Alright, Beach Arc time!

Okay so maybe not beach arc but you get the point.

We've got a lot of EMOTIONAL DAMAGE to deal with. Yang needs to reconnect with her sister, Tai has learned his daughter has managed to survive this whole time, Qrow has to deal with Neo and Ruby for his actions, Weiss is stuck in a complicated situation as the only one in on the truth, while Blake is left to pick up the piece.

Well...

At least Zwei is happy. Oh and Penny made quite a friend, she's probably happy too.

Here we go...

Edit: Thank you for Jazzyreader pointing out my date error. Changed it to Twelve from Fifteen as is correct


Taiyang said nothing as silence reigned supreme outside the simple wooden cabin.

Yang pulled herself from her father's embrace, the blonde man's arms falling limply at his sides. Blake and Weiss shared a concerned glance between themselves, while Qrow's gaze was focused on the man with something indescribable within his eyes.

Ruby slowly edged her foot back.

This was a stupid idea...she should have known this wouldn't have gone well...

Suddenly, the man before her that was apparently her father suddenly gasped and rushed forwards, his eyes filled with pain, shock and amazement. The strange man lifted her off the ground in a tight hug, feeling his body shake as tears fell from his eyes, hidden in her shoulder and cape. Whispers of apologises and prayers it was real could be heard under Taiyang's breath.

Her eyes widened, and, surprisingly, she felt her own tears start falling.

Besides them, Yang quickly intergrated herself into the hug, her own tears falling once more at the idea of her family being reunited. Back where he stood, Qrow closed his eyes, but a smile, a geniune smile, crossed his face.

And despite the personal situation, the other two members of RWBY stood by, glad to see their leader finally getting some measure of closure.

As the three cried and whispered quietly amongst themselves, a small black Corgi appeared from around the corner of the cabin, and quickly forced himself between their legs, bringing them back to reality as Yang began to laugh with a slightly hysterical edge even as Ruby joined her.

Ruby never knew the weight on her shoulders until she felt it leave her shoulders. It was going to take time, and it would be complicated when Neo introduced herself, but finally, Ruby knew she no longer was alone with her first family.


Some distance away, Neo watched as her sister slowly walked into the cabin with the rest of her team.

The mute girl could see her sister standing slightly taller, if still shaking slightly, before the door closed behind her.

Feeling something annoying her eye, Neo quickly slid a slender finger across her cheek, before narrowing her eyes at the slight hint of water on the tip of it.

She'd never lose Ruby, Neo knew that.

But she wasn't quite sure the feeling she was experiencing at the moment was. A mixture of pride, but also sadness.

Strange...


Offering to give them some peace, Weiss and Blake waited downstairs while Taiyang led Ruby, Yang and Qrow to an empty room on the second story of the house. It was simply furnished, with a shelf, a desk, a bedside table and a bed. The only noteworthy thing in the room was a small chest in the corner, by the desk, that was locked.

Ruby eyed the chest for a moment, before taking a seat on the bed. Qrow leaned against the door while Yang and Taiyang sat next to her.

"I...have no idea where to begin..." Ruby confessed after a moment of ominous silence.

Not like she expected anyone else to have an idea either, though to be fair, she was the one that went missing as a child.

Taiyang looked down at the floor.

"Do...you remember anything? About us?" He asked quietly, clearly expecting the worst that Ruby would be forced to give.

"No...nothing." She admitted, and unsurprisingly, Taiyang sighed with disappointment, likely in himself more then her. Off to the side, Qrow looked over at at Ruby.

"Summer left on a simple extermination mission about twelve years ago. It was only a little to the south of Vale, hell the city was still within sight from what I could gather from reports. She was an exceptional huntress so once she tracked them down, I doubt she had any issue with a few Wolves or Ursa." Qrow explained with a frown. "From what I've gathered over the years, she arrived back in the city and made mention of visiting a few stores with her pay to get some things from the city. I found some grainy footage of some big bastard apparently leading her away to meet with Ozpin, according to the bullhead pilot that dropped her off and let me into their security recordings." He paused for a moment.

At this point, Taiyang picked up from his teammate.

