Chapter 15: To Protect

Summer felt the world around her begin to disappear. Soon, all that remained was the cold, hard sensation of Phoenix Heart as she gripped it tightly, and the sight of her enemy before her. She watched Harriet's movements, barely allowing herself to breathe, waiting for that fateful moment.

She didn't know when the first strike would happen, or what would come afterwards, but she knew she had to be ready for when it did. Harriet's not playing any games this time, she told herself. Her very life was on the line here.

"If you're still alive," the rabbit Faunus said, "then I presume Moss is no longer with us."

Summer nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off her.

"That's a pity. I was actually growing rather fond of the girl." Harriet looked genuinely saddened by the news. "Still, I was hoping I'd be the one to take you down in the end." She smiled at Summer. "You seem to have gotten used to this killing business rather easily. I'm impressed."

"Don't compare me to you, Harriet!" Summer snapped. "You're the one who led her into that life. You manipulated her and her team. Her blood is on your hands, along with all the Faunus who've died for your cause!"

"And their deaths will have been worthwhile," Harriet said. "None of this would have been necessary if it weren't for your people - for humans. The leaders of your societies, who've forced us to fight for our lives every day, driving us out and treating us like slaves. So we did what he had to survive, and claim our freedom.Your people created the White Fang. And just look at Salem - would she be so powerful if it weren't for your own failings?"

Summer's eyes narrowed. She felt her grip tighten on her weapon. "You know that I'm not to blame," she said softly. "Not Qrow, or Tai, or Raven, or Heather, or any of our friends from Beacon."

"No," Harriet agreed. "This story is far bigger than either of us. We don't get to write what happens. All we can do is play our roles, as best as we can." She brandished her claws, and glowered at her enemy. "Do you want to know the biggest difference between you and me, Summer? I've always known what my role is."

In that moment, Summer knew the time had come. Activating Phoenix Heart's blades form, she raised the twin swords just in time to block Harriet's strike, her movement almost too fast to see. Snarling, Harriet dematerialized, and Summer felt her Aura try to maneuver behind her.

Gritting her teeth, she fired a shot in the rabbit Faunus's direction, and saw brief flicker of her Aura as it hit its mark. A moment later, Harriet reformed, and without wasting a moment's opportunity, Summer drove her blade into her side. Unable to disapparate in time, she stumbled back with a cry of pain, her Aura struggling to absorb the attack.

"You've gotten a lot faster," Harriet admitted. "It looks like I was right to pay attention to you during our time at Beacon." Slowly, she circled Summer, her gaze never leaving hers for a moment. "Remember all those times our teams played games, or trained together? Or when the two of us went dress shopping for the Vytal Ball? We had some good times, no doubt about that."

"Are you feeling nostalgic?" Summer spat. "This isn't exactly the right time for that."

"I can't help but remember the past," Harriet replied. "If I tried to forget everything that has ever happened to me, I wouldn't have taken this path. So yes, I suppose you could say I'm nostalgic. You were my friends, after all."

Friends? What gives you the right to say that?! Overcome with anger, Summer ran at Harriet, seeing too late the vicious smile on the rabbit Faunus' face. Shit! She was baiting me! She tried to stop herself, but the sudden movement nearly caused her to stumble.

Harriet vanished into thin air and swiftly reappeared behind her right leg, which was undefended and balanced. This time, Summer wasn't fast enough to react, and found herself being flipped over onto her back with a slash of the Faunus' claws. Yelling in pain, she swung wildly with her swords and firing desperately, to no avail.

After a second, she managed to regain some semblance of composure, and looked up to see Harriet gone. Huh? Confused, she darted her head from side to side as she gripped Phoenix Heart, trying to find some sign of her enemy.

She felt a sudden chill down her spine, and dodged to the left just as a dark energy ball flew past her. Summer saw Harriet standing on the roof of the building facing hers, her hand glowing with dark matter. "Running away, huh?" she muttered, transforming her weapon back. "Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that."

Summer heard the satisfying clicks of metal as Phoenix Heart shifted back into a bow. With swift movements, she loaded an arrow and fired it up towards Harriet. The rabbit Faunus quickly vanished, and a second later Summer barely dodged another energy ball thrown at her, this time from the building to her left.

