Shay had made a huge mistake, and that was putting it lightly. There was only one way to describe the scope of what he'd done, and that was to say that he had completely, irreparably, fucked everything up.

He jumped over the stairs' last step, reaching the top floor of the hideout, and marched straight on. He didn't stop to look back or to listen to the horrid noises coming from downstairs, he just kept moving, eyes wide and heart threatening to jump out of his mouth.

His men came out into the hallway – barely more than boys, really – wearing expressions just as ghastly as his. Through sheer luck or quick thinking on their part, they hadn't been caught down there like the rest of the crew. They were armed to the teeth, rifles and shotguns and axes, but it wouldn't be enough.

"Boss?" one of them said. "Is that – is that her?"

"Yes," Shay said, slowing down as he passed by. "Yes, it is."

"What is she?" another said. "I caught a glimpse of her before I ran, she – she didn't even look human! Is she a demon or-"

"She's just a woman," Shay said firmly. "And we will take her down. You boys wait here – we'll catch her when she comes up the stairs. I'll be with you in a moment, I gotta grab myself a weapon first!"

The boys nodded and gathered as one close to the top of the stairs, waiting for their chance. Shay forced himself to keep moving, the guilt eating at him. The boys didn't deserve any of this. Hopefully, she would show mercy and off them without much pain.

He entered his office at the end of the hallway and slammed the door behind him. He pushed a bookshelf in front of it, then threw himself behind his desk and opened one of the drawers. A push on a false bottom revealed a hidden compartment, full of amulets and bracers and other such trinkets.

Gunshots rang right outside, followed by screams so gruesome they made Shay's blood run cold. He ignored them the best he could as he shuffled through his stash. There had to be something there, some artifact he had snatched for just such an occasion. He had no hope of putting up a fight, he held no illusions about that, but maybe there was a way for him to escape and disappear for a while.

The screams stopped as quickly as they'd begun. In the eerie silence, Shay slowly raised his head to looked over the top of his desk. Time seemed to stop moving, and all he knew was the feeling of his own trembling body, and the knowledge that any of his thoughts might be his last.

Suddenly, the door flew open with a bang, the bookshelf launching across the room and shattering against the wall opposite. A figure stepped inside, a deathly pale face framed by a cascade of black hair and blood-red eyes that burned with a murderous rage. She held her sword low beside her, and it dripped on the floor, forming a pool of crimson, drop by drop.

"Raven." Shay stood up, raising his hands above his head. "Wait, we can talk about-"

The air shimmered around her, and the next thing Shay knew, he was being shoved against the desk, her hand closed tight around his neck.

"Ten years," Raven said. "That's how long I counted you as one of mine."

She dragged him to the very end of the desk, getting his whole body on top of it, and buried her sword just beside his head.

"I took you in when you were a pathetic shell of a man. You had nothing, and I gave your life meaning. And when the time came and you asked to leave, despite all the trouble you caused me for all that time, I let you," Raven said. "And this is how you repay my kindness. Not only did you steal from me, from me personally, you just had to pull this shit after, didn't you?"

"Please, Raven," Shay said, barely breathing. "I didn't mean any disrespect, I was just-"

"Save your breath." Raven spat. "You couldn't just be weak, you had to be stupid on top of that. I should have left you to starve on the side of the road."

"I'm sorry!" Shay croaked, trying to pry her fingers off his throat, but her grip was unbreakable. "I – I can still fix this. I can tell you who I sold the artifact to!"

"You couldn't tell me more than I already know. That's not what this is about," Raven said. "You betrayed the tribe. You know what the punishment for that is."

Shay shook his head. Raven couldn't mean that, not really. She would punish him accordingly, but for now she was just trying to scare him-

Raven raised her free hand and flicked her wrist. A portal materialized next to the wall behind him, a swirling red vortex of unquantifiable energy. Shay screamed in protest, but it fell on deaf ears as Raven lifted him up and threw him through.

Shay fell on rock-hard gray soil. He shuffled to his knees and looked around. Black fields stretched on endlessly, broken only by viscous lakes of the same color and the occasional purple crystal that sprouted from the ground. The sky was red, and though he saw no moon or stars, he had the strangest impression it was nighttime.

Shay turned around on his knees and saw Raven standing before the portal, blade in hand.

"Raven, please. You can't do this!" he said, clasping his hands and bowing his head mere inches from the ground. "You can't leave me here! I'm begging you!"

