Volume 8, Chapter 12
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[Exterior, nighttime, dark woods. Side shot of Qrow running at a brisk pace from the right side of the screen to the left. He's all we see onscreen, but can we hear the sound of something, of many somethings, crashing through the woods]
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[Cut to Raven, perched on top of a tall rock in the middle of a clearing. She jumps down when Qrow bursts out of the treeline, placing her hand on her sword. However, he runs right past her without slowing.]
Qrow: [casually] Time to go, sis.
Raven: What do you—
[Grimm emerge from the trees behind Qrow. Five, then ten, then twenty, then too many to count. Raven turns and runs after Qrow, catching up to him quickly.]
Raven: [calmly] Can you transform?
Qrow: Not a chance, way too exhausted. Can you open a portal for us?
Raven: Not with Salem watching so closely.
Qrow: Well then, it's a nice night for a jog.
[Raven rolls her eyes, and he flashes her a grin in return.]
Raven: At least tell me you have the relic.
Qrow: I wish. But I know where it is, it's—
[Suddenly, an equally large group of Grimm emerge from the woods in front of them. The two are trapped, and immediately turn to stand back-to-back. Raven draws her sword, and Qrow draws his and wastes no time turning it into the scythe.]
Qrow: Just like old times, sis?
Raven: [mockingly] Old times, Qrow? Just watch your back.
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[The two set into the Grimm, holding their own against the massive group. However, Raven turns too slowly after dispatching a Beowolf, leaving her sword arm overextended. A Beringel steps inside her guard, knocking the blade aside and raising a fist to strike her. But the blow never lands, as Qrow's scythe cuts the Grimm in half. Before moving onto his next target, he quickly winks at his sister, whose eyes widen briefly in surprise. However, her face quickly settles into a smirk so very similar to her brother's.]
Raven: [quietly, to herself] Old times, brother.
[The two attack the mob of Grimm. Qrow fights recklessly, spinning and flipping acrobatically from creature to creature, knowing that Raven will guard his back. He mows down dozens of Grimm with blade and bullets. Raven is steadier, planting her feet deliberately with each movement and choosing her strikes more carefully. However, it seems like every time she swings her sword she kills another. She doesn't let a single blow land on her brother. Together, the Branwen twins are untouchable.]
Raven: [stabbing the final Grimm on the ground at her feet] Nicely done, brother. It's good to see that your time as an errand boy didn't make you soft.
Qrow: Are you kidding me? I work up more of a sweat boxing with Tai.
[The two sheathe their weapons and begin walking towards the treeline]
Qrow: You want to talk soft, though? You know, I can actually out-box him 2 rounds out of 5 these days. It's embarrassing, really. Your daughter, on the other hand, now she can throw a punch.
Raven: [laughing] Taiyang always was lazy about training.
Qrow: I know, but don't tell the girls. He has them convinced that he used to wake up every day at 4am to train before sunrise. I let them believe.
Raven: Ha! The only time he was ever awake at that time, it was because he'd been out all night. Usually making terrible decisions with you.
Qrow: As if I don't know what kinds of things you two would get up to when you disappeared for a "Girl's night out". [momentarily wistful] Summer . . . you know, she made me promise not say anything to Tai, but she told me an inappropriate story about the time you two—
Watts: Well, well, well. I was not informed this would be a family reunion.
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[Watts walks out of the trees in front of them, spreading his arms magnanimously.]
Watts: This has turned into a very interesting evening. Wouldn't you agree?
Tyrian: Oh, very interesting indeed.
[Qrow and Raven spin around to see Tyrian behind them, moonlight glinting off the new tail crafted for him by Salem. He laughs as he sees the expressions of surprise on their faces]
Watts: Your presence has been requested by Salem. I find the making of threats to be rather distasteful, but . . .
Tyrian: . . . one does not keep a goddess waiting.
Qrow: Sadly, not in my plans for the evening. A shame, when Salem sent such adorable messengers . . .
[Qrow is still relaxed, his arms hanging loosely by his sides. Raven, clearly uninterested in talking, has already unsheathed a few inches of her sword.]
