A Third Rose

Chapter 7

Wilting Roses

A/N: So yeah another time-skip since our last chapter!

Also I noticed that there was a reviewer who stated that the Atlas elites helped the Madame fake her death but I'm going to have to state that she is definitely and completely dead due to a natural heart attack. No interference from Salem and her cronies caused it either.

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-Patch, Rose/Xiao Long Household-

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It was relatively early in the morning when Cinder woke up in her room. The young girl checked the clock and saw that it was almost 7:00am. It was the weekend so she didn't need to worry about school but she should probably still get up, especially if she wanted to beat everyone down to kitchen so that she could get to work on breakfast for everyone before they all woke up.

True she didn't have to do anything like that but she wanted to do it. She wanted to see the joyful looks on Yang and Ruby's faces when they came down and found their big sister had made them breakfast. Also if she were to be completely honest, she loved the looks on Taiyang and Summer's faces when they saw breakfast already laid out before them. Besides today was the day that her mother would go off on another mission, so Cinder had to make this one special if she could.

Sure she still wasn't a better cook than Taiyang or Summer –especially the latter- yet but she still tried to get in practice whenever she possibly could.

She sat up and stretched out her arms and legs and let out a yawn and looked around her room. Over the last two since her arrival there had been more than a few changes to the once Spartan room. For one the once dull grey walls had been painted a rather nice shade of red and framed family photos decorated parts of the walls, there was also a new bookshelf that held some of the books she'd gotten for herself.

They weren't much but there were more than a few that she enjoyed reading. Most were fantasy novels that she found entertaining, others were history books or even biographies on famous huntsman.

Though there was one thing that she would never part with however was the picture on her desk. It was the same one that her dad had taken the day she had been made an official part of the family. Whenever she looked at it, it never failed to get a smile out of her.

Still though now was not the time to reminisce about the best day of her life. She had food to make for the family!

Cinder quickly got dressed in her morning getup, a short sleeved shirt and some short pants. As she did this she pushed some of her hair back behind her head. She had started to grow it out over the last two years and it was now slightly past her shoulders. She also had a few strands that were covering her left eye and on occasion had to push them out of the way.

When that was done Cinder started to make her way downstairs as quickly and quietly as she could. As she made her way past her parents' room she could hear her father snoring like a chainsaw and let out a sigh of relief. The guy always snored no matter what they did; so if there was that kind of noise coming from the room then that meant that dad was probably still asleep, and chances were that Summer was as well (she had some heavy duty earplugs).

She continued on tip toes, especially when she passed by Ruby and Yang's room. Those two could be surprisingly alert when they wanted to be, and yet other times Cinder wondered if an explosion going off wouldn't wake them. It was something that she had found to be truly odd but occasionally fun. Still though it was so inconsistent on what could or couldn't wake them up that Cinder didn't want to take any chances.

It was when she finally reached the stairs of the house that she had to slow down and walk as lightly as she could. The floorboards for the stair creaked like mad and while it wasn't likely that someone could wake up from it –no one had as far as Cinder could tell- she didn't want to risk it.

There was a slight creak when she put her foot on part of one of the steps but she quickly pulled back and slowly stepped on another portion of the staircase which demonstrably less noise. For a few minutes this continued until finally she made it into the ground floor, and from there it was a straight run to the kitchen with no real obstacles or things that would be too noisy and risk waking people up. The instant that she saw the oven, stove and other cooking equipment she grinned and made her way over.

The instant that Cinder stepped into the kitchen however, she heard the voice of the only male in the house –save for when Drunkle Qrow showed up- "Cinder, what do you think you're doing up this early?" and nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard it.

She immediately turned around and saw her father, arms crossed over his chest with an eyebrow cocked upwards. Cinder was stunned as she looked at Taiyang and said "Dad! You're here But-but I heard you snoring upstairs how did-" she couldn't even get that much out as her father smiled.

"I recorded my snoring a few days ago on my scroll, I put it on earlier on a loop when my alarm woke me up; then I snuck down here and waited for you." He explained.

