"Ruby?"

Ruby blinked and looked over at Yang, who was staring at her with a concerned expression.

It was late morning; they'd stopped in a coffeehouse. The other two members of their party were up by the counter waiting for the group's drinks and they'd sent Ruby and Yang over to grab a table.

"Doing okay?" Yang asked.

"Yeah," Ruby said. "It's been a weird few days."

"No kidding," Yang said. "I don't know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't running into Mom out there." She laughed. "Actually, I still can't believe it."

Ruby smiled. "It's really good to see you like this," she said. "I was worried. After, I mean. Y'know. It was almost like everything that made you Yang had been…stolen from you."

Yang raised her prosthetic to catch the light. Even as fresh as the paint was, the yellow had already scuffed in a few places, exposing bare metal. "It took a long time and a lot of thinking and talking, but I learned a lot. I'm the only one who can heal myself."

"Get that off a fortune cookie?" Ruby asked.

"Nah," Yang said. She puffed herself up slightly and put on a haughty, snide voice. "Actually, fortune cookies aren't even Mistralian."

Ruby erupted in peals of laughter, and as she did, Yang joined in. Wiping a tear from her eye, Ruby asked, "What, is that supposed to be Weiss?"

"Yeah," Yang gasped out between peals of laughter. "Too much?"

"It was good." Ruby exhaled and looked out the window. "Do you ever wonder if—"

"—we'll see them again?" Yang asked. "I hope so, y'know?"

"We could always go to Atlas," Ruby said, with enough lilt that it could have been a joke as much as it could have been a serious idea.

"Bust her out of the Schnee Mansion?" Yang said. "Fight our way through her butlers and maids and jump out through the window, swinging from a chandelier?"

"Then we track down Blake," Ruby said, with a smack of her fist into her hand. "Get the team back together."

Yang looked out the window. "What do you think she's doing? Blake."

Ruby sighed. "Blake is, y'know, Blake is cool and badass. She's probably out there doing cool and badass stuff. Taking the fight to the White Fang."

"Yeah," Yang agreed, although her heart didn't seem to be in it.

"But," Ruby added, reaching across the table to hold Yang's hands in her own, "she's not alone. She's never alone. Whenever she needs us, we'll be there for her. We'll always be there for each other."

Yang nodded gently.

"And here we go," Tifa said as she stepped up to the table, setting two hot drinks in front of Yang and Ruby. "One soy latte and one mocha, extra whipped cream and chocolate drizzle."

"Thanks," Yang said.

"Thank you," Ruby said. She slurped up some of the chocolate syrup-covered whipped cream off the top of the cup.

Cloud set down his and Tifa's drinks and set the Buster Sword up against the wall. He sat down next to Yang, Tifa sitting across from him.

"So, what's with the sword?" Ruby asked.

Cloud laughed. "Summer asked me the same thing the first time we met." He paused, taking a moment to sip his drink after he realized the silence had drawn on a little too long. Finally he answered, "It was from a friend of mine. It's his legacy."

"You mind if I—?"

"Go ahead."

Ruby stood and walked around the table to examine the sword. "Looks like it's been cleaned recently," she said. "But it's got a lot of scratches — rust spots — hmm." She looked back over at Cloud.

"Ruby thinks your weapon is, like, your soul," Yang explained.

"Your weapon is an extension of your soul," Ruby clarified, continuing to peer at the fine details on the sword. "What you choose, how it works, how you take care of it and how it takes care of you." She gestured to the sword. "Like this. You've been through a lot, but you have a core of steel. Unbreakable and unyielding." She pursed her lips and then ran her hand over a couple of the scratches. "I just—it breaks my heart to see such a beauty in this condition. Listen, if we find a place, I would love to do some work on her, tempering and sharpening. Please."

"Sure," Cloud said with a slight shrug.

Ruby squealed and threw her arms around him in a hug. He tensed slightly but patted her arm gently.

"And you have officially made her day," Yang said flatly.

—

"Ruby?"

Summer turned around.

The white-haired girl standing there immediately brightened. "It is you," she said, before breaking into a run.

Summer recoiled slightly, her hand almost wrapping around the hilt of her sword before she was borderline tackled into a crushing hug that pinned her arms in place.

"Qrow, help," Summer said.

"Hey, mini-Ice Queen," Qrow said, barely able to keep from laughing. "Uh, that's not Ruby."

The white-haired girl jerked back in shock, looking at Summer. She released her an instant later.

"Oh my god, you looked just like my friend from behind," the girl explained. "I am so, so sorry."

"It's fine," Summer said. She stuck out a hand. "Summer Rose. Pleased to meet you."

The girl hesitated a moment, looking at Summer's face. She shook Summer's hand. "I'm Weiss. Weiss Schnee. Are you related to Ruby? Um, Ruby Rose, that is?"

"Yeah," Qrow said, still on the edge of laughing. "I think she is."

"She's my daughter," Summer explained flatly. "This is Qrow."

Weiss frowned as she glanced over at him. "We've met, unfortunately." She flicked her gaze back to Summer. "I'm looking for my sister, Winter Schnee. She's an Atlesian Specialist. I heard she was in the city."

Qrow shook his head. "Sorry, kid. The Atlesians pulled out of here," he said, humor fading quickly. "They're probably headed back overseas, or to reinforce Argus."

"Shoot," Weiss said. She slumped for a moment and then looked over at Qrow. "Wait, what are you doing in Mistral?"

"We're here on some pretty serious business," Summer said, any mirth gone from her voice. Her glance flicked to Qrow, and he nodded. "We're here trying to prevent what happened to Beacon from happening to any other Academies. Qrow's intelligence indicated that, after Beacon, they would try and hit Haven next."

"What?" Weiss said, horrified. "Wait. You — you know who's behind the Fall of Beacon?"

"Is that what they're calling it?" Qrow asked absently.

"It's a lot more complicated than it sounds," Summer said quietly, stepping closer to Weiss and holding up a hand to indicate they should all lower their voices, "and it's not entirely a conversation we should have out in the open. You have a chance — right now — you're in, or you're out."

Weiss paused. "What happens if I say no?"

Summer shrugged. "Well, we'll try and help you get set up for staying somewhere, make sure you get fed, probably get you a ticket back up to Argus if you'd like; I'd rather you be out of the line of fire. Once you're fine, we go and do our job here and you forget you ever saw us."

"And if I'm…in?"

Summer raised her eyebrows. "If you're in then you're in. You help us prevent them from doing the same thing to Haven."

Qrow cleared his throat. "Not that it should affect your, uh, justice-seeking heart or whatever you wanna call it, but Ruby and Yang are here."

Weiss blinked. "They are? Are they…okay?"

"Ruby's fine," Qrow said. "Yang's on the mend, but doing a lot better; she's got a prosthetic now."

"That's good," Weiss said, subdued. She stepped to the side a moment, looking up at the twin spires of Haven's CCT. "I decided to be a Huntress to protect the people; whatever I want comes second," she declared. "I'm in."

Summer smirked. "Got it. Well, Qrow, do you want to get her up to speed?"

Qrow balked. "Me? I quit teaching for a reason, y'know."

—

Summer and Qrow explained the entire situation to Weiss as best they could as the three of them made their way through the streets back to Raven's apartment.

"I don't totally get it," Weiss said.

