The scene fades in and out, cutting the sound of a speeding motorcycle.
Raven tried her best not to look at the screen too impatiently. It wasn't about pretending to be in control anymore - she was locked in a small room full of people who would love to see her dead eventually. Maybe with the exception of Summer, but others? If they had the opportunity, they wouldn't hesitate. So she had but one option: stay out of their reach, both physically and mentally, until this circus was over.
"That's a neat way to start a trailer," Summer hummed, leaning against Taiyang as if there was no one else in the room. No decency, as usual.
Deep inside, however, Raven couldn't wait to see how the story would unfold. The opportunity to see the future? To witness, perhaps, the downfall of Ozpin and his lies? To see how the world progresses and regresses? Somewhere hidden in the depths of her heart was a little girl that was bouncing impatiently, wanting to see all that this show could offer. She was excited. She was happy. But none of this could be shown for her own good.
"All of them started differently," Kali added as the sound of the motorcycle started to grow. "Maybe it has some meaning?"
Raven's fingernails bit into her arm as she stared at the screen. Could it really be her girl next? That little sunshine of energy that Taiyang would call his Little Sunny Dragon? Would it be Yang? She hadn't seen her in months as Raven did her best to avoid spending too much time around Xiao Long's house, but it wasn't only a craving to see her daughter.
"We can analyse them all after the end," Ghira told his wife and she shrugged it off, dropping the subject.
Raven was craving to see her daughter in the future.
Finally, the motorcycle stops in front of a club - the music, although dulled, can be heard. The driver has yet to be seen. As she leaves the Bumblebee behind and walks towards the entrance, only her back and hair are shown.
"Oh, come on!" Taiyang grumbled. "What kind of shot is it?"
"Impatient much?" Qrow teased, smirking at the blond man. It's been almost a decade since their first meeting and the two would still act like little boys, punching and annoying each other whenever their parents weren't looking. And sometimes, even when parents were looking.
It was surprisingly soothing for Raven. Like an echo of past, simpler days when the hardest decision was what to pick for breakfast.
"I'm either staring at the bum of some random teenager," Taiyang pointed out. "Or my daughter's. And I don't like either."
"You can always close your eyes if it bothers you so much," Raven told him.
As Yang enters the club, first only her silhouette can be seen through the door - when they open, she is shown to be a tall blonde girl with purple eyes. She has a genuine, confident smile on her face as she makes her way into the crowded club.
Raven knew the pause was coming before Taiyang even lifted the remote, his face torn between a multitude of emotions. She imagined how happy he has to see that his little girl grew up into a striking woman - she knew she was proud to see the ponytail girl stand tall and proud - but at the same time, Raven could understand how terrifying it had to be to see both of his daughters involved into something big. Big enough to become entertainment for a whole different species.
As to the identity of the girl - it was as obvious as things could get. Looking at Yang's face, Raven saw herself from one side and Taiyang from another. A perfect mix of both of them. The hair had her father's hue and her mother's shape and volume. And that goddamn lone strand standing on the top of her head that both of her parents had to deal with. At this point, it was probably a genetic souvenir that would be passed on for centuries.
"I won't even ask for confirmation," Ghira huffed with a smile. "She looks just like the two of you."
"I'm definitely more concerned with the fact she is in a night club," Jacques added slyly. "And correct me if I'm wrong, which I'm not, but isn't she a few years too young to be there? Or is it just another primitive characteristic of Vale?"
Raven glanced at Taiyang to see him staring at Jacques with that restrained expression of his. It meant that the man was thinking about strangling the Schnee, but she was certain he wouldn't. He didn't have the courage for something like this.
"And I'm concerned with why you're always looking for a problem," Summer spoke instead of Taiyang. "Especially after Weiss' trailer."
"Besides," Qrow interrupted before Jacques could say something. "We have no clue what she's actually doing. How about we wait and see before getting into pointless complaining, eh?"
"But wouldn't a club demand an ID?" Willow asked, frowning. "In Atlas, you won't enter a place you're not allowed to…"
"It's a grey area in Vale," Taiyang admitted. "It's rare, but we've got some younger Huntsmen here and about, and nobody IDs Huntsmen for their age. Also, most clubs don't care much unless you're really young or cause trouble. Or want something that's definitely not for your age."
"Speaking from expertise?" Summer giggled and Taiyang flushed deeply. When he was younger, he'd go on about his youthful escapades to all sorts of adult-intended places, but apparently, he grew up enough to realise that this is not something to be proud of.
"If we're mentioning our thoughts, I wonder what kind of trailer you'd have in a night club," Kali added after a moment. "All other ended in a fight."
"Why would Yang start a fight in a club?" Summer cocked an eyebrow before looking at the screen. "I mean, we've never started a fight in those, did we?"
"We'd get too smashed in clubs to start anything," Qrow corrected her and Raven grimaced at the memory of those hangovers. "Good ol' times, eh? Especially with Tai's…"
"Moving on!" Taiyang quickly unpaused the trailer and Qrow ended his unspoken thought in a chuckle.
