First off let me say that this chapter was never going to be a long one but next chapter is when I'll really get the ball moving towards the end. Secondly Gweenace if your really having that hard a time readying words I really think you might need to get that checked and I'm not saying that to be mean or anything. And finally have you all seen the last episode of RWBY? I guess we won't get penny for the new JNPR I was hoping for. On a side note, jaune being the one to end penny's life is pretty fucked up but understandible. honestly with what little chance they had against cinder in this case with penny down passing the power on was the right choice.
I'm actually hoping team RWBY tries to vilify jaune for what he's done so he can blow up on them. We've had cinder get roasted by watts for good reason and jaune got told off by ren because he was having issues himself but the people who really need to be told off the most are the main four for their idiocy and childish beliefs since all they've really done in atlas was make things worse for everyone. In fact team RWBY were what caused the problem with ironwood by constantly lying about things and going behind his back in the first place.
"Tap tap tap" the sound of saphrons foot lightly tapping against the ground was the only noise heard in this part of the school. Classes had been out for a little while now and she still had to meet up with yang after this so her patience was kinda near it's end already. Saphron turned her head in time to see a blood red portal opened in the center of the hallway she was in.
It would have been a surprise if not for the fact that she was the one who called raven here. The portal behind her adopted mother closed behind her as soon as she was clear. What saphron didn't expect was to see raven dressed like a bum that just rolled out of bed.
Ravens entire attire consisted of a long white t-shirt that was several sizes too big for her and grey jogging pants with brown sandals that didn't even match the rest of her outfit. Saphron looked raven up and down with a small frown "it's like four in the afternoon. Why do you look like you just got out of bed and how come you haven't even done your hair before leaving the house"?
Raven yawned and scratched her ass as she made her way over to the wall opposite of saphrons. "Well if you must know; now that you and yang are out of the house, tai has no restrictions anymore for when we-"
"Stop, just stop" saphron said with a sick expression on her face.
Raven rolled her eyes "sex, when we have sex" she said with a large smile on her face. Saphron shook her head and tried her best to block out the image that came to mind when she recognized that the shirt raven wore actually belonged to tai. "Trust me, it's a lot better when you get more experienced and your partner can keep up" raven said before crossing her arms.
"I think I need to hurl".
Raven ignored her adopted daughters whining and moved on to the real reason she was summoned. "You said you had something important to talk about, right? Why don't we move on to that first before we spend our time playing mother and daughter".
All semblance of emotional disgust vanished from saphrons face and was replaced with a more serious expression. The blonde let out a sigh and shook her head in disappointment "I was trying to lighten the mood a little". Raven shrugged her shoulders "I have a pretty good idea of what your going to ask about, I mean after what happened in ozpins office what else could you be curious about".
If raven knew what she wanted then this whole thing could be over with quickly enough. Saphron mentally prepared herself before asking the one question that had been bothering her since her talk with jaune "why did my dad send only me away when he knew salem was coming"?
Raven raised a brow at the question "I have a feeling you already know the answer to that but just in case you don't, it was to say your life".
"But why me only"?!
"cause anymore and salem would have noticed and took action".
Saphron began to see why jaune thought their father had sacrificed him...because he had. Her hands clenched into fists and she asked again, hoping there was some reason her father chose her, something that would make this easier to swallow. "why me"?
Raven was silent as she watched saphron for a moment. The moment didn't last however "if your looking for a meaning to your survival then there were a few but none were as great as you might think. When your father decided on who would be best suited to live, he chose you because you were the oldest and the most likely to survive if anything".
It was not what she wanted to hear. "That can't be all". She shook her head angrily "no, my father was smarter then that. He would have had a really good reason for doing what he did".
Raven sighed before pushing off the wall. She met saphrons gaze with her own "you want the truth? Fine. Your father made a mistake" she said with a cold expression. Saphron grew angry and glared at her adopted mother "your lying" she hissed.
Raven shrugged her shoulders "believe what you will but what I tell you is nothing but the truth. Your father was as fallible as any other human being on this planet and yes he did make a mistake like I said. But I suppose he wasn't the only one to make a mistake".
"Wasn't the only one"? Those words had saphrons thoughts going back to the time they were in ozpins office. "Jaune said our dad sacrificed us for a friend then looked to summer, so why does it sound like your blaming yourself for what happened" she wondered out loud.
Raven closed her eyes for a moment before speaking "because I was the one who gave your father the chance to break his promise". Ravens hand opened and she stared at it as she continued to speak "with my semblance I can feel when those I've bonded to are in trouble. I felt summer growing weaker when I was at your old home and because of my distress, your for knew something was wrong. When he asked me what was wrong, I gave him the truth and he had me make a portal so he could save her".
Raven close her hand and looked saphron in the eyes "nicolas knew the deal but when it comes to summer there's no stopping him". She wore a wry smile as she said what was on her mind "honestly with the way those two were with each other it's no wonder your mother was extremely jealous of her".