So what's it going to be? Are we fighting or playing hide-and-seek? Frustrated, Summer fired another arrow, but Harriet disappeared again. This time, her enemy rematerialized on her right, and she was quick enough to shoot her projectile out of the sky with her own. When she loaded her weapon again, she readied two arrows, one firing in towards Harriet, the other in a random direction. Please, let the gods' luck favour me just this once.

Her luck continued its streak of being her least valuable asset. Harriet teleported onto the building behind her, and her next energy ball took Summer right in the back. "Gah!" she yelled, struggling to keep her footing. Surprisingly, the attack had taken off a lot less Aura than she thought.

Why aren't you going all out, Harriet? She wondered. Perhaps that dark energy was somehow draining Harriet's Aura like a Semblance, or maybe she had limited use of it. Either way, the rabbit Faunus seemed to be rather conservative with her power despite the stakes of the conflict.

But that was hardly a comforting thought. All it meant was that Harriet was still holding back. And Summer had no idea when she would stop… or whether she could handle what came when that finally happened.

Still, I've got one advantage! As long as this little impasse kept up, Harriet couldn't do much to hurt her. Even if it was near impossible for Summer to hit her target, she was relatively safe as long as they maintained this temporary stalemate. She could potentially stall, doing her best to avoid the Faunus's attacks, waiting to get lucky.

No. That wasn't a viable option. If Harriet kept hitting her with those energy balls, weak as they may be, they'd whittle down her Aura until she was tired out, ripe for a finishing blow. And then Harriet would simply have to teleport next to her and slice her up with her claws. There was no way she could just wait for that to happen, all while praying for a lucky shot. Years of being near Qrow had taught Summer that relying on luck was never a good idea.

Which meant… she'd just have to take a leap of faith. Faith, she found, was generally a lot less treacherous than luck.

She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, then. Loading up her quiver with four arrows, Summer slowly took aim at where Harriet was standing… and then quickly shifted her hand and fired three of the arrows all around her. She aimed the last arrow right beneath her, launching her upwards with an explosive blast.

As she soared through the air, Summer adjusted her trajectory to fly directly towards her foe, and saw her eyes widen in surprise as she approached. Harriet tried to teleport away, but the other arrows surrounded her, cutting off her escape route. Her body fizzled back into existence, right in the path of Summer's blade.

Summer drove her weapon forward with all her might, as Harriet desperately raised her claws to defend herself. The blade's tip made contact with her neck, and her Aura flickered to shield the rabbit Faunus as the force drove her backward, her feet grinding against the roof as she struggled to balance herself.

Harriet teleported out of her grip, and Summer did her best to track her Aura to predict her re-materialization points. You're not getting away again! She fired more arrows all around the building, having set them to manual detonation, trapping them both.

Snarling, Harriet ran at Summer with her claw gauntlets, swinging wildly as the sharp sounds of clashing steel filled the air. Struggling to keep up with the Faunus's faster attacks, Summer found her swords trapped between her claws. Ack! Unable to break free, she saw Harriet activate her weapon's gun barrels, aimed right between her eyes.

With all her strength, Summer raised her arms upward, feeling the pressure as Harriet's gauntlets fired into the sky. The Faunus pushed back, and as Summer tried to resist her, she fired another round at the trap arrows behind them. Several of them burst into flames in a chain reaction, clearing a path.

Then an idea flashed in Summer's mind. If Harriet was willing to try leading her on a chase and slowly tiring her out, then two could play at that game. Curving her blades, she managed to pull them out of Harriet's claws, and shifted them back into a bow.

She fired an explosive arrow near Harriet's feet, knocking her backward while launching her back into the air. In midair, she let loose another arrow, manually detonating it to give her further momentum. Looking down, Summer saw herself hovering above a partially wrecked building, one that had likely not been treated well by the current conflict.

I can land here. Where's Harr- Too late, she sensed the rabbit Faunus's Aura around her before Harriet reappeared right in front of her face. Grinning, she swung her leg back and delivered a roundhouse kick straight to Summer's stomach.

Summer opened her mouth to shout, but the rush of pain took all the wind out of her throat. She fell through the building's fragile roof, feeling her Aura plummet as it strained to block countless splinters from impaling her body. "Guh!" she gasped, landing face-first on the floor as dust and debris rained down onto her head.

Gripping her weapons, Summer leapt back as Harriet leapt down through the newly-formed hole in the ceiling, burying her claws in the floor. She looked up at the ceiling, noting that it was the only open passage out of the room.

