Author's Note:

Quick heads up, this chapter will deal with the topic of alcohol abuse/addiction a little more directly than previous chapters. More specifically, though, it plays a few moments for laughs, which might come across as insensitive to certain readers. Alcoholism, in reality, is something a lot of people struggle with and I couldn't justify posting a chapter like this one without at least acknowledging that first. If you or a loved one suffers from it, please consider looking into any and all available resources that deal with the addiction. It's not an easy fight, but it doesn't have to be one you take on alone.

Also, since it's long overdue, I'm officially marking Chapter 9 of Volume 8 as the divergence point for this story. Probably won't try to cover all deviations as we go, instead focusing on what's most relevant to the characters and plot.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or any of its characters. Please support the official release.

Chapter 9

The bar in question, simply called "Karl's" according to the sign hanging over the door, seemed like a modest enough establishment. Everything was made of solid wood, from the bar itself to the tables to the barrels used throughout in the place of chairs. Not particularly large, but not small enough that it felt cramped either, it all seemed very utilitarian at the very least.

Of course, Weiss wasn't focused so much on the space itself as she was the scene playing out at the heart of it. The first thing Weiss had noticed was an overturned table with a large drunkard unconscious under it, which had obviously been the commotion that attracted her attention in the first place. Her eye-line quickly shifted to a semicircle of patrons gathered around a single individual, whose own attention was only drawn away from the gathering when she noticed Weiss approaching the end of the bar.

"Weiss!" Ruby yelled with a smile on her face.

Under normal circumstances, Weiss would have welcomed the sight. She had always drawn a lot of comfort from Ruby's smile. It was warm and a source of hope for the entire group, and when it was directed at her in particular, it made Weiss forget anything that was weighing her down and remind her that she mattered.

Ruby's current smile was not that. It was forced and empty, and rather than give Weiss any sort of reassurance, it made her chest hurt. If anything, it made Weiss feel helpless, like her partner was broken and nothing she could do would help.

Not that Ruby would give her a chance to try before she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Weiss' waist. While Ruby making contact was easy to anticipate, Weiss was caught off guard by the stench of whatever Ruby had been drinking up to this point.

"Ruby-" Weiss began to protest before being lifted off the ground.

"Everyone!" Ruby called out to the rest of the bar. "This is my best friend!"

"Put me down, you dolt!" Weiss snapped, to which Ruby complied. Once back on her own two feet, Weiss refocused on her partner. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

Ruby tilted her head. "Well, that's stupid. I've been right here this whole time."

"And how was I supposed to know that?" Weiss tried her best to stay calm. Honest and supportive, she reminded herself, knowing Ruby's judgment was impaired on multiple levels.

Ruby shrugged. "You got here somehow, didn't you?"

Weiss clenched her teeth together. "Can we just go?"

"Nope."

"Why's that?"

"Because these guys are convinced they can out drink a huntress." Ruby gestured to the small group gathered behind her. "Someone has to prove them wrong."

"Why don't you join us, sweetheart?" a new voice added. The hand of an older, overweight man slid a shot glass forward.

Weiss didn't look directly at him. "I don't partake."

"Not even just a taste?"

Just the thought of the man's hand hovering over her shoulder made her skin crawl. When it actually made contact, all of Weiss' years of combat training came together in one movement. She pried the hand off of her, slamming it onto the bar before drawing Myrtenaster and forcing the rapier through the man's hand and into the bar.

After letting the man scream in pain for a couple seconds, Weiss withdrew the weapon and, as a courtesy, dumped the shot he had tried to give her into the open wound. She took a second to breath, knowing her outburst had been reckless. By some stroke of luck, the rest of the bar didn't seem interested in her handling of the pervert.

"Ruby..." Weiss pleaded. "Let's leave."

"You go," Ruby replied as she turned around. "I can take care of myself."

The pain in Weiss' chest came back. She couldn't go anywhere, especially now that she was being consumed by the thought of leaving her partner to be taken advantage of by any of the bar's current clientele. She needed to stay, with the only thing still in question whether or no she would need help. Not wanting to take any chances, she pulled out her scroll.

"Just calm down, Weiss," Xiao Long said into her scroll. "Okay, I'm sorry. We're on our way."

She ended the call, before motioning to Belladonna. With a few more words exchanged between them, the two huntresses set off, obviously to meet up with the rest of their team.

