A/N: Covid devastated my update schedule, have mercy...

With my fifteen year anniversary on this site finally here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.

And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.

Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing, despite depression clawing at me.

Once more, I own nooooo references, quotes, memes or themes. Not a wit or a one. Nope.

They're simply tributes to legends far, far, faaar greater than little 'ol me.

Hope you enjoy this...and brace yourself. This chapter hits hard.

References to Grimm Eclipse as well.

Not sure if folks know that one...

"No one can save them all. Some may try, but there are some things even he gods stop.

Case in point, my son. A brave hero recently saved Summer Rose. Congratulations.

However, he failed to account for one very important thing.

Its something we all fall prey to. Even one such as I.

I suppose the best way to describe it would be...

...emotional trauma."

~Salem.

You're Not Her

Naruto pressed his ear to the door and listened in.

Really, he needn't have bothered with the subterfuge in the first place.

Taiyang and Summer were too busy hollering at one another to even notice his eavesdropping:

"YOU DID WHAT?!"

"You don't understand! I had to do it, Taiyang! I had to!"

"What I understand is that you lied to me, Summer! You LEFT! Just like Raven!"

A whimper arose, barely muffled through the door. "I didn't lie...

"No, you just omitted crucial details and left me alone with the girls! Neither of whom you said goodbye to! Did you even consider for a moment what would've happened had they woken up without their mother? No?" His voice cut like a knife, the bitter pain of a man who'd already lost one wife now unsheathed for all the world to see. "How would I explain that to them, hmm? How am I to tell them you ran off alone in the middle of the night?!"

"I wasn't alone! I was with Raven!"

"That's even worse! You trusted HER of all people, but not me and Qrow?!"

"Because it was the only way! I did it for them, Tai! Salem has to be stopped before its too late-

"You did it for yourself, Summer!" he could almost taste the despair lurking within his fellow blond's voice, the palpable frustration of a father who had nearly lost everything and survived, only to find himself face to face with that same specter of loss once more. "Always the hero! Always forging ahead! Always charging in without a second thought! You never could let things be, even back in Beacon!"

"SALEM! IS! IMMORTAL! I'm the only one who-

"I don't care! Let someone else deal with that bitch!"

"Taiyang Xiaolong! I know you don't mean that just now!"

"I do, Summer! I'm done risking my family in this insane war!"

"I'm not risking anyone! Listen, I have a plan. If you would just hear me out...

"Sure. Like you heard me out before?"

"That wasn't what I meant!"

On and on it went without end, their voices piquing ever higher in distress as they railed at one another. Naruto gave it another minute then blew out a sigh and stepped back from the door. He knew a lost cause when he heard one. These two would be at it all night, if not longer.

He'd kill to have Qrow around right now-if only he wasn't halfway across Remnant.

When he'd captured Summer and dragged her back, he hadn't thought to inform Dad. Ozpin meant well most of the time but he and Mom could be so darn nosy. Best to keep it in the family, ya know? He'd figured Taiyang and Summer would shout at one another for a few minutes, have a good cry and be done with it. Simple, right?

Nope.

In all fairness, he hadn't expected it to blow up in his face like this; they'd been at it for the better part of an hour now, with no signs of slowing down. Neo had given up five minutes in, snatched up little Blake and vanished somewhere. Winter might've mumbled something about calling her sister before bolted. He couldn't even blame the three of them for hiding. This was a personal matter and their own family situations weren't exactly the best now, were they? Blake's parent's were gone. Neo's mom and dad had been shit, while Winter's wasn't much better. Apparently she had a little sister and a baby brother...?

No, not important right now.

For now the most important thing was taking care of Yang and Ruby. Nothing else mattered. He could sense them lingering in the living room watching cartoons; he'd cranked the volume up to prevent them from hearing anything their parents might've

Whipping out his scroll, he keyed in a quick message to his old man.

"Summer did something stupid again. Intervene, please."

His finger hovered over the send button.

He paused, considering, then added:

"Who or what is Salem?

Aaaand sent!

There, crises averted-

"Why are mommy and daddy fighting?"

