trying. And that’s more important than anything else.”

Ruby returned her mother’s hug with all of the strength in her arms. They stayed together for several wonderful moments before Ruby withdrew, finally opening her eyes to see Mom’s own silver pair smiling back at her, a look of pure love and pride on her face.

“Hey,” Yang called out once the two women had separated. “We might all be too low on aura for sparring, but how about a friendly little family shooting contest?” She flicked her wrists to extend her gauntlets. “Not to say I’m going down without a fight, but I’ll put down fifty lien that Ruby ends up taking all of us.”

Ruby grinned. A chance to test her marksmanship  (markswomanship?) against her mom. She wasn’t going to say no to that.

Mom nodded too, stretching her hands above her head before reaching for her axe.

“Say, Tai?” Raven called with an unusual smile on her face. Dad snapped to attention. “You got any of those marshmallows left?”

“Sure!” Dad’s smile was as wide as his face. “You want another round of s’mores? I’m in for that!”

“No.” His partner said simply. “But they’d make good targets – we can all shoot them off Qrow’s head.”

“Hey!” Uncle Qrow called. “Do I get any say in this?”

Dad and Raven looked at each other before speaking in unison.

“No.”

* * * * *

Tai looked up as Ruby sat down next to him. The team was taking a break from telling stories all together. After the shooting competition -where Ruby had just barely beaten out Summer -their leader was talking with Raven, and Tai had placed himself far enough away to give them some privacy.

“How are you doing?” his daughter asked him. Her eyes were as earnest as Summer’s.

He gave a slight laugh at the question. Ruby didn’t push him.

“Dad, there’s something I wanted to say,” she sounded almost nervous. “In the future, the last time I saw you, I kind of . . . ran away.”

“You ran away?” Every new thing that Tai learned about the future seemed to make it more confusing.

“Yeeaaahhh,” She drew out the word and took a deep breath before launching into a rapid-fire story. “It was after Salem’s attack on Beacon, and you wanted me to stay home and stay safe, but I didn’t listen, and I went with some other Huntsmen students to try to stop Salem at Haven, and then Qrow found us, so it wasn’t like we were entirely alone or without Hunstmen supervision, but I didn’t say goodbye to you before I left- I only left a note – and I should have done more, but I was worried that you wouldn’t let me go, and I really wanted to do something after Beacon, you know like a real Huntress, which I technically am now I guess,  and I sent you letters but I was never sure if you got them because communications are so messed up in the future, and so if you didn’t – actually, even if you did get them – I just wanted to say…”

The stream of words stopped just as quickly as they had started. Ruby paused to take another breath.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I shouldn’t have left the way I did.” Her silver eyes glistened. “Part of me wishes I had stayed in Patch with you.”

Tai blinked a few times, taking it all in.

 “You did the right thing and you tried to save the world? And you’re apologizing? You think I’m going to be mad at you about it -why would I be mad?”

Ruby bit her lip. “You uh, might see it a little  differently in a couple of decades.”

Huh. Maybe Tai really would need to get his act together in the future.

“Did it make a difference? You leaving?”

Ruby paused to consider carefully before answering. “I think so. Some of our plans went sideways, but if we hadn’t gone, then we’d have left everything up to Lionheart and Ironwood. That … probably wouldn’t have gone very well.”

Tai had no idea who she was talking about, but he nodded thoughtfully anyway.

“Then it sounds like I should be proud of you. I mean, I’m pretty sure I’d be proud of you even if it didn’t make a difference – you’re a great kid and you tried to do the right thing. But I wouldn’t worry about me being mad at you. Just worry about staying safe, okay?”

Ruby leaned in to hug him. “Thanks, Dad.”

 The two sat in companionable silence for a bit before Tai noticed that Raven’s conversation with Summer had ended. Noticing the same, Ruby immediately jumped up to go rejoin her mother.

Tai was about to follow her when someone else slid next to him in the spot that Ruby had just been occupying. Yang. She glanced up at him with an unreadable expression and then turned her gaze towards the ground.

“Hey,” he said delicately.

“Hey, Dad,” Tai had nearly gotten used to hearing them call him ‘Dad’ by now, but the word still tugged at something deep within him. He remembered how bitterly she had said the word when she described his future in her fight with Raven this morning, and the feeling tugged him in a completely different direction.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “For not being there for you, in the future. I . . . really wanted to be a good dad. I still want that -I mean if it’s not too late. If you’ll let me.”

Yang sighed, but she turned her violet gaze back towards him and her expression softened somewhat.  “I don’t think you’re a bad dad.”

She meditatively tapped her left fingers over her the metal ones of her right hand. “I mean, yeah, you weren’t always there for us, but you were still there a lot of the times we needed you. . . Like when this happened.” She gestured to her right hand.

“You . . . helped me a lot. I’m not sure I could have gotten through it without you.”

Tai felt some of the heavy weight in his chest lessen somewhat. He couldn’t imagine what Yang must have gone through. But to know that he had made it easier, that someone had needed him and that he hadn’t disappointed . . .

“I’m sure you would have managed.” He didn’t doubt it either – Raven’s daughter was one tough cookie.

Yang smiled. It was different than Raven’s smile – softer in some ways and harder in others. A beautiful thing in its own way.

“Some things are easier with family.” At this last word, Yang’s face grew slightly darker, a hint of that earlier bitterness creeping back into her tone. Ah. There was some way Tai had disappointed.

 “Ruby said you guys haven’t seen me in a while,” he guessed.

Sighing, Yang straightened up to consider him more carefully. “Well, it is the end of the world,” she continued in the same hard tone. “Literally all of human and faunus-kind are there working together. Qrow’s there helping. Blake’s parents are there helping. Weiss’s family – who, you know,  were responsible for decades of systematic oppression and general lack of basic decency – are there. Helping. Even she’s there.”  Yang’s tone on the word ‘she’ left no room for doubt as to who she was speaking about.

“And you’re not.” Yang’s eyes briefly flickered crimson before returning to their usual calmer shade. “Qrow says you’re on a mission but . . .”  Tai could read between the lines. If Raven was there and she was being cooperative, then arranging a meeting should be easy. Even if he was on an undercover mission or something like that, it wouldn’t be too hard to find a few minutes when he wasn’t being watched. No, future Tai was avoiding his daughters for some reason. Or maybe he was avoiding Raven. Either way, it seemed like a very uncool thing for him to do.

“I’ll do better,” he promised. “I won’t let you down.”

Yang nodded, accepting the oath more easily than Tai would have thought. “You know Dad,”  Her eyes softened. “This whole time travel thing – it’s the most fun I’ve had with you in a very long time.”

“I think you’re pretty fun too, kiddo.” He lightly bumped her shoulder with his own. “Wait . . .do I call you ‘kiddo’?”

Yang just laughed before growing serious again. “It’s been nice. The last time we were together – really together in the future - things were . .. harder between us. And now with everything the way it is and us not knowing what’s going to happen next. I don’t want-“ She cut herself off, closing her eyes as if in pain.

“If something happens, I don’t want the last time that we see each other to be-“

This time, Tai cut her off – wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug. “That’s not going to happen,” he said firmly.

“It’s not going to happen.” Tai repeated, stroking her hair. “First of all, I haven’t even told you all of my stories yet.” He felt a slight movement underneath him as Yang gave a quick laugh. “I bet in the future, there are loads more you still need to hear. And jokes. I’ll tell them all to you, I promise. Once I remember this, it’ll be different, I promise.”

Yang sniffed, blinking away some of her tears. She shot Tai a grin. “Would you say there will be a … stark difference?”

* * * * *

“No, no - you see, the Red King was the Red Prince by the time we got there, and he was totally a bad guy.”  Yang’s face held an easy, ironic smile as she tried to convince Summer. “Very bad. I’m never playing chess again.”  

“You didn’t play chess before,” Ruby muttered. She was sitting on the ground by Summer’s knees, demonstrating a charming lack of regard for the dirt of the clearing. (A trait she’d likely inherited from Tai). Her sister was sitting to Summer’s right as the girls retold the story of their adventures in the Ever After. The rest of Team STRQ was listening nearby, with varying looks of astonishment on their faces as they heard the tale. 

