Metal Hands, Patchwork Hearts

It was all too much for her.

"Yang?" she saw the pale girl mouth soundlessly in shock.

"Weiss?" Yang breathed back. There was no way this was happening. Why would Weiss be in her mother's bandit camp? Why wasn't she in Atlas?

Before Yang knew it, a giant, Aura-laced suit of armour was standing behind her, with a mud-stained, scraggly Weiss by her side. She had no idea what was going on- how could this be happening?

"Don't worry about it," Weiss chastised. "What are you doing here?"

How to even explain- "Well, that's my mom and she can take us to Ruby," she muttered at last.

"Your mom kidnapped me?!"

Yang's eyes bugged out of her head as she glared at Raven in disbelief. "You kidnapped her?!"

Before the ensuing conflict between the duo and the bandits could even begin, a bolt of lightning struck the ground between the two sides, startling them all into stillness. A woman's cry echoed through the camp, silencing the crowd in its wake. Yang turned around to face Raven once more, finally catching sight of the woman who had called for silence.

This newcomer could have been around Yang's age. She turned to look up at Raven, and the two exchanged warm, appreciative looks.

The knot in Yang's stomach rose halfway up her throat, seeing how familiar they were with one another. Yang knew that look- it was so similar to how Tai looked at her.

…was she why you left, Mom? Did… did she replace me?

The thought made her want to gag.

But why did it matter to her? It was clear that she wanted nothing to do with Raven, and Raven, her. There was no point feeling jealous over this stranger whose relationship with Raven was stronger. There wasn't any point.

And yet, the pit in her stomach pulsed and ached, because gods, the child in her heart couldn't be silenced. Was it so wrong to just want the person she had always dreamed of back in her life?

Her focus on this newcomer snapped back to Raven as she ordered Yang and Weiss into her tent, disappearing behind the opening flap once more as the rest of the bandits reluctantly dispersed. In only a few moments, Weiss and Yang were alone in front of the large tent, accompanied only by the ghostly suit of armour hovering protectively behind them.

They were both silent for a moment, and Yang wanted to scream all of her questions into the universe. What was even happening anymore? All she had wanted by coming to the Branwen Tribe was to find an efficient way to finding Ruby somewhere in Anima. How had it all become upended so quickly?

And how had Weiss gotten involved?

Something's gone wrong in all this. She attempted, "Sorry about-"

Before she could even finish her thought, however, Weiss' arms wrapped around her neck, the shorter girl clutching her desperately. Against her shoulder, Weiss breathed, "I missed you so much."

And the weakness in her voice almost brought Yang to her knees, her eyes widening and heart racing. Weiss… meant it. Weiss had been lonely, her voice thick with longing and anguish and regret and relief. Weiss meant it.

Yang hadn't been the only one.

She finally raised her hands to return the hug, holding Weiss' head against her shoulder, clutching one of her closest friends, her teammates, against her heart. "I've missed you, too," she replied, unable to stop the tremors in her voice.

There were no words to describe how it felt to have Weiss in her arms again. It almost felt like they were back at Beacon- like Team RWBY had never fallen apart- like everything was still okay.

But when she heard a throat clear from the tent, lifting her head only to see Raven's right-hand woman gesturing for them to hurry and come inside, reality came crashing down. Yang released Weiss, shifting to face the woman, clenching her fists as she glared her down. "Who are you?" Yang called.

"The name's Vernal." The woman grinned, feral. "What's it to you?"

"Who- who are you? To Raven?"

Her left hand trembled, and trembled, and trembled-

And Vernal noticed. Her smirk only grew. "What you could never be. Now hurry up. The tea's growing cold." With that, she turned on her heel and returned to the tent.

Yang continued glaring at the spot that Vernal had occupied. What did that mean? Who was Vernal, really?

Her hand only stilled when she felt dainty, slender fingers grab onto hers worriedly. "Yang, what's going on?" Weiss pleaded, grabbing her attention once more. "Why are you here? What's this about Ruby?"

Keeping her eyes locked onto the tent, Yang gave her a brief summary of her plan and of Raven's Semblance, of JNPR and Ruby's mission, and of Qrow's promise to her to protect Ruby. She told her of Ruby's radio silence, and her lack of letters, and her fears.

She didn't say a word about how Ruby had left her behind, though.

And as Yang sighed at the end of it all, turning to face the pale girl once again, Yang could only watch as Weiss' eyes widen in shock as her painted arm finally came back into view.

With a delicate, nervous touch, Weiss reached out, tracing her fingers against the prosthetic. Yang's heart sank when Weiss' eyes filled with tears, lip trembling as she took in the sight of Yang- proud, strong, with both arms again. "You… you're using a prosthetic," Weiss murmured, not meeting her gaze.

Yang offered her a closer look, holding her arm up. "Thanks to General Ironwood. He sent it to me."

And then, her heart surged with warmth, all her despair and confusion replaced by gratitude. All of her regret and longing for her mother's affection, for the figure that Yang had spent her whole life dreaming about, vanished in just a few moments.

All it took was Weiss holding onto her bionic hand with both of her own, whispering, "This… must have been so hard. I'm sorry… I'm sorry I couldn't stay, Yang. I wanted to, but my father… I'm sorry."

…I'm not alone. I don't need Raven.

With a gentle touch, she wiped away the tears that had begun to fall involuntarily from Weiss' eyes. "It was," she said quietly. "It… is hard. But… it was hard for you too, huh?"

Weiss huffed and rolled her eyes, snapping back into her usual icy, practical demeanor. "Ugh, you have no idea," she groaned. "My father is a complete-" Realizing her sudden outburst, however, the girl's face softened into a wry smile. "But… enough about me. We've got time for catching up later."

"Let's head in, then?" Yang asked, pointing to the tent with her thumb over her shoulder. "Mom's probably getting angsty waiting for us."

Weiss snorted, picking up her blade and walking by Yang's side towards the tent. "She looks like the brooding type, ugh. Whatever- let's go save Ruby from whatever nonsense she's pulled this time."

And Yang laughed aloud, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. Weiss walked automatically in step with her, and their conversation was easy and bright, despite all of the trauma and tragedy. Weiss hadn't changed. Weiss still loved her, just as she loved Weiss still. They'd be teammates forever.

But she left-

But that didn't mean that love wasn't there. They could work through their issues later- but for now, Raven was waiting.

Her hand shook at the thought. Weiss' hand was in hers almost immediately, a knowing smile on her face as they entered the tent- and for that, Yang could never be more grateful.