Crisis not averted! Repeat! Crisis not averted! Defcon one! All hands to battle station!

Naruto's gaze snapped down and peeked out over his blindfold to find little Ruby Rose tugging on his sleeve. She stared up at him, clad in her red pajamas, clutching a small Grimm plush to her chest. Her wide silver eyes shone with unshed tears as her lower lip trembled; a waterfall sure to follow if he didn't answer correctly.

Oh, dear...

"They're not fighting, sweetie." he lowered the Infinity between the two of them, crouched down, took the tiny reaper by the shoulders, and drew the frightened girl her into what he hoped was a warm embrace. "They're just having a...disagreement." How best to explain it to her? He settled for a modified version of the truth. "Y'see, your mommy tried to go somewhere faaaaar away without telling your daddy-

"Mom tried to leave...?"

Naruto's head snapped up.

Yang stood behind her sister in her own golden pajamas, looking positively stricken.

Crap.

"Yang, just wait." he held up a hand, still keeping a trembling Ruby close with the other. "You didn't let me finish-

A pillow bounced off his head, followed by another. "You're a liar! Summer would never leave! LIAR!"

Darn it all, he knew what was coming next, but with Ruby in his arms...

...he wasn't quite quick enough to stop her.

Yang fled.

(.0.0.0.)

Red eyes opened in the gloom.

Something began to move.

"Little bird...

(.0.0.0.)

Sasuke's head snapped up abruptly, eyes flying wide open in sudden surprise.

He'd sensed something just now, a stabbing pain and sudden start.

Craning his neck, he looked to the stormy horizon and scowled.

There it was. To the east. A faint pulse of...something.

Try as he might, he couldn't put his finger on it.

"What in blazes was that?"

(.0.0.0.)

Omen's blade bit deep into the bark of a tree.

Yet again, its edge failed to cut through.

Raven slumped to her knees.

And the thunder rolled.

She hung her head.

"No, please no...

(.0.0.0.)

Yang ran.

Through brush and bush and bramble she fled, running headlong, heedless to her surroundings. It didn't matter where she ran, so long as it was away from Naruto and his lies. She heard him call her name in the distance, but that only made her angrier; her lively lilac eyes flashed red as she ran on, deeper into the forest, tears burning away into so much steam.

Liar, liar, liar! He was a dirty no good liar! She'd never listen to him again!

Summer would never run away! Not like that! She'd never leave them!

She wasn't Raven...she could never be Raven...she just couldn't be!

Then again, Naruto had seen her, found her, caught her, and dragged her back. She'd been there when he had. Mum and Dad were fighting over it even now. Maybe he was right after all-no! It must be a trick! It had to be! Summer would never run. Mum wouldn't do that. Because if she did that meant she was like Raven, if meant she wasn't better than Raven, no, she might be worse and-

"...?!"

Her shoe caught an upturned root and she went down into a briar bush with a yelp, unable to get her aura in time.

She lay there for what felt like an eternity, sniffling weakly into the dirt.

"She can't be like her...she just can't...

Despair wasn't a strong enough word to describe she was experiencing in this moment; she felt grief, anguish, loss, the bitter realization that the woman she'd placed on a pedestal all these years was no different than her own mother; she'd left in the middle of the night, same as Raven, but Summer had the gall to lie and say she was going on a mission. There had been no mission. She wasn't even sure what her mum was doing, but she'd been clear across Mistral when Naruto caught her. Which meant...!

A low growl overhead brought her up short.

Yang's eyes went wide. Terror wiped her every thought away.

Frantically, she clamped both hands over her mouth and went absolutely still.

She didn't move. She absolutely did not dare to move. She sucked in a ragged breath and held it for dear life.

The shadow came a second later, eclipsing her completely and utterly. She heard its owner sniff once, twice, thrice now, before lumbering on with a discontented noise. It walked right past her, heedless of her body in the brush. More footsteps echoed in the gloom. Grimm. Had to be. A really big one, too. Bigger than anything she'd ever seen.

Wait.

Grimm were drawn by negativity.

She was being pretty darn negative right now, wasn't she?

A towering shape loomed over her. Against her better judgement, Yang looked up.

