Author's Notes: Hey, what's kickin. I'm Friend, and this is the sequel to I Will Not Scatter. Just a quick heads up, the majority of this story will be from Summer's point of view, taking place after Mountain Glenn. There will be chapters, including this one, that will be in other people's POVs and at different points of time. This will be the only volume in Summer's perspective, before going back to Raven. Also, if you're new here, welcome! Hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, just the OC's.

Music choice: Hanazeve Caradhina and First Layer from the Made in Abyss OST (holy fuck, great show, I cried like a baby)

Looking Glass

Chapter 1

Candle

Nine years before team RWBY

Yang hummed under her breath as she put one small foot in front of the other. The eight year old had been walking since dawn, following the dirt road mile after mile. Behind her, Ruby was sitting in the little red wagon, her red hood up as she peered about at the scenery.

Patch had never seemed big to Yang before now. The town, which she had left far behind her, was made of cramped cobbled streets, bicycle lanes and low tech buildings; it was always quiet compared to Vale, which she loved to visit with her father and uncle.

Now Vale was BIG! The Kingdom was amazing, full of gleaming buildings, life, stores, and people, people, people; Yang could barely wrap her head around how many humans and faunus lived there. She couldn't wait to move to Vale for school.

"Yang?"

Yang smiled over her shoulder at her little sister. Ruby's face was pinched, tired; Yang felt a flicker of worry.

"Yea, Ruby?"

"How much farther is it?"

Yang took a breath, looking ahead of them; the road went on and on, lined by autumn leaves and old oak trees. She pulled the picture out again, the one she'd found under the dresser.

A tall, pale woman looked back at her with crimson eyes. Her hair was nearly as unruly as Yang's, black and long; there was a scar underneath her collar bone. At first look, the picture wasn't very remarkable; the woman was just smiling at the camera, as if someone had just told a dumb joke and she was trying not to laugh. However, she was holding a bundle in her arms, one wrapped in a familiar blue blanket; blonde hair and lavender eyes peeked up at the woman, a tiny hand waving at her as baby Yang laughed.

On the back of the photograph was writing, in a style that Yang had instantly recognized as Summer's.

"Our girls! At the new place by Talford Lake 3"

Yang hadn't known exactly what to make of this discovery; what was more, was that she had actually recognized the woman. She had shown up in their house one night; Yang had found her digging in their fridge, trying to get milk for Ruby's cereal. Their uncle had strangers over frequently, though, so the incident had slipped from her mind until she saw the photograph.

Experience had taught her not to ask her father about anything related to Summer. So she had taken the photograph to her uncle Qrow. Her uncle, who was very casual about most things, had become quite serious as he held the photo; however, he had sat down with her that afternoon and told her the truth. The woman in the photograph, 'Rae' as she had introduced herself that one strange night, was her biological mother.

Yang had never even considered that Summer wasn't her mother, and had grown quite upset as she peppered her uncle with questions; Qrow had assured her that Summer was her mother, and that Yang was special, because she had more than one. One that was apparently alive, just…not with them. Yang had decided right there that she was going to find Rae again.

"It's not far, Ruby, I promise," Yang said, putting the picture in her pocket. "See! There's the road-sign! Talford Lake, one and a half miles! No sweat!"

Ruby nodded wearily.

"Ok. Hey Yang?"

"Yea?"

"I really need to peeee," Ruby squirmed. Yang sighed good-naturedly.

"Okaaay," Yang set the wagon's handle down, folding her arms. "Go behind the bushes."

Ruby clambered out of the wagon, her too big hood flopping down over her head. Yang chuckled. Ruby trotted over to the bushes, pushing her way through the shrubbery. Yang kept a careful eye on her sister and their surroundings. Patch had very few Grimm overall, but one had to always be prepared for such things. Yang had even seen Beowolves once, before her father beat them to ashes.

"Don't go far!" Yang called.