Cinder was still flabbergasted "But how could you have woken up on time I made sure that your alarm was set for-" she slammed her hands against her mouth and her amber eyes widened but it was too late.

At that Taiyang let out a small snicker "I always check my alarm before I go to bed at night," he then gave his patented 'dad glare' and said "Speaking of which young lady we're going to have a serious talk about you adjusting my alarm clock so that you can get up earlier than me."

Cinder looked incredulously at him "This coming from the guy who recorded his own snoring in some wild plan to trick and then ambush me when I came down to make everyone breakfast. Is mom in on this insanity?"

Taiyang let out a cough seemingly letting Cinder know that Summer knew about it and either found the weird little war between the two over who got to make everyone breakfast in the morning adorable or exasperating. Though considering the recent escalation in said war, it was likely a mix of the two with the latter starting to win out.

"Well, she'll probably be talking to the both of us after this morning, let's leave it at that."

The two looked at each other for a few more seconds before both burst out laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole situation. They continued for a few moments longer before they managed to regain control over themselves. At that point her father spoke up again "How about we both work on breakfast for together for a change," he suggested.

"Deal!" Cinder replied without hesitating.

As the two began to get to work Cinder remembered one of the times this happened and how Summer and Taiyang seemed concerned that their new daughter still thought she had to work or get punished. Cinder told them that it wasn't out of fear that she was doing this. Nor was it out of some misplaced sense of needing to do it out of some sense of obligation for Summer rescuing her from her enslavement or anything like that. She did it because she wanted to, because she was part of the family and wanted to help out as much as she could.

It warmed everyone's hearts to hear that come from her.

Of course that didn't mean that it wasn't mildly annoying when she did all she could to be the first one downstairs to try and make everyone breakfast.

This time though, Taiyang began to work on the eggs and pancakes while Cinder started on the toast and cereal for her sisters, they started to talk about other things. "So…are we still having training today?" Cinder asked hopefully.

At that Taiyang began to stroke his chin and put on a thoughtful expression on his face, "I'm not sure…you did try to sabotage my alarm clock after all…" he trailed off, putting on a show of thinking as hard as he could while Cinder, having had two years to get used to this sense of humor quickly caught on and did her best to not roll her eyes.

At that Taiyang started laughing again and said "…but, yes I did promise. Of course we are having a truce right? No more changing my alarm clock to get up before me to make breakfast?" He leaned down towards her, giving her that same 'look' that was so fake serious that it was more hilarious than intimidating and of course she nearly burst out laughing at the sight.

"Okay, okay, I promise not to mess with your alarm clock again," she stated doing her best to not give into her desire to laugh at her father's expression. Besides she could always find other ways to make sure she woke up earlier than her dad to make breakfast. But perhaps it was best to deescalate the 'breakfast war' for the time being.

"Speaking of your training though Cinder I was wondering why you were always so insistent on it. Most kids your age want to have fun with their friends."

Of course Cinder knew all of that and while she did have a few acquaintances in school they weren't friends like her sisters or Lycus and his family were. Sure they were friendly but it didn't have the same feeling to her. As for the first part of the question the answer was easy. She had people she wanted to protect; Yang, Ruby, mom, dad, Qrow and the Silvers. Cinder refused to let anything happen to them, she wouldn't lose them.

"Is it because you want to be a huntress?" he questioned further.

Cinder shrugged, "I guess." If becoming a huntress meant that she could gain the skills needed to protect those she cared for, then she was all for it.

"Besides…I have fun with you, mom, Ruby, Yang and everyone else." She insisted.

"Still though you should find some friends to spend time with. You know we're all here for you and that will never change, but you should still try to socialize with other people."

Cinder Rose sighed, clearly not convinced but decided to acquiesce for the time being "I, guess that I could try and make other friends."