As Yang makes her way deeper into the club, the remixed music of Red Like Roses can be heard in the background.
"Wait, wasn't it the song from Ruby's trailer?" Summer glanced at the others quickly for confirmation.
"I think so?" Taiyang shrugged. "It's not that important."
Yang looks to the side to see a man accompanied by two short girls ending talking to someone. As he turns to the bar, the blonde, with her eyes on him, turns to join him there.
"Who's that?" Kali's ears twitched. "A friend of hers?"
"How would we know?" Raven groaned, annoyed that they kept asking those questions while knowing well enough that neither of them knew anything about the future.
When the man sends his companions away, Yang turns to the barman.
"Strawberry Sunrise," she orders. "No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas."
"Strawberry Sunrise?" Willow hummed. "It's a drink in Vale? Sounds… quite good."
"Very mild drink," Taiyang told her. "I'd say you won't even feel the alcohol unless you drink like a gallon of it. But it tastes good."
"Don't drink that much," Summer quickly added. "Tai's got a pretty tough head. Everything but pure stuff is mild for him."
Still, Strawberry Sunrise was hardly something Raven would make an issue of. Even Taiyang and Summer would probably let it slide, especially since Yang was hardly a little girl anymore. What she was glad for was that none of them was making a big deal out of it here, sitting and watching their daughter in a night club. Either they finally realised how little they can do about this show, or they were more lenient than she realised.
"Aren't you a little young to be in this club, Blondie?" the man finally acknowledges Yang's presence and turns to look at her.
"Aren't you a little old to have a name like Junior?" the girl says with a half-hearted giggle.
"Huh," Qrow leaned on his knees, watching the screen with his brows furrowed. "So she's not there for a drink."
"How can you tell?" Willow asked, glancing between him and the screen until Taiyang paused the scene as Yang and Junior both turned their backs to the bar.
"Well, aside from that she clearly wanted to talk with the guy," Qrow pointed out. "Places like this are to-go spots if you need something not very… legal."
"At best, he's an information broker," Raven added, wondering what her daughter got into. "I doubt he has anything better to offer."
Real underworld contacts wouldn't own a well-known night club that is filled to the brim. Although it was a good hideout for some sort of activity, it was also attracting far too much attention. Raven knew enough of spiders and snakes of the world to know that the real dens are far less visible and one won't see them until they look really hard.
"But why would Yang need a…" Summer started before breaking out into laughter that left her hanging on the edge of the couch. While others merely watched her apparently lose her mind, Taiyang reached to her, worried.
"Sum? Summer?"
"What's so funny?" Jacques raised an eyebrow as she tried to regain her breath.
"I'm sorry… it's just… it's…" Summer shook her head and sighed with a crooked smile on her face. "It's crazy, isn't it? We're sitting here, watching our daughters… get into all sorts of trouble… And all we can do nothing about it. Just watch. And pray they'll live."
Raven could see the point she was trying to make. Even if those were only trailers, every one was rising a lot of questions and worries. Summer being a goner. Ruby visiting her grave on her own. Weiss fighting a monster in her own house. Blake nearly blowing up a whole train. And Yang, most likely looking for illegal services in a night club. The future was a mess.
And there was no doubt that it was just the very beginning.
"Do you, uh…" Ghira coughed into his fist. "Do you need a minute?"
"What?" Summer chuckled, leaning back to look at the screen with a fake smile. "No. I'm good. Let's go. Let's what mess Yang has to offer to us."
Taiyang looked at his wife with concern for the next few seconds before giving in with a sigh.
"So you know who I am," Junior says, taking a better look at Yang. "You got a name, sweetheart?"
"Yes, Junior, I've got several," she tells him with a smile. "But instead of sweetheart… you can just call me 'sir'."
Yang grabs the man forcefully by the groin making him cry out in pain as he stands there, paralysed.
"What in the-!" Taiyang choke on his breath, fumbling with the remote to pause the scene while Raven stared, torn between bursting out in hysterical laughter and gaping at her daughter's bold approach.
Biting down on her emotions, she glanced to the rest and nearly lost it, seeing the faces of those 'brave' men.
"She just…" Ghira grimaced painfully, nearly shrinking in his seat. "That's… that's not right…"
Jacques was plain shocked, his eyes wide open in fear as he stared at the screen without a word. And Qrow wasn't that much better either, not so subtly turning his knees to the side as if to protect his valuables from Yang's grasp.
Then… Kali burst out in laughter, grabbing herself by the sides as she nearly fell over to the side. She didn't bother much with her husband, who stared at her with that look of betrayal. And following her, Summer lost it as well, although her laughter was much more restrained as if full of guilt. When Raven looked to the opposite end, she saw Willow scrunched on her seat, with a fist hiding her mouth, but her eyes told everything that was needed to be said.
