Author's Notes

Some clarifications on Raven's story based on yesterweek's comments:

1) Why didn't they pretend 'Raven' died protecting 'Summer'?

Ozpin had already decided to set up a new life for her (he doesn't want people questioning why 'Summer' would be in danger since he sent her out to die), so he'd essentially spent the past two months subtly suggesting to everyone that Raven had fled. When Raven woke up, she trusted Ozpin's judgement and agreed to go along with the lie, thinking it was for the best without realizing that he had already made the choice for her.

2) Why did Qrow and Tai turn on Raven so quickly?

The key difference between what we (Raven's POV) see and what they see is that Raven was unconscious for two months.

From Tai and Qrow's POV, it's no different than canon - Raven just up and fled. They did turn on her, but only after a two month waiting for her to come back or contact them, which she didn't. After all that time, they had no alternative but to believe she'd gone back to her a**hole ways and abandoned her baby. This was only confirmed in their mind by how she'd suddenly started being rude again, only to randomly leave.

They did assume the worst in her, and they continue to speak ill of her unjustly. But, from their points of view, they gave 'Raven' ample chance to come back or at least explain herself, which she couldn't because she was either recovering or pretending to be Summer, who no one listens to.

3) Why didn't Raven detect Ruby, Yang, and Tai were alive with her semblance?

Her semblance stayed with her body when she swapped to Summer, and Raven now has original Summer's semblance. Pyrrha actually was the last person to use Kindred Link, as she bisected Ozpin when he was mid-portal.

4) Why is Yang cool with Summer being Raven being Summer?

Yang has yet to fully accept that Summer was Raven. However, since the woman in front of her looks like the maternal caregiver she grew up with, her mind is just ignoring the whole switchamaroo and accepting that whoever this is is "mom from my childhood." She is still subconsciously calling this woman Summer in her head.

5) What is original Summer's semblance?

Instantly fucking dying.

6) Will Penny **** Weiss in her tight little *** with her fat ***** and then **** all over Weiss' ******?

Yes.

As a point of fair warning, all of the above questions and answers were written immediately after the release of Chapter 72, so some of the discussions may be directly addressed in the upcoming chapters. This isn't me being repetitious, just me making a megathread here and now, but then also having the original explanations in the text.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!

Chapter 73: Perilous Voyage

In which Bronzewing bends the rules, Jaune arrives on Menagerie, and Raven talks things out with her daughter.

A signpost likely contained the name of the mysterious village, but Bronzewing could not read it. The Nuckelavee led him through the destroyed streets to what appeared to be a small hovel built from remnants of the ruined edifices.

"fffffffriends"

Four emaciated children emerged from the wreckage and approached the beast. Bronzewing instinctively went for his sword to defend them, but the Nuckelavee made no offensive move. Instead, the humanoid head, which hadn't spoken, opened its mouth. The jaw stretched open so wide that the upper half, bone mask and all, were bent completely upside down. The horse knelt on its front legs, allowing the children to reach their hands into the wide-open mouth. The four of them grabbed some small objects that Bronzewing could barely observe before they were eaten whole.

"The meat?"

"fffffffriends nnnnnnneed eeeeeeeat"

"You…saved them? Do you not seek the end of man, as do all Grimm?"

When the children had ceased to cram morsels into their starved maws, the Nuckelavee arose to its full height.

"aaaaaaaaam hhhhhhorseman nnnnnnnnot ggggggrimm"

"ooooooobey ssssssssalem hhhhhhhunt ggggggrimm"

"bbbbbbbound mmmmmmust ooooooobey nnnnnnnno ccccccchoice"

"nnnnnnnno wwwwwwant hhhhhhhurt nnnnnnever wwwwwwant hhhhhhhurt"

Suddenly, both heads of the Nuckelavee snapped away from Bronzewing. Bronzewing had not heard anything, but the beast clearly had. The heads turned back, this time with a terrified look upon their faces.

"hhhhhhhhide"

The children ran for cover inside their rickety shed, and Bronzewing joined them. He'd perceived the ferocity with which this horseman tore through Grimm; if something could distress it this much, he was fain to avoid it. The children huddled together, and Bronzewing brushed his hand against one of them. The small girl was coated in grime. She and her companions were most likely orphans from the Grimm attack on this city. Bronzewing wanted to ask her for her story, but he dared not make a sound.

Bronzewing waited and waited until eventually he heard something. There was no vicious duel or worldshaking single combat. There was not even any footfall as the mysterious foe approached.

