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Argus, outside the city
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Taiyang and Qrow searched the abandoned campsite in dread silence. All around them lay scattered bodies, most in positions that hinted at fleeing in terror, all dead. In fact, they looked like they'd been lying here for about a hundred years, all shriveled up and dusty. Argus Police had already done a sweep of the area and found no clues, and so they had turned to a couple of the visiting Huntsman to see if fresh eyes could spot anything else.
"Grimm don't leave bodies behind," Qrow growled as he emerged from one of the tents. "I don't like this, blondie; either it's a new kind of Grimm we don't know how to deal with, or something else entirely."
Tai stood up from his examination of a mummified young woman, his face bent in a scowl. "As long as it has a face for me to punch, I don't give a damn what it is."
"Not every problem can be punched in the face," said Qrow. "…though that would make life a bit easier."
"Find anything on your end?"
"Just bodies, and all in the same goddamn state. If I didn't know better, I'd think there was a vampire on the loose."
"Yeah, that would sure… suck.~"
"…"
"…Sorry, that was bad."
"Sometimes I forget about your stupid sense of humor, Tai… … …and then I wake up from my nap and face the sad reality of life."
"Pbtbtbtbtbt…!"
In the end, neither man found anything substantial. Qrow reported his theory to the cops waiting on them. He then motioned the two of them off to one side before walking off towards the coast. Tai followed, more curious than annoyed, as they walked around the town border and eventually came to the top of a hill overlooking the sea.
"Alright, spit it out," said Qrow as he crossed his arms. "What happened between you and my sister?"
Tai blinked. "Raven didn't tell you?"
"Do I look like someone who would ask?" Qrow sighed. "I can clearly see both her and Summer aren't too happy with you, so lay it on me. Here and now, when it's just us guys. What happened?"
"Well… before we arrived at Haven, Summer and I stopped at Lushu – that's where Raven joined us. I had to go to the Upper City to grab some documents, but while I was up there… something happened to me. I still don't know what."
"'Something happened' to you… but you don't know what?" Qrow did not blink. "Do you know how crazy you sound right now?"
"I do know, and that's what sucks about this. I feel like somebody reached in a took out a piece of my mind without asking."
"…So how does that relate to you and Raven boning?"
"Oh, so you do know."
"I do now…~"
"Frick…well… before that happened, Summer and I were perfectly able to make love. After it, even seeing her naked didn't get me up, yet seeing Raven got a rise out of me the likes of which I haven't had since we graduated. There can be no other reason than that hole in my memory."
Qrow uncrossed his arms so he could rub his temples, "By the Brothers, do you hear what you're saying?!"
"…Somehow I feel like you're hearing something entirely different."
"No shit, Hemlock." Qrow pulled out his flask, shaking it lightly to confirm it was empty. "Do you remember why I gave this up?"
"Because you almost drank yourself to death?"
"Because I almost drank us ALL to death!" Qrow threw the container on the ground with all his might; both men watched it bounce down the hill and come to a stop several feet away. "Those kids were depending on me to keep them safe and I blew it! They had to save ME!"
"The Apathy-"
"SCREW THE APATHY! If I'd have been even a little more aware, I'd have seen them coming a mile off and kept us moving right past that damn town! But no… I needed my goddamn DRINK!" Qrow fought to keep from hurting himself as his fists clenched tight enough to almost draw blood. "No more. I'm taking control of my life, Tai. And I'll be damned if I sit here and let you make the same mistake."
Taiyang pointed, "Now wait a min-"
"Did your arms move by themselves to rip your pants off? Did your legs walk you over to her without asking? No. You made the goddamn choice to let your boner do the thinking and you just went along with it. You chose to betray the woman you call your wife just to satisfy yourself and feed your own goddamn ego."
Tai, face burning red, put his hand down and tried not to start shouting.
"I'm not heartless, you know," Qrow said with a sigh. "I know there's some powerful Semblances out there, and MAYBE you got hit with one of 'em, but the fact of the matter is that you still made the choice. You made that mistake, and it's time to man up and own it. What's it gonna be, Tai?"
Now Tai was the one who crossed his arms. "What are you getting at?"
"I can choose to blame my mistakes on the booze all I want, but it won't change the fact that I'm the one who always put that bottle to my lips and went at it. You can blame that missing piece of your mind all you want for your shitty decisions, or you can wake up and decide to take some goddamn responsibility for once. You can keep running or you can apologize, make amends, and do everything you can to set this right."