Watts: Hmm, quite. I was told to expect your [he waves his hand dismissively as he searches for the word] charming demeanor.
Qrow: Glad I didn't disappoint.
Watts: On the contrary, I find you tremendously disappointing. Alas.
[Thunder rolls, and a soft rain begins to fall. Watts looks up with an expression of mild distaste.]
Watts: This is all the time I have to waste on you. Now, you and the wonderfully silent, much appreciated, young lady will either come to Salem, or you will be brought.
Tyrian: [pointing at Qrow] And when Her Grace is done with you, she's promised that you will be mine to . . . well [he cocks his head to the side, spreads his hands, and giggles]. You'll make a very nice appetizer, something to appease my palette before I find that little girl and—
[Tyrian never finishes his sentence, because the force of Qrow's blow sends him flying backwards into the rock at the center of the field. Qrow advances rapidly, fury etched on his face. The two begin trading strikes, neither staying in one place long enough for the other to land a hit]
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[Raven turns to run toward Qrow, but she hears Watt's incoming strike from behind her and just barely manages to roll to the side. She turns to engage Watts, who calmly but ruthlessly continues his attack.]
[Raven and Qrow each take a few hard blows before they manage to rejoin and ward each other's backs. Just as before, the twins together are a nearly unbeatable combination. Sometimes back to back, sometimes side to side, they block and counterattack with speed, power, and silent teamwork. Their forms blur, occasionally lapsing into slow motion as the raindrops fall slowly onscreen and the four combatants appear to be parrying and striking at normal speed. Even Watts loses his cool, letting an angry look flash across his face after barely blocking a crushing overhand blow from Qrow. Tyrian goes flying after Raven's sword slashes him from right hip to left shoulder, and he screams and beats himself in the forehead with both hands before reentering the fray.]
[However, it's clear that the two siblings are tiring. Their earlier battle, combined with the hits they took in the first blows of this fight, are starting to take a toll. The two sides pause, and Watts and Tyrion slowly encircle the twins. We see Qrow's chest heaving and even Raven is unable to fully summon her traditional facial expression of careless disdain.]
Qrow: High-low?
Raven: You sure?
Qrow: I'll make it work. Take out the weird one first. Nothing fancy, just give me an open shot.
[Raven nods assent, carefully rotating the cartridges of dust in her sword to select the one she wants. In a flash, she charges at Tyrian. As she whips her sword out of the scabbard, she suddenly drops to her knees to slide forward along the wet grass, arches backwards, and slashes blindly at her target's shins. He lowers his stance to block her strike, not seeing in time that Qrow is right behind her. Qrow dives forwards over his sister, landing a crushing blow. Tyrian's aura flashes a bright purple as he sails through the air. Qrow lands and quickly turns to his sister]
Qrow: Send me up!
Raven: [uncharacteristically hesitant] Qrow, are you sure you can . . .
[She doesn't finish her sentence, as Qrow runs full sprint at her. She stabs her sword into the ground and cups her hands in front of her. He steps into her hands and she launches him high into the air, directly at Watts. Qrow glides through the night sky, silhouetted against the full moon, and pulls back to launch a strike from directly above Watts. However, Watts is too fast and he smiles smugly into his mustache as he hits Qrow first. A look of triumph appears on Watts's face as he connects on a devastating blow, sees Qrow's aura blink, and hears Qrow's loud grunt of pain. However, the look is quickly erased as he realizes, a fraction of a second too late, that he has left himself completely exposed. Raven's two-handed strike hits him with full force right in his chest, and his aura lights up as he tumbles backwards.]
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Watts: [completely losing his cool] Get your miserable faces out of my sight! I will destroy you. I will burn you. You, your family, everyone you have ever loved, the very ground you walk on, I will burn it all. You'll pay for this. Run, you pathetic insects. Run, and wait until the day that I find you!
[Qrow and Raven look at each other, at Watts with his look of pure malice and Tyrian struggling to his feet. They quickly turn and run into the woods.]
Tyrian: [after stumbling over to Watts] You're letting them get away, you're letting them get away, what if she's angry, she'll be so angry, we've disappointed her, she'll be so angry . . .
