STRQ Future
Chapter 1: Red, White, Black, Yellow
Warnings: past character death, racism, abuse (against the Faunus)
Summer Rose, Taiyang Xiao Long, Raven Branwen, and Qrow Branwen: Team STRQ, a team of Huntsmen-in-training going into their Third Year at Beacon Academy, were settling into their dorm room when a bright flash of light blindsided them all.
Blindly grasping for their weapons and blinking the black spots from their eyes, they came to realize that they were not at Beacon Academy anymore. They were somewhere else entirely, and once the team got their bearings, they realized that they were not alone either.
Two Faunus, a Cat Faunus and a (Puma?) Faunus were also in the room they had just appeared in.
"Where are we? And who are you?" The large Faunus asked, stepping forward to shield the smaller Faunus.
"Wait! We have no idea where we are or how we got here! I swear." Summer said, sheathing her weapon and holding up her hands to show that she was not going to hurt them.
"We just appeared here." Raven grumbled to the larger Faunus.
"Where were you all when you appeared here…wherever we are?" the smaller Faunus asked, pushing the male Faunus out of the way so that they were standing side-by-side.
"We were just settling into our dorm room. We are Huntsmen-in-training at Beacon Academy, and we just started our third year. I'm Summer Rose and this is my team." Summer said with a smile.
"Hello Summer. My name is Kali Belladonna, this is my boyfriend, Ghira. It's nice to meet you." Kali smiled warmly at the slightly younger young adult.
"Yo! I'm Taiyang Xiao Long but call me Tai." The blonde Human male said, waving his hand toward the two others that were stuck with them.
"That's 'cuz your name is too damn long." Qrow muttered before Tai rolled his eyes at his partner and bumped his shoulder.
Raven still did not say anything, just kept her weapon out and trained on the two Faunus.
Summer sighed, "These two are Raven and Qrow Branwen. They are siblings, twins. Sorry about them, they don't trust easily."
"As long as they don't try and harm Kali…" Ghira said before he looked around the room. "We should try and find out where we are and why we are here." He spoke.
"Yeah, that would be a good idea." Summer agreed.
The six young adults started searching the room that they appeared in, looking for clues. Unfortunately, all they found was what was already in the room: a couch, a few love seats, a coffee table, and a large holo-screen TV with a remote next to it.
There was nothing else in the room at first glance, but Kali found a note underneath the TV remote.
What you are about to watch are events of the future. This will be your chance to change the outcome of certain events and prevent the catastrophe to come.
If you do not wish to continue after the first Four Trailers, you may do so. You will be returned to the point in time in which you disappeared from.
Be wise with the changes you make.
Good luck.
"Uh…" Tai scratched the back of his head, not knowing what to make of the note and why they were the ones chosen.
"So…is this real or…?" Qrow asked, gazing toward his team leader and the two Faunus.
"It seems real, I mean…we can't find anything else to explain this." Ghira said, shrugging.
"What do we do then?" Kali asked.
Raven was the one with the answer. She picked up the remote and turned on the holo-screen, opening the menu.
She scrolled down through the list of volumes and episodes, the dark-haired young woman noticed that there were only three volumes available but all of it was shaded out, however there were a few extra things in the list. Something called: 'TRAILERS', 'SOUNDTRACKS', and 'EXTRA SCENES'.
Raven clicked on the 'TRAILERS' entry and almost pressed the first entry in the list. The 'RED TRAILER'.
"Let's just start. I'm interested in our future, and this doesn't seem like a trick." Raven said, her finger hovering over the PLAY button as she glanced at the other five people in the room with her.
"Yeah, Raven's right. We at least need watch the trailers before we can return to our own time. So why not?" Summer shrugged, not minding all that much and wondering about her and her team's future.
Summer also hoped that her and her team could befriend the two Faunus so that when they return, they would be able to change their futures together.
Red Trailer
The trailer opens with a hooded girl walking under the words:
"Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest."
"That's…. extremely concerning." Ghira said, glancing between the women in the room.
"Someone's dead." Raven said bluntly.
Ghira and Kali turn toward the elder Branwen and stare at her. She glanced over toward the two Faunus and shrugged, "What? It's true. Can't hide from death."
The text glows and scatters into red and white petals, and the full moon is also shown amidst the falling snow and a floating red petal. Several more petals join the original, which passes over the words and dissolves them into red and black.
A figure in a red hood and flowing cloak is seen under the moon, in the snowy landscape. The cape also produces dozens of red rose petals.
"Summer…?" Taiyang asks, looking at his leader.
The white-cloaked young woman blinked in stunned shock. "…I have no idea."
"What is it?" Kali asked her new friend.
"The rose petals…I produce white rose petals whenever I use my Semblance. It seems that so does this person." Summer told the Faunus woman.
"Do you have a younger sibling or something?" Ghira asked.
Summer shook her head.
A gravestone near the cliff's edge stands alone in the wooded cliff-side. The red-hooded figure stands silently in front of the grave before turning and walking away.
On the grave there is a rose emblem over the words:
"Summer Rose – Thus Kindly I Scatter."
…
Summer and the rest of Team STRQ pale in horror.
"I'm…dead?" Summer stared wide-eyed at the holo-screen in terror.
"Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest…"
"White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test."
"We may be able to stop this. Your death, I mean." Kali told the white-cloaked younger woman.
"Y-yeah, Sum. We won't let you die." Tai's voice cracked, thinking about his leader dying…scared him more than he would like to admit.
Raven swallowed, "Though, the question is now- how far into the future is this? It could be more than a decade from our current time."
"And that makes it okay?" Tai asked the older twin incredulously.
"I never said that." Raven snapped at the blonde male. "Don't put words in my mouth, Tai!" Qrow put a hand on his sister's arm to try and calm her down a bit.
The red-hooded wanderer slowly walks through the snow-covered forest, where shadowy beasts dart through the trees, before coming to a large clearing and looking at the sight of a dozen Beowolves circling the figure.
"Think the chick in the hood can win?" Qrow whisper-asked his sister.
"Let's see." Raven narrowed her eyes at the holo-screen, waiting for the fight (slaughter, in Raven's opinion) to start.
