965 M30: Segmentum Solar, Remnant- thirty four years before the Ullanor Crusade

Yang knew it was a dream before she even opened her eyes, lately she always seemed to find herself back here every night. She knew it was the same dream by the sound of a respirator helping her breath in the metal chamber she found herself in. Tubes and wires coiled around her like serpents, injecting her with a number of chemicals that she could not identify even if she tried. She tried to move her limbs to dislodge the web of tubes to reach the fogged glass above her. Sadly, her limbs were that of an infant and seemed to barely make any headway, which annoyed her enough that her eyes turned crimson as she kept trying to move; then the hand came.

It came down against the glass large and covered half the screen wiping away the fog obscuring the outside from her view. Her eyes shifted back to lilac as the disdain for her situation gave way to curiosity. She could barely make out his face but she felt a strange feeling at his presence, she was not familiar with it, yet it was oddly comforting. She just stared at him with too many questions running threw her head, who was he? Was she supposed to know him? No answer of course.

He turned away from her to stare at something out of her field of vision and allowed her to see some of the room outside. The room must have been massive with white lights providing illumination over walls of metal and the bits of cabling she was able to see around her. But that was all insignificant to the object that caught her eye; positioned and revealed by the figure's shifting movement was a pod not unlike her own with the symbols II engraved below the glass window of the pod. Strange she never really noticed it before.

Her capsule jolted then startling her from her view of the other pod as she saw a hairline crack form over the glass and hearing the whine of escaping gas. The figure outside was arguing with someone now roaring and angered and whatever was outside. She felt cold fear now at what was happening and at what would come next. The air became colder as she saw the light outside dim and went out at once as she felt her capsule suddenly lift off as if flung to the side and kept flying.

There was nothing outside, not the room or the figure, or the other pod; just cold black. she was alone, waiting with only her breathing and rapid heartbeat and her fear as company. The lights came moments later blue, red, green, purple and some colors she didn't even know the name of swam around her capsule as she felt eyes gaze on her, hidden, greedy, sickly eyes that were burned away with the force of an inferno and replaced with a single set of eyes the color of burning brass. Heat, fire and smell of blood, burning around her as if to swallow her whole.

Then it was gone, the fires were snuffed out as the heat was replaced with a chilling cold and the smell faded replaced with the scent of dead ash; nothing but black in her vision. The fifth set came at a distance or was it always there behind the others? Eyes of red that brought a chill of cold raw inexplainable terror down her spine as it looked at her. She stood their frozen, trapped as it came closer and she knew it came for her when she saw the jaws of a wolf open at the edge of her vision.

She woke up then jolting up from her bed, disoriented and with a headache. The massive drumbeats of her hearts pounding in her skull did little to help her condition.

After regaining her senses, she began to control her breathing like she always did after having the dream, slowing her breaths and feeling her hearts calm to a steady beat and then looked at the alarm clock on her nightstand. Four Thirty just like every other night, at least the dream was punctual in its ending. No that didn't seem right to her, not a dream, then what was it? Her thoughts provided no answer much to her frustration. She got up knowing any further attempt at sleep would be useless and got out of her room to make her way to the basement door, with the wooden floor creaking with every step. All that stood between her and what laid in the basement, yet she treated the doorknob like it was a dog about bite her.

She finally opened the door and flipped the light switch at the top of the stairs illuminating the room in a pale light that flickered every so often. Walking down the stairs she saw what she came here for. Laying on a workbench on the far side of the room stood the capsule that brought her to Patch. It's metal was bent, damaged from its journey to remnant and was worn with age, even the hairline crack was still there and the Engraved XI symbol below the glass was still visible; a contradictory symbol that seemed to both define what she was yet was utterly alien to her.

She didn't know what she was expecting by coming down here, thinking that the pod would somehow just spill out everything for her was stupid; yet she still hoped the pod would tell her something so she went toward it. It was damaged badly and no longer worked, but even the shell could show her something, right? The metal was scarred from impact and its crash landing on the island but there were some man-made impressions, from when her father and mo…Raven initially found and opened it. She let out a deep breath at the thought of Raven and felt her eyes turn crimson.

She was angry, how could she not be after figuring out that her mother just left one day and never came back, abandoning her probably like whoever placed her in this pod. The fact that she had to figure it out on her own also stung and caused a bit of a strain with the rest of her family, which is partially why she didn't address the person at the top of the stairs watching her.