Raven studied him, a callous expression her face. "I wonder… When the Grimm come for you, will you resist? Or for once in your life, will you be sensible and accept your fate?"

She stepped back through her portal, back to Remnant. Shay jumped to his feet and ran towards it, but the portal vanished long before he reached it. He fell to his knees in despair.

The Grimm surrounded him shortly after.


YANG XIAO LONG

THE SONG OF THE RAVEN


Yang stirred in her bed, every buzz of her alarm bringing her closer to wakefulness. She poked a hand out from under her blankets and felt about for her Scroll, and upon finding it, struck it with the whole of her palm. After many repeated attempts, she managed to hit the snooze button, and was rewarded with blissful silence.

She withdrew her hand and pulled in the blankets, fashioning herself a warm little cocoon. Five minutes.

Those felt like the best five minutes of her life, and then they were over.

Yang hit her Scroll again, turning the alarm off for good this time. She sat up, stretching her arms over her head and yawning for the whole world to hear. Enough lazing about. As usual, she had a busy day ahead of her today.


"Need a break?" Pyrrha said, slowing down her jog to match Yang.

"Nope." Yang shook her head. "I'm doing just fine, thank you."

"There's no shame in taking a break, Yang. It's healthy, actually."

"I know! Just one more lap."

Yang immediately regretted not taking Pyrrha's offer as, with seemingly no effort, she picked up her previous pace and left Yang in the dust. Yang groaned as she watched her friend and teammate turn the corner of the park well ahead of her. If she didn't know better, she'd say Pyrrha liked to show off. It was either that, or she had a competitive edge in her. Heavens help the citizens of Remnant if both cases were true.

But who was Yang kidding? She was the most competitive person she knew. She'd like to believe she'd joined Pyrrha's morning routine to stay fit too, but that was far from reality. There had been a part of her that wanted to prove she could beat Pyrrha in her own turf – or rather, just one of Pyrrha's many figurative turfs. So far, Yang had only tasted disappointment. But that didn't mean she was going to swallow her pride and admit defeat.

She finished her lap around the park, joining Pyrrha on the corner they'd started at nearly an hour ago. Yang leaned on her knees, trying to keep her panting to a minimum. Pyrrha, of course, seemed entirely unaffected by the exercise.

"You know most people just run half an hour per day, right? An hour at most, if they're really hardcore," Yang said.

"I wouldn't really know. This is how I've always done it," Pyrrha said, shrugging. "Besides, we're not most people, Yang."

"Right, we're super people! People who clearly don't get tired by such mundane efforts," Yang said.

"I wouldn't mind it if you wanted us to ease up a bit," Pyrrha said. "The most important aspect of the exercise is staying consistent. How intense you work is up to each person."

"Hey, I'm not complaining. This pace works just fine for me," Yang said. "I don't wanna slow you down, anyway. I know you gotta stay fit for yo mans."

Pyrrha blushed. "I don't do this for Jaune. He'd accept me any way."

"Oh, I know. Still, no shame in pleasing your honey. I'm sure he appreciates it. As for me…" Yang linked her fingers behind her head and stretched her back. "The only person I stay fit for is myself!"

That was only eighty percent true. She was very aware of the people staring at them from the park or from across the street, their celebrity status having only slightly waned since they'd moved to Vale. Yang didn't mind them, as long as they remained respectful. Depending on her mood, she even welcomed the attention.

"I admire your confidence, Yang," Pyrrha said.

"Well, I've gotta be confident, to subject myself to getting trashed by you every morning," Yang said. "But guess what. Let's do another lap right now. I bet I can beat you this time."

"Yang, this isn't a competition."

Yang raised an eyebrow. Pyrrha crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Look!" Yang pointed across the street. "Those disgusting pigs are taking high-definition pics of our butts!"

Pyrrha spun around, making a noise that fell somewhere between embarrassment and outrage. As soon as her back was turned, Yang took off running, cackling madly.

Five seconds later, Pyrrha caught up her. Another five seconds, and Pyrrha turned the corner. Ten seconds more, and she'd reached the next corner.

Yang groaned. "Come on…"


Yang and Pyrrha walked into the apartment.

"I'll take a shower first, if you don't mind," Pyrrha said.

"Sure, go ahead," Yang said. "My legs are gonna turn to mush any second now, so the bathroom's not a safe environment for me anyway."

