"What?" Yang mouthed. She'd escaped from the fight with the Tinmen relatively unharmed compared to the others, but right at this moment it was as if she'd just been blindsided by a haymaker. Her mind was simply unable to process the import behind the few simple words.

"She's your grandmother. My mother."

"What?" Yang was entirely unable to believe that the statement made any sense whatsoever.

A figure rushed in as the door at the far side of the room was thrust open, slamming into the wall. Her long dark legs were exposed beneath the thin nightgown, and in her hands were a pair of pistols. The slapping of her feet on the marble slowed as she took in the scene before her.

"Emerald, cease creating a racket." Cinder unleashed some of her fury and Emerald wilted beneath it.

"I thought you needed ̶ ̶ "

"As if I would need help," Cinder spat. "And put those away."

Emerald lowered the pistols but, dressed in her sleepwear, she could only let them hang loosely from her hands. Her nostrils flared in an attempt to contain her emotions.

"Ahh… Mercury. Late as usual." Cinder directed her remarks to the man who'd just sidled in through the door. He looked around, his gaze lingering on Blake and Yang, before turning back to Cinder.

"I don't get paid enough to leap out of bed at the slightest disturbance. And anyway, I had to let Emerald have the chance to kiss your ass first."

The amber lines of Cinder's dress flared and Mercury's eyes widened. "Tonight is neither the time nor place for your insolence. Go and make yourself useful and ensure that we are not disturbed." Mercury didn't move. "Now!" He was too proud to run, but he made a hasty exit from the room, fleeing the waves of pent-up violence that were roiling through the air.

"Emerald, clean those up." Cinder gestured at the toxic puddles of molten and half-melted pieces that had been the Tinmen. "We don't need any of the complications that would arise if a servant stumbled across them."

Emerald nodded silently, but there were still lines around her eyes as if she were trying her best not to cry. Cinder stepped closer, only stopping when their bodies were separated by mere inches. Any trace of anger disappeared from her face. She raised a palm and cupped Emerald's cheek, looking deep into her eyes. "Can you do this? For me?" Her voice smouldered.

"Ye… Yes." No one missed how rapidly her chest rose and fell beneath the thin silk.

"Thank you." Emerald just stood there. "If you could get started…"

"Oh… of course. I'll get right on it. May… may I get changed first?"

"You may, but hurry." With that Emerald almost sprinted from the room, only too eager to please. Cinder turned back towards the rest of them, throwing away the mask of love and compassion, leaving nothing in her expression. She was just as emotionless as the robots she'd slain.

"I will ask you once more, what is the meaning of this? Why did you bring these people here?"

"I needed your help," Raven said.

"Evidently." A foul smell rose from the ruined Tinmen. "But you should not have. I take it you're wounds are merely superficial?"

Though her expression was scrunched in pain and she held a hand tight against her side, Raven nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Now ̶ ̶ "

"Didn't you hear? This is Yang."

"I heard. And I thought we were clear as to why this was a bad idea."

"We were, but I didn't have a choice. This was my only option."

"It was not."

"Mother, she's your granddaughter."

"What the hell are you on about?" Yang found her voice. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was ludicrous.

Raven stood between the two of them, torn in half. "Yang this is Cinder my mo ̶ ̶ "

"She can't be!"

"Yang, I know it's hard to understand, but I'm telling you the truth."

"Look at her!" Yang thrust out her arm. "She's barely out of school."

"I know I sound crazy."

"You're damn right you do." Qrow stalked forwards, half his face drenched in blood from a cut on his scalp. "You're my sister. My twin sister. And I've never seen her before in my life. Have you been hit in the head? Have you forgotten mum and dad?"

"Of course I haven't," Raven exclaimed before softening her voice. "Qrow, I am your sister," she took a breath, "But I'm not your twin. We're not related by blood. I'm adopted."

"What are you talking about?"

"Dad told me. Just before… you know. A year after you were born they found me on their doorstep. Dad said the moment they saw me they knew they wouldn't be able to give me up." Raven smiled. "We were almost the same age. They decided to raise us as twins."

"But… you can't."

"Don't you think it was suspicious that they only had pictures of you as a baby? That they lost all the photos I was in before I turned one? That there was never a photo of us together in a crib? It's because they never existed." Her voice fell. A hint of desperation entering her tone as she willed him to believe her. "I wasn't there. Why would I make this up?"

Qrow stared, mouth agape. "I don't know. But why haven't told me before now? You've had years."

"Because I'm a coward! Because I've always been a coward. I didn't want it to change anything between us."

"And it wouldn't have." Qrow set his blood-stained hand on her shoulder. "Nothing could change the fact you're my sister. I think we've discovered that by now. I deserved to know. So did everyone." Qrow's eyes flicked momentarily to Yang.

Raven looked at the ground. "I know."

"I want to believe you, but I can't. Yang's right." He gestured at Cinder. "She's younger than you are."

"I do not appreciate being talked about as if I am not here."

"Fine then." Qrow approached Cinder. "I appreciate the assist and all. Pretty damn impressive actually. I would never have expected it from a pretty thing like you."

"Qrow…" Raven warned as Cinder spoke.

"I will grant you leniency as you are close to Raven, but do not dare take that tone with me again."

"Or wh ̶ ̶ "

A light flared into existence and Qrow's head snapped around. He fell to his knees. A thin red line drawn across his face.

"Mother!" Raven rushed to her brother, putting herself between them.

Cinder didn't show a hint of remorse. "I warned him. He is lucky he is still breathing. You two get back to work," she snapped towards Mercury and Emerald who had paused while shovelling goo into a container.

"I'm fine." Qrow heaved himself to his feet with a shake to clear his head. "I'm not scared of her."

"Then you are a fool."

