Chapter 79: Clear the Air

In which Yang solves her problems with her fists, Penny ponders her ill-fated former cabal, and some good news makes Raven's day.

Mom and Penny were pushing along the fleet, so now was as good a time as any. With both of their overpowered guardian angels distracted, it would be just Yang and Weiss. Perfect for a little heart to heart between Rainbows.

Both of them were about the S.S. Wildclaw, the flag ship of the White Fang's fleet. The uppermost deck was mostly empty, save for the two of them and the odd Faunus, since the commanders were indoors plotting their assault on Haven.

Now or never. If I can't fix this, Team Rainbow is as dead as Team Stark.

"Weiss," Yang called out across the deck.

The girl in question had been looking out at the ocean. "Yes?"

"I want to fight you."

"I beg your pardon."

"You and me. I think we should spar."

Weiss turned back to the railing and tilted her nose upwards. "I'm not exactly in need of practice."

"Not for that. We need to work out this thing between us, or we'll never get better."

"And you think that having us brutalize one another is the solution?"

Yang shrugged. "Have you got a better idea?"

Weiss considered it for a moment.

"Beacon rules? Red aura?"

Yang nodded. "We don't have a ring to fall out of, so I guess that'll have to do. We can work out some pent up aggression. Sounds good?"

Weiss answered by drawing Schachmatt. Yang grinned and primed Ember Celica's last remaining gauntlet. She'd never lost to Weiss back in the schooldays as a team, but that was when she had two gauntlets, both arms, and a full head of hair.

"Whenever you're ready, Xiao-Long."

Yang rushed at Weiss, starting off with a left uppercut, followed by a left hook. Losing an arm wasn't the same as going at half power – it was actually much less. Before, she was wild and unpredictable, attacking from all angles and never doing the same move twice. Now, she was limited to throwing punches from a single side. At least she could still kick with both legs.

Weiss blocked the punches and threw Schachmatt as a boomerang. Yang somersaulted out of the way and drove her boot into Weiss' exposed stomach. The former heiress grunted in pain but slammed her tiny hand down onto Yang's leg. When Yang pulled away, she found a broken Ice Dust crystal freezing her shin solid.

"Didn't think you still had Dust after you lost your company, Schnee." Yang ducked the fireball that came at her.

"Whitley has given me his full support as CEO. I shall not be vulnerable. Never again."

Yang shot off a few shotgun rounds at Weiss and the two danced closer to the edge of the boat. "You know, I never did get the full story about how things went down in Atlas for you."

"That was probably because you were too busy shoving your fist up my stomach to ask." A Glyph appeared beneath Yang and flung her into the air over the edge of the boat. Yang shot from Ember Celica to stop her momentum, caught the railing, and swung underneath it.

"Harsh," said Yang. She swept Weiss' feet out from under her and socked her in the face. "But true. I wasn't exactly in a talkative mood back then."

"Well, you certainly are now," groused Weiss.

Yang grabbed Weiss up by her hair and threw her across the deck. "Look, Weiss. I made a lot of mistakes. I think it all started that night."

"What night?"

"That night."

Weiss' eyes narrowed.

"When you and Blake went out alone and left me with Ruby, I made up my mind. I was going to turn down Blake if she asked me out."

Weiss hurled her boomerang. Yang barely ducked out of the way as the sharpened edge soared within a hair's breadth of her eye. "You're lying. She was kissing you when she stabbed you."

"Like I said, I made mistakes. I was so sure of myself, of my resolve, but it crumbled when Blake batted her eyes. That wasn't the first time that I put myself first and the team second. Blake was a traitor, so it doesn't matter now, but I should've said no to her either way. If we'd gotten together, it would've been horrible for you."

"It was horrible for me!" Weiss screamed. Switching Schachmatt back to a pickaxe, she lunged forward and slashed at Yang's arm repeatedly. "How do you think I felt, seeing the woman I loved kissing someone else? And then having to fight her? I had to do it! I had to save you and Ruby and kill her! I did! Me! It tore my heart apart! And you dare to pretend you're the wronged one!"