After a moment's thought, she raised an earth Dust arrow and fired it upwards, covering the whole with a strong layer of stone. The room was plunged into darkness, and Summer knew this would give the Faunus an advantage over her. That's okay. As long as she can't escape, I'm willing to make that trade. After all, she knew how to fight in the dark… hopefully.

She could still sense Harriet's presence nearby, and feel the rush of wind as she swung her claws at her. She used that to her advantage, knowing that Harriet could tell where she was. It was a small room, after all, so trying to hide from her sight wouldn't have helped anyway. It all came down to combat skill, and Summer wasn't sure if that was good for her or for her enemy.

Bang! Bang! Shifting Phoenix Heart into gunblades, she began firing at Harriet, briefly lighting up the room with the muzzle shots. She saw Harriet recoil with a hiss at the sudden brightness. Seizing the moment, she ran at her with her swords, and this time the Faunus wasn't quite fast enough. Both of her weapons struck true, and she saw bright waves of Aura flicker across her chest.

"Hraaah!" Summer saw a deep flash of red light, as she saw Harriet's face enveloped with hatred and fury. The dark energy was enveloping her now, and with the dim, crimson light shining down on her expression, she looked more like a demon than either human or Faunus. Uh-oh, Summer thought. Guess she decided to get serious.

Harriet moved too fast for her too even see, and all she felt was the sharpness of claws against her chest as she was pushed back into the wall. The force sent her crashing right through it, out into the wrecked streets of Mistral. Through her pain, she heard the sound of screaming from somewhere nearby. Huh? That can't be right… I thought the city was evacuated…

Apparently, a few people hadn't gotten the notice, since a small crowd of civilians were staring at her in apprehensive shock as she staggered to her feet, a moment before Harriet materialized and gave her a sharp uppercut to the face. They all scattered in a panic as she fell back onto the cold, hard ground, Phoenix Heart falling from her hands.

"Aren't these the sort of people you said you said you would protect?" Harriet shouted, kicking away her weapon as Summer desperately reached for it. "Let's see you try and protect them now!" A ball of dark energy formed in her palm, aimed towards the fleeing civilians…

"No!" Summer screamed. She tried to grab Phoenix Heart and try to stop Harriet, but her weapon was too far away. And she knew that even if she were holding it in her hands right now, Harriet was simply too fast. In her enhanced state, when she was no longer holding back, there was nothing Summer could do to overpower her.

I can't do it! She thought. And then another thought materialized in her head, one that was strange yet familiar:

But I have to do it. Because I'm a Huntress - a warrior - and this the duty I must fulfill. Summer had heard that voice before: her own voice, but older, stronger, as if the Summer Rose speaking in her mind was the best possible version of herself. There had been times where she'd been in trouble, and that inner voice had granted her the strength she needed.

Summer's eyes darted open, and then a bright flash of silver light enveloped the area, causing Harriet to stagger back. "What?" she gasped, staring at her hands. The dark matter that surrounded her was still there, but it was flickering, dying, and Harriet herself seemed to be breathing more heavily, as if her energy had been drained.

A strange feeling in her heart, Summer got to her feet. She was glowing; glowing with the same light that had enveloped her back in Vacuo, when she had single-handedly obliterated a horde of Grimm and killed Argent Fox. This was the power that Ozpin had told her of: the one belonging to those known as the 'Chevaliers'.

They are a special form of magic, the headmaster had said. That targets the demonic essence that dwells within the Grimm.

So that was what Harriet's powers came from - the same 'demonic essence as the Creatures of Grimm. Without hesitation, Summer ran at her foe, grabbing her swords as she charged forward relentlessly.

Harriet met her strikes, but her expression betrayed her fear, and her movements were no longer as overwhelmingly fast as she once was. In Summer's current state, even the fastest of movements were perceptible to her, and her own body felt light as a feather. She could see and deflect all of Harriet's attacks, as if it was all coming naturally to her.

This is incredible! Summer couldn't imagine how she could have possibly been afraid of her power before. It was such a liberating feeling, to be able to go all out on her enemy without holding back. With her swords, she sliced through all of Harriet's attacks, and there was a sharp crack as several of her claws snapped from the impact.

