So it is done: Vacuo (Patreon)

Raven Branwen has always had many enemies. Bandits don't exactly endear oneself to the general public.

At first, when she was still just a child, her enemies were only Grimm and perhaps the other small childrens in the Branwen camp. Back in those days, the Branwen tribe itself was one of the largest bandit tribes in Remnant, boasting membership in the several hundreds, naturally, Raven was not the only child in the camp even when discounting her brother, Qrow.

Still, her position as the daughter of the leader, placed her a notch above the rest. But for the children, not yet aware of the limits of what was acceptable, loved to test the young girl's mettle. Not that her father would do anything about it, in fact, he might’ve even encouraged it.

Her father, Corvus, had always respected only strength.

If his future heirs couldn't survive a simple fight, he didn't care if it was against Grimm or their peers, they didn't deserve to be his heirs anyway. Or even alive for that matter.

Something which simply proves who was the real heir of the Branwen tribe.

Qrow… That little whining ass could never stand up for himself even back then, always hiding behind his twin sister's skirt. And so Raven had to fight for both of them.

Whether it were the children, the Grimm, the civilians who didn’t have the good sense to surrender, the soldiers, the mercenaries, and even other bandits. Raven had fought all of them.

There are few opportunities in the wastelands to show mercy. Food, money, ammo? All had to be fought for.

Raven had never heard of anyone inventing portable factories yet, so there were never too many opportunities to replenish their supplies. And they even gave their targets a choice! Give them what they want and they won’t start killing.

Of course there’s always someone that wanted to play hero, but sometimes they gave it all away nicely and the Branwen tribe would simply walk away.

Not that it makes much of a difference either way.

Miraculous escapes from the Grimm were just that, miraculous. No one would exactly be feeling cheery after one the Branwen clans visits.

Either they fight or surrender, the Grimm would soon tear through whatever is left.

The Grimm were a problem for everyone, which is why their clan was almost always on their feet. But, for a clan of Bandits, the Grimm were not the only source of danger.

Hunters weren’t exactly known for their welcoming attitude towards bandits.

It only took one mistake for the entire clan to almost be wiped out. Only luck had saved them from such a fate.

Corvus, her father, made the mistake of thinking that the Branwen tribe’s might were unchallenged. It was not even a big mistake in the grand scheme of things, they simply delayed moving the tribe for a day.

And that was almost the death of the entire tribe.

As much as Corvus liked to think that their tribe were the strongest, it was woefully far from the truth.

Hunters. The ones that stood against the apex of predators that are the Grimm.

One team of Hunters consisting of four was oftentimes enough to protect entire villages against a Grimm tide.

That day there were three of such teams.

Corvus was strong, the Branwen tribe were strong, but even one Hunter meant trouble. Two at once, and even Corvus himself wasn't sure of his chances. Twelve of them? It was just a massacre.

That time, Qrow was on a scouting mission in the nearby woods saving his life by sheer luck. The only reason Raven had been able to escape was only thanks to her Semblance revealing itself at that moment.

She had used to escape to Qrow while leading no more than a couple of dozen survivors with her.

At that moment, the Branwen tribe had effectively ceased to exist.

When the bandits in the wastelands have no strength, and even no numbers, they have nothing. No resources, no food, and no chance of survival

The Branwen tribe had effectively ceased to exist that day, only a handful of frightened outlaws. Riffraffs more used to rob unarmed farmers, mere fodder for the Grimm much less the foremost armed elite of the world.

At that moment, Raven had two choices before her.

Either they could try their luck and attack the nearest settlement all while hoping that they wouldn’t give away their location again to the Hunters? Something that, with their pathetic remnants of a fighting force unlikely to get anything out of the nearest village?

Or to lay low, licking their wounds slowly.

And Raven had to choose the second option. Any other option was simply suicide to assuage some kind of misbegotten pride.

The remnants of her broken tribe had to be as silent as water, and beneath the grass. If they were to have even an inkling of a chance for survival they had to flee across the continents, away from anyone who might have known them.

And so they started their journey, surviving solely on robbing the occasional passing traders or travellers who had somehow gotten stranded outside the settlements. Sometimes stealing, sometimes looting solitary farms on the outskirts of settlements, but always on the move and running.