"It's pretty simple," Summer replied. "Kinda. There's a witch controlling the Grimm, and she has a bunch of lackeys. One of them — well, at least one — did an attack on Beacon and now she has magical powers."

"And magic is real," Weiss said in an ever-suffering tone of voice.

Summer cleared her throat. "Anyway, I ran into one of her subordinates on the way here, Qrow ran into a different one. So there's two in the area, and neither of them are the one who was at Beacon, so we're talking about at least three. None of them are pushovers, which is why we need to gather as much strength as we can."

"And that's not counting if they're still using the White Fang as flunkies," Qrow added.

"I still can't get over the White Fang being that violent," Summer said absently.

"Where have you been the last ten years?" Weiss asked incredulously.

"Don't ask her," Qrow said.

"I already said I'm not explaining it today," Summer said, with a shrug. "Ask someone else."

They rounded the corner of the apartment complex's entrance; as they arrived, they spotted Tifa teaching Ruby some hand-to-hand as the rest of the group, save Raven and Oscar, watched. Tifa slowly performed an uppercut and Ruby imitated.

"Remember, it's not just the swing, but the hips, too," Tifa said. "But good work!"

"She's way better at teaching this than you are," Ruby said, looking over at Yang.

"Shut up," Yang said with a laugh. She stood up. "Come on, I want a go."

Summer could see Cloud's snort from where he was leaned up against a lamppost.

"First to fifty percent Aura?" Yang offered.

"I don't exactly have Aura," Tifa said. She adjusted her gloves and cracked her knuckles. "I'm just tough."

Yang mockingly gestured with her prosthetic for Tifa to come at her. "Then let's see what you're made of."

Tifa launched forward at a speed that Summer could only match with her Semblance, attacking first with her right hand.

Yang narrowly blocked her opening strike with the barrel of her left gauntlet and shoved backwards to evade Tifa's follow-up, bobbing and weaving to dodge Tifa's oncoming flurry of attacks. Tifa ended the combo with a vicious kick and Yang stumbled backwards.

For an instant, Yang's hair shimmered and glowed with heat, but it subsided as Yang exhaled.

Tifa planted her feet firmly on the ground as Yang approached.

As they fought, Summer observed their styles. Yang's assaults were brutal, but she was a more direct fighter who favored her gauntlets for heavy blows, and intended to make as many of them as she could. Tifa was quicker, more agile, and made use of what seemed to Summer to be multiple forms of martial arts — although Summer suspected it was due to their difference in years. Tifa fought as if the world itself had trained her, and Summer suspected that in a lot of ways it had.

Tifa weathered the onslaught from Yang and countered with a vicious somersault kick that upended Yang to land on the ground, facing directly towards Summer, Qrow, and—

"Weiss?"

Ruby turned abruptly. "Weiss!" she yelled. With a burst of her Semblance she sped over, borderline tackling Weiss with a hug. "Look, Yang, it's Weiss!"

"I can see that," Yang said, climbing to her feet. "You look like shit, Ice Queen." She walked over and wrapped her arms around Weiss and Ruby in a great bear hug.

"Yeah, yeah," Weiss grumbled. "You would not believe the week I've had."

Summer sidled over to Cloud as the three had their reunion, with Jaune, Ren, and Nora approaching to say their own hellos.

"Where's Raven?" Summer asked.

"Rooftop," Cloud said, jabbing his thumb up at the complex's rooftop.

It didn't take long for Summer to find access to the roof. She threw open the heavy door and was hit with a gust of strong wind that whipped her hair.

Up so high, the city of Mistral spread out before her. It was beautiful. Unlike coastal Vale, Mistral's settlers had found it best to erect their city amidst the heights of a pair of mountains and had formed steps up each mountain to its respective summit. The complex, in the afternoon, would be in the shadow of Haven Academy.

Raven was standing there, facing out towards the city. Her sword was placed within reach, leaned up against the low wall of the modern roof.

"So," Summer said, stepping up to stand beside Raven. "Let's talk."

Raven nodded.

"You left us," Summer said. "We made a promise to each other, and you left."

After a long moment, Raven turned to face Summer. Her expression was downcast. "I did," she said. "I spent years running. And it hurt."

Summer pursed her lips. "I need you to know something. Whatever you're expecting, if it's that we go back to how things were, I can't do that. That's just insanity."

Raven lowered her head.

"But despite everything," Summer said, almost hesitantly, "I still love you."

Raven looked up sharply.

"I love you," Summer said, on the verge of tears. "That's why it hurt, Raven. Because no matter what, some part of me wondered how you were doing. If you were eating well, because you never took care of yourself when I was away."

Raven drew in a deep breath, wiping away tears that were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. "I didn't think I was worthy of being loved," she said.

"You're a good person," Summer said. "You're just…afraid of being loved. You're prickly. Like a hedgehog. But I was happiest in the warmth of your quills."

"I am afraid," Raven said, tears running down her cheeks. "I don't want to lose you again."

"That's why I need you to watch my back," Summer said. She held out a hand. "Just like old times. You're my partner, remember?"

Raven took it. "Like it or not."

"This is going to take work," Summer said, still holding Raven's hand. "From both of us. Neither of us can erase the past. But, together, we can make—"

"—a better tomorrow?" Raven asked, cutting her off.

"I was just going to say we can make this work," Summer said, nearly to a laugh. Her face lost some of its mirth. "And at some point I want you to write a letter to Tai, y'know. And apologize to our daughters."

"Yeah," Raven said. Her shoulders slumped slightly. "I know."

—

When Summer and Raven returned to the apartment, Tifa and Yang were preparing lunch — apparently, on their morning walk of the city, they'd stopped at a store and picked up a substantial amount of groceries.

Summer began to roll up her sleeves when she realized it would be easier for her to just remove her gauntlets. She looked around, mentally counting the people in the apartment — but came up one short.

"Where's Qrow?" she asked.

"He went out again while you were up there," Cloud said. "Said he was planning on recruiting some more Huntsmen." He shrugged.

"Huh," Summer said, setting her gauntlets on the counter. She lightly tapped Tifa on the arm. "Need any help?"

"If you could watch the soup," Tifa said, stepping aside and passing off her spoon to Summer, "I can prep more sandwiches."

"And I can grill 'em," Yang said, flipping a grilled cheese in the pan.

Weiss emerged from the bathroom, her hair bundled up in a towel. "I think we're going to need more shampoo," she announced. She sat down at the counter next to Ruby, who was reading a comic but put it down as Weiss settled into her seat. "That smells exquisite, but that may be because I've had nothing but emergency rations for every meal the past three days."

"It's just canned tomato soup and grilled cheese," Yang said. "I used to make this for Ruby and me all the time when we were kids."

"So, Ruby," Weiss said. "I was under the impression your mother was, ah—?"

"Dead?" Summer asked, flicking her gaze back.

"Yes," Weiss said flatly.

"Well," Ruby said, "She's not! Which is great!"

"Then where was she?" Weiss asked.

"The Realm of Darkness," Summer said. "Think of the worst, most depressing place you've ever been, and then imagine it's crawling with Grimm, and then imagine time never moves and you can never escape. That's basically what it was."

"Uh," Weiss said. "That doesn't sound enjoyable."

"It really wasn't," Summer said flatly, turning back to the pot.

