Chapter 64: Beacon - Seeds of Recovery
Cover Art by Mi Chumi
Chapter Summary: In which Summer learns that she's not as tough as she believed herself to be.
[A/N] I'm not sure how to do this properly, nor if it's required, but... **TRIGGER WARNING** for folks who might be struggling with fertility issues or have experienced severe physical trauma.
Also, assume this Chapter is running in parallel with the Search for Cinder, and Cinder has been missing for a week or two back in Mistral.
"You ready?" Tai asked. Summer Rose cocked an eyebrow first at her packed bags, and then at Tai where he stood leaning against their bedroom's doorway. "Right. Dumb question."
"Nah." She strolled over to her husband and leaned in. Her head tilted upward even as her hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders. "You're just looking out for me," she finished softly.
Just because she could.
Not that Taiyang Xiao Long was complaining. As she lifted up on her toes, he met her more than halfway, lips meeting hers softly and hands easing over to rest on her waist just above her hips.
Just because he could.
They broke off before it could gain any real heat, and he gave his wife a long look. She had filled back out in the six months since she'd returned to him, to her family. Four months since they'd broken the news to Qrow and then to… everybody else.
Six months of… trying to make up for three years of an empty hole in their family. Three years of fear, pain, and despair on her part. It wasn't quite enough, not yet, but the yawning void was being slowly filled and patched over in much the same way that her wounds had healed. The body was whole, but not the same. Everything worked, but the evidence of past pain was still there, though slowly fading. Spending every possible hour with Tai and the girls had helped. Settling into a normal routine with her family had helped even more.
She'd put off requests by her former Professors at Beacon to visit Patch with the excuse that she was still getting things in order, and she had also delayed visiting Beacon herself long enough. Signal was on break for the rest of the year. It was time. They'd planned the trip carefully, knowing what all they would need to accomplish. There would be some sort of welcoming from the staff at Beacon, she knew that was coming. And she wanted to give the girls a tour of the campus, regardless of the fact that she'd sacrifice her other eye before she'd let them attend Beacon under Oz's watchful eye at this point. The further her children stayed away from her old boss in the long-term, the better. But she make that obvious, which meant acting like them attending Beacon eventually was still a possibility.
She also planned to spend time with Qrow at the Academy's weaponsmith facilities. He'd offered to help her build a new weapon. Maybe temporary, maybe not. Ruby was going nuts over that, demanding she be allowed to participate too. Apparently her youngest daughter had determined that helping her mom forge a new weapon was her absolute right.
And on top of all that, she'd promised Oz that she'd let Dr. Tsune give her a thorough once-over to check for any long-term health issues from her… absence.
So based on all that, they'd packed for a couple weeks stay rather than a day or weekend trip. The kids would have gone stir-crazy anyway now that school was out. Vale would be a welcome distraction.
When they arrived at Patch's modest Bullhead port, one of Beacon's handful of private aircraft was already there waiting for them. The girls were ecstatic. You'd have thought they'd never seen an airship in their lives, even though they'd only recently flown on a slower one from Mistral back home to Patch. Once inside, the girls hogged the small porthole windows that afforded a view out, so she and Tai had to put up with the girls' continuous chattering and commentary on the ride directly to Beacon's private docks.
The things that surprised Summer when they arrived at the Beacon docks were firstly the fact that there was only a single person there waiting to greet them rather than a welcoming committee, and secondly how much the sight of Beacon Academy affected her.
Blonde-haired Glynda Goodwitch stood alone just outside the landing area with hands clasped behind her back. Green eyes framed by her trademark wire-rimmed glasses held a warmth that most students never saw. The Deputy Headmistress and Combat Professor was known to be a firm taskmaster. Behind her stretched the wide avenue that led to the campus proper. Large gleaming-white buildings along with graceful arches and spires rose up behind Glynda. Summer could already envision clumps of students milling about those buildings in their school uniforms, flashes of black, gold, and red plaid.
And towering above it all central Beacon Tower rose, topped by its green spheres and intricate clockwork. She could see the topmost floors housed Oz's office and living suite, while the lower floors, obscured by the Amphitheater and other buildings, contained the semi-public CCT facilities that visitors could use if they needed a more secure or high bandwidth connection to another Kingdom than a scroll or remote terminal could provide.
The wave of nostalgia caused Summer to stumble as she exited the Bullhead. It was only Tai's strong hand on her arm that prevented her from falling on her face right in front of Goodwitch, who took a step forward, expression shifting to concern.
"It's nothing!" Summer gasped, righting herself fully. "Just this darned eye-patch messing with my depth perception again!"
The moisture in her visible eye gave lie to the excuse, but Glynda accepted it regardless. "Well then, let's get you on more solid footing. I'm afraid we timed your arrival rather poorly. With the 35th Vytal coming up in only a few weeks, everyone is quite overloaded at the moment, and I'm the best we could do for today's welcoming committee." A small smile appeared and was gone the next moment.
Summer's brow furrowed. I mean, they sent a Bullhead for us at least, and it was supposed to be a working visit. "Hmph. Well don't mind me, I guess. Is Qrow around at least?"
Glynda made a sour face. "Oh, he's around all right. Underfoot is more like it. The last time I saw him, he was in the staff room happily indulging in the contents of his flask. He said to swing you all by when you got here."
Summer rolled her eye. Yep. That's Qrow. "Fine and dandy then. Let's go."
