Raven woke up with a headache. She had been out drinking so that wasn't too unexpected. After Christmas, she was broken. She had always known that no matter what she did. No matter who she let down or hurt. Tai would still love her. Or at least she thought he would.

She was still haunted by what he had said. "It's not that I don't love you. I do but I an not in love with you". Such a simple sentence but it carried so much pain. Even after Ozpin disavowed her and threw her to the wolves in the hopes that someone would kill her for him. She knew that if she ever went to Tai he would welcome her with open arms.

She was wrong about that. She didn't know if it was the way she left. Or if it was what Ozpin had blamed on her but something had killed the love Tai once had for her.

Hearing that broke her. She only wanted one thing now, she wanted to die. Everything worthing living for was gone now. When Ozpin started sending assassins after she ran away from Beacon she killed them and formed her tribe to fend them off. But that was only because she was afraid of dying. She had lost Qrow and Summer. Qrow to Ozpin and Summer to whichever assassin he had sent after her. And now she had lost Tai.

She no longer feared the thought of dying. That was why she was traveling from bar to bar getting herself piss drunk and then starting a fight the meanest looking guy she could find. If she kept going like this one of them would eventually kill her.

It was at one such bar that she saw a man up on the stage with a piano playing. She had already picked the guy she was gonna fight. He was a lean man who looked a little bit like Qrow. but the man who just walked out onto the stage had her attention. She would let him sing or play the Piano, or whatever he was going to do and then she would have her fight.

The man on the stage had a long duster on and looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days. He sat down and cracked his knuckles before starting to play. He started with a simple set of notes before he leaned into the microphone and began to sing.

Wrap me in a bolt of lightning

Send me on my way still smiling

Maybe that's the way I should go,

Straight into the mouth of the unknown

I left a spare key on the table

Never really thought I'd be able

To say I merely visit on the weekends

I lost my whole life and a dear friend

If he didn't have Raven's full attention before he did now. His voice was just gravely enough to be distinct and not so gravely as to be unpleasant. He kept going and Raven kept listening.

I 've said it so many times.

I would change my ways, no nevermind

God knows I've tried.

The tempo of the Piano suddenly speed up as the did the intensity with which he was singing. Raven tried to follow his words but she was interrupted by the feeling of someone grabbing her right shoulder and shaking her.

She turned to remove the head from whoever dared to touch her when she saw Jorge standing behind her in a black suit and tie. "Hello," he said. "Is there an open seat at this table?"

Raven knew better than to sass Jorge. So she simply gestured to one of the chairs at her table and watched him sit down. "Did Tai send you?" she asked. She wanted to know if he was here because he was told she needed to be talked off a ledge or if he was here for something else entirely.

Raven looked him over and waited for his answer. He was well dressed. A little too well dressed. She remembered all of the times that he was told that he needed to arrive at an important meeting or award ceremony in dress clothes by Ozpin. He always arrived in either a pair of jeans and a t-shirt or he didn't even go. He would just send Pius to get the award and leave.

"No, Tai didn't send me here to find you. I am however here to speak with you." Jorge said. He waved over a waitress and ordered a single glass of water. That didn't surprise Raven she had never seen or even heard about Jorge drinking. He had always been okay with his team drinking but he never drank himself. Raven didn't know if he was a violent drunk or if he simply didn't like hangovers but he ever drank.

"I get the feeling that this is supposed to be some kind of intervention," Raven said. "So if Tai didn't send you did Qrow?" Raven knew that her brother would just as soon run a blade through her as hug her. Yet she still had hope that some semblance of love remained between them.

Jorge leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard saying " no, Qrow didn't send me. I am here of my own accord." as he spoke his water arrived and he drank half the glass before he continued. "But I am curious as to why you are here and not with your Bandits."

Raven let out a dry chuckle saying. "I don't really know. I just need to be alone right now." she hoped that he would take the hint and leave. She also hoped that he wouldn't see through her lie.

He leaned back in before speaking. "You haven't acted without knowing why for almost three decades." she could tell he was seeing the deception she tried to weave. "I have seen this before," he said his voice taking a more serious tone. "A warrior who feels like they have nothing to live for going from town to town drinking themselves into a stupor and getting into a fight hoping someone somewhere has the grit needed to kill them."

Raven wondered how he knew what she was doing but then reminded herself that Jorge always seemed to know a lot of things that nobody else did. "And if I am?" she asked. She wanted to have her miserable life come to an end but she was too much of a fighter to do it herself.

