Chapter 72: The Bandit Queen
In which the truth of Raven Branwen is finally revealed.
More were coming for her. Yang slapped branches out of her way as she barreled through the dense jungles of Mistral. Ahead of her was a steep ravine, so she switched Amphitere to hookshot mode and fired around a tree on the other side. Swinging across, she fired three pot shots behind her from her real arm without even looking. They weren't meant to actually hit anything, just to give her pursuers the impression that they were being shot at. Maybe, just maybe, it'd slow them down.
Yang probably could've taken whoever it was, but it wasn't worth the risk. Dad and Uncle Qrow had always told her that Raven was strong. Not strong; the bitch was strong. Yang didn't want to face that before she'd whittled away her support to nothing. She'd done well on that end so far; Yang had been able to help twelve regular bandits and four aura users overcome their oxygen addiction. Only two of the aura users had put up a good fight: a short haired girl that thought she was hot shit and a gray bearded Faunus with a sharp mind. Yang had actually bothered to bury those two, as a sign of respect.
Bumblebee was just up ahead. If she could make it to her bike, she could hightail it out of here, maybe start again tomorrow after reloading and getting some shut-eye.
"Yang!"
Shit! Fuck! Motherfucking ass shit fuck!
Yang didn't recognize the voice, but only one of those bandit scum could possibly know her name. Raven Branwen had to be the one chasing right behind her.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Yang turned the dial on her arm and activated the flamethrower. Beautiful golden streams of fire coated the trees, and Yang once again had to marvel at the above-and-beyond craftsmanship her sis had put into the false limb. This wasn't run of the mill Fire Dust – Yang guessed that it was biofuel of some sort, based on the color. Ruby must've spent weeks fermenting the fuels. Damn, Yang missed her Rhubarb.
She could see her motorcycle, but it wouldn't matter. The time for running was over. If Raven knew that Yang was the one killing her men, she could just open a portal straight to her. Her own daughter, estranged or not, had to be enough of an emotional link to activate it. That was why she'd gone through such great pains to only pick off isolated raiding parties, and to leave no survivors, lest the world of her presence spread.
Wreaths of smoke filled the air as the forest fires began to spread. Yang put her back to a tree and switched Amphitere to the most destructive setting she'd unlocked so far – SAM launcher. Her best chance was to hide in the smoke and get a lucky shot. Fighting like this – cowering, waiting, sneaking – burned Yang up to no end, but this wasn't a suicide mission. Yang actually intended to go back to Beacon when this was all done. Only one woman would be dying today.
Without warning, a violent gust extinguished the flames. Wind Dust – Raven had backup. This was going to be tougher than she thought.
"Yang! Where are you?"
The question gave Yang pause as she cowered behind the tree that blocked her for Raven's line of sight. It wasn't taunting. It sounded more like the voice was…concerned. Oh, that was rich. Yang's deadbeat mother was pretending to have a heart.
"Salutations, Friend Yang."
Yang looked up to see Penny Polendina, of all people, perched among the branches above her. Before Yang had a chance to reaction, the robot called out, "She is over here!"
"Penny, we need to–"
"Yang!"
A figure came around the trees.
There she was. Yang was face to face with her mother, but not the one she'd been expecting.
Summer Rose.
She was just like Yang remembered her, only slightly older. Her reddish brown hair fell down just long enough to tickle the tips of her shoulders, and her silver eyes were unchanged. She wore wine red leather armor that formed plates all the way along her arms, along with a jet black overshirt. Her skirt and stockings covered most of her legs, save for a thin strip of bare skin on both thighs. Yang didn't understand why she was wearing Raven Branwen's outfit, and she didn't care to understand it because it didn't matter at all in that moment.
Both women stood still for a moment, unsure what to make of the other, until Summer took a step forward and cupped Yang's cheek with her palm.
"M-My baby…"
"M-Mommy?"
Just like that, the floodgates opened, and both were lost to their tears. Yang blubbered so hard that she lost track of what she was saying, but it was probably something in the vein of 'I missed you, Mommy' and 'I love you, Mommy.'
True, a girl Yang's age shouldn't be saying Mommy, and she'd probably be embarrassed about it under normal circumstances, but Yang had been seven years old when Summer had left her life, so that was how she thought of her. Besides, if this was real, she didn't care about embarrassing herself. She had her mommy back, and that was all she ever needed.
When the frantic words of comfort and affection cleared away, Yang found that the words coming out of her mouth were questions. "Where were you? How are you alive?"
Summer kissed her on her forehead. "I thought you were dead! I never would've left if I'd known you were alive!"
