Taiyang sat on quietly in the kitchen corner, a cup of water beside him as he watched the front door carefully.

Yang had gone to sleep a long time ago. Ruby's absence resulted in her doing double the usual work, so the blonde had been happy to fall into bed and pass out. The man was glad that had happened: he knew she would have stayed by his side if she wasn't so tired.

Taiyang sighed. This all was his fault. He knew talking about Summer was a difficult task, but his daughter hadn't asked him much. His final comment when they conversed had been the sticking point.

You can be a decent person and live, or a wonderful person and die.

In the name of all of Remnant, what had he been thinking? Who said something like that to a young girl who just wanted to hear how her mother was like? His pain was no excuse for doing something like that. He had lived with it for a decade; surely he could have contained it at that moment.

He checked his Scroll. It was midnight. Taiyang sighed and made a phone call. After a considerable amount of time, he was answered by a very annoyed person.

"What the hell, Taiyang? It's the middle of the fucking night."

"Nice to hear your voice, Qrow." The father responded, his voice weary, but amused.

"I can't say the same. What is this all about? Lost your teddy bear and can't sleep?"

"No. I lost my youngest daughter and can't sleep."

Taiyang waited a few moments, noticing the silence in the other end of the call.

"What do you mean? Is Ruby okay?" Qrow asked. He sounded extremely serious now, all frustration at being awaken gone.

"She left this morning, or last night. She hasn't come back."

"Any idea why?"

"I… I talked to her about Summer, and I may have said some regrettable things. I think she's angry with me." Taiyang admitted.

"Ruby doesn't get angry at adults." Qrow pointed out.

"I know. That's why I think she actually is angry. The only way she knew how to show her rage was to run away."

"Thank Dust you're a professor, not a psychologist." Ruby's uncle said "She's not angry."

Taiyang grunted annoyed.

"Well, what is wrong with her, then?" He asked.

"Look, I have a pretty good idea where she might be going. Meet me at the Vale-side port in the morning, okay?"

"All right."

"And go to sleep. Goodbye."

Qrow hung up immediately. Taiyang crossed his arms, frustrated. His friend had done nothing to alleviate his worries, but at least now he could think of how furious he was at him and not about Ruby.

-x-

"Father!"

Weiss crashed through the front door, Winter following close behind. Wade was standing in the entry room, talking with a bunch of his servants, but he dismissed them and ran to his daughters as soon as he saw them, enveloping them in a strong hug.

"I'm so glad you two are okay." The president said, and stepped back. A frown appeared on his face "Where's Blake?"

"She's fighting against the White Fang!" Weiss explained hurriedly "Winter, stay here where it's safe! I have to help her!"

Weiss ran off. Wade looked at his younger daughter.

"What is going on?" He asked.

"The White Fang got me, but Weiss and Blake rescued me." Winter started "But then this other guy appeared and took Blake down in a single attack, and he said he was going to kill one of us and take the other."

"This is absurd! In my own state!" Wade exclaimed angrily "I am facing that man myself!"

He stepped out of the house, cracking the bones of his hands.

"You don't have your weapon, father!" Winter warned.

"I have my fists."

-x-

Blake rolled to the side and jumped to her feet. She put distance between herself and Adam as he got up slowly. He was clutching his shoulder, but there seemed to be no bleeding happening.

"You know, that was a good ruse." He admitted "I thought you were down for good. But Aura is a formidable thing. Of course, you already know that. I taught you, after all."

"Shut up!" Blake shouted.

She lunged forward and tried to strike at him, but he sidestepped and punched her in the stomach. The girl stumbled back, out of breath.

"That's funny. When you left, you said you were disgusted at our hatred." Adam said "Now, look at you. Losing all your discipline just because of a few taunts."

"I-I hate you." Blake muttered "You ruined my life."

"Nothing could be farther from the truth. I gave you a life." The murderer refuted "You were nothing before you met me. Holding on to a weakling family, hoping to survive the next week with your grumbles of bread and tainted water."

He stepped close and slapped her, making her fall to the ground.

"I made you strong. I made you smart. I made you, you." He said, stepping on her legs "You could have been greater than even me, Blake. But instead you decided to lie to yourself and believe in a fair world."

"I don't lie to myself."

Blake swung her weapon at his legs, making him retreat. She jumped back to her feet and pointed her blade at him.

"I don't believe the world is fair." The brunette stated "It's cruel, harsh, unforgiving. But the thing is… It's that way because we make it so. We are all of that, and we never try to change."

"Oh, for crying out loud." Adam muttered.

"Shut! Up! You wanna change the world?!" Blake questioned "You can't change it to what it already is! But I can change it for the better!"

