Vote update based on polls both here and elsewhere:

Velvet - 185

Winter - 178

Ruby - 78

Neo - 84

I'm only listing these four since the other three have too few votes to ever actually catch up. At this point it seems like a duel between the Australian Bunny Girl and the Atlesian Dommy Mommy. Wonder who'll win? Winter was actually ahead just a couple days ago so it could be either.

Qrow wasn't nearly drunk enough for this.

The middle aged Huntsman emptied his flask and cursed when the alcohol only gave him a mild buzz. He was on a mission, and normally even he kept the drinking to a minimum when it came to that sort of thing, but this was a special occasion.

After all, it wasn't every day you were sent after your own sister.

He resisted the urge to throw the flask into the horizon. Oz told him that he didn't have to do this, but Qrow had insisted. Raven had finally gotten the attention of the wrong kind of people. Years of being a bandit was bad enough, but she'd gotten even worse recently. Depopulating whole villages and leaving the survivors to the Grimm, even taking slaves. All with the same bullshit about how the strong could do what they wanted with the weak. To the victor go the spoils, as she'd always say.

Well, enough was enough and now she had to pay the price. She'd either end the day with her head chopped off or spend the rest of her life in a prison cell, but either way she wouldn't be hurting innocent people again. She deserved it, Qrow knew, because at the end of the day Raven was a coward, a traitor, a murderer and, really, a gigantic bitch. Huntsmen were sent after people for less.

When Raven first left they hadn't gone after her. Taiyang was still in denial that she'd actually leave her own child, Qrow still cared about his sister, and Summer...well, they still had enough sympathy to not let Summer Rose loose on her. If they did then they would've heard Raven's screams all the way from Vale.

"HAHAHAHAHA! COME ON, WE CAN KEEP GOING! I'M A FREAKING PERPETUAL MOTION MACHINE!"

Qrow shuddered and shook away the memories. Summer Rose was a woman who had a lot of misconceptions about her. People took one look at woman with her short height, white cloak, and big silver eyes and thought she looked so innocent and sweet.

Hahahaha- no.

There was a reason she somehow managed to cow Raven into obeying her, and he knew that it wasn't fear of abandoning Yang or pissing off the immortal wizard that kept Raven up at night, but rather the thought of Summer Rose pissed and focused solely on her. The only reason Summer hadn't tracked his sister down and shoved Omen down her throat was that they needed to be there to comfort Tai and make sure Yang had a mom growing up.

...

Well, that and she 'finally had a chance to jump on Taiyang's Tai Wang', to use her words.

Qrow shuddered again and looked to his partner for the mission. Denji, his name was. He didn't look that much older than Yang but Oz assured him that the kid was good. He'd been killing ten Goliaths a day over at Mountain Glenn solo, which even Qrow thought was impressive. Even better since the guy apparently didn't even have training. Either he was just that good or just that strong. Both would've been nice.

"You ready?" Qrow asked. It had taken him days to track down the camp, but the decades hadn't done anything to dull his senses. As much as he hated to admit it, he was still a Branwen and still knew all of their tricks.

"Sure." The kid cricked his neck and stood up. He stuck out in the Anima wilderness wearing nothing but his Beacon uniform. Huntsmen and Huntresses, as a rule, tended to stick out of the crowd. There was even the common joke that they chose to train for the position just to dress however they wanted without being made fun of it. Even Qrow indulged withi his cape and cross motif.

"You know you can still back out." The plan was to walk into the middle of the camp and demand they all surrender. A stupid plan no matter how you sliced it, but a part of him still thought of Raven as family and wanted to give her that chance. If it came down to a fight...well, she'd spent the last couple of decades bullying and kill civilians while he'd been helping fight against Salem. Skills atrophied no matter how much she'd deny it.

"Nah, I'm good." He looked up at the sky, expression still stupidly lax for someone walking into a group of murderous bandits, "So...this Raven, she's Yang's mom?"

"Only in the biological sense. Summer's her real mom."