“And you said the Rusted Knight was actually your friend from Beacon caught in some sort of . . .  time trap?” Summer asked incredulously.

“Yup,” Ruby nodded cheerfully. “Good ole’ Jaune.”

“You wouldn’t have guessed he had it in him when we met him. On our first day of Beacon, the kid introduced himself by hurling right on my boots.” Yang spoke of the incident fondly. Summer couldn’t help but look at the leather footwear. To think that a famous hero from  a literal fairy tale had once vomited upon them . . .

“And the Curious Cat turned out to be an enemy?” Summer felt the need to double-check to be sure she was getting the story straight.

 The Girl Who Fell Through the World had been one of her favorites when she was young. Most of the other fairy tales had been centered upon families living in Remnant – complete with living mothers and fathers and siblings. For an orphan like Summer, there had been something special about the tale of young heroine who escaped without family into a world full of magic. The way that Alex had made her own choices and survived so many changes all on her own – it was something inspiring. Summer had pleasant memories of the fairy tale growing up. But the idea that her own children might have liked the story for the same reasons suddenly made those memories seem less happy.

“Don’t even get me started on the Cat,” Yang spoke at the same time Ruby said, “They…weren’t a very good kitty.”

Even after the events of the past day, the knowledge that some of her favorite storybook characters were real (and also evil)  still managed to surprise Summer. Her childhood dream of falling through the world for herself had started to seemed a lot less fun. Even so, a part of her was glad that her daughters had gotten to experience that place for themselves. (After they had become trained Huntresses, that is). 

Summer was still processing these revelations when the alarm on her scroll went off.

4:00 p.m.

She tried not to let her throat close up. “Well, this is it.”

She rose and her family followed suit.

Ruby was closest. Summer waited until she was finished wiping the dust off of her cape and then wrapped the girl tightly in her arms. Despite how strongly Ruby’s own arms were hugging in response, the rest of her body seemed completely relaxed while enveloped in Summer’s hug.  “I’m so glad I got to meet you,” she said to her daughter.

“I’m so glad I got to meet you too, Mom.” Ruby replied through tears. “I promise I won’t let you down.”

“Oh, Ruby…” She pulled the girl even closer, moving a hand up and down her back. “Nothing you could possibly do would ever let me down.” Summer had never given motherhood much thought before this day, but she knew her words were true.  She gave her daughter one last squeeze before pulling back slightly to wipe away Ruby’s tears with both thumbs and then kiss her on the forehead.

Summer turned to Yang next. She felt the warm dampness of the girl’s tears on her cheek as she met her hug. “Don’t worry, Mom,” Yang said after a few moments of embrace. “I’ll look after Ruby. Always.”

Summer’s heart caught in her throat. “Don’t forget to look after yourself, too.” She reached up to give Yang a parting kiss on the forehead, and the taller girl bent down slightly to oblige.

Next in line was Qrow. His height should have made hugging him awkward, but it always felt natural for some reason. “I’m leaving Team STRQ in good hands,” she told him.

“If-When we save the world,” Her partner replied. “It will still be because of you. We couldn’t have come this far without you. We- I love you, Summ.” He was barely holding back tears.

“I love you, too.” She kissed him on the cheek.

When Summer turned away from Qrow, she found Raven waiting. The dark-haired girl wasted no time pulling Summer into a deep embrace. “Whatever it takes to save the world. Whatever it takes to make up for all the bullshit-I will do it. If you’re going to be all heroic and self-sacrificing, then it’s not going to be in vain.” Summer could feel the intensity of the promise reverberate through the air.

“I know you will,” she said into Raven’s hair. “You’re one of the strongest people I know – and I’m not talking about what’s on the outside.”

Summer moved to give her teammate a kiss on the cheek, but Raven was faster. She caught Summer’s lips with her own, her mouth wild and hungry against her leader’s as she returned the kiss.  The moment couldn’t have lasted longer than a few seconds, but it left Summer breathless.

“I love you, Summer Rose.” She had no doubt that this was the first time Raven had ever said those three words to another living being.  Summer couldn’t tell if the warm feeling that rushed through her was due to the words or to the kiss.  

“Love you too, Rae,” she managed. She took a few moments to compose herself before turning to the final person in the clearing.

Taiyang’s hug was as warm and comfortable as it always was. He stroked her hair lightly as he held her close to his chest. Summer could hear the soothing sound of his heartbeat underneath his shirt.

“Promise me,” Summer said into the crook of his neck. “That you’ll move forward. You’re the heart of the team, Tai. I don’t want you to be lost. I love you.”

“I love you too, Summer.”

This time, she was prepared for the kiss.  It was gentle and warm and sweet and earnest- just like Tai was. Summer sank into the moment, fully memorizing the feeling of him against her before they pulled apart. She held Tai’s eyes for a moment, marveling in the ocean of joy and sadness that lay within, before turning to address the group as a whole.

“Take care of each other, alright?” Summer was no longer able to hold back her tears and the words came out slightly choked. “Team STRQ, that’s an order.” 

Tai reached out to hug her again, followed closely by Raven. “I love both of you idiots,” the taller woman said, surprising Summer once more. Tai gave a soft laugh in response to her as Qrow added a fourth person to the hug.  

Because the twins usually opposed strong displays of affection, they’d only managed a full Team Hug a handful of times in their three years as a team. Coming together like this was the mark of a particularly dangerous mission (or a particularly stressful exam season) – a challenge overcome through relying on each other. Just like their other Team Hug from earlier in the day, this one felt like an accomplishment. A victory. It didn’t feel like goodbye.

Ruby and Yang joined in the hug as well, and the six of them held the position for several long minutes. Summer could start to see blue smoke appear at the edge of her vision. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

She wanted to remember this moment. The feeling of Tai’s strong arm around her shoulder. Qrow’s steady hand at her back. Raven’s soft cheek pressed against her own. Ruby and Yang holding tightly on either side of her. The sound of six people breathing, melding into one. They were a family. Summer loved each and every one of them. She would remember and-

“Shit, I’m sorry Summer,” Qrow’s voice called out from behind her “You okay?”

Summer looked down at the mirror in her hands, briefly disoriented by her new position on the ground. Right. Qrow’s stumble must have caused her to lose her balance as well.

The relic’s blue surface was unbroken, giving a clear view of her own face framed by the forest’s trees. Whatever magic the artifact contained, it didn’t look damaged. Now, to keep it that way until the four of them returned to Beacon. She stood up, dusting off her palms.

“No harm done, Qrow,” she called to her partner. He nodded, relieved, though traces of anxiety still clung to his face. (Always a worrier, her partner – it would take more than a little bad luck to stop Team STRQ from completing a mission.)

“Oh, I’ve got it!” Tai stepped up next to Qrow. The blonde man still wore the same easy grin from their earlier conversation on how to spend their upcoming team-building time. (Sometimes it seemed that Tai was allergic to seriousness).  He placed his arm around the taller man’s shoulder again, ignoring his teammate’s obvious discomfort at the touch. “For my pick on our team-building days, I’m taking us to the spa! You guys totally look like you need to relax. I heard there’s this place in Vale that gives great massages and-“

“You already promised to buy us drinks for your pick.” Raven pointed out, striding ahead of where her teammates were still recovering from their fall.

“Right,”  Tai’s gaze followed her as she went. “Well maybe I’ll still get the drinks and you can take us to the spa on your day?”

“Pass,” Raven said without turning around. (Always so cool and detached – what went on inside her head?)

Summer sighed, smiling to herself as she adjusted her grip on the mirror. They might not be showing it now, but Summer knew Team STRQ could handle anything Remnant could throw at them. Salem wouldn’t know what hit her.  Step one was bringing back the relic to Ozpin. But step two was saving the world. (Or should she put in another step in the middle for passing their fourth year exams?)

“Okay, what about this,” Tai continued undeterred. “We go to the spa on my day and then we hit up the nightlife on your day, and I still buy the drinks? There’s this one club with a dancefloor that-”

 “No.”