"What about it. If I want to drink myself into an early grave then I can," she said as he bottomed out her current beer. She held up her hand to signal for another one and the soon the waitress had brought it to her. She knew that Jorge was still looking at her with that same damned disappointed look he used whenever she would get out of hand.

Raven was pulled from her hungover thinkings by the sound of someone next to her groaning. She looked to her right and saw the man from the stage. Raven then noticed that she was naked and that the man next to her was too.

She leaped from the bed and began to look for her sword. Whoever this man was he needed to die. He had seen too much.

By now he was also on his feet awoken by the commotion. He saw Raven reaching for her sword and waving his hand defensively he said. "Please don't do that"

When she tried to pull her sword free of its scabbard it wouldn't move. She tried again but it still wouldn't move.

"What did you do?" Raven snarled

He didn't respond choosing instead to just hang his head in submission.

Raven looked around the room and her confusion started to fade. She saw a pile of clothes on the floor which explained where their clothes went. Then she saw that man was getting dressed in the clothes that he wore last night.

He tossed her some of her clothes saying. "You may want to get dressed."

She wanted to offer a counter to maintain control of the interaction but she was still too hungover to think of anything. So she dressed herself in her old clothes. Before she noticed something that sent a chill down her spine. She had a golden band on her left ring finger. She looked and the man opposite her had one too.

She began to look around the room for the papers she knew had to be somewhere. She could feel his eyes upon her. He was wondering what she was looking for but he didn't speak. That was good it meant that he was already used to letting her lead. That was good it would make getting rid of him easier.

When she found the stack of papers that she was looking for she heard him speak up. "What are those?" he asked. His concern was clear but Raven also saw a chance to take control of the interaction.

"Nothing that concerns you.' she said as she stuffed the now folded up papers into the left side of her bra. She knew that he would even dream of taking them now. Not even Tai was that brash. Thinking of her almost ex-husband brought Raven's already mildly frustrated mood down even further.

She wanted to kill this fool but a part of her knew that he didn't deserve to die and that killing would only be one way of getting him to leave her alone. She needed to bring him somewhere he could hide for a few months. By then she would be dead and anyone who wanted to go after her would have no reason to go after him.

She started walking around the room before she remembered that she had a map of her safehouses in her tent. That meant that she would have to go back to her tribe. She checked her sword and found that she could now draw her blade.

With a swing of her arm, she opened a portal to the inside of her tent where Vernal would be. With Raven gone Vernal became the de facto leader of the tribe so she would be in Raven's old tent.

"Follow me," she said. Without a word, he fell in line behind her his head still low. They stepped through and were greeted by Vernal standing with one of her chakram-pistols drawn. She was clearly waiting for Raven to do or say something.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here after the way you left." Raven turned to see Ganbrad standing in the entrance to the tent. Raven considered killing him for his tone but she knew that he was right she had left the tribe. And she couldn't expect to just waltz back in without having to earn whatever she was here for.

"I do, but I have come for my things and I brought Payment." She spoke not to Ganbrad but to Vernal. Vernal was the one who had the power here. Ganbrad but just a warrior who also happened to be in love with Vernal. Vernal knew this and also knew that this meant she had a talented warrior who would die for her at a moments notice.

Raven knew better than to turn her back to either of them so she moved to keep them both in front of her. She was waiting for an answer when the man she had brought with her spoke. "Is this the Branwen bandit camp," he asked.

Ganbrad half growled his answer. "It is, what does it matter to you?"

The man simply sighed. He looked like he was about to do something he didn't want to and that set everyone on edge. He raised his right hand and reached across Raven's chest grabbing the left side of her collar with his thumb on the inside. He used his right leg to trip her as he gently set her on the ground.

Raven tried to move but she found herself unable to do so. She could only stare helplessly at the roof of the tent. Raven heard the sound of Ganbrad drawing his sword and then there was a scuffle. She wasn't sure what was happening but she was getting very nervous. She kept trying to get up but to no avail.

She heard the sound of Vernal's chakrams being thrown and she saw one of them flying over her head. She heard Vernal start to say something but then she stopped before there was a cracking sound that Raven recognized as the sound of a neck being broken.

Raven fought to get up but couldn't. She felt fear rushing through her. The last time she was this afraid was when she was caught killing John Mcmurray. She had just killed him when she was ambushed by team JSPR. she was outnumbered four to one by the most dangerous team in recent history.

She was certain that she was dead then. But they let her go. She had been lucky enough to live the last time but this time. The sound of what was most likely Vernal's body falling to the ground made her think that she wouldn't be so lucky this time.

She waited for her death only to see the man she brought here stand over her. "I need you to stay here," he said before he turned and walked out of Raven's line of sight.