"Come on kids!" Tai encouraged as he turned back to the Bullhead ramp. Yang and Ruby's eyes were huge, trying to take it all in.
"It's so big…." Yang breathed.
"And so much space to run!" Ruby added. "I bet I could run so fast here!"
"I bet you could," Tai laughed, ruffling Ruby's hair and causing the young girl to flail her arms and then flip her hood up to thwart him, which just made him laugh harder.
As they made their way up the avenue that bisected the large reflecting pools and was flanked by white columns and lampposts, Summer took Tai's hand and fought the urge to close her eye and navigated by memory alone. This place had been her home, their home, for four years, and then their base of operations for several more after that. Even after Team STRQ had fractured and she and Tai had moved out to Patch, she'd spent more time here than she probably should have.
Instinctively, the adults veered off to the left before they reached the Amphitheater's massive doors and the fountain statue of Huntsman and Huntress looming over a cowering Beowolf. That brought a snort. Oh kids, if you only knew.
There wouldn't likely be anyone in the Amphitheater at the moment, since most of the students were either training for the Vytal Tournament or studying for final exams this late in the school year. Continuing to flank to the left of that main entrance, her girls oohed and ahhhed and Tai kept a running commentary of each building and feature of the campus that came to their attention. Summer's soft smile broadened as two blocky Administrative Buildings came into view. The center one, right behind the Amphitheater, contained a mixture of meeting rooms and various utility and storage spaces. But it was the leftmost that they headed toward. It contained not only the staff lounge, where Qrow was likely trying to destroy his liver, but also the health clinic, where her appointment with Tsune would be.
That thought gave her a shiver. Doctor Tsune was… different. The fox faunus had a bedside manner, of a sort. She was soft-spoken and gentle in her movements, but also terrifyingly blunt and had a strange fascination with surgical implements that cut, sliced, poked, prodded, and injected. The mere presence of a scalpel would set her eyes aglow. Put a syringe in her hand, and her fox tail immediately began to pendulum happily. Many a student, upon seeing her happily preparing a syringe for the first time, had insisted that they were not, in fact, hurt at all. Nope. That's not my blood leaking on the floor. Not one bit. Totally fine me. What this little finger? Always kept it in a box on ice. A reminder to be more careful. Yep. That's me. But it was for naught, and all succumbed to her ministrations at least once during the four years. Being a Huntress in Training was, after all, a very physically demanding business.
Through the familiar entrance door, down the hall, and finally Glynda stepped aside with a scowl. "He's in there, supposedly. Turned most of the lights off, claiming a headache." She sniffed. "Probably hung over."
Summer couldn't exactly argue with Glynda on that one, though she'd have words with him about being drunk around Ruby and Yang yet again. She eyed her youngest, who had her face plastered to one of the nearby display cases and was yanking at her older sister's arm. It appeared to contain small models of various Huntsman weapons and armor. Maybe I can whip him into shape before the girls notice.
"I'll wait out here until you're done with him, if you don't mind," Goodwitch continued.
"Yeah, I guess so," Summer grumbled. Glynda opened the door to reveal the dim Staff Lounge a single lamp lit on a central table where Qrow slumped over, head cradled in his folded arms. Summer took a step forward, hand raising and an accusatory finger ready to scold the ever-loving crap out of him.
"SURPRISE!"
"Crap!" Summer yelled and nearly jumped out of her freaking skin as the chorus of voices yelled. She flailed around for a second before Tai caught her even as the lights in the room came up with the cacophony of laughter and happy applause.
"Easy there, babe. Don't want you breaking an arm and having to go visit Tsune first."
Summer's wild silver eye took in the people who had seemed to appear out of nowhere as her brain caught up with her heartrate. Professor Peter Port, his impressive mustaches quivering as he roared with laughter. Doctor Barty Oobleck, who raised his coffee mug in a salute, but had the presence of mind to appear sheepish. Professor Peach. Professor Green. Professor Mulberry.
And of course, Headmaster Ozpin, leaning on his cane near the wall with a soft, happy expression.
Qrow had raised his head and was grinning like an idiot.
She glanced over her shoulder to find Tai's blue eyes twinkling, poker face collapsing.
The dirty dog was in on it from the beginning, was her last thought before she was absolutely mobbed. As she succumbed to handshakes, hugs, and shoulder squeezes, she couldn't help but get a little emotional. It was… like being reunited with a family, even if some of them were… kinda problematic.
Like Oz. She was angry with him. She didn't trust him. But that didn't mean she hated him.
Several of them hurried off immediately after telling her how happy they were she was back. They'd apparently left some of the more responsible students supervising various activities, but that was responsible to the degree expected of students. But the warmth… the warmth of that welcome. They'd even set up a holographic screen with split images from Atlas Academy, Haven, and Shade so that a handful of staff from those schools could attend virtually as well. There must have been at least twenty people, all together. Summer's heart swelled even as her glass was filled with punch. Non-alcoholic, apparently, though she'd have bet that Qrow would spike it if he got the chance.
Ruby appeared and tugged at her arm, so Summer bent down. Her daughter's silver eyes were wide with wonder. "Wow, Mom. I didn't know so many people loved you!"
"But not as much as we do," Yang added from beside Ruby, daring her mom to disagree.
"Yeah. I guess… I guess they do…. And no, nobody loves me as much as my baby girls."
"Mom, I'm eight," Yang complained. "I'm not a baby no more."
