The Spider
Summer stood in what she could only describe as Haven's main building, and a battle was raging around her. Several people were covered in darkness, but that didn't mean she couldn't tell who they were. She recognized the members of team ROWSE, but Beauty wasn't amongst them and, while it was hard to see amongst the black fog permeating the area, she couldn't forget the ridiculous blade of Qrow's Harbinger.
"What's happening?" She muttered, moving her hand to pick up Sundered Rose, only to find it's gone. A grunt of pain got her attention. Turning, she saw Oak, falling to the ground as-
"Cinder?"
The girl from the Glass Unicorn may have been grown up at this point, but, given Ironwood's words, it was her best guess at what Cinder looked like as an adult. Cinder chuckled.
"I'm starting to remember you. You're the dense one that can't tell when he's out of his league."
Oak got back up and attacked Cinder. Summer heard the sound of Ruby gasping in pain, immediately diverting her attention. She saw Ruby getting attacked from two sides, one a girl with sickles, and the other a girl with crescent shaped blades. Ruby was dodging left right and center, but it was clear she wasn't built for close range combat. The dark clouds moved, blinding her from the fight. Flames from behind drew her gaze back to Cinder and Oak.
"Are you going to let Ruby die, too?" Cinder taunted.
"Stop messing with me!"
Cinder smirked, "If that's what you want…" She ignites her scimitar as the two charged. However, just before colliding-
"NOOOOOOOO!" Ruby screamed, the dark clouds being replaced by white light. Summer recognized it as the Silver Eye powers.
'But there's no Grimm.' Summer thought…only to gasp as the light cleared. Her left arm was exposed, revealing it was replaced with a Grimm arm.
'How…Salem,' Summer narrowed her eyes, 'Without ROWSE, she must've eventually come under Salem's sway. Yeah, the girl dodged a bullet.'
And a sword, as Cinder barely had time to dodge Oak lunging at her with his blade. Cinder's eye blazes with Maiden energy, causing Summer to gasp as she pins Oak underneath her heel.
"Did you think you actually had a chance against me? You?! Summer's brat couldn't stop me at Beacon, and she's nowhere near her mother. And you?"
Oak gripped Cinder's foot, exhausted, but still giving it his all. Cinder snarled.
"Just like Summer and her brat, you're just an idiot with a deathwish."
Oak glared at her, "If I die buying the others time, then it's worth it. They're the ones that matter."
The sound of metal breaking drew her gaze, as Ruby's scythe is cut in half as she's flung back. Cinder looks to Oak, smirking evily.
"You think so?"
"No…" She muttered, horrified. Cinder got off of Oak, walking towards Ruby as she formed a spear of molten fire.
"NOOOO!" Oak screamed as Cinder threw the spear.
"NO!" Summer got in between Ruby and the spear, intent on taking the hit…only for the spear to pass right through her, and a squelching sound rang out. Summer's head was shaking, dreading what she knew had happened as she turned her head around. Ruby had a spear through her throat as she slowly turned to Summer.
"Mom…I'm sorry I couldn't be better."
Summer screamed.
Summer awoke with a yell inside her Mistral hotel room. She punched the wall, hating that she had another nightmare.
"Why? Why am I seeing these things? Is…is this some power from Jinn?"
Summer put her head in her hands, not looking forward to the rest of the day.
Summer strolled through the lower levels of Mistral, black cloak covering her apperance. She hated not wearing her favorite white cloak, but everytime she came to Mistral now, she had to wear black. She couldn't afford anyone recognizing her, especially now.
Entering the bar, she scanned the surroundings. Every face here was one she recognized. Which means no strangers will hear them.
'Then again, considering who they are, that's not a good thing.' She walked to the back of the bar, where a woman in white and purple was sitting…with a spider tattoo on her shoulder.
"Ma'am."
Miss Malachite tapped her cigarette, part of it falling into the ashtray. "Mrs. Rose. A pleasure to be seeing you again."