Yang's foot slipped, and she went down. Weiss twirled her weapon and struck Yang across the head with the flat of Schachmatt.

Warmth blossomed around Yang as Burn came into play. Weiss tried to bring her pickaxe down again, but Yang caught it. Her eyes flashed a murderous red, and she launched Weiss through the air.

"And how do you think I felt, waking up and learning that Blake only ever pretended to care for me to distract me? I woke up missing an arm and being told by everyone around me that she was old news! Oooooh, hey, Yang. Welcome back from your coma, also Blake was evil and now she's dead. Toodles! You all had time to process her betrayal. Nobody gave me that. You'd had a month to accept that Blake was gone, and you expected me to fall in line without caring that it was a shock! Well, newsflash: I was asleep! I didn't have any time to get over Blake before I was alone and abandoned! That's why I was so angry, not because I'm some idiot!"

Yang swung her fist through the air, and flames erupted around her.

"Everyone left! You all went on your way and decided that I was strong enough to figure this out on my own! But I'm not! I was scared, alone, and weak! You didn't care about me! You left me!"

Yang charged at Weiss, bringing her sole fist up from a killing blow, but a glowing white tentacle wrapped around it. Yang looked up to see an enormous, summoned Grimm, some kind of jellyfish thing, that had gripped Yang's wrist. It was so monstrous in size that Yang felt ashamed for her failure to not notice it hovering above them before. She tried to pull free, but the Grimm's grasp was stronger than steel.

"How dare you…"

Tearing her eyes away from the jellyfish, Yang noticed Weiss crying.

"How dare you say that I don't care about you! I killed Blake for you, Yang! You were the one bleeding out on the floor, moments away from death's door! Blake said Ruby was going to be left alone, because she didn't want to hurt a child. White Fang or not, I gladly would've thrown down my weapons and let Blake kill me before I raised a blade against her. It was you, Yang Xiao-Long, you that forced me to do it! I chose you over Blake, so don't you ever claim that I don't care about you!"

Tentacles flung her off the edge of the boat into the briny ocean below. Yang felt her hair extinguish, along with her anger.

"I yield," she called out, struggling to wade without her second arm. The same tentacles that had thrown her now coiled around and carried her back to safety. When they weren't savaging her with their tight grip, they were actually quite friendly.

"Do you think I wanted to run away? To leave you?" asked Weiss tearfully, speaking to Yang as she was placed in front of her. "Ruby and I waited by your bed for a week. We took our meals in shifts because we wanted someone to be there when you woke up. But the world wasn't willing to wait for me, and neither was the White Fang. I'd just lost everything – my sister, my parents, Blake – and I had to leave because my little brother's life could have been in danger. I already felt horrible for risking a week as it was!"

Yang cringed. She hadn't really thought about…anything. She hadn't thought.

"Weiss…"

"I was so happy to see you. When we found you there, outside of the Branwen camp, I was overjoyed. You and me, Weiss and Yang, we were back together again. I had another Rainbow with me – a sister. And you've done nothing but try your best to tear us apart this entire trip!"

Weiss flung her weapon down and threw her arms around Yang.

"You, Ruby, and Blake were more like family to me than my real family! You were my everything! Beacon was my home! Why do you hate me so much?" Weiss' voice cracked. "Whhhhhy?"

"I…I don't hate you, Weiss. I'm sorry for what I said, and for being such a dick. I was still thinking of myself, and it never even occurred to me that you were forced to leave. I'm so sorry, Weiss!"

"You idiot! You dense, stupid idiot!" Weiss' fist pounded into Yang's shoulder, but there was no force behind it. "You…You…"

"It looks like our kids have gotten over their issue," said Friend Raven, throwing a pebble that had stowed away on the boat into the ocean.