"Yeah! Me neither!" Ruby added in solidarity, raising a pint-sized fist.
Summer laughed. "No, I guess not, but you'll always be my baby girls."
The reception lasted two entire class periods so that the Professors could all cycle through and get at least a little time to chat with her and welcome her back properly. Peter almost crushed her with a hug, and she might have spotted a bit of moisture in his eyes, though he scoffed at the idea.
Barty was nearly speechless, which was shocking, and just kept shaking his head and squeezing her shoulder. "Ah Summer Rose. I can't tell you," he sipped his coffee, "how overjoyed I was," sip, "to hear that you were still," sip, "among the living and had returned to us."
"Me too, Doctor Oobleck," she had the joy of watching him blush slightly. He always was an old softy if you knew which buttons to push.
Glynda seemed to take great joy in having played her role in the subterfuge, and had the warmest, most happy expression Summer had ever seen on normally severe Deputy.
And then there was Oz. Her old Headmaster, and the man she'd served for years after graduation, still leaning on his cane slightly apart from the whole affair.
He's so hard to read.
She made her way over to him. "Oz."
"Summer, it is… wonderful to see you in the flesh."
"It's good to be in the flesh, Oz."
"Indeed. I trust you are settling in?" He blew across his hot cocoa, and then took a sip.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I haven't been very sociable."
"Hmmm." He took another sip. "From what I have heard, you have been… sociable in a somewhat unorthodox fashion. Kuroyuri?"
She blushed. "Oh... heh… you heard about that?"
"From Qrow, of course. And I informed Profession Lionheart immediately after. He was surprised as well, though I would not call either of us displeased." He examined her. "You felt… up to such a challenge?"
"I had my team with me," she said simply.
"Indeed. Team STRQ. A formidable force before Raven's disappearance. And apparently reunited as a formidable force once again?"
"Yeah." She smiled.
"And how is Raven? Lionheart mentioned something about a hearing."
"She's Better."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, she's stopped pretending to be a heartless criminal out to plunder the weak, and now she's a heartless opportunist out to plunder the coffers of the wealthy." She shrugged. "It's a start."
Ozpin nodded. "I cannot argue that logic."
Summer felt a gentle hand on her arm. "Headmaster, you are not allowed to monopolize the guest of honor!" Glynda Goodwitch scolded as she drifted up.
"We were just catching up, Glynda." Ozpin smiled enigmatically.
"Well, you'll have ample time for that. But Mrs. Rose is currently community property." Glynda shot Ozpin a mock glare as she pulled her back toward the center of the room, where someone had brought out a tray of cookies. Ruby complained that they couldn't possibly be as good as her mom's, but ate more than her fair share anyway.
The hug from Qrow was welcome too. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him, multiple times, over the last several months, but still, he was her best friend after Raven. "I nearly peed myself, you jerk," she groused in his ear.
"Not my fault you can't hold it in, Sum. Besides, the surprise wasn't my idea."
"Oh?"
He pulled back and smirked. "Nope, believe it or not, it was Glynda that suggested it. Barty nearly spit out his coffee."
Her eye narrowed. "I don't believe it. You're lying."
"Cross my heart, hope to get the shit beat out of me by Raven," Qrow laughed. "So you still up for that weapon design session?"
"Yeah, we've got a hotel in Vale reserved for the next two weeks, so I've got time get everything done. That gonna be enough for you?"
"Eh" he waggled his hand, "Might have to do some tuning and bring you the finished product in Patch, but we'll have something you can play around with before you leave."
"Summer!" Professor Green called, "Come tell Professor Mulberry about the honey wasp incident! I've forgotten too many of the details!"
With a grin, Qrow and Summer both headed to the other table. Behind them, she could already hear Tai groaning, since he had been the butt of that prank.
Hope the girls don't get any ideas…
The party had been mostly okay, Ruby Rose thought, even if the cookies weren't nearly as good as the ones that her mom made. But now they were finally out of that room and walking outside!
Ruby's silver eyes were darting all over the place as they made their way in a wide circuit around the huge big tower-thing in the middle of the campus. Beacon Tower, Uncle Qrow had called it. Dad said it was also the CCT Tower where you could talk to anyone in the whole world like superfast, and the Headmaster of the school had his office wayyyy up in the tippy top of it.
And there were so many people which was exciting and made her really nervous. Though they all looked really cool in their school uniforms, even if everyone was way older and taller than she was.
But that tower was hugggeee and went wayyy up. Uncle Qrow was pointing out all the other buildings as they walked, and Ruby tried to pay attention but she kept getting distracted by how huge everything was.
If Argus had been cool, Beacon Academy was awesome!
I mean, not as awesome as Pete's Emporium. Unless there was an arcade somewhere on campus. But other than that….
There were wide grassy lawns where she could probably run as fast as she wanted with nobody yelling at her to slow down. And did she mention how all the buildings were huge and blazing white?
And they were headed to the Weaponsmith! Imagine that! An entire weaponsmithy on campus! Ruby could feel herself vibrating just thinking about it. Uncle Qrow had promised her, like pinky promised her and everything, that he would help her build her own Huntress weapon some day. She had so many ideas for it. But first he was going to help mom rebuild hers!
And Ruby got to help, cause she'd made mom promise she could. Yang wasn't really interested in weapons, so she and dad were going to go somewhere else. They were probably gonna be doing Yang things. That was fine. Her and Yang didn't have to spend every single second together. Nope. Especially not with mom around.
