Lionheart
Lionheart pushes the doors of his office open, frantically locking it to escape. The screams of the students can be heard from inside as the Knights of Grimm cut them down with ease. He stammers in fear as he searches through his drawers to find a way to get into his Vault.
He looks up at the door every now and then and he hears the scream of a student pounding on it for help. "Professor! Help us!" He cries out. His screams grow and grow, the deep and heavy footsteps of something approaching him. "Please no!" He cries out. His screams are silenced when the black blade protrudes through the wooden door and blood leaks into the room. He stammers in horror, knowing that one of his students has been killed by Death.
He expects Death to enter but he doesn't. He disappears as quickly as he arrived. The Knights are wiping out the Mistral Defences and he picks up a device in his hand and he looks right at it, breathing through his nose. He then picks up a key, the same key that was used to go to the Vault on Beacon. Lionheart steps away from his desk, towards the elevator.
"If you turn back now...I will tear this school apart to get in there." Death threatens. He stops and he looks over his shoulder, seeing his potted plants dead, the Archangel of Death stood behind him with his sword in his black armoured hand.
"I know what's at stake." Lionheart promises.
"Ozpin was arrogant enough to carry his Relic everywhere he went...at least you know where it should be." He says.
Death turns and walks away from him. For whatever reason, the Knights of Grimm cannot manifest themselves into the Vault, something is blocking their entrance. Perhaps the architects found a way to keep them out of the Vault, a barrier of some kind. Lionheart steps into the open elevator and the doors close in front of him as Death vanishes in a cloud of smoke.
The elevator starts to move down the mountains at great speeds to enter the Underground Vault that each Academy seems to harbour. He shakes as he stands there, knowing that his Kingdom is falling right above his head.
But he wants only one thing out of all of this.
Survival.
The elevator comes to a stop eventually at the bottom floor and the doors open up, revealing the huge dark green vault, green flames burning on the torches inside. He runs inside, running as fast as he can to find the Relic and to keep them from becoming too impatient. He turns in the cross section. There are hundreds of ancient artefacts in here that have never been seen before.
From black Odachi's instead of red to unknown elements kept here. Some of these things must be so important that they must be hidden here. He finally reaches the end of the hall and he sees the large container that contains the Relic. He holds his hand before it and he twists it round, the light piercing through, nearly blinding him. He looks at the small rock, how something can be so powerful...and so small...it is really terrifying. He picks up a cane that is beside it, very similar to the one that belongs to Ozpin.
The Canes must be designed to carry the Relics. He opens the head of the cane and he presses it down onto the Relic like using a pair of tongs to pick up something that is extremely hot. The relic is connected to the cane's interior as he picks it up and the cane charges up. He twists the lid of the cane's head back on to contain the power and he runs from it as the place begins to shut down. It's like they used it to charge the place, and now it all makes sense...
How they have survived this long without Atlesian Tech...
They have been using the Relic as a Power Source to survive, to power their defences around the walls that guard their precious home from the Grimm. And now he has taken that power source from the network. He flees back to the elevator and to return to the surface. The elevator flies up the shaft to return to the top, he stammers in fear as he stands inside. Hearing the rumbling of destruction getting stronger and stronger the closer to the top he gets.
Then he arrives at the top, the doors open and he looks around in fear when he checks if none of them are there. He did just kill Sage in front of all of them and he tried to kill the others as well. He runs as fast as he can to get outside, panting as he runs. He emerges in the courtyard, the corpses of his students lying across the floor, blood staining everywhere. In the background, Watts and Tyrian walk around and Watts looks at him as he approaches Death. "What a fantastic scheme, this is!" Tyrian laughs as he walks with the mastermind. "So when you were dealing with him, it was to make him defect?" Tyrian asks.
"Originally I was gaining his trust to get access to the Vault, but when I learned of how much of a coward the man is...all I needed was to give him some incentive. And now he is giving the Relic to Death directly." Watts explains with pride as he leans against the wall with his arms crossed.
"Excellent strategy." Tyrian snarks.
