Note: Getting closer and closer to the end now. There will be maybe one more chapter after this one, and then we will officially be at the final battle. You can all figure out what that is. We want to give one gigantic thank you to everyone who has been reading all 105 chapters of this monstrosity. We wouldn't be here without your support. We hope the end will live up to your expectations. Or, at least, not catastrophically fail them. Enjoy.

Yin stood in the doorway. Silent. Trembling. On the television, a celebrity was being interviewed on a late-night talk show. The audience's canned laughter was the only thing filling the room. Taiyang cleared his throat and stepped into the corner. He was going to leave them alone. At least he understood that. Raven tried to find the right words to begin what was unquestionably going to be a rough conversation. She sighed, tucking up her knees and scooting to the side of the couch to make room. She pursed her lips, and after a dreadfully awful pause, she patted the cushion next to her.

"Take a seat," she said bluntly. "We got a lot to discuss."

The cushion squished beneath Raven's palm. Squish. Squish. Squish. Yin's tongue rolled against her cheeks. Her fingers twitched and fidgeted. That canned laughter grew louder and louder and louder. Yin couldn't help but let out a breathless laugh.

"Are…are you fucking kidding me?" Yin shook her head. "That's the first thing you ever say to me? I mean…after all these years, you just, just tell me…take a seat?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "What, do you…do you want a hug or something? You want me to get up and hug you, is that it?"

Yin's voice was shaking. "I want…I want something. I mean, you could at least act like this is a big deal, right? You could pretend that you're excited to see me. You're my mom, right? You're supposed to—"

"I'm not your mom," Raven said quickly. Yin was taken aback, and Raven tried in vain to explain herself. "I mean…Summer was your mom. She was the one who took care of you. I'm just…ugh, goddamn it." She threw her head back against the arm of the couch, trying her hardest to remain calm. "Look, I'm not…I'm not trying to sound cold. I haven't been good with people in a while. Do you…do you really want me to hug you? I-I will if you want. Just…this is serious, and we need to talk about what you're going through. So, yeah."

Yin balled her fists by her sides. They were so calm, both of them. Treating her like a child. Not a daughter—a child. So flippant and condescending and…and honest. Brutally honest. Yin took a hesitant step closer. She had seen photos of Raven when she was younger. She didn't always have red eyes either. Despite the thick haze sifting through her mind, she could put the pieces together. She had to be sure.

"I…I don't want a hug," Yin admitted.

"Then what do you want?"

"I don't know," Yin shrugged. She stepped closer again.

Raven narrowed her gaze. "Sure, you do. You know exactly what you want: answers to more questions than you know what to do with."

Closer.

"Don't act like you know me," Yin hissed. "You weren't there."

"I wish I could have been."

"Bullshit."

"I swear I do."

"But you weren't," Yin growled. "So, don't pretend that you understand me. You don't understand anything."

"Yang, you might not want to hear this," Raven promised, "but I'm the only person in Remnant who understands what you. At least…this you."

Yin froze, and Raven knew that she had her in her grasp. She rested her palm once more against the couch cushion and spoke sharply. "Sit. We have a lot to talk about."

Yin stared blankly at the couch cushion. She had wandered so far into the room that she was only a step or two away. How had she allowed herself to get lured in like that? Like prey? On the outside, Raven was a dull woman. Her voice was grey and her mouth could barely be mustered to rise above a sneer. That glint in Raven's eyes though…it was calling her. The familiarity stung like a wasp. It was cruel how alluring it was, how it hid every truth that she ever wanted. Yin steadied her nerves—nerves. Like she was ever afraid of anything. What could someone like her possibly be afraid of?

She stared for a long while at the couch before she eventually decided to take a seat, hunched over and unable to take her eyes off the woman who could only barely be called her mother.

"Tai," Raven said absentmindedly. "In my closet, there should be a box with some pictures in it. Can you go get them for us?"

It was a simple ploy to get Tai to leave them alone, but it was effective. He guided himself to the far side of the room, away from their conversation. Raven watched him leave with a sullen gaze. Yin nervously leaned in, trying to pick one question out of the thousands that roamed her mind.

She began with something simple.

"You…you aren't Raven, are you?"

Raven shrugged. "Of course, I am. Or, I guess, whatever part of her is left."

"Whatever's left?"