“Oh!” Tai’s face lit up. “You’re right, Rae – nightclubs are boring. We should have our own dance party instead.”

Qrow let out a short bark of laughter, “What in the world makes you think she’ll say yes to that?”

“Our own dance party,” Tai’s smile was concerningly wide. “Just the four of us. On the roof of Oz’s tower.”

“No.” This time the objection came from Summer. “It’s too dangerous -the only level part is a narrow ledge. Not to mention how disruptive it would be to the faculty.”

“Hmm.” Raven turned around to fix Summer with a look of wry amusement that the shorter woman found deeply worrying. “You know, you make a pretty convincing argument, Summ.”

Summer took in a sharp breath, realizing her mistake. “But Ozpin-“

“If Oz didn’t want us having a party on the roof of his tower, then he wouldn’t have given me the powers to turn into a bird. You said that we could each choose ‘whatever we want’ for team-building. Don’t tell me you’re a liar, Summer Rose.” Raven face had the hint of her rare smile. “I know it’s not against any school rules – you would have said that first if it was.”

Raven was, unfortunately correct. Summer knew how to pick her battles though. If her teammates were going to push her limits, she’d just have to make sure the team’s next training regimen would push theirs. They still had a long way to go if they were going to defeat Salem. Summer would be happy to remind them of that fact later.  

“Woo-hoo! Kicking off fourth year in style!” Tai made a motion as if to put his hand on Raven’s shoulder, but then thought better of it.

“You’re still buying the drinks, dumbass,” Raven rolled her eyes, oblivious to her partner’s movement. “And I’m picking the music.”

“Rae, do you even know any music? Name one song.” Qrow called out, earning a middle finger from Raven, a stifled chuckle from Tai, and an earnest laugh from Summer.

Maybe Summer was getting ahead of herself. They still had an entire year before they graduated. Some time to just enjoy their lives. She might as well make the most of it. It wouldn’t hurt to relax a bit before saving the world.

For now, at least, Salem could wait.

Chapter Text

Raven remembered.

Time stopped as the memories flooded her – drowning her in sights and sounds and sensations. These weren’t like her other recollections from twenty years past, so faded and porous they might as well have belonged to someone else. No. Each moment from the mirror relic was experienced in such full, perfect vibrance that Raven had practically lived through the entire day for a second time.

Fuck.

She was standing in the small, dingy room that served as her living quarters in Vacuo. The single window revealed the final throes of a sandstorm outside, leaving the room dim. A whistling sound filled the air. She’d been heating a kettle for tea before she had been hit with the memories, but at the moment she couldn’t bring herself to care about stopping the noise.

Instead, she found herself staring at the lone item adorning the cracked and peeling walls: a plain, portrait-sized mirror.  

Raven had never given much thought to getting older. She marked the passing of the years, but had assumed their effect on her body to be miniscule, if noticeable at all. Remembering her twenty-year-old body so clearly did much to dispel those illusions. She noted the differences on her face in the mirror – the creases in her forehead, the crinkles at the corners of her eyes, the lines around her mouth, encroaching upwards to her damp cheeks.

If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the way her younger back and shoulders stood without a trace of pain or discomfort. She could feel the speed and power coursing through her muscles as she took on dozens of Grimm at once. She could feel Tai’s arms around her. She could taste the promise she’d made to Summer on her lips.  She could taste Summer on her lips.

Oh gods… Summer.

Those memories of her team leader played over and over again in her mind. Summer trying to navigate the relic’s magic in her overachieving way. Trying to make a magical encounter with time travelers into something neat and orderly. Summer kneeling on the ground after learning the future would be bleak – looking so hopeless even before she’d known the half of it. Summer sleeping next to her at the campfire, warm and safe and trusting. Summer standing up for her at Yang’s accusations, believing that Raven was so much better than she really was. Summer’s hand on her own, moving Omen away from the killing blow. . .  Damn. Raven had almost taken the chance to fuck things up even more, hadn’t she? And then afterwards . . .  that soft mouth on her own . . . Why had that been the only time she’d told Summer she’d loved her?

Well, she wouldn’t let those words be in vain. She wouldn’t let the promise she made to Summer go unfulfilled. Or the promise she had made to her daughter or-

Oh gods… Yang.

Raven was a coward, she knew now.

She shouldn’t be hiding in this shitty room, only going out for meals and missions. She should have gone to Yang and begged forgiveness on her fucking knees as soon as she’d known her daughter was safe in Vacuo.

She should have acted in Vault of the Spring Maiden -putting aside her fear of Salem to join Yang’s team . . . and to have made sure that bitch Cinder was actually dead while she was at it.

 She should have told Yang everything as soon as she’d seen her daughter at the camp in Mistral.

She should have gone back to Patch after the Fall of Beacon and spoken to Yang then, shown her that not everyone had left her.

She should have stayed with her in Vale after scaring off that pink-haired clown on the train – told her everything instead of making up that ‘one save’ bullshit as an excuse to tell her nothing.

She should have answered her daughter’s calls that day in the forest when she’d gone looking for Raven as a child – when she had portaled Qrow to save kids from the Grimm because she’d been too afraid to show her face.

She should have gone back to her family as soon as the mission with Summer had gone wrong. She should have told them everything and saved them the pain of wondering.

She should have gone back even before then and convinced Summer not to strike out on her own.  They should have been there for Yang together.

No.

What she really should have done was never leave in the first place.

 It had started with that single mistake. And then the sunk cost of being too stubborn to admit it had grown so deep over the years that Raven herself was the one who had sunk – drowning in the pain she’d caused and the blood she’d spilled.

It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time. Leaving.  She’d had no idea what she was doing, taking care of a baby. It had been clear that Summer – ostensibly no more than a supportive family friend at the time – was more comfortable with the infant than her own mother was. Summer and Tai had gotten along so well together when the leader of Team STRQ  stopped by to help out. They both knew all of the right things to do, knew all of the right steps to be a family in a way that Raven would never hope to match. The chemistry between them unmistakable, bubbling into a crescendo as the days passed and Raven seemed more and more lost.  At the same time, the animal part of her brain had been screeching in her mind – sounding awfully like the tea kettle that was still going off in the present. The bird had screamed to be free after having been cooped up for the better part of the year – wanting so, so much to fly away.  And to top it all off, the weight of Ozpin’s impossible war hung over the house like a violent storm cloud, growing darker by the day.  

She’d told herself that leaving would solve all of those problems. That Yang would have the two caretakers who best deserved her. That a born bandit with a wild animal in her head wasn’t meant for their domestic life in Patch. That by leaving, she could make Summer and Tai think twice about trusting Oz.  She’d told herself that Tai and Summer and Yang would have been better off without her.

One of the problems with being raised among criminals, Raven supposed, was that one became quite skilled at lying.

Oh gods… Tai.

He’d been so stupid and hopeful in those memories. Even after he’d known what she would do to him. Although . . . he hadn’t really known, had he? Hadn’t felt the pain himself, hadn’t sat with it for nearly two decades. Would he be so willing to accept her apology now?

Damn. He’d been so happy at the idea that she and Summer might both be with him. An idea that past-Raven had suggested to Tai within hours of the adventure in the mirror . . . and an idea that had not been suggested at all any other time until now. Raven clenched her fists so hard, her nails nearly drew blood.  Her mirror-self had the advantage of knowing both Ruby and Yang’s parentage– was that all it would have taken to have tried a different life? Or had it been that the younger Raven was just better – able to see solutions where the older Raven only saw problems? Or had those solutions been there all along? Had it just been that knowing their time in the mirror would be forgotten – would be erased - had given her freedom to think stupid, sentimental thoughts and say them aloud?

If she had been brave enough to think those thoughts . . . if she had stayed, would the four of them - five with Ruby – have lived happily together?

Oh gods… Ruby.

The first time she’d spoken a single word to Summer’s daughter had been at Haven. When she’d left the girl to the mercy of Salem’s wretched excuse for a Fall Maiden...

 Ruby had known that.

