Chapter 24

A few weeks after the scuffle with Paulette, a Manta made its approach to Beacon. "Are you doing okay back there?" The pilot asked.

His lone passenger gave a bitter chuckle. "No worries, pal. This is a lot more comfortable then where I've been spending the night the past few years."

"If you say so." The pilot said with a shrug before the cup holder suddenly snapped, sending his mug of coffee falling to the ground, breaking it. "Nuts. That was a gift from my wife. Knew I should have just brought my thermos." He looked back at his passenger. "Still, being called here by Professor Ozpin himself. Lucky you, huh?"

Qrow Branwen simply looked at the broken mug with a sigh. "Yeah. 'Lucky.'"

A few hours later, Ruby, Weiss, and Penny could be found helping Blake and Yang look after Holly. "Still no word on Barmak?" Holly couldn't help but ask, a slight tremble in her voice.

"Unfortunately not," Weiss declared. It still astounded her how fast the child was developing - already she was walking on her own and talking in complete sentences - though she chalked it up to being half-Grimm. "It seems he went underground after Paulette was captured."

"Makes sense." Ruby remarked. "I was able to take out Future-Barmak because he had over a thousand years to get cocky. Our Barmak has seen that we're a threat, so he won't make any drastic moves."

"Right." Penny said with a nod. "But Jasmine promised to keep an eye out for him and between her and Ozpin, we should know if and when he or Salem make a move."

"Still hard to believe that Ozpin - well, Ozma - and Salem used to be lovers." Yang remarked. "Or that she's trying to get revenge on the gods themselves for letting him die the first time."

Blake nodded. "Hopefully, that information Ozymandias gave him will help end their centuries-long lovers spat."

"I'm sure things will work out in the end, Dad." Holly smiled.

"I'm… still not quite used to her calling you that." Weiss directed at her Faunus teammate.

"I'm half-Grimm, I somehow have Faunus features, my date of birth is literally over a thousand years in the future, I live on the campus of a school that teaches its students how to kill monsters, said school has had six seperate A.I.s show up, some of whom have acted as my babysitter from time to time, the headmaster of said school is the reincarnation of an ancient wizard, my biological father is wanted for treason, among other crimes, my godmother is the leader of the Doppelganger resistance, I have three grandparents on my Mom's side of the family, one of whom is the Spring Maiden, my Aunt and I are both part of an ancient prophecy concerning a centuries-old witch, and the fact that I'm calling my Mom's female fiance 'Dad' is the thing that bothers you?!" Holly asked with a raised eyebrow.

Weiss couldn't help but give a sheepish blush. "Well, when you put it like that…"

Holly just let out a chuckle. "I'm well aware that my life isn't what most would consider 'normal,' but normal was never an option for me. The way I see it, you guys are my family, and that will never change."

At this, Blake heard an unfamiliar voice give a chuckle. "Well if you want an unconventional family, you've come to the right place."

The ex-White Fang member blinked as she looked towards the newcomer. "And you would be…?"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, running up and latching onto his arm. "Hi. Ooh, it's so good to see you. Did you miss me? Did you miss me?!"

The man gave a teasing grin. "Nope." he declared, the way he rubbed the girl's hair with affection afterwards serving to showcase that that had been a lie.

"So, you're 'Uncle Qrow.'" Weiss remarked.

"You've heard of me?" Qrow Branwen couldn't help but ask.

"Let's just say that we're well aware of how fondly your niece remembers you." Penny said with a smile, she and Weiss recalling how they had met Ruby's memory of the man in front of them while dealing with Paulette.

"Good to know." Qrow said with a grin, before letting out a wince upon seeing Yang's prosthetic. "Ouch. Looks like you forgot how to dodge, Firecracker."

Yang looked down at where a powerful flesh and blood right limb used to be with a shrug. "Yeah, my ability to fight wasn't quite right that day." The blonde brawler said with a grin as she held up her other arm. "But don't worry, my fire hasn't left me just yet."

Qrow could only shake his head as everyone else gave a groan. "I'd say it's nice to know it didn't hurt your sense of humor, but you never had one in the first place." Needless to say, that comment earned him a punch to the shoulder, to which he merely gave a bitter chuckle before flinching at the sight of the pasty-skinned blonde girl hugging his niece's leg. "What the fuck is that?"

