Chapter Text
The house was silent, stillness and quietude more present than oxygen until the sound of the door opening filled the place, followed by it being closed shut.
“Tai, Tai, listen to me…” Qrow tried to keep it low while he talked to Taiyang through his scroll. His footsteps heavy and tired, not seeing his fourteen year old on the couch right next to him, squirming at the sounds he was making.
“Tai, I can’t go back to doing that. I just can’t.” The man noticed his daughter shifting on the couch and sighed, turning his head to the other side of the room and speaking lower so only his brother-in-law could hear him. “Let’s talk about this in the morning, Okay?” And without even letting the other man answer, the Branwen ends the call and puts his Scroll away, walking up to the couch and switching one light on.
That managed to wake up Ruby. She pressed her eyes, rubbing them before looking up to see her father approaching her.
“Scoot over, kiddo.” Qrow asked and Ruby obeyed, sitting up and sliding to the other side of the couch, laying her head over the arm of the furniture to watch with big but sleepy silver eyes as her father sat tiredly and rubbed his eyes with both hands, pressing the heels of his palms over his crimson eyes.
“Fun day at work, huh?” She voiced, husky and low, a small playful smile over her lips.
He didn’t answer, the toll of the day of work heavy over his shoulders and the headache he was feeling not letting the good humor he usually had around his daughter be present today. So Qrow groaned, leaning back over the cushions.
“Where’s your mother? And what are you still doing up? It’s late.” His voice came from under his hands, just as weak and husky as his daughter’s.
“Wait, what time is it?” The girl’s eyes went wide and she jumped up to look at the clock on the wall behind them, signing in relief when she noticed that it wasn’t too late yet.
“It’s way past your bedtime.” Leaned on one of his hands and with eyes closed, Qrow added, guessing that if Ruby didn’t say nothing about Summer being out, then she must be asleep right now, just as tired as he was after her day of work.
“But it’s still today.” Ruby added quickly, a big happy grin on her face as she bounced off the couch and kneeled on the floor close to its foot, getting something that was hidden there.
“Petal, please not right now. I do not have energy for this.” His eyes remained shut, fingers massaging his temples to calm the throbbing inside his brain.
But Ruby ignored his complaining and got up, bringing on her hands a black box, her smile almost closing her eyes. Qrow opened his eyes and glanced at her, curious and a little bit confused.
“What’s this?” He gave in and grabbed the object, examining it and looking back at his daughter, waiting for an answer.
“Your birthday.” The young Branwen Rose answered, bouncing on the couch and swinging her legs, anxious to see his reaction towards the gift.
First he was surprised, a small smile making it’s way over his face for the first time in the day. Rough as it was, his family was always able to make all the tiredness and frustration of the day disappear. He turned his eyes to the box, opening the top to reveal the gift, his eyes widening for half a second.
“You kept complaining about your broken watch. So I figured, y’know.” She shrugged and scratched the back of her head, watching as he held the wristwatch on his hand and examined it, now nervous he didn’t like it.
Qrow finally put the box away to start arranging the watch around his wrist, not able to hide the grin over his lips now.
“You like it?” Ruby was not able to hold her question anymore, her childish curiosity shining like her glimmering eyes. As if there was a way of making him dislike something she gave him.
“Petal, I think It’s nice but…” The former Huntsman brought the object close to his eyes, and then lowered it to tap sometimes over the glass, as if to wake up something inside it. Ruby watched him with her throat tight and furrowed brow, looking between Qrow and the watch. “I think it’s stuck.” He shrugged, as if he didn’t know what to do about it.
“WHAT?!” The girl almost jumped over Qrow, Grabbing his wrist and looking at the watch with her heart beating on her throat, watching it carefully until she noticed the hand that indicated the seconds moving normally. Her eyes went to the man, seeing him snicker at her believing his little scene. Seems like his good humor was back. “Ha ha ha.” She faked a laugh and rolled her eyes, giving Qrow his arm back and laying on the couch again.
“Where did you get the money for this?” He was still admiring his gift, turning his arm over to see the light reflecting on the glass and on the metal circle.
“Mom helped me. But I also sell Dust sometimes. Weiss helps me with it.” She turned to face Qrow, who just shrugged and grabbed the TV remote, clicking it on.
“Oh good. You can start helping out with the mortgage then.” He didn’t even bat an eye, chuckling and relaxing.
“Psht, you wish.” Ruby snickered, settling comfortably on the cushions and putting her feet over Qrow’s lap.
“Just don’t let your mom know about it and you’ll survive.” He slapped lightly the soles of her feet, tickling the skin and making the girl giggle and nod, out of breath to speak properly.
They settled together to watch TV even If there wasn’t really anything interesting, just enjoying each other a bit. But within twenty minutes, Qrow noticed that Ruby was quiet, looking at her to find out that she fell asleep on the couch. Her head was over the cushions on the arm with her cheeks squeezed against it, a small thread of saliva running from her mouth, which made him smile and almost laugh. The sight of his daughter sleeping peacefully, red tipped messy hair and drool all over her face suddenly made him feel that the hard day of work was totally worth it in the end.
A sigh escaped from his mouth, but it wasn’t as tired as before as he used the remote to turn the TV off and got up from the couch, standing in front of his Petal and lifting her up carefully so she wouldn’t wake up, fixing her in a comfortable position with her head over his shoulder. He carried her upstairs bridal style and placed her on her bed gently. After that, Qrow covered her with her bright red blankets, patting her shoulder once he was done.
“Goodnight, my petal.” It came out as a whisper, only for her, but at the same time, not for her to hear now, just to feel. Before he left, Qrow used his index to brush some of Ruby’s hair strands that had fallen over her eyes and tuck it back behind her, leaning in to kiss her forehead.
Like that, the man left the room, closing the door slowly to walk to his own bedroom. Once he opened the door, he was able to see, on his bed, his wife, Summer Rose, sleeping as well. But with the creaking of the wood under his feet and from the door opening, the woman woke from her light sleep. She opened one of her eyes, rubbing the other with one of her hands and yawning at the same time, just watching her husband walk closer to the bed where she was.
“Hey.” He said, plopping himself on the bed, lying beside Summer.