Watts smirks with a chuckle. "Of course it is – I made it." He chuckles, showing his self-centred ego at its full potential. Tyrian smirks as he stands beside the Doctor, his fully regenerated tail arched over his shoulder as he watches the chaos happening beneath him.
Lionheart approaches the Knight of Death with the relic and he gives the staff to him, and Death takes it, looking at the Staff. He looks at Lionheart and he just nods, walking away from him. Watts now holds the device that he took from his desk in his hand. A Crow flies across the battlefield and returns, transforming into Qrow as he runs after him. "So what is the next step?" Tyrian asks Watts curiously.
Watts chuckles menacingly. "We have fed information to our infiltrators, and they have been planting bombs on Mistral's defences. Now? Now we burn the city to the ground." Watts answers.
Lionheart flicks the cap open to hold his thumb above the detonation button, a red pressurised plate on the device that he holds. "Commencing Clean Slate." He says. Qrow stands there with his sword in his hand.
"Stop! No! No don't, Lionheart!" Qrow screams, begging him as he stands there.
"Forgive me, old friend." Lionheart prays, pressing his thumb onto the button.
The light on the side flashes green. The large defence towers erupt into an aura of orange light, large explosions completely annihilating the defences. The concrete that constructs the huge buildings ripple like water as the explosive shockwave blasts through it. Crumpling and shattering like glass from the detonating bombs, thrown sky high and into the city with smoke and dust trailing behind. The turrets that they have built all are completely destroyed in one moment, their huge barrels and dust crystals inside exploding into a firework display.
Qrow's eyes widen in horror when he sees the explosions that completely wipe the defences out. The Grimm across Anima all turn and they growl as they sense the panic and the riot, and they all converge on the city. Like a cloud of darkness approaching the city like the bubonic plague to kill everything inside. The armouries suffer the same fate, being destroyed from the explosions, the ammunition all going off. Every defence tower crumbles from the mountainside, all of their Airships that were docked explode from the bombs placed inside, putting an end to the Mistraalian Air Force.
Watts smirks as he stands there, clenching his hand into a fist. "And so...an Empire falls." He says with a smile.
The team look around across the city, seeing the smoke rising from the destroyed towers that have been destroyed and they can already sense the presence of the Grimm getting stronger the closer they get. From Beowulves to Deathstalkers to Goliaths, everything is coming to an end for Mistral. Lionheart retreats from the scene as Qrow sprints after him. They both run and Qrow leaps at him, tackling him down the stairs. They grunt and groan as they both fall down the stairs, hitting their heads on the cobblestone steps as they fall.
They both roll onto the floor across from one another. Qrow growls in anger as he glares straight at Lionheart on the floor. "You lied...to us...for years?" Qrow questions as he sits there, staring at him. Lionheart shakes as he sits there.
"Yes." Lionheart answers.
Qrow sits upright as he looks down at the man.
"Your people aren't ready?" He asks.
"No." Lionheart answers again. "I tried to do my duty, Qrow. But when I saw what was coming...I realised...we've got no chance." Lionheart explains as he sits there. "And I resisted the temptation for years but when Watts offered me a chance that I could...that I could live through it...I couldn't pass that chance up." He reveals, filling Qrow's heart with anger and disgust.
"You goddamn coward." He snarls in anger as he glares at him. Lionheart gets up and he looks at the Huntsman, approaching him.
"It's what I am." Lionheart says. "Ironwood is the Tin-Man, Ozpin is Oz, me? I'm the Cowardly Lion." He reveals, swinging his fist at Qrow.
The two of them fight each other in the remains of haven, and around the falling walls of Mistral is the horde of darkness that is converging on Mistral, attracted to the negative emotions of the riot.
They are running out of time.
Jaune
He sprints through the chaotic streets of Mistral, the rage that has been fed to these people has led them into a savage and animalistic state of rage, punching random people and even trying to kill them, clawing them with their nails as they scream, not even making words.
Revealing his main weapon that he can use as a Knight, he tears people apart using anger.
