I do not own anyone.
RWBY is the property of Rooster Teeth.
Warhammer is the property of Games Workshop.
The Great Crusade: Little Sister
Chapter 1: Rebirth
She was falling. Falling far into the darkness. It had no end. She just kept falling, further and further into the blackness. Just how long had she been falling? Minutes? Hours? It felt like an eternity wrapped within the span of a second. How had she come to this place? This void. Where was this place? Why was she here? Why was she falling? Was she even falling? It felt like she was falling but something was of about it. She felt like she was falling but it also felt like she was imagining she was falling. As if she were lying in bed and her mind simulated the sensation with flawed success. That was why this was strange. The descent was too calm to be real. Yet, it felt real. Maybe she was simply mistaken. Perhaps she was drowning? No. She vaguely remembers almost drowning before. This was nothing like that.
Stirred by these questions, she wondered why she was falling again. One question led to another until one brought her thoughts to a halt.
"Who am I?"
She did not know who she was. She knew she was someone, just not who that someone was.
There were memories, but they were fragmented. In pieces. Flashes of images that held unknown meaning. A shattered white sphere. A gleaming tower. A shimmering shoreline. A large black beast with bone on its face. A little girl with beautiful golden hair.
She stopped her scavenging of her own mind. The memory of the child stirred something within her. Sadness and joy. This child brought her such a mixture of emotions.
She focused on it. Wanting to know more about this little girl. What was her name? It was something bright. Sunshine? That was not right. It felt more like a nickname. Little Dragon? That one brought her a sense of amusement.
Then it came to her.
"Yang."
That was it. Yang Xiao-Long. The beautiful little girl she raised as her own. How could she have forgotten?
With that, a floodgate had been opened as the memories rushed back into her. First was the girl's father and her husband. "Tai."
The image of a well-built, slightly tan, blonde, poorly shaven man flashed in her mind. A cheerful smile ever present. Following this was the image of a woman. She was beautiful. Long dark hair fell across her back in a wild fashion. Her eyes were an intense red and she had a figure that elicited a sense of jealousy. "Raven."
The image of her old partner flashed in her mind. Serious at times and smug when she wasn't. Next was the woman's counterpart. The scraggly rogue with his messy clothes and ripped up cape. "Qrow."
The memories continued to gather. Like water being funneled into a bottle. Remnant. The white cloak given to her by her mother. Her team. Beacon. The Grimm. Her weapon, Ivory Dorn. Finally, something she cherished above all else. Her daughter.
"Ruby."
The image of the infant dominated her focus. That beautiful baby girl. Her baby girl. With those beautiful, shining silver eyes. Just like her eyes and her mother before her.
Then it clicked. She had it. Her name.
"Summer."
She was Summer, Summer Rose. Mother of Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long. Wife of Taiyang Xiao-Long. Leader of Team STRQ. Huntress of Remnant.
She was so relieved that wanted to shout it out lest she forget again. How has she forgotten her own name?
She tried remembering again. But the last thing she recalled was her saying farewell to her family. Their happy faces were the final bit of memory before it all blurred away.
Summer ignored that for now. It was not a priority when compared to her current predicament. The current mission was to figure out where she was and how she could get home. However, that might prove to be a challenge.
Looking out she only saw darkness. The sensation of falling was still there. If it was real falling, then this place was unbelievably deep. Looking down, she saw nothing. Up. The same. The same everywhere.
That was when she realized she was not falling, she was floating. The sense of falling felt like a phantom sensation. But it still felt real at the same time. What was going on?
"Where am I?" She tried to say, but what came out was more akin to a burst from a loudspeaker. With an echo that felt powerful enough to vibrate concrete.
Needless to say, she was reasonably startled by that and unsettled by the silence that followed. Was she alone?
Before she could call out again, a flash of golden light obliterated the darkness surrounding her. This light did not illuminate any sort of environment. It blinded her. But not in the normal sense. She was not flash blinded. The light simply dominated her vision. It was so intense that she could not see anything else.
Then she screamed as she felt something take hold of her. It was like she was caught in a giant fist. She felt herself being pulled along; in what direction she could not say. The light still blinded her.
Attempts to resist were made but her struggles were useless, she could not move. Then the dragging stopped.
For a moment there was stillness. Then the light shifted. She felt something now. A presence. It circled her. Regarding her with curiosity. Studying her from every angle. For some reason she felt exposed. As if her entire life was on display. Then her memories came to the forefront of her mind. That shocked her. The image of her mother and father flashed before her unbidden. She was not doing this. The image of her mother on her deathbed appeared. Again, it was not her doing. Her crashing into Raven during Initiation. The absolute disaster that was her first mission. Watching from the bushes as James took Glynda on their first date. Their graduation ceremony, the cheers from the families in the crowd brought back a feeling of pain as she wished her own mother could have been there. Memory after memory. Her entire life played out before her at high speed. Soon, she realized what was happening. The presence was sifting through her memories somehow.
She tried to speak out against this, but it silenced her with a sudden pressure it brought down on her. Making her want to scream. It felt like she was inside a trash compactor. The sensation of being forced into something unfit to hold her was present. When the shock faded, she lost her focus.
A sense of numbness fell over her being. Strange. She expected there to be pain, but all she felt now was fatigue. Fighting to stay awake and aware, she pulled up her memories voluntarily. Her family. Her daughters running through the grassy lawn outside their home. Their laughter echoing in her mind as they chased each other around.
