Catching Up With Friends

Mistral: Apartment of Team RNJR

The sound of activity and the smell of food filled the apartment as the members of team RNJR toiled away in the kitchen. Jaune set the table while Nora chopped carrots and Ren and Ruby were busy cooking at the stove. "Okay, we're about ready to serve the first course," Said Ren as he stirred the noodles.

"Do you really think we should be expecting that many people," Said Nora as she not so discreetly tossed a piece of carrot in her mouth, "I mean evil or not those two brought us a lot of food."

"I can hear you in there," Said Drake from the other room.

"To be honest I'm not sure," said Ruby as she moved some of the food around in the frying pan, "But I know we'll need whatever help we can get."

"Sure ya do!" Called May from the other room, "I guess that's why you're not letting us help in there?"

"We can't be sure of your intentions until Qrow's back," Replied Jaune, "We've been over this."

"You know that could take-," Drake was about to say when the front door of the apartment opened.

"I'm back!" Called Qrow. "Be there in a second," Ruby called back.

"You're over cooking that," Ren pointed out as he continued to stir the food.

"Shut up, I am not," Replied Ruby as she pushed the meat around in the pan.

"Ruby, you need to get in here!" Qrow called again from the main room.

"On my way," Ruby replied when a small black cloud of smoke shot up from the pan. Ruby sighed as she looked at the now overcooked meal. "Alright, take over Ren," She said as she grabbed a serving tray with a tea pot and teacups. Ren began moving the pan around as Ruby walked into the main room.

"Since we didn't know how many people you'd bring back we just cooked all the food," Said Ruby as she walked into the main room. "Also, could you clear up-." Ruby gasped as she dropped the serving tray, shattering some of the tea cups. Standing in the room was uncle Qrow, and right next to him were three people she hadn't expected to see. Wayne, Weiss and Yang.

Ruby's shocked expression quickly turned to one of guilt and worry as Yang approached her. "I'm so sorry Yang," Ruby finally blurted out, "I know I should've stayed, talked to you more, but I didn't know if you even wanted me around." Ruby wanted to say more, but Yang silenced her by pulling her into a tight hug. The red hooded girl hesitated in surprise for a moment before hugging her sister back.

"I love you Ruby," Said Yang as she held her younger sister closer to her.

"I love you too sis," Replied Ruby as tears of joy flooded from her eyes. Weiss sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "Weiss," Ruby called as her and Yang held their arms out. Weiss seemed unsure at first, but Wayne put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Go on," Said Wayne as everyone else began to enter the room. Weiss didn't need any more encouragement as she moved over and hugged her two teammates. It was a touching scene for all involved as the rest of RNJR and Oscar walked in.

"Hey Wayne's here too!" Nora suddenly exclaimed as she launched herself across the room. Wayne didn't even get the chance to say hi as the orange-haired girl slammed into him with a bone crushing hug. The impact sent him crashing into the wall behind him.

"Hello Nora," Groaned Wayne, with what little breath he had left, "How my ribs have missed you."

"Is that you Ursario?" Drake suddenly called from the other room.

"Drake," Said Wayne as he got Nora to release him, "You and May made it after all."

"Sure did," Replied May, "Now would you mind telling your friends to let us go."

"What," Said Wayne as he finally got a view of Drake and May. "Guys, why are the two people I sent to help y'all out tied to chairs?"

"Wait you really did send them?" Questioned Jaune as he looked back at the two prisoners and then back to Wayne.

"Didn't they show you the video of me and Aegis," Asked Wayne, "We made that to explain why they were here."

"We watched it but," Ruby started to explain, a little sheepishly, "Well."

"We couldn't be totally sure," Said Jaune with a sigh, "I mean this guy admitted to being a member of the White Fang, and he tried to kill you, twice."

"Yeah Aegis said the same thing when I decided to help them out," Explained Wayne, "But believe me when I say he's just as much on the White Fang's hit list as any of us right now."

"Whoops," Said Nora as she rubbed her head, "I guess that means we kind of owe them a, what was it called again."

"An apology Nora," Said Ren, "We owe them an apology."

"Ya think," Said May. "Well don't worry," Said Wayne as he turned back to Drake and May, "Okay you two can stop messing around now."

"Well it was getting uncomfortable anyway," Said Drake as he used his clawed gloves to cut the ropes around his wrists.

"And I need the bathroom," Said May as she cut her own ropes with a hidden knife up her sleeve, "So if you'll please excuse me." May pushed past everyone else as she left the room.

"You two could've escaped the whole time!" Exclaimed Jaune, "But Ren tied those knots."