Jaune walks through and he gasps when he sees the burned posters of Pyrrha on the floor, he can hardly even see her beautiful face on their anymore because of the flames that have just consumed it. He stammers in horror when he sees it, but he hears a familiar scream of terror and he runs round the corner to find Pyrrha's mother on the floor, being attacked and screamed at by a bunch of rioters. "You daughter was a failure!" One of them screams in anger, kicking her with his boot.
Jaune grits his teeth in anger, running towards them and he draws Crocea Mors from its sheathe and he holds his shield in his hand. He grabs one of the protesters, throwing him aside.
"Hey!" Jaune yells. "Leave her alone!" Jaune demands, pointing the tip of his sword at them all. One of them grits his teeth, growling and snarling like an animal and he lunges at him, that uncontrollable rage makes the guy make a bad decision.
Jaune doesn't mean to slit his throat with the blade of Crocea Mors, the man runs right into it, and gallons of blood spill from the wound in his neck. He grabs the slashed wound with his hands, the blood pouring down his wrists, trying to stop it like pressing on a pressurised can that has just been stabbed. The blood pushing out hisses like gas and he splutters, making horrific noises as he collapses to the floor.
The others retreat, terrified of what Jaune had just accidentally committed.
Jaune stares at the blood on his blade and then at the body which falls to the floor, blood going everywhere...horrified of what has just happened.
The mother of Pyrrha Nikos looks at the dead body and then at Jaune. He is shocked from what just happened but he snaps out of it, looking at Pyrrha's mother and he helps her back to her feet. "Come on; let's get you out of here." He says.
He looks across the road and he sees Pyrrha's home completely ablaze, the inferno rising into the sky. All of her childhood memories reduced to ash, everything that she ever was has just been destroyed. The only people who remember the real, kind, Pyrrha Nikos, are the people that he is friends with.
Everything she ever had.
Scattered...
Into the winds of distant memory.
He helps her through the streets to get her to safety as he flees, holding his sword in his hand. But when he walks, he stops and his eyes widen when he sees her stood before him. The Onyx Phantom, she wields a metal sword in her hand and the black hood shrouds her face, her black hair by her shoulders. Glowing orange eyes fixed with his as he stands there, holding her mother close. She tenses her hand as she stands there, not saying a word but she only tilts her head slightly. But when she blinks, she blinks quickly and Jaune notices something in her irises.
They change colour for a split second.
A flash of pink and brown.
"It can't be..."
Someone runs right in between them, blocking their vision for a second, and when the civilian passes by, the Phantom is gone.
Sun
On his knees beside his friend...
The hole through his head and his body nearly blown to pieces from Lionheart's weapon...he cannot even fathom it. His hands are still shaking as he stares down at his corpse, and Blake runs round the corner, gasping when she sees Sage's body right there. Her eyes widen when she looks at Sun, seeing him utterly broken beside his friend, and Scarlet with his hands pressed to his head. Neptune is with Weiss who catches up...
And his eyes...
Fill with tears when he sees his corpse on the ground, so much blood everywhere and his completely shattered sword scattered across the ground. "No..." Neptune whispers with horror as he stumbles towards him, falling right beside his body. It felt like a weight forced him down to his knees beside him, emotional weight that he feels as he stares at his friend. He presses his hands to his blood soaked corpse and he sniffles. "Sage...please..." Neptune whimpers with horror.
Neptune and Scarlet both cry.
But Sun...
He just looks angry, his fists slowly clenching into fists with anger and his teeth gritting together with more and more rage filling his body. "Where...is he?" Sun snarls as he pushes his teeth together, snarling aggressively with so much rage in him. He immediately stands back up and picks Ruyi Jingu Bang, but Kassius stops him with both his hands.
"Whoa, Sun! Calm down, we can't go after him. The Knights are in there in full force." Kassius warns, hearing what Ruby told about the deaths of Team A.B.R.N, they might not have known them very well. But they stayed and fought at Beacon even though it was not their Kingdom, so that was enough reason to show respect to them in the end. They just wish they could have had a single conversation with them before they were cut down.
