Chapter 30

Jean closed her eyes in fear as the Meta charged at her. Luckily, she managed to pull the trigger on her device, activating the augmented defibrillator just before her attacker could touch her. A powerful surge of electricity struck Cinder in the chest, sending her flying into a titanium wall. Jean briefly looked up to see the Meta nearly frozen in place as she tried to punch the medic. "Uh… what's going on?" Jean asked.

"I think you shorted out the time-distortion device in her armor!" Pyrrha chuckled. "Now it's malfunctioning!"

"Ha! Score one for the pacifist!" Jean cheered as she taunted the Meta. "How do ya like me, now, Cinder?!"

"Uh, Jean? I wouldn't get too close to her if I were you." Pyrrha warned.

"Why?" Jean chortled as Cinder's fist slowly got closer. "What's she gonna do? Beat me up over the course of two weeks?"

"Well, technically, she's not actually moving slow, it just looks slow to us."

"What?"

"It's relativistics. She's still moving at the same speed, just over a longer period of time. So her punch should still carry the same amount of force, we just perceive it at a much slower rate."

"... no. It's slow, see?" Jean pointed at the Meta just as her knuckle touched the medic's cheek. "AAAAAAAAAH!" Jean flew through the air and smashed into the wall, stuck there.

"See?" Pyrrha sighed, tiredly. "That's what you get for arguing with science."

"Ah! Pyrrha, help!" Jean cried. "I'm stuck in this metal wall! Use your semblance!"

"Okay, just hang on!" Pyrrha focused on the metal in the wall, only to hit a snag. "Darn it! It's titanium! I can't use my semblance! I'm gonna have to pull you out!" She approached the medic and slowly began trying to figure out how best to free her. "Okay, uh… let's see… if I… maybe I can…"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Jean whined. "Pyrrha, pull me from my center! Ow, my groin!"

Just then, the effects of the time-distortion device were beginning to wear off. "Oh no, you don't!" Ruby declared, running over upon noticing that Cinder was approaching her two friends...only to stop in her tracks as a flashbang went off. "Agh, my eyes!"

"...are no threat to me now that you can't use them," Cinder declared before knocking the hooded huntress to the ground.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled out, running up to protect her girlfriend, not noticing a Glyph forming above her as she did.

"Oh, please," the Meta said with a roll of her eyes as she moved to intercept the Schnee heiress' sword strike...only to find herself being thrown through the same wall that Jean had gotten stuck in due to the blade she was blocking being a lot larger than anticipated. "What?!"

Weiss blinked as she viewed the Arma Gigas - or at least the arm of said potential summon, complete with sword - floating beside her, before gaining what seemed to be the combination of a smug grin and a determined glare, even as Pyrrha used the opportunity the heiress had given her to free Jean from her confinement. "Ruby's not the only one with tricks up her sleeve. True, I haven't mastered all of mine just yet, but you can be certain that I'll be using all of my strength to protect her and all of my loved ones."

"Then you can forgive me for doing everything in my power to complete the mission." That was all the warning Weiss got before she received a few well placed gunshots that made her lose her concentration on her partial summon causing it to fail.

"I used to work with your sister, Weiss," Qrow declared even as he aimed Harbinger - currently in gun-mode - at the young heiress. "You really think I wouldn't have picked up on the strengths and weaknesses of your family's Semblance by now?"

"You're Ruby's Uncle, alright: you have the same analytical mind and pragmatic fighting style," Weiss remarked, even as she got back up with a snarl. "Such a shame I can't say the same of her noble heart and undying loyalty, traitor."

"Sticks and stones, Ice Princess." Qrow scoffed as he reloaded Harbinger. "Sticks and stones."

"Get away from them!" Qrow turned around just in time to receive an explosive punch in the face. Taiyang knocked Qrow to the ground and kicked his sword away before turning to the kids. "Get out of here! Go!"

Weiss grabbed Ruby and carried her away as Taiyang clenched his fists and cocked his own gauntlets. Qrow sumersalted away from another blast of fire dust, and kicked a patch of dirt into his former teammate's face. Taiyang tried to fire again, but his gauntlets jammed. The brawler growled, bitterly; he knew his old partner's semblance was responsible for it. Loosening the straps, he tossed both gauntlets at Qrow as a distraction before charging. Qrow may have dodged the weapons, but soon had the wind knocked out of him when Taiyang tackled him. But with his semblance, it took little effort to push his enemy off of him. Once the tables were turned, Qrow wasted no time in pounding in Taiyang's face.

"Take that! You sister-fucking piece of shit!" Qrow shouted as another punch broke Taiyang's nose. Dazed, the brawler was now at the scythe-master's mercy.

"Wait! Wait…" Taiyang held up a hand as his breaths weakened. "Qrow… I just wanted to say… I fucked your sister again, last night."