Three wolves decide to dash forward and attack through jumping, but the cloaked figure disappears in a cloud of rose petals. The black wolves crash to the ground before looking up and getting up to attack again.
Summer was staring at the screen, her fists clenched. She was wondering who the young figure was, who could have her petals besides…her child! This red-cloaked person might be her child in the future!
"Black the beast descends from shadows."
"Yellow beauty burns gold."
"Whatever this song is…is very odd. Is it about the cloaked person?" Ghira asked.
"Maybe?" Tai shrugged at the large Faunus.
Outlined by the moon's natural light, the cape swirls around the figure, now with the red hood down around her neck, showing a young girl that looked like Summer Rose's copy.
"Holy…" Tai breathed, staring at his leader's carbon-copy.
"You have a kid!" Qrow blurted out.
"Damn, didn't think about that." Raven muttered.
She's my-! Summer's silver eyes widen as she smiled sadly. I hope I get to know her.
The girl reaches behind her and pulls out a Sniper Rifle and fires a shot that blows a large chunk of the Beowolf's head into black smoke.
Tai whistled. "She's skilled." He grinned and turned to Summer.
"Yeah…she is." The white-cloaked woman wondered who her daughter's father was.
More Beowolves start to attack the Summer-look-a-like as she lands on the ground. She leaps over the first beast and shoots it in the back, then, when she is still in the air, blasting another one's side out and gets into a position where she can fire at the third Beowolf dead center. She rolls back and stands, unfolding the rifle into its larger – and deadlier – scythe form.
Three heads snapped toward Qrow who stared in shock.
"She's using…" Qrow breathed, a shaky smile on his lips. "Looks like we got another scythe user."
"That is an S-Class weapon," Summer pointed to the holo-screen.
"-and technically illegal." Tai continued.
"What is?" Ghira asked, not understanding why the Huntsmen-in-training were so shocked at the scythe.
"Scythes are S-Class weapons and illegal if not properly registered and regulated. There has only ever been one scythe-wielder that has ever been able to use the full capabilities of a scythe as a Huntsman." Summer explained.
"Who would that be?" Kali asked.
"The Grimm Reaper." Qrow and Raven said in unison.
"…the Grimm Reaper?"
"A legendary Huntsman that has never been unmasked and continues to hunt Grimm down to this day. It's said that the Grimm are so scared of the Grimm Reaper that they flee from them." Qrow told the two Faunus.
"That's amazing!" Kali exclaimed in shock.
One of the braver Beowolves charges forward, but the girl merely spins around, hooking its body in the curve of the sharp blade as the Grimm growls, before pulling the trigger of the sniper rifle. The blade severs the creature's body in a shower of black smoke. As both halves land on the ground, continuing to emit smoke, the rest of the pack charges forward.
"That's my move!" Qrow grinned like a child, giddy at being able to see someone (Sum's kid) using his moves.
"You got yourself a little protégé." Tai smiled, happy for his partner.
"Oh! Thank you so much, Qrow!" Summer squealed as she gave the younger Branwen a large hug in gratitude.
"N-no problem, Summer." Qrow mumbled, blush on his cheeks.
Raven snickered at her brother, but Qrow shoved her into Tai who wound his arms around her. "Let go of me before I break your arm." Raven threatened.
Tai squeaked and quickly let go, glaring at Qrow. "You deserve that."
The young teenager, rotating her weapon, unloads her empty bullet cases and drives the blade into the ground, firing from a single spot at several of the approaching Creatures of Grimm.
"She's an incredible shot." Ghira complimented. "Your daughter is amazing, and it certainly shows in the fact that Qrow is her teacher."
One of the wolves' swipes at her feet, narrowly missing its target as she jumps up with her Sniper Rifle and shoots out a powerful blast before digging into the ground once again when she sees more Grimm emerging from the woods.
"I do have to wonder, how old is she? She seems young." Kali's amber eyes glanced over at Summer.
"I don't know, I just hope that I was around for her." Summer whispered.
"You will be, Summer. I swear to you, we will help you find out what happened to lead to your death." Kali squeezed Summer's hands.
"Yeah, Summer. You aren't alone you've got your team and now Kali and Ghira." Tai told his leader, hoping that he was sounding as confidant as he could for Summer's sake.
"Thank you." Summer told her team and their new friends.
A Beowolf almost gets her with its claws, but she twists out of the way and fires another bullet at the wolf in from of her to make the weapon spin, angling her body to spin along with the Sniper Rifle-Scythe.
"Watch out!" Summer called out to her daughter.
"Phew!" Taiyang, Ghira, and Kali were able to let go of the breath that they were holding as they watched the fight.
Summer's daughter was good, there was no doubt about that, especially since Qrow was the one to train her, most likely, since she uses a scythe and can use one of his own moves.
The cloaked girl twirls the scythe and cuts down the Beowolves that get too close from both sides, dodging another attack to hook the beast in and blasting an approaching wolf, killing both Grimm.
"She truly is amazing. Though I can't much comment on her fighting, as I'm not much of a fighter." Kali said, a bit sheepishly.
The black-and-red dressed young teen leaps over two more, goes in to dismember one and catches another's neck in the blade of her scythe, pulling the trigger and beheading the wolf while flying upward.
Two Beowolves follow but she shoots her way down and slices them up, before she had to block a wolf's swipe on the ground, which pushes her back and lets her see the large number of enemies she had left.
"Where is she?" Ghira asked, never having been in a snowy environment before.
He usually stayed in either Vacuo or southern and central Mistral, but now he was going back and forth between Vacuo, Mistral, and Menagerie since he started his relationship with Kali.
"Patch." Summer spoke up. "The Island of Patch is a small island off the coast of Vale, its… its where I live when I'm not at Beacon."
"With your family?" Kali asked.
Summer didn't answer.
Dropping her used bullet cartridge and inserting another with an odd cross symbol (Gravity Dust), loads it in and blasts off faster than the Beowolves could keep up with.
"That's one hell of a Speed Semblance! No wonder she can manipulate the rose petals same as you, Summer." Qrow commented, impressed by his leader's daughter.