Pyrrha patted her on the back. "You'll do better tomorrow!"

She walked away, and Yang limped over to the living room sofa with every intention to collapse on it and stay that way for hours. Blake, who was already sitting there reading a book, graciously slid to the right to give her the necessary space – which still wasn't enough, as she ended up with Yang's feet pushing against her face.

"I see Pyrrha worked you hard today," Blake said, trying to push Yang's ankles away with one hand.

"No, this is my own doing," Yang mumbled, letting her arm fall slack across her face. "I really should learn to cut my losses."

"That would be wise, yes," Blake said. Realizing that there was no arrangement that would allow her face and Yang's feet to coexist comfortably, she stopped pushing and let them rest on her shoulder. "You smell, by the way."

"I know. I'm sorry." Yang wiggled her toes. "Are Ruby and Weiss back from their mission yet?"

"No."

Blake returned her attention to her book, and Yang let her be. The silence was nice.

"I know you're tired, but I needed to talk to you about something," Blake said, never looking away from her book. "It's serious."

Yang stretched her neck to look up at Blake. "Oh?"

"It's about Zwei," Blake said. "He's been staring at his food all morning. Hasn't taken a bite." She paused. "It's creepy."

Yang sat up, beaming. "I thought you hated Zwei, Blakey! This is great news!"

"I don't hate the dog, but that doesn't mean I like him either," Blake said. "I just feel… aggressively indifferent about him."

"Not aggressively enough to not notice something's up with him."

"I said it's creepy. I never said I cared."

"I never said you cared."

Blake closed her book and fixed Yang with the mother of all glares. Realizing she was on thin ice, Yang turned to look at the corner of the room, where they kept Zwei's water and food bowls. Like Blake had said, his food bowl was filled to the brim, and he was just standing in front of it, staring sharply.

"I think I know what's up," Yang said, and walked over to Zwei. Blake followed her, notably without any invitation. "Ruby has been away for a few days now, and Weiss too. You know how those two are always pampering him? He probably misses them."

"So?" Blake crossed her arms. "What's that got to do with the food?"

"Well, he craves positive attention, the little guy, especially when doing important tasks like eating and… pooping. He doesn't do many other important tasks actually," Yang said. "The point is, he needs to feel like a good boy."

"But… that's dumb," Blake said.

"Nope. That's just dog science, baby," Yang said, crouching. "Watch."

She patted Zwei on the head and ruffled the hair on the back of his neck, then pointed at the bowl. After a few seconds, Zwei made a low whine and dug into his food, gobbling up whole mouthfuls at a time.

"See?" Yang said. "It's important to let him know he did a good job after he's done, too. And now you know what to do in case this happens again while you're alone with him."

"Great," Blake said flatly, and returned to the sofa and her book.

Yang sat on the ground beside Zwei and continued to pet him, much to his joy. As he was reaching the bottom of the bowl, Jaune walked into the living room, still in his pajamas and with his hair in such state, Yang shuddered.

"Good morning," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Are Ruby and Weiss back yet?"

"If they were, you would know by the excited screeching," Yang said.

"Good point," Jaune said. "No point in going back to bed, I guess…"

Pyrrha walked out of the hallway, looking fresh and with her hair unbelievably lustrous despite having been under the showerhead only minutes earlier. Jaune woke up in an instant, his eyes going wide as he stared at her.

"Good morning, sweetie," Pyrrha said, kissing him on the cheek as she walked past.

"Good… morning." Jaune blinked. "You, uh, you look amazing, by the way!"

"Aw, thanks!" Pyrrha smiled. "The shower's free, Yang."

"Finally. Someone positively reinforce Zwei while I go un-stink myself," Yang said, getting up. She stopped in front of Jaune. "And how do I look?"

He studied her for a moment, pursing his lips. "For a swamp monster, you look pretty good!"

"Gosh, the honesty of a gentleman." Yang put a hand on her chest. "You better keep an eye on this one, Pyrrha. A girl might feel tempted to snatch him away."

Jaune waved a hand in front of her face. "Go take a shower, Yang."