"You wouldn't get it yet," Raven acknowledged. "I mean, that's why you're here, right? You're still seeing it separately."

"Don't be vague," Yin pleaded. "I need to know. Please: you're the other, aren't you?" The canned laughter was still permeating the room, and with a frustrated groan, Raven silenced the television. Yin continued to beg to her, looking like she was going to faint. She seemed petrified. "What…what are we?"

Raven took a deep breath, choosing her words very carefully. "We are the same. Things that weren't meant to be."

Yin seemed almost heartbroken. "Not meant to…what are you talking about?"

"Look, I wish I knew I had all the answers—"

"I don't need all the answers," Yin stated. "I just need something. Anything. I have to know that I'm…I'm…"

Raven finished the thought for her. "Real?"

Yin froze, and after a moment, bowed her head in silence.

"Yeah. You're real," Raven claimed. "I mean, that's obvious, right? You can think and feel and talk and react. That's something you could only do if you were real. But it's not that simple, is it? Just because you're real—"

"Doesn't mean you truly exist," Yin said grimly.

Raven allowed the silence to dwell among them for a little while. She tried to look over Yin the best she could. It was hard to ignore it in the photos and the videos, but up close and personal, it was even harder to deny that they really did look alike. It was such a damn shame. Raven never thought she was any good-looking. What a waste to pass that onto a child.

"My great-great-grandmother was the first person to get it officially diagnosed," Raven explained slowly. "The doctor's named it after us: Branwen's disease. If you ever wanted an answer to what you have, that's it. Not really a satisfying answer, I know, but it does feel nice to put a name to it. They weren't sure what caused it, and as far as I can tell, we are the only family in the world that has it."

"There…there were others?" Yin asked somberly.

"It's maternal," Raven said somewhat bitterly. "She was the first diagnosed, but I doubt great-great-grandma was the first to develop it. It's probably been in our line for generations. My grandmother had it as well. I thought for sure that it skipped a generation. That gave me some solace growing up—that if I ever did have a daughter, she wouldn't have to live with this bullshit. Look how that turned out."

"But what is this?" Yin asked desperately. "What am I?"

"Do you want the blunt answer?"

"Yes. Please."

"The answer is," Raven stated, "you are Yang Xiao Long."

Yin seemed stunned. That…that was it? She was Yang. She knew that already. That wasn't anything. That was worthless. Less than worthless. After all these years of wondering, she was left with that.

Raven must have been able to read her exasperation since she quickly raised a palm to calm her nerves. "You probably half-believed that already, right? Although, are you sure about it?"

"Sure about—yes, yes I'm sure," Yin insisted.

"Bullshit," Raven claimed effortlessly. "You have no idea if you're Yang or not. That's the frustrating part, isn't it? That's how it was with me, too. Sometimes, I could acknowledge it. Embrace it. 'I was Raven,' I would tell myself. We were one and the same. That's what granted me my right to exist along with her. But then, there would be times where I despised her. I would wish she was dead. And in those moments, Raven wouldn't be us, but just her. The other. I would be so jealous of everything she had, and that doesn't make sense if we were one and the same, right? That's the hard part, that…that dissonance that really fucks with your thoughts. It's what ends up tearing you apart. It's what happened to me."

"You have to explain that," said Yin. "I know what she is to me. That's not the issue. That's—"

Yin suddenly gasped in pain, clutching her head. Raven didn't try to reach for her. Instead, she just nodded in understanding.

"You feel that? It's been getting worse, hasn't it?" she said knowingly. "That's the dissonance. A dominant personality trying to retake its power over a recessive one. It's nature trying to take its course, and you're resisting it. It's what I did. If I could take one thing back, it'd be that."

Yin sharply inhaled, trying to force the pain away. The other voice was keeping quiet, but her head was on fire. She tried to focus on the words her mother was saying to her, trying to wrap them around her skull in a way that would make all of the suffering stop.

"But that…that doesn't make any sense," Yin stated. "I mean you're…you're in control. You used to be nothing and now you're free. I just don't understand what happened to you?"

"What happened? I tried to kill you," Raven said bluntly. "That's what happened."

"No, I…that's not what I mean," Yin clarified. "I guess one of the things I'm confused about is: you're like me. You know what this power is, and you…you're free now. You can go anywhere, but for some reason, you're here. Is she making you stay here?"

