June 14th

Beacon Academy CCTS Tower

Beacon Academy

City Of Vale

Vale

Downtown

7:49 PM

"But mommy…" Annetta whined, pouting and widening her eyes. "We were there! We –"

"Are not allowed to have access to classified information simply because –" Cristal started.

"That's not fair!" Carleigh protested. "I'm an adult –"

"An adult with no job or prospects," Cristal sharply reminded her. "Who most certainly is not qualified to have access."

Oliver subtly stepped on his sister's foot and eyed his father nervously, playing with his glasses.

"Are we going to be okay?" He finally asked, chewing at his lip. "With…everything that's…that's happened?"

"It is going to be…just fine," Ozpin sent his children a sharp glance and he looked over his glasses at the Valerian Director Of Homeland Security while he answered the call and his four kids all stepped, however grudgingly, into the elevator. "Hello, Councilman."

"Ozpin…" The man growled in irritation while several other members of the Department Of Defense entered the room and Elizabeth Morell entered the call as well as Ronnie Ciel. "President Ciel, good to see you. You as well, Madame Morell."

"And you, Director," Elizabeth replied though she was noticeably on edge. "After today's...incident, I do presume that you are prepared to take some form of action?"

The Director tensed, glaring at Morell. "I should think so, though..." Trailing off the Director reverted his glare from her to Cristal. "Prosecutor Schnee, a pleasure as always to...see you. Though I don't recall inviting you on this call."

Cristal sighed and adjusted her trench coat. "Then your memory must be failing you. I am a representative of the Atlesian government that is on the Torchwick case. Must I forward the information to you from my scroll?"

The Director furiously began to mutter to himself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"What was that, Director?" Elizabeth asked with a raised eyebrow though she knew full well what he was muttering to himself. "Director -"

"Nothing, nothing, Madame Morell. Do excuse my trespasses," The Director said, almost too quickly for comfort. "Truly -"

"This is not relevant, sir," Cristal said, as clipped as if she would be in a courtroom. "The purpose of this call –"

Ozpin had turned to look at out the window by the time James logged onto the call, followed by Karissa Mar in Atlas.

"General Ironwood," The Director said shortly. "And Madame Mar. Pleasure, as always."

"Director," James said, almost as irritable as Morell. "As I understand it, this has something to do with your previous talks with the Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action in Atlas?"

Ozpin was staring aloofly out his window, while the Director tried to focus on his conversation. "Yes, it does."

Elizabeth narrowed her gaze, knowing what he was playing at. "Then either get on with it or lash out at someone as you're apt to do."

Breathing heavily and glaring at Elizabeth, the Director tried to force himself to be tame. "Of course, Madame Morell. First, though, might I ask where you learned to shoot as well as you do?"

Elizabeth crossed her arms and glared. "That's more than perfectly irrelevant, not to mention a complete and utter -"

"It's a fair question, considering your...history," The Director countered, much to the annoyance of Ronnie, Karissa, Cristal, James, and Elizabeth herself. "Did you learn that from Cinder Fall?"

Elizabeth's otherwise calm look turned to outrage in an instant. "Why you...you...you little -"

"Who taught you -" The director repeated.

"Tai!" Elizabeth snapped, her glare retained. "My husband taught me how to shoot because he knew that I was going to have defend myself against people like Cinder Fall who, if I'm not mistaken, has escaped the authorities in your kingdom more than once just a while -"

"She escaped Atlas once -"

"Once," Ronnie repeated, a sinister note rising in his typically neutral voice as a warning. "In 2007, and the second she's back in Atlas, she won't be leaving."

"Why not execute her?" The Director suggested. "I mean -"

"That's illegal in Atlas," Karissa tersely reminded him. "And the affairs pertaining to the United Kingdom Of Atlas's laws are not the point of this, are they?"

The Director looked back towards Ozpin, who was still gazing out his window. "Ozpin? Ozpin!"

Turning back to face them, Ozpin sighed. "Yes, Councilman."

"You've left us no choice!" The Director half shouted, slamming his fist down on his desk from his end of the video feed. "The Vytal Festival Tournament cannot be broadcast, let alone held, if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens!"