"Bad dreams again Yang?" Asked Summer Rose as she gently walked down the stairs moving a stray red tipped hair into place; Yang did not reply. Still she kept on and stopped behind Yang bent down and placed a soft hand on her shoulder for comfort.

"Yang, please talk to me." She pleaded moving next to the two year old Primarch, Yang turned the other way, not wanting Summer to see her. Them not telling her about Raven leaving hurt.

"I know your upset about Raven leaving and that we kept it from you. We knew we had to tell you at some point but… we just didn't know how. I know You don't want to talk but we're here for you, me, your dad, and Qrow. You're not alone."

"Did she leave because of me?" It was a barely audible, but To Summer it was clear as day

and it broke her heart.

"No. No she didn't, she wouldn't leave because of you." Summer wrapped her arms around Yang and brought her into a hug.

"Why would you think that?" She asked having Yang face her while giving a smile of reassurance. Yang hesitated for a moment as she started to cry.

"Some of the older kids at school said that." Summer's eyes widened in realization.

"Was it those same kids you fought with at school?" Yang nodded, It wasn't the first time Yang got into fights that way. Due to some of her unique attributes mainly her eyes turning red when she was angry and the fact she tended to be larger and faster then kids her age, she didn't have many friends. Some of the older kids at school had even made fun of her on many occasions, hence the fights.

"Can I show you something?" Yang nodded and Summer took her hand guiding her up the stairs to the living room where she turned on the light. There on the coffee table at the room center framed and immaculate was the picture Summer wanted to show her.

In the picture was a woman with black hair and dark red eyes in a clear field of grass reminiscent of the backyard, she was playing with a smaller toddler who looked just over a year old with lilac eyes, a carefree smile and blond hair; a content and warm smile on her face.

"I don't know why Raven left, but I know it wasn't because of you. She loved you Yang and don't you doubt that for a minute." Tears fell from Yang's eyes and Summer placing her hand over Yang's growing mane of blond hair and brought her into another hug.

"Are you ok?" She asked Yang.

"I'm, I'm better now I think." Summer nodded slightly and withdrew the hug.

"We can keep talking if you don't feel like sleeping, I don't mind."

"Just for a little longer?" Summer nodded at the child.

"Sure." The two sat on the living room couch, legs criss crossed and facing each other with Summer wrapping Yang in her white hunter's cloak to keep warm, lilac and silver eyes looking at each other in Silence.

"So, do you want to talk about what happened?" Summer was nervous but tried not to show it, Yang being distant and keeping her emotions in could not have been healthy and if she was afraid that if she didn't open up it could have catastrophic consequences. If Yang did notice she made no mention of it and simply looked at her hands.

"I was back in the pod." She whispered apprehensively as if saying such a thing would draw her back into the nightmare. Summer gripped her hand to give a reassuring squeeze, silently telling her to take her time.

"I saw… I saw someone outside the pod."

"Do you know who you saw?" Yang shook her head

"I didn't know him, but I think I should have, when I saw him, I felt…" Yang stayed quiet trying to find the words. Yet the conversation was put on hold when the two heard someone approach from deeper inside the house. It was a man of a slightly muscular and fit build with a tattoo on his arm, a tan complexion sporting mid-length blond hair with a slight stubble.

"What are you all doing up?" He asked slightly weary from waking.

"Just talking Tai, do you mind making some coffee." Tai looked at Summer and saw the look on her face, this was more then a simple conversation. He looked to Yang for a moment then back at Summer who had that same reassuring look on her face, he let them have their space and went to make the coffee, they both knew they would be here awhile.

"What else did you see?"

"I saw another one, another pod." That grabbed Summer's interest.

"Really? Did you see what was inside?" Yang shook her head.

"What happened after you saw the person outside?"

"He started arguing with someone, then I think he hit my pod, and then." Yang didn't continue, the vision of the dark and monsters was terrifying to think of, too terrifying.

"Hey hey look at me, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to?" Summer stated quickly seeing Yang's discomfort and gripped her shoulders gently. Tai came in themn with two cups of coffee and a hot chocolate the latter being for Yang, he set them on the table before sitting on the seat next to the couch; then the world began to shake.

