AN: Wow, the response for the last chapter was immense- most reviews for a single chapter so far! Thank you, guys! I hope this chapter won't disappoint as it has the long-awaited moment you all have been longing for. Enjoy!

Masane: Well, there can't be a good RWBY story set in Remnant without Ruby bumping into Weiss and Weiss flipping.

ReaperStride: Just to go with that DBZ thing I was seriously considering to have the next three or so chapters be flashbacks.

JackTheSpades: For as long as my muse is willing! Heh, yeah, I doubt Yang was overly happy with the team named after her long-lost baby sister.

Guest: 'Is Rina a friend from before Beacon?' No, she isn't. I thought about it but figured that I'd rather have an outsider, someone unknown to WBY, be their fourth teammate.

GeonteneArgon00: I know, right? I still am not entirely sure how and when I'm gonna handle the Raven/Yang conversation but for now, we'll have this. I hope that the Ruby/Yang conversation somewhat meets your expectations.


"I thought I'd lost you, I thought I'd never see you again…"

Ruby went stiff as a board, not knowing what to do with herself as her sister held her close, wetting her dark hair as she silently cried. Ruby herself felt her lower lip quiver as all sorts of emotions rushed through her body, overwhelming her in the process but she forced herself to keep a clear head.

Slowly and gently removing herself from Yang's embrace, she looked up into her lilac eyes for the first time in years. "Yang…I…" She didn't know what to say.

Ruby Branwen was many things. A combat prodigy. One of the last remaining silver eyed worriers of legends long forgotten. A member of the notorious and dangerous member of the outlaw Branwen tribe. She was dangerous and deadly, she could set a pace on the battlefield with her semblance that almost no one could keep up with.

But here she was, this Ruby Branwen, completely out of her depth as she looked at the teary face of her sister; the sister who probably thought her dead for years, blaming herself for the cruel death of her baby sister.

"Alright, I don't know what's going on, but I think it best if we leave these two alone for a while to talk it out or something…?"

Ruby jumped at the voice of her team leader before glancing back at her. "Yes, please. I'll…explain things later."

Receiving nods from her teammates, a few moments later Yang and she were alone in the room, standing awkwardly before Ruby motioned for the blonde to take a seat on one of the beds as she sat across from her.

"I…I don't even know where to begin," Ruby stated, looking at the floor, her hands twisting and turning in each other.

"Where have you been? What happened?" Yang was looking at her little sister earnestly. "I always hoped…dad and uncle Qrow always hoped…but I just…I don't know…at some point, it just didn't seem realistic anymore, y'know?"

A sigh escaped Ruby and she didn't say anything for a few moments. "Your mum," she finally whispered, daring a quick glance at Yang and wincing inwardly at the shocked look on the blonde's face.

"What?"

"When that beowolf carried me away…your mum saved me and took me in."

"You've got to be joking…" Yang stood up and ran a hand through her thick mane, pacing across the room as her agitation was evident at that revelation. "All these years…all these years I've wondered why she ran away, why she wouldn't want me, why she abandoned me and dad…and then you tell me that she saved you and raised you? That she was…basically there but…" Yang looked torn between the urge to scream and cry, feeling both hurt and betrayed. "I'm so happy she saved you, believe me, but…why, why am I not good enough?" Yang collapsed onto her bed, her faced now hidden in her hands as she brokenly voiced that question.

"It was never about you not being good enough, Yang," Ruby spoke up, feeling uncomfortable at the state of her clearly emotional sister. "There were…circumstances, choices she was forced to make. It never had anything to do with her not wanting you."

"Then why? What reason is good enough for her to abandon me, her own daughter, but raise someone else's?"

"It's not my place to tell you. All I can say is that she loves you a lot and she told me many times she wished she could have raised you as she raised me. It never was about her not loving you, Yang, I can promise you that much."

"That's not good enough, Ruby…"

At that, Ruby huffed. "Well, it has to be. The world isn't just black and white, with good reasons for things and bad reasons, good people or bad people. There are many, many shades of grey in between and Raven's reasons for leaving you behind were exactly of that nature. There are things…she told me, showed me," Ruby now was the one to stand up from the bed, staring out the window before turning back to look at her sister who gave her an odd look, "Raven had to make many hard choices…some for your sake, some for my sake, some for her own sake and some for… others sakes. I'm certain that some day you can meet her and ask her all your questions and when she explains everything to you- which I know she will- then you can judge her but for now reserve your judgement and just take the knowledge that you have a mother out there who loves you."

"That's still not good enough, Ruby…"

"But for now it has to be."

Neither of the sisters said anything for a while, Ruby standing at the window and staring outside while Yang was sitting on the bed, trying to process everything.

