Review Responses

Combine117: If you thought that was heartwarming, then prepare for your heart to melt!

3-13 Sniper: I'm glad you're enjoying Neon! I should bring this up about Penny's Semblance: she can only talk to machines that run on a power source. Guns like Crescent Rose and Ember Celica don't technically have a power source, as when you think about it, they're just a bunch of moving parts. Something like Penny's own backpack, Crickette, which draws energy from her Aura Furnace, might have a "voice."

merendinoemiliano: Prepare for even more sass, then!

Guest: How impressively perceptive of you, stranger. Yes, Krane and Icarus are both male. And since I know someone will bring this up, no I am not writing them into the story just to have a gay couple. I am writing them in because I want to expand upon Team FNKI's rather sparse background and have a duo of entertaining characters. Entertaining my audience is and always will be my end goal.

That Pokémon Masters thing looks like a ton of fun! Can't wait to team up with Barry and Acerola in our quest to destroy my phone's battery!

As Raven had requested, all the ladies were gathered around a coffee table in her tent, sitting cross-legged on cushions (a rather difficult maneuver for Neon, but still she refused to take off her roller skates). It was an awkward arrangement, not least because Raven was taking up an entire side of the table for herself and the other five were cramming as close to each other as they could to get as far away from the bandit leader as possible. Vernal had prepared tea for all of them, though it seemed Raven was the only one intent on enjoying the steaming cups in front of them. Yang and Weiss were watching Raven, completely stone-faced. Penny was looking at her tea like it was something that had fallen out of the sky. Neon was moving her cup in circles, watching the hot liquid swirl around. Neo, anticipating poison, was waiting for Raven to take the first drink.

"So, what's 'the truth?'" Yang finally asked in a mocking tone.

"You know," Raven said, lowering the cup of tea from her face, "it's better when it's hot."

"You know," Weiss replied with a sneer, "you're really obnoxious."

Neon closed her mouth and hung her head. She may physically be the fastest thing alive, but apparently the Ice Queen was faster when it came to japes.

"The truth," Raven said, pausing for drama, "is that truth is very hard to come by these days."

"Lady," said Neon, still watching her tea swirl around, "if you keep being vague and mysterious about this 'truth,' I might get fed up and run to Haven all by myself. I'd probably get there before you finish your long-winded explanation, too."

Raven took a deep breath, resisting the urge to throw her cup at the skater girl. She took another long drink of the calming tea. "A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for another. By now, your uncle has told Ruby plenty of stories."

"Well, he's never given me a reason to doubt him before," Yang said.

Raven adopted a smug smile. "That doesn't mean those reasons don't exist."

Yang's eyes narrowed. Neo thought that perhaps lightning would strike again if the tension in the air were any higher.

"You know, you and your teammates might as well be the poster children for the Huntsman Academies," Raven continued, uncrossing her legs and casually leaning back on her hand. "Your motives vary, but you all enrolled to try and make the world a 'better place.' It's adorable."

"That's what Huntsmen and Huntresses do," Yang said.

"That, and look awesome while doing it," Neon said.

"Not all of them," Raven said, deciding that maybe if she ignored the brightly colored nuisance, she would miraculously disappear. "Some are in it for the money, but there's even more that are just looking to grow stronger. Your Uncle Qrow and I didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen. We did it to learn how to kill Huntsmen."

Everyone gasped… well, except for Neon and Neo. Neon had advanced from spinning her tea to grabbing an empty cup and pouring the drink between the two she now had. Neo was more concerned with sniffing her drink for any foreign substances than anything Raven was saying. And why wouldn't she lose interest? Raven was just saying stuff Neo already knew for the most part, though that tidbit about attending Beacon to learn how to kill Huntsmen was certainly intriguing. Neo didn't need to attend school for that. She just picked up tricks as she went along, and it worked out well enough for her.

But what she was aiming to kill was more dangerous than any Huntsman or Huntress in the world. A Maiden, and a particularly homicidal Maiden at that.

Thoughts of her revenge motivated Neo to stand up and walk outside, taking her tea with her. Penny looked up curiously and followed her, also taking her tea with her. Raven continued her story of defeat. If those two weren't going to listen to what she had to say, then they would only have themselves to blame for the suffering they would experience at Ozpin's hands.