Karissa scowled. "I believe that is more of your fault than Ozpin's, if we are being strictly logical. Why, you and your council didn't even bother to investigate Mountain Glenn's grimm population and instead left it to a headstrong group of teenagers and their eccentric professor. Bearing that in mind, I should think that you are at much more fault and significantly more culpable in this situation. I'm shocked that no one has yet called for your immediate resignation."

The Director continued to address only Ozpin, too embarrassed to respond to her. "Ahem…" He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas Council and together have decided that the best action is to appoint General Ironwood as head of security for the event."

James nodded. "Thank you, Councilman. Our kingdom is happy to lend as many as troops as it takes to ensure that the event runs as smoothly and safely as possible."

The Director switched focus to James. "And we thank you, General."

"But," Elizabeth began with a warning in her tone. "If your council continues this...ignorance, then do be assured that the United Kingdom Of Atlas will not be held culpable for your refusal towards proper action."

Ozpin allowed a moment to pass in silence but then shook his head. "Will that be all?"

The Director glared at him once more. "For now. But after this festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion about your position at Beacon Academy. President Ciel's reports, alongside General Ironwood's, over the last few weeks have left us somewhat...concerned. I am sure you understand."

Angrily logging off of the call, the Director disappeared, leaving Morell, Ronnie, Karissa and James before three of them logged off – Elizabeth with a heavy, irritable sigh - while James, Ozpin, and Cristal stared at each other silently for a moment before James finally spoke before logging off as well.

"This is the right move, Ozpin. I promise," He told him, hesitating for a moment when Cristal nodded subtly. "I will keep our people safe: you have to trust me."

Another moment passed in silence and then Ozpin turned to his wife.

"Why are we still lying to them?" He eventually said, tiredly probing his forehead. "Things are not safe, they may very well be on the brink of getting worse, and yet we continue to tell them that it will be alright and are trying to convince our friends and family to do things we won't do ourselves. Is that…"

"We're treading a thin line," Cristal weakly admitted. "But, for now, it's for the best they don't know everything. Most of it…well, there's little to be done at the moment. It seems the best chance we have…is to wait this out and pray we don't live to regret it."

Ozpin stood up and tightly embraced her, much to her surprise.

"I hope so," He murmured. "For all of us."

June 14th

Atlesian Command Ship

Beacon Academy

City Of Vale

Vale

Downtown

9:21 PM

Sighing heavily as he got off of call with Ozpin, James shook his head whilst staring at the glowing orbs of Beacon Tower. "You brought this on yourself."

Temporarily holding on responding to a message from Glynda, James slowly began to walk towards the heavily guarded holding cell inside which Roman Torchwick was. A slight fear rose in his chest as he forced himself to breathe, knowing that Roman was not Dean anymore, but it was odd knowing that he was going to have to interrogate his former teammate. Of all of the things he had expected to happen to Team JGED while they were at Atlas Academy, he had not expected Emmett to fall in love with, marry, and have children with Emmeline, nor did he expect that same thing to happen between him and Glynda despite the fact that he had fallen for her by the end of their first year, something he didn't admit to until she came back from visiting her brother in Vale after the summer holidays. It was the beginning of their third year, and they had been twenty. To his surprise, she admitted that she was attracted to him as well. Two years after that, they were married and had the twins. Emmeline and Emmett grew closer in that time, and, a few years later, they, too, had children of their own.

Dean was, for so many reasons, even more unexpected than the things that had happened in his, Glynda's, and Emmett's lives. While they had all continued on in and excelled in their careers, Dean had disappeared not terribly long after the accident while investigation the Schnee Dust Company. Though he wasn't surprised by Dean's anger towards the Schnee Dust Company and even his anger towards Emmett, he had been surprised when he heard about the fact that Dean had attempted murder on Jacques Schnee. In reality, they all had been. Emmett was the least surprised, having the most knowledge of Dean's history and figuring out fairly quickly that Lisa had had something to do with pushing him towards that extreme but that didn't mean a shock hadn't taken to him as well. Though they had been aware of his anger, they had never expected Dean to be vengeful to the point of violence.

That was shortly before the turning point at which they all realized that Dean Carson was no longer that but Roman Torchwick. Looking to several of his subordinates who were guarding Roman for the moment, James sighed as they opened the door and Roman looked up, missing his signature hat.

