Author's Greetings:

Yeap. Still don't own RWBY. Wish I did. But I don't. ( cris ).

It's been seven months, but at least it hasn't been near to a full bloody year like it was for the last chapter, so that's a relief. A ton has happened since then, such as yours truly getting into his college's English Creative Writing Undergrad Program and also finishing all three volumes of "The Gulag Archipelago." All in all, a very busy, but also a very productive couple of months I've had since I last updated.

In eight days, the kittens are turning three and good God, does the time just fly. Over these three years, I've gotten a bit wiser, a bit more concise, and my writing, I feel, has certainly improved tenfold in my desire to continue working on these wonderful kids' stories.

But since I've kinda just ran out of things to say and I don't wanna take up any more of your time, I just wanna say thanks to you all and that I have actually been listening to ya'll! You're all correct! Stuff IS actually happening back in the Wukong household while Blake and Dusk are at Adam's funeral!

Without further ado, here it is!

Black Sun Kittens, chapter freaking ten.

Hope ya'll enjoy.

xXx

Black Sun Kittens

Written by M.E. Grimm

(Chapter Ten: Our Corner of the Universe)

"Are you watching your back,

Or are you moving forward?

Are you lost in a dream…?

Well this is our little corner,

of the universe…

And we will find a way home."

K. S. Rhoads, "Our Corner of the Universe"

xXx

During the events of Chapter Six, in Umbra Valley...

xXx

"You knew," Sun said to Weiss as he paced the living room, seething with anger. "You knew what she was going to do, and you didn't speak a word of it to me?"

Wiess flinched. She didn't bother defending hers or Blake's actions. She'd come over right after he'd called, sent a message to the rest of her team, and implored them to meet her here as well. Gods, please have them come soon, thought Weiss. I can't face Sun like this all on my own! "I understand, Sun, and I am sorry. But Blake insisted on keeping her plans secret despite all of us telling her it was a bad idea. You know how she is, Sun. One way or another, she was going to that funeral."

Sun held his finger above his head, tried thinking of a retort but came up with nothing. He swung his arm down with a frustrated breath, then continued silently fuming and pacing the living room as he had been since Weiss arrived. A moment of quiet, then he whipped around, pointed at Weiss, and said with a contemptuous growl, "Ruby."

"I know, Sun," said Weiss. "I messaged them all; they should all be on their way as we speak."

It was clear Sun heard what Weiss had said, but it didn't stop him from pacing yet again. Weiss shrunk into the uncomfortable silence for a time, then carefully asked, "Where's… How's – Where's Dawn?"

Sun grimaced and stopped pacing. He remembered how his daughter had taken the news and pointed back towards the stairs. Weiss pushed off her knees to stand at once. "I'm going to check up on her. Make sure she's alright."

"She's not, in case you haven't exactly been paying attention," said Sun. His piercing steel-blue eyes narrowed at Weiss with a contempt unlike any she'd ever seen on his face before. In a way, it reminded her of how her own father used to precede a fit of rage. Thankfully, Sun wasn't even close to the kind of man her own father was. At least, as far as she could readily tell. She had faith. And that wasn't something she could easily ignore.

Weiss took a breath, dusted off the hem of her dress, and walked towards the stairs. "I promised Blake I'd watch over them while she was out. It's the least I can-"

Sun's arm shot out in front of Weiss. Weiss turned to look at Sun and saw the bottomless contempt in his eyes sharpen.

"You promised her?" asked Sun, practically spitting out the word.

A chill ran down Weiss's spine. She swallowed, then masked her shiver as though she were squaring her shoulders. "Yes, I did, Sun. I promised because I knew what she was doing and I knew all I could do was be there for the kids and you while she was gone. So, if you're done aiming your contempt at me – contempt you have every right to feel – I'm going upstairs to check on Dawn to see if I can help in any way. Because she is hurting, and I know we both know her well-being is more important than this spat we're having."

Silence fell. Sun didn't take his glare off Weiss, and Weiss kept her eyes locked with his; a lesson she'd learned when combatting her father's rage. Now his breathing seemed less angry, more leveled-out; he was calming down. As she had rightfully deduced, Sun was a better man than her father.

"Now, then," said Weiss, "can we please go and check on my goddaughter?"

No one moved for a moment. Sun lifted his arm, keeping his glare fixed on Weiss as she walked past him and up the stairs. Sun followed behind and stopped with Weiss in front of Dawn's bedroom door. She looked to Sun for a moment, then leaned to listen against the side of the door. Hearing nothing, she knocked on it. "Baby, you in there? It's Auntie Weiss. Can I come in?"

Nothing for a moment. Then the gentle, shuffling sound of a small weight moving on the other side.

Weiss gave a sad, knowing smile. Gently opening the door, Weiss looked into the dark room and saw Dawn plop down to sit against her bed, her knees drawn into her chest whilst holding Mr. Stripes. Weiss walked into the lightless room and fell to her knees beside Dawn. It seemed for a moment the young girl was going to scoot further away from Weiss, but thankfully, she did no such thing.

Weiss brushed her hand along Dawn's forearm, gave it a teasing squeeze. "Hey, you."

Dawn grunted softly, made a half-hearted attempt to free her arm, but little else. She knew Dawn was wordlessly allowing her to stay in her own unique language of resistance. Weiss ran her thumb along the back of Dawn's hand, then lifted her hand to caress the young girl's cheek, brushing a few tear stains from her soft skin.

At this, Dawn jerked her chin away from Weiss. It was the first spark Dawn had displayed since Weiss came in.

"Dawn…" said Weiss, stoking the girl's unkempt black bangs aside. She could see Dawn was weakly committing to her stubborn silence, but her steel-blue eyes flickered and glistened with moisture, revealing the cracks. When Weiss moved her other hand to brush the tear stains from Dawn's other cheek, Dawn's eyes clenched tightly. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, pooling and sliding across Weiss's fingers. Weiss clicked her tongue again, then pulled Dawn into her embrace, brushing her hands up and down her back while the child gently wept. Pride bloomed beneath Weiss's breast. Her beautiful goddaughter had so powerfully resisted sobbing all while she'd been here, and still did not cry even now; only coughing small hiccups now and again.