"Alright, alright, I'm going…"


Yang took her sweet time cleaning up. She didn't know how Pyrrha worked her five-minute magic to look like a goddess, but Yang had her own ritual which she had perfected over the course of many years, and it had yet to fail her. It was good that she didn't live with her dad anymore, because he used to always scold her for staying almost an hour in the shower. Not that it had ever stopped her…

When she returned to the living room, then, she wasn't at all surprised to find that Ruby and Weiss had arrived and made themselves comfortable in the time she'd been away. Weiss was sitting on the couch, Blake and Pyrrha on either side of her and Zwei on her lap. Ruby was on her feet, pacing about and posing as she regaled everyone with tales of the Grimm the pair had slain, though she stopped when she saw Yang walk in.

"Yang!" Ruby hopped over to her. "Hi! I'm back!"

"I can see that," Yang said, smiling as she ruffled Ruby's hair. "Did I miss anything? Besides you, I mean." She winked, and Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you missed a bunch! You wouldn't have, if you didn't shower in slow-motion," Ruby said.

Yang shrugged. "Can't be helped."

"Well, I'm not gonna start from the beginning because of you," Ruby said, putting her hands on her hips. "I'll just have to fill you in later, in a one-on-one session."

"Sure! Looking forward to it, Sis."

Ruby sprinted back to the middle of the room and bit her lip, chopping at the air as she recalled where she'd left off. Yang sat down on the arm of the couch beside Blake.

"Hey, Ice Queen," Yang said, nudging Weiss. "Good to see you."

"Likewise," Weiss said, raising her chin dignifiedly, though the effect was lost by her petting Zwei.

"Did my sister give you much trouble?" Yang asked. "I know she can a handful."

"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed, and kicked the ground in frustration. "Dang it, lost my train of thought."

"She was perfectly satisfactory as a combat partner, if you must know. We complement each other well," Weis said. "…Though yes, she may have gotten in my line of fire once or a dozen times."

"I always dodged, though. 'Cause I'm fast!" Ruby said. "Wait – I did it again! Everyone stop talking, I need to concentrate!"

Yang chuckled and stood up again, going to stand beside Ruby.

"Before she gets started again," she said. "I'd like to make a proposal, everybody. We all know tonight is pizza night…"

Jaune threw his arms up and howled, "Pizza night hype!" Ruby pumped her arms in support, and Zwei expressed his own excitement by barking and wagging his tail.

"But I was thinking, it's not often we all get to be together like this," Yang said. "So I'm suggesting we do something extra special. We're not having pizza tonight."

"We're not?" Ruby said, deflating.

"Nope. I'm making us something we can't just order. Something great!" Yang said. "I'm thinking… enchiladas!"

"I'm pretty sure you can order that too," Blake said.

"This shall be the best dinner in Hunt history!" Yang declared. "Jaune, as my cooking apprentice, you shall assist me in preparing it! Consider it a test. If you do well, we'll learn how to make our own pizza next."

Jaune's eyes lit up. "We can do that?"

"Yup! And tonight, I shall also take on a new student…" Yang tapped her chin, looking over the others as she pretended to mull over the choice. Truthfully, she already knew her victim. "Weiss Schnee!"

She pointed, and Weiss nearly jumped to her feet, only stopping because of Zwei. She hugged the dog, a look of fear and offense on her face.

"But I'm not a cook," Weiss said. "I don't cook."

"But you will," Yang said. "You do want to be a functional adult, yeah?"

"I… suppose that's a goal of mine, yes." Weiss frowned. "Why not Ruby, though? She never cooks either."

"That's for a good reason, trust me," Yang said, shuddering with the memory of charred ovens and fire alarms beeping across an entire house.

"That was one time, Yang, and it was a freak accident!" Ruby grumbled. "Besides, I do know how to cook. I cook all the time!"

"Ruby, I don't mean to put you down, but sticking chicken nuggets in the oven is not cooking. Especially when you immediately forget them about them," Yang said. She raised a hand. "We're not discussing this. As the resident chef, I have made my decision. Arc, Schnee, you shall be my assistants!"

"Sir, yes, Sir!" Jaune saluted her.

Weiss sank on the sofa, holding Zwei for support.

"Alright. Can I talk now?" Ruby looked at Yang, and she nodded. "Okay! So, uh… There were Grimm and… Maybe I shouldstart back from the beginning."


Yang walked into the kitchen, where she'd left her two students while she went to fetch her apron. A chef without an apron was no chef at all, she knew that much - and a bunch of other things as well.

She had assigned the brunt of the work to Jaune, seeing as he was the more experienced of the two – and he was turning out to be a great cook anyway. Weiss was in charge of the enchilada sauce, and for what it was worth, she didn't look too overwhelmed. They were working at the counter in an amicable silence, and Yang didn't fail to pounce on that opportunity.

