Summer Rose felt like she couldn't breathe. The line continued to ring after she had tried to call Professor Ozpin back, but no one was answering. Three rings turned into five. Then ten. Then fifteen, and still no one said a word as they waited. By twenty, Summer felt like she was going to throw up and slowly extended a finger to end the call. She let the digit linger upon the button as the device was disconnected. Only then did she take a long, deep breath through her nose and close her eyes.

"…what the hell is wrong with all of you!?" Summer exploded, standing up off the couch and whirling on the group with an uncharacteristic fury. "We never discussed coming down on Professor Ozpin, or telling him off, or… or any of this! We just… all of you just…"

"Not all of us," Bartholomew reminded as he moved into the kitchen, looking even more pale than usual. "That was… not the best way to handle this scenario…"

"Don't ask us why," Kali asserted, standing to her full height to challenge Summer. "You know why, because you know all of us. We've got problems with arbitrary authority for a whole lot of reasons, and part of us sticking it to Ozpin was to protect you. He's been withholding information, acting shady, a-"

"Of course he's withholding information!" Summer interrupted as she threw her arms out to the sides. "Look at this entire situation! Look at the stakes, which, by the way, we still don't fully understand, and think about how four people in this room should be involved! Counting Adam, we're now at thirteen! And Velvet will bring it to fourteen!"

"And you're saying that's our fault?" Qrow asked, only for Summer to give him an exasperated look.

"Yes!" Summer replied, throwing her hands up in the air. "I don't blame Fox at all, given the circumstances. I blame us. You were all so focused on getting to me and I was so overwhelmed that none of us realized he was even in the room. That's entirely our fault, and this whole situation could've been avoided if someone- anyone had just looked around and noticed that Fox wasn't supposed to be in the room before we started talking about Salem."

"No, I'm not letting you take that on," Fox declared as he shoved past Sage to stand closer to Summer. "Yeah, maybe one of you should have noticed, but I still fucked up, too. The fact that I can't see isn't an excuse."

"Everyone, calm down," Taiyang ordered, perhaps a bit more loudly than necessary. The boy had a hand up and the other on his stomach, looking ready to throw up. "Please. None of this is ideal. A lot of people made a lot of mistakes, including Professor Ozpin… but I can't handle being in a room this heated. At the end of the day, you all need to think about why all of this happened at its root cause."

"Because we're a mess?" Summer asked, shaking her head. "A mess that can't be trusted to just follow orders and keep our mouths shut?"

"Because we actually give a shit about each other," Taiyang rebuked. "Seriously- think. Fox followed us because we befriended his team. Ghira and Sage got roped in because of their connection to him. Cerise is involved because she cares about Roman and BASS. All of this boils down to an easily explainable chain of events that were out of our control and caused directly because of the relationships we've made. Professor Ozpin put us on teams to begin with and helped us connect with Willow. Yes, we made mistakes, but he really can't be all that surprised when all of our connections end up causing things like this. We were literally taught to make valuable allies and deepen those relationships all year long."

"Tai's right," Raven chimed in. "Besides- it's not like we're about to go telling anyone else. Other than Cerise, I don't see the potential for anyone here to do that. No offense- I just don't know you at all."

"None taken," Cerise confirmed. "But you don't have to worry, for whatever my word is worth. I get it. I'm a big girl. I can handle responsibility and shutting the fuck up when it's needed. I do appreciate most of you having my back, by the way…"

"I don't," Summer said as she folded her arms across her chest. "Why couldn't you just answer honestly? What's the big deal about a professor on another continent knowing your name and some basic information?"

Cerise blinked and took a step backward as all eyes fell on her.

"Uh… I do not need the attention of a man like that putting a spotlight on me. Vacuans don't play by the same rules you people do, and I've done some shit that he wouldn't like. I'm not joining your little squad over at Beacon, and I'm also not a part of Shade Academy. Not yet, anyway."

"That doesn't change the fact that Professor Ozpin needs to know who you are," Summer insisted.

"Yeah, and no one told me before spilling all the details that getting involved would connect me to him," Cerise pointed out. "I never agreed to be loyal to him, or give up information, or whatever else. I agreed to help you. I'm not some trained huntress- I'm a barmaid and a pickpocket. He doesn't need to know that."

"Well…" Summer began before letting out a heavy sigh and deflating a bit. "…you should've been told."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't help anyone, now does it?" Cerise asked rhetorically. "I wasn't, and now we're here. And don't you even think about blaming yourself for failing to mention that asshole, Fox."

There was a pause in which everyone simply fell silent. Fox had indeed been about to say something, but closed his mouth instead as he ran a hand through his hair.

"…I… think I need to go lie down. I mean… assuming we're still allowed to be here with you guys."

Summer sat down atop the coffee table, putting a hand to her forehead as she tried to calm down.

"Of course you guys are still welcome here. We're not just… we're not going to split up over this, or hold it against you, or… right, Willow?"