"She's not making me do anything. She's me. Whatever she wants is what I want."

"You're saying that," Yin said forcefully. "But how can you mean that? Why are you like this? Why would you ever regret fighting her? I'm not mad at you for trying to hurt me. I get that. I understand that on every fucking level. I was on my way to kill Dad before I came here."

Raven frowned. "Yeah. I heard something about that. I heard you got into a fight with Ruby, too. She kicked your ass."

"That's not relevant."

"It is, though. Because I know part of you wants to go out there and hurt her again. I can't convince you that it's wrong. You wouldn't listen to me. But I can at least convince you that it's not worth your time. I mean, is it really worth it going after her?"

Yin had no solid counterargument. Her feelings toward Ruby were all scrambled and rotten, and she knew she needed to take it out on someone. She did have this horrible sinking feeling in her gut, though. What if Raven was right? Yang's thoughts were a part of hers, and if Ruby died, she would be forced to hear those endless, sorrowful wails inside her mind. What if Yang's thoughts leaked back into hers, and she ended up regretting it? That kind of guilt was something she wasn't sure she'd be able to process.

"But…but you get it, right? I'm not crazy for feeling that way. I'm not crazy at all. You know exactly what I'm going through. It's like…it's like fucking lava inside of my head. It's torturous. But giving in? Letting ourselves back into that place. Never. I could never go back to that. And you fought that, you did the same thing, and yet here you are—in this place. This…this prison. All of your freedom: gone. Given up. It makes no sense."

"Because you are seeing things through the lens of resistance," Raven explained. "Look, this is going to get really philosophical and kind of frustrating. Can you follow me?"

"I don't care," Yin begged. "Just tell me what's happening."

Raven rubbed her eyes, making sure she had enough willpower to get through her conversation. "The way my mom explained it to me was like this: we are the other. We are not separate entities or spirits or anything distinct; we are the parts of ourselves that we most resent. We are repression. Strength. Desire. The Id of the Human psyche made manifest into conscious form. And because we are those awful parts and nothing more, we have very little to properly define ourselves. Trapped, with no direct interaction with the outside world, we are forced to craft an identity based on the only thing that we can comprehend: opposition. We base our entire lives on hating what the other is, and they, subconsciously, manifest themselves to hate us. Because that's our nature. A Soul split into two diametric parts that are destined to permanently clash. Of course, we aren't meant to do that. The mind is meant to be one single entity, so it can't fight itself for very long before breaking. Eventually, the two sides have to clash, and they will keep clashing until they either resolve their differences and synthesize, or in my case…" Raven looked away shamefully. "One destroys the other."

Yin's eyes lit up in shock. She could hardly believe her ears. "You…you destroyed Raven?"

Raven closed her eyes and rested her head back, trying to find some internal solace. "I hated her so much. I despised everything about her. I thought she was wasting our life. It's natural, after all. That's what I was supposed to think. It was when she got pregnant that I thought I hit rock bottom. We had always had our fights, our rivalries, but I was always able to steer her somewhat. Just that little bit of control was enough to remind me that I really was alive and not just some figment of her imagination. But when she got pregnant? Well, that was life over. I would be forced to spend my days caring for a child I didn't want, staying with a man I didn't want, living a domesticated, boring life of servitude to you. It was maddening to watch her sit around and waste her talents like that. I tried my best to fight against her. I hurt her as bad as I could. One time, I was able to take control long enough to bite off one of my fingernails. That was fun."

She stretched out onto the couch, relapsing into her memory. "Then, when she gave birth, that was my chance. She was vulnerable. I was able to snatch control from her right then and there. I knew that I only had one chance to set her life right. I knew that you and Tai were the problem, so I tried my hardest to eliminate that. Didn't work, of course. I barely knew how to work my own body. I couldn't kill a fly. They ended up throwing me in a cell, and then a loony bin—and that was when it started getting really bad. That was when the headaches started. The aches. The nightmares. There's something I never learned about us recessive personalities: We aren't meant to take control. That's the dominant's job. The body naturally wants one personality to lead, and as long as that personality remains, it will try to force itself back into normal. It's quite remarkable like that. Despite the fact that I had taken control away from her, I could feel her growing stronger in my mind. She was going to take control of me if I didn't act quickly. And so, one day, trapped in a dark room, feeling like she was about to take ahold of me—I decided to do something about it."

