RWBY Through Worlds

96: The Good and the Evil

"Summer knew about your Uncle bargaining with Salem, and she went along with it?" Qrow interruption at this point. "That's BS."

"No one is as innocent as you think they are," Theo said grimly. "Maybe she didn't know how deep it was. Probably she didn't know about him directing Salem to other Silver Eyed Warriors."

"How could you not know that was foolish?" Winter said. "Didn't Ozpin make that clear."

"At the time, no," Theo said. "He just said they were famous. Sure maybe she was killing them, but we didn't have to know either way. And we didn't even know Uncle was doing till that day, so I didn't have to ask the questions...I thought they were a myth anyway until he told me Summer was the real deal and then I never even saw her in action."

"Henry knew," Hazel said. "He just didn't want to think it. He was just like you. Better them than his own."

"And you knew," Qrow glanced at him. "I should've known it."

"Hazel, how could you not tell us this?" Shine asked him.

"Because until I heard this just now, I didn't know Summer was the one who did this," Hazel said. "You never said she had Silver Eyes. I never met her myself. You said she came here, but I wasn't sure it was when this happened, or if it was after or before. We've always been after Ozpin's followers, I didn't know it was anything special. But knowing it, it does make conversations I had with Henry make a lot more sense."

"I see," Theo said. "That was you. I knew it."

"What did you say?" Winter pressed.

Ruby was hugging her sides.

Yang was glaring at him.

"Henry agreed to the plan just like he said," Hazel said. "I thought it was odd he was giving up the relic so easily, but if I thought he was tricking us, I knew Salem would still win in the end. I knew Henry was giving them the map, so I wasn't going to escort them there...I knew the Maiden was bringing a body guard, that was all he told me. Nothing about Silver Eyes. But he did ask a question at one point, he was getting kind of absent minded and a little out of it in his old age, so I thought it was a random question, didn't think much of it. He asked what Salem captured Silver Eyed Warriors for. I said I didn't know exactly. Which wasn't entirely true." He looked somber. "But I wasn't about to tell him the truth."

"So you were the one who told Summer that she'd not just been killing them?" Theo said.

"I didn't really think you hadn't figured that part out," Hazel said. "But I never talked to Summer, like I said."

"Uncle had persuaded himself that we weren't really doing much harm by selling them out," Theo said. "It was how he'd kept Salem off our backs for so long. Vacuo is where a lot of people hide. Every now and then they'd pop up in the kingdom, he told me. Don't know how many of them were true. But Summer must have figured it out then, or it was just obvious and we were kidding ourselves. Because she told Vara something before she left, that we didn't know about at the time. Var told me after I found her and she'd convinced me that she didn't kill the Maiden."

* * *

"So, if it wasn't you, then who was it?" Theo said. "The girl who was in line, never came back. We know she's dead."

"I know she's dead too," Vara said. "Because I have the powers...Summer Rose "

"Yeah, I know you knew her." Theo frowned. "That's why I thought it was you. So what was it?"

"The thing is..." Vara said, "I didn't kill Summer...but, in a way, I think this may be my fault. Just...I didn't do it on purpose. Summer knew that I knew about the Maiden... Your uncle told me because he was looking for a replacement for you, if you stepped up. And he trusted me. I'm a little surprised we never met before actually, but then, you've been away from the kingdom so much...Vic too, but she's...different."