"Thrace! My old friend! How have you been?"

"…"

"Still keeping the humans safe, I see."

Bronzewing tensed.

"Nobody clears out the Grimm like you do. Queen Salem is proud."

Whoever it was didn't know they were here. Bronzewing inhaled, exhaled, and got a look at the newcomer. It was…a raccoon Grimm? That sounded so vaguely familiar. Where had he heard that before?

"Have you been exercising? You're getting bigger."

A growl was the answer.

"Fine, fine, I'll get to the point, you galoot. Queen Salem wants you to show in Haven. We need the muscle for an upcoming job of ours."

"ooooooobey"

"Yes, I'm sure you will. Be there in three nights."

From the back of his mind came the word 'Procyon.' That was something important, something he'd heard before…

Team Castle! They'd spoken of a creature, another horseman who matched that description. It was nowhere near as threatening as the Nuckelavee or the mutant Beowolf, but Bronzewing knew from Thrush, Rose, and himself that height does not make a warrior make.

"wwwwwwwho"

"Don't you worry about that. We'll tell you who to fight when the time for it comes. And absolutely do not be seen by any humans in the city. Grab a hood or tarp or something and disguise yourself as a regular horse and rider."

"ooooooobey"

"Good. Great. I'll be leaving now. Remember, three nights."

"ttttttttthree nnnnnnights"

Bronzewing heard no further intercourse, but he waited until the Nuckelavee monosyllabically bade them exit before stepping out.

"You're going to Haven?"

"ooooooobey"

"Please, I beg of you: take me with you. Rose is all alone, and I must find her at once." Bronzewing had to gamble on her finding her way to the hunter academy of Mistral. It would be tough for a blind girl bereft of all allies and in the hands of the enemy, but he'd no other clues to go on at this juncture.

"aaaaaazeban ssssssssay nnnnnnno hhhhhhumans"

"You can't just ignore him?"

"bbbbbbbound ooooobey"

Bronzewing kicked a fallen timber in frustration. He had no idea where he was, and even if he did, travelling alone was slow and perilous. If he could ride atop a steed, particularly one adept at cleansing the world of Grimm, he could make it there in a quarter of the time.

"You have to obey him, right? Obey what he says?"

"ooooobey qqqqqqqueen"

"aaaaaazeban mmmmmessenger"

"Well, the other horseman only said you were to not be seen by any humans within the city. If you were to drop me…" Bronzewing gestured to the four children who were watching this dialogue with interest. "…and your friends outside the city walls, you'd not be violating any orders. Do I speak the truth?"

The horse's lips flicked upwards to bear its fangs in a toothy half smile.

"tttttttttruth ffffffffriend"

Jaune sat behind his desk and looked at the room full of people. All of Team Stark, Adjunct Professor Leonardo Lionheart, Major James Ironwood and his specialist team, and Dr. Pietro Polendina looked back at him. The entire army was assembled.

Tai spoke first. "Why the fuck are we doing this? If she can't be killed, then what is the point?"

"Xiao-Long's assessment, while profane, is indeed correct," said James. "Ozpin, you're acting like this isn't a huge revelation, but all the progress we've ever made means nothing now. Eventually, Salem's forces will overcome ours and claim the relics. If she's immortal, she'll just keep trying and trying forever."

Jaune shook his head. "Do not forget that I too am immortal. Do you wonder if her subordinates ever question her, claiming that their task is impossible? Whether I shall eventually succeed over the course of our shared eternity?"

"With all due respect, it's not the same. Sir," said Specialist Schnee, saluting after she spoke.

"The four kingdoms still stand, as they have for untold generations. Salem's Grimm have not eradicated humanity as of yet, and I doubt that they will within any of your lifetimes."

"But what about our children?" asked Taiyang. "And their children? And their children's children's children's children? All of the world will have to fight for their entire lives just to prolong this conflict that much further."

"Tell me, then." Jaune leaned both hands on his cane. "What is your take on lunch?"

"Excuse me?"

"Rather, what is your take on breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and whatever snacking we do throughout the night? I admit, my midnight addiction to potato crisp is rather severe…"

"I don't follow."s

"Every day, we stave off hunger by eating food, but we'll never truly be free of it. No matter how many sandwiches and soups and salads we consume, our stomachs rumble within hours. We cannot defeat hunger, but we do not fear that."

