Chapter 2: Hope

The Bullhead soared overhead, circled around and landed. A group of huntsmen hopped down from the open door and briefly conferred with the professors, before Goodwitch, Oobleck and Port boarded the aircraft. Goodwitch fixed a stern stare on Blake, Weiss and Ruby, beckoning to them with her crop. Blake wouldn't put it past Goodwitch to use her Semblance to force them onto the Bullhead if they didn't come willingly.

Ruby climbed aboard, but didn't stop glaring at Goodwitch. Blake reluctantly got on board too, along with Weiss. Blake watched the sector of forest disappear after the Bullhead took off. She hated the thought that she was leaving Yang behind. Letting her down. Abandoning her to her fate. What would Yang do in her shoes? Probably never stop searching for her. But even Yang would need to rest. She'd understand.

Goodwitch met Ruby's narrowed silver eyes with a weary stare. "Yes, Miss Rose?"

Blake winced. In Goodwitch's shoes she would have let Ruby brood in peace.

"Who decided to give us missions in a CCT dead zone?" Ruby demanded. "Yang could've called for help if it hadn't been for no signal!"

"Ultimately the headmaster decides, although it is determined by where Grimm activity is reported. The dangerous location was part of the reason huntsmen were assigned to step in if necessary."

Ruby's eyes flashed. "And that went so well, didn't it? She would've been fine without that crooked huntsman!"

Goodwitch massaged her temples. Judging by the tension around her eyes, she might have a headache. "Miss Rose, I understand you're upset. I sympathise. But we couldn't have predicted his grudge or possessing such a dangerous Semblance."

"If my sister's dead I'm leaving Beacon. I'll transfer somewhere else. I don't care if I have to wait to be old enough to apply to a school without the headmaster favouring me. If I can call it favour when he didn't care about the risks of this mission."

Blake stared at Ruby. She'd already felt like the world had dropped out from under her feet, but the thought of Ruby leaving Beacon intensified the feeling.

Goodwitch sighed. "That is of course your decision to make. I can't stop you. Nor can the headmaster. Perhaps discuss it with him first so he can attempt to explain."

"There's nothing he can say that will make me okay with this. Especially if Yang's gone." Ruby curled up into an angry bundle inside her cloak, hood pulled over her head.

Weiss exchanged a helpless look with Blake. "I never thought Ruby would want to leave, but I can't blame her. I just hope I can follow her wherever she goes. If it's Atlas my father wouldn't argue too much, but… We'd all hate it there. I picked Beacon for a reason."

Blake nodded. "Beacon's home. But it won't be without Yang. I don't know what I'd do without her. I don't even want to think of a world with no Yang."

"Hopefully it won't come to it. I'd love to find Yang waiting for us in the dorm, telling us it was all a terrible prank. I'd hug her right after smacking her for worrying us." Weiss didn't sound like she believed it was possible. Blake knew it wasn't. That recording had been all too real.

Weiss's eyes flicked up to the top of Blake's head. "It's entirely your choice, of course, and I support your decision either way, but… Are you sure you want to return to Beacon like that? You look fine, really, it's just… Do you want to run into Cardin or his lackeys as you are?"

Blake blinked. She'd forgotten. She'd taken her bow off to make it easier to listen for any signs of Yang. "Oh, right. Thanks. I don't think I want to risk that confrontation today." She patted herself down and found her ribbon. She tied her cat ears back up, muffling them again.

Blake inspected Weiss, returning the favour. "You've got leaves in your hair again."

Weiss sighed. "Give me a hand, please, I'd like to be as presentable as possible where footage of me might get out."

Blake spent the rest of the flight picking out leaves from white hair, and helping Weiss get it as tidy as possible with no hairbrush at their disposal.

They landed at Beacon in time for lunch. Or breakfast for them, considering they hadn't eaten anything except sawdust-esque ration bars. Maybe that made it brunch? No, that was something between breakfast and lunch. Goodwitch herded them into the cafeteria and wouldn't leave them be until she'd seen them eat something.

Beacon's best tuna tasted like ash in Blake's mouth with Yang's seat empty beside her. Ruby and Weiss were also struggling with their food. Even the last cookie Weiss fought off five other students to give to Ruby was untouched.

Team JNPR stumbled into the cafeteria, all of them looking half asleep. They must have been napping after getting back from their own missions. They made for their usual table next to team RWBY's.

"Hey Ruby," Jaune mumbled, dropping into his seat and propping himself up with an elbow. From the way his eyes passed along the bench Blake was sitting on next to Ruby and Weiss, he might have actually said 'RWBY.' Ozpin really hadn't done them any favours with their team name. It wasn't any less confusing at the end of the year. But Blake would rather have that confusion for the rest of her life than have the team become the more easily discerned 'RWB.'

Nora inhaled a pancake and perked up, eyes opening. "How'd you do? We passed, even Jaune—"

"Nora," Ren murmured.

Pyrrha clapped Jaune on the shoulder. "We're very proud of how far Jaune's come since initiation."

"That's what I meant! I just said it kinda badly. Need more pancakes." Nora shoved another into her mouth. Her next words were garbled. Blake thought she was probably asking how team RWBY's missions had gone, but it'd take Ren to translate to know for sure. And he was busy eating.

"Come again? After you swallow, before another pancake," Weiss said.

Nora rolled her eyes and made a big show of chewing slowly and finally swallowing. "I asked how you did. Where's Yang? I have a bet to settle with her about who killed more Grimm last night."

Ruby's fork clattered onto the table.

Ren's head snapped up, eyes wide, a dawning horror on his face as he saw exactly how they felt. Blake knew his evolved Semblance could be a curse, he was still learning how to look at people without seeing too much.

The rest of JNPR looked between Ren and Ruby.

"What happened?" Jaune asked, his voice soft. Trying to be gentle, maybe.

Ruby just shook her head and lurched to her feet. She fled, leaving petals in her wake and the remains of her meal behind her.

Blake and Weiss each gestured at the other to go first. An impasse which Weiss broke.

"Our missions were in a CCT dead zone. The huntsman who was supposed to be supervising Yang had murderous intentions. We found her scroll and a recorded call revealing that much. We…" Weiss trailed off and shook her head.

Blake did her best to pick up where Weiss left off. "We tried to find her."

"Tried. Yang's…?" Nora covered her mouth, aghast.

Blake shrugged helplessly. "We don't know. We searched all morning, with our supervising huntsmen. No sign of her. But considering her night vision goggles were sabotaged, and there was a horde of Grimm in her sector when we got there, I…" She couldn't continue. Saying it would make it real.