It was impossible to build up the number of people in the Branwen tribe again until they were completely free from any Hunters’ attention lest their tribe be destroyed again. They definitely couldn’t start rebuilding when they couldn’t even catch their breath.

And on the day their tribe was destroyed, Raven saw what strength meant.

The decision to send the two heirs of Corvus to Beacon, to learn of the Hunters’ strength, to train them in tactics, to prepare them for future encounters, was unanimous.

And so, Raven and Qrow found themselves in Beacon. First as students, then as Hunters and then… as Ozpin's confidants.

It was foolish to expect that teenagers cut off from their past for a few years wouldn't change in any way.

Raven had found new acquaintances, friends, even love.

At some point, maybe on her second date, maybe five months pregnant, maybe even when she was rocking her daughter in her arms, she wondered for the first time.

Did she need to go back to her old life?

Qrow wondered the same thing, Raven wasn't blind, she could see what her dear brother was thinking.

Still, it was an uncomfortable topic that neither of them wanted to bring up. The both of them chose to put them off as long as they could.

Maybe only until Monday, or until the end of the mission, or until Yang's first steps… it was as if they would continue to delay their decisions perpetually.

Alas, nothing lasts forever… well some things do.

Her blissful days all changed when Ozpin first invited her and Qrow into his office. It was as if she was back there, in the Branwen camp, facing down teams of Hunter again as Ozpin shared some of Remnant’s best kept secrets with the both of them.

Raven had never trusted Ozpin. He seemed too suspicious to her, too good to be true. A supposed genius Hunter that, after establishing himself and becoming the youngest headmaster of a Hunter academy, had given up on further careers. Barring his role in the council, seemingly bereft of any ambition in politics, or even as a Hunter, apparently simply content to live out his life as an educator.

Other than that general knowledge? Nothing. Any personal info about the headmaster was lost in the void. Neither his character traits, nor his actions or even his favorite brand of coffee is known to the public.

No one that goes to such lengths to protect their privacy were anyone not dangerous. That was something Raven had known even when she was still back among the bandits.

Whatever it was that she expected to come out of their meeting, it was definitely not that.

Ozpin revealed to them the truth of the world.

That, in fact, humanity was doomed. That there was an invincible and almost omnipotent immortal enemy that could neither be defeated nor confined. Ozpin himself had been fighting that same enemy for over a millennia with no hint of success. That humanity had already been destroyed countless times, surviving each time only thanks to luck….

And that now they had the dubious honour of fighting in the frontlines of this unseen eternal war.

Needless to say, Raven was horrified. She has always respected power, coveted them even. But as she had learned in her very first encounter with the Hunters, when all she could do was be killed, a singular truth.

There existed power that simply cannot be resisted.

But her brother, Qrow… That ever whining asshole seems to think differently.

Maybe Raven shouldn't have protected him so much. Maybe she should have let him get his own bumps, break his arms, get scarred by Grimm or the other bandits. Maybe then he wouldn’t be so monumentally stupid.

The idiot wanted to get involved, wanted to get involved in the so-called ‘noble war’ of good versus evil. He must have pictured himself as a noble knight, destroying evil, shining sword in hand.

That afternoon their team had a conversation. First she and Qrow, then she turned to Summer, then to Tayang... hoping that they would see the madness in Ozpin’s fight. But none of them did

And then she ran away.

Truthfully speaking…  It probably wasn't the best decision Raven could have made at the time.

What did finally put her on that path in the end? The ludicrous amount of alcohol she drank? The fight with Qrow? The fight with Summer? Or maybe Tayang…

It didn’t matter. Once again, seeing a fight she had no chance of surviving, Raven Branwen decided to run away.

What was the point of staying in Vale when she knew it was doomed? If Salem had destroyed cities before, why wouldn’t she do it again?

If it was no longer possible to stay in the cities, then wasn't the nomadic Branwen tribe the safest place for her, for Qrow, for her entire team?

But Taiyang refused, not wanting their daughter to live in the wilds and among bandits. Qrow refused to leave with her. And Summer tried to stop her.

