"Why?" Raven questioned, "What is so important?" She still wasn't ready to trust Ozpin's kid yet. He was different, but he reminded her of his old man.
"Well," Gordeau reasoned, "Something the Ren on screen said during that last part made me remember one of your songs."
"Really?" Yang asked, "I bet it's about Blake with how depressed that version of Ren was."
Blake shot her a questioning look, and Gordeau sighed, "Well, the person it's about has never told anyone how she feels about it, and the person she's singing to responds in the second verse."
Everyone began wondering who this could be about as Gordeau hit play.
I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute
Couldn't bear another day without you in it
"Well, if it wasn't for the 'never told anybody' thing, I would've thought it was about me again," Neo noted.
"Who then?" Ilia asked.
All of the joy that I had known for all my life
was stripped away from me the minute that you died
"Okay," Blake stated, calmly, "Who, besides Neo, has had someone important to them die?"
Jaune, Ren, Ruby, Yang, Tai, and Raven all raised their hands.
"Well, Jaune, Ren, and Mr. Xiao-Long are excluded, because our host clearly said she earlier," Weiss reasoned.
"Meaning it's either Raven or one of the two pip-squeaks," Qrow deduced, "Meaning…"
Summer went pale, "They're singing to me."
To have you in my life was all I ever wanted
But now without you I'm a soul forever haunted
Raven shrugged, "Well, I don't think it's me. I love Summer, but I still had Tai, at a distance. So I had more to want than her."
Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted
No way in hell that I can ever comprehend this
Yang shook her head, "Not me. I comprehended it right from the get go."
Weiss went pale, "Which means…"
Ruby just sat and listened with a dropped jaw. She'd known pretty much from the beginning that this was about her.
"Ruby…" Tai said quietly.
I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone
I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong
Yang looked at her sister in shock. She knew Ruby took her mom's death hard, but not this hard. Yang wanted to say something, but the look on her sister's face told her to wait until after the song.
How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay?
Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single f'ing day
Ren suddenly understood why Ruby hugged him. She didn't want him to feel like she did. He made a mental note to talk to her again later. He may be the only other person who understood having dead parents.
It's like a movie, but there's not a happy ending
Every scene fades black, and there's no pretending
"Ruby," Summer stuttered out through tears, "Sweetie, I…"
"Wait," Gordeau stopped her, "You'll respond in the song shortly."
Summer stopped and waited.
Weiss glanced at Ruby cautiously. She really wanted to hug her partner right now, but wasn't sure if that would make it worse.
This little fairy tale doesn't seem to end well
There's no knight in shining armor who will wake me from the spell
I know you didn't plan this
You tried to do what's right.
"What did you try to do, Sum?" Tai asked, "None of us knew when you left."
"That's because I never told you," Summer sighed, "I knew Qrow would try to come with me, Oz would try and get a team to come, you would've tried to stop me, and Raven would've tied me to the bed."
Yang and Ruby were both a little disgusted by that last part.
Raven raised an eyebrow, "So what did you do?"
"I…" Summer hesitated, "I confronted Salem by myself."
"WHAT!?" the whole room yelled.
"Why would you do that?" Ozpin stood up and asked, "How did you even find where she was without asking me?"
"I snuck into your office," Summer admitted with a glare, "If you had just told us she can't be killed, I wouldn't have done it."
Oz sat back down in shame, but admitted she was right. How many families had he destroyed keeping that secret?
But in the middle of this madness
I'm the one you left to win this fight
"You could've done anything, honey," Tai said sweetly, "You didn't have to be a huntress because your mother was one."
Ruby didn't say anything. Tears began to well up in her eyes. She hadn't thought about this for a long time.
Red like roses
Fills my head with dreams and finds me
Always closer
To the emptiness and sadness
That has come to take the place of you
Nora couldn't believe what she was hearing. The happy bubbly person she knew was actually always depressed? How could she hide it so well?
The voice changed, indicating it was Summer's response.
I know you're broken down by anger and by sadness
You feel I left you in a world that's full of madness
Wish I could talk to you, if only for a minute
Make you understand the reasons why I did it
"So, talk!" Ruby yelled as she stood up with the tears in her eyes, "Why? Why would you leave me all alone? Why would you sacrifice yourself, Mom?"
Summer was taken aback by the outburst. So much so, that the song continued on.
I wanna tell you that you're all that ever mattered
Want you to know that, for eternity, I'm shattered
I tried so hard just to protect you, but I failed to
And in a prison of abandonment I've jailed you
"And another thing!" Ruby went on, "Now, I find out that I had a second mom too, who also left!" Ruby cried, turning the blame to Raven.
Raven went wide-eyed as Ruby went on, "Why didn't you come back? Especially after Mom died, didn't you think we might need you?"
Both mothers looked at each other sadly. Yang could only watch the spectacle unfold.