Seeing that rather comical scene, she gave in and let out a chuckle, grinning with amusement. Out of all things that she had expected to see on the screen, this was the one she hadn't even taken into consideration.
"This isn't funny!" Taiyang complained, glaring at Summer, who just helplessly shook her head while chuckling. "Do you have any idea how much it hurts?"
"Oh, boy," Qrow took several deep breaths. "Respect for Firecracker for pulling it off, but… Ugh. This is going to give me nightmares."
Although Raven would usually be the one to complain about how long it took all of them to calm down - especially considering they were all grown adults - she didn't mind watching all that madness. There was something simple to it, something that made her feel more at ease. And seeing the men suffering mentally for something done behind the screen was a well-received bonus.
"Alright." Kali wiped tears off her cheek. "We can continue now."
"I'd rather not," Jacques mumbled. "She's a brute."
"Don't be such a snowflake," Summer giggled while nearly apologetically embracing Taiyang, who still looked agitated. "Besides, Yang's not here. She won't hurt you."
"Her mother, on the other hand…" Ghira muttered, glancing toward Raven, who didn't miss out on the opportunity to send him the creepiest smile she could manage in a span of seconds.
"A brute and a pyromaniac," Jacques huffed. "And with a mother like this. I can't imagine this going anywhere good."
Raven felt gracious enough to drop the implication of her being a bad mother - she had heard it dozens of times from different people even before she left Yang with Tai - but instead focused on the pyromaniac idea.
"Pyromaniac?" Summer was apparently thinking about the same thing. "Where did you get that from?"
"Well… he called her a firecracker," Jacques nodded towards Qrow, who laughed at that.
"Talk about quoting without context." He rolled his eyes. "She's not a pyromaniac, she's a five-year-old."
"Then why would you…"
"Her hair lights up when she uses her semblance," Taiyang explained, setting the remote properly in his hand again. "It looks like she's on fire. I'm letting it play; I can't look at it any longer."
"People say you know everything." Yang pulls up a scroll with a photo of a woman with dark hair. "Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go."
"Isn't that…" Kali glanced at Raven, who tried her best not to show any emotion.
"That's Raven," Summer whispered barely audibly. "She's looking… for Raven."
Was it disappointment on Summer's face? That the girl she considered her own daughter wanted to search for her real mother? Raven couldn't tell, but whatever it was, it definitely wasn't joy. But instead of feeling triumphant at that, Branwen's chest felt heavier than ever, bringing her mood down like an anchor.
"I've never seen her before, I swear!" Junior promises, straining to form words due to the pain. But instead of letting go, Yang squeezes him harder.
"She doesn't take 'no' for an answer, does she?" Willow commented with a modest smirk, while Jacques seemed even more uncomfortable than ever before.
"Excuse me?" Yang glares at the man.
"I swear… sir!"
"I'm pretty sure I know which part of the family she takes that from," Qrow huffed with a smirk, glancing at Raven who granted him the privilege of seeing her roll her eyes. Again. How many times did she do that since they appeared here? If it kept up, her eyes would fall out of the eyesockets from all that rolling.
But she had to admit. Yang had potential. If that was how she was acting in normal life and not only when dealing with suspicious men, she had no place in Taiyang's house and in Ozpin's world. No, her place was in the tribe. She evidently carried Branwen tribe and her the guts to keep going. Raven wouldn't mind much if the older her showed up in the next moment and snatched Yang away. Despite all the hell that it would rise.
In the meantime, however, it was entertaining to watch her girl boss men twice her size around.
Just as he says so, Junior's henchmen begin to gather nearby with their weapons ready to be used.
"Took them long enough to act," Jacques said with a grimace. "Is everyone in this future so useless? It's like watching one act of incompetence after another."
"You sound like you're butthurt people don't worship the great Jacques Schnee in the future," Taiyang mused and although he meant it as a joke, Raven could imagine their foolish society falling into such despair to consider this man as their god. It definitely wouldn't shock her much.
"Well, that definitely would be better considering…" the man began saying, only to shrink under Willow's sudden glare. Jacques finished his sentence with an awkward cough.
Yang, however, doesn't seem to be overly concerned with the henchmen.
"Hmm… Looks like we have an audience," she says with a smirk. "This must be kind of embarrassing for you, huh?"
"At this point, she's simply looking for a fight," Ghira pointed out, shaking his head lightly at this with disapproval. "She should take her leave as long as she can."
"As that would solve anything," Raven scoffed. "Unless she settles it down here and then, it's going to drag after her for the rest of her life."
A fight would be preferable to giving Junior and his people a chance to turn Yang's life into a miserable hell. She had to show them that messing with her is pointless and painful, otherwise, this was going to go very bad for her.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Taiyang groaned. "But Raven's right. Yang's already in trouble. She needs to put her foot down here and now, or…"
Fleeing was not an option. Junior knew her face and could easily identify her. Her daughter had started this and now, she had to finish it.
But could she handle it? That was the question.