 She’d known that and she’d still said all of that ‘it’s not too late’ shit to Raven with perfect sincerity. And some of those other things Ruby had said . . . Fuck . . . was Summer’s daughter even okay?

And Yang had known too. She’d known Raven would end up with more power than any of Oz’s other crew combined. And that she would still choose to look her daughter in the eye and leave her to trek across the continent holding Remnant’s biggest target. That stupid younger version of Raven – or maybe the younger version was the smart one – she’d thought Yang had given her what she’d deserved when she’d blown up and called her mother a coward. But no. Even in her fit of rage, Yang hadn’t mentioned the worst of Raven’s crimes to Summer.

In fact, the girl had managed to keep a straight face – to smile and laugh with and hug Raven -  and pretend like nothing was wrong up until their ill-fated sparring match.  Had Yang’s subterfuge skills gotten better? Or had some of those laughs and smiles been genuine? Her talk at the end – the one about giving Raven another chance . . . that had been genuine . . . undoubtedly.

Fuck.

Why would they have shown her those kindnesses? Did they really mean what they had said?

Would they-

Raven’s thoughts were interrupted by a disturbance in the mirror.

It was Veros, seemingly unbothered by the fact that his relic was nowhere in sight.

“So,” the spirit looked down at her. “Now you have experienced my full power.”

Raven considered punching the glass right in the spirit’s nose, but decided she’d rather not deal with cleaning it up. Instead, she turned off the tea kettle so that she wouldn’t have to deal with two annoying sounds at once.

“Do you still think my talents are ‘not useful’?” Veros asked imperiously once she’d turned to face him again.

Had he come all this way to gloat? Perhaps it would be worth it to clean up the shards of glass. “If I say ‘no,’ will you fuck off?” Raven glowered.  “Where is your mirror anyway?”

The blue face frowned, “Your Headmaster placed me in his Fall Maiden’s vault when he could not ascertain my purpose.” He wrinkled his smooth blue nose. “The Spirit of Choice is rather disappointing company. No appreciation for true art. Perhaps your next quest could be to liberate me from that boor.” Veros seemed hopeful.

Raven snorted. “Yeah, as soon as we get our hands on the Fall Maiden. We’ll come right for you.” She wondered if the spirit could understand sarcasm. Probably not.  

“Then I’m afraid I cannot stay much longer outside of my vessel now that my Reflection has ended – my connection to you wanes. I hope to see you shortly, Raven Branwen.” Veros’s face started to ripple in the mirror.

‘Hey,” she called before he faded entirely.

“Thank you.”

* * * * *

Yang suddenly found her arms empty. The cool forest air around her had become hot and stuffy. She opened her eyes and saw she was back in the room that served as Team RWBY’s living space in Vacuo.

Ruby stood beside her. Her sister’s face was streaked with tears, eyes shining with conflicting emotions. Yang wasted no time pulling her into a tight hug.

“That was . . .” Yang started in a whisper, suddenly unable to describe the experience. 

“Yeah,” Ruby finished, not needing words to understand Yang’s thoughts.

Her sister was holding her much more tightly than their usual casual hugs. “You okay, Rubes?” Yang asked softly into her ear.

“Yeah,” Ruby repeated. “I will be. Are you okay?”

The question reminded her of her mom’s last words to her just now. Don’t forget to look after yourself, too.  Yang felt a smile form on her face, a release deep inside her of some weight  she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

 “I think I’m going to be just fine.”

Pulling away from the hug, Yang looked around to regain her bearings. The familiar dorm was small and dimly lit, and - in typical Vacuo fashion - none of the furniture matched. Yang couldn’t exactly complain. Rooms were going at a premium in the desert kingdom these days. They had been lucky to get one at all. Especially since they’d arrived months after two separate refugee populations moved into the city. Apparently, Shade had been trying to reserve this space for visiting representatives from Haven to come discuss the war effort, but the miraculous return of the most famous Huntress in Remnant had convinced Headmaster Theodore to reallocate the room.

When they’d first arrived, the dorm had contained four beds, but Yang – paragon of virtue that she was – offered up hers to somewhere in the crowded city that needed it more. This had the added benefit of giving them enough space to make a decent private gathering place whenever Team JNPR or CFVY or SSSNN wanted to meet up. And if it meant that Yang had to sleep in Blake’s bed every night . . . well then, that was a burden she would just have to bear.

“Yang? Ruby?”

Speaking of Blake’s bed, its occupant was looking up at Yang over the cover of her book, golden eyes full of concern.  Her soft upper ears were swiveled forward, reminding Yang that her and Ruby’s whispering probably hadn’t been too effective.

“What did we miss?” Yang asked. Hopefully the mirror spirit was more punctual than the Blacksmith and it wouldn’t turn out that they’d been gone for weeks or something.

“I asked what you wanted for dinner. The sandstorm looks like it’s about to die out, so the restaurants will be open soon.”

Yang’s shoulders relaxed. It sounded like they were right where they’d left off.

“So we weren’t gone long?” Ruby echoed her thoughts. Her sister had removed any traces of the wetness on her cheeks and was now gazing at Blake thoughtfully.

A dramatic sigh rose from Weiss’s bunk, where their fourth teammate was surrounded by a few stacks of business-y looking papers with SDC logo watermarks. “Ruby,” Weiss started in a voice that was not beating the ‘Ice Queen’ allegations, “I will admit that it was more entertaining than I had anticipated to watch you convince Sun and Neptune that your semblance could take you to Solitas and back while they blinked. But, if you think to try the same doltish prank with your teammates – who can see perfectly well that you haven’t left the room at all, I might add -  I will make sure we spend our day off tomorrow getting you checked out for heat stroke damage.”

“Chill out,” Yang grinned -saying that to Weiss never got old. “We were abducted by a magical time-travel spirit. Cut us some slack.”

Instead of asking for further explanation, Weiss looked up to pierce Yang with her trademark icy glare for a few moments before returning to her papers and muttering something about ‘not being able to have a single normal week’ under her breath. Yang supposed that was fair. 

Ruby launched into further explanation anyway, starting with what had been a day ago for her and Yang  - and apparently only seconds ago for Weiss and Blake. Despite her grumbling, the former heiress settled in attentively as soon as Ruby started talking. Of course she did. Yang joined her girlfriend on their bunk to listen as well. The past twenty-four hours had been so crazy, Yang had nearly forgotten how calming it was to rest her head on Blake’s shoulder.  She lifted it only occasionally to jump in and add some very insightful and funny jokes to Ruby’s explanations.

They’d gotten to the part when they’d first met some Beowolves in the woods when there was a knock at the door.

Yang frowned. She wasn’t sure who would be visiting them now. It wasn’t anyone from JNPR – they all knocked with the same easily identifiable rhythm as decreed by Nora. Qrow usually announced himself while knocking. Sun was more the barging-in type, but when he did remember to knock, the two-tone sound of his fist and tail was hard to miss. Everyone else in Shade would probably have messaged their scrolls before dropping by in person.  Yang got up to check it out, leaving Ruby to continue the story.

She swung the door open and for a moment all she could do was stand there and look surprised.

Raven stood in the doorway. Even with what the past version of the woman had said,  Yang hadn’t expected her to stop by so soon, if at all.  Not to mention having the decency to knock rather than just open a portal.

Her mother also seemed surprised to see her, despite being the one who came to Yang’s room.  For a few moments, she considered her daughter in silence with wide, weary eyes. As if Yang were a potentially dangerous, unknown opponent.

Raven eventually spoke. “Yang . . . We should talk.”

Considering that at this point Yang had spent more time with her mother before she had been born than after, that sentence was probably the understatement of the decade. She wanted to say something to that effect, but instead gritted her teeth and managed a “Do you want to come in?”

She led Raven past her teammates’ concerned glances and out onto the dorm’s balcony. The sandstorm had pretty much died down by now, leaving them with a clear view of the city from their position high on Shade’s pyramid.

“So,” Yang crossed her arms and considered the woman before her. Before yesterday, she hadn’t thought Raven would talk to her at all, let alone be the one to initiate the conversation. But the past version of her had genuinely seemed to want to make it up to Yang.  She raised an eyebrow, “Are you finally going to tell me everything?”