"You've clearly never held someone captive before," Said Drake as he examined the claws on his gloves, "Next time do a thorough pat down to make sure we don't have anything extra for escaping."

"I told you we should've broken his legs," Said Nora, attempting to be discreet.

"Well as you can now see there's no need for that," Said Wayne, "By the way, off subject, but how's our bikes doing?"

"They need a little gas," Said Drake as he tossed Wayne the keys to his bike, "Otherwise great."

"You and Aegis lent them your bikes," Questioned Yang as she arched an eyebrow.

"Well I wasn't really gonna need it in Weiss's mansion," Said Wayne, "And Aegis went to Menagerie which is supposed to be crowded."

"That does remind me," Said Drake as he crossed the room to Yang and Weiss. "First I'd like to apologize to you Xialong," He said to Yang, "If I'd made my decision to leave the White Fang sooner you might still have your arm and Blake wouldn't have felt a need to run away." Yang's eyes seemed to narrow a bit at the mention of Blake's departure. But eventually she let out a sigh and answered.

"It's not like you knew it was gonna go down like that," Said Yang as she brandished her arm, "And besides, I got a new one anyway." Drake nodded at this before turning to Weiss.

"And Miss Schnee," He said, "This is incredibly ironic for me, considering I'd hoped our first meeting would be me sliding a blade across your throat."

"Well aren't you civil," Commented Qrow as he leaned against the wall.

"But," Said Drake, not letting Qrow's interruption get to him, "Recent events have shown me that you're nothing like the ones I'd come to hate. So instead I'd like to say this," Drake held out his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you Weiss Schnee."

"Uh likewise," Said Weiss as she shook Drake's hand.

"Okay introductions are out of the way," Said May as she poked her head out the kitchen, "Can we eat now?!"

"Oh right the food's ready!" Exclaimed Ruby as she ran into the kitchen with everyone else close behind.

With everything sorted out, dinner was far more relaxed. Ruby and the others of course made a number of apologies to Drake and May. To his credit, Drake said it was no big deal and May was just happy to be getting some of the food they'd picked up. Afterwards everyone shifted into normal conversation as they began telling stories of what they'd been up to over the last several months.

Jaune mentioned how he managed to lose a map at the worst time. Ren had actually managed to lose his temper in the face of a nuckelavee Grimm. Weiss managed to scare Nora with a boarbatusk summon. May and Drake finally got to explain the whole story behind how they ran into Wayne and Aegis. While Wayne just went with telling a story of how a gheist had managed to possess his bike during his travels.

About the time they'd finished eating, Yang decided to answer all the questions about her new arm. Ruby of course couldn't help but examine the weaponized limb. And Nora couldn't wait to test if it was really as strong as her actual arm with a simple challenge, arm wrestling.

While Weiss thought it was ridiculous, everyone else cheered the two girls on as they tried to overpower each other. Surprisingly, the winner wasn't totally decided as Yang revealed a little feature of her new arm, ejecting. The arm detached and sent Nora into the wall with it. Needless to say, Nora freaked out immediately at having a detached mechanical limb in her hand.

"That's gonna take some getting used to," Remarked Wayne as Yang reattached her arm.

"I still can't believe we ate all the food," Said Jaune as he gathered all the dishes up in the cooking pot. "I'm gonna be sick I think."

"I believe you can stomach it vomit boy," quipped Yang.

"Oh wonderful, now we get to do nickname throwbacks," said Jaune as he took the dishes into the kitchen. Weiss seemed to think this hilarious, however as she tried stifling her laughter.

"Looks like the Ice Queen's fond of the name," remarked Nora. Now Ruby was laughing, and pointing, at Weiss.

Weiss simply rolled her eyes as the smile refused to leave her face. "Nope, I did not miss any of you people," She said.

"Of course not," Said Wayne, "You only gave me a hug because I scared the living daylights out of your younger brother."

"I will admit," Said Weiss, "That was the best laugh I'd had in months."

"And I suppose you actually liked the other nickname I called you by," Questioned Wayne.

"It has some endearment," Said Weiss, "But I will not say that I care for it."

"I was unaware Wayne had a nickname for you," Said Ren.

"That's because Wayne only ever used it a few times," Said Yang, "But Aegis let me in on the little secret, wanna hear what it is?"

"Oh please don't," Said Weiss as she covered her face with her hands.

"But it's such a cute little nickname," teased Yang, "Weiss, better known as Snowflake."

"Yep that's the one," Said Wayne, "I called her that to make her angry on the first day, then a couple other times to tease her."

"It's not that cute," Said Weiss as she averted eye contact. And if Wayne wasn't mistaken, she was blushing a little.