I never planned that I would leave you there alone
I was sure that I would see you when I made it back home
And all the times I swore that it would be okay
Now I'm nothing but a liar, and you're thrown into the fray
Cinder smirked at the display. Her mistress had certainly done a number on this family, and she was happy to keep it up.
This bedtime story ends with misery ever after
The pages are torn, and there's no final chapter
I didn't have a choice, I did what I had to do
Now Yang got angry, "No choice? There is always a choice!"
"Gotta side with Firecracker on this one," Qrow nodded, "What made you think you had no choice but to take on the Grimm queen by yourself?"
Summer realized she didn't have an answer for that.
I made a sacrifice, but forced a bigger sacrifice on you
I know you've lived a nightmare
I caused you so much pain
But, baby, please don't do what I did
Ruby's jaw dropped again as her whole world shattered. Mom didn't want me to be a Huntress? Why? WHY?
Suddenly that question became the only thing Ruby could think about.
I don't want you to waste your life in vain
The first voice was back to sing the chorus again.
Red like roses
Fills my head with dreams and finds me
Always closer
To the emptiness and sadness
That has come to take the place of you.
The voices alternated now starting with the second.
You're not the only one who needed me; I thought you understood
You were the one I needed, and you left me as I always feared you would
No one spoke as mother and daughter shared a conversation with out even speaking. They didn't want to interrupt.
Would I change it if I could?
The voices sang in unison.
It doesn't matter how
The petals scatter now
Every nightmare just discloses
It's your blood that's red like roses
And no matter what I do
Nothing ever takes the place of you
Yang suddenly understood why Ruby hadn't responded to or even noticed Weiss's feelings. She had closed herself off because nothing could replace Mom. Now she really needed to talk to Ruby. Closing herself off like that wasn't the answer to anything. Now that she thought about it, maybe she should get Blake to talk to her.
Red like roses
Fills my head with dreams and finds me
Always closer
To the emptiness and sadness
That has come to take the place of you
The song ended and the room turned to Ruby. The speedster just sat with tears in her eyes, before bursting out of the room with her semblance.
"Ruby!" Yang yelled out as she chased after her sister.
Summer got up to follow, but Tai held her back, "Give them a few minutes. Yang has always been able to calm Ruby down. Then we'll go have a family talk."
Hearing this, Raven quietly snuck out of the theater. She didn't know Ruby at all, so she felt like she didn't need to be part of that conversation.
Shortly after, the rest of the audience left the theater, ready for a break after everything that had just happened.
"Well, that universe is done."
Gordeau let out a sigh as he stood up from his seat. He was just about to leave the theater when he noticed something which almost made him laugh loudly.
Adam Taurus had actually fallen asleep in his seat.
He wondered when exactly the Fang Leader had drifted off. Had it been directly at the beginning of the Universe? Chuckling quietly Gordeau left the room to grab a bite to eat.
"Ruby? RUBY?" Yang ran through the halls calling for her little sister. If she was being honest with herself, she should've seen this coming.
The song itself painted a pretty clear picture of just how empty Ruby had felt her entire life. It was pretty obvious that Ruby would end up a teary mess afterwards.
What Yang wouldn't've understood, was why see ran and didn't try to talk it out, but she got it now. Ruby had never opened herself back up. Yang shook her head. That explained why she, Dad, and even Weiss at this point, couldn't help ease what Ruby was feeling.
But the person that could help her was here now. Her mom was here and wanted to talk, so why did Ruby run from her? She shook her head. She was never going to figure it out unless she found her sister.
Yang opened every door she came across. She searched room after room, until finally she came to a door she was sure her sister was in.
She burst in and looked around. She found herself in a small farm.
"Oh, hey, Yang," a voice called out.
She looked over and saw Oscar, plow in hand, working in a small field. "Is it time to start the next viewing?" he asked.
Yang raised an eyebrow at him, but shook her head. Ruby was more important at the moment, "No, Oscar, but have you seen Ruby? Something happened and I need to find her."
Oscar shook his head, "No, I haven't. Can I help?"
Yang groaned and shook her head, "Sorry. It's a family matter. Thanks, though."
She began to leave before turning around, "Oh, you may want to head to the kitchen, I'm sure someone's been looking for you."
Oscar was puzzled by what she meant but Yang left quickly.
She ran for a little while longer before sighing to herself. "C'mon, Rubes. I can't help you if I can't find you."
Suddenly, a breeze caught her attention. Down at the end of the hall was a small balcony. She walked towards it and found herself overlooking a large garden. The sun was setting behind it, and the scene filled her with a sense of calm.
She breathed deeply and that's when she heard it. A small whimper of tears from her left. She looked and growing out of the balcony, was decent sized tree. It rose up about five feet before jutting sideways and continuing to grow. It then turned back up and leafed out like a palm tree.
