Hey! This is back! And we're officially past the start date for this fic, which in my head was last Saturday. If there was any doubt that this fic could possibly happen, both teams mentioned in the championship game were on the same side of the bracket, and neither of them are going to Texas...I'm a little disappointed, but JMU just played better.

Yeah, I couldn't focus on two fics at the same time while keeping up with school. I had to choose one.


Taiyang walked with the massive crowd of people disembarking the ship. They recently docked in…some place that started with an 'F'. He apparently had people waiting for him on shore, or at least that's what Summer said.

The Huntsman couldn't hold back a laugh. Summer. She was alive. After thirteen long years, Taiyang heard her voice. Both of their girls were with her. It wouldn't be much longer until they had a major, probably tear-filled family reunion.

Despite this, Taiyang couldn't just rush out and find his family. For one, the line to get off the ship was a mile long. Another, Summer filled him in on a cover story for his appearance that he needed to get right. Apparently, his fishing boat, the Sea Dragon, was attacked by a 'Condor,' which Summer explained to be a Nevermore. He was the only survivor that he knew of. He'd been adrift for three days before being rescued by the cruise ship. The 'FBI' would take care of anything that required a paper trail, and one lucky Air Force pilot would get an extra kill added to his count.

Somehow, the crew of the Magic never checked his backpack. Not only was the green Dust pipe bomb in plain sight, but he kept his gauntlets in there as well. Considering he hadn't seen a weapon anywhere on the ship, they probably wouldn't like a couple of spiked gauntlets with guns built into them. Either they didn't expect castaways to be armed, or Summer had something to do with it.

Taiyang looked off the side of the ship at the crowd below. Most people dispersed down various side streets once they left the pier. A few hung around just off the ship having reunions of their own. Taiyang didn't pay attention to any of those. He searched the crowd for a girl with long blonde hair. Yang was supposed to meet him here somewhere. Summer didn't say why only her.

It took a while, but he finally spotted her near the road. Yang stood by some sort of black truck. Taiyang sighed in relief. There was definitely a time when he thought he'd never see any of his family again. Now…Why couldn't people move faster?

After way too long, Taiyang finally made it off the ship. Summer said to expect news crews to be bombarding him with questions as soon as he left, but at the moment, he saw no reporters. The only thing he had to compete with was the sea of people. A few of them cast glances his way, but none approached him. News of picking up the castaway must have spread.

Taiyang made it to the street quickly compared to getting off the ship. He caught sight of his oldest daughter again through a few more people, but she hadn't seen him yet. Yang stood on her toes looking over the crowd. Her head turned slowly from side to side, her eyes darting all over the place. The problem was, she never looked directly to her right. Taiyang didn't even try to hold back a smirk. "Looking for someone?"

Yang's head snapped to the side and her face lit up like the sun. "Dad!" She ran around several people to get to her dad. Taiyang gently pushed his way around a few others. They crashed into each other and began one of their back breaking hug competitions.

Then Taiyang remembered what was in his backpack. "Careful Yang, I've got some fragile stuff back here."

"Sorry." Yang pulled away, but her smile stayed in its place. "It's so good to see you again."

"Same." Taiyang felt a lump forming in his throat. "I never thought I was going to see you again."

Yang's smile faltered. "It was pretty scary for us too. We didn't know what was happening."

"Hopefully I can clear that up." Taiyang paused. "Why are you here alone anyway?"

"Not quite." Yang threw a thumb over her shoulder at the vehicle she stood by. "FBI's here. They needed a friendly and recognizable face and all that. They need a few questions answers or something along those lines. Everyone else is at a hotel nearby."

Taiyang stood slightly straighter. "Everyone?"

Yang nodded and her smile grew. "Everyone."

"Then let's get out of here before reporters find me. I never really liked them."

"Yeah, they're annoying." Yang rolled her eyes then walked back to the vehicle. She opened a door and slid inside. Taiyang followed right away. The vehicle's driver pulled onto the street as soon as the door closed.

Taiyang glanced at Yang. There was so much he wanted to know, but Summer made it sound like very few people knew where they were actually from, and it should stay that way. "So, what's happened since I've been gone?"