Qrow's glare hardened as he leaned down, slightly. "Is that right?" He growled; his rage increasing as Taiyang's smile widened.

"Yeah…" Taiyang chortled, wiping the blood from his lip. "Don't get me wrong; Summer was great… but I've never known any other woman who can swallow thirteen inches like Raven Branwen."

Qrow just backhanded his old teammate, a snarl on his face. "You never did know when to shut up."

"At least I know where my loyalties lie," was Taiyang's immediate reply, gesturing to his haggard companions. "After all, I'm not the one responsible for all this carnage."

Suddenly, a blast of ice dust separated the two huntsmen. Weiss, Ruby, and Team CFVY had returned to rescue Taiyang.

"I didn't want it to come to this," Qrow said with a sigh even as everyone - exhausted as some of them might have been - readied themselves for the next round, "but it's over now, because nobody is coming to save you guys."

"Well, just call me 'Nobody', then."

Qrow yelled out in pain as he and Cinder were thrown back due to a few well placed grenades, quickly turning towards the source of the surprise attack soon afterwards. "What are you…?!"

"Oh, come now, Qrow: you of all people should know by now that I'd never take orders from one of Jacques Schnee's lapdogs," a femine voice declared as she stepped into view.

"What the…? Summer?!" Taiyang yelled out as he took in the source of the voice.

"I'll explain everything later, Tai," the woman declared, using some smoke bombs to cover their escape. "But right now, we need to make a break for the teleporter, NOW!" Everyone else just nodded as they followed her. Summer Rose or not, she was clearly trying to help them, so they'd trust her for the time being.

Sometime later, Raven, currently inside an old base, waited for everyone else to arrive through the teleporter, nervously tapping her foot as she did. "Just calm down, Raven: they'll be here soon." She shook her head in disgust. "Still can't believe that Qrow of all people is trying to have Yang and Ruby killed." Needless to say, however, she couldn't help but give a sigh of relief as Team CFVY arrived with Ciel and Jean, as that meant only one thing. "Okay, good: the teleporter's working."

Velvet smiled. "Turns out all that time scrambling the White Fang's coms systems was well spent." She sighed as Team JNPR, the woman who looked like Summer, and Taiyang arrived through the teleporter. "Bad news is that we'll have to destroy this thing once everyone is through: can't risk Qrow or Cinder following us through."

The woman who looked like Summer nodded even as Penelope exited the teleporter. "Way ahead of you," she declared as she went about setting some explosives on said teleporter.

Weiss, having arrived with Ruby and Blake, couldn't help but shake her head. "Show of hands: how many of us saw this coming?" She gave a bitter nod when nobody raised their hands. "Yeah, that's what I was afraid of…"

Ruby simply gulped. "I...I'm sure there's a reason why Uncle Qrow's gone crazy and is trying to kill us." She blinked as everyone turned towards her, before giving a sigh. "Yeah, I know, but I'm trying to stay positive here!"

The woman who looked like Summer quickly gave the young girl a hug. "I know this isn't easy, sweetie, but we'll pull through this: we always do. Right, Fire Lily?" She blinked, before giving a panicked frown. "Fire Lily? Yang?!"

Yang, having finally popped out of the teleporter covered in some sort of yellow stuff, couldn't help but groan. "Ow!" She sighed. "Sorry I'm late: took a little longer to lose Mr. Branwen then I thought it would."

Jaune just sighed in relief. "I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we're just glad you're okay."

Yatsuhashi quirked an eyebrow. "He's right, though quick question: what's all that yellow stuff on your armor?"

Yang quickly looked around, and groaned. "Just me? What the heck?!"

"Forget the yellow stuff," Raven declared. "I didn't say anything because of the danger, but how are you here, Summer? You were…"

"Killed?" Summer asked with a bittersweet smile even as she went about destroying the teleporter. "Yes, I was… before Ozpin cast that spell of his that ended the Maiden's cycle of rebirth." She shook her head in disgust. "Jacques performed a taboo: between his technology and the experiments being run on Aura augmentation, he somehow managed to tie my very essence to that of the Spring Maiden and left a permanent command in my system that ensured that his robot chassises would be the last thing on my mind whenever I expired. I'm just glad Oz managed to render that last part obsolete."

"So, you're…" Penelope couldn't seem to get her words out.

"Another of the Maiden fragments? Unfortunately yes," Summer declared, giving a sigh. "The real Summer Rose is still trapped somewhere, and here I am, doing my best to uphold her legacy...and not doing a very good job of it at that."

Yang just brought the woman into a hug. "You might not be Summer Rose, not really, but you've done a good job of upholding her beliefs regardless… Mom."

Summer couldn't help but let out a tear of joy at those words despite feeling some disgust on account of the yellow stuff clinging to the blonde brawler's body. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that… though maybe we should hold off on the hugs until after you're cleaned up, you know?"