"I'm sorry. I wish we could've helped." Pyrrha walked over to put her hands on Blake and Weiss's, squeezing gently.

Weiss cleared her throat. "The search is still ongoing with fresh eyes. You might be able to help tomorrow. Anyway, we should try to get some sleep." She wrapped up the cookie she'd fought so hard for in a napkin, cradling it as if it was fragile and precious treasure. Normally she insisted cookies were banned from the dorm, after she ended up with crumbs in her bed, no thanks to Ruby.

Blake eyed the remains of her tuna but couldn't bring herself to finish it. She got up and left with Weiss, murmuring a goodbye to JNPR.

Blake couldn't sleep. She tried reading instead but couldn't focus. Her mind kept going back to that recording. She could plug in headphones and listen to the rest of it. Goodwitch was right; Ruby shouldn't be put through potentially hearing her sister die. The problem was that Blake didn't want to hear it either, even if it would reveal what happened.

She didn't want to be forced to accept reality.

No!

Not reality. Yang wasn't dead.

It was selfish. She should be hoping Yang still lived for Ruby's sake. And she did! Her mind just kept coming back to a very inconvenient truth:

Blake should have told her how she felt.

Now it might be too late.

Blake buried her face in her pillow, trying not to let the building howl of grief escape. At least if it slipped out it might be muffled, and not disturb Ruby and Weiss too much. Not that either of them were doing more than dozing, judging by their breathing.

She hadn't told Yang because she'd been scared. Too much of a coward to risk making things awkward with her partner. Blake knew it was perfectly reasonable to be cautious, they needed to work together and live in the same dorm for another three years. But what had caution got her? The probability that Yang was dead and she'd never know Blake loved her. Blake had waited too long. Now she might never get a chance to kiss her, never find out if Yang wanted what Blake longed for with her.

She might never see Yang again, apart from photos she couldn't bear to look at. Not that photos did Yang justice. They captured her warm smile, gorgeous lilac eyes and that glorious mane of blonde hair. But not the sound of her laughter, or her kindness, her strength, the warmth of her embrace, and so many other things Blake had filled pages of her journal about.

Including Yang's intelligence. It maddened Blake whenever someone assumed her partner was just a dumb blonde. While true that Yang barely studied outside the classroom, she still matched Weiss's grades. Sometimes even surpassed them, much to Weiss's displeasure. Yet Blake knew Weiss would happily experience more of that envy if it meant Yang came back safely to—

Knock knock.

Blake stared at the door. Could it be someone with news about Yang? But wouldn't Goodwitch have summoned them with a call or message on their scrolls, or even an announcement over the intercom?

Knock.

"Ruby?" A man's voice, muffled by the door. No one Blake knew.

Ruby almost fell down from her bunk. She flailed, clinging to the edge, then dropped, thumping onto the floor. She hurried to the door and wrenched it open, leaping into the stranger's arms. "Dad!" She broke down, sobbing.

"Hey, hey, shh, I'm here, Daddy's here." He carried her inside, kicking the door shut behind him. He stroked Ruby's hair. "Ozpin called me here. I know as much as your professor Goodwitch reported."

Ruby didn't take after her father at all at first glance. Blake could see Yang had a bit more resemblance to him, although his hair wasn't as bright a blond. His eyes were also blue rather than lilac. Maybe the sisters both looked more like their mothers.

"Has there been any more news from the search team?" Weiss asked, sitting up and swinging her legs out of bed, slipping on her slippers. She darted across to her closet and pulled her silk dressing gown on.

Seeing Weiss put another layer on reminded Blake that she was currently a bit scantily clad in her nightwear, so she quickly pulled on a pair of leggings and her own slippers.

"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Weiss Schnee, sir, you must be Taiyang Xiao Long. It's a pleasure to meet you." Weiss stepped closer to him and offered her hand.

Taiyang juggled Ruby in his arms to free a hand and shook Weiss's. "Hi. That means you must be Blake." He glanced at Blake over the top of Ruby's head and gave her a distracted half smile. He offered his hand, so Blake walked over to shake it.

"Please call me Tai."

Blake would gladly do that. It felt weird to merely think his full name when it contained Yang's.

"It's good to meet you both at last, I kept telling Ruby and Ya—" Tai cut himself off with a wince, as if saying his eldest's name pained him. Or maybe he thought it'd set Ruby off again. She'd subsided to sniffling, face buried against him. "I kept telling the girls to bring you both with them when they visited for weekends. I was beginning to wonder if they'd made you both up and faked the team photos."

Ruby lifted her head. "Hey!" She kicked her legs, almost hitting his shins. "Put me down, slanderous Dad!"

"Okay." Tai dropped her. "But is it slander when you've done it before?"

Ruby wiped her face and perched on the edge of Weiss's bed. "I didn't make up a team! Just friends before I managed to make any. I wanted you to stop worrying."

"I always worry about you, it's part of being a dad. So imagine my worry when Ozpin called to tell me Yang was missing."

Ruby cringed. "Sorry I didn't call you, I should've told you myself."

"Don't worry about it, rose petal."

Ruby buried her face in her hands. "Da-ad," she wailed, drawing out the vowel. "Don't call me that in front of my team!"

"No can do, it's my duty to embarrass you. Anyway, you needed to rest after the night and morning you had. I hope I didn't wake you up."

Ruby shook her head. "Couldn't sleep." Blake suspected as much. She'd be surprised if Weiss could either.

"I get it. It's going to be hard for me to sleep tonight." Tai briefly looked away. "But there's still hope."

Tears welled up in Ruby's eyes. "Is there?"

"Of course there is." Tai's tone was reassuringly confident.

"Because the search is ongoing?" Weiss asked.

Tai shook his head. "I don't think Yang will be found in the wild, it's why I'm not going to join the search. Even without hearing about that scumbag of a huntsman's fate, I have reason to believe Yang's alive until I hear otherwise from someone who'd know."

Ruby looked just as confused as Blake felt.

Weiss managed to find her voice, despite her expression being just as bemused. "Please explain. I really want to hope she's alive, but I need something I can believe."

"Because Yang's mother would know if she died."

Weiss blinked. "Yang's—Wait, what? I don't understand." She turned to Ruby. "I didn't know how to ask earlier, after the subject of Raven Branwen came up in the recording. Until then I thought your mother and Yang's was called Summer Rose, and that she was…" She shrugged helplessly. "Dead. Sorry."

