Luna Rosa - Chapter One

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Within its walls, Vale was the exact manner of metropolitan monstrosity he had expected that it would be.

The city had, once upon a time, been planned. He had been able to see as much from Luna, had been able to make out the grid-patterns and district-systems that had likely been laid out decades and decades prior. Before anyone alive in the city - or even the generation before them, perhaps - had been alive. Sewage systems, with spacing and surplus systems for future renovation, power systems, underground shoring for weaker points of the land. It was immaculate.

Under the surface, at least.

Over the years, poor planning had heaped warehouses, apartments and shops up wherever they could be fit. Old roads were paved over and reshaped, until only a ghost of their fine gridding remained, to make space. Buildings towered throughout almost all the outer sections of the city, packed in as tightly as was possible - though not as tightly as was safe. From orbit, he had made out no less than eighty one glaring danger zones. Places where a simple particle bomb would have killed thousands, and set a blaze that infrastructure around would be unable to combat. All these were along the wall, in the outermost, poorest and most ramshackle and mixed up areas of the city.

Further in, however, he found a shining metropolis. All shining glass and steel, which climbed higher even than the walls of Menagerie - or Vale, for that matter, which he found a tragically more impressive notion.

He registered… Errors in his neural network and forced himself away from dangerous thoughts, back to the task at hand.

Standing at the corner in front of a towering library, he fished the sleek black tablet out of his hand. It powered on at a wireless command, dark screen flashing purple, and then warming to a dull blue. He had to remind himself to use his finger to tap the icons he had placed on the screen to issue commands, rather than simply connect wirelessly from his sevitor's internal broadcast system.

A map came up at one press, and another started the scan he had come for.

As expected, he found it - a trace signature of something exuding the impressive energy signature which did not match any Energon or Dust based generation device. It intensified as he turned to face east, towards the meandering mess that was the residential zones. There, apartment blocks formed a spine of residential life along the edges of the district, along the industrial, commercial, and what passed for the agricultural district within the Kingdom of Vale itself - which itself was less farms and more processing for food, along with a number of the abysmal factory farms, where animals stood in filth with inches around them and fed until the slaughter came.

A tragedy, he supposed, in the recesses of his mind - the part that sounded like a kind man sitting on the beach - but an unavoidable one in such a world.

He found himself at the far end of the residential district, surrounded by squat condominiums that rose up three floors but only stood twenty feet wide. They were packed in in rows, taking every ounce of precious space available save for the river that ran in front of them. There, grass sloped to rocky beaches that water flowed through, and he watched the children play fora time while he thought through his findings.

Beyond where he was were the towering apartments, and then a dividing wall which stood half as tall or wide as Vale's great barrier. Beyond it stretched a long, crimson forest which spread out and up, to the northern wall which divided it but did not stop it - the so-called 'Forever Fall' forest stretched on along the northern wall all the way to the sea. A sight to behold, to be sure, and a well named one with its crimson leaves and ironically evergreen nature.

But the vexatious energy trace did not reach out there.

Instead, it continued past the smaller wall, through the forest to the river's end, below a tall cliff upon which the storied Beacon Academy had been built. Even from here, his powerful sight could make out its great parapet.

But he could not simply go there… The land was a nature preserve, all the way to Beacon, and full of weaker Grimm kept for training the Hunter students there. No threat to him, to be sure, but he would not be able to pass without giving himself away. And with discovery would come attention and questions he did not desire.

"No…" Shockwave murmured, turning to one of the condominiums and the sign that hung on its outer wall. "Subtlety is the better method."

He would discover the truth of this anomaly, and what it meant for Remnant, in due course.

But, for now…

He transferred the number to his tablet and pressed the 'call' icon. A moment later, a cheery woman answered the phone, "Vivian Reed, Vale Residential Management Services. How can I help you?"

"I would like to inquire about a property." He answered, "If you would not mind."