"I'm noooot!" Ruby sang back to her. Yang could still see the red of her hood through the branches.

Yang waited patiently. Then less patiently as the minutes went by. She huffed, rolling her eyes as she looked up; it was getting pretty late, and they still had to make the trip back home. Yang wasn't afraid of spending the night in the woods; she could just climb a tree or something. However, she couldn't risk Ruby like that.

"Ruby, c'mon!"

The red cloak didn't move. Yang frowned slightly as she started to break out in goosebumps on her arms. She pushed forward through the shrubbery.

"Ruby? Hey, answer me, okay-" Yang reached out and tugged at the cloak which promptly fell to the ground. It had been hanging from the snarled branches of the bushes.

Yang's heart stopped.

"Ruby?!"

She spun, desperately scanning the brown, red and grey of the forest for her sister.

"Not funny sis! Come out and I promise I won't kick your little butt!"

The only answer was the wind whispering through the trees. Yang panted fearfully as she trotted further into the forest. Her fists were clenched, and she could feel the heat from her Semblance rising in response to her fear.

"Ruby?! Ruby, where are you?!"

"Rubyyy, where are youuu," mimicked a mocking voice.

Yang spun, her fists up defensively like her father had taught her, stance widening. A boy with dark hair and red eyes was grinning at her from a tree, swinging his legs impetuously.

"Where's my sister?!" Yang demanded angrily.

The boy giggled impishly, before suddenly jumping to the ground; he popped to his feet, tilting his head as he smirked. Yang glared. She would punch his smug mouth right in, and if he'd hurt her sister, he better pray that's all she did.

With another cackle, boy suddenly spun and took off running through the undergrowth. Yang's jaw dropped in outrage.

"Hey, get back here!"

Yang sprinted after him, aura fueling her limbs to give her an extra burst of speed; yet the boy was just as fast as she was, and apparently knew the woods well. He would let her get close, before twisting away or leaping over a log or rock, laughing all the while. Yang kept trying to cut him off, but she never could.

After several long minutes of this chase, Yang lost him in a thicket by a mossy mound besides an old tree. She could still hear his laughter, taunting her. Angry and afraid, Yang circled the tree, trying to find a way to get at the punk.

"Oh you are so dead-" Yang growled, circling again.

"Well... I mean, technically," chuckled another voice.

Yang started, glancing over her shoulder. She didn't see anyone, though a shadow moved across the boulder to her right; however, it was just a stray cat. The cat stared at her blatantly, its tail waving in lazy loops behind it. It was an odd looking feline, but Yang didn't have time for cats.

"You know, you really are wasting an incredible amount of energy," the cat yawned. "Your sister is perfectly safe."

Yang blinked slowly. She must have hit her head on a branch, maybe she'd knocked herself out. Because she couldn't be hearing a talking cat. That was impossible.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" the feline chuckled, standing up in a luxurious stretch.

"Wh...what?"

The oddly mottled creature leapt to the forest floor without a sound.

"Hmm. Looks like you got your father's brains then. Shame."

Yang felt dizzy as she stared at the grinning cat by her feet. Her vision was going dark around the edges.

"That's it, love. Nighty night."

The ground seemed to swell up to meet her as she collapsed into the leaves.

….

Yang groaned, rolling over as she tried to get comfortable. Their bedroom must have the window cracked, because she was pretty cold. The eight year old debated getting up to shut it or just flaring her aura under the comforter to get warm. She sniffed, suddenly unsettled by something, or a lack thereof. Slowly, she realized she couldn't smell roses; their room always smelled like roses.

Her eyes shot open as she remembered the forest. Yang sprang up and nearly knocked herself out as her head crashed into a root. She whimpered, pressing her fingers to the knot on her forehead. Golden aura trickled across her vision as the welt began to heal.

Yang peered blearily at her surroundings. It looked like she was in a bedroom, one made of twisted boughs, roots and rocks. It was dry but cool, as a breeze fluttered through the open doorway. Yang climbed off the pile of furs and blankets she had been resting on, looking for some sign of whomever had brought her here. Yet she was alone.