"And, um," Weiss continued, lowering her voice slightly and leaning in so Ruby could hear. She pointed to Tifa. "Who exactly is she?"

"She's a bartender," Ruby explained confidently, attempting to keep her own voice low. "So my mom and that spikey-headed guy with the cool sword are friends, and she's his girlfriend. She can punch stuff, too."

"I did see that earlier, yes," Weiss said.

Tifa looked back. "I can hear you two."

"Eep," Ruby said. "You're really cool!"

Tifa laughed and flashed Ruby a smile. "Thanks."

—

Qrow didn't come back until well after sundown that day, visibly exhausted and decidedly disinterested in talking about what had happened. He'd been about to take a swig from his flask when Summer glared sharply at him and he begrudgingly put it back in his pocket. He took to rubbing his forehead, and he slept early but fitfully.

"He was looking for Huntsmen," Summer said to Raven early the next morning over eggs and coffee. She glanced over to where Qrow was asleep on the couch.

"There's probably not many left in the city," Raven said. "Like I said, Salem's lackeys have been hunting them down."

"The Huntsmen becoming the hunted," Summer mused gravely. "I don't like it."

Qrow grumbled and flopped over, landing on the floor. He shakily got to his feet, shambled past where Ren and Nora were sleeping over to the bathroom, and slammed the door closed. Summer could hear him retch loudly.

Summer grimaced. "Are you concerned about him?"

Raven sat there a long moment, long enough for the two of them to hear the toilet flushing and the faucet turn on.

"Yes," Raven said, finally.

Qrow emerged from the bathroom. His hair was more of a mess than usual, and his face was still wet from being freshly washed.

Summer cleared her throat. "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine," Qrow ground out. He dished himself up a plate of eggs from what Summer had prepared for breakfast and sat down. "I'm going out."

"You're sure?" Summer asked. "If you're—"

"I've got it, okay?" Qrow said. "Just — let me eat in peace for once."

As Qrow ate, Summer looked over at Raven. Raven's lips were a thin line; Summer shot her a concerned look and Raven shook her head so as to say, "Don't fight him right now."

Still, Summer stared at Qrow's back as he left for the day. His foot came up, hooked around the door, and slammed it.

Moments later, Oscar emerged from the bedroom. "What was that?"

"Qrow left for the day," Raven said.

Oscar was silent for a long moment, mumbling to himself in half of a conversation with the Professor inside his head before he finally said, "Ozpin says he would have been more use here, teaching me and the others."

Summer nodded. "Yeah. Once everyone's up and fed, we can do a bit of training."

Oscar nodded. "I've chased Grimm off the farm with sickles before, but I have no idea how to use this cane. And if we're going to keep encountering people like that man the other day — if you weren't there, I don't know what I could have done."

"Hazel's his own breed of vicious," Summer said. "The best thing you could have done was run away. There's no shame in running from a fight you can't win. But we'll show you how to fight."

—

Cloud, lacking armor and harness, was leaning against the railing outside the apartment, watching the ongoing training down in the courtyard, which at that point consisted of the Huntsmen-in-Training sitting in a group listening to Summer talk about something-or-other. A freshly brewed mug of coffee was cooling in his hand.

Below, Summer was interrupted as Tifa strolled into the courtyard. The two of them exchanged pleasantries before Summer gestured up to where Cloud was standing. Tifa waved; Cloud gave a nod at her.

Tifa bounded up the stairs quickly. Cloud looked over as she emerged onto the walkway. She stepped up and leaned against the railing beside him.

"Things have been so busy, we haven't really had a chance to talk," Tifa said quietly. She put her hand atop Cloud's. He quietly turned his hand over and interlaced their fingers.

"How long have you been here?" Cloud asked.

"A year," Tifa said. "I won't say it was easy, but there's not much exciting to tell. Had to learn a new set of standard cocktails and names for a few things, but bartending pays the bills."

"Didn't join an eco-terrorist group this time?" Cloud asked dryly.

Tifa laughed and looked down at the courtyard. Below them, Summer was standing with Oscar, working with him on footwork with his cane as the three present members of Team RWBY watched, while across the way Raven had taken a more hands on approach and was sparring with Jaune, Ren, and Nora, fending all three of them off all at once.

"She's very interesting," Tifa said after a moment. "She reminds me of—"

"Yeah," Cloud said. He shrugged slightly. "A little."

The wind whistled through the courtyard for a long moment; down below the clashing of metal on metal rang out.

"I met another Aerith," Cloud said. "It was…like seeing a ghost. But she didn't recognize me."

"Did anything happen?" Tifa asked. "Because — I mean, I'd be fine—"

Cloud shook his head. "No. She just—it wasn't the same." He let out a deep sigh. "I keep wondering when the mourning will stop."

"It doesn't," Tifa said. "Not for someone you love. I think about my mom a lot, and my papa, too. Everyone from Nibelheim. Biggs, Wedge, Jessie. Bugenhagen. Aerith." She disengaged her hand and rubbed Cloud's back, fingertips tracing circles. "But—" Her breath hitched. "You always think of grief as a weight. But it doesn't have to be — and you don't have to bear it alone."

"Right," Cloud said, voice hesitant.

"So," Tifa said. "What are we going to do?"

"My friend's home is in trouble," Cloud said. "The entire planet. So we're going to do what we do best."

"Fight," Tifa finished.

—

Qrow didn't come back from his errand before sundown; Summer's worry grew and continued growing. Eventually, inevitably, the exhaustion from the day caught up with her and she turned in early, sleeping on the floor in the bedroom.

Her rest didn't last — not due to the nightmares she regularly had, but instead to Cloud shaking her awake. Ruby was standing behind him.

"You sleep like the dead," he said as she sat up and he stepped back, still crouching over her sleeping bag.

"Not dead," she said hazily. She blinked a couple times. "What's up?"

"It's Qrow," Cloud said. He jabbed a thumb backwards. "Ruby got a call. Qrow got in a bar fight."

"Oh, no," Summer said, rubbing her forehead. "Where is he?"

"The police station," Ruby added from the doorway.

Summer sighed. "Alright," she said, flopping out of her sleeping bag. "Let's go get him out."

—

Judicious use of Summer's Huntsman License got the three of them into the police station and into the holding cells.

"I will warn you," the officer leading them said. "He was belligerent earlier." He turned to show Summer the black eye he'd received. "We're just lucky he was too drunk to really use his weapon, but man, can he throw a punch."

"I can handle him," Summer said.

"Right," the officer said. He turned to the officer manning the cell door controls and called out, "Could we get three open, please?"

The door swung open dramatically. Sitting inside on a metal chair was Qrow, slouching with his arms folded.

"Here comes Fearless Leader, ready to deliver one of her famous 'disappointed in you' talks," Qrow said.

"I'm very flattered that you've maintained a high opinion of my leadership skills," Summer said. "Honestly, if Oscar wasn't already asleep, the other guy would be here too, and I think you'd be in twice the shit."

"There wasn't anyone," Qrow grumbled. "No Huntsman in the entire city."

"We know," Summer said. "There's something wrong going on here and if you'd sat down for a minute and listened, you would have known too." She sighed. "You're forty, Qrow, I would have expected you to not charge into everything half-cocked still. And getting into a bar fight?"