"Please, Qrow, don't."

"No," Qrow pushed Raven aside. "I'm going to say what I need to." He faced Cinder down again. "I don't know how you've managed to put these lies in my sister's head, but it stops now. I'm taking her away from here, and you're never going to see her again."

"They are not lies. Raven is my daughter."

"I reiterate, she's older than you. Don't tell me I have to have the talk with you? When a mummy and daddy love each other very much ̶ ̶ " This time Raven bodily interceded the precipice of violence.

"Qrow, it's not that simple. She's older than she looks. Like Ozpin." Cinder's face twitched at the name. "Don't you think I had a hard time believing it? But I know it's true."

"None of this makes sense."

"No it doesn't. But we're here. She's my mother, and Yang's grandmother."

Since the time she had saved them in Vale, Yang had always been aware that Raven wasn't entirely sane. That the logic that guided her reasoning had been flawed, but Yang could never have imagined anything of this scale. Raven was obviously crazy, and yet… Ozpin didn't age. He looked the same in every photo she'd ever seen of him. And Cinder was his peer in skill if nothing else. The idea was insanity of the highest order, but the world was insane these days.

"How do you know?" Yang asked.

"We've done tests. They were conclusive. Plus I just do. There's a connection, don't you feel it?"

Yang looked at Cinder. Properly looked. Trying to discount her face… Her smooth complexion... Instead trying to penetrate beyond them, seeing the person underneath.

It was impossible.

Yang experienced no revelation, no sudden understanding. The only emotion she felt was disgust. If what Raven said was true, then she was related to someone responsible for the deaths of thousands.

It had been hard enough trying to reconcile the Raven she'd come to sporadically know over the last two years with the same person who'd been involved with the plot to overthrow Vale. She hadn't managed it. The only way she'd been able to cope was to tell herself that Raven had only been following orders, unaware of the entirety of the plan.

She couldn't do that here. There could have been no conclusion other than that Cinder, her grandmother, had been the one giving the orders. She exuded a complete aura of control. She had planned it all. The Knights, the Grimm, the White Fang, all in pursuit of a noble goal that Raven had only haltingly tried to justify. Yang felt sick to her stomach.

Raven misinterpreted the expression on her face. "Yang look at her. Look at her Semblance. It's like yours." Apparently willing to humour her daughter, Cinder allowed a wave of fire to roll through her raven locks.

Yang turned away. She couldn't face this. It hurt too much. Emerald and Mercury had finished their cleaning again were just staring at her. It had been a surprise to see them again after all this time, but not much of one. Torchwick had told her they'd been Cinder's.

Their motivations were easy to understand. In the few talks she'd had with Mercury, he'd always been cold, aloof. Greed and power were likely all he cared about. Emerald's motivations were even easier. Just the brief interaction between her and Cinder was enough to show she was head over heels in love with her. Yang had no doubt that as long as it were Cinder asking, Emerald would do anything for her.

"Yang?" Yang could only shake her head. "Don't you believe me?"

"It doesn't matter," Cinder spoke up. "Her belief, or lack of it, will not change what is fact. You are my daughter, she is yours. What conclusions she draws from that are her own. The same applies to rest of you. I will not waste any more time or effort attempting to convince you. Emerald, Mercury, put the boxes with rest of our luggage, and then clear the room."

"Don't you want us here?" Mercury asked.

"If I desired for you to be here I would have asked you stay. Leave." After the doors swung shut, Cinder turned to Raven. "Explain yourself. Have you compromised us?"

"I… I don't think so. There were only the three of them, and no one else saw."

"You had better hope that is the case." The threat was clear. "How did they find you?"

"We were walking back from a restaurant and they'd set a trap for us."

"So they knew you were coming?"

"No. They seemed surprised I was there. The ambush wasn't for me."

"Then…" Cinder's gaze lingered on Blake who had so far gone mostly unnoticed. "Ahh, the Faunus."

"Blake," Yang corrected.

"Blake," Cinder conceded. "Blake Belladonna. Don't look surprised. I know all about you Yang, and those who you associate with." Cinder crossed the room and lifted Blake's chin with a slender finger until she could look into her eyes. To Yang it was apparent that Blake was attempting to conceal her injured ribs, trying to present herself as stronger than she really was. Trying not to look like prey before the ultimate predator. "I only wish that I could have seen his face when he realised you'd been lying to him since the beginning. He was never able to handle being wrong. It's no wonder he wants to kill you." Cinder smirked. "You seem to have that effect on men. Half the time Adam wanted your head as well. When he wasn't pining over you at least..."

Blake's hands tightened into fists at her sides. "Don't mention him."

Yang could have sworn that she saw the fires roaring behind Cinder's eyes. When she spoke it was in a tone that was entirely detached, and all the more dangerous because of it. "I am going to give you all this warning only once. You do not give me commands." Qrow gave a grunt as Raven kicked him just as he opened his mouth. "The next person to try and give me an order, or to make a smart comment, will regret it." She turned her attention back to Blake a finger still on her chin. "As for you, I fear that you will find that Airtafae is no longer safe. He has your scent now, and even national sovereignty did not stay his hand. I would suggest that you disappear post-haste."

"She's not going anywhere," Yang only just managed to rein in her shout. The Tinmen might have been there for Blake, and almost killed the rest of them in the crossfire, but she wouldn't allow Blake to try and leave on her own again. "She's staying with us, and we're going to sort this out together."

"If that is what you desire, so be it. But I will not be here to save you next time. And he will not take this failure lightly."

"Wait, wait," Taiyang spoke up sounding exasperated. "I'm… entirely lost. So let me try and get this clear. You're Raven's birth mother? Despite being young enough to be her daughter. And this 'he' you keep speaking about is… Ozpin? Just how are you two involved with each other?"