"… The entrance exams were child's play compared to what we had already been through," Raven continued, pacing away from the table. "We were good. So good, that we captured the attention of Beacon's very own headmaster. Professor Ozpin." Since she was facing away from the remaining three girls, no one could see the way she looked to the ceiling wistfully as she remembered the few good parts of her time at Beacon. "Even after we were put on a team, he was still keeping an eye on us. Back then, I thought it was because he knew. But it was Team STRQ he was interested in."

"What do you mean by that?" Yang asked.

"Constant attention, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever we happened to break the rules and get into more trouble than we should have." Raven turned around when she finished her list. "Sound familiar?"

Neon frowned, a strange sensation for her. That did sound incredibly familiar. In fact, it was almost exactly how she would describe her own team's relationship with General Ironwood.

Team FNKI did not fit into the mold of how most would describe Huntsman teams originating from Atlas Academy. Flynt was a very laid-back kind of guy; his whole schtick was that he was a suave and cool jazz musician, a far cry from the rigid military training Atlas provided. Neon's irregularities were pretty much spoken for, not to mention the fact that she was a Faunus attending a Huntsman Academy in a kingdom notorious for its poor treatment of her kind. Icarus was always working on some crazy experiment or other, aspiring to become the next Mad Genius of Atlas. The polite and immaculate Krane was really the sanest member of their group, but that was only speaking relatively. In short, they were a ragtag bunch of misfits in a school that really shouldn't have such a group.

Yet despite having many opportunities to do so, Ironwood never kicked them out. He was the one who suggested Flynt practice his trumpet in the barely used recital hall of the Academy. Neon had broken enough rules to get expelled ten times by now, but she only ever received a slap on the wrist for skating through the halls. Any time one of Icarus's experiments inevitably blew up in his face (sometimes literally) all the General ever demanded was that the novice mad scientist clean it up without help, followed by 50 laps around the Academy. Krane never got into much trouble, but that was probably because he was too savvy to let himself get caught. There was really no reason she could think of for why Team FNKI continued to exist in Atlas.

Neon was suddenly very interested in what Raven had to say.

"How much do you know about Professor Ozpin?" the bandit leader asked. "About his past?"

"He liked to wear green," Neon responded helpfully.

"He was a prodigy," Weiss added. "One of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school."

"Because that's how he planned it," Raven said. "Because the man you know as Ozpin designed those schools and has followers inside every academy on Remnant that are loyal to him and no one else."

Yang frowned in confusion. "That doesn't make any sense. How could he have – no, why would someone even do that?"

Raven smirked, relishing in another dramatic pause. She was really being rather showy about this whole thing. "Because old man Oz has a great and terrible secret. One that could spread fear across the world. One that he eventually entrusted to our team. And once I knew, there was no going back." She stepped up to a map of Remnant on the wall and began staring at it intently, likely counting all the raids she had accomplished in her many years as a bandit. "I needed to know more. But with every new discovery I made, the more horrifying the world became."

"Okay, then tell us," Yang said, her patience wearing thin along with everyone else's. "What's the big secret? What's so crazy that the rest of us don't know?"

Another dramatic pause. "The creatures of Grimm have a master named Salem. She can't be stopped. She can't be reasoned with. And she will not rest until humanity crumbles at her feet."

No one said anything. Raven might as well have said she was planning on giving up thievery and forming a traveling theater group.

"What?" Weiss finally asked.

Raven turned around. "You know, you three haven't even touched your tea."

"I prefer coffee," Neon said.

"The last thing you need is caffeine," Raven replied.

Yang stood up. "Why should we believe any of this?"

Raven adopted an expression that could almost be described as prideful. "Now you're catching on. So far you've done nothing but accept what others tell you." She placed her empty cup on the table and stood face-to-face with her daughter. "But you need to question everything."

The two of them glared into each other's eyes, the vitriol palpable. Raven turned away and began pacing again. "Otherwise you'll end up just as blind as Qrow." She paused again, a hint of a malicious smile on her face. "And your fool of a father."

There was a loud bang as Yang fired her weapon.

Neo stared into her teacup. She took a small sip. After a few seconds passed without her keeling over and dying, she nodded. Then she poured the drink on the ground in front of her. She preferred coffee anyway.

