AN: A little shorter than the last chapter, but I got it done faster, too.

Once again, thank you to Lord Maximus for the help with this chapter

Chapter 97

…

…

Typical. Aqua opened her eyes to find herself falling through darkness until she landed on the glass platform depicting herself and her family.

"I knew from the moment she wanted to talk that she would try something." There was no way Aqua had expected Raven to simply let her go. Either she would try to gain the Keyblade again or ship her back to Atlas for the reward.

Fortunately Aqua had been prepared.

"I don't have to fall into a deep meditation like I did before." Aqua took a deep breath. "After Cardin and Seymour, I'm glad I took some time to prepare."

Aqua had worked up a way to keep her body from succumbing to the effects of knock-out drugs. It worked in a manner similar to the Healing Trance where she uses a bit of her magic to boost her metabolism to burn the drug up faster than normal. Who knows how long Raven planned to keep her sedated, but Aqua had no intention of letting her ship her and Weiss back to Atlas.

A flash of light caught her eye and Aqua walked to the edge to see another glass platform form. Taking a leap of faith, Aqua jumped and actually glided over to the new platform. She frowned when she saw it was a glass picture of Raven, staring blankly while unsheathing her sword. The platform was tinted black and red, and Raven's picture had four portraits above her.

Tai, Qrow, Yang, and that short-haired bandit girl Aqua had seen in front of Weiss's cage.

Aqua looked under Raven to see more portraits serving as the outline surrounding Raven, with one of them cracked. It was a woman who looked like an older version of Ruby.

"Summer," Aqua said, looking at the cracked portrait, knowing that the cracks represented a broken bond in more ways than one. "You know, I know how Raven's betrayal affected Tai, Qrow, and Yang, but I never knew how you handled it. She was your teammate, and she just left you all. I wonder how you would have handled her if you were here now."

She looked at the other ones lined up around the circle, all of them being that of the bandits, plus Ozpin and Glynda, whom Aqua supposed must have been people Raven had considered allies at some point in her life.

And then she stopped at the top when she saw a portrait of herself.

"Why would I be part of the circle? I'm nothing to her."

She stopped when she sensed something, and looked up to see a red and black light shining above the platform, much like the lights that represented her family when she was in her trance during the operation.

"Raven, what are you hiding?" Aqua wondered to herself.

"The truth." Aqua turned around and saw the same white-cloaked woman from before.

"You…"

"She hides from the truth," the woman said in a soft and quiet voice. "Because the truth is what she fears most."

"And what is the truth?" Aqua questioned.

Aqua!

Aqua perked up at the sound of her name being called before looking back at the woman.

"What is she afraid of?"

"…She fears the truth about herself," the woman said before Aqua heard her name being called again, only it was louder.

AQUA!

Aqua's eyes shot open and she sat up, panting slightly. She heard a sigh and looked over to see Weiss sitting next to her with a relieved look on her face.

"I thought you'd never wake up. When they threw you in here, that woman said she planned to keep you under for about a week."

"She… Oh." Aqua calmed herself. "Raven. She tried to drug me into a come when she thought I wasn't looking. How long was I out?"

"Since last night," Weiss answered. "I was afraid you'd be out until she had us shipped back to Atlas. That's what she said she was doing since you refused to listen to her. She even took precautions."

Weiss gestured to Aqua to look down, seeing her wrists were tied together, and her hands were trapped in tight leather sacks that kept her from moving her fingers, and she could see the same had been done to Weiss. Their legs were also bound by tight straps to keep them from standing up.

She felt something around her neck creating an unfortunately familiar buzzing feeling, and sighed.

"She placed a collar on me to block my Aura, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Weiss nodded.

"I'm getting a little tired of having something put around my neck. That crazy cult, your father, and now my sister-in-law. But where did she get this thing from?" Aqua sighed, taking a deep breath. "She probably figures that if I can't move my fingers, I can't summon the Keyblade. Unfortunately, she's correct. I'll give Raven this, she definitely learned from the last time she tried to restrain me."

