Eternal Winter
Komsomolskaya, the Metro
Ruby had just recently bought one of the most important things that you need when you go to the surface; filters for gas masks. She carried them using a sack of burlap that she found along the way. As she walked back to her team, Ruby played with one of the MGRs that her mother gave to her.
She was still kind of mesmerized on how bullets of all things become the currency of the Metro. But she guessed that makes sense; with most of the infrastructure needed to perfectly replicate them gone, it would be incredibly hard to make more MGR. It was also supported with how everyone wanted them since surviving in the Metro depended on having bullets.
Ruby shivered when she remembered a comment that one of the Hansa merchants made regarding the usage of MGRs as currency.
"...And now we use cartridges for currency, how morbid is that? If you think about it, one bullet is somebody's life. A hundred grams of tea cost five lives. A sausage...a mere trifle, fifteen lives. A nice, leather jacket? It's your lucky day, it's on sale. Not three hundred, but just two hundred and fifty human lives."
Her thought was interrupted when she heard someone in trouble. When she looked at the source, she saw an old lady carrying a brown bag full of grocery. Looks like one of the things that she bought fell from the bag and she was unable to catch it.
Ruby saw that the old lady was looking at the thing warped in old newspaper. The huntress-in-training grabbed it and gave it back.
"Oh, thank you for your help, young girl." Said the old lady.
"It's fine, ma'am. I like helping people." Replied Ruby.
"If only more people are like you." The old lady looked at the thing with comfort. "It's hard to find a nice pork tongue. I don't know why he's very fond of this type of meat, but who I am to judge what he likes to eat?"
"Umm, ma'am?"
"Hmm?" The old lady looked at Ruby and realized that she was mumbling. "Oh, sorry about that, young girl. I should not be talking about something personal."
While the two of them were having a conversation, a pair of men approached them. The old lady and Ruby noticed them. From their faces, the latter had a bad memory surfacing.
"Excuse me, Lady Minakov?" Said one of them men.
"Yes, what is it?" Asked the old lady, confused.
"I want to say, we're sorry." The man paused for a second and tried to collect himself. "Dimitri…he doesn't make it."
"W…What…? W-What are you talking about?" Fear and despair started to appear on the lady's face.
"It…It was very sudden. Everything went normally when a pack of Watchmen suddenly appeared."
"And you just leave my boy alone?!"
"No, ma'am! It was Dimitri; he closed the door and locked himself with the Watchmen. We tried to get into him as fast as we can. But when we arrived…"
The old lady couldn't hold it anymore; she dropped her bag, knelt on the floor, and started to cry.
"No… Dimitri…my boy… No…"
Ruby watched as the man knelt as well and tried to comfort the old lady, who had just lost her son. She wanted to comfort her as well but found herself unable to speak. Silently, Ruby walked away from them, thought not without giving a last glance.
She had once saw that kind of face before. She might be too young at the time to understand the meaning behind it, but she still remembered that it was the face that her father made when the news of her mother's death – no, disappearance was more correct, now Ruby knew the truth – arrived at home.
Speaking about her father, Ruby wondered what currently happened at Remnant. Her friends and teachers must've been worried about her and her teammates. Her family…
"Oh, gosh!" Horror soon dawned on Ruby's face. "How would Dad deal with this?!"
Ozpin's Office, Beacon Academy
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Exclaimed a blonde man as he slammed his fist down onto Ozpin's desk. "What makes you think sending the rest of my family was a good fucking idea?!"
That man was none other than Taiyang Xiao Long, the father of Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long. He was also a former member of the famous Team STRQ before it was disbanded after Raven Branwen left the team and returned to her tribe.
At the moment, Taiyang was confronting the Headmaster of the Beacon Academy, Professor Ozpin. For once, the youngest headmaster in Beacon history didn't had have his usual mug of coffee. The man took a deep breath before replying.
"You must understand. I sent Team RWBY alongside Professor Woods into one of the safest areas in the Forever Fall Forest. This is not the first time we send a professor with first-year students into that area and until this point, they all returned back safely."
"Well, I guess that means my daughters are simply the first ones, aren't they?" Said Taiyang as he let out a bitter laugh.
"Tai, you gotta calm down."