Neo sighed. Meeting Raven Branwen in person was putting things in perspective for her. Cinder would come here eventually. Neo had known the Spring Maiden was here, and after the lightning stunt from earlier, she knew who the Spring Maiden was. It would only be a matter of time before the Fall Maiden arrived to see this for herself.

But now Neo saw that she had a rare opportunity here. She could meet the only person who saw Roman Torchwick in his final moments. Ruby Rose. Neo knew quite a bit about the silver-eyed girl thanks to her boss ordering her to find as much information on Rose as possible. She was born to Taiyang Xiao Long and Summer Rose. She went to Signal Academy before being accepted into Beacon early. Qrow Branwen was her uncle. Her mother had died for reasons even Neo couldn't discover, but that didn't seem to detract from her cheerful personality and promising fighting prowess. Ruby Rose was a prodigy, that was for certain.

Neo doubted Little Red would have killed Torchwick herself. It would have been remarkably out of character for the cheerful, bouncy little girl. But the fact remained that Torchwick had disappeared immediately after he confronted the Beacon student. Neo needed to talk to Ruby and learn about Roman's demise from the only person who witnessed it firsthand. But was she willing to give up her one chance to face off with Cinder once and for all? The Fall Maiden needed retribution for her part in the man's death. Was Neo willing to throw it all away?

Both of her goals held equal weight in her mind. For the life of her, Neo couldn't decide between them.

"Neo?"

The mute turned around and saw the last person she wanted to see at that moment. Penny was standing there, holding her teacup in both hands.

The android looked between the puddle of dark liquid quickly soaking into the dirt and Neo's empty cup. "Is that what you're supposed to do with this?" Penny asked. "I didn't want to be rude and refuse to have any tea. But this works too." With that, she turned over her cup, and the drink joined Neo's on the ground.

Neo smiled and shook her head. Here she was contemplating a decision that could alter the course of her life and Penny's biggest dilemma was what to do with tea she presumably couldn't drink. How wonderful it must have been to be young and stupid.

"You seemed upset," Penny observed. "Is something wrong?"

Neo sighed again and sat down, with Penny joining her after a moment. Neo took out her notepad and pen and began to write. I have a lot to think about, that's all.

"Is this about your friend?" Penny asked.

Neo nodded. The person I'm searching for is responsible for his death. She'll come here eventually because Raven has something she wants. When she arrives, that's when I'll take my revenge.

"That does sound like a lot to think about," Penny said.

There's more, Neo wrote. Your friend Ruby Rose is the last person who saw my friend before he died. She's the only one who knows what happened to him. If I go with you, I can get an explanation from her.

"I see," Penny replied. Then her face was filled with worry. "But if you go with us, that means you'll lose your chance to meet the person who killed your friend."

That's right. It's a big decision I have to make.

The two sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, both contemplating the ramifications of Neo's possible choices. Then Neo was startled when she felt contact.

"Neo, I want you to know that no matter what choice you make, I'll gladly accept it," Penny said, hugging the short woman gently. "I may not know much about friendship, but I do know that friends support each other. So, that's exactly what I'll do."

Neo sat there, not returning the embrace but not eager to leave it either. After a minute, Penny drew away from her friend and gave her a smile.

In that moment, Neo made her decision.

Neo put pen to paper, but she hesitated. She was about to write that she and Penny were not friends, but she found that she couldn't bring herself to show that message to her. Instead, she wrote: Why did you hug me?

"Everyone needs a hug sometimes," Penny said. "It sounded like you really needed one just now."

Neo stared at Penny, bewildered at how kind she was being considering who she was talking to. Then Neo gave a small smirk. Thanks.

"You're welcome!" Penny responded. Then her expression turned a bit more serious. "But, if you do decide to stay here, I'll need you to give me that explanation I asked for. Who is your friend? Why did Yang call you a criminal?"

Neo's heart dropped. She had nearly forgotten about that request. You'll get your explanation whether I go with you or not.

Penny tilted her head quizzically. "What does that mean?"

Before Neo could respond, they heard a gunshot from within the tent. Not wasting any time, they both leapt to their feet and ran inside.