Cinder glanced at Raven. "How much do they know?"

"Nothing. I haven't told them anything. Just like you said."

"Yes. The condition I set down when you asked to visit them was that you reveal nothing. Yet here I stand, in the middle of the palace, with the remnants of Tinmen on the floor." Raven looked away, the chastisement in the words was clear. Cinder sighed. "Can they be trusted?"

"Of course, they're family," Raven answered instinctively.

"When you have seen as much as I have, you will learn that familial bonds ultimately mean nothing when compared to the sins of mankind. Regardless, she is not your family." Her finger extended towards Blake. "Do you trust her?"

This time Raven wasn't so quick to answer, but Yang was. "Yes. I trust her with my life."

"And it may be on your life. Blake has betrayed her ideals twice. Once when joining the White Fang, and once when leaving it. Who is to say there will not be a third time?"

At this moment, Yang didn't care in the slightest about who Cinder was because she didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Blake's initiation into the White Fang had been a sordid manipulation built around grief and anger. No blame lay at her door. And when she'd left it, she hadn't betrayed anything. Instead she'd been true to the person she really was.

"I say it. I trust Blake," Yang left no room for misinterpretation and, with the declaration, Blake stood up just a little bit straighter.

Cinder smirked. "Very well. I will bring you all into my confidence. You could say that Ozpin and I were at one time… associates."

"Were?" Yang asked. Ever since seeing Ozpin fight the mysterious woman she'd wanted answers. Ozpin himself hadn't been forthcoming, but now she had the opportunity to get some.

"We had a falling out." Cinder's brow darkened and malice seeped into her tone. "When he had his hunters stab me and murder my husband. Their next target would have been your mother in her crib. I have forgiven him for countless infractions, but I could not for this one."

"Ozpin did that?"

"Yes. The Ozpin you undoubtedly thought you knew at Beacon, was only one facet of his personality. What he is now, shows the truth of him. He has always been a power hungry tyrant held in check by the will of those around him. He tried to eliminate me, and now he has cast all chains aside. If he is allowed to fulfil his ambitions unopposed, he will not stop until the entire world has fallen under his rule."

"Always been?" Qrow asked.

"I am older than I look. So is he."

"Just how old are you?" Taiyang put aside social conventions to ask the question they all wanted the answered.

"It is pointless to tell you because you will not believe me. But let me say that I have witnessed the rise of dictators first hand."

Cinder had been right, Yang couldn't believe. The last dictator the world had seen was in the Great War. Surely she wasn't suggesting that she'd been alive then. That would make her eighty at least, and only if she'd been an infant. Yet, by appearances alone, Yang would have guessed she was only a couple of years older than her.

"Why don't you try us?" Taiyang continued. "Give us a number."

"I can't. I was born in a city, to a calendar, that no longer exists."

"That's impossible."

"No, it is simply improbable. I have lived a long life. I have watched man crawl from the dirt. I watched as nomadic tribes settled, prospered, and stagnated. I have seen empires rise, carve their way across the land, and ultimately fall to the foe that the sword cannot touch. Time. I speak languages of people whose name appears in no history book. I have guided mankind through the ages, ensuring their survival, so that ultimately we have reached this moment, standing in this room."

"It can't be. You make it sound as if you're a god."

"And I have been worshipped as one in the past. Is it really so far-fetched? What is your definition for one? I have watched the birth and death of civilizations. I wield powers beyond your reckoning. I was born, and then I transcended to how I exist now."

They were the ravings of madwoman. Someone who had entirely passed beyond the realms of sanity. Yang couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sure, Cinder was one of the strongest people she'd ever seen, but a living god? It was ludicrous. And yet, there was no outright derision. Raven stood calmly as if she'd heard it all before, Qrow's mouth hung open, her dad appeared as if he were trying to wrap his head around it; Blake the most cynical of them all, looked pensive, almost as if she were considering it.

"You can't be serious," Yang blurted out. "I mean, this is crazy, all of it. You're not buying into this crap are you?" She looked around for support, but no one spoke up.

"It's all true Yang," Raven said.

"It can't be. It just… can't." Yang was unable to articulate any of the obvious thoughts as to why it was impossible.

"How can I convince you?" Cinder asked. "Shall I tell you of the fall of Elysion? Shall I describe the armour of the troops of Kirandor, or how they Grimm assaulted the city in their wake? Or shall I describe the festivals held in the great city of Calakmul? The music, the ritual dances, the sacrifices? Or would you prefer a time within the pages of recorded history? Do you wish to hear the origins and end of the Great War from one who was there throughout it all? Name your period of history and I most likely had a hand in it."

"But…" Yang hadn't even heard of half the names mentioned.

"Or perhaps you need a more visceral demonstration..." Something about her tone filled Yang with dread.

Cinder reached down and dug a nail into the embroidery of her dress. When she raised her hand she had a tiny sliver of crystal between her fingers. "Red Dust, barely enough to power your scroll for more than a few minutes."

The crystal flared to life and almost within an instant it was consumed. A small ball of red and orange fire barely larger than a coin in diameter hovered above her open palm. "Impressive, no? Only a handful of hunters in the world could be this efficient. I don't count myself among them."

The fireball grew larger, flames licking out from it, until it was the size of a fist. The lines of Cinder's dress remained amber, inert. She wasn't drawing the power for her display from them. It didn't make sense. Yang had known some prodigies of Dustcraft, and she been forced to learn the basic theories even if she would never be able to apply them herself. Dust crystals conformed to the universal law of the conservation of energy. It was impossible to get more energy out of Dust crystals than had been stored in their creation, not to mention the inherent inefficiencies. A crystal the size Cinder had used should have barely caused a hot updraft. Not this.