Penny watched the two teammates grip each other tightly and nodded. "Now that Friend Yang is a friend once more, I suppose I should get back to towing the ships."

"Stay a minute, child," said Friend Raven. "I'm not rechargeable like you, and I still need to take breaks. If you pull too many of your ships ahead of mine, the fleet'll be split up."

Penny nodded with her entire upper body. "Very well, Friend Raven. Is there something you wish to discuss?"

"Just curious about you in general. You're what, a cyborg?"

"A gynoid, actually. I am Remnant's first fully synthetic aura user."

Friend Raven whistled. "Damn. Didn't know we could do that. Where'd you come from?"

"My father made me."

"…uh, do you mean father in a metaphorical sense, or did he, I dunno, get it on with a printer?"

Penny smiled and shook her head. "My father is Dr. Pietro Polendina, a scientist known for his work with the relationships between mechanical and biological frameworks. He built me and used his semblance to give me the gift of aura."

"Neat. Is he one of Ozpin's as well?"

"He is a member of Ozpin's inner council, but I do not believe any of us belong to Ozpin. Furthermore, Ozpin is dead. Ozma's spirit most likely endures, but it would not be accurate to refer to him by the headmaster's name."

"You ever wonder about that? The people he collects? Like, I always thought that they were so similar that it wouldn't change him, but maybe if he adds a nice guy to the collection, he'll be a little more even-tempered. Or, if his dude's a jerk, he become a jerk."

"As I understand the nature of his burden, he reincarnates into the mind of a like-minded soul who –"

"Yeah, I get it, but like…he merges with them. Their mind is added to his collective. Do you think that the more recent minds get an extra say, and the older ones are buried in the back? And, like, wouldn't he be a completely different person over the millennia? But he's still the same guy as the beginning – a duty driven knight dedicated to fighting Salem. Does the first mind, Ozma, get a bigger say than the others?"

"I am afraid I do not know. We could ask him, but I fear that his current incarnation has not yet made his presence known to us or our allies."

Penny had often wondered where Ozma was, but she knew that seeking him out was a poor idea. Friend Weiss would not be able to accompany her on the journey, and besides, Salem had recently given her specific instructions on where to go and what to do. Furthermore, even if she located him, she may not be able to best him in combat, and she certainly lacked the means to contain him if she did.

Friend Raven whirled a mini-tornado within her hand using her dead leader's borrowed semblance and stared at it forlornly. "I feel bad for the guy. He is definitely a jackass, but anyone would break after all the shit the Brother Gods put him through."

"They were quite unreasonable. Remnant as a whole has benefited from their departure."

"Oz is a dick, Salem's a dick, they're dicks…is everyone from that timeframe just plain evil?"

"Perhaps the standards of good and evil have drifted so much over the centuries that they would be perceived as righteous back in their timeframe."

"A moral dissonance…maybe. Who knows?"

"Speaking of what don't know, I'm surprised you are not asking for every little detail about Friend Ruby."

Friend Raven sighed. "I would, but…everyone's calling my little girl a different name. It's not Rook, it's not even Rhubarb. I never thought she'd choose to go by Ruby. It made me realize that I don't actually know my daughter – at least not well. Yang was old enough to remember me, old enough to recognize me and for me to recognize her, but Rook was barely bigger than a toddler. She's going to be a completely different person that whatever I'm expecting, so I want to meet her before I get some half-assed secondhand impression from others. Yang's told me a little bit, but I really think it'll mean more to interact with her in person for the first time without you people coloring my opinions."

"Speaking of your daughter, I must ask: Weiss mentioned that Rhubarb's middle name was selected by Ozpin. Might I ask why you allowed a man you disliked to select the name of your child?"

"Ozpin?" Raven's eyes rose, then focused on Penny in understanding. "Of course he did."

"Did what?"