At that Taiyang gave an almost sad smile and ruffled his eldest daughter's hair as he continued "I know it's hard for you after everything you went through but just give it your best shot. That's all I ask Little Ember." Cinder gave a nod and while girls her age would probably be annoyed with the cutesy nickname, Cinder instead embraced it. Which was something that Taiyang enjoyed even as Yang tried to get her father to stop calling her 'his Sunny Dragon' as it 'wasn't cool' anymore.

He missed the days that she enjoyed being called that.

It was only a short time later that everyone else was up –save for Summer who had probably been up since her husband- and Cinder's younger siblings almost immediately thanked their father and 'super sis' –a title that Cinder wore with pride- before starting to eagerly eat the food that had been prepared for them.

Once they finished eating breakfast Summer gave that same smile as Ruby and Yang ran up to her "Promise you'll come back soon," Yang all but begged with Ruby nodding along. Summer smiled and said "I promise. Like I said, I'll be back within a couple of weeks at the most." She leaned down and kissed her two youngest daughters on the tops of their heads.

Cinder then moved up to her mother and embraced her as well "I'll miss you mom," she stated. "I'll miss you too my Little Ember, but I'll be back before you know it. You look after your sisters while I'm gone, okay?"

Cinder gave a small chuckle "Of course I will, I'll always look after them." And then tightened her grip on her mother for a moment two longer before letting go, as did Yang and Ruby though for them it was far more reluctant on their part.

Summer then moved in on her husband and gave him a kiss, making Ruby and Yang go 'ewww' at the sight; much to Cinder's amusement. "We're all going to miss you sweetheart," he said as they broke apart and Summer smiled, addressing everyone directly "Don't worry I'll call as much as I can while I'm gone."

"Goodbye mom," Ruby and Yang chirped out. Summer gave a smile and said "Goodbye girls," before turning to Cinder who said "See you later mom." Summer gave that same warm smile and made her departure.

The eldest daughter of the family had always been somewhat nervous to see her mother leave, even if after her adoption Summer would only leave for a day at the most for nearly a year, always sticking to missions near or in Vale. The last thing she wanted to do was give her eldest daughter a reason to have an anxiety attack, or make her think that she wasn't coming back home.

It was difficult at first and Summer had only gone on missions that would leave her absent for most of the day at most. Though that still left Cinder very worried about her mother. She could take her dad leaving for the day, he had a teaching job and that didn't involve him fighting monsters straight of a nightmare -though he would disagree on that in regards to some of his students- her mother however…not so much. Even now Summer was reluctant to leave on this mission to Vacuo but she was told that it was going to be a simple in and out. Just a couple of days tops.

Which was why when Summer found out about her eldest daughter's concerns, she tried to address them as quickly as she possibly could, and make sure that any missions that she went on wouldn't be long overly long, and close to Vale. This combined with continued sessions with Lila Silvers helped considerably over the last two years. Cinder was doing better than ever, even if some of the scars would always remain.

On that note, Summer's attention was drawn to her eldest daughter's neck and how Cinder had placed a small choker around it to hide the old wound. She never wanted Ruby or Yang to see the scar, to worry about their 'super sis' as they had come to call her and seemed terrified to ever let them know how their mother had found her. It was clear to Summer that Cinder wanted to be the bulwark, a shield that would always be there to protect her little sisters from any harm.

While it was admirable and Summer was glad that Cinder loved her sisters to such an extent, she was concerned that her eldest might become…a little too protective of Ruby and Yang. It was something that she asked Lila to go over with her daughter during the next session they had if possible. Apparently Mrs. Silvers had been thinking along the same lines.

She'd have to talk about it with Cinder when she got back.

With that final thought she walked out into the car that awaited her, but not without one last wave goodbye.

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-Vacuo, Village Several Days Later-

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It was official, Vacuo was too damn roasting whenever someone was outside. Sure the locals called it a dry heat but an inferno was a dry heat and no one saw Summer sticking her face in one of those! It was times like this that she wondered why in the world as to why anyone would want to live there. Still perhaps it just took some getting used to, and the people in the area seemed just fine walking around outside despite the intense heat.

