"...You're taking this better than expected, Qrow."

Qrow laughed, the huntsman not entirely sober, but not so drunk that Weiss and Yang had to carry him to carry him. "I am, aren't I? Maybe the shock of it all hasn't kicked in yet."

"Or maybe the reason is your flask is empty?" Ozpin teased, a smirk on Yang's face.

Qrow shrugged. "Eh, that's possible too."

Qrow, Weiss and Yang had left Haven minutes ago, right after telling the news about Raven. (and Qrow draining the whiskey from his flask. Thankfully, Leonardo wasn't the type to keep alcohol in the office) Qrow had called ahead for Team RNJR to prepare for guests ("Ranger? That's not a color."'Seriously?'), but graciously left out who those guests were.

"This job's taught me to take things in stride, if nothing else." Qrow continued, guiding the two girls and one immortal to the hideout he and the others were staying. "Should I be freaking out more? Probably. My bitch of a sister is the magical and volatile key to an underground vault, and you're a roommate in my niece's brain. But I have a job to do, and I need to get you two-three, shit this is going to be confusing- into the safehouse. After that, who knows? I'll probably go on a bender and hopefully the last few months would turn out to be a dream."

"That sounds like you." Ozpin sighs, directing his attention to a very different conversation.

"You've been silent." Ozpin thought as he walked through the streets of Mistral."Something on your mind?"

'Couldn't you just read it yourself?'Yang thought back.

"I did promise that you'd have your privacy, didn't I? You don't have to tell me, but as cliche as it sounds, I could help."

Yang was quiet for a few moments and Ozpin worried he went too far, but then there was a mental sigh from the back of his head and Yang spoke.

'I'm just worried, I guess. Of how Ruby would react.'

"Well, obviously Miss Rose would be perplexed at first, much like Miss Schnee and Qrow, but knowing your sister she'll be more interested in our magic than our situation."

'That's not what I meant, Oz.'

Ozpin frowned."Then what do you mean?"

'...Do you think Ruby thinks less of me?'

"Pardon?"

'I mean, I was kind of an ass to her, before she left.'

"You were recovering from a traumatic event-"

'So was Ruby. I'm supposed to be the big sister. I should have supported her, with or without my arm. Maybe I should have come with her.'

"Yang, with all due respect I doubt you were anywhere near ready to trek from Vale to Mistral. You know that. Ruby knew that too." Ozpin paused, realizing something."You're afraid that she'd be angry."

'Not angry. She's not like that. Upset, maybe.' A mental, shaky sigh.'I missed her a lot. But does Ruby know that?'

"Of course she does." Ozpin assures her."Maybe you've made a mistake by being so closed off, but your sister isn't going to hold that against you. Trust me, she'll be overjoyed to see you again."

'Until I tell her that I'm possessed.' Yang said sarcastically. 'Still... thanks.'

"Then she'll be overjoyed and dumbfounded, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." A small smile appeared on Yang's face. "And you're welcome."

"And here we are."

Qrow, Weiss and Ozpin/Yang stood in front of the villa that Qrow and Team RNJR had been using as their safehouse. Far enough from any of the main suburbs, but close enough to the city that it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to travel to Haven.

"How do you have a villa for a safehouse?" Weiss asked, turning to Qrow.

"It's not mine, it's Ozpin's." Qrow explained. "Well, legally it's owned by Ozymandias North, reclusive billionaire. No one's ever actually seen Mr. North, or used his villa until we moved in, but no one's curious enough to ask questions either."

"'Ozymandias North'?" Weiss repeated.

Ozpin shrugged. "You live as long as I have, you'd inevitably make a fortune. Of course it'd be suspicious if Yang or any of my future incarnations were to become billionaires overnight, so fake personas with full bank accounts were needed."

Weiss frowned. "But that's illegal!"

Ozpin smirked. "My fortune was made legitimately over centuries, thank you very much. Besides, you don't have much of a high ground with the law, Miss Schnee."

"Point..." Weiss pouted.

Ozpin's eyes flash to lilac, and Yang starts stretching her limbs. "Alright then. Let's get this over with."

The trio enter the villa, into a sizable living room with a direct doorway into the kitchen, bustling with activity.

"I'm back!" Qrow calls out, standing in the middle of the room with Yang and Weiss by his side.

"Be right there!" A familiar voice calls back to him, and Yang feels a pang in her chest, a mix of anxiety and hope swirling about inside her.

Hushed voices come from the kitchen, and after a moment or two, a familiar girl wearing a red cloak enters the living room, far too focused on balancing the tray of cups and tea to notice her teammates.

"So, we had no idea how many people were coming, so we just cooked all of it." Ruby babbled, looking up. "So, how was-"

Ruby stopped mid-sentence, silver eyes widening at the two unexpected guests in the room. Her arms went slack at her sides, the tray and cups smashing onto the floor.

Yang stared at Ruby, taking her sister in after so long apart. She'd grown taller, more mature. Her cloak was worn and torn at the edges, a sign of the long journey that Ruby took to get to Mistral.

Yang stepped forward, and that seems to be what sets Ruby off. Her eyes well up with tears and Ruby starts babbling in a terrified voice.

"Yang, I... I'm so sorry! I- I should've stayed, and I should've talked to you more! I'd-- I just..." Ruby sniffed, crying. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me around and-"

Yang barely registered herself moving towards Ruby, barely even noticed as her boots crunched against broken ceramic as she walks over the broken teapot. All she knew was that she was hugging Ruby close to her chest and that her sister's heart was beating fast.