Apprehensive, she approached the open door. She could see out into the night, across a field covered in lush, waving grass. In the distance, she noticed the outline of another forest, this one green and alight with bonfires. Yang looked up and gasped; overhead, she could see thousands of fireflies, swirling in wild, beautiful patterns against a velvet black sky.

"-think you're doing, but if you don't send them back I will personally make your miserable nine lives a fucking nightmare."

"Let's be reasonable, now, love. It's not like we're going to hurt them."

Yang almost rushed out of the house when she heard the 'cat's' voice. However, she managed to restrain herself. Instead, she crouched down and scurried around the perimeter. She was awful at sneaking, and her footsteps seemed loud, even to her.

"Reasonable? You want me to be reasonable?" said a woman, her voice tense, simmering with anger. "I think taking your fat head off is mighty reasonable right about now, wouldn't you agree, Waiting?"

"Waiting…"

"Waiting, you bloody snitch, I thought we were pals?"

"Heh, waiting."

"I'm calling you Wanker from now on-"

"Set. Shut up," the woman growled. "You went behind my back."

Yang poked her head around the corner of the house. She could see several figures standing together; one was possibly a man. Another looked like a little boy with short ginger hair; the last was the woman, dressed in black and red. She was wearing a frightening helm, like a Nevermore's skull. Her armored fingers were clenched around her sword hilt.

"Oh come now-"

"Try me. Try me the fuck again, and pull another stunt like this," the woman stalked towards the man. His figure was shifty, like a heat mirage. Set held his hands up to placate her.

"You don't come near them, either of them, ever again. They are not involved. Our problems are not their problems, and it will be over my dead body that you try to change that. Am I making myself clear?"

The man sighed dramatically.

"You can't keep them out of it forever! Sheltering them won't keep those two out of their reach, you know that. Especially Ruby!"

Ruby?

"They're children! Dust, you think you're better than him? You aren't! You're just like him!"

The man frowned suddenly, a stark contrast to the loopy smile that had been plastered to his face before. It frightened her; Yang covered her mouth as she gasped. There was something inhuman about him, when he made faces like that.

"You're forgetting yourself, Raven."

Yang tilted her head curiously.

"I'm not forgetting a damn thing," Raven spat. "You stay away from my kids."

Raven….

Yang's eyes widened as she inhaled.

"Oh yeaaaa, you're the real mother of the bloody year," scoffed Set.

Yang walked out from behind the wall; hiding had never been her strong suite anyways. Set grinned at her and waved. Raven's shoulders stiffened. Yang stared, mouth parting as she tried to find something to say; she had a thousand questions, yet none of them would come to her save one.

"…Mom?"

Raven paused, hesitating, before turning towards her.

"Welp! I'll give you two a minute, eh?" clapped Set, sauntering off behind the house. "I need to go run an errand anyways. C'mon Wanker!"

The ginger boy smiled at her before darting after Set. Yang and Raven stood there in the grass, the moment seemingly frozen until Yang broke it by walking steadily forward. Raven let her hand drop from her hilt, her hands reaching up to remove her helmet. The woman from the photograph, and from her memory, shook her hair free as she looked back at her.

"Hello…Yang," Raven said. She gave a small, nervous smile.

Yang, despite her confusion, beamed and rushed forward; she wrapped her arms around Raven's waist. The woman halted, surprised, before hugging her back. Yang sniffled suddenly, tears springing to her eyes unbidden.

"Mom," Yang said again, burying her face.

"Heeey sweetheart," Raven said softly. "It's ok."

Strong, gentle hands picked her up, pulling her into a hug as Yang cried. She smelled like campfire smoke and spruce trees.

"Shhh honey, it's ok."

…

"Where have you been?" Yang asked. "Why did you leave?"

