"T-t-there it is," Ruby muttered, her teeth chattering loudly. "T-the c-cat-like m-m-mountain. S-see, it h-has c-cat e-ears? Like B-blake?"

"I see it," Weiss nodded, a vaguely amused smile on her lips. "It doesn't look anything like Blake."

"Y-you know what I m-meant…"

Weiss frowned and looked back at her companion. The air around them was lighter, protected from the blizzard by her magic, but still, Ruby was shivering constantly. She showed little skin, her cloak and scarf covering most of her, except for her face.

"Do you need a break?" Weiss asked worriedly. "We can find a place to rest nearby, where the wind won't get to you."

"N-no, I'm fine," Ruby shook her head determinedly. "We're almost there. Just a couple m-more hours."

"Alright. But if you begin to feel like you're going to faint…" The exiled queen looked away. "Call my name. Understood?"

"Y-yes…"

Weiss nodded, and they resumed their trek through the blizzard.

The cavern walls of Nora's laboratory reverberated as she brought her hammer down on her working table time after time, slowly giving shape to her latest invention.

Metal wings… They probably wouldn't work. Not only were they too rigid to properly imitate a bird's movements, there was also the issue of weight. She doubted anyone would be light enough to lift themselves off the ground for more than a few seconds.

And that worried her. Nora never doubted her inventions. Never. If she had an idea, she couldn't stop trying to make it work until it finally did. But now… now she was distracted. There was something much more important on her mind than impractical metal wings.

"Mom?"

The inventor turned around and lifted her goggles from her eyes. Penny stood before her, hands joined behind her back, with an inquisitive expression on her face.

"Yes, sweetie?" Nora asked, mustering her regular, upbeat tone of voice. "Do you need something? I've got some candy here somewhere, I think I put it in the weapon stash – probably not the safest thing ever, but it sounds fun, right?"

"I don't want candy. You look stressed," Penny cocked her head slightly. "Is it about Yang?"

"What – How did you know?" Nora narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Did you develop super intelligence on your own or something? Because that would be pretty cool…"

Penny crossed her arms and kept staring at her. Nora sighed. For a little girl, Penny sure knew how to pressure people into speaking their minds.

"Alright. I'm worried about her," Nora confessed. "It's been almost a week since she left, and she didn't even eat anything before. Yeah, she's warm and all, but she can still freeze out there, if she's not careful."

"Well, I'm sure she knows that!" Penny smiled. "She'll come back soon!"

"…Yeah, you're right, sweetie. I'm just being silly."

Nora didn't have it in her to explain that, sometimes, things were not as simple as they should be. That, sometimes… people just lose the will to care about their own well-being.

"I could go looking for her!" Penny suggested eagerly. "I'd be fine out there, right? The cold doesn't affect me that much."

"No, Penny, you can't do that!" Nora's eyes widened in horror. "Your joints could get frozen, or your inner circuitry could shatter, or… Just no! We're not talking about this!"

"But, mom-"

"No. Just because you're… different, doesn't mean you have to risk your own life for others," Nora interrupted, her voice uncharacteristically stern. "You're forbidden of going outside the house," her gaze softened. "How about you find your father? Wasn't he going to bake us a cake? A chocolate cake… Yummy…"

"…Alright…"

Nora sighed before turning back to her work table. She hated talking about Penny's unique… being in front of her, much less with her. And taking that tone… She hoped she never would have to do that again.

She looked down at her unfinished invention and pursed her lips. Maybe… Maybe there was some way to make this work. Some way that would help cheer up her little metal girl…

Humans weren't meant to fly… but they also weren't meant to be constructed…

Traveling through the plains wasn't as hard as Weiss had expected. It wasn't confusing, it was just… exhausting. The cold didn't affect her, but her feet were weary from drudging through the tall snow, and her vision was irritated from staring into the vast white horizon.

At least they had landmark to keep them on their path, as Ruby had promised, though she would have missed of them if not for the redhead's help. Odd-looking trees, rock formations with funny shapes, crumbled and snowed-in watchtowers… Weiss was beginning to realize she had seen little of her own kingdom. She would need to correct that later.