Yin leaned forward, far too eager for her mother's comfort. "And you killed her? How? How did you—"

"I'm not telling you how," Raven said sternly.

"Please, tell me," Yin begged, clasping her hands together. "It's only been a few days but she's unbearable. She won't leave me alone. I need to stop her. I need—"

Raven slammed her fist down, sitting suddenly upright. "You need to listen, dammit!" Yin leaned back, retreating to the other side of the couch as Raven growled at her. "Do you know what happened when I finally killed her? When I shut her up for her good? For maybe five minutes, I was the happiest I had ever been in my entire life—and then, I felt nothing. Nothing at all. I became numb and empty in a way you couldn't even imagine. And do you know why I felt like that? It was because we needed each other. The reason that I hated her was because I exist to hate her, but without her? She was the one thing driving my existence forward, and I learned then that when your other half dies, every part of you that was dependent on them breaks. I realized that I had nothing in my life. All I had ever wanted was to spite her. That was it. I had no goals. No dreams. I was just the opposite of Raven, and without the 'real' Raven, I was just nothing." Raven muttered angrily to herself and stood up from the couch, gesturing around the room. "The reason I'm stuck here has nothing to do with this being a prison. I'm here because I don't know where else to be. I can barely feel anything anymore. Every 'Raven' part of me is just dull now. Being here, at least there are people who can stop me from wasting away. That's my path in life. And guess what? If you don't change, it'll be your path, too."

Yin was following along to the best of her ability, but Raven's harsh change in tone rattled her. She stood up beside Raven, trying to find anything in Raven's face that would indicate she was lying. There was nothing; for the first time of the night, Raven lit up like a firecracker, showing a furious display of emotion. It was horrifying.

"W-What are you saying?" Yin asked, fearing the worst. "I have to stop her. If she's going to come back, I…I can't let her come back. I can't give her control. You have to tell me what I'm supposed to do."

Raven sneered. "You want to know what to do?"

"Yes!" Yin begged. "How do I stop her?"

"You don't," Raven said firmly. "You need to let her take control again."

And the hammer fell.

"N-No! That's bullshit!" Yin screamed. Tears. Again, more weak fucking tears. "I can stay in control permanently. Tell me how!"

Raven shook her head. "You don't have a choice."

"Of course, I have a choice! Who are you to tell me I don't have a choice? No one ever let me choose before, and you, you get that! But even you don't want me to have that?"

"It's for your own good."

"My own good?" Yin laughed. She paced away from her mother, her head spinning. "You don't know what's good for me. I'm allowed to decide that now. I get to exist."

"You will exist. You've always been real. This doesn't change that—"

"Shut up!" Yin demanded. "You don't get to lecture me. You weren't there when I was struggling. You chose not to be there for me growing up, so don't you dare pretend you care now. This is my life. Not yours. Not hers. Mine. I'm allowed to be in control now. She had her turn. It's as simple as this. Dominant this and recessive that—I took over! She gave it to me because she didn't want it. That should be enough!"

"If that was true, you wouldn't be in pain all the time," Raven noted. "Your connection is unstable. It's going to shatter soon. Then, you'll be right back where you started: alone in the dark, barely existing at all. Only this time, Yang isn't going to be kind to you. She won't let you have any say over her. She might even force you to stop existing, and that won't be good for either of you. There's only one solution to this. You need to—"

"Fuck this," Yin said suddenly, turning to leave. "Just fuck all of this. I don't need this shit. I don't need any of you. I can make my own path. I'll do whatever the hell I want."

She fully intended on leaving them behind. She glanced briefly at Tai, who had long been watching them from the corner of the room, lost yet empathetic to their plight. She didn't even want to hurt him anymore. She just felt gross all over. Every thought of violence just put a bad taste in her mouth. She would just leave and go somewhere else. Somewhere far away where no one would ever be able to stop her from doing what she wanted. She would find a way to silence that stupid voice, and everything would be fine, and she would exist, finally, truly exist on her own.

Her mother's call stopped her before she could walk out the door. "I've always been proud of you."

Yin dug her feet into the carpet. She forced herself not to look back as she sniffled and wiped away loose tears.

"No…no, you weren't," she muttered.

"Sure, I was," Raven stated. "I don't leave here, but Tai always calls or visits. He gives me constant updates. You should hear the way he talks about you. You're his pride and joy."