They were sitting on a toppled, stone monolith in the middle of the field; all around them, fireflies flickered and danced. She could hear music in the distant forest, singing and wild whooping. Figures darted throughout the forest, shining and strange. Raven leaned back on her hands as she watched the fireflies, her eyes thoughtful.

"Some things are too difficult for…grownups to explain, in a way that will make sense to children," Raven said after a long minute. "It wasn't because I didn't love you, or…daddy, or mommy. Or Ruby."

Raven stared out across the field, to some far away point as she took a shaky breath.

"Because I do. But because of that, I also had to make a very hard choice: to do what I wanted, or to do the right thing."

Yang frowned in confusion, looking out over the sea of grass.

"How was leaving the right thing?" Yang protested. "I didn't even know about you!"

"…I know. I didn't want you to."

Yang turned towards Raven sharply, her lavender eyes widening with hurt.

"But why?! That's not fair!"

"No, it's not," Raven whispered, glancing her way. "I'm sorry."

Before Yang could ask her more questions, however, the grass below them rustled as two small figures burst out of it, giggling. Ruby was running hand in hand with a little girl with bright orange hair. Yang leapt to her feet.

"Ruby!"

Her sister beamed up at her. In the dark, her eyes gleamed a silvery blue as she grinned.

"Hi Yang!"

Yang frowned.

"You scared me! Where did you go?" she demanded.

Ruby paused, rocking guiltily on her feet.

"I dunno. I don't know what happened! But, look," Ruby pulled the other girl towards them, gesturing. "I made a friend! This is Penny!"

"Sal-u-tations!" Penny smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet you again!"

Yang made a face.

"Again?"

Penny bobbed her head awkwardly, suddenly bashful.

"Um-yes! Again, for me, but not yet for you? I think? I'm not sure."

Raven huffed, brushing hair from her eyes in frustration.

"Penny…We talked about this."

"I know! But then I saw Ruby!" Penny smiled brightly. She seemed nearly even more innocent than Yang's sister, if such a thing was possible. "And well. I wanted to introduce her to my friends!"

Penny pointed up at the fireflies, smiling merrily.

"They're so lovely! And Ruby was scared, so I knew they'd make her feel better!"

Ruby kicked at the ground, embarrassed. Yang didn't have a clue what the odd little ginger was talking about; but Ruby liked her, so that counted for something. Ruby was a great judge of character.

"Huh," Yang shrugged, patting the stone beside her. "Ok then."

Ruby clambered up next to her, followed by Penny. Raven glanced towards the forest as the singing increased, narrowing her eyes. Yang followed her gaze.

"Mom…where are we?"

Raven sighed. She looked tired. Ruby scooted in between them, giggling as she moved to the edge of the rock, swinging her legs over the side.

"Somewhere you shouldn't be, through no fault of your own," Raven said. "You will need to leave soon. It's dangerous here."

"But it's so beautiful!" Ruby exclaimed, tossing her hands up. "Look at that thing! It's like a shiny giraffe!"

Her sister pointed exuberantly at a strange creature strolling across the grass towards the forest. It was shining, with a multitude of faerie lights. Yang had never seen anything like it before. Raven smiled at them.

"Yes, it is."

"Well, you're coming back with us, right?" Yang asked, suddenly hopeful. "We can go home together!"

"Oooh yea!" Ruby bounced. "We wanted to find the cabin in the photo, to see if you still lived there-"

Raven's eyes widened fearfully, making Yang pause.

"-and we did even better, because we found you! And Penny, too!" Ruby giggled.

"A mission success!" Penny declared, pointing up.

"I see," Raven said after a moment, glancing away. "Girls, listen-"

"Uncle Qrow will be happy, and I bet dad will be happy too," Yang cut in desperately. She could see the answer on Raven's face.

"Babies. I can't," Raven shook her head. Yang felt her heart drop and her shoulders slumped. Raven winced.