Jaune rose from his desk. "Do not try to think of Salem as a human that must be slain. She is neither human nor slayable. Consider her to be an abstract concept, and she becomes infinitely more manageable. Famine, disease, death itself – these forces cannot be permanently stopped, but we can defeat them by living full lives and not allowing our fears to overcome us. Yes, Tai, your grandchildren shall have to continue this fight, as you have to continue where your grandparents left off, but that is the nature of humanity. There shall always be some struggle which forces good men and women to become great men and women. Perfection in this world is unattainable, but the pursuit of it will always better the world."

He paused for effect, and to give his friends a moment to digest his heady words.

Specialist Ebi spoke first. "Honestly, I don't mind. I mean, what's the alternative? Give up? Hide? We can't. Immortal or not, she can be contained or weakened. If we can give humanity 100 years in a golden age of peace of something, and she attacks or wins after that, that's still 100 years of people living good lives."

The other specialists in his squad agreed, though Winter Schnee looked to James and waited until he gave her a nod first.

Pietro shook his head. "I'm not exactly a frontline fighter, so this doesn't affect me as much. But I'll do my part, however small it is. Let's buy the people of this world as much time we can, even if they deserve more."

Summer smiled wildly. "Didn't care then, don't care now. Just point me to the enemy and hand me a scythe to kill them."

"Finally, an order from my team leader that I can get behind," drawled Qrow.

The eyes of the room turned to the last remaining members of Team Stark, but Raven and Tai didn't speak. Jaune crossed his arms and waited.

"Guys?" asked Qrow.

Both of them looked to the floor.

"Tai? Sis?"

"A-Actually, we were thinking of getting out of the game," Taiyang admitted. "Even before all this came up," he added.

"You pussies gonna give up and run crying home to Mommy?" Summer asked mockingly.

Raven looked Summer in the eyes. "Call me that one more time and we'll see who's the real pussy."

"Ray, you can't seriously–"

"Leave it, Summer," said Jaune before ribbing turned into something more violent. "If they wish to live their lives without taking a stand against Salem, who are we to disagree? I only ask that you keep all that you learned about our enemy a secret. There is no need to cause a panic."

Raven and Taiyang nodded. "And if you ever are in a really tight spot, just call us. We'll be in Patch, not far away."

"We?" asked Qrow.

"We," answered Raven resolutely. "Got a problem with that?"

Jaune spat out sand and seawater as the real world returned to him. The last thing he remembered was blacking out as the cannonballs and chains wrapped around him pulled him deeper and deeper towards the ocean floor. Now, he seemed to have washed ashore on some kind of beach. Actually, given the visions, Oz had probably done something to ensure their survival. He'd vowed to never let the immortal take control of his body again, but the changeover happened automatically when either one of them lost consciousness, so neither of them could've stopped it this time. At least they'd been so far away from any other people that no one had gotten hurt.

Well, I hope not. Maybe some deep sea scuba diver's kids are going to spend the rest of their days wondering why daddy isn't coming home.

"No one was injured. I did nothing more than free us from the chains and swim back to shore. The magic it required was negligible."

Go away. I can't speak to you.

"Jaune, you're going to need my advice when you get to Lionheart, when you get to the Grimm pools…"

I know. But for now, I want nothing to do with you. All those people are dead because of you. No, because of us. I'm just as responsible. I refuse to hide from my guilt.

"The entire world will die if–"

The way you're treating the world right now, Oz, it's only a matter of time before you start wondering why there's no one left to save. You took the easy way out. We could've reasoned with those men, or maybe escaped.

"The risk was too great. We had to play it safe."

And as a result of you 'playing it safe,' we nearly drowned. I can still taste the sea turtle piss I gargled.

"I – perhaps you have a point. In the future, I will make an effort to take your input into account when I make decisions."

This was Jaune's body. If anything, Jaune should be the one taking Ozpin's input into account when he made decisions, but talking wasn't getting them anywhere. For now, they just needed to get to Lionheart as fast as possible without hurting anyone else.

They were most likely in Menagerie. Jaune had seen photos of Mistral's landscapes, and this beach wasn't it. He could hitch a ride on a ferry to the mainland…except he didn't have a single lien to his name. Stowing away was an option, but he'd rather not have a repeat of the S.S. Bloodbath.

Maybe he was thinking about this too hard. Instead of trying to make his own way to Mistral, he could simply tell the truth. Go to local authorities, tell them that he was a passenger that fell overboard and washed ashore, and ask them for aid in securing passage to Mistral.

Unless you've got any better ideas?

"None that you wouldn't fight me on, and I think the two of us have had enough…Jaune. Three o'clock."

