Chapter one: Kindly Scattered Through Time.
All of Vale was burning its citizens running through the streets in panic. All in an attempt to escape the blazing buildings as the fires consumed them or to escape the guttural roars that echoed throughout the city. These roars were not ones that accompanied the creatures of Grimm; however, no they were something more primal, and more dangerous than anyone could ever imagine. They were the roars of the harbinger of the end itself... the roars of Remnant. The very earth would open its maw and consume citizens, and entire buildings alike without distinction; with every quake that soon followed more of the once proud city of Vale would crumble into dust, and collapse into the bottomless gullet of the earth. The large buildings of stone, and metal that dotted the city seemed to fall apart at the seams as Remnant bellowed out a mighty roar, debris from these buildings fell with abandon as they crushed the many smaller businesses that surrounded the gilded towers of Vale's elite. Those lucky enough not to meet their end were soon absorbed by the spittle of magma that would rise out from the deep fissures.
What the quakes had not destroyed the hell fire deemed fit to burn it down. The fire fell from the sky like rain igniting everything in its path, and from many of the buildings all over the ruins of Vale smoke billowed out from within their dilapidated husks. Not soon after a great cloud of dust, and ash blotted out the sun dooming the people of Vale to short lived lives beneath a shroud of darkness. No longer was the sky a serene blue with nary a cloud in sight, like the world below it to had been twisted and defiled by whatever had turned the world against its denizens... now the sky had turned red, as red as the blood of Vale's people. Roars, and shouts of thunder emitted from the storm clouds that circled the city like carrion waiting for their prey to die. Those that remained ran to and fro for cover as they desperately tried to stay out of harm's way, but as the city crumbled around them they knew it was futile, and in their minds they knew one thing... it was the end.
When it all began many had tried to escape in Bullheads, but the treacherous sky did not appreciate the fact that its territory had been encroached upon, and so it smote them back down the earth from whence they came. Other desperate souls tried to make it past the wall, but the earth shook... the first of many, and as such it was the first quake to signal the end. The wall collapsed crushing all who tried to escape, creating an impassable barrier for the surviving citizens of Vale. Their flight for survival would have proven useless in the long run for all across the world the elements turned upon civilization, and brought ruin upon the world's denizens. Those still surviving all knew one thing...it was the end of the very world they had come to inhabit, and it was all vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Summer Rose watched in abject horror from the docks of Beacon as the world around her began to collapse in on itself. In front of her she watched on as a fireball slammed into a large building that towered over Vale's financial district. Any of the recognizable buildings below it were buried by the ash, and brimstone. The ash fell like snowflakes during the first snowfall of winter, devouring the buildings of Vale, defacing the many monuments that symbolized a free world void of conflict, and to Summer it seemed as if it was strangling the life out of the once proud city.
The wind began to pick up, and it worked to tear the hood of her cloak off of her head, the cloak itself billowed and flapped erratically in the wind. She had to squint her eyes in order to avoid having the ash blind her, a handkerchief was wrapped tightly around the lower portion of her face so she can breath somewhat with ease. The rest of her clothing including the white cloak that adorned her was stained with the dust, and ash that floated through the air.
Even though it was happening in front of her very eyes she couldn't believe that this was happening. Yesterday had been just like any normal day of hers fraught with training with her mentor, just like the day before it. The morning of this day had started out as normal as any other morning. Then the clouds began to fill the clear skies, and fire rained down upon the world. From there the world began to spiral into chaos. It felt like a nightmare that Summer was unable to wake up from.
The earth began to rumble once more the distant roars that followed now sounded much closer than they had before. reacting on her instincts Summer stumbled away from the docks in order to prevent herself from toppling over the edge. As the tremors continued Summer could hear the dorms that lay off to her left collapse in on themselves in a torrent of noise and dust. The sound of the falling stone, and the screams of those that were crushed echoed out from the wreckage, and rang in her ears. Summer turned to look back only to be met with the sight of a young man with half of his body crushed under the wreckage. The image crawled into her mind, and burned the sight into her visage. Pellets of stone from the building rained down on her, and a myriad of small cuts began to etch themselves on her arms before they quickly disappeared as her aura's healing factor began to take effect.