Now visibly terrified, Harriet leapt back, looking around as a group of Grimm surrounded her, attracted by the chaos of the battle. Snarling, and with resolve still lingering in her eyes, she charged through the approaching beasts, tearing them apart with her remaining claws. Summer met her charge, slicing and shooting down a pair of Beowolves that approached her from either side.

A large shadow loomed over her, and Summer looked up to see a massive Beringel land right in front of her, shattering the ground beneath them. Grimacing, she held her footing, and silently looked at the Grimm in the eye, feeling strangely calm even as she stared upward at this beast that was nearly twice her size.

The Beringel stared back at her… and then its expression, if one could call it that, became one of utter terror, moments before its body froze into stone. Summer advanced forward, slicing its body apart with her swords, seeing Harriet's shocked face directly behind the deluge of Grimm rocks.

The rabbit Faunus raised her arm just in time, catching Summer's strike. Her blade cut through Harriet's gauntlet and into her palm, but she held on regardless. Snarling, Harriet brandished the claws over her other arm, ready to drive it into Summer's chest.

I could try to block her strike, Summer thought, her mind still calm, emotionless and utterly rational. Or… Suddenly, she dropped her other sword, and pulled out an explosive arrow from her quiver, raising it to meet Harriet's claws. The weapon sliced through the projectile… and then the whole world went white.

Summer could hear nothing but the sharp ringing in her ears as the explosion flung her backwards, into a large pile of rubble. When she recovered, and the world around her came back into clarity, her state had returned to normal. Suddenly, everything was moving at a normal speed again, and more importantly, she was not calm at all.

"Wha- what…?" Summer groaned, glancing around at the mess she'd made, struggling to regain her bearings. There were still Grimm in the area, but they were retreating to other parts of the city, where the sounds of steel and gunfire could still be heard. The battle's still going on, huh… she thought. Still, the sounds were not as intense as before, which meant things were finally starting to calm down.

Looking ahead of her, she saw Harriet lying motionless on her side, as her Aura finally fizzled out. Seeing her enemy looking so pathetic almost made Summer feel sorry for her, despite everything the rabbit Faunus had done, and all the trouble she'd caused her. She didn't look like an enemy of humanity right now - just a helpless young woman.

Did I do that to her? Summer shuddered, thinking about how she'd felt in that trance-like state. The power of the Chevaliers was truly something to behold, and she didn't think she'd ever really get used to it.

"Hey! That's her, isn't it? She's that Faunus who attacked us!" Summer saw come of the civilians return to the area, seeing Harriet sprawled out on the ground. "Damn bitch… I bet she's one of those White Fang ferals!"

"Those damn animals!" Another man spat. "First Atlas and now Mistral? It's like no place is safe from their vile, filthy hands."

Harriet slowly began to stir. "Hey, she's still alive!" someone yelled. "Wh-what do we do? What if she tries to kill us?"

"We're not gonna give her that chance!" A woman screamed, running up to the Faunus and giving her a sharp kick to the stomach. Harriet let out a hoarse scream as several of her ribs were fractured with a sickening crunch.

"H-hey!" Summer yelled, trying to crawl her way towards them. Red-hot pain flashed through her body, stopping her in her tracks. "Stop it! There's no need to attack! She's no longer a threat to you!"

Her words fell on deaf ears. Like some horrible domino effect, all the other civilians began to gang up on Harriet, beating her with their fists, legs, nearby rocks, or anything that could possibly be used to hurt someone. There were the sounds of bones breaking, of blood spilling out onto the street, and the sounds of her screams of pain, that slowly began to grow weaker.

"Stop it! Let her go!" Summer yelled, but even as she crawled her way through the pain, she was too far away to do anything, and Phoenix Heart lay uselessly some distance away. She saw one of the men grab Harriet's limp, bloody form, holding her up by the neck, a look of utter revulsion on his face.

Suddenly, a memory flashed through her mind. It was of her very first day at Beacon, after the opening ceremony. Before she and Tai had even met the Branwen twins, they had befriended young, meek Harriet Maroon, only to watch her get picked on by Jin, the school bully. Summer remembered how Jin had held the Faunus up by the neck, taunting her with that horrible expression. And she remembered how, without a second thought, she'd rushed in to save her.

That whole situation - poor, helpless Harriet needing to be saved - was all a lie the girl had fabricated. And yet, even now, she didn't regret doing it. Because it was what had to be done. It had been her duty… not as a warrior, not as a Chevalier, but as a Huntress.