"Still not convinced?"

The fireball began to crackle, and then it began to roar. It remained the size of a fist, but the hue of the flames transitioned to blue. Just beneath the surface of Cinder's skin white lights glowed in an intricate pattern. The fireball became a sphere of pure brightness. Yang threw up her arm and stumbled back. The heat blossoming from it made the desert seem a fridge. She could feel her skin reddening.

"It will melt sand to glass." Cinder rotated her hand around the hovering ball. The heat from it didn't seem to bother her at all. "If I drop it will burn straight through the floor and every one underneath. I can't rightly guess how far it would travel before dissipating. I could power Airtafae for a day or more. All from that single tiny crystal. Tell me it's impossible. That I'm lying to you."

Yang squinted past her arm. The fireball appeared to be a miniature sun. Its light speared into her eyes. Its surface was blue tinged with white, but Cinder's skin was pure alabaster. The lights glowing from beneath it were somehow more intense. In that exact moment, her outline silhouetted by the brightness, a sun held in her hand, Cinder appeared a figure out of legend, myth. She appeared exactly what she claimed to be. A god walking amongst them.

Cinder had been watching her intently and saw the moment the realisation hit her. Impossibly she closed her fingers around the sphere that would have incinerated stone. The lights beneath her skin intensified before darkness reclaimed the room. It wasn't actually dark, the lights were all still on, but all of their retinas had been seared by the demonstration. Yang could only see shadows. Cinder's glow faded away.

"I hope that convinced the rest of you as well. Every word I have spoken is true." She let her statement sink in.

Yang was grateful for the respite. Her thoughts were a shaken mess after the display of pure power. She didn't truly know if Cinder was a god, but she certainly wasn't simply human. That much had been made plain.

No one else seemed able to speak either. They all wore expressions varying from awe to downright fear. It was an emotion that rose in Yang as Cinder stalked towards her, a chime clinking on her ankle.

"Yang, I gave birth to your mother in a small hut in the middle of a forest in Vale. You are my blood. As I once did to Raven, I gifted you with the protection of separation and ignorance. With you standing here that protection is no more. You now have a choice, just like your mother once did, whether you wish to be a part of this war, or if you desire to run and never look back. I cannot make that choice nor influence you, and neither can anyone else. It is yours and yours alone to make. For it is you who will have to live with the consequences."

A war. After watching the massacre of Vale Yang had wanted no part in war ever again. She had left determined to forge life on her own terms. Only the world hadn't been so eager to let her go. She was a criminal in her own country, possibly facing the death penalty for doing what was right. She had to scrape past, agreeing to the most gruelling hunts in this far flung corner of the world, just to try and stay safe. It hadn't worked. Ozpin's agents had found her, found Blake. Cinder might have believed she'd been protected from the war, but she hadn't. She'd been living on its side-lines all this time. The whole world had been.

By saying yes she could keep Blake safe. Cinder could handle whatever Ozpin threw at her. The Tinmen had been tossed aside as if they were nothing. If only it was that simple. Yang was unable to forget just what had changed the balance of power in the world in the first place. Ozpin's massacre had only been in answer to the one perpetrated by the woman standing in front of her. It made sense really. She didn't know just how long Cinder and Ozpin had actually lived for, but the lives of the rest of them must seem like flickering candles, snuffed out with the smallest breeze, entirely inconsequential. Only chess pieces to be played on the board.

"The two of you deserve each other."

"Excuse me?"

"You and Ozpin. You've played these games for so long you don't see the consequences of them. Ozpin did something terrible to you. I understand. You wanted revenge, justice, whatever. You should have gone to him, fought him like anyone else would have if the police couldn't help. Instead you tore apart an entire fucking city." Yang's anguish ripped out from her. "All for what? What possible reason could you have had, because he got away. You didn't even manage to kill him! And don't give me some bullshit reason like doing it for the Faunus. If you really cared about them you wouldn't have fled the city! And don't get me started on ̶ ̶ "

Yang's vision whited out as agony overwhelmed her. Her face burned. She fell to her knees, hands clawing at the phantom flames. She couldn't even scream. A shoe squeaked, someone shouted, something thumped to the floor. Yang forced her eyes open. She expected to see her hands covered in blood, her flesh hanging off. They were clean. The agony in the nerves had vanished, leaving only a lingering ache.

"I gave you a warning. It would pay to heed it."

Yang spat on the marble. She didn't know just what Cinder had done to her, but it ranked amongst the most painful experiences of her entire life. It had felt as if she'd been flayed. The only response she could muster was fear. She was a mortal cowed by god. Right up until the point where her gaze landed on Blake, also crumpled on the floor and moaning softly, one hand holding her broken ribs, the other clutching her eyes. Yang's anger rose like a tempest overriding all of her body's other feelings. She hauled herself to her feet.

"I suppose that's what I should have expected? What both of you do. If people don't bow down to you, you make them. You say Ozpin is a tyrant, I see nothing different in you. You both choose to rule through fear. You can't even accept me questioning you. What do you do when someone disobeys you? Kill them, torture them? Go on, give me your best shot. I can take it."

Yang had passed entirely beyond reason. She didn't care that Cinder's warning had bypassed her Aura almost as if it wasn't there, or that Cinder had killed three Tinmen without breaking a sweat. Her anger had burned all logical thoughts from her mind and turned her eyes red.

She found herself staring into a mirror. "Calm down." Raven grasped her upper arms in a strong grip. "You need to calm down. Look at me. Look at me!" Raven found that telling an enraged person to calm down did not yield results. Yang bucked from her.