She held onto these moments with all her might as the presence continued to force her to compress herself. The desire to fight, to scream was still there but she lacked the power to stand up to her attacker.
As her awareness dulled and her will to resist eventually gave out, but she still held onto those memories.
"Ruby. Yang. I'm sorry." She tried to say before she lost all consciousness.
"Awake." Came a voice. It was the first thing Summer was aware of. As if it compelled her to be aware again.
A discordant tapping could be heard as sensation returned, making her want to groan in protest.
"Wake up." The voice came again, accompanied by the insistent tapping of glass.
Summer shook her head as she registered the distortion on the tapping. It sounded off key, as if her auditory senses were not functioning correctly.
"Wake up." The voice sounded once more, clear and true, lacking the flaws of the tapping that followed.
Summer wanted to roll to the side of her bed, in an attempt to show that she desired more rest. Only as she made the motion did she realize that there was no bed to roll in. Nor was she lying down.
She was, in fact, floating.
With a sudden gasp of alarm, her silver eyes shot open only to winch at the sudden blur of lamp light, magnified by the bubbling liquid that surrounded her. Looking to her side, she could see nothing beyond the light and bubbles. Strangely enough the liquid did not sting her eyes, nor did it hamper her sight when she caught a glimpse beyond the small pockets of air.
"Relax." Came the voice again, and she felt her body involuntarily comply with it. "You are in no danger here. You are safe."
Summer made to speak, only to let out gasps from vocal cords that failed to follow through with her intentions, as if this were the first time they were ever used. To add to this, upon trying to move her facial muscles, she felt the iron clasp of a breathing apparatus over her mouth and nose.
The reality of her situation finally dawned on her. Summer was suspended in a glass tank. It was filled with a strange blueish fluid that she could not identify for she was no chemist or dust solution specialist, that was more Peach's domain. Summer only cared for the making of ammunition for her weapon.
Beyond the glass cylinder, she spotted a figure. It was shadowed by the light surrounding it, but this did nothing to hide its hulking size. It was of such enormity that she almost mistook it for a Beringel Grimm.
Summer watched the silhouetted figure as she was sure it was watching her.
"Who are you?" She tried to say, but her throat could only manage to let out barely audible gasps.
Groaning in frustration, she felt her facial muscles trying to give her a cross expression. Those too failed, this was not exclusive to her face or throat. These failing movements reminded her of the days her mother had taught her how to write. How her fingers could barely keep the hand carved pencil in her grasp. Had her entire body lost its muscle memory somehow?
Another realization made her sigh in conceit. In her eagerness to communicate, she had neglected to realize that she was encased in a liquid filled cylinder. Even had she said anything it was silly to believe her words would escape her newfound prison.
"My name is unimportant." The voice came again, frightening Summer.
The voice had heard her. More than that, it understood her. But that should not have been possible. She could barely make out any noise in this fluid, and that did not even factor in the fact that she had not even spoken any proper words.
"You can hear me?" She tried to say, only to get the gasping noise that made her throat hurt.
"I can." Came the voice and that was when Summer noticed the strange clarity. How it sounded so normal despite her abnormal environment. It was not possible for words to pierce these obstacles in either direction. But she did know of one possibility. One that she had encountered during a visit to the sandy dunes of Vacuo.
Telepathy. A rare semblance but not unheard of or miraculous.
"No." Summer did not speak this time but focused her mind on that one word.
"No?" The voice queried.
A sense of satisfaction brought an underdeveloped imitation of a smile to her lips. Her little test had proven her hypothesis.
"You can hear my thoughts." Summer stated.
"Correct. Well done." The voiced sounded pleased as it affirmed her declaration.
As the moment of satisfaction died, Summer wasted no time with her inquisition. "Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here? Why can't I move properly? Is my family alright?"
She wanted to ask more but she felt a pulse of amusement from the voice telling her to cease. "Such a curious soul. I don't often find myself around them."
Summer heard a thud against the glass. Looking up she saw the shadow of a hand on it. Again, she balked at the size of it. The palm alone was large enough to crush her entire head and throat.
"I am otherwise occupied, but I can spare some time for you. As for a name, if you need one then you may call me Revelation."
Summer felt a frown attempting to form on her lips. "If this is an attempt at being mysterious, please stop. I've been exposed to enough of that."
"An act put on by your old headmaster, if I am not mistaken."
Summer felt a shock run through her system as the mention of her boss.
"How…"
"I did more than skim your surface thoughts, Summer Rose." Revelation said.
The huntress felt her blood freeze. Was this unseen person saying that they had just read her mind like a book? The very idea filled her with terror. The one thing she took comfort in was the sanctity and privacy of her internal world. To have that suddenly taken away threw her off balance.
For a long while, she didn't speak. Or even try to speak. All coherent thoughts constantly crashed into one another, all contesting for the focus of her mind.
"I can see that I have upset you." Revelation said, catching her focus. "I apologize for my bluntness. It has been many years since I last had to be less than direct with anyone. Please, take your time."
The words of Revelation allowed her to regain her train of thought and decide on a question.
"So, you know about my life?"
"Yes."
"All of it?"
"Yes, and I will say, your headmaster was a clever man. Or clever enough to keep everyone else in the dark. Including you."
Summer tilted her head; the action caused her suspended body to tip to the side. "What do you mean? I don't recall him keeping anything important from me. At least, not the stuff I wasn't already aware of."
"I see you do not remember. At least not consciously. It is understandable. Given what happened to you, lingering trauma is expected. As such your mind either shunted it away or failed to process the information properly before you expired."
