Chapter 4

Somewhere on Anima, the Branwen Tribe were enjoying the spoils of another successful raid. Two members were playfully wrestling while a few surrounding tribesmen took bets on the winner. Vernal was helping prepare dinner when she spotted a familiar raven soaring through the sky and landing just behind their leader's tent. Soon enough, blasts of fire, ice, and wind erupted from the folds of canvas, accompanied by screams of pure fury. With a smug grin, Shay went to confront his leader. Sure enough, as he entered the tent, he found one Raven Branwen huffing and puffing from exhaustion.

"What's wrong this time, boss?" He smiled, crossing his arms as he leaned against one of the tent's poles.

"What's wrong?! What's wrong?!" Raven fumed. "How about lying, scheming, conniving, back-stabbing fake friends?! All these years I thought Rose was dead! But she abandoned my kid and hers! And when she comes back, she gets hugs and kisses?!"

"Ooh, I'm sensing a little jealousy, boss. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're getting soft." Raven's eyes flared as she reached for her katana. Shay's smile slowly faded away. "Don't try to deny it. We all know that your little 'weekend excursions' are just your excuses to go spy on your little brood. Is momma hen starting to miss her baby chick?"

Shay was brought to his knees by a swift kick to the groin. "Get out of my sight." Raven hissed. Once her subordinate had left, she removed her blade and set it on her bed. Although she'd never admit it, Shay's words had struck a raw nerve. She did miss Yang. And she hated herself for being such a coward.

When she had killed the Spring Maiden in self-defense - she still wasn't entirely sure what had caused the last Maiden to attack her with such anger and ferocity - she could have used her newfound powers to protect the ones she loved. But obtaining such power came at a terrible price. Ozpin was only the first to approach her; warning her about Salem's quest to gather all four of the Maidens' powers. With that in mind, her daughter could have become a target used by Salem to get to her. So rather than facing her fears head on, she chose to return to the Branwen Tribe and sever all ties with her true family.

Raven sighed; now that Summer Rose had returned, she had no chance of ever re-entering Yang's life. After a few more minutes of self-pity, Raven left her tent to get some dinner. She picked up her own bowl and sat down in a secluded area of camp. But it didn't take long for her decoy to notice her sour demeanor and attempt to comfort her. "Why the long face, boss?" She asked.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright." Vernal shrugged and sat down beside her leader. "Oh, by the way; that guy from the White Fang came by here again."

"Same speech as last time?" Raven grumbled. This hadn't been the first time the White Fang had shown up: in fact, they had been trying to form an alliance with the Branwen Tribe in hopes of gaining more supplies for quite some time, but each time Raven had driven off their advocates.

"Not exactly." Vernal went on. "It seems this was their last visit. They said that they're done wasting time with us and going ahead with their plans."

"Oh?" Raven nearly sounded impressed.

"Yeah, they said they'll be attacking Beacon at some point." Vernal shrugged. "Something about a Maiden and getting rid of a girl with silver eyes."

Raven dropped her bowl and rushed back to her tent. She had to get her sword. She had to get back to Yang. Whether she liked it or not, her daughter was about to get a surprise visit.

Meanwhile, back at Beacon, Penny walked into the arena with a wide smile on her face. Her teammates were seated in the bleachers right behind her to provide moral support, and she had no doubt that her best friend - Ruby Rose - would be joining them soon. Best of all, Rachael had promised to record the fight to share it with her father back home. As she met Pyrrha in the center of the ring, she was so happy that she shook her opponent's hand. "Salutations, Miss Nikos! And best of luck!"

"Uh… thank you?" Pyrrha was put off by the girl's enthusiasm, but readied for battle, nonetheless.

And out in the school's garden, Yang Xiao Long was frantically talking to her girlfriend. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but you have to believe me! One year from now, you and I enroll in this school together! And after we end up on the same team with my sister and Weiss Schnee, you and I end up falling for each other! And I will admit that before we become official, I kinda get caught staring at your ass by Weiss, and she's all like 'you're disgusting' and I'm all 'don't tell me you wouldn't wanna tap that!'"

"Did she hit her head when she went through the portal?" Fox asked Weiss.

The Schnee heiress could only pinch the bridge of her nose and try to relieve her growing migraine. "Yang, for the last time; you haven't gone back in time!"

"She's right, you know: how could you have gone back in time when your time is up?!"

Blake eyes widened - she knew that voice. "Everyone, look out!" She quickly pushed her friends out of the way just in time to block a sword slash courtesy of… "Adam?!"

"Hello, my darling," her psycho ex-boyfriend said as he shoved her back.

"What are you doing here?" Blake demanded.

"I recently got a new partner," he remarked, "and before you ask, I don't know what her end goal is, and frankly, I don't care. As long as I get you back and get revenge on those who stole you from me, she can do whatever she wants."

"'Stole her from…' Hey, asshat: she choose us!" Yang snarled, "And don't think for a minute that I'm going to let you anywhere near her or my teammates!"

Adam just smirked. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about your sister; I don't plan on doing anything to her. In fact, it's rather appropriate that she and her friend end up losing their individual battles at the same time."