She stumbled further away from the docks as the walkway in front of her reared up like a wild horse, and tore itself away from the cliff side of Beacon creating yet another maw for the earth to devour the city. More plumes of dust rose into the air as another building collapsed somewhere out in the city. The tremors grew worse, and her teeth began to rattle from the intensity of them. A loud earsplitting roar reverberated through the air, and in her peripheral vision Summer could see a large fountain of magma shoot up into the sky with abandon out off in the distance. She turned her head completely, and regretted it immediately as she bore witness to a flood of magma that consumed the residential district of Vale, and its surrounding landscape turning it all to ash in the manner of seconds.
Tears fell from Summer's eyes as she slid down to the ground on her knees. Her entire world was falling apart around her, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had never felt so useless in her life nor felt such a crippling despair of her impending doom. Turning her head back to the school she looked up into the sky, and saw that the pillar of light continued to shoot up from behind Beacon. The beam had appeared around the same time the clouds, and hell fire had, where it had continuously pulsed a dark essence. Every time her eyes landed on the beam Summer couldn't help but be reminded of the video her mentor had shown her of the Grimm dragon that oozed Grimm from its body. Many of the people at Beacon had deduced that was where the suffering all began, and they sent a team of hunters to investigate the beam. One of those hunters was the headmistress of Beacon herself, but they haven't reported in yet which left Summer, and the remaining populace of Beacon worried.
"Please Professor," Summer breathed out in a shaky voice "Come back soon, and end this madness."
A small portion of her prayer was answered when a Bullhead coming from the direction of the beam crashed into the courtyard creating a large furrow in the ground, a crunch of metal could be heard reverberating through the air causing Summer to scream with worry about the crashed ships occupants. The young girl quickly stood up, and ran towards the downed Bullhead just as another earthquake rocked the world taking off the part of the cliff she had been sitting on the moment prior. She stopped in her tracks for a second, and stared at the spot she was sitting trying not to ponder how close she had come to death.
Summer hurried across the the courtyard which like the city looked like a cruel mockery of its former self, the large pillars that decorated the courtyard had collapsed, and dug large holes into the ground. The statue with the hunters standing over the Beowolf had been crushed by the debris from one of the pillars all around the courtyard the ground had splintered creating jagged spikes in the once smooth ground. Buildings all over Beacon had collapsed in on themselves its former occupant's crushed in the rubble. The Bullhead had landed by the doors to the orientation hall blocking any, and all access to the building, the Bullhead had jagged gouges in its hull one of the doors on the side had been torn completely off in the crash.
Running up to the demolished husk of the Bullhead Summer shouted out. "Hello i-is anyone okay," Summer cried out " P-professor are y-you alright?" Summer went to enter the Bullhead, but saw a hand emerge from the side, and a figure covered in red stumble out of the Bullhead before collapsing to its knees. A high pitched whining sound began to emit from the Bullhead reacting quickly Summer gripped the red figure, and dragged them away from the Bullhead still too close to it they were caught in the explosion, and thrown a small distance Summer let herself take the brunt of the collision to prevent any further injuries on the red clad figure. Summer cried out in pain as she collided with ground, and began to tumble across it.
Her cries of pain stirred the red figure from her unconscious state "We failed didn't we." It was said as more of a statement than a question.
Summer jumped in surprise as the figure spoke thinking she was still unconscious. Looking down on the figure she choked up unable to reply she merely just nodded her head.
Tears began to slide down the figures grime covered face "I failed it was my duty as the headmistress of Beacon to protect everyone, and I failed to stop that abomination." She said in raspy voice.
Summer quickly shook her head causing her cloak to flap around even more "Professor Rose you didn't fail anyone we can still stop whatever is happening, and protect the people of Remnant."
Professor Rose cracked open her eyes, righting herself so that she was on her hands, and knees. "Summer, my young student that optimism is one of your most admirable traits it reminds me of how I used to be when I was your age, but you must listen closely Summer I can't stop what is happening, but you can, you can save this world."