‘Hey.” She said it back, smiling sweetly to Qrow. “Happy birthday, dear.” Summer congratulated as happily as she could be after just waking up, wrapping her arms around him. He hugged her back, resting his head on the curve of her shoulder. “Ruby and I have a gift for you.” When the Rose threatened to get up, Qrow just held her tighter, trapping her between his arms
.
“Yeah, she already gave me the watch.” He untangled one of his arms from her to show the new black and silver wrist watch the girl gave him, admiring it again. “She told me you helped her buy it. I really liked it. Thanks.” Turning back to Summer, the man kissed her softly on the lips, using his other hand to cup her cheek and bring her closer, her hands laying lazily on the back of his head. They eventually pulled away to look at each other’s eyes, enjoying the silence that the night provided them.
“You’re welcome, but I told her to come wake me up to give you the present too.” A pout formed on her lips, lamenting the fact that she wasn’t there to see Qrow’s reaction to the present. That earned a light laugh from the Branwen, who leaned to kiss the other person on the top of her head. “So, before you fall asleep, you really should go take a bath.” The Huntress rested her head on his chest and pushed him slightly away so he could look at her eyes, indicating the bathroom with her other hand.
He didn’t take offense on her words because, one, her smile showed the playfulness he always saw on Ruby, so she was just teasing him a bit. Two, he really wanted a bath right now, so it would be a good idea to just do as he was told.
“Yeah, but what about you come with me to the bath, hum?” Qrow asked jokingly, but would accept if she said yes, putting his head on her shoulder and leaving a soft kiss over the bare skin.
“Qrow.” Summer chuckled and rolled her silver eyes, not really complaining but also not willing to leave the bed, she kissed the side of her husband’s head before shoving him off her. “Go shower.” She managed to get the man out of the bed, watching with a small smile him walk to the bathroom.
Everything was quiet in Ruby’s room. Her windows were open, but not even the wind dared to break the peace of the place. The thread of small light bulbs on the wall behind the girl’s bed was the only light illuminating the ambient, but even that was warm and didn’t seem to disturb her sleep. In that moment, the Scroll over her nightstand decided it was time to wake her up, playing the song that indicated it was receiving a call from someone. The music was loud enough for Ruby to get up, reaching for the device half-asleep and swiping the green bubble up, answering the call.
“Hello?” her voice was husky again as she spoke, eyes still closed and body prepared in case it was just some random call and she could just end it and sleep again.
“Hey, Ruby!” By the voice, Ruby immediately recognized the person on the other end as her uncle Taiyang. He sounded breathless, and in a rush. There were what seemed like two different voices on the background, but the silver-eyed girl was awake for too little time to process them. “Honey, I need you to get your Daddy on the Scroll!” And now, the blond man sounded desperate, the two voices seemed to be fighting with each other. On the back of her head, Ruby knew they were familiar, but couldn’t really put her finger on it.
All of that made her body go from asleep to prepared mode, getting her up and straight by the second, confusion exhaling from her like steam. She gulped the lump on her throat to be able to speak again.
“Uncle Tai, what time is it?” Ruby asked against her body’s will, feeling her hands start to shake suddenly and cold seep under her skin. What made him call her this late in the night?
“Just hurry, I need to talk to your dad now. The Gri—“ And the line went dead silent, the fearful voice of her uncle and the two different noises on the background dying down completely. And now that her room fell in silence, Ruby could hear her head start to get nervous, feeling a sudden chill run up her spine, making her shiver.
“Dad! Mom!” In split second, Ruby jumped out of her bed so fast that some red rose petals fell around her, the Scroll quickly forgotten as she ran away from her room to go call her parents.
She felt her muscles tense, hard enough that her jaw clenched against her skull and the phalanges on her hands stiffened like a Beowolf’s claw, she sensed tension in the air. It intensified itself once she managed to get to their room, just to find it empty. The bed showed a mess that indicated they got up in a hurry, the TV left on.
“Mom? Dad?” Obviously, Ruby got no response.
The young girl was about to turn around and leave the room when the News broadcasted on the Television caught her attention.
Ruby recognized the place, knowing it was nearby, and not liking it at all for some reason.
“It seems that what we initially reported as riots seem to be somehow connected with the nationwide pandemic.” The woman presenting the news spoke, calm but firmly while standing in front of what looked like some public place or building, two silhouettes on the background behind a contention railing that restrained an burning area.
“We’ve received reports that victims afflicted with the infection show signs of increased aggression and—” A man interrupts her, making her turn around and look at him curiously.
“We need to move everybody out of here now. There’s a gas leak.” The man, a firefighter, talks to his colleagues, drawing the attention to the four of them. He then turns to the news reporter, gesturing openly. “Hey, Move!”
“There seems to be some commotion coming from behind—” The woman ignored, but the workers kept screaming at her, telling her to get away.
And out of the blue, a loud sound outside of the window made itself present, making Ruby turn around abruptly to see an explosion in the city, fire flying in a cloud of smoke and illuminating the night, the event being replicated on the TV, but soon leaving only an out of signal channel.
Oh. Oh, now she felt fucking worse.
“Daddy, Mommy!” Now she screamed, shoulders too tense and throat opening and closing involuntarily. Ruby used her Semblance to dissolve into rose petals, storming downstairs to the living room. Empty.
Through the windows, the girl could see that the night looked just as monotone as every other night. It was quiet, cold and dark, nothing different for her to notice, but still, she felt dread twisting strongly around her spine, restricting her movements and sending her mind to a controlled anxiety state.
That was until she saw police cars run full speed on the street, red and blue light invading the living room and making the shadows dance in curiosity, their sirens alarming Ruby. She ran all the way to the kitchen, just as empty as the rest of the place. But the buzz of a Scroll filled her ears, turning her head to look at one of the kitchen counters, the blue light that indicated new messages serving as a guide.
When Ruby grabbed the device, she tapped a button, seeing the screen unfold and show her countless messages and missed calls from three different people. Apparently, her uncle, aunt and cousin. It was her father’s Scroll, which, to her distaste, had no signal so she could do nothing about the notifications.
The clock on the screen was also something that called her attention, 2:15 in the morning. The eerie chill of the night doing a great job at unsettling Ruby even more. She left the Scroll down so she could look for Summer and Qrow again, walking past the glass door to the backyard.