Sitting on the tree, curled up in a ball and sniffling was Ruby. Yang approached quietly and hopped up on the tree next to her sister. She sat quietly for a moment and watched the sunset, "This is a nice view you found, Ruby," she finally said.
Ruby lifted her head weakly and looked out, "Yeah, I guess…"
"You want to talk about it?" Yang asked.
Ruby sniffled, "Kinda, but what else is there to say? The song said it all for me."
Yang growled, "Y'know, who does that guy think he is? I mean revealing your personal feelings without asking like that?"
Ruby looked at her sister in shock, "No, no! I'm actually glad it came out." Ruby relaxed a little and stretched out her legs, "It's something I've dealt with all my life, but I didn't know how to talk about it. It feels good to get it off my chest."
Yang raised an eyebrow, "Then why did you run off, Rubes? You've got plenty of people willing to help you out back there."
Ruby curled back up a little bit, "It's about Mom."
Yang scoffed, "Which one? Cause now you've got two to worry about like me."
Ruby groaned, "Don't remind me. We've got that to worry about now too." She shook her head and went on, "No, something in Mom's part of the song got to me."
"Yeah?" Yang looked at her, "Is this about Salem? Cause I can't believe Mom would do that. I mean how could she leave us like that? I know I have some questions for her about that."
"No, that does bother me," Ruby admitted, "But it's something else."
Yang reached out and grabbed Ruby's hand, "C'mon, Rubes. You know you can tell me anything."
"Yeah," Ruby sighed before quoting, "'But baby please don't do what I did. I don't want you to end your life in vain.'"
Yang raised an eyebrow as Ruby continued, "That's what Mom said in her part of the song. She didn't want me to be a huntress, Yang."
Yang's eyes widened as she watched her sister tear up again, "I always thought I was making her proud by helping people. I thought I was keeping her memory alive, but I was doing the one thing she didn't want me to do."
Yang watched helplessly as her sister broke down again. Honestly, she didn't care if either Mom was proud of her, but she knew Summer meant the world to Ruby. She pulled Ruby into a sideways hug as they both watched the sunset.
"Ya'know," Yang said after what seemed like forever, "We could go ask her if she's proud of you. She is here now."
Ruby nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think I'm ready now." They both hopped off the tree and made their way back inside.
"Winter can I ask you something?
Winter looked at Weiss who had a nervous expression on her face with interest.
"Yes, what is it Weiss?"
Weiss flushed a bit.
"Well, from what they said, Ruby's parents and Yang's mom are all three married. How does that work, isn´t it only two people who can marry?"
Winter looked a bit surprised before realization hit her.
"Ah, right. I doubt Father would have educated you on things like this. To your question, no it is not forbidden for more than two people to marry each other.
In fact, it is actually VERY common in the many small villages spread out over the world. With the Grimm killing people so often having more adults as parents is a sort of safety-net for those people. Trust me, orphans without a parent around only survive rarely in those types of places.
Of course, because of the better security which the Major Cities like Vale, Mantle, Mistral, Atlas, Argus and others have gotten, many people living in those places have become accustomed to just having one life-partner but even in those places you can find at least a handful of families who prefer polygamous relationships over a two person one."
Weiss looked curiously at Winter before nodding her head in thanks for the explanation. Winter smiled before moving towards the kitchen to grab some food which according to Gordeau should no longer be Meat Loaf.
Weiss, meanwhile, had a lot to think about. Ruby sure was going through a lot right now. Between learning she had two moms, and her emotions getting exposed to the world, it almost made the revelation from the last universe about herself feel small in comparison.
Suddenly Weiss got an idea. She could free herself from the embarrassment and cheer Ruby up at the same time. She only had to wait till Ruby was done talking to her parents, then she would enact her plan.
"Thanks, man, we'll grab a beer later," Tai said as he closed the door to the conference room, "You know for a criminal, he's not a bad guy."
"Yeah," Summer said weakly.
"Sum," Tai sighed, "Are you okay?"
Summer sighed, "Tai, our daughter's depressed and it's my fault. Would you be okay?"
"No, I guess not," Tai said as he rubbed his neck. He looked over at his wife calmly, "You want to talk about it?"
"What do I even say, Tai?" Summer asked, "I'm sorry I died?"
"Well, maybe start with why you tried to fight Salem?" Tai suggested with a hint of disappointment.
"I already told you," Summer started.
"No, you didn't!" Tai snapped, "You explained why you went by yourself, but not why you went in the first place."
Summer went wide-eyed, but sighed in acceptance, "You're right. I went because I thought my silver eyes could stop her. I thought I was the only one who could do it because of that. That's why I went and the real reason I didn't tell you guys about it."