"I'll help out with that," Blake said with a saucy wink even as Yang gave a smile that was equal parts sheepish and aroused.

Summer just shook her head in amusement as she watched as her daughter and daughter-in-law made their way towards the showers, before giving everyone else a stern expression. "Alright, everyone else: just because Cinder and my former teammate can't follow us through the teleporter doesn't mean we're out of the woods just yet, so keep your eyes peeled!"

Ren nodded alongside everyone else, ready and willing to make sure that they're safe, before turning to Nora. "You know, if someone came to me a few years back and told me that this is what I'd be doing in the here and now, I'd accuse them of sounding too much like one of those conspiracy theorists."

Velvet, having overheard that statement, couldn't help but snort. "Well, he's not wrong." She then adopted a mock spooky tone. "The government controls the Grimm."

Nora smiled before also adopting a mock spooky tone. "The Council can hear my thoughts."

"We never landed on the moon." was Coco's sarcastic inclusion.

Nora then gave a mock gasp. "They put fluoride in my water!"

Here, Ren couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. "Actually, that one's true."

Nora merely blinked. "It is? No wonder I listen to so much pop music."

Meanwhile, Qrow and Cinder were busy interrogating a group of Doppelgangers. "Where did they go?!" Cinder growled.

Glass, a handmaid of Jasmine, spat inky blood in the Meta's face. "Wouldn't you like to know, shisno?"

Furious, the Meta snapped her captive's neck, breathing in the ashes of her fading body. Qrow held the tip of Harbinger under the quivering princess' neck. "Now, as you can see, my partner isn't quite as patient as I am. So, where's Yang's kid?"

"She's not here." Jasmine stammered. "The Savior has been escorted to a safe haven while her mother and father are away."

"Where is this safe haven?"

"I don't know." Jasmine promised. "I wouldn't let them tell me in case an event such as this ever happened."

"Dammit!" Qrow cursed. "Alright, Cinder. Let's go back to the school and see if we can pick up a trail. I don't wanna be here longer than we have to."

"What's the rush?" A bruised Doppelganger knight asked. "Just think of all the overtime you'll earn on your next check."

"What'd I say about backtalk, you - wait…" Qrow blinked. "You guys get overtime?"

"Yeah, her majesty takes great care of us." The Doppelganger smiled. "Time and a half after forty hours. Time and a half and a half on Sundays! Wait, you guys don't get overtime? Tell me they at least match your 401k."

"Uh… no." Cinder's brow furrowed.

"Aw, man, that sucks. You should unionize!"

"Reflect." Another Doppelganger groaned. "Stop making friends with the bad guys."

"Sorry."

"Forget it, Branwen," Cinder declared. "We're not going to get any more help from these things."

"That's simply because you haven't been asking the right ones," Barmak declared as he entered the room, several of his followers close by.

"You're… Barmak, right?" Qrow asked, recognizing him from the info packs in his debriefing.

"Indeed I am," the traitorous Doppelganger declared, "and you would be Qrow Branwen, alias Agent Grey. In any case, I might be able to help you locate your niece's daughter."

"What game are you playing, Mirror?" Jasmine growled out. "You've made it clear that you had no intention of helping the humans back when you betrayed me."

"And I still don't," her former advisor remarked, "but it just so happens that Cinder Fall over there has something in common with your goddaughter. After all, like 'Holly,' Agent Crimson also shares a touch of Grimm in her biology."

The Meta let out a chuckle as she revealed that her left arm did indeed carry some Grimm features. "And here I thought I'd done a good job of concealing it."

"To the uneducated, you have," Barmak reassured with something in his eyes almost resembling respect. "But like you, I too have studied at the knees of the Dark One."

"Wait you worked with Salem?!" Qrow directed at Cinder, his eyes wide with horror.

"Oh, don't act so high and mighty, Agent Grey," Agent Crimson said with a roll of her eyes. "You knew I worked for your enemy when you signed up to work with me: why should it matter now that you know exactly who that enemy was?"

Unable to come up with a good argument to that, and knowing the consequences of doing so, Qrow just shook his head. "Whatever: as long as it keeps me out of a prison cell."

"Take care, Uncle of the Great Destroyer," Jasmine declared before the man got too far. "If you continue to follow this path for too long, you stand to lose a lot more than just your freedom."

"I've been beaten, betrayed, and blown up, on top of everything else that's happened since I got involved in all of this," Qrow said with a roll of his eyes. "Tell me, your highness: what else do I have to lose at this point?"

"You might not like the answer when the time comes," Jasmine felt the need to declare.

Meanwhile, Yang watched as her mother tended to her father's injuries. The blonde brawler blinked as she saw Raven lean down to give Taiyang a soft kiss before finishing the last of his bandages. Once Raven was gone, Yang approached her father. "What the hell was that?"