"Oh my she really does like it!" Exclaimed Nora with her hands on her cheeks, "What finally warmed your heart?"

"Hey," Said Weiss, "You make it sound like I was terrible to be around."

"Not terrible," Said Yang, "Just difficult in large doses."

"Hmmmph," Weiss grunted with her eyes narrowed a little. Yang simply responded by happily spitting out her tongue.

"Maybe I should tell them Aegis's nickname for you," Remarked Wayne as he took a sip of his drink.

"Nickname, what nickname?" Yang questioned, trying to sound innocent.

"You know the one he kept calling you during those dancing lessons, and right before your matches at the Vytal Festival," Said Wayne.

"You're crazy," Said Yang nervously, "He never called me by a nickname."

"Oh no," said Wayne, "What about Dragon Eyes?"

"Oh my gosh he did not!" Exclaimed Ruby as she began laughing again, "He actually gave you a nickname!"

"Sure did," Replied Wayne, "He came up with it after he found out what your dad called her."

"Dad only called me little dragon 'cause I used to have more of a temper!" Explained Yang quickly, "But that was back when I was a little kid! And I only let him call me that because well-." Yang was too flustered to continue her explanation as she tried to think of what to say.

"To be honest, we've all changed," Said Ren, changing the subject, much to Yang's relief, "Gotten better to one degree or another."

"Do you really think we've changed that much?" Questioned Ruby.

"Well think back to Beacon," Said Ren, "I'm sure we all had something we did that was foolish, embarrassing or both."

"Oh gosh," Said Weiss as she covered her face with her hands.

"I may have been admittedly a teensy bit too gung ho," said Yang.

"Are you kidding, I tried going one on one with a giant nevermore on day two of school," Said Ruby.

"I could've used better judgement on a number of things," Said Wayne somberly.

"Then let's not even start on some of the stuff I did," Said Jaune, who'd just reentered the room.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself Jaune Arc," Said Drake, who'd been preoccupied talking to May, "None of you should. After all, while you were at Beacon I was letting anger guide my weapon. Back then I would've killed anyone of you sitting here without giving a single thought to whether or not you hated the Faunus. Now here I sit, cursing myself for ever having been so stupid in the first place."

"It proves none of us are the person we used to be," Said Ren, "We've all grown smarter, stronger, or kinder. And what's more, we still have plenty of room for growth." Everyone seemed to mull this over for a moment until Ruby spoke up.

"Turns out Ren gets deep when he feels like talking," She said, earning a small laugh from everyone.

"Well I know you all did some embarrassing things," Said Nora as she stood up and pointed to herself, "But I thought I was fairly awesome while at school."

"Even at that time at the dance when you got punch all over you dress in front of-."

"YES ESPECIALLY AT THE DANCE!" Exclaimed Nora as she blared music from her scroll into Yang's ear.

"It amazes me how much noise nine kids can make at the dinner table," Said Qrow as he came walking into the room followed by Oscar. 'I guess the fun's over for now,' thought Wayne as everyone got up and moved to the next room.

The mood in the main room was far more serious than it had been at dinner. Understandable considering that he, Yang and Weiss learned that not only was Ozpin still alive, but inhabiting the body of a young farm boy. Oscar/Ozpin had then proceeded with his own explanation about magic, maidens, and Salem, filling in the gaps that they didn't know.

"So it's all true," Said Weiss as she, Wayne and Yang sat on one of the couches, "The maidens, magic, everything."

"That's about right," Replied Qrow as he stood off to the side. The rest of the couches and chairs were taken up by the rest of team RNJR, Drake and May.

"Miss Xialong," said Oscar/Ozpin, "Is this everything your mother told you?"

"Mostly," Said Weiss when Yang refused to answer the question immediately.

"You left one thing out," Yang finally said with a serious tone, "You never mentioned what you did to Qrow and my mother." Ruby let out a small gasp at hearing this while everyone else looked around in confusion.

"What exactly is she talking about," Asked Jaune, "You did something to them?"

"Have you noticed a red-eyed Qrow following you guys around," Asked Wayne as he sat with his arms crossed. That only seemed to make Jaune and the others even more confused.

"I'm surprised she told you about that," Said Oscar/Ozpin, "It was a well-kept secret of hers. I can only assume she trusts you greatly to even mention it," Yang simply shot a lopsided look at Ozpin. With a sigh, he began his explanation.

"As you've just learned, I can reincarnate and though it is a curse it does have a few benefits," he explained. "Just like the maidens, I possess a degree of magic power, and with it I was able to grant the Branwen twins the ability to shed their mortal forms. In simple terms, I gave them the ability to turn into birds, a rather ridiculous thing when you say it out loud."