"There, there, sweetness. Auntie Weiss is here. It'll be alright, okay? It's okay to cry, sweetness." Weiss planted a kiss atop Dawn's shock of raven-black hair. "It's alright…"

Without warning, the doorbell rang. Weiss glanced sideways at Sun and nodded her head. Sun left, and Weiss turned back to Dawn to lift her chin with a warm smile. "Dawn? I think Auntie Ruby and Auntie Yang are here. Come with me so you can be out of this dreary room for a bit, okay?"

Dawn met Weiss's eyes for a moment with the brief intent to oblige her aunt. But it died quickly.

"You helped mama… leave last night."

Cold guilt stabbed Weiss's chest. Dawn's tone, the soft dejection forced Weiss to understand once again that she was part of the reason her beautiful goddaughter had spent this morning weeping alone. Weiss grimaced, turned her eyes away for a moment, swallowed loudly. She gathered her thoughts, then met the young girl's eyes with complete honesty and said, "I did, sweetness. I did and I am so, so, so sorry for making you cry. But I made a promise to your mama that I'd take care of you and your papa and Dusk while she was gone. And I think we both know you don't want to stay in this room all day, alone."

Dawn tried to muster up her anger towards Weiss in a glare, but it just didn't seem worth her meager energy to do so. She ended up just hanging her head in exhaustion.

Weiss pressed her palm to Dawn's cheek and lifted her head again. "Hey… have you had breakfast yet?"

A flash of understanding lighted in Dawn's eyes, but she stubbornly tried to retain her pouting disdain. It would have worked had her stomach not chosen that moment to growl and rumble, and to do so for over fifteen seconds. Weiss smirked, lifted a brow at Dawn. Dawn grumbled to herself while she tried in vain to hide the deep rosy bloom in her cheeks.

Weiss rose to her feet, offering her hand to Dawn. After a single moment of resistance, Dawn took it, and both girls made their way out of the darkened room, closing the door behind them.

xXx

Outside the front door stood a figure in a deep rose-red cloak. Sun wanted to punch the hooded figure in the face but resisted. He said nothing to Ruby as he stood aside. Ruby said nothing to Sun as she walked inside.

"For the record, Sun," said Yang, walking in after her little sister, "I was never on board for any of this, and I'm just as pissed off as you are right now. Yeah, I know you don't want to say anything to me but glaring at me like that won't change the fact that I advised against this right from the beginning, so… yeah."

Yang walked past, and Sun said nothing. Only turned his eyes down and seemed to squint in pain before shutting the door.

Ruby walked past the stairs while Weiss led Dawn down beside her. Though obscured in the darkness of the hood, Weiss managed to meet the eyes of her leader, and did so without restraining to place the wordless responsibility of Dawn's and Sun's anguish squarely upon Ruby's shoulders.

"You talk to him now, Ruby," said Weiss. "I need to make Dawn breakfast."

Weiss walked on and Ruby stepped out of her way. Dawn stopped at the kitchen doorway and met Ruby's eyes, looking up at her with a mixture of sadness and accusatory anger. The moment lingered, but after neither girl spoke, Dawn turned her tired eyes away and let Weiss take her into the kitchen.

Ruby stood at the kitchen doorway. Unmoving. Silent. Her gaze didn't move from the small space Dawn had occupied.

Yang brushed past, jabbing Ruby gently with her elbow. Sun was coming up behind her. Yang moved to the living room. Ruby followed.

"Why, Ruby?" asked Sun in a low voice. "Why in the name of the Gods did you help Blake sneak out without telling me?"

Ruby was still looking in the direction of the kitchen when Sun asked the question. A moment passed, then Ruby turned to Sun and said, "It was something she had to finish, Sun."

"It was finished!" said Sun. "It was finished the instant that psychopath took his last breath!"

"Not for her, it wasn't," said Ruby, her voice the same careful and reasonable calm as an oracle reciting a vision. "There were demons plaguing her, Sun. I think we could all see that to be true, and I don't think any one of us could have stopped her from doing what she did. All I did was make sure she had safe travel there. I'm not happy about the choice she made, Sun, I just-"

"What about my son, Ruby?!" shouted Sun. "What do you have to say about it being your fault that he's now across the ocean in a foreign land in which his mother is a known defector and may be killed on sight?!"

"I…" Ruby seemed to have some kind of conviction behind what she was primed to say but chose at the last minute to hold her tongue. She shrank ever-so-slightly into her cape.

Sun noticed this small gesture and shrugged, shook his head. "What? What were you gonna say?"

Ruby's mouth opened and closed silently, then she steeled herself, took a breath, and said, "Do you know why Dusk followed Blake, Sun?"

Sun flinched from the question, showing both offense and genuine concern. "This something else you knew beforehand and neglected to tell me?"

"No, Sun, I am asking you a question; do you know why Dusk followed Blake in the first place? Did you notice anything off about him prior to him disappearing with Blake? Did you notice any problems he had which could cause him to do this?"

Sun thought to himself for a moment. It took a little bit of thinking before he came to a horrendous realization that he'd forgotten until just now how his son had been acting prior to his disappearance. The insomnia Blake had talked to him about; him talking with his son and asking him why he was so worried that he couldn't sleep correctly anymore; Dusk not giving him a full answer…

Ruby watched Sun falter, and herself did lightly falter too. After a few moments of silence, Ruby spoke up. "Dusk stowing away… it wasn't your fault, Sun; I didn't mean for it to sound that way."

