Similarities

Jonathan's restless, tired wakefulness gave way to a restless slumber, before being interrupted again when the sun just broke through the windows. Jonathan woke up – still sleepy, but seemingly even more tired than yesterday.

Blinking slightly before looking around, as if trying to remember where he was now, the answer did make its way to Jonathan's mind.

We are still here, in Vacuo

Jonathan covered his eyes, exhaling slowly before he did rise, making his way to the shower room, wobbling slightly in his sleep.

So, we chose inaction, after all? Are we just going to do nothing until the very end? Until circumstances finally force our hand to decide?

There was no toothbrush in the room and Jonathan, seeing this fact, stretched out his hand, not even looking to see the necessary hygiene item appear in his hand, and began his usual morning routine.

Day after day, day after day…

When he finished showering – he was still tired but at least more awake, Jonathan looked around himself before leaving his room, closing it behind him, and going downstairs. To the half-empty hotel lounge, which was also an eatery within the hotel itself.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock… Is wasting our time really the wisest thing to do right now?

Ordering tea and a couple of scones, Jonathan walked slowly, leaning on his cane all the while, so familiar in his hand, to an empty table. And yet, even when he finally sat down, Jonathan was still lost in thought.

Jonathan, inside that cane, holds a weapon that only sci-fi writers and madmen have written about. You have enough power right now to snap your fingers, and solve all sorts of problems.

The tea appeared a couple of seconds later, along with the scones – or maybe it was minutes later? The passage of time, Jonathan could no longer sense.

Why did Jonathan Goodman hesitate?

The tea turned out to be tasteless – at least it seemed so to Jonathan.

Could Jonathan Goodman have doubts?

The half-eaten scones, also tasteless and dry, took away the rest of Jonathan's appetite, causing him to rise, silently throwing some money on the table. Jonathan wasn't even sure how much he had thrown on the table before he headed away.

And you're Jonathan Goodman?

***

Summer Rose yawned mightily as she walked leisurely back towards her hotel, the one that she didn't sleep in last night. Still, as she moved, she still looked around at her surroundings carefully. Of course, after Qrow's shift on duty and watching the horde's movements overnight, she was sleepy. But, after another yawn, she still continued to look around the shops and stalls, trying to track down anything among the buildings that was open even at the current early hour, where she could find a souvenir suitable for her daughters.

I mean, of course sweets or the likes were a sure bet – but beyond that, she would want to find something else, something more substantial.

For Yang? If we're talking about something only found in Vacuo, and the value of which she could appreciate…

Maybe a stuffed scorpion?

Summer shrugged slightly – the huge deathstalkers were a problem, but a familiar one. They were huge and slow enough for a Hunter of her level, but the small, nimble scorpions that could crawl up your sleeve if you put your hand in the sand… Brr, she could feel her goosebumps rising just imagining the sensation.

Summer tried to shake away the image – this was far from her first mission to Vacuo, so she was unfortunately more aware of such things than anyone else.

And so with that, no death stalker plushy for anyone. Summer dreaded the outcry she'd raise if she saw the plushy somewhere near the headboard of her bed one night.

So, what gift should she buy? Summer thought about it for a second. Yang did recently started collecting Grimm figures… Okay, she'll take the little deathstalker figure for Yang – one that she wouldn't confuse with a scorpion in her sleep in any way. Just in case.

And Ruby, hmm… What could Ruby want, from what only Vacuo had?

Hah, at least it was easy to find a gift for Taiyang. They'd find a long weekend where they could leave the children in the care of his parents for a couple of days, like some time ago. The old Xiao-Long couple were certainly not so spry anymore, but were still capable of babysitting for a couple of days. And with the free time they have… With a couple of bottles of excellent Vacuan tequila? Well, it would be a good time for the both of them.

But Ruby's gift, hmm… Before she could think about it further, her mind was jumbled when she suddenly struck something a lot more solid than thin air.