"M-Mommy, what happened? I haven't seen you since I was so little." Yang paused and took a moment to organize her brain. Summer's words sank in. "You left?"
"Yang, I swear, I would never intentionally leave you! I thought he'd killed you."
"W-Who?"
Summer growled.
"Ozpin."
~ ~ ~ wavy flashback effect thing ~ ~ ~
"Shit! Ass! Damn shit fucking dickweasel!"
Tai rushed over to Raven and handed her a towel. Ray handed Yang to him and began to wipe off the spew that was dripping down her nose.
"Ray? Are you okay, dear?"
"Urgh, this little monster got me right in the eyes!"
"That's out little huntress – already practicing her aim! You got a headshot on Mommy, didn't you, Yangy-Bangy?"
Raven rolled her eyes at her husband's banter. Yang wasn't going to be a huntress. Well, at least, not unless she chose to be. True, the baby did already have her aura unlocked – they said it can be a side effect of stressful scenarios, and that C-section last week was so stressful for everyone in the room that even the midwife could probably apply to Shade – but Raven would never force a child of hers to do something they didn't want to do. Right now, though, Raven was too busy keeping her mouth closed to correct her husband. She so did not want to taste baby vomit.
Stupid mission.
"Huh?"
Tai looked up. "What?"
"Did you say something?" asked Raven, only to cough out the vomit that passed her lips when they opened. She spat out of her mouth furiously.
"No," Tai answered, blinking at her in bewilderment.
"Sorry, I must be hearing things. I'm going to rinse off, real quick."
"Wave by to Mommy, Yangy." Tai grabbed Yang's baby hand and moved it up and down as though she were waving. Yang, clueless as ever, looked at her father and burped up another mouthful of stomach fluids onto him.
"Damnit, Yang!" He turned to his wife. "Hey, Ray, you mind if I go first in the shower?"
"Yes."
The couple stared at one another for a brief second before racing one another to the stairs. Both reached the bottom step at the same time, but Taiyang wrestled his way through and got in front of her. Turning around, her flipped her off with both hands before walking backwards up the stairs with a laugh, but Raven summoned a portal to her little brother, making sure to have the opening on her side appear on the stairs just ahead of her vomit-soaked lover. Tai, still moving backwards, reversed right through it, not seeing it until he was already across the threshold. He had just enough time to catch Raven's triumphant smirk as it closed.
"Bubuh?" gurgled Yang innocently.
"You see, daughter, strength comes in many forms. Never focus on your body at the expense of your mind, like your idiot father does."
Raven was not ashamed to admit she still believed that strength mattered, but the birth of her first child had helped her realize that it didn't matter above all else. Growing strong, being a huntress, fighting in Ozpin's eternal war against an unkillable Grimm mistress – that all paled in comparison to seeing Yang smile for the first time. That was not to say that Raven had abandoned those aspects of her life; she simply would no longer let them control her.
More like no longer let Ozpin control me.
What the fuck? Where had that come from? Ozpin had never done her wrong. Raven really needed to take her shower and clear her head.
"Raven, please. I'm trying to help you! What's gotten into you for these past few days?"
"I don't want your help. I don't need your help. Go take care of your daughter, fool!"
"My daughter? Don't you mean–"
"Just get out!"
Raven slammed her hands onto the countertop with such force that the bowl of lukewarm shrimp fell to the floor and shattered. She screamed at the half-prepared dinner and mashed them into paste with her boot.
Why was she so angry all the time? She wasn't even mad at Taiyang. She loved her Tai-Tai. Something was very wrong with…
Summer. Summer was in danger.
Whatever behavior issues she was facing could wait. Raven felt her best friend and partner was in trouble. Kindred Link was more than just a portal-making semblance; she could also detect when those she bonded with dropped into the red on their aura. Summer had just found herself in such danger and needed immediate evacuation.
Raven barged through the dining room where Taiyang was trying and failing to placate a crying Yang. He got up and cringed when he saw the determined look on her face, likely mistaking it for anger.
"Raven?"
She pushed past him and headed straight for her katana, Omen. If someone or something was so tough that it could kick Summer's ass, Raven wasn't going to go after it unarmed. A single slash opened up a portal.
"Raven! You're leaving? Now, of all times? Yang is–"
"Not now, Taiyang. There's milk in the fridge for Yang. Take care of her."
She would explain it to Tai later. He had a good head on his shoulders, and he would understand why there was no time to waste when their team leader's life was on the line. Of course, it should never have been on the line in the first place.
Damn it, Summer. I warned you that this sort of thing was bound to happen. Maybe if you didn't take it upon yourself to rub every last hunter on the planet the wrong way and alienate anyone who might have your back, you wouldn't be in this position.