"Listen, sweethearts," Raven started quietly. "There's things I have to do that…I can't walk away from. And daddy and I aren't on the best of terms anymore."

Yang stared back out at the field in disappointment.

"Well…you can still come visit us!" exclaimed Ruby. "That would be good, too!"

Raven nodded, smiling sadly.

"I can manage that."

"Yea?!" Yang grinned. "That would awesome!"

Her mom nodded again, before turning back towards the forest. Finally she stood up.

"It would be. But now we need to get you kids home, ok?" she said.

Ruby and Yang acquiesced to this agreement, following Raven down the sloping stone and through the field; Penny trailed after them, pointing things out to Ruby the whole time. Yang couldn't remember the last time she'd been so excited. The last few years had been hard; her dad, whom she loved with her whole heart, had been so sad and distant since Summer died. Uncle Qrow was great, but he had his own job too, and was often gone on long missions as a hunter. It would be nice to have visits to look forwards to.

They finally reached the house once more. Set was sitting in front of it, watching them approach. Yang wasn't sure what to make of the strange, shifty man who was possibly also a cat. A circle of stones covered in strange markings were laid out before him.

Raven held Yang's and Ruby's hands as they walked into the circle. Ruby gave Penny a final hug; the ginger hugged her back fiercely.

"I'll see you again soon, right?" asked Ruby.

"Oh yes! Very soon, actually!" proclaimed Penny. "Don't forget about me ok?"

"Of course not!"

Raven watched them, brushing at something on her cheek. Yang held her hand tightly in hers as her mother knelt beside her in the circle.

"You promise you'll visit?" Yang asked, wrapping her arms around her. Raven pulled her close; her hands were trembling.

"Yes. I promise."

Yang sniffed and smiled brightly. After a long moment, Raven let go. She stood and walked away, stopping outside the circle. She didn't look back.

"Do it," she whispered to Set. The strange man cracked his knuckles, standing quickly.

"Alrighty girls! Safe travels!"

The stones began to glow and the circle was immersed in light. Yang held Ruby's hand tightly as the light spread over them, warm as a summer's breeze. The last thing Yang saw was Raven glancing back over her shoulder, tears streaming down her face.

…

Yang woke with a start, shooting up in her bunkbed. Team RWBY's dorm room was dark, save for the silvery light of the half-moon shining through their window. Yang glanced around, the fragments of her dream haunting her even as they flittered away.

Disturbed, the brawler climbed out her bed as quietly as she could; Ruby and Weiss were generally heavy sleepers, though Rubes could occasionally be a bit of an insomniac. However, her partner was a notoriously light sleeper.

Yang looked up at the bed that hung over her own. Blake was curled up, her face peeking out from under her covers at the room; her eyes were still closed.

Sighing slowly, Yang tiptoed to her desk and pawed blindly for her card key. After locating it, she felt for the door handle leading to the hall and slipped outside. The hallway was quiet, the lights dim. Next door, she could hear Nora snoring; smiling, Yang shook her head and made her way down the hall in her pajamas.

Yang wasn't sure where she wanted to go, but she felt walking might help her hang on to the fragments of dream a bit longer. It had been extremely vivid, more like a memory than a dream; however, it clashed with her memories of the event from so long ago.

She and Ruby had tried to find the cabin by the lake, and found it they did; but they also found Grimm, and Yang had almost gotten herself and Ruby killed. If Qrow hadn't reached them in time, they would have died.

She frowned as she turned a corner and made for a staircase to the roof. She pushed the door open, lost in thought. Perhaps she had eaten something a bit undercooked and gotten strange dreams for her troubles; but something about the dream was nagging at her, especially with recent events.

Yang had been searching for Raven for years, from seedy dive bars, to criminal underground club scenes. It shouldn't be a shock that she had dreamed about her long lost mother, and considering how weird things had been all semester, her brain had plenty of fuel for all kinds of shenanigans.