Yang's smile finally disappeared. "It was…bad. Ruby wound up in a snowstorm and was hospitalized, I had to sleep in an alley my first night here, Blake was lucky and ended up in Texas, Weiss…" Yang shivered, "she was in Iraq."

Taiyang felt his heart skip a beat when Yang said 'hospitalized.' But when Yang kept going, he thought Yang back be giving up too much. He glanced at the driver. There was no way he couldn't hear that. "Relax dad." Yang shook her head. "Mom read him in herself."

Again, a lump formed in Taiyang's throat. "Summer?"

Yang put on a small smile. "Yeah. It feels weird to say that, but so good."

"It feels good to hear it too." Taiyang nodded. "So where exactly were all of you?" Yang went on to explain her time in a place called 'New York City.' She said some things that were apparently on a government watch list, and got put in an apartment that apparently belonged to Summer. She found out about R'uby on the news. It turned out she saved someone in the 'Mall of America' and attracted national and international attention. The next day Yang was on a flight to 'Minnesota.'

Two days later, Weiss and Summer showed up at the place they were staying. "Of course, we were happy, but Weiss was…different." Yang looked at her feet. "Then again, I can't blame her."

"What happened?" Taiyang asked.

"She…" Yang shook her head. "It's not my place to say. Mom's managed to pull her out of her funk, but she's still not back to her normal self."

Taiyang took the hint. "You know, I worked with her sister to find all of you."

"Really?" Yang blinked. "Huh. Weiss doesn't talk about her family much. Winter's an Atlas Specialist, right?"

"Yeah. She's good. Her and Qrow had to force themselves to work together. They have a complicated history."

"How is Uncle Qrow?"

Taiyang smirked. "He was sober for a full three days at one point."

Yang's jaw dropped. "Are we talking about the same Uncle Qrow here?"

"I'm surprised too, but it did happen." Taiyang paused. "What about Blake? How'd you find her?"

The car came to a stop. Taiyang looked out his window. It looked like they'd made it to the hotel. Some place called 'Holiday Inn.' He turned back to Yang. "Save that for another time. What room is it?"

Yang smiled and drew a keycard from a pocket. "203. Ruby was in the lobby when I left. She could still be there." She handed the keycard over.

"Thanks." Taiyang took the keycard and left the car. The doors to the lobby opened automatically, welcoming him in. He looked around the lobby, looking for a familiar red and black head of hair. Ruby was sitting with two others watching something on a TV. The word Discovery was in the bottom right corner of the screen. "Anything good, Rubes?"

Ruby looked up and her smile almost left her face. "Daddy!" She stood up and ran to him. Taiyang fell to a knee and welcomed his youngest into his arms. Ruby laughed over her dad's shoulder. "The family's back together."

"I suppose it is." Taiyang pulled back and looked Ruby over. "Are you okay? Yang said you were in the hospital."

"Pft. That was weeks ago. I'm fine." Her head sunk between her shoulders. "I do wish I had a winter coat on me at the time, though. I don't want that to happen again."

"No one does." Taiyang looked up at the two people Ruby was sitting with. He stood up and walked over to them. "So you must be Weiss and Blake. I hope my girls haven't been too much of a handful for you."

"Daaaaaad." Ruby grabbed Taiyang's arm and tried to pull him away.

Blake put on a small smile though Weiss looked a little confused. "We keep them in line," Blake said.

"Or try to anyway," Weiss said with fake annoyance. "They're loud, obnoxious, impulsive…and some of the best friends I've had."

"Really?" Taiyang looked down at Ruby and ruffled her hair. "Sounds about right."

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!" Ruby pulled even harder. "Mom wants to talk to you! Don't keep her waiting."

"What? You've said you missed this when you were at Beacon." Taiyang freed his arm then started walking away. Ruby mumbled something he didn't catch as he rounded a corner.

As he walked, his carefree attitude melted away. He was only moments away from talking with Summer face to face. Thirteen years. So much had passed. Summer sounded happy to hear Taiyang's voice on the phone, but was there anything that happened here? Was she with someone else? Did she have another family? Taiyang mentally kicked himself. Summer wouldn't do those things. She was loyal to a fault.

