Brunswick Farms. Finally, a place to rest and get away from this snow. It was a little eerie how it was abandoned, but at this point, Ruby figured it was better than nothing.
They entered the farmhouse, and were greeted with silence. The inside looked just as abandoned as the outside, with dusty old furniture, broken, boarded up windows, no sense of light anywhere.
“Well, it’s not pretty, but it’ll do for now.” Qrow commented, taking another swig of his flask.
“At least we’re finally out of that snow.” said Blake, rubbing her arms to keep warm despite wearing a coat.
“You’re telling me!” Maria agreed, already making her way down a hallway across from the entrance.
“Where are you going?” Yang asked.
Maria looked back and answered, “To find myself a bath.” and left of her own accord.
“We should all try and find rooms.” Qrow suggested. “It’s gonna be a long night.”
Everyone broke off in search to find their rooms. A farmhouse this big had to have a lot. Thankfully, they were right, and they each managed to find their own to sleep in. After a nice, hot shower, Ruby was grateful to finally be able to get some rest. Though, she was sad their weren’t any bunk-beds this time.
She was also upset she couldn’t sleep. So much happened in such a short amount of time, it was hard to push it all away. Ozpin and Salem, the Gods, immortality and reincarnation, so much was shown at once the moment Ruby spoke Jinn’s name.
The relic stood on a nightstand beside Ruby’s bed, emitting a soft blue glow like its own personal night-light. Ruby kept her eyes on it, watching it, wondering exactly what the final question she should ask be.
Salem was immortal, there was no beating her. Ozpin lied to them with no plan of attack. The most important questions she had were already answered. What else was there?
A knock on the door broke her thoughts, “Ruby?” Yang’s voice called from behind.
“Come in!” Ruby answered, shifting over to sit on the edge of her bed.
The door opened, and in walked the rest of her team, closing the door behind them. Yang, Weiss and Blake stood around Ruby, eyeing the relic.
“Have you thought about what to ask it next?” Weiss asked.
Ruby took a moment, “No.” and hung her head low.
“Well, if you ask me,” Yang spoke, crossing her arms, “I think we should it what to do with Ozpin.”
Ruby shot her head to protest, “Yang...”
“Ruby, he lied to us! He signed us up in a war against Salem, and she can’t even be killed!”
Though they both didn’t like it, Blake and Weiss had to agree.
“You saw what Jinn showed us.” Blake added. “And you heard what Ozpin said.”
Ruby hung her head again. She understood her team’s feelings, she felt them too. She was angry, and confused, and sad at the same time. How can they fight someone who can’t be beaten? How can they trust someone who constantly lied to them? Ugh, it was all so frustrating!
Weiss must’ve known what she was feeling, as she sat next to Ruby on her bedside, and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.
“I know it’s not easy to comprehend, Ruby, so maybe you can ask the relic a question that doesn’t...” she glared at Yang, “...deal with immortals and Gods.”
Yang could only look at her boots.
“What kind of question should we ask it?” Blake wondered, kneeling down to eye-level with the relic.
“I’ve got one.” Uncle Qrow’s voice took their attention. Of course, he was drunk again. Pushing himself off the doorframe, Qrow stumbled and slurred, “How about you ask it why I spent my life... following a pathological liar. Or, how about why that liar... lied to me? OR...”
“QROW!” Ruby exclaimed, standing up from her bed. Qrow stopped in his tracks. The small leader sighed, “I know you’re all angry. I am, too! But this is something I need to think about! So, please, let me think.”
Every went silent. Qrow sighed, “Do whatever you think is best, kiddo.”
Ruby turned her attention to the relic, taking it in her hands. After a deep breathe, she spoke the name, “Jinn.”
From her hands, the relic floated, stopping at the center of the room. From the blue smoke, the blue beauty Jinn appeared, just as coy as before. “My, this is a surprise! I haven’t been summoned this before! So tell me, what knowledge do you seek?”
Ruby took a moment to think. If she couldn’t ask about Ozpin or Salem anymore, than maybe... “Jinn, you can answer any question.”
“Correct, little one. As long as it’s not about the future.” Jinn crossed her arms.
Ruby’s hand hovered above her chest, her eyes locked on her cape that was neatly folded on the nightstand behind her, next to where the relic was previously. “But you can show the past.” she brought her attention back to Jinn.
