Qrow and the others couldn't believe what was happening but here they were in the middle of an ambush. They were originally at Haven Academy to meet with Professor Leonardo Lionheart who reportedly had some news to share. It was soon discovered that he was working with Qrow's sister Raven, who also had shown up and brought a few friends. Those friends were the people that were responsible for Beacon's downfall.
Qrow had to admit that he was very disappointed in his sister, he knew they were on opposite sides, but he never imagined that she would go so low. He figured that Raven had the Spring Maiden from what he saw in Xion and apparently the minions of Salem had found out too and blackmailed her. He found it interesting that even though his sister found herself and her tribe to be so strong, she succumbed so easily to Salem's threats.
Going to Leonardo, Qrow always did seem him as the scaredy cat type but never imagined that he would actually betray Ozpin. Not only did he betray Ozpin, but Leonardo had been working with Salem in the fact that he sent her the information on every huntsman in the kingdom of Mistral. Qrow thought it was odd that he couldn't find any of them, especially since that is how a lot of people got their income. He wondered what other council benefits Leonardo abused for Salem…
Qrow took a good look at the grimm witch's minions as well as the spring maiden. The gray-haired brat and green haired brat that tricked Yang didn't look like they changed all that much. The Spring Maiden that was apparently Raven's lieutenant just screamed Branwen tribe, with the colors, the weapons that were clearly stolen and the cold hard stare that veteran tribe members have. Qrow wondered if she was the actual maiden before she got to the tribe or did she just kill the spring maiden in recent years.
The one that changed the most was the woman wearing the title of Fall Maiden, Cinder Fall and Qrow was secretly pleased that she was the one who changed the most. Cinder wore a mask over her left eye and her arm had been replaced with some kind of grimm limb, clearly results of the beatdown she got from Summer. Those injuries aside, the woman still walked and talked like she was the most powerful woman on the planet, something Qrow rolled his eyes at.
The huge guy that was dressed in green was someone that Qrow had never seen before, but he looked like he was trouble. Qrow was then proven right as Ozpin looked frightened and said "oh no", letting Qrow and the others know that he knew who the guy was. Qrow then noticed that the man seemed to have no weapons, did he fight using hand to hand only? The only people that Qrow saw fight hand to hand with no weapons were the fools who tried to challenge him in bar fights. Just then the man started speaking.
"The White Fang is preparing their demolition of Haven Academy, no one is getting in and no one is getting out." The man said with a deadly tone and Qrow and the kids' eyes widened.
"Not just that, but we have members of the tribe protecting the other door, so no one is coming to save you." The supposed Spring Maiden said with a smirk.
Qrow wondered how he, Ruby, and the others were going to get out of this. If it was just them versus the minions of Salem then he would say that they have a good chance. The kids were not pushovers in any sense of the word, and he was sure that the Nikos girl would have a better shot against Cinder this time around. But with the addition of Raven, the maiden, the big guy, and Lionheart all helping them, he knew that it would not be that easy. Just then some guy who looked like a member of the Branwen tribe came running through the other door in a hurry.
"You again?" Yang asked annoyed at seeing this loser again.
"Why aren't you guarding the door?" Raven asked in anger at the tribe member who was trying to catch his breath.
"Boss…crazy lady, white cloak…took all of us out in seconds!" The member managed to get out as Raven's eyes widened and so did everyone else's.
"Where is she?!" Raven asked trying to prepare for the fight that was coming.
"She was right behind me, we gotta go-ah!" The tribesman said as a chain wrapped around him and suddenly he was flown back and knocked out as he hit the wall.
The chains were reeling back from the tribe member and Raven narrowed her eyes at the woman coming from the door, her old teammate and friend Summer Rose. She got a good look at her old leader and saw that she had aged the best out of their team, she looked like she hadn't aged a day. Her hair was a bit longer and her body was more toned, but she still had that same cloak and that same look on her face when she was in battle.