"Hmm. What is this I feel in the air?" Yang walked over to the counter, putting herself between the pair. "It's something thick… Ah, it must be tension!" She puffed her cheeks, feigning innocence. "But what kind could it be…?"

Weiss glared at her, and Yang was quite content to bask in her annoyance, until she noticed that Jaune was possibly very seriously contemplating jumping into the nearest hiding place, which happened to be inside the red-hot oven.

Yang cleared her throat. "Bad joke, sorry." She patted Jaune on the back and gestured at the counter before them. "So, how are we doing over here so far? You run into any trouble, my pupil?"

"I think everything's working out," Jaune said. "I've pre-heated the oven. I just put the rice in the cooker, and I was gonna start with the beans right after that. The tortillas are over there, but I guess we don't need to touch those for now…"

"Yup, that can wait a bit," Yang said. "What about the chicken breast? It needs to be boiled, and then shredded. You should have started with that before anything else, since it takes a while longer to get done."

"I thought you were going to do all that stuff," Jaune said, rubbing his neck. "Seems a bit tricky, so…"

"It's pretty simple, actually. You can totally handle it on your own!" Yang said. "You're doing great so far, you don't need me to babysit you."

"I guess," Jaune said. "But I'm only this good because you're such a great cook and teacher!"

"I don't normally tolerate suck-ups, but you're totally right, so I'll let it slide this time."

Yang grinned. Nobody ever needed to know that, while her dad had imparted her with a lot of culinary knowledge, most of what she knew came from vague Internet recipes and late-night cooking show binges.

"Okay, I'm gonna let you get back to what you were doing before," Yang said. "Call me if you need help."

Jaune nodded, and Yang slid over to Weiss' side. She quickly realized that her previous assessment had been very wrong. Not only did Weiss look overwhelmed, she seemed to be retreating into the depths of her own mind as she stared at the assortment of ingredients before her.

"Weiss, uh… What's all this doing here?" Yang asked.

"What do you mean? You told me to prepare the sauce," Weiss said. "That is what I am in the process of doing."

"You're… not wrong there," Yang said. "Weiss, why did you empty the whole ingredients cupboard?"

"So what if I did? That's just common practice!" Weiss said. "…Right?"

"Nope. There's only a couple things we need here, the rest can go away." Yang chuckled. "Honestly, Weiss. Overthink much?"

Weiss scowled at her. "Well, forgive me if some of us had different upbringings than most!"

"So, what you're implying here is that you're disadvantaged because you've never had to cook for yourself in your life?" Yang sighed theatrically. "Gosh, poor you. What next, you're going to need to comb your own hair? Choose your own clothes?"

Weiss opened her mouth, only to close it a moment later. She looked at the counter again, her shoulders falling despondently, and Yang couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Weiss certainly needed some sense shaken into her from time to time, but maybe that had been a bit much.

"Look, Weiss, it's perfectly fine to be intimidated by these things. We've all got to start somewhere," Yang said, patting her shoulder. "But think of it like this. You used to be a big-shot executive or scientist or… whatever you were. Compared to that, cooking should be easy-peasy."

"I beg to differ," Weiss muttered.

"We can start with a tomato," Yang said, pushing the bulk of the ingredients aside and singling out a tomato. "This is the most important part of the sauce. But what do you think we do with it?"

"We… slice it?" Weiss said.

"Exactly. And how do we do that?" Yang asked.

Weiss perked up. "With a knife!"

"Yes! See, you're well on your way to becoming a culinary master!" Yang said. "Well… get started!"

Weiss nodded. She opened a drawer and fished out a big knife, then eagerly set her eyes on the tomato. She looked at it for a moment, then at the knife, before finally turning to Yang.

"I don't understand. How do I do this?"

Yang held back a sigh. This might take a while.


For all the tribulations they had gone through in the kitchen, Yang and her pupils turned out some pretty good enchiladas – maybe the best she'd ever made. Even Blake, who didn't care much for food, eagerly expressed her appreciation.

Yang leaned back on her chair, smiling as she watched the team dig in and chat amongst themselves. She was damn proud of herself, but more than anything, she was glad they could all have a night like this. Special. She wouldn't trade this feeling for anything in the world.

"Hey, Yang." Ruby leaned over beside her, whispering conspiratorially. "Come close." Her eyes darted about shiftily. "I have something important to discuss with you."