"According to what Qrow could find, there were reports of combat and gunfire from a bookstore she used to visit during our time in Beacon. Owner was found dead in his office and his computers were fried beyond repair." The blonde man stopped as he looked over at Yang, who, curiously, seemed to share the same perplexed look she probably had on her face.

The younger blonde didn't say anything, however, as Qrow continued.

"She managed to break through whoever had ambushed her and tried to run, but..." Qrow's voice ended, unwilling to finish the explanation.

Ruby, however, finished it for him in a quiet voice.

"They still killed her and left her body in an alleyway..."

It wasn't like she didn't know, even if Roman never had specified the HOW he found her, he did mention the where before.

At was at this point that Yang finally spoke for the first time since coming upstairs.

"Dad...why did you never tell me any of this?" The voice of a confused and helpless Yang echoed in the small room. Taiyang looked at his daughter, a expression of shame on his face.

"I...you know how badly I took it?" Yang nodded at her father's words. "Well, given how Qrow had to constantly monitor me and make sure I wasn't going to do anything stupid, we decided after you disappeared that time, it was best not to tell you anything, in case you suffered even worse then I did. Qrow had his hands full trying to keep me sane as it was..." Taiyang finished, his eye's begging for forgiveness.

While Yang did frown, she did nod her head in understanding.

"I...get it. I don't like it, especially all these years later, but I get it." She admitted. Taiyang let out the breath he didn't realise he had been holding while Qrow nodded approvingly at the pair of them before looking back at Ruby.

"So, after that, I spent my time between making sure these two could get by long enough to recover, and working with Ozpin to find out who did this." He finished, crossing his arms and lowering his head. He probably expected the next question that was nagging at Ruby's mind.

She looked at the older huntsmen as a frown decorated her own face. Unlike Yang's, however, there was a cold fury behind it.

"So none of you, not one, didn't even bother to check the city to see if I was still there?" She asked in an icy tone. Taiyang glanced over at her with self-loathing eyes while Yang gasped slightly, looking over at Qrow accusatorily. For his part, Qrow weathered her ice as well as man raised by bandits could.

With a shake of his head, however, Qrow continued, "I did, but Vale is a big city. And we had no idea whether the man that killed your mother had also taken you with him or not. I spent years looking everywhere I could think off. And with Neo looking after you? I thought I may have seen you once with her, but at the time I was too lost in my own problems that I thought it was a drunken trick of my mind."

He looked everywhere? That's his excuse, he looked everywhere but couldn't even find a trace of her?! It wasn't like she hadn't made in impression in Vale's criminal world over the years! And apparently he HAD seen her and just decided to be a fucking alcoholic and ignore it?

The three people claiming to be her family seemed to flinch at her expression that steadily grew more angry.

"So you just gave up? Thought I was just a trick of your mind!?" Ruby shouted, fury clear in her tone. "I wasn't sitting around doing nothing for TWELVE YEARS, Qrow! I made my place in Vale, me and Neo both! And don't you dare blame her for being there for me when no one else was!"

The room went silent, even as both Xiao Long's visibly recoiled at her words.

There was something at the back of her head, trying to say something, but Ruby ignored it as years of pent up anger, confusion and sadness came crashing out.

"We had to do everything we could to get by! And eventually we made our own lives, with our own two hands! No one helped us, or tried to look out for us, but us! And now, after everything that has happened, you are standing there and telling me, ME, that you gave up!" Ruby yelled as she got up and marched in front of the man. "And when I finally appeared at Beacon?! What then? You said Ozpin was playing some kind of game!" At this, Taiyang's head snapped to Qrow's, eyes quickly narrowing on him despite the hurt expression on his face that some part of Ruby tried to point out, but was deafened by the rage in her mind.

"Wait, Ozpin did what?!" Taiyang's tone was slowly took on a hard edge, but Ruby didn't even pause for a moment to acknowledge it.

"I bet that's why you were teaching me! Not so you could find out, but so the fucking Headmaster of Beacon could find out! Leading me on with pointed questions?! Telling me about my own damn mother, knowingly leading me by the nose?! Why!? Did Summer mean less to you then that old fucker's plans?!" Ruby finished as she slugged the man in the stomach, her hand slamming against aura. A second, and a third, quickly followed them before she glared up at his eyes.

