Chapter 6: The Silver Eyes Hunter

Summer raced through the forest. The footprints had been washed away by the rain that was now a downpour, but she could still track the girl's trail. She ran full speed knowing she couldn't slow down. There were Grimm in the forest, and Cinder was leaking negativity. She had to find her before she became a Grimm's dinner.

She had left Tai at the house to protect Ruby and Yang. He would take care of them, so she could focus on her job to find the runway girl. Brothers, where was Qrow when you needed him? Why had she recommended he get the power of flight?

The trees were thick, traversal was difficult, but she guessed Cinder had gone off the main roads to make it harder to follow her. But she was still new to the area, meaning she'd need the main road to navigate.

As for where she was going, Summer had no idea. She knew Cinder didn't know anyone well in town. Her best guess was to an airship to try to get somewhere Summer couldn't find her.

Why had she been such a jerk to her? If she had just listened then this would never had happened! Anything that happened to Cinder while she was out here was Summer's fault. She would never forgive herself if Cinder lost her life because she had been to stupid too listen to her side of the story.

Suddenly, gunfire tore through the woods. Summer gave a start. She didn't know anyone else was in the area. Qrow was on a mission for Oz, and Cinder didn't have a gun so it must be someone on a mission. But why would a huntsman be out this late?

More gunshots echoed from the same location. Whoever it was, they were in a prolonged fight. She would normally go to help, but she didn't have the time right now.

However, to her surprise, Cinder's trail led in the same direction of the gunfire. And each step brought her closer to their origin point. Summer's heart began to beat faster. Maybe they had found Cinder first and were helping get her to safety. Or the little gremlin had picked a fight with them. Cinder seemed to have a big problem with authority figures.

As she ran, the gunshots got fewer and fewer. The fight was starting to slow down. If she was quick, she could make it there before they left. If nothing else, they would have to have seen Cinder.

Soon she reached a small clearing where the sounds had come from. It was very small, not the kind of place she'd choose for a fight if her weapon of choice was a gun.

As she scanned the area, she quickly spotted the source of the sound. A man in the middle of the clearing with a black trench coat that flowed into long tailcoats. On the back of his belt was an ammo bag that was clearly fully stocked. He had messy black hair hidden under a cowboy hat and black boots with small blades sticking out them with the middle opened and the two edges running along either side. A bag with the SDC logo was hanging on his hip across from a leather holster embroidered with a snake. She could see raw dust crystals in the bag. His back was towards her, and he was looking down at something at his feet she couldn't see. So far he didn't seem aware of her presence at all.

She was about to call out to him when she heard a small groan. Shifting her position, she looked around him to see what was making the sound.

Then her heart stopped.

Cinder was laying at his feet. She was glaring up at him as he aimed his gun down at her. She didn't look hurt, so her aura must still be intact, but a shot from that range would break it if fatal. And he was aiming right in between her eyes.

"Get away from her!" Summer roared as we charged at the man. He looked up, but was too late as both of Summer's feet hit him square in the face, knocking him back as she used his body to do a graceful flip and land upright in between him and Cinder.

But she wasn't the only one with some skill.

To her incredible surprise, the man didn't land on his back in a heap. Instead, he used his weight to go upside down and landed on one hand before flipping back onto his feet. Clearly he was very skilled, no wonder Cinder was outmatched.

"Are you okay?" Summer called over to Cinder. Who was staggering back onto her feet. "Yeah. I'm fine." Cinder said bitterly. "I had everything under control. I don't need your help."

"Well, not bad. Because you're getting it." Summer shot back. "I want you to let me take point. Back me up, but don't run in on your own." Cinder opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when the sound of clapping filled the air.

"My, my, Summer Rose. Your reputation precedes you. Both as a leader and a huntress! I couldn't ask for a better opponent." Both women turned their attention back to the man with the black coat. He had a grin across his face as he spoke.

"I must admit, I had my doubts after stalking you all day and never getting noticed. But you clearly have the skills after all! Good to see my day wasn't wasted." Summer narrowed her eyes. So he was the one Cinder saw earlier today.

She looked him over, not seeing any concealed weapons. So that gun was his main weapon. That was rare. In fact, she could only think of one kingdom who could produce such a skilled gunslinger, Atlas. Which meant…

"Who are you?" Summer demanded. "Whatever I did to offend you, I promise it wasn't personal! War is war. I'm sure you've done things that keep you up at night too." The man stared at her blankly. Then let out a loud laugh.

"My dear Rose! Surely you don't think me some petty war victim!? I, Rouge, live off war! I assure you that you have never done anything to me." The man threw his head back with more laughter. "No, I'm here because my mistress has ordered me to kill you and bring your daughter back to her. Your kind are needed. And I've killed so many of you, it's becoming ridiculous to find your kind anymore. But what I do to you isn't personal, your only crime is being born with those eyes."