Ruby could remember, with that kind of quickly fading reality that young memories had, a time when her mom hadn't been there. There were vivid flashes, like the first time they'd visited her marker and Yang and Tai had cried and that'd made her cry. And afterward when Yang had gotten mad and said it wasn't fair and was totally not true and they'd set off into the woods to find someone who could maybe help them find mom.
And that had been terrifying until Uncle Qrow had shown up and saved them from the stupid Grimm that scared them silly.
She shook herself, pushing all that away, and realizing that Uncle Qrow was still talking about the buildings and stuff, and her mom was still beside her and smiling in that way mom did which made her feel all warm and safe.
Yeah. Right. Paying attention. Cause right now, I'm at Beacon, and there were all these huge buildings and bigger kids around. The students were all like three times as tall as she was, and they all looked sooooo cooooolll in their school uniforms and some of them were in their combat outfits and had their weapons and were probably going to spar Right That Very Second and she really wanted to follow them and—
She felt a tug on her hood and glanced back, realizing that her mom had a firm hand on it and had just stopped her from— "I wasn't gonna wander off, honest!"
"I know, baby, I was just making sure I didn't accidentally lose you in all these crowds," Summer said with a smile.
Yeah. Right. Crowds. Ruby looked around, and suddenly there felt like a lot more people than she had realized. She edged back closer to her mom, and felt a warm hand on the back of her neck as Summer played with her hair. Mom was allowed to do that, cause she didn't go all crazy like dad did and mess it up.
We're gonna work on weapons. I can watch sparring later.
As they rounded Beacon Tower, Uncle Qrow pointed out a big domed building and said something about leckacher halls, which didn't make a lick of sense, but then behind that was a low building with a bunch of vent stacks and he said that was the Weaponsmithy and Armory!
Yang and dad said goodbye there, and headed off to the right, while her and mom and Uncle Qrow started off the left in a long circular arc around the big domed building.
Sheesh, do they not know how to make straight sidewalks here?
. . .
Yang and Tai soon found themselves in a large room with stadium-style seating. There was already a match going, so they grabbed seats high up so as not to interrupt.
Yang didn't care too much about that. All she had eyes for was the two older kids down below in the arena that were totally beating the crap out of each other!
Well not really, she knew. These were Academy kids. They had Aura to tank the worst of the hits. But still, it looked freakin' brutal!
I love it!
For the next two hours, she watched in rapt attention as kid after kid got their crap pushed in by another kid while her dad provided play by play and color commentary. Some used swords. Some used maces. Some used spears. And a handful just used their fists! She felt her hands flexing just thinking about.
Gonna have to get Auntie Raven to teach me some moves like those.
Below, one second-year student literally palmed the back of another kid's head and slammed them face-first into the floor of the arena.
After I get my Aura unlocked.
Yeah. After that.
The hardest part about redesigning her weapon was understanding that she wasn't starting with Sundered Rose.
No, that wasn't true. The hardest part was convincing herself that Ruby was actually paying attention and was not, in fact, going to crawl into the computer-controlled dust cutter and slice herself into salami.
Seriously, that girl…
No, Ruby was focused. More focused than Summer had ever seen her. At one point in the process, Qrow had leaned over and reassured her. "Summer, Ruby and I… kinda bonded over Harbinger after…." he gave her a meaningful look, "I'd come over and watch the kids when Tai needed to do things. Yang liked playing video games, but Ruby here," he gave the young girl a smile, and she beamed back at him, "would help me take Harbinger apart, clean every single component, and put him back together."
Ruby nodded, silver eyes shining, "Yeah. You gotta take care of every piece, or it'll do that Marty's Law thingy, mom!"
"Murphy's Law," Qrow corrected. "Though some of us gotta be more careful than others." His smile took on a rueful edge, and Summer couldn't help but laugh and hug him for it.
"Okay, I'll stop freaking out. So what's the plan?"
"Well from what you said before, you aren't keen on just rebuilding Sundered Rose."
Summer felt her heart skip a couple of beats. Sundered Rose was… back in that place Where she'd left her after… "No… no that would be… disrespectful. I didn't just lose her, Qrow, I had to leave her there. I wouldn't want her to think that I just… abandoned her there and made another just like her."
"You're crazy, Sum. It's—"
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby scolded.
"Hmmm… Ruby, tell me, darling, have you ever seen Uncle Qrow cuddling Harbinger? Maybe after he's been naughty with the alcohol?"
"Da—angit Summer!"
Ruby's nod was all the affirmation Summer needed. "He sang to him one time," Ruby finished in a horrified whisper, "it wasn't a nice song, either."
"Qrow. Branwen."
"Uh. Touche'. Changing the subject! What did you have in mind?" He cleared the touchscreen in front of him, and held the stylus meaningfully, praying that they were done with 'All The Times Drunkle Qrow Fucked Up' Tales.
"Hmph. Well, with my depth perception shot," Summer swirled a finger toward her eye patch, "at least for now, I'd like to focus on ranged forms as the primary, with any melee form more focused as a backup and defense."
"Alright," Qrow rubbed his stubbled chin, "Alright. So, prioritize ranged option. Want to stick with the rifle?"
"Hmm…."
"Mom's awesome with the rifle!"
"That's true, baby, but maybe something with a little more…."
"Bang! Boom!?"
Summer laughed. "Yeah, that," and received a gleeful hug from Ruby for her supportive response.