The two people in the office looked at the person who said that. It was Qrow Branwen, Taiyang's former teammate and brother-in-law. He's also Yang and Ruby's uncle (in-name only for the latter). The he's also secretly Ozpin's agent.
"Calm down…? Calm down?!" Exclaimed Taiyang. "How can I be calm, knowing that my daughters, your nieces, are somewhere out there, dealing with gods-know-what, and possibly being…"
Taiyang couldn't finish his sentence as the words got caught in his throat.
"This is what I am talking about." Said Qrow as he took out his flask. "You're jumping to conclusions. For all we know, they're still out there and simply have their communication down."
Qrow was about to drink the content of his flask when Taiyang suddenly took it away from him and drank it instead. Qrow tried to stop him, but Taiyang finished the flask faster and threw it away now that it was empty. The blonde then looked at Ozpin, pointed his finger at him, and was about to say something before he fell down.
"Damn it, Tai." Said Qrow before he sighed and facepalmed. "I am too sober for this shit."
"I suppose it's safe to say that he's very stressed." Commented Ozpin.
"Tell me about it." Qrow picked up his flask and – upon seeing there were still some drops – sipped the content before closing it. "Anyway, any news about the search?"
"I have send Glynda along with several other professors. With luck, they will find Team RWBY and Professor Woods." Ozpin took a sip of his coffee. "Right now, we can only hope that we will succeed in finding them alive."
"I hope so, Oz. Loosing Raven and Summer have devastated Tai. Loosing his daughters? We gonna need to put him under suicide watch."
"Indeed." Ozpin rose from his desk and looked at the scenery outside. "Fear not thought. While I did say we can only hope right now, have faith that they will be able to survive whatever is being thrown at them."
"I know my nieces, Oz. I have faith in them."
Moscow, Russia
As the door behind them being closed, Team SRWBY looked at the defunct escalators in front of them. They could imagine how it was full of people before the war that devastated Earth happened.
They walked through the escalators and were now at the surface part of the station. Summer looked around, seemed to be trying to find something. As she looked around, the girls played with their gas masks, though not to the point of taking it off or loosening the filters. Merely things like touching it or cleaning the visor despite there was no dirt.
It was the first time that they wore a gas mask and were rather curious about it.
When they reached the door of the station, Summer kicked it and it immediately fell off the hinges. Times must have weakened the door. She went out first, followed by the huntresses-in-training.
When they saw Moscow for the first time, the girls were shocked by what they saw. Moscow was not that much different than cities like Vale. The architectures were quite similar actually and some of the cars were recognizable.
Of course, those were pale in comparisons to how all buildings seemed to be broken yet remain standing, broken roads everywhere, and what appeared to be charred remains of humans. But what shocked them was the feeling of lifelessness of the city.
"Welcome to Moscow, girls." Stated Summer with a tone of sadness. "Moscow, once a city full of joy, activities, and people, was now nothing but a remainder of what humanity had achieved in the past…and how easy they discarded and lost it."
As Team SRWBY walked through the desolate road of Moscow, they couldn't take their eyes off of the devastation that surrounded them. They could imagine how full of lives was the city before the missiles were dropped.
"This is like Mountain Glenn." Commented Blake.
"You have no idea how I wish that's the case." Stated Summer, which confused the girls.
When they passed a car, Ruby took a look at what was inside and had to stopped herself from screaming. Inside was charred remains of four humans; two looked like adults while others were children. From their…faces, she knew that they were screaming when they were killed.
"Mom, you said that…all of this…happened because of nuclear war, right?" Asked Ruby.
"Correct, Rubes." Replied Summer.
"What caused the war to occurred?"
Upon hearing that, Summer immediately stopped moving. Worriedly, Ruby ran towards her mother and looked at her. However, being shorter than Summer caused the gas mask to obscure her face from Ruby's perspective. After a while, Summer moved again.
"I don't know. I never dare to ask." Said Summer about the question.
"Why? I am pretty sure that's something you would be curious about." Said Blake.
"Ever heard 'curiosity killed the cat'?" Asked Summer back.
Blake couldn't help but rolled her eyes. While Summer might not intend to make that pun, she still make one regarding the fact that Blake was curious and also a cat faunus. She looked at Yang and while the gas mask covered her mouth, Blake knew that she was smiling.