"I love you." Yang said, hugging Ruby tighter.

Immediately, Ruby wraps her own arms onto Yang, clinging to her just like when they were kids. "I love you too."

The two reunited sisters seemed oblivious to the fact that their reunion had an audience. Not that any of them were going to intrude. Not even Weiss, despite how much she wanted to hug Ruby too.

The ex-heiress feels a tear run down her cheek, and just as quickly as she felt it, wipes the tear track away, looking down. No, their reunion had been a long time coming. They're sisters, after all. Weiss can talk with Ruby later.

"Weiss."

Weiss blinked, looking up to see Yang and Ruby holding their hands out invitingly, both smiling.

And as Weiss eagerly gets into the group hug, an unheard, contented hum echoed from the back of Yang's mind.

Sometimes, Ozpin forgets just how young his students are.

Unsurprisingly, the welcome dinner was a lighthearted affair. Team RWY and JNR exchanged stories, laughed, teased, wrestled ("Yang, no-") and basically acted like they were students in Beacon again. Undoubtedly, things were different, obvious or not. But they were still teenagers, still optimistic on the future, and that was all that mattered.

"I still can't believe you two are actually here!" Ruby squealed, helping Yang and Weiss clear the table. "I've missed you guys so much!"

"That much was obvious." Weiss said, rolling her eyes but still keeping a small, well hidden smile on her face.

"Hey! We bonded closer together with that group hug! And the two of you were crying too!"

Yang chuckled, shaking her head as she lifted up an empty pot with ease, carrying it to the dishwasher.

She had just set it down when she felt a small tap on her shoulder, and Yang turned around to see Jaune behind her.

"What's up, Vomit Boy?"

Vomit Boy sighed, accepting the fact that Yang won't be letting that nickname go for at least a week. "We... need to tell you something. You and Weiss both."

Yang raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and followed Jaune to the living room, sitting next to Weiss on the couch. With Jaune, Nora Ren and Ruby herself, it almost looked like an intervention.

"We both know what they want to 'tell' you and Miss Schnee, yes?"

'Definitely. Kinda don't wanna tell them that we already know though...'

"My influence, perhaps. Half the fun of revealing secrets is how I reveal them. I'm tempted to see how they try and convince the two of you that magic exists."

The fun was soiled however, when Qrow came lumbering through the door, took one look at Team RNJR gathered around Weiss and Yang, and rolled his eyes. "Don't bother. They're already filled in."

'Killjoy.'

"Spoilsport."

"What!?" Exclaimed Ruby, turning to the pair. "Aww, but I had a whole speech planned!"

"But how do you know?" Ren asked, looking at the two oddly. "Did the headmaster fill you in?"

"A headmaster..." Weiss smirked, keeping things vague. "Just not Headmaster Lionheart."

"But who?" Nora says, putting a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "General Ironwood's hiding in Atlas with the rest of his military, you guys are too far from Vacuo to meet with the headmaster there, Weiss would call Miss Goodwitch headmistress because she's crazy about formal stuff-" Nora gasped. "You've met Ozpin's new body!"

"I'm certain the correct term is 'host'." Weiss sighed. "But yes, we've met Ozpin. We're also aware of his immortality."

"Darn it! I had a speech for that too!"

"Wait, so you met Ozpin? Where is he?" Jaune asks, frowning. "Glynda's message said that he was supposed to be traveling with Qrow!"

"Let's just say there were a few snags on the road." Yang explained, also being vague. "Ozpin managed to get to me back in Patch, and I basically got him all the way to Mistral." Yang smirked, and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "To be honest, dude was kinda helpless without me. He'd definitely wouldn't have gotten here all on his own."

"I'm flattered Yang. Truly, I am."

"...Alright." Jaune said hesitantly. "That still doesn't answer my question. Is Ozpin with Lionheart? Did you guys get separated?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Trust me, Ozpin's closer than you think."

"How close?"

Yang shrugged. "You've-already-talked-to-them close."

Team RNJR paused in confusion, before Nora closed her eyes, and nodded sagely. "I get it."

Nora stands up, walking towards Yang...

Then immediately turns to Weiss. "Nice to see you back, Professor!"

Weiss sputtered. "W-What?!"

Yang started laughing.

"I get it; you're embarrassed you've reincarnated into a teenager, you're used to being taller- heck, just thinking about having to pretend to be Weiss for a day sounds crazy. But it's okay, sir. There's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Y-You've got it all wrong! I'm not Ozpin!"

"Oh yeah? Then why'd you sneak out of Atlas?"

"Because my father's an ass! I don't need a wizard in my brain to get me out of there!"

"Aha! But your hair's white! A sign of the Ozmosis!"

"My hair's always been white, you dolt!"

Yang hadn't stopped laughing, doubled over with her eyes closed. With one hand (still giggling), she reached into her pocket, pulling out a familiar, ornate handle of a certain cane.

The attention in the room was diverted from Weiss and Nora's argument, Team RNJR finally seeing Yang stop her laughing, straightening up with emerald green eyes, watching everyone in the room.

Ozpin winked in Nora's direction, giving a jaunty wave with Yang's dark green prosthetic, holding his cane with the other hand.

Team RNJR stared in shock.

"Huh, should have seen that coming. That arm of yours really clashes with your color scheme."

Except Nora. But to be fair, she was plenty shocked too.