Oh, this had to be good. Yang turned to give Ruby her ear.

"So, we're having a strategy meeting tomorrow morning. Usual business," Ruby said. "But… There's gonna be a buncha Breaches all over Vale starting the day after tomorrow, and I know I'm gonna take that on myself. Executive decision." She raised a finger. "I can do those because I'm team leader!"

"Already? Ruby, you and Weiss were out Hunting for a week. You came back just this morning," Yang said, frowning. "You know you're allowed to take breaks, right?"

"I know I'm allowed! And I take breaks all the time. It's just, it's not my fault killing Grimm is so much fun." Ruby shrugged. "And it's especially fun when you have the best sister in the world as your partner."

"Ah, I see where this is going." Yang grinned. "You want me to come with you."

Ruby put her hands together and bowed her head. "Pretty please!"

"You don't have to pretty please me, Ruby," Yang said. "Sure, I'll partner up with you. It'll be fun! But I warn you, I've been sparring with Pyrrha and Blake. I'm gonna wipe the floor with you out there!"

Ruby scoffed. "Yeah, right. You wish" She looked around the table, seemingly not recognizing that literally everyone else had overheard their conversation, before she turned to Yang again. "Okay, tomorrow, act like we never talked. I don't wanna look like I'm playing favorites."

"Aw, am I really your favorite?" Yang said.

"You feed me, so you kinda have to be," Ruby said. "By the way, about the kitchen accident. I really doubt it'll happen again. You could totally try teaching me and-"

"Hahahaha." Yang put her hand down on the table. "No."

"…Yeah, that's probably for the best."


Yang groaned, walking away from Ruby and Jaune to join the others on the couch.

"Have those two decided what movie we're watching yet?" Blake asked as Yang sat down beside her.

"Nope." Yang rubbed her temples. "I thought they were getting somewhere, but then Jaune brought extended cuts. Maybe I should have taken Weiss' cue and retired for the night."

"Cut them some slack, Yang," Pyrrha said. "Jaune and Ruby are just excited about this kind of stuff. That's perfectly normal."

"Well, maybe you should go help them make a decision, then," Yang said.

Pyrrha went silent for a moment. "I'm quite comfortable waiting here, I think."

"'Course you are."

Yang turned her attention to the TV.

"What are we watching?" she asked.

"The news," Blake said, leaning her head on her hand. "There's been some kind of massacre in Haven. A whole gang of – supposed – criminals got killed, and it looks like it was by just one person."

"Jeez. Sounds gruesome," Yang said. "Was it like a normal person that did it? I mean, as normal as a murdering psychopath can be."

"We don't know," Blake said. "Maybe they're like us. But honestly, you don't have to be to commit that level of violence."

"It seems likely to me. But I guess Beacon would know about them already if that were the case," Pyrrha said. "Look. That's the killer."

The news report cut to the footage of a hallway captured by a security camera. The image was grainy, but a woman could be seen walking past at an unrelenting pace, holding low a blade that dripped with what could only be blood. Her face was visible for but a handful of seconds before she disappeared in a flash of red, but those precious few seconds engraved themselves in Yang's mind.

Yang stared at the TV as the news came back to the studio with Lisa Lavender. Suddenly she regretted having cooked such a nice dinner. It would be a shame for that to end up on the floor.

"Yang?" Pyrrha nudged her. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Y-yeah," Yang muttered. She shook her head and took a deep breath, but that didn't make her feel any better. "Sorry. I guess the – the blood got to me somehow? Weird how that can still happen."

"We can change the channel if you want," Pyrrha said. She grabbed the remote, but the studio had already moved on from the report, and quite abruptly.

"Ah. And I'm getting word now… Breaking news - the market price of Vacuan bananas continues to rise drastically by the day," Lisa Lavender said, her tone of voice barely disguising her displeasure. "Truly, how will the world survive? And, in brighter news…" She shuffled her papers. "A surfing dog becomes an unlikely celebrity in coastal Vale. More at nine."

"Well, someone wasn't happy about that getting out," Blake said. She looked at Pyrrha. "Beacon?"

Pyrrha shrugged. "Maybe. Controlling public information has always been an important part of their work, as we all know."

Yang stood up. "You know what, I think I'm gonna skip movie night. I'm feeling pretty tired."