"You don't get it," Qrow yelled. "You can't just leave for thirteen years and expect to come back and everything's dandy. I mourned you. There was an obituary. Taiyang shut down and do you know who got to deal with that? Me."

"I didn't ask to be there," Summer shot back. "Life dealt us a shitty hand. All of us. But we can't go backwards."

"Don't give me a hollow platitude about always moving forwards," Qrow spat. "It's just words."

"We can't do anything but move forwards," Summer continued. "I have regrets too. Maybe if I hadn't been so overconfident, Gretchen Rainart would still be alive. I spent weeks wondering why it couldn't have been me. Maybe if I'd called in the evac earlier. Maybe if I'd seen that Ursa coming. But we can't make those choices now. I can only hope that the choices I'll make now, or in the future, I can only hope those are better ones."

Qrow was silent for a long moment, staring up at Summer from the cell's inside. No words passed between them.

There was the distinctive ping of Qrow's Scroll going off.

Qrow looked down and fished it out of his pocket. He took a second to unlock it and unfold it. He stared at the screen for a long moment before he looked back up at Summer.

"It's Lionheart," he said. "We can inspect the Vault tomorrow night."

"Then let's get you back to the safehouse," Summer said. "Officer, could I get a release form?"

—

The moon was full, shining brightly down on Summer and Qrow as they strode across Haven's quad towards the Grand Hall.

"Remember how you said the Grand Hall would be a great place for an ambush?" Qrow said.

"Shut it," Summer said. She exhaled sharply. "I'm already jumpy enough without you making things worse. Something's been wrong this entire time."

The pair strode up the stone steps.

"So we press Lionheart on it once we're done," Qrow suggested. "If there's a leak we have to plug it."

Summer looked back at him and nodded. She gestured to the door. "Ready?"

"Not quite," Qrow said. He scratched the back of his neck. "I wanted to apologize. For what I said, and for what I did."

"Qrow, you jump into things without thinking them through sometimes. You've always been impulsive and reckless and you've caused me no shortage of headaches," Summer said. "But I wouldn't have it any other way. That said, I really would rather you not get into drunken bar fights and then claim I walked out on my family." She stretched and rolled her neck before concluding, "I accept your apology."

"Okay," Qrow said. "Now I'm ready."

Behind the doors was the ornate Grand Hall of Haven Academy. The massive foyer was still decorated to celebrate the Vytal Festival. At the center of the open space was a statue depicting a woman bearing chains and supporting a platform; a pair of staircases lead up to the platform.

Standing before the statue was Leonardo Lionheart, who was checking a large golden pocket watch as Summer and Qrow entered.

"Evening, Leo," Qrow called out as he stepped forward. "So, where's the Vault entrance, exactly? Oz never told me."

"Right here," Lionheart said, gesturing to the statue.

"Right in plain sight," Qrow said with a chuckle. "Alright. Let's take a peek."

Summer folded her arms.

Lionheart approached the statue, holding the pocket watch in his hand. He set it within a hoop attached to the statue's chains. With a rumble, the statue began to descend.

"No controls on this elevator," Summer said.

"Exactly," Lionheart responded. "If you descend, you need someone else to recall the elevator. I will recall it in exactly two hours, so don't be late."

Summer checked her Scroll for the time. "Two hours, got it." She stepped onto the platform as it reached ground level and Qrow followed. "See you then."

The pair descended down into the depths.

Summer flipped through her Scroll's functions to set a timer for herself.

"I can't believe you're still using that old thing," Qrow said.

"Upgrading wasn't exactly my highest priority," Summer said. She held up the screen. "We're far enough below the school that ordinary CCT signal can't reach. Short range radio is probably cut off, too. Burst transmission might work, but it's dicey."

"So no comms without leaving," Qrow said.

"Yeah," Summer said.

After several minutes, the elevator arrived at the Vault. As Summer stepped off the elevator, three massive circles lit up in sequence, revealing the Vault's gargantuan door. On either side of the platform leading from the elevator to the door was a sheer drop into inky blackness.

"So," Qrow said. "They can't get into the actual Vault without the Spring Maiden, who is currently with Raven's tribe — and Raven ordered them to scatter and reconvene at their summer grounds, so it will be at least a month before they're all gathered close enough to weed out which one is the Maiden."

"Yeah," Summer said. "Let's assume for the sake of argument that they have the Spring Maiden."

"Then they'd have two Maidens," Qrow said. "You understand how destructive even just one Maiden can be, right? If they have two, they don't need to sneak in. They could blow a hole in the side of the mountain and still have juice to spare."

"But they're not invincible."

Qrow furrowed his brow, his gaze growing distant. "They're not."

"So," Summer said, walking up to the Vault door. "It's buried deep in the mountain. No wireless communications except maybe burst transmission. A secured elevator. And a door that won't open." She shrugged. "It's pretty impregnable."

Behind her, the elevator began to ascend until it had gone up into the ceiling.

Summer turned around at the sound and blinked a couple times. "We just got down here," she said, checking her Scroll. Her eyes widened in realization.

"If Lionheart is our leaker—" Qrow started.

"Then not only would he be able to get them down into the Vault, he could trap us down here," Summer concluded.

"Raven can portal to us," Qrow said. "We won't starve to death."

"It's not starving I'm worried about." Summer pulled out Thorn and made sure it was fully loaded, then she did the same with Halbmond. "It's a trap."

"Hazel."

Summer nodded. "You have to get back up there. Once that platform comes back down, you fly up, get the others and detain Lionheart."

The elevator began to descend once more.

"I can't leave you here alone," Qrow said.

"I don't think there's much time for debate. Besides, I'm your team leader, right?" Summer smiled. "Follow my orders."

"You got it, Boss," Qrow said reluctantly. "Don't die again." He leapt up and transformed into a crow, letting out a cry before disappearing into the darkness. As soon as the elevator had cleared the ceiling, he flew up and out.

"Great," Summer said. Her footsteps echoed as she strode towards the elevator. "Let's see who tonight's contestant is."

The elevator's grate slid open. Behind it was Hazel Rainart, standing beside a young woman with dark hair and an eyepatch, clad in an asymmetrical red dress with only one sleeve that extended past her left hand's fingertips. The two of them stepped out to stand opposite Summer.

Summer silently drew her sword. "You know, we really must stop meeting like this," she called out. "I'm not going to roll over and die. I didn't back then and I sure as hell won't now."

"Shame," Hazel said, discarding his overcoat. "You could save yourself a lot of pain."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Summer said, mostly to herself.

"You're not the Rose I was expecting," the other said.

"You're the Fall Maiden," Summer said, raising a finger to her lips. She pointed with it, pantomiming a gun with her fingers. "I'm Summer."

"Fall. Cinder Fall."

Summer slipped her other hand back under her cloak; it wrapped around the grip of her revolver. "Now that we're introduced—" She broke into a run, whipping out Thorn and firing both rifle and revolver wildly at Hazel and Cinder.

Hazel raised his arms into a block, one of the bullets grazing his forearm before his Aura came up.

Cinder dodged backwards as Summer slashed for her neck. A sword coalesced into being in Cinder's right hand and she parried the next slash, the blades locking for an instant.

Summer heard Hazel's incoming haymaker, sliding to the side and backwards to evade both Hazel's blow and Cinder's impending attack.