"I chose Rook because of the bird – tribal tradition. Somehow, it doesn't surprise me that that asshole told everyone he was behind it, the chess-piece fucker. I can just imagine: oh, 'Summer' trusted me so much she let me name her child before she tragically died for the cause. Tai, Qrow, go fight my battles in that brave martyr's name and never doubt me ever."

"I…see. If you do not wish to be informed as to the developments in Friend Ruby's life, is there any other knowledge you seek?"

"Yang filled me in on the general stuff, but maybe you can give me an update on anything big that went down in Oz's private circle?"

Penny nodded. Friend Yang, no matter how thorough, could not hope to provide Friend Raven with information to which she was not privy. Penny did wonder why Friend Raven had not simply asked Friend Jaune when they spoke in private.

"I can describe the events taking place between my arrival at Beacon and my departure with Friend Weiss to Atlas. General Ironwood was summoned when the condition of…" Penny briefly struggled for words to avoid any possible awkwardness. "…the Spring maiden's body worsened. At the same time, Amber stopped reporting in."

"Amber?"

"The most recent Fall maiden."

"Awww, fuck me. Guess that means Orpah's gone too…"

"I am sorry for your loss, Friend Raven. At the time, we suspected Friend Cinder Fall and her team were behind the actions, but it has since then been revealed to be Blake Belladonna, the fourth and now deceased member of Team Rainbow."

"I think I picked up on her story." Friend Raven spit over the edge of the boat. "Good riddance."

"Agreed." Penny was not normally one for aggressive tendencies, but Blake had tried to kill so, so, SO many friends, and she'd succeeded with Friend Russel. Whatever her intentions, she would not be missed. "Friend Pyrrha was selected for the position of Spring maiden, but a schism broke out within the group. Friend Ozpin and Friend Jaune began to adopt a more extreme approach towards the threat of Salem, claiming that no sacrifice was too great. General Ironwood and Specialist Schnee took a more direct approach, insisting that standard procedures – arrest and detain by force – would work. Friend Qrow and I believed that maintaining the secret of Salem was paramount above all other concerns."

"Different people, same story. Qrow used to simp for Oz so damn hard, but Summer and I both decided to break off because he got too pushy. Where's Pyrrha now?"

"I was not present when the transfer took place, but Friend Pyrrha did not survive."

"Ok. I'm not glad she's gone, but it would've been a living nightmare for her to have to go through the rest of her life in my old body after it sat fermenting in a vat for so long. Who's the new maiden?"

"We…do not know. Neither Spring nor Fall are accounted for."

"Who's looking? Weiss-sculpture said Qrow's on the lamb, so I'd guess it's Ironwood."

"At the moment, nobody is looking for the maidens."

Friend Raven frowned. "So, there's two free maidens ripe for the plucking, and we're just letting them go about their business? What if Salem decides to send a henchman to collect them? Or kill them? Why aren't you all doing something?"

"Friend Raven…I do not know how to put this. Between the loss of our leader Ozpin, his second in command Friend Qrow, and his protégé Friend Jaune, our entire organizational structure has crumbled. The General has consolidated all forces under his command, among them Specialist Schnee and Father, and pulled back to Atlas until Ozma reappears. His entire army is regrouping within the walls of the city. I choose to stay at Friend Weiss' side."

Penny looked out to where Friend Weiss and recently reformed Friend Yang were hugging it out and discussing their issues in one another's arms.

"We are not doing anything, Friend Raven, because there is no 'we' anymore."

"Tai–"

"– remains on the island of Patch. He ceased to work directly with Ozpin many years ago. I believe it was around the same time as your disappearance."

Friend Raven waved her hands upwards in annoyance. "So, nobody's blocking Salem? We're all just content to let her agents roam freely? Not even O– not even Jaune?"

"Friend Jaune was presumed dead until yesterday. With Ozma missing and the General waiting for his return, the remnants of our group are scattered and leaderless."