"Listen, Blondie… sir." Junior's voice is strained as he attempts to sound intimidating. "If you want to make it out of this club alive, I suggest you let me go. Now!"
"Can't she just apologise and leave?" Willow questioned, glancing between Raven and Taiyang.
"You don't do that to an information broker and walk away," Qrow answered in their stead. "They're so important for the underworld that they're like… dunno, ambassadors? You don't touch them. Ever."
"So it's a psychological thing," Kali added. "If Yang makes him afraid of her, he won't try to do anything against her even after she's gone. If she just leaves…"
"He'd tell someone to deal with her," Summer finished with a worried expression.
Surprisingly, Yang does let Junior go and he quickly attempts to recover whatever dignity he still had.
"You'll pay for that," he says as he turns to walk away while putting on his sunglasses.
"So… I guess Yang will have to wreck the club," Summer sighed, clearly unhappy with this trailer. "I just hope she won't get into more trouble after that."
Raven couldn't get enough satisfaction in seeing her faultless leader be faced with real life. That little girl she would so eagerly hold in her arms and play with turned out to be a ruthless young woman that didn't bother with pleasantries when she wanted to achieve something. Yang was dealing with the underworld right in front of their eyes and Summer had to face the consequence of failing to be that perfect mother she considered herself to be.
"How do you imagine that happening?" Jacques cocked an eyebrow. "Or are you telling me even that would be in… how did you call it… a grey area in Vale?"
"Oh, Junior, I was just playing with you! Don't be so sensitive!" Yang follows the man closely while the henchmen watch her every move.
"I doubt Junior would want police at his doorstep," Taiyang told Jacques while his eyes were watching the screen intently. "Those kinds of things they handle behind the closed doors."
"Where is she going with this?" Ghira said, bracing himself on his knees as Yang kept close to Junior. "Maybe she will get out of this without a fight?"
"Nah," Qrow shook his head. "Something's stinking here and it's not our Dust prince's perfumes."
Raven's brother smirked when Jacques' turned to look at him with silent disbelief. She could imagine that this was the first day when nobody tried to pamper him and instead, kept attacking his very dignity whenever the opportunity arose. Even if the show would prove to be awful, Raven would love to stick around until the very end just to see Jacques Schnee break.
"Come on," Yang keeps trying. "Let's kiss and make up, okay?"
That did make Junior stop dead in his tracks.
"Uh, please, no." Taiyang's face scrunched in disgust when Junior's interest in the offer became obvious. Although Raven would love to pick on Xiao Long, she wasn't a fan of the idea either. She really hoped that Yang had something in her sleeve, otherwise, she just might lose all that respect the girl had gained from her in the past few scenes.
"First, he questioned her age and now, he's going in for the kiss?" Ghira's hostility towards Junior was as blatant as it could be.
"To be fair, he didn't care that much about her age to begin with," Qrow pointed out before breaking into a grin. "Don't tell me she's… Oh, this is going to be good."
"What are you…?" Taiyang glanced at the man with a raised eyebrow.
"Just watch, Tai. You'll love it."
"Huh? Uh, okay." Junior shrugs before leaning in to kiss Yang…
"No, no, no," Summer closed one of her eyes as if that could save her from what was coming. "Yang, don't…!"
But the moment Junior leans in too closely, Yang punches him across the room. The man slams into the bar and one of the bottles falls down onto his head, knocking him out.
Raven wasn't sure why Taiyang paused. Maybe it was because of the shock at what happened, or joy that the kiss never happened, or maybe because of Qrow's animalistic laughter that sent him into a coughing fit in a span of seconds… Whatever was the reason, however, she was glad that they had a short break, because she really needed that not to burst into her own laughter.
How could she doubt Yang? Of course, her girl wouldn't have any of this. She was Raven's daughter, after all, not Summer's adorable pipsqueak.
Still, she didn't expect her girl to launch the man across the whole club. At least that definitely would pass on the message not to mess with Yang. Although Raven doubted that would be enough to keep Junior away, it was a very good start.
"Well then," Ghira coughed into his fist with a smirk. "That's quite a… how do you say… a turntable?"
Raven glanced at Taiyang and Summer, who had been quite quiet so far. The former was sitting with the remote resting on his knee and his hands brought together in front of his mouth in a nearly thoughtful manner. But Raven didn't miss those joyful sparks in the man's eyes - Taiyang was torn between acting like a grown-up and dropping to Qrow's level to join him in laughter. And coughing.
Summer, on the other hand, was clearly in too much shock to be torn between anything at all. She was staring at the screen with her eyes wide open, watching the frozen image of unconscious Junior on the floor.
"More like a punchtable," Kali giggled as a wide grin took over on her face. "I think Yang's my favourite now."
Raven wasn't the only one to look at the Faunus woman as if she had lost her mind.
"Favourite?" Willow raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it a bit unfair towards your daughter?"
"Blake knows I'll always love her," Kali shrugged. "But this girl… she's something else."