Sun sat down hard on a nearby couch and ran his hands across his face. "It was, Ruby. I should have been paying closer attention to them both. I should have known how he was taking all this. Him and his sister and his mother… Gods…"

Ruby strode over and placed a firm, bandaged hand atop Sun's bare shoulder. He lifted his face from his hands to see Ruby's silver eyes narrowed in unspoken self-reproach as she said in a soft tone, "It was all our faults, Sun. None of us paid attention to Dusk when it counted, and none of asked him or Dawn how they were feeling in all this…"

Ruby slowly looked up from Sun in the direction of the kitchen, wherein she could hear a soft, gentle banter going on between Weiss and Dawn.

"Blake will keep Dusk safe, Sun. Of that I can assure you," said Ruby. "We should make sure Dawn is doing alright, though, since it's within our power to help her through all this."

Sun said nothing for a moment, looking in the kitchen direction, same as Ruby. Dawn… his little sunshine…

After a moment, Sun stood. He walked over to the kitchen doorway, glanced in. There he saw Weiss and Dawn standing behind the kitchen island. Weiss was beating pancake batter with gentle enthusiasm while Dawn leaned against her, eyes flickering between wakefulness and sleep. Sun, relieved at the sight of his beloved daughter at ease, breathed a soft, tired sigh. "Pancakes?"

Weiss looked up with a brief jolt but eased when she saw Sun's calm posture. "Yeah," she said, moving to better support Dawn. She gestured her hand towards four bananas on the kitchen counter. "Could you? I don't wanna move with…"

Sun didn't need to be told twice. Only a nod and a wave and Sun walked around Weiss, pulling forth a knife & cutting board. The flow of activity became familiar and he soon fell back in synch with his role in the faithful dance. Batter poured into disks, into which coins of banana slices were dropped one-by-one. She knew the timing of her flips and he knew to carry his sleepy daughter to her seat. He brought out plates and cups, napkins and forks. And she put pancakes onto plates and took out orange juice to pour into everyone's cups, serving everyone present a fresh-cooked breakfast of banana pancakes.

The sound of Dawn's tummy rumbling. The child's steel-blue eyes flickered back to the waking world, and the sight of her favorite breakfast allowed her to yawn and stretch with a scrunched smile on her lips.

"Eat up, sweetness," said Weiss, reaching over to take the syrup bottle from Sun and giving it to Dawn in exchange for Mr. Stripes.

"Thank…"

Dawn and Weiss looked to the source of the soft voice and saw Sun with a hand covering his eyes, blinking as though getting something out of his eyes.

"Thank Weiss, Dawn. For making breakfast for us, okay?" said Sun with a tired chuckle. His hand flew to his eyes once more, but only briefly, taking in a sharp breath as shook his head with a sad smile. "Thank you, Weiss. Thank you."

Weiss only sat there, the expression on her face showing she hadn't precisely felt worthy of Sun's thanks at all. But she could see the easing relief in how Sun now looked; exhuming a thankfulness she'd been nothing but grateful to give back.

A soft pressure at her side. Weiss turned down to look and saw Dawn burrow her head into her dress. Dawn's small arms clasped tight while she whispered in the most miniscule voice, "Thank you, Auntie Weiss…"

Sun rose from his chair immediately and went to stand behind Weiss and Dawn, one hand placed atop Weiss's shoulder and the other petting his daughter's head behind Weiss's hand. Weiss placed her free hand onto her own shoulder, atop Sun's hand, and held it with a smile. She felt his fingers curling securely with hers, and she knew Sun was thankful not only for her help with breakfast, but also bringing him back to the fold.

The three ate their breakfast in gentle, quiet peace. No one spoke, and no one needed to. Sun looked through the kitchen door to see Ruby & Yang looking carefully back at him. A humble, thankful nod from Sun was all they needed to see, and it was understood for them to stay out while they ate.

"Hungry for more, sweetness?" asked Weiss after Dawn had cleaned her plate of food. Weiss could swear there still lingered some kind of small dejected longing, some faint but nonetheless prevalent hunger which kept Dawn from her normal post-breakfast satisfaction. The little girl was looking down at her plate with a strange expression on her face; an expression Weiss swore was a kind of accepted sadness. How else could she explain the odd smile curling her goddaughter's lips?

"I'm fine, Auntie Weiss," said Dawn in a quiet voice. She cleared her throat softly, then rubbed her eyes and picked up her plate to go put in the sink. Weiss followed, and when Dawn got up on her tippy-toes to put the dish into the sink, Wiess helped her. Dawn washed her hands on a stool Weiss had provided, Weiss went back to get Mr. Stripes.

But the stuffed animal was gone.

"Weiss?" asked Sun, noticing Weiss's perplexed expression. "What's…?"

"O-Oh, nothing, Sun," said Weiss. Turning around, she saw Dawn cleaning her hands with a towel and saw Mr. Stipes now on the kitchen island. She blinked a few times, rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't just seeing things.

Ruby entered into the kitchen, seeing that the breakfast was over, and offered a bandaged hand to Dawn. Dawn looked at it tentatively.

"What're you doing?" asked Sun; a gentle question.

"I just wanna take her walking around outside for a bit. Get her some fresh air," said Ruby. She looked down to her niece and asked with a gentle smile, "Would you like that, sweetness? Walk around outside for a bit?"

Dawn seemed to almost flinch at the proposition. Remarkably reserved today, isn't she? Thought Sun. Poor, sweet girl. Dawn glanced over to her father and Sun nudged his head with a small, approving smile. "If you want to, sunshine."

Dawn looked at her father, then back up to her Auntie Ruby. With a small, gentle nod, Dawn lifted her hand to be taken by Ruby, and the two walked out of the kitchen.

xXx

"Are you upset at me, sweetness?" asked Ruby. They were walking out through the snow behind the home, the trees covered with a fresh, virgin layer of snow. Dawn was bundled up in coats, pants, boots, and still carried Mr. Stipes. She'd said very little while they walked together. In fact, it felt to Ruby as if Dawn hadn't spoken at all since she'd gone into her room to change.