Ah. Yang hadn't mentioned Raven to Weiss. Blake couldn't help feeling a smug selfish pleasure at the fact. It meant Yang was closer to Blake, that she trusted Blake more. Maybe, just maybe, it meant she loved Blake too. Or maybe Blake was getting carried away, and she should feel bad that Weiss had been left in the dark. Because Ruby clearly hadn't told her partner.

Ruby cleared her throat. She kept looking away from Weiss, fidgeting with her scroll. "You didn't know?"

"Know what? That Yang's mother abandoned her, and your mother was someone else entirely? Obviously not."

"Um. It's, uh…" Ruby rubbed at the back of her head, a nervous tic she shared with Yang. She tried a laugh. It came out nervous. "I guess I didn't tell you, I just thought because you're so intelligent and one of the top students that you, er, figured it out. I'm sorry, Weiss, please don't hate me!" She threw herself at Weiss, clinging to her ankles when Weiss sidestepped and Ruby landed on the floor.

Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ruby. It's been a very long day, and we've all been stressed by… events. You most of all. So get up, calm down, and start making sense. Please."

"Right, right, sorry." Ruby scrambled to her feet. "I guess I should start with the fact that, yes, Yang's technically my half sister. Same dad, different moms. But my mom was Yang's mom too because she adopted her. Maybe legally?" She glanced at Tai for confirmation.

"She did. In case anything happened to me." Tai sighed, his expression wistful, something heartbroken in his eyes. It made Blake remember Yang's account of his losses. Poor man.

"I see. It does explain a lot. Your different surnames, why you don't look alike… I'm guessing you take after your mother." Weiss seemed to realise she'd stumbled onto something sensitive and turned to Tai. "I'm sorry, it must be a painful subject."

"It's fine. They do both resemble their mothers a lot. But that's not a bad thing. I loved Raven for a reason. I loved Summer for even more reasons, and how she stepped up to take care of Yang after Raven left us was a big part of that. Yang wouldn't be the person she is now if Summer hadn't raised her."

Blake had already wished she could have met Yang's super-mom. That bittersweet longing only intensified. Of course what she really wanted right now was to find Yang alive. She'd settle for hearing exactly why Tai believed she was.

Blake wasn't the only one who wanted to know that. Ruby asked before she could. "Dad? Why would Raven know if Yang… If the worst happened?"

"Oh boy. This is awkward." Tai winced. "Yang doesn't know this herself yet. She should know first, but you need to know now, so you can believe there's hope… Sorry, Yang. Maybe she'll understand, or maybe I'll be in for worse than the poor hairdresser at her first haircut."

Considering Yang didn't let just anyone touch her hair, Blake could believe that hapless hairdresser suffered. She bet even baby Yang packed a punch.

Tai rubbed the back of his head. It seemed it was a Xiao Long nervous tic. Maybe some of his body language and expressions were what his daughters had inherited from him. "So, Raven. Her Semblance is why she'd know if Yang died. She bonds to a select few, including me, Qrow, and—"

Ruby frowned. "Uncle Qrow? I didn't know he was close to Raven."

Tai scratched the soul patch of beard on his chin. "I guess I didn't mention that before. He's Yang's uncle by blood, yours by choice. Raven's his twin. They were close once. Before she left."

Ruby blinked a few times, as if rebooting herself, then shrugged. "Oh. I guess it doesn't really matter. He's still my uncle. Sorry, go on, Dad."

"Right, so Raven's Semblance involves bonds to people who matter to her. Or who used to matter." Tai gestured self deprecatingly at himself. "The bond remains until death breaks it. She can create portals to those people, come and go at will."

Ruby sucked in a sharp gasp, her eyes wide. "You mean… She could have visited at any time? Yang, you, us. I mean, she probably wouldn't want to see me, but…"

"Yeah. She chose to leave us." Tai's jaw tightened. "I still don't know why, but she could've come back whenever she wanted. Even just to visit. Yang is going to be so mad when I finally tell her. Probably madder the longer I delay. I just… I don't want to hurt her, and this is going to do that."

Ruby dropped her head into her hands. "Dad… I get not wanting to hurt her. But keeping it from her will do that too." She looked up. "She'll be mad at Raven anyway, do you really want her to be mad at you too?"

Tai looked sheepish. "I was trying to protect her."

Ruby sighed and shook her head.

Weiss cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Tai, are you sure Raven has a Semblance connection with Yang?"

"I saw Raven create the bond. Yang was just a baby at the time, but it didn't need her to do anything. It's all on Raven's side. Yang could hate her mother and the bond would still be there," Tai said.

"Would Raven really tell you if she felt this Semblance bond to Yang break?" Ruby looked dubious.

"Maybe not in person, but she'd send word." Tai sighed, shoulders slumping. "It's how I knew for sure Summer wasn't just missing."

Ruby's eyes had probably never been wider. "Raven had a bond with my mom?"

"Sure. They were partners when team STRQ was here." Tai looked around the room. "Seeing this dorm is a blast from the past. We rigged up bunk beds too. Even if we needed to make them more secure than this… questionable construction." He eyed the bunk supports. "Please tell me Qrow never set foot in here."

"Uh… He has, when he visited. Why?" Ruby asked.

Tai raised an eyebrow. "Neither of them collapsed?"

"Nope," Ruby said, popping the 'p.' "They're sturdier than they look. Especially Yang's. She's mostly muscle and that's heavy."

Weiss darted over to check the ropes holding Ruby's bed up, something she did multiple times per day if she could. She very likely lived in fear of it crushing her in her sleep. Blake admittedly checked the stacks of books supporting Yang's bunk every day, but otherwise didn't let it bother her. Even with the knowledge of how heavy Yang was. Blake was all too familiar with that weight from regularly performing the team move Bumblebee.

Both of Tai's eyebrows shot up as high as they could go. "Really? Wow. Let's just say bad luck follows him around. It's why he never visits for long. Anyway, Raven and Summer were partners. They were close. It hit Summer just as hard as me when Raven left without a word to anyone. Maybe Raven never cared as much as we did, but she cared enough for her Semblance to latch onto us as anchors." He shook his head. "Anchors… Maybe that's how she saw us. Weighing her down."

Ruby took his hand. "Dad… Doesn't this just mean you might get the worst news eventually? I don't want to believe Yang's dead, but false hope won't help us."

"Listen to this, my little rose petal, and then tell me if you think it's false hope." Tai clasped Ruby's hand with both of his own, dwarfing it with his big hands. "There's more to Raven's Semblance. She can feel it when someone she's bonded to is in danger. She's… complicated. Raven believes that you should save yourself if you deserve to live. She clashed with Summer over their opposing values a lot. But Raven has a rule: she will come to help as a one time favour. She'll have come for Yang last night, provided she hadn't before."