Raven nodded. “Yes. You deserve to know.” She turned her gaze to the sky for a moment. “It’s getting late now, but perhaps tomorrow . . . would you join me for tea?”

Yang wanted to bristle at the fact that Raven would ‘come to talk’ and then put off telling her precious secrets yet again. But she decided she probably needed time to prepare to hear her mother’s story – her reasoning for leaving and the truth behind her final mission with Summer -  just as much as Raven needed time to prepare to tell it. To be honest, Yang was still trying to process how she felt about watching her mom kiss her other mom. So, another day before adding more trauma to the fire probably couldn’t hurt.

“Sure, I’ll have tea with you.”

Yang was taken aback by the sudden relieved  - almost joyful - expression that seemed very out of place on Raven’s face. But she was taken even more aback by the woman’s offer of a hug.  

Huh. Maybe people could change. Raven’s embrace was tentative at first, but grew stronger as the woman realized Yang wasn’t objecting. Surprisingly, she wasn’t a bad hugger when she actually gave it a try.

Raven wasn’t done with surprises though.

“Yang . . . there’s something I want you to know,“ her voice took on an uncertain quality that Yang had never heard from the woman before. “I .. I love you.”

Yang blinked away tears she hadn’t realized she’d shed. “I’m . . . glad you’re here, Mom.” It was the nicest thing she could think to say that was still true. Huh.  It was true now, wasn’t it? Yang stiffened as Raven touched her well-maintained hair, but she didn’t break out of the embrace. Eh, whatever. Maybe the woman would finally learn the importance of using conditioner.

“If tomorrow goes well . . . perhaps . . .  the two of us could speak together more often?” Raven seemed hopeful at the idea.

“We’ll see,” Yang offered. She did promise she would give Raven a chance.

“We could train together as well,” her mother added, tone returning to more familiar territory.

“Train together?”

“I’ve seen that move you do with the Schnee girl. Where she summons a sword and you swing it like a club. If you’re going to use that attack on something smarter than Beowolves, you should at least learn how to hold the thing.”

Yang sighed inwardly. What had she gotten herself into?

“Yeah, I think we’re going to have to start tomorrow off with a little talk about something called ‘boundaries’.”

* * * * *

Qrow reached up to touch his cheek. His fingers came back wet.

“You alright there, old friend?” Theodore asked. Right. He’d dropped in to visit the Headmaster. The man had been dealing with a lot recently and Qrow had figured he’d appreciate a social call. And he was right, considering Theodore had talked his ear off for nearly an hour before Qrow was hit with the knowledge of the mirror.  

“Just … reliving some old memories.”  Qrow said.

“Nostalgia comes for us all,” Theodore nodded sagely. His words were oddly comforting despite the fact that the other man clearly had no idea of the storm of emotions currently raging in Qrow’s head.

“Same time next week?” Qrow offered after exchanging a few more pleasantries.

“Looking forward to it,” Theodore sounded quite pleased.

 Once he left the headmaster’s quarters, Qrow managed only a few paces to a large window set into the side of the pyramid. Then his knees started to buckle, and he grabbed onto the window’s ledge for support. Through the sandstorm, he could make out the hints of bright colors from the Vacuo market and the shapes of the airships weathering the storm from above. Not a bad view. But there was a better one when he closed his eyes. The cause of the shaking in his legs.

 He could still see that clearing in the forest, standing there with Summer and Tai and Raven and Ruby and Yang. He could still hear their laughter over the sound of the wind outside the academy. He could still feel where Summer kissed him on the cheek.

For years, if you had asked Qrow what he wanted most in the world, the answer would have been immediate: more time with Summer and the rest of Team STRQ as they had been. He never thought he would actually get it. That was . . . incredible. He’d gotten more of Tai’s laughs and more of Raven’s teamwork and more of Summer’s soft smiles and more of that warm feeling when they all fought by each other’s sides.

A part of Qrow noted that he’d spent nearly half of his extra time in the mirror feeling miserable about himself, but he wasn’t going to let that bother him now. Yang had been right, when she’d spoken to his younger self by the campfire. Things had gotten worse. Worse than he could have imagined. But other parts of his life were so, so much better than the younger him could have ever possibly dreamed. Qrow had spent too much of his past thinking that he was worthless – that his presence could only bring pain. And then coping with that pain in ways that made him the world’s unluckiest self-fulfilling prophecy. So much time wasted, and for what?

Qrow was done making that mistake.

He opened his eyes and moved past the window.

His first stop was to check on the girls. When he got to their dorm, he was met with his sister leaving the room, which got rid of the need for Qrow’s second stop.  Raven was visibly shaken – not nearly as bad as she’d been when he’d first seen her after the Fall of Atlas, but easily worse than pretty much any other time he’d seen. When he reached out his arms to offer her a hug, she actually accepted.

“Do you remember,” she asked into his shoulder, “what you said to me when we first arrived here?”

Qrow frowned. Ever since she’d left the family, his conversations with his sister had been few and usually memorable. And yet - those first few weeks after the Fall of Atlas had been a blur. So much to do, to plan, to grieve, to protect, to hope for. . .  Yeah . . .  he had no idea what she was talking about.

She retracted her hug to frown back at him, her glare offset by underlying sadness. “When I said how she would have hated to see what I’ve become.”

Right. “And I told you that Summer wasn’t the type to give up and so she’d never have given up on you,”  Qrow remembered.

“I didn’t think the universe would find a way to prove you right,” His sister nodded, the beginnings of a wry smile forming on her face. “Maybe you’re a lucky bastard after all, little brother.”

After bidding his sister goodbye, he found Yang and Ruby happily settled in with their own teammates.  When he entered, Ruby was in the middle of acting out their battle against Hazel – complete with Crescent Rose as a prop – to an audience of a somewhat frazzled Weiss and an incredulous Blake. The latter girl was observing Ruby from her position curled into her partner’s side. Yang smiled softly at her sister’s antics while keeping one arm around Blake. Qrow was glad to see that his elder niece had apparently taken the visit from Raven in stride.

He watched for a while before joining in Ruby’s reenactment. The two of them managed to put on quite a show of that last battle, earning a round of hollering from Yang and polite applause from Blake and Weiss.

Once the story was over, he wrapped each of his nieces in a hug as tight as he could manage. Just a few weeks earlier - when the two had come back unharmed from the Ever After  - he’d promised himself that he would be sure to hug them more often, making up for all of the times he’d taken those embraces for granted. After today . . . well, he was going to have to up that quota even further.

“You okay, pipsqueak?”

“All good Uncle Qrow,” Ruby smiled up at him.

When he’d met her in the mirror, he’d been so impressed. The way she moved her scythe. The way her semblance had made her untouchable in battle. She’d seemed the very picture of a perfect Huntress to his twenty-year old eyes. Hard to believe she was even better than he was he was at that age. . .

Wait. She hadn’t been his age. She’d been three years younger. 

Now there was a sobering thought.

Before the memories, he had thought she looked just like Summer. It wasn’t that he didn’t think that anymore, but after having seen both their faces together for nearly a day, he could pick out the subtle differences in the shape of Ruby’s features more easily. When he looked at her now, he could pinpoint what she had gotten from her mom, and what she’d gotten from Tai, and what she’d learned from him, and what parts of her were pure, unique, just Ruby.

Qrow turned his attention to his other niece.

“And you, firecracker? You okay?”

“I’ve been worse,” Yang replied with a grin and a flourish of her metal arm. Qrow grinned back as he rolled his eyes.

His younger self had been impressed by her as well. He’d always thought Yang’s skills had been due to Tai and Yang’s own grit. It was strange to remember that conversation with his previous self. To know that she had -  that she still – looked up to him. . .

Not to mention the fact that both of them were still younger than he had been just now. He had forgotten what it was like to be so young and stupid. To think they weren’t even that old yet and they still had the world on their shoulders.

Yeah, that hug quota wasn’t going down any time soon.

“You two really are something.” He told them, trying to convey sincerity in every syllable.  “I don’t think I had half that heart at that age that you two have now. I’m damn sure proud of you – and I’m glad you could see for yourself how proud your Mom would be.”