The sudden sound of dogs in the night scared her, who jumped a little and used the impulse to run into her parent’s office, opening the double doors and looking around. She was about to turn around when Summer entered by the sliding glass door, in such a big rush that she didn’t notice her daughter gasp with the sudden movement.
“There you are!” Ruby managed to speak, despite the series of scares she walked through to find them, just in time to see Qrow run in as well and close the door shut. Her voice caught their attention, Summer being the first to turn her head and look at the child.
“Ruby, are you okay?” That sounded strange to the girl, who just nodded to her mother, stepping closer to be near the couple.
“Has anyone come in here?” Qrow asked in a hush, not even looking at the two around him and opening one of the drawers on the desk in a scramble, taking out a small silver suitcase and placing it over the desk to open the object. Ruby was too far away to see what was in there.
“No, who would come in here?” She said, eyes still looking confuse and curious at her father before diverting to her mother, spotting the gun on her hand. Her eyebrows furrowed, something was happening and it wasn’t good by the reaction those two were having.
With that in mind, Ruby leaned a little to spy on the backyard, stepping closer to them and narrowing her eyes in hopes she could see something in the dark, at least see what where they so scared of. But in the moment the smaller between the three tried to walk in the door’s direction, a hand wrapped around her wrist tightly, pulling her close and away from it.
“Don’t go near the doors, Ruby. Stay close to us.” It was Summer, taking her daughter and placing her by her side, looking firmly in her eyes to make sure the girl understood. Once she nodded, the woman nodded back, sliding her hand to Ruby’s hand and holding it as if she was going to run away anytime.
“What is happening?” Ruby finally developed the courage to speak and ask the question that has been bothering her since she woke up.
“It’s the neighbors, the Williams. They look sick but…” Before Summer could start explaining, Qrow interrupted with his back still turned to them and hands working on something that his torso covered, the metallic sounds it made reminding Ruby of the small clicks her mother’s gun made when the object shook in the wrong way.
“I’m telling you, Qrow. Ozpin told me the Grimm are affecting people now, like a virus or something like that!” It was the woman’s turn to interrupt her husband, voice loud and strong as she tried to tell him once again what was happening. But the man seemed to not really listen, a final click bringing a stop to her point.
“I’m done with following Ozpin’s track of lies, that’s why I quit.” He finally turned around to face his family, now carrying a pistol that matched with the one in his wife’s hands.
That was when Ruby noticed the red splattered all over her father, face, shirt, pants. It was not too much, but it was enough for the dread that had left her body when she found her parents to return, unforgiving. Her head was starting to spin slowly and the tip of her fingers were starting to get cold, shaking like her entire body.
Before she could open her mouth to say anything, a loud bang on the door scared the three in the room, making them all turn around to see a man falling on the ground outside from the strong impact with the tempered glass, failing to break through it. Both adults clicked the safety of their guns off, aiming to the door and quickly running to shield their daughter together. Ruby switched the hand holding on her mother’s arm so she could hide herself entirely behind Qrow and Summer, her other hand on the older woman’s waist, clinging to her grey shirt.
“Andy…” Called Qrow, a warning in the tone of his voice at the same time their neighbor threw himself on the glass that was still standing but being gradually covered by thick red and black blood.
For a few seconds, nothing happened, as if the insane man had just disappeared and left the Branwens to their peace. But as soon as the calm came, it was gone, the man running full speed on the door and going all the way through it, sharp and shiny glass shards flying around the office at the sound of Ruby’s highpitched scream.
“Andy, stay back!” Summer creamed, her finger was on the trigger and she was not going to shoot a warning shot if her former neighbor tried anything to hurt her or her family.
From behind them, Ruby could see the white pale skin Andy had, looking dead like with the contrast of the red blood all over his face and mouth, the horrible hematomas on his head and hands probably caused by the glass shards. She was holding herself not to scream or dissolve into rose petals and run away, but in the moment he got up from the floor, casting his body towards them, she couldn’t do it anymore, hearing the sound of two shots at once, her scream mixing with the noise.
The room fell in silence shortly afterwards, their ears ringing from the loud boom of the two guns, brains not fully processing the small sound of the dead man falling on the floor lifelessly.
What the fuck was going on?! Did her parents just kill their neighbor? It was selfdefense but what drove him so mad that he was willing to kill people he knew for more than a decade? Was it their fault?
Ruby’s head started to cloud with thoughts and chaos and her heartbeat pounded on her ears, she was petrified and so out of her own body for a second that both her mother and father dragged her by the wrists from the office to the living room. What had just happened in front of her eyes? She kept staring to the dead body lying on the carpet, blood flowing in a puddle that was absorbed by the fabric, going wider and wider, engulfing the glass shards around and tinting them with red.
“Ruby” A voice called her name and drew her attention back to the present, feeling a pair of different hands on each of her shoulders, making her head turn to the owner of the voice.
Summer was on her left, Qrow on her right, both with matching bloodstains all over their faces. The woman looked at her daughter with firm silver eyes that managed to calm her in the slightest. She looked at her father, who seemed a little bit more scared and tense than his wife did. Something she heard her entire life was that Qrow was always tense when something bad happened around them because of his Semblance, which he later told her that was bad luck. She understood why he felt that, but always tried to reassure him that nothing bad that happened around them was his fault. It seemed to work, sometimes, but now, it would surely not happen.
“You shot him…” It escaped involuntarily as a whisper from her mouth, everything help numb and not real.
“Ruby, breathe.” Qrow asked, cupping ruby’s cheek with his hand and running his thumb up and down, hoping it would help her focus and calm down. But her eyes were still wide and darting around the room like everything was moving at the same time.
“I saw him this morning…” She tried to turn her head around to look at her deceased neighbor, but Qrow held her face, stopping her and turning her back to look at his crimson eyes. He didn’t want her to look at it too much, to keep the scene in her head. It wouldn’t do her any favors.
“Petal, listen, there’s something bad going on.” Summer tried, softly, speaking slowly as if Ruby suddenly had six years again. However, for Qrow, they had to be straightforward with her.
“Ruby, we have to get the hell outta here, do you understand me?” The man asked firmly and without hiding how scared he felt, waiting with apprehensive eyes for the girl’s response.
“Yeah.” The approach managed got get something louder than a whisper from Ruby, after swallowing dry the lump in her throat and nodding almost frantically.