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Summer leaned against the back of the elevator with her arms crossed and a glare locked on the back of the man in front of her's head. After a moment the man sighed, chuckled, and spoke without turning, "You know, I can actually feel your glare, Missus Rose."

"My eyes can laser the Grimm." She shrugged, "Just seeing if it can laser you, too."

"That's not how I would describe the Silver Eyes…"

"My eyes." She smiled, "My description."

"Ah." He sighed, "Fair enough, I suppose."

"I said it, so… Yeah." She smiled, "It's fair."

"Is that how that works?"

"Mhm." She nodded, "Just ask Tai."

"As unbiased a source as possible, I am sure." He chuckled as the door slid open on his office and he stepped forward, leading her in.

Inside, the office was exactly the same as it had been eight years ago, the last time she'd been here. A desk at the back, whirring gears overhead from the clocktower mechanisms, muted somehow so their sounds didn't overwhelm her. Windows surrounded her, with a thin balcony beyond, and the tower gave her the usual commanding, majestic view of the forest around Beacon and, in the foggy distance, Forever Fall and Vale itself, twinkling in the afternoon warmth.

That, at least, never got old.

Still, she couldn't help but cock a hip and smirk across the desk as Ozpin settled into his chair. "Some things never change."

"Hm?" She cast a look around the office, one brow raised, and he chuckled at her as he settled in. Waving a hand at her, he chided, "Are you really someone that gets to speak to me about that, Summer?"

"Hey." She murmured, "This is… Functional."

"Mhm…" He rolled his eyes, "Summer, you've barely changed your combat clothes since coming to Beacon."

"Hmph." Her clothes were simple, but worked. Sturdy leather boots with stockings under up to her thighs, a decent skirt, and a fitted, sleeved corset that let the front of her chest and throat breathe to keep her cool in a fight. She wore a cloak over it to match, since white and black always went together, and tugged her hood up with a huff when she couldn't argue with Ozpin's point.

But so what if her style was older than both her children.

Combined…

"J-Just tell me what you want, Oz." She said, changing the subject to save face as much as time. She didn't mind the old man as much as Tai did - he was fighting the good fight, after all - but even she couldn't… Totally ignore, what Raven had said about him.

"I'm sure you can guess."

"I'd rather you just tell me…"

"Humor me, Missus Rose." He smiled, leaning back and flicking his hand. On the other side of the room, by the elevator, she heard a coffee pot clack onto a warmer and click on. As it boiled, he added, "Please."

She rolled her eyes, but took a second to think. Finally, she tried, "Something to do with Salem?"

"Mhm."

"The Relics, then?" She tried, "We still haven't found the Relic of Creation, have we? And Knowledge isn't exactly… In our hands, anymore."

"No, we haven't, but I have Qrow working on Creation. Knowledge is hopefully safe enough, for now, but Creation has a bit more… Potential to it." She cocked her head in a question, but Ozpin just shook his head and flicked his hand again, calling the pot and a cup past her shoulder with his magic and setting both on an insulated pad on his desk. While he poured a cup, he said, "I'm sure you've heard the rumors out from Anima."

"The Leviathans?" She blinked, anxiety spiking just a bit. "That's serious?"

"Evidently." He nodded, "Qrow confirmed it, hunting down a lead on Creation."

"That's… Bad."

."Perhaps." Ozpin hummed, sipping his coffee and musing, "But as long as she's spending time curtailing those things' expansion… Well, she could be doing worse."

"Those things are people." She murmured and then, when he turned to her with his usual unamused, disbelieving, and aggravatingly paternal look, she added, "And they live with other people, too. Faunus, Human, giant and made of metal- The Grimm kill them all, Oz."

"One of them destroyed Atlas."

"And that's all their faults?"

"Of course not!" He snapped, anger suddenly flashing across his face. Anger and… Something else. He sighed after a moment and sat the cup down. "Summer, I… I don't have every last one of the machines. I just understand that they are dangerous."