"Is that really true Uncle Qrow," Asked Ruby, her voice moving between surprise and disbelief.

"You made them birds," Said Ren in a skeptical tone.

"Now you have got to be messing with us one this one," Said Nora.

"I guess it figures he would be at this point," Said Jaune as he crossed his arms.

"He's telling the truth," Said Weiss, "The three of us saw Yang's mom change, from a bird to herself right before our eyes." Everyone's eyes focused back on Oscar/Ozpin and Qrow, while Yang's expression grew increasingly sour.

"Why would you do that people," Yang finally asked, "What in the world could you possibly think is okay about that!"

"Now Yang-," Wayne tried to speak up but was quickly cut off as Qrow spoke up first.

"That's enough Yang," he said, "Your mother and I were given a choice and we made it. We wanted this ability." Yang looked like she wanted to protest that statement, but eventually relaxed her posture. Ozpin/Oscar then stepped forward, after getting an okay from Qrow to explain.

"It took a great deal to grant this power to them," he explained, "And I didn't grant it on a whim. You see I needed help gathering information on Salem and her plans as well as locating maidens when their new hosts were unclear."

"Did you, uh, do this with anyone else," Asked Ruby, "Like General Ironwood or maybe Professor Goodwitch?"

"As great a help as it would've been," replied Oscar/Opzin, "It's not as simple as one might think. My powers even at their peak were finite, and they have dwindled over time. What I gave to Qrow and Raven was a minuscule portion to be honest. But centuries ago I granted a great deal of my magical power to four young women in hopes that they would use it for good. They were the first maidens."

Everyone took a moment to absorb what they'd been told. 'It still sounds a bit ridiculous,' thought Wayne as he glanced over at Drake and May, 'But then again a number of ridiculous things have happened just over the last few months.'

"Miss Xialong," Oscar/Opzin said, "It was never my wish to lie to you, there are simply some matters that I prefer to keep under the radar. But everyone has a choice, the Branwens accepted their powers when I offered it to them, as well as the responsibilities that those powers entailed. It was later on that Raven chose to abandon her duties and pursue her own goals. Now, at this moment, you all have a choice to make as well."

Oscar/Ozpin paused before saying the next part. "Should any of you desire to leave, this is the time. There would be no shame in abstinence, but there would be in retreat." A silence gripped the room then as everyone's eyes darted from one person to the next, as if they were waiting for someone else to go first. But no one did.

"As you all wish," Oscar/Ozpin said as he turned back around to face everyone. But as he did, Yang suddenly stood up.

"If Ruby wants to keep following you, then I will too," Said Yang, "She's got a knack for knowing what the right thing is." Ruby and the others smiled in agreement at this. "But I do have condition," she said, "If we're gonna keep risking our lives for you, no more lies and no more half-truths." A look passed between Qrow and Oscar/Ozpin before he answered.

"Very well," Said Oscar/Ozpin somewhat happily. Yang, accepting this answer sat back down as Jaune asked the question that had come into everyone's mind.

"What can we do now," Asked Jaune, "What's next exactly?"

"A simple question which is very difficult to answer at the moment," Replied Oscar/Ozpin, "But also one which can wait until tomorrow."

"What do you mean until tomorrow," Asked Jaune, clearly hoping for something better than that.

"The road ahead will undoubtedly be a difficult one," Explained Oscar/Ozpin as he placed a hand on Yang's shoulder, "And it has been too long since you've all been together, so take tonight and enjoy this moment with each other." As he finished speaking, his eyes flashed and his expression changed back to that of Oscar. "Ahh," Oscar said as he let go of Yang's shoulder, clearly surprised Ozpin had switched out at that moment.

Everyone else began to laugh as the atmosphere in the room settled down. It was at this moment that Nora let out a cry of realization. "Crow, Raven," Nora said, "I get it now, they're named after birds!" Nora put her hands behind her head as she leaned back, clearly proud of herself, "Solved that mystery."

"Hey Jaune could you hand me your shield," Said Wayne, "I need something to bash my head against." Everyone burst out laughing then. In all honesty, it was a night many of them wouldn't soon forget.

At last, most of team RWBY is reunited with half of team WA as well. Now Aegis, Blake and Sun just need to survive the White Fang presence in Menagerie to make it to Haven. Now that that's out of the way all I gotta say is this. Merry Christmas everyone, I hope this chapter helps brighten up your holidays a little and thank you all again for reading, reviewing and commenting. Be sure to come by next time as the White Fang finally makes its move against Aegis, Sun and the Belladonna family. See ya then.