"Back off. She's mine," Hazel ground out to Cinder, before turning back to face Summer.

Summer grit her teeth. "Don't be so sure."

Hazel pulled a series of large Dust crystals from his belt. With eyes wide and teeth bared, he slammed each into his arm. He howled in rage.

Cinder, smirking, stepped back as Hazel launched himself at Summer; he was a veritable whirlwind of fists and unbridled fury. Summer blocked and evaded as best she could, her Aura flaring into visibility with each hit she sustained.

Summer's gaze flicked backwards. Hazel was pushing her towards the edge of the platform.

This close, it was difficult for her to maneuver, but she brought the barrel of Thorn up and pulled its second trigger. The shotgun shell — full of Fire Dust — engulfed Hazel, and he instinctively brought his arms up to shield his face.

Summer leapt to his right and past him, delivering a pair of roundhouse kicks to Hazel's side. She backed away. With Semblance engaged, she slid Thorn into its holster and reloaded Halbmond with high-pressure rounds.

Hazel flexed, a crystal of Ice Dust in his arm lighting up and extinguishing the flames.

"That's raw Dust," Summer muttered to herself in realization. She grinned to herself for an instant.

Hazel loomed menacingly, wisps of smoke and steam still pouring off his body.

Summer fired Halbmond at the ground at an angle, sending her rocketing towards Hazel. She swung the sword back around to slash at his Aura. It sparked and flared into visibility as she slid past him.

He whirled around, his palms and Aura stopping each thrust and slash of the blade. He stepped forward deliberately, twisting with a hook aimed at Summer's lower torso. It connected.

She hadn't put up her Aura, and the blow hurt. She stumbled backwards, firing a shot from Halbmond without really aiming. It glanced off Hazel's bicep, tearing his sleeve.

"You're out of Aura and out of time," Hazel said. He grabbed Summer's incoming overhead blow with his left arm, twisting the blade out of her grasp and tossing it behind him.

She stepped backwards, assuming the low stance of a Mistralian martial artist as he approached, step by step. She flicked her glance to the massive door at the end of the Vault, which Hazel was slowly pushing her towards.

"This time, no pits, and no tricks," Hazel said. He grinned with feral intensity. "You're just going to die."

"You've got one or two things wrong," Summer retorted. "First off, I'm not going to die."

"And the second?" Hazel asked.

"I'm not out of Aura," Summer said.

Her Semblance hurt to use. Her body, pushed to superhuman limits, would tear itself apart if she let herself go at full speed. But using it was necessary to slip past his defenses.

Summer stepped forwards, ducking her head to the side to evade Hazel's jab. She brought her foot down to the ground and her right elbow up into Hazel's abdomen. She whirled around, her left hand grasping one of the Dust crystals embedded in Hazel's own left arm.

Hazel's face froze in shock, eyes wide and teeth bared.

Summer crushed the crystal — Lightning Dust, some detached part of her brain supplied — with her hand.

It crackled, discharging all at once with the sound of a cannon shot — and then another, and another as each of Hazel's crystals exploded in a chain reaction. Summer was thrown backwards, the tattered remnants of her Aura shielding her from the initial shockwave — but not from slamming into the massive door of the Vault. All the breath was slammed from her body and she was left gasping for air and coughing from the smoke.

After a long moment, the smoke cleared.

Hazel stood, still. What remained of his right arm was limp, useless at his side and covered in ice and frost from where the Ice Dust had exploded, His left arm was gone, charred away into nothing. His bloodstained face still bore a hateful expression as he stepped forward towards Summer.

Summer weakly put a hand up against the door. She shakily began to stand.

Hazel took another step and collapsed forward. Blood splattered over the stone floor.

Summer exhaled, watching his body for movement. The man didn't stir.

"Well, well, well," Cinder said, emerging from the smoke. "Such a shame, Hazel."

"So," Summer said, stepping forward. "How do you want to play this?"

—

Qrow had rarely flown faster. Maybe the only time he had was when he'd been rushing to save Ruby from Tyrian; still, that was over calm forests. This was in the chaotic air of Mistral and he felt even more frantic trying to remember the exact route from Haven back to the safehouse.

Lionheart hadn't been in the Hall, but Qrow's keen avian senses had discovered others: White Fang members hauling equipment out of trucks.

Qrow landed on the open air walkway of the apartment complex mid-transformation, which his knees and lower back did not like and were all too willing to tell him. He sprinted down the hall and skidded to a stop in front of the safehouse door, patting his pockets for the key.

After a moment, he realized that Summer had the spare key.

His fist came up and pounded on the door three times in a row.

Nora threw open the door a moment later.

"Grab your weapons," Qrow said, stepping past her.

Raven, who was slouched in a chair, perked up. "What happened? Where's Summer?"

"Hazel and the Fall Maiden have her cornered in the Vault," Qrow explained quickly, striding across the room and tossing Ren his machine pistols. Behind him, Tifa slipped on her gloves.

"Summer's in danger?" Raven asked, a barely-held together mask of calm hiding what at the moment maybe only Qrow could tell was a boiling, frothing pit of rage. She rose from her seat immediately.

"Yeah," Qrow confirmed, even as Raven was already picking up her sheathed sword and her mask. She slipped her sheath onto her belt and slid her sword out of it. "Raven, hold on," he said.

He was pretty sure she heard him, but she didn't slow her walk until she'd torn a portal open and walked through it. It shut behind her, winking out mockingly.

"Shit," Qrow said quietly before barking out, "Everyone! We gotta go!"

—

The group ran up the steps to Haven Academy's entrance. Qrow's knees were aching as he forced himself up the steep staircases, but he pushed through it.

"Qrow and I will apprehend Leonardo," Ozpin said, having taken over Oscar. "I need the remainder of you to ensure that the Vault's entrance in the Grand Hall is secured."

"Hold on," Ruby started. "M—My mom's still down there."

"And Raven," Qrow said. "She'll get Summer out of there. She can portal out to me."

"What about the White Fang?" Yang asked. "What if they're trying to bomb the school? Or release Grimm, like at Beacon?"

"I'll go," Cloud said.

"Nobody should go alone," Ozpin said.

"Then I'll go too," Yang said.

Qrow looked over and shook his head. "No. I know you lost your arm to these guys, but you gotta stay focused or else someone gets hurt."

Cloud surveyed the options carefully. "Weiss, right?" he asked.

Weiss blinked. "Yes, uh, Mister…?"

"Just call me Cloud." He jerked his head towards the towers. "Let's go do some bomb disposal." He led her away from the group, up a side path to one of the CCT Towers' rear entrances.

The remaining group continued up to the quad.

There was a small squad of White Fang members, clad in uniform and armor holding assault rifles, who snapped into firing positions as Qrow, taking point, emerged at the top of the stairs. He brought his sword around, the flat of the blade protecting his body as they opened fire. From behind, Ren and Nora fanned out, peppering them with machine pistol fire before blasting apart their formation with a well-placed grenade.

"Nice work," Qrow said.

He slammed open the door to Haven's Grand Hall for the second time in an hour. It was thankfully empty. The statue had once again returned to its position, sealing off the Vault; Lionheart's pocket watch was nowhere to be found.

"Oz," Qrow said. He jabbed his thumb at the statue. "No watch."