Both girls beamed at that. “You were right about her, Uncle Qrow.” Ruby said. “She really was amazing.”

Yang nodded at that, and Qrow felt tears form in his eyes once again.

“I love you both,” he told them. That was another thing he would have to do more often. The two girls had never been shy about saying how much he meant to them – past or present. He would need to work harder to return the favor.

“I love you, too,” they said in unison. The response was predictable, but damn did it feel good anyway.

He couldn’t stay too long with the girls.  Qrow hadn’t protested when Raven had insisted that his third stop of the evening would need to wait for later – the guy would probably need Qrow’s visit more after Raven was done with him. But he still had a fourth and final stop to make that night.

Every week, he joined Willow Schnee at a meeting group in town– a place where people who were fighting their battles with drinking could talk about it together. Even with the state of the world as it was, it was usually a crowded spot. There were always people working to be better.

As he walked through the streets of Vacuo, he saw the current evening’s Supply Volunteers distributing food to the refugees. He and Raven would take their place tomorrow – she’d surprisingly offered to join him when they’d spoken earlier. She’d never seemed interested in the task before -  he wouldn’t have thought she had anything resembling charity in her - but he wasn’t going to complain.

It was a short walk to the community building they used for the group meetings. When Qrow had gone to that first meeting a few months ago, he hadn’t been sure that he would return. He figured it might be easier to count on his busy schedule and the reminder of his lucky pin to keep him from falling off the wagon. But then he overheard one of the other group members talking when he was on patrol one day – not that Qrow intended to eavesdrop most of the time, but it could be hard to avoid in bird form. The woman had said that it was inspiring, seeing a top Hunstman in the same shoes as her. Him. Inspiring. After that exchange, Qrow never missed a week.

He decided he liked going to the meetings. It was nice to look back at how far he’d come. To take time and notice all of the changes he’s seen.  The way the good in the world – the stuff Summer insisted was always there but he’d never managed to see – was suddenly so clear to him. The way that so many people – Summer and Tai and Yang and Ruby and Oscar and JNR and Willow and Robyn and those people from the alcohol meetings  and even Raven, occasionally– seemed to genuinely enjoy his presence. Sure, he wasn’t proud of the man he’d been, but he sure was proud of the way he’d turned things around.  Yang wasn’t the only member of the family that could come back stronger after getting knocked down.

Things were going to keep getting better.

Qrow was going to make sure of it.

* * * * *

Tai stared blankly at the wallpaper in front of him. He was sitting on the floor of the hallway in his cabin. If anyone asked him how or when he’d gotten there, he wouldn’t be able to say. As far as he could recall, he’d been standing in his bedroom when the memories started.

The memories . . .

 Tai had always wished he could redo his first kiss with Summer. The kiss he’d always thought of as their first had been after she’d stepped in to help him take care of Yang. The two of them were just getting used to their roles as new parents and they had been so sleep-deprived that Tai could barely remember it. Still,  he’d gone for twenty years thinking that had been the first time. It was strange to think that they’d had another first kiss before that. And that Raven had beat him to it . . . Actually, maybe that part wasn’t so strange – Rae had always been the competitive type.

He'd had another first kiss with Raven, too. That one wasn’t so different from their other first he remembered. The two of them had ended up alone together for part of a mission in the mountains, where they’d managed to fend off the biggest pack of Sabyrs he’d ever seen. Afterwards, they’d both had enough adrenaline running through them that he hadn’t even questioned it when Raven pinned him to the cave wall. Huh. That had only been a few months after Team STRQ had brought the mirror back to Ozpin. So much could change so soon.

Speaking of changes …

The last time he’d seen Ruby had been right after the Fall of Beacon. She’d left this cabin with all the naive determination of a first-year Huntress student. Such a contrast to the experienced resolve she’d shown with Summer in the mirror. To think she’d grown up so much . . .

And Yang. His last months with her on Patch had been so bleak. None of the familiar smiles or laughter filling the halls- just training and recovery and regrets.  He’d worried his daughter’s casual cheerfulness would never come as easily as it once had. That she’d be broken like he was. It was such a weight off his shoulders to hear those jokes again. To see that smile reach her eyes. . .

Not that he deserved to see it.

Yang had been right. Tai might need to stay near Vale for his mission, but there was nothing stopping him from receiving visitors, or trading places with Raven in Vacuo for a few hours. Nothing but Tai himself.

His last visitor had been Qrow – via Raven’s portal – telling Tai the good news that his daughters were actually alive. Alive.  After Tai had spent the months they were in the Ever After grieving their deaths.

During the time he’d thought he’d lost them - once Qrow had finally been able to get him out of his room- he’d started  to carve out another headstone to place next to Summer’s. He’d barely eaten, only remembering to feed Zwei because the little guy wouldn’t let Tai forget. Only remembering to buy human food because Qrow stopped by whenever he could. The once-beloved garden in the back had grown over with weeds.

He’d been reminded a fact from a class at Beacon – that an Apathy could suck away a man’s feelings to the point where he wouldn’t even care that a Grimm was eating his heart out. Tai felt like the man in the corresponding textbook diagram – numbly watching as a Beowolf chewed through his chest. Only the knowledge that the girls wouldn’t want him to give up on life – and that Zwei needed him, and that Qrow didn’t need any more sadness in his life either– kept him from dropping to the ground and never getting up again. Only by imagining his daughters’ faces had Tai managed the strength to ask Ozpin for this mission. Something to keep him going.

Those were, without a doubt, the worst months of his life. And considering what the rest of  Tai’s life had looked like, that was saying something.   

Learning that his girls were alive and safe should have brought him nothing but happiness – the highest high to balance out his lowest low. And yet . . .

And yet, the awful darkness over him – that depth of despair that his younger self could never have come close to fathoming -  It didn’t go away. It couldn’t. Not when the war with Salem wasn’t getting any better. And Tai knew his daughters. Even if he had gone to them right away and begged on his knees, there was no way in hell he could have convinced them to stay away from the front lines. Really, at this point, where wasn’t considered a front line?

Chances weren’t good for anybody. Tai knew that, deep in his heart. Just like he knew that he wouldn’t be able to handle losing anyone else. To grieve his girls for a second time? That just might be the end of him.

When Qrow had first told him the news, Tai’s mind swirled with questions and doubts.  Would seeing Yang and Ruby be worth the pain of losing them again? Would it be better if he got to say goodbye or would the extra time together only make things harder? How could he love someone when he knew it would only hurt him in the end?

Now, if Tai closed his eyes, he could still feel Summer’s hand in his own, Raven’s head leaning against his shoulder. . .

“A few good years. That’s better than nothing,” came Summer’s soft voice in his head.

He really was the worst kind of idiot, wasn’t he? Of course it was worth it. Summer was right – she was always right, even speaking to him from nearly twenty years back.

Those girls needed him, and he’d practically been hiding in his bedroom like a child.

In the mirror, they’d told those stories of their adventures – Argus and Atlas and the freaking Ever After from the fairy tales -  and all of them were as new to current Tai as they had been to younger Tai. That was wrong.  He should be out there living those adventures with them. Being a part of their lives.  

No matter how much time they had left, Tai didn’t want to miss a single story ever again. He wanted to ask Ruby and Yang to recount the last couple of years again for him – to make sure he knew it by heart. He even wanted to hear their teasing in return – for all those stupid Beacon stories he and Qrow had told them in the past. Oh gods . . . had they really told the girls the one about the mockingbird?

But most importantly, he needed to tell his daughters how godsdamned proud of them he was. He’d seen a glimpse of Ruby’s determination in that message she’d broadcast from Amity Arena, but it was something else to see what a leader– what a Huntress – she was in person. And Yang had shown such improvement in her fights against Raven and Hazel – dodging as much as she could and carefully calculating how to use her semblance. Tai had been a teacher for nearly two decades at this point, but seeing his daughter improve under his teachings gave him a new rush of joy every time.