She walked away, ignoring Ruby's yells of protest. Yang entered her room and, as soon as she'd closed the door, opened her closet and dropped to her knees. She pushed aside shoes and clothes she hadn't worn in ages, until she finally found a box at the very back of the closet. She grabbed it and turned it over, spilling its contents on the floor.

A pile of eclectic objects lay before her, mementos from her time growing up in Patch. Her first ever report card. The toy bunny she'd gone to sleep hugging for way too long. The yo-yo she'd broken on Uncle Qrow's face – his fault. And hidden amidst all that, the photograph her father had given her the day she'd moved out.

Yang grabbed it out of the pile and turned it over with trembling fingers. She stared at the woman in the picture, and the woman stared back at her with her blood-red eyes. The vast blue of the sky stretched out behind her as she turned halfway around. Her lips were set in a rigid smile, as if she were going against her own wishes to humor the person behind the camera.

Yang set the picture down on the floor and sat at the edge of her bed. It really was her. There was no mistaking it. The woman on the news – the woman who had killed all those people in cold blood – was her mother.

She could almost laugh. Of course. Ever since her father had told her when she was a little kid, Yang had wondered what her real mother was like and why she'd left. Maybe she'd had something important she'd had to do. Or maybe, like Ruby's mom, she'd died fighting to make the world a better place. Or maybe – the version she'd long decided was the most likely – she was just a terrible person with no concern for her child.

It only made sense that the truth would be that, and so much worse. But why? Why was she like that? Why was she killing people? Why had she left?

Yang fell back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. It didn't matter. Summer was her real mom, had always been. Ruby was her sister. The team was her family.

It didn't matter.


Yang's alarm buzzed. She stayed under the blankets, arms wrapped around herself, bleary eyes staring into nothing.

She let the alarm go on for an eternity.

Finally, she shut it off, stood up, grabbed a backpack, and started packing.


"Yang?" Ruby knocked on the door. "You awake? We're about to start the strategy meeting which you know nothing about! Also, you missed breakfast."

She waited a while, to no response. Ruby sighed. This didn't happen often, but Yang did sometimes work herself too hard and ended up oversleeping. It was Ruby's duty then, as a younger sister, to pester and tease her about it.

"Alright, coming in. You better not be naked!" Ruby opened the door and walked right in… to an empty room. "Huh."

She looked around. Something felt off – Yang's room somehow felt too clean and too messy at the same time. Walking over to the bed, Ruby found a note lying on the pillow.

SORRY, HAD TO GO

WILL BE GONE A WHILE

DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, DON'T TRY AND FOLLOW

WILL CHECK IN

IT'S ABOUT MY MOM

Ruby frowned. But Mom was-

"Oh."

She stared at the note, not knowing what to do. She wanted desperately to help – Yang had helped her so much and so many times in the past, and without ever hesitating – but this was clearly personal. It stung a little that Yang hadn't come to her before leaving, or even asked for her to come along, but…

If this was would make Yang happy, then Ruby would respect her wishes. And if Yang asked for help, she would be there in a heartbeat.

Ruby started to put down the note, but stopped when she noticed a small arrow pointing to the edge of the paper. She turned it over to find another message.

P.S: DON'T GO HUNTING ALONE

FIND LESS FLAKY PARTNER

SUCKS BUT WILL HAVE TO DO

Ruby grinned. "Sure, Sis."


Yang walked out of the airport, her backpack hoisted over her shoulder, and stared out at the bustling city of Haven. The insanity of what she was doing was slowly catching up to her, but it gave her no motivation to turn back. She knew this was crazy – how much time had she already spent chasing after her mother, never to find her?

But not this time. This time she had a place to start looking, and she had a name.

Raven.

Raven Branwen.


Hello Yang! Nice to meet you again. I'm sure you'll have a very wholesome adventure this time around.

This was a very strange chapter, as far as first chapters go. It could have been a chapter of Tales from the Hunt Tower after some reworking, couldn't it have? But obviously there's a reason I started the story this way, besides to present the main hook the way I did. But I'll let the story speak for itself.

Thank you to Fell for betaing the story, and thank you for the writan folks of the Qrow's Nest for helping me VASTLY improve the kitchen scene this chapter. Seriously, the only difference between me and Ruby in that regard is that I have yet to cause a house fire.

Here's to a new story!

-Zeroan

PS: the title of this chapter, "Fiery Boogaloo", was almost the title of the story itself. For better or worse, the more sensible side of me convinced me to change it.