Summer bit her lip as a sickening feeling took root in the pit of her stomach. Now it all made sense. The stalking, his skill, and the fact she had never seen him before. It all painted a clear picture for her.

"Salem." Summer snarled.

"Who?" Cinder asked. Summer glanced behind her to look at Cinder. The poor girl had just been caught up in an ancient war that she had no place in.

"Cinder, go back to the house." Summer whispered. "I'll buy you time. Go and tell Tai to meet me on the main road with his weapon. I'm entrusting you to protect Ruby and Yang while we're out."

"No deal!" Cinder snapped. "You're not my boss! I want to pay this ass back in spades of attacking me! If you're scared-!"

"Cinder!" Summer snapped, cutting the girl off. "Listen! You're out of your league! This guy is going to be one of the best huntsmen around! I can't fight while protecting you! As it stands, I'm not sure I can win one-on-one. So please, go get my hus-!"

Bang!

Summer immediately drew her sword blocking the bullet. She had been just in time to stop it from hitting her in the face. "Nice one." Rouge called as he popped his revolver open, releasing an empty capsule, then he loaded another one that was full of bullets into his gun and closed it with a flick.

"Why are you interested in my daughter!?" Summer snapped. "I thought your mistress ordered you lot to kill us on sight! Why the change in tone?" Rouge laughed at her again. She hoped it would keep his attention and that Cinder would understand the gravity of the situation.

"New discovery." Rouge said calmly. "Turns out, your kind isn't just a nuisance. Be grateful your daughter will get a seat next to Salem when I bring her in!" Behind her, Summer heard Cinder sneaking back into the trees. She let out a sigh of relief as she knew now the hard part was over.

A whistle caught Summer's attention. She turned back to Rouge who was surprisingly not moving. "Aren't you going to try and close distance?" He asked. "That's what you swordsman always try, thinking I'll be easy picking once I'm in range of your fancy blades. You worried about your little friend? Don't worry, I don't like chasing rabbits. I'll let her go, she was only ever a means to draw you out."

Summer felt rage boil up in her stomach. "She's a child." She said shortly. "I don't know why you serve Salem, but even you must see how horrible it is to put an innocent child in danger. Coward!"

Rouge just rolled his eyes. "Could you spare me the long-winded speech about righteousness? I've heard it all before. Let me tell you that I don't care about what lying bastard has told you. It's not like your side hadn't used children to push an agenda! Ozpin is just as bad! At least Salem doesn't hide her evil behind righteous propaganda!"

Summer eyes narrowed, and she gripped her blades tighter. Guess talking was over. Rouge crouched slightly into a fighting stance and pointed his gun at her, letting out a low Whistle. He clearly was on the same page.

Before either one could make a move, Cinder leaped from a tree behind Rouge. Summer's eyes widened in surprise. She wanted to yell at Cinder to run, but couldn't without alerting Rouge. She could only watch helplessly as Cinder swung both her swords onto the huntsman's neck.

As soon as the blades touched him, Rouge's entire body vanished. He had just as suddenly reappeared a foot away from Cinder, gun trained on her. Did he just teleport!?

He fired three shots at Cinder, who managed to block the first two, but got knocked off-balance by the third. Before she could recover, Rouge launched forward, foot landing in her stomach knocking her into a tree.

Immediately, Summer charged at Rouge. She had no idea what had just happened, but she knew she had to intervene before Cinder's aura broke.

The huntsman turned and fired several shots at Summer, but she was fast enough to deflect them all without losing speed. Once in range, she released a flurry of fast attacks, but Rouge dodged the first few, then fired a shot into the ground at her feet. The bullet exploded knocking both of them to the ground. Summer was first back onto her feet. She jumped above him and spun downward like a windmill, aiming to cut off his head.

Rouge dodged the attack with a roll, he let out a low whistle as Summer tore up the ground where he had been less than a second ago. With a single movement, Summer discharged one of Petals' petals. It released the finely crushed ice that froze into a blade turning the petal into a dagger that hit Rouge in his chest.

As soon as the blade touched him, he vanished. Summer suddenly felt cold steel pressed against her head. "Shit!" She thought as she saw Rouge pressing his gun against her temple. At this range she couldn't dodge!

"Aaahh!"

With a war cry, Cinder lunged forward and kick the gun away from Summer's head. Rouge spun with the momentum and tried to pistol whip her, but Summer pulled the girl out of the way while simultaneously counter-attacking with a powerful slash across his chest. Before Rouge could do anything in response, Cinder landed two lightning fast attacks on the same spot Summer had hit, causing him to stagger back. Then, both spun landing kicks on Rouge's stomach and sending him flying back.

Summer glanced over at Cinder who nodded. Both of them had the same plan. And they knew it.