The scene before them was quite chaotic. Yang was standing up with her fists clenched, the coffee table smashed into splinters. Weiss was staring at Yang with shock in her eyes. Neon was clutching her now empty teacups close as if they would provide some sort of security. Vernal had her own weapon pointed at the blonde, a determined expression on her face. Raven was giving Yang a somewhat amused look.

"Don't you DARE talk about my family like that!" Yang screamed.

Vernal's finger rested on the trigger of her gun. "You need to calm down."

"Yang, please!" Weiss said, taking her friend's hand.

"Listen to your friend, Yang," Raven said, crossing her arms. "Your teammates have never let you down before."

"You don't know the first thing about my teammates!" Yang retaliated. "About me! You were never there! You left us!" She suddenly slumped over, all defiance melting away in an instant and giving way to sorrow. "Why?"

Raven gave her daughter an unreadable expression. "I know more than you realize. Not just about you, and not just what I've been told, but things I've seen with my own eyes. I know people that can come back from the dead. I know the Grimm have a leader. I know that magic is real. And I can prove it."

Weiss stood up, backing away slightly to reach for her sword. At a nod from Raven, Vernal lowered her weapon but did not put it away. Raven walked up to the back entrance of her tent and opened it. "You said Tai told you all about my Semblance. Well, I doubt he ever told you what Oz did to my brother and me." Without another word, she stepped outside, the tent flap closing behind her.

Everyone looked at each other. None of them were all that eager to follow the crazy lady who said that magic was real.

"Was that supposed to be her answer to 'why did you abandon me to run away with bandits?'" Neon asked no one in particular. "Cause if so, that was pretty weak."

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Vernal asked with a smug grin. "Go see for yourself." She left the tent through the front entrance.

Everyone hesitated for a moment longer. Then they looked at the back exit with determination. They might as well get it over with.

The five of them rushed outside, looking around. Raven's backyard looked to be nothing more than extra storage. There was firewood, a few crates, and…

"Penny," Yang said, carefully keeping her voice level.

"Yes?" the android replied.

"Why did you park my bike in the middle of the camp full of thieves?!" Yang demanded incredulously.

Sitting in a corner was Yang's bike, Bumblebee. It was propped up on its kickstand and aside from a few patches of dirt seemed to be no worse for wear.

"Well, I thought long and hard about it," Penny said, ignoring the laughing fit that Neon was currently stuck in, "and I realized that the only place I could put her where I could guarantee she wouldn't be moved was in the camp. So, I drove her around here, flew her over the wall, and… well, here we are!"

"That…" Yang sighed, her anger dissipating. "Whatever, let's just see what my mom has to show me and get out of here."

Weiss looked at her friend with concern. "Yang, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine once we can get her to take us to Ruby," she replied. Her clenched fists didn't do much to help convince everyone of that fact.

"Well, that's all the convincing I need," Neon said, leaning back and putting her hands behind her head. "How about you, Ice Queen? You holding up okay?"

Weiss gave Neon a look of confusion. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"I mean, we crashed in the middle of nowhere and you were kidnapped by crazy bandits who think magic is real," Neon said. "That sounds like it should have an effect on you."

"Oh," Weiss said. "Well, to be honest it is a lot to take in. I mean, we have Dust, Semblances… but, there's no such thing as magic."

"I know this may just be because of my unique situation," Penny said, "but I'm willing to believe Miss Branwen when she said people can come back from the dead."

"Yeah, but you're a robot," Neon said. "For you, coming back from the dead is like getting your bike repaired or something, right?"

"I don't think it's that simple," Penny said.

Caw!

Any further conversation was halted when they heard the bird call. Everyone looked to the sky to see a small black bird flying in circles above their heads.

Caw!

"A raven?" Weiss asked.

"I've seen that bird before," Yang said, peering at the feathered creature curiously.

"Maybe it belongs to your mom?" Weiss suggested.

"Come on, that would just be ridiculous," Neon said. "I mean, a woman named Raven having an actual raven for a pet? That would be the most pretentious thing, even for her."

The bird stopped circling above them and began to nosedive. The wind began to pick up as if in response to the increasing tension. Yang's eyes narrowed as the bird drew closer and closer. It was nearly at the ground now…

No one was sure how it happened. One moment the raven was flying towards them, and in the next moment Raven Branwen dropped to the ground.

The girls stepped back in shock and awe. Raven stood up straight, a smug grin on her face.