Tai nodded and sat down next her, "I get it. The silver eyed thing is a big deal. And, honestly, if we didn't know what we do now, I might've supported your decision. But…"
"I know," Summer sighed, "She's immortal. If I had known…"
"You'd never have gone in the first place," Tai nodded.
"Yeah…" Summer looked down as tears came to her eyes, "But I did, and now our daughter's been so depressed her whole life that she can't see what's right in front of her."
"Yeah," Tai nodded, "That Penny girl seems really interested in her."
Summer rolled her eyes. Her husband could be so oblivious some times, "Sure, Tai. But it doesn't matter right now. Ruby is what matters at the moment."
"Right there with ya," Tai agreed, "But I wonder why she ran off like that? If it was just the depression, she would've talked about it."
"Something else must've happened," Summer observed, "I just wish we knew what."
"Hey, that's why we're having this family talk," Tai said as he put his arm around her, "Roman said that as soon as 'Red and Blondie' show back up he'd send them our way."
"Does it bother you that he hasn't given me a nickname yet?" Summer asked.
"Not really," Tai shrugged, "As much as he complains about remembering names, those nicknames have to be hard work."
"Yeah," Summer shrugged, "By the way, if it's a family conversation, why isn't Raven here?"
Tai put his head in his hand, "You know Raven, as soon as she heard it was a family conversation she snuck out of the theater. Qrow promised to bring her back."
Summer nodded, "She is so stubborn some times."
"But we love her for it," Tai agreed.
"Speaking of that," Summer glared at her husband, "You really never told Yang and Ruby about it?"
"Can you blame me for it?" Tai protested, "I didn't want Ruby to become obsessed with finding Raven like Yang was. Knowing what we know now, that probably would have made Ruby's condition worse."
"Yeah," Summer agreed, "But I think we need to tell them both everything when they get here."
"I'm right there with you," Tai said as they both settled in to wait for either Raven and Qrow or Yang and Ruby to show up.
"Finally found it."
With a smirk Raven walked into the dojo-room which she had been searching for. She had to admit that Ozpins brat was not quite as bad as his Father so far.
Sitting down Raven went and started her meditation exercises. She frowned a few minutes later though as she found herself unable to concentrate properly.
Sighing she knew what this was about.
The song about how Ruby felt about Summer's death had been to Raven like a hit in the gut and had brought up many unpleasant feelings which she had tried pushing down.
Years ago, when she and Summer decided to marry Taiyang, things had been far more pleasant. Back then, she had even thought about perhaps staying with them but in the end, she had decided to leave. Not that back then it had mattered much.
Unlike Qrow who had started to loath the tribe during his time in Beacon and Taiyang who (as much as she loved him) was a bit of an oblivious fool at times it had been Summer who had UNDERSTOOD Raven.
She hadn´t blamed her for leaving or looked down on her for feeling afraid of raising Yang. Instead Summer had just given her a kiss and told her that she would take care of Yang until she felt brave enough to return.
Raven had planned to return one day but then Summer died and everything fell to pieces. Taiyang fell into depression, Qrow into anger and herself into Paranoia.
In terms of fighting, Summer had won 6 of 10 battles between them and Salem had apparently easily killed her. Raven had, from the moment Ozpin told them about Salem, been afraid of her but she had been cautiously optimistic about their chances.
After all, her Team was strong and made up of some of the best students Beacon ever had. Summer's death had broken her off that illusion and had made Raven a paranoid mess.
She had forbidden the tribe to leave Mistral, killed the Spring Maiden and even made poor Vernal pose as the Maiden just to protect herself from Salem. In a way, Raven had to admit that Leo had been right when he called her a coward.
But what could she do now?
Most of her family barely tolerated her presence. Qrow was angry because of her Maiden powers and the alliance with Cinder which she had gone through, Yang because Raven left her behind again. Ruby didn´t even know her on a personal level.
Only Taiyang and Summer were alright with her. After she had used her Portal to go to Tai, the two had spoken in lengths about what had happened. He had been a bit disappointed in her but, in the end, they managed to patch things up a bit between them.
She had also used the chance to let herself be fucked by her husband finally again. Honestly, it had been 16 years since she last had some fun with him and 12 years since her last sex with Summer back when she visited Raven before running of to fight Salem. Which the dolt didn´t tell her about, otherwise, as Summer had said, Raven would have kept her tied up on the bed. Yeah, things between Summer and Raven were a bit kinky at times.
As much as Raven had her faults, she DID stay faithful to Taiyang and Summer. (Despite the MANY offers which she received from other man of the Tribe)
"Having trouble there, sis?" a voice broke Raven from her thoughts.
She grumbled, "What do you want, Qrow?"
Qrow smirked as he leaned against the wall, "Isn't that my line?"
Raven rolled her eyes as Qrow continued, "C'mon Raven, you've got a daughter that needs you." He pulled himself off the wall.