“Okay. Let’s go.” Qrow nodded to Ruby and then to Summer, sliding his hands down to his daughter’s wrist and dragging her with him to the front door, seeing strong lights dancing from the window and the sound of wheels crunching the small grass of the front.
“It must be Tai.” Summer whispered before opening the door to, indeed, find Taiyang’s car close to the deck, the former huntsman jumping from it to go check on his friends, a tall dark haired woman and a slightly smaller gold haired girl following him.
“Where the hell have you been? You have any idea what’s going on out there?” Tai spoke, rounding the front of his car to reach his brother-in-law. He shook his head negatively.
“Well, I’ve got some notion.” Summer answered, helping her husband guide their daughter to the car but stopping before reaching it, Yang interrupting to hug her cousin.
They let her arms so she can hug the girl back, just tapping on Yang’s shoulder to hush the two to the vehicle. She nodded to her uncle and aunt, grabbing Ruby’s hand and running with her to the car.
“Holy shit! You two got blood all over yourselves.” They all turned to see Raven’s bright red eyes widen once she recognized the stains and the iron scent around them.
“It’s not ours, let’s just get out of here.” Lastly, Qrow waved any other questions and just opened the car door, getting himself on the passenger’s seat, not remembering to buckle the seat belt, Taiyang rushing to the driver’s seat.
Raven, Yang, Summer and Ruby sat behind them, squished to the point where Ruby had to seat on her mother’s lap so they could close the doors. Like that, they were ready to go.
When Tai turned around to back up the car, he looked between his daughter and Ruby, noticing how quiet she looked, pale and shaking lightly. Was that blood on her cheek?
“Hey, Ruby. How are you holding up?” He asked, the vehicle moving backwards into the road again, switching back to and getting themselves away from the house.
Ruby swallowed the lump on her throat so she could talk again, gripping tighter on the shoulder of the seat where her father was.
“I’m fine.” She managed, her voice weak even as she tried her best to speak in a volume everyone could hear over the sounds of the car.
With that answered, Tai didn’t try to make his niece say anything else, noticing it would be worse and would not help her calm down. The same did Yang, who just rested on of her hands on her cousin’s shoulder, offering silent support. Summer rubbed Ruby’s back over her shirt, her other arm around her waist to keep her safe, as the seat belt wouldn’t be able to hold the both of them.
“It’s going to be okay, Petal.” The mother leaned forward to rest her face over her shoulder blade, her reassuring voice reaching the younger girl and making effect quickly. She felt Ruby’s muscles lose tension under her skin and a sigh escape from her lips. So it was working. “Tai, can you turn on the radio, please?” Still with her face on Ruby’s back, the request half muffled by the shirt’s fabric and hair, Summer spoke loud enough for her friend on the driver’s seat to hear.
Using the rearview mirror to make Eye contact with the Rose, Tai nodded silently, raising his right hand closer to the radio build in the dash. But as soon as he clicked the button to turn it on, the only sound that was hear was the static on the empty radio channels. They all sighed, feeling a little bit hopeless for such a small detail.
“I told you the moment that the line fell when you were talking to Ruby on the Scroll! The CCT tower exploded, we saw it!” Yang almost shouted, attracting all the attention in the car to her, and Ruby slid her eyes to her side, where her blonde cousin sat, hearing quietly. She knew that something did explode, she saw the smoke and the fire and heard the air clapping from the sudden expansion, but she didn’t pay much attention to where the explosion happened.
“C’mon, Yang. The entire CCT Tower fell? Do you really think a simple explosion would bring Ozpin’s tower down? Grimm didn’t take that shit down.” Raven scoffed and rolled her eyes at her daughter, crossing her arms across her chest, trying to look composed and collected, when in reality, her hands were trembling and her nails sinking in the skin on her naked arms from the tension the Branwen could feel in the air.
“Mom, we saw the explosion and we heard it, the noise was close enough to be tower!” The daughter retaliated, turning her head in her mother’s direction. Even with the heavy air around them, the Xiao Long sighed irritated and gestured to the window.
“Yang, that’s the CCT tower! We would’ve seen it fall from here, and we didn’t!” The answer was just as agitated as the previous statement, louder and sharper. The older Branwen tapped the tip of her finger on the glass of the car window, showing a darker spot in the night, too far to be seen as more than a somber silhouette in the horizon.
“That’s Beacon’s tower! The CCT is in the center!” After sliding her lilac eyes to the place Raven was trying to indicate, Yang furrowed her brow, shaking her head aggressively and moving her hand to tap her index on the glass as well, pointing somewhere closer and slightly more illuminated from what they could see.
“For fuck’s sake, Yang, did you ever learn geography?” Raven raised her voice to the point of nearly shouting, making Ruby flinch on Summer’s lap so hard that the woman noticed, wrapping herself tightly to comfort the girl. She leaned her head over the back of the seat and kept her face turned to the window on her side to ignore the fight her aunt and cousin were currently having right by her side. What a good timing.
“Me? It looks like you spent your entire life away from civilization with a group of bandits with no education before ever getting to know there was a CCT tower! Oh, wait!” Yang first pretended to me shocked, resting one of her hands over her chest with an outraged tone in her voice, just before narrowing her eyes and looking at the black haired woman by her side with a sly expression over her face.
That definitely got on her nerve considering how Raven furrowed her eyebrows and tightly closed her fists, not holding her tongue to start screaming at Yang, who did the same, creating a mass of unintelligible loud sounds towards each other. Those two fought like cat and dog and always for the worst reasons, but right now, it was a rather awful moment. Everyone inside the car was feeling bad and worried and scared, so if they kept fighting for nothing, they would end up attracting Grimm with all the negative energy.
And with each louder swear word the two screamed Ruby seemed to shrink more and more, wrapping her fingers on the two metals that held the headrest, closing her eyes at some point and hiding herself between her shoulders. She wasn’t the only one getting on edge because of the noisy fight.
“You two, shut up, please!” Raven and Yang stopped yelling at each other to look over to Summer, seeing the woman’s angry expression and reflective silver eyes stare them back firmly. The moment she spoke, both men on the front seats sighed in relief for not having to stop the fight themselves. “Look around you and you’ll notice that’s the worst moment to start fighting over something as useless as which tower just fell. Why does it matter?” The two women seemed to look at different directions, lowering their heads and remaining silent. “You two might me frightened, but so are we all, and you’re scaring Ruby. All the noise and negative energy is going to attract Grimm, so I’m asking you both to stop this right now.”