Of all the people, Kassius would know exactly what Sun is feeling, as would Jaune, Nora and Ren. Who are out there right now trying to find Jaune in the riot crowds that swarm the city right now. But Sun pushes Kassius out of his way, his eyes narrowed with anger as he storms towards Haven.
But then, Blake gently touches his chest with her hand, and he stops. "Please Sun...Don't..." She begs with tears in her amber eyes, she does not want him to suffer the same fate as Adam did when he let his rage consume him.
"He has to die...he murdered my friend!" Sun yells with anger, but none of it directed at Blake.
And she knows that, so she does not even flinch. She just wraps her arms around him, and he shows a face that is extremely surprised, wide blue eyes as he feels her warm embrace around his muscle toned body. She presses her head to his shoulder and he looks at her, tears trickling down his cheeks from his eyes. "Blake...please...I can't let him get away with it." Sun begs her.
"I know – but we can't go after him... You heard Ruby, we don't know how to fight them." Blake gently says to him with her affectionate voice.
He eventually holds her in return, having to bury his head into her long soft black hair. Scarlet brandishes his sword with anger evolving in his eyes and so does Neptune. "He didn't deserve to die like that – he deserved better." Scarlet growls.
"He always wanted to go out in a blaze of glory! Not like this!" Neptune roars with anger, until Weiss hugs him as well.
Never have they seen Team S.S.S.N like this before.
Ruby stands there, sat down with her head pressed against the stock of Crescent Rose in its rifle form, unable to stop thinking about what happened to Team A.B.R.N and Sage. Yang walks over to her, and Oscar has found her as well. They both sit down with Ruby and Yang rests her blonde haired head on her little sister's shoulder. "How are you holding up, sis?" Yang asks her gently.
"I don't know...I just watched five people I knew die right in front of me. I tried to help them against the Knights and I felt so helpless...and I couldn't save Sage in time. None of us could." Ruby sniffles as she rubs the tear from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Ruby – but we can fix this...right?" Oscar nervously asks them. They cannot hear the voice of Ozpin in Oscar's head.
"I trusted him...This is all my fault." Ozpin says in the back of Oscar's mind, and Oscar can actually feel the guilt in the back of his mind.
Ruby looks at Oscar to answer his question.
"We'll damn well give it our best shot."
Qrow
Qrow punches Lionheart across the face and he knocks him onto the ground, gaining the upper hand, pressing the blade of his sword down on his neck to keep him down. "Stop this!" Qrow shouts in anger.
"We can't beat them, Qrow." Lionheart says.
"We can't give into her, this is exactly what Salem wants!" Qrow argues. "There's a fifty-fifty chance that she will lose."
"And there's the other side that we will die trying." He says. Qrow doesn't even notice the hairs standing on end when he holds him down. Qrow looks up and he sees Fear stood there and Fear pushes his hand right at his face. A cloud of gas erupts from his finger tips and into his face. Qrow screams in terror as they instantly take effect on him and he stumbles off Lionheart when he crawls on the ground, his hands on his face. He screams and growls in fear as he lays there.
Fear stands beside Lionheart but when Lionheart walks towards Qrow, obscuring the sight of the Knight, Fear is gone when he should be able to see him again. Qrow shivers on the ground, twitching and looking around with paranoid delusions in his eyes. "You haven't seen what I've seen, Qrow. Few men have seen it." Lionheart says to Qrow.
Lionheart looks down at the Huntsman, somebody who is usually so brave is squirming in fear on the floor from one attack from the Knight of Fear. Qrow stammers, reaching around on the floor to try and shake the fear off but he can't. "I'm very sorry about this, Qrow. But I have to do this. Because when I do this, I will save humanity and the Faunus, and I'm doing it for you Qrow." Lionheart explains.
Qrow cries out in horror as he shakes, seeing his worst fears and most haunting memories. "I'm sorry, I can't watch you go through this, I'm sorry. I'm here for you, just listen to my voice Qrow." Lionheart states.