The portal closed behind her, and Raven gazed upon the golden dunes of Vacuo. The unfiltered rays of sunlight beat down upon her, and she had to take a second to adjust to the sudden change in her surroundings.
"Raven."
She looked up, astounded. "Oz?"
The sharply-dressed headmaster looked so out of place in the desert, twirling his little pansy cane, that Raven nearly laughed, but it caught in her throat. He was standing next to Summer's body.
"We don't have much time. The choice is yours, but I need to hear you say it."
"Do it, sir."
Ozpin pressed the button, and Raven fell into a state of semi-consciousness.
It had been too late to save Summer's body. The wounds that the Grimm had inflicted upon her were guaranteed to be fatal. Fortunately, they'd been able to get her back to Beacon just in time to stick her in some kind of…tube.
Oz hadn't sugarcoated what the procedure was going to entail. The machine was Atlesian in origin, and he'd originally obtained it to look into a way to pass on maiden powers without requiring the host to die. But, in a fortunate twist of fate, it could be used to save Summer…at a cost. She and Summer would literally switch souls – bodies, semblances, everything. Raven had wanted to give Tai a call and say goodbye first, but Ozpin had warned her that every moment they wasted was a moment that inched Summer closer to death's door.
For the first time in her life, Raven permitted herself to cry in front of another. Summer was going to be getting her healthy body, but Raven would be going into Summer's devastated half-corpse. Her little firecracker had only just been born, and now she'd never get to know her mother. Raven had demanded that the headmaster visit her family in person and explain why she'd chosen to sacrifice herself.
The process itself felt more like a drug trip than a scientific procedure. As soon as it began, Raven felt keenly aware of every fiber of her body. Skin, blood, muscles, down to her very DNA, she'd never felt so in control of herself before. With just a though, she could increase her heartrate, make her cells replicate faster, even control her immune system to kill any intruding viruses.
Then, without a moment's warning, it happened. No longer did she feel her own heartbeat; the familiar pulse replaced by a faint, arrhythmic drum from Summer's cardiac system. As the effects wound down and Raven's out-of-body experience came to an end, she clutched her chest in pain. The pain receptors in Summer's body…in her new body…stopped being surreal concepts distant from her mind and now were very agonizingly real neurons once more.
Ozpin nodded at her, and she weakly nodded back. The pain and weakness were surefire indicators that the swap had happened. Summer would be alright.
Summer would…
Raven woke up.
No, that couldn't be right. She was supposed to be dead. Raven tried to pinch herself, but her fingers were too weak to apply any pressure.
"Don't try to move. Between the transfer and the recovery, you've had a rough enough time, and you'd only end up overexerting your new body."
Raven wanted to speak, but her mouth and lips felt just as frail. Ozpin didn't seem to notice, but he answered the painfully obvious question anyways.
"You, Raven Branwen, are in Summer Rose's body. Miraculously, and in defiance of all logic and medicinal understanding, your new body seems to have recovered, over the span of well over two months. It is unknown exactly how. Perhaps the introduction of your full aura into Summer's weakened body did the trick, or perhaps your fighting spirit pulled you through it. Either way, you are alive, to my heart's elation."
"S– S–"
"I'm afraid that Miss Rose…her mind was lost. Your body is hale and healthy but shows no signs of brain activity. Its aura is in the green, but it is not regenerating any when I briefly experimented by taking it down slightly. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Summer Rose's soul is no longer in this realm. May she rest in peace."
Raven squeezed her eyes shut. Summer…her team leader…her best friend…gone, just like that. Dying to fucking Grimm in the sandy shithole of Vacuo. It wasn't fair. She deserved better. Even if everyone but Ray only saw her as little more than a stuck-up bitch, she deserved better.
"Now, I know what you're thinking. You'd like to switch bodies once more."
Raven hadn't been thinking that at all, but it did make sense. She dragged her eyes to look at his, as though to encourage him to go on.
"Unfortunately, we've run into something of a complication. You see, while you were out, the Spring maiden…fell."
Raven's heart sank. Yava was dead? Today had taken so much for her.
Not today. I've been asleep for months. The deaths were spaced apart, and it just seems close together from my point of view.
"And her powers have passed on to you. To your prior body, that is. I'm not sure if her thoughts were on you or Summer's lingering soul, but the braindead woman in that tube is now the Spring maiden. We could transfer you back into that body, but you'd be a target for the rest of your life. And with your fledgling family just starting up…well, perhaps I should not make the choice for you. Do you wish to–"
Raven was already slowly twitching her head from side to side before the immortal even finished the question.