Blake felt a cautious hope unfurling in the vicinity of her heart.

"So Yang might be alive?" Ruby sounded a little more like herself, more optimistic than she'd been all day.

"I hope so. I haven't heard about her saving Yang before, but…" Tai gave a helpless shrug. "Yang doesn't tell me everything. Qrow might know more."

"So call him!" Ruby all but vibrated. A few petals drifted from her.

"I tried. Straight to answerphone, as usual. He's probably busy. Or forgot to keep his scroll charged. Or broke it again. I've lost count of how many scrolls he's gone through. Far more than Yang." Tai shook his head despairingly. "And she's broken a fair few."

"I hate to say it, but do we have any evidence that Raven actually did something for Yang?" Weiss looked somewhere between miserable and apologetic.

"Didn't I say? There's what happened to the scumbag huntsman who tried to kill Yang. A bladed weapon killed him, right? Yang doesn't have one. Raven does." Tai gestured dramatically, rather like Port in full flow.

"The huntsman had one," Weiss said. "But I'll concede that it seems unlikely Yang used it, considering it was sheathed and clean. With all the Grimm around she wouldn't have had time or inclination to try to cover up manslaughter, presuming she'd taken his night vision goggles so she could see anything."

"Didn't you think she'd done both? Killed him and taken his goggles?" Blake demanded, gazing at Weiss, eyes unblinking.

Weiss looked uncomfortable. "I did because it was the best explanation I had at the time. But there were things that didn't entirely add up. Tai's explanation does make more sense."

Tai nudged Ruby. "Well? Is it false hope, or…?"

Ruby pouted. "You just want to hear me say you were right."

Tai grinned. "What sort of dad doesn't want to hear that?"

"You don't hear it much. Zwei's the one who's always right. Where is he?" Ruby eyed her father as if she expected him to pull the corgi out of a pocket. Blake was very relieved when he didn't, although it didn't eclipse her relief back when Goodwitch finally enforced the no pets rule.

"I'd have brought him with me, but…" Tai winced. "I got lectured by Goodwitch when she returned him. She's scary. The Xiao Long charm doesn't work on her at all."

Ruby looked decidedly unimpressed. "You made it worse by trying to charm her, didn't you, Dad."

Tai sighed. "Did I ever. I wasn't even trying to flirt! Just be friendly."

Ruby groaned. "That's why Goodwitch has been giving me and Yang weird looks! I thought she was mad about catching us with a dog, but it must be because she knows you're weird and thinks we are too! You passed on your weirdness! Now Weiss and Blake will be scared we're going to infect them with it too!"

Tai held his hands up, palms outward. "I'm sure there's another explana—"

A strange sound cut Tai off. Like something tearing. A swirl of red light appeared in front of the window, at the edge of the room, widening in the blink of an eye to a vertical oval stretching from floor to ceiling. It rippled with smoky shadows, the edge glowing deep red.

Tai gasped. He staggered to the side until he hit the wall, leaning heavily on it.

Blake's attention returned to the… She didn't even know what to call it. Anomaly didn't really do it justice, or hint at how being near it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"What's that supposed to be?!" Weiss's voice was an octave higher than normal.

"Dad? What is that?" Ruby sounded about as shaken as Blake felt.

"Raven," Tai croaked. He coughed and cleared his throat. "One of Raven's portals. I can't believe it, I haven't seen one since—" He choked as an arm clad in red and black appeared in the centre of the swirling light and shadows. Its hand beckoned, then the arm retracted, disappearing. "Oh. She wants me to go through. I'd better get going, she'll get impatient and close it. I'll try to get word to you as soon as I can, Ru—"

Ruby darted through the portal.

"Ruby!" Tai belatedly reached for his daughter. He heaved a sigh, pushing a hand through his hair. He turned to look at Blake and Weiss. "You both might as well come too. I'm sure you want answers." He took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists, visibly bracing himself. It must've been a long time since he'd seen Yang's mother.

Weiss exchanged a look somewhere between determination and wariness with Blake. She nodded. Blake returned the gesture. "We'll go."

Tai waved towards the portal. "You'd better go before me. She might close it as soon as I come through."

Weiss quickly retrieved her scroll and lien card, prompting Blake to retrieve her own. She had no idea what awaited them, maybe they'd regret not taking their weapons? They didn't have time to retrieve them though, as they'd been obedient little students and stashed them in their lockers. Goodwitch would murder them if they used the quick access function, she'd definitely object to rocket lockers blasting into their dorm.

Weiss gestured at the portal. "After you."

Blake held her breath in case the swirling smoke wasn't just a visual effect. She walked through the portal, closing her eyes at the last moment, ears twitching as her body tingled.

"—be right here, I'm sure! Dad will want to ground me until I'm thirty for running through, and he can't do that if he doesn't follow." Ruby was talking faster than normal, a clear sign she was nervous. "Oh, hi Blake!"

The air smelled different to the dorm, something overpowering that Blake couldn't put her finger on. She opened her eyes. A quick glance behind revealed the portal was still open. She turned back and saw Ruby standing next to a wall, of course still in her pyjamas, bare feet fidgeting on the polished floor. The room they were in was well lit, with chairs scattered around. If Blake had to guess, they were in a waiting room of some sort. Blake walked over to Ruby, clearing room for Weiss and Tai.

"Hi Weiss!" Ruby chirped.

Weiss joined Blake beside Ruby, allowing Tai to emerge from the portal.

"Hi Dad." Ruby sounded like she wanted to disappear.

Blake turned to see the stern expression on Tai's face, his eyes fixed on his daughter. "Ruby Rose, you are so grounded. Going through a portal with no weapon, no combat outfit, and no idea what was on the other side. It could've been—"

The portal closed behind Tai with another ripping sound, cutting them off from their way back to Beacon.

"Could've been a trap? Is that what you think of me, Tai?" It had to be Raven's voice, tone cold and harsh. Blake turned to look at Yang's mother. She bit her lip to keep from gasping at the resemblance. Raven looked like an older Yang, right down to her height, if with permanently red eyes, and black hair with the same stubborn cowlick sticking up. Well, an older Yang with resting bitch face.

"Raven." Tai folded his arms. "You do have a history of setting up pranks with portals."

"Not under these circumstances. I expected you to come alone. Imagine my surprise when Summer's second coming ran through and hit the wall." Raven pointed at a sheepish Ruby. "And now you bring two other girls with you. Are you collecting them?"

