Reader x Cinder Fall x Summer Rose / The One You Feed: A RWBY Fanfiction

Chapter XII: Family Reunion

6 Months Ago:

Third Person POV:

It had been almost a year since that night at the inn. Summer had felt so sure that she had sensed (F/N)'s presence that evening. Hell, she even thought she saw him. This brief glimpse of her old friend gave her the conviction she needed to continue her search, but there had been no sign of him since, and she was once again beginning to wonder if all her searching was in vain.

Currently, Summer is spending the night in a shabby inn in a small rundown village outside of Mistral. Tossing and turning in her sleep, her dreams are haunted by an empty expanse of pure white light. Nothing ever seems to be present, nothing except for her, and occasionally, (F/N). The dreams had started almost a year ago, on the night she thought she saw (F/N) in the inn. Since then she would spend most of her nights simply drifting throughout the sea of light with no control over where she went. On very rare occasions she would stumble across (F/N). He never seemed to be able to hear her, no matter what she said, but that didn't stop her from trying.

Each time she was fortunate enough to stumble across (F/N) he always had his back turned to her, and he was always accompanied by another figure, a woman dressed in crimson. Summer only ever managed to catch brief glimpses of (F/N), but the things she saw horrified her. She watched as he destroyed villages without hesitation, burning houses and slaughtering countless innocent lives in his search for something.

Tonight was no different. She was drifting through the warm light when, off in the distance she caught a glimpse of darkness. It was never difficult to spot (F/N). He was the only thing that wasn't light, the blackness of his trench coat and aura making him stick out like a sore thumb. As she got closer, she could see him standing over a small group of cowering figures. A family of four; a father and mother and their two young children. Shadows began to spread from (F/N)'s figure, slowly forming sharp tendrils which he sent flying towards the family.

"No!" Summer shouted, reaching out towards her friend. Grabbing him on the shoulder, he suddenly turns his head and looks over his shoulder. Summer briefly catches a glimpse of his black eyes before waking up.

Eyes shooting open, Summer sits up in her bed, sweat dripping down her face and plastering her hair to her forehead. Breathing heavily, Summer places a hand over her racing heart.

"Hey kid." Someone says from the corner of the room. "You feelin' alright."

"Qrow?" Summer asks. "What are you doing here?"

"You haven't been answering any of my calls." He answers.

"I've been busy." She tells him.

"You know Tai and Raven are expecting, right? That Raven's due in just over a week?" Summer nods her head. "And were you planning on showing up?"

"Like I said, I've been..."

"I know, you've been busy." He says, taking a drink from his flask. "You're still looking for (F/N). Tell me Summer, don't you think you've been searching for long enough. If he wanted to come back to us, he would have."

"He'd do the same thing for us if the roles were switched."

"You sure about that?" Qrow asks skeptically. "Last time I checked, he abandoned us almost five years ago."

"That wasn't his fault!" Summer defends. "It was mine."

"Summer," Qrow sighs, "you can't keep blaming yourself for (F/N) leaving us. It was his decision. You couldn't have stopped him."

"Maybe not." Summer says sadly. "But I can still bring him back."

"Maybe." Qrow nods. "Or maybe you need to accept the fact that it's too late for him."