Greger watched them through the corner of his eye, also doing his best to remain subtle in order to avoid drawing attention in his direction. Learning where Team RWBY was staying had been easy information to obtain, and from there, tracking them had only been a matter of starting at the inn in question and working outward from there. The bigger question was what they were meant to do with said information.

"Let's move," Hana stated, already taking steps forward.

"What's your goal here?" Greger asked as he stepped in front of her. In the time since they had left the airship, his reluctance and disapproval of their seeking out their enemies had not diminished. Without their combat gear and active auras of their own, they were at a severe disadvantage should things take a turn for the worse.

Hana rolled her eyes. "Does it matter?"

"I thought we established it did."

"That's not what I remember."

Greger stood his ground. "Hana-"

"Would you just relax?" Hana stepped around him and towards her intended direction. "I know what I'm doing."

Greger wanted to argue, but knew his sister had already made up her mind. He followed her, already mentally preparing himself to clean up her mess.

"You look like shit."

Qrow turned towards the voice, having not heard anyone approach in the meantime. Standing by the cell's entrance was one Phaela Vell, or Phaela Rainart as she was apparently known by now. A Beacon alumni like himself, Phaela had disappeared not long after Gretchen Rainart had been killed on mission. Qrow hadn't expected to find her while looking for Hazel, though the more time he had to reflect on it, the less surprised he was at her presence. Hazel couldn't have been the only person who Gretchen's death had affected.

At the moment, Phaela didn't seem to have all her facilities about her, likely the result of the vodka bottle she held limply at her side. Other than that, though, her intentions didn't seem all that clear.

"How much of that have you had?" Qrow asked as he motioned to bottle. He decided there it couldn't hurt to indulge her for the time being.

"Not enough to forget," Phaela answered, taking a moment to look at the bottle and then back at Qrow. "But I guess you would know."

"More than most."

"You want some?"

Qrow paused, considering if there were any ways to exploit her offer in order to escape. Up to this point, his shackles and the cell's aura dampening properties had made it near impossible to take advantage of the instances where his captors brought him food. Granted, they typically took precautions and Phaela was currently in a drunken state, but that didn't necessarily mean success either. Also, even behind the barrier, the smell of the vodka was getting to him.

"Not my thing anymore." Qrow stayed alert, though, not convinced another opportunity wouldn't present himself.

Phaela glared down at him. "Yeah, well, that's because you got off easy."

"And how's that?" Qrow found his attention wandering to Summer, who was currently standing in front of the cell's barrier, attention zeroed in on Phaela. She had been silent up to this point, though he had a feeling that would be coming to an end soon.

"You didn't have to watch Summer die." Phaela jabbed a finger in his direction. "Not only did I see everything, I felt it!"

"Your semblance..." Realization pricked at the back of Qrow's mind. "You're an empath, right?" One of Ruby's friends, Lie Ren, had developed a similar ability during the war, though Qrow had never asked the boy about the specifics of it.

Phaela nodded. "My team used me to keep us linked, so we'd know when someone was in distress." She closed her eyes, placing her free hand over her face. "I remember the second Gretchen hit the ground, and all the emptiness that followed."

"Must have been like having all her senses turned off at once," Summer finally chimed in, the empathy strong in her voice.

"And the emptiness never left, did it?" Qrow asked, despite the answer being apparent.

"She was my partner..." Phaela opened her glassy eyes. "How do you fill a void like that?"

"The Curse of the Emerald Forest..." Summer almost sounded nostalgic as she said the words.

Qrow let himself grin, deciding that the empath in front of him would pick up on the sentiment either way.

"What's so funny?" Phaela's glare returned.

"Just an old story Oz told me once."

"This bottle isn't big enough for me to listen to one of his fairy-tales." Phaela went for another swig, only to find the bottle was empty. "Damnit..."

"Maybe that's a sign that you need a new coping mechanism," Qrow suggested, not sure if he was serious or not.

"I like this one," Phaela replied without hesitating. "It dials down my semblance. That way I don't have to deal with all the emotions coming off my two little sociopaths."

Summer crossed her arms. "Starting to think Hazel wasn't the only one who had a hand in making them that way."

"You know, most parents would kill to have your semblance," Qrow pointed out, both out of honesty and to try and get a rise out of Phaela. "It's not as big a burden as you think."

Qrow assumed a snarky remark was inevitable following his comment, but none came. Instead, Phaela seemed to focus in on him, looking him up and down in a more thorough way than she had before. Assuming she trying to read his emotions, Qrow tried to remain calm.