The sudden collision made Summer instantly snap out of her thoughts, before immediately catching hold of the falling man she had just walked over, preventing him from falling to the ground. "I'm sorry, I didn't do it on purpose, I was not paying attention to where I'm walking!"

"Huh?" The voice that answered her didn't seem pained in any way, something that relieved Summer, only surprised at the very fact of it. "I… Huh, no need to apologize… I do too…"

The speaker's voice sounded familiar to Summer, so she took a step back and looked at the person that she had bumped into, instantly realizing that the person was her old acquaintance she had met in her hotel. "Dorian, I didn't expect to see you again! And so soon at that!"

"Scarlett?" Dorian paused, then blinked a couple of times and nodded. "Yeah, I didn't expect to see you either…"

"Where are you going?" Summer smiled – sleep was certainly calling to her with a welcoming hand, but she still needed to find a gift shop, so anything to distract her from falling asleep where she stood was welcomed. "If anything, we can walk around town, I need to go somewhere. How about you?"

"Walk around the town?" Dorian echoed, causing Summer to frown, before Dorian seems to be thinking about something. "Yeah, let's go."

And without listening to any further words, Summer pulled him a little behind her, heading forward, but still frowning inwardly.

Summer has seen… A lot of things.

Lost people, not knowing where they were, what they needed to do, their eyes no longer seeing anything in front of them – she'd seen a lot of them… On missions, in cities.

In her own team.

Did Summer need to stick her nose in other people's business and try to pull them out of their problems? No, she didn't need to.

But if Summer could help, it was her duty to do so.

Regardless of the consequences.

So Dorian, his eyes looking so lost, he couldn't see a step in front of him, was forced to take a step forward, followed by a couple more. A few more steps and Summer herself needed to carefully shift her own steps slightly to the side and quite a bit forward so as not to lose her new acquaintance and at the same time guide their forward movement.

Lost people kept popping up in Vacuo. It wasn't food or cars that were Vacuo's chief import – it was other people's broken dreams. There was no reason to worry about another lost person ending up unexpectedly in Vacuo – for any of the possible reasons they arrived here – nor was there any reason for Summer to interfere with their fate.

But if Summer could help – why shouldn't she?

So, after staggering a little and after only a couple of steps, Dorian seemed to shake off his sense of loss a little and looked around as if seeing his surroundings for the first time. Such a sight caused a simple smile to appear on Summer's face.

"Do you happen to know if there's a souvenir shop around here?" Summer knew Dorian didn't know that, but missing the opportunity to make conversation now and allowing Dorian to wallow in his misery again was not an option. It was something they taught in her third year at Beacon – a lesson Summer had learned firmly.

"N-no," Dorian staggered out of the way, slowly returning more and more to the reality around him, "But, um… I can find it, I guess. But I'm not sure if it would be open."

"Hmm?" Summer mused out loud, but internally her mind worked furiously to piece the mystery that is Dorian. 'He's not a Hunter, but maybe he's military? Or maybe he's just someone with an awakened Aura? Perhaps, maybe even with his own Semblance? That would explain a lot, actually.'

Sometimes, it happened that some people, though they had a respectable reserve of Aura and even in theory could open their semblance – they chose not to become Hunters. Sometimes, they just didn't have enough aura to feel safe, or it awakened in them at a much more mature age than suitable for training. And given these facts, if Dorian was enlisted in the army – he clearly had time to see… Things. If he had recently discovered his aura, however? Then…

There was a reason for his aura being discovered.

In theory, of course, a person's Aura could be unlocked by another Aura user – but Summer wouldn't seriously consider that option, given all its limitations and complexities.

"Okay," Summer nodded easily. Even if he didn't find the shop, at least the action would distract him from… whatever it seems to be consuming him from the inside.

"Now we turn left here, then after two intersections, another left, and there it will be," Dorian answered instantly, making Summer blink before nodding at how quickly and easily Dorian had found the shop. Even if he was wrong, it was no big deal.