Summer stared at the headmistress of Beacon as if she had sprouted a second head. Beneath the handkerchief that covered her face her mouth flopped open, and close working furiously to form a sentence. "Me?" She asked in disbelief at what she had heard "Why only me? H-how? I'm not even enrolled into signal academy yet. Wouldn't one of your Beacon students be better? How could I possibly stop this?" Behind them a volley of fireballs crashed into the ruined city causing her to flinch in fear. "C-can't you come with me? W-we can save the world together, and then everything can go back to normal. I-I don't think I can do this alone Professor I need your help, your guidance I always do."
Professor Rose slowly reached out her hand towards Summer, Summer looked back at the professor their eyes met once again, and Professor Rose spoke in a low, and weary voice. "I can't join you Summer. The path that you have to walk is one that I can't follow you down, but you underestimate yourself, you're strong, stronger than you can possibly imagine, you're definitely stronger than any average student at Beacon, you are my apprentice after all, and never lose faith Summer I know you won't fail. I believe in you."
Summer took her mentor's hand a small comfort in this world wrought with chaos, but one that is welcome nonetheless. Her thoughts raced around her mind faster than bullets, her heart pounded like a thousand tiny hammers trying to wrap her mind around the situation. Her world was ending, but her mentor Professor Rose was saying there was a way to save it. there was one flaw in this plan, and it was that she, Summer had to do it.
The white cloaked child was definitely sure she would fail the task she was given. Sure she was strong- Professor Rose had called her "One of the most talented huntresses at her age, and that she hasn't even entered a combat school yet." quite often to be comfortable, but saving the world was entirely different she was just a young child finally able to enroll in a combat school.
In the distance Summer heard another building collapse, and someone scream in pain before falling silent. 'If we don't do anything everyone is going to die like that, Summer realized. If I just sit here, and don't do anything then the entire world will crumble apart, and I will have failed my job as a huntress before it even began. A steel resolve formed in Summer's heart. She had to try! If her mentor believed she could do it, then she would damn well try to do her best or die trying! Not just for her, but for the entire world of Remnant!
She took a deep shuddering breath to calm her nerves "What do I need to do Professor?"
A warm, and encouraging smile enveloped Professor Rose's face "Inside the tower on my desk is a small hourglass, a friend of mine before they died used their semblance on it to allow a user with a noble heart,- and a righteous cause to travel back in time." She paused for a brief moment to let out a harsh cough, blood began to leak out the corners of her mouth. She ignored this in favor of continuing her instructions. "I believe that you have the heart to travel back in time you must travel back fifty years from now that is when the path to this hell began. If only we had worked harder, if only we had stopped them when we had the chanceā¦ None of this would have happened." A pleading look grew on Professor Rose's face "Follow the White Fang, protect the seasons." She was cut off by a fit of coughing each cough sounding worse than the last. Loud rumbling began to fill the air around them "Whatever happens Summer keep moving forward one step after another no matter how hard it gets, and don't blame yourself." Her voice raised over the growing din.
Professor Rose readjusted herself so that she was on one knee, one hand reached behind her before removing itself from behind her cloak. In her hand was a small sword the blade was dark grey in color, and it had two white stripes next to the hilt. Summer's eyes wandered over the small double edged katana like blade before locking onto a familiar emblem that looked strikingly similar to a belladonna lily. Professor Rose looked at the sword with a small melancholic smile before placing it into Summer's palm, where she then clasped her fingers tightly around the hilt before letting go "This used to belong to a friend of mine before she died, I think she would be happy if you were to take it. However I do have one last thing to say to you Summer, from here on out I am no longer your mentor. So when you get to the past I want you to learn as much as you can and become the great Huntress I know you can be, and no matter what I will always be proud of you."
Summer took the offered sword, and around them the wind began to roar as it grew into a tempest. The cloaks both she, and Ruby wore began to flap even harder in wind around them small dust storms created from the ash floating in the air began to form. Lightning began to streak out from the cloud cover that enveloped the sky.