"Okay, I take it back," Neon said, swallowing a lump in her throat. "This is the most pretentious thing she could do."

"H-how… did you do that?" Yang asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

Raven's hand fell to her sword. "Well, I could tell you…"

She turned around and sliced at the air. Her katana traced a line of swirling dark red smoke. The portal emitted an eerie howling sound as it floated there.

"Or you could ask your uncle," Raven finished.

Yang was taken aback even further. "You're letting us go?"

"I'm giving you a choice," Raven corrected, sheathing her sword. "Stay here, with me –"

"No thanks, I'm good!" Neon quickly interrupted. She gave her friends finger guns as she backed up toward the portal. "See you guys on the other side!" She waved to Raven. "Bye, Mother of the Year! Thanks for boring me to death with your speeches!" Without another word, she turned around and dashed into the portal, a trail of rainbows and sparkles being the only proof that she had been there in the first place.

"Good riddance," Raven muttered darkly. She turned around. "As I was saying, you can stay here, and I'll answer all of your questions and more. We can have a fresh start."

Yang gritted her teeth. Her mother had some nerve suggesting that after all this time.

"Or," Raven continued, stepping away and gesturing to the portal, "you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem. And meet the same fate as so many others."

The corner of her mouth twitched upward. "But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?"

Weiss looked to Yang with concern. The Schnee had enough experience with her father to tell that Raven was manipulating her daughter into staying with her. She was using Qrow's faults to try and get Yang to side with her. It was giving Weiss an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu. She prayed that Yang could see what her mother was doing.

Penny looked back and forth between Yang and Raven. She didn't really know who Ozpin, Qrow, or Salem were. All she wanted was to get to Ruby. She was so close, and part of her wanted to just sprint through that spirling dark vortex and never look back. But Ruby was not her only friend. She didn't want to risk going through there and never seeing Yang or Weiss ever again.

Yang held Raven's gaze for a moment. No one said anything, their anticipation preventing them from moving.

"All I care about is making sure my sister is safe," she finally said.

Raven's face was suddenly filled with disappointment. She sighed and backed away from the portal even further.

"Wait," Penny interjected. "Where's Neo?"

Everyone looked around. The short woman with multicolored hair was nowhere to be seen.

"Guess she decided to stay after all," Yang said, walking over to her motorcycle with Weiss following close behind.

Penny felt saddened. She hadn't known Neo for very long, but she had grown fond of the assassin's company. Nevertheless, she put aside those feelings and nodded with conviction.

"Thank you, Miss Branwen," Penny said, bowing to her. "Your assistance is appreciated."

"Don't thank me yet, little girl," Raven said with a glare. "You have no idea what awaits you on the other side of that portal."

Penny took a deep breath. She steeled her nerves and stepped through.

Qrow Branwen looked at the scenery he was faced with and sighed. It was quite the majestic view; the city of Mistral was spread out before him, the setting sun casting everything in an alluring orange light. The buildings themselves were also impressive: architectural miracles that were built into the side of the mountain that was the city. There was a breathtaking waterfall and an entire range of much smaller mountains beyond the city limits.

But Qrow didn't care about any of that. He was too preoccupied contemplating his terrible lot in life.

"This doesn't make sense," he groaned. "I get one or two, but… all of them?"

At first, Qrow was willing to chalk it up to his usual lousy luck. It certainly wasn't a stretch to imagine that his curse of a Semblance was to blame for him not being able to find a single Huntsman or Huntress in Mistral. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that luck probably didn't have anything to do with it. The chances of every one of them being missing at the same time by pure coincidence was incalculably small. There had to be something bigger at work here.

He cursed under his breath and hung his head low. Why couldn't things be as simple as they were when he was a first-year student at Beacon? Back then he didn't have to worry about witches or magic or gods. It was just him and his close friends trying to make it in the world. The biggest problem he had to worry about then was trying to break the news to Raven that he didn't want to go back to the tribe.

As if on cue, he heard that telltale howl of wind that signified her arrival. He turned around, wide-eyed with shock. This was just what he needed after his awful day: a confrontation with his least favorite family member.

Someone arrived through the portal. But it was definitely not Raven.