She clearly had not missed a step in her combat style if she was able to take out Raven's men so quickly and not make as much noise as others. Raven noticed that Cinder was looking at Summer with hate and rage, something that she could not help but smirk at. From the moment Cinder walked into her camp, Raven could tell that the injuries she had were from Summer, she recognized those scar patterns anywhere. Raven did miss her friend, but she would not be a part of Ozpin and Salem's war any longer and her tribe had taken priority.
"A member of the Branwen tribe calls me crazy? That is a bit hypocritical don't you think?" Summer asked the knocked-out tribesmen while chuckling and Raven and Vernal scowled.
"Mom!" Ruby said happily and relieved to see her mother and her friends were as well.
"Shortstack, what are you doing here?" Qrow asked his wife, but he was happy that she showed up.
"Well after you gave me your message about things being off at Haven I came here from my last mission as soon as I could, hoping to help you investigate. Though I figured that the grimm witch and her pack of annoyances could very well be behind this, as well as the White Fang who clearly don't know when to quit. I must say though Leo, I want to be surprised but I am having a very hard time doing so, you always did seem like the cowardly type." Summer said as she narrowed her eyes at the faunus.
"I had no choice…" Leo said clearly ashamed but surprisingly a familiar backed him up.
"Leo did what any sane person would do in his situation. He looked at all the information that he had in front of him, assessed the situation and made a choice." Raven said seriously as she looked at her old friend.
"Yes a very stupid choice, how unlike anyone I know." Summer said in a sarcastic tone as she rolled her eyes in annoyance and Raven glared at her.
"If I didn't have time for your daughter's opinion, then I sure as hell don't have time for yours Summer." Raven spat angrily and Summer narrowed her eyes while the woman known as Vernal widened hers.
So this was Summer, Raven's former leader when she went to Beacon Academy. Raven had told Vernal stories about her team and how she and Summer were the best duo in Beacon, the boys could never catch up. Raven told her how strong Summer was and Vernal only needed to take one good look at her and she could tell it was true. Summer didn't even look intimidated by Cinder and the followers of Salem, Vernal wondered if she and Raven could actually pull this off.
"Yes clearly you don't have time, since you are so busy these days aren't you? Terrorizing people who can't fight back and pillaging their homes along with these lowlifes you pick up off the street. Now it seems you have taken to a new hobby, joining up with our enemy and helping this group of idiots with their master's evil plan. You must be really busy these days, though the spring maiden you have there must make life a little bit easier for you. Oh, but where are my manners, do you want him back?" Summer asked as she pointed to the tribesmen she knocked out and Raven and Vernal growled.
"How did you know I was the maiden?" Vernal asked curious at how the woman figured it out so fast.
"Is it not obvious? You two would not be with this group of idiots if you did not have a role to play. Not only that, but the damage that was done in Xion was not created by regular weapons or techniques. Raven might think she is some great warrior, but she would never have the ability to do that on her own and clearly these other bandits wouldn't." Summer said as she looked down at the knocked-out bandit and heard a familiar yet annoying voice.
"You are correct in your assumption; your friend is a recent addition to the group. Our master requires the powers of the Spring Maiden to get the relic from the vault, and no one will be stopping us. The lion over there understood his position in the chain and knew that he was beneath us and our master. Your husband and the others coming here was icing on the cake, now we can take all of you out. And don't believe it will be like last time." Cinder said sinisterly with a wicked grin.
'So she wants the relics, she is finally making her move.' Summer thought as she turned her attention back to the Fall Maiden.
"You know I must say, I am impressed to see you still alive. That technique is lethal but apparently those powers give you an extra coat of armor or something. No doubt that Salem has also taught you to use those powers, considering that we haven't heard of any destruction caused by you or the others. You are correct in your statement; things won't be the same as last time. After all, I don't see a dragon, killer robots, the White Fang or anything else in our way. It's just you all versus us, I hope you all have improved…" Summer said with a smirk as Cinder scowled but everyone else's eyes widened.