After some moments passed, Yang looked back at her little sister, her very posture so different from the happy girl she remembered. Her very eyes and expression had a hardness to them that seemed so foreign on her soft features, he cheeks still slightly chubby with baby-fat. Ruby Rose just didn't look like Ruby Rose anymore, like she wasn't Ruby Rose anymore. "Why didn't you ask my mum to bring you back?"

"Because she told me things about my mother no one else would."

Yang's look was one of utter bewilderment. "And you just, what, believed everything?"

Ruby turned away from the window to look Yang right in her eyes. "Raven is not someone to act without thinking or telling things without having proof. For everything she told me she had proof, Yang. She earned my trust."

"And that's it? You just…forgot about dad, about me, because my mum told you stories about your mum?" It sounded ridiculous and Yang couldn't believe just how little it took to turn Ruby away from her family. It stung.

"It wasn't about that she told me things, Yang," Ruby clarified tiredly. "It was about what she told me. There were things she said…" Ruby sighed before shaking her head. "Now is not the time to open this topic. Someday, maybe. I don't know."

"Ruby…you were gone for years. I thought…" Yang stopped for a moment to collect herself, to bring herself to voice the thought she hadn't voiced since the moment her uncle found her surrounded by Grimm, sobbing uncontrollably, "I thought that Grimm ate my baby sister!"

The young Branwen couldn't bring herself to look at her elder sibling, the broken voice, the wet sniffles making it obvious that she was on the verge of crying. "Yang…"

"And then…and then you come here, tell me that my mother raised you. And after that you tell me basically nothing. Did you not miss me at all? Or dad? Or Uncle Qrow?"

Ruby supressed her sneer at the mention of her…of Yang's mother's twin before letting out a sigh. It was getting tiresome to refer to Raven as Raven. It was obvious how badly Yang was taking everything already and Ruby didn't feel the need to add to everything the fact that Raven was basically a mother to her. "Of course I did miss you, Yang, but…it's not…that easy."

It was hard to justify Raven's choices, her choices, without revealing things and Ruby felt herself grimacing inwardly, once again, at how she tried to explain things without having to explain things. It was painful and made even more so when Yang let out a defeated, disappointed, hurt and betrayed sigh.

The sound of a creaking bed made Ruby look up at her sister as the blonde took a few tentative steps towards the young bandit.

"For what it's worth," Yang began, her hands resting on her hips, her brows furrowed, "I'm glad…I'm happy you are okay, Ruby. I'm not going to pretend that the things I found out today…that they didn't hurt and they did hurt…like a bitch."

"I'm…sorry."

"Yeah." Yang sighed at the apology, not sure what to do with it. "I just- come here."

Once again, Ruby found herself in a hug, her sister holding her tightly. Ruby slowly allowed herself to hug Yang in return. Despite everything she became, despite the knowledge of where her path was going to lead her, despite the fact that Yang and she would never be able to see eye to eye again in almost every aspect of their lives Ruby knew she missed her sister dearly and there was no harm in allowing herself a little bit of the comfort only the embrace of an elder sibling could provide.

"Promise me that you will tell me everything when you think you can, Ruby. Please."

"Yang…"

"Please, Ruby.

"You won't like it."

"Maybe I won't. I still want the truth eventually."

Pulling herself away from Yang, Ruby looked her sister in the eyes before relenting with a defeated sigh. "Alright. When the time is right, I will tell you everything but know that sometimes ignorance can be bliss."

"Not when it comes to the single most important person of my life, Ruby. Not when it comes to you."

Ruby already dreaded that day.


"Class, let us welcome our guest students for the Vytal Tournament from Vacuo."

There was a small polite applause going around the arena room for combat class as the blonde woman, who greeted them at Beacon's landing platform, introduced them to their fellow students.

The woman, Glynda Goodwitch, seemed like the stern type who demanded respect and obedience in the classroom…kind of like what her mother would be like if she were a teacher instead of a bandit tribe's chieftain.

Chuckling at her own thought, Ruby drew her partner's attention.

"What's so funny?"

Ruby glanced at Dew, who still was somewhat miffed at her.

"I can't believe you kept your long-lost sister from us!"

"Technically, I'm the long-lost sister…"

"That's not the point!"

"Just a funny thought," Ruby gave a shrug before leaning into her seat and pulling a leg up, resting her chin on top of her knee as she looked down at the arena where one of her sister's teammates was dashing around her opponent, confusing him with her after-images.

"She is impressive," the bandit mumbled, earning nods from her own teammates.

"Your sister's team looks strong in general, to be honest."

Glancing sideways at Gwen, Ruby cocked her head slightly. "We've only seen that girl fight so far. I don't see how we would know about the rest."

"It's just a first impression thing," Gwen gave a bashful shrug.

"I-"

"Miss…Branwen."

Ruby's attention snapped towards the Goodwitch woman, her tone when calling her name and the look she was giving indicating that she definitely was familiar with the Branwen name. "Yes?"