"What are you doing?" Raven asked. If he was gonna kill her he was gonna tell her why.

Raven heard him sigh before he said: "I am going to kill every bandit in this camp with the sole exception of you."

Raven was speechless for a moment. Even she wouldn't try to do that. "They outnumber you at least forty to one," she said

"I know" he answered.

"They are all heavily armed." she continued.

"I know, " he said.

Without another word the left the tent. Raven could hear the sounds of battle raging just outside. There was screaming and gunfire with what sounded like intermittent lightning. After a few minutes, there was silence and she felt the weight holding her to the ground lift. She scrambled to her feet to see Ganbrad and Vernal dead. Vernal's head was twisted at an unnatural angle. When Raven looked to Ganbrad she saw that he still had his sword in its scabbard. The way he was clutching his throat lead Raven to conclude that his trachea had been crushed.

She saw the man she brought walking over to her. His eyes looked different as did his posture. Before he had a sad and weak look in his eyes and his posture was low and submissive. Now his eyes shone with confidence and power. His shoulders now lifted and spread to their full height seemed to fill the gap in the tent's door. He stopped about three feet from her and before she could speak his right hand grabbed the front of her left collar before he pulled. His left hand reached into her shirt and grabbed the papers.

Raven was too shocked that he would do that to try and stop him. Not even Tai had ever been that bold and she was married to him!

The man started to read the papers over and after he had finished he looked down as he said. "Dammit you motherfucking dickweasel"

Raven laughed at the way he seemed to shift. He clearly didn't like what it said. "What's the matter?" Raven asked. "Don't like being married to a killer?"

She watched as the man's anger grew. The papers where a marriage certificate. They were married now and nothing could stop that. There was a seal at the bottom of the last page that Raven didn't recognize. It was a heater shield with a cursive T laid over it.

"Do you know what this symbol is?" he asked.

"No," Raven said.

"This is the symbol of the Telmarkian Empire," he said.

Raven had heard about the Telmarkian Empire before. Jorge had once offered her amnesty as well as a place in the Empire. She had turned him down. She didn't want his pity or his protection. She didn't need him. She didn't need anyone.

"Who are you?" Raven asked. She hadn't bothered to read his name on the paper since she really only wanted to see if it had her name on it. As such, she wasn't sure what her last name was.

He chuckled lightly and said. " you may not want to hear that, you sure you want to hear it?" Raven nodded. She was married to him now she may as well learn his name. She wasn't sure of what she was gonna do after that but she was taking this one thing at a time. "My name is Galmaron Telmarvak."

Those five words caused Raven's heart to freeze and her blood to run chill. "Did you just say Telmarvak?" she asked. Her voice was shifting into a growl even though she knew that this man may not be someone with whom she should fuck.

Galmaron's chest puffed out with pride. "Yeah, you did. You gotta problem with that" his voice showed the threat almost as clearly as his posture. He was standing in the Telmarvak signature southpaw stance.

"What happened to the kind little man who I brought here?" Raven asked. She wondered if it was all an act or if there was more than

Galmaron took a deep breath and seemed to shrink slightly. Although Raven knew that was just the magic of having good posture. He took a second breath and apologized. "Sorry about that. When the adrenaline gets going I kinda get carried away." He was looking more and more like the man she had woken up to this morning with each passing moment. He never fully returned to that state but he settled into a mindset that seemed to be a solid middle ground. He wasn't looking for a fight but he wasn't looking like a doormat either.

He held up the papers saying. "Sorry about all of this. Now that your tribe is dead Jorge will probably anull this. Heaven knows you don't want to be married to a drunken old murderer like me."

The small part of Raven that still allowed her good nature to show wanted to ask what he meant. She was easily more guilty than him. Unless he was a true monster she had done much evilier things. And for far worse reasons.

"Do you know where to find him?" she asked.

He paced for a moment and said. "He probably went to Beacon. If he wanted your tribe dead now he is probably moving on Ozpin by now."

Raven was a little confused. She had always wondered if Jorge and Ozpin would go at it but she never thought that she would be in the middle of it. She drew her sword and used it to open a portal to her brother turning to Galmaron she said. "Come along, this is the fastest way to get to Ozpin and by extension Jorge." Raven caught herself wondering if she wanted to see Jorge about annulling this marriage. Sure she just met Galmaron but he seemed like a decent person and worst of all he looked like he needed someone to remind him of that fact.

She shook her head and stepped through. She was met with the sight of her brother sitting at a bar drinking. This wasn't an uncommon sight but something wasn't right. If Ozpin was in trouble then Qrow would normally be sprinting to help him. But instead, he was half passed on a stool.