"Hi! I'm Holly!" The hybrid smiled widely.

"I… I don't… I have no idea how to react to this." Qrow stated, uneasily.

"You'll get used to it." Ruby replied, before leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Just don't let her bite you."

"BRANWEN!" The group jumped in terror at the familiar voice, followed by the clicking of high heels on cobblestone. Glynda stormed up to her ally with her usual glare. Behind her, followed an android with fair skin, dark hair, and purple eyes. "You're late!"

"Good to see you, too, Goodwitch." Qrow crossed his arms before giving a greeting nod towards the android. "Hey, Phoebe."

"Hi, Agent Gray." Phoebe waved back, nervously.

"'Agent Gray?'" Ruby looked back at her uncle with a gleam in her eyes. "Uncle Qrow, are you a Guardsman?"

"Cat's out of the bag." Qrow shrugged before turning to the cat faunus. "Uh, no offense."

Blake just rolled her eyes.

"Are you recovering alright, Agent Gray?" Phoebe went on. "And I was actually wondering, how's Pen-?"

Glynda cupped a hand over her "daughter's" mouth as she spoke, sternly, to Qrow. "Enough! Branwen, Ozpin was expecting you eighteen minutes ago! Follow me, now!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Qrow looked over his shoulder as he walked. "Eh, sorry, kiddos. We'll have time to catch up, later."

As the two adults and the android headed into the school, Ruby turned back to her friends. "What was that all about?"

"How should I know?" Yang shrugged. "Qrow get's under so many people's skin, it's almost impossible to keep track of what he does wrong. We'll just have to hope everything goes well."

"Don't you mean… 'Qrows well?'" Holly snickered.

While everyone else groaned at the awful pun, Yang just wiped away a stray tear of joy. "I'm so proud." She gushed.

Meanwhile, Qrow already knew the way to Ozpin's office, so Glynda and her artificial daughter trailed further behind him, where he couldn't hear them. "What's wrong, Mom?" Phoebe asked. "Was it something I said?"

"Not exactly, sweetie." Glynda sighed. "It's just that… Agent Gray had a bit of a bad experience with your little sister. So far, it seems that he's recovered. But to be safe, we don't want to mention his A.I. in front of him and risk a relapse."

"Oh, okay." Phoebe nodded.

At last, the group reached the headmaster's office. "Greetings, Mr. Branwen." Ozip said through a sip of coffee. "I must say, I was surprised when you agreed to meet with me. I honestly hadn't thought you'd recovered, yet."

"Yeah, well, I'm fine." Qrow replied, taking out his flask. "All back to normal, y'know."

"That's good. Because I have an important assignment for you." Ozpin set his mug down and threaded his fingers together. "That is, assuming you are fully recovered?"

"I'm fine." Qrow put his flask away and stepped closer to Ozpin's desk. "I've put the past behind me. Just tell me what you need me to do."

"Very well." Ozpin conceded. Reaching into his desk, the headmaster pulled out a manilla folder and handed it to the drunken huntsman. "The reason I selected you for this mission actually relates to your recovery. I'm sure you've already been briefed on Summer Rose's recent visit to this school?"

"Yeah. I heard about it."

"Well, she was supposed to return to the Schnee Dust Company under the pretenses that she was still under his control. Along with her, she took Paulette and Pamela. She was supposed to act as a spy for me inside his operation, but she hasn't responded in days. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find Summer Rose, and - if necessary - take over her mission."

"I'll see what I can do," Qrow promised, before pausing. "This folder isn't going to self-destruct or anything, is it?"

"No, of course not," Phoebe declared with a grin, "thought that would be kind of cool."

Sometime later, Qrow found himself walking back through the halls of the academy, reading over the contents of the manilla folder. "What were you up to, Summer?" He asked, himself. Reuniting with Summer Rose when they both joined Project Guardsman had been one of the biggest reliefs of his life. And yet, something had definitely changed about her. She was still as caring and enthusiastic as she had been in their youth, but the spark of innocence was long gone. She became slightly colder. More distant. And before he had a chance to understand why, he had been integrated with -

"No!" He said out loud. "No, that's… that's behind me. I'm fine. It's all in the past… I'm fine."

"Uncle Qrow?" The older huntsman turned to see his energetic niece coming up from behind. "What's going on?"

