RWBY (c) RoosterTeeth
Rose Above The Clouds
Revealed
A greying doctor, some orderlies and a host of guards came rushing around every possible access point to the corridor. But the scene before Ruby and Yang would be forever burned into their minds. A far cry from the beautiful heroic huntress in the pictures on the Vanity in Patch, the living breathing Summer Rose in front of them was reduced to a shrivelled, bleeding weeping ghost of her former self.
The next moments were a complete and utter blur to Ruby. Actions all seemed to bleed together until eventually, a hour later she'd realised, she somehow found herself outside a patient room where the Doctor and his nurse were tending to the bloodied wound on Summer's shoulder. The military personnel had taken statements from Qrow and Specialist Reed about the incident, took the images the operative had on her scroll, scoured the security footage of that entire ward's surveillance system and issued a kingdom-wide arrest warrant.
Yang was seething, pacing back and forth while her clenched fists trembled with barely contained rage, her blood-red eyes glared daggers at floor. Ruby had sat down on a chair outside the open doorway, still trying to comprehend the sudden reversal of everything she held as truth for nearly her entire life.
Qrow sat on a chair across the doorway, elbows on his lap and head resting against his raised hands. The look of abject guilt hadn't left his face since Summer had been moved for treatment.
"That Ice-cream coloured bitch. Just what is she doing here?!" Yang hissed, her fingers flexing and curling into fists as she struggled to keep her anger in check but pacing out all her excess energy just wasn't working. "She was Roman's little sidekick, right? How in the hell did she know we were in Atlas? How did she even get here?
"She wants revenge." Ruby surmised, screwing her skirt in her fists. Her voice was quiet and distant, her eyes glazed over as she temporarily lost in that dark memory and its recounting. "The night Beacon fell, I was on top of General Ironwood's airship, and when Neo fell from the ship I fought against Roman Torchwick. He was killed by a Grimm while fighting me."
"That little runt blames you for her boss's death and thought she'd get even by killing your mum… how did she even know Summer was still alive…?" Qrow muttered a cuss under his breath, leaning back in the chair with a more subdued expression. Above all else, he just looked... tired.
"It was my fault, Roman was fighting me and for all he knew… Neo was dead after I sent her flying off the airship. He was furious, trying to kill me, and that Grimm... it went after him because of it." Even though they were enemies, and Ruby absolutely loathed him for the role he played in Beacon's fall and Cinder's plans, she didn't want him dead. She wanted him to face justice, not meet his demise.
"You didn't do anything wrong, kiddo. You were just doing what any huntress should have done; defending your home and kingdom. Sometimes... sometimes things get more messier than we'd like. Its just the way it goes." Their uncle told her, "If that idiot hadn't thrown his lot in with Cinder and her crew, Torchwick would probably still be alive, lifting purses or whatever petty crap he and his were keen on. Or, ideally, rottin' in a deep dark pit to be forgotten."
"Speaking of..." Yang abruptly halted her pacing in front of their Uncle and stared down at him with a furious expression. Her tone was razor sharp and accusatory. "How long have you known Summer was in Atlas? And why in hell didn't you tell us anything? Don't you think we have a right to know?"
Qrow was unperturbed by his niece's temper and met her gaze evenly. "I told you as soon as I found out."
"When?" Yang barked harshly, shaking her head. "You never said anything at all! The only thing you said was that you had a -"
Her words trailed off, her mouth remained slightly open as her statement came to an abrupt halt and the full realisation of her words struck home. Qrow lowered his eyes and looked away.
Ruby swallowed down the lump in her throat, and glanced at the older Huntsman. "Qrow, you said that you had a wife. We came here because you said she wanted to see us, and... and now, my mum is here - alive."
Her tongue felt like lead and the words formed in her mouth, but she found herself almost unwilling to voice them. "Does that mean ... When you said your wife, were you referring to mum?"
"You weren't supposed to find out this way. Summer and I... we'd-" Qrow ran a hand through his greying hair, eyes sliding closed in exasperation. "Your mum wanted to speak to you herself. She thought the news coming from her own mouth would lessen the blow of it. And then Neo decided to crash that particular party... Well, you know what they say about best laid plans and all that."
Yang stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?"
Qrow sighed and looked between the sisters apologetically before levelling his gaze on Ruby, "Why don't you ask me what you really want to know, Petal?"
That nickname. Ruby recognised it, she remembered her mother used to call her that. And she thought Taiyang had too, but thinking back on it now, in that fleeting ghost of the memory, the voice was too deep to be him. Her fingers curled into fists, "Are... are you my father?"