Qrow turned when he heard Galmaron step through the portal. Raven closed the Portal and stepped closer to her brother. The moment his eyes met hers she knew what had happened. His eyes held their usual drunken shiftiness but once they settled on her they changed.

He reached out and threw his arms around her. "Rae." he half sobbed into her shoulder. It had been so long since her brother had hugged her that at first Raven didn't know what to do. It didn't take long for her old instincts to kick in and she used her right hand to hold the back on his head and her left hand to rub between his shoulder blades. He had been told the truth. The truth about Ozpin, about her, and about Summer.

It was no secret to Raven that Qrow was in love with Summer. So learning that he had been aiding her killer for so many years probably destroyed Qrow's already fragile mental state. Raven could feel her brother falling asleep on her shoulder. She had to lean slightly to help balance Qrow.

Raven wasn't a weak person but her brother was bigger than he looked. His height worked to conceal just how much he weighed. She was about to ask for help when Galmaron stepped in an gently lifted Qrow into a fireman's carry. Raven paid for one of the rooms and Galmaron carried Qrow up the stairs and set him in the bed.

Raven pulled the covers up to proper kept her brother warm. She felt a part of her that she long thought was dead come back to life. It was the feeling of love that she and Qrow used to share. She didn't know it but Qrow had vowed to kill her if he had ever gotten the chance. And now that he knew the truth it was killing him.

Raven leaned down and kissed her sleeping brother's forehead. It was something she did when they were younger and it felt like the thing to do now. Next, she turned to Galmaron and quietly said. "We need to get to Jorge. If he is taking on Ozpin he will need all the help he can get."

When she stopped Galmaron had to stifle a laugh. "You don't get it yet do you?" when Raven shook her head to say no he whispered. "Well, you in the family now so I may as well tell just what my cousin really is."

…

When he was done Raven wanted to tell Galmaron he was lying but the fact that she was actually the current holder of a power that she would have thought unreal before she saw it told her not to doubt such things. She had questions about Jorge. Such as why he chose to come to Remnant when he did. She wanted to ask them but she knew that right now all she could really do was find out why Jorge wanted her to see him.

…

Raven awoke from her sleep to the smell of ham steaks and waffles. Both of which were luxury items for someone who always had to able to pack up and be gone inside of an hours notice. Raven knew that the smell meant Galmaron had woken up first and chose to make breakfast. She sat up from her bed and went about getting dressed. She had abandoned her usual short skirt and armored shirt for a simple knee length skirt and button up blouse. She no longer needed to look like a warlord and instead needed to look more like a teacher. That and she liked the way that Galmaron looked at her when she dressed this way.

She smiled when she thought about her husband. They had met under circumstances that were bizarre, to say the least. But after she had gotten a few weeks to get to know him she found herself oddly attracted to him. He was nothing like Tai was. And that may have been one of the reasons she had fallen for him. Were Tai feigned confidence but really needed reassurance that he had power. Galmaron normally had a relaxed attitude that could be mistaken for submission and also swapped out for a commanding presence in the blink of an eye.

They had both accepted the jobs Jorge offered them. Raven didn't even need to think about it. Galmaron didn't seem to have any allegiance to the students. But he did have an allegiance to Raven which was another thing that worked towards her loving him. He was the definition of loyalty.

It wasn't lost on Raven that he didn't think that he deserved to be loved. He had told her about the things and Orin had done on their home planet. They were monsters consumed by darkness destroying anything in their path. It wasn't until Jorge stepped in that they were stopped. He had since lost his family and it had broken him. She knew that she felt the same way. She had murdered for money and worse. She didn't deserve to be loved the way Galmaron loved her.

In hindsight that was why Jorge had gotten them together. He knew that they needed each other.

Raven would normally hate him for playing matchmaker but this time things were working out so she wasn't going to try and ruin it now. After breakfast Raven and Galmaron made their way to Jorge's office they wanted to let him know when they would have their grade for this quarter in but when they arrived he was nowhere in sight.

There was a note on his desk that read. "Had to deal with a teammate emergency, I have total confidence in you two." there was a smiley face drawn below the note with a cursive JT. Raven was mad that Jorge had just run off but she had to get ready to run the school until he came back. She was going to need to juggle some classes and some needed to be suspended altogether. She turned around to see that Galmaron was already pulling up the schedule for the school on Jorge's computer. She sat down in one of the chairs near the desk got to work. It was going to be a long day.

in case it wasn't obvious enough the majority of this chapter takes place as a flashback