"Leave us," He tiredly ordered.

They nodded. "Yes sir."

A beat. No words were spoken between the two men, the two former teammates, for quite some time, and that tension was only amplified by the arrival of Emmeline Ciel.

"I've been informed that so far you've refused to cooperate with the authorities," James told him while his former teammate looked up and smirked at Emmeline.

"I know this might be hard to believe, General," He sassed, speaking to him yet looking to Emmeline. "But...uh...I'm not the biggest fan of local law enforcement."

James crossed his arms and returned the man's smirk. "How about the world's strongest military power?"

Roman hesitated before leaning back far too nonchalantly. "Hmm… first impressions… not great."

Emmeline's eyes narrowed considerably, but she said nothing.

"I'm going to give you one chance," James told him, his voice dark. "Who's really behind all this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Roman asked him as he leaned back and flung his hands back against the wall dramatically. "You're looking at him."

"Hmm…" James mused, looking at him seriously before starting to walk away. "Very well then."

"What's the matter, General?" Roman asked, intentionally drawing out each word. "I thought you wanted to talk."

Deciding to take advantage of the situation, James turned back and glared at him while Emmeline remained. "The council's given me custody over you for as long as I see fit. So, you can make yourself comfortable. I can be sure that you'll have plenty of time to...talk."

"Oh, wonderful," Roman replied with his sarcasm dominating his tone before laughing. "Hehehe… so, General, how are our teammates?"

Of the many things he had been expecting the man to say, that was the last of them. "What do you mean?" He said, turning around suddenly while Emmeline stared at the thief incredulously.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Roman said as he leaned back against the wall of his holding cell. "I mean Emmett Schnee...the spoiled brat and of course Glynda Goodwitch. You know, I really didn't expect him to be able to..." Roman turned to Emmeline, his voice decidedly nasty. "Well let's just say that I didn't expect you of all people to marry and spread her legs for him."

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Emmeline crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "And, apart from whatever the hell you thought this was today, you've attempted murder, you've orchestrated the Dust robberies in Vale for over a decade and almost stole every speck of Dust in the kingdom -"

"What can I say?" Roman began with a sigh. "I'm a criminal mastermind."

"Not only that, but you've been involved with Cinder Fall for years, haven't you?" James asked him and the irritated look on Roman's face said it all. "She's behind this, isn't she?"

Roman rubbed his neck nervously. "Does it matter if I'm the one who executed the plan? Think of it this way, General, none of this is about what I want to do or what I support. It's about what I can't afford to lose, and, frankly, being associated with her and her… faction is a small price to pay. All of you, Emmett Schnee, Glynda Goodwitch, Elizabeth Morell, Cristal Schnee, Ronnie Ciel, Karissa Mar, etc...you all want to play the part of the hero, So, here's the thing you all will just die like every single other huntsman or huntress in history, and half of the people I just listed have no background in that whatsoever. Either way, that won't be me. For me, I'm going to continue to what I do best, which is lying, stealing, cheating, and surviving!"

"General Ironwood? General Ciel?" One of the soldiers said, coming back. "Glynda Goodwitch is here and has requested permission to speak with Torchwick."

That must have been what she was sending me a message about…James thought before nodding. "I will speak with her for a few minutes before sending her down. Monitor him while we're gone."

"Yes sir," The soldier said, pointing his gun at Roman while leaving the door to his holding cell open as the man leaned back against the wall. "Don't try anything."

Roman shrugged. "I'm not motivated to."

Briskly walking off, James sighed when he saw Glynda irritably leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and her crop tightly in hand. Looking up when she heard him, her expression softened and she shifted to attach her crop to her boot after collapsing it. Adjusting her glasses and with her cape flowing out from behind her, Glynda tightly wrapped her arms around him before leaning into him with her eyes closed for a moment while he rubbed her back. With no one around but Emmeline, they weren't concerned about anyone seeing them, nor were they concerned about their moment of peace being interrupted. Glynda let him hold her for a moment before slowly releasing herself from his embrace.

"It'll be fine," She assured him as she pushed up her glasses and reached down for her crop. "It's not as if he'll enact some sort of grand escape while I'm talking with him."

