The entire amphitheater went silent as everyone saw Raven Branwen staring Theodore down. There was no mistaking the black haired Huntress-turned-bandit Chieftainess.

Ruby stared at Raven, her mind racing. Ever since she saw the memory of her mother in the Tree, she had been wanting to track her down and pry for answers, and now here she was. She looked somewhat different—her hair had several gray spots running through it, and the lines under her eyes were more pronounced than she remembered. The bandit turned to look up at the younger Huntress, and Ruby could tell that something was very different in her eyes. There was a tiredness to her, but also a fire within that wasn't there back at Haven. But Ruby also saw something else in her eyes, a flicker of red fire-like energy—the telltale sign of a Maiden. At that moment, Ruby realized why Cinder didn't get the power of the Spring Maiden.

But Yang said that the Spring Maiden was dead, she thought. Did she... did she lie to us?

Yang however, was less than pleased to see her mother again, as the two locked eyes, all she could think about was how Raven had betrayed her and left her to face Salem alone.

"What are you doing here?" Yang asked angrily.

"Would you believe I had a change of heart?" Raven replied.

"No!"

"Hmph!" Raven huffed, looking away. "Well, you can believe what you want. The truth is that I realized you were back and decided to find you." She looked back at Theodore and pulled a face. "And not a moment too soon, by the looks of it."

"I could've handled that," Yang argued. "It wasn't gonna kill me."

"Well, at least you still have your ego." Raven then turned to Theodore. "I appreciate you trying to humble my daughter, but I need her conscious if I'm going to find out what happened to her."

Theodore sighed and rolled his shoulders, visibly disappointed. "You should've intervened before I got worked up."

"If I had, she wouldn't have learned anything," Raven replied. She then looked up to meet Ruby's gaze. She expected to see disdain in the young Huntress's eyes, but instead, she almost seemed glad to see her. "Regardless, I think it's time I learned what happened."

Tensing the muscles in her legs, she leapt up to the balcony and landed on the railing right in front of Ruby, who jumped back and fell on her rump.

"Ruby Rose," Raven said. "You seem different from the last time I saw you, and not just because you look like you were hit by a cheese grater." She looked around at the stunned faces surrounding them. "Do you have anywhere private to talk?"

Meanwhile...

Ren and Nora were patrolling the outskirts of the city of Vacuo, keeping an eye out for Grimm, dangerous wildlife or audacious bandits.

"So, Ren," Nora chirped up, getting the stoic Huntsman's attention. "Why'd we leave those two alone?"

Ren smiled softly, and kept walking. "I noticed something."

"Uh-huh," Nora replied, "and that is...?"

Ren looked her in the eyes, which widened as the realization sank in.

"No way," she breathed, "Ruby and Osc- no! I mean sure, they're both cute and all, but really? Are you sure?"

"I'm not sure of anything yet," Ren admitted, "but I picked up on something with my Semblance. Those two share something different, and I felt that it would grow if we left it alone."

"Lie Ren!" Nora laughed. "You're playing matchmaker!"

"I'm not playing matchmaker," Ren argued, "but if there is something between those two, I don't want them to take forever to figure it out like I did with you."

Nora blushed, but smiled. "Well, here's hoping. Honestly, if it actually happens, I'm gonna squeal louder than ever because those two would just be too cute!"

"The Ever After?" Raven said dubiously.

Ruby nodded. She had told Raven the bare bones of their adventure through the other world.

"Now it's your turn," Ruby told her. "How long have you been the Spring Maiden? And what really happened down in the vault under Haven?"

Raven looked over at Yang curiously. "You didn't say anything?" Yang looked away, and Raven grimaced and addressed Ruby again. "The truth is that Vernal was a decoy. I've been the Spring Maiden for more than a decade, but I didn't practice much with it out of fear of being discovered. As for what happened in the Vault..."

Raven explained how she defeated Cinder and opened the Vault, only for Yang to intervene and convince her to let them take the Lamp instead. Afterwards, Raven tried returning to her tribe, only for them to oust her for forcing them to relocate and then return empty handed. With nowhere to go, Raven found herself wandering aimlessly with no reason other than staying alive, until she heard Ruby's message to the world.