"As you girls know, there's no Grimm on Earth. Wild animals here aren't more dangerous that what we have back on Remnant. Obviously, you can't fight natural disasters." Continued Summer.
"Mom, no offense, but you're speaking nonsense." Stated Yang.
"I am getting there, Jumpshot." Replied Summer. "Basically, there's no reason for them to have weapons more or less as advanced as ours…except to kill fellow humans more efficiently."
"What do you mean?" Asked Weiss.
"Back in Remnant, the research and development of better weapons can be justified for helping defending humans and faunus against Grimm. The fact that they're quite good against each other as well is merely…side effect." Summer let out a sigh. "But here, on Earth? They have no threat that warrant such weapons except against each other. Especially nuclear weapons."
Summer once again stopped moving. She looked at the girls behind them, eyes filled with sadness and fear.
"I am just…afraid, for the lack of better word. Why? What's the point of creating weapons that can caused so much damage that humanity is now at the brink of extinction? What caused the governments of the nations of Earth to think that destroying everything they and their ancestors have built to be worth it?"
Summer moved again.
"I just…don't want to know how far humanity could fall. I have seen some of the examples back down under the Metro."
The huntresses-in-training now understand what Summer meant when she said that she preferred Moscow being like Mountain Glenn; The latter was a case of humans and faunus working together to have better lives only for the darkness to halt the progress. The former was a case of hatred humanity has to each other to the point of destroying everything that they and their ancestors have built. The progress of humanity for years, decades, centuries…all gone in just seconds.
In order to get rid of the despairing atmosphere, Ruby decided to ask their destination.
"Where are we going, Mom?" Asked Ruby.
"Riga Station. We get there, have some meals and rest, and then…"
Summer's sentence was cut when suddenly there was a roar of an animal. It sounded like tiger, lion, or other big cats. The girls were looking around the road, trying to see any sign of such animal. Summer however looked at the sky.
"Shit, demon!" Exclaimed Summer as she immediately ran towards a nearby building. "Quick, over here!"
The huntresses-in-training immediately followed the Ranger. The latter was running towards a window. When she was close, Summer jumped through it and broke the window. The girls followed her inside.
"Hide, hide!" Said Summer before she hid.
Summer and Ruby hid behind the walls while Weiss, Blake, and Yang hid behind a receptionist desk. The roar could be heard once again. When Ruby took a peak outside, she saw the creature that made the roar.
The creature landed on a car. It had a short tail and three pairs of limbs; two prehensile arms, two legs, and two large wings. It also has a long head with a blunt snout, consisting of a bat-like nose, and a large mouth with 4 canines and several secondary teeth. Its back was covered in sparse, short black fur, and there are folds of skin on the base of the neck.
The creature looked around the road before it flied into the sky, looking for a prey.
"What…was…that…?" Asked Ruby.
"That creature is called demon, Ruby." Answered Summer.
"D-D-Demon?!"
"Not demon from hell, Little Gem." Summer let out a chuckle. "It was simply called that. I don't know the reason. Probably because it's the apex predator on the surface."
"So, is it clear now? Can we move?"
"Hmm…" Summer looked at the road before she heard another roar. "Better find another way around."
"Why? If we encounter a demon, we could just kick its ass!" Stated Yang who received a disapproval glare from Summer.
"One of the most important rules to survive in this post-apocalyptic Earth – and actually also Remnant, now that I think about it – is to never underestimated your enemy." Stated Summer.
"Come on, Mom. Me and my team have fought a Nevermore before. How hard it could be fighting a demon?"
Summer said nothing in return. She merely went deeper into the building. While the girls were confused by the action, nevertheless they decided to follow her. They went up to the second floor and saw there were many doors.
"It appears that we're inside some kind of motel or inn." Stated Blake.
As they moved passed the doors, Ruby became curious by one of the doors. When she opened it, she saw a pair of children watching a TV. She also noticed that they weren't wearing a gas mask.
"Hey, what are you doing? You should…" Ruby approached them and tried to warn them.
Suddenly, her vision became blurred by some kind of…sighting. Like what happened to a TV when it was error and the scene became more than one. When it was over, she saw only two corpses of children and a broken TV. Ruby immediately took many steps back, horrified by what she had just saw.
"Ruby, is there something wrong?" Ruby looked at the speaker and saw that Weiss was approaching her.