"Lionheart must have it," Ozpin said. He cleared his throat, stepping up the stairs slightly to seem taller than his current body was. "The rest of you, ensure that this hall is secured."

"On it," Jaune said with a salute.

Qrow and Ozpin ran up the stairs and through the corridors, Qrow taking point again. After they'd retraced the route he and Summer had taken scant days before, they came upon the eerily silent waiting room for Lionheart's office.

Qrow slammed open the double doors.

Leonardo Lionheart was laying facedown in a pool of his own blood. His weapon had been thrown across the room, and a pair of brown suitcases had been toppled over next to the couch.

"No," Qrow said, stowing his blade.

Oscar stumbled slightly, regaining control of his own body. "Oz?" he asked quietly. "You okay?"

He was met with a discomforting silence in his own mind; what once he would have taken as normal was now strange.

Qrow knelt down and flipped the body over. He grimaced; Lionheart had died with an expression of terror on his face. His pocket watch was grasped tightly in his hand, which had been pinned under his chest. Qrow pried his fingers apart enough to free it.

Qrow frowned at Lionheart's bloodstained shirt. He gently tilted the body to examine the wound.

"Oz, come look at this," he said.

Oscar stepped over and knelt down opposite Qrow.

"That's not a wound from a blade," Qrow said, looking at the wound.

"A Grimm killed him," Oscar said, the hairs on his neck rising.

Qrow looked up, the beginning of a sentence on his lips.

A Grimm loomed above Oscar: an orb-like Seer, with a barb prepared to launch into the boy's back.

Oscar's eyes flicked up to meet Qrow's.

With barely a thought, Qrow shoved Oscar aside.

The Seer's barb lanced forward, narrowly missing Oscar and planting itself in Qrow's shoulder, his Aura having come up a fraction of a second too late. Qrow shouted in agony. The second and third strike glanced harmlessly off his Aura, and with a flex and a push from his Aura, the initial barb was ejected from his shoulder, spraying blood out onto the floor.

Oscar leapt forwards, his cane deploying in his hand. With a thrust, he jabbed the Grimm in the center of its mass. He repeated the strike again and again, jabbing at the weak points between the Seer's bone-like armor until it spun, dazed. Oscar gripped the cane in both hands and swung with all his might, launching the Seer out of the window.

"Shit," Qrow said, standing up. He winced. "Thanks, Oz."

"It's Oscar." The once-farmboy pursed his lips. "Ozpin…went quiet."

Qrow chuckled. "Coulda fooled me. The way you move was the same." He winced again. "Okay. Aura took care of that." He looked down at the corpse and sighed, shaking his head. "Let's get back."

—

Yang opened one of the double doors by a crack and peered out of it. She turned back to the others. "No sign of them," she called out.

Ruby called back, "Got it." She loaded her rifle with a fresh magazine, manually cycling the bolt to load the first cartridge.

Yang peered out the door again.

She spotted familiar red hair across the quad — Adam Taurus.

Her hand — the flesh and blood one — was shaking violently. Her metal arm, holding the door open, let it go to wrap around her left wrist. She inhaled — exhaled thrice, and opened the door again.

Yang slipped out the door, running into the night.

"Yang?!" Ruby shouted. With a button press, she folded her rifle, already sliding it back into its harness at her waist. She ran for the door, threw it open, and disappeared into a burst of rose petals.

Tifa, who had been absently stretching, looked up sharply at the scene. The remaining three — whose names she was honestly forgetting — were looking to her, as the oldest and presumably most responsible in the room.

"I'll go get them," she offered, before running for the exit.

—

"You're wounded," Cinder said as she emerged from the smoke. She twirled her sword. "And disarmed."

Summer smirked. "Don't you know the old Vacuoan proverb that tells us a cornered fox is more dangerous than a jackal?" Her stance dropped again, her eyes narrow.

"Your arrogance is your weakness," Cinder said.

She charged with a brutal slash. Summer caught it in the shoulder.

Summer's right gauntlet came up to block Cinder's follow-up, creating a shower of sparks between the pair. Summer stepped forward and slammed her elbow into Cinder's chest before ramming her shoulder into the woman. She followed up by pressing the attack with a series of quick punches. Cinder's Aura flared into visibility with each blow until Summer punched her backwards with a titanic blow.

Cinder grit her now blood-stained teeth. Her so-far hidden right arm came up and lashed out — Summer realized as the blow flew towards her that the arm was a Grimm itself, with talons rather than fingers.

Summer caught the wrist before Cinder could slice at her face and twisted it down. Her other hand grabbed the elongated forearm of Grimm flesh and pulled, pivoting Cinder around. With a burst of her Semblance, using what little Aura she still had, Summer brought her elbow down on Cinder's arm.

Cinder howled in pain as the limb retracted unnaturally until it was once again hidden by her sleeve.

"This is impossible," she said. Her eyes glowed before flame erupted from them and she began to float off the ground, propelled by jets of fire.

Summer dove out of the way of her head-on assault. Cinder flew out over the abyss beneath the platform. She slowed, banked around, and sped back towards Summer.

Summer realized almost immediately: at the speed Cinder was moving, Summer would be thrown off the platform by a direct hit.

Summer narrowly dodged, the wind in the Maiden's wake throwing her off balance. As she steadied herself, a glint of steel caught her eye — Halbmond. As Cinder sped past again, Summer dove atop it and checked its magazine. It was still loaded.

Cinder slowed to a stop, lobbing jets of flame at Summer. Summer caught one in the chest, the blast throwing her back.

Cinder leaned forward, Grimm claw extended. She flew forward, prepared to kill Summer.

Summer steadied herself against the floor, stood shakily, and shifted Halbmond into sword form. She held it with both hands, stance low and defensive.

Before the two clashed—

A rend appeared in the space before Summer, splitting apart into a familiar swirling vortex of black and red. Raven Branwen emerged in a split-second, already drawing her sword into a slash that connected, tearing open Cinder's aura for a second.

The Fall Maiden careened upwards into a large loop, touching down gently.

Raven, mask upon her head, turned to regard Summer, sliding her sword back into its sheath.

"Overdramatic as expected," Summer said. She pulled a bottle from her belt — a healing tonic. "Relax. I'm fine." She uncorked the bottle and downed it in a single gulp before tossing the bottle aside; then she threw off her singed vest and her cloak, letting them drop to the floor.

Raven nodded — a slight, near imperceptible motion — and then turned to face Cinder Fall.

—

The silence of the Grand Hall was broken by an interior door slamming shut. Jaune, Ren, and Nora whirled around in the hopes it was Qrow and Oscar.

It wasn't.

"Well, well, well," Mercury Black said, standing at the top of the stairs. Emerald Sustrai stood beside him. "And then there were three."

"There's three of us and only two of you," Jaune growled. "You're going to pay for all the Huntsmen you've killed."

"Who are you, again?" Mercury asked, descending one set of the stairs that wrapped around the statue at the hall's center.

From the other set, Emerald mockingly looked up at the ceiling before snapping her fingers. "That's right, you were Big Red's partner."

Mercury laughed. "Him? And her? Oh, this is going to be easy."

"I'll show you easy," Jaune yelled, charging in.

Mercury stepped forward to meet him, a high kick redirecting Jaune's overhead blow. Jaune pulled back and tried again; Mercury spun to the side of his slash and rammed his elbow into Jaune's armored chest before bringing the back of his fist up to smack into Jaune's face.

