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Bonded By Blood

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For all the weapons and strategies ever devised,

The array of techniques and diverse platforms of warfare,

There may never be a force as great,

Nor as tried and true,

As the one called, Revenge.

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Rain pelted every surface of the trainyard and harbor. Metal banged in a cacophony like countless steel drums. The distant rumbling of thunder followed traces of lightning across the clouds.

Bodies of several White Fang members scattered the railroads. Some of their masks cracked in two, while others had theirs beaten into their faces. None of them dead however, but rendered thoroughly unconscious.

The ones responsible paid no attention to the defeated. Emerald, Neo, and Mercury only watched quietly atop a steel shipping container to the duel commencing below.

Yang and Adam squared off. A pair of alighted warriors testing their might. Life would crown the victor, and death the loser.

Though their fight had gone on for some time now, the two combatants brushed only a sparse four times. Each exchange lasted only a single moment, before they retreated to their respective distances thirty paces apart. Then, wind and thunder filled the gap between.

It was the type of match Adam excelled at.

Brief, violent, and decisive. And in-between the moments of sudden intensity, was the war of patience and psychology. No room for Yang to build momentum. No opportunity for her to pull the fight into a brawl. She barely activated a fraction of her Semblance, before it dissipated harmlessly.

The rain continued to pour. Yang's teammates stayed out of the fight, due to some prearranged condition. One made before they even knew Adam and his followers would be the ones to accept Junior's shipment. Rather, they always knew Yang and Adam would inevitably cross paths. They just hadn't planned on it happening so soon.

Lightning cracked the sky above, signaling the start of their next bout.

In the flash of radiance, Yang and Adam closed the distance. The swordsman drew his blade from the sheathe and the boxer's gauntlet let out a bang from its firing chamber.

When the thunder passed, the duelists switched positions. Adam resheathed his katana and prepared for the next strike. Yang did the same, her hair glowing briefly from her Semblance.

An electric crackle hissed from Ember Celica, which prompted the girl's attention downwards.

A deep score stretched across Yang's forearm. The prosthetic remained functional, but its structural integrity was at risk. If she took another attack like the previous, she would probably lose her arm for a second time.

Adam homed in on the result of his work.

Not only was the damage plain to see, but he felt the feedback from his weapon. If it was flesh, the limb would have been long gone. For a moment, he entertained the idea of taking away Yang's left arm as well, but banished the thought. Playing with his prey was a bad habit of his. One that needed reining in on more than one occasion.

Adam marked Yang's neck instead, seeking an end to the match.

The swordsman brimmed with confidence, as he waited for Yang's hair to lose its glow. The red lines in his mask and coat luminated in its polar opposite.

Adam felt his Aura course through, the Dust acting as its amplifier. His fingers tightened around his katana.

Blake ran away from our White Fang for this weakling? How did she fool herself into believing Humans like her are worth saving?

He envisioned the exchange play out in his mind. Every detail from the first step to his draw mapped. Yang's head flying at the end of the sequence.

Adam activated his Semblance. This time, with no signal of any kind, he dashed forward.

It may have been his imagination, but he thought he caught the glimpse of a mischievous smirk from Yang.

Suddenly, a portal of red and black energy ripped open the space between, putting a stop to the two's duel.

The anomaly pulsed like a beating heart. A presence of something otherworldly accompanied its nature, as mist poured from it like an open wound.

With a slow and purposed gait, the figure of a vagrant warrior appeared from its void. Every step made the woman's armor and adornments shift with a pleasant clink. Malleable threat exuded from her breath and bloodthirst leaked from the eye slits of the samurai's mask.

Although the atmosphere was electric just a moment ago, it dwarfed in the wake of this woman's arrival. Her Grimm mask turned to Yang first and then Adam, who barked at her.

"Raven! What are you doing here?!"

"Why, saving your life," came a deep, strong-bearing voice.

"Don't pretend like you're not here to protect your daughter. You think I'd believe such an obvious lie?!"

"I honestly don't care what you believe. But you might want to take a look over there," Raven nodded to the sidelines.

There, Adam saw them.

Three bright pairs of eyes leering in his direction. Never blinking, never for a moment looking away. Focused so intently on the swordsman, he sensed their murderous presence through the heavy rainfall.

"One step away from the final blow," Raven commented, "and those three little demons would have ended you. I thought I taught you to think things through more than that."

"I'm not your apprentice anymore!"