Currently Summer was walking through the cobbled together streets of a modestly sized desert village that was built out of a rather large oasis. It was a small yet thriving community of a couple hundred people, -a fairly decent sized settlement all things considered- there were natural fortifications from nearby such as natural gullies and rock formations that even Grimm would have trouble with. And that wasn't even including the walls that had been constructed. Most of which were made out of large slabs of granite that had been cemented together.

All in all, it was a pretty impressive sight in her opinion, and she had spent several days clearing out the local Grimm. Some of which were more dangerous than what was normal for the area. It was strange, the village militia weren't lax in their duties and there wasn't much negativity that she could see in everyone. So what was going on?

Summer shook those thoughts out of her head. Whatever the case may be for why the Grimm were around, she still had a couple more days of patrolling and culling the local Grimm before she could head back to Vale and she intended on doing just that. Sure she wanted to get back home but she'd never leave a job half-finished, especially if doing so meant that innocent people would be put at risk.

For today though, she had already finished her patrols and had decided to have a look around the marketplace in the hopes of finding some souvenirs to bring home to her daughters. She walked by numerous people some of whom were calling out their wares. She looked at some of the items and couldn't see any of her children enjoying any of the items that were on sale.

For another half hour, Summer continued her search in trying to find something that her daughters might enjoy but came up with nothing. There were pieces of jewelry that she thought Cinder might like but in spite of Cinder getting a choker to hide the scars on her neck she wasn't completely wild about jewelry; and when one considered her past, it was easy to understand why. Still though she wanted to see if she could find something for her three girls.

Unfortunately Summer had to cease her search when she felt something tug at her back pocket. Summer turned and saw a young boy, who appeared to be around twelve, wearing ragged clothes and looked like he hadn't had a decent meal in some time. He had tanned skin, dark hair and dark brown eyes. Eyes that were now wide with shock, and fear as Summer looked down at what the boy had in his hands. Her ID and money.

The boy bolted with a speed that bellied his appearance and ran as fast as he could towards the exit of the marketplace. Summer rushed after him as he tried to get away all while calling out "Hey give those back!" to him. All it seemed to do though was make him try to run faster. Summer was easily able to keep pace but the boy was always just out of reach for her, especially with all the things he either pushed down or threw in her way. The boy clearly had experience with running away from a pursuer.

Summer continued after him and she quickly found herself at the walls near one of the entrances. "Please stop running!" she called out as they neared a seeming dead end. She knew then that the chase was over and stated "I'm not going to hurt you, but I need what you stole back."

The boy smiled and it wasn't one that was nervous or happy, it was the grin of someone who thought they had won. Before Summer could ask what he was doing he pulled off a small wooden board that was covering part of the wooden wall. Behind it was a small tunnel that reached beyond. Immediately the boy climbed inside and began to make squeeze his way through. Summer moved to stop him, shouting "Don't do that! It's dangerous!"

She attempted to grab the boy but once again he was able to slip out of her fingers at the last moment, and continued his way through all while completely ignoring Summer's pleas to come back.

Summer knew that she was too big to fit into the opening and instead hoped that all those tracking lessons she learned in Beacon and from Qrow and Raven would pay off here. She rushed over to the gate to the settlement that was nearby and ran through it and then turned to the direction where the little opening the boy would have gone out and began to search for footprints or any kind of a trail.

It took several minutes for her to find the boy's footprints all the while hoping that the kid hadn't gone too far. The numbers of the Grimm were down but there was still more than enough of a chance that their might be one lurking around outside of the village, preying on people who were trying to come and go. It didn't happen too often after she began her patrols but there was still a chance that it could happen again. And a kid that age, would have been the perfect target for even the smallest Grimm in the area.

Summer needed to find that kid and get him back into the village before something happened to him. Eventually she found a set of footprints and gave a sigh of relief. She had a trail to follow.

Then with only concern about the kid who was out there, alone, unarmed and there was more than the possibility that there were Grimm around, Summer marched out into the desert.