"Luckily she doesn't think too much of me," Weiss said, creating a small glyph on the floor of the cage that summoned a tiny Arma Gigas. "Or I'd have one of those collars, too. Guess she thinks you're the bigger threat."

"Well, if there's one thing your father and Raven have in common, it's that they aren't subtle when they think they have the upper hand."

"What's the plan?" Weiss asked.

"They plan to ship us back to Atlas and so far, they're convinced we're thoroughly helpless. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, though. We'll have to be subtle. It'll take some time before Raven can reach Ironwood, probably a day at most, and even longer before they send someone to get us," Aqua reasoned. "Out best chance could be to slip away tonight when most of the bandits will be asleep, with just a few guards taking night shifts."

"I thought it would be like that," Weiss said with a nod. "So what did Raven want with you?"

Aqua scooted over to lean against the bars of the cage.

"She tried to convince me to join her."

"Huh?" Weiss asked. "Why?"

"She thought she get her hands on the Keyblade because of a threat that's likely behind what happened at Beacon," Aqua answered, beginning to explain what Raven told her.

Yang was back on the road after winning the race, the briefcase securely fastened to the side of Bumblebee. The plan was to head back into town, and hand the money off to that pilot so she could buy her ride to Mistral.

That was the plan at least.

The funny thing about plans is that they had a habit of changing on you.

For Yang, her plans changed when a black airship suddenly appeared over her, shining a light down on her.

"Huh?" Yang looked up. "Now what?"

It had no insignia, so it couldn't be the police. It if wasn't the police, it was likely bad news and she needed to lose them fast. Yang shot off, dogging her way down the road with the air ship trying to keep up with her. As she was about to go faster, two vans came out of nowhere up ahead, forcing Yang to slow to a sudden halt.

What the hell?! That's it. If some loser wants to pick a fight with me, then fine! Yang got off her bike and stood in front of it.

The two vans opened up and men in body armor filed out, carrying automatic weapons that they kept levelled on Yang. One of the stepped forward, holding a megaphone.

"Get on your knees and show us your hands, or we will shoot."

"What do you want with me?" Yang asked, not moving.

"Last chance! Hands and knees now!" the man ordered. Yang spotted one of them holding a black sack with some golden chains, and what looked like gold-colored duct tape.

"And I'm giving you one last chance to tell me what's going on before I tear through you morons."

That was the last straw, as the men all opened fire on Yang, who covered her face and allowed her Aura to take the incoming fire. A moment passed before they were done spraying Yang with bullets and she fell to the ground.

"Ugh… damn it. The boss wanted her alive to make more bikes for him. He's going to be furious," one of the men said.

"We still got her bike and the ten thousand Lien with her," one of the other men said as he approached the bike.

They all gathered around Bumblebee to find the Lien, but stopped when they heard a voice.

"Hands…" Yang slowly got up. "Off." Her haired flared. "My." Her eyes flashed red. "BIKE!"

The man looked at her in surprise and fear, but quickly fired again as Yang stepped forward, her Aura protecting her and her Semblance absorbing the kinetic energy from the bullets. She shot forward, slamming her fist into the ground in front of them and making a giant shockwave that knocked the men back. She punch one thug into a tree before onto the rest around her bike, giving them a quick but brutal thrashing.

Yang then spun around and fired several Dust rounds at the vans, blowing them up. A shot his from above, and she looked up at the airship with a sniper peeking out from the side. Aiming down, Yang fired twin shots from Ember Celica, and the recoil propelled her up into the air. She fired several more rounds until she was right in front of the ship, and slammed her metal fist through the cockpit window.

The pilot was slammed out of the cockpit door and hit the rear wall. The sniper spun to shoot her, but Yang grabbed the rifle and snapped it in two. She then grabbed the sniper and the pilot and jumped out of the airship as it spun out of control. Yang landed perfectly on the ground, while the ship crashed several yards away.