More silence. Raven, even though she was this rebellious figure that didn’t care about what people said or thought about her, just silently nodded, leaning over the arm on the cars door to look through the window. Her former team leader still had some dominance over her. Yang respected her aunt by a lot, so it was no surprise when the blonde just nodded and kept her hands and eyes over her lap, seeming regretful for disturbing her younger cousin.
“Thank you.” Summer said after making sure those two wouldn’t just start to fight and scream that they were right and that the other one started it.
And as much as the silence was reassuring, it was also unsettling. Nobody wanted Raven and Yang to get back on fighting, but the lack of something to focus on other than the chill of the night and the situation they were all in was going to get disastrous.
Tai turned the steering wheel to the left, making a curve on the end of the block, the lanterns on the front of the car illuminating a wrecked car between the trees and the tall grass, shattered glass all over the way.
“Brothers, how did this all happen?” It escaped as a whisper of awe and dread as they drove past the wreck, still not close to the city.
“Ozpin told me that the Grimm suddenly evolved and started to infect people.” Summer answered half mindedly, still leaning her head over her daughter’s back to reassure both her and the girl.
“And I’m still not going for his word.” From over them Qrow spoke, still sounding like he wasn’t going to listen to what the old wizard had to say. His voice was huskier than normal, as if he didn’t mean to speak it in a volume everyone could hear.
“C’mon man, do you really think Ozpin would lie in a situation like this?” Tai turned his face for a couple seconds to the other Branwen before facing the road again, making more curves along the way and seeing more and more police cars drive past them.
“If you think that he wouldn’t lie at any given opportunity, than you don’t know Ozpin.” Raven scoffed again, face turned to the darkness outside the car and avoiding speaking louder or making eye contact with any of them.
“Okay, all he said was that it found a new way to affect us after all those years of fading silently.” The older Rose sent a firm look to both Branwens, knowing they could see her judging eyes.
“But it’s been almost twenty years since Salem died, we all saw it! How come they are just changing now?” The Signal teacher inquired next, tensing his shoulders just at the thought of Salem coming back from the dead. Was that even possible?
“Not even he knows, and we used all of Jinn’s questions for this era so there’s no way to know yet.” She sighed tiredly. The desperate call from Ozpin was what woke Qrow and Summer up, the way his usually composed voice cracked and showed how afraid he was got the couple on their feet immediately. He sounded so unsure and worried that a cold shiver crawled up their spines. “I also know it didn’t start here. It seemed to come from somewhere between Mistral and Argus, and it spread all around. We are not sure exactly where it really came from.”
On the right side of the road, a farm burning to the ground passed, the fire glowing strongly and illuminating to the other side of the road, the smoke rising fast. It seemed to be owned by someone they knew, but by the state of the place, there was nobody there. Luckily, everyone was safe and out of the house before the fire started.
“Are we sick?” From over Summer’s lap, Ruby murmured with her face squished against the seat in front of her, turning her head slightly to look over to her mom. Her silver eyes had no light, opaque and darting from one side to the other.
“No, of course not, Petal.” Summer lifted her head from the girl’s back, shaking her head negatively and using her hand to brush some of Ruby’s rebellious hair strands from over her face, running the tips of her fingers through her hair.
“They said on the radio that it’s only people of the city.” Another curve, the car bounced and the tires cried from the friction with the asphalt. Tai’s words were supposed to be soothing as well, but that was not the effect on his niece.
“Didn’t Andy work in the city?” It escaped, more to herself than to the adults, but even so, everyone heard it, silence filling the vehicle for a moment before Qrow swallowed dry, nodding to himself and turning his face so he could see his daughter.
“Yes, he did.”
“Trust me, we are fine.” Tai stated again, taking a deep breath and keeping driving like everything was normal.
‘Trust me’ somehow were not the words Ruby wanted to hear. They implied that no one was really sure about anything at hand, it meant to believe something that could not be truth. And Ruby was just a kid, if the adults weren’t sure, how was she supposed to feel?
More silence filled the car just as they saw one of the reflective road signs being blocked by the silhouette of three people, what seemed like a man, a woman and a kid. Without thinking even once, Tai started to pull the car over the coasting of the road to get closer to the family.
“Let’s see what they need.” He turned the wheel, guiding the car to the other side of the road, but before even getting there, he felt a hand on his arm that made him look up to the owner of the member and finding Qrow.
“Keep driving.” Was all that the Younger Branwen twin said. He had a strong look in his eyes, firm expression and didn’t seem to be changing his mind any time soon. Everyone in the car looked surprised and confused with that, not understanding why he was suddenly denying help to other, a thing that he always used to do.
“ They’ve got a kid, Qrow." The Xiao long kept turning to the side, being spotted by the three unknown family members that turned around to see the car approaching
.
“We’ve got two and no space in the car. Keep driving.” He answered, his former low and husky voice replaced by a firm tone, imposing, but not in a good way.
It was unusual for Qrow to be like this, so unwavering and imposing himself, even if he was a stubborn person. Everyone in the car remained in silence after he spoke, he air getting even heavier now while Summer stared at her husband using the rearview mirror, reprimanding him with her eyes for a second. However, after sighing, she just turned her head to the other side, staring at the window with Ruby, leaning over her again to remind the girl that she’s still there. She could understand why Qrow didn’t want to help the family right now, she knew that he was doing it for their own family, but her Huntress side just couldn’t avoid feeling bad for not helping everyone she could.
And just like he heard her thoughts, Tai reluctantly turned back to the road and kept driving past the family, leaving them waving behind them for help. Ruby and Summer could see their shadows by the car window, their yells still reaching them even after a good portion of space was established between them.
“I’m not a kid. We could’ve helped them.” With a monotone almost emotionless voice, Yang just threw it in the air, not diverting her lilac eyes from the window she was staring by her right, where her aunt and cousin stared as well. She didn’t sound angry, as usual, she seemed empty.