As she continued to follow the trail for several minutes she soon found herself in front of something somewhat unusual. There was a decently sized rock formation –where each rock was twice the size of a person) and in between each of the rocks were a series of hastily hammered together planks. It was like the person decided to make a ramshackle hovel using the oversized rocks as makeshift walls. A clever idea if rather futile, as from what she could see, a strong wind could easily knock the planks loose from their resting places or even off completely.

What disturbed her the most was why a child was out here all on his own and not back in the village? Surely there must have been an orphanage or something around to shelter him? Why was the boy all the way out here?

With that in mind, Summer made her way over to the 'door' of the shack and opened it.

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-Vacuo, Hovel Outside of Town, a Few Minutes Earlier-

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When Nix Malachi returned to his home his heart was practically pounding up against his ribcage. He hadn't been so completely and utterly terrified in years! That woman had nearly gotten him several times after she saw him pickpocketing her. The boy was still shaking when he remembered. Hell that had been the closest anyone had ever gotten him before.

Sure the woman claimed that she didn't want to hurt him and that she just wanted her money back, but that was what they all claimed. He had seen exactly what happened to pickpockets in other towns and even in Vacuo's capital. A beating would have been the least of his worries if she had gotten her hands on him.

He shuddered as he thought of what some of the other pickpockets and thieves had been subjected to by someone who would rather 'teach a lesson' to those that thought to steal from them. He still had nightmares about what he had heard and occasionally seen.

Still he had managed to get away with his prize so now it was time to properly look it over. He smiled as he realized that he hadn't lost a single piece of lien in his little getaway. As he counted it up his grin grew wider and wider until it threatened to split his face. If he rationed this right, he had more than enough money to make it for a couple of months.

His smile was promptly wiped from his face and replaced with a look of pure horror when he got to the last card. It wasn't Lien like he had initially thought, instead it was an ID card. A Huntress' ID Card that was registered to a Summer Rose of Vale. The words, 'Oh, gods I'm freaking screwed.' Repeated over and over in his head as he looked at the picture and nametag of the woman he thought that it was a good idea to rob.

Sure it was mostly either hunters or town watch that had weapons –which, in retrospect, should have been the first thing that clued him in on it- but the mark looked so easy, she barely seemed to keep an eye on her belongings like she should have. Now, if she found his little hideaway he wouldn't have much of a chance at escape before-

There was a creaking noise at the door leading into the hovel. For a second Nix thought that it was just the wind or some other mundane thing that caused the noise –gods knew that it happened more than often enough- but then the door opened completely and Nix felt nothing but pure, unadulterated fear.

Standing just beyond what barely passed for a doorframe was the huntress he had robbed only a ten or fifteen minutes before.

The words that had been repeating over and over in his head were now all but screams at that point. Immediately Nix tried to think of a way around her, all the while cursing himself for not trying to make another exit out of his home. Before he could try to stall for time or something the woman held up her hands in a non-threatening gesture "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk." She stated.

Nix didn't believe a word of it, but as long as she was talking she probably wouldn't beat him as much. He gathered up the lien and the woman's ID and put it on the wooden floor of the hovel and stepped back. The woman advanced slowly, never taking her eyes off of Nix as she took back her money and put it in her pockets.

After doing so, she took a seat on the floor of the place and looked at the 'furniture' of the hovel. There was only a small pallet with some old blankets on top –something that reminded Summer a lot about the former living conditions of her eldest before she saved her-, a table made out of a couple of stacked boxes and some plywood but no chairs.

When the woman sat down Nix slowly lowered himself back onto the pallet that made his bed and asked "About what? And who are you anyways?!" He honestly didn't see what they would talk about. Besides she had gotten her money back, and she didn't appear to be rushing in to beat the ever living hell out of him like a lot of others would do –assuming they didn't just drag him to the police-

"Well, my name is Summer Rose" she said gesturing to herself "Can you give me your name?" She asked.

"Nix, Nix Malachi." He stated right before Summer took in their surroundings "As for what we should talk about, well…why are you living here, in this place?" she asked and Nix just shrugged "Well it was either make this little paradise or try to find a cardboard box in a back alley somewhere."