Jaune stumbled back, bringing up his shield and hunching slightly behind it.

"You forgot one thing," Mercury said. His arms were spread wide as if to accept all challengers. "This isn't a spar. There's no Goodwitch to bail you out when I break your Aura — or your bones. So I hope the three of you have picked up a few new moves."

Nora charged in with her hammer only for Emerald's chain sickle to wrap around the handle and redirect her blow shy of Mercury; as Nora followed through, Emerald leapt over the fray and pulled sharply, bringing the hammer around to smack into Ren, who was approaching to attack Mercury himself.

"Ooh," Mercury said, with a fake wince. "Now that's gotta hurt."

—

Cloud and Weiss ran up to one of the Dual CCT Towers.

"There's one," Cloud said, pointing at a bomb that had been planted onto one of the pillars. He stopped in front of it.

"Do you know how to defuse a bomb?" Weiss asked.

"Not really," Cloud admitted. "But I've made enough of 'em."

Weiss's mouth dropped open in shock as Cloud grabbed the bomb from the pillar and pried it off the wall.

"Probably plastic explosive," he said, cracking open the casing to confirm. He flipped it around so Weiss could see the mass of clay-like explosive inside, wires criss-crossing over and into spikes and soldered to small circuit boards. "Yep. With a remote detonator."

"How do we disarm it?" Weiss asked.

"Well," Cloud said, sticking his gauntlet into the casing. A blast of cold emanated from his palm and, as Weiss watched, the explosive grew cold to the touch, frost crystals forming. "Some of the Wutai vets liked to carry Ice materia," he explained. "They said you could freeze plastic explosives if you couldn't get EOD on the line. It prevents them from detonating."

"Freeze the bombs," Weiss said, examining the stock of Ice Dust in her rapier.

"Look out," Cloud shouted, shoving Weiss backwards behind him as he drew the Buster Sword to clash with a White Fang member bearing a sword. Cloud threw the man off-balance with the weight of his massive blade before smacking him with the wide flat of his sword. The man slammed into the wall and fell to the ground, out cold.

"Come on," Cloud said, grabbing Weiss's forearm and hoisting her to her feet. "We've got bombs to deal with."

—

"Adam Taurus!"

Yang's voice echoed across the narrow space between the Haven Library and the campus's Performing Arts Centre.

Adam turned around, the two White Fang members flanking him spinning and brandishing their rifles.

"A Huntress," one of them said.

"No. A fledgling," Adam growled. "Go. I'll handle her."

The two at his side carefully stepped backwards before taking off and disappearing around a corner.

Sweat beaded Yang's brow.

His Semblance was able to pierce her Aura — but as for how he charged it, that was the question that had been left unanswered. If Blake were here—

Yang shook her head. There was no time to dwell on that.

If she assumed it was like her own, that they would fuel each other by trading blows, then it would quickly become a destructive spiral. But she doubted her own Semblance would be able to overpower his own. She would have to strike as hard as she could to knock him out before he could retaliate.

She launched forward.

The clang of metal-on-metal between Adam's freshly drawn blade and her prosthetic arm echoed into the night. She narrowly ducked beneath his follow-up slash, stepping forward as he stepped back.

Yang stepped back to bait his attack and he stepped forward as she'd hoped. He brought his sword down with both hands; she reached out with her metal right hand and grabbed it. She pulled sharply, his grip sending him towards her, and she punched.

His mask cracked and fell to pieces.

She could see clearly into his eyes.

One of his eyes was a brilliant blue — but the other was a lifeless gray, half-lidded and burnt. The massive scar of a brand was splayed across his face, bearing three letters — SDC. It was not fresh. It had been like that for years.

She stared into his burnt-out eye and at her own prosthetic hand, wrapped around his lapel. Her arms were shaking, both of them.

He shook the daze and shoved backwards out of Yang's grasp, firing wildly with the rifle that was his sheath. Yang brought her arms up into a block, the bullets deflecting off her Aura.

He began to advance—

—but stopped, a bullet whizzing past his head as the distinctive crack of Ruby's sniper rifle, Crescent Rose, sounded over the quad. He flipped backwards, narrowly dodging as a figure in white and black leapt down from the rooftop, smashing a small crater where he had been standing.

Tifa Lockhart launched out of the dust cloud her landing had kicked up. Adam evaded her first hit, smacking her in the stomach with his sheath.

Yang ran in, a kick slamming Adam's sword back into its sheath as he drew it. Tifa used the opportunity to deliver a hook to Adam's jaw; his Aura cracked from the force of the blow and he stumbled backwards a step.

A massive airship came into view overhead, its spotlights flaring to life and shining down on the group. Tifa and Yang reflexively shielded their eyes.

Standing above them on the rooftop, silhouetted by the spotlights, stood Blake Belladonna. Her hair and the tails of her coat were flapping in the wind of the airship's engine.

"Adam!" she yelled. "It's over! The police have the entire campus surrounded."

Adam grit his teeth, staring up at her. "Fine. We'll go together." He produced a thin metallic cylinder from his jacket, clicked a button at the top, and threw it to the ground.

"A detonator," Tifa said with a gasp.

Ruby's rifle fired again — and Adam brought up his sheathed blade and drew it just enough to catch the bullet. His blade hummed with the energy.

"Tifa, wait," Yang called out. "He absorbs attacks with his sword—"

"—and deals it back," Tifa finished. She smirked. "Then I'd like to see him absorb this."

She extended her hand, one of the small green orbs inset in the wrist glowing, and snapped her fingers. A fireball erupted before her, throwing a scorched Adam backwards. The police searchlight took a moment to find him, losing track of him as he absconded.

Yang stepped forward to pursue.

"Wait," Blake said.

"He's getting away," Yang urged.

"No, he's luring us away," Blake said. "The police and the people of Menagerie do have the entire campus surrounded. What matters is making sure those bombs don't go off."

"The people of Menagerie?" Yang asked, tilting her head.

"Long story." Blake shook her head. "Listen, I already have someone working on bombs, but there's no way she's finished. I don't know how long Adam left for himself to get away."

"Not to worry. We also have someone working on the bombs," Yang said.

"We?" Blake asked. "I know that was Ruby's rifle, and, uh…" She looked over at Tifa, trying to recall if she had ever seen the other woman.

"Tifa," Yang introduced. "Tifa, this is Blake, Blake, this is Tifa."

Blake reached out and shook Tifa's hand. "Are you a member of the faculty?"

"Nope," Tifa said. "Just a bartender."

Blake glanced over to Yang, a question in her eyes.

"My story's longer," Yang said with a smirk.

—

Cloud and Weiss rounded the corner to come upon someone in a black bodysuit hunched over a bomb. Cloud rushed forward as they stood; they narrowly ducked under a brutal slash and dove out of the way.

The bodysuited skulker was a young woman, perhaps within a year of Weiss. What Cloud had assumed was a full bodysuit actually only covered her torso and upper legs — her arms and legs had instead changed colors to decrease her visibility in the shadows and had reverted with the shock of being discovered.

"Camouflage, huh? Hope that's not your only trick," he said. "Weiss, get the bomb."

"Consider it done," Weiss said. With a gesture of her sword, the bomb was encased in ice.