"…"
"Consider for a moment… what if the girls found out?"
"…!"
"Exactly. You haven't been there to watch them grow up like I have, Tai. Your daughters mean the world to me, way more than any hooch ever will again. You know good and well they won't like this, especially Yang."
Qrow marched up and grabbed Tai's shirt collar, holding the man close.
"And I swear to the gods, if you ever make those kids cry… I'll kill you myself."
Tai looked into the burning red eyes of his old teammate, eyes that perfectly matched those of his partner and the mother of his first daughter, and looked for any hint of hesitation or fear. He found only steel.
Without a word, Taiyang reared back and punched Qrow in the face.
Neither man said another word as they let their fists do the talking. They didn't bother with any kind of martial art, any weapons, or any fancy techniques; this was simply two men beating the crap out of each other. Tai landed several blows to Qrow's stomach, who in turn left the blonde with a black eye and a bleeding lip. They didn't yell, curse, or make any noises other than the grunts of effort each blow cost.
Finally, Qrow landed a beautiful haymaker on the side of Tai's head, sending the man to his knees and ending the fight. Both were left gasping for air, holding new bruises that would no doubt bring about several questions the following day.
After several minutes, Tai smiled. "Alright, alright… I get it, you're right… ya old bastard."
"Of course I am," Qrow growled. "Blockhead."
"Feather brain."
"Old fart."
"Lecher."
"Limp dick."
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?"
"Nah, too busy with yours." Qrow glared for a moment before mirroring Tai's smile, leaning forward and offering a hand. Tai accepted it and allowed Qrow to pull him back to his feet. "So… did I knock any sense into ya?"
"Some."
"And…?"
"I…" Taiyang Xiao Long turned his face away, towards the ocean waves. "I need to think it over. Alone. Go on back before Rae comes looking for you. Oh, and… thanks Qrow."
The taller man nodded, placing his hand on his old friend's shoulder before doing just that; he turned, quickly shifted into his crow form and flapped away, heading back towards the city.
Tai watched him go, then wearily sat down on the hill and stared into the distance. He thought about Summer. He thought about Raven. He remembered the days they spent together back at Beacon. And he remembered the two wonderful girls who'd been born of their respective relationships.
Taiyang thought of these things… and he made his choice.
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Argus, park area
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Today was a good day; the group had been in this city for nearly a week and Summer was feeling a bit of cabin fever, so she finally got out a did some work at the dock area. Still a fair amount of wreckage to deal with. Volunteer work was good for both body and soul, as a wise person once said.
She walked back along the road, water in hand, shivering as the layer of sweat across her body evaporated in the chilly northern air. Summer had on a set of work clothes today, and now she wished for her white cloak for an extra layer.
It was a few hours past noon, and she was in no hurry to get back to the house – Saphron and Terra had offered to prepare the evening meal tonight as thanks for everything the various Huntsmen had done, so for once the career mother had almost nothing to keep herself occupied. As she walked, she diverted herself into the park and found an empty bench to sit for a few minutes.
Only when she was settled did Summer realize she had wandered into Pyrrha Niko's memorial site.
The statue stood tall, yet alone in the open space, head bowed in somber reflection, shield at her feet. Summer had seen the statue once before, when the other kids had given her an explanation of who she was and the role she played in the Battle of Beacon last year. Jaune, the blonde boy, particularly seemed anxious about being around this image, and based on what he'd said, Summer couldn't blame him.
Taiyang had been no different regarding Summer's gravestone back on Patch…
As Summer chugged the last of her water, another face entered the clearing; Weiss, Ruby's partner and apparently the heiress of the SDC. The pale young woman was also dressed for work, her long hair done up in a heavy bun and dusty smudges across her face. Those ice-blue eyes of hers were focused on the statue, and Summer blinked as she recognized an emotion within them: regret.
Weiss hadn't seen her yet, so Summer stood up and quietly joined the teenager next to the statue. "It's pretty nice, isn't it?"
"It is," Weiss replied quietly. Must've heard her coming. "The city hired the same sculptor who created the Huntsman statue in front of Beacon, so the quality is top-notch."
"I wondered about that," Summer mused. While she had never met Pyrrha, it wasn't hard to imagine this was a near-exact reproduction of her features. "Would you say it… captures her essence?"