“Than...” it was now, or never. “Can... you tell me... what happened to my Mom?”
The mood in the room skidded and crashed. Everyone was shocked, Yang, Weiss, Blake. Qrow’s flask fell from his hands, crashing to the floor with a clink and a thud. “Ruby...” was all he could say, before everything went white.
“Ruby...?” he called out into the void. “Ruby!” but nothing was there, until a wall of blue smoke ascended around him. After a moment of clarity, Qrow finally began to see where he was. He recognized the wooden structure, he recognized the kitchen, he recognized the furniture and the pictures...
And he recognized the white hood. “No...”
There, standing at the center of the living room with Tai, was Summer Rose.
“Mom?” Yang said in a state of shock. It had been so long since she’d seen her and Dad together.
“Do you really have to go?” Tai asked in concern.
“I’m sorry, Tai, but Ozpin needs me on this mission, and you and Qrow need to look after our daughters.”
Qrow was frozen. Summer was there, right there. He instinctively went to reach out for her, but pulled back remembering, even in his drunken state, he couldn’t touch her.
Tai sighed, lowering his head. “I don’t like it. I should be there with you.”
Summer placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and smiled. “I know, honey. But you’re needed here. Besides, Yang needs to make sure you and Qrow are kept in line.”
They both shared a good laugh. Qrow actually forgot what her laugh sounded like. It nearly brought tears to his eyes.
When they calmed down, Tai only put his hands around her shoulders and said, “Just... be safe, okay?”
Summer smiled, “I promise.” and they both embraced. They would’ve stayed in each other’s arms forever, had Yang not ran in.
“Mommy! Mommy!” the little blonde in the orange t-shirt and pigtails shouted in excitement, a little Ruby behind her looking nervous. Yang was still, taken aback by how young she and her sister looked. But other than that, “I remember this day.”
Breaking away from Tai and crouching to look at her daughters, Summer asked, “What is it, sweetie?”
“Ruby wants to show you something!”
Summer’s eyes lit up, and her attention was on her littlest one, “What is it, Ruby?”
Yang’s heart strings were suddenly being tugged, “No...” she didn’t want to see it again.
The little Ruby, in her own red t-shirt and black skirt, held a piece of paper in her hands. She looked nervous, as if she was afraid her Mom wouldn’t like it.
“It’s okay, Ruby. You can show me.” Summer assured her, giving Ruby a smile neither Qrow nor Yang had seen in so long.
With a whimper, Ruby held out the piece of paper to her Mom. Summer accepted it, turning it over to see what it had. When she saw, she gasped. It was a drawing of her, and Ruby... together, with the words, “My Hero” written in crayon.
To anyone else, it would’ve looked crude and sloppy, bu to Summer, it was a masterpiece. One that brought tears to the Super Mom’s silver eyes.
“Oh, Ruby... it’s beautiful. I love it.” she brought her daughter in for a hug.
“Can-can I be like you, Mommy?” little Ruby’s voice tugged at Qrow and Yang’s heart even more, like they were being ripped out of their chests.
“Of course you can, my little petal. And when I get back, I’ll make you all the cookies you want!”
Ruby gasped, her little eyes lighting up with joy, “Really?!”
Summer separated from her daughter, “Yes, sweetie. I promise!” she then looked to Yang. “And you, Yang...” she placed a gentle hand on her daughter’s head.
Yang didn’t want to hear it again. “Please, don’t say it, Mom.”
“Promise me you’ll look after your little sister, for all your days. Remember, you’re my sunny little dragon, and Ruby is your treasure.”
“Don’t worry, Mommy, I’ll be the strongest dragon ever!” little Yang exclaimed, pumping her arms up like a champion.
Those words brought Yang to her knees.
“Yes, you will!” Summer giggled, and brought her beloved, laughing children in for a group hug.
Another cloud of blue engulfed the world, and Ruby found herself in a field. Only... the field was black, littered with... Grimm!
Ruby suddenly jumped at the sound of a beowulf’s roar, turning around to see it hovering over her, standing on its hind legs ready to strike. Whether on instinct or habit, Ruby went to reach for her scythe, but stopped when she saw a white blur zip past her, cutting through the beowulf like a knife through butter.
The Grimm fell in half, joining the pile, and standing tall, her own scythe in hand, was Summer Rose. Qrow watched his former teammate walk past with such confidence, it was almost scary. So many lay dead at her feet, and she barely had a scratch on her.