"Ruby, do you go out here often?" She asked loudly. Seconds passed with no answer. "…Ruby?"

She looked back. Ruby had stopped walking and was now almost outside the reach of Weiss' magic, wavering where she stood. As distant as they were, Weiss noticed how glassy Ruby's eyes were.

"Ruby!"

Weiss sprinted towards the redhead, barely managing to catch her before she toppled to the ground. The white-haired girl looked around hastily, gritting her teeth in panic. Seeing no other option, she rushed forward, hoping to spot Nora Valkyrie's house nearby.

She didn't have such luck, but she did find a natural cove on the foot of a hill. It was small, having barely enough space for the two of them, but the wind didn't reach it. Weiss set Ruby down against a wall and kneeled, hands trembling with fear.

Ruby's lips were blue, and her breath came in infrequent bursts. Weiss had been sheltered all her life, but she couldn't misinterpret the signs before her. Hypothermia, or the Cold, as the commoners called it. It wasn't unusual, especially in Vale, Weiss knew, but the Castle had always been warm, so she had never seen it in person.

She had no way to tell for sure, but it looked like a severe case. What was she supposed to do? Her magic should be helping somewhat, but Ruby didn't seem to be getting better. Weiss leaned forward and pressed her ear against Ruby's chest. Thankfully, her heart was beating, but very, very faintly.

Ruby's hands rose slightly and closed around Weiss's arms. The royal froze, thinking she had done something wrong.

"C-cold…"

Weiss stared at Ruby with a mixture of shock and relief. Carefully, she sat beside the redhead and wrapped her arms around her. Ruby shuffled closer and clung to her, burying her head between her neck and her shoulder.

"Is this… good?" Weiss whispered. "I'm… I'm not that warm, am I? I'm probably making it worse."

Ruby shook her head and somehow managed to cling to her even more tightly.

"I'm sorry about this. I should have been paying more attention to you," Weiss said quietly. "Instead, I got lost in thoughts. I… used to dream about seeing the rest of Vale. Maybe travel the world, if possible. But Winter said it wasn't safe, and that I needed to study and… prepare myself for…" She paused. "I hated her. I thought she was taking her anger out on me, because our parents died. As if she wanted to die so I would take her place. How selfish and stupid I was…"

Weiss looked at the ceiling to avoid the tears emerging in her eyes.

"I'm sorry. You must hate me right now. Look at you, almost dying, and I'm sitting here, whining," she shook her head and tried to close as much space between the two of them as possible. Not for the first time, she cursed her inherited magic. "I'm not going to lie, Ruby. When we first met, I thought of you as a bother. Yes, you were rather impressive, when you actually did your job, but…"

Weiss faltered. It felt like her throat was closing up, fighting against the words she wanted to say. She like to think she wasn't the same petty princess from before, but it seemed like change did not come all at once. It was a long process, like a stair of a thousand narrow steps, where one slip-up would take her back to the beginning.

"I… By all rights, I should have fired you, probably have you punished for how many times I almost died under your protection. Yet I never wanted to do that, because from the very beginning, I felt like… Like you were a friend. You actually cared about me. I didn't want to lose you."

"W-Weiss…" Ruby managed to utter, chattering teeth and all.

"Don't waste your energy," Weiss' brow furrowed in concern. "You need to keep your energy. Stay still, get warm… as warm as you can get. I won't let anything bad happen to you. Let me protect you, for once."

Ruby nodded weakly and closed her eyes. Her shaking had lessened considerably as Weiss talked, and now the queen could feel some warmth coming from her unlikely companion.

"Do you mind if I… sleep…?"

"No," Weiss raised an eyebrow at her. "As long as you don't snore."

"Hmm… Alright…" Ruby's lips curved slightly. "You're the best… princess… ever…"

Weiss bit her lip, thinking to correct on Ruby's mistake. She wasn't a princess anymore. But instead, she just ran a hand through the redhead's hair and waited for her to fall asleep.

Yang's vision was black and red as she stood in the plains, fire swirling around her like a living inferno under her command. Shadows surged around her, dozens upon dozens of Grimm attracted to her hatred and sorrow, like moths to a flame.