"For sure, that's crazy." Tai playfully messed with the dark red-haired woman. Raven hummed, also impressed but didn't say anything, just glanced at her brother.
In the back of Qrow's mind, he wondered if that girl was his.
But then he dismissed the thought just as fast as it came. That was impossible, he couldn't have kids… he never wanted them, not with what his Semblance was.
He hoped that whatever happened to Summer, he wasn't involved, because if he was…he shuddered. He prayed that his Semblance wasn't responsible for his leader's death.
But since seeing that gravestone…that thought would always linger in the back of his mind.
You're thinking too much, brother. Raven thought, hoping that while they were at Beacon her brother would get out of his destructive mentality of always thinking that everything that goes wrong is his fault as a byproduct of his Semblance.
The wolves were dumbfounded as she converts the scythe into a shorter sickle-shaped blade and starts spinning through the large mass of the Creatures of Grimm, cutting them up – left and right – leaving empty bullets, rose petals, and severed limbs flying in the air.
"I would not wish to be at the other end of her scythe." Ghira said, looking between Summer and Qrow.
As the last Grimm falls dead, the cloaked girl lands in a regal pose with her scythe curling behind her body as bullets rain down from the sky.
"She's also got a thing for dramatics, don't ya think." Tai waggled his eyebrows.
"Oh? Like you, I'd wager." Raven countered.
Tai sputtered but couldn't speak as Summer smashed his face into a pillow. "Nope! No fighting, we still have three more trailers to watch."
White Trailer
"'White trailer', wonder who that's about." Kali asked.
"Maybe someone from Atlas?" Tai guessed.
"Let's get on with it!" Raven complained.
The others quickly shut up and started the next trailer.
"Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or forms of measure. And all of it…irreplaceable."
…
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome…Weiss Schnee." The announcer says to the crowd.
"A Schnee?!" Ghira, Raven, and Qrow yelled in shock.
A low rumble was heard from Ghira as a growl ripped from his throat. Kali gripped his arm with surprising strength. "Ghira… please calm down. She is not responsible for what Nicolas Schnee or the SDC's board has done to our people. The sins of the parent are not the sins of the child." Kali said sternly.
The male Faunus slowly unclenched his hands and seeing sparks of his Purple Aura against his palms. "I know." He breathed out, calming himself down and glancing at his girlfriend. "Thank you."
"What the hell?! Why is a Schnee at Beacon?" Qrow's hands were clenched so hard on the pommel of Harbinger that he was ready to draw it at a moment's notice.
Raven grabbed her brother's wrist and pried it from his broadsword-scythe. "Don't!" He hissed at her. "We are not there anymore! Calm down!"
A young girl in white with a barely visible scar over her left eye walks out on stage into the spotlight as a piano plays the opening of 'Mirror Mirror' before the crowd of seated guests. The guests occasionally taking pictures from their stands around the white castle they appear to be in.
She's definitely a Schnee. Kali thought, a frown on her face, but that was only because of the fact that the girl was born into a family that every Faunus hates with a burning passion because of the labor laws in place, mainly the slave labor the Schnee Dust Company employs (thanks to Jacques Schnee's new-issued laws in the Atlas Dust Mines).
"How did she get that scar?" Tai muttered.
"We might be able to find out if we keep watching. So shut up!" Raven said in a slightly in an annoyed tone, wanting to watch the trailer without any more unnecessary interruptions.
The girl closes her eyes and begins to sing.
"Mirror tell me something. Tell me who's the loneliest of all…" Weiss starts.
"She has a really nice voice. Maybe she's not so bad." Summer said to the black-haired Huntsman-in-training and the two Faunus.
"Fat chance. I bet she's just like her stuck up, bratty sister." Qrow said.
"Okay! Enough! Let's continue, shall we?" Kali wanted to be able to finish this trailer as well as the two other trailers they still had to watch. "Again, she is not responsible for what Nicolas Schnee's company has done."
Ghira crossed his arms and scowled at the holo-screen. He was the High Leader of the White Fang- while he preached and practiced non-violence, that didn't mean that he would ever forgive the Schnee family for what they have done to the Faunus.
While she sings, the view sinks down into her scar-free reflection on the stage, the world tilting until she opens her eyes again and finds herself in a completely different place. But a place she knew too well.
The light and shadows shift until a warrior in giant armor with an equally massive broadsword appears before her.
"Whoa! Is that a flashback? We might actually get to see how the Schnee girl got her scar." Tai said, leaning in to watch the fight that would take place.
She backflips just as the Giant Armor brings its blade down onto the place where Wiess had been standing.
"What type of Grimm is that?" Raven asked. She has never seen an Armored Grimm before.
"It's a Geist Grimm. It can possess that Giant Armor. It's called an Arma Gigas." Summer informs her team.
"How do you know that?" Qrow asked.
"I read a book about the different types of things a Geist Grimm could possess. A suit of armor isn't that far-fetched." Summer shrugged.
The song continues as her flashback takes over.
"Mirror tell me something. Tell me who's the loneliest of all?" She sings.
"What do you think the lyrics of the song are referring to?" Summer asked the rest of her team and the two Faunus.
"The girl is alone. She has no one and her songs are the one outlet she has to express herself and try and get some attention." Ghira was the one who spoke up surprising the rest of them.
Team STRQ looked at him like he had grown a second head. "And how would you know that Mr. Philosophical?" Qrow asked.
"I… the lyrics clearly say that she is lonely, it wasn't that hard to figure out, Qrow." Ghira grumbled.
The Schnee Heiress unsheathes her own blade, a rapier named Myrtenaster, and darts forward, getting a hit on her enemy before twirling into a landing.
The Giant Armor swings again but she dashes away and lands several spinning slashes on the black armor. It retaliates when she uppercuts into the air, arcing its sword around and hitting Wiess' rapier, which she brings up just in the nick of time, but the blow merely knocks her back.
"She's good. Probably had private tutors and trainers to get her to that level." Raven said. The others couldn't refute her, she was right after all.
When she slows down, the white-haired girl looks up to see the Giant Armor leaping into the air and hurling the sword down on her, then swinging it back up to get its fast-moving target. It finally hits her blade again, and she is knocked away until she rolls back onto her feet a bit unsteadily.