"STOOOOOP!" Summer yelled - or rather, commanded, and then she saw a flash of bright light… but not from her eyes. Instead, what she saw was a globe of silver energy surround Harriet, knocking her assailants away. They all gasped in shock as the Faunus girl was encased in a bright, protective shield, and stared at the young woman who had summoned it.

Is this also a Chevalier's power? She wondered in awe, but somewhere in her heart she knew that wasn't this case. This power was her own, not from some ancient, powerful lineage she couldn't hope to understand. It was her ability and hers alone… her Semblance. I… finally did it, she thought, looking at the silver dome that surrounded Harriet. After all these years, I did it!

"There's… no need to hurt her," Summer said firmly.

"She's our enemy!" One of the citizens spat.

"She was," Summer agreed, "but now she's lost. Look at her right now. Can you say she poses any harm to us in that state? And if not, can you really say she's our enemy anymore?" She paused as the civilians all turned to look at each other, and none of them could give her an answer.

"Summer… why…?" Inside the barrier, Harriet's eyes fluttered open, Blood spilled out from the girl's mouth as she struggled to speak. "Why would… you help me?"

Summer opened her mouth, wanting to give her a reason. But she'd never exactly had a way with words, so all she could say were words she'd known for quite some time. Words she'd said before.

"Because I'm a Huntress," she said simply. "My role is to protect people who can't protect themselves. That's all."

Harriet said nothing. After a minute of silence, there was a bright flicker as her Aura restored itself. Suddenly, the barrier around her faded away, and the rabbit Faunus fell to her knees.

So I can create shields around people… but only if they have no Aura, Summer thought. I see. So that's how my Semblance works.

She expected the civilians to attack Harriet again, but they all stood idly by. Harriet's eyes turned to Summer, and the expression on her face was that of defeat… but also maybe, just maybe, a hint of gratitude. Without saying a word, Harriet simply nodded at her, and then activated her Semblance, swiftly teleporting away.

It's… over. Almost the moment Harriet was gone, Summer fell to her knees, as if all her energy had left her in a moment. "I… really am tired," she muttered out loud, feeling the world spinning around her. She looked around at the city, straining to listen for sounds of battle.

I wonder… how Tai and Qrow are doing, she thought wearily, as the ground itself melted beneath her. Closing her eyes, she allowed the darkness to swallow her whole.

She dreamed she was in Atlas, on the day her team had won their first ever Vytal Festival Tournament match.

Against all odds, the novice Team STRQ had triumphed the tournament's number one cede, Team LIME of Atlas, in the qualification round. Raven and Tai had been the real stars of the show, taking down the famed Latte Adel and his partner Isa, though Summer had at least gotten some points for wearing the Huntsman down. Qrow had… well, he'd gotten eliminated in basically the first minute.

After becoming small-time celebrities in the kingdom, the four of them had gone out for a celebration with Team HTHR, who had also won their first match. Tai had danced like the endearing fool he was, Heather and Raven had exchanged battle tactics, a drunken Qrow had tried repeatedly challenges Regal and Torrence to duels, while Summer and Harriet had discussed both girls' growths as Huntresses.

It was a bit strange, perhaps. If she was reminiscing about her favourite moments at Beacon, especially those that involved the Vytal Tournament, why not remember the time they actually won the grand championship? Surely, that would have been Summer's happiest and proudest memory.

But she knew the reason. Because that day in Atlas had, in a way, been the last truly peaceful day Summer and her friends had ever had. They had no worries back then; they knew that whatever form their enemy might take, they would inevitably emerge victorious, and looked forward to graduating from Beacon and seeing more of the world outside the kingdoms.

Shortly afterwards, they'd learned the truth about Harriet, and then nothing had ever been the same. From that moment on, Summer couldn't know who to trust anymore. Between Harriet, her mysterious 'Grandmaster', Qrow and Raven's family members, and the moles running the kingdom of Atlas… it had all spiraled into some grand conspiracy she could never hope to understand.

No matter how much she wanted to go back to those happy days, the simpler days, she knew she couldn't. And it was with that thought that the dream shattered, and Summer found herself waking up.

"Ah-" she gasped, then blinked as she took in her surroundings. Judging from the soft silken sheets beneath her, green and brown wallpapers, and soft scent of lavender, she was in the infirmary at Haven Academy. I need to stop waking up in places like this, Summer thought glumly, gingerly wiping her eyes.