"I thought as much. Now, I know you wish for time to come to terms with this, but time is something we sorely lack at the moment. With three members of Team Stark out of commission for so long, we've lost lots of ground to Salem. Tai is busy with his baby, so Qrow's all alone out there. I hate to ask so soon after Summer's departure, but you have her silver eyes now. The loss of our greatest weapon against Salem's armies would cripple us, and Remnant could conceivably fall to her. Can I count on you to continue the fight where she left off, when your strength returns?"
Raven nodded as best she could. It ended up being her head tipping downwards and not coming back up.
"I'm afraid I have one more favor to ask. If Salem were to learn of the existence of the aura transfer machine, there exists a possibility that she may attempt to steal it, or perhaps replicate the technology, so as to forcibly take control of one of the maidens, particularly Spring. That cannot and must not happen. Salem knows of Team STRQ, and it is conceivable she could kidnap and torture Qrow or Taiyang for secrets. Thus, it is imperative that you tell no one about the transfer, not even your family. For all intents and purposes, you are and always have been Summer Rose."
Ozpin removed his spectacles.
"Raven Branwen simply…disappeared."
"Fucking bitch! I can believe her, my own sister!"
Tai was a mess, so 'Summer' and Qrow had been called to be the babysitters while he got his shit together. Raven desperately wanted to reveal herself, but she'd made Ozpin a promise. At least this gave her – and she hated to phrase it like this – an 'in.' It would be weird if 'Summer' suddenly made a move on her best friend's husband, but helping out with the kids was a perfectly fine excuse. She would get to spend time with her baby and her husband, even if she wouldn't be able to reveal her true relation to them.
Qrow was outraged, though, and he'd made it clear he would never forgive Raven.
It's not the real me he hates. It's an idea of me, a version of Raven that would run away and abandon her family. I'm not that person, so he doesn't hate me.
"I swear to the Brothers, I'm never going to have anything to do with her again. One of these days, that damned obsession with strength that she has will get her into trouble, and she'll finally get what's coming to her."
Raven decided to try a little damage control. "Qrow, she wasn't obsessed with strength, not after she settled down," she admitted honestly. "She was getting better–"
"Shut yer damn mouth, Summer!"
The contempt with which he spat out the words made Raven freeze. Summer and Qrow had always had a teasing rivalry with her on the winning end more often than not, but he spoke to her now as though she were a Grimm with its claws wrapped around a baby's throat. Was this how much people hated Summer? She'd never known.
"I know you think you get Raven 'cause you were buddies, but you don't. She pretended to be nice for a while, but her true assholery shone through at the end. Tai said she acted completely impossible for a month before she left. People don't change, not really."
Ozpin had explained the concept of aura sickness to her. Thankfully, the unwanted aura worked its way out of the system over time, so there was no chance of her becoming Summer or permanently changing. But what had Qrow said? Raven was only irritable for about one week, maybe less, right when Summer's memories came to her, and the worst she'd gotten was slightly pissed.
Tai is hurt. I bet he can only remember the worst things about me right now. It's understandable.
"Summer! I love you so much!"
He doesn't actually love Summer.
"Oh, Summer! Sum!"
Tai never showed an interest in Summer before I was put in her body. He fell in love with me as Raven, and now he's fallen in love with me as Summer. It's me, the soul of Raven Branwen, that he loves, no matter whatever body I'm in. Not Summer.
"Summer!" Tai cried as he reached his peak.
He loves me. He doesn't love Summer. He's just shouting out what he thinks my name is because he loves me so much. It's actually romantic…right?
Tai climbed off of her. "You're so much better than Raven."
Raven was glad that the lights were off. Her husband couldn't see her crying.
"Such a cute baby. And those breathtaking silver eyes…"
Raven flinched. Gods, he wasn't even trying to hide it. The few memories of Summer's that she'd s̶t̶o̶l̶e̶n̶ witnessed had suggested that Summer was seriously upset with how controlling he would get, and Raven found herself agreeing more and more. Every day there was some new critical task that only she could accomplish with her rare and precious silver eyes. Tai offered to come, but someone needed to take care of Yang and little Rhubarb Rook Rose.
…Brothers, she should never have let Taiyang choose her first name.
Qrow would've been good backup, but Raven had an entire childhood's worth of memories all indicating that her brother and his star-crossed semblance were best left alone. Also, Raven was having a little trouble with how baby brother was taking about her. Raven her, not Summer her.
Everyone had something bad to say about Raven Branwen, and it was getting a little difficult to keep her straight face as they pointed out every mistake across her lifetime. Remember when Raven kicked me into that lake? Remember when Raven left us to fight those Ursa on our own? Remember when Raven ran away?