"What are you talking about? What am I forgetting?"
"You shall find out in a moment. Tell me, what is the last thing you remember before waking up in this place?"
Summer thought back. It was all still a bit misty and muddled. But there was something.
"I was falling." She said with as much surety as she felt comfortable with. "Or I think I was falling."
"Yes." Revelation said, encouraging her to continue.
"It was dark. Like a night without stars. I felt… scattered. Like I was drifting apart. I couldn't even remember anything, not even my own name."
"Go on." Revelation goaded, sounding eager.
"I managed to pull myself back together and my name came back to me. Then there was this light. I felt like something was taking hold of me. Pulling me somewhere I couldn't see. Then I felt… compressed. As if I were being shoved into a bottle and then I woke up here."
"Fascinating." Said Revelation, sounding as if he were enjoying her recollection.
"Was that all a dream?" She asked, more to herself than the large person she conversed with.
"No, it was not." Revelation stated with a certainty that might have frightened her. "What do you recall from before this falling? Do you remember how you found yourself in such a situation?"
Summer though back again, this time dredging up a pleasant image. That of her family. Little Ruby playing with her elder sister Yang. Tai at her side while they set up a picnic. She ran through those treasured moments to identify the most recent one.
"The last thing I remember is…" Summer paused as confusion set in. "Waving goodbye to my family?"
"Are you certain that is all you can recall?"
"Yes." Summer answered truthfully, the holes in her memory making themselves apparent. "I don't remember anything after walking away from them."
"Your weapon. Your hunting spear. Do you recall what happened to it?"
Summer blinked in surprise as she recalled her beloved tool. Her companion in combat that was almost ever-present at her side. Was she so shellshocked that even her beloved Ivory was pushed out of her thoughts? It never left her side unless she knew exactly where it was.
"No." She answered with a hint of shame and sadness. Her mother helped her forge that weapon.
"I see. My assessment is correct then. You have forgotten your final moments."
"Final moments?"
"Yes. You have forgotten or simply do not want to remember. It is understandable. From other accounts I've heard from many of my old associates, dying is never truly a pleasant experience."
Summer just stared at the giant shadow as this information settled into her skull. Was he joking? Was he insane? Or did he just misspeak?
"I'm sorry, but what did you just say?"
"I am saying that you died."
Summer just floated there. Stunned and frozen. It was a joke, it had to be. Right?
"Remember." Came the voice of Revelation and Summer felt that same compulsion to obey.
A bolt of pain exploded from the back of her skull. She tried to clutch her head, but her arms were too sluggish to respond properly to the command for sudden movement.
A flurry of images came to the forefront of her mind. A long trip via airbus. A visit into the shadier parts of Vale. A night club and an old friend pouring her a custom cocktail he named after her. Arriving at Beacon and meeting with an annoyed Glynda. Them having a heart to heart in the elevator before she met with Ozpin. Her old headmaster explaining to her that Salem planned to create new Grimm spawning grounds in Vacuo. The intense glare he gave her when he said that the witch herself would be there. Boarding the bullhead gunship and taking to the skies, alone.
Then came the long period of waiting. That tense flight that took her over the continent and right to her enemies' doorstep. Or to be more accurate, the back of a giant flying whale Grimm held up by purple dust crystals.
The drop was nothing special, a straightforward dive while using her weapon to decelerate her fall and then using her silver eyes to burn a hole through the beast's tough hide.
Once inside it did not take Summer long to find who she was looking for.
Salem, in all her spooky glory waited in what Summer assumed was the whale's head.
The plan was to capture her to place her in a special prison Ozpin had prepared for her. Summer opted to simply kill her and end the threat once and for all. The huntress soon realized why the old wizard wanted to imprison her instead.
After freezing Salem using her silver eyes, the huntress was ambushed by who she could only assume were the witch's cronies. One was an insane looking faunus who shattered the witch's body.
Deciding that it would be best to leave, Summer made a run for the top of the whale's hide. Two of the cronies chased her down. A mustachioed Atlessian man took pot shot at her and destroyed her scroll. A large burly man nearly crushed her and the insane faunus just kept on laughing.
When she found an opening back to the exterior of the beast, something happened that she never expected.
Salem lived and was in perfect condition. The two confronted each other once again, but something felt wrong. Salem just took whatever punishment Summer delivered and continued to attack. It was only after Summer managed to behead the witch did, she learn why Ozpin wanted her imprisoned rather than killed.
It was because she could not be killed. She was immortal.
After that, Summer planned to retreat but was beaten down by her lapdogs.
Then a phantom pain bloomed within Summer's chest as the memory of her impalement returned. In a moment of desperation, she tried to flee but was caught by Salem and stabbed by an enlarged fingernail. Left dying, she attempted to use her eyes one last time in hopes of leaving Salem in a vulnerable position for others to exploit.
It failed and they escaped on the back of a giant Nevermore.
Then she died, falling from the sky. Her last memory before waking in the blackness was of her fall.
When the phantom pain left, she was stunned.
"She killed me. That witch killed me."
"Indeed." Came the voice of Revelation. "It was a noble death, all things considered you did manage to stop her plans to spread further chaos."
Summer's whole body shook with a sudden rush of outrage.
"She was immortal. Unkillable."
"To conventional means, yes." Revelation affirmed.
"Ozpin lied to me." Her entire form burned as she felt like she wanted to strangle someone. "He lied to us all."
Revelation kept his silence as she continued.