The Beowolf didn't quite look right; it was big, yeah, but it was all hunched over and moving strangely. Twisted and covered in green bile. Foul, viscous slime leaked from its open maw. Someone had replaced its right arm with a strange metal contraption, so large that the creature had to drag itself along out the undergrowth. Don't move. If she was perfectly still, it would pass by, just like the rest.

It looked down.

Ghastly red eyes met hers.

Fast! So very terribly horribly fast-

Yang managed to get her aura up in time, but only just. A swipe of its massive paw sent her sprawling to the ground, tanking her reserves by half. She rolled over with a pained whine, clutching her gut. It stomped down at her, forcing her to tumble aside or be crushed outright. Pivoting on her left heel, she whirled and drilled a punch into its gut. Neo or Winter would've made mincemeat of a beast like this. She'd seen them do it before. She could too...! She'd been training...!

The Grimm took her punch and...laughed? "Little bird...little bird."

Horror curdled in her gut. "Since when do Grimm talk?!"

Another swipe of his paw sent her sprawling.

She righted herself with an effort, nearly paralyzed by fear.

She knew Grimm could become intelligent over time but talking...?!

It loped closer. "Little bird, little bird...

Was that all it could say? Maybe it wasn't intelligent after all?

"Little bird. Little...bird...little...bird..."

Something snapped deep inside her.

"STOP TALKING!"

She shouted at it and the Grimm actually paused for a moment. She flung herself at it with a yowl; only for the beast to bat away her clumsy punch with ease. A clawed paw swiped down, bloody her arm to cast her aside into a tree. Her back struck bitter bark and breath burst from her lungs as she slid down its shattered length.

'I'm not strong at all, am I...?' Tears ran down her cheeks. 'I'm weak.'

The Grimm loped forward.

She'd given it her all. It wasn't enough.

And now she would die for her weakness.

The Beowolf lunged, jaws snapping at her face!

She shield her face with both hands. 'Mom! I'm sorry!'

Blood splashed across her face.

It wasn't hers.

Yang realized it a second later; because there was no pain, no agony, no nothing. She heard heavy panting accompanied by the frustrated growl of the Grimm. Even then she didn't dare move for fearing of being skewered on the spot. All the world had gone silent, but she instinctively knew she wasn't out of the woods yet. Raven hadn't come to save her. As nice as that would've been, it seemed that bitch of a bird was too afraid. Screw her! She didn't need her!

.

..

...but Summer hadn't come either.

"Go on, take it, you mangy mutt." a low, familiar voice rasped in the gloom. "Now get lost."

The Grimm growled but Yang didn't hear it move. Not an inch.

"Not gonna run? Fine, then...have it your own way."

Here at last she dared to creak an eye open.

A familiar blindfold hung before her vision, spattered with blood. Huh? Wait, why was-hey! Someone draped it over her eyes and held it there to blind her. The cloth was strangely opaque; she couldn't see a thing through it, even with both eyes. When she tried to push it away, a warm hand settled over hers and ever so gently it back down, preventing her from seeing what lay before her.

"Don't look." Waitaminute! She knew Naruto's voice! "This'll be over soon."

A lone word followed. Just the one.

"RASENSHURIKEN."

An awful keening crunch filled the air, punctuated by the Grimm's short-lived scream.

"Still alive?" she heard his all too familiar sigh. "You tried to hurt someone very important to me, ya know? In that case, lets use...Red."

An ominous splat filled the forest.

Yang lifted the blindfold off her head.

...and immediately wished she had not.

Dawn broke at last; what a bitter dawn it was.

Half the forest was scorched and devastated; of the Grimm, she saw nothing.

Naruto stood triumphant...but missing his right arm. Her face paled at the sight of his injury. Her fault. All her fault. It was all her fault. He must've flung himself between her and the Grimm and gotten it bitten clean off; she could see the ugly red tear where his elbow was, see the blood dribbling down the ruined stump of his arm. Worse, she could see the wound in his stomach, an ugly red slice that suggested he'd been run through by something. That, at least, could heal, but...but...BUT...!