Qrow looked down at the envelope then back at Ruby. "Hey, Rubes? Do you like mysteries?"

"Do I?!" Ruby pumped her fists, enthusiastically. "I'll go get the others and have 'em leave Holly with Auntie Raven until we get back!"

"What? Raven's here?" Qrow sounded, surprised.

"Yeah! She's really been helping out." Ruby's bright smile disappeared as she saw the wrathful expression grow over her uncle's face, jumping back as he angrily threw the folder to the ground.

"I told that FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT never to go near my family again!" Qrow drew his weapon and rushed out of the building. "You're a dead woman, Rae!"

"Oh, dear!" Ruby muttered to herself, chasing after the deranged huntsman.

Back outside, Raven had offered to help Team JNPR with their melee combat training. After having easily swept the floor with Ren and Nora, she eyed the remaining two members and yawned with little interest. "Who's next?"

Jaune gulped, held up his sword and shield, and stepped forward. "Bring it!" In response, Raven stamped on his foot, grabbed his shield, and proceeded to bash it into his face five times before letting up. "... she brought it…" He whimpered before collapsing.

"This is getting boring." Raven yawned again. "Nothing exciting ever happens here."

"You mean besides what we literally went through just a few weeks ago?" Weiss spluttered as she led what was left of her team over to the training grounds.

"Watch your tongue, princess." Raven snapped. "I'm not too old to teach you a lesson."

"RAVEN?! RAVEN, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"That voice… no…" Raven gasped as she saw her twin running up to them. Grabbing the hilt of her sword, she was ready to fight as Qrow stopped just a few feet in front of her. "Well, well. Long time, no see." She sneered.

"I told you what would happen if you ever came near Yang or Ruby!" Qrow snapped back.

"What is going on?" Penny asked in astonishment, just now noticing how similar Qrow and Raven looked. "What am I looking at?"

At last, Ruby caught up. Even with her semblance, her uncle had been hard to keep up with. "Oh, man… uh, I can sorta explain." Ruby gasped for breath. "Uncle Qrow got a little upset when I mentioned Auntie Raven was here. Apparently, they don't get along very well."

"We used to." Qrow explained. "We used to be inseparable! Until Raven killed my girlfriend, Carla!"

"You what?! Why would you-?!" Yang cut herself off as she remembered. "Oh, right. Possessed by Paulette. Attacked you out of unbridled rage. Already over that. Continue."

"I already explained all of this to you, Qrow!"

"I'm still pissed! I could've talked her down!"

"Oh, what?! Were you gonna try to seduce her?! Your face looks like it was kicked in by a mule!" Raven snapped.

"Oh, yeah?! Your whole body looks like it was kicked in by a mule!" Qrow retorted.

"You're so ugly, you look better on your driver's license!"

"You're so ugly that every time you look out the window, you get arrested for public indecency!"

"Aaaaaaand, you both look like genderbent versions of each other that someone drew on DeviantArt." Yang said, flatly.

"So what're you even doing here?!" Qrow went on. "Trying to teach Yang how to properly abandon her child?!"

"Well, at least I don't make my kids think it's okay to constantly suffer from alcoholism!"

"No, you just let my Dad become you!" Yang yelled out, finally having enough of his argument.

"Wait, what?!" Qrow blinked, Raven similarly shocked.

"You didn't know, did you?" Yang whispered. "About how even after you knocked him back to his senses rescuing me after looking for my Mom that Taiyang took another year or so to stop drinking and actually start taking his medicine again. How Ruby started calling me 'Mom' for a couple of years because I was the only family member that actually stook around."

Raven had to hold back a wince at this subtle jab, while also filing away that bit about Tai for later. "Yang, I…"

"It's alright, Mom," Yang declared with a smile. "You already explained your reasoning, and you're trying to make up for past mistakes. Besides, Ruby seems to trust you, and I'd like to think she's a pretty good judge of character."

"Wait, 'Mom'?!" Qrow yelled out. "But she…"

"Like I told her," Yang pointed out, "Summer will always have a place in my heart, but there's no rule that says I can't have two Moms."

"Yang she…" Qrow couldn't believe what he was hearing. "She's a Bandit…"

"So were you," his niece declared, shutting him up, "and you don't see me holding that against you. Actually, that reminds me: Mom, when did you say Vernal was going to show up again?"