But alas, Dawn finally broke her silence.

"I'm upset at you…"

She said nothing else; merely held Mr. Stripes close against her chest, curling her chin to nuzzle the stuffed tiger's head. Ruby glanced up to Yang with a gentle smile. Yang had been walking on the other side of Dawn with her arms crossed, and now she saw her little sister's smile. Part of her wanted to remain somewhat upset at Ruby for making Dawn cry, but another part felt a small, blooming happiness arise from hearing Dawn's vocal defiance. What came upon Yang's face, then, was something between the two; a barely perceptible grin which Yang averted from Ruby's eyes.

"Well," said Ruby, "I don't mind if you're upset. I understand why."

Dawn suddenly stopped walking, as did Ruby and Yang. Dawn was holding Ruby's hand, clearly not wanting her Auntie Ruby to continue on.

"Why did she leave me behind…?" asked Dawn.

Ruby fell to a knee before Dawn, caressing the child's arms with soft, loving strokes.

"She left me behind…" said Dawn, voice quaking while her storm-blue eyes glistened with tears beneath her layers of clothing. "She left me and papa behind… and Dusk left us behind, too…!"

"No, sweetie, they didn't do what they did to leave you behind, I swear," said Ruby.

"Then why did mama leave us during the night? Why did she wait for us to be asleep to leave? Why didn't she say goodbye?" asked Dawn.

Ruby's mouth was open, but no answer came because there was no answer. Ruby had a mind to chew out Blake when she returned. It wasn't like Ruby didn't understand the pain a child feels when their mother vanishes.

"Dawn, please. You just must believe me. Your mama, she… she meant to go alone. Dusk – he stowed away and followed her without her knowing, and well…" Ruby thought, paused for a moment to consider the mind of her errant teammate. Ruby had to believe Blake was doing this for the right reasons, in the end. She knew all this chaos had to have a final point to it all; in some way, shape, or form.

Gods, Ruby thought to herself, how was Ozpin capable of doing this so easily?

"What? 'Well,' what?" asked Dawn.

Ruby flinched, got herself out of her head and said, "Well… your mama decided it was better that she went, even if Dusk had stowed away and… even if she knew he'd stowed away."

Dawn yanked her hand away from Ruby and began stomping off into the forest. Ruby and Yang followed immediately.

"Dawn… sweetness, it's okay with us. We promise," said Yang. "We love you, little monkey. Please, wait!"

"Dawn…"

Dawn's attention snapped abruptly to Ruby, who'd materialized next to her in the blink of an eye.

"Please," said Ruby, holding both her bandaged hands out to Dawn as an offer of honest peace. "I can't show you proof of it right now, sweet pea. And it hurts me more than you can imagine that I can't… prove to you right now how much I know your mama does care for you and your papa, but she does love you, Dawn Wukong. She loves you so very, very much. Even if right now it doesn't seem true, you must remember in some way – somehow – that your mama has not stopped loving you and your papa in spite of what she's done."

Dawn shook her head, her breaths palpitating with greater intensity. She again stormed off.

"Dawn, please…" Ruby felt tears building in her eyes, pained beyond compare from the complete lack of trust – the outright fear she saw burning in Dawn's eyes when she went. "Don't you trust me? Your Auntie Ruby?"

Dawn shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes as she picked up her pace. "I'm… I'm sorry, Auntie Ruby… I'm sorry, Auntie Yang…"

Yang picked up her own pace after hearing this, her brows furrowed in confusion and concern towards her beloved niece's erratic behavior.

Dawn glanced over her shoulder at Ruby and Yang, true fear now at the forefront of her expression.

"I'm sorry."

Dawn closed her eyes.

Then she vanished.

Ruby blinked, looked about herself. Looking back, Ruby saw Yang rub her eyes and blink a few times before looking back at the space Dawn had just occupied; as though Yang were expecting the young Monkey Faunus to reappear.

"You saw that, right?" asked Yang.

Ruby ran a hand across her eyes, blinking to make certain what she'd just seen was real. After shaking her head and blinking a few times, Ruby stood to her full, elegant height.

Yang looked incredulously at her little sister. "Um, hello, Ruby?"

"I know. I saw it."

"Well shouldn't we, y'know, go look for her?"

Ruby said nothing, only stood still where she was, then looked back at the distant house. After a moment's pause, she started walking towards it.

"Wha-? Ruby?" Yang jogged to keep up after her sister, but Ruby walked with too much resolution to pay any heed. Yang had seen this expression on her sister's face before. Times when trails of truths Ruby had been tracking suddenly aligned themselves before her uncanny ability to perceive things unseen by most ordinary people.

"Mind telling me what you think's going on, Ruby?" asked Yang.

Ruby said nothing for a moment, but eventually said, "I want to make sure I'm right first."

Yang scoffed with a soft chuckle. "Aren't you ninety-nine percent correct anyways? Why don't you just let me in on what you're thinking?"

Ruby, again, did not answer immediately. Only walked up the stairs of the back porch and came to a stop at the door, opening it with the utmost stealth and care. Once opened enough, Ruby peeked inside. The hallway ahead led straight to the front door, with the stairs on the left, the entrance to the living room just beyond the stairs, and on the right the entrance to the kitchen-

Dawn was in there. At the kitchen doorway, the young Monkey Faunus was peeking in, watching her papa and Auntie Weiss clean the kitchen together.

A tap on Ruby's arm. Ruby slowly shut the door again and turned to face Yang.

"What?" mouthed Yang.

Ruby leaned in close to Yang, half-mouthing and half-whispering, "Dawn is in there."

Leaning back, Ruby saw the litany of expressions passing over Yang's face before her sister shut her eyes, sighed, then met Ruby's gaze. "Her Semblance."

Ruby nodded. "Stay here," Ruby mouthed. "I'm going in to watch her."