"In every way," said Weiss. "At least… as far as I know. Sadly, I never got to know her like the others did…" Again her eyes flashed with a deep pain Summer had only seen in a few other people.
"You seem like someone with a lot to get off her chest," said Summer.
Weiss sighed, "Perhaps… though I do not wish to burden you with my issues, Mrs. Rose."
"Please, just call me Summer."
"As you wish. I just… I'm not accustomed to speaking aloud about my personal problems. It goes against my upbringing."
"I suppose I can see that…" Summer rubbed her chin for a moment, considering what to do, when she caught a whiff of herself and grimaced. And then a light bulb went off. "Say… are you familiar with the local bathhouse?"
Weiss shrugged, "Not personally, but I do know it's run by an Atlesian family. I believe they follow all of Atlas' customs."
Summer smiled. "In that case… I think we could both use a bit of 'girl time.' Care to join me for a bath?"
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Less than an hour later, Summer Rose and Weiss Schnee slowly sank into a large pool of cloudy bath water, letting out a long Ahhhhh~.
"Nothing like a nice bath after a long day," Summer sighed as she leaned her head back against the wall.
"It has been some time since I've… indulged," Weiss admitted as she mirrored the older woman's posture. Her pale hair glowed in the dim light, not the least because their combined efforts to clean all of it had taken 15 hard-won minutes.
The room was fairly spacious, but most of that was occupied by the bath itself; nearby stood a few shower stalls for getting the actual cleaning done, complete with various soaps and a showerhead on a handle to rinse off the muck. Their clothing sat in baskets just outside the room (likely gathering flies). All in all, it was the finest bathhouse in Argus but nowhere near the level of luxury available in a city like Atlas. At least, according to Weiss herself.
"So…" said Summer.
"So…" parroted Weiss.
"I hate to bring it up again, but… at the statue earlier…"
"-You were wondering what was on my mind?"
"I won't force you to talk about it, but I should point out that this room is very private. And… we don't exactly have anything else to hide.~"
Weiss, who hadn't actually moved from before, now looked up and took in the sight of Summer Rose Naked In The Bath (the water was still cloudy, so all she could see was her head and bust). Her eyes wandered down briefly as her face grew slightly red. "I s-suppose… that's true…"
"First time doing this with company?"
"Y-Yeah… I mean, I've had baths with my sister before, but…"
"I'm sorry, I'm clearly making you uncomfortable. We should-"
"No, it's f-fine. I just… I suddenly imagined you were… what Ruby would look like when she grows up."
"Oh hooooo~"
"Please don't make that face. Too similar to Nora."
"If you say so…" Summer tried to wipe the grin off her face, then gently scooted herself closer to Weiss' seat in the water. "Now then… lay it on me. What's been eating you?"
Weiss looked again, then shook her head and cleared her throat. "When Pyrrha and I first met, I… I treated her as a celebrity. Not as a person. I tried to get her as my partner purely for clout." She used both hands to rub the bridge of her nose. "That's kinda how I was back then, but it's really hard not to look back on that part of my life and hate myself."
"Part of life is growing up and recognizing our mistakes."
"That doesn't mean I have to like it." Weiss paused for a moment and sighed, "Things really took off soon after, and Ruby did a lot to help me realize what I was doing wrong. I don't think she ever held it against me, either. Honestly… I didn't deserve someone like that as my partner, let alone as my team leader."
"And Pyrrha?"
"Team JNPR was really close to us all throughout that year, but that's all they ever were to me; just allies. Acquaintances. Barely even friends, even though Jaune was dead-set on getting me to the Beacon Dance. Heh… he'll always be a dork."
Summer found herself grinning. "But you're smiling… so you don't hate him, do you?"
Weiss blinked as she realized she was right. "I… I guess I don't. I've lightened up to all of them over these last few weeks, especially after the incident with the Apathy."
"I heard all about that from Qrow," Summer said, her grin vanished. "If you all had reached your 3rd year, Port would've had a nice, long lecture about those things. Then you might've been ready for them."
"I doubt anyone can be ready for those demons…" Weiss shivered at the memory. "In any case, I didn't really understand what I had missed until well after the end of the fighting, sitting alone at home. Isolated from everyone I had come to love. Pyrrha and I could have been good friends, I know it, but…"
A single tear slid down Weiss' face.