And so Raven ran off on her own.

By the time she had returned to the tribe there were only a dozen members left of the formerly formidable Branwen tribe. But now they had Raven, one of the strongest Hunters of her generation.

And so, one by one, the settlements on the peripheries began to disappear. Then some of the bigger nascent cities with their standing armies. And fame came to her when she slaughtered the band of Hunters sent after her.

She had become strong. Too bad that the goddess of Grimm now stands as her enemy.

Raven would be lying if she said she never thought of her past team. That she wouldn’t want to see her daughter, to go back to that past, simpler life. That she never wondered how her life would have turned out if she'd chosen a different option then.

But Raven Branwen never lost her way.

If she wants to stay strong she must never show any doubt. Bandits only respect strength, power of all kinds, willpower included. Dying stupidly because she started second guessing herself would he the height of comedies.

And so, under Raven's leadership, new followers poured in. She gained money, resources, even a weapon to replace her lost sword. She was sure of her place in the world once again.

And then a letter from Ozpin came unexpectedly to her.

In the years since her escape, Raven had begun to communicate with Qrow again, but the warmth between them was no longer there. Once, maybe in a month or two, they exchanged greetings, occasionally throwing insignificant phrases at each other.

She thought he was an idiot and he thought she was a traitor, and that was usually the extent of their current relationship.

Until it all changed suddenly when Ozpin reached out to her again, through Qrow.

Raven did not exist in a complete information vacuum; in Remnant, news and rumour could move even through a wasteland full of Grimm, but she had little interest in political news. Especially regarding some small splinter Kingdom arising in far away Vale.

Her tribe usually stayed in the wastelands of Mistral. Still the news of a large city ripe for the picking did intrigue her somewhat.

A plan she had to put on the back burner when she had received Ozpin’s invitation to meet. And while she did not want to become one of Ozpin’s sacrificial pieces, she also did not want to become his enemy.

With some hesitation, she finally responded with cautious agreement, to at least listen to what Ozpin wanted to offer her.

That was six years ago.

Six years ago, Ozpin had reached out to her to employ her services and…  it had proved beneficial.

Raven refused to fight Salem, but Ozpin didn't demand it, targeting something else instead. And so Raven's tribe began moonlighting as mercenaries, doing what they do best

A Convoy destroyed here, some robbery there, couple of some good old kidnapping, and other times even hostage rescue.

Ozpin paid good money for the missions.

Then three years ago, she got another offer.

Ozpin offered her a part in a play. A one-man play for Jacques Schnee.

And instead of payment, he offered her Jonathan Goodman's contacts… Which she thought was ridiculous at the time.

Raven didn't want to accept it, she was happy with the money, but no amount of money would save her from Jacques Schnee's revenge. There are some things Hunters can't do, assassinating Remnant’s richest men among them. At least, if they want to live afterwards.

Even Raven doesn’t put her chances any higher to leave Atlas alive.

She was going to refuse the suicidal job, that is when Jonathan demonstrated his powers to her by meeting her inside her own tent deep in the wilderness of Mistral. If he wanted to kill her in her sleep, it was but a knife slice away.

A fear that Raven understood more starkly than most people.

Raven's semblance was terrifying, in theory at least. The ability to teleport anywhere at a moment’s notice is the stuff of nightmares for any VIPs, if not for her limitation that is.

Yes, she could open portals at any place, but only as long as there were people that she was connected to emotionally at the other end to act as an anchor.

There were few such people limiting her abilities severely, her team, her daughter, and her trusted lieutenant.

But she still made it work.

Her lieutenant could infiltrate a settlement, after which Raven could appear in the middle of the night in the middle of a village, with an army of bandits under her belt, bypassing all posted cordons and defenses.

Jonathan Goodman could be anywhere, any way, with anyone.

He could find anyone.

He could kill anyone.

The threat was obvious. Either Raven could join his side and gain access to powers that could even be called true magic itself.

Or he could have killed her on the spot.

These were the two options that once again confronted Raven Branwen. And once again she had chosen the only right and only possible option for her.

And with her decision… Nothing changed. Nothing at all.