Yang gave an understanding nod, then Ruby opened the door again and silently blurred into the house. Yang silently shut the door immediately after, and Ruby stopped around the corner of the living room where she would be out of sight of Dawn.

Watching Dawn, Ruby realized she was now wearing her pajamas as she had before she'd gone out with Ruby and Yang to walk. Also, it seemed she was no longer carrying Mr. Stripes with her.

'An illusion?' wondered Ruby. It was possible, but the strange thing was that Ruby could see it in spite of Dawn not focusing her attention on Ruby. Then what was…?

There was a stirring in the kitchen, Weiss and Sun moving around more dishes and whatnot. Dawn pressed herself against the wall, away from the kitchen doorway. Ruby again silently, imperceptibly, blurred and changed positions, moving past Dawn faster than her eyes could register.

'She'd moved to hide herself,' observed Ruby. No illusion would be worried about her physical presence like this. Invisibility? No, doesn't explain the change of clothes. Teleportation? Maybe, but she'd somehow managed to undress out of her coats and boots unnaturally fast for a child. It hadn't been more than two minutes since Dawn vanished from the outside, so then why…?

All of a sudden, Dawn began to change.

Ruby watched as Dawn lifted her hands as though to hold an object and concentrated. A strange, subdued light radiated from Dawn, appearing like golden flames flickering from roots of pure black linking Dawn's Aura to her silhouette.

'Like an eclipse,' thought Ruby, training her eyes on Dawn in silent amazement. 'Like watching an eclipse unfold…'

Then, most amazing of all, flickers of that same golden light sparkled in Dawn's upturned hands. There was a small, subdued flash of light, then Mr. Stripes fell into Dawn's hand from thin air. At the same time, the gold and black Aura shimmered about Dawn's clothes and suddenly she wore her coats and pants and boots, as though she'd just come back in from her walk outside.

Ruby watched all of this with incredulous interest. The Semblance escaped her classification and her understanding, but she knew it was indicative of a powerful change in Dawn beyond anything Ruby could fully grasp.

For right now, that is.

But it wouldn't be for a lack of trying.

With her newfound disguise, Dawn took a nervous, measured breath and seemed ready to go into the kitchen. However, after exhaling, Dawn opened her eyes to the sight of Ruby kneeling before her, smiling sweetly. Ruby's hand was atop Dawn's mouth before she could even register the desire to cry out in shock. Ruby winked at Dawn, then silently swept Dawn off her feet and blurred back outside without making a sound. Ruby dropped Dawn before Yang, who held her securely while Ruby shut the door.

"Alright," said Ruby, facing Dawn with her arms crossed over her chest. "Now how about we talk about this without the whole disappearing act, huh?"

Dawn glared up defiantly at Ruby, then vanished again.

Yang threw her hands in the air. Ruby rubbed the bridge of her nose with a tired, frustrated sigh.

"Again," said Yang. "I was holding her for God's sake!"

"I know," said Ruby. She let fall her hand and shook her head, sighed. "Gods… She needs Blake. She really does need her mama…"

"Shit in one hand, wish in the other; see which fills first."

"Yes, Yang. Thank you for being colorful about it." Ruby pressed her hand to her forehead, thinking hard to herself. She's lost, confused, scared. Ruby understood this, and knowing Dawn, she was stubborn enough to not listen and to willingly choose to not listen because of her anguish.

"I dunno, Ruby. As far as I'm concerned, Dawn could be anywhere. If she can appear and disappear like that, then…" Yang shrugged with her hands, breathed a small, frustrated sigh. "I dunno. I think we should tell Sun if only for advice on where to look."

Ruby nibbled on her thumbnail. "She won't leave the house…"

"What makes you so sure?" asked Yang.

"When I found her, she was wearing her pajamas and then changed her outfit at will into the coats and boots and pants she was wearing out here with us." Ruby gestured over her whole body with her free hand to Yang. "She summoned the coat and boots, Yang. She even recreated Mr. Stripes…"

Suddenly, Ruby had a revelation. When she whipped around to Yang, it appeared her older sister also reached the same conclusion as their eyes met.

"Clones!" they exclaimed in unison. They giggled a moment, but then felt the seriousness of the situation fall upon them once more.

"But then," said Yang, "where could the clones be coming from?"

Ruby had only to think for a moment before contorting in wordless pain. Her hand pressed against her eyes and she shook her head in sorrow.

"What?" asked Yang. "Ruby, where is she?"

Ruby's hand fell from her face. "She was wearing her pajamas when I saw her the second time, Yang. Think about it."

Now it was Yang's turn to think about this before coming to the same disheartening conclusion. Yang's fingers rose softly to her lips, a lump bulging small and rough in her throat. "Oh Gods… Dawn hasn't left her room…"

Ruby nodded in bitter confirmation. Yang lifted a hand to run through her sun-gold bangs. "That girl… is just like her mother, you know that?"

Ruby laughed gently, the first slight amusement she'd allowed herself to feel maybe all day. It was slight, maybe a little bitter and black. But something about it was at least a little welcome now, and that was better than nothing.

"So," said Yang, whipping her bangs from her face with a shake of her head. "Tell Sun, or no?"

Ruby turned to look back at the house. She lifted her finger, tapped it lightly against the backdoor in thought. "I… want to…"

She stopped, her finger curling back into her fist. 'I want to.' She'd 'wanted' to help Blake when she gave her the info on the smuggler and look where that got her. No, rather, look at all the good it's done for everyone.

No. Look what it's done to the kids. To Dusk. To Dawn…

"Hey."

The voice. It was Yang's, and yet it was soft, and Ruby hadn't realized how hard she'd been clenching her jaw and her fist against the door until she felt the loving grip of her sister enclose softly atop both. She hadn't realized how labored her breathing had become, how torn her heart felt in regards to everything going on.

Yang felt her sister return to awareness and braced at just the right moment as Ruby wobbled, stumbled. "Alright, Ruby. It's alright, Ruby."

