Mountain Glenn
A certain blond girl lazed outdoors in the sunshine, drifting in and out of sleep. She barely noticed the small corgi approaching until it was almost on top of her.
"Hey Zwei," Yang greeted the dog as it trotted up to her makeshift hammock. "What's up?"
The Corgi barked several times while jumping around in an attempt to deliver his message.
"Hmm? Ruby is looking for me?" she sat up and stretched her arms over her head in a big yawn.
A single bark came as the confirmation response.
"Well," she hopped off the hammock "lead the way!"
The two navigated throughout the area, into the house and up the stairs. The stuffy air assailed their senses the moment they opened the latch, causing Zwei to flinch before retreating downstairs.
"Ruby?"
"Yang!" the hooded girl closed the book she was reading and walked over to greet her sister. "Where have you been?! Dad told us to clean up the attic!"
"Looks like you haven't made much progress..." Yang looked around while trying to adjust to the air.
"Why do you think that is?" Ruby's eyes narrowed.
"Is there anything interesting up here at least?"
"Well there's books..."
"Laaaame~" Yang sighed as she walked over to a corner and started sifting through all the items.
"One of those books happens to be Mom's diary from when she went to school at Beacon."
"Oh?" Yang's ears perked up. "There any dirty little secrets in there? Or any awesome adventures?"
"I'm not so sure about the first one," Ruby scowled at Yang "But it looks like she was having a heck of a time and it seems like she was in the same team as dad and uncle Qrow."
"Lemme read it!"
"NO!" The younger sister pulled the book away and put it behind her back "I won't let you get away with slacking off any more." she smiled "But I will read it off to you while you help me clean, ok?"
"Fine," Yang sighed in defeat "Where do we start?"
"Start by moving all those boxes over there." Ruby pointed towards the South area "I'll start piling these books here."
"You got it."
Ruby put the diary back on the desk and opened it to the page she left off at. "Ok here is what the next entry says."
June 12th year 58.
We have been out here for days now and still there has been no sign of people. We have spent most of our time navigating around the mountains and fighting off horde after horde of Grimm. We are still good on supplies, however we will only be able to last a couple more days before we are forced to retreat. We've decided to finally begin looking inside the caves, but if our battles out here were any indication...we're in for one hell of a time. I can still remember the last thing Professor Azuria told me about the actual mission. She said that she believes the Grimm were not the only thing that caused the destruction of the city, that there was another force that may have been responsible. I certainly hope she is wrong, because humanity has enough trouble handling its problems.
"You're up early." Raven rolled over in her sleeping bag "Or were you on watch?" she stifled a yawn.
"A little bit of both actually." Summer put her book away and stretched her body "I got to sleep uninterrupted last night, so I figured I'd give you guys a bit more time." She looked over at the other two. "From the looks of it, they need it." She prodded the campfire a bit, adjusting the wood. "We still got a bit of time before we need to get up. Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"Ok then..." the red-eyed girl rolled over "See you in a little bit."
Summer smiled and grabbed her dagger, walking a small distance away from the camp to where she would not disturb the others. She stood out facing the valley and held the dagger out in front of her with both hands as if it were a sword and she began to concentrate her aura. A white rose emblem formed at her feet and continue to grow in size as she focused her power.
"Remember, Summer" her mother's voice echoing through her mind "Your ability is only as strong as the will you put behind it." Her cloak began to glow brighter and brighter as more and more power gathered around her.
"With it, you will be able to do great and terrible things; be it protect your friends...or slay your enemies." Particles of energy materialized around her hands, forming a transparent extension of both the handle and the blade of the dagger until it became the proper dimensions of a formidable double-edged sword. "So never forget to keep your heart pure, wear this cloak around you as a reminder of this and always be on guard."
"Doing some morning training?" Taiyang walked up but stopped just outside the massive rose emblem on the ground, his instincts telling him not to draw any closer to the wall of energy.