All the same missions she'd once received from Ozpin, rob one, save another, kill a third… Raven even still got paid well for it. Money. Dust. Weapons. And then, even artefacts… which she admits were one perk that she likes.

But, gradually, year by year, Raven realised that some things were beginning to... Shift.

She must have realised this fully when, after robbing another train full of the Schnee’s cargo and while her boys and the White Fang faunus were ransacking its contents, instead of leaving like she usually does, she stayed with the White Fang commander for a drink.

She was relaxed enough to drink in their company.

The White Fang, huh...

Raven had only seen the White Fang in passing a couple of times at their silly rallies when she was a Hunter, but she had never interacted with any of the activists. When she became the head of a gang of bandits, she cared for them even less.

The faunus had every right to be robbed just as equally with everyone else.

Raven Branwen found that she was now acting in concert with White Fang. An officially recognized military arm of a Kingdom, as small as it might be.

Perhaps then it was even logical and expected that only a couple of months after her new line of jobs, Raven was offered... Official recognition for her gang of Bandits.

‘Raven Branwen's special accountable freelance squad’. She almost laughed herself unconscious when she received the official documentation.

In fact she was offered a full-fledged base of operation all under the Kingdom’s protection, and watch of course.

For her nomadic tribe of bandits, the offer was almost comical, and yet, very appealing. Bandits were naturally nomadic because few people would accept their prolonged presence, their presence always tried to be weeded out like dirt interfering with the life of the Kingdom.

Not that it was undeserved.

And just the same, the offer was an actual offer and not a veiled demand now that her tribe had become strong. No, in fact, Raven was encouraged to maintain her nomadic lifestyle.

She wasn't obliged to be present in Menagerie at all times, not even forced to follow all their orders completely.

Officially that is. With Jonathan's hand over her head, not that she had much choice.

In return, though, she was free to do what she wanted, if only with a few restrictions. Things that she was not going to do anyway. She was not so suicidal as to work against the interest of a man that can kill her at any moment.

She now carries out the missions that Jonathan, White Fang, Ozpin needed, for an impressive fee. And now she had an official place where she could stock up on ammo, where her boys could visit a brothel, where she could crawl into bed without fear of waking in the middle of the night from itchy bed bug bites.

No one was going to ask for her services in other states, she was still still a criminal in the eyes of the world… But now there was at least one place where she could take a break.

Certainly not in Glenn, as the King of Glenn could not afford to have his reputation tarnished by an official contract with Raven.

Raven was nothing more than a mercenary officially in escrow to the state. She was merely serving whoever was paying her…

And someone, who could kill her in the blink of an eye.

Did Raven have much loyalty to Jonathan?

No.

But neither did she have the option of escaping his control, or turning against Jonathan.

Not after such a complete demonstration of Glenn's special services that had deprived her of her four loyal followers that thought otherwise.

And so Raven was forced to do Jonathan's bidding.

Even to do so, she had to move quietly through the sand dunes of Vacuo, cursing the bright sun as she followed the already covered tracks in the sand, trying to find signs of the Grimm horde's movement.

***

Summer Rose had two daughters and a husband. She had a home to which she was always happy to return to and a favourite spot in front of the television where she liked to curl up in a ball, covered by her cloak. And this despite the fact that she was already thirty years old.

She had every reason to finally put all her old desires and youthful impulses on the back burner and become an adult like Taiyang, a teacher, or maybe just a housewife.

She had every reason not to go to Vacuo.

Still, as she packed another hiking bag full of stuff, she tried to smile to herself. It was something small and brittle, as if trying to convince herself that she wasn’t travelling to her death.

"There, all packed, all good!"

But Summer's effort wasn't good, it wouldn’t fool anyone, much less her own self.

No matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise.

Summer shook her head, pushing the uninvited thoughts away.

Everything was going to be okay. It couldn't be otherwise.

Summer had her own purpose, her own mission. She was only needed in Vacuo for backup, nothing more.

That was what Ozpin had told her.

Summer paused for a second before raising her hands and patting herself on the cheeks a couple of times

Stop panicking! If Raven could see her now, she'd laugh.

If she would deign to see her that is…

Summer paused before she slowly closed her eyes, inhaled slowly, filling her lungs with air, before she exhaled sharply.