Saphron shook her head "auntie summer and my dad"?
Raven couldn't help but smile "yeah those two. When they were together it was like there was nobody else in the room but them and let me say it was always weird. I swear, I couldn't tell if they just wanted to rip each others clothes off or wanted to make out right there".
"TMI" saphron said with a frown.
The raven haired woman mearly shrugged her shoulders "yeah well you can imagine my surprise when your father got together with you mother. She was nothing like summer but even then it was apparent that there was something between them still. Hell, even now I see the same thing in your little brother and summers daughter. It's kinda nostalgic in a way. With that being said, your father chose her in the end and the rest is history".
"You can't end this just like that" saphron argued.
"What do you want me to say " raven asked slightly agitated "your father chose summer despite the consequences and then when faced with the results of his decision he gave you to me. If you want to know what happened after, nicolas only told me to do one thing for you and that was to keep you out of ozpins hands".
The blonde was taken aback by her adopted mothers words "why would he tell you to keep me from ozpin"? Raven shook her head "use that brain of yours will you, he knew ozpin would try to use his death to bring you to his side. It's literally what that old man does for a living. He recruits young individuals with promise in order to use them against salem despite knowing she can't be killed"!
Saphron was quite for a moment at she stared at the ground until a thought clicked in her mind "is that why you didn't want me to come to Beacon"? Raven let out a grunt "figured that out on your own huh"? Saphron had thought it weird at the time when raven had pushed for her to go to vacoa instead of Beacon, saying the harsh enviroment would make her stronger when she was younger, but now it made sense.
"What about yang? Wouldn't ozpin have used her"?
Raven shrugged her shoulders "it was a gamble but with so many other students with combat focused semblances I was almost sure she wouldn't be drawn in. Then your brother became her partner and I thought I'd lost my bet but recently I found out that he's been keeping her out of everything to protect her. Even if he believes in salem, I'm glad he cares enough to keep her safe".
That was it huh? People making plans for each others lives without their input and hoping for the best. All her questions suddenly felt so pointless now. More then that she couldn't help but feel like everyone was practically working against each other, even against their allies.
The whole war was so convoluted at this point that you could barely trust anyone at all. Saphron rubbed her forehead and let out a sigh. After a moment to think about it, saphron just shook her head and clapped her hands together once "I think I'll follow your plan for once" she announced.
Raven raised a brow "my plan"? The blonde nodded "dad wanted me out of this whole mess, which is why you kept me from Beacon and the truth. And after all these years I doubt you've just stood silently while ozpin tried to pull me into this". A small smile formed on ravens lips "yeah I've made it abundantly clear that if he pulls anything before your old enough to make your own decisions I'd kill his new reincarnations for the next few generations since I have a bond to him and not the body he inhabits".
Saphron flinched "that's kinda cruel don't you think"? Raven shrugged her shoulders "I may not be the perfect mother but I do watch over my children. Luckily for me, ozpin can die which makes my threat all the worse for him".
"Then I'll only get involved when it's necessary" the blonde finished with a small nod. "Tell ozpin I don't want anything to do with his secret club so I'll just go back to being a regular student".
Raven raised a brow "what about your brother"?
Saphron looked visibly frustrated for a moment before looking raven in the eyes "no matter what I say to him, jaune has already decided to be a part of this. As his big sis I'll still be here for him when he needs me but if he ever becomes a threat to our family...then I want deal with him myself". Saphron wore a sad expression and hoped that it wouldn't come to it but still "it's the least I should do since this happened because of our father".
Raven watched her adopted daughter for any signs of weakness but instead found clear resolve in her eyes. With great reluctance she nodded and didn't even bother to object. "If that's all, I've got me one hot stud who's probably had more then enough time to recuperate for another round".
"TMI" saphron yelled which only caused raven to bust out laugh. The next moment another portal opened and raven walked through, leaving saphron in the empty hallway alone.
She had gotten some answers and learned somethings she really didn't want to know but in the end this separate world that they lived in just wasn't what she wanted. Getting thrown into that war for revenge and getting angry at everyone was only going to force her to become distant from the family she grew up with. It was that thought that made her realize that that's exactly what happened to jaune more or less.
He wasn't going to give up on salem for his own family because she was his family and everyone else was practically a stranger. So then what did that make them? In her heart she already knew that if it came down to it he'd choose salem over her just as she would choose yang and raven over him.
These thoughts were toxic and as she left the hall she only wanted one thing and that was for the day they would fight to never come. Unfortunately the feeling of inevitability hung heavily from her shoulders. But, she could hope this was wrong.
Lol being ozpin would suck if you had someone like raven hunting you down across remnant, especially with her semblance. just imagine being reincarnated in a new body only for raven to appear from a portal and cut you down before you've had a chance to prepare yourself. guess oscar dodged a bullet there...or a sword in this case.