Qrow and the others took what Summer just said and noticed that she was absolutely right! At the Fall of Beacon, they had to deal with the hacked robots from Atlas, the White Fang, and the grimm that they had never seen before. All of them were exhausted after that, hence why Pyrrha couldn't put up much of a fight against Cinder. Now though, they had all the energy they need since they were just relaxing at the house before this. Things were going to be different for them, and Cinder and her lackeys were going to be defeated again.
Mercury and Emerald widened their eyes at what Ruby's mother said, and as much as they hated to admit it she had a point. The only reason why their planned worked back at Beacon was because they certain events that led to the chaos. Now though, it was just pretty much just a full-on fight, no distractions could be made and they would be all in. Hazel worried about how much Summer Rose would impact this fight, especially after what she did to Cinder…
Raven was wondering how she and Vernal were going to get out of this, Summer showing up had put a wrench in her plans. Raven knew that she could handle Qrow long enough to make a distraction and try and get the relic for herself. A fight with Summer though? Yeah that was going to be harder than fighting Qrow, considering it would take up more of her energy. There was also the chance that Cinder would just take Vernal and get the relic. Raven was broken out of her thoughts by her old friend's voice.
"Something on your mind?" Summer asked and Raven saw she was looking right at her.
"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with." Raven said coldly as she narrowed her eyes and Summer narrowed hers as well.
"Worried about how you're going to get out of this?" Summer asked with a raised eyebrow and judging by the look Raven had on her face she guessed she was right.
"If you're going to fight then you should concentrate, both of us know that if you don't-" Summer started and in less than a second she was right in front of Raven whose eyes had widened.
"You're dead." Summer said in a surprisingly cold voice and brought her axe blades down and Raven blocked with her sword.
'She is so fast!' Vernal thought in awe and fear but was surprised to see her leader react so quickly.
"Oh yeah? Prove it!" Raven said as she knocked Summer away as the two former friends started to engage in combat.
"Been a while since we did this!" Summer said with a grin as she got in a few hits on Raven who growled and fought back.
Qrow and the others used this opportunity to take the fight to the others, seeing Summer go on the initiative gave them the chance they needed. Ruby and Pyrrha went to fight Cinder as both of them wanted payback for last time. Yang and Ren went to fight Mercury and Emerald, Ren told Yang to keep her emotions in check considering what the two did to her. Weiss fought Vernal after the woman had taunted the Schnee family name. Finally, Qrow, Nora, Oscar, and Jaune were busy with the man known as Hazel who apparently had a semblance that caused him to feel no pain. Wonderful…
The fighting went on for a bit, Raven and Summer's fight was the most physical and the most exhausting. Both women were masters in their own right, Raven and her offensive tactics gave off the vibe of a swordmaster. Meanwhile Summer using her semblance got in quick hits and her evasive techniques allowed her to dodge Raven's sword swing and send out bullets causing Raven to quickly get on the defensive. The two had also sparred with each other all the time when they were at Beacon, so they knew each other's tricks.
The two former partners had separated from their clash and glared at each other, trying to predict their next move. Raven knew that she could not keep doing this forever and while it pained her whole being to admit, Summer was just better at this and had more stamina. Summer had to admit it was fun fighting Raven again but wished that it was under different circumstances. She took a good look around and saw that Qrow and the kids were doing ok, until she saw Cinder create a fire spear. Cinder was definitely going to fire at the Schnee girl who had her guard down, not if Summer had anything to say about it. She quickly used her semblance to get in front of the spear and used her guns to destroy it.
"Thanks for the help!" Weiss said gratefully.
"Don't worry about it-move!" Summer commanded as she pulled Weiss with her and dodged a charge from Hazel.
The walking tank appeared in front of Summer and noticed that Raven along with Cinder and Vernal were heading to the vault, Leo just opened the device. Summer cursed herself from getting distracted even if it was to save her daughter's teammate. She wondered if Raven had another link with someone else in her tribe, if not then they would have to come back up. No matter, they would not be leaving here with the relic, she would make sure of it. As the trio got on the platform Summer glared at her old partner.