"She literally breaks the law and acts like an utter brute," Jacques pointed out bitterly. "Although… I can see why you would find it fascinating."
Raven could swear she heard his joints snapping when Ghira immediately turned to look Jacques straight in the eye. And did she enjoy the look of fear on the rich man's face.
"What's that supposed to mean?" the Faunus growled, but Kali patted him on the shoulder with a small smile.
"Dear, don't," she told him. "We've barely into the show and I promise you, he's going to say things like this hundreds of times…"
"Well, then, maybe I should teach him how to keep his mouth shut," Ghira suggested, although he did slide down back into the pillows. His eyes remained glued to Jacques' unnaturally pale face.
"Are… are you threatening me?"
"That depends on you, doesn't it?" The Faunus smirked before settling down and taking a deep breath. "You're right. He's not worth it."
Raven watched as Jacques opens and closes his mouth several times but fails to say anything. She could imagine him being torn between telling Ghira that he should keep away from him, and telling him that he was worth much more than that. Rich people. So predictable. So pathetic.
"Threats and insults aside," Summer cleared her throat, finally out of the shock. "That was… quite unexpected."
"Speak for yourself, Sum," Qrow chuckled and coughed again. "That was the oldest trick in the book. Well, one of them at least."
"Alright," Taiyang huffed, dropping his hands to show a wide, shameless grin on his face. "Let's see what else Yang has in store for us."
"As long she's not punching us, I'm happy," Kali said, innocently fixing her clothes before wiggling back into Ghira's side. The man absentmindedly hugged her before realising what happened and raising an eyebrow at her.
Meanwhile, Raven wondered whether all women would turn into such a shameless mush when in marriage. But then, she glanced at Willow, who was keeping quite a distance from Jacques and was relieved that not all of them were this weak.
Feeling how disgust takes over her enjoyment, she turned to look at the screen right before Taiyang hit 'Play'.
At the sight of their boss being knocked out, his henchmen move in to teach Yang a lesson as she activates Ember Celica.
"Oooh, what's this?" Summer leaned forward to take a better look at the gauntlets, but the scene shifted soon after. "Aw… I wanted to check them out."
She glanced at Taiyang, but the man shook his head.
"You'll see them in action soon enough, Sum."
Yang jumps in the air just before the men get to her and grinning, she slams into the floor, sending them flying back.
Raven watched the fight unfold, unaware of the smile on her face. It was good to know that her daughter could hold her own - although it was quite obvious since Ruby could handle herself well too - and if her confidence wasn't just a psychological trick, wrecking all those people would definitely be nothing more but a walk in the park for Yang.
Without skipping a beat, Yang rushes in to beat up all the henchmen, almost without breaking a sweat.
"Watch it, Tai," Qrow grinned. "You're under scrutiny now."
Taiyang simply sighed in resignation, more interested in what was happening on the screen than with his former teammate's little comeback.
"What? Why would he…?" Ghira frowned.
"That's Tai's fighting style," Summer explained with a growing smile. "So he's the teacher in question now."
"Oh."
As Yang tears through the henchmen, the DJ pulls out a gun and tries to shoot her…
"I guess they're done playing nice, eh?" Qrow huffed. "If only he could aim."
Raven was angry at herself for letting that small chuckle out at his words but then, she decided to drop the issue. One could only pretend to be emotionless for so long and although she'd rather drown than admit weakness to all those people, being around her old team was bringing out something from the depths of her heart. Something she forgot she ever had.
Yang avoids being shot, jumps onto the balcony, and rather brutally teaches the DJ respect before throwing him off to the dancefloor.
"Ouch," Taiyang grimaced with a smirk. "That recoil hit to the gut? I'd be surprised if that didn't leave a mark."
"You seem quite happy at seeing your daughter practically send people to a hospital," Jacques spoke up, watching the man warily. Perhaps he tried to tell whether the father would be as brutal as the daughter. In that case, Raven had good news for him. Taiyang was just as dangerous as a lapdog.
"I can either worry myself to death or try and enjoy this," Xiao Long pointed out with a shrug. "Besides, it's not like she's beating up innocent."
While the henchmen decided to leave the battlefield, two girls - Junior's companions from earlier - walk up to face Yang.
"Aren't those the girls from before?" Summer tried to conjure a memory. "I swear they were with Junior."
"I think so too," Kali nodded before frowning. "They look… kind of dangerous."
Nobody who would dress like that would be a pushover. It took Raven one look at them to see raw and dangerous talent - the ability to see such things was what made her the leader of the tribe. The ability to assess the danger and act on it. But whatever the two girls had to offer was yet to be seen.
"Melanie, who is this girl?" the one in red asks, joining her twin.
"I don't know, Miltia, but I think we should teach her a lesson."
"They're awfully confident against someone who beat up all those men," Willow hummed, watching the screen with blatant curiosity.
"It's like with those androids from before," Kali suddenly gasped. "Do you think they're going to be as dangerous as that giant robot from before?"