Taiyang stopped in front of room 203. What would she think of him? He knew he changed so much since last time. Always worried over something or another. He didn't even want Ruby to go to Beacon early, just because he wanted her to stay close to home that much longer. Still, he was weak to the puppy dog face, and she deserved it more than anyone else.

After waiting for way too long outside the door, Taiyang waved the keycard in front of the door. He heard a click and he opened the door slowly.

A pure white cloak stood up on the far bed with the edges of a black combat skirt peeking out the bottom. The hood turned around, and the most beautiful pair of eyes Taiyang had ever seen looked back. Salty tear streaks hung off the edges of both silver orbs. Summer's jaw quivered. "Tai?"

Taiyang smiled and let the door close behind him. "Summer."

Summer jumped off the bed and rushed Taiyang. She crashed into him, wrapped her arms around him, and forced him to the door. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to leave. I wanted to come back from the beginning. I wanted to see our girls grow up. I wanted to stay with you. I…I…" Summer dissolved into a blubbering mess.

Taiyang felt his wife's tears start to wet his shirt. He held Summer close, slowly rubbing her back. "I don't blame you for any of this. There was nothing you could do."

Summer pushed herself off and pulled and arm back. She gently pressed that hand against Taiyang's chest. "Tai, I want you to know that I haven't dated anyone here. I haven't been with anyone else, for the night or otherwise. My boss originally showed interest, but I shut him down quickly. There were some creeps in the army-"

Taiyang pulled Summer's hood off her head. Her mouth didn't stop moving, but no words came out. Her eyes were begging for forgiveness. Taiyang smiled. "I never doubted you for a second."

Summer's shoulders relaxed, just before she stood on the tips of her toes to force her lips onto Taiyang's. He returned the kiss and brought a hand to the back of Summer's head. All of the tension from the past thirteen years drained out of him. He was back with his family. With his wife, who for the longest time he thought was dead.

Eventually, the two of them separated but kept their arms on each other's shoulders. Summer radiated absolute joy. "What are you doing here? Merlot get you too?"

Taiyang shook his head. "No. We got him." Summer blinked and half squinted an eye. "Qrow, Winter, and I took down Merlot. We won't have to deal with him again."

Summer failed to hold in a snort. "Qrow and Winter? I bet that didn't go well." She paused. "So, if you won why are you here?"

Taiyang moved a hand to the side of his wife's head. "I'm here to take you and the girls home." Summer's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Her legs shook beneath her. "This isn't a one-way thing. We can go back."

"Ho…how? There are others here. They've searched for years and haven't found anything!"

"They didn't have what I have." Taiyang shrugged a shoulder. Summer backed away a few steps so Taiyang could access his backpack. He pulled it off his shoulder and unzipped the main pouch. He pulled out the green bomb and Summer yelped. Taiyang looked up and saw his wife standing a few feet away with her eyes wide, but this time not from love. "Summer, it's okay. If this thing blew up, we'd be somewhere on Remnant."

Summer took a deep breath and sighed. "Sorry. I've just seen a few too many IEDs in the past few years." She paused. "So that thing can get us back?"

"Yeah..." Taiyang took a second to look I Summer over. She never got scared around explosives before, and even built some of her own. What happened. "I don't know where, but it will bring us back to Remnant."

"…Home." Summer's expression changed from horror to hope as she stared at the pipe bomb. "How do you even have this?"

"Apparently these were recovered when we attacked Merlot's facility. They were using the same technology to send Grimm here. I'm not sure you've noticed."

"So that's where all the Grimm came from," Summer whispered. She shook her head. "Sorry. Grimm only started showing up a few years ago, never in particularly large numbers. We couldn't predict where. I guess I know why…So we shouldn't be seeing any more Grimm coming here?"

"Doctor Merlot is behind bars, along with anyone that still worked for him. Everything they had is in Atlas' hands. Atlas is a lot of things, but I don't think General Ironwood would sanction sending Grimm here."

"Wait, James Ironwood?" Summer asked. Taiyang nodded. "Well good for him. I knew he could do it."

"Don't ever tell Qrow that." Taiyang shook his head. "There's a lot of bad blood between them now."

