Qrow recovers his niece from the wreckage of Beacon Academy.
"I got you, kiddo," Qrow mutters as he picks up Ruby's frail, fragile form. The world seemed still around the young girl, even the air stopped. The large grimm perched up on the side of the tower had frozen, and other than Ruby, there was nothing left but ashes. Dust. Qrow isn't sure what happened here, but he figures it isn't as important as getting Ruby to safety right away. He'd be damned if he let the last living legacy of Summer be in any danger a second more than what was necessary.
Ruby is lighter than Qrow remembers, and he can't believe that somebody so small, somebody who looked so fragile was destined to be a fearsome warrior, imbued with something like magic powers that made Qrow's head spin and left a bad taste in his mouth.
Her face is marked by freshly dried tear tracks, and Qrow absently wipes it away with his thumb. Her breathing is normal, and there were no signs of any injuries, for which he is insanely relieved.
"I got you, kiddo," he whispers, something like a solemn vow. Something like a wish. Something like a prayer.
Ruby Rose, barely 15, and the key to all of this. Very well the last hope the world had. The last trump card for the good guys.
Truly, the world was not fair.
He descends the tower carefully, with Ruby slung gingerly over his shoulder. She barely stirs, which concerns him a bit. The whole world almost waits for him. Not a chirp or a growl, not even a whistle of wind sounds as he climbs down the ruined side of Beacon tower. He doesn't see anything move.
Today, the greatest tragedy the world had ever seen was put on pause by a teenage girl. Qrow tries not to let frustration and anger overcome him, wondering what exactly had made him so unlucky that him and everybody he knew and loved were thrust into the spotlight of a war, the eye of a storm that had to earthly reason to exist in the first place.
Qrow sits down on a block of rubble, a concrete block blasted off of the tower by the large grimm. He feels more tired than he ever remembers being, but all the same, he withdraws a flare from his pack and lights it, throwing it into the empty courtyard.
He can't even begin to imagine Taiyang's reaction.
Talk about being unlucky.
The rush of the Bullhead's engines is a welcome sound. Qrow cradles Ruby's head in his arms, half expecting more Grimm to show up too. Nothing. Not a peep. Ruby had really done it.
Ozpin had called it a gift, what Summer had. What she had passed onto her daughter. A gift, a privilege granted by the Gods of old, onto individuals who were deemed strong enough, unique enough to wield the power. A fearsome warrior, feared by the creatures of darkness.
Qrow thinks it's a curse. A huge curse. Qrow thinks it's bullshit. Qrow thinks his niece deserves better than to have this unwelcome power thrust open her. That she deserves a better life than this.
But Qrow knows that she wouldn't have had it any other way. Just like her mother, Ruby would take the responsibility without question, without hesitation. How incredibly frustrating it was to have your loved ones be nothing short of heroically suicidal.
"I got you," Qrow whispers again as the Bullhead makes a quick landing. A solemn, silent promise. The same one he had made for Summer.