It started small, barely even noticeable but slowly began to grow gaining Yang's attention first then Summer and Tai's, as eventually the whole house began to jolt into a rumbling crescendo. and tThen they heard something screech over the home and crash nearby,. Summer was the first out the back door with her twin bladed scythe in hand and saw the trail of something crash into the woods bordering the house. It was not far if the sound of the crash was any indication.

She went back inside to find Tai already in his armor and arming his gauntlets for combat. She immediately went to Yang before going to put on her own armor.

"Were going to go check what that was, will you be okay here on your own?" Yang stood motionless for a moment on the couch, something about this worried her and Summer knew it."

"Hey we'll be back soon okay? We won't be long." Summer doubted her worries were eased. She was right, Yang didn't want them to go, but a part of her knew that they had to, that it was important so she nodded her head slightly.

The two left quickly without hesitation with Summer in the lead, wearing her white cloak. The forest around them was dark and cold, but it gave way to orange heat in the distance. It didn't seem to have crashed that far into the forest which was good, it was less likely that Grimm would be attracted to the site before they arrived. In truth most Grimm populations on Patch were contained to the southern most region of the island. There were the occasional straggler groups every now and again but they were easily dealt with by local hunters and the main nests were usually culled by students at Signal Academy.

The distance to the nearest population centers on the island also played a factor with a hundred miles of forest, and planes between the Grimm and any civilian population. Of course, that didn't stop the small pack of them from managing to reach the site. There were three in total each nearly the size of a man, with long arms of black fur, sections of their body showed decorations of bone plates and bony spines lined its body and like its claws were sharp enough to fend flesh. Beowolves were most common type of Grimmon patch and were easily identified by the wolf like head that gave them their name.

The air was hot and humid as small fires gathered and spread around the forest, though they payed both the heat and the hunters little mind and stood near the crash's center with the alpha of the group clawing and scratching at the still cooling object as if to break it open, it tore at the seals with a ferocity Summer rarely ever saw even when fighting them, it hated whatever was inside, which made stopping them from opening it all the more important. it was the first of the three to die. Summer leapt forward with her scythe, bringing its blade downward and using her momentum to cleave through the Grimm's neck. Black smoke gushed out of the wound as it dissipated into nothing, while Summer landed on the other side of the crater facing the remaining two Beowolves.

They moved closer to her as a pack with Summer being their sole focus, which cost them in the moments to come as Tai came up behind them, with shotgun shells blasting away the torso of one into dissolving chunks of meat and gore and shattered the back of the third Beowolf's skull. The encounter took no longer then a minute to play out, with the two hunters disregarding the vanishing remains for the object that crashed into the crater.

"Is that?" Tai asked.

"I think it is." Summer replied and the two looked to each other with uncertainty, then back at the cooling shell of the pod in front of them in tense silence. Summer stepped forward and hovered her hand over the pod letting her semblance activate, in mere seconds she was nearly blinded by what was contained inside. The ability to sense and see actual souls may not have been very useful in combat situations but on any rescue mission it was a godsend and had made team STRK one of the most utilized hunter teams for evacuation and civilian retrieval from areas overrun by the Grimm. The light of the soul inside was like a mini sun to her and was so bright that Summer could only recall only one instance of seeing a soul as bright. She deactivated her semblance and looked back to Tai.

"Think you can get it back to the house?" She asked, Tai Shrugged,

"I'll need some time to get a wagon to push it back, I don't think my aura can stop me from getting burned long enough to get it back home, especially if I'm using my semblance to lift it all the way back." Summer nodded.

"Head back then I'll wait here in case any Grimm come by."

"Should I call Oz?" Summer frowned at the question, remembering what happened the last time they called Ozpin after Yang arrived and what he put Yang threw when she first arrived.

"Let's…lets hold off on that for now." Tai nodded in understanding and went to retrieve a cart to get the pod back to the house. The wait was uneventful with no Grimm arriving after he left and the metal of the pod had cooled to the point it was no longer a bright orange. Summer did periodic checks on the child inside with her semblance and even tried to peer through the glass but saw little through the fog covering the inside glass. Eventually Tai did come back with a cart just large enough to fit the pod. Using the enhanced strength granted by his semblance and some help from Summer allowed him carry the pod onto the cart, though it was a bit more difficult then when Yang had arrived since Qrow and Raven were not around this time. When they reached the house, the sun was already beginning to rise and they found Yang waiting outside for them.