Raven raised an eyebrow, "Yang doesn't need me. I thought both of you were still mad at me."
Qrow shrugged, "Sure, I'm angry about the whole Spring Maiden thing, and I'm sure Firecracker's mad about you leaving again, but I'm not talking about her this time."
"You know I don't know Ruby at all," Raven huffed, "She probably doesn't even see me that way."
"Listen, Raven," Qrow scolded, "We've just heard Ruby's thoughts about Summer. To top that off, she just found out that you're technically her mother too. What do you think it will do to her if you don't show up now?"
"She doesn't need me," Raven scoffed, "She has you for that." She turned to leave Qrow and the conversation behind.
"She's like Summer, Raven." Qrow called after her, causing Raven to stop, "And between your outburst at Haven, and finding out about your relationship, she's going to have questions. You didn't exactly paint a pretty picture back there."
Raven sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, Qrow had a point. Thinking back, the reason for her outburst was because it had angered her just how much Ruby sounded like Summer. It reminded her just how helpless she had been to help her wife.
"You're going to have to explain it them, and better to do it now, before you lose both of them," Qrow said as he began to walk off.
Raven sighed and followed him. If Ruby was really like Summer, she'd understand why she never came back.
"I still don't know why he's being so friendly," Yang grumbled.
"Aw, c'mon sis," Ruby nudged her, "He's trying to change, remember?"
"Yeah, I'm still not sure he means it," Yang rolled her eyes, "And don't forget, Neo tried to kill me!"
"Well, she's been a lot better and he sent us here," Ruby gestured to the conference room, "So, there's that…"
Yang noticed her sister trail off, "You ready to do this?"
Ruby nodded and the sisters walked in. Tai and Summer were already there and waiting for them.
"Ruby…" Summer said softly.
"Mom…" Ruby said through tears.
Yang rolled her eyes, "Figures Mom didn't show up."
"Qrow's grabbing your mother. Yang," Tai explained, "He said she'd be here, one way or another."
Yang nodded as she and Tai took a seat, this conversation wasn't really about them, they were just here for support.
"Ruby, I'm so sorry for what I did," Summer said quietly, "I thought I was doing the right thing and protecting everyone. If I had known…"
"You wouldn't have gone," Ruby finished for her, "I know, Mom. That song must've been written a while ago, because a lot of the things I said don't apply anymore."
"Oh," Summer said, "Which parts?"
"Mostly the me not understanding why you did what you did. I understand now," Ruby explained.
Summer sighed, "So the emptiness?"
"Still there," Ruby said quietly.
"Ruby," Summer said as she kneeled down, "I know I've been gone, but you need to move on. Find something, or someone, to fill that hole, okay? As long as you do that, I'll always be proud of you."
"Did you want me to be a Huntress?" Ruby interrupted.
"What?" Summer recoiled.
"In the song, your part said you didn't want me to do what you did," Ruby explained, "Did you want me to be a Huntress?"
Summer and Tai were shocked. Tai folded his arms and waited for his wife's response.
"Honey, I want you to do whatever you want," Summer said, softly, "What I don't want is to see you throw your life away like I did."
"By confronting Salem?" Yang said with a scowl.
Summer winced, "You know, you sound just like Raven."
"WHAT?!" Yang stood up as her eyes turned red.
"But you're right," Summer sighed, "Being a Huntress is a great career, But,"
"Don't go after Salem," Raven stated as she and Qrow entered the room.
"Raven…" Summer scolded.
"That's not an option we have," Ruby countered, "We have to stop her."
"And what?" Raven scoffed, "Do everything your mother doesn't want you to do? Loose your life the same way she did?"
"And why do you care?" Ruby argued, "I asked you to work with us back at Haven. Why were you so mad that I sounded like Mom?"
"You don't know anything about me," Raven glared at Ruby.
"Because you weren't around to let us," Ruby argued as she pointed to Yang, "We needed you. And you ran away. We gave you that second chance, and you turned away."
Raven folded her arms and looked away. Summer sighed, "What I was going to say was don't try to fight her alone. She needs to be stopped. Now, I know she can't be destroyed, but that doesn't mean give up. There are other ways to defeat her."
"No there's not," Raven scoffed.
"And have you tried, Raven?" Summer asked, "As anyone here, other than me, actually put any effort into doing anything to stop her?"
Qrow raised his hand.
Raven rolled her eyes and stood up, "This is a waste of time."
"MOM!"
Raven stopped in her tracks. That wasn't Yang's voice. She turned and saw Ruby standing there with the beginnings of tears in her eyes. Raven dropped her hilt. Omen might not have been in it, but she was in the habit of holding it when she walked. Ruby looked almost exactly like Summer used too. It reminded her of who she fell in love with in the first place.