"Alright!" Qrow crooned, "Now you girls are talking my language."
Summer and Ruby watched as Qrow began sketching, asking questions as he went. The base was more or less the very familiar sniper rifle, not too far removed from Sundered Rose's ranged form, but with a second larger smoothbore barrel added just below the rifled one. "You want punch, I'm giving you punch. I'm thinking an over-under configuration where this sucker can fire canister rounds. Say, fire dust laced with shrapnel, lightning dust, you name it."
Summer glanced at Ruby and got a manic grin in return. "I like it. And for defense?"
"Well, frankly, I don't think you're as gimped as you seem to believe."
"Qrow," Summer paused. "Maybe you're right but… I'm… not sure how I'll do in close combat. I'm not… ready yet."
"Oh," Qrow said after a few seconds. He took a deep breath, and gave Ruby a reassuring look. "Right. Defense it is. So, something that works more as a shield, a blocker? Maybe give it some spikes so it has the ability to do some damage too." He thought about it. "How about this." He sketched out a set of blades that would fold out from alongside the barrels roughly in the shape of concave asterisk. "We put armatures hinged at the end of the canister launcher, use it for the primary structural support so you don't worry about flexing on the rifle barrel." He made a side sketch of a complex powered hinge mechanism. Then he made a second sketch showing his idea on what it would look like deployed. "It won't shield you from small projectiles, but you can use it both to block incoming strikes, and you can swing it around like a parade soldier to parry with. And if a Grimm manages to actually slam into it…"
"it'll do more damage to it than me," Summer mused. "I like it."
"Soooo cooolll…" Ruby said. "Can you… put rose emblems on the stock? And make it so that it… I dunno… opens like a flower blooming?"
Qrow and Summer both blinked, and then a smile spread across both their faces. "Well I think that's an excellent idea," Summer said.
"And I think we've got some naming elements in there, too. Don't we, Sum?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Alright then. Let's see what we can mock up while you're here, for weight and all, and then I'll finish it up this week. You work on that name while you're here, okay?"
"Thanks Qrow. You're best friendzone guy ever."
"And don't you forget it."
After being reassured that it would take some hours for him to have a couple of static mock-ups ready for her to test weight and balance, Summer left Qrow to it, and managed to drag Tai and Yang off to the cafeteria so they could all have some actual food for lunch other than cookies.
That was another hit of nostalgia. The food was as modestly good as she remembered. She managed to mostly ignore the looks a few of the older students, who might have been aware of her disappearance early in their education, threw her direction. Mostly just curiosity. She'd get used to it.
Afterward, then popped back in to find Qrow had started the prototype printers running on a handful of the components. He assured them it would be the next day before he had something worth looking at. Which left... her appointment. She handed both girls over to Tai, despite Ruby's protests, for a continued tour of the campus, and made her way back to Beacon's Clinic.
The panic she had to fight off at the sight of the Clinic door was real. As was the fact that it amplified when she saw Dr. Tsune's white-clad uniform, fox ears and tail in front of her.
"Ahhh Summer Rose. I've been looking forward to this," the fox faunus murmured, and Summer felt her skin go clammy.
How the heck does she do that?! Make a harmless statement sound so flippin' threatening!?
To her shock, Tsune actually turned, stepped forward, and hugged her!
"Come, let's get started," and she was led to the exam room and found herself hopped up onto a floating medical bed thing…
"Right. Now. Pop off that eye patch and let's see what sort of nightmare we've got underneath," Dr. Tsune said evenly, though her eyes were bright.
"Do I… have to?"
Tsune blinked. "Not really. The scanners will show me everything I need to see, but well, I admit to professional curiosity."
That actually caused some of the tension to flee. "Heh. Same old Dr. Tsune."
"That's me," the faunus murmured, "now off with it," she gestured with one hand, and Summer tried to ignore the fact that she had a freaking scalpel in it.
Summer sighed, and slid the patch and supporting bands off, and Tsune leaned in, occluding the large light over the exam table. It made her feel suddenly vulnerable.
She snapped on a smaller light at the side of her temple. "Hhmmm. It appears that someone else has subjected you to their gentle ministrations besides me."
"Real funny, Doc."
"Yes well, I take pride in my work," Tsune frowned. "Whoever did this, however, deserves to have their limbs amputated."
"No argument from me there."
"Without anesthetic. One digit at a time."
"Whoah. Easy there, Doc."
"With a dull knife," Tsune finished, then licked her lips slowly.
Summer's stomach did a backflip. "You know, you really are terrifying sometimes."
"Only sometimes?" Tsune purred, giving Summer a gentle smile. "I must be losing my touch," she patted Summer on the shoulder.
"You know," the Huntress continued, "when I was a student, I really was afraid of you."
Tsune's smile broadened, "I expect so. I worked hard to cultivate that reaction from the students."
"Huh?"
"It was my hope that by making medical care as terrifying as possible, they would be motivated to not require it."
"Are you serious?"
The other woman snorted. "Of course not. It's just how I am. We can't help how we're made." She gave Summer's remaining silver eye a meaningful look.
Huh. Maybe Tsune knows a lot more than she lets on.
"You learn things," Tsune went on, as if reading Summer's thoughts. "A lot of things, when you spend year after year delving into the deepest, darkest recesses and anatomy of Huntsmen and Huntresses." She gave a small cough, reached over to a shiny metal tray beside the bed, and retrieved a flat metal implement. "Tell me when this hurts."