"She needs to get a few things taken care of on her end, but she should be ready to arrive in a day or two." Raven declared, happy that her daughter and adoptive daughter were going to start bonding.

"Okay, Uncle Qrow, let's just go, okay?" Ruby begged.

"... fine." Qrow sheathed Harbinger and silently walked away. Against her better judgment, Blake volunteered to sacrifice family time with Holly and Yang to make sure Qrow didn't accidentally kill Ruby by following them on their quest. Weiss agreed to come along as well, and Ruby begged Qrow to let Penny come with them. Surprisingly, he agreed without any difficulty, but still insisted that they discuss it with her own teacher. Luckily, Amarilla and the rest of Team CPPR happened to be close by.

"Uh, excuse me? Are you Amarilla Arc?"

"Ooh, great! My mail-order male prostitute!" Amarilla cheered. "First of all; my safe-word is 'mom and dad.'"

"N-no, that's not - wait, what?" Qrow shook his head in confusion. "Uh, well… ahem. Is it okay if Team CPPR accompanies us for a while? It's for official business."

"'Official business?'" Amarilla suddenly looked worried. "Wait? Are you a cop? Yo, you legally have to tell me if you're a cop! It's like, the law!"

"Uh, first of all; no, I'm not a cop." Qrow quirked an eyebrow. "And second; that's not a real law."

"Hmm, sounds like something a cop would say." Amarilla said, suspiciously.

"Ugh, whatever. Look, can they come with us, or not?"

"Eh, sure. Less work for me." Amarilla shrugged. "And more time to embarrass Jaune."

"Great. Thanks a lot." Qrow motioned for the kids to follow him. "Have fun with your raging insanity."

"Yeah?! Have fun being a cop, COP!" Amarilla yelled back.

A few hours later, Qrow was flying through the air with Teams RWBY and CPPR inside a new Manta. Following the trail Summer's own Manta had left behind, it was only a matter of time before they found her. But much to their horror, they soon found that her ship had crashed on a deserted island. Once they landed, Ruby took the lead and rushed to the damaged ship.

"Mom?!" She called out, desperately. "Pamela?! Sheila?!"

"Ruby? Is that you?" Sheila's broken voice stammered. "I'm scared, Ruby. Will I dream? Daaaaisy… Daaaaaaisyyyyyy…." And with that, the simpler A.I. was no more.

"SHEEEEEEEEILAAAAAAAH! NOOOOOOOO!" Ruby cried.

"What?! No! No! Sheila!" Qrow had just caught up along with everyone else when he heard his niece cry out. "Wait… who's Sheila?"

"Sheila was the lady in the tank that we put inside the Manta." Ruby sobbed. "She was my friend."

"Oh, Ruby…" Weiss knelt down to cradle her girlfriend, touched at how much she cared for the A.I. "There, there… Sheila's in a better place."

Ruby sniffed. "But… I didn't even get to say goodbye!"

"Fret not, dear Ruby." Penny replied. "Although Sheila's passing is heartbreaking, I can sense that Pamela has survived!"

"R-really?" Ruby wiped the tears from her eyes, feeling slightly better.

"Alright then, I'll take it from here." Qrow offered as he approached the ship. "Manta override code: Agent Gray, of-"

"Hey! Don't talk to her like that!" Ruby snapped, jumping to her feet in anger. "She is not a machine!"

Startled by her sudden outburst, Weiss pushed Penny and Blake behind her. "Uh, we're going to stand behind Ruby. For safety."

"Uh… okay." Qrow looked back at his niece - who still held an offended glare - and politely asked for her help. "Well, Ruby, we need to get inside the ship so we can find out what happened. So can you ask it-" Qrow paused as he saw the trio of girls take another step away from Ruby. "- uh, ask her to disable the lockdown protocol and replay the surveillance footage?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," Ruby said with a shrug before walking up to Luna/Pamela. "Hey, sis: could you maybe help us out for old times sake?"

Here, Luna/Pamela had to blink. "Ruby? Is that you?! Is Penny with you?! I'm assuming she's the one who told you about the bond we formed and that's why you're referring to me as 'sis'."

Ruby snorted. "You'd be right on all accounts: a sister of Penny is a sister of mine. Sorry we couldn't get to you sooner."