“Don’t start it now, Yang.” It was Taiyang’s turn to reprehend his daughter, trying not to sound too harsh, but running low on patience to deal with more events during this night. Perhaps the heavy and eerie silence was a better option now.
Yang doesn’t have a reaction. She just hums something like a low agreement on remaining quiet, not bothering to move any part of her body to signalize that she understood or to waist more energy discussing it. Her eyes slide to Summer when she sees her turning to look at her and extending her arm to rest her hand over the younger woman’s shoulder in a reassuring gesture.
“Someone is going to help them. Don’t worry.” She says, with the best smile the Huntress can manage in the moment over her lips. Even Ruby in her lap seemed to somewhat relax or nod to herself so she could believe it.
Yang fought the urge to gulp or sigh, just nodding too and lowering her gaze to her hands over her lap, not seeing the way Summer and Raven exchanged looks. Her mother shook her head in quiet disagreement, as if she was against telling lies to a gown up woman who knew what they were telling her was not going to happen. Summer just frowned angrily in retaliation, not seeing the problem of saying something hopeful to help calm down her anxious mind. It might not happen, but it could, and maybe will.
The feeling of protection that Summer Rose had over Yang was almost an instinct, just like what she had for Ruby. When Raven left for a reason that still to this day nobody understands well, Yang was only five, and obviously, that did hurt Taiyang too. The two Xiao Long spent weeks in the Branwen/Rose residence so they could make sure they were both fed. Summer had to act like a mother towards Yang and wasn’t very okay when Raven just decided to come back when she was twelve, wanting to be the girl’s mom again even after all the time she lost. In the end, they both kept their bitterness about that to themselves, but never forgot it and knew what the other thought about the matter.
“Shit.” Their staring contest was interrupted by Qrow’s loud exclamation, making everybody in the back seats turn their heads forward to see what was happening.
Seemed like during the time summer and Raven stared at themselves, they finally managed to get to the city, never-ending lines of cars that followed until their lights were just dots in the distance. The sound of police sirens was still audible in the distance and was getting further. The traffic would make an easy thirty minutes trip last, at least, four hours. There was no way they’d get anywhere like this.
And before one of the man could open their mouths to indicate a different way they could use to avoid the traffic, more swearing could be heard not so far, calling the two families attention. Right in front of them, a man left his car, outraged at someone for some reason. But what looked like a simple traffic fight turned very quickly into a violent blood shedding. The other man, who had half of his face covered in black veins and wounds jumped over the angry driver, screaming like an animal and using his teeth and nails to tear his victim’s skin apart.
Terrified screams started around them as if hell had just emerged to the surface, people jumping from their cars in the lines to run away in chaos and fear. Grimm would soon flood the place to savor the taste of the negativity in the air.
“Tai, take us the fuck outta here now!” Raven almost threw herself on the stirring wheel, screaming to her husband and being the first one to break out of the trance of fear from watching things fall apart in front of their eyes.
With that, Taiyang woke up and quickly shifted the car into reverse mode, kicking the pedal so the vehicle started to walk backwards with a joint and a cry from the wheels. The curve he did almost sent all four woman in the back seats to the right, Summer tightening her grip around Ruby while Yang and Raven held on the seats. Once they had the path clear to another street, the brusque movement started, the car running to escape the madness they just beheld and bouncing over the asphalt with the driver’s rush.
When they were already deep into the alleyway that led to the center, a handful of pedestrians starts running to their direction, making Tai stop the car abruptly. There were so many people that some just bumped into the hood, getting up and running again as if nothing just happened.
“Try to keep driving straight!” Qrow yelled after finally finding his voice, pointing to the other street that they had to follow.
“I’m trying, okay? I can’t run over them!” Tai screamed back over the mumbling that came from behind him, it was Yang and Raven, their repetitive “What the fuck is going on?!” turning into white noise compared to the many sounds around them of people screaming or running.
All Summer did was turn Ruby around and hold her head against her chest so her daughter wouldn’t have to see more of this. The younger Rose did not complaint, frozen with terror and just clinging to her mother like a two year old.
In the moment the small crowd dissipated enough so they could pass with the car, Tai accelerated, guiding them around a quarter to a different section of the street. A light behind them called Ruby’s attention, who was still over her mother’s lap, but now with her head on the curve of the woman’s neck. She had to squint her eyes to see what was the source of the blinding light, finally realizing what was coming.
“Look out!” She cried, tightening her grip on Summer, who immediately turned her face to see another car coming dangerously fast in their direction. Before Tai or Qrow could even look, the impact threw everyone forward, their car turning around and glass shattering to all directions.
For a moment, everything was quiet. There was no sound, nor a single movement around them, just the darkness and the stillness of an empty battlefield. But slowly, Summer started to come back to consciousness, sounds flooding her and brain looping the crash and processing what happened. Looking around, she saw that the car had turned over, her red tipped hair falling over her face with reverse physics while every glass window except for the windshield was broken.
Her vision focused on the person in front of her, finding out it was Ruby, unconscious and with her head against the shattered window besides them, small bits off blood over her face, but nothing that looked too urgent, except the fact that the girl was not awake. Summer quickly started to try to get up, not caring about the pain and the pressure she felt all over her body, she needed to know if her daughter was okay.
“Mom? Dad?” She heard from her other side, close to her neck, recognizing Yang’s confused voice. The teenager was waking up, head pending to her aunt’s side, even if her body was in the same place because of the seat belt. Her mother was starting to wake up as well, trapped into place too.
“Yang!” Someone spoke from the front seats, probably Tai. “Is everyone okay?” He asked, still trapped to the seat belt, regaining his ability to move his limbs.
"Tai! Ruby's unconscious! Is Qrow alright?" Raven opened her mouth to speak something, but Summer quickly beat her to it, afraid to move her daughter in case she had any damage to her spine or neck, cheking her vitals.
"I'm alright, Summer. Don't worry about me," The voice came from the front seats, the woman recognizing her husband's voice talking. "Raven, are you awake?" He tried to look over his shoulder to find his oldest sister, but to no avail.
A low grunt came from the dark haired woman, who rubbed the back of her neck with a pained expression on her face. It was loud enough for the younger twin to hear, nodding to himself.
"Listen, Raven. Tai and I are going to break the windshield. You fly out so Yang and Summer can get out, got it?" Qrow was answered with another groan, taking that as a confirmation. He looked to the blond on the seat next to him, nodding to tell him that he was ready.