"So do I, but…" She set her jaw, "So are you."

"I'm not-"

"Tell me, honestly." Summer cut him off, "If you decided right now you wanted me dead, could I stop you? If… If you decided you wanted to force me to make more Silver Eyes, could I stop you?"

"You know I would never…."

"I do." She nodded, smiling thinly, "But could you?"

"Yes." He finally sighed, "I could, and I take your point. But regardless, to the point…"

"The Leviathans." She nodded, "What do you need me to do?"

"Head to the Eastern coast." Ozpin said, "Reports say that there are several near our coast. If you see one…"

"Laser eye it?"

"If you can." He sighed, sounding very much like he was suffering every second of it. "There have been a lot of Grimm along the coasts the last few months, Leviathans aside entirely. So, as much as I'm sure you'll dislike it…"

"What?"

"I want you to try and find a partner." He said, "One that isn't Qrow."

"Why can't he-"

"He's running down a solid lead on the Relic of Creation." Ozpin said, "We believe it's either in Mantle, part of a collection belonging to someone who survived Atlas' fall, or Salem got it. And I need to know which it is as soon as possible."

"Ah…"

"If you don't feel you're recovered enough to-"

"I'll be fine, Oz." She laid a hand on her stomach, where the well healed scar ran along her hip. "It was rough, but I'm all good now. Bundle of joy, acquired. Just… Do you have someone to send with me?"

"No." Ozpin frowned, "Everyone is busy at the moment. Or at least, everyone I would trust. Easier to simply go out and find a Hunter for hire. Or just be careful, and stick to scouting only. Even if that means not fighting four packs of Beowolves to protect a farmhouse."

"But-"

"Summer." He cut her off, "I have no one, so if you can't find anyone, follow my orders. If only for Ruby and Yang's sakes."

She went quiet for a moment, then crossed her arms, all humor sucked out of her and the room alike. Quietly, she growled, "That's too far."

"Not if it means you listen." He countered quietly, "And that their mother comes home to them. As long as that happens, I'll deal with your anger at me."

"Fine." She sighed and turned, "I'll… Find someone, then. Do me a favor and-"

"You'll have a list on your Scroll of every single well-qualified Hunter to come into Vale in the last week, Summer." He said, "And supplies packed in a personal transport, as per usual, waiting on the docks. With extra rations, fuel, and everything else."

"Alright." She sighed, "I'll spend tomorrow looking, then, and leave the day after."

"That's fine by me."

With the matter settled, finally, she made her way back over to the elevator and had to resist the urge to punch the call button. It slid open right away - the perks of a private elevator - and inside a second she was on her way down, glaring at the floor. He was right, of course - she had to put her kids ahead of anyone else. But…

The way he weaponized them rubbed her the wrong way.

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"Moooom!"

"She'll be here soon, I'm sure." Kali sighed, sitting on the beach with her daughter clambering over her shoulders to… Do whatever it was she was doing, really. It was honestly kind of hard to tell. When Blake got heer knees on Kalli's shoulder, though, she wobbled and started to fall and Kali's hands snapped up to catch her and pull her over her head and into her lap. Pursing her lips, she chided the girl curled up in her lap, "You need to be more careful. You almost fell, Blake."

"But I didn't."

"Blake…"

"Mum's too cool to let me fall!" The girl grinned, wriggling out of her lap and loping off to play in the sand a few feet away while Kali sighed. Quietly, but loud enough she knew Kali could hear her with her higher hearing, Blake said, "Don't worry, mum. Aunty Sisi will be here soon."

"I just told you that." She laughed, shaking her head, "You're the one who was worried."

"Suuuuure."

"Oh, just play in the sand."

"'Kay~!"

For a while, that was all she did. Watch the clouds and the tides, and watch her daughter make a little sand fort in the sand. Or, well, less a 'fort' and more a little circle dug out in the sand, with the dug out sand piled around it. And a stick planted at the tallest spot for a flag. Then she moved out, digging trenches and mounding up wet sand for bridges across them.