Watts: Shut up, you fool. I'm not going to die, not here, not to those insignificant peasants. [finally regaining his composure, with effort forcing his voice into its haughty drawl] Besides. Let's see if the children can keep their promise.
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[Cut to the woods, Qrow and Raven running side-by-side from right to left. Raven runs more or less smoothly, Qrow is clearly having a harder time. The rain has turned into a full-on storm, pelting them with water as the thunder and lightning fill the night sky]
Qrow: You go on ahead Raven, make sure it's still safe.
Raven: And why do you say that, brother? Tired of my company already?
Qrow: I'll catch up soon. But here, take this. [he hands her a large envelope] Everything I managed to find out. Pictures, numbers, the last six months' worth of recon. Salem's not going to win this war.
Raven: Hmph, I was never worried.
[A shot above the treeline, as a large black raven flies away, beating its wings rapidly to cut through the winds of the storm.]
Qrow: [shouting] Order me a double!
[Back to Qrow, as he begins running faster through the dark woods.]
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[Cut to the interior of the Higanbana Inn. The lights are on full brightness, about half of the chairs are inverted on the tables, and the Waitress is slowly wiping down the bar counter. The door opens, and Raven walks in.]
Waitress: Sorry, we're done serving for the nigh—oh hi, welcome back! Like I said, sorry, but we're sort of closed, the bartender's already gone home and . . .
[She trails off as she realizes that Raven isn't listening to her. Rather, she's scanning the room, peering into corners and looking for threats. Finding none, she cautiously removes her hand from the hilt of her sword, pulls out a chair, and sits where she can see the door.]
Raven: I'm going to need a drink.
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[Cut to the woods, Qrow still running, and it's very obvious now that he's in great pain. He's holding his side with one arm and stumbling every few steps. He almost falls, catching himself at the last second by reaching out to grab a tree branch. Looking up at the moon, he allows himself to stop just for a moment to catch his breath. Then he gathers his strength and continues running.]
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[Cut to the interior of the inn. All of the chairs are on top of the tables now, except the two chairs in which Raven and the Waitress are sitting. There are two beers on the table between them, and the Waitress has her hair down. She runs her fingers through her hair and takes a drink.]
Waitress: It's sweet that you're worried about your brother, but I'm sure he's fine. He seems like the kind of guy that can, you know, that can take care of himself.
Raven: He's an idiot.
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[Cut to Qrow running through the woods.]
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[Cut back to the inn.]
Waitress: Well, you're supposed to think that. He's your brother.
Raven: No, he really is. Always has been. Even as kids, he always insisted on taking the blame, that everything was his fault.
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[Cut to Qrow. He reaches a fork in the road, quickly reads the signpost, and takes the left path without hesitation. The camera lingers on the signpost and he runs out of frame.]
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[Cut back to the inn.]
Waitress: Well, if that's his worst flaw, that's not so bad. I think it's kind of cute, really.
Raven: It is not cute, it's ridiculous. And besides, strength and conviction matter more than luck. He needs to stop blaming himself for everything that goes wrong.
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[Cut to Qrow. He sees the lights of the inn ahead and puts on a last burst of speed.]
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[Cut back to the inn.]
Waitress: Well, you should tell him that when he comes. I'm sure he'd like to hear it from you.
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[Cut. Qrow throws open the door of the inn, staggering into the dimly-lit drinking area.]
Waitress: Can I help you?
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[Cut. In the brightly-lit inn, Raven takes a big drink of her beer.]
Raven: Oh don't worry, when he gets here I'll have plenty to say to him.
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[Cut to the dimly-lit inn.]
Qrow: [almost out of breath] Is, is my sister here? Red eyes, black hair . . .
Waitress: Oh, of course! She just had to go run out, said she'd be back in just a second. [she pulls out a chair] Have a seat?
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[Cut. Raven finishes her beer, and holds up the glass signaling for another. The Waitress smiles and stands up, finishing her own beer and walking to the bar.]
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[Cut. Qrow collapses into a chair.]
Waitress: Something to drink?