Summer's brows rose. "You men if?"
"I meant what I said," Tsune rebutted, and began poking and prodding the eye socket.
"Ow!"
"Thank you."
"Ow again! Hey!"
"Mhm…"
"Seriously, Doc." Summer gritted her teeth. "That's a tender spot."
"Yes, they didn't bother to… minimize nerve damage, apparently. My opinion of this… individual continues to sour." Her expression was flat. "They should hope that I never have them under my care at any point. Did you happen to get their name?"
Summer had anticipated that question, and had decided that the risks of Watts' name getting back to Ozpin and blowing everything Selene and company were trying to do wasn't worth the short term revenge she might get. She could wait on that. "I was otherwise occupied at the time," she lied easily.
"Hmm…" her caregiver set the implement aside. "Alright, sit tight for a moment," she said as she maneuvered a ring-shaped armature to the foot of the floating medical bed, and then stepped back and tapped at her scroll. Blue lights sprang to life around the interior circumference of the device, and the armature slowly worked its way across Summer's reclined body. "Don't mind the light, it won't hurt you."
"I've had a few medical scans, Doc."
"Ah. Yes. I seem to remember the time you came to me with an arrow through your left buttock."
"Raven."
'And then that time with the broken left tibia."
"Raven again."
"And of course, the stomachache from eating an entire five pound box of chocolates."
"Still Raven," Summer winced at the memory. "We had a… bet."
"Mhhmm. And I had to clean up the resulting mess. I begin to think Raven Branwen was not the best influence on you."
"Yeah, well, that went… goes… both ways. I like to think I keep her from going too far off the rails."
Tsune hummed again at that. "So, you two have rekindled your friendship after your return?"
"You doing counseling too?"
"Well… I'm not the best at it, to be sure. But frame of mind can have a dramatic impact on healing, believe it or not. It's not all chemistry and biology." Tsune frowned. "Or at least not obviously chemistry and biology."
"Yeah. I guess you could say that."
"Alright, hold your head still for a moment. No more chatter." The ring made its way to her neck, and then past her head, and retracted into the far wall. "Takes a moment for processing," Doctor Tsune said, making a motion that implied patience.
And then she gasped. "Dear gods… what fucking butcher had his way with you?"
"My eye can't be—"
"I'm not referring to that, Summer," Tsune's face was pale, but her eyes held a deep-seated anger as she motioned toward Summer's abdomen.
"Oh. That." The conversation had been so focused on her eye that she'd forgotten, which was stupid. Or maybe she'd tried to block out the memory.
Raven had snuck her into Evernight. And she'd managed to flipping ambush Salem. She'd had one moment. One beautiful moment where she'd believed that they'd succeeded. She'd faced Salem's back, desperate to bring her eyes to bear, and then she'd been spun around and there'd been the sound of cackling beside her. Something touched her stomach, and then…
Pain pain pain even though her Aura should have protected her. She remembered feeling like her guts were trying to spill out onto the stone floor in front of her.
And then black tendrils, almost tentacles, had sprouted from the floor around her, and had wrapped around her. Arms, legs and throat, squeezing her and dragging her head backward to face directly upward where her eyes wouldn't have done any good at all.
As she bent backward, she'd caught a glance of Raven's terrified face from a dark doorway, and heard Salem's voice summoning others. Agents. Grimm. Servants. It didn't matter. She was a dead woman.
And then those horrific tendrils had wrapped around her gaping wound, holding her entrails in but also causing her to black out with the pain. Her last memory had been hearing Raven crying her name, and Salem's dark laughter.
"Remnant to Summer," Dr. Tsune patted her lightly on the cheek, causing her to flinch.
"Eh? Oh. Sorry."
"Yes. Well," Tsune looked upset for a moment, which was shocking in itself. She had a reputation for being somewhat unflappable. "Your internal injuries here were clearly highly traumatic."
"I… kinda thought they might have been. When I woke up, I could barely move without screaming."
"Considering that it appears your entire digestive tract had been shredded, along with severe damage to liver, pancreas, bladder, and reproductive system, I am… unsurprised."
Summer felt herself go… strangely numb. "Oh. I hadn't… realized."
"Yes well, someone did a barely passable job of patching you up so that you did not, in fact, die within minutes. Not an acceptable job, but minimally passable," the doctor was tapping the screen in front of her, marking areas and making notes as she spoke.
Probably Watts at Salem's orders. She would have ordered him to ensure I lived, but wouldn't care much beyond that. It was a good thing Tyrian hadn't paralyzed me, because Salem wouldn't have cared if I ever walked again.
Tsune cleared her throat. "There's no delicate way to say this, but… you were not planning on having any more children, I hope."
Summer felt awareness wash over her, followed by alternating waves of sadness, anger, and resignation.
It didn't matter that the answer was no, it wasn't something she'd ever intended. But the fact that, from Tsune's expression, the option was no longer an option… well it still sucked. A lot. Fricking Tyrian. Fricking Watts. Fricking Salem.
Fricking me. Trying to be the big dang Hero.
Summer took a deep breath and then let it out. "Not really. I didn't figure I'd have had the time, anyway. And I have the girls."
"Good. I'm afraid my bedside manner has never been one of my strong points."
"You're doing fine, Doc."
"And lying was never yours, Summer." Tsune gave her patient a careful appraising look. "You require counseling."