An army of Grimm stood before her. Beowulves, Ursa’s, Nevermore’s in the air, boarbatusk’s. It didn’t matter, in the end. As they charged towards the Silver-Eyed Huntress, Summer continued her stride, not a shot of fear evident on her face. She didn’t care how many there were, they would all fall.
To Qrow, watching Summer fight again was like reliving the past. It was as if he was there with her again, as teammates, as partners. The way she sliced off an Ursa’s head, jumped up into the air and manage to cut off a Nevermore’s wing so it crashed into a group of three beowulve’s, and spun on her back like a dance move to use her scythe to slice apart any Grimm that dared to get close...
For Yang, watching Summer only reminded her of Ruby. The way she moved, the way she fought, the way she smirked in the face of danger. Watching her Mother use her own scythe as a spear to chuck into two Beowulve’s and an Ursa, and somehow manage to dodge every oncoming strike around her like a cat, and then use that Grimm spear to flip herself over to smash it into a charging boarbatusk like a Grimm hammer...
It was like watching a ghost.
A number of Grimm still remained, and Summer found herself swarmed. With no other option left, she decided to bring out the big guns. Flashing her eyes open, just as the Grimm were ready to pounce on her, Summer’s silver eyes flowed, and a flash of light engulfed the area around her. When the light dissipated, all that remained was black dust, floating in the air, forgotten. Summer confidently walked through the darkness, stopping directly, coincidentally... in front of Ruby.
For Ruby... watching Summer... was the hardest thing to do. This was her Mother? This was Super Mom? A Silver-Eyed Warrior? Feelings of pride, of sadness, or joy, and sorrow, they all fought inside Ruby the same way Summer fought off the Grimm.
Summer phased through Ruby, the smaller Huntress never taking her eyes off her Mother, as she confidently made her way down the trail. A puff of smoke appeared in the distance, and in its place, was a massive cave.
Not a second later, the blue smoke took Ruby inside the cave, following her Mother. No source of light shined aside from the entrance, but the deeper they went, the darker it got. After a long trek inside, something rumbled. Ruby, startled, jumped when she heard a deep, menacing growl from the darkness.
That was when the eyes opened. Ruby gasped, watching those all-too familiar yellow eyes dart up high into the air, followed by a menacing claw just barely missing Summer as it stomped its way into the ground. From the darkness, Ruby could finally see what awaited her Mother...
The beast let out a menacing roar, while Summer readied her scythe, and her eyes started to glow. Ruby watched the whole thing as if it were in slow-motion, her Mother and the dragon charging, head-to-head, in a battle of light and dark, when her Mom’s Silver Eyes bathed the cave with light.
It took a second for the light to dissipate, but once it did, Ruby was left confused. She was... back in her room? Her team and Uncle Qrow with her?
Jinn answered, “I showed you what happened.”
While Ruby was still overcoming her confusion, Yang was the first to speak, tears still running down her face, “What do you mean?! That can’t be it! You have to tell us what happened!”
Weiss and Blake were too shell-shocked to say anything. Qrow was left staring at the floor, still trying to come to grips with what he just saw.
Jinn answered, “I can’t show you what happened, because that’s all there was to show, and since you’ve already asked your third and final question, I’m afraid I have to leave now.”
And just like, Jinn disappeared into the relic, an angry Yang darting for her, “NO! YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE US LIKE THAT! SHOW US WHAT HAPPENED!”
“Yang...?” Blake went to reach for her partner, now on one knee in a crying fit.
“Show us... please...” was all Yang could say.
Weiss turned her attention to Ruby, who hadn’t moved since they returned. She looked so... confused, broken. The red-headed Huntress had this look on her face Weiss couldn’t figure out.
“Ruby?” she carefully stepped towards her partner, just as Blake did for Yang. “Ruby? Are you okay?”
Ruby’s thousand yard stare scared Weiss. Where there was once the happy-go-lucky leader and friend she knew, now there was this... broken, speechless little girl, who couldn’t even form words, as tears ran down her face, and suddenly, the walls Ruby had kept up for so long, suddenly broke down, and she collapsed into Weiss’ arms.
Weiss could do nothing but hold her partner, as close as she could. Blake could only do the same. Qrow could only stand there, watching his nieces break down in front of him, unable to do anything, but pick up his flask... and take another swig.