Jaune reached for his scroll to check the time, but he must've lost it in the ocean.

"No, look to your right."

Jaune turned and saw some kind of cat Faunus woman accompanied by two fox Faunus and a group of uniformed men. Oh, good – this would save him a trip to the police station.

The cat Faunus was quite the beautiful woman. Her skin and hair were both dark, and her two cat ears were kind of orange-ish and stripey – maybe a tabby Faunus? She stopped a short distance from Jaune before introducing herself.

"I am Sienna Khan, high leader of the White Fang."

Before Jaune could say hi, the Faunus suddenly clutched her chest in pain and fell to the ground.

"Oh no! She's having a heart attack!" cried one of the uniformed Faunus.

Sienna Khan's lifeless body dropped to the sand. The two fox Faunus looked at it briefly before stepping over it and bowing briefly.

"Greetings. We are the Albain Brothers, new high leaders of the White Fang."

Jaune did his best imitation of the bow and introduced himself. "I'm Jaune Arc. I fell off my ship on the way to Mistral. Is there any way that I could book passage to the capital city? I'd be willing to work on whatever ship you put me on to pay off my debt."

The left fox Faunus looked over Jaune curiously. "Are you a huntsman?"

"Why, yes. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am." Jaune beamed.

"Do you perchance have retractable claws?"

"Uh, no?"

"A hidden tail beneath those pants?"

"No."

"Any Faunus features whatsoever?"

"Well, my girlfriend once called me a tapir Fau–"

"Seize the human."

The uniformed guards placed their poleaxes at Jaune's throat. Jaune had no idea if they were huntsman level or not, but he was too tired to fight back.

"I could–"

NO! NO YOU COULD NOT!

"Okay, okay. I'll come willingly. Please know that I mean you no harm."

"Oh, we've no doubt about it. But you see, Jaune Arc, between Sister Amitola, Sister Belladonna, and Brother Taurus, the majority of our best talent has stopped reporting in. The White Fang survives by recruiting new Faunus following flashy victories, and we're close to losing our momentum. But when we execute a human huntsman, the world will see that we are just as strong as ever."

"What? No!"

"Consider it an honor. Your sacrifice will aid a noble cause. Is that not your job as a huntsman, to lay down your life in protection of those in need?"

"No, you don't understand!"

"Take him away."

"I need to get to Haven! I'm the only one who can stop her! I'm the only one who can stop Salem!"

"Nice to see Roadkill in one piece!" Raven shouted, using her semblance to make sure Yang could hear her.

"What's Roadkill?" asked Yang.

"My old bike – the bike we're on, silly!"

"You mean Bumblebee?"

Raven looked down at the bike. Yellow covered most of the exposed metal with some highlighted strips of black breaking through. It was a good name.

"Yang, there's–"

"Mom, I–"

"You first."

"No, you."

"I insist."

In the end, Yang went first. "I just…I don't understand. Everyone always said that you, that Raven Branwen, was evil. I spent so much time hating you, but now, you're…"

"Nice?"

"Yeah, exactly. It's a little hard to think that I could have such a wrong idea of someone for so long. I despised Raven and adored Summer for so long, but now I find out that you're the same person? How…what…?"

"How can you reconcile your conflicting opinions on me?"

"I guess. D-Don't get me wrong, I'm so glad you're here. But…"

"I get it, firecracker. I've got a little experience under my belt with people who love me saying that they hate me. The thing that you need to remember is that every memory you share with Summer, every cookie you baked together or practice spar you did or origami crane you folded together – that was me. The real Summer Rose was abrasive and didn't care much for the people around her, except for occasionally me. She would never have stuck around and raised two kids. Tai, Qrow, all of them only loved Summer at the end because I took over her body and stopped being such a douche. They think that Raven scorned their affection and ran away, so they focus on hating that part of me. To be fair, I was a little obsessed with strength as a kid, though never as much as Summer obsessed over crushing all those who wronged her in the slightest."

"It's so weird, hearing you talk about Summer in the third person. I still see your face and think 'Summer.' It'll take some getting used to."

"You think you've got it rough? Try adapting to mirrors when someone else looks back!"

"Dude, that must suck ass."

"Yang! Language!"

"Sorry, suck butt. Speaking of adapting…how exactly did the transfer work?"

"It switched our auras, and with that, our souls. For a while, there was aura sickness – temporal fluctuations brought about by the multidirectional…look, let's just say, I acted like Summer for a while. That's why I was so grumpy the week you were born. But the aura sickness eventually wore off, since the effects are only severe right before and after the transfer."