Tai frowned. "These are her teammates. Is it so surprising that we all want to know what happened to Yang? Come to that, I'm surprised you opened a portal for me after all these years."

Blake cringed, uncomfortable with the awkwardness of what she could only call divorce vibes around Yang's parents. Had they even married in the first place? If so, had they formally divorced? It sounded like Raven was difficult to pin down. How could she be served divorce papers if she couldn't be found?

Someone cleared their throat. "She opened the portal because I told her you should be here, and wouldn't stop nagging." The voice was raspy and vaguely familiar. Blake looked over at its source, a man slumped in one of the chairs. Yang and Ruby's uncle, Qrow. She'd met him in passing.

Raven huffed. "I didn't do it because you told me to, brother. Clearly I agreed."

"Eventually. Whatever, Raven. Anyway, I didn't expect you to bring the girls, Tai. That's gonna be interesting to explain to Goodwitch, especially when it comes to getting them back to Beacon. We're not in Vale." Qrow crossed his long legs in front of him.

Raven examined her fingernails. "Play your cards right and it won't matter. Do you really think I stopped making bonds when I left team STRQ? I can make portals all over Remnant."

Weiss elbowed Ruby.

"What?" Ruby asked, pitched low.

"Introduce us to Raven. You couldn't do it with your father and I understand why, but it's your place as team leader to introduce us to a huntress. Even one who apparently became a bandit," Weiss muttered.

"Oh, right." Ruby cleared her throat and gave Raven a faltering grin. "Hi, I'm sure you gathered anyway, but I'm Ruby. This is Weiss Schnee, and Blake Belladonna. Together with Yang, we're team RWBY. That's RWBY with a 'W" for Weiss, not Ruby as in, um, me."

Blake reluctantly extended her hand to Raven, beside Weiss's and Ruby's. She couldn't look at Raven without remembering Yang's words about her. That she abandoned Yang when she was just a baby.

Raven looked at the offered hands rather blankly. She didn't offer her own. Maybe she made bonds by shaking hands, and didn't want them as targets for her Semblance? One by one, they withdrew their hands.

"Polite as ever," Tai muttered. "What happened to Yang? How is she? Where are we?"

"Hospital, obviously. I had Qrow get to the closest one to him. Can't you tell by the decor and the smell?" Raven sat down next to Qrow. "As for Yang, that's what we're waiting to find out. She's still alive so far, you know I'd feel it if she died. All I know is that someone was turning her into a pincushion with arrows. I didn't exactly stop to ask why."

"We know why. Yang's scroll recorded the call where he confessed his motives. I copied it. I can play it for you." Blake felt Ruby's eyes on her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ruby's voice was plaintive. "I needed to hear the end of it."

Blake looked at Ruby. She flinched at the betrayed look on her face. "I'm sorry. I couldn't bear to hear it, and it felt wrong to risk you hearing Yang die."

Raven snapped her fingers, drawing Blake's attention back to her. "There's no reason not to play it now; she lived. So do it."

Blake got her scroll ready, found the recording, and pressed play. It didn't get any easier hearing it, even knowing Yang was still alive. If anything the repetition was worse. Knowing what was coming and being unable to do anything to stop it. Knowing Yang had needed help. And Blake had failed to give it, all because of that dead zone.

Raven's eyes widened at the mention of the huntsman's daughter. "Vernal?" she muttered.

Qrow held up a hand. Blake paused the playback. She'd been about to anyway, even without a signal from anyone else. At least this way Qrow would be the one trying to get answers from Raven.

Qrow slowly turned to his sister. "You know her. This huntsman's daughter. He didn't attack Yang over a misunderstanding. This is your fault." He stabbed a finger at her.

Raven brushed his finger aside. "But that's just it! Vernal joined us, she isn't even dead! She's my second in command."

Blake took a moment to process that. The huntsman, Vernal's father… He'd never know the truth. Unless there was an afterlife that let him know somehow. If there was, hopefully he'd had to face judgement for making Yang suffer.

"Well, fuck. That's twisted." Qrow took a swig from his flask. Beside Blake, Weiss shifted uncomfortably. Was it Qrow's swearing or the alcohol that bothered her? Maybe both.

Raven snorted. "More than you know, brother, considering she was keeping Yang alive while I had you get here."

Blake didn't want to think about the implications of that. Yang had been close to death. Weiss grabbed her hand and squeezed tight. Blake glanced at her and suspected she was plagued by similar thoughts. She'd also taken Ruby's hand.

"You know what, I don't even care about why it happened. I care about Yang being a… pincushion." Tai looked sickened. "How many arrows, Raven?"

Raven shrugged. "I didn't have time to count them."

"Enough that you'd need to count?" Tai's hands shook. "Why didn't you get there sooner?"

"Believe it or not, I can't always drop everything the moment I feel someone is in danger!" Raven huffed. "I got to her before it was too late. That's what matters, isn't it?"

"But we don't know yet, do we?" Ruby dropped her head into her hands. "You said you were waiting to find out how she is."

Raven glanced at Ruby. "It's a pretty good sign to me that she survived the night."

Tai took a seat the other side of Qrow. He poked him. "You could've called me. As soon as you knew Yang was hurt."

"I wanted to. But I couldn't risk it. Not with my luck. I figured it was safer to get Raven to open a portal for you. With how stubborn she is it'd be her decision, not mine. Sorry it took so long to persuade her." Qrow didn't bother looking at his sister, despite talking about her.

"I'm right here," Raven grumbled.

Qrow scoffed. "As if 'stubborn' is the worst you've heard from me!"

Weiss yelped. Ruby had stepped on her toes in the process of darting over to Blake, eyes fixed on the paused recording. Ruby reached for it.

Blake lifted her scroll out of Ruby's reach. She wasn't as tall as Yang but she still had a couple of inches on Ruby. She'd have more with her heeled boots on.

"Come on, Blake, let me hear the rest!"

"Ruby, I'm not sure—" Blake's jaw dropped as her scroll was snatched out of her hand.

Qrow winked at her. He'd taken advantage of her focus being on keeping it away from Ruby. "Yoink." He sat back down, plugged in earphones and listened to it by himself. His face grew progressively grimmer. He took the earphones out, playback finished. He shook his head, looking at Ruby. "Sorry, Kiddo, you're not listening to that."

"You're not the boss of me, Uncle Qrow!"

Qrow passed the scroll to Tai when he held his hand out.

"But I am, little rose petal." Tai's voice was as firm as it had been when telling Ruby she was grounded. "Tell you what, if Yang okays it, I'll let you listen."