The woman let out a strange, inarticulate sound that Nix couldn't quite identify. Eventually she spoke again, desperation in her voce; "Yes but there has to be some kind of facility in Vacuo for children in your position, you shouldn't have to live like this."

At that Nix just cocked an eyebrow and said "You mean the orphanage? Yeah I ran away from there."

Summer looked even more downcast than before "Might I ask why? It has to be safer than being out here, there are Grimm and bandits. You could get hurt or even killed staying here."

Nix shrugged "I hated living there. I just wanted to get away from it."

The red haired woman looked thoughtful again "Get away from what? Did they hurt you at the orphanage?" she asked.

Nix knew he'd hate this line of questioning "No, no one hurt me." Summer seemed both relieved and confused at the same time "It's just that no one wanted me."

At that Summer looked him dead in the eye and asked "What exactly do you mean by 'no one wanted you'?"

Nix felt himself getting angry at that line of questioning as he remembered the desperation he felt every time a group of would-be parents came in. "Just that; no one wanted me, at all. I spent my entire life in that place and no one ever even looked at me when the adults came looking for kids to adopt. One day I got sick and tired of it all and ran away, and now…here I am."

Summer felt her heart fall when she heard that. "I-I honestly don't know what to say. And no one ever tried to find you?"

Nix shrugged, he hadn't heard of anything shortly after his escape but that didn't mean it didn't happen. "I don't' know and I don't care."

At that Summer looked at the boy and said "It sounds to me like you wanted a family, someone to care about you and it hurt when that never happened." The boy nodded "But it doesn't sound like you'll get a family if you're out here like this."

There was a pause for several moments as Nix pondered the woman's words "It hurt so much though…I don't want to feel that kind of pain again."

Summer looked on in empathy. "In life there's always pain but there's also hope. As long as we live there's always a chance that things can get better. Sometimes the in order make that hope a reality, you have to take a chance."

Nix looked hesitant at that, yet at the same time he also seemed thoughtful. For several long moments he tried to come up with some kind of a response.

Instead the two continued to talk about things for quite some time, so much so that Nix had completely lost track of it. It had to have been at least a couple of hours though. During their talk though, Summer actually gave Nix some of her money, enough of it that he could easily survive for a couple of months if he used it right, much to his shock at both the amount of lien and the sheer kindness that this seeming stranger was showing him.

At some point however Summer stood up and said "It's starting to get late, maybe we should go back to the village to continue our talk?"

Before Nix could say anything in response a cackling voice shouted "Or you'll just stay here and die!"

The next thing that either of them knew was a blinding flash and then the pair were thrown off of their feet. And through the walls of the hovel.

Thankfully, right before the explosion, Summer wrapped the boy in her arms, shielding him with her body. Her aura took most of the damage and kept Nix from getting any real injuries outside of some bruises. Not only that but through some miracle they missed any of the large rocks and landed relatively smoothly on one of the dunes.

Once she landed, Summer deposited the boy onto ground next to her and she drew her sword "You okay?" she asked and Nix gave a quick nod. Out of the now burning hovel walked a male faunus with a scorpion tail. The insect appendage wasn't the man's most striking feature however, nor were the numerous scars that dotted his chest and arms. No it was the manic look on his face that all but screamed an eagerness to kill.

Summer looked over at the boy and said "Run back to the village as quickly as you can! I'll keep him busy!" Nix looked extremely hesitant but eventually gave a nod and did as he was told and started to run as fast as he could.

At that the crazed looking Faunus' smile only grew to the point where it threatened to split his face as he watched the boy run off. He raised one of his blade bracers and pointed it directly at Nix and said "Oh, I do so love a moving target!"

In less than a second, Summer's sword transformed itself into a marksman rifle with a longer than average bayonet and fired at the insane looking man. Her aim was true and it struck the crazed man in his arm, forcing his arm to snap back, knocking off his shot. The bullets impacted harmlessly into the sand and the boy kept running.