Qrow looks across the cobblestone floor and he sees his earpiece on the floor where it fell from his ear from the fall. Through the fears, he starts to reach out for it whilst Lionheart turns to leave him behind.
Lionheart looks back at Qrow. "Do you see her, Qrow?" He asks him, speaking of someone.
But who?
"She'll be with you soon." He assures. "Have you ever heard that old oath by the Mistraalians, Qrow? Do you remember?" Lionheart asks him as Qrow drags himself across the floor to reach the communication device.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality." He begins as Qrow reaches for it, but his semblance causes a gust of wind to throw it down a step, but he continues to reach out for it, stammering in fear as Lionheart recites the speech that Pyrrha once spoke of. "Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all." He continues as he walks down the steps, the darkness of the Grimm getting closer and closer, the deep red hue of their eyes combined in the shadows of their forms. "Infinite in distance and unbound by death," Lionheart recites. "I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee." He concludes. He stops and he exhales, turning away from Qrow one last time and finally leaving him behind as he retreats from Haven.
Qrow finally grabs the device and he thinks of the best possible person to find him and one name appears in his mind. "Winter! Help! Help!" Qrow begs.
Back at the Safehouse, she turns to her radio and hears his voice coming through. Weiss sits up with her eyes wide and she looks at Winter. Winter swiftly picks the radio up and answers it. "Qrow? What's going on?" Winter asks, but Qrow is struggling to talk through the toxin that is working its way into his nervous system to put him in this constant state of terror. Winter listens carefully, hearing what sounds like pain to her as he stammers and grunts from the fear, a burning sensation in his head as he lays on the ground.
"Fear...attacked..." He stammers, and luckily that is all Winter needed to hear. Her eyes widen and she looks at Weiss.
"Fear attacked Qrow, we need to help him." Winter tells her.
Weiss nods and the two sisters run from the Safehouse, outside and through the crowds of people fighting each other. Winter holds the radio close to her mouth to speak into it. "Qrow where are you?" She asks him. Qrow tries to muster the strength to speak through the fear that is crippling him right now.
"Ha-Haven...Co-Court-Yard." He stammers.
"Come on!" Winter hurries to her baby sister as they run as fast as they can to find the Branwen.
Qrow lies on the floor, shaking in fear as he lays there, and Fear returns as he walks around him. The rotten Knight passes round, flies buzzing around his form. His glowing gold eyes are locked with his red ones as he sweats and shakes in fear. But not of Fear himself. "You are strong...most would have entered the last stage by now..." Fear states as he looks down at Qrow. Fear crouches down beside him, pressing the Scythe down beside him as he looks at him, the hunched over man looks at him with a menacing smirk. "What is it that frightens you so much?" He asks as he looks at him as he shudders on the floor. "It's not my presence..." He states with a mad smirk on his face, staring down at the Branwen. He then smirks when he reads his mind with those golden eyes. "Ooh...is it more than fear? Regret?" He guesses as he looks down at him.
Qrow stammers as he lays there and in his eyes, his fear is revealed. Before him is the beautiful and young Summer Rose, flashing memories of her before his eyes. He sees her caress his cheek as she smiles with those silver eyes looking into his red ones. Even memories of the two of them being...closer than friends.
Young Qrow and Young Summer kiss affectionately in their dorms when Tai and Raven aren't there, holding each other close. And Fear can see this sad memories. "What did you do?" He asks him, making him close his eyes in sorrow with a tear coming out his eye from the fear of something that happened.
He loved Summer and something went very wrong.
"Your semblance...you killed her?" Fear guesses as he looks down at him.
"I...tried...to help...her." Qrow stammers.
"He took her from you and you took her from him." Fear chuckles.
"No...I asked her...to be with him." Qrow stammers, revealing some kind of sad history that he has, something that tore their family apart. Something other than Raven.
"Why?" Fear whispers to manipulate his fear to take control of him. Qrow shakes.
"Bad...Luck...Charm..." He stammers, revealing his fear.
He is afraid of himself.