"Yeah, yeah, I get that. Blood ain't worth shit when it comes to actual family." Qrow hummed in agreement. Taiyang, Summer, and Ruby shared no blood with him, but they were just as much family as Yang; and a hell of a lot more than Raven.

"So why'd she leave her kid?"

"Cause she's a coward. She realized that she'd rather go out and steal from and kill innocent people than actually doing something good with her life."

"Huh...she sounds like a bitch."

"Oh yeah."

The bandits saw them coming; it wasn't like they were hiding. Shay, that kiss ass, grinned when he saw them, "Well, well, well. The prodigal shit returns." Qrow rolled his eyes. Asshole always thought he had a way with words, probably cause he was one of the few people in the tribe who could actually read. It would've been a lot more impressive if he didn't spend that time reading kids books.

"You know why I'm here." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, boss knew you were coming. She's ready for ya, but a little tip? Don't expect a warm welcome." Qrow almost punched his teeth in, the smarmy prick.

The bandits surrounded them as they walked closer to Raven's tent, but he showed no fear and neither did the kid. Qrow scoffed when he saw the lavishly decorated exterior. Jewels, beads, and even some bones. Raven always was an overgrown kid. She wanted the best and tried to be the top dog no matter what, and yet somehow she preferred tents to actual flushing toilets? Crazy.

Qrow scoffed again when Raven stepped out. By the Brothers, why was she still wearing that outfit? The woman was pushing forty and yet she still dressed like an edgy teenager, complete with miniskirt and thigh high stockings. Say what you will about his own fashion sense, but at least he didn't dress like someone trying to desperately recapture their youth.

"Qrow." She looked down at him with a sneer, one hand on Omen's hilt. There was a younger, tanned woman to Raven's right. He didn't know her, "I don't suppose you came here because you've come to your senses about Ozpin?"

"Hardly." He sneered back, the gesture all teeth. Denji just looked around, looking completely bored- no, wait, actually he was sneeking peeks at Raven's thighs. Gods, kid, you could do better, "Playing Bandit Queen's come back to bite you, Rae. I came here as a courtesy: surrender now and we can end this peacefully. You aren't gonna get this kind of offer from anyone else."

A few of the bandits circling them laughed while Raven just raised a brow, "You really thought you could come in here making demands?"

"I'm hoping you're smart enough to know what happens if you don't comply."

"Threats, brother? So much for family." She laughed under breath.

Qrow's forced casualness was replaced with a scowl, "You don't to get to pull that card, not after the shit you've pulled." His hand gripped Harbinger's hilt, "Last chance."

Raven unsheathed Omen and everything turned to chaos. Qrow beelined for his sister while Denji pulled the cord on his chest. He knew what the kid was like, but the rest of the tribe didn't. Their confidence was quickly shattered when the unarmed teenager they were expecting to gang up on suddenly turned into a bladed chainsaw monstrosity that charged for them without warning.

The rest of the clan was too busy with the kid to focus on him, letting him and Raven duel in 'peace'. Back when they were younger Raven was always the stronger between the two. She trained more, she fought more, she killed more. But just like he expected, almost two decades of never being challenged made her sloppy, taking hits that she could've dodged and being forced into the backfoot more than once.

The kid tore through the rest of the tribe like a hot knife through butter. He didn't kill them, though a lot of them probably wished they were dead after he was done with them, "Come on, is that all you've got?!" he shouted, sharp teeth dripping with their blood. He sawed almost clean through Shay's right leg, leaving him laying on a pool of his own blood. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

This was...familiar.

"I'm killing that Goliath!"

"Wait, Summer! Don't-"

"If I kill it I get to touch your baaalllllsss!"

She did, in fact, touch his balls afterwards - and that was just after Initiation when she'd known him for less than a day. Summer Rose was a simple woman, as she always told them. Her three reasons for attending Beacon - hell, her goals in life - were to touch balls, kill Grimm, and get a boyfriend...in that exact order. No, he had no idea why and after that first night in their dorm he was too afraid to ask.