Then she paused.

Qrow Branwen's face was twisted in a mixture of shame, anger, and disappointment, all clearly directed internally.

Seeing this, Ruby felt her rage dim slightly.

With a final, pained shout, she punched the huntsmen across the face before storming out the door. While Qrow craddled his stinging cheek, Yang quickly got up and rushed after her as petals coated the floor and Ruby disappeared.

When Qrow made to move, he felt a tight hand gripping his shoulder.

"What the hell was Ruby talking about, Qrow?" The venom in Tai's voice was something so surprising to Qrow he actually winced as the grip on his shoulder tightened.


Several Hours Later...

Ruby just ran.

She was used to running.

Running errands for Roman, running through crowds to escape someone that noticed her picking their pocket, running from cops or gang members.

It brought a sense of familiarity that Ruby sorely desired.

She found herself on the side of a cliff. In the distance, she noted a small outcrop with a nice view over the ocean while a grove of brown-leafed trees waited a few dozen metres behind it.

With a tap of her semblence, she found herself running towards it on a whim, as if reaching it would put enough distance between her and the cabin.

Just like the last dozen times she stopped running.

Ruby arrived pretty quickly, her semblence falling off in a rain of rose petals.

Rose...

Ruby Rose...

It made a sick kind of joke, that this whole time, her semblence was telling literally everyone around her who she really was, and even then Ozpin and Qrow hadn't put two and two together. Ruby's hands clenched again, though her anger failed to reach the same heights. Speaking of heights, she looked out on the ocean before her. Turns out, it was a nice view like she had thought.

Taking a seat by the cliff side, she ignored the ringing of her scroll in her pocket as she grabbed Crescent Rose and extended it to it's sniper form.

Not really knowing why, Ruby raised her scope to her eye as she looked out below her. Through it's magnification, she could spot a number of animals swimming through the water, even some aquatic Grimm occasionally though never more then a quick flash of black skin or red eyes in the shallow depths around the Patch. Ruby sat there, finally not running for the first time in an hour. Her aura was fraying at the edges at this point, with her overuse of her speed as she took a deep breath.

Time lost meaning for Ruby, as she just idily watched the water below her as the wind whipped in her hair, her cape billowing from her back. No one would find her if she didn't want to be found.

Not even Neo could avoid contact as well as her if she didn't want it. No one could run as fast as her when she desired it.

It was at this thought she heard the snapping of branches behind her.

Slowly getting up, Ruby turned around, raising Crescent Rose to whatever was planning on disturbing her peace.

"You know, I think you did remember something. Even if it was just subconsciously."

Ruby lowered her rifle as Yang slowly walked up to her, pausing a few metres away.

It was only at this point Ruby realised she had completely missed the stone plaque sitting right behind her.

"Summer used to love to take us up here. Or at least I think us. I remember it, though I can't remember if we ever came here with you for some reason." Yang elaborated as she pointed at the plaque, inviting Ruby to look at it.

Without saying a word, and an eye trained on Yang, Ruby walked around it before pausing in front of it. Her cape billowed in the wind while she looked down at it.

'Summer Rose' it said at the top, beneath, it added, 'Thus kindly, I scatter'.

Ruby stared dumbly at it as Yang walked up next to her.

"I remember the burial. It was painful. Still is even now." The blonde girl said with a sad smile. "We didn't want to...make your own grave. Uncle Qrow refused to let that trauma stick with us." Yang's eyes flickered over at Ruby, who was still stuck staring at the plaque, which was in fact a gravestone.

Her mother's gravestone.

Yang continued, "She loved to take us up here for picnics, playing in the woods and otherwise being the best mother possible. I...we loved her so much."

The two stood in silence as Ruby's mind twisted and turned as she just looked down at her mother's grave.

Finally, her head turned to face Yang.

"What...was she like...?" Ruby asked quietly. Yang gave her a comforting smile.


The sun was almost set by the time Ruby had run out of questions for Yang.