"Why? Why did he keep something so important from us? It would have been damn useful to know that I couldn't kill that damned monster." She felt the violent intent she kept shunted away returning after years of meditation and discipline. She wanted to inflict pain, to make others suffer as she suffered. Just like she did as a child in school, when they all treated the Grimm as nothing more than a game. The image of her bloodied knuckles flashed in her mind as her body began to thrash about in the blue liquid.
Ozpin, Salem, the Grimm. It was all their fault. She tried. Tried with all her might to be a good person. A good huntress. A good mother. Now it was all gone because of them. Just like her own mother all those years ago.
"He should have told us. Or at least me! I was the one he sent to fight! Now I'm here, wherever here is! Far from home and my family! My girls. My babies. Their mother is gone because he lied to me!"
"Calm."
Summer felt the tension evaporate off her body as her muscles lost their will to continue their struggle. She tried to fight this but the weakness in her body overwhelmed her, nearly putting her to sleep.
As her eyes fluttered and threatened to close, she felt him tugging on her consciousness. "I understand how such information upsets you. Believe me, I do. However, you must not allow your impulses to control you. That path leads only to damnation."
"I…" She tried to reply but found her mind becoming hazy again.
"You've exhausted yourself. It would be best of you continued to rest while you develop."
"What do you mean?" She gasped as she saw the giant hand move away from the glass. Revelation was leaving.
"Wait." She managed to send out despite the fog in her mind returning. "I still have questions."
Before her eyes closed, the liquid surrounding her body cleared, allowing her to get a glimpse of the world outside her little glass tube. A massive laboratory, filled with esoteric technology that she could not even begin to comprehend. It was in some kind of a cavern system if her quick glance at the ceiling told her anything. Amongst this collection of mindboggling technology, something caught her eye.
Summer spotted a column of armored pods. They looked like incubation pods if she was judging it right. Built like heavy duty tanks. She didn't know why, but she felt drawn to them, like there was some form of elemental force contained within them that she held a natural affinity for.
As her mind faded away once more, she wondered where she was and why she was here. What was in those pods? Was Revelation telling the truth? Or is this all some sort of trick from Salem?
All these questions and more flooded her mind as the darkness came for it and were consumed along with her.
Summer felt a sudden shock run through her body, startling her awake. It was an all-encompassing wave of force that she was incapable of ignoring even in her crippled state of being. Her heartrate quickened into near panic level in response to this alien force she felt.
The liquid she was in had cleared up more, she peered through the haze in expectation of seeing the lab, what she witnessed instead was a nightmare.
The lab was in ruins. Technology that captivated her with just a glance now lay destroyed. Their ugly mechanical innards sparked and leaked lubricants and oils. Gone was the artistry and clean serenity she had seen before.
Then there were the actual nightmares.
She had no idea what they were, but she saw tears in the air. Rifts that looked like they were called out of some sort of movie or science fiction comic. They bled an energetic mist that made her feel sick. Lightning shot out from them and lashed out at everything, shrieking as they found something to damage.
When she could see one properly, she saw shapes within them, and she shivered with dread. Whatever was inside those rifts was something instinctually abhorrent to her. So much so that even getting the barest outline of them filled her with disgust and a need to retaliate.
The space around the rifts bent and warped in ways that looked to be impossible. Like actually not possible. This was no trick of light or someone playing with dimensions in a cartoon. These things were tampering with the laws of physics.
A large boulder fell to the floor, cracking the expert tiling that was laid down. Summer's eyes shot open in alarm. Whatever was happening, it was tearing the cavern apart.
Then a loud snap could be heard even through the glass that held her. Another rift opened, the largest one in the room and it was right underneath the collection of pods.
Summer watched as the pods were sucked away into that impossible realm of nightmares and chaos.
With the coming of this new rift, the cavern began to break down at an accelerated rate.
Then something else came into the picture, she couldn't see what it was through the haze the rifts created, but she could tell it was a giant figure. It had the shape of an obscenely large man. He strolled through the chaos like he was passing through a slight drizzle. The shaking was dramatically reduced as the figure stopped moving.
He stood in front of the tear where the pods had been stolen. Summer imagined him staring into the rift. She had no idea what he might have felt at the time. But one thing she knew for sure was that he was upset. Even if he did nothing to show it.
How else should one feel after losing something that belonged to them, especially something that held as much importance as those pods. That was something Summer knew was important even though she had no idea what was in them. Simply because of the amount of protection and sophistication built into the pods told her everything she needed to know about their value.
They were everything and now they were gone.
Summer flinched as she felt the pressure of the enormous figure's gaze. From behind him a trio of figures emerged. All of them were large, just not as large as the first.
The trio marched up to her, one carried a spear whose blade cracked with hissing lightning. When they reached her, she could not help but stare at them. Only one word came to her mind when she saw them clearly. Magnificent. They were wrought in the finest armor she had ever seen. Sublime artistry combined with the purity of function. The spear the head of the three was carrying was a marvel of weaponry. The cage of lightning around the blade looked like it could cut through a Boartusk's hide as easily as butter. The other two quickly made their way around Summer's containment cylinder. A loud hissing sound entered the aquatic bubbling of the tank as she felt her prison jolt.
The two golden giants hefted her chamber off the floor and held it on their shoulders. Summer's view of the world was now lopsided, and she discovered something frightening.
She wasn't the only one in this situation.