"It's funny," Raven chuckled, "I remember how much Summer wanted to build an army against Salem, but she never got the chance. And here you are, assembling one with a single message that nobody really had to believe. After I heard the message and saw that Huntsmen and Huntresses all over Remnant were packing up and heading for Vacuo, I decided that it wasn't suicidal to join in." She looked over at Yang. "So I tried opening a portal to you, but nothing happened. It didn't take a genius to guess that you didn't make it out alive." Her eyes dulled slightly, then she shook her head to clear it. "But I still went to Vacuo after a while, and kept a low profile while searching for Salem's henchmen."

Ruby was silent as she took it all in. She didn't know Raven all that well, but she could tell the bandit was being honest.

"And you showed yourself because..."

"Because I'm here to help," Raven answered. "It couldn't hurt to have three Maidens on your side, could it?"

"Let me get this straight," Yang said quietly, her voice trembling with emotion. "You left your family—your whole entire family—to become a petty bandit, you spent years raiding villages and killing who knows how many people, you sic Salem's lackeys on us—which, best case means you were hoping we'd take care of them for you, and worst case means they took care of us for you—then ran off again to leave your only daughter to face Salem!"

"Yang," Ruby tried to interrupt.

"And now you think you can just show up and pretend like none of that ever happened? You actually believe that I'm going to forgive you for everything you've done!?"

"Yang–"

"No way! I don't buy it one bit! You're planning something else, and if you think I'm letting you drag us into any–"

"Yang!"

The blonde stopped talking immediately at the tone in Ruby's voice. Turning around, she realized that her sister had stood up from her bed despite her still healing injuries and was glaring at Yang.

"I need you to stop, Yang," the younger sister said, her voice stern. "You might not like it, but we need her."

"Ruby, what's gotten into you?" Yang asked after recovering. "You know she's not going to help us. She tried to turn us over to Salem! She left us to fight for our lives while she hid from everyone! What makes you think that-"

"I need her, Yang!" Ruby interrupted. "She knows what happened to Mom! She went with her on her last mission!"

Yang blinked in surprise, then turned to look at Raven. To her shock, her mother's eyes were wide as saucers.

"You... how do you...?" Raven stammered, at a complete loss of words.

"I'll explain later," Ruby said. "Right now, we need to find Qrow and get him back on the wagon. That's how the saying works, right?"

"No," Raven snapped, regaining some of her composure. "You're going to tell me how you know that. I'm one of two people who actually knew the truth about that mission."

Ruby looked Raven dead in the eyes. "Mom lied to Dad about her mission, and she left and met up with you. You asked her if she was okay with leaving us, and she said 'you're one to talk.'"

"How... I... what is this!?" Raven put a hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Help me find Qrow, and I'll tell you."

"Whoa whoa whoa, back up!" Yang interjected. "You know this? As in, you saw it happen? And you didn't tell me?"

Ruby looked at her sister, annoyed. "I told you that I was going to tell you what happened to me when I was ready. And what about you? When were you going to tell us that Raven Branwen—your own mother—was the Spring Maiden?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Yang asked defensively.

"Answer me, Yang!" Ruby demanded. "When were you going to tell us?"

"I..." Yang sighed, "I wasn't."

Ruby blinked, then her eyes hardened. "Right. 'No more lies, no more half-truths.' That's what you told Ozpin, right? What else are you keeping, Yang?"

"Nothing!" Yang said angrily. "I've been honest with you ever since, Ruby!"

"Not when you went behind our backs and told Robyn about Amity Tower! Were you not going to tell us about that, either?"

"Where's this even coming from!?" Yang shouted. "You lied to Ironwood! Mom lied to us! And that's fine?"

"No! It's not fine!" Ruby shouted back. "All those lies and secrets tore everything apart! I spent my whole life thinking Mom was perfect, but thanks to her lies, I never found out what really happened to her, or what she did! Those secrets haunted my whole life! And this isn't about her!" She walked up to Yang and pushed a finger into her chest. "You've lied to me, Yang! You're my sister! You're the one person I should be able to trust no matter what! How can I do that when you keep things like this from us!? How can I trust you when you do things behind my back?"