"Tai." the girl released her concentration and with it all the energy she gathered. "Yeah I just wanted to get it knocked out of the way. It's a habit you know?" she replaced her dagger on the left side of her hip. "What are you doing up?"
"I don't think any normal person can sleep with that kind of energy emanating nearby," he joked "Then again I think the twins are just so used to it, that they can sleep through an explosion."
"Funny," the girl laughed as she sat down on a rock and looked out into the valley. "It's sad isn't it?"
"What is?" he sat down on the other side so they were sitting back to back.
"This view." she looked around "You'd never get this kind of view in the kingdoms." She took a deep breath "The air here is so fresh and untainted, it makes me understand why people wanted to try making a life out here." She leaned back some more.
"Unfortunately there are several challenges, the biggest of which being the Grimm."
"I know but..." she sighed as she turned her gaze upwards to the clouds. "Wouldn't it be nice if other people could see all this?"
"No, I totally agree with you." he nodded "If I ever have kids, I'd like them to be able to see a place like this."
"Ha ha ha! You have to find someone to have kids with first!" she joked
"You proposing?"
"Isn't it the man's job to do that?"
"Fair enough," he pushed back lightly to let her know he was standing up and walked around to the other side of the rock and knelt before her "Summer Rose..." he started "Will you-"
The snapping of a tree branch interrupted the scene, causing the two to turn their attention towards the poorly hidden twins.
"I told you not to move!" Raven threw her hands in the air "It was going so well!"
"If you weren't leaning on me so much I wouldn't have needed to adjust my stance!" Qrow replied.
"Are you calling me fat?!"
"No, I'm just stating that you might want to check your weight."
"Why you-!"
Summer and Taiyang laughed at the ensuing chaos while the twins battled it out in a giant dustball.
"Ok you guys," Summer stood up "let's go have breakfast." She beckoned over to the rest of the team "We have a long day ahead of us."
The twins had just about finished their fight, with neither one emerging as the victor.
"On second thought," Summer spun around. "Why don't we all take a picture together?" she placed her scroll on a nearby rock "To commemorate our first official mission as Hunters."
"Do we have to?" Qrow whined.
"Get over here!" Raven dragged her brother by the collar.
"All set?" Taiyang leaned against a nearby tree.
"Here we go, in 3..." Summer stated as her scroll began to flash, indicating that the timer had started. She leaned on the opposite side of the tree Taiyang was on while the Branwen twins poised their weapons.
"Ack! My soul!" Qrow gripped his chest while staggering.
"Oh quit your whining" Raven smacked him on the back. "Come on. Breakfast."
Summer walked over and picked up her scroll. "I think it turned out great." She nodded in satisfaction. "I'll send you guys a copy after we eat ok?"
~xX*Xx~
"..." Raven signaled quietly to her brother as she crept up to the mouth of a cave.
Qrow nodded as he prepared his weapon.
A pack of Beowolves were gathered and seemed to be searching the area for no particular reason. Despite what was known of these creatures, one could only fathom what the Grimm actually do in their spare time. Unfortunately, it is rather hard to study them as they are rather volatile when alive and disperse into dust almost immediately when dead.
Once the two were in position, Raven gave the signal for the start of the attack.
"Wooohoooo!" Taiyang yelled at the top of his lungs as he dashed forward straight towards the mouth of the cave.
The pack of Grimm were thrown into disarray momentarily by the sudden outburst, but quickly recovered and began charging towards the lone hunter.
Taiyang grinned as he picked up speed and plowed right into the mass of Grimm, the Beowolves dispersing every which direction from the impact.
Raven and Qrow leapt from the sides and, with surgical precision, began a combination blade dance covering each other's blind spots and systematically dispatching all enemies within range. Raven sheathed her sword and activated her blade roulette, equipping a blue dust blade. With incredible speed, she drew the blade in a very large arch, effectively slicing several Grimm in half and sending a water-type shockwave forward. Qrow leaped into the air to avoid the incoming shockwave while transforming his weapon into its true form. He spun on his axis to gain momentum, turning the scythe into a massive spinning blade as he plummeted to the ground, cleaving enemies apart upon impact.