Qrow: [laughing weakly] I told her to order me a double.
Waitress: Oh, of course she did!
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[Cut. The Waitress comes back to their table with a pair of beers. Raven has pulled out the envelope of Qrow's intel, and is currently looking at a stack of photographs. They are all recon photos of members of Salem's organization: Watts, Tyrian, Hazel, Cinder. She slowly tosses each one onto the table after looking at it, like dealing out a deck of cards.]
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[Cut.]
Qrow: Did my sister say when she would be back?
Waitress: Just a few minutes, I think. Why, are you worried?
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[Cut.]
Waitress: [looking at one of the photographs] Oh that's weird. Do you know her?
Raven: [looking up quickly] . . . know whom?
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[Cut.]
Qrow: Maybe I should go look for her.
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[Cut.]
Waitress: Yeah, she was in here just the other day. With . . . [she scans the rest of the photos on the table] . . . with him!
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[Cut. Qrow stands up and walks slowly towards the door. The Waitress is a few steps directly behind him]
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[Cut. The Waitress is pointing at photos of Mercury and Emerald.]
Raven: Are you sure it was those two?
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[Cut. Qrow is almost to the door. The Waitress is right behind him.]
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[Cut.]
Waitress: Definitely. I wouldn't normally remember, but those two were super weird. They didn't even order anything, just said . . .
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[Flashback. Mercury is leaning near the doorframe of the inn, while Emerald is slowly walking around, neck craned as she takes in the entire room.]
Mercury: [clearly bored] How long is this going to take?
Emerald: [testily] Another few minutes, starting when you quit bothering me.
Waitress: Hi, can I help you?
Emerald: [switching immediately to her cheerful, friendly voice] Oh no thanks, just looking!
Waitress: Just . . . looking?
Emerald: I want to make sure I know exactly how this place looks.
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[Cut back to the brightly-lit inn, Raven sits bolt upright.]
Raven: She said what?
Waitress: Weird, right? She said—
[Raven stands up so quickly it knocks her chair over, and immediately runs towards the door.]
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[Cut to a clearing in the woods. Emerald is standing with one hand by her temple, her face knotted in concentration and effort. Mercury and Cinder are standing behind her. In the middle of the clearing is a large ruined shack, perhaps an old storehouse, most of the windows broken and large chunks of the wall missing. Through one of those holes, we see Qrow inside, reaching for the doorknob.]
[The camera rotates, and as it passes behind a pillar suddenly we see what Qrow sees, the Higanbana inn and its Waitress. Then back to a close-up of Emerald, who moves her lips, and as she speaks we hear the Waitress's voice.]
Emerald/Waitress: It's still raining pretty hard, sure you want to go out?
Qrow: Let me just take a peek . . .
[Shift to an exterior shot, Qrow coming into view as he opens the door.]
Qrow: . . . and then I promise, I'll be right back to keep you compa—
[A stabbing sound. Qrow looks down to see a thin blade protruding from his ribcage and a dark red pool appearing on his stomach. The blade is slowly withdrawn, and Qrow turns around, stunned, to see the Waitress turning back into Neo. She smiles sweetly as she places her foot in the middle of his chest and kicks him into the street. He stumbles backwards and falls in a pool of mud.]
[Neo opens her umbrella and steps out into the rain. She walks up to him slowly and stabs him once, twice more in the stomach. She leans over to smile directly into his face, snaps her wrist to flick the blood off of her sword, and then re-sheathes it in the bottom of her umbrella.]
[Now the camera is from Qrow's point of view, skewed and inverted as he attempts to watch Neo walk away. She goes over to join Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury, and together the four of them fade into the woods. The screen shutters to black as Qrow's eyes close.]
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. . .
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[Cut to the night sky. We see a black raven struggling through the storm. It descends towards the clearing containing the ruined building, and transforms back into Raven. She draws her sword and spins in a circle, looking for trouble. Seeing nothing, she sheathes it and runs over to where Qrow has crawled and propped himself against a wall.]
Qrow: Hey, sis.