She thrust her fists, unleashing her fiery wrath upon them. Ashes scattered in the snow, but she had no time to appreciate that, as the horde jumped at her. Like a beast from hell, she fought back, a mess of punches and kicks that destroyed anything that came within her reach.

Her thoughts and awareness had disappeared many days ago, leaving nothing behind except for her bestial self. Even during daytime, she felt the Moon's power flowing through her body. There was nothing more, now, only herself and the fire coursing through her veins.

The Grimm onslaught halted for a moment, their number no doubt dwindled from her remaining presence in the plains. If she were in her right mind, she would be happy that she was helping making the world a safer place, but currently, she was just happy to have an outlet for her rage.

A shadow appeared behind her, and Yang turned around instinctively. She closed a hand around the creature's arm and pulled, growling ferociously. An odd noise reached her ears, like metal ripping apart, but she only vaguely took notice of it.

Yet the scream after that shook her up greatly.

"What?"

Yang blinked, clearing her vision… but nothing was there, except for a strange black pool in the snow. Blood? No. What was that?

Like a plague, the Grimm reappeared, closing in around her. Yang clenched her fists and grit her teeth. Flames ignited around her.

And, just like that, she was back in the fight.

Weiss narrowed her eyes as she fought her way through the snow, trying to make out anything in the bleak terrain in front of her. Had everything always been so white before, or had the weather gotten worse? She could hardly make anything out except for a few dead trees' husks and patches of gray rocks.

She cursed quietly, regretting her decision to not wake Ruby up. Somehow, neither the blizzard nor her moving had woken Ruby up, and she was still sleeping soundly in Weiss' arms. The redhead was light – scarily so. It was almost as if Weiss was carrying nothing at all.

Sometime after Ruby had fallen asleep, Weiss had decided to move on, for while it was definitely much safer and warmer in the cave, they would have to leave it eventually. They had no food, and Weiss feared what would happen if Ruby didn't get somewhere that was actually warm.

The royal stopped suddenly as she spotted something in the ground in front of her. The snow was tainted black in several spots. At first glance, Weiss thought it was blood, but upon further examination, she realized it was something else. The substance was too dark and greasy to be blood.

It couldn't be… oil?

Nevertheless, it was the first thing to stick out to her since she'd left the cave, so Weiss was more than inclined to follow its tracks. The liquid made a fine trail, rising higher and higher on bumpy hills, until Weiss found herself standing atop one of them. She stood on the tip of her toes, examining the horizon…

Her heart skipped a beat as she finally caught sight of a large cabin not too far from her. It couldn't be more than a few minutes' walk. The only reason she hadn't spotted it sooner was because of the damn blizzard cutting her vision short, but that wasn't a problem anymore because of her position.

Her relief was quickly replaced by fright as she heard a roar somewhere behind her. Weiss jumped and turned around. A swirling burst of fire cut through the blizzard, rising high to the sky, like the fireworks people sometimes lit in festivals. Yet this was different. The fire was uncontrollable, fierce, and Weiss did not doubt for a moment that it would have burned her to a crisp had she been closer to its origin.

Gritting her teeth, Weiss held Ruby with more force and took off towards the cabin. She couldn't run, and more than once she almost twisted her ankle, but she wasn't about to wait around and get killed by another sudden fire.

Her hold on her magic dwindled as she exerted her body. A few specks of snow made it through her invisible barrier and fell upon her and Ruby. The redhead blinked and looked around confusedly, then sneezed as a snowflake found its place on the tip of her nose.

"Bloody Moon, Ruby, don't do that!" Weiss shrieked as she almost lost her balance. "We're almost there!"

"W-what?!" Ruby exclaimed. "Where a-are we?!"

"Do I need to repeat myself?!"

Another burst of fire occurred behind them, its light reflecting faintly on the snow before them. Ruby's eyes widened, but a moment later, that surprise was replaced by concern.

"Weiss, I t-think-"

"Do you think you can stand the cold for a few minutes?" Weiss interrupted hastily. "If I let go of my magic completely, I might be able to run faster. It's risky, but not as much as being near whatever's happening back there."