"I know," He said, giving her a squeeze. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

Glynda nodded before kissing him lightly. "Okay."

"I should warn you," Emmeline said, her voice remarkably dark. "If he says anything, be careful what you tell Emmett because I'm sure he's going to be on edge enough as it is."

Glynda sighed. "I believe that."

Her heels clicked menacingly against the cold metal floor of the Atlesian Command Ship with each step that she took while growing closer to the holding cell each second. Though she knew that, in reality, she had no reason to be nervous, she couldn't stop the rising nerves inside her and those only increased when she got a horrible, sickening feeling as she grew closer. Passing it off as her former teammate's anger at having been incarcerated, by the Atlesian Government no less, she forced herself to not let the feeling of being poisoned spread through her and, as she waited for the soldiers to leave while she stood outside the holding cell, she found herself in a stalemate with him while they both refused to speak. Deciding to give up, she glared, reached down for her weapon, and crossed her arms with her crop in hand.

"Dean," She said bitterly. "Seems to me like you haven't changed much in the last few years."

"See, this is the thing," He began slowly, leaning back in a vain attempt to make himself comfortable in his small holding cell. "I know that you know I'm Roooooman Torchwick now but at the same time I also know that you don't really care."

"Which proves that you're not entirely stupid," She replied dryly. "Despite thinking that working with someone like Cinder is a good idea. What did she say to you, anyways, that convinced you that that wasn't stupid?"

He rolled his eyes and groaned before looking at her to reply. "Here's the thing, Glynda, the thing you don't understand and never have. You would die to protect someone, especially someone you care about, while I care more about my own survival. I'm not a bad person for doing what I do, I'm simply a survivor. You, James, Emmeline, and Emmett are perfectly alike in your perception of the world because you all think in black and white. Come to think of it, your eldest does too."

Glynda's eyes went wide at the last part and she forced herself not to betray any sign of fear. "How do you know that? You've never even -"

"I know people who listen, Adam Taurus included. I believe your younger daughter was friends with him back when you all lived in Menagerie," Roman said, snapping his fingers and smirking. "But, more to the point, see, he's working with Cinder and her faction because he thinks it will further his attempts to overthrow the bourgeoisie...I mean the humans."

"You are human," Glynda pointed out and he shrugged. "So why would you -"

"No, see, I don't like Taurus." Roman told her. "To be honest, I don't even like most faunus. In general, they're mostly just kids with ski masks who think they can change the world."

"You really are a dick, aren't you?" Glynda said, shaking her head. "Not that I'm surprised, now that I think about it."

"And you're...well nothing but stubborn and you've hardly changed since the last time I saw you," He said, rolling his eyes before laughing maniacally. "Come to think of it, James and Emmeline are the same way...bet Emmett is too."

Glynda narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you have any idea, do you even care about what that woman has done and what that's done to Emmett, what that has done to his family?"

"Yeah, you see, I'm not really a big fan of the Schnee family and being that you're talking about the Ciel-Schnee family," He snorted. "Well that's even worse, as far as I'm concerned."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Glynda exclaimed in slight horror. "You don't even care! Have you ever -"

"Stop," Roman looked at her in genuine surprise. "Look, honestly, I'm fairly indifferent to what Cinder may want to do to the Ciels, and so is Neo. You remember her, don't you? Yeah, well, anyways, see Neo and I are married, not that you would care, and, also not something that you would care about, we're trying to have a kid because I know she really wants one. She said so...well, wrote is more appropriate, considering that she's mute, but still. She made it very clear to me. And, no, this isn't my first child but this will be the first child I have that I actually give a damn about."

Raising an eyebrow, Glynda sighed. "Since when do you have a child?"

"Och, well that's an interesting story…" Roman said, beginning to laugh. "I'll spare you the gory details, but that quote un-quote champion at Beacon, Pyrrha Nikos -"

"Miss Nikos is your daughter?" Glynda half shouted, incredulous amongst other things. "No, that's ridiculous, and not to mention -"

"Believe whatever you want," Roman said as he flung a hand against the wall. "I don't care. I've never met her anyways and have no desire to. I don't care about her at all."

"What a surprise," Glynda remarked dryly. "Considering how you've changed."