Forgotten means forgotten! She’s going to be fine! This is just another mission, nothing more, and she had performed more than a dozen of them before! And she wasn't alone, either! Qrow was going with her, so she definitely had someone to watch her back in case anything happened!

Summer smiled again, this time that bit more genuinely, before picking up her duffle bag and then making her way to the weapon stand in which her weapon rested.

Her weapon… Once upon a time it was the main reason she first got along with Raven. It was another of the twin’s usual row as Raven called Qrow’s weapon, fashioned into a scythe, stupid. Qrow had got an idea in his head that the weapon, the weapon used by the Grimm Reaper, an old story among Hunters, suited him best. It took the two sword users, her and Raven, to make him create a secondary form for the weapon.

It was the first time the two ever agreed on anything.

If only they had more things in common, maybe…

Summer picked up her weapon in her other hand before flinging it over her back, and opening the door out of her room heading down the corridor towards the stairs.

Summer Rose could admit that she was… an idealist. Never mind that she was at an age when she really knew better, the world ran on anything but ideals. But she never managed to grow out of it.

If Summer Rose was not an idealist, why would she choose to go to Vacuo in the first place?

Vacuo was scorching hot during the day and freezing cold at night. The scorching Sun could leave a Hunter without their Aura as it burns through it constantly to keep them from dying of heatstroke.And there were so many Grimm that sometimes you could forget that the Grimm were far from the only problem with Vacuo.

No, if you didn't die from heatstroke, or get eaten by a grimm, you could still meet a grizzly end in the hands of one of the dozens of bandit clans roaming the desserts of Vacuo. Arrive at the city somehow? Well try not to get caught up in a corruption scandal or a local gunfight, or even stung by a poisonous scorpion sting.

And if all that didn't kill you, you were bound to get poisoned by the local cuisine.

Summer wanted to stay home. An episode of that new cartoon was coming out tonight, Ruby and Yang would watch it with their eyes glued to the screen with Summer next to them… I mean, just to make sure that they didn’t get hurt somehow, of course.

And two days from now it would be Sunday, the time she had set to making chocolate chip biscuits with her daughters. Daughters that, as usual, would consume all the chocolate chips before she could even manage to roll out the dough, sending Taiyang out for a new packet. She could imagine the happy faces her daughter would make as they finally finished baking the cookies.

Summer didn’t  know how long she spent just standing on the stairs unmoving. She knows that if she were to descend these stairs, she wouldn’t pause until she finished her mission. She would be missing those precious moments she could have with her daughters.

But Summer was an idealist. Someone has to be.

Anyone else could find a hundred reasons to stay home. Not to help a friend, a neighbour, much less a person on the other side of the world. Not to take up arms, not to go to a distant desert to fight some unknown danger, not to leave the home where she is loved and welcomed.

How many people can find a reason to do that after all?

Summer Rose was the daughter of a settler, Blue Rose, from Rosegarden. Her mother once had to go through all the circles of Hell to get to Vale, then get her daughter into Signal, then Beacon. The place where Summer found her team, studied for four years like everyone else, and then…

And then suddenly she was an adult.

And suddenly found herself in this scary adult world, full of possibilities and dangers no one had ever told her about.

As she descended to the ground floor, Summer glanced at Taiyang standing silently by the front door, then at her two daughters rubbing their eyes sleepily.

She was leaving really early in the morning, not the time for the kids to be awake. Her transport would be arriving in a few minutes and she would be off first to the airport and then to Vacuo.

Her daughters understood that their mother was leaving again on a trip and therefore did not express their displeasure at this early wake-up, but the sleepy slumbering eyes were hard to hide from her gaze.

“What's the occasion for everyone to be up so early?" Summer smiled at her children, squatting down, setting her bag aside before she hugged her children, "Don't worry, I'll be gone for just a week or two.”