"I know what you're doing," Phaela said after a few more seconds of examining him.

"Do you now?" Qrow was determined to keep up his facade until he knew the game was over.

"You're trying to figure out how to get me to open the cell." Phaela stood up straighter. "And before you ask, I know because you're trying too hard to hide from my semblance."

Qrow grinned one more time. "Guilty."

Phaela looked down at the bottle in her hand again, her own emotions seeming to drop. "I'm gonna go see if there's anything else hidden on this ship." She walked away from the cell, making as little noise as she had when she first approached it.

"That bitch!" Summer screamed. If she had actually existed, the entire airship would have been able to hear her.

"You okay?" Qrow asked, though he already had an idea of what she was upset about.

"No, I'm not." Summer paced back and forth along the cell's entrance. "Not only is this whole family a mess, but she knows it and is actively doing nothing about it. She's part of the problem."

"No arguments here." Qrow glanced in the direction Phaela had left in. "She shuts down because it's easier than dealing with her problems head on."

Summer stopped pacing to look directly at Qrow. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Compare yourself to her."

"It's a pretty easy comparison."

"No, it's not." Summer moved back towards him and sat down at his side. "When you realized how much your drinking was hurting Ruby and Yang, you stopped."

Qrow hesitated before responding, not wanting to actively restart their previous argument. Before he could think of a response, Summer turned away from him, looking like she was lost in thought. There was something else on her mind, and he knew from experience to give her the space to sort her thoughts before asking what that something was.

Instead, Qrow leaned back, trying once more to come up with a means of escape.

Yang didn't get much of a chance to take in the sights and sounds of the bar as she and Blake stepped through the entrance. A former heiress, who stood by the door with arms crossed and a foot tapping, made sure of that.

"It's about time," Weiss said in the most Weiss way she could.

"Sorry, I'll add 'learning to teleport' to my to-do list," Yang countered, crossing her own arms as she spoke.

"Is Ruby alright?" Blake asked, likely her attempt to interrupt any potential arguments her teammates were getting ready to have.

Yang and Blake looked past Weiss just in time to watch one of the local drunks pass out and fall off his bar stool. It didn't take much effort to locate Ruby after that, as she had jumped on top of the bar in response.

"Let that be a lesson to all of you!" Ruby called out to anyone who would listen, swinging the mug in her hand around as she spoke. "No mortal can out-drink someone with Branwen blo-AH!" Loosing her balance, she fell and disappeared behind the bar.

"What do you think?" Weiss asked without turning around.

Yang's eyes narrowed on Weiss. "Better question: Is she physically hurt?"

"Not yet, which is why we have to stop this."

"How?"

Weiss' eyes went wide at the question. "You're her sister. Talk to her."

"Yang?" Ruby's voiced piped up softly.

They all turned, finding their team's leader had snuck up on them while they were arguing. Before any of them could speak up themselves, the confusion on Ruby's face became a playful smile.

"You made it!" Ruby cheered as she threw her arms around Yang. Without much thought, she reached out with one of her hands and pulled Blake into a group hug. "Both of you!"

For a split second, Yang's attention returned to Weiss, whose expectation still seemed to be that Yang had the magic words to make Ruby listen to them. The truth was that both her and her father had both tried talking to Ruby before, which usually ended with them hitting brick walls due to Ruby being either unable or unwilling to talk specifically about what had happened between her and Qrow. Yang had had every intention of telling Weiss exactly this before Ruby had spotted them, but given their new new circumstances, Yang decided that it would be best to show Weiss how things typically went instead.

"Hey, Rubes," Yang began, speaking genuinely. Despite her intention of putting on a show for Weiss, part of her still hoped her sister would listen to her. "We're worried about you."

Ruby released her and Blake and waved a hand dismissively at them. "You're always worried..."

"I'm being serious." Yang placed a gentle hand on Ruby's shoulder. "This isn't you, and we wanna help."

"Plus, we don't know that anything Raven said was true," Blake added quickly. "Qrow might still be alive."

All emotion drained from Ruby's face as she took a step backwards. "You know, I used to think the same thing about Mom, and we all know how that turned out."

"That doesn't mean you have to hurt yourself," Yang argued, which she knew was in vain by this point.

"I'm hurting anyway." Ruby began walking away. "At least this way I don't feel all of it."