"Okay, let's go," Summer smiled, then realized that she needed to keep the conversation going to keep the man from falling into his thoughts again. "Are you moving into Vacuo?"

"No," Dorian shook his head, "I… uh, my family's waiting for me at home – I won't be here for long."

"What a coincidence!" Summer smiled. She knew she probably shouldn't have said that, given her sort of 'secret' job – but she couldn't help herself. A chance to talk about her family was ill wasted. "Me neither – I have two daughters waiting for me at home."

"Hmm?" And for the first time ever, Dorian seemed to look at her with interest in their conversation. "I have two daughters too…"

"Some strange coincidences indeed!" Summer smiled, taking some irrational pleasure in the fact that she'd run into another person who also had two daughters, smiling at such an amusing coincidence. "And how old are they? Mine are six and eight."

"Fifteen and fourteen." Dorian answered, a bit absent-mindedly, causing Summer to suddenly miss a step, as she cast another quick glance at Dorian's very young face.

He looked… Young. Even assuming that he simply aged very finely, there was no way he could have been older than she was. Which meant that, in the best of circumstances, he'd had two children one after the other… When he was about sixteen or seventeen years old.

Summer was a little lost in thought, trying not to give her surprise away – but Dorian, seemingly finally snapped out of his inner demons, noticed it and smiled, visible even through the rags wrapped around his face. "They're not my biological daughters – they're adopted."

"Oh," Summer sighed – on the one hand, she had learned a lot more about Dorian. On the other hand – the question of biological kinship had always been quite…sensitive. Even in conversations with very close friends, it was still quite a sensitive topic to discuss, definitely not something people who knew each other for the second day were supposed to discuss.

"It's all right," Dorian could see the almost constipated look on Summer's face, and dissipated the oncoming awkwardness with a shake of his head and a slight sniffle. Even with the social faux pas, Dorian's gesture was a perfect sign that he was now completely distracted from his thoughts. "I take it, you're looking for souvenirs for them?"

"Yeah," Summer nodded before she sighed, "To be honest, one of my daughters is adopted, too."

Dorian took a couple of steps, cocking an eyebrow before nodding to himself. "Frankly, it's even a little strange that we have so much in common."

"Yeah…" Summer nodded before shifting her gaze, and a surprised look appeared on her face. "I see the souvenir shop!"

After that, Summer, who saw the shop, still open unexpectedly at the early hour, slowed down a little before glancing at Dorian, who was pacing with her. "Speaking of which, I'm not someone who would not be taking tips! I know what to bring my husband, and I think I've sorted out the gift for one of my daughters – but I have no idea what to bring the other."

"What does she like?" Dorian asked the most logical question of all.

"Candy, machinery, well more like putting things together, running around the house and listening to stories." Summer began curling her fingers one finger one by one, counting as she approached the door of the shop.

"She doesn't like to read them, mind you, only listen to them. Oh, and TV shows and computer games!"

"Hmm, in that case…" Dorian thought for a few seconds as he moved on. "What kind of toys does she like? Like the one that she likes to put together? Things like leg… like plastic ones, or metal ones?"

"Metal, the kind you need to screw in with a screwdriver," Summer sighed. How many sleepless nights Ruby had put her through when they wouldn't let her near the small stuff and instead demanded that Summer tighten some kind of bolt for her.

Summer even had to pick up a weapon that needed less maintenance! A sword that didn't even transform into anything! But Ruby had gone to Taiyang instead, messing with his weapons.

Summer found it hard to even imagine what would happen when Ruby saw her father's motorbike – surely she would not only start tinkering with it – but also maybe even race it! Summer couldn't even imagine such a thing.