"Yes."
"You son of a bitch." Yang cursed at him, low and paradoxically cold despite her searing temper. "All of our lives, you lied to us."
"I... didn't lie, I just never bothered to correct you." Qrow clarified.
Yang scoffed, rolling her eyes and had her hand on her hip. "Ya know, that makes you sound like old man Oz."
"Yang-!" Ruby protested, seeing the flash of anger on Qrow's face and the blood red in his eyes. Yang's words clearly struck a nerve, but as soon as it arose, he reeled it in.
"How could you think that was okay?!" Yang demanded, "Letting us go on believing that our whole lives?!"
Despite his obviously restrained anger, Qrow spoke calmly and sternly. "You know the enemy we face now, you know the war we're fighting. And I've been on that front line of that war since longer than the two of you have even been alive."
Qrow shifted his gaze between his niece and his daughter, tired guilt etched on his face. "So yes, when I - when we lost Summer I distanced myself from Ruby. I gave her to the one person I knew I could trust to raise her. If I hadn't, you would've spent your lives evading even more Tyrians, more Hazels, Cinders, and gods only know what other hell spawns that crawled out of Salem's domain. You would've been hunted for your entire lives."
He sighed heavily, "What I did-"
"Was mercy, right?" Yang cut in, crossing her arms.
"It was a necessity." Qrow offered his hands up with a helpless shrug, "It was a piss poor situation. My wife was gone - dead, we thought. One of the most powerful huntresses around was snuffed out. Emotions were running high, so I made what I thought was the best decision in that situation. In the end, I decided it was safer for Ruby to be as far away from me as possible. Between my semblance running amok half the time, my missions being as dangerous as they were and our enemies being… well, them. It just felt like the smartest thing to do. And if I ended up dead one of these days; you wouldn't have lost another parent… just a sad drunk uncle."
Ruby's brow knitted together in a dark frown. "You wanted to protect us from Salem and Oz' war, until we were strong enough to protect ourselves."
"Ideally until she'd been defeated, but ideals rarely measure up to the reality of a situation." Qrow rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the tension there. "And we all know Salem's not biting the dust any time soon."
Ruby rose to her feet and crossed the corridor to him. Her hands at her sides and her face a stoic mask. Qrow looked up at his daughter as if awaiting judgement.
"Thank you for protecting us." She said quietly.
Yang shook her head, unwilling to believe what she just heard. "Ruby, you're forgiving him?! Just like-"
SLAP!
Ruby's hand smacked across Qrow's face so fast and unexpectedly, he nearly fell out of the chair. Yang's lilac eyes went wide, never expecting in a million years that Ruby would strike her uncle - her father - so angrily. Even her expression was the angriest Yang had seen it in a long time.
"I deserved that." Qrow nodded, raising a few fingers to his cheek and righting himself in the chair.
"You do! But not just for lying to us." Ruby agreed fiercely, glaring down at him. "I won't stand here and listen to you talk like your life's some worthless thing. 'Uncle'. 'Dad'. I don't care what you're called. And it doesn't matter either. What does matter is what you mean to us - Your life is precious to all of us! So, for Pete's sake, stop putting up this stupid self-depreciating garbage. No matter what you think of yourself, we still need you. Understand?"
Qrow honestly looked completely taken aback by her tone, not a shout or a yell, just an sternness. The same she took against him back in Argus. Once more, the Huntsman marvelled at how much his niece - no, his daughter had grown. Yang shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"I'm honestly so furious, I could punch you through a damn wall." Yang agreed sharply. "But there's a line between wanting to kick your ass for this, and wanting you gone. And you're an absolute dumbass if you think we'd be okay if you suddenly turned up dead one day. You've got way too much to do up for before we'll let you kick the bucket, old man."
Qrow stared between the two of them, awed. He shook his head, half in appreciated and the other in exasperation as he stroked his throbbing jaw. "You've got your mothers' tempers, the both of you."
Ruby suddenly felt her anger drain, replaced by an intense remorse. She pulled her hand back and gazed to the side, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have slapped you so hard."
Qrow waved her off, rubbing his reddening cheek. "It's okay, I had it coming." His tone was surprisingly light, all things considered.
"Need I remind you that this is a hospital and we expect our visitors to have a certain level of quiet and respect for the patients resting." The greying Doctor Charron was at the door, flicking off the plastic gloves into a bin just inside the room. "Keep up this unruly behaviour and I'll politely as you to leave. Or get the MPs to drag you by your heels if necessary."