The two had sat comfortably on opposite sides of Summer, Yang had liked to imagine their mother was there with them, telling them stories and laughing along with them when Yang regaled Ruby with tales of Summer Rose, huntress and super mom. As they watched the sun's bright light slowly start giving way to the blackness of night.

As the two girls and teammates sat peacefully, finally at ease for the the first time in weeks, Ruby turned to face her with a complicated frown. Seeing how she blew up earlier, Yang was content to let her take her time.

"So...what happened after she...died?" The red-haired finally asked the difficult question that Yang had been waiting for. With a sigh, Yang leaned back on her hands and she looked up at the darkening sky above them to gather her thoughts.

"It was difficult." Yang admitted before continuing, "Dad...he didn't so much shut down as nearly shatter. Between Raven, then Summer and you, he was convinced he was cursed to lose everyone he loved. He drank so much, and he'd disappear for hours and come back covered in his own blood from fighting Grimm all over Patch." The memories of such a dark time sent a cold shiver down her spine. Ruby's eyes widened slightly, likely remembering the much less detailed verison she had told her at Beacon.

Yang hated remembering those days, but for her family's sake, she'd put up with anything.

"Uncle Qrow was constantly staying with us, trying to help Dad from getting himself killed. They fought a lot and more then once, Uncle Qrow had to physically force Dad down to stop him from doing anything. It was around then I found the photo I told you about and I almost got killed by the Grimm." Yang continued with a frown, "It was at that point that Uncle Qrow had to step in forcibly. He had Dad constantly monitored by either himself or other huntsmen that they knew and started forcing him to visit a psychologist." She looked over at Ruby with a sad smile. "He still needs to go at least three times a month."

Ruby's eyes narrowed in understanding.

"So, you were left to look after yourself?" She asked rhetorically, but Yang shook her head.

"Not entirely, I had Uncle Qrow of course, and any of the huntsmen that checked in with us tended to help out however they could. It took a few years, but Dad got better eventually." Yang explained at Ruby's confused eyes. "Once he could be trusted not to go out and try and die fighting Grimm, he took up gardening," Yang smiled at Ruby's amused smirk despite her still confused eyes, "And started to spend as much time as he could with me. Trying to make up for being such a terrible father in his own words. Training me to protect myself, then becoming a teacher at Signal once I told him I wanted to become a huntress." A faint smile came to Yang's face, "Anything and everything, he tried to be there for me, even if he could be extremely overprotective at times."

Next to her, Ruby's eyes lowered sadly as she nodded.

"I...I mean I get it, and I'm happy he got better for you..." Ruby offered quietly, but Yang just shook her head.

"If you're blaming yourself, don't. Dad's been blaming himself for years, even if he never said it to me directly. If he had even a faint clue that you were in Vale, he would have turned the city inside out, looking for you." Yang said with a tone of finality that seemed to reassure Ruby just a little.

She saw Ruby's fist clench slightly.

"If Qrow had told him..." The reaper muttered quietly to herself. Yang sighed.

"If it's any consolation, I came after you immediately, but I heard a window shatter as I left. Dad was fuming when Qrow mentioned that he mistook you for a drunken hallucination." Yang mentioned. To her relief, Ruby's hand relaxed as the girl let out a sigh. A moment passed as the two sat in silence.

After a moment, Yang stood up and offered a hand to Ruby, who just looked up at it.

"Come on, Ruby, better get back home now it's getting dark." Yang suggested, hoping the girl sitting before her could bring herself to come back.

Ruby glanced back at their mother's grave, before looking up at Yang with a thin smile. Raising her hand, Yang's sister let herself be pulled up and the two sisters slowly began walking back towards the cabin, where a blonde man glared at the scythe wielding huntsmen that could only look away in shame. Two girls, one the heiress of the world's most powerful company, the other the daughter of the creators of the world's most infamous terrorist movement, watched closely from a side, waiting to see if they should step in.

But as the two sisters walked away, a tricoloured girl shadowed their steps, out of sight and mind.

And hidden above them amongst the branches of the tall trees around them, a black bird watched.

Waiting.


A Few Hours Earlier...

Weiss and Blake had shared a concerned look as the sound of raised voiced rattled the house above them.