Another voice that sounded like rocks grinding up against one another spoke out "Stop bothering with the boy Tyrian, Summer is our target." A large brutish looking man then came up next to the Scorpion Faunus, he had tanned skin and an almost sorrowful yet also angry look about him.

At that the Scorpion Faunus gave the newcomer a dirty look "You're no fun Hazel. But alas you are correct."

Hazel looked at Summer with a more neutral expression but one could see the disappointment and slight disdain in his eyes "You can come with us quietly. This doesn't have to end any further bloodshed."

Summer looked incredulous at that and instead aimed her rifle directly at the larger man and pulled the trigger. The round went straight at the large man impacting him dead in the chest and causing him to fall backwards onto the sand. The instant that happened Tyrian lunged forwards, both his arms stretched out and his wrist blades extended and ready to draw blood.

The maniac continued to cackle hysterically as he rushed up to Summer even as she tried to hit him through the scope of her rifle. Tyrian was able to dodge each shot at the last second and as he got closer to the Huntress she immediately switched her rifle back into its sword form and began to deflect each attack by the crazed Faunus. Even when she got an opening to get another blow in, Tyrian would expertly dodge the strike. It was almost as if he could tell what move she was going to make before she even made it.

The two continued to exchange blows before she felt the presence of someone coming up right behind her and saw Tyrian grinning even more manically than earlier. Summer used her semblance to transport herself a fair distance away and saw Hazel swing his massive fist at thin air, narrowly missing Tyrian in the process.

Both of her foes turned to look at the woman and when they did Summer saw that Hazel's arms had changed. One looked like electricity was running up and down his left arm the other one had glowing red veins. What stood out the most however were the dust crystals that he had apparently lodged into his skin.

Summer was shocked by what she was seeing, how in the hell was this 'Hazel' not screaming his head off on the ground in agonizing pain? People couldn't just shove shards of dust into their body like that and not feel any ill effects, unless…unless he had a semblance that either minimized or completely inured him to pain. He'd also need vast amounts of aura in order to keep him going because even though he couldn't feel pain that wouldn't make him immune from the damage his body would be constantly taking from the dust crystals.

Hazel then broke out into a sprint and charged straight at Summer. Once again the huntress opened fire, expecting that the impacts would at the very least knock him off balance, and maybe even send him tumbling into the sand but that didn't even happen. The bullets didn't even seem to register on the bastard.

Once again Summer shifted her weapon back into its sword configuration and slashed out when Hazel was close enough. The strike that should have left a massive gash in his chest was rendered pointless by the massive amount of aura that the man had. Not even a millisecond before Hazel swung at her did she use her semblance again, and she found herself a few dozen meters away.

Hazel and Tyrian looked as though they were about to try and get at her again when another voice, this one much colder and filled with more malice than either Tyrian or Hazel "Put the weapon down huntress." Everyone turned to face the newcomer. He was a man in his mid-thirties at least but it was difficult to truly tell. He was bald with a look in his eyes that could only be described as dead.

While that look was chilling, what truly got Summer's attention was the fact that he was holding Nix in a chokehold and held a heavily serrated scimitar to his throat. Nix was still struggling but it was clear that he wouldn't be able to get out of the man's hold. "I said: discard that blade, or the boy's throat turns into a fountain. I will not say it again and I am not bluffing."

A million different scenarios went in her head and she realized that even with her semblance she could not reach him before that monster killed Nix. She had to play this smart, she still had a combat knife on her that her husband had that she get after he heard that Cinder had taken her weapon when they first met. If she timed it right, then maybe she could use it to save Nix.

Summer sheathed her blade before throwing it onto the sand, and right before she engaged her semblance she felt something strike the back of her head. Sending her flying into the ground. She looked over at the one who struck her and saw Hazel looking at her, his expression unreadable.

She tried to get back up when someone else landed on her. It was Tyrian who was grinning maniacally and then there was a sharp pain in her side. She looked to her side and saw a blade sticking out of her stomach. Summer's vision blurred and everything started to go dark, her body too numb to move properly. Out of the corner of her eye Summer saw a brief flash of something but couldn't make out what it was as the darkness had all but taken her sight.