"And we're done!" Taiyang announced as he destroyed the last remaining enemy. "Everyone ok?" he called out
"Yeah." Qrow answered "I got 9."
"I got 12 here" Raven snapped her sword to get rid of any dirt and debris before replacing her weapon.
"Ha!" Taiyang smiled "I got 13" he teased.
"Grrrr..." Raven grit her teeth.
"Looks like we're done here." Summer approached them all from behind. "Shall we have a look?"
"Where did you go?" Raven tilted her head.
"Hmm? Oh I just dispatched the six Ursa that came to check out what all the noise was." she spun the dagger in her hand several times before replacing it on her hip. "Shall we?" she continued walking past her teammates and towards the mouth of the cave. "This is a good place to start."
"Six Ursa." Taiyang followed closely "Really."
"Yeah."
"You mean six baby Ursa" Raven joined in as the entered the cave.
"They were fully grown!"
"Fully grown babies you mean!" Qrow finished her off.
"Ugh, you guys are insufferable!" Summer threw her hands in the air as her team laughed at her. "Come on, let's go!"
The mouth of the cave was a rather small opening - allowing only four to five people to comfortably walk side by side. At the end of a rather good distance, the area opened up into a large cavern with beams of light coming through the cracks. The sound of rushing water could be heard along with the gushing of the nearby waterfall, the water then separating into twenty different streams.
"Wow." Raven spoke first. "This place is amazing."
"You bet." Taiyang walked up to the stream "I could live here- I mean look" he dipped his hand into the water and tested it "It's fresh water and there's fish swimming around." He attempted to catch one but to no avail. "The only thing missing here really is people."
"This does look like a good place to hole up in." Summer stated "So why wouldn't the people hold their ground here?"
"It looks defensible enough" Qrow jumped on a higher rock to get a better look around "For better or worse, chokepoints are the only way in and out of this place."
"If you don't count the big gaping waterfall down there." she peered close to the edge "Think it's survivable?"
Raven took out a fire crystal and threw it over the side. A small visible flame erupting a few moments later.
"Probably, yes" Taiyang nodded "We have no idea if there are sharp rocks or anything own there so I would say its probable, but I wouldn't want to jump unless I had no other choice."
"Yeah but this is still a good spot." Summer continued looking around "We aren't going to get any answers standing around here. Let's split up and search the area." she nodded to the team "But don't wander off too far."
~xX*Xx~
"Any luck so far?" Summer approached Raven who chose to head towards the Northwest area.
"Nothing major" she responded "however there is something of interest here"
"Oh?" Summer pulled her hood back and leaned in close. "What is it?"
"Dust crystals" came the response. "Small fragments, yeah, but there are a lot of them" she scooped up some dirt "Look."
"That might be part of the reason why people didn't stay here" the leader looked around at the general area "You would have to be somewhat careful here with aura and elemental abilities." She tapped a red crystal fragment and ignited it, causing a small chain reaction "A large enough detonation or series of detonations could cause parts of the cave to collapse."
"That would make a good defensive strategy, don't you think?"
"True, but only if you could precisely set everything." Summer kicked the loose crystal at her feet "As it stands right now, this place would need a lot of work to make it structurally sound."
"But enough about that." Raven turned around and sat down "How's it going with Tai?"
"What are you talking about?" Summer sat down next to the other girl.
"Oh don't give me that." she grinned "He was totally proposing to you earlier!"
"What, you jealous?"
"Of course not!" the red-eyed girl elbowed her friend "It was just unexpected that's all."
"Ha ha ha. Oh come on. They do say that couples who fight the most, love each other the most." She looked over "And everyone knows that you two fight the most"
"The day I marry that guy is the day something incredibly drastic happens."
"Yeah," Summer stood up "You'd be marrying him." She stuck her tongue out.