As she was being carried out, she saw multiple cylinders with the same mounting as the one she was being carried from. All smashed, all broken. Either by falling rocks from the collapsing cavern or something else. Their contents, or if she was deducing this correctly, the people that had shoved in those cylinders were splayed out on the floor. All broke, all fleshy lumps now.
Summer felt her heart jump into her throat at the thought that she could have been one of those. But that was forestalled by the curiosity that one of the more intact bodies presented. It looked like a little girl.
Just what were they doing in here?
As Summer was being carried out by these giants, she saw an old woman. A scientist if the white jacket was a proper indicator. She was running around franticly directing one of the golden giants towards a stack of test tubes and vials. The giant, this one being far more decorated than the rest complied with a level of stoicism that would make James and Ozpin look like unstable children.
Other golden giants were carrying stacks of vials out of the ruined lab. Whatever those vials contained must have been vital to whatever they were doing in here.
But she did not have much time to observe the scene as she was carried away from the site of catastrophe and the sick feeling, she felt faded as she gained distance. The heavily decorated giant joined them soon after. He continued to look directly at her with an inspector's eye.
It was odd, she had been on the receiving end of many men throughout her travels as a huntress. Most were good. Some admirable. Some highly inappropriate. Others were jaded or lacking trust. Even outright fear which still remained her least liked. This was the first time anyone had looked at her as if she were nothing but an object that required safeguarding and inspecting. Not in a demeaning way, he just looked at her as if his only thoughts were to ascertain if she were compromised.
Eventually she found herself in clean corridors again and in what she could only assume was an elevator, one large enough to accommodate both her capsule and the giants.
As the elevator rose, she continued her staring contest with the giant. He watched her with a scholar's intrigue and an assassin's weariness. Summer knew both types. Met both. Argued with one and fought the other. But never seen both wrapped into a single person so seamlessly. Normally one played a minor role while being completely overshadowed by the other. But this guy, he appeared to be both in equal respects.
Ready to kill her at a moment's notice, but curious enough to prolong the battle if he stood to learn from it while not compromising his odds at victory.
When the elevator door slid open, they stepped out into a large rotunda filled with corridors and passages. Everything looked new and pristine. Like in the lab but far more regal. They were greeted by a hooded man clutching at a metal rod that bore a golden eagle symbol on top of it. This made him look like those wizards she used to watch on television with Ruby and Yang. Only he didn't look nearly as fun.
This was by far the oldest looking individual Summer had ever laid her eyes on. Not just in the wrinkles on his face or his shallow cheeks and baggy eyes, but the look he had in them. He looked tired, so very tired.
Summer had only seen that look in one other individual. Ozpin. But this guy looked like he was wearing his years openly for all to see while the wizard on Remnant hid his mental fatigue behind a constant intake of coffee.
"How bad is it?" The old man asked the leading giant who finally took his attention away from Summer.
"The laboratory is lost." The golden warrior replied.
"Are the gene stores recoverable?"
"We are loading what we can in order to evacuate. The whole system had been destabilized by the disturbance."
The old man grimaced. "Damned fool. He's probably holding the entire mountain together by himself."
"He is." The warrior answered.
The old man shook his head. "And the generals?"
"They've all vanished. We found no trace of them."
The old man tilted his head to the side. "Nothing? You're certain?"
"Yes. Nothing was left to find. It was as if they were just stolen, along with all the machinery that supported them."
The old man brought a hand up to his wizened chin. "Perhaps that is the case. Perhaps not. We shall know more when he returns."
The golden warrior simply nodded and returned his gaze to Summer, unintentionally prompting the old man to look her way too.
"Ah! I almost forgot about these. How many survived?" He asked.
"Only this one."
"Truly?"
"Yes. They were destroyed before we arrived. Had we been any later, the cavern would have crushed her along with the rest."
The old man let out a sigh that held the weight of his years behind it. "Very well. One will have to be enough. Scratch out her number before settling her in at the secondary site on Luna."
"Are you certain we should?" Asked the warrior, showing that he was not just some obedient machine that looked like a man. "With the Primarchs gone, what function does she serve?"
"You assume they have died, Valdor. Do not be so quick to make such assumptions when aspects of the ethereal are involved." The old man placed a bony palm against the glass. "Besides, even if they are gone, it does not mean that she cannot serve a purpose."
"A true statement, my friend." Both the warrior and the old man looked behind them as a colossal golden figure appeared out of thin air.
The golden figure shone like a sun with a power that Summer could only describe as primal and pure. It was so radiant that she couldn't even see his face as he walked up to the glass that the lesser warriors carried.
He placed his own armored hand against the glass before speaking again. "She shall serve. In one capacity or another."
Summer stared at the new giant. He was leagues above the others. In every regard she could conceive of.
But what stuck out was the presence he gave off. The aura of power that haloed his body. She recognized it.
"Revelation?" She asked, hoping he would hear her thoughts.
His face turned his head to directly regard her, and she knew it was him. She took this chance to fire off as many questions as she could hoping he would give her anything to help sort out whatever was happening.
"What's happening? What were all those tears? What was in those pods? They looked important. Why were there other tanks like mine? Did you make clones of me or something? How did all this happen?"
Revelation just continued to stare at her while the golden warrior called Valdor and the old wizard looking man watched him. The old man's face caught a smile, it was an old grandfatherly smile. One he was enjoying with a sense of reminiscence. As if he had not done such a thing in a long time.
"She is quite the lively thing, isn't she?" Asked the old man.
Summer stared at the old man in surprise. "You can hear me too?"