"But—Ugh!" Ruby threw up her hands. "I'm her team leader! I can order her to let me listen!"

"And she's your big sis who happened to pretty much raise you. I think that trumps team leader bullshit," Qrow said. "We only paid attention to Summer's orders when it came to training or missions. Nothing else."

Tai winced at the mention of Yang raising Ruby. Considering Yang had mentioned that he'd shut down after Summer's death, it was probably a painful topic.

Ruby stamped, bare foot slapping against the floor. "That recording was from a mission, so it comes under my preview!"

Weiss cleared her throat. "Purview."

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"Ruby… It was a solo mission. In theory supervised, just not for Yang." Blake tried to keep her words gentle. Even knowing Yang was still alive, they didn't know yet whether she'd stay that way. Ruby had to be aware of that.

"It counts!" Ruby paced, scattering petals, beyond agitated.

"Ruby, stop." Qrow stood up and caught Ruby by the shoulders. "Do you really want to hear that creep try to get Yang to beg for her life? To hear arrows hit her?"

Ruby's face crumpled and she fell against Qrow, sobbing, pounding his chest weakly.

"Qrow. That was too much." Tai scooped Ruby into his arms. Blake hurriedly retrieved her scroll before it could drop onto the floor.

"I wuh-wanted to nuh-know." Ruby lifted her head, rubbing at her eyes. "I nuh-need to see Yah-Yang."

"We all do," Tai crooned. "We've just got to wait until someone says we can. That's how it works in hospitals."

Ruby took some deep and hopefully calming breaths, then wriggled out of her father's arms and onto a seat of her own. "I hate waiting. I hate hospitals."

"You'd better learn to put up with them if you want to be a huntress," Raven said. "Your team might murder you in your sleep if you don't. No one likes a whiner."

"My team loves me even when I complain." Ruby scowled. "And I'm not going to listen to someone who abandoned my sister."

Raven looked offended for a moment, then barked a harsh laugh. "Oh, you really are Summer's second coming. Not just looks but her attitude too." She glanced at her brother and at Tai. "How can you bear to be around her?"

Tai flinched.

"It's a good sort of pain to be reminded of Summer, and Ruby's her own person. You'd know that if you'd stuck around," Qrow growled.

"Stranding you all here is still an option." Raven smiled, a far crueller one than any of Yang's, including when she was about to win a game at the expense of another player.

Qrow rolled his eyes. "You're not leaving until you know Yang's going to survive. Why else would you still be here?"

Raven smirked. "I could still leave while you're busy visiting her."

Tai opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to find words. His face fell.

"How dare you say that?" It took Blake a moment to realise that the words had exploded from her own lips. She blinked, finding herself on her feet.

Raven's eyes narrowed. "And who are you to talk to me at all, let alone like that?"

"Yang's partner. She's not here to say it herself, so I'll say it for her. She told me about you. She wants to see you, she's wanted that for as long as she knew about you. She almost got herself killed trying to find you." And Ruby, but Blake wasn't about to mention that. It wasn't her story to tell.

There was no remorse on Raven's face, just cool indifference. "Then let her earn what she wants by tracking me down."

Blake bared her teeth. "She almost died last night because of you, bandit queen. You owe her."

Raven's lip curled contemptuously. "I saved her life. I owe her nothing."

"Actually you owe her eighteen years of birthday presents," Weiss said. "And you owe Tai seventeen years of child support, unless a bandit such as yourself paid that?"

The look on Raven's face was priceless. She stared at Weiss, red eyes wide for a moment before they narrowed to slits. "Watch yourself, Schnee. You might find yourself somewhere you don't want to be if you take my portal out of here."

Weiss smiled tightly. "Thanks for the warning, I'll wait for Yang to recover and take her back to Beacon on an airship. I assure you I can pay to charter one."

The door Blake had only vaguely noticed opened, and a uniformed member of hospital staff walked in. A badge identified her as a nurse. She paused, taking in the fact that there were more people present than she may have expected. "Are you Yang Xiao Long's… family?"

"Uh…" Tai got to his feet and threw his arms around Blake, Ruby and Weiss. Only their Aura kept his enthusiasm from knocking them out when their heads collided. "That's right! I'm the girls' dad. Taiyang Xiao Long. Hi."

The nurse stared, clearly sceptical, eyes lingering on Blake and Weiss. Ruby was at least clearly younger. Blake was aware she and Weiss were much the same age as Yang and looked it.

"Different mothers." Tai attempted a winning grin. "Polycule, y'know."

Qrow gave Raven a nasty look. He sauntered up to Tai and kissed his cheek. "Yeah, everyone wants his little dragon if you know what I mean."

It was all too easy to react like a disgusted daughter to that. Blake cringed right along with Ruby and Weiss.

The nurse turned away, making for the door. "If you'll follow me, the doctor is happy for family to see Yang now. Her Aura has recovered enough to start healing her, although it'll be at least a week before the wounds heal fully, due to the number and severity of them."

Blake followed Ruby into Yang's room, the nurse holding the door open. Her awareness of Weiss close behind faded away, all of Blake's attention drawn to her partner.

Yang looked over from where she was propped up in the hospital bed. Her skin was far too pale and drawn to be healthy, her hair limp. It took Blake a moment to notice that even her rebellious cowlick had mostly collapsed. Her body was largely covered by a hospital gown and a sheet, but a few dressings over wounds were visible. She looked like shit, yet she was still the most beautiful thing Blake had seen. She was alive. She'd recover.

"Yang," Blake breathed. She flushed, realising she'd allowed too much of what she felt into her voice.

Yang stared at her, looking somewhere between confused and concerned. "Blake—"

Whatever Yang was about to say was cut off when Ruby pounced on her, throwing her arms around her. "Yang!"

Yang yelped. "Ow, ow, ow, gently, Ruby!"

"Sorry sorry sorry!" Ruby backed off but kept a hand on Yang's. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine."

Ruby glanced at Blake and raised an eyebrow. She turned back to Yang. Blake levelled a sceptical look at Yang, something she suspected everyone was doing.

"We found your scroll. Goodwitch accessed the last call you made, automatically recorded. We know your Aura broke, and why," Weiss said, voice stern.

Yang groaned. "All things considered, I'm fine. The doc said I was lucky to be alive, but I'll make a full recovery. Having unlocked Aura works miracles, although they needed to do surgery on my knee."

"Aura's great at accelerating healing, but it needs time to recover first," Tai said.

"And it has." Yang closed her eyes, concentrating as she focused her Aura. It briefly appeared all over her body, glowing a bright yellow gold. She let her Aura fade into background healing and opened her eyes. "Enough to be helping, anyway. I'll be fine, Dad. Just a few new scars, and you always say ladies love scars."