After nodding back, Tai and Qrow squirmed their legs so they could kick the glass. On the count of three, they did synchronized moves, hitting the windshield with all the strength they had. It took them two tries to finally manage to shatter the security glass, that just popped out.
Once the path was clear, Raven just turned into a bird and shot out of the seat, darting out of the car like an arrow and turning back to her human form to help her husband out. Qrow did the same, turning into a dark crow and quickly escaping from the vehicle, turning to his original form once he was outside.
Yang saw the adults and unbuckled her seatbelt, holdig herself on the front seats so she wouldn't lean on her aunt once the belt was not holding her. The blonde jumped to the front and got out with her father's help.
"Summer, pass Ruby to me." Leaning back inside the car and past the front seats, Qrow asked, streching his arms to reach his daughter as his wife lifted her for him.
He placed Ruby's head on his shoulder, carrying her bridal style while Summer started to unbuckle the seat belts and get up to walk out from the car.
When she stepped on the asphalt, her silver eyes started to look around, registering the scene. Fire seemed to grow from inside one of the buildings, screams and cries for help echoing in the night while many civilians ran around in search for a place to hide. Following them were people as well, but slightly different. Their skins looked pale and lifeless, red blood spilled on their clothes and mouths but black blood filled veins popping in their faces and necks, the look that showed nothing but instinct and violence. Summer knew it was the signs of Grimm infection.
Looking at Summer, Qrow and Tai, Raven noticed that she was the only ones between the adults that had nothing but her fists to defend herself. But then, a thought crossed her memory, remembering that she didn't take omen and the other sparring wooden swords from the trunk of Tai's car after she arrived from her work as a sword fight teacher.
"Yang." At the mention of her name, she turned around, finding her mother entering the car again, turning to the driver's seat and pulling a small handle on the floor close to the car door. "Omen is in the trunk, there's some practice wooden swords as well. C'mon." Raven gestured for her daughter to follow her to the back of the car.
Fortunately the two managed to open the trunk on the vertical, seeing the training swords standing, leaning on the roof of the trunk after the crash. They were all scattered, but there was one long black case that contrasted with the simple wood, and that was exactly what Raven grabbed, opening it and finding her sheathed bright red katana. She took it and slipped the strap conected to the sheath over her shoulder. Yang just grabbed one of the wooden swords, the heaviest she could find, both quickly ran back to their group.
"Summer, take Harbinger. I won't be using it now," Qrow turned to the woman besides him, Ruby still unconscious on his arms. Summer just nodded, quick to reach for the heavy pistol on the waistband of his pants and wield it. It's not like she's not used to using two pistols at once.
"C'mon, Tai. We'll lead the way." She said, not waiting for an answer to start going ahead of the group.
Qrow followed close to them with Yang and Raven, they all running through the streets in the same directions of the flow of people that desperately tried to escape whatever it was that threatened their safety. While they ran, many of the people running with them got knocked down by the infected, eaten on the spot. But nobody stopped to help them, everyone just kept running, as if in tunnel vision.
The group had to stop with a halt when two cars crached into each other, hitting a post lamp and exploding the energy transformer that sent sparks flying everywhere. The lights connected to the line went off, leaving a even darker and bleaker night. They turned around and entered in an alleyway, Summer being the one to open the gate of the twisted wire fence and close it once everyone passed.
"This way," Tai indicated with his head stepping on patio only to stop when an infected jumped on him, ready to tear his meat from his bones but quickly falling backwards with two bullets the Rose shot. "Thanks, Sum." He sighed, feeling the rush of adrenaline kicking in.
"Don't mention it." She said without even lowering the guns while walking past the blond man, heading fast to a door was across the patio and holding it open for them.
More infected started to follow them, rising from the shadows and running in their direction. Raven and Yang turned around and stopped, their grasps on their weapons even tighter as the two prepared to atack, buy time while Qrow kept running with his daughter. Tai and Summer used their guns to stop some of them, Qrow's pistol running out of dust hounds.
Mother and daughter retract back, entering through the door when more and more infected started to show up. They didn't have to end them all, they just needed to run. So when Tai was about to shut the door closed, those mindless people reached them, sticking their arms and hands through the crack of the door and stopping it from closing.
"I can hold it! Go!" The older Xiao Long screamed at the rest of his family, which obeyed, knowing the man was capable of handling the situation on it's own.
Summer lead them out by the immense whole the place had, guiding them to and open patio. Qrow was next, Yang behind him and Raven lastly, slightly hesitant on letting her husband behind, but swallowing it dry. Next thing they knew, Yang screamed out of the blue, calling their attention.
An infected jumped on her, knocking her down and trapping her so it could sink it's bloodied teeth on her skin.
"Go!" Was all Raven said to her brother and sister in law before going to help her daughter, raising the blade of her sword cut clean the head of the aggressor.
The remaining two did as they were told, following a trail on the broken paviment that led to an tight dirt road, running without looking back. They could hear infected coming behind them, making Summer turn around and shot them down until her pistol ran out of bullets as well.
That was when Qrow felt Ruby wake up in his arms, looking down to find her opening her silver eyes and look curiously around herself, frowning.
"What happened." Her voice escaped weakly. She must've finally felt the pain from tbe wound in her head, because she suddenly pressed her eyes shut, baring her teeh and hissing, trying to reach the side of her head with her fingers.
"Our car crashed and you hit your head on the window. But don't worry, everything is fine." The man reassured the girl, tightening his grip on Ruby and leaving a relieved sigh escape from his lungs.
"We're almost there, Petal." Summer, who was close when the younger Rose Branwen recovered her consciousness, leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss on Ruby's forehead, offering her a smille, which she gave back to her mother.
The trio kept going, walking past a wrecked ambulance by the other side of the road. They didn't think too much of it until they heard a growl from behind the vehicle, the figure of a man coming from the shadows and running straight to Qrow, opening his mouth and stretching his arms to reach for the man.
They ran even faster to leave the threat behind, without any bullets left to end the man and walk with more calm or wait for the others. Ruby wrapped her arms around her father's neck as they ran with all the strenght they had left inside them to the light that dissipated darkness on the top of the hill.