Fear smirks menacingly as he stands up, turning away from him as soon as Weiss and Winter finally get up the steps, finding his shaking body on the floor. Neither of them even saw Fear stood there, he vanished as soon as he got there. Winter puts her hands on his shoulders but the fear is showing him the images of Summer over and over again, the happy moments the young couple must have had, revealing that Ruby's mum and her honorary uncle once loved each other. So much regret flows through his veins.
What did you do?
"Hold on, Qrow, you have to fight it, look at me." Winter says, holding him by his face to get him to look into her blue eyes. "Don't be afraid of him, he is trying to break you." Winter says, using her soothing voice to try and calm him, like Ren's ability to hide people from the Grimm by calming them.
"Tail...she's not coming...Tai..." Qrow stammers, like he did when he was dying from Tyrian's poison not very long ago, descending into memory.
"What's he talking about?" Weiss asks her sister.
"He's falling into a memory." Winter answers. Winter slaps him across the face to try and snap him out of it.
"Who's Tai?" Weiss asks.
Winter doesn't answer, but she knows about what happened with Tai and Qrow, why he hates Qrow. Qrow continues to shudder on the floor as he lays there, his hands twitching as he lays there, his eyes watering up as he sees it all play back in his head from what happened.
He falls into a memory
He sees Summer stood there as they were fighting something. Something dangerous. Summer and him fight back to back, as they managed to go out on a mission together again. Things happened between them when they met again...things that he never told Tai, but they met up for something more than the mission. They were still in love...even then. Spending time together outside the realms of their mission to...reconnect. He sees the two of them in a bed together, happily asleep as they hold each other close.
They were so close...so in love. Qrow smiles as he looks at them in this memory, but then it returns to the battle in the forest. Qrow and her fight with their weapons, with her Crescent Rose and with his Scythe as they battle with speed and agility. Killing many Grimm.
Until a dark mass formed before them.
The red eyes fixed on them and the black blade forming into his armoured hand. Qrow and Summer look at the being in horror, they know what he is now...but not then. It was Death, and he came to claim a soul. He went for Qrow and Qrow tried to fight against him, using his Bad Luck Charm to gain the upper hand.
Death is fast, dodging and blocking the attacks of the Huntsman and Summer slashes across his back with her Scythe but he just spins around, kicking her in the chest, tearing her aura down. "Don't come closer!" Qrow yells, wanting to keep her safe. Death forms into a transparent structure when Qrow slashes his sword across his torso, the blade hitting nothing and then Death solidifies in front of him, bringing the blade round with force. The blade hit Qrow in the chest but Qrow uses his sword to keep his body from going too far. Qrow manages to manipulate that charm on Death, causing a tree to fall onto Death, clipping him as it falls. But Death managed to use that charm against him when Summer tried to help.
A tear falls from Qrow's eye now when in the memory he watches the blade sink into her stomach right in front of him and Death threw her into a wall. Qrow's rage led to him managing to destroy that form of Death, stabbing him in the back and cutting him down faster than he could regenerate.
Death bellows in pain as his form collapses into itself, he managed to hit him in the place where he is weakest, his back, there is less armour there. Time and space rips his body apart as he collapses, revealing a weak point, a chink in his armour where he is weakest. It causes him to collapse into himself when hit enough times.
After he stops him, his eyes turn to the dying Rose by the tree, roses surrounding her body as her blood leaks into the green grass. He sniffles now when he sees it in his eyes.
He held her in his arms, her blood on his arms because of his semblance. He tried to stop the bleeding by looking into her large and beautiful eyes. "Oh no..." He stammered as he looks at her, holding her tight. She whimpered in pain, blood leaking from her mouth. "Hold on, honey...please..." He begs her as he holds her close, giving her head something to rest against.
Her white hood has fallen back, revealing her black and red hair, and she looked just like Ruby, true beauty on her face. Summer smiles, reaching her hand up to caress his cheek, her blood smudging on his cheek.
"I love you." She mutters, her eyes getting weaker.
"No...hold on." He begs, holding her hand tightly. "I'm not losing you...I can't." He says. She looks into his eyes and she shows him the photograph of young Ruby and young Yang with Tai, and he is in the background.
