RWBY: Team CRML

Chapter 37

Liam

The four of them, Liam, Weiss, Yang and Raven, sat around the table as Vernal poured them some tea. "You can wait outside. Thank you."

Vernal does so.

"So, what's the 'truth'?" Yang asked.

"You know, it's better when it's hot." Raven said after taking a sip of her tea.

"You know, you're really obnoxious." Weiss stated.

"The truth is that 'truth' is hard to come by. A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else. By now, your uncle has surely told Ruby and her friends plenty of stories." Raven said.

"Well, he's never given me a reason to doubt him before." Yang told her mother.

"That doesn't mean those reasons don't exist." Yang glares at Raven. "You know, you and your teammates might as well be the poster children for the Huntsman academies. Your motives vary, but you all enrolled to try and make the world a better place. It's adorable."

"It's what Huntsmen and Huntresses do."

"Not all of them. Some people are just in it for the money and the fame, but there's even more that are just looking to grow stronger. Your Uncle Qrow and I didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen, we did it to learn how to kill Huntsmen." Raven informed them.

Yang and Weiss gasp at this, exchanging a brief look with each other. "What?" Liam asked in disbelief.

"Daddy and Uncle left that part out, hm?" she begins to pour more tea for herself. "Aside from the Grimm, Huntsmen were the only ones capable of ruining our raids and hunting us down. Our tribe needed a counterforce." Raven takes another sip. "And Qrow and I were the perfect age." she got to her feet. "The entrance exams were child's play compared to what we'd already been through. We were good. So good, that we caught the attention of Beacon's very own headmaster, Professor Ozpin. Even after we were put on a team, I could tell he was keeping his eye on us. Back then, I thought it was because he knew, but it was Team STRQ he was interested in."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Constant attention, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever we happened to break the rules and get into more trouble than we should've. Sound familiar?"

Liam looked to Weiss and Yang for confirmation.

Yang and Weiss share another glance at each other and Weiss gestures Yang to keep going.

"What's your point?"

"How much do you know about Professor Ozpin? About his past?" Raven asked them.

"He was... a prodigy. One of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school." Weiss answered.

"Because that's how he planned it. Because the man you know as Ozpin designed those schools and has followers inside every academy on Remnant that are loyal to him and no one else."

"That doesn't make any sense! How could he have...? No. Why would someone even do that?" Yang asked.

"Because old man Oz has a great and terrible secret. One that could spread fear across the world. One that he eventually entrusted to our team, and once I knew, there was no going back. I needed to know more, but with every new discovery I made, the more horrifying the world became."

"Okay, then tell us. What's the big secret? What's so crazy that the rest of us don't know?" Yang asked.

Raven looked to Liam. Making eye contact, Liam knew what she was asking with just a single look. "The Creatures of Grimm... have a master named Salem. She can't be stopped, she can't be reasoned with, and she will not rest until humanity crumbles at her feet." Liam said. "That's what Raven told me."

"What?"

"You know, you three haven't even touched your tea." Raven said.

Raven takes another sip from her teacup, while Yang stands up.

"Why should we believe any of this?"

"Now you're catching on. So far you've done nothing but accept what others tell you, but you need to question everything." Raven said as she put her cup down.

The two stare at each other face to face, before Raven turns around.

"Otherwise you'll end up just as blind as Qrow..." Yang grits her teeth, and her eyes narrow, seething. "...and your fool of a father."

"Don't you dare talk about my family like that!" Yang said as she shot the table with her weapon.

While Yang speaks, Weiss stares up at her wide-eyed and flinches when she raises her voice for emphasis. A weapon is heard being drawn at Yang.

"You need to calm down." Vernal said, her weapon aimed at the blonde.

"Yang, please."

"Listen to your friend, Yang. Your teammates never let you down before." Raven told her.

"You don't know the first thing about my teammates! About me! You were never there! You LEFT US!" her eyes then turn back to normal. "Why?!"