"Ah, so good to be out of the woods!" Neon exclaimed, picking small sticks out of her hair. "I love nature, but nothing beats the smooth paved roads of the city." She noticed who else was occupying the balcony and waved her tail at him. "You must be that Qrow dude. Nice place you got here! Neon's the name and speed's my – whoa!"

Neon fell flat on her face as something very heavy crashed into her from behind. She groaned as she tried to get up. "What the hell, Penny?! You ruined my intro!"

"Sorry!" Penny exclaimed, rolling off her friend's back. "I didn't expect you to still be standing there!"

Qrow had relaxed, but now his panic had been replaced with perplexment. Of all the things he had expected to come out of that portal, this was at the very bottom of the list.

"Well, we better get out of the way now before Blondie runs us over!" Neon said, taking Penny's hand and letting the android help her to her feet.

'Blondie?' Does she mean… Qrow's inner thoughts were interrupted when they all heard the dull roar of a motorcycle engine. Penny and Neon quickly backed away, letting the next two individuals exit the portal.

Yang brought Bumblebee to a stop at the edge of the balcony. A few moments later, the portal closed behind her. There was no going back now. Yang took a deep breath. Her long journey was finally over.

She looked up at Qrow, who was now grinning. He was rather impressed that Yang had managed to get out of her depression long enough to not only track down her mother, but convince her to take her directly to him. In his mind, he thanked Taiyang for being such an amazing father.

"So," he said in his gravelly voice. "You finally made it."

Yang turned off her bike and dismounted. She stomped up to Qrow and wrapped him in one of the tightest hugs she had ever given.

"Thank you for taking care of her," she whispered, her voice shaky.

Qrow's smile persisted, and he returned the hug. "That's what family's for, right?"

Yang let go of her uncle and stepped back, giving him a grin. "You don't smell too bad today." They both knew what smell she was referring to: that pungent odor of alcohol.

"Gee, thanks for the compliment," Qrow said with sarcasm. He turned to the other person who had arrived with his niece. "Hey there, Schnee. Glad you could make it to the party."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she replied with a smile.

"Speaking of parties," Neon said, "can we go meet your extended family already, Blondie? We've been building up this meeting so much I'm about to explode from excitement."

"I agree with Neon. About the excitement, not the exploding," Penny said.

Qrow looked at Penny and realized who she was. He raised an eyebrow. This was certain to be a very emotional reunion.

Raven sighed as her daughter disappeared through the portal. She had tried her best to warn her. But now, Yang would only have herself to blame for the misfortune that would follow.

She was about to close the portal when she hesitated. She heard rushed footsteps pounding into the dirt. She looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. But just as she was about to place a direction to where it came from, the noise abruptly stopped. After a few seconds of nothing else happening, she finally closed the portal with a thought.

Raven walked back into her tent. She must have imagined the footsteps. It was getting late and she was incredibly tired, after all.

"I'm back!" Qrow called into the rather spacious apartment as the group of five entered.

"Be right there!" called a rather high-pitched voice.

Penny's head snapped up. She knew that voice. She knew that voice!

"How expensive was this place, anyway?" Neon asked. "It's freaking huge!"

"We have a lot of people with us," Qrow replied. "Trust me, it's worth every Lien. Though since we have so many more people now, we might need to get another one." His eyes narrowed. "Uh, Ruby?"

"Coming!" the voice called back, this time with a definite panic in her tone.

Penny's Aura Furnace began to pulse with energy, a feeling that a human might describe as their heart racing. She knew that voice!

There was a sound from the kitchen like a miniature explosion. They heard a brief, frustrated argument, then Ruby walked into the room carrying a tea set.

"So, we didn't know how many people were coming, so we just cooked all of it –" Her eyes widened at who her uncle was standing next to. She dropped the tea set, her hands losing all function from pure shock. No one moved to pick up the mess.

Ruby stared at Yang. Her sister stared back with an unreadable expression.

"Y-Yang, I'm sorry!" Ruby said, and suddenly it was like a dam broke. "I should've stayed, I-I should've talked to your more, I…" She completely broke down, unable to contain the tears freely falling down her face. "I just… I wasn't sure if you wanted me around –"

No more words were necessary. Yang wrapped her arms around her sister and buried Ruby's face in her shoulder.

"I love you," Yang said. That was all she needed to say. After all this time, it was the only thing she could think to say.