"That's what—"
"You misunderstand," Tsune interrupted. "You require counseling. I'll be informing the Headmaster and he'll be suspending your license indefinitely unless you do so."
"Oh. Well… like I said, I'd intended to, and I wasn't planning on—" Summer started to sit up to explain.
"Summer Rose," A voice from Summer's school days came out of the fox faunus' throat. A voice of authority that demanded obedience. "I've been fully… briefed… on your latest activities. I can't prevent you from joining, for example, a local militia or the Atlas Military, though the latter would require the same counseling that I am demanding, but I can have anyone and everyone across the Kingdoms notified that if you are seen with a weapon, you are to be medically detained."
Summer fell back down on the pillow. "Well. Poop."
"Yes. Poop. You, Huntress, are in need of psychological counseling. No one, and I mean no one, suffers the kind of physical trauma that I'm seeing here and retains the level of laughable nonchalance that you are displaying." Her brown eyes narrowed. "The odds of you having a traumatic or even psychotic break at some point, under pressure, are practically 100%. I do not approve of those odds."
Summer paled. That sounded… bad. "Seriously?"
"I have no sense of humor."
"That's bullcrap, Doc."
"Correction. I have a very twisted sense of humor, and this isn't it."
"Alright. Fine," Summer stared at the ceiling for a moment, then sighed. "Fine."
"I'm sending you a list of individuals who specialize in treating Huntsmen and their… very particular mentalities. Delusions of grandeur and invulnerability. Narcissistic god complex tendencies. Alcoholism and substance abuse. You know, the usual."
"You… are just as much of a meanie as I remember, Doc."
"Yes, and you are still alive to experience it." Tsune perused Summer's scans and her notes again, "which is frankly shocking considering what I see here."
"Ugh."
"But enough of that," her caregiver brightened. "The truth is that physically you are doing remarkably well. In addition to the initial injuries and shoddy repairs, your body has clearly suffered some long-term deprivation, but that appears to be mending other than the obvious scarring from injuries sustained during Aura depletion, or that Aura simply couldn't deal with."
It was known that Aura could handle / heal most modest injuries, but it generally could not do things like regrow limbs, digits, or organs.
Like eyes.
"So, continue what you have been doing. I'm going to send you some physical therapy regimens that I expect you to follow, and I will insist that you send me scroll logs that they are actually being done." She tapped her check. "Have you discussed your eye with Headmaster Ironwood yet?"
"Ehhhh…"
"Well, we can discuss that later. Are you feeling any internal or surface pain? Irritation at the scars?"
"Pain? Not generally. A few twinges now and then from my stomach and the scars itch."
"I'm going to write you out a prescription for some cream that will reduce that for the scars, as well as reduce their visibility." She typed on her scroll, a message popped up on Summer's.
"Thanks. Tsune."
"Your continued absence from my clinic would be thanks enough, though I hope to see you in a more casual setting in the future."
Summer had taken Dr. Tsune's threat seriously.
Because Dr. Tsune didn't threaten. She indicated. And Summer also filled Tai in regarding her physical checkup. That evening had seen some regression in the amount of emotional fragility they'd felt, and with good reason. They'd discovered long-term consequences to her injuries that they had not considered. To say that they stayed up late, alternating between being comforted and angry, would be oversimplifying it. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that they had two beautiful children, and really hadn't been considering any more.
Which had also solidified Tai's demand that Summer not waste time, and make an appointment with a counselor immediately.
She made the appointment with Dr. Mazarin, who had apparently already expected her call.
Dr. Adolphus Mazarin was… apparently… the premier psychological counselor for Huntsmen, Huntresses, and children suspected of having unique or problematic Semblances that might impact their sociological development.
What Summer discovered was a man nearing the back end of middle age, with a kindly face and an expression that said he'd seen and heard pretty much anything you could imagine, and unfortunately remembered most of it.
"Come. Have a seat."
"No couch to lay down on?"
"Ah. Someone's been watching too many movies. Now, tell me about your mother."
"Seriously?"
"Not at all. How are you feeling?"
And from there, he slowly, effectively, drew her out.
They started with the topic of what had happened in Kuroyuri.
Surprisingly, being able to wade back into the fray at Kuroyuri two months ago with her old team, had made a huge difference how she felt. Seeing Team STRQ fighting Grimm together. Sure, there'd been a moment of terror when Raven's message had come through, and then they'd scrambled to grab their gear and bundle the girls off to Violet's. But when they'd walked through the portal into Southern Mistral and seen everyone there, Team STRQ and their new friends from Argus rushing to get into position and Raven of all people barking orders, that terror had been replaced with confidence.
And then the Nuckelavee had rounded the corner.
Summer had frozen for a half second, finger unable to squeeze the trigger. Her stomach cramped once, as if Tyrian's knives had found her again.
And then it had passed as her teammates had sprung into action. And the snipers beside her began firing. It was Grimm. It was something that could be killed.
The adrenaline had lasted through the destruction of the beast, and then they'd fanned out and cleared the rest of the town. As the adrenaline wore off, grim determination set in and carried her through the rest of the night. Tending to the wounded, recovering those trapped in the wreckage, helping put out
the fires before they could spread through the remainder of the town, helping evacuate the most critical through Raven's portal to Argus.
And then the hard work was done. The only tasks left were securing the town and mourning the dead, and Summer was not emotionally capable of either of those. That fell to Raven's Tribe and the town's citizens. Raven, looking just as exhausted as Summer but with a self-satisfied grin on her face, had actually hugged her and opened a portal back to Yang. The fact that put Tai and Summer in Violet's bedroom had been… a shock to Violet's family. But they got over it pretty fast, and insisted that they crash in the guest bedroom.