"I'll try and fix that when we get back." Summer sat on one of the beds and took out a different looking scroll. "Tai, I'm sorry, I need to call my boss. If we want to leave without the US government coming down on us, I need to tell them what's going on."

Taiyang blinked. "Wait, you're working for the government?"

Summer rolled her eyes. "FBI hostage rescue and Army Grimm Extermination. I'm not really attached to them. I would have just as soon joined any other country's versions because that's the only way I could help people the way I can. There's no Huntsmen or Huntresses here. People here have Aura, but as far as I know, out of over seven billion people, no one has it unlocked. I know Qrow could unlock another person's, but I never could."

"Wait, seven billion?"

"There's a lot about Earth that I'm sure doesn't make sense to you." Summer pushed a few things on her stange scroll and brought it to her ear. She sat silent for a few seconds. "Trevor, it's Clara. We need to talk…What, we can't even talk over the phone now?" Summer brought a hand to her forehead and sighed. "Okay. I'm on my way." She pushed something on her scroll and put it back in a pocket.

"You're going somewhere?" Taiyang felt his heart sink.

Summer once again hugged her husband. "Believe me, there's nothing I want more than to go home with you. I want to see Patch, Beacon, Vale, all of it again. Peter, Barty, Ozpin, everyone. But I'm needed here too. They need Huntsmen and Huntresses to help clear out the places Grimm have taken over. I need to smooth things over for everyone else from Remnant that's here…I don't suppose Atlas can recreate that pipe bomb, can they?"

"I'm sure they'll come up with something a little more elegant than a bomb." Taiyang gently pushed himself away and kissed Summer's forehead. "I trust you to come back this time."

Summer pulled her head back slightly. "'This time?' You never did before?"

"Well, I had my suspicions." Taiyang smirked.

"You jerk!" Summer playfully pushed herself off, then walked to one of the suitcases on the floor. "Well on that note, while I haven't dated anyone since being here, but my bed has had someone else in it the past few weeks."

Taiyang's smirk disappeared. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah. Cute, on the shorter side, red-black hair, silver eyes." Summer smirked back. "I think you may know her actually."

The tension drained from Taiyang's shoulders. "Ruby?"

"She's very clingy. I suppose that's what happens when you're gone for most of someone's life."

Taiyang sighed. "Now who's the jerk?"

Summer cocked her head. "Hmmm, both of us?"

"I can live with that."


As Summer pulled into the unfamiliar building in Florida, she had to mentally and physically calm herself down. It wouldn't do her any favors being giddy as a school girl in front of her boss, especially in her work suit. She was certain at some point in the meeting she'd break down.

Home. Summer leaned back in her car seat and let loose some of her joy. Her whole family was back together. It had been way too long since she seen Patch and that little cabin in the woods, if Tai still lived there. No more dealing with US politics, no more being tied down to a government agency, no more crippling loneliness.

Summer shook her head, trying to clear it. Better let it all out now than around other people. She left her agency car in the lot and walked through the front door, trying to keep a straight face. She walked up to the front desk and presented her badge. "Special Agent Clara Flowers here to speak with Special Agent Trevor Bednar."

The secretary looked at the badge, then at her screen. "I'm not seeing you on the schedule."

"Check again. We set this up about a half hour ago."

A few seconds passed in silence. "My apologies. It hadn't come through yet. I'll take you to the conference room." Summer nodded her thanks and followed the man through the building. She still had to force her emotions down so she didn't skip all the way. It was getting easier, but that would change once she started explaining the situation.

The secretary opened a door to a windowless room. "Right in here ma'am. You can connect your call through that terminal." He gestured to a small computer by a large screen

"Thank you." Summer walked into the room and the door closed behind her. She walked over to the computer and found her waiting call on the list. She connected, and her boss appeared on the large screen.

"You know, Clara," Trevor sighed, "you're not making my job easy lately."

"The people up top not liking what happened in Frisco?"

"They like that the city was defended and that the loss of life and property was minimal, but they don't like having to cover up Nightcrawler, the Flash, and She-Hulk."

"Crossing the streams a little, aren't you?"