"But…" Ruby frowned. "Put me on my feet. I-I'll carry you."

"Are you mad? You're in no condition to run," Weiss glared at her. "Don't you dare protest. I might not be your liege officially, but…!"

After a moment of hesitation, Ruby nodded her understanding. Weiss dropped her magic, and the blizzard hit them like an ocean wave, almost knocking the royal down on her back. She stood for a moment, getting used to the new feeling, before sprinting. As planned, she was moving much faster now without the toll of her magic, even with the blizzard fighting her like an alive obstacle.

A few moments later, they reached the cabin's porch, and Weiss all but crashed against its door, producing a loud cracking noise. Ruby went rolling on the floor as Weiss fell on her back, cursing herself and her carelessness.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted. "Are you hurt?!"

She tried to get up, but as soon as she put her weight on one leg, she tumbled to the ground, hissing in pain. Weiss jumped to her feet and raised her up, wrapping one of her arms around Ruby's shoulders to help her stand. She raised her free arm to knock on the door, but before she could finish that action, it opened and a young man stepped outside.

"What is…" His words died in his mouth as he looked at Ruby, then Weiss, then back to Ruby. "Ruby?"

"Yeah," Ruby gulped. "N-nice to see you, Ren."

"You can exchange pleasantries later. She needs to get warmed up now," Weiss said aggressively, almost as if she feared he would refuse to help. "That's an order."

"Alright…?" His tone was a tad confused, but he took a step back and gestured inside anyway. "Come in. I apologize for… Well, you've come at a bad time. Though I suppose ghosts mustn't have a good sense of…" He paused. "Come, quickly."

He closed the door after they entered, then guided them to another room, with a well-burning fireplace and cushioned sofas. Weiss set Ruby down on one of them, giving little attention to her surroundings. Only once the Reaper was comfortable did she look around, and when she did, she nearly shouted in horror.

Sitting on the sofa across from them was a woman around Ren's age, and a much younger little girl. The woman was fussing over the girl like a worried mother, which would have been an endearing sight, if not for the fact that the kid was missing her right arm. If that wasn't disturbing enough, blood wasn't pouring out of the injury.

"Oil," Weiss said breathlessly. "What… What the hell is going on here?!"

"What?" The woman blinked and looked at her. "Oh. Hi. I'm Nora. This is Penny. We're a little busy right now."

"Evidently," Weiss agreed, mortified. "How…? Why?"

Nora sighed in frustration, and for a moment, Weiss thought she would lunge and attack her. But the orange-haired woman's eyes wandered over her, and soon found Ruby.

"What!" Nora bellowed and jumped up the sofa.

"Hi." Ruby said awkwardly.

"Salutations!" Penny piped up cheerfully, lifting her destroyed arm, which caused a heavy drop of oil to hit Nora's face. "Oops. Sorry."

"How are you alive?" Nora asked, completely ignoring the liquid oozing down her face.

"How is that girl not dead right now?" Weiss rebutted and pointed at Penny.

Penny looked away, as if she was ashamed. Nora shook her head and, at a loss for words, turned to examined the girl's injury again. Len cleared his throat and stepped closer to Weiss and Ruby.

"As I said. A bad time," he noted. "Ruby, your sister has been living with us for a while now, but she left a week ago to… train. Or so she said. She hasn't returned, and Penny took it upon herself to go searching for her."

He shook his head sadly and sighed. Ruby looked at Penny's torn arm with a mixture of horror and despair.

"But…" She muttered. "Yang would never hurt anyone like that."

"Well, she did," Nora said bitterly. "Unless you're going to tell me a Grimm did this."

"She's fighting Grimm?!" Ruby exclaimed. "I have to find her!"

She started to lift herself up, but Weiss pushed her back down and shook her head sternly.

"You are not going anywhere," Weiss said. "I'll find your sister."

"But… Weiss!" Ruby protested meekly. "Aren't you tired?"

"No," the exiled royal lied. She took a step back and fiddled with the rapier on her hip, as if to make sure it was still there. "This is why we're here. To bring your sister back. That's I intend to do."

