"Big sword, stupid mask, ugly black hair? Ringing any bells?"
"I-I," Neptune did not like the look in Yang's eyes; this girl was intimidating normally.
"Come on Neptune, it can't be that hard. Do you know where she is or not?"
"That," Neptune took a deep breath, "that's not how this works, Yang. If you have any information on wanted felons, I would be more than willing to log your statement."
"Neptune, come on! We're friends aren't we?" Yang's demeanor was closer to a barely contained bull than a friend, hovering over the blue haired Junior detective. Neptune quickly had his fill of the situation.
"Enough! What's your problem, Yang?! I told you, it isn't gonna happen so just let it go! Now, do you have anything on 'Scarlet' or not? Otherwise, you can leave my office."
"Yo Neptune, what's with th- YANG!" A ball of blonde hair scoped up the taken aback brawler, pulling her into a crushing hug.
"Sun?" Yang's anger momentarily cooled at the sight of the excited faunus, "you work here too?"
"Sure do! So, what's all the fuss about?"
Yang hesitated before smiling wickedly. Maintaining the hug with Sun, Yang reached over the desk and wrapped her remaining arm around Neptune.
"I was just wondering if you knew anything about someone called 'Scarlet'?"
Neptune realized he had slipped up, and attempted to hush Sun. Before he could protest Yang's arm constricted around him, killing his words in his throat. A dry wheeze was all he could manage as Yang smiled expectantly at Sun.
" Oh you heard about her? That case has been a real pain in the ass. We practically know she's smuggling dust out of the docks, but we can't find anything good enough for a warrant."
"Oh, that's a toughie. Well I'll let you get back to it," giving Neptune another squeeze for good measure, Yang bolted from the station.
"Well that was fast," Sun, frowning in confusion, turned to the heaving heap of his best friend. His confusion mounted as Neptune frantically pulled out his scroll. Neptune ignored his friend's questioning glance as he unsteadily found Weiss's contact info.
"Weiss! Weiss… Yeah she was just here… Yeah, Sun did," Neptune took a moment to stared pointedly at the now cowed faunus, "Why is she so worried about her… oh," Neptune ended the call before staring forlornly at Sun, "We have a problem."
Yang stalked restlessly about the docks. While Sun's info had been helpful, the docks were still shockingly large. Haven, being a major port city, had countless ships along with numerable massive warehouses. Yang wished she had pushed Sun for more specific information, as it was she would be searching for hours. However, she knew Neptune had probably spoiled any second chance she would have had to press the faunus. Frustrated, Yang prepared herself to patrolling the docks for the day.
"Why is she having us do this? This is grunt work."
Yang turned her attention to two men, each loading large crates into the back of a truck. Both were sweating profusely through flimsy t-shirts. The two were loading the last of the boxes as Yang approached.
"I'm pretty sure that makes us the grunts, Bill."
"That's not true! Scarlet said I was doing good job the other day!"
"That doesn't really make us not grunts."
"Well, my mom says we're all unique in our own way."
"Ugh. Just… just shut the hell up, Bill."
"Excuse me," Yang said happily to the bickering pair, "Did you just say Scarlet?"
The doors of the warehouse disintegrated, two unconscious lumps skidding half way into the main room. All work stopped as a young blonde with burning red eyes strolled slowly after the carnage, staring expectantly at the frozen workers around her.
"I'm looking for Scarlet. Don't suppose any of y'all know where she is?"
Slowly, the people furthest from the brawler began to reach for nearby weapons.
"Yang, They're preparing to take offensive positions," Penny declared matter-o-factly. The blonde heaved an exhausted sigh in response.
" Everybody, I swear that I would normally be perfectly happy kicking your asses for a bit. Really though, I'm kind of on a mission. If you just point me in the right direction, we can avoid a whole lot of unpleasantness," one brave individual took this moment to aim in Yang's direction, earning a sadistic smile from the girl, "Fine then. Penny?" Penny's tri- blade detached, circling slowly around the main body.