That had been when the memories had crashed back down on her, once things had grown quiet, and Summer had spent three hours with Tai desperately trying to console her as she sobbed and shook. Memories of Evernight. Of realizing a moment too late that Salem hadn't been surprised enough. Dark tentacles of Grimm-stuff grappling her. Then Tyrian's crazed grin. The agony as his blades slipped past her Aura with his Semblance and slashed at her abdomen. Raven's expression of horror and fear, morphing to sorrow as she fled through the portal even as Summer's vision went dark.
"Apparently, I hadn't been doing as well as I'd believed…"
"Not surprising, my dear. Not unusual either. Humans and faunus have remarkable abilities to compartmentalize. To move trauma to a nice happy little box so that they can focus on the task at hand. And frankly, it works rather nicely in many situations."
"Huh. And how big is that box, Doctor M."
"Ah, there you put your finger on it. It differs from person to person, as does how densely you can pack all of those unwanted feelings into it before it… decides not to hold any more," he gazed at her over his glasses, "I see from your expression you know where this is going. Yes. And sometimes, the hinges or the clasp break unexpectedly, sometimes with very unfortunate consequences. So… it is better, much better, to open it at a time of your choosing, and to take out each little scrap, each memory of pain, and consider it in a place where one feels supported and safe."
That made… a heck of a lot of sense.
From there, the discussion moved on to the call from Visha and Crystal, begging her to come to Argus, and she'd been unwilling, unable, to do so without Tai. And that meant bringing the girls too, even though that would break Raven's anchor to Patch and require them to take the slow way back.
That, she explained, had felt therapeutic too, both because it allowed her to begin to pay her friends back, in a small way, for the kindness they'd done her, but also because she'd been tired of having to keep Raven in the dark, though she glossed over that part with Dr. Mazarin.
And that had been a conversation. Raven hadn't tried to stab her, mostly because they'd made sure to wait until she'd set Omen aside and Tai would have punched her lights out.
She'd still hit Summer like a freaking truck.
But now that was behind her too. One by one, the barriers between her and the people she loved were falling away, and it felt awesome. Qrow was the only one still in the dark, and they'd be working on that, all three of them.
Those were all good things, though many of them she kept to herself, unwilling to completely trust to doctor patient confidentiality.
And then they'd delved backward, until she realized that though she was trying to tell him what she could about her years of captivity, every time she tried, she started to shake.
"I believe that's enough for an initial session," Dr. Mazarin said with a smile. "You did admirably, and I want to give you time to absorb what you have shared with me, and how sharing it made you feel. I would like to meet with you again tomorrow."
"That soon?"
"It's my understanding that you will be returning to Patch? We can do remote sessions, but I find that in person is much more conducive, especially for the early ones."
"Alright. You're the Doctor."
"I do have one 'homework' for you," he said pleasantly as he stood and offered his arm. "Based on what you've told me, you have been avoiding talking to your friends in Argus, because you feel guilt over not being able to explicitly help them in this matter of the missing child. I would advise you to place that guilt aside. Call them. It will benefit you both."
Summer felt as if a weight had lifted. It had been weighing on her. The fact that she couldn't just drop everything and go to Argus and… and that was the point. What the heck was she going to do in Argus that they weren't already doing? What made her think that she could help find Cinder?
It was just silly.
"I'll call them. Thank you, Dr. M."
"It is my pleasure, Huntress."
. . .
That evening, she had Tai take the girls out for ice cream while she called Selene. She could tell immediately that her friend was nearly broken with worry and fear, and the fact that she'd held off… well by the end of the call, they were both sopping messes, and apologizing to each other, and making all sorts of promises to do better.
That evening, she lay in bed with Tai, listening to his even breathing, and decided that maybe, just maybe, Tsune and Mazarin knew what the heck they were doing.
[A/N] Thanks to recent reviewers Flair and Sol!
Quite a bit going on in this chapter, from the surprise party, to a Beacon tour, to some weapon designing, to a medical exam AND some much-needed counseling. And as the final sentences hint, the Argus crew have NOT found Cinder yet, and that story is running in parallel with this one. But I tried to make it a mix of lighter and heavier emotional themes. Dr. Mazarin is a canon character from Roman Holiday, who is mentioned as treating young Trivia (Neo) Vanille as a child. Likewise, all of the professors listed at the Staff Lounge Surprise Party are canon. Apparently some are only mentioned obliquely in the CFVY novels, so I didn't have a lot to go off of.
Dr. Tsune, as mentioned previously, is the creation of Coeur Al'Aran, and I had a blast writing her parts. She's... something else. Someone classified her as Chaotic Good. I'd clarify that as Chaotic Good and Therapeutically Sadistic. Watts better hope he NEVER finds himself incapacitated and under her care. Seriously. *shudders* I tried to give Ruby and Yang a little PoV time, but focused mostly on Summer for obvious reasons. Also, I'm not trained in psychological counseling so I kinda glided over most of the actual conversation that was had, and focused more on summarizing what was covered in general terms. Suggestions for Summer's weapon are very welcome, paying attention to Ruby's comments and how it works, perhaps. ;-) Next chapter will return to Mistral to see how Cinder, Selene, Dania, and the Grimmslayers are holding up.