"Oh no," Blake mumbled as her eyes widened, realizing that Ruby's worst fears might have been realized, before looking towards her other friends "Fox, Weiss…"

Weiss just nodded. "We're already on it." With that, the two of them ran off with their own objectives; Weiss to assist her partner, Fox to warn his teammates.

Adam just shook his head. "I just don't understand your new friends, Blake. How is it that she choose a Schnee over our righteous cause? How is it that she choose a bimbo over me?!"

Yang's eyes turned red as she gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Oh-ho, you did not just say that."

"Yang, be careful! His semblance is like yours," Blake felt the need to point out. "He absorbs energy through his sword, stores it up, and sends it back when he's ready."

"He gets to dish out damage without having to feel it?" Yang couldn't help but scoff at this: "That's just cheap."

Adam just chuckled. "Come now, my love, you never could beat me back in the White Fang even when you teamed up with that chameleon friend of yours. What makes you think this will be any different?"

"I don't have a choice. I have people who actually care about me, and I promised that I'd never leave them again, so I'm not dying now!" Blake shouted back.

Adam just shook his head. "You know, I seem to recall you making a promise to me not so long ago: about how you'd always be at my side...and just look how well you've kept it."

Yang just scoffed. "Did she make that promise to you or to the person you were pretending to be?"

Adam growled. "So I just wasn't good enough…"

"You know it's so much more than that…" Blake couldn't help but reply.

"I know you've made your choice, and I've made mine," Adam declared as he fell into a fighting stance, to which Yang and Blake did the same. One way or another, this fight would determine their futures.

"Are you certain this is what you wish to do?" Glynda couldn't resist asking one last time.

"If there's even the slightest chance I can help someone, shouldn't I take it? After all, that's what it means to be a huntress," Pyrrha declared, "Just...let me take part in the Festival before I take part in the procedure: on the off-chance this does change who I am as a person, I want my team to have one last set of good memories of the person I used to be before they're forced to get to know the person I'm going to be."

Ozpin couldn't help but smile: "You're going to be an excellent Fall Maiden: of this, I already know."

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at that memory even as she waited for her match with Penny to officially start. She drew Milo and Akouo as Penny activated her own swords. Dr. Oobleck took a long swig of coffee before slamming his fist onto the starter alarm. "BEGIN!" His voice echoed over the intercom.

"NO!" Ruby shouted. The little red huntress sliced at Mercury with Crescent Rose; she had to stop the fight before any harm could come to her friends. But the older student clearly had more experience, and used his weaponized boots to his advantage as he pushed her further away from the arena. "Get out of my way!" She ordered.

"Or what?" Mercury laughed as he continued to kick and blast at his opponent. "You can't touch me! I was hand-crafted to kill people! My experience, my weapons, my skills all dwarf yours! Compared to you, I am invincible!"

Ruby increased her speed and maneuvered behind Mercury, and slashed at his back. As her enemy collapsed, she held Crescent Rose against his neck. "But you don't have a semblance."

"No one's perfect." He sneered. Another swift kick tripped the little red girl, and Mercury sumersalted backwards to safety.

Meanwhile, Blake found herself at the mercy of Adam Taurus. His katana pierced through her aura and her flesh. The pain was unbearable; all she could do was look into his eyes behind his mask. "You took everything from me, Blake." Adam snarled as he removed the blade from Blake and turned to Yang. A sinister smile crept over his face. "Now, I'll take everything from you. Starting with her."

"Get away from her!" Yang shouted and lunged forward to strike. But she was too slow for the White Fang fanatic as he swung his blade. Yang shrieked in agony as she fell to the ground next to Blake; her arm severed. Adam confidently strutted back towards his victims, prepared to end them once and for all. But just as he brought his sword down for the kill, another blade blocked his strike.

A mysterious woman had appeared out of nowhere and kicked the impudent Faunus away. She sheathed the sword in a specialized scabbard filled with dust and when she drew it again, a wave of flames knocked Adam to the ground. Despite the agonizing pain, Yang found the strength to stand back up and check on her partner. Then she turned back to find Adam was down for the count. "Who the hell are you?" She asked the woman.

The woman sighed and pivoted on her heels. She removed her helmet, revealing the same red eyes Yang had whenever she used her semblance. "Hello, Yang." Raven smiled, sadly. "We have a lot to talk about."

Meanwhile, Pyrrha was honestly having the time of her life: while she personally hated her nickname of the "Invincible Girl", she couldn't deny that it had been a long time since anyone had given her an actual challenge. So when Penny's next sword barrage ended up producing more blades then it had previously, she didn't even question it as she responded in kind...only to lose her smile all of a sudden she heard her opponent shouting out in pain and panic.

Cinder, who had been watching all this from the security cameras she managed to access via the backdoor provided to her was just as surprised as anyone when she, like Pyrrha and everyone else in the audience, caught a glimpse of the mechanical nature of Penny Polendina that was revealed upon the brutal defeat that Emerald helped bring about...but then she smiled. "This has worked out even better than I could've imagined," she said to herself as she reached for a nearby microphone.

"This is not a tragedy."

Ruby gasped out in shock even as Mercury made his escape, as those words from one Cinder Fall could only mean one thing.