The one time Taiyang had decided to take her for a ride on his newly purchased – now completely obsolete – motorbike, Summer had squealed like she hadn't even squealed when falling off a Nevermore once. Though she had clung to Tay then, and judging by what happen later that night, he had really enjoyed it – so in a way her problems had been counterbalanced by the positive results she had received

But not completely! Oh, not completely at all! Who would find riding a crotch rocket fun!?

"Scarlett?" Summer suddenly realized that she had withdrawn into her own thoughts and felt herself almost burning with embarrassment. Surprisingly, Summer Rose, determined to help a man out of his thoughts, had retreated into one herself!

"All right, I'll start looking for a suitable souvenir!" Summer tried to quickly return to reality.

"Maybe there's something in here that isn't in Patch…"

"So you're from Patch?" Summer realized after a few moments that she'd blurted out something that she really shouldn't have, and sighed.

"Well, I wasn't lying," She tried to smile to mask her mistake. What's next? She's going to tell Dorian her real name!? "Patch is indeed almost a suburb of Vale."

"Heh, I guess so," Dorian nodded before stepping forward to open the door and holding it open in front of Summer. "Ladies first!"

At these words, Summer paused, glancing down at Dorian's walking stick, and smiled as she took a step.

A lone raven, just watching this from the roof of a nearby building, flew off, defying the animal nature of the thing, and took off into the dangerous wilderness.

***

Raven and her 'combined special squad' were well-equipped with a large variety of things, from the quite ordinary and obligatory, weapons and food, to the rather exotic – the kind that only fell into the wrong hands by direct order.

It was only natural, then, that Raven and her party were careful to guard and post sentries whenever they stopped. Especially given that they weren't even half a day's journey from Vacuo. Even if it was the weakest of the four main cities of Remnant – it is still the capital of a Kingdom.

And so, the appearance of a small and nimble black bird in the sky would never be missed.

For a moment, the sentry on duty was in a panic – the approach of the Nevermores to their encampment posed a problem. But thankfully, before he could raise his voice to raise the alarm, he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Get out," Raven's voice, which all the bandits – all the Special Forces – had memorized during their first week in the Branwen camp, rang out beside him, causing the sentry to nod briefly and, without raising his voice, head quickly away.

In her days as a simple bandit, controlling her men during an attack or robbery was difficult. Some chose to get drunk, some raped a villager, some panicked at the sight of Grimm. But still, within her camp, Raven had a power that Atlas themselves could not dream of.

After her transformation from a mere bandit camp into a veritable mercenary army?

Raven was very concerned about the discipline of her squad.

Special squad – special methods of discipline.

So Raven wasn't worried about any of the other sentries howling or walking into the small camping tent set up at the patrol site – and no one would interrupt her conversation.

After glancing at the black bird, Raven threw open her tent flaps and stepped inside, then settled herself at the wooden box that was used as a table, sitting down on the wooden boards used as chairs, waiting.

She didn't have to wait long – a few seconds later she heard the sound of sand rustling everywhere, then the unshaven face of her brother appearing beyond the flap of the tent. He was frowning at his surroundings before looking up into his sister's eyes. "Raven."

"Qrow," Raven nodded slightly, acknowledging his presence, before grinning slightly, pointing to the crate in front of him. "Please take advantage of my hospitality, and have a seat."

Qrow didn't react to Raven's words in any way, but walked over to the small stand in front of the crate, taking a seat before once again glancing at Raven.

Neither of the people present wanted to speak first – instead, each of the two twins looked at the other with an attentive gaze, trying not to give away their thoughts while trying to guess the other's.

Raven grinned at the corner of her lips as Qrow gave up first in this game. "Ozpin said you wouldn't fight the horde."

"I wouldn't," Raven answered briefly and matter-of-factly.

Raven's reasoning was simple enough. Small groups of Grimm, the kind that come and go by the hundreds around the world every day – she could waste them without attracting Salem's attention. A huge super-horde on the other hand?

Not to say she wouldn't have had the strength to defeat one – but she wasn't going to waste her strength any more than she needed to.