The beam of dark energy began to project even more dark energy as it pulsed faster than the heart of a hummingbird. From that direction a malevolent laugh echoed for all the world to hear causing shivers to run throughout Summer's whole body. Ruby's eyes widened, and she released her young apprentices hand, "You have to go now Summer, this is the part you are most likely going to hate you need to climb up the tower to my office. just like the time I had you practice your strength, and dexterity follow the same course, and you will make it I believe in you Summer I know you can do it!" She urged with more blood spilling out of her mouth.
"But Pro-" Summer was cut off by the malevolent laughter that sounded closer than ever.
"Little Rose! Little Rose! look at your peaceful world now! Is this what you wanted to prevent!? I gave you a chance to help me, and you spurned me now look at where your efforts have taken you!" A figure shrouded in shadow emerged from one of the fallen archways "Oh! is this where you have been hiding, and you seem to have a guest, no matter we have a lot to discuss you, and I!" The figure shouted out
Ruby quickly stood up unfolding her scythe "Go Summer before it's too late I'll hold her off," she paused before turning her head towards Summer, and said quietly in a saddened voice "And forgive me you were like a daughter to me, and I am glad to have met you." she then turned towards the shadow women, and launched towards her where they clashed at inhuman speeds.
"Professor!" Summer screamed in fear for her mentor, the figure laughed at her opponent's attempts to defeat her. Summer held hopes that her mentor would succeed, and that she wouldn't need to go into the past. Shaking her head Summer ran through the courtyard jumping over fallen debris. She reached the course used to climb the tower, and began to climb the sounds of the victims screaming, and the blood flowing from Ruby's mouth played through her mind as she climbed. She tried to drown out those images by repeatedly chanting in her mind. Climb the tower, and get to the hourglass, climb the tower, and get to the hourglass. This mantra repeated over, and over in her mind.
She was torn from her thoughts when the earth began to shake once more, along with it the tower began to shake. The portion of the climbing course she was on began to groan parts below her began to tear away quickly Summer scrambled over to the other side of the course. In the process she lost her grip with one hand, and saw the ongoing battle between the shadow figure, and Professor Rose. The Professor was on one knee her faithful weapon that has been with her since the beginning of her adventures was torn into two pieces off to the side of the battle. From where Summer was she could hear the shadow figures malevolent laughter as she slowly stalked up to her mentor. Looking away Summer fixed her grip, and resumed her climb to the top of the tower her breath came out in pants as her oxygen was slowly replaced by the ash floating all around her.
Above her Summer heard a crack, and a part of the tower came toppling towards. She yelped, and jumped up diagonally across the course narrowly avoiding death. As she climbed her thoughts began to stray towards what would have happened if she failed to make the jump, a vision began to fill her mind of her beneath the debris the only visible aspect of her would be her arm reaching out for help. She shook her head of these dark thoughts, and resumed her climb, sweat pouring from her face from the extreme heats around her, and from her exertion. Summer flinched as a ball of fire streaked by her missing by only a few feet she can feel the extreme heat radiating off of the flaming projectile. Acting only to increase the feeling of being in a volcano.
Reaching up once more Summer felt her hand grip the edge of the outcropping leading into mentor's office. She quickly pulled herself up, and spared a quick glance towards the ground, and she saw her mentor being being suspended in the air by the shadow figure as they exchanged words slowly the figure's shadow slithered up to her mentor, and ran itself through her chest. Stumbling back, and falling onto the ground in shock. She let tears fall down her face before she steeled her resolve once more vowing to mourn over her fallen mentor when she arrived in the past. Summer slowly stood up, and made her way towards the shattered window, and crawled through it. She saw her mentor's desk sitting there seemingly untouched, like the Professor had said the hourglass sat upon her desk. Like an android or a robot Summer's own movements felt mechanical to her as if she wasn't in control of her body.