"Running away? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, it is your specialty." Summer said coldly and Raven glared right back at her.
"It's called surviving, you should learn it." Raven snarked as she and the others went down to the vault.
Summer shook her head in frustration and in sadness, seeing how far her friend had fallen. She understood that Raven was afraid of Salem, all of them were, but joining the other side was not going to help anyone. Salem would use her and throw her in the trash when her usefulness had run out. Summer couldn't dwell on it anymore though, seeing as though she had other enemies to deal with. Particularly, a giant who was throwing the Valkyrie girl around like a ragdoll, Summer wrapped her chains around him and kicked him in the face.
"Shouldn't you be picking on someone your own size?" Summer asked with a glare.
"It doesn't matter, all who follow Ozpin and go against her grace are my enemies." Hazel said simply and coldly.
Summer engaged Hazel in combat and found out that all she to do was keep herself from getting in his grasp. It was easy enough with her semblance but found herself getting frustrated with the man's pain resistance semblance. All of the attacks that she made were landing but they didn't have enough power to really damage the man and it seemed like his aura never ran out. Summer thought of a plan and then something clicked as she saw the Valkyrie girl and flash stepped over to her.
"Be ready." Summer told the girl who looked confused but nodded anyway.
Summer went to engage the giant again who had put more dust in his arms, giving himself an even bigger power boost. Summer proved once again to be too fast for Hazel and was succeeding in getting him riled up by all the quick hits she was getting in. She flipped away from Hazel and saw him charging right at her, causing her to smirk and shoot one of the dusts in his arms, stunning him. Summer then wrapped her chains around the man good and tight and looked at the ginger haired girl.
"Valkyrie now!" Summer commanded and Nora nodded.
Using all of her strength Nora got her hammer and swung Hazel out of the building and opening the previously locked doors. This ended the problem they had about reinforcements not being able to get in, not that they had any anyway. Speaking of reinforcements, Summer looked outside and saw the White Fang being surrounded by other faunus, and from the flags she saw they had to be from Menagerie. There were also ships from Mistral that were looking to coax the White Fang into surrendering.
"Well would you like at that, Menagerie finally decided to show some backbone." Summer said and noticed her husband coming up to her.
"Took them long enough." Qrow said annoyed and suddenly the ground started shaking.
"What's going on?!" Yang asked a bit freaked out.
"Seems your mom and her new friend are having a bit of a disagreement." Summer assumed and seeing the looks on the green haired and gray-haired children she guessed she was right.
"Cinder is going to take the maiden power and the relic, and then you all are finished!" Emerald said with a grin, and they all scowled.
"Yes I'm sure, Qrow can you and the others handle this? Old friends need to have a chat…" Summer said seriously and Qrow nodded.
"Be careful honey." Qrow said and Summer quickly kissed him before flash stepping to the vault and jumping down.
"Get back here!" Mercury said as he tried to stop her but had to dodge a bullet from Ruby.
"Sorry, but you are going to have to deal with us!" Ruby said as they all looked ready to end this fight.
In the vault:
Raven had done it; she had defeated Cinder and froze her so that when she fell she would shatter into a million pieces. The only thing it cost was Vernal her life, as Raven was not quick enough to save her from Cinder's sneak attack. Even though Vernal was the decoy and the bait, she had full confidence that they both could get the drop on Cinder and get the relic. Things didn't go as planned though and her lieutenant was now dead on the floor, Raven walked up to her with sadness.
"Thank you Vernal." Raven said gratefully as she closed Vernal's eyes and walked to the vault.
If Raven was being completely honest she didn't know how these vaults worked, hell she hadn't really heard about them before Cinder and the others showed up at her tribe. She just guessed and placed her hand on the mechanism, then suddenly the gears had started turning. Raven had gotten into a defensive stance, ready for anything to come out of the vault but instead she was greeted with what looked like a different dimension. There was the lamp in the middle and Raven was about to go retrieve it before she heard clapping and turned around and glared at who it was.