Weiss turned around and strode out of the room. A moment later, Ruby and the others heard the front door open and close forcefully. Snow slid down the roof and fell on the ground outside.

"So…" Nora looked back at Ruby. "How are you alive?"

Ruby groaned. Would this ever get any easier?

When Weiss ventured outside the cabin, she found a very different plain than she had been before. The monotony of white was now being broken constantly by dark blurs in the horizon. It took her a while to realize what she was seeing: Grimm upon Grimm, converging on one location at full velocity.

Most of them ignored her completely, but some sensed her presence and closed in, bearing fangs and claws. Weiss held her rapier in shaking hands, having never fought a Grimm before. When the first one lunged at her – a dark wolf that might have been twice her size – she raised her weapon in an aimless slash. The creature dropped to the floor, injured, but not defeated.

Weiss jumped back as the rest of the creatures dashed at her. In her panic, she just executed that same maneuver again and again, repelling wolf after wolf, until a different, armadillo-like monster managed to deflect her attack and tackled her to the ground.

Weiss rolled to the side, snow clouding her vision, and lifted her arms. A spire of ice formed beneath the monster, piercing it from its belly to its back. After a moment, it turned to smoke and was carried away by the blizzard.

Remembering her uncanny advantage, Weiss stood up and gestured with her arms. The wolves she had previously injured were sent flying away as blocks of heavy ice struck them and spread around their bodies. At impact or when they hit the ground, all were smoke in the end.

"Right," Weiss muttered. "I can do this."

She dropped her blizzard-proof barrier and ran through the plains. A tower of flames ignited somewhere near her, just behind a low hill. She ran towards it, thinking herself a fool, but carrying on nevertheless.

Finally, she saw the reason why all the Grimm were gathering. Someone stood in the snow, surrounded by roaring fire, as the monsters closed in. They were dispatched one by one, never stopping, clearly not realizing they had no hope of even striking their adversary.

Weiss stopped. A chill ran down her spine, and it wasn't from the cold. Suddenly, she realized why more Grimm weren't targeting her – why none of them had stopped her from arriving at the cabin before, even as she carried Ruby in her arms, driven by panic and fear. They were far more attracted to that figure, that one person who drew a horde of Grimm with only her rage.

"Xiao Long!" Weiss shouted.

Yang stopped briefly, and Weiss could swear she turned to look straight at her, before a Grimm slammed into her. The blonde got up in a heartbeat and ripped the monster apart, before screaming at the top of her lungs. A tornado of fire emerged from her, turning every Grimm around her to ash and melting the snow in the ground. Weiss lifted an arm in front of her face, feeling the heat on her skin like a furnace at full capacity.

And then, Yang began moving again, headed straight at her. Weiss cursed, realizing she had just made a big mistake. The blonde's eyes resembled two miniature suns, and for an instant, Weiss saw Cinder take her place. Terror overwhelmed her, and she turned to run.

She didn't take a third step before Yang tackled her viciously, sending her rolling on the ground painfully. Yang roared like an animal and leaped towards her, but Weiss waved a hand hurriedly, and the blizzard converged at the red-eyed girl, who crashed down with a whimper.

"Stop!" Weiss got up, panicking. She had lost her rapier during her tumble, and it was nowhere to be found now. "Xiao Long! Do you recognize me?"

"I do!"

Yang lunged at her again, but Weiss dove to the side and weaved an icy barrier between them. The blonde tried to reach her, only to be sent back with a painful bounce. Not deterred, she punched the barrier, trying to break it. Cracks started to show on the magical fabric, much to Weiss' fright. Finally, Yang swung again, this time with a fiery fist, and the barrier shattered like glass. Flames showered Weiss, but she managed to put them out before her clothes caught fire.

"Stop it right now, or I'll be forced to strike back!" Weiss warned.

"Oh, no!" Yang barked, briefly regaining her normal personality. "Don't hurt me, oh powerful Queen!"

She lifted an arm, flames swirling around her fist in preparation for a full-out attack. Weiss didn't take any chances and struck before her by manipulating the blonde's immediate vicinity. The air and snow converged around Yang, forming icy shackles on her arms and legs. She growled furiously and melted them immediately.