"I'll always be with you." Summer says to him. She takes a sharp intake of air to keep conscious as she speaks to him.
"Please..." He begs her.
"You need...to be her Uncle. I beg you...we can't destroy her life if she knows the truth. Tai knows...that's why he took her because of..." Summer explains as she looks at him.
"Bad luck charm..." He stammers, tears falling from his eyes.
"This is not your fault." Summer says, coughing from her pain as her blood falls into the bed of roses beneath her small body. "Whatever that thing was...it was always gonna happen. Don't let this..." She winces. "Don't let this moment define you." She asks of him. "My heart...will always belong to you." Summer reveals.
"I can't live without you." He sniffles, crying as he holds the dying woman.
"And I you." She cries as well, they both press their foreheads together, their tears falling down their cheeks.
They share a long and final affectionate kiss by the beautiful tree and amongst the roses, life growing around them despite her dying body in his arms. They break the kiss and she holds onto him, looking into his eyes as he looks at her. "Qrow...promise me...that you will look after them both. Raven can't help Yang...I won't be there for Ruby...it will break Tai...be there for them.
Be her father without her ever knowing the truth." She begs him, holding his hand and she puts something in his palm. "Promise me." She begs him with tearful eyes and a broken voice. He smiles and he nods.
"I promise." He says to her, his voice broken as well. She smiles and her breathing slows in his arms. "No...please." He begs her as her eyes slowly and gently close, her head dropping back and her hand falls from his, her body becoming lifeless in his arms.
Qrow screams out in anguish, hugging her body, her head against her shoulder as he holds her, crying out in horror as he holds her body, rocking back and forth as he holds onto her. Unwilling to let go of her. "If there is a god...please...bring her back to me." He cries.
But nothing ever happens.
He stopped believing in gods that day. He clutches onto her, his cheeks wet from tears, but then he looks at what she put in his hand. He opens his hand, revealing the necklace that he wears all the time with the cross attached. It was hers, and he has never stopped wearing it in his whole life.
Promise me.
The memory comes to a close and he sees Ruby there, nearly thinking that it was Summer for a moment, and only now are the combination of their genes noticeable. The black and red hair, the silver eyes of her mother, but also the kind and touching side of her father and the strength that he has. She is concerned, holding her Uncle...her father's hand...unknowing of the truth of who he really is to her.
Ruby sits beside him, completely unaware of the memory that he has fallen into, she managed to find them through the chaos and he shudders on the floor but it is starting to wear off. But while Qrow lays there, Fear forms in his eyes, only in his eyes as he walks around them. "You blame yourself for what happened to her, you are the father of the young girl beside you and she never knew?" He scoffs as he walks past them all. "And after all these years, you kept that promise to her...why?" He questions as he slams his Scythe down, stood before Ruby. He looks right at Fear.
"I...keep...my promises." He weakly says, the others look at him, confused at why he said that because they don't see Fear stood there.
"What's he talking about?" Ruby asks.
"I don't know." Winter says.
Fear smirks. "I have never encountered a soul like you." He says with a smirk. "You fight all these years...for her?" He asks.
"Always..." Qrow answers, a tear falls from his eye, and onto the floor. In his own world, he sees the life that they could have lived if not for his cursed semblance, and life where they could have lived happily ever after, they would have been able to raise Ruby instead of placing the burden on Taiyang, and maybe Raven wouldn't have fled the way she did. Her smile beaming towards him as she stands there. She stands before him and the amount of love created from their eye contact makes Fear feel weaker and he turns, walking away from him.
Suddenly his control on him is completely released.
Something changed in the Knight of Fear for a second there, because he didn't let the toxin kill Qrow, he let him go. Because one emotion trumps fear the most.
Love.
Guards on the walls of Mistral stand there and their attention turns to the mass of shadows that converge towards them. Fear channels across them, seeing the defences cannot save them now. The Grimm charge at the walls.
And the walls collapse.
As does Mistral.
The Grimm are invading the city in full force.
It is the Fall of Beacon all over again.