Then she blinked, and suddenly remembered the events that had led her there. The city. She looked around frantically. "H-hey, who brought me here?" Summer stammered, instinctively grasping for Phoenix Heart, which lay at her bedside. "Is everyone alright? Tai, Qrow, are they-"

"Your friends are all safe and sound," came a soothing voice from nearby. Summer turned to see a tall, dark-skinned wolf Faunus sitting cross-legged on the couch near the window, flipping through the pages of a book. She vaguely remembered seeing this woman fighting on the front lines during the battle.

"As for who brought you here, it seems some concerned citizens saw you passing out and carried you here once the carnage had ceased," the woman continued. "And I offered to watch over you until you recovered - which I must say, happened impressively quickly."

She walked over to Summer and extended a hand. "It's an honour to finally meet you, Summer Rose. My name is Phoebe Wanejaw, though I'm afraid there's nothing more to my name than being a humble servant of the Emerald Order."

Summer froze, her hand just barely touching the older Huntress's. "Oh… you're Phoebe?" she murmured.

Phoebe frowned. "Is there a problem, Miss Rose?" she asked, tilting her head quizzically.

"N-no, nothing," Summer said, shaking her head. "It's just that Professor Stein mentioned you to us before the attack started. About your past with Crowley, and… well…"

The wolf Faunus sighed, closing her eyes as she gently seated herself onto the bed. "I understand. It's true that I wasn't very familiar with the Huntsmen, or human society in general, during my life living in the forest. I learned to see everything, especially outside forces, as an enemy that had to be destroyed. It was what I had to do to survive."

"But…" Summer hesitated, looking at this woman she'd never met before. It was hard to imagine her as the sort of person who would kill Huntsmen; in fact, she looked incredibly kind and wise. But then again, Raven had been the same way. It was starting to dawn on her just how difficult it was to see who people were, or who they might eventually become.

"You don't really look like that sort of person," she admitted.

Phoebe nodded. "Not anymore, perhaps. It was only after Professor Ozpin showed me the outside world that I understood what humanity was truly like. I saw people help each other for no other reason other than it was the right thing to do. I saw groups and governments building foundations for a better world. I saw that the world outside the one I had always known was beautiful, and I dedicated myself to protecting it."

She glanced at Summer who was still sitting quietly. "I can see you're still unsure why Ozpin took me in. Why he wanted my former enemies, people who'd lost precious things because of my actions, to work together with me. Even now, I don't fully understand it, either… but I do know that the professor is a man thoroughly dedicated to whatever goal he might pursue. And to achieve his goal, he'll do things he might not himself approve of… and he has no qualms with making others do the same."

Summer laughed softly. "That… sounds like him, yeah."

"But I can tell from a glance that you are different, Miss Rose," Phoebe continued. "The only thing you fight for is to protect the people close to you - your friends and loved ones. A simple motivation… but an incredibly effective one." The Faunus smiled at her. "Speaking of your friends, they should be in the dining hall right now. I think you'd like to see them, yes?"

"Yeah," Summer nodded. "That… would be nice." She got out of bed, wincing as sharp needles of pain jolted through her legs as her feet touched the floor. "Ow, ow, ow…"

"Careful now," Phoebe said gently. "You are still recovering, after all. I'll be sure to tell Carnelia that you're alright. And I'm sure Ozpin will be pleased to know as well… though I doubt it will surprise him."

Groggily, Summer made her way out of the infirmary and down the halls of Haven Academy. She quickly realized the problem in this, which was that she wasn't at all familiar with the school's interior, and soon found herself hopelessly lost. After what felt like hours, she found herself in the cafeteria, where her friends were sitting around a large table.

Despite their victory, there was an unmistakably gloomy atmosphere pervading the room. Everything was utterly silent, aside from the occasional sound of someone eating. Nobody seemed to have much of an appetite, despite the delicious aroma of garlic-roasted bread, steaks, carrot cake and other delicacies.

Tai was the first to turn his head at her arrival. "Hey, Summer!" he said, waving to her as his eyes lit up. "Glad to see you're okay!"

Qrow didn't say anything; he just nodded silently as he munched on some casserole, looking even more miserable than usual. Physically, he didn't look much better; he had a black eye and several bandages around his arms, over wounds that Aura couldn't immediately heal.