Tai winced. "On men, Yang."

"Well I like to hear stories behind scars, and I always thought Weiss's looked badass." Yang winked at Weiss.

Blake found herself fighting back the burn of jealousy. She felt ridiculous. What was wrong with her? Jealous of Weiss for having a scar with a painful story behind it? No, that wasn't it. Because Yang flirted with her. Weiss didn't even flirt back! Yang flirted playfully with most people. It didn't mean anything. Blake sighed. She needed to get a grip. She also needed not to think about what parts of Yang she wanted to get a grip on, at least not in public.

Tai groaned. "Sorry, Weiss, I didn't mean to offend you."

Weiss waved the apology away. "Don't worry about it. Your mind was clearly on Yang. For the record, there's nothing wrong with scars."

"No, of course not, it's just… There's a certain expectation for women to have flawless skin. I'm not saying that's right. Scars should be respected as proof of surviving—"

Qrow interrupted Tai's babbling with an elbow. "Stop digging, Tai." He walked over to Yang, displaying terrible posture now that he was walking where Blake could see him. "Glad you pulled through, Firecracker. I'm sure you'll come up with some good stories about how you got your scars. Maybe even the truth?" He patted her shoulder.

Yang made a face. "The truth isn't really a story I want to share. Maybe I'll blame the scars on Nevermore feather strikes."

Tai shoved Qrow aside. "You should talk to someone about what happened. Someone qualified, I mean. I'll pay for it." He took Yang's free hand and squeezed. Blake suspected Ruby wouldn't be releasing Yang's other hand any time soon, meaning everyone else had to share Yang's attention with Ruby, even when Ruby wasn't saying anything. But Blake was used to that whenever Ruby was around Yang. It was just how the Xiao Long-Rose sisters were.

Yang looked very unimpressed. "Like you did after Mom died, huh?"

Tai blushed. "Like I should have. Do as I say, not as I do. I know it must be annoying. It's just I don't want you to make the same mistakes I did. I'm worried about you, even knowing you'll be okay, physically at least. I dropped everything after Ozpin called me, letting me know what happened. Zwei wasn't happy, I was holding him at the time."

Yang glanced around as if expecting to see the furry little menace. "Where is Zwei? I guess they don't allow dogs in hospitals unless they're licensed for therapy."

"I had to leave him on Patch. I'll have to ask a neighbour to drop by and make sure he can reach his food cans. Better do that while I remember." Tai released Yang's hand, stepped out of the way and leaned against a wall, scroll in hand.

Ruby groaned. "You're a terrible dog dad."

Tai waved carelessly. "Zwei's clever enough to take care of himself. He's better than I am at it!"

"Not something to be proud of," Yang grumbled.

Tai waved his scroll, showing off a picture of Zwei. "I'm proud of our dog, and you should be too!"

Yang and Ruby exchanged a look and sighed.

"We're proud of Zwei. Just not of you as a dog dad. Mailing dogs isn't normal. You should have seen Weiss and Blake's reactions," Ruby said.

"I trained Zwei up just fine. I did better with him than either of you, even." Tai raised a defiant finger. "And mailing dogs with Aura isn't illegal, I checked." His scroll pinged, and he turned his attention back to it.

The sisters exchanged another look and a helpless shrug.

Weiss approached Yang. "So much about you makes sense after meeting your father."

"Ouch, Weiss. I'm wounded." Yang pouted.

"About both of you." Weiss glanced at Ruby.

"Hey!"

Weiss ignored Ruby's protest. "It's such a relief you're going to be all right, Yang. We were very worried about you. So don't do it again." She wagged a finger at Yang.

Yang rolled her eyes. "Didn't have much choice, did I?"

Weiss sighed. "No. No, you didn't. I'm sorry that happened to you." She bent down and gave Yang a gentle hug.

"Wow, is the Ice Queen melting?" Yang murmured.

"Don't tell anyone," Weiss muttered back. "I have a reputation to uphold."

Click!

Weiss whirled around at the distinctive sound.

Tai grinned behind his scroll. "Caught on camera." His grin widened. "And sent to Ruby and Yang."

"Oh. Joy. He's definitely your father." Weiss gave Ruby a resigned look when she chuckled.

Ruby let go of Yang for long enough to get out her scroll and admire the photo. "I should share this in the RWBY and JNPR chat. They'll never believe it otherwise."

Weiss sighed heavily. "I suppose they do need reassurance that Yang's going to be fine."

"You could take a pic where I'm not largely hidden behind Weiss. Amazing how five foot nothing could do that."

Weiss glowered. "Just for the crack about my height I'll take and share a photo of you, Yang Xiao Long. It won't be flattering."

"Well, duh. I'm sure I look terrible. Pale green isn't my colour." Yang plucked at her hospital gown. Right before Weiss took the photo Yang winked and poked her tongue out.

"There." Weiss rolled her eyes. "Of course you posed for it. Now to share it…"

"Someone pass on a message from me: 'I lived, bitches,'" Yang said.

"That's not a nice thing to say to Pyrrha!" Weiss protested.

"They'll know it's meant affectionately, and interesting that you object to calling Pyrrha a bitch, but not Nora, Ren or Jaune." Yang smirked.

"Done," Blake said, returning her own scroll to her pocket. Yang gave her a grin and a thumbs up. Blake smiled back.

Weiss glanced down at her scroll and grumbled at the sight of what Blake typed for Yang appearing in the chat. She gently swatted Yang and moved to join Ruby, maybe hoping to persuade her not to share the evidence that she'd hugged Yang.

Blake took her turn greeting Yang properly, before Raven could ruin the mood. Maybe Blake wasn't being fair, and the estranged mother and daughter would mend their relationship. But from what little she'd seen of Raven, she couldn't imagine she'd get along with Yang. It also seemed highly unlikely that Yang wouldn't confront her mother, either about her leaving in the first place, or her crimes resulting in Yang almost getting murdered. Blake suspected Raven would take offence, despite having no right to.

So Blake took her chance, walking over and taking Yang's free hand. It felt colder than Yang should be. Blake chafed it between hers, trying to warm it up. "Hey. This makes a change, normally you're the one warming me up."

"My Semblance can't heat me up, there's been nothing for it to absorb since my Aura broke. Ruby landing on me didn't do the trick. You could slap me a few times."

"Yang." Blake aimed for a quelling tone. But again, too much feeling went into Yang's name. Maybe Blake should avoid saying it. "I'm not doing that. Get Ruby to do it if you want someone to beat you up, at least she has no chance of hurting you with hands alone."