At least – Raven frowned her eyebrows slightly – while she still had the opportunity.

For a moment, Qrow curved his lips slightly in a chuckle, causing Raven to tense slightly at his possible response. "So you fucked up royally, since your superior decided to come in person."

Raven instantly seized on the thought, analyzing Qrow's words.

Technically, her boss was actually Ghira Belladonna – but in fact, everyone that is actually privy to the mysteries of this world, knew that Raven answered directly to Jonathan Goodman instead – the self-proclaimed king of the self-proclaimed kingdom.

Given that Jonathan had the ability to teleport at will – the possibility that Qrow wasn't lying and that for whatever reason Jonathan had actually appeared in Vacuo was too great.

"I see," Raven nodded, not giving Qrow the pleasure of watching the confusion appear on her face. "Where is he now?"

Qrow seemed to be surprised at Raven's words, waiting for a second before he looked up thoughtfully, placing his hands under his chin and stretching out thoughtfully. "So he's not here for you…"

Raven restrained herself from breaking Qrow's nose with a punch – he knew how irritating Ozpin's mannerisms were to her, and he couldn't help himself from causing her annoyance.

Or perhaps Qrow had been socializing too much with Ozpin and had simply begun to adopt his mannerisms…

However, the way Raven's eyes noticed Qrow glancing slightly at her allowed her to determine that Qrow just wanted to annoy her.

"Where is he now?" Not giving Qrow the pleasure of watching her annoyed, Raven simply repeated her question to Qrow once more.

Qrow, not waiting for Raven's reaction, slowly shifted his gaze around, deliberately delaying his answer to the question, trying to annoy Raven as much as possible.

How childish.

Qrow was only born a minute later than her – but he was still completely unable to grow up and wise up.

"With Summer," He finally said, looking straight into Raven's eyes.

Raven just nodded, not letting a muscle flinch on her face.

It was only natural to expect the presence of Ozpin's agents in Vacuo – and what agent could he have sent on this mission but his best and most loyal Qrow?

In that case, to expect Summer's presence in Vacuo as well? It made sense.

Qrow was adept at the finer points of affairs, Summer instead was a hammer fit for scattering the super-horde.

After waiting a few seconds, Qrow, not getting another question in return, still looked straight at Raven, "Don't you want to meet her?

Yes

Raven wished she could meet Summer. She hadn't seen her in… Eight years, was it?

Sit down, have a chat. Remember the old days.

"No", Raven answered calmly, looking into Qrow's eyes.

Bandits respect strength. Determination. Willpower.

Remember, Raven – my daughter must be strong, determined, firm in her convictions.

"Wouldn't you like to know how Yang is doing?" Qrow glanced at Raven, waiting for an answer. "Wouldn't you like to have a chat with Tay?"

Raven would have clenched her hands into fists if it wouldn't have pleased Qrow to see her acting that way.

She… she did want to.

So much to discuss, so much to tell, so much to learn…

"No". Raven answered again, not letting a single muscle on her face flinch.

Maybe Raven even... Didn't even like her image. Her mask, her behavior.

But she didn't know any different.

Raven watched silently as Qrow clenched his hands into fists, eliciting a faint smirk from Raven. Her brother's annoyance was little consolation to Raven, but it was at least something.

"You're not a criminal anymore." Qrow looked at Raven carefully, as he slowly spoke.

"You could have just taken your old team to Menagerie. Everyone would have turned a blind eye – Ozpin would have hushed up the information…"

Raven felt Qrow's words get under her skin, uncomfortably stirring somewhere around her stomach, but she only leaned back a little, stretching her limbs, showing with all her appearance how much she was sick of this conversation. "Do you have any more news?"

Qrow glanced silently at Raven, then rose from his seat. "Forget it. It was just a meaningless question."