Ruby began, "Please don't go. We need you. We ALL need you. Dad and Mom need their wife, Qrow needs his sister, and Yang and I," Yang walked up and put her arm around Ruby, "We need our Mother."
Raven broke down, "You really are just like your mother," she said as the tears formed in her eyes. She leaned down and hugged her daughters, "You remind me of her so much. That was why I yelled. I was so angry that you were here and she wasn't. I just couldn't bear to look at you."
Summer joined in the hug, "Ah, sweetie!"
The women of the family finally broke their hug, though Yang gave Raven an angry glare.
Ruby didn't see it though and smiled, "Ok, I'll try to find something Mom."
"Good," Summer smiled as she could already see Ruby's spirits lifting.
"Well, that was weird."
Roman sighed as he walked through the halls looking for something interesting to do. Lil Red and her Family were still discussing the new song and most of the others had went to the kitchen again.
Thinking about the others he had to admit that it was nice to interact with them in a friendly way. Being a criminal, you needed to always put up a tough front, so Roman was not exactly mister popular. (Honestly, aside from Hei Xiong who was a longtime friend of him he had no friends at all.)
His mind drifting Roman had to frown though.
The relationship between Neo and Rainbow worried him a bit. Not because he didn´t support it of course, he really wished them luck. But he was very observant and from what he had seen he doubted the relationship would last for too long.
Neo was mostly worried about being alone and had simply jumped into the relationship headfirst to avoid that, which was not exactly a good foundation because she would eventually get over her abandonment fears and then she might recognize that some of the others in the theater appealed more to her as potential partners.
Ilia on the other hand was basically trying to console her broken heart after the Kitty rejected her and had simply reached out to the first girl which appealed to her in looks. Granted, he didn´t think that she saw Neo as some sort of silver-medal but it still worried him.
There was also the fact that Ilia reminded him a bit of himself. While she had quite a few good character-traits she had two major flaws which could shake the relationship between her and Neo if he guessed correctly.
The first was her nature. From what he understood she had joined the good guys, not because she felt her actions were wrong but instead because she felt attracted to the Kitty Cat. It didn´t exactly make her look like a person with strong character when she was willing to change sides so easily. Hell, he himself needed to DIE to recognize that he should have joined the good guys. Bluntly put, she tended to think with her lower head first instead of the upper one. Yeah, thinking that about a woman was weird.
The second issue was that the girl seemed to have some deep issues about being envious. Right now everything was alright, but would it stay that way once other universes were shown where Neo was paired with other people instead of her?
Yeah, he was quite worried. Of course, maybe he was just thinking too much and both of them were just interested in some fun or a short-term relationship anyway?
Well, he would just keep an eye on them for now and intervene if things started to get tense between them.
"So, now that we are done with that. How did you guys happen?"
Yang looked at Raven, Summer, Taiyang and Qrow who now looked unsurely at each other. In the end Raven let out a sigh and nodded while the other three looked at her in thanks. Both Ruby and Yang looked at the dynamic curiously before snapping to attention when Raven started talking.
"I suppose we should start at the beginning. As you both know, Qrow and I were born as part of the Branwen Tribe. A small tribal community who are mostly making a living through banditry, though we also act as mercenaries at times when villages hire us as protection against Grimm in exchange for supplies which we need.
Both Qrow and I were the only children of the Tribe-leader and were trained at a young age to fight against Grimm, Huntsman and other threats to the Tribe. By the time where we were Yang's age both of us had already kill-counts in the triple digits.
After a small tournament where the kids of our generation fought each other the two of us were chosen to go to Beacon where we were supposed to learn how to kill Huntsman. There we met Summer and Tai, during the team-finding exam I became partners with Summer and Qrow became one with Tai."
Both Ruby and Yang listened in fascination at that history. Though both were less enthusiastic about the Branwen Tribes actions. Raven looked at the girls with a slightly melancholic expression.
"I suppose it was around towards the middle of our first year at Beacon that the romance started. I fell in love with Summer and Taiyang fell in love with me. Summer, in her typical open-hearted fashion, fell in love with both of us and convinced me to give Taiyang a chance and start to date both of them.
Tai didn´t need much to also fall in love with Summer, but it took me a while before I started returning his feelings in a way aside from the physical. But towards the end of our third year I could honestly say that I was also in love with Taiyang.
From there we graduated and quickly joined Ozpin's Council. With both me and my brother being given the position of spy-master along with our transformations into birds."
Yang and Ruby watched as Raven's expression shifted to distaste.
"I honestly never trusted Ozpin and I cautioned Qrow against doing it too. But as you know Qrow was deeply taken with Ozpin's ideals and it didn´t take long until Qrow openly stated that he had no Intention of returning to the Tribe. Obviously, I didn´t like that at all and the both of us got a progressively worse relationship with each other. Of course, a certain someone now owes me something."