They charged at Rouge, zig zagging with a different one in front each time. Then, with Summer in front, Cinder leapt over her and struck out with her blades at the top of Rouge's head, he parried with his gun and kicked her away before she had even landed, but Summer struck his backside. He spun, lashing out with a kick, his bladed spur catching Summer's sword when she tried to parry.

Her blade stuck, trapped in the middle of the blade. She realized to late that it was a type of sword breaker. Rouge jumped up, kicking Summer away and ripping her sword, Petal, from her hand.

Summer had barely landed when five more shots came at her. She was about to deflect three, but the other two hit her in the chest staggering her. Before he could fire anymore, Cinder tried to stab him from behind, but he spun and lashed out with a kick. Cinder moved in and blocked the attack at his leg, stopping him from disarming her.

Or so she thought.

Immediately, before his leg had even touched down, Rouge throw another kick. This time Cinder had to duck to evade. But she wasn't prepared as Rouge began to release a flurry of kicks, each one with the sides of his feet so she couldn't use her blades. Cinder wasn't able to keep up and one land painfully in her stomach, a follow up kick to her head sent her flying several feet away, where her aura flickered as she hit the ground hard.

Aiming to finish the fight, Rouge aimed his gun at Cinder, who was struggling to get to her feet. Only for a storm of petals to blind him.

"A garden world, huh?" He let out a low whistle. "It sure lives up its reputation. I can't see a thing." He was so preoccupied with talking, he didn't notice Summer right behind him. Both swords in hand. She swung them with all her might at the back of his neck.

But the next second, he vanished again. Summer smirked to herself. So she was right.

Immediately she rolled out of the way as Rouge came down from above her, his boot striking the spot where she had been a second ago. Rouge was visibly surprised. Before he could figure out what happened, Summer's blade slashed him across his back, knocking him forward. Before he could regain his balance, She hit him again, this time in his chest, knocking him back.

Dancing throughout the petal, Summer landed blow after blow. He whistled again, and just like before he seemed to slow down. But they were inside Summer petal storm and she could feel everything.

He wasn't teleporting like she had originally thought. He was creating an illusion smokescreen where anyone looking in from outside would see whatever he wanted. Meanwhile, he could sneak around behind it and look like he was teleporting. But it only affected sight, so it was a poor match against her.

Realizing his mirage was useless in here, she felt him dashing for the edge of her domain. She wasn't letting up that easily. She leapt out of her petals and moved them to keep Rouge trapped inside. With the push of a button, Thorn released finely crushed fire dust. It mixed with the petals, then burst into flame, turning her garden world into a raging inferno!

Summer watched the flames dance. The heat would quickly burn anything trapped within to ashes in a matter of minutes, but she suspected it wouldn't take that long to break his aura. A sudden high pitch whistle broke through the night. Summer tensed as confusion reared its head. What would he gain from casting an illusion right now?

Suddenly a bullet broke through the inferno. Summer made to knock it back, but the moment her sword touched it, it vanished and behind the mirage she saw more bullets flying towards her.

She couldn't regain her stance as the bullets came flying towards her. Summer couldn't dodge and took several head-on. She wasn't able to stand her ground and was knocked into a tree.

Rouge charged out of the flames reloading his gun, dripping wet. He must have covered himself in ice dust to avoid getting hurt by her flames. As he came closer, Summer caught an electric icon on the cartridge he loaded. She ripped several petals off Petal and changed them into ice daggers. As Rouge shot at her, she threw them at the bullets trying to knock them down before they could reach her. She got most of them, but two still hit their mark, releasing a powerful shock into Summer.

The shock slowed her reflects, and she was unable to move as a kick found her stomach, lifting her into the air. Then came the barrage of kicks, each one meant to keep her airborne. The blades slashing at her body. Then came a roundhouse kick, knocking her back into the clearing.

Summer rolled and managed to skid onto her hands and knees, but Rouge was already shooting at her again. She used her semblance to create a whirlwind of petals around her, blocking her from view.

Summer could feel the bullets flying into the petals, but they were only in her general direction, he was blind firing into the storm. She had bought herself some time. She jumped to her feet, but before she could counter-attack, another dust round broke the outer layer of the storm. Fire dust bullets!

Summer pushed all the petals away from her as her own semblance was used against her. Fortunately, she was fast enough to get them away from her before they all caught flame. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on the petals. Slowly they split into four streams, each one still ablaze. As she moved her shielding, she saw Rouge's stunned face at her mastery of her semblance.

Moving her swords like a baton, she directed the petals towards Rouge. Immediately the flaming mass shot towards him. Like snakes slithering towards an injured prey.

Rouge pressed a button next to the trigger, then fanned the hammer of his revolver. Each of his bullets began exploding as he shot at streams of petals, but It wasn't enough and soon he had to dodge them as they began attacking him from all sides.

