Summer was quiet for a moment, trying to think of what exactly to say. There were so many important details, and some were of the variety she wasn't sure she should share. To Willow's credit, she waited patiently without saying a word as Summer sipped at her water.
"I saw… I saw Beacon," Summer began, talking slowly. The minutia about what was going on and who was where at what time were quickly fading, but she refocused to try to hit the key points. "There were grimm. There was an attack…"
"…were we able to stop it?" Willow asked, her face seeming just a little more pale than usual in the light of the broken moon.
"Oh! No, we weren't…" Summer hesitated as a few pieces of the puzzle suddenly came back together. "This was… after our time. I think? None of us were there. I saw several young huntresses fighting, and… I think they were our daughters…"
"I… what?" Willow asked with a hot blush. "I had a daughter? How do you…? Who was the father?"
"That, I don't know," Summer answered with an amused smirk. "But she had Myrtenaster, appeared to be attending Beacon, and used your semblance. She was beautiful, Willow. A mirror image of you, with a scar beneath her… left eye? Right eye? I don't remember. She also had long, billowing hair, almost down to her knees."
"That sounds… lovely, honestly," Willow considered. "Though it does leave me to question what happens to the company in the future. Is my father still in control at that time, or… perhaps I was running things? I don't know how I feel about that notion anymore…"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Summer reassured. "I also saw… a girl I think I've seen before. She looks just like Raven, but blonde, with purple eyes…"
"Blonde, hm?" Willow mused as she rested her elbow atop the table and cupped her chin with her hand. "I wonder why that could be…"
"Mysteries abound," Summer said with a small giggle. "There was also…"
A vision of Adam drawing his sword crossed Summer's mind. He wore a black suit of crushed velvet, as well as a mask of grimm bone quite similar to Raven's. His horns had grown and curved back along his skull, and he stared down the cat-eared girl with murderous intent. The lines on his face clearly denoted that he had aged well out of his 20s, and perhaps even his 30s. Not quite an old man, but certainly not the angry boy Summer knew.
"Also…?" Willow encouraged.
"…Kali's daughter," Summer evaded as she took another drink. "At least, I think so. Our daughters like having longer hair, apparently. Her weapon was unlike anything I've ever seen. I feel like… she named it Gambol Shroud."
"…so you can remember that detail, but not who I had a child with?" Willow balked.
"Actually… I can't," Summer denied. "That came to me just now. Like… a whisper. An echo that wasn't really there. Maybe I just need sleep."
"No, no, what else can you… 'hear'?" Willow insisted. "Is more coming to you?"
"I can't force it, Willow," Summer replied as she shook her head. "It just… happens. I'm sorry…"
"Not your fault," Willow admitted with a disappointed sigh and a wave of her hand. "Still, this does all sound like information the headmaster needs to know. What about… your daughter?"
"I… I think I saw her, too," Summer said with a squint as she tried to recollect the details. "She was… tall. Pale. Piercing green eyes, with long red hair worn in a ponytail. She had armor of gold and some sort of javelin and shield with her. She didn't seem happy to see me…"
"It was an invasion," Willow pointed out. "No one would be happy in those circumstances. Still, she sounds wonderful. But red hair and green eyes, hm? You don't think… Roman?"
"Not that kind of red," Summer said quickly as she returned Willow's blush. "Deep red. Blood red. There was another girl with her, but… I don't know who she was, or why she was there. My daughter's name will be Ruby."
"Ruby…" Willow echoed. "A beautiful name, and quite fitting, based on your description. It all sounds like a bright future for our families, other than the invasion…"
"Yeah, just that one small detail," Summer laughed. "No big deal. That, and there was als-"
"Adam?"
Summer's eyes widened as she searched Willow's face, only to find that the other girl was looking behind her. There at the sliding glass door was the bull faunus, shirtless and without his eye covering as he stood on the wooden boards of the deck.
"…hey…" Adam said awkwardly in a hushed voice. "Are you two alright…?"
"Fine," Summer answered quickly as she turned around to look at Adam. "Just… having trouble sleeping, is all."
"You're drenched in sweat…" Adam pointed out as he wandered over and took a seat between the two girls. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Summer took a moment to look Adam over. Even if she hadn't known for sure, she could tell that he was the youngest of them all. Beneath the snowflake scar covering his eyes were boyish features and a look of genuine concern. He was so different, despite being the same person as the one in her dreams. His chest and shoulders were also covered in burn marks, raised lesions that had long since healed over, and odd chunks of missing skin. She could so easily see him walking through burning rubble that the notion gave her a shiver.
"I'm… okay," Summer reassured. She laid her hand atop Adam's as it rested upon the table, feeling his rough knuckles. "Thanks for checking."
"And how are you?" Willow asked. "You've been… stressed, lately. I know that things are a little awkward between you and BASS right now. I feel like it's almost my fault, especially considering I made things more awkward while you met with the headmaster…"
"…they'll get over it," Adam reassured as he waved his free hand. "I know where my loyalties lie. The members of BASS seem nice, but at the end of the day… the eight of you have done more for me in the past year than anyone else in my life. You needed to know what Ghira and I spoke about, and so, I told you. I'm fine."