"So, you aren't," she glanced at Emerald, Mercury, and Neo. "Therefore, my courtesy ends here. If you're in such a rush to die, then it can't be helped. I'm not here to specifically save you, after all."

Adam grit his teeth in frustration.

He knew she spoke the truth. If Raven hadn't interceded the duel, it was likely they would have. Taking on the three would have been impossible, especially if he failed to finish off Yang.

"And, now?" Adam pressed. "We should knowingly let them enter Mistral? Don't forget the promises you've made! If anything, you're obligated to help me fight—"

Raven's long sword spanned the distance without notice. The point of her crimson blade nestled against Adam's Adam's apple, causing the young man to gulp uncomfortably.

"Quiet, pup," the woman ordered with a short harshness. "Your part in this is over."

Sweat beat down Adam's mask.

"The cargo…!"

"Seems to be in good hands. I believe they were in the middle of delivering it? Until you interrupted them, that is."

A thousand thoughts raced through Adam's mind, followed by a string of profanities hanging at the tip of his tongue—but he chose to bite down his words instead.

He lifted his hand from his katan's hilt and stood straight. After sparing another moment, he began walking away.

"—No hard feelings, eh, Adam?" Emerald waved.

"It was great seeing you again," Mercury added. "I love that guy. He and I are best friends, you know."

Adam growled.

As he left, he caught one last sight of Yang. Her burning eyes boring into him. Something dangerous lurked there.

But what was most disturbing was the girl didn't seem angry in the way he expected.

A mad kind of glow played about her. Like she savored every second up to this point, even if she was on the losing end of the duel.

…

Then Adam wondered if he was really winning the fight in the first place. The match seemed too easy in retrospect…

At that, he looked back at Yang once more.

She revealed a wicked grin, as if reading Adam's exact thoughts.

…

The grudge between them would find another day.

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X

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With Adam's departure, the night's rain lessened from a monsoon to a soft drizzle.

Emerald hopped down from her spectator's seat and approached Yang and Raven. Neo and Mercury remained where they were, ready to provide backup at a moment's notice. Otherwise, agreeing to let their leader do the talking.

"Raven," Emerald greeted.

"Emerald. Gathering what I can from the situation, I think I understand what your motives were."

"Great! Saves us time on explanations."

"And the conclusion is—" Raven leveled the tip of her blade at Emerald's chest. "—you were using my daughter to get to me. How did you think I was going to take that exactly?"

With an unperturbed gaze, Emerald raised her hand to wave Neo and Mercury off from attacking.

"We thought you'd be grateful, to be honest," the younger girl casually answered.

"Seems Cinder hasn't taught you as well as I thought."

"Well enough. We got our meeting, didn't we?"

"—Mom."

Raven heard a small voice at her side and a prosthetic hand grabbed her sword. Yang gently directed the blade away from Emerald.

"We need to talk."

Raven sighed.

"…Yes. I suppose we do."

The woman holstered her weapon and began walking to the edge of the harbor, where the dock met the water. Emerald gave Yang a measuring look before crossing her arms. A sign that she would wait, but not long.

Yang followed after her mother alone.

"Your new friends were ready to let you die," Raven said, once Yang joined her.

"…"

"You assumed they were going to make their move at the last moment and save you?"

"…"

"I know Emerald. And I know the extent of Adam's abilities. Whatever agreements you made beforehand, had no guarantees."

"…I guess, not. I wanted them to stay out of the fight, but they were probably gonna jump in anyway." Yang picked up an empty bottle sitting on the dock and chucked it into the sea.

"That's a naïve way of looking at things."

"It's the truth."

"You're poorly misplacing your trust, Yang."

"Who says I trust them? And if I do, it's only just enough. Enough to get me this far."

"And you shouldn't be here in the first place," Raven said with a stern tone.

Yang tensed in silence.

Not once did her mother look her way since they began talking. She focused on Raven's face hidden by the Grimm mask. She wanted with every angry impulse to smash it, and force her mother to see her face to face.

Perhaps reading that, Raven lifted the helmet from her head. The woman's stare seemed to penetrate through her daughter.

"How long have your eyes been that way?" the unexpected question came.

"My eyes? What?" Yang puzzled.

"The color. They aren't usually red like that, right?"

"So? What does that matter?"

"It matters a lot actually."