It was clearly Ruby's voice, and while their leader's words were muffled by wood, her tone clearly enraged. Weiss went to open her mouth, to suggest they should maybe check upstairs, when a gust of wind, despite the windows and doors being closed, flew past them as rose petals rained down around them, slowly disappearing as fast as they came. The front door slammed open, and the two girls heard the sound of rushed footsteps slamming down the stairs. Turning around, Weiss spotted Yang immediately looking at them, then the opened door, before rushing out without saying a thing.

The last two members of Ruby shared a look, before the sound of shattering glass came above them and light thud came from outside. Sharing another look, the two huntresses rushed out to investigate, only to see Mr Branwen push himself to his feet. Above them, Weiss watched as Mr Xiao Long jumped down from the window, a fierce scowl on his face.

"You fucking drunk bastard!" Mr Xiao Long bellowed, before grabbing the other man by the collar and smashing his fist across the his face, sending Mr Branwen flying back a few metres. Weiss gasped while Blake's eyes went wide.

Quickly getting back to his feet, Mr Branwen raised his hands in surrender.

"I get it, Tai! I fucked up! You don't think I already know that?" He said, his tone taking on a defensive edge. Mr Xiao Long, however, ignored him as he raised his arms in what appeared to be a perfected mirror of Yang's own style and rushed forwards. Mr Branwan's hand quickly slipped behind him as he drew his weapon. Xiao Long fainted a haymaker before stepping into Branwen's guard, slamming an elbow against his teammate's chin. Quickly reacting, Branwen raised his sword to block a kick, before planting a shoe into the enraged man's chest, launching him back.

Xiao Long just snarled, before rushing back, hands raised high.

She didn't know what made her move, but as a wave of fire forced the man to back off, she flinched as the huntsmen's gaze snapped to her, eyes filled with a promise of vengence.

Thankfully, Blake came to her rescue.

"What the hell are you two doing!?" The faunus girl shouted out.

"Stay out of it, girl! This has got nothing to do with you and all to do with this useless bastard!" Xiao Long screamed back. Blake took an uncertain step back, but quickly gathering herself, Weiss stepped forwards.

"And you think trying to beat your own teammate with your own hands is the right course of action?" Weiss retorted, lowering Myrternaster as she scowled at the man. "What would be so bad that you think THIS is the best reaction?"

Scowling, Xiao Long pointed at Branwen with a crooked finger.

"This useless alcoholic fuck could have brought Ruby back to us years ago! If he wasn't too busy drinking himself into oblivion, the hypocrite!" He yelled as he turned his accusatory gaze back on Branwen, who had lowered his sword and looked away.

Weiss, however, felt her temper burn bright as frustration rose in her. Between these two acting like children and Ruby...

Weiss shook her head angrily to dispel those thoughts about Ruby from her mind.

"And now she finally is, you think trying to kill each other would make her want to stay!?" Weiss screamed in frustration. At the idiotic men in front of her. At the fact she was stuck in a family with problems as bad as her own. At the fact that Ruby had more to her than anyone here knew.

Except for her.

Damn it all...

However, it seemed Weiss' repremand had struck a cord with the furious huntsmen, who blinked a few times, before looking down at his fists. Branwen, wisely, remained silent.

Taking a deep breath, Weiss glared at both the older men.

"Now, stop acting like foolish children! Go inside, calm yourselves and talk this out like the adults your meant to be!" When Xiao Long went to open his mouth again, Weiss pointed at the cabin with Myternaster. Beside her, Blake was frowning at both of them in disappointment.

With a reluctant sigh and a final glare at Branwen, Mr Xiao Long nodded, before slowly walking inside. Branwen slowly walked up behind the girls as he sheathed his weapon with a thankful nod, but Weiss could only glare back at the fool.

"Don't think for a second I'm on your side." Weiss scowled. "You made this mess, therefore you will be cleaning it up yourself." Branwen said nothing, but nodded in agreement as the senior hunter edged inside the cabin. Letting out a deep breath, Weiss looked over at Blake, who had a similarly frustated expression on her face.