People always thought that he was in love with her or that Ruby was secretly their love child. Hahaha- no. She was family, and anyone that truly knew Summer Rose knew that she was staunchly against cheating. If she was gonna have a harem everyone in it had to be cool with sharing. Besides, he knew better than to stick his junior in crazy. Tai, on the other hand, always thought more with his other head; how else could you explain him seeing anything in his bitch of a sister?

The kid sliced off both of Raven's protege's arms by the time he psuhed Raven against the ground, Harbinger pressed against her throat, "Give up!" Qrow snarled. Despite everything he didn't actually want to kill his sister.

She didn't say anything. He was about to haul her up when a shot of lightning punched through his chest and knocked him away. Qrow flew through the air and landed on the ground with a painful gasp. He could barely breath and when he looked up he saw his sister standing up with red flames at the side of her eyes.

"You're...a Maiden..." Qrow rasped.

"The last one...was weak..." She coughed, "Couldn't handle the power. I took it...as a mercy."

Bullshit. Whatever sympathy Qrow might have had was gone, replaced with a burning want to see Raven choke on her own blood. She wasn't just a coward and a traitor, now she'd taken something they needed in the fight against Salem. And for what? She was a Huntress who spent her time attacking untrained villagers. She was already strong enough, but she always wanted more.

Qrow powered through the pain and charged towards her with a roar. The kid joined him and they pushed through the elemental barrage his former sister sent their way. The kid took ball of shredded ice at his left side that took out a large chunk of his body. Guts and blood spilled but he paid it no mind, still slashing at Raven with enough force to knock her back.

"Don't care what you pull outta your ass! You ain't winning!" Denji screamed.

The chainsaws slammed down one last time and shattered Omen's blade. Raven's eyes widened and he knocked Denji back with a barrage of wind. Qrow took it as his chance and stabbed Harbinger straight at her gut. Her Aura sputtered out and Qrow slammed her against the ground, one hand on her neck while the other held Harbinger ready to stab clean through her skull.

"WAIT!" Raven screamed, both hands held up. For the first time he knew her, her eyes were wide with fear, "I SURRENDER!"

Qrow's grip on her neck only tightened and she choked. He knew what she was capable of. Ozpin had gifted her magic; magic that she considered a curse even as she used it for her own selfish wants. If he saw even a hint of her transforming he'd cleave her head in two before she could finish it.

She didn't transform. For a few seconds they just stared at one another before Qrow very reluctantly loosened his grip. She barely got the chance to catch her breath before he slapped a beeping metal collar around her neck, "Present from Jimmy." He grunted as he stood, "You get anywhere more than 20 feet from me or the kid and your head goes pop. Got it?"

"...This really necessary?" She scowled and fingered the collar.

"I can still just kill you." She pursed her lips and stayed quiet. Good, "Try transforming and that thing goes off. You try to use the Maiden powers again me or the kid will kill you ourselves." Again, she didn't respond, "Only reason you're still breathing is because some part of me still gives a shit about you even though I know I shouldn't."

"Yo, we done here?" the kid asked. He was back to normal now and showed no signs of injury. Geez, the guy really was a monster; in a good way.

"Just about." He nudged his head to the tents, "Take us to the people you're keeping as slaves. We'll lead em back to town and send someone after the rest of the clan." Some of them would've probably bled out by the time help arrived, but amazingly enough Qrow couldn't give a shit, "...By the way, Summer's gonna wanna see you when we get back. Just a heads up."

Raven's eyes widened again and she took a few cautious steps back. Qrow just raised a brow and waited for the beeping collar to tell her going any further was a bad idea, "Y-You can't! Take me to prison, but keep her the hell away from me!"

Qrow ignored her pleas for mercy and just pushed her to show them where she kept the poor bastards locked up. By the time they got there, his sister - self-professed social darwinist and (up until recently) the most infamous criminal on Anima - was bawling her eyes out and trying to pull every single card she had to avoid seeing her former team leader. Summer tended to have that effect on her enemies...and sometimes her friends.