"What about your semblance? And your muscle memory?"

"Summer and I were decently similar size and build, so I could apply most of my training and my skill, but semblances are tied to the physical body. I got Summer's wind modulation semblance. That's how we're speaking so clearly, even though we're on a bike going at 150 miles per hour."

"Hmmm…more like 200 miles per hour."

"You upgraded him?"

Damn, that was a big jump! Raven took a moment to remember that it was probably small tweaks and improvements here and there that added up over the years, not a sudden switch for 150 to 200. That poor robot must be having a hard time keeping up.

Yang scoffed. "Bumblebee's a her, Mom."

"Well, I built Roadkill, and I know for a fact that he's a he."

"Stop misgendering my bike!"

"Okay, okay!"

Both women descended into giggles at the ridiculous argument.

Yang sighed. "Ah, man. So, what did you want to ask me? You know, before I interrupted."

Raven paused. This was going to be a toughie, but she had a responsibility to guide Yang and lead her down the right path. Her eldest may have grown up quite a lot without her, but Yang was still just a teenager.

"Mom?"

"Yang, before the others and I found you, what were you doing?"

"Running away from you guys? I thought you were coming to kill me."

"I mean in the days before that. Yang, what did you do to Vernal and the others?"

"Was that her name? The aura user in the woods?"

"Yes."

"I…I thought you were evil. I thought that you'd killed my mom. It was what Ozpin told us!"

"Yang, did you kill my tribesmen?"

"I was trying to limit the number of people you could open portals to! I thought that if I took away your ability to run, then…"

Raven closed her eyes. That was…not okay. She might have understood if the members of the Branwen clan had attacked Yang during a mugging, and she'd been forced to defend herself, but it sounded like Yang had sought them out with no care as to who they were or what they'd done and killed them for the sole purpose of gaining a future advantage.

Something wet landed on Raven's face. She looked up to see tiny droplets flying off of Yang's face towards her. Gripping her arms around her daughter's waist even tighter, Raven made sure to speak her next words from the heart.

"My baby…it's okay. You had a hard life. I wasn't there for you, and you had to take care of Rook. There was no way it could've been easy for you. In the wilderness, an abandoned wolf pup has but two options – adapt to the harsh world around it by becoming even harsher, or die. You not only survived but thrived, and for that I am so, so proud of you. But not everything in life has to be a battle won by force. I'd learned that lesson by the time I'd stopped fighting Salem, but Summer never did. She kept fighting and fighting until it caught up with her. The mission to Vacuo she died on…she only went because Oz told her an agent of Salem's that she had a bone to pick with would be there. I don't want you to suffer the same fate on a blinding quest for vengeance. If you'd gone up against me and I really had been evil like you thought, you'd have lost everything. There would be so many people who would miss you – me, your father, your sister…your friends."

Raven looked up at the robot girl carrying the white haired woman in her arms. Yang's apparently villainous teammate was another discussion they needed to have, but there was no need to pile everything onto her baby all at once.

"I…you're right, Mom. I'd just lost so much, and I felt like going after you would be a win-win – I'd either get my vengeance or stop hurting. I won't ever do something like that again. I…I'm sorry about your men."

"It's okay, firecracker. Now, there's one more thing I want to know about you."

"What's that?"

"Everything."

Omake

Bronzewing: Huh, this must be the ruined village of Kuroyuri.

Schnee: Huh? Did someone say yuri?

Next Chapter: Enemy at the Gates – In which Adam Taurus deals out justice in the name of Blake Belladonna.

Author's Notes

The foretold Procyon returns, and he brings tidings of characters converging to one location. It seems like everyone's going to Haven Academy, unless they're one of the everyone going to Australia.

Jaune, sadly, has not yet died. There's no way I'd spoil all that buildup and character development with just an utterly abrupt and meaningless death.

*𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩* 𝘙𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘭 *𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩*

HEY! Who said that? You dare?!

A rare redeeming moment of Ozpin's is seen, in which he inspires his troops and doesn't withhold the truth about Salem at all. It isn't enough to make up for the literal mountain of shit he's done otherwise, but it's…actually still not nearly enough to redeem him even a bit. I do like that Leo never really offers his affirmation to their cause, but everyone just ignores him entirely.

RIP Sally Khan. She died the way she lived – dead. Still, I'm pretty sure I gave her more screentime than the original show.

Oh, and by the way – get ready for blood. We're gonna see some next chapter…

Happy rats, and don't do crime!