"Fear of what's inside of me. Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?"
"More lyrics, now referring to herself and her self-esteem. Maybe?" Summer said, she glanced at the blond young man and the Cat Faunus next to her, but Tai just shrugged, and Kali was pensive. She was thinking of how this girl had grown up.
As her pale-blue Aura gathers at her fingertips, Wiess motions to the ground beneath her, as a snowflake symbol appears that propels her forward at an extreme speed.
Despite the Giant Armor's attempts to slash at her, Weiss disappears and reappears all around it, leaping through the air using her Glyphs and landing a blow with each pass of her sword.
"That's definitely a Semblance. But wait; is there such a thing as hereditary Semblances?" Raven asked, looking to her team leader.
"I've never heard of that before." Tai pointed out.
"Hereditary Semblances are extremely rare, but they can and do happen. If it's a strong Semblance then yes, it could become hereditary." Summer told the other dark-haired female.
After she manages a slash at its helmeted face, the Giant Armor aims at Weiss' feet, who leaps over it and gets an undefended fist to her head.
Weiss is launched yet again, but this time her attempt to get back up is weak and unsure. A worried Weiss closes her eyes, and in the real world, the spotlight suddenly cuts out.
"Ouch. So now we know how she got that scar." Tai said, hissing in sympathy for the Heiress.
"That's gotta hurt. Karma's a bitch, ain't it?" Qrow said with a small smile on his face. He didn't like the Schnee family, which was obvious.
Summer slapped him on his shoulder. "Stop it, that girl is not at fault for what her father has done or will do in the future. Remember that Qrow. This is all in our future. Kali is right, the sins of a parent are not for a child to bear!" Summer scolded the younger Branwen.
Kali smiles and nods to Summer. "Thank you." She whispers to the cloaked woman.
"Of course. Qrow's just prickly. He's never liked the Schnee's," Summer stage-whispered, winking at Kali.
The moon makes itself known when the clouds in front of it pass, showering Weiss in its light as she sings, eyes still closed.
In her mind, she stands back up, eyeing the Giant Armor with blood trailing down the left side of her face, and holds out her sword, spinning the revolver in the hilt until red Fire Dust appears over the blade. The Giant Armor runs up and drops its sword on her, but it meets her rapier and is deflected off.
"How was she not crushed under the weight of the sword?" Ghira asked.
"She had Fire Dust coating her rapier blade." Raven said in a monotone voice.
"Don't be an ass, Raven." Tai told the dark-haired woman. "He's not a Huntsman-in-training like us. Neither Ghira nor Kali would know this."
Raven didn't answer the blonde.
"Mirror, mirror, what's behind you? Save me from the things I see! I can keep it from the world. Why won't you let me hide from me?" Weiss sang.
"I get the feeling that Weiss is going to have a major turning point, and soon." Summer said.
"She's still going to be a bitch." Qrow muttered.
Raven glared at her younger twin brother, and he shut up. Qrow knew when to shut up when Raven was angry, and he really didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of her angry duels (beatings, he called them).
Weiss switches the Dust in the chamber-revolver and spins, light blue Ice Dust now created waves of ice when she strikes it into the ground that freezes the Giant Armor in place.
The Giant Armor swings again, but Weiss runs ahead and jumps on the sword.
Myrtenaster is now glowing yellow with Lightning Dust as she rolls on the broadsword and slashes at her foe, destroying the ice crystals in shards of purple but impaling its weapon into the ground. She rotates the hilt again and a snowflake glyph spins under her when the Giant Armor tries to hammer its fist down on her, but she rolls out of the way and activates the glyph, launching the warrior up into the air and becoming trapped by Weiss' beams of blue energy.
"That Semblance is both extremely powerful and versatile. That could be useful to exploit for your daughter, Summer." Raven told her team leader.
"My daughter is not going to exploit that girl's Semblance just because it's powerful, Raven!" Summer exclaimed to her female teammate.
"That's what I would do." Raven said.
"That's because you will use whatever you want and can to win and be the strongest." Qrow deadpanned.
"Well, it worked, right? We are the strongest team of Beacon Academy." Raven boasted.
"Is everything between you two a competition?" Ghira asked.
"Yes!" Raven grinned and Qrow hissed in anger.
"Oh, shut up. You won… sometimes." Raven smirked, knowing that Qrow hated being compared to her through his Semblance acting up.
"Fuck off!"
Summer split the twins up by dragging Raven off to sit next to Tai as she went to sit with Qrow to stop him from doing something stupid, like challenging Raven.
The two of them were equal in terms of strength and power, but still, nine times out of ten, Raven won their duels.
"Mirror, mirror, tell me something. Who's the loneliest of all?"
With one final leap into the air and her real self sang the last lines of her song, and Myrtenaster glows with white markings on its blade and Weiss descends onto the Giant Armor.
When her attack is done and she lands in a crouch, the black hollows of the enemy light up and crash to the ground in a shower of ice and snow behind her.
"Impressive final move." Raven said, hand on her chin, analyzing the style of fighting.
"Who are you and what have you done with Raven?" Taiyang asked in a stunned voice.
"Oh, shut up! I can complement people. Even if she's a Schnee I have to give credit where it's due." Raven said.
"You never complement people; you use insults veiled as complements." Summer pointed out.
Raven growled and put her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"We both know you won't attack me." Summer grinned and Raven glared at her partner and huffed.
"I'm the loneliest of all." She finished the song.
"It was a nice song." Summer said.
"It was nice, but really sad." Kali said, glancing at the siblings.
"You two good, or should we stop for now?" Ghira asked.
"We can continue." Raven said, sheathing her sword fully.
Weiss gets up and closes her eyes, finishing 'Mirror Mirror' to a gentle shower of snowflakes and a roar of applause from her audience. She opens her eyes and looks around as if in a daze, then peers up at the slightly scattered moon above.
She dips her head and bows to the crowd as the curtains close around her.
"Do you think we could listen to the full song? I want to figure out her motives from her song. And your daughter, Sum." Tai said to his teammates.
"Maybe, let me check the Volume 1 menu." Summer said, as she went back to the menu and scrolled through the episodes that they still needed to watch.