Taiyang sighed, tiredly. "I guess it's better you hear from me, first. Your mother and I are… dating again."

"What?!" Yang gasped. "Why?!"

"Yang, you don't understand. She's changed." Taiyang explained. "It started after she told me about Summer. Or, uh, the Summer we thought was Summer. You should've seen the way she broke the news to me. She was so strong and comforting. And yet, so sensitive and so vulnerable. And then, we just started talking about Summer. And then about us. And talking turned to reminiscing. And then we… we kissed. And we both decided to give our relationship another shot."

"Dad, she had just told you that the woman you loved wasn't real." Yang reasoned. "You were the one who was sensitive and vulnerable!"

"Yang, I'm not asking for your permission." Taiyang replied, sternly. "I love Raven. I want to be with her. And I have many other things I want to say, but it'll have to wait because I'm nursing a pounding headache." With that, Team STRQ's brawler closed his eyes to get some rest.

"I didn't say I disapproved." Yang declared, causing her father to sit back up in shock. "Believe me: I'd like nothing more then to see our family whole again, and if the real Summer is anything like robo-Summer, then she isn't averse to sharing, but why is it that I'm just finding out about this now?"

"I...well…" Needless to say, Taiyang didn't have a response ready, prompting Yang to give a huff and storm out of the room.

"I'll be sure to ask Raven the same question, but in the meantime, let me know when you want to start acting like a member of the family," Yang called out, causing Taiyang to look down in shame.

At the other end of the building, Ruby was making some minor adjustments to Penelope's temporary body. Since they were uncertain how long it would be before they could give her a body similar to Penny's old one, the hooded huntress wanted to make sure her current body was durable enough to withstand the test of time.

"There!" She smiled. "Now you shouldn't blow a fuse when you shoot lightning!"

"Thank you, friend Ruby!" Penelope's digital face beamed. "I can't wait to learn more about my mother from you and your relationship with her. I want to know what love is! I want you to show me!"

"Everyone, out of the building!" Raven's voice boomed. "I've got Taiyang. Everyone else, get out! This is not a drill!"

"What's going on?" Ruby asked.

Weiss ran into the room with a startled expression. "It's Qrow and the Meta! They found us, somehow!"

"What?!" Ruby grabbed Penelope's wrist and dragged her out of the room. "Come on, Penelope! We have to move!"

Soon enough, the group had evacuated the building but they needed to give themselves a chance to trap their pursuers inside to give them time to escape. Raven was too tired to use her semblance, but thankfully, she got an idea. "Quick!" She shouted. "Somebody say something to make Penny angry!"

"Uh, okay!" Ruby stammered. "Uh… you, uh… you don't have lips! And, uh… you can't give kisses!"

Weiss facepalmed before addressing the green Atlesian Knight. "Well? Feel angry?"

"Not really. I just feel sad." Penelope's digital face flashed an exaggerated teardrop under her eye. "Ruby's right. I can't give kisses."

"Oh, gods, I'm a monster!" Ruby cried, hugging and kissing the Maiden's memory. "Please forgive me!"

"Oh, shit! They're coming!" Raven shouted. "Hurry up! Get her mad!"

"Who's coming?" Penelope asked, curiously, looking through the hole in the wall. "Some kind of angry red woman and -"

"Stop them!" Qrow ordered. "Don't let them get away!"

"AGENT GRAY!" Penelope's eyes flashed from green to red as a lightning bolt shot from her hands and striking the wall. The rubble filled in the hole, preventing the villains from catching up. Penelope's eyes flickered back to their usual green hue as she gasped. "Oh, dear! I've broken the nice house!"

"Forget it! Let's go!" Raven ordered.

"Wait! Where's Jean?" Velvet asked.

"There's no time! Come on!"

Back inside, the poor medical student was being held hostage by Qrow and the Meta. "Uh… h-hey, guys… no hard feelings, right?" Jean couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, no. No hard feelings at all." Qrow smirked, sinisterly. "But, uh, what do you say we have a little chat?"

Meanwhile, Team RWBY and the others were back to running in the caves when they spotted a familiar Doppelganger beckoning them to follow. Reluctantly, they arrived at a safe cavern deep within the mountain.

"You guys will be safe here," Alex declared as he and a young boy helped the group to set up camp.

Said young boy did a double take as he glanced at Ruby. "Whoa. You...have silver eyes."

Ruby blinked, having heard those words before. "Professor...Ozpin?"

The boy gave a dry chuckle. "I do have a bit of a resemblance to him, don't I? I can't help but wonder if I'd reincarnate as him if given the chance...but no: I'm just a simple farm boy who saw the chance to help his fellow man and took it. My name is Oscar Pine, and I do hope we can get along."

Yang just patted her sister on the back. "Ozymandias did say that he'd likely still exist in some fashion if we changed the future." Needless to say, nobody knew how to react to that statement.

To be continued