"Well… I seem to be alive, at least," Summer laughed, trying her best to lighten the mood. Aside from a light chuckle by Tai, it didn't seem to have any effect.

"Yep. We can count that as a blessing - that all of us made it out safe and sound." Latte Adel sat coolly with his feet crossed on the table, sipping a cup of hot cocoa. "We managed to get some action, and prevented a bad situation from getting worse in the process. I consider that a win-win."

"I'm glad you were there to help, Latte," Summer said. She also gave a quick smile and nod to Regal and Torrence. "Without you guys, I don't know if we would have been able to turn the tides of the battle."

"The one you should really be thanking is Heather," Regal said. "You'd think her Semblance was super-speed with how quickly she got all of us together. Besides, getting back into action and fighting alongside you guys again? How could we resist?"

Heather smiled. "I simply did what anyone would have done. And Summer's right, of course - we needed everyone's collaboration in order to prevail. Though I still couldn't find any trace of Herman. I just wish…" She looked down at her lap.

"Hm? What is it?" Summer asked.

"I heard you fought Harriet during the battle." Heather's gaze met hers. "What… happened to her? Did you… ?"

Summer shook her head. "The two of us fought, and after a while I managed to win - barely." She decided to not make any mention of her Chevalier powers activating. "Harriet managed to escape, but…" Frowning, she remembered the look on the rabbit Faunus' face right before she had teleported away. "Somehow, I don't think she'll be back to challenge us after this. I don't mean that we've seen the last of her, bu-"

"If she's not gonna be a threat to us anymore," Qrow growled, "then that's all that needs to be said. We won't have to worry about her again." His scowl had only deepened since the conversation had begun.

Qrow… Summer thought anxiously. Are you alright? And then she immediately felt quite stupid. After the betrayal of Raven - not only his precious teammate, but his twin sister - he must be feeling absolutely awful. It probably wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he'd lost half of himself today.

Tai, who no doubt felt a similar pain, also picked up on his friend's discomfort. "H-hey Qrow…" he said.

The tension in the air grew suffocating. I should change the subject. "O-Oh! Also, during the battle, something awesome happened!" Summer said, clapping her hands together as her eyes lit up. "I finally maanged to use my Semblance! Better really, really late than never, right?"

"Ohh, your Semblance?" Latte looked at her eagerly. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time! Me and the girls actually made some bets on what it would be back at Atlas. So what is it?"

Everyone's eyes were on her now, and Summer couldn't help but feel nervous. "I can create shields around other people," she said, raising her hands for dramatic effect. "To keep them from harm. It even knocks you away if you try to smash through it!"

"Aww, so it's not explosive Aura," Latte sighed. "I was way off, then. I think Marguerite's guess about reinforcing other people's Aura was the closest. I'll be sure to give her an extra tip next time I stop by the bar… if she doesn't get fired by then."

"That's a really cool Semblance!" Tai said, looking excited again. "Hey, can we get a demonstration?"

"Ummm, I don't think so," Summer laughed. "Actually, as far as I can tell, it only works on people who have no Aura, so we'll have to wait for an actual battle before you can see it."

"Well, if we can't see it, then we can't sure you're not just lying to us, right?" Tai asked teasingly, and they both laughed.

The discomforting atmosphere seemed to have been dispelled, but Qrow still sat unmoving, his expression unchanged. I don't think this is just about Raven, Summer realized, and began to feel a bit anxious.

"Hey, Qrow…" She said. "Do you have something on your mind? You can tell us whatever you're thinking."

"I'm just wondering," her boyfriend said. "Wondering if this is really all over."

Tai blinked. "Over? What do you mean? Of course it's all over! We won, man! We defeated the White Fang extremists and saved the city! Don't tell me you're so caught up in the Huntsman life that you've forgotten how to take a well-deserved break."

"It's just…" Qrow grimaced. "I don't know why, but I can't shake the feeling that we're missing something…"

"Well, things could have gone a little messier," Ragna said to himself, pacing around the room. "But whatever. We got the job done in the end. That's all that matters, right?"

He directed his question towards the sleeping girl, still encased in her capsule. As always, there was no response, besides the faint sound of her breathing against the glass. "Aww, you're no fun," the boy muttered.