Ruby's breaths were ragged, but remained subdued, soft. As though on the verge of being aware of one's own sadness and beginning the fight to hold back her own tears. "It's my fault, Yang. This is all my fault. I saw too much again. I saw too much again, and I just couldn't… I couldn't say no to Blake."

Yang held her little sister even closer, a pain growing in her heart as the familiar pattern unfurled. "Alright. Okay. I know you can't help what you see, Ruby. I know you just did what you thought was right, and I don't hate you for that."

Ruby's hand pressed against Yang's shoulder and kneaded the cloth; fingers opening and closing while she rocked gently back and forth. One, two minutes passed in silence, but Ruby was clearly unable to avoid the onset of her sorrow.

"I can't see the future but my Semblance," said Ruby, "I have to think and see and act so fast that it gets like I can see some things before they happen but when I try and see it with people I feel like I know what's going to happen to them before they happen and I think I can help them and change things for the better-"

"Ruby…"

"-and I'm not wrong, Yang, I'm usually not wrong, but I know some of the times I act on what I see with people I cause so much more to happen than I intended, and I just wish I-I just wish…"

"Ruby."

Ruby's silver eyes opened, meeting Yang's eyes as they glistened with unwept tears. "I'm afraid I've made a mistake, Yang," Ruby whispered, "a horrible, horrible mistake…"

"Ruby." Yang lifted her hands, caressed her little sister's cheeks. "Are you gonna listen to me?"

Ruby quietened her breaths. "Yes?"

"We're gonna tell Sun and Weiss and we're gonna find that beautiful little girl and make sure she's doing okay," said Yang. She pressed her forehead against Ruby's and smiled reassuringly. "Alright?"

Ruby's chest heaved large, deep, calming breaths. She pressed her hand atop Yang's and after a few moments, nodded her head. "Okay. Alright."

"You and I know Blake. She'll protect Dusk with tooth and nail, don't you worry." Yang pressed her face close against Ruby's again, trying to keep her eyes stuck securely on her and on nothing else. "Let's worry about what's in front of us, eh?"

"Okay," whispered Ruby.

"Who's in front of us?"

"Dawn is."

"And where do you think she is, again?"

"In… in her room."

"Alright. Let's go tell Sun."

Both sisters went back into the house, Ruby clearing her eyes of tears and Yang patting her encouragingly on her shoulder. They walked into the kitchen, Ruby knocking on the entrance to get Weiss's and Sun's attention. Sun turned to face them, as did Weiss.

"You're all back already? That was fast." Sun finished wiping his soapy hands on a nearby towel, then glanced about Ruby and Yang, looking for Dawn. "Where's, uh, where's Dawn? She go to her room?"

Ruby and Yang glanced at each other, then Ruby turned back to Sun and sighed. "You… could say that. We need to show you something, Sun. Come with us. Weiss, you too."

Weiss and Sun exchanged confused glances but followed Ruby and Yang as they went up the stairs to Dawn's room. When they got there, Yang tried the doorknob but found it locked. She knocked on it. "Sweetness? You in there?"

"Go away!" said Dawn with a sudden shout. "I'm changing!"

Yang looked back to Ruby, her expression grim as she shook her head. Ruby looked to Weiss and Weiss knew what Ruby was asking for. She shook her head. "Ruby, no."

"Weiss, we don't have time. Unlock the door," said Ruby.

"Why?" asked Sun, stepping between the two. "You mind telling me what's going on with my daughter, please?"

Ruby looked over at Yang, gestured back towards Dawn's door with a nod, mouthing "knock again." Yang obliged, and Ruby placed either hand on Weiss's and Sun's shoulders, bringing all together into a private huddle.

"Dawn has her Semblance," whispered Ruby with almost a hissing breath. "She vanished from Yang and I outside. We've all been interacting with a duplicate of Dawn all morning. She never left her room."

Weiss took the news completely and utterly wide-eyed. Sun seemed to do something of the same, but there was a far-away tarnish in his gaze Ruby couldn't readily explain; something causing him to step back for a moment and run a trembling hand through his hair.

"Stay quiet for a few minutes," whispered Ruby. "She might run if we don't try and keep her here right now."

"What's her Semblance?" asked Weiss.

"Cloning."

At this, Sun shut his eyes in pain. Ruby was about to continue explaining, but Sun suddenly pushed past Ruby, past Weiss, past Yang, and knocked on Dawn's bedroom door.

"Open the door." said Sun.

A moment's hesitation behind the door, then, "I-I'm getting dressed…!"

"I need to talk with you, sweetness. Just me."

"N… No, papa, I don't want to talk right now!"

"Dawn. Open this door. Now."

The statement was low, trembling, but firm and paternal in a way only Sun could be. None of the women moved nor spoke, all waiting for Dawn's response. This was in Sun's court now, and none of them wished to interfere with this father's plea to his child.

"Please," added Sun, after a moment.

Silence for a fleeting few seconds.

"… Only you, papa… please."

"Okay, sunshine."

Sun glanced at the women behind him. He met their gazes for a moment, then gently gestured for them to step back. They did.

Slowly, quietly, the lock to Dawn's room clicked free. Sun pressed it gently open, then slipped inside. The window blinds were shut like before, and it felt as though he were in the exact same room he'd been in hours ago.

"Sweet pea, I need to talk with you," said Sun, closing the door behind him. "I'm gonna turn on the lights, okay?"

"Papa, can… you keep them turned off, please?" asked Dawn. She was sitting at the edge of her bed, wearing her pajamas and holding Mr. Stripes. The darkness of the room might have left Dawn only a silhouette to any human, but Sun could see his daughter in the dark as clear as a gently overcast day.

He rubbed his eyes and sighed, flicking the lights on. Dawn's mouth opened to object but thought for a second and decided to stay quiet. She said nothing as her father sat beside her.

"Do I have permission to talk with Dawn or not?" asked Sun.

Dawn shifted in place, winced. "I'm right here, papa."