"Well, well, well, so the bird learned some new tricks huh?" Summer asked her old friend with a glare in her sarcastic tone.
"You can take your attitude back to my brother you little brat, I warned you what would happen if you stayed involved with Qrow and Oz." Raven said with a glare and Summer rolled her eyes.
"I know this doesn't resonate with you but when I married Qrow I promised that I would be with him until the day I die. Even if I don't fully involve myself with Ozpin, I will do whatever I can to protect my family and the people of Remnant. It's a promise I made, just like you did except I am actually going to keep it." Summer said honestly and Raven scoffed.
"My tribe is my family and Qrow betrayed us when he turned his back on the people he grew up with." Raven said seriously and Summer rolled her eyes.
"Family, you have a very unique definition of that word, especially when it comes to people that would give you up for a bag of chips. Anyway, so you have the maiden powers now huh? How did that happen? Did the girl get sick?" Summer asked incredulously but she already knew the answer.
"What does it matter to you?" Raven asked with a blank stare and Summer just shook her head.
"I don't know why I even asked, like I didn't already know the answer. What the hell is wrong with you?!" Summer asked angrily and Raven glared at her.
"She was scared when we found her, more importantly weak. No matter how much training I put her through she never learned! She wasn't cut out for this world, and with those powers she would have been hunted her entire life! What I did wasn't personal, it was a mercy!" Raven said in a serious tone, but Summer just scoffed.
"There are so many things wrong with what you just said. First of all, you a teacher? That's a joke because you would get irritated and lose your temper with a beginner like that. And she isn't cut out for this world? No Raven, she wasn't cut out for YOUR world! A world where every day is a fight, and no one knows any peace. Also, you can act like you cared about the girl, but you and I both know that her best interests were never on your mind." Summer said angrily with a glare and Raven glared back.
"The weak die the strong live, those are the rules Summer!" Raven said in an exasperated tone, but Summer disagreed.
"Once again, they are YOUR rules! I know this is hard for you to get through that thick skull of yours, but most people on Remnant just want to be left alone Raven. They have plenty of other things to worry about and don't need bandit tribes to make life any worse! And you are right in a way, some people run and they hide, others stay and they fight. The difference between that and your rules is that some people don't want the fighting life and want to live in peace, and others can protect them because they chose the fighting life. But you just ran away even though you have the skills to fight back!" Sumer said with anger and Raven looked just as angry.
"God I see you are still the same little brat back from when we were at Beacon! Acting like you know everything, but you don't! You don't know me, the things I have seen or the choices that I have had to make!" Raven yelled at her former friend.
"Yeah you are right, I don't know any of that because you left! I don't know what you have done in the time that you have been gone Raven, because you haven't let me or anyone else know. How the hell am I supposed to help you when you run away to God knows where? I don't know this new you, I guess I just remember the old Raven, my partner. She was troubled and complicated sure, but she fought for what she believed in and would help her friends in a heartbeat. Tell me Rae, did you kill her too?" Summer asked with sadness and Raven widened her eyes and looked to the side.
"Summer, I have stared death in the face over and over again, and every time I spat in that face because I am strong enough to do what you and the others won't! Forgive me if I take pride in that." Raven said angrily as her powers flared up, but Summer scoffed.
"Oh, give me a break Raven, you don't know the first thing about strength! Being strong means standing tall when the odds are stacked against you. It means putting your life on the line when it matters, it means protecting the people you love at all costs. All you have is power, but that is only good in combat and even then, it's how you use it. It wouldn't matter if you had the strength of all four maidens, it would not make you strong." Summer said honestly and Raven glared at her.
"Who the hell do you think you are lecturing me?! Standing there shaking like a little girl, ordering me around like you are still my leader!" Raven spat angrily and Summer narrowed her eyes.