It was another voice that managed to penetrate through the depths of her rage. "Yang, stop," Blake said breathlessly, climbing to her feet. The red on the edges of Yang's vision seeped away. It had been years since she'd properly lost herself to her anger. She thought herself beyond it. Now she knew better. She hadn't changed. She'd just gotten better at hiding the part of herself that she hated.

Yang forced herself to speak calmly. "Are you ok?" Any normal, rational person would have answered 'no'. They would have said their ribs were broken, that they could barely stand, barely breathe, that they were in agony. Blake wasn't a normal person though.

"Yeah." She even managed to smile. Her face might have been pale and devoid of blood, but she positioned herself at Yang's shoulder. An unquestionable statement of her loyalty.

Cinder watched them with a neutral expression. She showed no remorse or guilt for the attack, even under the furious gaze of her daughter. "Do not force my hand again. Speak like a civilised being, or you will be silenced."

A bully always found a way to blame someone else. It was her fault she'd been attacked, not Cinder's. Yang took a deep breath and made sure she had the reins of her temper firmly in hand. "Fine then. Let's have a discussion. You murdered thousands when you gave Vale to the White Fang. Not Ozpin, you. Everyone who has died since then can be traced back to you. You make me sick."

Cinder's eyes narrowed at the insult. "And you are oversimplifying things like the child you are. Your scope of knowledge barely stretched beyond the grounds of Beacon. You did not see what was coming. Blake may have. You did not.

"So yes. Thousands died in the fall of Vale. Their deaths were regrettable, but they were necessary. How many had the White Fang killed up to that point in their guerrilla war? How many bombs had they planted? And how many had died in the reprisal attacks? Thousands may have died in Vale, but thousands had been dying before that, and would have continued to do so. I acted for the greater good. If the Faunus had their own city, there was a chance to peace."

"It's not just numbers though!" Blake exclaimed. "They were people. Real people. With real lives. Real families. You can't just come up with two values and say one is better."

"Can I not? Is that not what life is? When a bank forecloses on a home they account for the debt owed against what could be recovered. They don't care about who lives within. When you were sent out on your missions against the Grimm as students, did you really believe those were the only people who needed help? Your teachers made a judgement call. They looked at the numbers and decided where you could do the most good, leaving others defenceless.

"As you continue to bring up when you were defending Vale from the Grimm, did you fight every single beast you saw? Did you stay on the streets until you dropped from exhaustion? If you had, you wouldn't be here. You made a judgement call. You chose one life over another, in that case yours, and you were quite right to make it.

"The world is harsh and cruel. I have seen those decisions made countless times. I have been forced to make them where my inaction would only have resulted in all perishing. Life is not simple, nor is it fair. You need to learn that."

She was damn right it wasn't fair. The memories of Vale still haunted Yang. She'd had to make those decisions. She'd seen two people down separate streets needing her help and had only been able to get to one of them. She'd had a split second, but she'd still weighed up one life against another, and decided. And as the light had faded she'd chosen to listen to the aches of her own body rather than the cries of the people who had still needed help. The world was not fair. Yang knew that only too well, but it didn't mean that anyone should accept it.

"Surely you have the power to change that."

"If you believe that you are fool. I may have powers beyond your understanding, but I cannot change human nature. We have spent millennia trying. It is a hopeless fight. People are people. They can display great acts of kindness, courage, love, and in the next moment they are acting in the most barbaric ways imaginable. I have seen soldiers rape and slaughter their way through cities, only to return to their families and kiss their wives and children on their cheeks while crying uncontrollably. Humanity is beyond understanding. We ensured their survival, but failed time and time again to change their nature."

It was such a pessimistic view. One that utterly downplayed anything that Yang had once thought worth fighting for. If the world was never destined to be a better place, what was the point? Surely Cinder had more experience than her. Better understood the futility of what she'd once thought as her altruistic actions.

Yang only had to look at what had happened in the world over the past two years. Sure, Cinder and Ozpin had been behind the conflicts, but they hadn't been the ones pulling the majority of the triggers. They had been pulled by people, normal people, people obeying orders, or acting for their own fulfilment. Even now with the world in a state of tentative peace, no one argued against the injustices that were still being carried out. Perhaps it was hopeless to try and change the fundamental nature of humanity.

"But that doesn't mean we should stop trying," Blake said.

"No, child, it should not," Cinder answered. "It has always been our goal to create a utopia for society to thrive in. One in which the Grimm are nothing but a distant and irrelevant fear. One where there is no conflict, no war, no crime, no discrimination against those who are different. Perhaps we were too ambitious, but you should never change your dreams based on what is possible."

A paradise. One where hunters would be unneeded. Where people would not have to live in fear. It was a fantasy that Yang could throw her weight behind, but it was only a fantasy. She knew more than enough to know it would never happen. There would always be those who sought to change the perfect world to make it just a little more perfect for them.

"You keep saying 'we'. Just who are you talking about? You and Ozpin?" Blake asked.

"Among others. We number seven, though we are now fractured in our purpose."

Seven. It had always been regarded as a magical number. Yang wasn't surprised to learn that there were seven gods who walked Remnant. "Who are the rest?"

"That is information that is not pertinent to you at this time. If you choose to join me, you may meet them. It is now time to make the choice that I once gave Raven and the others in my service. I have given you far more explanation than I gave them. I will bring down Ozpin. You must decide which side of the conflict you are on."

Yang wasn't convinced. She'd been bought by pretty lies before. Ozpin had once stood before his students and exclaimed their virtues as hunters, only for them now to have been corrupted. She had no doubt that, if required, Cinder would do exactly the same.