 He would need to-

A familiar sound cut through the hallway to his right, breaking through Tai’s thoughts. It was followed by the equally familiar sound of Zwei’s paws clump-clumping to come investigate.

Tai felt the traces of a smile tug at his lips.

“Hey there, partner.”

A few minutes later, Tai stood in front of a new red and black portal. He would have a serious conversation with Raven when he returned, but for now he offered her a smile.

She gave an uncertain nod in return. “I’ll bring you back in a couple of hours.” 

”Don’t let Zwei burn down the house when I’m gone,” he winked and she rolled her eyes. How easily the banter came back to him. Was it a good idea to fall so quickly back into those old patterns? Probably not.

But still . . . what she’d said when threatening to cause a paradox.  I don’t want to be alone.  Perhaps the two of them still had some common ground after all these years.

The next moment, all thoughts of Raven were forgotten. He was through the portal.  Through the portal and across the continent to Vacuo. Tai recognized the Shade Academy dorm rooms from his long ago trip to the kingdom’s Vytal Festival.  Although this one only had three beds for some reason . . .

Four girls stood there watching him. The portal had alerted them to his arrival several moments before he had actually arrived. Two of the girls he had only heard about, never getting the chance to officially meet. He recognized Ruby’s partner – Weiss Schnee was unmistakable from her family’s pale hair. That meant the other girl was Yang’s partner Blake. . . who was also Yang’s girlfriend. Tai might have guessed that part already – he knew what pining looked like and there sure had been a lot of it during Yang’s recovery. But damn. . . he really had been out of his daughter’s lives for much, much too long.

Meeting the unfamiliar girls would have to come later, though. A burst of petals filled Tai’s vision, forming into embrace from Ruby. Yang wordlessly stepped up to join the hug.  Suddenly, the three of them were all laughing – or maybe crying – or some mixture of the two.

“Dad, I really am sorry-” Ruby started, but Tai cut her off.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for, Ruby. I’m just . . . so glad you’re both alright.” Ruby hugged him tighter.

“I’m actually not all right.” Yang said. Tai stepped back to look at her sharply, examining her for any injury.  

He only found a grin, a wink, and a pair of mismatched hands waggling at him. “I’m still mostly left, remember?”

 And then, Tai was laughing and crying all again, the sound of his joy nearly loud enough to cover up the exasperated groan Weiss had made at Yang’s joke. He held his daughters as tightly as he could.

Summer was right.

Every second was worth it.

* * * * *

Ruby wasn’t ready to sleep yet.

She kept replaying the past two days in her mind, turning over each memory of Summer Rose again and again until she had memorized every word, every smile, every swing of her axe. Sure, even these memories would fade in time. But that was exactly why she needed to soak up every bit that she could while they were still fresh. This was her one chance and she meant to take it all in.  Suddenly unable to keep still, Ruby sat up in bed.

The dorm was filled with the loud rumbling of Yang’s snores, which didn’t quite block out the similar (but much more refined and lady-like, of course) noises coming from Weiss. Ruby’s partner had fallen asleep in the middle of her evening’s efforts to help Whitley plan the allocation of SDC resources in Vacuo. Her scroll was still displaying some sort of related map. It cast a pale blue light over Weiss’s sleeping face, illuminating the pile of papers scattered over her blankets.

Ruby carefully removed the mess from her teammate’s bed, trying to place the stacks as neatly as possible on the floor without making any noise. (She succeeded at the second part at least).  After turning off the light from Weiss’s scroll and placing it to charge near the wall, Ruby stopped to take a look out the window.

The desert sky had cleared after the earlier storm, revealing a bright blanket of twinkling silver stars. Even brighter were the constellations of the great airship fleet above the city. Ruby had counted them once – over a hundred vessels with models from all four kingdoms. She decided Ironwood hadn’t been entirely on the wrong track when he’d said the Atlesian fleet could be ‘a symbol of hope’ before the Vytal festival so long ago. (He was just mostly wrong).

Beyond the ships, the full moon hung low in the Vacuan sky. It was at the point in its rotation where all the broken pieces were facing away from Remnant. Ruby had always liked that part of the lunar cycle – when the moon looked like it had never been shattered. ( Or maybe it had just figured out how to put itself back together again.)

Underneath the sky, she could see the bright lights of the night market stalls, framed with lanterns of dozens of different colors. Ruby was too far away to make out individual people, but she knew there were lots of them from the way the lantern lights flickered whenever somebody passed in front of them. Those were far from the only lights in the city.  Hundreds – no, thousands - of campfires spread throughout the refugee districts. She knew that people gathered around each one – sharing food and stories and cheer, keeping away the Grimm one smile at a time. Ruby gave a smile of her own as she turned away from the window and walked the length of the dorm.

Even with Weiss’s scroll now dimmed, enough light come through the window that Ruby could clearly make out the shape of one of Blake’s dark ears pressed up against Yang’s cheek. It twitched  ever so slightly along with her partner’s snores.

One of the nice parts about being awake so late was that she got to see her sister so relaxed. Yang had been carrying a lot of tension these past weeks in Vacuo. There’d been a hardness to her eyes on missions and during meetings, but it was sharpest whenever she saw Raven or heard Dad’s absence mentioned. Maybe now, things would be better.

 Yang had seemed so relaxed after Dad had shown up – shoulders softer, smile easier. It was so good to see her sister lose that tension.  The man himself had also changed – a fire inside of him that Ruby hadn’t seen before the mirror. He had promised to come again, and for a second, Ruby had thought she’d caught a glimpse of his younger self’s smile.

 Yang’s face had also been a little brighter after Raven stopped by earlier. It was strange to compare the Raven before the mirror to the Raven afterwards (the one who had fought so hard for her teammates and also kissed Ruby’s mom). The older woman really did seem different. She’d even asked if Ruby wanted to have tea with her sometime. And when she’d placed a hand on Ruby’s shoulder in farewell, it had only been slightly awkward. Ruby wondered if Raven liked boba tea.

Her quiet pacing led her to the dorm’s bathroom. She closed the door firmly behind her before turning on the light. Ruby stopped in front of the mirror, taking in her reflection. She reached a hand to the emblem on her cloak. Lifting it up, she could see the slight imperfections in the metal. Ruby pressed a finger to each one, matching the scratches and dents to the stories Summer had told her earlier: the scratch from the first time her mom had fought an Alpha Beowolf, the dent from where she’d thrown herself in front of an Ursa to protect Raven, a fearsome scrape from when the insignia had been accidently placed in the washing machine, a small notch from a training match with Qrow. 

Veros’ promise echoed in her mind. That anyone in the mirror would have their memories returned to them before they left Remnant-one way or another. Ruby ran her fingers along the edge of the rose in her hand. It was comforting to think that Mom would also know the stories that Ruby herself had added to the emblem.  That the two of them now shared something more than blood and a name and a single metal flower.

After settling the rose back on her hood, Ruby found silver eyes staring back at her.

“We can do it,” she told the girl in the mirror. “We’re going to defeat Salem.”

She’d said those words countless times in the past few years. To her teammates. To her friends. To average civilians. To herself.

“We’re going to save the world.”

For the first time in a long while, Ruby actually believed it.