Adam sliced with his sword, and Blake moved her own to block the attack. They clashed their blades repeatedly, trying to overcome their defenses. It was almost hypnotic to who watched: their styles were so similar, it was like they were performing a carefully orchestrated choreography.

However, Blake was clearly more tired than he was, and she her usual battle focus had been substituted by rage. Soon, Adam's strength and skill overcame hers, and her weapon fell to the ground. The faunus girl stood still, panting, looking at her opponent powerlessly.

"So… What are you waiting for?" She asked "Don't you wanna kill me?"

"Yes, I do. But there are other, more interesting options." He smirked "Do you hear them arriving?"

Blake listened closely, and identified the sound of boots hitting the grass.

Suddenly, a beam of light struck against Adam. However, he was prepared for it and raised his blade to block the energy, absorbing it into himself.

"Thank you, princess." He said "I can absorb energy using my Semblance. You just gave me a refill."

Weiss arrived at the scene, wielding Myrtenaster threateningly.

"Step away from her." She ordered.

"That's not happening." He said.

The heiress grunted and started to run towards him. However, Adam swiped his weapon at her, and a ray of red light hit her, knocking her to the ground.

"Actually, I lied. I didn't get a refill." He admitted "I stored the energy to use against you."

Weiss moaned painfully. Her head had been hit, and she was not sure she could get up again.

"I think our last arrival is here." Adam announced.

"Get out of here, filth."

Wade Schnee walked until he was beside his daughter. He looked Adam straight in his eyes. The redhead laughed quietly.

"You don't have your weapon, Mister Schnee. I could kill you right now." He said.

"Come and take a try, you bastard." The president suggested, clenching his fists.

"Sorry, as tempting as that sounds, I refuse. Maybe in the future I will take you up on that offer." The redhead smirked "I will settle for breaking your heart."

Adam looked at Blake and raised his blade slowly, never averting his gaze from her.

"No!" Weiss screamed "Don't do it! I swear I'll kill you!"

Adam chuckled.

"That's an overreaction." He said "I just think she looks way better without this horrendous hat."

He swiped his blade, cutting just above Blake's head. She blinked, confused at his actions.

Adam smiled and turned his back to them, starting to walk away without another word.

"What the hell…" Blake said, looking at him "Come back!"

She took a step forward and stumbled. Her hat fell to the ground, sliced across in the middle. The brunette looked at it silently, realization slowly kicking in.

"Oh, no." She heard Weiss mutter.

Blake looked back. Wade was staring at her head, spotting the cat ears immediately, and she noticed his eyes seemed to burn with hatred.

"Mister Schnee… I'm sorry, I can explain-"

She was interrupted by a punch in the mouth. The faunus fell on her back, her vision blurry.

"How dare you stay under my own roof?! You lied to me! What were you planning?! Who were you going to kill?!" Wade shouted hoarsely.

"I wasn't planning anything… I never meant for anything bad to happen." Blake whispered.

Wade kicked her, anger boiling in his veins.

"I should kill you right now." He muttered "You wouldn't think twice if our positions were reversed."

He raised his fist, ready to strike her down, but was suddenly pushed from the side. He looked at his assailant, shocked to see Weiss staring at him coldly.

"What is the meaning of this, Weiss?" The president asked, barely containing his rage.

"You are not killing Blake." She said defiantly "She had nothing to do with this. She stayed in our house at my wishes, because she had nowhere else to go and she is my friend. Do you understand?"

"You knew she was a beast-woman, and you let her stay anyway." Wade stated "You are associating with your mother's killers, Weiss." His stare darkened "I see now how right I was to say this girl changed you. You have become a monster too."

Weiss shook her head slowly. She could feel tears coming to her eyes, threatening to burst at any second.

"Blake is not a killer. She changed." The heiress pleaded "We can change everything, father. You just need to forgive. I beg you."

Wade closed his eyes and started to walk away.

"You are not my daughter." He said "I never want to see you again."

Weiss stood still, watching her father leave her behind. She extended a hand, but felt no strength to pursue him. Tears started to stream down her face.

"Weiss…" Blake muttered, looking at her from the ground.

The white-haired girl fell down beside her friend and cried loudly. The faunus enveloped her in her arms and cried too, tormented by both of their sorrows.

-x-

Yang looked around the street impatiently. She had been standing there for five minutes, waiting for Qrow to arrive. Her father had gone inside a shop to buy a bottle of water for the both of them.

The blonde sighed. This was definitely not how she was planning to spend her vacation. She had envisioned it as the perfect family reunion, just her, Ruby, their father and Qrow. Of course, in the third day trouble was already present.