The last episode listed was called 'Volume 1 Soundtrack'. "We can listen to the soundtrack after the volume ends." Summer answers her light-haired teammate.
"Cool, I want to figure out the motives of the girls." Tai said.
"As would I. I think we should find out their motives and ideals, it would be a good idea, seeing as that it could help us find out more about the catastrophe that we are trying to stop." Kali said.
"Are you guys hungry? I'm starving." Qrow said, wanting to eat.
"Yeah, I'm getting there. Is there any food in this place?" Tai asked, looking around.
"Hey, guys, was that door always there?" Kali asked hesitantly.
"Door?" Summer muttered and looked to where the female Faunus was pointing at.
The two males of the Huntsman-in-training team got up from where they were sitting to go to the door and check the new room out. They opened the door to find a table and chairs loaded with food.
"Guys, check this out!" Tai called out to his remaining teammates. The four others came over to see the room filled with food.
"Well, I guess that solves the issue of food." Ghira said, casting a look at the banquet-hall.
"What? You can't seriously tell me you're not hungry, Ghira." He turned to look at the large Faunus.
"Stop, both of you. Let's just eat and get back to watching the trailers." Kali and Summer said at the same time.
Ghira and Qrow stopped arguing and began to eat.
Qrow filled up his plate, Raven only took what was necessary. Tai and Summer piled their plates up with pizza and a grilled chicken, respectively, and the two Faunus piled their plates with different kinds of fish (both raw and cooked).
The group of six came back to the viewing room and sat down to watch the next trailer. "Let's start the next trailer." Taiyang suggested.
Black Trailer
"Your hopes have become my burden. I will find my own liberation."
…
"That doesn't sound good." Qrow muttered.
Both Kali and Ghira heard the Huntsman-in-training. The Faunus tense and glance at each other thinking the same thing, the White Fang?
A teenager with a bow atop her head is seen sitting on a rock watching the red leaves fall down in the forest she was in.
"That girl looks like you, Kali." Qrow stated the obvious.
"Is that… is that my daughter? I have a child in the future?" Kali was surprised but happy to know that she will have a child, she stole a glance at Ghira, hoping that he is this girl's father. She loves him, and if this girl is their future daughter all the better.
Ghira was similarly stunned looking at the girl. She looked so similar to Kali, she had to be hers, there was no doubt about it. He smiled warmly at his girlfriend and her daughter. "She's definitely yours, Kali." He said with a smile.
"Yes, she is. I think you might be her father, Ghira." Kali says. The bigger Faunus looks back at the girl on the screen and narrows his eyes, trying to see the similarities between them.
"Perhaps she is." He whispered, wrapping an arm around the Cat Faunus.
"That's Forever Fall!" Summer pointed at the screen. Her teammates chuckle at her words.
"Yes Summer, we can see that." Raven told her. Summer pouted.
Adam Taurus walks up to her. "Blake, it's time."
She slowly turns toward him. "Okay."
The camera drifts down to show a train rushing through the forest.
"What are they doing?" Taiyang asked, looking at the two Faunus in the room.
"No idea, but I have a bad feeling about this." Ghira told the blonde.
The male Faunus and Blake slide down the hill onto the top of the train. Upon boarding it, they enter a car full of AK-130 Androids.
"That's an SDC train!" Tai shouted in surprise.
"Why would they be on an SDC train, though?" Summer asked.
"Looks like we're gonna be doing this the hard way." Adam grinned. The Androids activate and circle the duo.
"Don't be so dramatic." Blake rolls her eyes at him. An Android activates the guns on its arms.
"Intruder, identify yourself." An android commanded.
Qrow and Tai snorted. "Yeah right. Like they're gonna do that."
Adam responds by cutting the Android in two and he and Blake proceed to completely annihilate the Androids in the car. Eventually, they burst out of the freight car onto a flatcar and encounter a horde of Androids running towards them.
"Music!" Tai exclaimed.
"From shadows, we'll decent upon the world, take back what you stole."
"From shadows, we'll reclaim our destiny, set our future free and we'll rise."
"And we'll rise."
"Above the darkness and the shame."
"Above the torture and the pain."
"Above the ridicule and hate."
"Above the binding of our fate."
"Holy crap! That's insane." Tai yelled.
"Why is that Faunus wearing a Grimm mask?" Raven questioned looking at the two Faunus in the room.
"Why do you assume we know?" Ghira asked the Branwen woman.
"So, you don't know why that man wears a custom Grimm mask?" Raven asked the male Faunus. Ghira stood up as Raven grinned in triumph. She was itching for a fight.
"Enough, Raven!" Summer told her teammate.
Raven slowly turned to her leader and asked in a flat voice, "Is that an order?" Summer flinched back and everyone in the room froze at the sudden tension.
Qrow closed his eyes trying to get his Semblance under control before it hurt someone. He and Raven still hadn't told anyone about the real reason that they were attending Beacon and about his Semblance.
But as usual, his Semblance wouldn't listen to him and cracks the plate that Kali and Ghira had been eating from. The food spilled on the table as everyone's attention changed to the broken plate and the spilled food.
Raven is the only one who doesn't look at the mess, she looks at her brother. Qrow's eyes widen in fear as he quickly stands up and backs away from the older Branwen.
"Qrow, are you alright?" Summer asked hesitantly, seeing that something had shaken her teammate.
"How unlucky." Raven commented.
Qrow flinched, his red eyes hardening to look at his sister. "What do you want from me, Raven?" He asked with grit teeth, angry at himself and his sister for commenting about his Semblance.
"Control." She responded.
"You think I wanted this?! I don't! I never did! I had no say in any of this!" Qrow screamed at his twin.
"Then do something about it!" Raven replied.
"I've tried!"
"No, you haven't. If you think it's bad now, wait until we're out. Wait until then, and then you'll see how much damage you cause." Qrow flinched back violently, stumbling backward.
The other four watching the twins didn't know what was going on. The fearful look in Qrow's eyes was still there and getting worse with every passing second.
He bolted from the room.
Summer, Tai, Kali, and Ghira all turned to stare at Raven.