"Are you dumb, or did you think-"

Suddenly she was on the ground, a massive layer of solid ice covering her torso. Her ribs hurt, and breathing was difficult, almost painful. She raised the temperature of her body once again to melt the ice, but Weiss stood over, now with her rapier in hand, the tip of its blade on Yang's neck.

"I told you to stop. Are you dumb?" Weiss asked furiously. "Ruby is alive. She's back at the cabin, resting."

Yang froze as she looked up at Weiss, her eyes now violet. Tears started to form, and she clenched her fists.

"You bitch," her eyes shifted back to red. "How dare you lie about my sister!"

"I'm not lying!" Weiss exclaimed. "Do you think I want you to kill me? No. I'm here to take you back to her," she dropped her rapier and gestured at it meaningfully. "See? You could tear my head off right now, but you won't. Because I'm telling the truth."

"…Are you?"

"I swear on my life."

Yang looked away, and this time, her eyes stayed violet. Her fiery aura was gone, so Weiss took it upon herself to lift a barrier and protect her from the blizzard. She kneeled beside the blonde and brought the pommel of her rapier down on the ice encasing her torso, shattering it after a few hits.

"Are you injured?" Weiss asked. Getting no answers, she huffed and hit the blonde on the shoulder. "Answer the question."

"I'm… I'm fine," Yang blinked. "Let's go back."

"Of course, you idiot," Weiss stood up again and offered a hand. "What else would we do?"

"You're still a brat," Yang noted dryly. "…Thank you."

She took Weiss' hand and got up. Together, they walked back towards the cabin.

"Ah, damn… This is going to be really tricky…" Nora sighed. "It might take a few days to get a new arm ready, sweetie, and I'm gonna need some very specific measurements."

"That's alright!" Penny smiled. "You can take however long you need!"

Ruby smiled slightly as she watched Nora take measurements of Penny's broken arm. With the fireplace just beside her and two blankets covering her, she was feeling much, much warmer than before. Ren even brought her a cup of hot chocolate, which she gladly sat up to drink.

"You know you're kind of crazy, right, Penny?" Nora asked judgmentally. "Seriously. What did you think was going to happen when you found Yang? That would you have a tickle-fight or something?"

"No, I didn't," Penny replied shamefully. "I didn't think about it. But… tickle-fights are fun!"

"They are!" Nora agreed with a wide smile. "We're gonna have one later! Challenge accepted?!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Ruby giggled and took another sip of her drink. Ren hummed happily on his seat. The scene was almost surreal, especially after spending so much time in the harsh open. Nora and Ren were crazy parents of an artificially built child. Ruby had seen lots of strange things in her life, but this one easily took the cake.

The front door opened, and two sets of footsteps entered the house, one much louder than the other. Ren took Ruby's cup, but she didn't have time to ask him why, as suddenly she was being lifted off the couch and pressed against a warm, familiar voice.

"Ruby!" Yang said, tears streaming down her face. "Y-you're actually here!"

"Yang!" Ruby hugged her, trying her hardest not to cry just as much.

Yang put her down and stared at her face, caressing it with her hands as if to make sure her little sister was real. Her smile soured, and her eyes wavered worriedly.

"You're… you're kind of cold. And so light…" Yang turned her head to look over her shoulder. "Guess you weren't lying, after all."

Leaning on the doorframe, Weiss nodded, a little smile on her lips. Ruby's heart soared. The only thing keeping her from tackling the queen was her sister in front of her and, well, the fact that she was a queen.

"She told me what happened to you. How some Cinder Fall hag took your mom's body and is using her to rule Vale," Yang said, resorting to relaying facts so as to not make a scene. "I'm so mad! We're going to tear her in half, right?"

"Right!" Ruby nodded hesitantly. She looked at Weiss again. "How much did you tell her…?"

"I told her about where you went when you were asleep. About what happened with me and Blake. And about what we're going to do about Cinder," Weiss tilted her head meaningfully. "I left it for you to fill her in on the… finer details," she waved dismissively at the blonde. "I don't want to talk to her any more than is necessary."

