Chapter 31: Family Bonds

Location: Above Vale, in the Vytal Collisium Year: Unknown

I can't believe it! Coco and Yatsuhashi was defeated by Mercury and Emerald! I call bullshit on that! But... maybe one of them is able to create an illusion, since Coco said she thought she saw and heard her partner while in the forest. No one imagines like that, at least I don't, except in one of the Vaults in the Capital once. But the point is, is that Coco, who has a giant chaingun, bigger than mine by far, and Yatsuhashi, being a skilled warrior he is. But, at least part of the crowd was booing at Emerald and Mercury. I looked towards Fox and Velvet, and saw that they were shocked at their team's lose. But then, I noticed that Cinder was leaving with a grin on her face, and not the good kind.

'One of these days, may you, and all your little friends, be judged by God without mercy.' I thought grimly to myself.

Then I left the coliseum and went back to Beacon, and decided to rest up back in my dorm.

XXXXXX

'3rd POV, somewhere unknown...'(IDK where the location is)

"You're... leaving?" Weiss replied.

"Yes. I was merely needed to oversee the transport of additional units to Vale. Our last shipment was lost by an ambush. I believe you had a run-in with it's cargo, actually. It's fortunate those Paladins were still in the prototype stage. Otherwise, your team may not have fared well." Winter replied.

Then Winter began after a brief silence, "Weiss... you've done... well. Out here on your own. You should be proud. I'll be honest, it was quite amusing seeing father's face the day you left for Beacon."

Then Weiss began, "I can't wait to show him what I've learned."

"Oh? And what do you think you've learned?" Winter asked.

"What do you mean? I'm getting better and better with my glyphs. I've even started time dilation. Edward even taught me the things in life, such as to never judge anyone on how old they are, and-"

Weiss was then interrupted by Winter, who asked, "And what of your summoning?"

"I... you know I can't." Weiss replied.

"Don't be ridiculous. Every Schnee has the ability to Summon. we have for generations." Winter said.

"I've tried! It's just... it's the one thing I'm having trouble with." Weiss explained.

Winter began, "We Schnees are unique. Unlike many, our Semblance is hereditary, but that doesn't mean that it will come easily. Your Semblance is like a muscle..." then she started to Summon and continued, "... The More you practice with it, the stronger it will become. But if you only focus on one aspect of it, if you fail to test the limits of what you think is possible..." Then she summoned up a Beowolf, but instead of black, it's white, with blue glowing eyes and blue markings, then Winter continued, "... Then you'll never truly grow."

Weiss was silent, but surprised as she looked at both her older sister and the summoned Beowolf.

Then Winter asked, "If I may ask, what's Edward like?"

Weiss replied, "Edward's like... well, we think of him as not just a mentor and friend, but like a big brother we never had. He's strict sometimes, but he's so kind to us and done everything for us. He also taught us life lessons and he even opened my eyes, and saw that not all Faunus are bad, that leaders are sometimes born, like Ruby, and the like."

Then Winter responded, "So, you and your teammates look up to him?"

Weiss nodded and said, "Yes."

Winter smiled and replied, "I wonder now what his parents are like. I bet they're good people, right?"

Weiss was silent, but then she stated, "His parents were good people."

Winter raised an eyebrow and asked, "Were?"

Weiss began, "Edward's mother died when he was born, and his dad sacrificed himself for Edward and the project, so in order to stop Edward's first major enemy."

Winter was shocked, then asked, "And WHO was Edward's first major enemy?"

"He said they were the corrupted remnants of the U.S. government known as the Enclave. They were horrible people." Weiss answered.

Then Winter asked, "The U.S.?"

"The United States of America, or USA for short, was once a proud nation, made for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..." Then Weiss began to explain everything to Winter that Edward has told them, about the factions, the creatures, the war, everything.

XXXXXX

'Edward's POV...'

I left my dorm, with Ralphie following, and was about to knock on the door until...

"You'll never beat me old man!" Ruby shouted.

"Heh, you're nothin' but talk, kid." Qrow replied.

Then Yang shouted, "You can do it, Ruby!"

Then silence came and all of a sudden, an unknown voice shouted, "Soaring Ninja Wins! Total Annihilation!"

I then knocked and Yang asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Yang." I answered.

"Come on in, Eddie." Yang answered.

I came in and saw that Qrow and Ruby were playing a video game, that Yang and Ruby describe about, and Qrow seemed to have won.

Then Yang asks me, "So, what's up, Eddie?"

"Eh, just got bored and we decided to come over and hang out, is all." I answered, with Ralphie beeping in agreement.

"That's cool. Uncle Qrow was telling us a story about one of his missions." Yang replied.

"Sweet!" I replied.

Then we overheard Qrow stating, "By the way, Ruby. Don't ever call me 'old'."

Then Yang said, "My turn!"

Then the 'Game Announcer' said, "New challenger approaches."

Then Qrow began, "Now, where was I?"

Ruby answered, "You were telling us about your last mission!"

Qrow began, "Right, right. I come across a small village in the swamps west of Mistral. Right off the bat, I knew something wasn't right."

We all listen in and Ruby asked, "What were you doing there?"

Qrow answered, "I needed information. Tired from battling Grimm along the way, I decided to start my search at the town's Inn. The place was crawling with low-lives and thugs, even a few Huntsmen I could only assume had been hired by less than reputable people for less than respectable jobs. And that's when it happened."

Yang asked, "What happened?"

Then Qrow slowly said, "I was defeated... by a mere sight... of the Innkeeper's skirt length!"

Yang threw a pillow at Qrow, who caught it, and Qrow won the match.