Summer drew closer to the hourglass, and reached out for it, when her hand touched it she felt like a jolt of electricity had just run through her body. Summer whispered to herself recounting her mentor's instructions "Okay Professor Rose said those with a noble heart, and a righteous cause can use the hourglass," Summer closed her eyes, and flipped the hourglass over listening to the sands as they fell "Okay hourglass please send me fifty years into the past so I can save the future, and the people of Remnant." Summer expecting something to happen like a big flash of light, but as she opened her eyes, and a cursory glance around her surroundings. She noticed that nothing had changed she was still in a Remnant rife with chaos, and destruction everyone she had grown to know had been killed by this sudden Armageddon. She hung her head in self doubt, and defeat before asking herself "Was the Professor wrong about me? Was my heart not noble enough? Was my cause to selfish? Was this a way for her to prolong the inevitable to give me a few more precious moments of life."
She was torn from her revery as cracks began to spiderweb along the walls of the tower before it began to tilt. A feeling of weightlessness settled itself in her stomach as she tumbled out of the office, and into the open air screaming towards a sea of magma that covered the once proud city of Vale completely. The ash had began to sting her eyes as the wind rushed passed her, through her distorted vision she could see that the tower had completely detached itself from the school. As she fell she relinquished her hold on the hourglass, and she saw it falling below her towards the sea of magma. One thought flew through her mind in her free fall. Was to get the hourglass! that single thought urged her forward get the hourglass, and stop this from ever happening that way no else has to live through this pain. Off to her right she saw another geyser of magma shoot up into the air. She tucked in all of her limbs turning her free fall into a nosedive the debris from the tower shot by her as her speed increased. A few feet in front of her was the salvation for the people of Remnant, it was falling next to a battered picture frame that used to call her mentor's desk home.
she was just a fingers length away, and she reached out to grab the hourglass, just before she made contact with it a small piece of debris crashed into her arm sending it, and her off course from her goal. She quickly readjusted herself "I will not fail! I promised the Professor, and the people of Remnant that I would save them, and I never go back on a promise!" Summer shouted out to encourage herself. once again tucking her limbs in she fell into a nosedive once more. As she fell she could hear the malevolent laughter of the shadow figure that had taken the life of her mentor, and Summer was sure that the laughter would forever haunt her in her dreams.
She drew close once more to the hourglass, and reached her arms out to grab it "Come on!" She shouted urging herself to move faster, and just a little bit farther. As she grew closer to the sea of lava she could see sparks fly off of the surface. "Come on! Just a little bit more I will get this hourglass, and I will save the people of Remnant even if I must give up my life in the process! So please to whatever god is listening just a little bit more!" She grit her teeth in concentration her hand just mere inches from one of the handles. Her eyes darted around from the sea of lava that lay beneath her sparks flying off of the surface as if they were tongues licking lips in preparation for a good meal. to the small hourglass that lay before her.
With one final thrust through the air she latched onto the falling timepiece, and yanked it towards her chest, shouting out, "Fifty years! Please, take me back fifty years, so I can stop this from happening, and save the people of Remnant so I can give them a bright future! Please send me back I promise to make sure that this will never happen again even if I have to give up my life for this reality to be achieved!" she flipped the hourglass over waiting with bated breath as the hissing magma prepared for its latest meal.
She feared that once again the hourglass had deemed her heart not noble enough, and her cause not righteous enough, that she as a whole was not worthy enough to use it, and would meet the fate of her mentor, no the fate of everyone on Remnant. Then all of the sand shot up to the top of the hourglass before releasing fifty beads of sand that dropped to the bottom. Summer felt the world around her slow down to a crawl. The tempest of wind dulled to a breeze before disappearing entirely. All of the sound that had surrounded her for the past couple of hours had died away, leaving a familiar ring of silence in her ears that she had grown to have missed in recent events.
Around her the entire world drained of color until all that was left were black, and white, before freezing in place. Summer floated suspended in space, the only speck of color amongst the monochrome background with her ash, and grime stained white cloak, and black combat skirt that also counted as a corset. The stone that had fallen from the tower lay frozen in place the smoke, and fire that burned stood immobile. As if someone had paused a movie they had been watching, all of this halted by the sudden stoppage of time. She looked down, and saw a spout of magma just mere inches away from her legs.