"Let's make sure those two idiots don't bring their own home down on their heads." Blake said with narrowed eyes. Weiss nodded in agreement.

She had enough to deal with from just Ruby then to sort out her family's own problems.

Gods knew she had enough family trauma that she had no desire get involved in another's.


Pyrrha had to admit, Penny was definately as combat ready as she insisted.

As the three red heads slowly made their way back to JNPR's dorms, she idly listened to her gushing teammate's excitement about having such a badass friend, while said new friend was ecstatic and eagerly chatting about the spar between the two.

It had surprised Pyrrha when Penny had skillfully bested Nora, only for her ginger friend to insist on round after round with limitless energy. Hell, Penny, had even given Pyrrha a decent run for her money when she offered to spar to give Nora a break. She had nearly caught the champion off guard with a pincer attack with her flying swords. Only her own quick reaction speed and the fact they connected to Penny's backpack via metal wires that she quickly sensed had Pyrrha managed to weave her way out of being torn apart.

As the three arrived at their dorm, Pyrrha swiped her scroll to unlock the door, and within, Jaune and Ren sat casually, seemingly talking about something.

"Hello Jaune, Hello Ren." Pyrrha said brightly as the two huntsmen looked over at them with pleasent smiles. Pyrrha's heart skipped a beat for a second as she looked over at Jaune, before gesturing to Penny beside her. "We were just sparring with Penny here after Nora ran into her."

To her amusement, Ren let out an exaggerated sigh before looking at his partner.

"Nora...I've told you before..." The quiet man said pointedly while Nora giggled embarrassedly.

"Always make sure I check before I run into a room." She finished with an apologetic smile. Ren smiled back before looking at Penny.

"She is always like that. My name's Ren, pleasure to meet you, and I'm sorry if Nora was a bit too much." He said with his usual polite tone when Nora had a case of being Nora.

Penny smiled back.

"Oh it was no problem! If she hadn't, then we would not be friends now." Penny declared, while sharing a high five offered by the other ginger.

Jaune smirked at them, before getting a thoughtful expression.

"Nice to meet you Penny, I'm Jaune Arc." Her amazing partner said as he tilted his head at Penny. "I'm sorry, but have I heard your name somewhere?"

Penny's bright smile turned to face Jaune.

"It is nice to meet you as well, Jaune A-, I mean Jaune." Penny replied in a strange way before adding, "As for hearing about me, perhaps Friend Ruby has mentioned me?"

Clicking his fingers together, he pointed at Penny with a nod.

"Ah, that's right, Ruby mentioned you in one of our leadership classes." Jaune confirmed as his smile took on a proud edge that Pyrrha shared. "Well, any friend of Team RWBY is a friend to Team JNPR."

It made her heart soar every time Jaune clearly showed how much he had improved, both as a hunter, but as a person as well.

"Yes! Yet another friend! I am, as they say, on a roll!" Penny cheered as she walked up and pulled a slightly confused Jaune into a tight hug, while Pyrrha gave him a sympathetic smile while Ren chuckled slightly.

Nora quickly pulled both of them into a bear hug of her own.

"Yes! We shall rule Beacon with the power of Friendship! And by breaking all the legs of those that would deny Friendship!" Nora declared with a vicious smirk that would have made most people back away from such a strange statement.

At this, Pyrrha started laughing as Ren shook his head in amusement.

It was days like this, that made Pyrrha never regret stepping away from the competition scene to study at Beacon.

Amazing friends, a loving team and a dedicated partner that never cared for her fame and cared for her as a person.

Pyrrha could only wish for it to never end.


So, Ruby finally meets her biological dad, and we have some teething issues, especially with Qrow given his actions. Tai isn't quite as stable as one might think, but Yang and Ruby have made progress under their mother's eye. Meanwhile, Weiss is frustrated by what's going on, but just what is she up to...

Speaking of mother's eyes...

And Penny has made friends! Mission Accomplished!

Random side note, but I was listening to some Amalee remixes (Red like Roses Part 2 is sick btw), when I noticed she had a BUNCH of FMA ones and for the album she made on spotify it has this kickass art. Just looks neat and I wanted to mention it lol.

As always, Reviews are always appreciated.