All Yang wanted to do was to say no. To walk from this place, go back to their apartment, go to sleep, and then pick up another contract. To bury her head in the sand. Just like everybody else was doing. Passivity in the presence of wrong was synonymous to condoning it. She'd tried. She'd been doing it for the past two years. By hiding she'd told the world it was right that she was a criminal, a traitor, that she didn't even know if Ruby was alive. She had no leg to stand upon railing at the injustices of the world if she didn't make a stand against them first.

She could do that here. Cinder was giving her a chance to once again be part of something bigger than herself, but she wouldn't be part of it on Cinder's terms.

"I want to stop Ozpin. I want to make the world right. But not like you do."

"Then you wish to do nothing."

"I didn't say that."

"And yet you believe that you can remain aloof from what is happening. Tell me, what do you think the reasoning is behind Ozpin's altruistic actions against the Grimm?"

Yang was caught off-balance. She hadn't really thought that Ozpin had any goal between consolidating his powerbase.

"He's been trying to provoke Vacuo," Blake said and Cinder gave her a reappraising look. Yang turned to her too; all the time they'd spent together Blake had never mentioned that.

"Impressive deduction, and quite right. Perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye after all. Ozpin has spent the last two years driving both Grimm and what he considers criminals into Vacuo, deliberately not pursuing them past the border. To the people of Vale, Vacuo has become known as a safe haven that refuses to extradite those who have broken the law. As for the Vacuans, Vale might be safe from Grimm, but Vacuo is more dangerous than ever. Public sentiment has turned hostile.

"Couple this with Vale building up its military, ignoring the treaty drafted at the end of the Great War, there is only one logical outcome. Ozpin was playing King Badr, as well as the Council. He wishes to rule the world, but after the massacre of the White Fang he can't risk being seen as the aggressor. If there was an unprovoked attack on the settlements on the borders of Vale, the public would clamour for retaliation.

"It is a trap that the king would have fallen for. He listens far too much to his foolish advisors. He was but hours away from declaring war before I persuaded him otherwise. He will not be a problem, but the same cannot be said for his Satraps. They are the ones who have to foot the majority of the bill for the damage the Grimm are doing, and listen to the complaints of those they rule. That is the entire reason I am in Airtafae, to persuade Aatish not to take matters into his own hands. Ozpin is looking for the smallest excuse. I am trying to prevent a war."

Spelled out like that Yang began to make her own connections. Vacuo needed the hunters who had found their way here, without them they wouldn't have been able to cope with the influx of Grimm. Wherever her contracts had taken her, everyone mentioned that the Grimm never used to be as active in the lands they had lived in for their entire lives. Vacuo simply couldn't have afforded to extradite the rogue hunters even if they'd wanted to. All of these circumstances were a tinderbox just waiting to catch.

"And make no mistake, the war would end with Ozpin adding Vacuo to his fledgling Empire. He is an exemplary general and tactician. And that is with or without Atlesian assistance. It is shame you broke ties with the Schnee girl."

Weiss. Yang hadn't thought of her in a while. When she did anger was the only emotion she could summon. If not for her, Ruby would be safe, not lost in whatever corner of the cruel world she'd ended up in. Yang honestly hated her. What she'd done was unforgivable. If they were talking about the girl they'd shared a room with she could have said Weiss would never take part in a war. But that Weiss had been a lie. She already had one brutal war to her name, what was one more?

"It would be beneficial if you repair them. Ozpin once had Atlas in an iron grip, and though he thinks he still does, I believe there is room for manoeuvre there. Regardless, I am getting ahead of myself. I'm only asking you to help me save all the innocents who will die if Ozpin is left unopposed."

Put like that it would have been an easy decision if Yang wasn't so jaded. She could count the number of people she trusted these days on one hand. She had held no illusion that Cinder was telling her the whole truth, only enough to make her own cause appear righteous.

"I will work with you, on one condition." Yang noticed Cinder's eyes narrow, but she didn't care.

"This will not be a partnership. You will be working for me. I expect you to obey."

Servitude. Yang had expected at much, but few could say they were entirely free to make their choices. She could accept being given orders, there was nothing to say she had to carry them out.

"Fine, but there is still my condition."

"And it is?"

"I want to stop Ozpin, stop this war you both think is coming, but I won't put civilians in danger to achieve it. I'm not going to play the numbers game. If you put me in that scenario, I will try to stop you as much as try to stop him."

"Me too." Yang's resolve was stiffened by Blake's declaration.

"Have you listened to nothing I have said?"

"I listened to it all. You just failed to persuade me. There is another way. There always has to be."

"My ultimate goal is to avoid a conflict. You do not wish to endanger civilians, but what about fighting the Grimm?"

"That…" Yang exchanged a glance with Blake, "would be fine. I don't see how that helps though."

"Nor should you at this time." Yang didn't much like being kept in the dark, but she'd had plenty of experience of it. "Where do the rest of your allegiances fall?"

"With Yang of course." Taiyang was quick to answer. There had been no real doubt in any of their minds. He wouldn't let his daughter go into this without his protection.

Qrow to slower to answer. "I'm not going to beat around the bush. I don't like you. I'm not even sure I believe you about all of this, it's crazy, but you've persuaded Yang and my sister. I don't have much of a choice. I will be at their backs for as long as they need me there."

"I am not seeking your friendship, only your obedience."

"And for the time being, I'll be a good boy and do as I'm told." Yang somehow doubted that. Qrow made no effort to hide his disdain. He was even worse than her at learning lessons.

Cinder nostrils flared as she took in a deep breath, obviously debating whether to punish his insolence. "Make sure that you do. That goes for all of you. I do not accept mistakes, and rarely offer second chances. I will expect you in the morning, but I'm sure you have a lot to process. You may remain under my protection within the palace, or Raven can convey you to your residence."

None of them needed to speak to make that choice. They needed to talk, freely, and they wouldn't be able to do that with Cinder in the next room. Seeing their decision made Cinder nodded at Raven. She might still have been injured, but a portal opened. Yang stepped through without a backwards glance.