Raven sensed that behind those words there was a real storm inside Qrow – accusations he would like to shout out, thoughts, tirades… but he said nothing

"I don't think I need to show you the exit?" Raven tried to smirk, the way she always did, hiding her emotions behind contrived bravado. Qrow always tried to make jokes whenever he's uncomfortable, but he didn't have the same experience that Raven had.

Maybe, really, she should have just let him get his own bumps instead of hiding him under her skirt.

Qrow took a few steps before exiting the tent, before stopping and turning towards Raven, barely looking at her, his expression ugly. "I never thought I would despise my own twin so much…"

After that last parting words, Qrow slipped out, and, judging by the absence of the sound of sand rustling to Raven's ears, had already transformed himself into a raven, flying away.

Raven, on the other hand, waited a few more seconds and slowly rose from her seat before slowly drawing in air, then slowly exhaling.

And with a single strike, breaking the wooden crate into pieces, causing it to instantly fall down in wooden debris.

Raven stood silently for a few seconds, watching the broken wooden pieces, still wanting to destroy more things. Still, after a few moments, she managed to draw herself in, unclenching her fists before turning around, exhaling loudly the full volume in her lungs.

Every interaction with Qrow ended in the same way for her.

A silent exchange of insignificant phrases – and then they would part, leaving Raven helplessly clenching her fists, only able to smash the surrounding furniture.

In the old days, she'd sometimes take it out on the hapless thugs she could get her hands on, but the veteran slowly got wise and avoided her whenever she's in a foul mood. While the greenhorns would simply die if she chose to take out her frustrations on them. Not to mention Jonathan's request to allow as little of this as possible.

So Raven had to abandon those methods of discipline, making do with something else to relieve the stress.

Exhaling once more, and coming to her senses, Raven pulled out a large scroll from behind her back. After sending off the message to send back the sentinels on his watch, leaving the tent, looking to see if Qrow had left any surprise.

But there were no more birds in the desert air – only sand, lightening skies, and the wind roaming among the sand dunes.

***

The super-horde moved slowly, inexorably. With each step, it drew nearer to its goal – and with each passing second, it grew stronger.

There were many Grimm in the sand surrounding Vacuo - the empty dunes around Vacuo nothing more than an illusion.

There were few Grimm, on the surface, of Vacuo.

But under the sand… Under the ground… In the oases?

Legions as large as anywhere else were lurking, hordes of them waiting in the wings, ranging from the smallest of creeps to the largest of deathstalkers.

The Grimm moved slowly because they didn't need to hurry. Every second of delay allowed one or a hundred more Grimm to join the discordant chorus.

Howling, snapping, hissing, and the flapping of wings.

The super-horde didn't move in a single mass – not yet. It stretches for many kilometers, advancing slowly and encircling its target.

But… What differentiated the mere huge horde from the super horde?

A central, strongest Grimm.

So, at the very center of this horde, a Grimm slowly continued to move.

It was smaller than its fellows around him, and not at all as intimidating as them. But at the same time, it seemed as if all the rest of the Grimm were listening intently to its steps, making a move only when they heard it quietly shuffle its feet.

Resembling a Deathstalker – an enormous scorpion, this Grimm seemed barely larger than a car. It could even be described as small compared to the other Grimm – and yet it resembled a scorpion only below its waist. Or, it would be more correct to say that the scorpion's entire body was present in full size – but where its head should have been, another body towered over it.

A human, from the waist upwards, ending in a human head and even having two arms.

The creature was not to be confused with a normal human, however. Covered with a black, quivering slime, it had no eyes, no ears, no hair, and its mouth was full of narrow, long and sharp teeth as though protruding from black gums like bone needles.

"Come on, my brothers!" And the most dreadful thing was that this figure, stretching its smile and exposing the dozens of bony needles in its mouth, could talk.

"Come on! For our Goddess demands victory!"

And with a disorderly roar, howl, and screech, the Grimm answered, slowly continuing on their way to their goal.