Summer narrowed her eyes, the bags underneath betraying the tired nature, but Malachite simply rolled her eyes.
"Oh, come now, don't be so sour. We're practically friends at this point."
"I'm assuming you've gotten more information."
"Of course I have, dear. Especially with the…investments you've been providing."
Summer looked to the side in shame. She remembered the phone call before she got involved with the Spiders.
"You want me to what, Sums?"
"Tai, I need you to separate our savings accounts."
"Summer, this isn't like you? We've had our money shared since before we graduated. It was team STRQ's savings account, and-"
"I know. The only reasons Raven couldn't access it was because she abandoned us, and Qrow volunteered to have his own after he started drinking. But I need to have it separated."
"Summer…what are you planning?"
"I couldn't find Raven. In fact, she knows about you know who."
"Wait, she does?!"
"Yes, and is deliberately avoiding me for the same reasons."
"Goddamnit, Rae."
"Which means I'll be doing this the hard way. But it means I need money, and, if I screw up, I don't want you getting burned with me-"
"I'm your husband. It's my job to go down wit-"
"TAI!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Please."
"(Sighs) I don't like this. But if it's for her, then you've got it."
Tai kept his word. Summer got her own savings account, and hundreds of thousands of Lien was transferred. Money built up over years, from a team that once cared for each other, then working for a shadow organization that supported each other, then a family that loved each other.
And Summer spent three quarters of it supporting a criminal organization. Sure, Tai still had a good chunk of the money, enough to live comfortably (frankly, most of the Lien was just collecting dust in bank vaults), but it still left a vile taste in her mouth.
"After all," Malachite continued, "It's been the better part of a year since team ROWSE gave my little family here trouble. So much extra security, why, it made our jobs much harder. To hear that such a respected Huntress like yourself was hunting them, why, it does boggle the mind-"
"What do you have?"
"Now, hold on, Mrs. Rose. As agreed…" Summer reached into her cloak, but Malachite raised a hand, "I'm afraid, this time, Lien alone won't be enough."
Summer scowled, "I'm not going to work for you, Spider."
"It's not that simple. The current…issue I'm having has forced me to bring back a few of the webs you graciously spent your Lien on. If it's unresolved, I'll be forced to keep them here."
Translation, she screwed up, and now she needs more men to fix it, taking away from Summer's mission.
"However, if such a renowned Huntress like yourself would be able to…resolve my current predicament. Well, not only would they be able to get back to work, but I'd be most grateful."
Summer stood up and began walking away.
"You don't have to do anything. But, if it isn't resolved, I can't guarantee my services."
Summer grinded her teeth. It went against everything she believed, but she needed to get to Ruby.
"Where…"
Malachite smiled.
In even deeper levels of Mistral, Summer approached the criminals assigned to this job.
"Well, well," one of the Spiders taunted, "Didn't think the boss could wrangle a Huntress of your renown."
Summer didn't say anything in response.
"Yeah, yeah, stow it," the leader of the group barked out, "We have a job to do."
The man pushed through the group, approaching Summer.
"What's the job?"
"Didn't Miss Mala-"
"She told me where, and I didn't care what she needed at the time."
The man lit a cigar, "That's a mistake, considering she can't afford to have this job screwed up."
"And why is that?" 'And why does this man look familiar?'
"About a year ago, I…may have caused a bit of an incident at a bar, fought a rat Grimm, and burned the place down."
Summer's eyes narrowed, trying to recall any incidents. Only one came to mind.
"The Parrot gang?"
"Bingo! Miss Malachite wasn't happy with me. Well, let's just say that what's left of the Parrots took something precious from the Spiders, something Miss Malachite wants back. We're to go in, kill the rest of the Parrots, and get the cargo."
"Miss Malachite isn't going to like that you-"
"Yeah, well, she's already giving me a headache, I'm justified in this. It's not my fault we lost them this time."
Summer scowled. So she was likely getting contraband. The only consolation was that she'd be fighting against criminals instead of the Mistrilian police.
"Let's get this over with."