The only source of noise in the silent landscape was Summer's rapidly beating heart which she listened to as it slowly calmed down. She felt as if she was suffocating, and took a long deep breath she was surprised when she inhaled clean air for the first time in hours instead of the stale air tinged with ash as she had originally thought. With her sudden breath of life it seemed as if everything around her had been set into motion. A ticking sound reverberated through her ears, as if a clock was winding backwards. The remains of the tower that had been falling with her began to move in reverse traveling back to their point of origin. Instead of following it as she had originally thought she began to slowly descend to the ground below her which was now void of any magma that used to cover it. She watched as trees burned in reverse, she saw herself, and her mentor sitting by a tree on one of their walks through the emerald forest.
As time began to speed up she saw other students walk by her sometimes these students were fighting Grimm other times they were relaxing. She knew time was regressing as she saw the moon, and the sun traveling in reverse. She knew she was getting closer when she saw a younger version of her mentor sitting under the same tree they usually sat under when they finished training in the forest. After what seemed like only a few seconds the world around her began to slow down, and color began to fill in the monochrome landscape, followed by sound. Around her Summer could hear birds chirping inviting them to play or to mate with each other. Her mind swam as she tried to adjust to the rapid movement in time. As she regained feeling in her legs she walked over to the tree that she and her mentor would sit under, and let her legs collapse under her letting her sprawl onto her back, and let herself look up into the beautiful blue sky, and gaze out across the horizon at the radiant sun that she had missed in the few hours of Armageddon. A cool breeze caressed her overheated body as she lay their, around her she could see the animals that lived in this forest run around in the branches of the trees playing with each other or hunting each other.
In this calm a knot of feeling began to form in her stomach as she finally took everything in. She had just seen her world end, she had seen her mentor, and many others die around her, She had seen her world molested by fire torn asunder by the rage of the earth. Yet, here it hadn't happened yet. The world was safe for another fifty years unless she stopped whoever caused the world to end, and for Professor Rose, and all of the people of Remnant to die, no not every one she was still there the sole survivor of ruined future. Watching birds fly above, and squirrels jump from branch to branch, Summer could hardly believe that she had seen it. She had so badly wished it was just a nightmare that she was having trouble waking up from, but the hourglass, and her ash covered body proved it all.
From her silent rumination a grin appeared on her face "I did it!" She burst into a fit of uncontrolled laughter as the situation finally set in "I, I did it! I actually did it, I traveled back in time!" She slowly stood up, and twirled in victory, no one had ever traveled back in time before. The closest someone has come to time travel was a semblance that granted them access to a view of almost any possible future caused by their actions. If this was someone's Semblance powering this hourglass why didn't anyone talk about this wonder semblance? Was the user only able to do this once?
She stopped her twirling, and took a deep calming breath "Alright Summer you did it, you made it to the past. Now you need to make do on your promise, and save the future." She gave out a nervous laugh "This shouldn't be to hard right? All I need to do is follow the White Fang, and protect the seasons whatever she means by that. Piece of cake right? I mean how hard can it be?"
She paused in her tirade, she had heard of the White Fang before they used to be a group that fought for Faunus equality, but what could the Professor mean by protecting the seasons why does she have to be so cryptic, and vague. "Alright Summer you can do this. J-just don't panic, you just have to think." She looked at the forest surrounding her, and asked though not expecting an answer "You wouldn't happen to have any idea on the whole protecting the seasons thing would you?" she shook her head "Of course the forest wouldn't know anything Summer get yourself together, let's just head into Vale, and see if I can gather any information from there." She said before setting of towards the city.
"Well fifty years in the past, some unknown part of my quest to save the future, and today is the day I can finally enroll into Signal Academy. I wonder how different things are from my time, are the customs different, oh no how do kids my age talk in this time what if I say something from my time that they don't know, and they think I am weird?" Summer thought to herself as she walked to Vale "I mean how hard could this be get some information on the White Fang, and stalk after them like Professor Rose after my last strawberry. Then I will stop them from doing whatever they do to set in motion the end of the world, and avoid any, and all contact with kids my age so I don't make a slip, and they think I am weird leaving me without anyone to talk to for the rest of my li-." Summer cut herself off as she put her hood up over head, and walked silently towards the city of Vale.