"I'm pretty sure they have a nicer design than it," Taiyang said carefully, earning several chuckles from across the room. "But otherwise? Hard to say."
Yang doesn't seem very intimidated by them, swiftly reloading her gauntlets…
"I'd love to take them apart," Summer whispered, eyeing each of Yang's movements carefully. "So small… and so deadly…"
"Don't ever say that again," Qrow groaned. "If you told me you want to take Harbinger apart…"
"Will you two shut up?!" Raven glared at them before turning back to the screen without waiting for an answer, either vocal or silent.
…and jumps into the fight, shooting at the twins. All her attacks are dodged and parried, however, and the sisters engage, quickly overpowering Yang.
Raven heard Taiyang groan but didn't dare to tear her eyes off the screen to look at the man.
"Stop and think," he muttered. "Stop and think, Yang!"
"She can't hear you, you know?" Qrow huffed with amusement.
"I know! But it's just… if she just stopped… all she has to do is separate them, not charge blindly into them!"
It was interesting to see - or hear - how Qrow would defend his teachings no matter what Ruby would do, while Taiyang was so eager to point out the mistakes Yang was making. But their stance on the matter wasn't important. Their feelings and opinions wouldn't change what they were seeing on the screen.
Yang charges back into the pair and manages to land a blow on Melanie, punching her out of the fight for a moment.
"Yes!" Raven felt how Taiyang was nearly bouncing on the couch. "Now, take out the other one!"
"And I thought I was taking it too seriously," Ghira chuckled at Xiao Long's eccentrics.
"Maybe yelling at the screen does help?" Kali suggested and Raven quickly turned to spare her a fast glare.
"Do. Not. Encourage. Him," she hissed and returned her gaze towards the screen, ignoring the chuckles her comment arose.
Without Melanie's help, Miltia is easily defeated and punched into one of the glass columns.
"Damn, she does roll over them, doesn't she?" Qrow nearly whistled in appreciation. "Gotta say this, Tai. You did a good job."
"Not really, if she's wrecking night clubs in search of Raven."
Although Taiyang's comment did leave a prodding feeling that it was supposed to get some reaction out of Raven, the woman wasn't that interested in picking a bone with the man. With both Summer and Qrow being on his side, any argument was virtually pointless.
Yang moves in to take down Melanie as she gets up, but the girl manages to hold her own and for a moment, they are locked in a stalemate.
"Her footwork isn't that good, though," Qrow hummed as the girls were trying to outdo one another.
"She has a very weird tactic," Taiyang said thoughtfully. "It's like she's… trying to get hit."
"Or she's far too confident for her own good," Ghira suggested. Since Yang did pick a fight full of enemies without a second thought, Raven had to admit that maybe the Faunus was on to something.
Eventually, Yang manages to land a hit on Melanie and knocks her out.
"Wait, did… no, don't pause," Kali spoke up and the screen froze for a moment. "Did her hair start to glow or was it my imagination?"
"No, they did," Summer confirmed. "She must have been using her semblance then."
"What does it do?" Willow asked, making Raven realise that she didn't know that either. Of course, she had seen her daughter running around crimson-eyed and with fiery hair around, but she never wondered what else it does.
"We… aren't sure," Taiyang admitted almost hesitantly. "We only see it activated when she throws a tantrum and… she's a bit too young for us to see what it really does."
With the twins defeated and retreating from the dancefloor, Yang relaxes and looks around in search of any more danger… and then, she sees a man walking in into the spotlight.
"Wait, Junior?" Summer sounded amazed by the man's appearance. "I was sure he'd be gone by now."
"I'm pretty sure that would cost him more than standing up to Yang," Qrow pointed out. "He already lost all his dignity and respect earlier. The least he can do is pretend to be in charge here."
"You gonna pay for this," Junior repeats his earlier words, carrying a rocket launcher on his shoulder.
"Alright, I get his angry at Yang, but…" Summer cleared her throat nervously. "Isn't that a bit of overkill?"
"Is that a… rocket launcher?" Willow gasped. "He's going to blow up a whole building!"
"I don't think so," Taiyang shook his head, although his brows were furrowed. "He wouldn't risk ruining his club even more…"
Yang hesitates before attacking and Junior uses the opportunity to fire several missiles at her. She barely dodges them.
"So they're not very… destructive," Taiyang hummed. "She still almost got hit, though."
"What would you do in her place?" Ghira asked him. "Because I don't see a good way out of it. She's already winded by the looks of it, and he doesn't need to get close to her…"
Which meant he was a good counter to Yang's abilities. Although she had one upper hand compared to Taiyang thanks to her guns in the gauntlets, Raven had a feeling that the girl inherited the man's weakness - Xiao Long was never very good at dealing with ranged enemies. He could keep up with the most and eventually defeat them, but it was almost always a hustle.
"I… I'm not sure," Taiyang admitted with a grimace. "I'd have to be in her place to know that."