The Spiders surrounded the warehouse. Summer's job would be to hit the building from the rear, cut off their escape, and secure the package located in the basement. The moon hung low, giving them near total darkness.
A darkness broken by the flashing of gunshots as the battle began. Summer busted through the backdoor, two Parrots quickly turning to face her. Unfortunately, common criminals were nothing to a Huntress/Maiden. The fight was a blur, but she knocked them unconcious before turning back to the door. She placed a rebar on it, then melted the bar into the door, melting the handle and sealing it shut. She knew she shouldn't use her Maiden powers like that, but it was subtle, and she just wanted this job over with.
Heading downstairs, she found-
"What the hell?" She exclaimed in shock. There were two girls, tied up and gagged in the middle. Why would the Parrots kidnap two girls?
Summer began to untie them, after removing the gags.
"Everything's alright."
However, the girls were asleep, clearly drugged into unconsciousness. As she was about to unbind the other girl, she got a headache, enough to grip her head in pain. She shook it off, but not before she felt a barrel against her head.
"This isn't right," a Parrot, clearly exhausted, "We were assured this place was secured."
"When it comes to criminals, assume everything can go wrong."
"Yeah, well, you are going to tell me how you found us, cause Pi-"
BOOM
The Parrot got a hole through his head as the Spider's leader put a bullet into it.
"Well," he said smugly, "That was close."
One of the girls stirred, groaning.
"Ugh, is that you, Roman?" She complained.
'So his name is Roman.'
"Yeah, yeah, Princess, let's get you and your sister out of here."
"This is all your fault, you know."
"Don't care. Besides, taking out the Parrot gang? I'm sure your mother would appreciate that."
"Wait," Summer exclaimed, "These are Miss Malachite's daughters?!"
Roman smirked. "Yep," several Spiders came down behind him, "Get these lovely ladies back to one of our safe houses, since Mama Spider doesn't trust me with them."
As the Spiders began filing up, only Roman and Summer were left.
"What's strange is that the Parrots shouldn't have the resources to capture the Malachite twins."
"Criminals can surprise you."
"True, but, you know, this is quite the scene, don't you think?"
Summer raised an eyebrow.
"Such a renowned Huntress such as yourself, slumming it with the common criminals. Why, one might make some outrageous stories."
"Get to the point."
Roman shrugged, "Imagine what people might say if your involvement were to be…well."
"I've paid Miss Malachite a fortune."
"To find some group of people I don't care about. But you never paid us to keep quiet."
Summer clenched her hands, tightening the grip on Sundered. Roman simply smirked.
"Hey, that's how the business works. We lie, cheat, steal, and more to survive."
Summer's anger, for the briefest of moments, turned to confusion, then horror.
This was bowler hat guy. This was someone who'd hurt her daughter.
Her eyes blazed silver flames as she lunged at him, pinning him up against was wall and lifting him up with the blade of her axe. Roman choked, struggling to breath. The look of fury upon Summer could burn the world down, but, right now, she only wanted to burn one thing, or, more precisely...Icicles began to form in the air, aiming straight for Roman, who could only look on in horror.
It would be so easy. She could end him here, and keep one threat to her daughter from ever rising…
…And alienate the Spiders, thus losing her only source of information for tracking down Ketos…
…Thus losing her daughter.
With a roar, she dispelled the icicles, and dropped Roman. She stormed upstairs, past the now dead Parrots (the Spiders must've executed them while she was downstairs) and back outside.
Back at Miss Malachite's bar, Summer scowled for the upteenth time today, sitting across from the Spider. Roman was nearby, rubbing his neck.
"You've done well, Mrs. Rose. Retrieving my daughters, and ensuring the destruction of the Parrots, will alleviate much of the burden."
"And the information."
Malachite smirked, passing her a datapad. On it were dates and what looked like flight paths.
"For such a wonderful airship, it has a predictable route. This will be all the stops in Mistral for the next two months."
Summer took her Scroll out, and transferred the data to her Scroll before sliding the pad back.