I just deadpanned, "What?"

I then sighed from this and thought, 'I can't believe what I just heard.'

Then Yang yelled, "You are the worst!"

Then Ruby and Qrow began to laugh. Then Qrow asks, "Best two out of three?"

But then, Ruby asked, "So, Uncle Qrow, did you get in trouble with Ozpin?"

"Nah, me and Oz go way back. We're cool. Besides, I should thank Edward for jumping in to stop the chaos." Qrow stated.

"Well, I had to. I swear Qrow, you remind me of Cassidy, back where I'm from." I replied.

Qrow raised an eyebrow and asked, "Cassidy?"

"Like you, she's a drinker and a fighter. People used to call her the 'Whiskey Rose', 'cause of her cheeks glowed rose red after she's drunk on whiskey." I answered.

Qrow replied, "Oh, is she single?"

I knew where Qrow's going, but how can I not humor him. I answered, "Last time I saw her, yeah."

Qrow grinned and replied, "Nice!"

Then Ruby asked Qrow, "Hey, so, what are you doing here anyway? I thought Dad said you'd be away on a mission for, like... ever."

Qrow answered, "Well, a professional Huntsman like myself is expected to get results, as soon as possible."

Ruby replied, "Yeah, I get that. We're pretty much pros, too."

"Oh really?" Qrow asked.

"Psst, yeah. Read the news sometime! We totally saved Vale while you were gone." Yang stated.

"Yang, Ruby, we really didn't exactly saved Vale. There was extensive property damages to companies, homes, and the like, with people injured and such. We merely stopped the Grimm and stalled the White Fang." I answered.

Qrow followed up, "He's right. Vale suffered a Grimm attack after you almost managed to stop a train."

Then Qrow won another round again and Yang pouts, with Qrow stating, "And they don't really give out medals for 'almost'."

Ruby stated, "They do, and they're called silver!"

"Well, we helped take down Roman Torchwick. He's locked up in Ironwood's ship and crime's been down ever since. That's basically a bounty mission." Yang stated.

I replied, "Torchwick is merely just a puppet. The White Fang were only halted due to Torchwick's capture. Someone else is running the show, that's for sure."

Qrow followed up, "Again, Edward's right. Roman was just a puppet, nothing more. Sure, you may be acting like Huntresses, but you're not thinking like one. Edward, here, is the only one acting AND thinking like a Huntsman. You really think four girls and their friends could end all crime in a kingdom?"

Ruby answered, "I mean, I did until you said that."

Qrow continued, "Violence hasn't dropped since Roman got nabbed, it stopped. Completely. No White Fang activity anywhere around the city. You cut off the head of a King Taijitu, but now the second head's calling the shots. That's what Ironwood can't get through that thick, metal head of his."

I sighed and replied, "If only the Brotherhood of Steel were here. They would know what to do."

Then Qrow looked towards me and asked, "Let me guess, some sort of government like Atlas?"

"Not really. They are a neo-knightly military order that rose from the ashes of the American military on the West Coast in the years following the devastation of 2077. They search throughout the wastes for technology, research them, and if they turn out to be weapons-of-mass-destruction, they make sure the tech is locked away, so it would not destroy the world again. They are willingly to protect the innocent and aid projects that are beneficial to mankind. They're good people." I stated.

Qrow was surprise and said, "Wow. I guess I wouldn't mind them being here."

Then Ruby asked Qrow, "So, wait, you know the general?"

"Hey, I know everybody to some extent. Remember, you're talking to a member of the coolest team to ever graduate Beacon!" Qrow replied as he pulls out a photo.

Qrow sighed and said, "Team STRQ (Stark). That's where I met your parents, girls. We were pretty well known back in the day."

Me, Yang, Ruby, and Ralphie looked at the photo, and it showed Ruby's mother, Summer Rose (in a white cloak), Taiyang, Qrow himself, and... oh my god.

It was a woman with a katana-like blade and long, black spiky hair. This was Yang's mother.

'Flashback'

A red portal opened up and a woman wearing a mask, similar to the ones like the White Fang, but different, somewhat spiky, long, black hair, and wielding a red, katana-like blade.

I then noticed that Neo had fear in her face and teleported out. Leaving me, Ralphie, Yang, and the mysterious woman.

I asked out, "Who are you?"

She didn't answered, as she teleported out, not without Yang waking up to see her leaving.

As the mysterious woman disappeared, Yang looked at me and asked, "Who was she, Eddie?"

"I... don't know, Yang. But something tells me that we might, later on." I answered.

'Flashback ended'

I then began, "Yang, I think the mysterious woman on the train was your mother."

Yang's eyes widened at this and replied, "Y-you're right."

Ruby and Ralphie was shocked about this and Qrow was slightly shocked.

Qrow asked me, "Wait, you saw Raven Branwen?"

"Yes, while on the train. A girl named Neo was about to kill Yang, until I shot her sword out of her hand, then a woman, who you call Raven, showed up. I guess Neo was scared of her, since she teleported out with no time to waste." I replied.

Qrow began, "You're lucky she didn't think of you as a hostile, or she would've killed you, easily."

"Yeah, I'm glad as well." I answered.

Then Qrow stood up and was about to leave, until he stopped, turned towards us and said, "Look. Just remember that you've got a long way to go. And don't think for a second that graduating means you're done. Every day out there is worth a week in this place. You three, you're gonna go far. But only if you keep learning. If you never stop moving forward."

Then Qrow turned to me and said, "And make sure you keep an eye on them, alright Edward?"

I nodded and replied, "Of course, Qrow. I will."

And with that, Qrow left the room.

To be Continued...