"N-No, nothing's wrong here!" Replied Ruby quickly.
Weiss tilted her head in confusion. However, she merely shrugged and gave sign to Ruby to follow them. Team SRWBY went down to the first floor through a different stair. Near the end of the stair was a door to the outside world.
Summer opened the door, looked for a threat, and then went outside, followed by the huntresses-in-training. They saw that few feet in front of them was a playground. They went towards it while keeping their eyes on the sky; they were basically in the open and a demon's attack could be dangerous.
They carefully walked through the playground, trying to not making too much noise. When they were at the middle however, things started to went wrong; the playground was suddenly filled with children playing at the various recreational equipment like seesaws, swings, slides, etc. They could also hear the cheerful voices of the children.
"Oh, gods. Oh, gods. Oh, gods…" Muttered Ruby.
"What the hell?! What's going on?!" Exclaimed Weiss.
"W-W-What…? How…?" Muttered Blake.
"Damn it! How is this even possible?!" Exclaimed Yang.
The huntresses-in-training aimed their weapons blindly. However, they didn't pull the triggers, afraid of making this strange situation worse.
"Girls, girls! Calm down! Calm Down!" Exclaimed Summer as she ran towards them.
Then, just as sudden as it appeared, the children and their voices disappeared. The girls looked around, still panicking but slowly calming down. Seeing that everything went back to normal, they let out a breath of relief.
"W…What was that? Mom, what was that?" Asked Ruby with fear in her voice.
"I don't know for sure. Maybe it's just a hallucination. Maybe it's something more…supernatural." Replied Summer.
"Well, at least we now know another reason why you wish that Moscow is like Mountain Glenn." Stated Blake who let out another breath before stopping.
"C-Can we just move on, please?" Asked Weiss, still terrified by what she had just experienced. "I don't want to risk experiencing that again."
The others nodded their heads and began to move away from the playground. Ruby gave a glance at the playground before moving on.
The remainder of the journey was quite uneventful to say the least, except the times when they have to hide from demons or when they have to replaced their filters for new ones. Then, they encountered a creature near a human corpse.
"Hey!" Exclaimed Summer, drawing the creature's attention. "Go!"
The creature walked closer towards her. However, upon seeing five barrels of guns being aimed at it, it decided to ran to the opposite direction. After that, Summer walked closer to the corpse and inspected it.
"You sure it's OK to let it go, Summer?" Asked Weiss.
"Don't worry. It's not the first time I let a watchman go." Replied Summer who was still inspecting the corpse.
"Watchman? That's the name of the creature, huh?" Said Blake who looked at Summer.
The inspection seemed to went longer than expected. When Blake noticed how Summer inspected the corpse, she sensed some kind of familiarity with it. She then remembered what it was.
"You're looting him?!" Exclaimed Blake which caused others to flinched.
"Damn! No need to yell, OK?" Complained Summer.
"Mom, you're looting that guy?" Asked Yang, aghast.
"Yes." Summer said it with a tone as if she was talking about the weather.
"Is this something normal in the Metro? Disrespecting the dead?" Said Weiss, feeling irritated.
"Maybe." Summer was still looting the corpse. "However, with how scarce resources are, some…drastic measures are taken by the survivors. Besides, this guy was a stalker and he would appreciate what I am doing."
"Stalker?" Said Ruby confused. Though she was still horrified by what her mother was doing.
"Individuals who venture to the surface for valuable supplies, often risking life and limb to keep the whole Metro alive." Summer gestured at the corpse. "Since he died, that means whatever he found wouldn't be able to reach the Metro. However, if we take his stuffs and used it to survive…"
After hearing that, the huntresses-in-training started to…tolerate Summer's behavior. Sure, they still didn't like the fact that she was basically looting a dead body. At the same time, they also didn't want the sacrifice of the stalker to go to waste.
When she was done with the looting, Summer approached Yang and gave her a weapon.
"Looks like we're lucky. The guy was carrying an Uboinik." Said Summer.
"Uboinik?" Said Yang confused as she accepted the weapon.
"It's also known as Shambler. It's an automatic shotgun and can carry up to six rounds at a time."
Yang looked at the Uboinik on her hands. Realizing that it was missing two rounds, she took the rounds of the Duplet that she was using and put it in the Uboinik.