"Well, that went about as well as it goes every time," Yang commented once Ruby was out of earshot. The fact that she had never expected the conversation to go anywhere didn't mean it hurt any less when it hadn't.

"So what now?" Weiss demanded, seemingly unfazed by what had just happened.

"I really don't see what you expect to happen here."

Weiss stepped forwards and jabbed a finger in Yang's direction. "I expect us to get through to her, because I am not walking away and leaving her to these lecherous old men."

"I don't think the old men are who you have to worry about," Yang replied as she turned Weiss' attention back towards the bar.

In the time since Ruby had left them to continue drinking, she had been approached by a young girl with short brown hair. Even without being able to hear them, body language made it plenty obvious that the girl was flirting with Ruby. Whether or not Ruby herself was aware was a tossup as ever, but Weiss didn't seem to have trouble connecting the dots.

"I..." Weiss quickly turned back to Yang, a mix of emotions on her face. "This argument isn't over." With that, she raced back to Ruby's side.

"So what are you actually gonna do?" Blake asked, in the tone she always used when she knew how her question would be answered.

Yang moved to an empty table with a clear view of the bar. "I'm gonna have a seat. Just because I can't help my sister doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying to keep her safe."

"I'll get comfortable then," Blake replied with a subtle smile, the kind that was apparently still very capable of making Yang's heart skip a beat.

Yang looked towards the bar, partially to stop staring at her partner. "You want me to see what they're serving tonight?"

"I doubt their serving any drinks with little umbrellas."

Yang turned back around. "I can check to see if they're stashing any of that fancy juice you like."

Blake visibly sighed. "Most people call it wine."

"Yeah, most people..."

"Regardless, you might be in the wrong establishment if that's your drink of choice," a new voice stated. They both turned to find a boy with brown hair and hazel eyes, who looked to be a few years younger than them. He carried with him three mugs. "They're best known for their signature 'Cutter's Ale'."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "You gonna drink all three of those yourself?"

"I wasn't planning on it." He set the drinks down on the table.

"Any particular reason you're feeling so generous?" Yang had plenty of experience with self-proclaimed pick-up artists of all ages, but something about this kid's vibe felt off.

"We don't get many huntresses in these parts." He gestured to their weapons and equipment. "How could I pass up the opportunity to talk to not one, but two of you?"

"Majority of the locals haven't shown the same enthusiasm since we got here."

"My interests are a little different from theirs."

"What's your name?" Blake asked, eyeing the boy suspiciously.

He hesitated a split second. "Greger."

Weiss didn't make it to Ruby in time to stop her from pulling out Crescent Rose. By some miracle, no one lost a limb as Ruby twirled the scythe around to show it off.

"That's impressive," the brown haired girl said, not taking her eyes off the weapon.

"It's also a gun," Ruby declared proudly.

"Now what are you doing?" Weiss questioned as she finally arrived at her partner's side.

Another empty smile stretched itself across Ruby's face. "Making new friends!"

"You have a problem with that?" the brown haired girl chimed in, hints of hostility betrayed by her voice.

Weiss payed her no mind, however, instead focusing her attention on Crescent Rose. "Put that away before you hurt someone."

"Fine..." Ruby whined as she stored her weapon.

"Well you're no fun at all," the brown haired girl commented, apparently being determined to insert herself into business that was decidedly not hers.

"I'm sorry," Weiss said as she turned to finally acknowledge the girl. "Who are you?"

"Hana."

"Do your parents know where you are, Hana?" Weiss watched with some satisfaction as Hana tried and failed to come up with a response. "That's what I thought. Now, if you don't mind, we're leaving."

Hana immediately stepped forward to Ruby's side. "I do mind, actually, and so does Ruby."

Weiss did her best to conceal her irritation. "You don't speak for her."

"Neither do you." Hana gently brushed her fingers against Ruby's shoulder, in a way that made Weiss' blood boil and her fists clench together. "Right, new friend?"

Ruby averted her eyes from both of them. "I told you I'll be alright if you want to leave."

Weiss froze for a split second, at first unsure how to reply. She wanted to respect Ruby's decisions, which she knew included letting her have room to make mistakes. Equal to if not more so than that, however, Weiss wanted to protect her partner, and that was before giving any consideration to Hana. Weiss knew nothing about the girl other than her name, but something about her tone and demeanor said that she was after more than a one-night stand, and Weiss wasn't willing to ignore her instincts and let Ruby get hurt or worse.