"You are correct Raven; I am a bit afraid of what challenges may come my way in this war against that grimm witch. I am pissed at Qrow for being so damn infatuated with Ozpin that he dragged our daughter and niece into this mess, but it is what it is. I am not going anywhere; I have people to protect and those are people who would give my life for. Unlike you, I am not going to run away from my problems, and that is why you are going to give me the relic." Summer said seriously and Raven widened her eyes.
"And why in hell would I do that?!" Raven asked dumbfounded and Summer narrowed her eyes.
"Is it not obvious? You are going to give me the relic because you are afraid of Salem! And if you thought that having those maiden powers put a target on your back, what happens when she finds out you took the relic? She will march into that bandit camp of yours with her henchmen and every grimm that has ever existed. And those tribe members of yours will give you up in a heartbeat and run for the hills, leaving you all alone." Summer said honestly and Raven widened her eyes.
'She is right, that is what will happen. None of us are strong enough to deal with the full might of Salem and her grimm forces. Dammit, how did I not think that through?!" Raven chastised herself in her mind but found that Summer wasn't done speaking.
"That could happen, or you could give me the relic and she could come after me. And I will be standing there waiting for her, daring her to try something." Summer said seriously as she looked Raven right in the face and Raven couldn't believe what Summer just said.
"Summer you can't be serious…You don't want to do this!" Raven said in a begging tone and Summer just sighed.
"Raven…there are lot of things that people do not want to do but there are some things that have to be done. This is one of those things." Summer said honestly as she walked to the open vault.
Summer took a couple of steps past Raven, and one could notice that there were tear drops landing on the floor. Those drops were definitely from two different people and those said people had turned around and immediately embraced each other. This embrace brought them back to how they used to be, the greatest duo in Beacon and the closest of friends. Even though they had fought a little while ago, the feelings of friendship had not been truly lost between the two of them it seemed.
"I-I'm so sorry." Raven said sadly while tears poured down her face like a river.
"I know, I am too." Summer said as tears built up in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall.
The two former partners stayed like that for a little bit until they both detached from each other. They both smiled at each other, but Raven looked down at the ground in sadness. How was she supposed to recover from all the mistakes she made? Could she even do it after the betrayal she had just committed? How was she going to make it up to her daughter, her brother, or even her husband? Confused and overwhelmed, Raven looked at her friend.
"I-I think…" Raven tried to say but the words wouldn't come out, thankfully Summer was there to pick them up.
"There's a certain man on Patch that you need to speak to, if you really want to recover from all of this." Summer said seriously and Raven sighed knowing she was right.
"I know…I don't know if I can truly be a part of this war Summer, but I will try to make things right. I promise, take care." Raven said as she made a portal and went to Taiyang.
Summer smiled at her leaving friend before heading through the vault and walking to the relic. She was proud of herself for finally making Raven see the light, even though she was angry that it took all this destruction to do that. Summer lifted the lamp up and felt something like a heartbeat, and then tears flooded her eyes. This is what they were fighting over? She had to fight her friend for a stupid lamp? Where had everything gone wrong?
Summer longed to go back to the days where they were just Team STRQ, a group of friends that stood by each other. Qrow flirting with her, Taiyang telling those God-awful puns, and she and Raven being the best of friends. Now everything had fallen apart, and it was all because of that damn grimm witch. Well no longer, she declared that Salem's cowardice had affected her life for long enough and her defeat was imminent. Summer stopped her sobbing and went to leave the vault, determination in her eyes to end this war.
Author Notes:
Hey guys so here is my second one shot! It's an idea I have had for a while, and I do think this is what would have happened if Summer had lived. I believe that Raven isn't truly evil, but she is scared and incredibly misguided. Their fight definitely would have happened, and I believe that if anyone could get Raven to see the light it would be Summer or Yang. Anyway, if you have requests for scenes you would like to see, please let me know in the comments! Onto the New Rose!