"So, what should I do with the Duplet?" Asked Yang.
"Keep it. Maybe we could sell it at Riga." Answered Summer.
"And getting a better weapon than a Bastard." Added Ruby who was still unhappy of having to use such an ugly weapon.
Summer chuckled as Team SRWBY continued their journey. However, they only walked for a few minutes before encountering a large pack of watchmen approaching them.
"So, what do you say about letting a watchman go?" Asked Weiss with a hint of smugness.
"I said that it was OK to let it go. I never said that we won't be in trouble." Replied Summer as she aimed her rifle.
"How does that not the same?"
"Because in the end, we're OK."
The pack ran towards Team SRWBY, with the latter immediately opened fire. After firing six shots, Yang was about to reload the Uboinik when she realized that she had no idea how to do it.
"Mom, help! I can't reload!"
Summer stopped shooting and approached Yang. She grabbed the shotgun and was given the six rounds from Yang. She then reloaded the weapon in front of her so that she could do it herself. After that, she gave it back to Yang.
While the two of them were distracted by the Uboinik, Ruby was about to reload the Bastard when a watchman managed to pound her to the ground. She grabbed its jaws to prevent it from biting her. Then, she saw Gambol Shroud being stabbed to its head before Blake kicked it off her. Ruby immediately stood up and picked up her Bastard.
Then suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a roar of a demon. Upon hearing that, the watchmen immediately retreated. Despite that, Team SRWBY couldn't consider it good news. They looked at where the roar came from and lo behold, turned it was not one, but two demons, perching on an abandoned building. But that wasn't all of it; there were also several smaller demons near them. Possibly their cubs.
Team SRWBY stared at the family of demons. Their eyes were as wide as saucers. Even Yang, who was previously thinking of challenging a demon, realized just how bad their situations were.
"Run." Said Summer quietly before all of them immediately ran.
Riga Station, the Metro
Near the gate that separated the station with the surface, two guards were currently playing chess. From the looks of it, the black side was cornering the white side. The guy who played the white side was trying to salvage the situation, but from the smug look that his opponent had, it was clear that the situation was not good for him.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the gate. Both men stood up and grabbed their weapons. After several more knocks, the guards decided to open the gate since the mutants never knock. When the gate was opened, Team SRWBY walked inside…for several steps before crashing on the floor. Seeing that, one of the guards nervously approached them.
"You're OK?"
"Yeah. Just escaping from a family of demons." Said Summer.
"Really?! Whew, that can cause nightmare for days."
"You don't say." Summer rolled her eyes.
"I…think I understand…" Yang tried to make a coherent sentence through the breath. "…why you said…fighting demons…is a bad…idea…"
"Of course, you dolt. You either suicidal or desperate to fight one." Commented the guard.
With that, the situation at the gate returned to normal…well, not really since there was a brawl between two guards because one of them accused the other of knocking the chessboard to not loose the game.
One hour later…
Inside a bar, Summer let out a sigh as she drank the glass of vodka in her hand. She then looked at the girls and saw that while they were still miserable after running away from the demons, at least they were in better mood now.
"So, what if I continue my story?" Suggested Summer.
The girls simply mumbled their agreement. Summer poured herself another glass before continuing her story.
12 years ago…
Polis, the Metro
It has been a year ever since Summer joined the Rangers of the Order, though they were more often being referred as the Rangers. To be honest, she was actually still a "cadet" and according to what other Rangers said, it could take at least a couple of years to become a full member of the Order.
With her aura and semblance, she could become a full member faster than others. However, one fact made her unable to became full member faster.
She was a huntress.
"Ah, Summer." Said a Ranger that Summer approached. "Here for your salary?"
"I am, Nikita." Replied Summer simply.
"Alright. Here's your salary this month." Nikita put several magazines filled with MGRs.
While the salary of the cadets was obviously smaller than full Rangers, they were still salary nonetheless. When Summer was about to grabbed them, Nikita blocked her hand with his own.
"Remember, Summer. We fight for the people of the Metro, not money." Said Nikita with a stern voice.
"I know, Nikita. I know." Replied Summer, not without being stern herself.
She grabbed her salary and then immediately went away from the Ranger. Summer gritted her teeth as she knew that Nikita was not the only one who treated her like that. Even other cadets did the same thing.