"Well," Roman said, smirking again. "See, I've never –"

"That doesn't change what you've done," Glynda told him as she looked sharply to one of the guards who closed the door to the holding cell while her former teammate laughed maniacally, all the while her heels clicked dangerously as she walked away. "And it never will."

June 17th

Beacon Academy

Main Courtyard

City Of Vale

Vale

Downtown

11:58 PM

Shaking slightly from the cold as she walked into the courtyard of Beacon Academy, Yang sighed in relief as she pulled her jacket closer to her upon seeing her mother - albeit with her grimm mask still on her face. A beat passed in utter silence as the slightly chilled summer air started to rip through her. Though she shivered, she forcibly recalled what winter had been like while they had been living in Atlas or more accurately when they were living between Atlas and Vale. It was then she felt a little warmer. There was slight comfort in knowing that Elizabeth and Tai were only a mere call or message away if she needed them. Elizabeth and Tai were, for the time being, living in a small flat in downtown Vale. Still, this didn't negate the fact that she still was wrestling with how and if to tell Ruby the truth of who she was. Tai's warning about hurting her continued to ring in her ears and while she refused to accept the idea of hurting Ruby of all people, she knew that it was a possibility. If she hadn't the drive for doing what she thought was right, telling Ruby the truth of who she was, she would have waited for Qrow to tell her but even she knew that the chances of that were slim. He loved them both, but he also was afraid of hurting them and the last thing she knew he would want to risk causing his own daughter pain for any reason.

"Mom?" Yang asked quietly, for clarification rather than anything else.

Removing her mask, one hand on the hilt of her sword, Raven shook out her long, feathery hair and sighed. "Yang," She shortly replied. "Like I said, we have a lot to talk about."

Her eyes turning from lavender to red, Yang nodded. "Then talk."

Sighing heavily, Raven motioned for Yang to come towards her and then sat down at the base of the fountain. "Yang, I know that our last meeting was...eventful, to say the very least."

"That's an understatement," Yang muttered and Raven narrowed her eyes before hesitantly treading her fingers through her daughter's hair. "But what do you want to talk about? You know that when I went looking for you as a kid, with Ruby, mind you, that I almost died because -"

"You remind me so much of Tai," Raven murmured before meeting her daughter's increasingly darkened gaze. "And yes, I did know about that. Qrow told me, actually, how he saved you and Ruby from the grimm. According to him, Tai was worried sick -"

"I thought you didn't care about dad!" Yang snapped, her red eyes flaring. "I thought you didn't care about me!"

"I do care about you!" Raven exclaimed, hurt in spite of herself that her daughter could think for even a second that she didn't care about her. "But I had other things I had to think about! The tribe, for one! Yang, nothing I did was personal!"

"You hurt him so much, you know that?" Yang said, her voice shaking. "He was so depressed for years, and Summer Rose dying really didn't help! She was one of his closest friends and -"

"I know!" Raven snapped, though she was trying to be calmer. "I know that -"

"So then why did you leave us?" Yang demanded. "And don't say the tribe, because I know that -"

"Yang…" Raven said, her voice almost pleading as she took her daughter's hands. "It wasn't personal, I promise. I love you, you're my daughter and -"

"And you left me!" Yang reminded her, tears spilling out of her without permission. "And...and I…"

"Yang, I know this is hard, but I do care…" Raven told her though she knew she didn't believe her. "I have other things to worry about too though."

"Like what?" Yang challenged, her eyes still red in spite of her tears. "Like what?"

Raven hesitated, not wanting to have to explain the maidens or Salem to her daughter, let alone the things Ozpin did, and of course the fact that she was recently the Spring Maiden. "Yang, you have to trust me on this," She finally said. "Can you?"

Yang nodded after a moment's hesitation, considering that Raven hadn't lied about Ruby which she imagined was even more of a concern than this. "Okay…"

Raven sighed. "This isn't going to be something you want to hear but I need you to keep in mind that Ozpin isn't necessarily who he says he is. He has abilities beyond that of the normal human being and he uses them for various reasons. Yang...Ozpin is going to fail, and, not only that, Beacon is going to fall."

Yang looked at her in shock before shaking her head. "No, there's no way. And what is it that Beacon would fall to? It's a Huntsman Academy, so it wouldn't be grimm."