The old man looked at her and gave a nod. Summer felt a headache coming on. This was crazy. Everything was crazy.
The old man turned to Revelation. "You chose well. I believe this soul is suitable for our purposes."
"Indeed." Said Revelation with almost no change in his facial expression. "She has the purity of purpose etched into her being and the focus to stay true to her path despite the doubts that linger from her failures."
"Hey! I'm right here." Summer said trying to get their full attention. "It's rude to talk about someone when their right in front of you."
It was no use. Both of them had blocked her out.
Summer began to move around in the tank again and that managed to get Revelation to look her way. Unfortunately, he was not in the mood for talking. At the very least not to her.
"Sleep."
And just like that, Summer felt her world go black before she could form another word.
The next time Summer woke, she felt heavier. As she opened her eyes once again, she saw the liquid in her tank. Only this time she saw it from above. She blinked as she realized the tank was draining and that wasn't the only thing she realized. The tank was smaller than what she remembered.
As the fluid drained out, she felt her limbs again. Unlike before, they responded to her commands properly and without issue. There was still some minor lethargy but that would be shrugged off soon if her guess was right.
Summer felt her feet touch the floor. It felt odd, her body reacted as if this was all unfamiliar to it. Like during her early days of training with her mother. But this was even stranger as it shouldn't feel so strange just to stand up straight.
When the fluid had rained out, the glass before her parted and she felt the rush of sterilized air chill her wet skin. Her black hair fell across her body notifying her that it needed a good cut as it had gone passed her lower back.
Summer looked outside to see another lab, this one was just as spacious as the last, the only difference being that it was more barren. It lacked the clusters of active machinery, the stores of vials and assumed lab samples.
Standing before her was the old man from before, he looked smaller, but she didn't fully register that. She glared at him, still unhappy with how she had been treated so far.
"Come now. There's no need to give me that look." The old man said. "I understand you are upset but just as I understand how you feel in the moment, I also understand how you will feel when your questions are answered."
Summer made to speak, but she found that the mouthpiece was still over her face. That too was smaller than she recalled. Reaching through her wet locks she undid the straps that held it in place before tearing it off.
Taking her first breath of air in she didn't even know how log, she stared at the man.
"And just how would you know that?" Summer croaked before clutching at her throat.
Her voice sounded strained, unrefined. As if she knew what to say but had not practiced for months. She had seen some of her old recluse companions from her travels do this. After an extended period of silence, they temporarily lost the ability to speak and had to relearn it. It was a reminder that your voice depended on a muscle to function, and that muscle needed use in order to maintain itself.
Caught in her sudden panic, she stepped forward, freeing herself from the tank. Only to misstep and fall to her knees on the white tiled floor. Looking down, she saw her body for the first time since she found herself her.
She didn't recognize it at all.
It was female, but it was of a different build than what she remembered from the last time she woke up at home. While she was athletic and well bult, her focus was more on endurance, agility and speed. Now she looked like she could bench an Ursa and beat Tai in an arm-wrestling match without even trying.
Looking around, Summer made an attempt to find something she could use as a mirror. She found a reflective panel. The reflective image showed her a person she did not recognize. She had long dark hair, skin that was less pale than what she was accustomed to even when living on Patch or traveling through Vacuo.
But the one thing she focused on, the one thing she cared about more than her entire body was her eyes. They were still the same shining silver as the day she first looked upon her mother.
She felt tears come to her eyes. The person looking back at her was not Summer Rose. It was a stranger with her eyes.
"What did you do to me?" She asked, bending over.
The huntress felt like weeping. But stopped short when she felt something being draped over her shoulders and back. Looking up she saw the golden warrior, Valdor, placing a red robe over her body.
"I believe you would be more comfortable if you cover up." He said in a neutral tone.
That was the moment Summer realized something. She was naked. With an embarrassing squeak she clutched at the robe and pulled it around her body. A dark blush showing on her face at the realization that she had been naked inside that tank the entire time. How humiliating.
The old man chuckled. "Is that better?"
Summer glared at him again, but seeing that despite his amusement, he was taking her discomfort seriously, she decided to do the same. After tying the robe around her now bigger body, she took a breath and allowed all her years of training and disciplined routine to come back to her.
Letting out her breath with a sign, she said. "Yes. But I still have a mountain of questions. First being where is Revelation?"
"Revelation?" The old man questioned and then he widened his eyes. "Oh. You mean him. Heh. He hasn't used that name in a long time. It's one of his favorites. He is currently down on the planet's surface."
Summer blinked as she processed with what he just said. "I'm sorry what? Planet's surface? Are we underground again?"
The old man shook his head. "No. No."
He turned to walk away and called out. "Come along now, we have a busy day, and we can't afford to waste time here."
"Huh? Wait!" Summer said as she tightened the robe around her waist and jogged after him with Valdor following close behind.
When she reached the old man, she saw just how tall she had become. She was more than head and shoulders taller than he was. This was something that she was not used to as she was always the shortest member of her old team.
As they walked through the arched doorway, she found herself in an almost temple like structure. It was a work of art made from science.
As she passed each door, she began to see people. Scientists and soldiers in black military gear that she did not recognize. Nothing like Atlas that was for sure, they've always had an affinity for white even if it made it annoyingly hard to clean their uniforms, as James would say. It was the only complaint he had about the military.
Both the scientists and the military personnel looked at her with an expression she was familiar with. It was a sense of wonder or awe. She had received these looks when she saved villages from Grimm attacks. In those moments where she felt like the hero she strove to be.