"I told you it's not like that!" Raven yelled as Summer walked away "And don't be giving the others any weird ideas either!"
~xX*Xx~
"Yo," Qrow greeted as Summer walked up. "What's on your mind?" He stopped what he was doing and sat down while giving her a quizzical look.
"What do you think of teammates dating each other?" The girl sat down on a nearby rock.
"What, you finally falling for me?"
"No. Sorry" she laughed "I am just thinking that Raven and Tai would make a good unit."
"Oh please, you know I would totally rock it."
"Yes, just like you 'totally rocked it' with that Faunus 3rd year student when we first entered- what was her name again? Scarlatina I think it was?"
"Ah, Violet Scarlatina" Qrow mused "She was feisty, that one."
"Didn't she totally deck you when you made a horrible pass at her?"
"She was just embarrassed. A total tsundere if you ask me."
"And that explains why she decked you?" Summer tried to contain herself "In front of the entire morning assembly?"
"Like I said, she was just embarrassed."
"Right."
"But anyway" Qrow shifted his stance "What about those two?"
"I don't know. I think they just click"
"Seriously...those two?" he laughed "The only way those two will ever get together is through a near-death experience." He shook his head "Trust me on this one."
"Wow, you seem absolutely certain about this." Summer looked amused.
"I've known you guys for years now," he crossed his arms "and I've known my sister even longer. There is no way in Remnant those two are getting together unless something drastic pushed them."
"Are you sure you aren't just being jealous that your sister might beat you into a relationship?" She chuckled
"With my interpersonal skills and rugged charms, I could get any girl I wanted easily." He tossed her an apple.
"Really." She caught the fruit and took a bite.
"The only reason I haven't tried to get you is that you are too old and you act like my mother."
"Hey!" she flung the apple back at him with deadly accuracy.
"In any case-"
"Don't try to change the subject!" she narrowed her eyes.
"Hey, guys" Taiyang walked up "I'm getting kinda thirsty."
"Yeah, me too" Qrow nodded. "Is the river safe to drink?"
"It should be fine" Summer answered.
"Well, water we waiting for?" Tai pointed his thumb in the direction of the river.
Summer and Qrow just stared blankly.
"Get it? Guys?"
"Grab him!" Summer commanded as she made a sharp dash towards Taiyang.
"Whoa!" He dodged to the side.
"That was just horrible..." Qrow sat down as he watched the two run off.
~xX*Xx~
"Hmmm." Raven pondered as she looked at the small group of crystals before her. "This should be enough for the next few days..."
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" a loud voice echoed from behind.
Raven spun around to see Taiyang with a large grin on his face as he maintained a small distance ahead of what appeared to be a trail of white rose petals. She watched as the two ran in a circle several times before crashing in front of her, causing a large dust cloud.
"Umm, what are you two doing?"
"Raven!" Summer stated while struggling to hold Taiyang down "Help me here! We have to fix him!"
"I know he's broken in some places" Raven tilted her head and continued watching "But fix him how, specifically?"
"I think-guh! He's got...stop moving!" she adjusted her weight "That wienerschnitzel disease!"
"The what?"
"That disease that-rrrgh! Makes you say stupidly lame jokes!" She started beating him on the head.
"Oh!" the lightbulb lit up over Raven's head "the Witzelsucht. That is a mental disorder that's caused by exactly what you are doing now." she pointed, "Trauma to the brain." she looked on, amused. "As much as I enjoy seeing you finally beating some sense into him, I would suggest you stop or else you'll make the condition worse- if he even has it in the first place."
Summer released a heavy sigh as she finally let him go. "I know he does it all the time, but its been getting horrendous lately..."
"Jeez," Taiyang dusted himself off "With you around we won't need to find shelter."
Raven looked at him quizzically while Summer turned around to head to the river.
"You people are just two tents." he looked over his shoulder, half hoping that Summer didn't hear it.
Raven, on the other hand, did her best to control her laughter, knowing that if she started laughing, she might incur the Wrath of the Rose.