Despair threatened to steal her voice away, she could barely choke the words out. "Your arm!"

"M'fine." her fellow blond walked over to her with a smile, heedless of his wound. "I was just a little slow with my Infinity this time around, that's all. Don't cry." He gave her face a brisk pat, thumbing her tears away. "Its alright. I'm the strongest, remember?"

A strange swelling noise filled her ears; when she looked up, he'd regrown the limb, minus the sleeve, and closed the hole in his torso besides.

Since when could he do that?! No, had he always been able to do it all along...?

"See?" he winked her way, flexing his fingers into a fist. "Right as rain!"

...it wasn't. Not by a long shot.

She crumpled to her knees.

He'd been holding back all this time, hadn't he? She thought she was closing the gap between them-but it wasn't a gap at all. It was a canyon. An entire valley. He was standing so close to her, but he'd never felt so far away as he did now. Would she ever catch up? Was it even possible? She'd been so certain once. Now that certainty was crumbling around her alongside everything she'd know. It was just what Mom had done, it was her own awful weakness and it hurt so much...

"Hey, firecracker. You alright...?"

Yang couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes as she choked back a sob. "Am I weak...?"

He knelt before her and made her look at him. "You're not weak, silly. I'm just just older than you. That's all."

She glared and her semblance flared, eyes flashing a fiery red. "Then I'll get stronger!"

Incredibly, his smile softened. "Alright."

"Ha?"

"Get strong." Naruto flicked her forehead. "Strong enough to fight me, strong enough to hold your head high and never be afraid again. But until you do...its okay to cry."

She hiccuped. "You never cry."

"Of course I do." he patted her head. "I'm human, just like you."

His words broke her. She warbled once; then the dam burst.

Yang buried her head into his chest and bawled.

A/N: Aaaand scene.

More of a down to earth chapter, here.

Running off has consequences, Summer.

Hope you enjoyed it. Not at my best at the moment.

So, what say you? Did you enjoy it? By all means, let me know~!

As ever, the Embers rule Remains; sad as that may sound, its the truth. If folks don't like this story...well, it won't be continued. Most likely, I'll delete it and consign it to the void should it come to that. I haven't the time to write something folks don't like. Two jobs keep me terribly busy as such that I have barely any time to write.

So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly!

And as ever, Le warning!

SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!

PLOT DETAILS AHOY!

YE BE WARNED!

(Previews)

Ozpin tapped his foot.

Summer hung her head. "I'm sorry...

The tapping intensified tenfold. Gah. It felt like she was back in Beacon again...

A faint shattering of glass echoed at his flank.

How long have you been standing there?

Trivia hefted the bucket and flicked him a thumbs up.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto flicked her a chastising look. "Don't go playing pranks without me!"

Naruto leaned over the couch with a yawn. "What happened now...?"

Then he saw the newspaper.

"Gimme that!"

A tournament?"

Winter and Neo perked up.

Yang was practically drooling. "I call dibs!"

Blake wore a thoughtful look that promised trouble and Ruby-

"Sorry." he tussled her hair. "You're too young for age bracket, and your weapon isn't ready-

"It is!" she bleated at him! "I'll show you!"

He looked to Taiyang, only for the girl's father to shrug. "If she wants to compete...

Merlot cackled. "None understand my genius! But they will. Everyone will!"

A redhead walked past him.

She had green eyes.

Naruto whirled.

...you must be pretty tough, huh?"

I know my way around a fight...why do you ask-ACK?!

"Put more aura into it when you strike me! Lets use the open space some more!"

"Wow, he flew!"

"Another one?" Salem crooned. "Delightful. Do keep up the recruiting, son.

Sasuke heaved a sigh.

"Why me...

"One year, Raven. Do you remember? TIME'S UP!"

EDIT: Hey, you made it!

Once more, we're sticking with the "Embers" rule for this story, and others. If folks don't like this, it won't be continued. Meaning that if the story itself ain't popular? Well, it won't be continued. I'm working two jobs -might need a third soon!- so I barely have time to write; as such, I cannot afford to write something folks don't enjoy. So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

Looking forward to chatting with you all~! Have a great day~!