Yang then tossed the sniper away, picked up the pilot, and slammed him against a tree.

"All right, what's your problem with me? Why did you shoot at me and why do you want my bike?"

"Uh… Well… We were told you made your bike by hand. No one around here can do that, especially not one that good, so we were sent to either take you, or kill you and take your bike," the pilot answered, afraid as Yang glared at him with blazing red eyes.

"And who wants me?" Yang asked, pulling on the sniper's collar roughly.

"If I tell you, he'll kill me!" The pilot said before Yang pulled him close to her face.

"Kill you? Dumbass, I'll kill you. I'll just enjoy it more!" Yang said, her hair flaring.

"All right! All right! His name is Midas Goult, leader of the Gold Gang of Mistral. He's looking for a way to completely take over Mistral," the pilot explained. Yang narrowed her eyes before slamming the pilot back against the tree.

"Well, you tell your boss that if he sends anyone else after me, it'll end as badly as it did today. Now get out of here."

"Yeah, okay!" The pilot said before running off.

Yang looked at the destroyed vans before getting back on her bike and taking off.

"Man, Oz wasn't kidding," Jaune said, watching Oscar sparring against Cloud. "Oscar's picking up on this stuff fast." Cloud was using that giant sword of his to fight, with Oscar using Ozpin's cane as if it were his own sword.

The boy was, expectantly, incredibly sloppy, but he was improving faster than anybody had thought possible.

Guess it goes to show having an ancient wizard inhabiting your body can do wonders.

Oscar swung his cane down, with Cloud blocking it with his sword, only for the older man to kick him in the stomach, sending the teen sprawling to the ground.

"You forgot to engage your Aura, again," Ozpin said from inside Oscar's head.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Oscar moaned.

"Because this method makes you less likely to forget."

Oscar groaned, trying to get up before Cloud sighed.

"All right, I think that's enough for now," the blond man said, resting his massive sword on his shoulder. "You don't have the kind of stamina that the rest of us do, so it's important to take frequent breaks."

"Thanks," Oscar said, panting heavily. "How is this so exhausting?"

"Your body isn't used to this kind of training, not to mention generating a defensive Aura on your own," Ren said, taking a break from his meditation. "It takes intense concentration at first, but in time it will become second nature, allowing you to deflect attacks and gradually heal your wounds. After that, you can begin focusing on your Semblance, whatever that may be."

"Semblance?" Oscar asked.

"You know!" Nora exclaimed. "Like your very own superpower! Everybody's got one. It's just a matter of finding it and mastering it. Ruby moves super fast… among other things. Electricity makes me stronger, Ren can mask emotions, and Jaune can boost Auras."

"What about you?" Oscar asked, looking at Cloud.

"I'm like you," Cloud said, surprising the boy. "Haven't found mine yet. Hell, I didn't even have my Aura unlocked until a couple weeks ago."

"Really?" Oscar asked, and Cloud nodded.

"We all just have to try and help each other get stronger," Ruby said.

"Cool."

"A common philosophy is that a warrior's Semblance is a part of who they are," Ren explained. "Some say your personality and character can define your Semblance, while some claim that it is the other way around. Of course, there are still many who don't see a connection at all."

"It's hard to know when you know sometimes," Nora said. "Ren's Semblance was unlocked from intense stress."

"And mine kicked in during training one day," Ruby said.

"And what about you?" Oscar asked Nora.

"Oh. Struck by lightning. Didn't die. Crazy Thursday."

"And I unlocked mine when someone important to me was hurt really bad," Jaune explained. "I thought she had died, and something just clicked."

"… Miss Nikos…" Ozpin said, almost melancholically.

"Something up, Ozpin?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with."

"The point is, it's only a matter of time before we unlock ours," Cloud said, putting a hand on Oscar's shoulder. "We keep up the pace, it'll happen sooner or later."