"It's not about you, Ruby," Weiss said slowly, hesitating for another second as she realized what she had to say. "It's about me."

"How so?" Hana snapped.

Weiss ignored her and focused on Ruby, committing to what she was about to do. Ruby was hurting, but no matter how far gone she seemed, as long as even a small part of her remained, she would never do anything to intentionally hurt the people she cared about.

"If you must know, my mother is a recovering alcoholic," Weiss continued. "So seeing my partner suffer through the same is painful to say the least."

Weiss waited as Ruby considered what had been said to her, with her conscience weighing heavier on her with every millisecond that passed. Weiss knew how manipulative she was being, and she hoped Ruby would be able to forgive her one day, because she knew it would be a long time before she would be able to forgive herself.

Ruby's eyes eventually fell to the floor. "Let me pay my tab."

Ruby pulled away from Hana to walk over to the bartender, leaving the younger girl to simply glare in Weiss' direction. Weiss had no reservations about glaring back, taking Hana's attitude as a sign that she had made the right choice.

Blake eyed Greger closely, far from ready to put her trust in the goodwill of a stranger. The difference between how he regarded her and her team and how the rest of Holzfäller did was too stark a contrast to just ignore. Blake was more than willing to own up to her own paranoia, but looking back, her instincts were correct just as often as they were proven wrong, leaving her more inclined to keep her guard up.

At the moment, Greger drank slowly, and seemed to be dividing his attention between the two huntresses he sat across from. Blake did much the same while Yang, little to Blake's surprise, downed the contents of her drink in a single gulp.

Eventually, Yang dropped her mug on the table. "So was there a particular question you wanted to ask, or did you just want us to sign something?"

"Do you regret it?" Greger asked calmly. "Becoming huntresses?"

"Nope."

"Why would we?" Blake added, now more curious as to what the boy's intent was.

"You were children when you started training, weren't you?" No emotion was betrayed by Greger's voice as he spoke. "You don't ever wish things could have been different?"

"Eh," Yang replied with a shrug. "I like being able to bench-press an Ursa."

Yang was likely suspicious of this line of questioning as well, and seemed to be doing her best to deny Greger the answers he seemed to be searching for. Not that Blake could really blame her, as detractors of their profession had been gradually becoming more common over the years. Even in Menagerie, Blake had to deal with the occasional antagonizer. Some were more forward while others tried for subtlety as Greger was, but they were all essentially the same in her eyes.

"No, we didn't have traditional upbringings," Blake explained. "Instead, we were what the world needed us to be at the time. Going back and changing that would mean taking back all of the lives we saved."

Greger set his cup down and clasped his hands together. "So you don't resent Ozpin for turning you into living weapons?"

Blake's ears perked up at the question, and her eyes narrowed on Greger even further. "How do you know we went to Beacon?"

"I just assumed. It's the closest academy to Holzfäller." Greger's eye twitched, ever so slightly that Blake would likely have missed it if she hadn't been looking for it. A clear tell that he had made a mistake and knew it.

Blake's eyes wandered to Ruby and Weiss at the bar. Slowly and irritably, the girl who had been flirting with Ruby walked away, and Blake found herself studying the girl more closely. There was no mistaking the familial resemblance between her and Greger, and Blake refused to believe that they had both arrived at this bar by coincidence.

"How'd you lose your arm?" Greger asked suddenly, his attention now directed at Yang.

"It's a long story," Yang answered, speaking with less confidence than before as she rubbed her prosthetic wrist. She seemed distracted all of a sudden, though Blake had no idea by what.

"Fair enough." Greger began to stand. "I can't imagine every story is an exciting one. I'm sure there was a lot of loss along the way, both physical and personal."

"At the exact same time in some cases."

Greger looked to the bar's entrance. "On that note, I should probably get going."

Blake stood up. "Not just-"

"Did you mean what you said?" Yang asked before Blake could move any further.

"What?" Blake replied upon realizing the question had been directed at her.

"You really have no regrets about being a huntress?"

"Now's not the time, Yang." Blake turned away again, finding Greger was already out the front door. Realizing she didn't have time to explain the situation to Yang, she sprinted in the same direction without another word.

Blake stopped short just before passing through the threshold, having nearly run headlong into another patron entering the establishment. They started to curse and rave at her, which she ignored as she maneuvered around them and finally made it outside.

Not that it mattered by this point. Both Greger and the girl from the bar had vanished.