"This is not an accident."

Ciel looked upon the battlefield with horror, both at what she was seeing and how she knew that voice. "First my father, now this. Is nothing sacred to you, Cinder Fall?!" she growled out.

"This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be guardians but are, in reality, nothing more than men."

Summer Rose growled at the screen in front of her broadcasting everything. "You're not going to get away from me this time, Cinder."

"Our academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both. They cling to this power in the name of peace, and yet what do we have here?"

Weiss could only stare at the screen in horror, her heart going out to her partner, already knowing how much this would hurt the woman she loved more than her own father.

"One nation's attempt at a synthetic army, mercilessly torn apart by another's star pupil. What need would Atlas have for a soldier disguised as a little girl? I don't think the Grimm can tell the difference."

Raven growled as the pieces finally slide into place. "So that's her game, eh?" Looking to Blake, she gave a resolute nod. "Look after her for me, okay? I'll look for her sister." She quickly left before the Faunus could reply.

"And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, and yet I have witnessed neither."

"I...I'm sorry!" Pyrrha cried out, holding Penny's hand with her own, not feeling much relief at all when the android gave her a look that told her not to worry and that it'd be alright before the life left her mechanical eyes.

"Honestly, I haven't the slightest clue as to who is right and who is wrong, but I know that the existence of peace is fragile, and our kingdom's leaders conduct their business with iron gloves."

Ozpin frowned and turned to Glynda. "Get me General Ironwood on the line...now."

"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is...equally undesirable."

Ren could only hold Nora in comfort as her PTSD kicked in, all while he and Jaune silently swore to seriously hurt the ones who dared to make Pyrrha and Nora cry.

"Our kingdoms are on the brink of war. Yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark."

All throughout Beacon, several fists were clenched as one thought coursed through their heads at the same time. No matter what happened to them, Team CMSN and their allies would pay for what they'd done.

"So I ask you-when the first shots are fired...who do you think you can trust?" Cinder finished her speech with a malicious smile, not at all surprised when the panic generated by her words resulted in the sounds of Grimm rampaging through the halls.

After seeing what had happened to Penny, Ruby was furious. She pushed her semblance harder than ever before; searching every hallway and back door to the stadium, determined to find the ones responsible. Suddenly, a dark shadow soared over the huntress in training, and a woman landed right in front of her. "Ruby, stop!"

"Get out of my way!" Ruby shouted, but the woman managed to grab onto her. "Let me go! Who are you?!"

"Look, I know we've never met, but trust me! This is for your own good!" The woman struggled to keep the swift girl at bay. "Dammit, listen to me! I'm Yang's mom!"

"I don't care!" Ruby suddenly felt her rage spike - as if some kind of primal energy had entered her mind and given her an adrenaline rush. She elbowed Raven in the face and took off once more. At last, she saw Mercury and Emerald boarding a ship with the White Fang's flag painted on the side. With another tremendous burst of speed, she tore through the ship's hull, leaving a trail of flames behind her.

"What the fu-?!" Was all Mercury could say before Ruby's fist connected with his jaw.

Then, she turned her attention to Emerald. It was because of her illusion that Penny was dead; just looking at her was enough to send Ruby further over the edge. "My best friend is dead because of you!" She snarled. "And I will avenge her! Or my name isn't Paulette Rose!"

"'Paulette?'" Despite her fear, Emerald arched an eyebrow. Luckily for her, she could see Mercury recovering behind their opponent. All she had to do was keep her distracted. "What're you talking about? Your name's Ruby, right?"

"That doesn't matter!" The huntress growled, her fist clenching Crescent Rose so hard her knuckles turned white. She sliced and shot at the green-haired assassin until she finally knocked her off her feet. Still enraged, Ruby aimed the blade of her beloved weapon directly at Emerald's neck. "Your death will not be swift, murderer! I shall see to it that you endure every cruel and unusual punishment in existence! Your screams will echo throughout all of Remnant! And only until I have grown weary of bathing in your blood will I allow you to die!"

Mercury had heard plenty of threats in his life, but none had ever genuinely frightened him. This was nothing like the sweet little girl he had so much fun toying with. This was pure, unadulterated fury. "Okay, don't bitch out, now, Black." He thought to himself. "Just got to sneak up behind her… and snap her little… wait a minute… the hell is that music?"

Just then, a military vehicle drove over the hill at a tremendous speed. Inside the vehicle, Weiss rode shotgun, shooting ice dust from Myrtenaster while Coco Adel drove the vehicle. The rest of Team CFVY sat in the back with their own weapons ready. The surprise was enough to distract Ruby long enough for Emerald and Mercury to escape her wrath. But that only left them vulnerable to Velvet's fire from the Warthog's machine gun.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Emerald shouted.

"Ow! Fuckin' shit! Fuckin' shit! Fuckin' shit! Fuckin' shit!" Mercury was right behind her.

Eventually, the assassins found cover behind a rock. While Weiss went to check on Ruby, Team CFVY continued their attack. "Okay… we'll just… wait here for Cinder… yeah?" Emerald struggled to catch her breath. "I mean… that things gotta run out of ammo... right?"

To be continued