"Got it," Oscar said, nodding in determination.

"Cloud," Ren said, getting the blond man's attention. "Can I talk to you? I need to know more about Sephiroth." Cloud sighed.

"…Fine," the mercenary said before looking to Jaune. "Can you take over here? Work on some hand-to-hand with the kid."

"Oh, uh, sure," Jaune said, surprised that he had been given that responsibility.

Yang parked her bike in the airfield, sauntering up to the pilot with the briefcase of Lien.

"What's this? I thought you said you'd buy your own ship," the pilot said. Yang held out the case and opened it, showing the Lien she had won the previous night.

"This enough?" The pilot stared at the money in surprise before looking back up at Yang.

"…Yeah. That's enough."

"Good. Now when can I expect the ship to be ready?" Yang asked, eager to get as far away from here as possible.

"Right about… now."

Yang heard guns cocking and turned around to see the men from last night, plus a little extra, along with the fat man from the race and the greasy man from Raven's tribe that she punched in the face a few days ago.

"The hell is this?"

"This is a business venture, Blondie," the blond bandit man said, stepping forward with a smile on his face that revealed that Yang had knocked one of his teeth out. "I actually wanted to just kill you myself, but then I heard you ended up on the Gold Gang's hit list. Decided it would be easier to just team up." Yang scoffed.

"Great. Double the idiots, twice the work."

"Not really," the pilot said from behind her.

Yang suddenly felt a high-powered shock to her back that caught her off-guard. The pilot grinned as he tazed Yang and she fell to the ground. One of the men fired a dart that hit Yang in the neck before she could regain her senses.

"Perfect. Midas will be happy," the fat man said, standing over Yang with a grin.

"And so will Raven when you remember to send those sweet bikes our way," the bandit said from behind.

…Damn it, Yang thought before losing consciousness.

Winter looked around the wreckage of the airship she found on the shore of Lake Matsu. She was able to see it was an Atlesian vessel, one that had clearly never made it to Mistral. Checking the ship's manifest, she was at least able to determine that it had left Atlas some time after Aqua had taken Weiss and hitched a ride.

All of the other leads had been dead-ends, but a part of Winter wanted this to not be the ship her sister had been on, if only because the wreckage looked bad.

The lack of bodies was a relatively good sign, though.

Winter was about to give up, when a glisten caught her eye. She looked down and saw a very familiar piece of jewelry.

Weiss's tiara.

Suddenly much more afraid for her sister's life, Winter bent down and picked up the tiara, examining it closely. There was no blood on it, so hopefully, wherever Weiss was, she wasn't too seriously injured.

Stamping down her fear to allow her think more clearly, Winter called upon her Semblance, summoning her beloved Alpha Beowolf.

"Please, find Weiss," she said, holding the tiara out for the summoned Grimm to sniff. It took off, and Winter hastened to follow after it.

Soon.

Soon, Weiss would be safe…

And Aqua Branwen would pay.

Yang slowly woke up, the tranquilizer wearing off. She felt numb at first, but feeling slowly started coming back. She tried to move, but only heard the rattling of metal, and her limbs wouldn't respond.

Great, she thought.

Opening her eyes, she found herself lying on the floor of a cargo hold, likely of the very airship she had been trying to buy her way onto. Looking down at herself, she saw her legs tied together with golden chains, her hands tied behind her back with similar chains, with even more wrapped around her arms to further restrain her. She could even see that there was a chain attached from her feet to a thick metal ring that had been bolted to the floor. Several strips of gold-colored tape had been plastered over her mouth. She saw that Bumblebee was next tot her, tied down to keep it from moving.

She flexed her muscles as hard as she could, but the chains wouldn't budge.

… Damn it.

AN: It's fun seeing people speculate on what's going to happen.

So, it seems that Yang, Weiss, and Aqua are all being held captive by various disreputable people. How can they possible get out of this?

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!