Rouge cursed under his breath, then fired his gun at his own feet. The explosion created a large cloud of dust and dirt, blocking Summer's vision. Then he charged at her from out of the smoke. Clearly wanting to stop her.

The flames shot out behind him, but they were too slow. Having no choice, Summer pulled more of Petal's guard off and used the dust inside to change them into daggers. She threw them at Rouge while causing the petals to spread out behind him, caging him in.

Rouge slid to a stop, annoyance on his face. He let out a low whistle and Summer found herself gritting her teeth. Not that again.

She changed the petals into a sweeping move and burned the ground all around him. Just in time as the daggers hit him in the chest, only for him to vanish again.

But to her surprise, she didn't see anything, just a hole where he was standing and the scorched earth around it.

Before she found him, a bullet hit her in the chest before exploding, knocking her back, and causing her petals to disappear.

Looking up, she saw Rouge in the sky above her, aiming at her once again. She tried to get up, but found herself short of breath, making her slow. She didn't have the enough guards left to block it with ice daggers again. She would have to take it head on.

Suddenly, a foot landed on top of Summer's head before using her as a spring-board.

To her horror, Cinder had jumped off her and was flying towards Rouge. She threw her sword at him, but Rouge effortlessly shot it down. The explosive round blocked him from view and caused sharp metal to rain down on the girl. But Cinder ignored it and threw her second sword into the smoke.

Summer's eyes widened. Did she have a death wish!? If this didn't hit, then she had nothing left to defend herself! Cinder disappeared into the smoke as she heard another gunshot and it's explosion. Then…

"Gah! What the hell!" Rouge yelled in surprise, before both him and Cinder came tumbling down to the ground. Rouge landed on his back, breaking Cinder's fall. She tried to grab his neck, but he got hold of her hand first.

Annoyed, Cinder grabbed his hand and activated her semblance. Immediately, steam rose from her hand, burning Rouge's hand.

"Annoying bitch!" He snarled as he grabbed her collar, then he pulled her forward and slammed his head against her's. Cinder recoiled, giving Rouge the chance to kick her off, where she fell on her back in the mud.

Furious, he aimed his gun at Cinder's head, she didn't have anywhere to go. Before he could pull the trigger, Summer knocked the gun away with her sword. When he tried a spinning pistol whip, she drove the hilt of her blade into his wrists, causing him to lose his grip and the gun to go flying onto the ground.

Immediately, he began kicking. He was moving even faster than before! Try as she might, Summer couldn't find an opening. Nor could she stop herself from blocking with a blade, trapping herself. Before she could react, he had ripped Thorn from her grip and sent it flying somewhere behind her.

Suddenly, Cinder shot forward. She met his kick head on with a punch against the metal. As soon as she made contact, there was a massive explosion of heat creating a steam bomb, knocking Rouge back where he skidded across the ground, hand digging into the mud to slow himself down.

"Enough!" Rouge bellowed as he came to a stop. "You're such a nuisance! Just die already!" Immediately, he began whistling a tune Summer did recognize.

She didn't know what he was trying, and she wasn't going to let him finish. She rushed towards him, taking one of her last four petals and changing it into an ice dagger.

Lunging forward, Summer aimed for his throat, if she couldn't take him out, then she'd stop him from whatever he was trying. But without breaking tune, he kicked her blade away. Stunned, but not defeated, she tried a somersault kick, but he leapt back, putting as much distance between them as he could as he started repeating the tune.

Summer threw the dagger as she charged again. He dodged the blade and kicked some mud up between them as he threw fire dust into it, heating it to a boiling point. Summer jumped over the mud and swung at him. He was so close to finishing the second round, she had to hurry!

Rouge threw himself to the side, trying to finish humming before he was stopped. Time seemed to slow down as her blade began inching closer and closer towards his neck. Then her blade landed a second after he finished, sending him flying through the air.

Summer let out a sigh of relief as she watched him. Then she saw a smirk on his face.

"Too late." He mocked. Immediately, Summer went to slash him again, that's when it happened.

Everything around her came to a screeching halt. The trees that were blowing in the wind, the movement of the huntsman who was supposed to be flying through the air, even the raindrops stopped in their tracks. Behind her, Cinder stood frozen in place as she had been running to help her. Everything wasn't moving, everything except her.

"Summer Rose!" Rouge's taunting voice came from somewhere to her right, but she still saw him floating a foot away in front of her. What was happening?

"You're so strong! I have to use my best move to win here! The others of your kind have never pushed me this far!" Before she could figure out what was happening, a powerful kick landed in her stomach, sending her flying away. Her aura flickered as she hit the ground.

Coughing, Summer pulled herself to her feet. And looked around, but nothing had changed. She bit her lip. This wasn't like the other illusions, it was more powerful than the mirages he had conjured. What was this?

"Welcome! To the world without time!" Rouge called arrogantly. "A fitting place for your tomb, wouldn't you agree?