"Raven, what the hell just happened?" Summer asked in a low voice, she was furious.
"What needed to happen. Qrow will be back, he always comes back." Raven said in a resigned tone.
"What did you even do? Why did Qrow run?" Tai asked his partner's sister.
"That's none of your business, Tai." Qrow voiced as he came back into the room.
"Qrow, will you please tell us what that was?" Summer asked, coming over to him. She tried to touch him, but he flinched and backed away from her.
"Don't. Just… leave it be. Raven don't antagonize Ghira or Kali. Let's just finish the trailers." Qrow said dejectedly.
The black-haired male sat down in the farthest seat he could, alone and curled up like he was a small child. The group had no choice but to listen to the young man as they retook their seats and resumed the trailer.
"Let's do this." Adam said to his partner. They decimate the horde and enter the second freight car. Adam opens a box and examines the contents inside.
"Perfect. Move up to the next car." Adam said, closing the trunk. "I'll set the charges."
"What about the crew members?" Blake asked in concern.
"What about them?" He asks her rhetorically. The Bull Faunus turns around to see a Spider Droid climbing down from the ceiling of the car. Adam moves to fight it.
"Born with no life, into subjugation."
"Treated like a worthless animal, stripped of all rights, just a lesser being, crushed by cruel, ruthless Human rule."
"Adam." She calls out anxiously.
"The lyrics to the song… is this really what Faunus have to go through?" Tai asked slowly, not wanting to offend the two Faunus.
Kali and Ghira both nod sadly.
"Yes, this is what most Faunus have to go through. It's even worse in Atlas. There, Faunus are all shipped to the Dust Mines without any regard. Menagerie is the only place where Faunus don't face such discrimination but it's still not ideal. There is still some even among the Faunus of Menagerie." Kali told them.
"He doesn't even care that he could be killing innocents." Summer said angrily.
Adam and Blake try to fight it, but it doesn't go so well. Adam grabs Blake before she is about to be crushed by the droid's legs. "We need to get out of here." She says in a hurried voice. The fight moves out of the car onto another flatcar.
"When it started, all we wanted was a chance to live our lives, now in darkness, taking everything we want and we will rise."
"We'll rise."
"We'll rise."
"Buy me some time!" He yelled to his partner.
"Are you sure?" Not knowing if he could handle it.
"Do it!" He demanded.
Blake distracts the droid while Adam readies his next attack. As she jumps back to Adam sometime later- "Move!" Adam yells out.
The droid fires a powerful beam. Adam catches the beam with Wilt. As his body starts to glow, the droid jumps toward him. Adam then slashes out with his sword, disintegrating the droid and even affecting the trees in the Red Forest causing their leaves to fly into the air.
"Shit! That Semblance is powerful!" Tai yelled in surprise.
"Interesting." Raven said, thinking of something.
The others, beside Qrow, glance at Raven but leave her be.
As Adam walks back towards Blake, he finds her on a separate train car standing near the connector between the cars. As he reaches out to her... she closes her eyes, trying to keep her tears at bay.
"Goodbye." She tells him.
She then severs the connection and lets the released carts slow down as she lets the rest of the train continue en-route. As she leaves, the background becomes completely red with a black silhouette of Blake in the middle, with black leaves falling down.
At least Blake realizes how much of a bad influence Adam is and how ruthless he is. But the question is… where are Kali and I? Ghira thought, worried for…his daughter.
Kali plays the last trailer.
Yellow Trailer
"Scathing eyes ask that we be symmetrical, one sided and easily processed. Yet every misshapen spark's unseen beauty is greater than it would be judgement."
…
"That's an interesting quote." Ghira said. Kali and the others nod.
"What does it mean, though?" Tai asked.
"Maybe we're about to see a girl who doesn't conform to societies rules? She could be a rebel." Summer said.
"Could be." Tai said.
A young blonde woman is shown riding her motorcycle through the streets of Vale. She eventually stops in front of a club that is blasting music.
"Holy shit! Rae, you and Tai?!" Qrow stared at his sister in shock.
All six of them are stunned by the girl that was paused in the screen. She looked like Raven but with Tai's color scheme.
"Well… shit, was not expecting that. Raven, are you… ya'know?" Tai asked slowly, wanting to know if the young woman in question was indeed pregnant with his – their daughter.
"I'm not pregnant!" Raven hissed, still not believing that the girl on the screen was her and Tai's daughter.
"Rae, that is your daughter, just with Tai color scheme. You can't deny that." Qrow said with a smirk. He knew he would catch hell with Raven for it, but he didn't care. He wanted to poke fun at her for the time being.
Raven glared at her brother. "I. Am. Not. PREGNANT!" She screamed.
They continued the trailer.
As she walks through the club, she sees Roman Torchwick ending a conversation with Junior. She makes her way to the bar where Junior stands.
"Red like roses fills my dreams and takes me to the place you rest."
"That's from the first trailer! I wonder why?" Summer asked out loud. And then Summer realized what the lyrics were saying, her silver eyes had to blink tears out of her eyes.
"Strawberry Sunrise. No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas." Yang said.
"You are not drinking in my house, young lady!" Tai shouted at the girl on the screen.
"Tai… she can't hear you." Qrow reminded his teammate. Tai flushed pink and muttered something under his breath.
"What was that?" Qrow asked, smirking.
"Shut up." Tai grumbled. "If the girl in the first trailer is yours and Summer's kid then you would be the same way." Tai said.
"We don't know who that mini-Summer's dad is, it could be me, but I highly doubt that." Qrow said.
"Why's that? Do you not want kids?" Kali asked, curious at his response.
Qrow looked shocked by the question directed at him by the Cat Faunus.
Qrow looked down at his hands and remembers all of the times where they were covered in innocent blood. He was a scavenger, that was true, even among the tribe. He got scraps and Raven got first pick.
He was pulled out of the memories by a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw the wide red eyes of his older sister.
"Qrow, it's okay. Just breathe. Breathe. You're with your team; you're with Kali and Ghira. Calm down." Raven instructed.
He nods and does what she said. Qrow calms down and then looks at Kali. "I wouldn't want to hurt any child unnecessarily." He finally said.