Ruby and Yang peered at him, past him to see Summer Rose still being tended to by a nurse. The man was carefully putting a sling over her neck and securing her arm in place.
"How's she doing, Doc?" Qrow said, pushing himself to his feet.
"She's stable, for now. This is just a guess, but I think having a view over the city has helped improve dramatically. When security reviewed the footage of the attack and subsequent chase, we discovered that this latest episode was triggered by being unable to find an exit or an escape. Having a portal open to the outside world has helped calm her dramatically." Doctor Charron explained, clasping his hands behind his back as he peered back into the patient room.
Summer Rose had quietly slipped off the bed and walked to the window. The nurse on station watched her tentatively, asking if she required anything before taking his leave as well.
"Is she up for visitors?" Yang ventured tentatively,
"Ordinarily I wouldn't recommend it, but given that she's calmed down markedly, I am willing to make the exception." Doctor Charron answered, "We'll keep her in this room for monitoring for a few days as a trial to test my hypothesis. If my theory proves conclusive and her condition does improve, we may consider permanently moving her out of the isolation ward."
"You're not worried she's some sort of ticking time bomb?" Qrow asked in a lowered tone,
"Her first actions upon escaping her chamber was to alert security, and in my work with her, I've seen nothing to indicate she harbours ill-intentions. Towards the staff or the Kingdom as a whole." Charron answered, his lips pressed in a thin line. "And I have ample reason to believe if Huntress Rose wanted to escape, she would've done so by now."
Ruby watched her mother's back from their spot in the doorway while Qrow and the Doctor's conversation faded to the background. She could feel the sting of tears well up in her eyes. She'd spent so long believing her mother was dead and gone. There was so much she had to say, so much she wanted to tell her mother, and even more questions she had to ask.
"You girls go see her." Qrow's voice cut through her bubble of thought, and the girls spun around to face him.
"You're not coming in with us?" Yang questioned, her words barbed. "Wasn't she your wife?"
"I've already had my little reunion with her, I don't want to spoil things for you guys." Qrow explained. Neither missed the longing in his eyes at the woman before them but he shook his head of that. "I need to have a chat with Ironwood."
Yang spun on her heel, thrusting a finger at her step-mother's back and glaring at her uncle. "You're leaving after all the crap she's just gone through? So husband you are."
"I'd agree with you if I was leaving her alone, but I'm not. I'm leaving her with the best people I know." Qrow dismissed her concerns, offering a vague smile. One authored with a slight wince from his bruising cheek.
"Uh, but-"
"Petal... go see your mother." Qrow told her, "I'll be back to see her again later."
With that Qrow left them at a brisk pace, his face no longer marked by guilt but etched with determination. Left alone, the sisters simply stood in silence. The Doctor had vanished off to another patient presumably, and the young Huntresses were paradoxically at a loss for what to do.
"I guess... we should just go for it." Yang offered with a shrug and followed her younger sister's lead.
"Mum?" Ruby ventured tentatively, taking a few steps into the suite. Yang was at her shoulder.
Summer Rose stood at the window, staring out over the view of Atlas' lower levels. Her right arm was bound in a sling and the white pajama shirt was replaced with a black sleeveless top, affording the young Huntresses a stark view of the countless burn, cut and puncture scars that dotted her exposed skin.
"Mum, can you hear us?" Yang offered, a little louder.
Summer Rose turned to face them, tears glistening in her eyes even before recognition set in. "I, uh - I'm sorry." She quickly wiped away her tears with the heel of her palm looking out the window again. "It's just been… a very long time since I've seen my homeland."
Eventually, she turned back to the Huntresses waiting for her. "The more things change, the more they stay the same right? And you two… you girls have grown so... so much. I never thought I'd..."
Her words trailed off and she sniffed, swallowing hard, she offered her functional arm out. "I never thought I'd see either of my girls again."
"Mum..." Ruby's eyes screwed closed.
"Summer."
Tears spilling freely as both girls ran up to their mother, throwing their arms around her, determined never to let her go again.
Author's note:
Things are... tense, but looking optimistic. And Doctor Charron is looking into getting Summer some new accommodations. After all, her first act was to alert security, not run like hell and escape the hospital like an enemy would.
I welcome feedback and criticism,
Aurora313
edit: As a treat, I invite you all to see Summer Rose's Rose Above The Clouds outfit located here on my Tumblr account KnightofAcherus.
This outfit will be debuting in a few chapters time. :)