"Nighty-night!" the scorpion faunus stated and just before everything went black a single thought echoed throughout her mind 'Everyone I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. Ruby, Yang, Cinder. Mommy loves you more than anything in the whole wide world.'

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The instant that Summer went down, Nix couldn't believe what he was seeing. He felt his heart sink into his stomach and anguish fill his soul. One of the only people who had ever shown him any care and compassion in his entire life was now gone. He wanted to scream at the injustice of it all, to spit out curses and promises of death and pain at the three monsters that were wrapped up in human flesh. But he couldn't make so much as a gurgle due to the pressure on his throat.

The Scorpion faunus was cackling and the large one was walking towards him. Nix couldn't do much other than glare in complete and utter hatred of the two. "Well now that this one has served its purpose." Nix felt cold steel up against his throat and the blade was starting to dig into his soft flesh, but then just a few seconds later removed it with an annoyed sigh, "You're far too soft Hazel."

Nix tried to look up and saw the large guy –hazel- giving the man a look that promised pain if he went through with his plan of killing Nix, while the man who had restrained him was giving him a look of barely restrained disgust.

"The kid doesn't need to die, Turk. And while she may not punish you for it, I will."

For a brief second Nix wondered who this 'she' was but that thought exited his head when he felt the man's chokehold grip tighten around his throat even further.

There was another sigh, this one in exasperation at his colleague's seeming softness in the matter, and the newly identified Turk said "Very well then Hazel. But you will be the one to explain to her why we left a witness still breathing."

Then the pressure on the boy's throat grew in intensity and Nix struggled as best he could against the man's vice-like grip. It wasn't enough and soon darkness appeared on his own vision and his struggles weakened before finally ceasing as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Right before he did though, he thought he heard the three men talking about something, but he couldn't make anything out.

Nix didn't know how long he was out for, nor did it matter. When his eyes finally shot open with a gasp but that was painful, in fact the entire act of breathing was nothing but pain to him. Still though he kept taking in great lung-fulls of air as he took in his surroundings. The sun had started to rise and Nix was still by what was left of his old hovel that he had lived in for the last couple of years.

In that instant, memories came flooding back of what happened the previous night. He looked to where he last saw Summer and saw that she was gone. The three men from the other night must have taken the body. As to why they would do that Nix had no idea, nor did it matter.

The woman who had shown him compassion in a handful of hours than he had received from anyone else in years was dead and it was all his fault. He hadn't been quick enough to get away and they used him to kill her. The guilt ate away at him and tears began to form at the edges of his eyes. 'It should have been me.' That was the thought that kept repeating in his head over and over again.

While wallowing in his despair he noticed two things in the sand where Summer had lain.

The first was a sword covered in a sheathe but next to it was a small clasp that had kept Summer's white cloak tied to her shoulders. The clasp was relatively simple it's function but it had a blooming rose that was Summer's namesake. The other was the sword that Summer had carried with her, still in its sheathe. Nix walked up to both and gathered both items in his hands.

While many in his position would be thinking about how to fence such items as they were probably extraordinarily valuable, Nix didn't know what to do. Instead he just gazed at them as the sun continued to rise and the desert heat only became hotter.

Eventually an idea came to his mind. It was one that was borne from a foolish mind. But what else could he possibly do? Nix remembered that Summer came from Vale, and that it was more than likely she had family there. He'd take Summer's sword and clasp and travel to Vale so he could to return them to her family. And then, he'd beg for their forgiveness, even if he didn't feel he deserved it.

To be continued.

A/N: Well, we all knew that something like this was coming, Cinder only got two years' worth of love and compassion from the mother she never knew she wanted but always needed. She and her family will have a lot to deal with in the coming chapters.

Then there's Nix, who's not only making one hell of a mission for himself and is irrationally blaming himself for something that wasn't his fault and was beyond his control. But that can happen to anyone in his position.

Let me know your thoughts in a review please. I like hearing feedback and it helps me improve as a writer.