When Yang uses her gauntlets to shoot down the rockets, Junior uses the distraction to switch his rocket launcher into a bat and jump in, landing several hits on her and knocking her away.
Raven grimaced, seeing how her daughter hits the glass table. Aside from Weiss' injury, this was probably the most painful hit any of the girls received in all four trailers.
"Yang!" Summer sat up straight, staring at the screen in horror. "Oh God, I hope she's alright…"
"Come on, that was barely a smack…" Qrow cleared his throat. "If she's any tough as Tai's is, that will be nothing to her."
"Do… do you want me to pause?" Taiyang asked Summer, clearly equally bothered by the hit but also far too curious of the outcome to pause on his own accord.
"No. Keep it going, Tai," she said before leaning forward and whispering: "Come on, Yang. Kick his butt."
Yang slowly gets up with her hair appearing to slowly catch on fire. She smirks at Junior triumphantly, smashing her fists together and allowing the fire to spread out around the golden strands.
"That… looks terrifying," Kali admitted quietly. "And pretty."
Terrifying and pretty. Raven thought that this could describe Yang quite well. She definitely was more than just an eye-catching doll she seemed to be at the first glance.
Nevertheless, the girl didn't appear to be even fazed by the smack to the face that had sent her flying. So Qrow was right, she was just as durable as her father, and if Raven was piecing the puzzles together right, she was using it to her advantage. After all, the last time her hair had been glowing, she was thrown around as well.
Yang rushed back in, dodging both Junior's rockets and his hits. Then, she punches him with almost renewed strength, with her last punch being shown to be made with her eyes turned crimson.
Red eyes! Raven haven't seen them from this close earlier - she mostly had been eavesdropping on Summer and Taiyang talking about them. But now, seeing them in such a vibrant colour, she realized that they looked just like hers. It was the very same hue, copy-paste. If that hair had a different colour, Yang would be to Raven what Ruby was to Summer. A carbon copy. More or less, at least.
"Her eyes did change colour," Willow said with amazement. "I've never seen a semblance having so many visual effects."
"Imagine you walk on somebody whose hair suddenly goes ablaze and their eyes turn red," Summer chuckled. "That would really be terrifying."
"Eyes and hair aside, she did a number on him," Ghira pointed out, nodding slowly in respect. "If he gets up from this, I'd be impressed."
"I'd play dead if I was him," Qrow chuckled and Raven had to bite down a remark or two. The last thing she needed now was for them to pause the trailer - she could pick on her brother later on.
Junior manages to keep himself from falling to the ground, but his weapon is broken.
"Poor rocket launcher," Summer cooed. "It wasn't its fault its owner was a jerk."
"Your strange affection aside," Jacques shook his head. "Do I really have to remind you that Yang was the one who started the fight?"
"She did…" Kali nodded. "But isn't she the main character of this trailer? It's a kind of a given to root for the protagonist."
"Who am I even talking to?" Jacques muttered, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I should've known speaking up is pointless…"
Then, Junior looks over to his other hand where several blond strands are lying. Smirking, he looks up to see Yang's reaction - and the girl is furious. She charged forward too fast to give the man a chance to react and punches him outside the building through the window.
"That much anger for some hair?" Ghira sighed. "Talk about overreacting."
"He was lucky it wasn't me," Raven said with a growl to her voice. People never had any respect for others' hair. They would tear it, dirty it, cut it… and more often than not, without any reason for it. With her own hair being almost as long as Yang's, she understood the girl's pain and fury far too well.
"Another thing she got from you, eh?" Qrow huffed. "Trust me, Ghira, you don't want to touch her hair. Ever."
"I don't know why would I," the Faunus admitted with a shrug while Kali fixed her own hairstyle with a thoughtful expression.
But Raven already lost her interest in the man, impatiently looking towards the end of the trailer - which was very obviously coming soon. And by their silence, she guessed that both Taiyang and Summer were also very interested in the conclusion to this whole mess.
As Yang jumps out after Junior to finish him off, she stops abruptly seeing a young girl standing over the unconscious man.
"Ruby?!" Summer gasps at the sight of a familiar face. "What is she doing there?!"
Raven had to admit that out of all people she could've expected to show up there, Summer's little carbon copy wasn't on her mind at all. But she added that to the list as yet another surprising event of this trailer.
"Yang?" Ruby looks up at the blonde, immediately brightening up. "Is that you?"
"Oh." Yang's eyes immediately change from red to purple as she calms down. "Hey, sis."
"So… neither knew about another being there?" Taiyang frowned, keeping the remote ready to pause. "I'm not sure whether it's weird or suspicious."
"If I was trashing a night club, I wouldn't want my sister to know about it either," Kali pointed out and Ghira looked at her worriedly as the Faunus woman took on that innocent look of hers.
"What are you doing here?" Ruby asks, completely ignoring Junior. Yang sighs before answering.