Yang stared at her. "Is something wrong?" She kept her voice soft, glancing at where Ruby and Weiss were bickering, and at her father and uncle doing much the same thing across the room. She returned her eyes to Blake. "The way you've said my name in here was… different."

Blake couldn't help it. Her eyes slid nervously away from Yang, and her cheeks burned with a blush she hoped wasn't as bright as it felt. She didn't want to lie to Yang, but she couldn't tell her the truth about her feelings. Not yet. Not in front of anyone else. And Blake was all too aware of everyone else in the room, especially Ruby and Weiss, right there the other side of Yang.

Blake settled on telling her something that was true enough, if not the whole truth. She dragged her eyes back to Yang. "It's just a relief, like Weiss said. I didn't want to accept it, but it really seemed like you were dead." She held onto Yang's hand as tightly as she dared. She tried to keep that all too fresh grief out of her expression, but didn't entirely succeed and found herself blinking back tears.

Yang stroked her thumb on the back of Blake's hand. "Hey, please don't cry. Is the thought of getting a new partner really that bad? Just think, you might've been able to get one who doesn't snore."

Blake resisted the urge to punch Yang's arm. "Don't even joke about it. I'd miss your snoring, and the rest of you." She folded her arms, her bow twitching.

"Speaking of snoring…" Yang gestured at Ruby, Blake's top half, and Weiss. That caught Ruby and Weiss's attention, distracting them from whatever they were arguing about. "Why are you guys in pyjamas?"

"I'm not," Weiss said, nose in the air. "I'm dressed perfectly appropriately."

"You're wearing a glorified bathrobe," Yang stated.

Weiss glared. "It's a dressing gown, made of the finest silk and delicately embroidered with the Schnee emblem."

Yang shrugged. "It's your snowflake robe. And what are you wearing under it? Because I'll be shocked, no, scandalised if you're naked under there." She smirked. Yang was absolutely shameless when it came to modesty, or rather her lack thereof. Blake was always so very tempted to sneak peeks whenever Yang changed clothes or stripped ready for a shower. She usually managed to resist. Her life would be easier, if less exciting, if Yang had Weiss's modesty.

"She's wearing her nightie," Ruby said. "But she's probably naked under that." Weiss elbowed her, a blush rising on her cheeks as she glanced towards Tai and Qrow. "What? Aren't we all under clothes? I bet Yang's not wearing anything under that gown, and she probably has her butt showing at the back."

Weiss blushed harder. "Shut up, Ruby."

"Hospital gowns are pretty infamous. I'd need to get up to find out if it covers my ass or not. No hands free to reach back and check." Yang squeezed Blake's hand, and Blake suspected she'd done the same with Ruby.

Weiss groaned. "Please don't, Yang."

Blake had to bite her lip to keep herself from disagreeing with Weiss. She'd like it entirely too much if she caught a glimpse of Yang's shapely behind.

"Doctor's orders restrain me, alas. I can only get up if I need to pee."

Blake almost drew blood at the hope Yang would need to do that soon. She released her lip and took a deep breath. 'Get a grip, Belladonna. Stop perving over Yang.'

"So… Why the PJs?" Yang asked.

"We were napping," Weiss said.

Yang stared at Weiss as if she'd grown a second head. "Weiss Schnee. Napping. And here I thought you said naps were for infants, or a waste of time by the indolent." She mimicked Weiss's voice when quoting her, doing a fairly good impression.

Weiss glowered at Yang. "I made an exception because of the sleepless night."

"You were that worried about me? Aw, Weissy, I didn't know you cared."

"Don't call me that, and of course I care, you—"

Blake felt her scroll vibrate, and heard Ruby and Weiss's do the same. Weiss cut herself off with an aggravated growl. Blake pulled her scroll out to check it, and saw JNPR reacting to the good news.

Nora enthusiastically challenged Yang to another arm wrestle as soon as she got back. Pyrrha wasn't offended by being called a bitch, giving Yang her best wishes for a swift recovery. Ren and Jaune wished her the best too. Jaune even said that he preferred 'bitch' to 'vomit boy,' especially with his teammates being bitches too.

Blake handed her scroll to Yang for her to read the messages. Yang tapped out a reply, accepting Nora's challenge and thanking the others. Yang passed the scroll back.

Yang turned to Weiss. "You said my scroll was found. Can I have it back? I need something to keep me entertained outside visiting hours."

Ah. Yang's scroll. Which Goodwitch still had. It occurred to Blake that she could let Yang borrow her scroll. It'd leave her without one herself, though. She'd have to think it over.

"Goodwitch confiscated it," Weiss said. "She didn't want us hearing more of that recording beyond when your Aura broke."

Yang groaned. "Aw, damn. I mean, I'm glad she did, no one needed to hear that, and it was fucking disturbing even before that point."

"Language!" Tai said.

There was a mutinous light in Yang's eyes and a stubborn set to her jaw. Her next words didn't surprise Blake. "You know what, Dad? I don't care. I'm too old to be grounded, and the night I had merits a few expletives." She frowned. "Was it last night? I don't know how long I've been here. Or where I am besides a hospital. Or how I got here. The last thing I knew…" She trailed off, glancing at Ruby.

"Yes? What was it?" Ruby prompted, leaning forward eagerly.

"Blacking out with a few too many arrows in me for comfort." Clearly Yang had no intention of sharing the full details with her little sister. "Not recommended."

Blake caught movement in her peripheral vision, and heard a muttered curse through her muffled top ears. She turned and saw Qrow looking around. A headcount revealed Raven wasn't in the room. Had she slipped away rather than following the nurse, satisfied with the news Yang would be fine? It explained why Yang hadn't reacted to seeing Raven.

'Bitch.' Yang deserved better. She deserved a mother who would always be there for her, not one who grudgingly stepped in to save her once.

"Be right back," Qrow muttered. He slipped outside. Maybe he was hoping to find his sister and frogmarch her back. Qrow reappeared almost instantly, holding Raven's arm. She elbowed him viciously until he let go.

"I hadn't left, idiot brother, the room was full without me," Raven muttered.

Qrow ignored her. "You wanted to know how you got here, Yang. We might as well let the reason speak for herself. Go on, sister."

AN: In canon Yang would already have had her one save from Raven, after Neo threw her around and knocked her out. But in this alternate universe that didn't happen, because it would count as something bad happening to team RWBY. Which didn't happen until Yang was used for target practice by Vernal's father.

Thanks for reading, comments appreciated.