Ruby sniffed. "I love you too," she replied quietly, hugging Yang back.

Jaune, Nora and Ren entered from the kitchen, closely followed by Oscar from upstairs. They all smiled at the scene in front of them. Neon stubbornly refused to cry this time. If she let every emotional reunion get the best of her, then her heart was liable to give out. Qrow put a hand on his hip and leaned to one side. This was why he got out of bed every morning: these two lovable girls that he helped raise. He was grateful for them being the bright spot in his otherwise crummy life.

Weiss wiped a tear away. She had waited for this day for so long, yet she still had no idea what to say or do. Would they be mad at her for abandoning them in their time of need? Would they reject her for not keeping in touch?

"Weiss."

Her head snapped up at Ruby's voice. Yang and Ruby had separated. What's more, their arms were open, beckoning her close.

Weiss couldn't take it anymore. With a wide smile, she ran up to the two girls and entered their welcoming embrace. For the second time that day, all her troubles disappeared. The three stood there, happy to just be close to one another. That's when Weiss realized something: she was home. After over a year, she had finally come home. She could finally breathe.

No one was sure if the girls would have stayed there all day and all night if they were allowed. But they had to break it up when Qrow cleared his throat.

"Uh, hate to break this whole thing up," he said, "but there's someone else here who'd like to talk to you."

Ruby blinked. What was her uncle talking about?

Then he stepped aside, and the shock returned anew.

Penny's eyes widened when Qrow stepped out of her way. That was Ruby Rose. It had to be! Her clothes were different, but her face was the same! Same short black hair, same red hooded cloak, same silver eyes! It had to be her!

Ruby was going through something similar. That was Penny Polendina. The awkward yet lovable robot girl from her school days. Back from the dead! Her heart pounded in her chest as her brain tried to wrap itself around this inconceivable notion.

"Penny?" she asked so quietly it was barely noticeable.

That was all the android needed to hear.

"You're my friend, right?" Penny demanded in a frenzy. "You promise you're my friend?"

"I promise," Ruby said without hesitation.

Penny steeled herself for what would happen next. Once she said this, there would be no going back.

"Ruby," Penny said, opening her hands, "I'm not a real girl."

Ruby stared at the palms of Penny's hands. The skin had been torn away from the impact with the truck. However, where a human would have bones and muscles, Penny's hands were filled with metal plates and bolts. They were impressively shiny.

"Oh," was all Ruby could think to say. How did one respond to learning that their friend was actually a robot? Getting an explanation would probably be a good place to start.

"Penny, I don't understand," she said.

"Most girls are born," Penny elaborated. "But I was made. I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura." She looked away, unable to hold Ruby's gaze anymore. "I'm not real."

There, the truth was out. Now to prepare for the judgement.

Ruby took Penny's hands and inspected the metal joints again. Then she closed the hands and looked Penny in the eye.

"Of course you are."

Penny looked at Ruby. Well, that was certainly a pleasant surprise.

"You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?" Ruby asked with a smile.

"I don't… um." Penny's eyes narrowed and she drew closer. Ruby leaned back a bit. "You're taking this extraordinarily well."

"You're not like those things we saw back there," Ruby said. She poked Penny's chest, eliciting a small clink. "You've got a heart. And a soul, I can feel it!"

Penny's mouth broke into a wide grin. She put her hands on Ruby's shoulders and drew her in for a crushing hug.

"Oh, Ruby!" she exclaimed in delight. "You're the best friend anyone can have!"

Penny blinked.

She remembered.

Everything.

"Ruby," she whispered.

Ruby's tears started up all over again. "Penny!"

"Ruby!" Penny sprinted at her old friend. Ruby had barely enough time to raise her arms before Penny dove headfirst into the embrace. The force of it caused them both to crash to the ground, much to everyone's surprise. Neither of the girls seemed to care or even notice. Penny's body shook as she sobbed, yet no tears were brought to her face.

"I missed you so much!" Ruby shouted in a mix of anguish and pure joy.

"I missed you too!" Penny screamed back. Those were the only coherent things either of them could bring themselves to say. From there it was just crying, laughing, and continuing to crush each other in their hug. No one was in a hurry to break them up. In fact, they were all too delighted at the display of friendship to do anything but watch and get caught up in the girls' happiness.