Maybe from sleepiness, or maybe just because their childish minds could really comprehend it, no one said anything. The children only hugged their mother back before Ruby pulled away, looking at her mother with a sleepy look. “Come back soon… Daddy's cooking is bad…”

“Hey! That’s not true at all!" Taiyang expressed indignantly at his daughter's comment before he glanced at Summer, who was smiling slyly at him, and became embarrassed. “Well, I mean, I'm trying to learn…”

“And he can't brush my hair either!" Whispered Yang to Summer in confidence before pulling away. "Have a good trip!” Summer smiled as she looked at Yang… Raven’s daughter.

No, hers.

At eight and six years old…  She didn't understand what Hunters do at that age either. I guess at that age she too could wish a Hunter going on a mission a 'good trip'.

After hugging the children for a few more seconds, Summer pulled away before rising from the floor and grabbing her bag. Taiyang smiled softly as he looked at her, and Summer smiled back at him as she walked around her daughters, immediately sent off to finish their allotted hours of sleep before being left alone with her husband.

When the children had finally left the first floor and both parents could hear the slamming of the doors leading to their rooms, the smile slipped off Tayang's face and he sighed heavily.

Taiyang didn't like all this. Didn't like being a Hunter but couldn’t help his own wife, didn't like sending Summer on a mission to who knows where, and also didn't like that he didn't even know why Summer was going there. But someone needs to stay at the house.

Taiyang… Knew about Ozpin’s fight. It was understandable why Qrow and Summer were sent on missions all the time, Ozpin had wanted to reveal it to all of team STRQ at one time, but Taiyang had refused.

He didn't want to know the whole truth, he preferred to live in his plain and simple world. He may even have done the right thing, Raven knows the secret of the world, and couldn't stand it in the end. She broke down in the end, under the weight of this information, and ran away...

And who could know what Taiyang would have done then, had he known everything?

No, Taiyang had chosen to stay in the dark instead. And that was why he was worried now. He knew that Summer was going to Vacuo on Ozpin's errand, but he had no idea what exactly that errandentailed.

Taiyang just knew that he couldn't expect anything good from the situation.

And Summer was hurt by the need to keep secrets. Hurt that she couldn't say anything to Taiyang about her missions. Couldn't share all her emotions and worries with her closest person…

But if not us, then who? If not now, then when?

So Summer only mustered all her strength to let out one bright smile before kissing Taiyang goodbye, to which he responded with a kiss and a hug.

Not to say that six years after he had put the ring on her that they had much passion in their relationship,but there was support and love in it.

Even if they both had to go through a break-up for that love.

Pulling away after a few seconds, Summer looked up into her husband's worried face, "Don't worry. I'll be back before you know it, a couple of weeks and I'll be home.”

“Okay” Taiyang smiled, probably also straining himself to make that smile come out naturally. “I believe you.”

Summer picked up her bag after that and, turning to look at Taiyang one last time, took a step out the door.

Half an hour to the airport and then six or seven hours to Vacuo…

Summer had considered ending it all for good. No, not that way. As in stop being Hunter, if for a while.

To forget about being a Hunter, about the battles, about the Grimm and their Queen.

But every time she thought about it, she didn't have the heart to tell Ozpin.

Every time she looked at the news, there was nothing but choking sadness.

Glenn's tragedy... The protests in Mantle... The Super-horde in Vacuo...

She once asked Ozpin why he keeps fighting even when he knows that Salem is unbeatable. Even  when he knows that Salem is immortal. Even when he knows that all his attempts are doomed to fail…

Because someone has to.

Summer first found out about it when she was twenty-one, right after her graduation, nine years ago.

And since then, Summer has heard the pleas from her friends many times, both from Taiyang and even Raven.

Give it all up. Ozpin will have someone to take your place.

Someone else? Of course there'll be someone. Someone else she can dump her worries on.

But, there must be something that only she could help with. And so Summer kept trudging ahead, even if she was replaceable.

So as she looked at the approaching car, Summer only glanced back at her house one time.

After all, somewhere in Vacuo there might have been the exact same house, maybe with different architecture and different tenants. And there might be other people living there, people just like her family. If Summer were to do nothing, they would die.

So if she were to choose not to go, she would be sacrificing the life of another family for the happiness of her own.

Summer Rose couldn’t live with herself if she let that happen.

There might indeed be someone else to take her place in this fight. But right now there is no one else, so Summer had to do it.

Because someone has to.