Their looks were similar, but she would say they matched the children from the village more than the parents who were grateful while the children were awed by the spectacle she put on for them.
And again, she saw just how much bigger she was in comparison to them. It brought an amusing thought to mind. Qrow and Tai often made fun of her because of her height. Guess they can't call her shortstack anymore.
Summer also saw everyone make way for them as she passed by. Or more accurately, make way for the old man.
"So…" Summer began. "I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're pretty important around here."
"You would be correct." Said the old man without turning back to look at her.
"Okay. Can I get a name?"
"Malcador."
"Nice to meet you." Summer said forcing her tone to be more upbeat. "I'm Summer Rose."
"Likewise." Was all she got.
With a slight grumble, she turned to Valdor. Even if she heard his name, she felt she should be polite. "What's your name?"
"I am Constantin Valdor." He said returning her politeness while still sounding distant.
When they passed through another large door, Summer gasped at what she saw.
Through a window the size of a building, she saw a planet. An actual planet floating in a void of black filled with white dots. The world was very much different than what she had imagined from all the pictures and photos she had seen. Where were the oceans? Why were there no large masses of blue or green? Most of it was a dirty yellowish brown.
Was this Remnant? No. That was impossible.
Looking down, she saw that she was in a high tower of a massive structure surrounded by nothing but a barren, dead, rocky landscape.
They were on the moon. Unless this was all some elaborate setup, it was the only explanation her brain could logically conclude. But it wouldn't make any sense for anyone to go so fa to fabricate any of this for her.
Taking a breath to calm her nerves she continued to follow along with Malcador.
"You have questions. I can hear them buzzing in your mind." He spoke in a casual manner as if he were on his way to a lunch meeting. "Do not hold back. Ask anything you'd like, it's the least you deserve after what we've had to do to you."
"Where am I?" Summer asked without skipping a beat.
"Direct. I knew he picked well. You are currently in our facility located on Luna. The orbiting moon of the planet Earth or Terra as it shall be known from now on." He answered gesturing to the planet with his staff.
"Earth? Not Remnant then?" Summer asked disassociating herself from the shock and focusing on the line of questions. She did this when she found out shocking information but needed to keep moving. It was considered unhealthy by most people but she couldn't afford to slow down.
"Was that the name of your homeworld? Oh, what am I saying, obviously. No. This is not Remnant."
"How did I get here? Why do I look like this?"
While she wouldn't call her current body unappealing, it still felt strange to suddenly find yourself completely changed with almost zero input of your own.
"I am sure you have already been told that you expired. He told you, didn't he?"
"If you mean Revelation, then yes, he did. I want to know how that happened. If I'm supposed to be dead, then how am I here?"
"Hmm." Malcador hummed as if considering the question. "That is a bit of a touchy subject. It will be difficult to properly explain on its own and I'd prefer if we kept the details for a place where we have less ears to worry about."
Summer raised an eyebrow. The way he was speaking left the implication in her mind that he was involved with something that was taboo or at the very least illegal.
"So, all you're going to say is that you brought me back to life? You resurrected me?"
Malcador chuckled. "I believe the proper term for your case is reincarnated. However even that is not entirely correct. Assisted reincarnation? Forced reincarnation? I am not entirely sure how he would put it but any of those would be close enough to describe what has become of you?"
"Okay, but why do I look the way I do? I was never this tall or this…" Summer paused to try ad find the right word. "Well defined. Unless people here are just short."
Malcador walked through another archway, this time leading to what looked to be residential areas. "That was something we had very limited control over considering the genestock we had available for you. And only he knew what you looked like before. This can be altered if you which?"
"You can make me look like my old self?"
"As long as it does not require too much alteration. Your body is freshly released and still open to changes. You need only show me."
"Show you?" Summer blinked as she remembered that he was also a telepath. "You want to read my mind too?"
"That would be the best way to see what you looked like before, but we can save that for a later date. Are there any more questions?"
"A few. Are you telling me that Revelation somehow shoved my soul into an artificially made body?"
Malcador made his way to another elevator and gestured for her to follow. When the doors closed with the three of them inside, he continued to speak. "In the most basic of terms, yes. But I shall tell you that the method he used to perform such a feat was not only costly but highly dangerous. If I were you, I would be grateful."
Summer thought about it for a moment and concluded that he was indeed correct. She lost to Salem and had died. Being alive now was a blessing whether she was on Remnant or not.
"Okay. But why me? If he had the pick of the litter from what I am going to assume was the afterlife, why did he pick me?"
"Afterlife." Malcador hissed. "If only that place deserved such a title. To answer your question. He scoured the Sea of Souls for very specific individuals to serve a very specific role. You were deemed to be the most suitable. Not only due to your characteristic but you also impressed him with the fact that you were able to regain consciousness while on the other side."
"Is that not normal?" Summer asked, admittedly curious about the concept of the afterlife. Opzin had not been forthcoming about this topic despite her being sure he had been there before.
"No. In fact it is far from the norm." Malcador said. "I recall him telling me that you felt like you were splitting apart before you remembered your own name. That is the norm from what I could see when I was able to peer into that place. People scattering like dry dust in a desert wind."
Summer processed this and asked another question. "You can look into the afterlife?"
"Many with my abilities can. We simply prefer not to."
Summer decided to change the topic of her discussion. Something in her gut told her not to press him on that.
"Fair enough. So, what about the others?"
"Others?"
"The others that were grown like me."