"You know you liked it." Taiyang leaned in and whispered.
"Shut up you!" Raven whispered back "She's going to stab us if she hears this."
"Yeah I know she'll make sure we get the point of it."
"Tai!"
"Come on you two!" Summer called. "We still have to set up camp."
"You're lucky she didn't hear us," Raven's eyes narrowed. "What happened to you anyway?" She started walking back "Your jokes have gotten lamer and more frequent."
Taiyang caught up to her and shrugged.
"If I didn't know any better, you really did get that disorder."
"Well it wouldn't be my fault if I had it."
"You two are getting along nicely." Qrow jumped in as he passed by with a small pile of wood in his arms.
"We're comrades who just survived a grenade blast" Taiyang sighed.
"Why is she so stressed out anyway?" Raven asked before giving Taiyang a dull glare. "You're not the father are you?"
"What?!" he jumped back a few feet "Are you nuts?!" he stormed back over "What you are implying is tantamount to suicide!"
"Well, what else could it be?"
"Come on you guys!" Summer sighed as she struggled to start a fire "We still need to get our food ready!"
"Maybe its because you two are slacking off" Qrow grinned.
The two simultaneously opened their mouths to counter but they had no comeback.
"Yeah. Thats what I thought" he shook his head slightly before heading back.
"This is totally your fault" Raven poked Taiyang in the chest before running over to Summer's side.
"What the heck did I do?" He shrugged his shoulders.
"Here," Raven tossed Summer a fire crystal "This should do it."
"Thanks." Summer ignited the crystal with her aura and watched as it shattered into dust and released a small thermal energy pocket.
"The section over there has an unusually large amount of crystals." She put her bag down and opened it. "I am starting to wonder if this was the location of an old mining expedition."
"I wonder why it was abandoned then."
"My area over there had some metallic objects." Qrow answered "Look" he pointed towards the area Taiyang was currently looking around at. "That area there is filled with scrap metal. I even found this" he brought up a part that looked like it once had a logo on it.
"What's that say?" Raven looked it over "Mer...mer-what?"
"I don't know," her brother responded "but at least we know that this place once had people working here. Still I don't like how this place looks. Gives the vibe that it could collapse at any time."
"So you're saying we are camping out in an area where we could easily get buried in if something goes wrong?" Summer raised an eyebrow.
"Well we do have one escape route."
"That is?"
"The waterfall." Raven sighed "As much as I hate to admit it, if this place started crumbling we'd have no choice but to jump and hope our auras can take whatever beating we're going to get on the way down."
"Great!" the leader threw her hands up "All we need now is for Tai to get his adventurer curiosity into full gear and get us in some kind of trouble...like always."
"Hey guys! Check this out!" Taiyang called over.
"Right on cue."
~xX*Xx~
"This tunnel looks man-made" Raven noted as the team progressed through.
"There's more of that strange machinery lying around too," Qrow picked up a small piece of metal "It has the same logo as all the other parts."
"It seems to be opening up ahead." Taiyang urged them on ahead. "Whoa!" he shifted his stance a bit as the entire mountain rumbled lightly. "Earthquake?"
"That is very common around this area," She pulled out a map and noted their location "We are near a fault line, that's why."
Summer raised her dagger over her head and focused her aura, generating a ball of light to illuminate the area.
"What does that say up there?" Qrow looked ahead at a large machine that seemed somewhat intact.
"It says 'Merlot Industries'." Summer read it off "It looks rather old, too."
"Here we go" Raven opened a panel and looked inside "This should do it." she stated as she pulled a fire crystal out of her bag and placed it inside the machine. The unit whirred to life as it turned on, powering nearby lamps and illuminating the small cavern.
Taiyang whistled in awe. "This was one heck of a mining operation alright..."
"Well there obviously is no one around," Qrow picked up another part. "I say we go back."
"Agreed," Summer looked the area over "this place looks even less stable than the area we made camp at." She knelt down as another tremor shook the area. "We should leave. Now."
