Metal Hands, Patchwork Hearts
The tent was the antithesis of everything with which she had surrounded herself since her injury.
Everything was red. The walls, the furniture, the shelves and cushions and the very tint in the wood- all just red. And for everything that wasn't, the fire from the lamps and torches and candles around the spacious area was enough to cast the room in fiery hues, and Yang wanted to run.
But Weiss held onto her, and she stayed.
The words that fell out of her mother's mouth, however, only intensified that emotion.
Everything Raven said made her almost regret coming to Anima. She hadn't suffered for this long to hear something like this. How was she supposed to believe something so fantastical? The Grimm had a leader who was unstoppable? Professor Ozpin and Qrow and Tai had all lied to her?! About what?! What could they have possibly lied about, other than having hid the fact that her mother had clearly lost her mind?
"Why should we believe any of this?" she cried, standing up, unable to contain her frustration and anger while seated by the low table at the center of the room.
Instead of responding earnestly, however, Raven simply continued to mock her, speaking so monotonously and so smoothly that Yang wanted to recoil as each word entered her skull, permeating like poison.
Don't take me for an idiot, Mom.
She wanted to lash out, but she couldn't. She still needed Raven's cooperation. Just send me to Ruby.
But then, Raven destroyed what little calm still remained in her heart. Airily, with no remorse whatsoever, the elder woman added, "Otherwise you'll end up just as blind as Qrow..."
The tremors weren't from fear any longer. She clenched her fists so hard they shook, biting back every urge that raged through her body to strike Raven down. Don't you dare talk about my uncle like that. He's everything you'll never be-
"... and your fool of a father."
Raven smirked.
How dare you!
Before she could contain herself, she had shattered the low, mahogany table, sending teacups and shards of wood flying across the room. Ember Celica burned on her wrist, her entire body shaking and seething in rage, her Aura flooding her body head to toe with power and strength and anger. "Don't you dare talk about my family like that!"
She didn't even register the words Vernal offered behind her. All she knew was her fury, her bottomless fury- until Weiss grabbed her hand yet again, anchoring her for just a moment as she pleaded, "Yang, please."
Her mother snorted. "Listen to your friend, Yang. Your teammates never let you down before."
She couldn't stop herself, ripping her hand out of Weiss'. "You don't know the first thing about my teammates!" she screamed, stepping forward with each word accusingly. "About me! You were never there! You left us!"
You left me.
Everyone had. Her mother didn't know anything about her teammates. After all, they had all left her behind, too.
But Weiss, and Ruby- they're going to be back soon. They're going to be with me again.
But… Blake wasn't.
The thought of Blake almost made her weep. Blake took a page out of your book, Mom. Will she waltz back into my life and pretend like she did nothing wrong, too?
She pushed thoughts of Blake out of her mind. That was a problem she needed to handle later- not now. Not here.
Her mother watched her impassively.
You left me. …All I ever wanted was you.
Her Aura drained away, pulling back into her core. Her skin cooled, fury quelled as sadness washed over her. "Why?"
Raven didn't respond to any of her questions.
Yang wondered why she even bothered to ask them. It wasn't as if Raven had any reason to respond.
To Raven, all that mattered was slandering Professor Ozpin and Qrow and, by affiliation, her father, apparently. All Raven wanted was to show Yang just how 'terrible' the people she loved and respected and followed really were.
In a moment of quietude as Raven exited out the back of the tent, beckoning them to follow, Weiss murmured, "Yang, are you okay?"
Am I? Am I okay?
Her heart ached too much to be able to assess anything. She just didn't know. "I'll be fine once we can get her to take us to Ruby," she replied through gritted teeth.
Just think of Ruby. We're here for Ruby.
All Raven had done thus far was belittle her with her tone and mock the people she loved. Nothing she had said could be true, after all- magic wasn't real, and there was absolutely no way for just one person to be responsible for all the Grimm in the world. It just didn't make sense.
Maybe that was why it hurt all the more when they stepped out of the tent, and Raven was nowhere to be found. A bird, a raven with dark red eyes, swooped low to fly past them.
"A raven?" Weiss murmured, confused.
Yang's heart thudded all the way up to her throat, and she swallowed dryly, suddenly regretting not drinking any tea in the tent. "I've… seen that bird before," she whispered. Weiss replied, but Yang didn't hear it- her eyes were simply focused on the avian form which flew through the trees, gracefully dodging branches and swerving past thick trunks until it had looped around, flying straight towards them.
She knew this bird. This bird had sat by her window, staring at her as she slept, woke up, slept, woke up- locked in the sleepless, nightmarish cycle that was life after the Fall. She recognized this bird, and that recognition made her want to hide.
Before her very eyes, the bird suddenly morphed and twisted and shapeshifted, and in a blink of an eye, Raven had landed on the ground where the bird had aimed to land.
"How... did you do that?"
Raven didn't answer. Yang wasn't surprised. Instead, the only thing in her mind was one single statement.
You were always watching me, and you knew everything I was going through, and you still did nothing.
She couldn't tell if it was deep-seeded, crushing anger that bubbled up in her chest… or absolute, gut-wrenching heartbreak.
It didn't matter. This wasn't the place for her.
"Well, I could explain it to you..." and suddenly, Raven drew her blade, slashing the air behind her. The tip of her sword left a trail of Aura behind it, until suddenly, the very air itself split open, leaving behind a swirling portal, the colour of congealing blood permeating in the air. "... or you could ask your uncle."
Wait… that's the portal.
That's the way to Ruby.
I can finally reach Ruby.
Dad, I can-
"You're letting us go?" she breathed.
As she sheathed her sword, Raven paused, finally offering, "I'm giving you a choice. Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start."
Her face was almost… hopeful, and that little part of Yang's heart soared, begging to say yes.
You'll finally have a mother!
And then, Tai and Ruby flashed into her mind, and instantly, Yang's anger swelled within her chest once again. This woman had left her family behind, leaving them to fend for themselves and pick up the pieces again and again and again. This woman had put herself, and whatever opinions she had of others, ahead of the people who loved and needed her.
Yang had always wanted a mother.
Summer popped into her mind. It was just for a little while, but… I guess that will have to be enough. The child in her heart wailed in agony, but her decision was firm. Memories of making cookies together and taking care of Ruby… will have to be enough.
Raven recognized her choice. Stepping away from the portal, she said, "Or, you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others. But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?"
I'd rather have Ruby. Her lip wobbled. I'd rather have Dad. "All I care about is making sure my sister is safe," she hissed, turning on her heel.
It didn't take long to bring Bumblebee up behind the tent to where Raven awaited them with her portal. Lining up her bike, Yang let out a weary sigh as Weiss settled in behind her. I'm so close. I'm almost there.
"Yang," Raven called, catching her attention one last time.
Yang glanced over her shoulder, watching the woman suspiciously.
"If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind the next time we meet."
Yang couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. Finally, she managed to control her voice. "You weren't kind this time either."
If Weiss felt the way her shoulders shook and her voice quavered in her chest as she said it, driving into the portal without a second glance backwards, she said nothing of it.