"Yang, I'm serious," Raven told her, shaking slightly and her eyes wide. "I'm not saving you again because, for one, you need to be able to do that for yourself, and, for second, because I can't always be here to save you. But Beacon will fall and Ozpin will fail."

"No…" Yang said, still in shock though her horror arose from the thought of Beacon falling. "No, that's not...that's not going to happen…"

Deciding that it would be inherently better to change the topic, Raven sighed and tried to be reasonable despite her feelings on the subject. "How are Elizabeth and Tai?"

"Fine," Yang told her, crossing her arms before quietly asking her own question. "What was it like to be at Beacon with Team STRQ?"

Looking at her in surprise, Raven steeled herself against her tears, not wanting to think about how they had all lost Summer Rose. "Well...during the Vytal Festival we fought against Team JGED in one of the first rounds. Team JGED isn't a team anymore, considering that one of its members is now the criminal Roman Torchwick -"

"Torchwick?" Yang asked, turning to face her mother. "He was a huntsman?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "I guess...he was on the same team as General Ironwood, Glynda Goodwitch, and Emmett Schnee though at the time he was known as Dean Carson."

"That's insane!" Yang said, in shock at the idea of Roman having once been a huntsman from Atlas Academy. "I mean...it's fucked up, but it makes a lot of sense…"

Raven laughed, knowing just how right her daughter was. "Yes, well, anyways, they defeated us in the first round of the tournament. Shortly before we had gone against them, Tai and I tricked Qrow into wearing a skirt as his uniform. We told him that it was a kilt."

Yang began to curl into herself as she laughed, trying to imagine Qrow wearing a skirt. "And he fell for it?"

Raven nodded. "He might have flashed a few people, but I don't think he minded. I do distinctly remember pulling him away from Glynda when he started flirting with her in. There was that brief moment, too, in which Emmett Schnee flirted with me though I think it was sarcastic and after we lost to them I intentionally tried to pick a fight with them though Summer, Tai, and Qrow stopped me. After the festival, things were normal...per se."

"Why per se?" Yang asked, genuinely curious. "I mean -"

"Well, for one thing, time seemed to move a lot quicker. We had more work for classes and it wasn't long before I was getting so keyed up that Summer would drag me off to the most deserted places on campus and force me to have cookies or ice cream with her." Raven sighed again, trying to push back her emotions towards Tai. "I started to fall in love with your father and eventually we hastily had you. Not too long after that, I left and...clearly, things changed for the rest of them though less so for me."

"Oh…" Yang said, unsure of how to respond. "Well…"

"You don't have to say it, Yang," Raven told her with a sharp look. "It's perfectly fine for Tai to have moved on...even if it was too soon for my taste."

Yang nodded though she didn't say anything for a while before forcing herself to meet her mother's gaze. "You know, if it's any consolation, I think Elizabeth is jealous of your relationship with dad even though it's in the past."

Smirking, Raven wrapped an arm around her daughter before playfully messing up her hair. "That actually does help a little. Ha, Elizabeth Morell of all people is jealous of me because I have a kid with Tai. She does know that I was the one ended our relationship and rejected the idea of marrying him, right?"

"Yeah," Yang admitted though she had noticed how every time Raven came up that Elizabeth tensed, almost as if she was afraid that Tai didn't love her as much as he loved Raven. "But I don't think that helps very much. She's enamored by dad and she's always had this little bit of fear that he might leave her because she, not always but fairly often, doesn't think that she's the kind of person that deserves what she has or believes that the people who love her truly mean it. Dad said something to me about how every so often something will happen late at night - usually a nightmare - and she'll wake up and either he'll be already pulling her into him or he'll be shifting because he felt her jolt and that she'll be really nervous and start crying, saying terrible things about herself and how everyone - even him - thinks she's those things and then she's really, really nervous in the morning which means that dad is especially affectionate."

"Tai…" Raven muttered though she wasn't surprised by much of what Yang had told her apart from Elizabeth's self-deprecation. "Well, at least he has someone he loves."