Ragna Branwen began to think about his cousins, and what they might be doing right now. His father's predictions had been spot-on, of course: The lost kingdom of Eden was real. Harriet Maroon's plans had resulted in utter failure. Qrow had rejected the tribe's offer, while Raven had ultimately embraced her old way of life.

To be perfectly honest, even he hadn't expected Raven to be that much of a selfish bitch, but it had proved to be an amusing surprise. And to think that by doing so, she had unintentionally brought both Ozpin and Salem's gambits to ruin. It was a funny thought, how one little arrow was enough to do so much damage to two all-powerful beings like that.

All-powerful, my ass, Ragna thought disdainfully. We're just getting started. Soon they'll both be torn down to shreds, and those arrogant bastards won't even see it coming.

He heard the portal open from beside him, and grinned as he saw the young Huntsman step out. "Well, look who finally decided to show up!" he laughed. "Thanks for your cooperation, by the way. It's a shame about your friends, but at least you got the job done, right?"

"To hell with your compliments," Crowley Cloake snapped, closing the white vortex behind him. "Besides, I didn't do this for you, or for your old man."

"Right, right, I forgot. This is your little revenge story. Revenge for your bitch girlfriend or something? I really don't give a shit, but I seem to recall it was something like that."

The archer shrugged. "You can call it revenge if you want. Ozpin, the Dark Queen… I wanted them both gone. As long as the two of them keep fighting, thousands of people will just keep dying…. And most of them will be those caught in the middle. That includes Miriam, and now my other teammates, too."

There was a flash of combined grief and rage in Crowley's eyes as he spoke. "Not only did Ozpin force me to work together with the one who killed my partner, but he even looked me right in the eyes and told me that her sacrifice would be worthwhile. I still remembered how I wanted to kill him right then and there… I mean, the bastard was the one who sent us on that damn mission, you know?"

"Well, you have my deepest sympathies," Ragna said, smirking.

"Of course, Salem's no better," Crowley continued. "Neither of 'em would even exist without the other, after all. That's when i decided the only solution was to destroy them both… and as luck would have it, you guys had the perfect solution for that."

Ragna smiled. "Well, my father did, anyway. But that's beside the point. I'll give you one thing, suggesting the poisoned arrow idea to Ozpin was a stroke of genius on your part. Now that you've fulfilled your role, what are you gonna do?"

"What can I do?" Crowley said. "Now that your plans have been set in motion, there's nothing left for me. I'll just stick around, I guess - see what unfolds. Maybe I'll even help you out a bit, shoot down a few more targets for old time's sake, before it all ends. Who knows?"

Ragna didn't know, and he really didn't care. "Do whatever you want. Or don't. Either way, my father should be getting the party ready, so I better do my part, too." He walked up to the capsule and placed his hand on the glass.

"Aurora Fox, the Winter Maiden," he muttered. "One of the best and most righteous Huntresses ever to graduate from Atlas Academy. But from what I've heard, she had just one big problem… nothing was ever enough for her. She wanted to protect people, but there were always too many problems to solve. Too many enemies to fight. Maybe a part of her knew the truth: that she was being made to fight in a war without an end."

Ragna reached into his pocket and retrieved something - a small, wriggling black mass. After a few seconds, it took shape - a black rat, with molten red eyes and a white mask of bone. It hissed slightly as it struggled vainly against the boy's grip.

"That's the Mephisto Grimm," Crowley muttered, eyes widening. "The thing that caused all those incidents in Atlas a few years ago? That one that Harriet used?"

"Yep, that's the one," Ragna said. Opening a hatch in the capsule, he tossed the rat inside. Within seconds, the entire container was filled with a deep black fluid, spreading throughout its form as if the Grimm were dissolving. Soon, there was no trace of the sleeping girl behind the glass.

And then, after about a minute, the capsulte began to shake - softly at first, but growing more violent by the second. And then from within the darkness came several bright rays of light, as white and cold as winter itself. The archer backed away from it in fear, but Ragna stood his ground, grinning as he watched the trembling rise to a fever pitch.

"Time for the final act," he said.

A/N:

If you're wondering why it took this long for Summer to get a Semblance, the answer is that I had no idea what it would be for the longest time (plus when I originally started I had hope that the series would reveal it before long, which obviously didn't happen). I ultimately went with this one since I felt it fit perfectly with the character I established for her.

Cheers,

donutkirby