Qrow smiled. Maybe today had been a good day after all.

"We're on a tight schedule here, Watts!"

"It's hot. I just want water. And it's Doctor to you, Mr. Black."

The gas station attendant looked up upon hearing this exchange. There was no way that he heard that right.

Contrary to popular belief, General Ironwood did not completely withdraw Atlas's presence from the rest of the world when he recalled thousands of troops and airships to guard the northern kingdom's borders. Stationed around various key points in Remnant were undercover agents working for the Atlas military. Their job was simple: observe the world around them and report back with anything their General needed to know. It was a slow process, with a lot of relaying messages back and forth between stations. However, it was the only source of information about the outside world that Atlas had with the destruction of Vale's CCT Tower bringing the global communication network down.

This gas station attendant was one such agent, assigned to keep track of Raven Branwen and her tribe's activities in Mistral. It involved a lot of travelling around, seeing as the Branwen tribe was nomadic. What he had not expected was to come face to face with the man browsing his snack shelf.

Undercover agents were instructed to keep a lookout for persons of interest. Raven was one such person. Doctor Arthur Watts was another. But it was simply impossible for this man to be the same Arthur Watts the General meant. He looked too young! His olive skin had no trace of wrinkles, his dark hair had only a few gray streaks, and he seemed alert and attentive. At most, he looked to be in his early forties.

Then he reminded himself just who Arthur Watts was and what he was capable of. He remembered that this man had insisted on "Mr. Black" calling him Doctor. The apparent doctor was dressed very formally in his dark gray overcoat and pants, yellow suit, and black dress shoes. Was he a relative, perhaps? No, Arthur Watts wasn't reported to have any family. He had to be sure of who this man was.

The stranger walked up to the attendant and laid some Lien notes on the counter. "Just water will be fine."

The attendant reached into the fridge under the counter and pulled out a bottle of water. "So, you're a doctor, huh?"

"And why does that matter to you?" Watts asked as the attendant took his money.

"Just trying to make small talk," the attendant said. "We don't get too many folks around here, especially ones as sharp as you. Mind if I ask what you're a doctor of?"

Watts gave the attendant a hard glare. "I have a PhD in Aura Studies."

"Sounds fancy," the attendant said as Watts moved for the door. "Take care."

Watts did not respond, taking a long drink of water as he walked out the door. Curiously, the attendant saw no sign of any vehicle or anyone who might have accompanied him.

He made up his mind. A man with the name Watts and a PhD in Aura Studies? That was simply too many coincidences to chalk it up to a freak chance. He walked out from behind the counter and picked up the old pay phone on the wall. It was an ancient device, especially compared to the Scroll in his pocket. But this way, the call couldn't be traced. He dialed a number, put the phone back, then picked it up again and dialed a completely different number.

After a few rings, someone picked up on the other end. "Hello?"

"This is Agent Bravo," the attendant said. "I need you to relay a message to the General."

A/N: The Volume 6 Soundtrack is finally here! The song One Thing is my new jam!

Surprise! New chapter uploaded only a day after the previous one! I had an unexpected amount of free time this weekend and I decided I might as well use it to finish this chapter and get it out there.

The long-awaited reunion has finally arrived! Penny and Ruby, together again at last! My second biggest conundrum this chapter (with the first biggest again being making this too much like canon) was not detracting from Weiss's and Yang's reunion with Ruby. On one hand, seeing one of your best friends come back from the dead is sure to get an emotional rise out of anyone. On the other hand, I didn't want to devalue Team RWBY partially getting back together. I've always been a sucker for those "getting the old band back together" plots.

As you probably noticed, I am far from done with Neo. Rest assured, she will be back and she will be glorious.

Also, foreshadowing for things to come! Out of all the villains in Salem's faction, Arthur is the one who's had the least development so far and I aim to fix that. For those who live in the future, keep in mind that this story was written before Volume 7. My interpretation of him will almost certainly deviate from how it will be in canon. In fact, that statement applies to pretty much all of the canon material. As always, tell me what you think in a review please!

Next time: The new arrivals join Team RNJR for dinner and learn what they missed. They get a debriefing from Qrow and Oscar/Ozpin, only for it to be interrupted by an unexpected guest.