"I won't say it was a pleasure-"
"But I will. It has certainly been a pleasure."
Miss Malachite watched as Summer stood up and stomped her way out of the bar.
'Such a curious group, this ROWSE. To make such a pure hearted Huntress like Mrs. Rose turn to someone like me?' She saw a scarred woman upstairs get up, and Malachite scowled, 'Oh, right. I nearly forgot.'
"I did as you asked of me."
"And you played the part wonderfully," Piper complimented, "Summer doesn't suspect a thing."
"I doubt it. The woman clearly looks exhausted. You probably could've done whatever you needed without my help."
"My boss doesn't tolerate failure," she motions to her scars, "So I didn't want to take any chances."
Malachite scowled, "And what's stopping me from simply making you disappear. After all, you kidnapped them once…"
Spiders all around the room began to slowly reach for their weapons. Piper merely shrugged.
"Nothing. My boss likely wouldn't care if I died, but she'd be angry that you interfered with the mission. And she's not the type you want to provoke."
Miss Malachite and Piper stared at each other, before she motioned for the others to stand down.
"Get out of my bar. I don't want to see you here. You spoil the mood."
"No problem. I don't intend to ever come back here."
As Piper took her leave, Malachite glared at Roman.
"Roman," she said sweetly, but also with a venomous glare, "I was informed of what you attempted to do. Do we need to have a talk?"
Roman gulped.
Piper took the back exit, remembering Salem's orders.
Summer Rose has spent an unusual amount of time in Mistral. More than that, my Seers indicate that she's under a lot of pressure. I do not care about her goals, but I need you to deliver something.
Piper lifted up the container, the one that opened once Summer got into the basement. Given Summer's condition, it's unlikely it would've targeted the Malachite twins. She smirked.
"Sweet dreams, Summer." She taunted.
Summer stood in what could only be described as Ironwood's office. Summer saw Scarlet and nearly all of ROWSE, minus Oak, standing before Ironwood's desk. Above it was a broken Seer Grimm, and the smokey form of Salem, or, what she assumed was Salem. She had never actually seen the Grimm Queen before.
"We know your secret," Scarlet declared, "We know you can't be killed."
Summer's eyes widened. Salem can't be killed? Is…is this what Jinn would've showed her, if ROWSE was never involved?
"And we don't care. We stopped you before, and we'll do it again. We've seen you fail. We don't have to kill you to stop you. And we will stop you."
Summer felt a twinge of pride, seeing her little girl stand defiant against the impossible. Salem didn't change her expression, which concerned her.
"Your mother said those words to me."
Summer saw Ruby's face, beneath the mask, falter.
"My…mother?"
The dead Seer sprung to life, one of the tentacles plunging through Ruby's heart as another wrapper around her neck. The others smashed Snow, Beauty and Ursis to the sides, knocking them out. Then, black liquid began pouring down the tentacles, straight at Ruby.
"She was wrong, too." Salem taunted as Ruby was encased in the Grimm liquid. Ruby began to expand, growing larger. Her screams of pain permeated Summer's ears. The Seer dropped Ruby(?) to the ground, and…something else got up. It was beastial, it's skin almost a liquid, constantly flowing.
The Hound turned to Summer, who caught the briefest glimpse of Ruby's face. Half of it was melted, with white veins replacing it, and her expression of horror, before the black skin swallowed it. Summer was about to scream, but found her own mouth was covered by the white veins! She could feel a presence behind her, but couldn't turn around. But she could feel the emotion of this person.
They were panicking.
"Take! The! GIRL!" The Hound roared, charging at her.
"AH!" Summer screamed into the Mistrilian forest. The still burning campfire indicated that she wasn't asleep for long, and likely wasn't going to get much sleep tonight, anyways. Summer breathed heavily, trying to steady her heartbeat.
"Just a few more weeks," she muttered, "I'm coming, Ruby."
Author's Notes: We're getting close to the reunion.
As always, leave a review, fav/follow, and I'll see you all next time.