"Sorry," called the android, explosively unleashing her daggers at the unprepared mass. In under five seconds, all of the goons were incapacitated in some form or fashion. Some hung precariously from the rafters, others had simply been batted away. Penny had two suspended by their ankles, each rattling off a few shots before Penny swatted away their guns. The few rounds that landed bounced harmlessly off Yang's flared aura.
"Let's try this again. Where. Is. She."
"Yang! Release them!" A dark figure appeared at the stairs towards the far end of the warehouse, moving slowly down toward the remains of the brawl. Reluctantly, Yang told Penny to release her hold as Raven stepped out of the shadows.
"Oh hi, Scarlet," Yang's voice dripping with distaste, "I was just asking around for you. Care to explain all this?" Yang gestured to one of the boxes that had been broken in the scuffle, Dust crystals littered around them.
"Yang, you need to leave."
"Ohh no, I deserve answers. Enough of this hide and seek bullshit, Raven!"
"Yang, I am giving you one chance. Leave, and forget you came here," Raven turned and began to walk back from where she came.
"You don't get to turn your back on me! Not again!"
Raven turned back to her daughter, an exasperated smirk making her thoughts clear. Even through her mask, it was clear that her patience was wearing thin.
"Yang, please leave," a noticeable chill ran up Raven's spine, momentarily halting her thoughts, "it really is in your best interests."
"I'm not leaving!"
"Then… you give me no choice,' faster than even Penny could process, Raven covered the ground between her and Yang. A dark red katana met Yang's blistering aura ,launching Yang and leaving an angry welt even through her powerful defenses. Penny tried to parry as Yang flew through the air, but Raven evaded her easily. Sweeping between the defensive blades, Raven caught her daughter by the face and drove it into the cement floor. Raven chuckled quietly to herself as Yang rose unsteadily to her feet.
"She's really fast," Penny's voice echoed in Yang's swimming head, " I'm not sure I have the programming to keep up with her. We should think about retreating."
Penny waited expectantly for Yang's response, but the brawler merely smiled maniacally. Steadying her feet and spitting out a glob of blood, Yang began to laugh.
"Like hell, I've been waiting for this fight for years."
"Honey, you really shouldn't talk to yourself. It makes you look… off."
Raven sauntered towards her daughter, knowing that the fight was already won. If Yang weren't so headstrong, Raven was sure her gloating would have given Yang time to escape. Unfortunately she knew that neither of them was able to back down from the fight, even if their reasons were entirely different.
Yang ignored her mother's jeers, instead curling Penny into a half fist. Both knew what it meant, and Penny began to rapidly siphon and concentrate aura. The android focused her power, rapidly forming an aura grenade in the outstretched palm. Raven waited, amused, wondering what trick her daughter had cooked up.
"My, my. It certainly looks like you've been working hard. And your aura is so strong, but that's to be expected from my daughter. No wonder you took care of Adam so easily."
Yang's eyes widened at the mention, her stomach churning as memories flooded back. The pain, the recuperation, the anger. Most of all in her mind however, was the look of sadness in Blake's eyes, and two ragged cuts on her head.
"How did you know about Adam," Yang croaked. Silently, she redoubled the strength of her half fist, silently signalling Penny to draw more aura. If Raven was going to give her time to build power, she wasn't going to waste it.
"Well I don't like to brag, but I was his favorite teacher. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that."
The implications of the information washed over Yang, hazing her mind even further with rage. To be honest though, Yang had had her suspicions for awhile. The katanas, the masks, it had been too similar to be coincidence. The needy child she had used to be wanted it to be a mistake; she had hoped her mother could explain. Now she knew, her mother was the same as she had always feared.
"He tried to kill me," Yang muttered, a single tear falling from her face, "He did this to me!" Yang gestured her artificial limb.
"So I heard. Shame he wasn't capable enough to finish the job. It seems I'll have to clean up after the boy," Raven replied lightly.
"Get mad, Yang. Show me what you've got," Raven thought, a small smile shining beneath her mask.
"YOU HEARTLESS BITCH!"