"Oh, please! I know you love me, Your Highness!" Yang exclaimed.

Weiss shuffled in place, flustered, before turning her back on the room.

"You two should have some time for yourselves," she said. "Agreed?"

Ren nodded and got up, quickly exiting the room. Nora helped Penny up and began to follow. Yang's eyes widened as she looked at the young girl's torn arm.

"Oh, fuck – Penny!" Yang covered her mouth with her hands. "Did I… did I do that?"

"It's alright," Penny smiled nervously. "You weren't yourself. I'm still your friend. Right?"

"But… But… I can't…"

"Hey, you jerk! The kid wants to be friends with you!" Nora bellowed. "What kind of horrible person would deny her that?"

"A-alright… Sorry. We're friends."

Penny and Nora shuffled out of the room, followed by Weiss. Yang sat on the sofa, her face riddled with guilt. Ruby sat beside her and patted her back comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Yang. You heard what Penny said," she stated. "You weren't yourself."

"I know. It's just… I couldn't control myself. You were gone, you know? The only way for me to cope was by being… myself, I guess," Yang frowned. "I just wish Penny hadn't gotten hurt in the process."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but Yang stopped her with a hug which released almost all the air in her lungs.

"I've got you now, though," Yang whispered. "I don't have to be that way anymore. Unless it means killing Cinder, of course."

"Yeah…" Ruby said. "I… met your mother."

"You did!" Yang leaned back and looked at her expectantly. "How was she?"

Ruby hesitated, thinking of how to approach the conversation. She couldn't very well just list some of Raven's qualities, nor could she exaggerate too much. She felt Raven would like her daughter to know how she really was like.

"I thought Raven was strange, at first. She seemed really cold, like nothing really mattered to her. It seemed like the only reason she rescued me was because I might be able to go back to the real world," Ruby said carefully. "But with time I began to understand she's not like that at all. Your mom is caring, and warm, in her own way. It was hard to see. She let me do what I wanted, even stupid, dangerous stuff like explore unknown territory, but when I came back, she made sure I was fine."

"She sounds… nice." Yang noted quietly.

"Yeah. And she was really focused on her – our mission. She really wanted me to come back," Ruby said. "She said she would do anything to meet you. And she's watching," she smiled and waved near her sister's face. "Hi, Raven!"

"Ruby! Way to ruin the moment!" The blonde giggled. "Sheesh. You are still so lively, even with that big scary scythe of yours. Anything else you want to tell me?"

Ruby nearly gagged as she looked at Yang's big, inquisitive eyes. There wasn't a trace of accusation in them, but she was feeling horribly guilty, for some reason.

"I… saw memories of my mom and dad," she said. "That was nice."

"Anything special?" Yang prodded. "I'm all ears."

"Not really," Ruby shook her head slightly. "They just loved us. A lot. Oh! They used to call you a little imp, because you were always playing pranks on them."

"Yeah, that sounds just like me."

Ruby felt her throat drying, and her whole body felt cold, even though she was near the fireplace. Fear crippled her as Yang continued to stare at her, clueless as to how she was truly feeling.

The finer details, Weiss had said. Meaning family matters. A kind move, but Ruby almost preferred the queen had breached the topic herself. How was she supposed to say anything?

We're not really sisters. Your real dad enchanted your mom and killed your uncle. He tried to take you by force and killed your mom because she didn't let him. Oh, by the way, Cinder might be a relative of yours.

"Yang, we… We're…" Ruby gulped. "We're never going to be torn apart again. Alright?"

"Of course. You don't need to say it," Yang smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too."

Ruby felt tears stinging in her eyes, tears of relief, tears of happiness, tears of love.

But mostly, tears of shame.

Oh, God. Why can't I just write happy things? I seriously just ruined what should be a perfect family reunion. PLEASE I NEED A HEART TRANSPLANT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH MINE!

Also, Weiss was kind of the MVP this chapter. What a trooper. Someone give her a medal or something. (she didn't fix the heartache, though)

Sorry for the delay between this chapter and the last. I don't have a super good reason for it. Just general writing blockyness and stuff. Bleh.

-Zeroan