[Raven kneels in front of him, looking him up and down. We've never seen such a look of concern and emotion on her face. Qrow has one hand pressed tightly against his stomach, dark red visible underneath his fingers. The other hand is limp at his side, holding his flask.]
Raven: Just relax, Qrow. You're going to make it.
Qrow: Raven . . .
Raven: You're going to be ok.
Qrow: [smiling slightly] No, Raven. I'm not.
Raven: [firmly, but with an edge of desperation] No, Qrow, no. Don't talk like that. We can—
Qrow: No, Raven. We can't
[The two stare at each other in silence, before finally Qrow breaks eye contact to take another drink from his flask. Raven's face hardens into her habitual look of self-assured arrogance. When she speaks, it is in her usual confident tone.]
Raven: I see. You fought well. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you.
Qrow: Don't feel bad, it wasn't your fault. I guess it just . . .
Raven: [her harsh facial expression softening slightly as she smiles ruefully] Don't you dare say it.
Qrow: . . . wasn't my lucky day.
Raven: You're insufferable, brother.
[Qrow laughs weakly and takes another drink.]
Qrow: You'll look after them, right?
[Raven pauses. She heard him, but she doesn't know how to respond.]
Raven: Qrow, I . . .
Qrow: Promise me, Raven. Promise me you'll keep the girls safe.
Raven: Qrow, you know I can't—
Qrow: PROMISE ME!
[He reaches forward with his last bit of strength to grab her and pull her towards him, his red-stained hands almost the same color as her shirt.]
Qrow: [quietly but firmly, looking straight into her eyes from inches away] Promise me.
[They look at each other in silence once more, until finally Raven speaks. A closeup of Raven, rain streaming down her face. We see her lips moving, but right at that moment a loud clap of thunder drowns out her voice and we cannot hear her reply.]
Raven: [unintelligible]
[Qrow's hands fall away from her shirt, his head tilts slightly to the side, and his face slowly loses its expression. Side view, as Raven kneels in front of her brother with her head bowed. The rain pours down over both of them, sporadically pierced by flashes of lighting and booms of thunder, as she stays there unmoving for a long time. Slowly, deliberately, she reaches up and closes his eyes.]
[Fade to black]
[Roll credits]
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After credits scene:
[Interior of the office. Oscar stands in front of the table with the map of Remnant, players and pieces carefully placed across it. With him are Glynda, Ironwood, Ghira and Taiyang: Most of the commanders in the war against Salem.]
Oscar: [shaking his head] He says that won't work, Salem's just too powerful. Ozpin wants us to—
[The door on the opposite side of the room slams open, and Raven walks in with Qrow's sword strapped to her back. All watch in silence as she walks to the table, the only sound the click of her boots against the floor.]
[Raven throws the folder of intelligence onto the table, scattering figurines. Oscar picks it up, opens it, and as he begins leafing through the documents, Raven draws Qrow's sword. Many of the others reach for their weapons, but instead of attacking she calmly stabs the sword into the center of the table. It sticks upright, quivering slightly.]
Oscar: [unsure of the name] Umm, Raven?
[Raven doesn't reply, simply stares at him in silence]
Oscar: Ozpin wants me to tell you—
Raven: There's nothing I want to hear . . . but congratulations, old man. It took you years of trying, but you finally managed to get my brother killed.
[The others are speechless as Raven walks away from the table. Glynda puts her arm around Ironwood. Shift to Raven turning the doorknob and pulling, when Tai reaches out to prevent her from opening the door all the way.]
Tai: Stay, Raven. Please. We need you.
Raven: [casually, coldly] Which one of us will be next, Tai?
Tai: What? I don't . . .
Raven: Which one of us? First Summer, now Qrow. It's just the two of us left. Which one of us will be next to die for that old fool's war?
Tai: It used to be your war, too.
Raven: [continuing as though she hadn't heard him] I'll answer the question for you, Tai: It. Won't. Be. Me.
[Tai takes his hand away from the door, allowing Raven to open it]
Raven: Goodbye, Taiyang.
[Final shot, the sword is still standing in the table. Behind it, on the far side of the room, we see Raven walk out the door. Tai wordlessly lets the door close.]
[Fade to black]