And yet…

Yang walked out onto the dormitory roof. The fall air was brisk, but Yang rarely felt the cold anymore. Her Semblance generated plenty of heat from the kinetic energy she stored; sometimes, if she didn't burn it off, she was literally a walking furnace. She had accidentally scorched through many an outfit when she had been little.

The martial artist leaned against the wall, looking out at the school grounds below. Beacon was truy beautiful at night. Tall towers, white granite, and shining windows against the backdrop of the largest Kingdom on Remnant.

Yang had fallen in love with Vale the moment she saw it. It was vast, determined, and independent; it spat in the face of the Grimm and the older Kingdoms that had looked down on it for its optimism and youth. She loved its blunt but honest citizens, its streets, from the seediest bar in South Vale to the ritziest apartments in downtown. The only downside of coming to Beacon was that she was no longer in the thick of it; Signal was near the heart of the Kingdom, and Yang and her friends had spent endless afternoons walking its streets after school. There was still so much of it she had yet to explore. She honestly missed those days at Signal; where things had been so simple and full of endless wonder.

Yang sighed, trying to comprehend her dream and frustrating herself for her efforts. She wished she could just ask someone and get an honest answer about things; but her father became utterly obtuse when it came to the women who had been in his life, and Qrow was…well, he was Qrow. There were other people she could ask, she supposed; but the easiest routes were ones she had already exhausted.

Ozpin had been headmaster when her parents had been students; and according to the yearbooks, Dr. Oobleck and Professor Goodwitch had also attended Beacon at around the same time. Yet she wasn't certain if they'd known either Raven or Summer closely enough to have any clues as to what had happened to either of them.

The door to the roof creaked behind her and Yang turned curiously towards it, before smiling. Blake walked out, her eyes flashing in the dark. Her partner stopped self-consciously, when she spotted her.

"Um…Yang? What are you doing up here?" the faunus asked.

Yang winked at her partner habitually, trying to be casual.

"Oh, ya know, just enjoying the night air! Come join me!"

Blake rolled her eyes, but that could have meant literally anything in Blakese. The faunus made no sound when she walked her way, trailing like smoke over the rooftops gravel. Yang had always been fascinated by how effortless she made something as mundane as walking look.

"We have class in the morning," Blake reminded her, sidling up to her.

Yang hummed, nodding.

"Yes, but the night is beautiful right now, so we should enjoy it," Yang proclaimed cheerily. "I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Your lack of snoring did," Blake smirked. Yang pouted playfully.

"I don't snore," she waved. She had no idea if that was true or not; but she would never admit to it.

"Uhuh. And you would know that how exactly?" Blake teased, leaning next to her.

"I just do," laughed Yang. "That's for old guys like my dad, or uncle."

"Mmhm, sure."

Yang glanced at her partner, taking in how pretty she was, even after climbing out of bed. Blake was, in a lot of ways, like magic; she defied the laws of possibility just by existing. The faunus was a bundle of contradictions, that balanced out to just make…Blake.

"Well…actually," Yang started. "Have you ever had a dream that felt more real than a memory?"

Blake met her eyes, and Yang felt her heart speed up. Her partner's golden irises were the prettiest things she'd ever seen.

"Hmmm," Blake rested her chin on her bare arms. "Once. I dreamed I was eating a huge buffet of seafood ramen; when I woke up, though, I remembered that I had only wished to eat at the buffet. It was extremely disillusioning."

Yang chuckled, looking out at the skyline in the distance.

"That does sound disappointing."

Blake sighed in regret.

"If only I had dine and dashed."

"…You wanna go get seafood?" Yang asked suddenly. She felt her cheeks heat up when Blake glanced her way skeptically.

"It's like two in the morning," Blake pointed out.

"Yea. So? Vale's the Kingdom that never sleeps," Yang grinned cheekily at her partner.

Blake snorted, shaking her head.

"Ok. Let's go," the faunus chuckled.

"That's the spirit. Who needs sleep anyways?"