"No you aren't," said Sun. He clasped her cheek to turn her face up to his, and his eyes flickered once across his daughter's countenance before a sad smile grew on his lips. "My baby girl cried this morning. And I know you didn't rush back up here to wash your face that quickly."

Dawn swallowed. She jerked herself free of Sun's hold, but he knew she knew he'd seen through this copy of herself.

"Baby, please, talk to me. I don't want to speak to something that isn't you," said Sun.

He placed his hand gently upon hers and hers twitched for a moment, threatening to leave. But he tightened his fingers around hers, and Dawn clasped her eyes, breathed a trembling sigh at her father's careful, faithful compassion.

"This is me," said Dawn, looking at her father from the corner of her eye. "Don't you know that, papa? I heard you talking with Auntie Ruby outside."

"I did," said Sun.

"Then you know already."

"I do."

Dawn curled her knees up into her chest, hugging them close while she kept her grimace aimed away from her father. "I don't want to talk with you any other way right now…"

"Not even so I can tell you how proud I am of you right now?"

Dawn whipped around to her father, incredulous confusion blooming on her face. She shook her head and asked, "You're… proud…?"

Sun lifted a mischievous brow at Dawn. "Oh? Now you're interested?"

Dawn warred with herself, Sun could see. Dawn again shook her head, faced her father. "What… What are you proud of me for?"

"I'm not saying another word to a decoy," said Sun, poking Dawn's forehead with a chuckle. "I want to talk to my beautiful little sunshine."

Dawn blinked, rubbed her forehead, and pouted at her father. However, Sun merely continued waiting for Dawn with that same playful, fatherly smile shining at her. And she knew she no longer had the same convictions to be stubborn towards her father the same way she'd been stubborn towards her aunts. She couldn't do that to him. She couldn't be like that towards the papa she loved.

Sun reached out and cupped his daughter's cheek, rubbing away a falling tear with a stroke of his thumb. He could feel her small weight lean into his caress, then was shocked to see Dawn radiate with a black and golden hue which grew to envelop her entirely. It turned her into a scattering of golden lights as though scattering a cloud of fireflies, then vanished entirely from sight.

There was a silence, then. For longer than Sun wanted there to be.

On the other side of the room, finally, there was a gentle rustling from within the closet. The sliding doors opened, and therein stood Dawn. Wearing pajamas. Holding Mr. Stripes against her chest. Her storm-blue eyes red and glistening with tears, and her cheeks caked with the dried moisture of a whole morning's-worth of weeping unwashed from her face.

Sun was on his feet in an instant, sprinting over and falling to his knees in a slide, enveloping Dawn in his embrace in one powerful, loving scoop. Dawn's arms locked tight around her father's neck, and she burrowed her face into his collarbone.

"You gained your Semblance…!" said Sun, his voice shattering as he wept. He pulled Dawn from his chest for a moment, then pressed his forehead to hers, stroking her cheeks and laughing through his tears. "I'm so proud of you, sunshine!"

Dawn coughed a sobbing laugh from her father's adoration, then collapsed into a further bout of weeping as she fell against her father's chest in tears.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you alone, papa," cried Dawn.

"Shhh, alright, sweetness. Alright, I forgive you. I forgive you, baby. Shhh…"

Sun shifted and planted a gentle kiss on his daughter's cheek, nuzzling her as she burrowed deeper into his embrace.

"I'm here now. I'll always be here for you, my beautiful sunshine."

xXx

Dawn, it turned out, hadn't eaten breakfast at all that morning. Her clone had eaten the food, but it had vanished with the clone and now she was eating a sandwich with ravenous zeal. The adults only watched her while she ate, keeping silence, but being silently thankful all the same.

"Hey," said Sun softly to Weiss and Ruby after taking them out from the kitchen to speak with them privately. "Thanks for helping. I… I appreciate it more than you know. Dawn does, too, but I think for now…"

"Just you and Dawn?" asked Ruby.

Sun nodded.

"Does Dawn mind if we leave?" asked Weiss.

"We can ask, but I want to speak with her for a little bit." Sun settled his posture with a slight shrug and a sigh, glancing back in the direction of the kitchen door. "Just me and her for a little while."

"We can ask her. Just so we can keep the sudden disappearances to a minimum with her," said Weiss.

Sun chuckled, nodded. Ruby nodded, then all her teammates filed back into the kitchen. Dawn had just finished eating her lunch when they came in, and she glanced up at them.

"Sweetness, how're you doing now? Your lunch fill you up?" asked Weiss.

Dawn nodded with conviction.

"Would it bother you at all if we left for a little while so you could be with your papa? Just so you can spend some time together?"

There was the slightest of wars which passed over Dawn's expression. A flicker of worry, doubt, and anxiety, but which passed in a little over the blink of an eye. She glanced up to her father in a silent momentary question, which Sun answered with a smile, a nod, and a wink. 'Go ahead, baby,' Sun's gesture said.

Dawn shook her head. "I don't mind…"

A quiet moment passed, then all of Dawn's Aunts moved in accordance with Dawn's soft-spoken request. One by one, they kissed Dawn goodbye, letting her know if there was anything at all she needed or if she wanted to talk to one of them about anything at all, to call them right away and they'd be back here in a heartbeat. Dawn, of course, smiled and thanked them sweetly for their offers. They all eventually left, and Dawn and Sun were the only ones left in the entire two-story house.

There they sat for a fleeting while, in their living room. Sun sat on one couch, Dawn on the other.

"Dawn," said Sun, softly.

Dawn remained silent, barely acknowledging her father with anything other than a slight shimmy to draw her legs closer into her chest. His daughter's eyes were averted from him with a quiet yearning, staring off into the distance as though doing so would reveal to her a vision of her mother's whereabouts.

Sun gave a gentle smile at this, hummed a quiet chuckle. "Dawn."