"It's a long story…"
"Hm… So she not only didn't know Yang was there, but she doesn't know she's looking for Raven either," Ghira guessed, scratching his beard.
"Or she knows, but she didn't think that was the reason Yang trashed the whole club," Qrow suggested with a shrug. "Either way, I think that's that for this trailer."
As he spoke, the scene faded out to the familiar darkness.
The last card flashes to life, presenting Yang and below it, a letter 'Y' bursts into existence in flames. Finally completed, all four cards beam up with light once before cutting the portraits in half to make space below the letters 'RWBY' - that space is then taken by four distinct emblems: a red rose, the Schnee snowflake, a black flower, and a fiery heart.
Then, the scene fades out entirely and the screen returns to the menu.
"So that's really all there was to it," Ghira said, sitting up as the light returned to the room. Raven had to blink away the brightness at first, having gotten used to the dim darkness and the flashes of the screen. Grimacing, she brought her hand up to rub her eyes, fully expecting someone to pick up on her for that, but it seemed no one even cared to notice it.
And at that, Raven did wonder whether she was putting too much effort into isolating herself from others. After all, they barely began and she was so tired of it at this point…
"All? I'll say that's just the beginning," Summer corrected the man, following Kali's example and sliding back into Taiyang's embrace. And plucking the remote out of his hands. The man didn't protest. "After all, those are just the trailers, right?"
"They definitely were nothing I expected from this," Jacques sneered, folding his arms in a rather childish manner. "Not one told me anything about the future - nothing that I would be interested in, anyway - and they were a simple showcase of pointless fighting."
"Trailers aren't to tell you the whole story," Taiyang argued. "Especially character trailers. They're there to get your attention. But to be fair, I can't imagine those two getting together into a single team. Ruby's two years younger than Yang, so that's one issue, plus how would Weiss and Blake fit into that all?"
"Not to be a rich guy, but…" Qrow chuckled. "We probably won't know until we let it play."
Raven glanced at Jacques, who was silently glaring at her brother, but otherwise, he said not a single word.
"Speaking about playing, what's next?" Kali hummed, looking at the menu. "'Trailers OST'? Ooh, the soundtrack!"
"The what?" Ghira frowned, glancing between her and the screen.
"The music," Taiyang answered in Kali's stead. "Those are probably all the songs that we've heard in the background so far."
"Music? Really?" Jacques huffed. "Can't we just move on to the bloody story already?"
"Agreed," Raven said, reaching out to snatch a pillow from under her brother and place it behind her head so that she could rest without sliding down. "Try to skip it."
Summer pouted at her, gripping the remote nearly emotionally.
"You're not the only two people here, you know?" she said with that childish expression of hers. "I, for one, want to hear the songs!"
"I'd skip them," Ghira spoke up before Raven could make her point clear. "We've waited long enough for the real thing."
Ah, democracy. Summer's favourite way to ruin all of Raven's plans in the past, now coming back to stab her in the back. How wonderful.
"I'm with Summer. I want to hear them, too," Kali suddenly said, leaving Ghira unpleasantly surprised. "They're here for a reason, right? Someone wrote them for Blake and others. It's just wrong to skip them."
"Yeah, and it's not like we're going anywhere anytime soon," Qrow added, glancing angrily at the stolen pillow. "We have all the time in the world, right? Let's use it. We won't get another chance like this."
Raven suppressed the temptation of smacking her brother with the same pillow she took from him and looked towards Taiyang, who simply shrugged under her gaze.
"I'm game for music," he said. "I'm not sure if I want to see what's the real story about yet, too."
"Me neither," Willow agreed with a heavy sigh. "I'd love to stall, even for a second longer."
Raven looked away to avoid seeing Summer's triumphant face. When the so-called grown woman chirped in joy, Branwen grit her teeth in anger. Surely, there wasn't a worse group she could've found herself in. Well, any other group would be easy to be put in their place - the only reason she didn't try it here and now was Rose and the fact that she was far more dangerous than she looked.
If it came to a fight, Raven wouldn't bet on a sure victory for herself. Especially with Taiyang and Qrow backing Summer up.
"Fine," she sighed. "Play the damn music."
"Then if we're to listen to it, then I have a suggestion," Ghira spoke up before Summer proceeded. "Instead of talking over it, how about we wait with comments until the song ends?"
"A sound idea," Jacques agreed with a straight face as if agreeing with his rival wasn't as shocking to him as it would be in the beginning.
"Agreed! No talking over the music!" Summer nodded energetically and not waiting for anyone else to agree with the plan, she lifted the remote. "Let's go!"
Ok this was longer than expected but I had to add a lot of detail in the reactions. Adding to this, that soon they will react to the songs of the four trailers (this to explain why I did not focus on it at the moment). Another comment I saw out there is that it is absurd that the characters end up forgetting everything they saw when they finish. Yes, it is quite a controversial idea for this type of fics, but you have to understand that you have to avoid problems of paradoxs with this.
Anyway, I hope you are satisfied with the clarifications.