Yang stared up at the dimly lit ceiling. Her bedroom had no window, it was buried deep within the cliffs, but the light emanated from a simulacrum of one. She'd never liked sleeping in the pitch black. Though all her eyes could do now was roam.

There was simply too much buzzing around her head for sleep to be anything more than a distant wish. Her muscles hurt from the fight, and fatigue was biting deep into her, but she couldn't fall into unconsciousness.

The return to their apartment had been hectic. Taiyang and Qrow had rushed in, determined to clear the rooms of any potential dangers. Blake had passed out the moment she'd entered the portal; between her injuries, depleted Aura, and their unique mode of transportation, her body had had enough. Yang had only narrowly managed to catch her partner as she collapsed.

With the apartment clear, they'd spent the next hour bandaging their wounded ̶ ̶ getting the unconscious Faunus to bed ̶ ̶ and going over what they'd learned, questioning Raven as to the truth of it, and what they'd committed themselves to. Finally Taiyang had suggested they were all far too tired to concentrate.

Yang had been. She'd quickly showered to wash away the blood and sweat before collapsing into bed, certain she'd pass out the moment her head hit the pillows. That had been over an hour ago.

There was a soft knock at her door. "Yang, are you awake?" Raven called through it.

"Yeah," Yang sighed putting the prospect of sleep out of her mind and pushing herself up onto an elbow.

The handle turned and Raven entered. Along with tending her wounds, Yang had lent her a dress. It fit almost perfectly. The pair of them had nearly identical figures. She hesitated before gesturing at the bed. "May I sit?"

"Course," Yang shifted her legs over, clearing a space.

Raven lowered herself to the quilt, ensuring that her dress didn't crumple beneath her. Yang had expected her to start speaking, but Raven remained silent, mulling something over in her mind.

"Did you want anything?" Yang attempted to lead her. She knew just how awkward Raven could be around people.

"Umm… yes. After everything that happened today I feel that I owe you an explanation. A proper one. Before you say anything, I need to speak and I'm not very good at doing that any more. I'd ask you to listen first."

Yang nodded, remaining silent. In her gut she could feel where this conversation was heading. Raven didn't look at her. She stared out of the imitation window.

"I… I wanted to tell you about it all for so long, but my mother made me promise not to. She used the same argument she always had. That you were safer not knowing, and as I always had I agreed. I didn't want to put you in any more danger, but I should have understood that you're old enough to make your own decisions. It's not my right to make them for you." Raven met her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Yang was about to open her mouth when Raven started speaking again.

"I should have been stronger. But I'm not. I've never been strong. I always relied on Qrow for that, or Summer, or Tai. They always gave me a shoulder to lean upon if I needed it. I didn't have that, don't have it anymore. Mother is… how she is. She expects obedience most of all. I've never been able to stand up to her. She knows so much, and just manages to make all my arguments fallacies. She always manages to persuade me, and I just end up agreeing with her…"

Raven returned to staring out the window. Even in the dim light, the small shimmering tears were visible at the corner of her eyes.

"I know I sound as if I'm making excuses. I'm not. I'm aware now that there are no excuses. Nothing that justifies what I did to you, but I want to explain it. I owe you that much." She took a deep breath. "When I found out that I was pregnant with you, I was a little scared yes, I knew my life was going to change, I wasn't going to be able to be a hunter anymore, but just like Tai I was over the moon. You were going to be my special prince or princess. We used to spend hours just hoping for you to move, to kick, I never loved anything so much…" Raven's voice broke and the tears began to flow in earnest. Yang's own mouth was dry, and a lump had formed in her throat. Her dad had never told her anything, never wanting to bring up the memories.

With a swallow Raven started speaking again. "I was so happy in those days. Painting your room, buying your clothes, planning everything to make it perfect for you. Summer helped me so much. She was there whenever I needed her, and she was there when I went into labour. The birth was easy, much easier than most. You just couldn't wait to start exploring the world." Yang gulped and Raven smiled.

"You were there, so perfect, with the tiniest little hands and feet I'd ever seen. You were so beautiful. Summer was crying as she dried you off and laid you on my breast, and when I looked down at my perfect little baby girl, do you know what I felt?" Raven's face crumpled. "Nothing. I'd been looking forward to that moment for months, and I felt nothing.

"There was nothing wrong with you, you were perfect, but I felt nothing. When Summer called him Tai rushed in, took you in his arms, and he started crying as well. He wasn't… hollow. I was the only one who couldn't see you for what you were."

This was almost more information than Yang wanted to here. Old wounds were being crisscrossed with new ones. She didn't want to know that her mother had felt nothing for her.

"Everyone was so happy, Tai kept bursting into song, Qrow didn't want to leave, and through it all there was a cloud hovering over me. I tried, I really did. When I fed you I willed myself feeling something, for a bond to form between us, but it never did. Summer assured me it was normal, that most mothers go through it in the first couple of weeks. I didn't believe her, and it didn't pass.

"It was then that I started to believe I had no right being a mother. You were perfect, and I could barely bring myself to be in the same room as you. I was so tired I could hardly get out of bed to feed you. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I saw how Tai handled you, how Summer did, and Qrow, but I just couldn't do the same. I began to think that you might have been better off without me.

"And then in the midst of all that, my mother came to me, convinced me of who she was. I don't think she knew about you at first, but when she did she told me what had happened to her. I couldn't put you in that much danger. If Ozpin found out about me there was chance he wouldn't have gone after you if he thought I didn't care. I wanted you to be happy. I wanted all of you to be. Tai, Summer, Qrow, they would have tried to defend you, and they would have died. All because of me.