Yang, stunned and hurt, said nothing. Angry as she was, she knew Ruby was right. Ruby took a deep breath, then walked back to her bed and lied down. Raven just stood there, trying to hide her discomfort.

"Just hurry up and find Qrow," Ruby said, turning her head away from her sister. Yang sighed, and walked out of the room with Raven following behind.

"I'll give you some space," Raven said, walking away and leaving Yang to think for herself.

Yang stood at the balcony of Shade, overlooking the ramshackle city below and watching the sun set. She knew that she should be searching for Qrow, but she had no idea where to start. Her head was clouded with emotion and she needed to sort through her thoughts before she could do anything.

Why did you do that? She asked herself. Why do you keep making the same stupid mistake over and over again? Are you trying to hurt her?

"Are you okay, Yang?"

Yang turned around to see Blake walking up to her, a clear look of concern on her face.

"I... I'm not sure," Yang sighed. "It got kinda rough."

"Really?" Blake blinked, then approached her and gave her a hug, which the blonde returned. "You know you can tell me anything, right? I'm here for you."

Yang smiled briefly, then looked down sadly. "I'm not sure if Ruby can trust me anymore. I ended up telling her the truth about what happened on my end at the Battle of Haven."

Blake was taken aback, but kept it hidden as best she could. "I guess Ruby didn't take it well?" She asked gingerly.

"Nope," Yang grimaced. "She called me out on it—basically called me a liar and a hypocrite, because I got angry at Ozpin for doing the same exact thing. She even called me out for going behind her back and telling Robyn about Amity." She sighed and turned back to look out at the desert horizon. "And the worst part? She was a hundred percent right—I was being a hypocrite, and worse. I lied and kept secrets and broke promises and people's trust."

"Yang, I-"

"Please Blake, don't sugarcoat it. I'm supposed to be the one person who's always there for her, but where was I when she needed me in the Ever After? Worrying about my arm, or how to get home, or being happy with you."

Blake winced at that. "Do you... regret being happy with me?"

"N-no! No, of course not. But it shouldn't have distracted me from my sister. I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most, and when we decided to try, we were too late. You saw the look in her eyes when she drank that tea—it was like she lost everything!" She closed her eyes, trying her hardest not to cry. "I took things for granted, and it nearly cost me my only sister. And you'd think I would've learned from that by now, but I didn't. As soon as she started telling me off, I got defensive! I got angry!" She put her head in her hands. "What's wrong with me?"

Blake walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Nothing's wrong with you, Yang. You're just the kind of person who reacts to things, and that means you sometimes act on your feelings without thinking. That's nothing to be ashamed of, you just have to work on that a bit." She smiled slightly. "I think we both have that problem. And I think we both need to figure out how to fix it. We kept putting pressure on Ruby, even if we didn't mean it, or even know it. But now we need to work on taking some of that burden off her shoulders. We're a team, and we need to seriously start acting like one."

Yang nodded silently, processing what she heard. Blake let go of her shoulder and sighed.

"I'm going back inside," she said. "I hope you two can work things out." She kissed Yang on the cheek and turned to leave.

"Blake, wait," Yang called back, holding out her right hand. "Can I borrow your sword for a second?"

Blake hesitated, but then she drew Gambol Shroud from its scabbard and handed it to her. Yang looked at the black blade, and the golden spot that joined the sword together where it was broken by Adam. She thought about how much everyone had changed, but that she stubbornly stayed mostly the same. Turning back, she stared at the setting sun.

"I've always been the one who went with the flow of things," Yang said. "I've tried to avoid responsibility for as long as possible and keep a free spirit, because that's who I thought I was—who I thought I wanted to be. But I can't be like that anymore. I have to be better. I will be better. For her, for you, and for me."

With that, she grabbed her long, blonde hair, raised Gambol Shroud to it, and cut through it in one swift motion. Blake watched speechlessly as the golden strands dropped from Yang's head and drifted away with the wind. Yang's hair was now neck length and didn't reach her shoulders, swaying messily in the breeze.

"This is the start of a whole new me." She said.

And smiled.