"Oz…might not be coming back. He might not be choosing to reveal himself for a while."

Penny blinked. "What makes you say that, Friend Raven?"

"Just intuition and years of experience working around the guy. Let me put it this way: I think that he's kind of busy."

When the robot was gone, Raven stormed over to the boy, Josh or whatever.

"Let me speak to the big man."

"He's not responding–"

A machete appeared at his throat. "Let. Me. Speak. To. Oz."

Jaune's eyes blinked rapidly, his head leaned back, and he gasped. "Oh, Summer. I do so wish you'd be nicer to Jaune. Whatever qualms you may have with me, he's a good man."

"Stuff it. What are you up to?"

"Leading a fleet of Faunus to destroy Salem's hold on Haven. But you know that, so you clearly mean something else. Please, do elaborate."

"Qrow's missing. Atlas and half of your personal troops are waiting for you to return. The tin can doesn't even know you're you. What the fuck are you doing dawdling around on Menagerie while Salem sits unchecked?"

"Why, Summer, I do recall you giving up on this life. You left a rather nasty cut on my leg as a parting gift." Oz tapped his kneecap, then looked down at it curiously. Comprehension dawned across his face. "Oh, I suppose I must've mislaid it. Pity."

"Fuck you and fuck the cane you walked in on, but you're practically asking Salem to win this way. And whatever qualms we may have, I have a vested interest in ensuring that she doesn't destroy the world. At least while my babies are on that world."

"I only recently reincarnated in Jaune's mind. He was already in Menagerie when I did, likely making his way to hunt down the traitor Lionheart. This is a task I am happy to see through – Haven can remain in her clutches no longer."

"I'm surprised at you, going after Leo yourself. You normally like to send puppets like me and the other me out to die for you. What changed?"

"Well, I think we should request help from Atlas, but Ja – but – but – but – but that's enough."

Raven tilted her head and looked at Oz, but his eyes were gone.

"Kid? Is that you?"

"It's me. I wanted to address your concerns before Oz could start to spin you against me."

That statement took Raven by surprise. Weren't his hosts supposed to be likeminded? Why were these two so antagonistic towards one another? She'd seen Oz freeze up the kid, and now they were drawing sides. Something was clearly wrong, here.

"I have…let's say, a useful semblance. One that makes more sense to send into the field than to waste sitting behind a desk ordering others around."

"Okay, but why hide from your allies? Where's the Atlesian army?"

"Originally, it was too risky to contact them. We didn't know if Leo or any others had spies monitoring communication. Now, Penny could call James directly without any chance of the information being leaked to Salem, but…"

Raven gestured for him to go on when he abruptly paused. "But what?"

"I command the Menagerie fleet. This body, this face, the face of Jaune Arc – that who they'll listen to. Oz can't take control of me when I don't want it yet, which means that there's no chance of him taking over and doing something drastic in the name of the greater good. If we got Atlas involved, I'd lose that control. General Ironwood wouldn't listen to Jaune Arc – he'd wait for Ozpin to come out and then do his bidding – exclusively. Oz has good intentions, but–"

"No sacrifice is too great."

Jaune snorted bitterly. "I was the one who said that. It told him I was willing to lay down my life to stop Salem, and that it would be worth it. Now, he seems to think it applies to anyone except for me. I'm not permitted to risk my life. Not with my semblance."

"You must be packing something special."

"I think I might be able…no…no, I'm going to tell her. She deserves the truth, after everything you put her through. Yes, I know! I see things, Oz! I saw what you did to that man and his kids, how you killed them and disguised their bodies!"

Raven was beginning to feel self-conscious as the young huntsman argued with himself about her. She gently coughed to remind him she was there.

"Summer…no, Raven. Y-Your name is Raven, not whatever he...never mind. Raven, I think I can kill Salem."

"Hey, Yang."

"Oh, hey Mom!"

"Working on Roadk– erk, Bumblebee, was it?"