They barely had time to wave at her before she ran up and gave Summer a hug, she almost knocked Summer off her feat with she latched onto her, Tai coming back without her must have worried her. it was then she noticed the pod and wordlessly climbed onto the cart to get a closer look, meanwhile Tai had left to go grab his tools to pry it open.

This was unreal to her and looking at the front of the pod only added to the disbelief, it was the same one from her dream down to the engraved II. She placed a hand on the pod and put her face to the glass to look through. She was disappointed to see nothing through the pod. Then a small hand pressed against the glass suddenly making her throw herself back as she nearly jumped out of her skin. She would have fallen off the cart but Summer had caught her first and placed her on the ground before looking at the glass viewer. The small hand had cleared some of the fog but she saw only enough to confirm what was in inside. It gave a sense of Déjà vu, the child inside seemed a bit different then Yang, she had brown hair and was looking at her with eyes that held two brown orbs. She stared at her, not crying or moving just staring. It tilted its head as if to get a better look at her. She was so entranced by the child inside that she barely registered Tai's presence until he tapped her shoulder.

She placed her hands on one end of the pods to slide it out of the cart, Tai grabbed the other and proceeded to pull it towards him. Once the pod stood on the ground Tai began the process of opening the pod. It was not an easy task, but prior experience from opening Yang's pod had sped up the process. He had to cut through several of the latches keeping the pod sealed which was an arduous task since the metal was beyond anything utilized on Remnant, luckily some swipes from Summer's scythe were strong enough for Tai to use his semblance to dislodge the latches. Within fifteen minutes they were discarded on the ground and Tai had placed a crowbar in the small gap between the pancakes of the pod and its door. He had to utilize his semblance immediately but the sound of groaning metal soon gave way to something breaking under the pressure as the pod's door was finally opened.

Sure enough, the child was there fully visible with a respirator attached just below her mouth and tubes and coiled connected to different areas of her body. Summer slowly removed each tube and wire carefully as to cause as little harm to baby as possible, she fussed a little during the ordeal but didn't try to cry out. The respirator was the last piece to be removed and Summer gently picked up the little girl who extended her arms and reached for Summer's head.

"Sum, if Ozpin finds out." Tai let the question hang in the air. In truth Summer, Tai and Raven were not on the best terms with Ozpin; the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. The last time team STRK came to him with Yang things did not go well. Yang never talked about what was done to her during her stay with the headmaster, it was something she wanted to forget. Summer didn't see physically what was done to her, but Raven hardly spared a detail of what was being done when she recounted sneaking into the laboratory under Beacon to find her. The worst of them was by far tests to see the limits of her healing factor, introducing various poisons into the blood stream, both from natural and artificial, taking blood samples for genetic testing; she was on a dammed surgical bed when Raven found her.

They cut their ties with Ozpin after that and it took all of Summer's effort to stop Raven from going to kill the headmaster, especially since her restraint was at its limits at the time.

"we can't let him find out." She states it was a flat tone and rocked the infant back and forth to try and get it to sleep."

"I don't disagree but it's going to be difficult raising a kid who looks nothing like us." He had a point, that may raise some questions. Then the little girl blinked, and two silver orbs stared back at Summer, her hair also changed turning black with crimson tips.

"Can I… can I hold her." Summer looked down to Yang who stood nervously in front of her. Summer bent down to reach Yang's level and helped Yang hold her properly, she was still nervous about dropping her and treated her like she was made of glass.

When Yang saw her, she felt this feeling of familiarity and something she only ever felt in the dream when she looked at the blurred figure, kinship, or something akin to that struck her.

"Sister." She said it without thought, she didn't know how she knew it was… strange."

"Yeah. That's your sister Yang" Summer replied

"Are you going to give her to the man with the cane?"

"No, were not giving her to him." She assured Yang without hesitation. There was a hardness to her voice when she said it.

"But we do need to give her a name, any ideas?" Yang thought for a moment

"Ruby, her name is Ruby."

"Ruby." Summer repeated and as to confirm it she looked around to see who called her.

"Ruby Rose, I think that has a nice ring to it."