Yang was off put by the question, but tried to recall. It wasn't long after joining her new team that she woke up to find her irises permanently lost their violet hue and stayed red.

"Um…they've been like this for a while," Yang tried to remember. "Couple weeks? I'm not really sure."

"…I see." After pondering it a moment, Raven changed the subject. "This isn't the life for you."

"…"

"I can guess what you're here for, and I'm telling you now, you won't find it. Turn around and go back to Tai. It's where you belong."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into. You don't know what I've gotten myself into."

"I know," Yang frowned. "You're a commander in the Mistral Army and the White Fang."

Raven paused at that. She assumed Emerald probably told Yang as much as she knew about her. It made things more complicated.

"If you keep trying to follow me, you're going to end up dragged into this war. You know that."

"If that's what it takes—"

"It's nothing you ever trained for. And nothing near what you're capable of handling."

"I don't care!"

"You won't be fighting Grimm, Yang. You'll be fighting people—actual people. Not mindless monsters. Can you do that? Can you kill someone, step over their corpse, and move on to the next? All just so you can chase after some stranger you don't even know?"

"You're not just some stranger!" Yang shouted. "And I don't care what I have to do!"

"Go back to Patch," Raven shook her head dismissively. "You went on this trip to get to me, you got me. You want me to visit? I can do that. You want me to write letters? I'll write you letters. You can leave Cinder's people to me. But you shouldn't be out here, not with Remnant like it is. And not anywhere near where I am."

"I said, I DON'T CARE!" Yang roared.

...

Raven narrowed her brow.

"What do you want, Yang? You're willing to fight a war you don't even care about, just so you can better understand a mother who abandoned you?"

"MAYBE, I AM!" Yang breathed intensely. "Maybe, I'm tired of not knowing who you are and watching dad and Qrow shut up every time you get mentioned! MAYBE, I just want to be with you! To actually know you! Is that so wrong?!"

Raven turned away. "This is ridiculous. If we didn't share the same blood, you would be trying to take me down like anyone else."

"But you're not. You're my mom."

"If you want to know about me, I'll tell you. Qrow and Tai will tell you. Especially since you've proven you're willing to run away if they don't."

"I'll only get lies and half-truths…"

"…"

"I need to see things for myself, or I won't find the answers I'm looking for. If talking was enough, I would've been okay with just giving up and ignoring you exist completely. But I'm not—and I can't."

Raven stared at her daughter for a long moment. The girl's stubbornness and spirit reminded her too much of herself—herself and one other. She knew what it meant, and she also knew where it would lead her.

"This is dangerous territory, Yang. The path you're starting on can twist you up so much, you'll find you can't recognize yourself one day."

"Maybe that runs in the family."

"Summer was your mother. Not me."

"She was!" Yang shuddered. "And then, I found out about you! And after that, EVERYTIME I heard the word 'mom', YOUR name was all that would come up! Your name and your face! I wanted to know who you were! Why you abandoned me! The questions never stopped!"

…

In the wake of Yang's outburst, Raven's stoic expression collapsed.

Her eyes finally met her daughter's and she couldn't break away. The girl, who she wanted to remember as only a baby, was staring at her with eyes mirroring her own. The same tinge of crimson that held with it, an unflinching conviction.

"You're more like me than I would ever have wanted, Yang." Raven took a deep breath. "I'd never wish any part of me on you, not a single thread—but now you're like this."

"…"

The woman smiled sadly to herself.

"Summer thought differently. She said it wouldn't be bad at all if you grew up to be like me. 'I love you both', she would say." Raven faced her daughter. "The answers you find won't be the ones you want—about me or yourself. The truth can be a horrible thing. Do you understand?"

"…I came here knowing that."

"Even if you join me, I can't promise to treat you properly, or the way you want."

"I don't care."

"I'm taking advantage of you. I have certain ambitions, so I'll use you to those ends."

"I don't care if you do."

"It's what an abusive parent does."

"I don't care if you abuse me."

"Yang…" Raven's voice trailed off.

She'll do whatever she wants anyway. Whether I send her home or not.

At least this way…

…

She really is our daughter, Summ.

After a moment, Raven allowed herself a small sense of pride.

It quickly faded, to be replaced by stone.

She made her decision. They both did. Each with their own motives in mind.

Raven did not know, but her next words would later affect not solely Yang and herself, but the future of Remnant as a whole.

"Welcome to the White Fang, Yang Xiao Long.

I hope you serve me well."