Yang was wearing a yellow set of coveralls. Rough splotches of oil dotted her clothes and any exposed skin, but not a single drop was anywhere to be seen on her short golden hair. She smiled proudly as her mom approached.

"Yeah. The engineer on the Wildclaw had some spare parts, so I was able to install a few upgrades. Check it out – I've added a spike strip that releases behind me when I push this, in case there's someone on my tail."

A brand new dark gray button on the throttle reflected sunlight, indicating a fresh coat of lacquer. Raven nodded approvingly, and Yang continued.

"Oooh, and apparently Menagerie has some really fine oil wells, so they make the best rubber. I set this old girl up with the finest pair of tires on this side of Anima."

The tires were markedly darker and had a sleeker trim. The old, roughed up wheels lay discarded in a heap to the side.

"And last, but not least, I got this sweet bike spoiler installed. It makes the design a touch more aerodynamic."

Yang pointed. True enough, there was a small wing sticking off the back end of the bike. Engraved on it were the words 'Ruby will kill Dove in Ch. 97.'

"Quite the bold spoiler. You've clearly put some effort into this."

Yang wiped some sweat off her brow with a rag. "It wasn't easy. Weiss helped at one point, so that made the workload a bit lighter.

"I'm glad you patched things up with your friend." It seemed that the two of them meant a lot to each other, and it would've been a real shame for that to fall apart l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶T̶e̶a̶m̶ ̶S̶T̶R̶Q̶.

"Yeah. Weiss and I…neither of us were really mad at each other. We talked it out, and we realized that we both were just so angry about everything we'd lost that we were taking it out on each other. And, um, I guess Weiss was kind of mad that I punched her, but we're cool now."

"That's good. That's real good, firecracker." Raven pulled Yang into a big hug.

"Mom?"

"I'm just…I missed you. I missed you so much, baby."

Yang broke free of the hug and looked at her mother with concern painted across her face. "Is everything ok?"

"All that time we lost…it was stolen. He took it from us when it should have been ours. We should've been a family."

Yang looked confused. "Who took what now?"

"It doesn't matter now. It's time we start thinking about the future instead of getting caught up in the past."

Because now Raven knew that they had a future.

"Yang, has your father…remarried?"

"Well, he remarried you."

"Yaaaaang!" Raven drawled.

"In all seriousness, no. After losing two wives, he stopped dating altogether. Plus, he had me and Rubes to look after. I don't think he would've had the time or energy after dealing with us little monsters, even if he'd wanted to."

"Do you think…Do you think he'd take me back? If I told him everything, would he still love me? Even though I lied about who I was?"

Yang's face lit up, and Raven had her answer before the words left her daughter's mouth.

"Dust yeah, he would! He'd get both Raven and Summer back at the same time – two wives rolled up into one. And to learn that you didn't leave him the first time…he's blamed himself for so long, and the guilt and uncertainty was starting to take a toll on him. I think that the truth would make him happy, not angry."

Raven brushed away her tears.

Salem could be killed. Yang and Rook might never have to fight like she had. When Jaune – Brothers bless him – finally ended this, Raven could finally put all the fighting behind her. Maybe her luck had finally changed.

Next Chapter: Ask a Stupid Question – In which Bronzewing joins the criminal underground, and Ruby goes under the ground.

Omake

Yang: Mom, all these years, I thought you were a coward who abandoned her family.

Raven: Oh, honey…

Yang: Now I know that Raven's no craven.

Raven: …

Yang: Now let's go to Haven. Ruby needs savin'.

Author's Notes

Don't woooooorry about Dove. I'd never spoil a character's death like that. Never ever.

Right?

It's fun to include some philosophical musing on the nature of RWBY physics. Dust, Semblances, Ozpin shit – how does it all work? It's not going to come up again whether or not Ozpin changes over time, but I just wanted to include a mention to some passing thought I had once.

Happy rats, and don't do crime!