She heard a huge splash of water and turned to look up along the sunbaked beach, where a titanic mechanical serpent had emerged from the water. It was half as long as any of the tall buildings, with dull silver scales. Long swatches of rusty red and dull blue pockmarked it like the natural camouflage she'd seen the sea snakes along the coast sport. It had a spiky, webbed, membranous crown around its head like them as well, colored a dull brown and the telltale bright crimson eyes she'd come to know.

Then it shifted, Severus kneeling in the sand and letting a teenager with dark, dark blue hair step into his palm and turned, pitching her out to sea gently. Shaking his metal head, he turned and knelt to let another teen into his hand and repeat the gesture.

She heard sand crunch and scrape and flicked her ears at the sound, then smiled as it approached her. Standing, she dusted her rear off and turned, beaming, "Sienna."

"Kali." The woman said, standing in a pair of Mistralian style sandals and loose shorts under a baggy, thin but long sleeved shirt. Kali stepped in and Sienna sighed and held up an arm for Kali to hug her.

"Aunty Sisi!" Blake shouted, materializing at Kali's waist and doing her level best to wedge herself between Kali and her laughing friend. Pulling away, Sienna bent down and scooped the lanky girl up in her arms, smiling as she wrapped her thin arms around Sienna's shoulders. Snuggling in, she squawked, "Mum was worried 'bout you bein' late!"

"Oh?"

"Blake's exaggerating, as usual." Kali rolled her eyes and turned, retaking her spot in the sand and chuckling when Blake scuttled away to get back to work on her castle. Sienna took the spot beside her and Kali turned to speak quietly, "Any luck?"

"Three Leviathans found." She said, "Two dead."

"And the other?" Sienna held up a hand, counting down from five with her fingers.

Kali felt the ground under her rumble dully as a lance of light seared through the air. A dull 'whump' and 'buzz' followed it as the railgun shot soared out to sea and struck something, spraying water a mil high a few dozen miles out to sea. A second and third shot from the powerful railgun followed it, slamming into the same spot with precision purpose applied at mach five. Beachgoers watched the thundering fountain in awe for a moment, and then the city erupted in surprised cheers.

"Dramatic." Kali laughed, shaking her head and watching Blake bounce on the beach, arms stretched up like she was going to catch the waterfall hundreds of miles away.

"A bit." Sienna agreed, setting a backpack in front of them and fishing out a furled up Scroll. Not the metal one, though. This one was linen-wrapped paper. She handed it over, and Kali unfurled it, reading the start of a lengthy action and recon report from Sienna's travels.

"Thank you." She said, rolling it up and handing it back. "Your bag is a better place for it until we head back to admin."

"Fair."

"Mhm." She sighed and asked, "How long are you staying?"

"A few weeks." She answered, "There's training to check in on, for one. And my men and women need rest. Several of our 'bots need repairs, too."

"Anything serious?"

"A lost leg and a lost hand." She shrugged, "They'll be repaired over the next week or so, and go into testing to make sure everything's solid. But I was told not to worry."

"That's good, then."

"Mhm." Sienna nodded, "I got your letter, too."

"About Adam?"

"Mhm."

"And?"

"And I don't see the concern." She said, "He's young and hurting. He'll grow out of it."

"I hope you're right…"

"For now…" Sienna stood and pulled off her shirt, revealing swimwear under, and reached for her shorts. Kali shook her head and laughed at the gall of it, but Sienna just dropped her clothes on Kali's head and snorted when she shook them off. "I've been dying for a swim, Kali. A proper one, without worrying about patrols. Watch my stuff for me?"

Kali just chuckled and waved her off, and then watched the woman sprint across the sand and dive lithely into the water.

"Mum!"

"You can splash in the shallows." Kali sighed, "But no swimming! We didn't bring stuff for it."

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