Kali and Ghira were confused by that statement. "What do you mean, Qrow?" Summer asked, she and Tai were wondering what he meant as well.
"I…" He couldn't continue. His eyes flashed darkly with memories that he had suppressed from long ago coming to the surface. He left the room with a glance at his sister he went to the other room.
The others look at each other as Raven stares at the door where Qrow went through just a few moments ago. "Damn it." She murmured angrily.
"Raven?" Tai asked his partner.
"It's nothing; he just needs a few minutes. He isn't used to all of this. It'll take time, for both of us, to adjust." Raven said.
"Adjust? To what?" Ghira asked.
"To people caring about us, especially Qrow. He isn't used to that. At all." She looked down to the floor, thinking about all of the times the tribe ostracized her brother. Even his name was a cruel way to keep him contained, to keep him obedient and loyal to the tribe and to Raven. She knew that she would be the tribe's leader when the current one died….and Qrow would be by her side, but not as an equal, never as her equal.
He would always be last; he would be able to leave the tribe only at the end of hunts, to pick up scraps like a scavenger bird. His name was fitting for it, as was his Semblance. But that was the problem, his Semblance. He couldn't control it, he never could.
The tribe thought it was a semi-sentient Semblance that had a will of its own. And it was looking like it every time it accidentally flared up. It always hurt the people close to Qrow, including her from time to time. That was why he was always alone, even at Beacon. He barely came out of the dorm room if it wasn't for classes or training (or whenever Summer and Tai dragged both of them to parties).
"Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie?" Junior asks.
"How old is she? Can she even be in that club in the first place?" Ghira asked.
"She looks a little younger than us, maybe her first year at Beacon." Tai answered the Faunus.
Yang giggles, "Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?"
"So, you know who I am. You got a name, sweetheart?" Junior asked.
"Yes, Junior, I've got several. But instead of sweetheart, you can just call me Sir." Yang says angrily. She grabs his groin and squeezes it painfully causing Junior to cry out in pain comically.
The two males winced and shuddered at the blonde's ferociousness. "Definitely your kid, Raven." Tai muttered.
"People say you know everything." She said, narrowing her purple eyes.
She brings her scroll up to his face, showing him a picture. "Tell me where I can find her, and I'll let you go." She spoke.
"Is that… why is she looking for Raven?" Summer asked.
Junior strained to answer her, "I've never seen her before, I swear!"
"Excuse me?" She asked, eyes still narrowed.
"I swear, sir!" Junior pleaded.
Junior's henchmen begin to gather around. "Hmm, looks like we have an audience. This must kind of embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward..." She said, smiling a bit.
"Listen, blondie, sir. If you want to make it out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go. Now!" He said through grit teeth.
She lets go and Junior sighs in relief. "You'll pay for that!" He yelled.
"Oh, please! Like you could do anything to mine and Raven's daughter." Tai said proudly.
He puts on his sunglasses and walks away from her. Yang follows closely behind. "Oh Junior, I was just playing with you! Don't be so sensitive! Come on, lets kiss and make up, okay?" She said with a small smile on her lips.
"She's smart. She's lowering his defenses and then she'll strike." Raven smirked at the stupid man on the screen.
Junior stops and turns around. "Huh? Uh, okay." He spoke.
"White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test."
As he leans in, she punches him in the face sending him flying across the room. The henchmen run towards her.
"I can't believe he actually fell for that." Qrow said, shaking his head, trying not to laugh. He had come back into the viewing room and decided to sit away from everyone else.
"Black the beast descends from shadows."
"Yellow beauty burns… gold."
Activating Ember Celica, she jumps into the air and punches down, sending them flying back. She takes out all the henchmen and even the DJ when the two Malachite twins' step into the room.
"Are those shotgun gauntlets?" Tai asked.
"Yep!" Summer chirped, excited to see another weapon in action, especially since it's the daughter of her partner and blonde teammate.
"Mirror tell me something. Tell me who's the loneliest of all."
"Mirror locked inside me. Tell me, can a heart be turned to stone?"
"Melanie, who is this girl?" Miltia asks her sister.
"I dunno Miltia, but we should teach her a lesson." Melanie replies.
"Born with, no life, into subjugation."
Yang loads another belt of ammunition into Ember Celica and takes out the twins after a struggle.
"She's good at hand-to-hand, I'll give her that." Ghira said, eyeing Tai and giving him an approving nod. The blonde grinned at the unspoken compliment.
"Treated like a worthless animal."
"Stripped of all rights, just a lesser being. Crushed by cruel, ruthless human rule."
"When it started, all we wanted was a chance to live our lives, now in darkness, taking everything, we want and we'll rise."
"From shadows, we'll descend upon the world, take back what you stole."
"Faunus discrimination again." Kali mutters sadly, Ghira wraps an arm around her.
Summer takes her other hand and squeezes it in comfort. Kali looks at the white-cloaked young woman and smiles at her.
The holograms in the club suddenly turn off and a spotlight shines on Junior as he brings out his Bazooka.
"You're gonna pay for this!" Junior shouted.
He begins to attack Yang as the song skips a track and starts playing again.
"New music, her theme, most likely." Kali said, taking the notepad from Tai's hands and writing down the lyrics she could catch.
"Come at me, and you'll see. I'm more than meets the eye."
"You think that you'll break me,"
"You're gonna find in time, you're standing too close to a flame that's burning."
"Hotter than the sun in the middle of July."
Yang gets up and slams her fists together, making her hair and the ground around her burst into flames.
"That must be her Semblance. A fire related one." Raven said, looking at the father of her child.
She took a lot from Tai but what did she take away from her? Her ruthlessness, perhaps, but what else? Where was she and Summer in this? Was Summer already dead? Why was her daughter searching for her? The questions kept piling up in Raven's mind.
"Sending out your army, but you still can't win."
"Listen up, you silly boy, 'cause I'm gonna tell you why…"
"I burn!"
As Yang threw another deadly punch to the club owner her eyes turned red.
"Red eyes! Raven! She has both of our eye colors!" Tai told her excitedly.
"I can see that, Tai. I want to know why and how she has my eye color if she has your purple eyes." Raven said to the blond man.