"Since you seem awfully chatty, I'm sure you wouldn't mind being in the last sparring match of this class."

Ruby smirked at that. "I don't mind at all."

"Please don't hurt your opponent too badly, Ruby."

Chuckling, Ruby patted her team leader on her shoulder as she passed her. "I'll do my best, I've stressed you enough already since we've arrived at Beacon."

Strolling down he stairs towards the arena, Ruby kept her hand on the hilt of her Thorn.

"Who's going to be my opponent?" She asked once she reached the arena and took her position.

"Any volunteers?"

Ruby glanced around the room and saw her fair share of raised hands, making her chuckle and smirk. Of course they would think she'd be an easily overpowered opponent. Of course they'd underestimate her just by her looks. The mistake her temporary classmates were making at this exact moment was, why she didn't trust 'first impressions' to judge once proficiency in battle.

"Mr. Winchester?"

Her opponent was a tall and muscular, ginger young man with heavy plate armour covering his uniform. His weapon of choice was a mace, probably dust powered but she couldn't be too sure.

She kept looking at him impassively, unimpressed by his cocky swagger as he approached the arena.

"Kick his ass, Ruby!"

Glancing towards the direction of the outburst, Ruby saw her sister cheering her on, earning odd looks from the rest of NDGR and RWBY but Ruby still gave Yang a quick wink. She would kick his ass, after all.

"Are you two ready?"

"You can just forfeit, runt. Nobody'd blame you," the Winchester boy taunted her but to no avail. Ruby simply ignored him and gave Goodwitch a small nod before the blonde teacher gave them the signal to begin.

Ruby immediately disappeared in a burst of wind and rose petals before appearing in front of Winchester, unsheathing and slashing with her katana in one smooth and powerful move. A startled Winchester barely blocked Ruby's first slash, who followed up with three quick successive slashes before dodging a powerful hit from her opponent's mace, a small explosion damaging the spot where she was standing a moment ago.

She was standing a few feet away from Winchester, her weapon sheathed once more as she gave him a small smirk. His breathing was already a bit laboured and it was no surprise to her. His entire getup, weapon included, practically screamed heavy-hitter. He was powerful, no doubt, but he was just that; powerful. From the mere seconds their fight had lasted so far, she knew he wasn't particularly talented, just strong. His movements were very slow, his attacks too predictable.

Charging at her with a yell, Winchester raised his weapon for a strong overhead smash, which, if it would hit, would have put a considerable dent into her aura. But she wasn't average. She was trained by none other than Raven Branwen. She was strong in her own right but, and that was the main difference between her and that Winchester boy, she was also fast.

She dodged his attack, causing another explosive hit of his to miss before she took advantage of the heavy weapon and the time it took Winchester to straighten up from his bent over position. Concentrating her semblance into her legs she jumped up and landed a powered kick into the side of his neck, his aura protecting him from any damage but not the pain he would surely feel.

Winchester slid outside of the arena, his mace still buried where he tried to pull it out.

"Thank you for your performances, Ms. Branwen, Mr. Winchester. That would be all for today, class dismissed."

Giving a small nod to the teacher, Ruby made her way back to her team who all looked incredibly proud of her performance.

"I thought I told you not to hurt him too much!" Nebula complained, her look a mix between pride and exasperation. "He's going to feel that kick forever!"

Ruby gave a nonchalant shrug. "He shouldn't have called me 'runt'. Besides, I hurt his pride more than his neck."

"Ladies. Ruby."

"What's that supposed to mean, Nolan?" Ruby squinted her eyes dangerously at the redhead. "Think carefully before you answer, I'm not the least bit tired after that spar."

Her…well, yes, she could call him a friend after the months she had gotten to know him, just laughed at her before throwing an arm over her shoulders. "Ah, the infamous Branwen humour, not having dulled a bit since we left Vacuo."

"I'll have you know I can be a very funny person. Ask my team if you must, they'll confirm it."

As team BRNZ was looking at Dew, Gwen and Nebula for confirmation all three of the girls silently shook their heads.

"Traitors!"


"Your sister is…something else."

Yang just gave a nod as she longingly looked after her sister and her team as they bantered with another team from Vacuo; friends, she assumed. "Yeah."

"You think they know about the things she's hiding from you?"

Looking at her partner, Blake, Yang shook her head. "I don't think so. She said…she said I wouldn't like the truth so…I'm going through every worst-case scenario in my head and I…I don't want any of them to be true."

"I still don't get why she didn't ask to be brought back to your family…" Weiss threw in as she and her teammates made their way to the cafeteria.

"I don't know guys, I really don't. All the answers I have are the ones I told you about."

Rina put a comforting hand on the tall blonde's shoulder. "We'll figure it out, Yang. Whatever it is, whatever happens, we are a team- no matter what."