"Tai was a great dad, and Summer… she'd been a far better mother than I ever could have been. Changing you, singing to you, doing everything I should have been but couldn't. You were better off with them, without me. I hated what I did, but I did it for you.

"I was depressed. I know that's not an excuse. I failed you in every way imaginable, but it's what happened. It was only after, that I realised just what I'd abandoned, but… by then it was too late. Tai was your dad and… Summer was you mum. I couldn't go back, show my face. I was too ashamed, and by then I'd seen some of the truth behind what Ozpin was. I couldn't sacrifice your childhood just to fulfil my own desires. You were right. I am a terrible person. I came to realise that I loved you, so much that it hurt, you were my perfect daughter, and I'd pushed you away." Raven trailed off.

Yang breathed. She concentrated on doing that, focussed on bringing air to her lungs and then exhaling it. It was the only way she could remain conscious as her mind stumbled under the deluge of new information. Raven had just laid her soul bare.

For the first time Yang had a version of events that led to being abandoned larger than just 'Raven left.' She didn't know if her dad had been right to keep it from her. It had been easier not knowing. The woman who'd given birth to her had felt nothing towards her. That hurt. The one facet of life that should have been assured is the love of parents. She'd experienced that from her mum and dad, but still.

At least she had part of an explanation though. Postnatal depression wasn't exotic, it wasn't an excuse, but it did explain how Raven could claim to love her so much now. If Raven had really been suffering, and it sounded like she had, then learning about her true parentage on top of it might just have pushed her over the edge. Raven might have believed that she was better off leaving her daughter. That it was safer, but there was one thing Yang wanted to know.

"Why didn't you come back?" She was barely able to recognise her own voice, so bloated was it with emotion.

Raven flinched at the accusation. "I told you. I've never been strong. I'd done the damage. Summer was your mum. Even if I came back, I couldn't have been. It… it was easier not to face it, to leave you happy."

"But I wasn't happy. After mum died, dad went off the rails. I needed someone then." Raven still stared at the ground. "Look at me!"

With trepidation that was plain Raven met her eyes. The sorrow and pain with them was real. "Yang… I don't know what to say. I have nothing which will absolve me. After Summer… it hurt more than ever. I stopped checking. I left. I went to another continent. And you might have needed someone, but that someone wasn't the woman who'd abandoned you in your crib, someone trying to replace your mum."

There was truth in those words. Yang didn't know just how she would have reacted to Raven appearing when she'd already been in so much pain.

"It was only years later that I managed to find the strength to check again. You were at Signal, you were doing well. And then at Beacon, you and Summer's daughter thriving. I couldn't get involved, especially not right under Ozpin's nose. It was only when you were on the train that I couldn't run away longer, and then again in the courthouse, and I suppose that leads us here.

"That's it Yang. That's all my sordid secrets. You know it all. And you know how sorry I am. And I know that you can't forgive me. It's ok. I'll never be able to forgive myself."

Neither would Yang. An apology now didn't undo eighteen years of hurt, it simply couldn't. Knowing all the facts was painful, but it at least she could now see it from Raven's perspective. Depressed, with a daughter she felt nothing for, seeing everyone else so happy, and being unable to care for her daughter in the way she should have been, having to have Summer do it for her. And then her mother returns, and says her daughter would be safer without her.

"I… I can't forgive you." Raven nodded, the streaks of tears glistening. It was the reaction she'd expected. "But… now I can at least understand. You'll never be able to get back those years. They're gone forever, for both of us, but now, with everything in the open, we can try again." Yang sniffed, she shouldn't be having a conversation of this importance while lying in her bed.

"Really?" Raven barely dared to breathe.

"Yes. We've made a start over the past two years. We just have to keep going. I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but… I'd like you to be in mine."

"I'd like that too."

The pair of them stared at each other. Yang's heart was pulsing in her chest. Raven would never be her mum, but she could be something in her life. Raven's crimson eyes were alight with hope. The moment was broken when Yang yawned her fatigue, both physical, and now mental, catching up with her.

"I really need to sleep. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, I suppose." There was a heartbeat when Yang sensed Raven was considering trying to hug her, but then it passed. She stood up. "Goodnight Yang."

Yang yawned again, settling back down on her pillows. "Goodnight." Raven had started towards the door when an idea came to Yang's mind and, as she so often did, she vocalised it without proper thought. "Do you want to tuck me in?"

It was ridiculous. She was a twenty-year-old huntress, not a toddler, but she wanted Raven to experience something to cement this night in her mind. Not to mention how she just wanted the security that was inherent through childhood again.

If anything her question only made Raven cry more, but she did turn back and slowly walk forward. With great tenderness she grasped the top of the white quilt and pulled it up to Yang's chin, smoothing it down over her body. This close the scent of shower gel and shampoo wafted over Yang. Raven brushed aside the few locks of hair obscuring Yang's eyes, before leaning down and kissing her daughter on the forehead. "Sleep well," she whispered. Inside her carefully constructed cocoon Yang began to feel warmth, and it wasn't due her body temperature.

On silent feet Raven padded from the room, it was only at the door that Yang's voice stopped her. "Do you know where we'll be going?"

Raven kept her voice soft. "We should only be here for a few more days, and then we'll head back to the capital. And after that… Menagerie."

A/N: So there was an awful lot of information, justification, and reflection in this chapter. Whether you agree with Cinder's reasoning in comparison to Ozpin's is up to you. We also finally got the whole story about Raven. As usual it is a sad tale of unfortunate circumstance.

This storyline was actually put into motion before the show revealed that Raven was Qrow's sister. I was originally working off the assumption that he was Summer's brother, and taught his niece how to fight. So there had to be a crude work around. I hope it seemed plausible.

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