"But I just disarmed that," the girl said, confused. "Who—what? Who are you?" She tilted her head to look past Cloud. "Are you Weiss Schnee?"

Weiss growled. "Another White Fang looking to ransom me?"

"I'm not—I mean, technically I was, but—Agh! I'm trying to save the school by disarming the bombs!"

"Disarming the bombs?" Weiss asked. "Who are you working for?"

"Uh—um—the Chieftain of Menagerie," the young woman blurted out. "Ghira Belladonna!"

"Belladonna?" Weiss asked, stunned.

"Belladonna?" Cloud repeated, confused.

—

Qrow sprinted down the hallways, the sound of gunshots from the GrandHall growing louder.

"Wait up," Oscar yelled from behind him.

Qrow did not slow down; he kicked open the door and drew his sword, the blade curving and hilt lengthening into a shaft as he leapt down from the raised dais to the ground. With a flick of his wrist he deflected Mercury's incoming attack on Jaune and with a sweep of his scythe he batted aside Emerald's chain-sickle.

"Branwen," Emerald said, fear trickling into her voice.

"You two," Qrow growled, assessing the situation.

Oscar was seconds behind and the rest of the kids were not alright — Ruby and Yang were missing, along with the bartender, Jaune bore a dented chestplate, Nora a head wound, and Ren a pair of slashes to his leg that had left him prone on the floor as his Aura worked to knit them back together.

"Waiting for your boss, I suppose," Qrow said, stepping forward slowly and menacingly. "You were her escape route last time, too. But this time you're finished."

"Yeah?" Mercury said, clearly hesitating.

Massive spotlights shone through the windows; the distinct sound of an airship thundered overhead.

"There's the police," Qrow said.

Emerald's gaze flicked to Mercury. "We can't leave Cinder," she said, voice low.

"Yes, we can," Mercury said darkly. "No Cinder, no smoldering crater of a school, and the police are here. We've been outfoxed." He slid a small cylinder out of a pouch on his belt — a grenade, Qrow realized as Mercury bit the pin and slid it out. He flipped the grenade into the air and it exploded a scant second and a half later as it hit the apex of its parabola.

The effect was instant: a blinding flash and a deafening bang.

When Qrow's vision cleared, the pair were gone.

—

The air in the Vault had grown thick with tension and warm with jets of flame.

"You must be Raven Branwen," Cinder said. She grinned, with a feral edge. "You're going to tell me where the Spring Maiden is." A flaming sword coalesced into existence in her hand.

Behind Raven, Summer reloaded her revolver. She spun the cylinder loudly when she was done; Raven's hand twitched slightly in acknowledgement; she rotated her sheath to affix a new blade.

At once, Raven moved to the left, Summer to the right.

Cinder's Grimm hand came up to block Summer's shots, but the bullet went straight through the palm and glanced off Cinder's Aura right before it would have hit her head.

"Her arm doesn't have Aura," Summer called out.

Cinder narrowly caught Raven's blow with her sword, a new sword forming in her Grimm arm to slash at Raven. The blow cracked the right eye of Raven's mask, exposing it.

Raven responded by pushing Cinder's first sword into the ground; the glass sword shattered against the ground. She kicked Cinder backwards; the Fall Maiden stumbled back to where Summer was ready with an elbow strike into a backhand. Cinder barely blocked Summer's follow-up slash, summoning another sword to deflect Raven's own incoming attack. It glanced off the blade and sparked Cinder's Aura into visibility, cracking it for an instant.

Summer shoved Cinder's sword backwards and planted two revolver rounds in her leg; the first shot pinged off her Aura and the second broke through. Cinder cried out in pain and she let out a massive blast of fire, throwing both Summer and Raven backwards toward the massive Vault door.

Cinder roared incoherently. She opened her palms and sent another massive jet of flame towards the pair.

Summer shut her eyes, preparing to feel the heat. When it didn't come, she opened them gently.

A thick wall of ice had formed to shield them.

Raven stood before her. Her arms were spread, fingertips against the wall.

Summer looked once more at the wall and back to Raven. "Then you're—"

"Yeah," Raven said. She turned to show her exposed eye and the flames pouring off of it. "I'm the Maiden." The wall cracked, water and small chunks of ice pouring out of them. A great cloud of steam had begun to form on the other side of the wall.

Summer laughed. She reloaded her rifle and slipped her revolver back into its holster. "Alright. No holding back now. She's out of Aura. We end this, quick."

"Got it," Raven replied, steadying herself. With a great exhale, the wall of ice shattered outwards.

Summer and Raven charged forwards out of the steam, perfectly in sync.

Cinder launched a fireball at them; Raven drew a blade infused with Ice Dust from her sheath and sliced through it. The blade cracked and shattered as Raven followed through.

"You're the Spring Maiden," Cinder said with a feral grin. Her Grimm arm lashed out, stretching abnormally before catching Raven by the throat and lifting her. Some red glow of energy began to move from the hand and back towards Cinder.

Summer inhaled. She drew on the strength of her heart, the strength that grew with connections and friendships and love, and that power poured out of her silver eyes.

As the light subsided, Cinder's arm was burning, back up and into the sleeve. She recoiled, howling in pain.

Raven's boots hit the ground and she charged forward; her hand slammed into Cinder's throat and she continued running until she held Cinder above the abyss. She squoze and Cinder gasped for breath. A blast of cold poured out of Raven's palm and into Cinder, flash-freezing her entire body. Her eye, still moving, flicked down to stare in hate at Raven.

"Bye," Raven said plainly.

She dropped Cinder off the cliff-edge.

Summer blinked rapidly to clear the light pouring out of her eyes. She grabbed her cloak and wrapped it around herself before peering down into the depths that Cinder had fallen into. "She dead?"

"She'll shatter at the bottom," Raven said coldly.

"Good." Summer exhaled roughly. "Let's get out of here."

"Just a minute," Raven said. She turned to face the Vault's door.

—

Blake's disorientation grew when Ruby and Yang encountered Weiss, who had evidently herself encountered Ilia by the fact that Ilia was standing awkwardly between Weiss and a spiky-haired man who was introduced to her as Cloud.

Before even speaking, Weiss offered Blake a hug. Blake, naturally, accepted.

"There's so much to explain to you," Ruby said. "I mean—well—we have to get permission first—"

"Chill out, Rubes," Yang said, smiling.

The sight was only slightly dismal when they arrived at the Grand Hall — Nora bore a bandage wrapped around her forehead, and a bruised Jaune was helping Ren into a more comfortable position. Qrow and Oscar stood beside the stairs, discussing.

Blake meekly waved hello, unsure of what to do.

The elevator, finally, returned.

Blake had seen neither of the women standing there atop the platform. Both were injured to varying degrees: the smaller bore cuts all over and bloodstains marred her sleeveless white shirt, and the larger had a considerable bruise developing on her cheek. They were leaning on each other slightly, and as Blake watched, the larger one pressed a gentle kiss onto the crown of her partner's head.

The smaller woman let out a small laugh, squeezing the golden lamp in her arms closer to her chest instinctively.

Blake couldn't help but recognize something familiar in the women. "Who is that?" she asked.

"Uh," Yang said.

"Those are our moms," Ruby said. She raised her voice and, with a great wave of her hand, shouted. "Hey, Mom! Come meet Blake!"