Both Ruby and Yang blinked in shock as Raven's expression became almost unbearably smug as she looked at Qrow who groaned like he was in pain.
"Yeah yeah, I get it. You were right about Ozpin and I was wrong. You happy now Sister?"
Raven's expression, if possible, became even smugger as she looked at her brother who looked like he was mortally wounded by admitting that she was right.
"Well, that apology was barely adequate. I suppose next time I could give you some advice on who to trust. I´m such a caring big sister after all."
Ruby and Yang looked shocked at the banter before Ruby groaned, "So THATS where Yang gets it from."
Yang growled at Ruby, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Ruby deadpanned at her sister, "Yang, the only person who I know who is worse winner then you is Weiss. I can count the times where you didn´t gloat after defeating me at videogames on one hand. Never mind all other types of contests where we competed each other."
Yang looked from Ruby to her Mother and Uncle before taking on a sheepish expression, "Sorry?"
By now the Branwen siblings had finished their interaction before Raven took up word again.
"Where was I? Ah right, well after a while I decided to stop beating around the bush and proposed to Tai and Summer."
Qrow snorted in amusement, "Yeah, it was hilarious. Raven grabbed both of them while in the middle of the courtyard in Beacon, went on her knee and proposed to both of them. Their reactions amused me for weeks afterwards. Tai turned bright red, squeaked out a yes and then fainted while Summer squealed so loud that it broke a nearby window before jumping Raven and snogging her senseless. I almost thought they would be going at it in the courtyard in front of everyone."
Yang and Ruby looked at their parents in a mix between shock, disgust and fascination. Qrow's words were pretty much confirmed when they saw Raven smirk at the completely flushed red Summer and Taiyang who didn´t bring out a word. Before turning to the kids again.
"From there we married and eventually I got pregnant with Yang. It utterly terrified me."
Yang looked hurt at the admission as Raven looked at her with a sorry expression.
"It's not that I don´t love you Yang. On contrary I spent much time pretty much stalking you in my bird-form. But I know myself very well. I´m a ruthless warrior, in fact according to some psychological tests which I secretly took on Ozpin's orders I am only a step or two away from being a complete functioning Sociopath. Suffice to say I was horrified at the idea of how you would turn out if I was actually raising you.
I told all that to Summer and Tai. Along with my decision to leave for the Branwen-tribe to take it over our Father had just died from a strong sickness which he contracted. That along with my decision to leave Ozpin's group caused the rift between Qrow and me to grow deeper.
Taiyang was also not happy about me leaving but as I had promised to return once I had gotten a handle on my emotions and he still had Summer he took it alright. But then Summer died and everything fell apart. Tai fell into depression, Qrow was busy with Ozpin's missions and I myself was in a panic. I desperately tried to find ways to keep Salem away from me and took in the Spring Maiden. I tried training her, but the girl was completely a pacifist and one day I decided that she was doomed anyway. So, I took the powers for myself."
Ruby and Yang both winced as they knew what that meant. They also saw Qrow glaring at her, Taiyang looked disappointed and Summer a mix of sad and Angry. Raven looked at the Ground, her Expression sad but also calm.
"Then some time ago, I was approached by Cinder and the other henchman of Salem for an alliance. I was strongly interested in getting my hands on the Relic of Knowledge as I wanted to use it to find out what exactly happened that caused Summer to go confront Salem. But I was foolish to keep my guard down."
Ravens expression shifted to anger as she remembered what happened in the Vault.
"Do you two remember Vernal, the girl who pretended to be the Spring Maiden?"
Both Yang and Ruby nodded confused and saw that the expression was shared by the others in the room.
"Well, Vernal was actually your cousin on our mother's side. The Father of Qrow and me was an only child but our mother had four siblings. Two died young at the Hands of Grimm. Uncle Vulture never married and after the loss of his left hand is now teaching the other Tribe-members in fighting and finally our Aunt Sparrow married and had her daughter Vernal. As the closest active fighter related to me, the leader, she automatically became my Right Hand and I was grooming her to take over leadership from me one day."
"That Girl was Aunt Sparrows daughter?" Qrow looked horrified. Yang had told him about the girl's death. Slumping down, he made a vow to himself to go visit the tribe when they got back and spend some time with the girl.
Both Ruby and Yang looked sad and barely suppressing their tears at losing a piece of their family they never knew about.
"So, where does that leave us," Yang asked with folded arms, "Are you coming back after this, or are you going to abandon us again."
Raven scowled, but Tai got up out of his seat, "Raven, we talked about this."
Raven sighed, "Yang, I want you to know that I love you."
Yang glared at her Mom as she knew where this was going.
"And Ruby, even though we haven't really talked a lot, I love you too."
Ruby put on a puppy dog pout.
"But," Raven turned around to hide her smirk from the girls, "I don't think the Tribe needs me anymore."