Most of her frustration, however, did not come from her ruined vacation or Qrow's lateness. Instead, she was worried about Ruby. She supposed any other girl would just have been angry at their sister for running away like that, but Yang was fated to worry. It was just her nature to be like that.

Her father theorized that this characteristic came from her strength. She had so much power, but really, nowhere to put it to use. So it was natural that she used it to protect her sister.

Taiyang was not a psychologist, so she thought that theory was crap.

The truth was Yang just loved Ruby too much. She remembered that, since they were young, they were inseparable. Growing up, they would go everywhere together, share their toys, and play with the same people… It was cute, to say the least.

Of course, as they reached a certain age, that became too much even for them. Yang turned out way more sociable and confident, while Ruby was more reserved. But still, there was that unbreakable bond between them, forged by hurt and comfort.

The blonde had one memory she remembered more clearly than all others. She was seven years old, and Ruby was turning five. Their father had sat them down in the sofa of the living room and told them about their mothers. He had been very kind, of course, simply stating that they had left long ago and couldn't come back. It was better than letting them wonder without any clues at all.

Yang had been sad, but not that much. She didn't really remember her mother. But Ruby had broken down crying immediately. Taiyang had comforted her, but he too was hurt, so there was only so much he could do before having to leave them.

Yang had hugged Ruby and just repeated to her.

I won't leave you. I promise.

At some point, the redhead fell asleep in her arms, and Yang followed soon. Taiyang found them like that, and from that day forward they had never really been apart.

The blonde sighed and rubbed her eyes.

Great. Get all emotional. That's what dad needs right now, a crybaby while he looks for his lost daughter.

She blinked and took a deep breath. She would not cry today.

"Great self-control."

Yang looked to her side and found Qrow smiling widely. She frowned and punched him in the shoulder.

"Hey! How much time were you standing there for?!" She questioned angrily.

"A few minutes." He admitted "Where's your father?"

"Buying stuff."

"I would ask where your sister is, but I already know." Qrow said smugly.

Yang narrowed her eyes at him.

"Care to share?"

"Nope. I am going to wait for the big reveal." He refused.

"You are infuriating." She said.

"That's why you all love me."

The blonde crossed her arms frustratingly. Before they could continue the conversation, however, Taiyang came back carrying a bottle of water and a newspaper.

"Hello, Tai'." Qrow greeted "What a fine morning this is, right?"

"Where's my daughter?"

"I see eagerness runs in the family." The scythe-wielder commented "She's going west, of course."

"Why would she go west?" Yang frowned.

"For the love of Remnant… She's going to visit her mother's grave. Why else would she leave in the middle of the night after that talk you had?" Qrow revealed, rolling his eyes.

Father and daughter looked at each other. The answer seemed pretty obvious now that they thought about it.

"Well, how long will it take for us to catch up to her?" Yang questioned.

"We won't. We'll only cross paths after she visits the grave." Qrow said "She's too fast and determined. Also, she's alone, meaning she'll attract less Grimm."

"Damnit, Ruby…" Taiyang muttered "That place is extremely dangerous. Summer died there!"

"No need to remind us of that."

The father looked at his friend and regretted his outburst. His brazen attitude made it easy to forget Qrow too felt sadness and worry.

"But that happened fifteen years ago." The uncle reminded "It might have been just a temporary rise in Grimm activity in that region. Also, I taught Ruby myself. She won't fail."

Yang smiled. Hearing that assurance was very comforting, especially coming from Qrow. However, something else caught her eye.

"Dad, what's that on the front page?" She asked.

"Uh…" Taiyang looked at the newspaper and read it to her "Schnee private state attacked last night. No severe injuries reported." He frowned "Your teammate is Weiss Schnee, right?"

As she was about to answer, Yang's scroll rang. She looked at it and saw Blake's photo. The blonde sighed.

"This can't be good."

-x-

Greetings.

Kathi, I'm so sorry for ruining that Blake-Mr. Schnee fantasy ): (there's always the future, though, HINT HINT, wait no, actually I have no plans about that so just ignore this) Also, your prediction for the battle was right, but wrong. Adam is driven by hatred, yes, but he doesn't lose control of himself because of that. Blake has been trying very hard to stay away from her past, but seeing Adam really got to her. More will be said about that in the next chapters. Thank you for the review!

Lojzek91, thank you very much for the review! I really appreciate it. I agree that my pacing can be quite slow sometimes. I think the beginning chapters were a prime example, mostly because they mirrored the show. But now that the story is deviating from the show, I think the pacing might get a bit quicker. Again, thank you for the review!

A huge thank you to everyone else who favorited and followed Children of Summer! Brace yourselves for the next chapter (Winter is not coming, though.).

-Zeroan