Yin shut her eyes tight. Dammit…goddammit…

"He was really nervous when you wanted to become a Huntress," Raven continued. "I had to talk him into allowing you to join. Us Branwens have always been good at fighting our way out of things. When you got accepted into Beacon, I was so happy that I actually cried. It might have been the first time I cried in decades. I was so glad to see that you had finally found your path in life."

"That's…that's not my path," Yin said darkly. "It was hers. All of that was her."

"Which means it's yours," Raven said calmly. "I can't tell you how sorry I am that I missed so much of your life. I've never been good at being close to people. I wasn't even close to my own brother. You deserved to have someone take care of you, and I hate that I couldn't be there when you needed me. But, for whatever small comfort it's worth…I'm proud to see what you've become. From what I hear, you're one of the most caring people in Vale, and I'm glad to know that's something you didn't take from me."

Yin clenched her fists and tried to hold in a sob. Her entire body trembled. "It's…it's not fair."

"I know it's not," Raven sighed, smiling softly. "But I guess this was always how it was supposed to be. I know you want to push everything away, but I hope you don't. I hope you keep being the Yang Xiao Long I know you are—my daughter."

Yin inhaled deeply, trying to steady her nerves.

"You know what I really hate?" she said tiredly. "I can almost understand why you didn't come back when Summer was there. That would be so confusing for a child. But when Mom died, you were there. You could have come back into our life then. And you didn't. You stayed away when we needed you most. It wasn't because you would have hurt us. You're just pathetic now."

Raven couldn't help but nod. "Yeah. I am pathetic. I can admit that. I was…scared of what you might think of me. Maybe that was why I kept away for so long. But at least I got to see you now. That means more to me than you could realize."

Yin clenched her jaw. "Sure. Whatever."

Raven didn't respond. Their meeting wasn't at all like how either of them expected. If Raven was disappointed by the outcome, she barely showed it. The thought couldn't help but cross Yin's mind: what would have happened had she met the other Raven? The one that actually wanted her? Based on every story she heard, they were a lot alike. They might have gotten along well with each other. She might have even been able to summon some tears. Real ones, not just whispered in some memory that was cooked up for her sake. She took one more step toward the door when Tai suddenly spoke up.

"Yang, wait."

He hurried after her, but Raven stopped him in his tracks, grabbing him by the arm. "Let her go, Tai."

"Let her go?" Tai asked, bewildered. "Out in the middle of nowhere? Are you crazy?"

"You don't want to bring her back home like this," Raven said calmly. "If she's made it this long on her own, she can survive a little while longer. If she changes back, she'll reach out to you. Trust me on this. She needs the time alone."

It was just another moment in the night where Tai was clueless. The thought of sending Yang off into nowhere was terrifying to him. But when he thought back onto her youth, he realized that she was always running off on her own. The amount of times that she vanished for days only to come back like it was nothing was far too many for any normal family. But Yang was tough. She got that from her mom. He wasn't sure if he was still sane when he relented to Raven's demand, yet he trusted her. That trust had gotten them this far.

Yin did not give her mom or dad any sort of goodbye. She didn't think they deserved them. She was overwhelmed by the weight of her inevitable end, an end that they actively welcomed. They didn't even deserve to get killed anymore. Her mother's eyes were hitting her in the back, warm and caring. They felt like knives.

"Oh, and Yang?"

"What?"

Raven smiled. "No. I mean, Yang…don't be too hard on her either. You'll know what to do when the time comes."

Yin remained deathly silent. There was no more canned laughter to fill the cracks in the room. She just had to stand there and take it. She didn't know it was possible to feel any more miserable.

"Let me…let me talk to her."

There it was again, finally rearing its head.

"Please, Yin, let me say something. I need to say something."

Of course, it would come back. Even now.

"Don't deny me of this. I am begging you."

Yin steadied herself, and one foot after the other, she marched out of the room and out of her mother's life for good. She heard her father call after her, a last, fleeting moment of regret, but then she also heard Raven stop him before he could give chase. They were giving her what she wanted: time alone. Whether or not she could be saved was entirely on her own shoulders. Yin said nothing to the receptionist as she walked back out into the cool winter air. She'd find her way somewhere else. She always did. And when she got there, she was sure she would know what to do with herself.