The rest of Team STRQ wanted to know that too.
"Can't hold me now, you got nothing that can stop me."
Junior pulls out some of Yang's hair as she threw her pervious punch. That makes her med enough to end the fight with another very powerful punch that sends Junior flying out of the club windows, shattering them and crashing onto the pavement.
"Wow, that Semblance is scary." Kali whispered in awe.
"I burn!"
"Swing all you want, like a fever I will take you down."
Yang comes outside shortly after.
"Yang? Is that you?" Ruby asked.
"It's the girl from the first trailer! The one with the scythe!" Kali said. Summer was smiling as she thought about the two girls and their obvious friendship.
"Oh! Hey sis!" Yang turned to see her younger sister.
"Sister?!" Qrow shouted, jumping up from his seat and stared at Tai.
"Uh…" Tai said slowly backing away from the suddenly very scary Branwen male.
"What the actual fuck, Tai?! You not only impregnated my sister, but our leader too?!" Qrow shouted in Tai's face.
"Yes, I'd like to know why my daughter and Summer's are related to each other through you." Raven gave Tai a look that could put him six feet under if she wanted.
"I don't know! I don't know why I have two daughters with both of you, okay?" He held up his hands in surrender.
"So… does that mean that all of us live together in the future?" Summer asked, trying to diffuse the argument that was happening between Tai and Qrow.
Raven glanced to her leader. "Qrow, enough. The trailer is almost over." Raven demanded. Qrow sat down and grumbled under his breathe about beating the shit out of Tai when they got back to Beacon.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
Yang doesn't answer her sister before the screen cuts to black.
"I want to know why your daughter was looking for you." Ghira turned to Raven. "That was a picture of you on her scroll, I wonder if you go missing in the future."
"Maybe," Raven mumbled.
"Guys, there's another note!" Summer said suddenly.
You have all finished watching the trailers. Would you like to continue?
The others all looked at each other and nod.
If all of you agree you may start watching the first volume.
Reminding you all again, after the first volume ends all of you have the choice of leaving the viewing. If you do then all you have watched up until that point will be with you once you return.
You may change or keep the same whatever events you wish.
Good luck and be wise with your future.
"That's ominous." Qrow muttered.
"Now we can listen to the theme songs for the girls." Summer pointed out, clicking on the first song.
Red Like Roses (Ruby Rose's Theme)
Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest.
White is cold and always yearning, burdened by a royal test.
Black the beast descends from shadows.
Yellow beauty burns gold.
Mirror Mirror (Weiss Schnee's Theme)
Mirror, tell me something,
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?
Mirror, tell me something,
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?
Fear of what's inside of me;
Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?
Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?
Save me from the things I see!
I can keep it from the world,
Why won't you let me hide from me?
Mirror, mirror, tell me something,
Who's the loneliest of all?
I'm the loneliest of all.
From Shadows (Blake Belladonna's Theme)
Born with no life,
Into subjugation.
Treated like a worthless animal,
Stripped of all rights,
Just a lesser being,
Crushed by cruel, ruthless Human rule.
When it started,
All we wanted was a chance to live our lives.
Now in darkness,
Taking everything we want and we will rise.
We'll rise.
We'll rise.
From shadows,
We'll descend upon the world,
Take back what you stole.
From shadows,
We'll reclaim our destiny,
Set our future free.
And we'll rise.
And we'll rise.
Above the darkness and the shame.
Above the torture and the pain.
Above the ridicule and hate.
Above the binding of our fate.
Call us liars,
Degenerates, and killers,
Psychos, heartless, insane criminals,
Stupid, mutts and,
Nothing but pure evil,
Primal, bloodshed, is all that's left to do.
We're misguided?
Treated like we're criminals and we should hide.
Born indicted,
Tired of being pushed around and we will fly.
We'll fly.
We'll fly.
From shadows,
We'll descend upon the world.
From shadows,
We'll reclaim our destiny.
I Burn (Yang Xiao Long's Theme)
Come at me
And you'll see
I'm more than meets the eye
You think that
You'll break me
You're gonna find in time…
You're standing too close to a flame that's burning
Hotter than the sun in the middle of July
Sending out your army, but you still can't win
Listen up, silly boy, 'cause I'm gonna tell you why!
I burn!
Can't hold me now
And you're not stopping me
I burn!
Swing all you want
Like a fever I will take you down!
Reign supreme?
In your dreams
You'll never make me bow
Kick my ass?
I'm world-class
And Super Saiyan now.
You're starting up a fight that you just can't finish
Watch the little hearts while they scrape you off the floor
Bringing out your rockets? Well, shoot 'em up, baby
High as you can go, but I'm the one who's gonna soar!
I burn!
Can't hold me now
And you're not stopping me
I burn!
Swing all you want
Like a fever I will take you down
It doesn't have to be this way
Let's kiss and make up, then you'll learn
You can fight your life away
I get what I want, so don't bother and just watch me burn
Hotter than the sun
Feel my fire
Pyromaniac: my desire
Thought that you could see the truth
'Til I just burned down the booth
Human Torch can't mess with me
Johnny Blaze: Suspect B
Scorch 'em quick, lightning fast
Melt them britches down to ash
Gasoline, kerosene
Strike a match, ignite the scene
Things will never be the same
Feel the fury of my flame
Beg for mercy: it won't help
Embrace the ending you were dealt
Seems you chumps will never learn
Now sit back and watch me burn.
I burn!
Can't hold me now
And you're not stopping me
I burn!
Swing all you want
Like a fever I will take you down!
I burn!
Can't hold me now
And you're not stopping me
I burn!
Swing all you want
Like a fever I will take you down!
I've always wanted to write a reaction fic about Team STRQ seeing their kids and future. I haven't seen a RWBY reaction be completed or about Team STRQ, so I wanted to be one of the first (in both regards).
The songs that we hear in the show will be in their corresponding chapters/episodes (ex: Shine in Dance Dance Infiltration), the rest of the songs will be in the Volume's soundtrack. (Also, I will be putting I May Fall in V3, and some of the songs that we hear in the later Volumes will be in the earlier Volumes, ex: Bad Luck Charm or Forever Fall.)