"That's… good," Summer said hesitantly. "But what about Professor Ozpin? Hasn't he technically been the one to do the most for you over the past year?"
Adam paused to consider the notion, his brows furrowing.
"I… in some ways, yes… but what you eight have given me may be more important than the literal gifts I received from the headmaster. Professor Calavera might be a closer contender, in truth. I need to speak to her soon, given that she's here…"
"You're loyal to both of them too, right?" Summer asked.
"…you're asking this after you told my team about Arowana and your status as Professor Ozpin's personal special operative squad in training?" Adam deadpanned. "And after we've all been running jobs for Jacques for a year, now?"
"…he's got you there," Willow pointed out. "I think we're all loyal to the headmaster to an extent, but… when we need to break away? We do."
"Exactly," Adam agreed. "Sometimes, things come up that necessitate walking our own paths, and turning our backs on 'the system', as it were. Even so… I'll be in your corner, no matter what comes."
Summer slowly lifted her hand from atop Adam's and quietly placed it into her lap. No matter how hard she tried to focus on the present, all she could see were the age lines on his face as it was lit by a fire that had yet to come.
"…I hope so," Summer acknowledged. "I really hope you're right…"
"So… weird, right?" Fox asked. He was laying atop his mattress within the BASS dorm, hands folded behind his head and legs crossed at the ankles. "Like… a lot weirder than we were thinking before."
"Incredibly weird," Sage agreed. The muscular teen had his shirt off and sat on the edge of his own bed, curling a free weight in his right arm. A series of tribal tattoos worked their way around his chest and arms, leading up to the clock-like circle of numerals inked around his neck. "And not just weird- suspicious."
Velvet sat with her back resting against Sage's, swinging her legs freely over the opposite edge of the mattress.
"A simple delivery job should not have ended in a multi-hour meeting with the headmaster," the faunus agreed. "I don't like that they explained nothing, and then just wanted to… hang out. Two teams from Sanus, with a literal Schnee from Atlas networking with Professor Gumo? Remember what happened every other time in history that outsiders meddled in Vacuan affairs?"
"Velvet," Ghira grumbled from his place leaning against the wall. The burly man had his hairy arms folded over his chest, and he looked incredibly unamused. "To make such assertions would make us no better than the very foreigners from the past that you're worried about. While Willow may be a Schnee, and while Adam may be in her pocket… they were honest and up front about it. They didn't have to be."
"But are they so honest and up front in order to hide something else?" Sage asked with a grunt as he switched arms. "Focusing our attention elsewhere while they go about whatever business they came here for."
"The plot thickens," Fox mused with a smirk. "But… we were invited back to Willow's beach house whenever we'd like. That's something, isn't it?"
Velvet let out a long sigh and leaned forward, rubbing at her temples with her fore and middle fingers.
"It is… but… weird. It's all so very, very weird. I'd like to trust them as well, but I just…"
"Then trust them, until they give us reason not to," Ghira suggested. "No one foresaw this. No one can see into the future and determine who will arrive in our lives, let alone guess at their motives. All we can do is react to the events around us and maintain our integrity in doing so. Anyone who does otherwise is a hypocrite at best, and an uncaring opportunist with ulterior motives at worst. They have chosen to react by telling us more than they needed to. That is enough for me, for now. I hope it's enough for all of you."
It was Sage's turn to sigh as he let his weight down to the floor.
"…fine. Orders are orders."
"I don't give orders," Ghira reminded as he narrowed his eyes. "I give advice. I lay my path bare and give you all an opportunity to follow. That has always been my way."
"And that's why you're the best," Velvet said with a smile. "I'll play nice. If you think we can trust them, then I trust you. Maybe in time, they'll pull back the curtain a bit. After all… we have several weeks. The best way to get closer is to stay close, I suppose."
"Besides, it'll be fun," Fox considered. "Even if they don't all mesh well with us, I'm sure we'll each make at least one or two close friends. Not to mention… Raven's incredibly hot."
"…how would you know?" Sage asked with a raised brow.
"What ever do you mean?" Fox asked innocently.
"Don't…" Velvet warned.
"You haven't seen her," Sage answered, ignoring Velvet's warning.
"I can't believe you could be so insensitive," Fox proclaimed, his tone full of mock offense as he sat up and glared in the opposite direction of Sage. "I can tell from her voice alone."
"Here we go," Ghira mused.
"That isn't wh-"
"Honestly," Fox interrupted. "Are looks all that matter to you? I see more than simple beauty."
Sage rolled his eyes as Velvet began to swing her legs again, one rabbit ear twitching.
"Raven isn't even your type."
"No. No, she isn't," Fox agreed as he laid back down with a grin. "But who knows what might happen?"
Ghira's thoughts began to wander to the members of STRQ and OKRA, settling upon one faunus in particular.
"Who knows…"
Author's Note:
There are a lot of implications in this chapter… and some of them may be missed until way later.
Just the way I like it.
-RD