Ruby gasped, Yang's jaw hit the floor. If Qrow was still drinking, he would've done a spit take, "What?!"
"I went to Tai shortly after the battle of Haven, and he convinced me that, once you guys got back, to come back myself," Raven explained.
"So, you're really…" Yang looked at her mother, hopefully.
"Yes, girls," Raven nodded with a smile, "Your mother is coming home."
Weiss paced back and forth outside the conference room. According to Torchwick, this was where Ruby and her family were.
Come on. She thought impatiently. I can't wait forever.
She barely got the thought out when the door opened. As Ruby and Yang walked out, Weiss grabbed them and pulled them into a separate room.
The two tried to complain, but they took a look around the room and saw most of the other girls already in the room.
Weiss let go of their hands and walked to the front of the room, "Let the meeting of the Remnant-girl-association begin!"
Weiss slammed a hammer on the table of the room which the younger girls sat in. The girls looked at Weiss in confusion and amusement as they wondered what they were doing here.
"So, Weiss why did you drag us all here?"
"Good Question, Secretary Ruby!"
Several of the girls couldn´t suppress a giggle. Especially at the expression on the face of Winter Schnee who looked at her sister in confusion.
"Now the reason why I called you here is to lay the cards on the table. In the last viewing everyone found out that I´m a virgin with no experience so I want you to tell your own relationship history."
All the girls looked at Weiss in shock with several of them flushing red or smirking. In the end it was Neo who casually started up.
"Well, I had a friends with benefits relationship with the Malachite Twins for a bit but no real relationship until I hooked up with Rainbow here."
Ilia flushed before continuing where Neo ended, "I myself had some one-night stands with some of the Menagerie Faunus after Blake got together with Adam but I was too hung up on her to give anyone a real shot back then."
Blake looked a bit uncomfortable before she started to talk, "As you know I was together with Adam for a year. We did have sex with each other and honestly, that was probably one of the few aspects of our relationship where I had no problems with him at all. He was very good, probably because of experience given that he had two girlfriends before me."
The girls looked at Blake in shock with Yang being the worst off. Honestly, she really didn´t want to know that, though she found it interesting that a psycho like Adam actually had several girlfriends. Was her opinion unfair? Maybe or maybe not. Sighing she continued where Blake left off, "Well, I tried to hook up with some of my classmates but Dad scared them off and I was not interested in hooking up with random strangers so I´m still a virgin."
Ruby and Nora both quickly confirmed the same but the room was a bit shocked when Pyrrha also confirmed to be one. Seeing that only she and Winter were left Velvet groaned before pulling her rabbit-ears before her eyes.
"Coco and I have been playing with each other since around half a year ago."
Seeing the eyes of the younger girls on her, Winter twitched before she sighed. Honestly her sister could be so silly at times.
"I mostly concentrated on my carrier in the Military. I had a few one-night stands with colleagues, but nothing spectacular. I also went on a few platonic dates with Clover Ebi, a co-worker of mine, but we just didn´t feel any spark so we stopped doing them."
Weiss looked over to see Ruby giggling. She smiled in victory, as she had accomplished both of her goals.
Eventually, everyone one, except the snoozing Bull-Faunus, gathered in the kitchen. Gordeau apologized to Oscar, but after hearing what he missed the boy thanked him.
"Alright," Mercury stretched as he stood up, "So, when are we starting this next thing?"
"Well," Gordeau sighed, "Judging by the state of one us, I would guess that everyone is kinda tired, right?"
He was answered as Nora let out a loud yawn.
He chuckled, "My thoughts exactly. Why don't we all hunker down for the night?"
Everyone agreed, as Gordeau led the way to the bedrooms. Everyone settled in for the night and fell asleep.
A few hours later…
"Where the hell is everyone?"
Adam Taurus looked around the empty theater in confusion before letting out a yawn. Deciding to look around to see if he could find someone Adam walked through the hallways.
Looking through some of the rooms, he found some rather weird ones. A library, a petting zoo, a farming area, a race-track with several carts sitting at the side (he looked in some confusion at the colored shells which he saw stacked at the side), a dojo, something that looked like a museum and many others.
Eventually he reached another door. Opening it he looked at the garden in some surprise. He had honestly not expected to be able to leave the house.
"Huh, its night? But why is it still so bright?"
Adam looked upwards only to gasp in shock and amazement at what he saw.
Above him high in the sky was a giant moon shaped like a heart.
"What the…?"
For the first time in his life Adam was utterly speechless.
AN: We're back with an extremely long chapter. Sorry it's a little late today, work kicked my butt. Only two major hints as to where the next main universe is headed, but the last one at least should make it extremely obvious. Thanks to Zweig for quite a few of the scenes.
See you on Tuesday for the late Valentines day one shot.