The tent containing her captures was filled with about a dozen people. Denji kept guard on Raven outside while Qrow cut the cages open. All of the people were quick to show gratitude and leave as fast as they could except for one. A coyote Faunus dressed in a dirty and tattered suit. She looked like she'd been here longer than anyone yet somehow she was uninjured. Weird.

"Hey, come on, you're free." He offered her a hand. She looked up at him with bloodshot, tearstained eyes, snot dribbling down her nose, "We're gonna take you back somewhere safe. That bitch can't hurt you again."

"Th...Thank you..." She held his right hand with both of hers and he pulled her up. She didn't let go of him and he didn't ask her to. He led her out of the tent and silently hoped that Raven hadn't broken her beyond the point of no return, "M-My name's Kobeni, I was-" She stopped and her head snapped to Denji who was waiting outside with Raven nearby.

For a second he thought that she was looking at Raven and made to reassure her when he realized that she wasn't looking at his sister at all. She was staring at the kid, and the kid stared back.

"Kobeni? Man, you're here too?" He laughed, "Man, what are the odds, huh? Nice to see a familiar face, I guess. Nayuta's been missin' you too. Bet she'll be real happy to-"

The girl suddenly shrieked, wrenched her hand away, and ran straight into the forest before Qrow could react, "H-Hey, wait-" And she was gone. What the hell? She looked like she'd seen a demon. He was tempted to go after her when the kid spoke up again.

"Huh, guess some things never change." He shook his head, "Eh, she'll be fine."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah, she's a survivor. Don't worry about her." He shrugged, "Let's go back. I promised Ruby I'd let her vivisect me again and she's gonna be pissed if I'm late."

"I know the feeling." Qrow sighed. Yang and the others thought Ruby was sweet and innocent, but he and Tai knew better. The kid took just a little too much from her mother. Oh well, at least she had her morals straight, "Let's get this over with. I need a drink..."

So Summer Rose is alive and apparently the female Remnant equivalent of Denji; no wonder Ruby ended up the way she did. Oh well, it's likely she was so crazy that she managed to survive her canon fate of being killed for backstory angst.

By the way, I watched Gundam: Witch from Mercury and...yeah, I feel even more vindicated in making psycho Ruby. Poor Yang. She might become the Spring Maiden if they use the Aura Transfer machine on Raven, but it won't stop her from being stuck between a psycho sister and said sister's chainsaw monster crush.

By the way, Kobeni's appearance in this chapter is a bit of a misnomer since in her next POV chapter she's still with Neo. We'll eventually see the Branwen rescue from her POV, so it's just a heads up.

Question:

1. Which chapter do you guys wanna see next? I have a few to choose from:

- Blake being hounded and bullied by Nayuta who's offended she won't pet her eight dogs. Nayuta follows her everywhere no matter what she does. Even leaving Vale altogether won't stop her.

- Yang, Weiss, and Coco meeting up and discussing their sisters/friend having a crush on the weirdo that is Denji and what they can do about it. Weiss especially wants to try and stop this.

- Ruby takes Jaune to meet her family in Patch. Cue Denji being introduced to Summer Rose and them realizing they've found kindred spirits. Raven suddenly starts crying in fear.

- Team RWBY (and maybe team JNPR? not sure) ask Denji point blank about his past and he tells them about Pochita, coming from another world, having to sell his left nut for debts.

Review Answers:

OniTenshi500 - Uh...they absolutely would be bad to her. Neo's shown to be psychopathic and sadistic, so Kobeni won't be treated any better. Cinder, Emerald and Mercury all came from bad backgrounds too; didn't stop them from abusing her. Also yes, Roman is racist. That's like saying Cardin isn't racist because he bullies Jaune who's a human. You can be racist and still be a jerk to people in general.

ElectricA2415 - Their back lucks cancel each other apart, leaving them both free from their Semblances if they stay near each other. Prime shipping fodder.

Snapback777 - Yes, her Semblance means that bad luck will always happen to her...but it will never let her die so it also makes her borderline invincible. It's like the mark of cain.