"Of course not," Willow agreed. "Come, Fox. I'll bring you to one of the bedrooms."

"Thanks," Fox offered. "This is such a mess…"

"We've handled worse," Qrow shrugged. "I'm with Tai. Everyone needs to just… cool off for a minute."

Ghira nodded his agreed and took out his scroll.

"To that end… Sage. Cerise. Let's head to the deck, give them some space, and try again to contact Velvet. Call it a team meeting plus one."

"Sure," Sage nodded as Willow and Fox headed for the staircase. "Let's go."

Summer, Raven, Qrow, Taiyang, Bartholomew, Roman, and Kali were left in the main section of the house as Ghira, Sage, and Cerise left. There was another tense silence interrupted only by the sound of Bartholomew pouring a drink. Summer blinked in surprise as she watched him come back with what was clearly alcohol in a wine glass.

"…well. This is all rather unpleasant."

"Yeah," Roman snorted as he flopped onto the couch alongside Kali. "It fucking sucks."

"Could be worse," Taiyang considered as he, Bartholomew, and the twins also took up seats upon the couches around Summer, who remained sitting on the table next to Willow's scroll. "Ozpin could be here and dealing with us directly."

"Even though he's not, we need a plan," Summer said, the fire that had been there moments ago absent from her voice. "We're going home and going to have to confront him, whether he calls again or not. I feel sick."

"You shouldn't," Raven reassured. "We're all in this together, and once things calm down, clear heads will prevail. Professor Gumo went against Ozpin's wishes too… and I doubt he wants Professor Calavera behaving the way she is down here with us. We just need to start taking BASS' involvement more seriously, and make sure they understand the gravity of the situation. I'm sure most of them do, but it needs to be said directly again and again to hammer the point."

"Yeah," Summer agreed as she looked toward Bartholomew. "Maybe I need a drink…"

"Maybe you do," Kali encouraged. "Just like Fox, though, don't go blaming yourself over any of this. We've never been lock step as a group, and you've never been responsible for outright controlling any of us. Just because you're one of the leaders doesn't mean this all falls on your shoulders. Oz can go after me and the Branwens if he's still pissed by the time he calls back. You'll be fine."

"That doesn't mean I want him to go after you," Summer lamented. "Even when we disagree on something big like this, I still love you guys. All of you. I just… don't know what to do. I'm panicking right now."

"Then lean on us," Qrow suggested. "This isn't something you can run away from and puzzle out on your own before coming back with an answer. That's over now, with you as a Maiden. Even if Ozpin cuts us all loose… you're stuck with him."

"Yeah. I know," Summer said, her voice full of resignation. "And that's part of what scares me. I can't do this without all of you guys. Raven, Tai, Qrow… you guys carried the team during Year One."

"…I mean… we're trained assassins," Qrow reminded. "And Tai's a trained asshat."

"I don't want to hear it from a guy who would get their ass kicked by his sister," Taiyang replied.

"And I don't want to hear it from a guy who would love to get their ass kicked by my sister," Qrow answered.

"Children," Bartolomew said forcefully. "Let us return to the topic at hand. We need to formulate a solid plan for our next encounter with Professor Ozpin, no matter where or how it may take place. We also need to figure out how to break this news to Adam upon his return, and make sure that when Velvet is told, she isn't missing any important information. Let us also not forget about Sienna Khan, or the fact that Summer is due to begin training at Shade to get control of her inherent magic."

"That's a lot," Kali complained. "Remember that whole thing where we're supposed to be on vacation? Maybe we let someone else do the heavy lifting for us, instead of sitting around and trying to puzzle this out right now."

"What exactly are you suggesting?" Roman asked. "A series of coin flips? Ask some locals about reading bones?"

"…wow," Kali deadpanned, her ears flattening. "No, I'm suggesting that we have a professor here who has had our backs collectively all year long and knows Oz really, really well. If we ask for her advice, she's likely going to give us some that would actually be useful. Besides- there's a chance the man upstairs is directly communicating with her right now, and she can tell us exactly what he wants and thinks of the situation."

"And you think she would just flat-out tell us that?" Raven asked.

"She would tell Adam," Roman pointed out. "He's been her protégé and little pet project since almost day one."

Summer slipped off the table and into an overhead stretch, standing on her tiptoes.

"Then maybe we head for the museum. He's supposed to be back today, right? If we can get him on board with us, we can talk to Professor Calavera and start taking steps to turn this around. Okay. We have the beginnings of a plan…"

"And we've done more with less," Taiyang offered. "Things don't feel so impossible anymore, I hope?"

"Not as much, at least," Summer agreed as she lowered herself down to stand normally. "Sorry for flipping out on you guys, I'm just… stressed out. Really, really stressed out."

"We get it," Raven said with a nod. "Qrow and I were there all of last year. We'll get through this as a team. Promise."

"We will," Summer agreed. "You guys are all like family to me at this point. Family fights every now and then, but family always comes back together. Even if they drift apart for a while…"

Author's Note:

…right?

-RD