A shot fizzled through the air once they got there, alarming Qrow and Summer, who stopped running to look behind and find that the monster persuing the family now laid on the ground with moving, lifeless. The couple looked forward again, narrowing their eyes at the strong light.
After getting used to the clarity, it was possible to see the silhouette of a man holding a gun, aimed past the three standing across. He seemed to be a soldier. The vision seemed to bring some reassuring to the family, a figure that could protect them finally, after all the hell they just been through. It was like, for a second, the energy around them finally changed from negativity, to something lighter.
"It's okay, Petal. It's alright." Summer whispered to the young girl, using her free hand to brush her ebony hair. The woman's eyes looked to her husband's crimson eyes, both finding a flicker of comfort. "Hey, can you help us?" She turned back to the soldier, stepping closer.
"Stay back!" He demanded, raising his gun and aiming at Summer, who immediately raised her hands up and stepped back close to Qrow.
The looked at each other, wide eyed confusion clear all over their faces. Ruby held herself closer, scared, her heart beating even faster now.
"Look, we've just been through hell to get here. Our car crashed, our daughter hit her head, she could've had a concussion!" Qrow managed to try before the man across from them could interrupt again, not daring to step forward, Summer shielding Ruby with her own body.
"We are not sick..." The words almost got caught up on Summer's throat, knowing that this soldier probably didn't know as much about the infection as she did.
With a gesture, the soldier told them to stay quiet, still aiming the barrel of the gun at them but reaching for the radio on his ear, calling someone.
"Got a couple of civillians on the outer perimeter. Please advise." The man said to the radio, voice muffled by the helmet and mask he was wearing. He remained quiet after that.
"Mommy, where's uncle Tommy and Yang? And aunt Raven?" Ruby asked, still afraid and parcially hidden between her parents. They didn't even look at her, too focused on the person in front of them.
"They're coming to meet us, don't worry, Petal." Qrow whispered back, eyes focused and waiting anxiously.
"But, Sir, there's a little girl..." his voice called their attention again, uncertain bleeding throught it and making a shiver run up their spines in dread. Then it didn't work. "Yes, sir." Now he said firmly, accepting his orders and raising his aim again.
Qrow and Summer were speechless. Why? Could they change, this? What did they do to deserve this? The older Rose stretched her arm in the man's direction, a silent plea for him to just lower his gun so they could turn around.
"Okay, we'll just—" Was all she managed to say before he pulled the trigger, shooting many bullets at them. Ruby screamed as they tried to turn around and run away, the projectiles fizzling around and hitting them, making them fall and roll down hill.
Qrow was shot on his leg and shoulder, the first shot breaking his aura instantly before the other could make more damage. He saw the soldier approaching his fallen figure, aiming the gun at his head.
He couldn't believe it was it.
How come?
Why?
Why?
Before the man could shoot and end Qrow Branwen's life, his head was penatrated with a projectile, the bang from the gun breaking the morbid silence that lasted less than seconds. His body fell down, lifeless, Taiyang being the next thing that enters his vision. The man's blue eyes slided further from his brother in law, sudden worry stricking him.
"Oh no." It escaped from his mouth, Raven and Yang appearing behind him, the daughter having her arm around her mother's neck, leaning in her to walk. They too had deep worry on their faces.
Qrow frowned, sitting up and looking at what they where looking at, just to find Summer, laying on the floor, visibly shaking hands pressing on a growing stain of deep red that was on her torso.
Ruby was closer to Qrow, having just turned around as well, immediately getting up and running to her mother.
"MOM!" She cried, dropping to her knees besides Summer, being followed by her father, who picked his wife and pulled her to his lap, looking horrified at what was just happening in front of him.
"Qrow..." Summer called weakly through her own pain, frowing with the burning wound on her abdomen. Her hands were almost all red now.
Qrow tried to hush her, using his hands to make pressure on the shot wound while Ruby just looked wide eyed at her mother, nothing coming out of her mouth as if she had forgotten how to formulate a phrase.
With one of her bloodied hands, Summer ran her thumb over the girl's cheek, looking at her with sorry silver eyes full of shining tears, staining her daughter's light colored skin with her own blood. Ruby just held her mother's hand, pressing it against her own face and felling her throat start to burn as well as tears drop from her chin.
"My baby..." Was the last thing that made it's way out from Summer's mouth, her whole face closing while she bared her teeth to keep herself from screaming in pain.
Qrow just kept making pressure, seeing how much blood the woman was losing. He had to stop the bleeding to stabilize her ao they could search somewhere safe and take the bullet out to clean and stitch. They had to be fast and needed supplies. His head was so clouded with thoughts on how could he save Summer that he didn't feel when she stopped moving and complaining about the pressure.
"MOM!" Ruby cried, panincking and shacking her mother by the shoulders, seing if she could wake her uo somehow. But nothing happened.
The look on Summer Rose's face when she died was just empty. There was no remaining pain, nor remaining fear. Just empty. Her hand slipped from Ruby's grip, falling over her lap.
She was gone.
How did this happen?
How?
Why?
Tears started to stream down the crow's face, everything felt numb, like a dream, like nothing had really happened at all. He felt like it wasn't real. It couldn't be. His eyes found Ruby, petrified for a second before she fell apart, screaming into the night.
The tears falling from her face were endless, but even so, it wasn't able to wash away the blood that sticked to her cheek. It did nothing.
Father and daughter made eye contact, lost.
How were they supposed to live without her?
How was he supposed to live without her?
"The number of confirmed deaths has passed two hundred. The governor has called state of emergency..."
"There were hundreds and hundreds of bodies lined up in the streets..."
"Panic spread worldwide after a leaked report from the word health organization showed that the latest vaccination tests have failed."
"With the bureaucrats out of the power we can finally take the necessary steps to..."
"Vacuo is now the latest kingdom to be placed under martial law."
"All residents are required to report to their resignated quarantine—"
"The riots have continued for a third consecutive day and winter rations are at an all time low..."
"A group calling themselves Fireflies have claimed responsibility for both attacks."
"Theur public charter calls for the return of all branches of government."
"Demonstrations broke out followed by the execution of six more alleged
Fireflies."
"You can still rise with us. Remmwber when you are lost in the darkness, look for the light."
"Believe in the Fireflies."