"Yeah, lemme just get this useful- whoa!" Taiyang began to lose his balance as he tried to move.
"Quit moving around you idiot!" Raven reached out and grabbed his hand in an attempt to stabilize him. Unfortunately, the weight difference between them countered her effort and the two of them slammed into the generator, causing the fire crystal inside to destabilize.
"Watch it!" Qrow called out as the two rolled out of the way of the exploding unit.
The cave began to collapse as boulders fell from above. The combination of the explosion and the ongoing tremor caused a cave-in, surrounding the team and burying them under tons of rock. The tremors lasted for nearly a full minute before finally settling down, dirt and debris scattered everywhere and all light was extinguished.
"Ow..." Raven slowly opened her eyes and tried to adjust to the darkness. Her head was throbbing and it was so dark that she started to believe that she was blinded. "Guys?" she called out "You ok?"
"Geh," Taiyang responded form somewhere nearby "I'm alive!" he pushed himself up to his arms and knees "I cant see a thing!" he gasped "Oh no! I'm blind!"
"It's pitch black, you idiot." Qrow responded with a groan "Anyone have a crystal?"
"I got it." Raven shifted her body and reached into her bag, pulling out a small fire crystal. "Where's Summer?" she asked while igniting it.
As their eyes adjusted to the small flame, they scanned the area and noted that they were covered by rocks and boulders. After a brief search, they found their target. Summer Rose was on one knee with her arms outstretched, her teeth grit together and beads of sweat forming and falling from her face.
"Summer!" she called out and forced herself to her feet "Are you-" she cut herself off as she trudged over when she noticed a small reflection behind the unresponsive girl. "A barrier!"
A thin transparent dome separated the team from utter death, held together by the sheer concentration and will of the girl in the middle of it.
"Hey you ok?" Taiyang reached over.
"Don't touch her!" Raven yelled "The barrier that's keeping us alive is made up of her aura. If she loses concentration now, we'll all get killed."
Summer let out a small gasp as the strain on her mind and body slowly ate away at her stamina, her arms faltering momentarily causing the barrier to shift a little.
"We gotta get out of here and fast" Qrow joined up with the other two. "She wont last much longer."
"Can we blast our way out?" Taiyang walked over in the direction of the tunnel
"Not without damaging the barrier" Raven responded. "We could try going down?"
"Not a good idea" Qrow answered "We could just cause a larger problem to fall on top of us even if we managed to do it."
"Then what do we do?"
"Talk about being between a rock and a hard place." Taiyang scratched his chin.
"Tai!" Raven stormed over "This isn't the time for jokes!" She got in his face.
"This is exactly the time!" Taiyang pulled the red-eyed girl in an embrace and whispered directly into her ear.
"What are you saying?" she whispered back before her eyes widened "You're kidding!"
"I think it's our only shot right now."
"That is suicide!" she whispered sternly
"So is getting buried here" he pulled away a little bit "Look, if she uses her 'darkside', she could just blast away all this rock."
"And us with it."
"What other choice do we have?"
"Hey, lovebirds" Qrow called over "I know the situation is bad, but seeing you two make out isn't the last memory I want to have."
"Damn it." Raven cursed under her breath before steeling her resolve. "See Tai?!" she spoke aloud "Now even Qrow is thinking weird things about us!"
"It's not my fault you came up insanely close! What, were you planning on stealing a kiss before we died?" Taiyang countered
"Who the hell would want to kiss you?! I wouldn't do it even if you were the last man alive!"
"You're just being tsundere again."
"What the heck does that even mean?!"
"You...guys..." Summer stated between grit teeth as dark violet rings began to form around her torso.
"Its working" Taiyang whispered.
"Great! Now you've made Summer angry." Raven threw her arms in the air "Way to go Tai!"
"Would you two stop bickering?!" Qrow advanced once he understood what was happening. "It is not like we're in a life or death situation here."