"Oh. Forgive me. That was a long time ago and it simply slipped my mind." His words set off tiny alarm bells in Summer's head. How long was a long time? "I am afraid there are no others. After the incident in the lab where you were made, it was deemed fruitless to attempt to recreate the process that allowed you to live."
"You're saying I'm the only one that survived? And you didn't bother to replace the rest or bring them back?" Summer felt her anger rise but held it down. Something told her that despite the difference in size, Malcador was not someone she would like to get into a fight with. Too much of him reminded her of Ozpin, there was always that sense that he was more powerful than he looked, and Summer knew to trust her instincts when it came to danger.
Malcador shrugged. "The whole reason for your creation was gone at the time and we did not want to risk the process again when there was no guarantee that it would prove fruitful."
"Fair." Summer nodded. "But just how long was I in that tank?"
"Hmmm. About fifty years give or take."
Summer's eyes bulged. Fifty years, she was stuck in that tank for fifty years. She felt a swell of emotions nearly burst from her chest. Her children would be fully grown and lived a full life by now and she let it pass by in an almost literal blink of an eye.
There would likely be grandchildren and great grandchildren running around by now. Ans she missed all of it because she went on that stupid mission.
"Damn it." She hissed as the tears began to flow.
Malcador looked her way and for the first time since the conversation started, he looked concerned for her. "Is something the matter?"
"I've been told that I was killed. I've been shoved into a tube for about fifty years. And I'm not even on my own planet. My family is probably close to the end of their lives now. If I had been better or smarter, I would have been there. I would not have left them alone. Does that sound okay to you?"
Malcador looked at her for a moment, genuine understanding on his face. "I understand your grief, believe me I do. I once had a family, a long, long time ago. I loved them with all my heart. But as the years went by, I watched as they all passed on, one by one, leaving only me and my associates left. We were alone. So alone. There are nights when it threatens to eat me alive. But I am content with how my family lived."
He reached up and wiped away her tears. "I do not know your family. But I ask you to trust that they are strong enough to live full and prosperous lives because in the end that is the best we can hope for."
Summer sniffed, accepting his reasoning for the moment. "Alright. So, why me? I'm grateful to be alive again, but I need to know why."
Malcador reverted back to his candid self as the elevator opened. "That is something only he can tell you. I know much but the ultimate choice was his. I can see many reasons why he chose you. You're inquisitive, but you know when to hold your curiosity in check. You have focus but you do not allow it to blind you to the world. You are kind but you do not allow that to stop you from doing what you believe needs to be done. And most of all you are patient and are more than willing to put your foot down when you feel it to be against whatever imperative you follow. All traits that you shall require for your role in our grand design."
As they walked out Summer found herself in some kind of hanger or loading bay. It was huge. Massive spacefaring ships were traveling in and out of the large docking platforms outside the two-hundred-meter-high canopy that held smaller platforms for smaller ships.
"And just what is your 'grand design?'"
Malcador made his way to one of the platforms, where a golden gunship was being put down. Summer found herself gawking at the thing. It was a work of art in not only its appearance but also, it's arsenal. The huntress could see a full roster of weapons on the upper and lower body including the wings. It was shaped to be in the form of an eagle spreading its wings. Whomever designed it really knew how to maximize both form and function. She could not help but admire that. While she was no patriot, she grew up on the stories her mother and father read to her. A lesson she took away from those days was that symbolism was important even in war.
They approached the gunship and Malcador spoke. "To ensure the future of mankind. To make the galaxy safe for all humanity."
Summer took those words in. She was still struggling to conceive of the fact that she was on another planet. The fact that there might be a whole galaxy out there waiting for her was close to insanity, but she kept her calm. There would be time for freaking out later, when she wasn't wearing nothing but a robe.
The loading ramp of the gunshup opened like an eagle's the gunship came a quartet of the golden warriors. All four carried spears but one also carried an elaborate banner. From behind them came a human who was dressed in more of a servile manner, like a servant. He then began to speak, his voice amplified by the speaker that was either clamped around his collar or built into it, Summer did not know.
"All give obeisance to the Ruler of the Imperium. The Master of Humanity. The Unifier of Terra." As this man made his announcement, all those who could afford to cease in their duties without suddenly injuring themselves stopped to look at the platform.
"He who ushers in our golden future of humanity. All bow before the Emperor of Mankind, Beloved by All."
Stepping down from the loading ramp was a figure Summer had not expected to see, at least not when concerning all those fancy titles.
Everyone in the docking area fell to one knee before this giant of a man. All except for the golden warriors, Valdor, Malcador and Summer.
"Revelation?" She asked, tilting her head towards the giant in the most ornate golden armor that she had ever seen. "I didn't know that you were an emperor."
The Emperor strode up to her and looked down at her, even with her new height she still had to look up. Bet no one ever called him short.
"You needed not know. Only listen." The Emperor offered a hand to her. It was a gauntleted hand, but it was better than the giant claw he had over his left arm. "Come, you must be ready before you can meet your brothers."
Summer could only blink owlishly at that statement.
"My brothers?"
Hello everyone. For those of you who already know me, I am sorry for being so late with my updates recently. I have been rather bogged down with some personal nonsense, but I have not fallen into misfortune or given up and sold my soul.
I recall promising this story at the beginning of the year and I will admit that I mostly forgot about it. Mainly because you champs liked Saint Summer so much that I couldn't help but focus on that.
I hope you all enjoy this silly little story about Primarchs fighting for the attention of a smaller sibling.
Have a good day everyone.