"Not the point." Trevor rolled his eyes. "Now, with your husband arriving in the manner he did, the Coast Guard is going to have to search for survivors that don't exist as well as a fishing boat that sank in the area twenty years ago. That's a lot of taxpayer money down the drain. Please tell me you have something that will get the DoD off our backs for a little bit."

"Yes and no. My husband found the cause for the Grimm appearing here from the other side, and took it out. We shouldn't be seeing any more random Grimm strikes, unless there are patches we don't know about."

Trevor straightened up. "Are you sure? If this is true, this could change everything."

Summer nodded. "Positive. He came here the same way the Grimm did, and that technology is now in friendly hands."

"Well then…" Trevor leaned back in his chair. "People will be glad to hear this. Now what's the part that won't make my job easier?"

Keep it together Summer. She took a deep breath. "I am requesting an extended leave of absence to go home with my family."

Trevor blinked. "Something tells me you aren't talking about New York or Brooklyn Center."

Only what he needs to know. "I'm not. My husband has a device that can take people back to Remnant. Right now there's only one, but I'm certain that more can be made. I'm not saying travel back and forth will be easy, but it's possible."

"You're our best agent Clara. I can't just let you leave for a long time."

Dang politics. "Well then I'll throw this in. There are several Huntsmen and Huntresses on the other side that would love to help out here. I know for a fact the Grimm aren't spawning here as fast as they are on the other side. We can beat them back if we hit them in the right place. The people of Remnant need that kind of victory as much as Earth does, maybe more. I might even be able to get some Dust tank shells manufactured for the Abrams, but that one is a long shot."

"I don't think you know how trade works. No one gives away that much without expecting anything in return."

"Believe it or not, I think Remnant would be satisfied with a few non-military things. I'm not talking loaning out Seal Team Six here. I'm talking solar power, the internal combustion engine-"

"Let me guess," Trevor interrupted, "a place to settle that's relatively free of Grimm."

Summer winced. "If word gets out to the general public, possibly. Then of course there's a chance that my people on the other side would make their own requests."

Trevor stared at Summer for a few more seconds, then sighed. "I'm going to take a lot of flak for this, but I'm going to grant you your leave of absence. You have been on a longer deployment than anyone else in US history. I'd say you've earned it."

Summer had to stop herself from jumping for joy and from keeping her smile from exploding off her face. "Thank you. I'll do my part on the other side."

"For my sake, don't disappear for a year. I don't think I'll have a job if you're gone that long."

Wait for the freak out. "I think I can manage that. I'll report in when I'm back."

Trevor nodded. "Good luck, Flowers." He cut the connection on his end.

...Home. Now alone and with no chance of anyone seeing or hearing her, Summer's legs gave out from under her. She leaned against the wall and buried her face in her arms. It wasn't exactly the most professional thing to do. But who cared? Summer was going home. Finally, she was going home. And there hopefully wouldn't be any retribution from the US.

Then she realized she was still in the FBI's building, and she was probably supposed to leave as soon as her call was over. Summer wiped the salty streaks off her face as she stood up. She straightened out her suit and left the room, hopefully not looking like someone who just had an emotional breakdown.

As soon as she was back in her car though, Summer fell back into that same giddy state. She fumbled around her pockets for her phone. She dialed the number for her hotel room and waited for someone to answer. There was a click on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hey Ruby, could you put your father on?"

"Sure! Just a sec."

A few seconds past, and Summer faintly heard Ruby talking to someone else. Then, "How'd it go?" Tai asked.

Summer sighed. "I've got bad news."

"Is it the kind of bad news where it turns out to be good news?"

"How'd you know?" Summer laughed, unable to contain herself. "I've got the green light. Though if that thing does what it looks like it does, we're not going to want to be in a populated area when we use it. We're going to have to drive north for a while before we're good to go."

"Glad to hear it, though Ruby saw a commercial for 'Disney World' on TV. I think she wants to go."

"It looks awesome!" Ruby yelled on the other side.

"Maybe some other time." Summer shook her head. "That place is expensive, and it's super packed this time of year. I will relent to going to Forest View when we get back though."

"I'll pass it along."

"I'll be back soon. After that…Remnant."


I'll hopefully be able to get a few more chapters up in the next few weeks.