"No, I think this is the perfect time to settle things!" Raven countered as she turned her attention back to Taiyang.
"I agree" he nodded "I've been waiting Xiao Long for this moment." He tried to keep a serious face but could not contain his grin.
The twins stared at him with despondent faces.
"That was so lame..." Raven held her head.
"Rrrghh!" Summer grunted as she struggled to force her body to stand, the dark rings around her body slowly starting to converge.
"Get ready!" Qrow stated.
"Rhaaaaaa!" the girl yelled as she released another massive wall of energy in all directions.
"Here it comes!" Raven put her hands together and pointed them towards Summer, creating a small barrier to shield her and the others from the blast.
The energy explosion caused everything in the area to shift several feet, just enough to uncover the tunnel area for their escape.
"Now!" Taiyang yelled to the others as he dashed over and looped his arms around Summer's body and made a break for the exit.
The team dove through the ever-narrowing corridor and landed safely on the other side. Groans of pain and relief echoed in the area as the group began checking each other for injuries. Qrow got up slowly and took point on the way back to the camp. Taiyang and Raven looped Summer's arms around themselves and picked her up, being careful not to strain her too much as she was barely half conscious.
"Hang in there," Taiyang said "We're almost at the camp."
"She's in pretty bad shape" Raven looked over "She is physically and mentally exhausted and her aura is practically depleted."
"More bad news," Qrow greeted them as they arrived "The camp is a mess." He looked around "That tremor really did a number on the place."
"Let's put her down over there." Raven pointed to a clear spot next to the stream "We can fix up the camp after we regained some of our strength."
They put Summer down and started a small fire next to her for warmth then proceeded to clean up and rebuild their camping ground, moving rocks and rearranging their provisions that were scattered throughout the area. Little did they realize that yet another tremor was on its way. This, however, was a tremor of a different kind.
"You hear that?" Taiyang put the cups in his hands down and began looking through the area.
"Another earthquake?" Raven stood up.
"This is different" Qrow answered as he readied his weapon. "Something is coming."
"What do you-" Raven was cut off as a part of the wall exploded, causing several Grimm to appear. "This isn't good." she readied her weapon.
The battle commenced as Taiyang charged forward and engaged the first group of Grimm, knocking them back in an attempt to push them into the tunnel they arrived from. Qrow attempted to support but turned his attention when yet another segment exploded with yet another group of enemies. Raven jumped in for support and for a moment, it seemed like the team would be able to manage the situation, until the mountain began to shake once more.
"Another tremor!" Taiyang dodged a falling rock "We need to clear out!"
"Raven! Grab Summer and look for an escape!" Qrow stated as he cleaved an Ursa.
"Got it!" Raven sheathed her sword and started to dash towards her friend, her speed hindered drastically by her wavering balance. She doubled her efforts when she noticed that the ground around Summer began to crack and give way. "Summer!" she gasped as she leapt forward and slid towards her objective. She reached out her hand to grab her falling comrade but missed by mere inches. Summer's semi-conscious body fell into the void, the noise of battle and Raven's cry fading from her ears.
~xX*Xx~
"...ve..."
"Go...help..."
"...you ok?"
Summer's vision blurred and occasionally blacked out. She could hear voices that seemed distant, but could feel the warmth of someone holding her. Her eyes looked around and tried to identify anything recognizable in the area, but her vision would not focus properly. Just as she was about to give up trying to find any kind of landmark, her eyes caught a familiar looking emblem hanging from the belt of her rescuer.
"..." she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing escaped her lips. Her hand heavily reached towards the object.
"Don't talk" the stranger stated, unsure if the girl could hear at all.
Summer focused the last of her fading will as her vision began to darken. She took one last conscious breath before forcing one word from her lips.
" Σκιά "
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed your holidays! I know I sure did haha. It is time to get back into the swing of things and kick off the new year with a...well you know :p So what did you think? Leave your thoughts and comments below and let me know will ya? Thanks!