* * * * *

* * *̵̩̋̐ *̴̟̖̻̓̋̈́ * 

* *̶͉̜͋̎̊̆͘͠͠ *̶͎͓̼̻͔͔̭́̂̍͋̎̑͒̉̑̃͘͝ *̶̰̩͎̖̳̤̫͎̦̄̈͒̇̀̐̚͜͝* *

*̴̖͚̘̼̩͎͈̟͓̳̜̻̎̾̑̒̆̈̑́̒̑̚ *̶̨̨̝̲̗̩̤̩̺̀̀͜ *̴̲̤͓̥͇̲̥̼̒͌̿͌̔̃͆̓̔̄͑̋ *̶̬̠̞̺͊͒̽̐͆́̀͆̏̃̿͝ *̷̧̧̗̭̭̻̣̤̜̳̱̥̤͓͕̭̐̀̐̑͋̆̃̆͂͗̐͘͘

*̴̢̡̜̬̠͈̗̹̮̬̣͉̜̹̦̖̜̥̤̺̹̗͎͙͔̱̙͔̬͇̹̱̖̩͈̞͙̙͕̗̝͍̭̹͗̋̍̑͘͜͜͜͝ͅ *̵̤̘͔͉̺̝͚͕̻̜͍̥̱̈́̉͋̾̽͒̈́͝ *̴̢̨̛͔̲̘͕̠̫̙͈̬̹̞̤̳̻̟̺͛̀̇͐̍͊̆̈̋̇͆̏͗̌͂̓́̈́̽̂̍̋̚͘̕̚̚͝͠͠ *̶̨̡̛͙̪͍̭͚̹͉̼͍̯͙͈̰̐͒̓̌̋͊̄̓̔̉̀͂͋̉́̈̽͛͗̍͒̐͊̔̍͊̂̌̄̍́̏̚͘͘̚̚̚͜͝͠͝*̷̧̡̛̛̣̬͍̗͔̼̹͕̼͔̘͙̞̟̳͔̙͚̣̬̜̠̣̖͆͌̈́̎͆́̈́̐̈̿̋̑́͛̅̈̎̑͐̓̋̿̔̐̓̈̒̅͐̍̅̎̃̈́̓̀̈́̀̿̏̎̒͘͘̕͝͠ͅͅ*̶̨̨̨̢̢̧̧̦̮̭̹̲̤̞͕̫͔̮̜̲͖͓̼̺̥̘̪̬̺̥͙̤̙̣̺̫͇̬͍͇͉̰̃̽̑̓͆͂̇̊͑̔̍͛̐̃̿͒͑̒̀͛̂̄̊̄͋̓͋̐̍̅̌̏̾̾͒̉͊̓̐̀͆̅͗̿̍̄̔͐͗͑̍̊͆̒̒̈̓̈̊͗̒̅̉͌̈́̋̈́̏̀̾̈́̆̀̿̋̅̌̀͗̀͛̈̊́̑́͋̏̀̓̀̈́̅̾̓͋͊̽͋́̃͒̃̃͗͌́̿̂͋͂̒̔̀̈́̀͋͌̎͆̑̑̎͂̃̽̏̀̑̎̌́̾̿̓̊͗̎̋̓̐̾̀͑͂͌͛̉́́̒̀̑̓́̉̈́̎̂͛̑͂͆̋͌͂̈͗́̇͐̍͆́̿͌̒̾̾̓̓̉͆́̂̔̔̋̉̿̐͋̂̄̾͋̇́͌̉́̔͆͑͂̈́̀̄̈͑͑͂͗̾͊̀̏̕̚̚̚̕̕͘̚̕̕͘͘̕̕̚͜͜͝͝͝͠͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͝͠͠ͅ

It was dark.

Not dark like a moonless night, or dark like closing your eyes, or even dark like the complete absence of light (which until now, Summer had thought a perfectly adequate definition).

It was dark like the complete absence of everything. Bearing down on Summer with a suffocating, crushing weight. She couldn’t move any part of her body. She didn’t know which way was up and which was down. She couldn’t even say how long she’d been in the darkness– whether it had been seconds or years. It had seemed like she’d been stuck floating in that nothing for an infinity when she remembered breaking the mirror.

Those memories . . .

If she was seeing them now, then that meant . . . that meant she had failed. She wouldn’t be going home. She wouldn’t be seeing her family again. Summer Rose had never failed a test in her life, but she had just miscalculated gravely.

At least she had only cost her own life on this mission. She could remember the moment just before Salem had pushed her down into the awful, Grimm-like substance. She’d called out for Raven to flee, but hadn’t seen whether or not the woman had listened. As Summer had fallen deeper and deeper into darkness, a part of her had wondered whether her teammate was here beside her, dying just out of reach.  But, no. She’d made it out. Raven might not tell anyone what happened here or even talk to Yang before her eighteenth birthday. (Oh gods, Rae… what were you thinking?) But she was alive.  That was enough.

More than that, all of Summer’s family would live through the next thirteen years. That knowledge wasn’t anywhere as comforting as it would be to actually go home and live those years with them – to kiss her girls goodnight every evening, to wake up in a home filled with Tai’s laughter, to go on missions with Qrow keeping her company, to convince Raven to come back and try again. (If Summer had stayed instead of coming to Salem, could all six of them have been happy together? What a life that would have been…) But knowing they would be safe was the consolation Summer would have to accept.   She breathed a sigh of relief, but the substance that filled her lungs wasn’t air.

More memories appeared in her mind. These ones weren’t the supernatural kind – apparently  the old cliche of your life flashing before your eyes wasn’t a fabricated tale.  

She remembered returning the relic to Ozpin, her excitement turning to disappointment as the days passed without him finding a use for it. That disappointment fading as Team STRQ followed through on their team building activities . . . Dancing on top of Oz’s tower had turned out to be more fun than Summer had ever admitted to her teammates.

She remembered their graduation from Beacon. Oz had given a speech about how “Heroes aren’t defined by their strength, but their choices.” Raven had made snide comments the entire time, calling it a load of drivel, but Summer had hung on to every word. (Maybe not well enough if this is where her choices had led her.)

Summer remembered Tai’s nervous smile when he’d come to her to ask for advice before proposing to Raven. Summer had gone with him to the jewelry store and they’d both agreed on the perfect ring for the stubborn woman the moment they’d laid eyes on it.  

The wedding itself was also clear in her memories. (The woman who had once so vocally complained about the uselessness of wedding planners had absolutely no qualms about asking Summer to plan the celebration, of course).  She remembered rolling her eyes at how Raven had complained about how pointless the ceremony was, even while the dark-haired woman smiled all the while. Raven’s smile had nothing on Tai’s, though. And Summer had danced with both bride and groom that night –letting them both have their turns twirling her around. Her heart had reeled with joy and a strange sadness she hadn’t understood until much later.

She remembered fighting a herd of Goliaths with Qrow in the Solitas tundra. It had been Team STRQ’s first mission without the happy couple, and afterwards, Summer’s partner marked the occasion by opening a bottle of whiskey for the two remaining Hunstmen to share.  

The memories came faster now.

Summer holding Yang for the first time and realizing how much she wanted to be a mother… Some months later  - that bittersweet moment when the same infant said her first words, making Summer’s wish come true with two syllables…. The night Summer had spent with Tai after they had finally admitted their feelings for each other . . .  Newborn Ruby opening her eyes for the first time, Summer’s own filling with tears after seeing that silver glow . . . Qrow laughing as he held a child in each arm . . . A flash of black feathers in  the window as Yang blew out her third birthday candles . . . Tai teaching the kids how to ride a bike . . . Summer reading her daughters her own favorite bedtime story . . . Their sleeping faces right before she’d left that warm, safe cabin to come here…

Oh gods. Her girls would grow up without her. In the mirror, they’d been so big, so beautiful, so strong. The sweet little children Summer had said goodbye to would become fierce huntresses, wise beyond their years, and with way, way too much on their shoulders.

They needed her. Yang -  who would lose her arm, and fall in love, and face down her mother, and who would never stop making jokes or caring for her sister despite all of it.  Ruby – who would make her own scythe with a smile on her face, who would lead armies before she turned eighteen, who would be the hope of four kingdoms, and who would work to keep her joy and strength and faith through all the darkness and burdens.

 They needed Summer. But gods, would they shine so brightly even without her.  

She wished she could go back home or into the mirror or anywhere that would let her tell them how proud she was. But she was lucky enough to get the time that she had. To say the things that she did.

Time had slowed when the memories started, but Summer could sense it starting to pick back up again. Despite the darkness, she could feel the tears roll down her cheek.  Her fingers and toes seemed so far away.

Summer clung fast to that last memory of her family – holding tightly to each other in the clearing as Veros’ clock ran out. Qrow. Raven. Tai. Yang. Ruby. The love in their faces as they’d said goodbye to her. The warmth in their bodies as they pressed against her. The determination in their eyes as they promised to make a better future.

Yes.

They could succeed where Summer had failed. If anyone could stop Salem, it was her family.

The world was in good hands.