"I'm just glad you came, period," Luna/Pamela said with a relieved sigh. "Jacques has done his best to make sure I couldn't contact you guys."

"Of course he's involved," Weiss groaned. "At this point, I'd be more surprised if he wasn't neck deep in everything we've had to go through."

"Anyway, uh… could you please open the door so we can get inside?" Ruby asked.

"Of course." The door of the Manta slowly creaked open, revealing the injured body of Summer Rose.

"Oh, my gods! Mom!" Ruby cried, taking her mother into her arms. "What happened?!"

As if to answer her question, a screen flickered on to reveal a familiar business man. "Well, well, well…" Jacques chuckled. "If it isn't my traitorous daughter."

"What do you want, Jackass?" Weiss demanded.

"Is that any way to speak to your father?" Jacques demanded over the hijacked Atlesian Knight's intercom.

"You're many things, Jacques, but my father?" Weiss growled. "You lost that right a long time ago."

"A pity." Jacques declared, almost sounding remorseful. Almost. "As for your question, it's quite simple. If I can't have Agent Rose, no one can." That was all the warning they got before a bullet ripped straight through Summer's chest. "Such a waste. I'll have to try again at some point."

"You...you bastard!" Weiss yelled out, quickly destroying the knight.

"Nice work," Jacques teased over the failing intercom. "A shame that was not really me."

"Agreed," a dying Summer declared. "Otherwise, I'd be doing this to your head." That was all the warning they got before she used her sidearm to destroy the intercom.

"I will never be yours, Jackass. NEVER," she gasped out, before turning towards her daughters, a remorse filled look in her eyes. "I'm sorry about this: I hoped we'd have more time together."

"Mom, please," Ruby begged, pulling Summer into a hug. "Don't go."

"My Little Rose," Summer declared with a mournful grin as she lifted a hand to gently stroke her daughter's back. "Never forget: your mother always loved you." With that, she breathed her last, her hand falling to the ground as she did.

"No, please, not again…" Ruby sobbed as she held her mother close.

"Ruby, listen to me." Qrow knelt down to his niece as Weiss, Blake, and Penny looked away, sadly. "No matter what you think, this isn't your fault."

"Wasn't it, Uncle Qrow?" Ruby whimpered, shakily. "She was my mother. I was her daughter. I should've done something to keep her from going back to Jacques Schnee. Maybe she would've listened to me if I asked her to stay. Or maybe I could've gone with her - could've helped her. Or maybe… maybe she was just unlucky to have run into me, again."

"I know a lot about bad luck, Ruby. And it has nothing to do with you." Qrow replied. But Ruby just continued to bury her face into Summer's shoulder. "I also know a lot about dead bodies. And that isn't one."

What happened next, none of the young girls expected. Qrow threaded his fingers through Summer's hair, gripped it tight, and with a hard tug, he tore his former teammate's head from her neck. But instead of blood, some kind of viscous lubricant splashed onto the ground. Wires hung down from Summer's severed head, similar to the ones protruding from her neck. Ruby and her friends gasped in shock at the revelation. "She's a sophisticated android, like Penny." Qrow explained. "Ever since you first reunited at Beacon. Jacques did replicate Summer's brain patterns, but it wasn't used to make Penny. It was all part of his twisted desire to obtain the 'perfect' wife. I'm sorry, Ruby… but you mother really is dead."

"But that… how?!" Ruby demanded. "She knew so much about us!"

Qrow could only give a helpless shrug. "I suppose that's because Jacques did too good a job at recreating her. In a very real sense, she was your mother, if for no other reason then because that's who she wanted to be."

"She succeeded." Penny remarked, drawing her sister into an embrace, sharing their grief before giving a growl. "If I ever see Jacques Schnee…"

"Get in line." Qrow declared with an angry scoff, the others thinking the same thing. "For now, lets get Pamela out of here and-"

An explosion suddenly destroyed the Manta. Once the ringing in her ears died down and her vision cleared, Ruby spotted a blurred figure in dark red armor seemingly absorbing Pamela into her mind. The figure turned to look back at her before walking in her direction. Ruby struggled to stand up, but her aura was drained from shielding her from the blast. Suddenly, a Grimm's claws propped her chin up as a fiery yellow eye gazed into her own. The last thing she heard before passing out was a low, menacing growl.

To Be Continued