"I know more than you realize. Not just about you, and not just what I've been told, but things I've seen with my own eyes. I know the Grimm have a leader, I know people who can come back from the dead, I know that magic is real, and I can prove it." Raven said.

Weiss stands up, while Raven continues addressing her daughter.

"You said Tai told you all about my Semblance." Vernal lowers her weapon while Raven heads toward the back exit of her tent. "Well, I doubt he ever told you what Oz did to my brother and me." she then looked to her nephew. "And you."

With that, Raven exits her tent. Yang, Liam and Weiss exchange confused looks.

"Go see for yourself."

Vernal leaves. The three of them take her advice and exit the tent. They see no one there.

"Mom?"

"Yang, are you okay?" Weiss asked.

"I'll be fine once we can get her to take us to Ruby." Yang replied.

"It's okay if... you're not okay."

"You didn't believe what she said, right?" Yang asked.

"I... of course not. Well, not all of it. It was crazy. We have Dust, Semblances... But, I mean, there's no such thing as magic." Weiss replied.

"I wouldn't say that." Liam said. "I've seen a few things that can't be explained."

Just then, the three hear a bird caw and watch it fly in front of them.

"A raven?"

"I've... seen that bird before." Yang said.

"Maybe it belongs to your mom?" Weiss suggested.

The three continue to watch the raven fly in the dusk-colored sky. It descends, flying and weaving between the trees, before shapeshifting into Raven herself. Raven lands back on the ground on her feet, while Yang, Liam and Weiss have shocked expressions as she stands back up.

"How..?" Liam asked.

"Well, I could explain it to you..." Raven creates a portal with her Semblance. "...or you could ask your uncle."

"You're letting us go?" Yang asked.

"I'm giving you a choice." she sheathes her sword. "Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start. Or... you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others. But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?"

Weiss reacts timidly, while Yang just glares at her mother.

"All I care about is making sure my sister is safe."

Raven rolled her eyes.

Minutes later

Yang went to retrieve her motorcycle. Weiss sat on the back of it while Liam stood beside it, the three of them ready to go through the portal.

"Yang. If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind the next time we meet..." Raven told her daughter.

"You weren't kind this time either."

Yang and Weiss proceed through the portal on Bumblebee. As Liam was about to step through, the portal suddenly shut, causing him to take a step back. "I still have a few things I need to tell you, Liam." Raven said.

"I thought you told me everything." Liam said as he turned to face her.

"Not quite." Raven replied. "I wanted to save the rest for when you were ready but it seems that isn't going to happen."

Liam stared at his aunt. "Like what?"

"Salem, she has her sights set on me." Raven told her nephew.

"Why?"

"I..." she looked to the ground as she shook her head. "I can't tell you at this moment. But I will, soon."

"What does this have to do with-"

"It's the reason I push Tai, Qrow and Yang away. The reason I did my best to stay hidden." Raven said. "If Salem found me, she'd hurt them. She'd do anything to get what she wants." Liam stood in silence. "You have a target on your back, too, Liam."

"What?"

"It's because of your silver eye." Raven told him. "You have the power to kill Grimm with just a single look. And that's not an exaggeration. I'm not sure how, but I've seen Summer do it before. And I assume, being her son, you can do the same." Raven paused. "With an ability like that, Salem would want you gone as quickly as possible."

Liam looked to the ground. "What should I do?"

"Get away from everyone you care about." Raven replied. "Get them to hate you if you have to or go into hiding."

"That's what you did?" Liam asked. "That's why you acted so differently in there?" Liam gestured to the tent. "To keep your distance?"

Raven slowly nodded. "It's a cruel life we live, Liam. But if you want to go with them, I won't stop you."

Liam stared at the ground as he thought it over. He suddenly looked up as if something came to him. "Ruby... If what you told me is true, I gotta warn her."

"I figured as much." Raven slashed open another portal.

As Liam approached it, he looked to his aunt one last time. "I love you, Raven. And thank you. For everything."

With that, Liam walked through the portal. "You're welcome."

End of chapter 37