"And you were right…" Yang admitted almost inaudibly and Raven began to nervously twist her fingers around her hair before letting it fall freely as Yang forced herself to look at her. "About Ruby. She really is uncle Qrow's daughter...dad and Elizabeth confirmed it. I just...I can't believe that…"

"Yang, things don't have to be like this for you," Raven began, feeling more and more nervous with every word she spoke. "If you want...I would really like it if you joined the tribe. We could be a real family, you and I, and -"

"No…" Yang said, her voice quavering. "And only because I… I can't leave dad...or Violet because she's my half sister and I...I still care about Ruby and...even though she's my cousin she's...she's like a sister to me and…"

"Yang -" Raven gently started.

"No...I...I'm sorry…" Yang said, tears brimming in her eyes. "I can't run away like you did…"

Raven sighed as she summoned her portal. "I'll talk with you later, okay? I love you, Yang, and I promise we'll see each other again. Just…" Raven sighed as she began to step through her eerie red portal. "Keep in mind my offer, because it still stands. But don't put your faith in anyone - especially Ozpin. It will only let you down and, frankly, it will hurt you or bite you in the ass. Especially if it makes it so She won't ever leave you alone like things have for me."

"She?" Yang asked though Raven only shook her head and disappeared through her portal.

It was a hell of a mess. Yang, after a moment in rueful silence, sighed herself and collapsed against the fountain for several minutes until Ruby hesitantly began to walk towards her and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her.

"You okay sis?" Ruby asked while Yang refused to meet her gaze. "I mean, it's just that it's really late and -"

"I'm not your sister!" Yang exclaimed, finally breaking and turning to Ruby with her eyes their bright red once again and filling with tears. "Summer Rose may be your mother but Qrow Branwen is your father, not Taiyang Xiao Long!"

Ruby looked at her in shock, her silver eyes hurt and brimming with tears. "No, Yang, that's ridiculous. I mean, come on, if uncle Qrow were my father then I wouldn't call him uncle Qrow. He'd just be dad. But he's not, because dad -"

"No, you don't understand!" Yang exclaimed, though her voice was weak through her sobs. "I didn't believe it at first either because my mom told me -"

"You saw Raven?" Ruby asked, genuinely concerned as she placed a hand on Yang's shoulder. "That sounds rough."

"It was…" Yang admitted through tears. "But she told me that you're...that you're uncle Qrow's daughter and I..and dad and Elizabeth confirmed it to be true…"

"No…" Ruby said, her silver eyes growing wide as she hugged the older girl. "No, Yang, that's not true, it can't be -"

"If you think I'm lying, then ask them…" Yang said, handing Ruby her scroll as she continued to cry. "I am totally serious, just…"

"Okay…" Ruby agreed, just trying to get her to calm as she dialed the call and Tai answered immediately. "Hey dad."

"Ruby?" Tai asked, concerned though his stomach was twisting in knots as he worried that Yang might have told her. "Ruby, is something -"

"...Tai," Elizabeth said sleepily in the background. "...It's two in the morning, what are you doing?"

"...Talking to Ruby," Tai told her and she sighed. "Are you okay, Ruby, really?"

Ruby sighed heavily as her voice shook. "Dad...is uncle Qrow my real father?"

Tai didn't respond while he found his voice.

"Yes..." He said quietly. "Ruby, Qrow is your biological father."

"What?" Ruby exclaimed in shock as she began to cry. "Then why didn't he tell me? How come I didn't know?"

"...Because Qrow has the most selfish ideas imaginable when it comes to his semblance." Elizabeth remarked and Ruby could hear Tai shifting to take her into his arms. "...Tai -"

"...I know," Tai murmured. "Look, Ruby, I know this is a shock, but…"

"Later, okay?" Ruby said quietly and Tai sighed as she hung up the call and turned back to Yang as she handed her scroll back.

Neither girl said anything for the longest time and, despite herself, Ruby started to cry.

"You were right," She forced out.

Yang turned to Ruby, her eyes going back to their natural lavender as she pulled her into a tight hug that was near bone crushing.

"Ruby," Yang kindly told her. "Even if we're cousins, you're like a sister to me. I don't want this to change our relationship because I want to be like sisters with you even if we aren't really."

Ruby nodded and returned her hug as tightly as she could muster. "Okay…Yang...it's just...you're crushing my spine..."

Yang laughed weakly and released her hold a little. "Sorry, Rubes."