With a heave Yang launched the aura grenade at Raven, the detonation pushing the majority of the warehouse to the far edges of the building. Not resting for a moment, Penny transformed her tri-blade into a whirlwind of daggers, consuming the area Raven had been standing. Yang fired her remaining Ember Celica into the cloud. She knew the volley wasn't enough to down Raven, but she hoped the attack was at least enough to sway the tide of the battle. A dry laughter emanating from the settling dust quickly dashed those hopes.
"Impressive Darling."
Raven peeled the crumbled remains of her mask from her face; any other signs of damage were nonexistent. Yang's first attack had been quite the spectacle; although Raven couldn't admit it, she hadn't expected that magnitude of power from her.
"Maybe you can do this, Yang. But you can't be holding back."
"Enough talking!" Yang screamed, tears beginning to flow in earnest.
"You're gonna have to hit harder than that if you want to shut me up, Yang."
"GO TO HELL!"
Yang rushed forward, her fists meeting Raven's katana with a deep boom. Each blow was countered nearly effortlessly by Raven, her blade singing as it deflected the powerful blows. Slowly but surely, every other failed blow was punctuated by a sharp jab with the katana. The fight began to rapidly shift, Yang attempting and failing to block even a small portion of the attacks raining down on her. Penny momentarily shifted the balance, her tri-blade forcing Raven back on the defensive.
"You're just full of surprises, aren't you sweetie?" Raven said mockingly as Penny's blades ricocheted harmlessly away.
"Come on, you've gotta want it."
"SHUT UP!"
Yang's aura began to burn even hotter, a searing white heat enveloping her. Her fists moved faster than she thought possible, but they still found nothing but air. As Yang's strikes began to pick up speed, Raven had to adopt a different strategy. Rather than simply dodging, she began to selectively throw dark red knives around the arena. Every time a punch threatened to hit its mark, Raven would slip seamlessly into a blood red rift. With one particularly ferocious swing, Yang momentarily lost her balance. Raven took the opportunity, smashing her hilt into the back of Yang's head. The blonde girl's face raced to meet the ground,her body leaving a crater where she landed.
"Yang, she's too strong," Penny pleaded, "We need to leave!"
"I can do this!"
"Don't be a fool, we need to retreat!"
"Leave! Me! Alone!"
Yang rocketed back to her feet, her aura exploding around her. Crimson began to seep from her irises, turning even the white's of her eyes a bloody red. Leaving a yellow glow in her wake, Yang renewed her assault. Yang's blows continued to meet empty space, but the walls behind Raven crumbled under the shockwaves.
"That's it Yang. Faster, stronger. Fight me!"
Raven began to unleash the entirety of her strength, sword strikes consistently landing on Yang's blazing aura. As the blows mounted, Yang's strength grew to unprecedented levels. Sections of the warehouse began to collapse around the battle.
"Come on, Yang. Hit me!"
Yang's strikes, began to lag. Although her semblance continued to increase her striking output, her accuracy and forethought began to go into a freefall. Haymakers flew uselessly around Raven, carving ruts in the ground around her. A particularly lackluster strike left her undefended, a fact that Raven took immediate advantage of. A crushing blow landed on Yang's side, followed by the distinct crack of a breaking aura.
"Yang, fight back!"
Yang fell listlessly to the ground, her aura spent and Penny forced into sleep mode to save what little energy she had left. Raven's katana surged forward, intent on finishing the fight.
"Fight me!"
Katana met cold steel, ringing sharply from the impact. Raven's eyes met the angry stare of her brother. Another swing was caught just as readily, Qrow never breaking eye contact.
"Raven, she can't do it! Control yourself!"
"Uncle Qrow, I -"
"Be quiet!" Qrow barked, never breaking eye contact with his sister.
Hostility crackled between the two, neither breathing. A spark fired behind Raven's eyes before igniting a bright white. Raven stared in some odd mix of confusion and anger, white bleeding from her glowing eyes. Slowly and silently, Raven backed away from her brother. With a final swing, a dark red portal swallowed her, closing before any attempt at a chase could be made. Qrow finally relaxed, rushing to check Yang.
"Uncle Qrow,I wasn't...wasn't -" Yang's voice withered and died as the last of her consciousness drifted away.