Her eyes flickered, then turned to meet her father's. She said nothing, though the expression in her gaze – part exhaustion, part thankfulness – spoke for her a flat, wordless acknowledgement of her father's presence.

Sun knew that look all-too-well on his daughter; she'd inherited it from her mother. So many times he'd seen it in the past, especially during the Cataclysm. They'd be stuck in some far-flung town, laying low in the ruins of the abandoned ballroom of some destroyed hotel while a herd of Grimm passed on by outside. They'd make sure the door was locked, that no one could hear them. Ruby and Yang swapping night watch periodically. The silent gloom overwhelming in the deathly silence, Sun remembered the following morning waking up to see Blake sitting and worrying just like Dawn was right now.

Then, Sun remembered how he saw the piano sitting unattended a few feet behind Blake and smiled both then and now. Sun stood up and gestured Dawn to follow him. She did, silently.

The grand piano in the living room hadn't been used in quite some time, Sun realized with a warm smile.

He walked over to it, ran his hand along the wooden cover, swiping off some dust against his palm. He clapped it off his hands, then sat down and uncovered the sweep of ivory keys with a small huff.

Glancing to his left, Sun saw Dawn watching with restrained curiosity. He shifted in place to make room, then patted on his lap for Dawn. She hesitated, held Mr. Stripes close, shook her head in meek refusal. Sun simply smiled again, more gently than before, and patted his lap a second time. Finally, Dawn broke through her own stubbornness and took her seat in her father's lap.

After making sure she was comfortable, Sun nuzzled her temple lovingly and placed a chaste kiss atop her unruly raven-black hair.

"You comfortable?" asked Sun.

"Mmhm," said Dawn, setting herself against the oaken security of her father's presence. "Thank you, papa."

"Have you ever heard me play the piano before, Dawn? Do you remember or were you still too young when I last played?"

Dawn shook her head. Sun chuckled.

Sun started playing the piano for Dawn. Soft keys at first, but strong. Gentle. Resonating. A simple series of notes changing rhythm, tone, and pace. Then the notes gained a cadence, again simple, but strong. Something about the music her father played resonated deep within her, resonating with her heartbeat even though they didn't follow in rhythm. It pulled at her, coaxing forth what felt like could become tears, though she just told herself it was the music and its beautiful sound.

Then the notes softened. A deep note was struck, and Sun began to sing.

"Sometimes I cannot tell the night,

From the early morning.

Sometimes I'm thrown into the fight,

Without a warning.

And who thought we were coming?

Keep running…

Are you watching your back?

Or are you moving forward?

Are you lost in a dream…?"

Sun brushed his chin across his daughter's head and leaned slightly forward to envelop Dawn deeper into his loving embrace.

"Well this is our little corner…

… of the universe…"

He pressed his cheek against Dawn's as he held the note. Finally, Sun felt his daughter reciprocate when she pressed herself tighter against him, letting him know she loved him and wanted him to continue singing. With a smile, he did.

"And we will find a way home…

We will find… a way home…

It goes straight through the heart…"

The notes softened. A moment passed while there was nothing but silence and the warm presence Dawn and Sun shared.

Then, a rolling, growing tenor sped into being.

"We will find a way home."

The song sprung back to life, Sun bumping his leg with the beat while he played the resurrected music. Each note was struck perfectly in time with the emotional flow, and Dawn could only watch in amazement as her father's fingers danced across the piano with inhuman precision.

"We will find a way home.

It goes straight through the heart…"

Dawn glanced up at her father and saw he was looking back down at her with a knowing, loving smile. Sun winked down at her.

"It goes straight through the heart."

Sun concluded the song a few moments later, closing it with the same simple notes it'd begun with, and let silence fall between himself and Dawn. He turned down and ran his hands along Dawn's arms, stroking them gently while he heard soft sounds of sniffling and hiccupping emanating from her.

"Did that help you feel a little better?" asked Sun quietly.

Dawn wiped her eyes, looked up at Sun, and nodded with the first genuine smile she'd shown all day. Sun pressed his cheek against Dawn's, then parted and planted a kiss on it.

"Can you teach me how to do that, papa?" asked Dawn.

Sun hummed a low, proud chuckle. He nodded, then held Dawn's hands out to the keyboard, and started teaching his daughter to play the piano.

xXx

A/N: Augh. That was a fun'n to write. I love writing Papa!Sun. He's such a good father.

Thus begins part one of the "Our Corner of the Universe" sub-arc. We'll go a bit further into it later, but the next chapter will, indeed, pick back up with Blake and Dusk.

I won't take up too much more time because as of writing this, I'm giddy to continue writing chapter eleven. However, I am announcing now that I have put "Eternal Autumn" on a permanent hiatus. There are other stories I wanna write – original stories – that I want to work on as full-length novel works and I'd rather divide my time between Black Sun Kittens and those works than on a fanfiction project that may not finish before the show does.

That being said, I am still writing. I am still telling stories. And I bloody love every single moment I spend doing it. ;3c

As always, if you want to get into contact with me at all, look for my username on Tumblr; "youweremeanttobehere"; and feel free to PM me about anything and everything! I am also a member of a Blacksun Discord server, so if you wanna hit me up there, PM me on Tumblr and I can provide an invite link to ye!

*(Chapter Soundtrack)*

"Golden Slumbers" – Ben Folds, "I Am Sam (Original Soundtrack)"

"Stairway To Heaven" – Led Zeppelin, "Led Zeppelin IV"

"Mr. Rager" – Kid Cudi, "Man On The Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager"

"O (Fly On)" – Coldplay, "Ghost Stories"

"To Build a Home" – Patrick Watson, The Cinematic Orchestra, "Ma Fleur"

"Our Corner of the Universe" – K. S. Rhodes, "Our Corner of the Universe"

"From The Beginning" – Emerson, Lake, & Palmer, "Trilogy"

Thanks a septillion once again for your readership and patience.

Until next time, hopefully soon,

M. E. Grimm