The reason for her treatment was because she was a huntress. After finding out how huntsman and huntress system worked in Remnant, many Rangers stated that she was no better than a mercenary, who worked for nothing but money. They only respected her for her powers and results. But not her as who she was.
Summer had tried to explain to them that the reason for that was to make sure that huntsmen and huntresses were free from allegiance to a specific kingdom and loyal to mankind and faunuskind as a whole instead. However, Miller often retorted by saying those damn words.
"Let me tell you, Summer. Loyal to everyone is essentially a way of saying loyal to no one. A wise man once said: 'A friend to all is a friend to none'."
After all of that, Summer decided to just screw with it. If that's how they wanted to view huntsmen and huntresses that defended the people of Remnant from the Creatures of Grimm, then so be it.
But she'll make damn sure that they didn't view her as someone who worked for money. She did it because it was the right thing to do. She did it because she wanted a better future for everyone, especially her friends and family.
That, she would make sure that they would know.
Riga Station, the Metro
"Wow, this Miller guy sounds like he would get along well with General Ironwood." Commented Weiss.
"Ironwood? You mean James Ironwood?" Asked Summer, rather surprised.
"You know him?"
"Well, not exactly. I just know that he's a good friend with Ozpin." Summer scratched her head. "In any case, I can understand why. Miller worked in the Russian military before the war."
"It's not just that. From how you describe him, I am sure Miller would like the idea of Atlas huntsmen and huntresses being part of their military as well." Stated Blake.
"Ah, yes. That as well."
"So, you're disrespected by other Rangers for being a huntress, huh?" Asked Yang with an anger in her voice.
"I was. Today, they consider me one of theirs." Summer made a small smile. "For how I gained their respects, that's story for another time considering the state of a gem in our table."
Ruby, who was trying hard to not fell asleep, became embarrassed. The others were chuckling upon seeing that. With that, the girls went towards the room that Summer acquired to take a rest, leaving her in the bar. She had said that there was someone that she wanted to meet.
Few minutes after the girls left, someone took a seat at Summer's table. She was about to pour him a glass of vodka but he refused.
"No need for that, Summer."
"Whatever you say, Khan."
Sitting in front of Summer was an old man named Khan. Two things that stood the most about Khan was his beard which had some part of it being tied into one long part, for the lack of better words, and his red bandana.
Summer had no idea how to exactly described Khan. When she saw him for the first time, she thought that he was some kind of shaman. When they talked for the first time, she believed that he was kind of crazy. After traveling through that gods-forsaken tunnel, she…well, that incident was what made her confused about Khan.
When she asked other Rangers about Khan, even they had no idea just who exactly Khan was. According to a new Ranger, Artyom, Khan "makes obvious seem absurd, while the absurd becomes logical and natural."
"So, you're going with us, Khan?" Asked Summer.
"Indeed. While we do not share destination, we do share the path." Said Khan with his usual cryptic tone.
Summer let out a sigh when she heard that. Khan had a tendency to speak in a rather cryptic way, sometimes much to her chagrin. Was it too much to just speak normally?
"Also, I want to give this to you." Khan placed a lighter on the table.
The lighter was made from a cartridge, like many lighters in the Metro. However, what made it stood out from other lighters was the fact that the cartridge used to make it was a Dust cartridge.
"T…This…is…" Summer slowly picked the lighter as her hand trembled.
"Yes. It's Kirill's." Stated Khan. "By the way, I see that you've reunited with your daughters."
Summer said nothing in response. She merely stared at the lighter.
"Your son and daughters will be good siblings. I am sure of that." Said Khan.
"Yes…yes, they will." Said Summer weakly.
Khan stood up and walked away. Before he did that however, he grabbed Summer's shoulder, causing her to looked at him.
"You reap what you sow, Summer; force answers force, war breeds war, and death only bring death. To break this vicious circle, one must do more than act without any thought or doubt." Said Khan.
With that, Khan left Summer alone. She then poured herself a full glass of vodka and drank it.
Answers to a review:
Guest: He will make an appearance.
And the chapter is done.
A little bit spoiler; in the next chapter, Team SRWBY and Khan will encounter ghosts and anomalies. This will be added with Khan explaining the condition of the afterlife. How do you think Team RWBY will react?
If you have question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.
Review please!