Summer reached up and caught it with her finger, gently wiping it away. "You kids have really been through hell."
Weiss nodded.
"Normally I don't do this naked, so I need to ask first… can I hug you?"
Weiss looked up for a moment, considered, then opened her arms and accepted the embrace. Summer ignored the awkwardness and did what any mother would do in her shoes; hold the child that needs comforting. Weiss rested her head on Summer's shoulder due to the angle.
"You're a good kid, Weiss," Summer said quietly, "Don't dwell on what's behind you so much that you lose sight of what's right in front of you."
"I… know…" Weiss' voice broke a little. "It's just… painful."
"Nothing easy is ever worthwhile," Summer said as they parted, the warm water flooding back in between them. "Be careful you don't think of this pain as a nuisance to be gotten rid of; remember it, bear it with pride, and let it help you grow into the woman you want to be."
Weiss nodded again, sniffing slightly. She rubbed her eyes and muttered, "I really do hope Ruby turns out like you…"
Summer couldn't stop the cheshire grin from slipping back onto her face. "Oh yeah~?"
Weiss didn't notice it. "She's got a long way to go, but… yeah. She's still a kid, but you… you're so pretty and… mature…"
"Mature~?" Summer slowly ducked down into the water, her grin a mile wide. "We'll see about that-"
"…?"
Moments later, the water of the bath erupted in splashes and giggling; if there was one thing a mom knew how to do, it was find the ticklish spots on someone who wasn't on guard. And when that mom is Super Mom, no teenager stands a chance. Weiss quickly devolved into a laughing, squirming mess as Summer's fingers found every spot for maximum ticklage.
"You sure I'm mature? You sure? You sure~?"
"GAHAHA… I take it… AHA AHAHAHAHA… I take it back…!"
"So rude… where's your button?"
In the end, Weiss ended up parked on Summer's lap, the older woman's arms around her waist as both Huntresses fought to catch their breath. Weiss leaned back on her chest, long hair plastered against her front, still smiling in spite of herself, and said, "Yep… you're her mother alright."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"Once we get to Atlas, I'll have to bring both you and Ruby to one of the city's larger bathhouses. This one's nice, but it can't compare to home."
"Ohh~ …you sure you can handle both me and my daughter together?"
"I'll invite my sister Winter. That way I'll have some backup."
"I could take that as a challenge, you know~"
"A Schnee won't lose twice."
"Deal."
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Mantle
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The murky streets of the old city were always dark. He hated it here.
But it was far more inviting than the opulent, gaudy thoroughfares of the city in the clouds above. Far more private, too. Easier to move under the very nose of the government without stirring so much as a nostril hair.
Arthur Watts looked out into the streets of the old city from his workshop, a temporary base he only used when he was in town. It was deceptively simple, but also borderline barbaric for his tastes; no amount of silken sheets could remove the bed bugs, and no amount of blazing logs could counteract the omnipresent cold of Solitas. The stolen tech made it bearable, but not by much.
He sipped his tea as he watched a few passers-by, equally amused and disgusted by the sight.
On the table beside him lay a few plans, some hand-written notes, and several data cards containing valuable information worth a fortune to the right people. And he was the right people. No one on Remnant knew his way through the security system of the most powerful Kingdom in the world like the very man who designed it.
Behind him, the computer beeped. An incoming call.
Arthur turned, eyebrow raised, as he gently set his tea down and meandered over to the console, in as little of a hurry as possible. In truth, he knew exactly who would be on the other end – only a small handful of people on the planet even knew he was alive, never mind his contact information.
The only curious part was the call. Cinder wouldn't have bothered, and Salem preferred to use her Seer to make direct contact. It was possibly one of Cinder's brats, but who would bother him right before the plan started…?
The beeping continued. Whoever it was didn't seem like they'd give up.
Arthur sighed and accepted the video call, mentally preparing himself for another inane conversation which would surely drop… his… IQ points…
A difficult task considering his jaw was on the floor.
"You?!"
[Hello, Arthur.]
"But how…? You're dead! I killed you myself!"
[There are many mysteries in this world, my old friend. For now, I have a favor I'd like to ask of you…]
"But I… I…"
[Hmm? You have other business? More important than ME?]
"…!"
[…]
"No…"
[Good to hear. Now then, I need you to prepare for the arrival of an old friend…]
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