Of course, no one remembered how Raven had apologized profusely for knocking Qrow into the water and had offered to do his schoolwork for a week as penance – social outcast or not, she'd always cleared her debts. No one remembered how Raven had been holding off all three Deathstalkers by herself on the left while Taiyang and Summer fought the six Ursa on the right. No one remembered any of the good things about Raven Branwen, because they didn't choose to.
And why would they? Why on Remnant would they possibly try to smile at the memory of a woman who'd abandoned her own newborn? Raven understood that. She truly, genuinely did. Dust, she'd have fucking lost it if Tai up and wandered off instead of her. But at some point, hearing your own name become a curse word synonymous with coward took its toll, especially for a woman of her pride.
Now, here she was, face to face with the man who'd caused this. As the veil of ignorance was pulled away and Ozpin gradually revealed his true nature, Raven had started to wonder if Summer's injuries were really as life threatening as Oz had suggested, or if he simply wanted to switch a conscious and compliant mind into the body of his silver eyed champion. And she also was ashamed to admit that she'd only just started to wonder why Ozpin was standing over Summer's dying body in Vacuo when she got there. At the time, joy that he had a way to save her and guilt over abandoning her family was all she felt, but now…
"I didn't visit for you to pretend to fawn over my daughter," Raven growled. "I know you. I know how you think, and I know what you want. Ruby has Summer Rose's silver eyes, and it would only be a matter of time before you tried to induct her."
Ozpin looked up at her with a smile. "Madam, you are Summer Rose."
Raven sneered and ignored him. "Now, I want two things. One, you promise to let Rook choose her own path. If she wants to become a huntress, you let her. Otherwise, you back off."
Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Yang –"
"Wants to be a huntress. And that may yet change. She'd barely three years old. Now, my second request is that, if Rook does become a huntress, you give her the power of flight. The same one you gave Qrow and me all those years ago. I want her to always have an escape route. A way out."
The way out Summer never had.
Ozpin sighed. "The power that I gave Qrow and Raven requires me to permanently part with magic of my own. You ask much of me, Summer."
"Then I'll tell them. I'll tell Qrow and Tai and James and Pietro and all of them who I really am."
"I see. I suppose I have no choice in this matter. Hand me the child."
Raven pulled Rook back towards her. "I said only want it if she chooses to become a huntress."
"It will be better for her if the power is something she's always had. Think of how long it took Raven and Qrow to adapt when they were imbued with it as teenagers. It's a blessing even if she choses to not follow her path, and in the worst case scenario, I can simply remove it."
Raven cautiously parted with Rook. Ozpin snapped his fingers, and a black mist surrounded the infant. Rook inhaled the smoke, coughed twice, and reached for Ozpin's spectacles. Ozpin smiled at her and tapped her on the nose before handing her back to her mother.
"It is done."
Raven sighed a breath of relief and stepped into the elevator. As she left the headmaster's office, Raven suddenly wondered why he'd been so opposed to granting Rook the power at first, but then had insisted he give it to her immediately. Did…Did Oz just play her? Did he want Rook to have the ability to transform into a bird after all? But if he did, there was no reason to decline her request at first.
Other than seeing how far I was willing to go against him.
Summer was proof of what happened when you tried to stand against the wizard. Raven hugged her daughter closer to her chest. She'd have to watch her family very closely.
She didn't watch close enough.
Their little cabin in Patch was burned to the ground. A charred corpse of a man clutched two burnt up children to his breast. The surrounding forests were still ablaze when Raven arrived.
Raven wept for hours, surrounded by the ashes of life as she knew it. Tai, her darling Tai, she would never make him smile again. He'd never hold her close and whisper naughty little things into her ear. She'd never get the chance to teach Yang how to perfect her right hook. Yang was her little firecracker, the beaming light of her life that was so pleased when her mommy patted her on the head and told her that one day she'd be just as strong as her. And Rook was taken from her before she'd barely even gotten a chance at life. Raven had been planning to bake Rook a whole tray of chocolate chip cookies, her favorite, just as a little treat for waiting so patiently while she completed her mission.
Her last mission.
"Raven! Excellent job with the–"
"You did it."
"Did what?"
"You killed my family."
Ozpin looked shocked. "As far as I know, your family is sitting safely in their–"
"Cut the bullshit. I'm not Qrow; I've learned how to open my eyes over the past few years." Raven's knuckles grew white as she spoke. "You'll have had nothing to do with it. You'll investigate their deaths and find that Salem was the culprit behind it. Then, I'll be so anguished and vengeful that I'll go after the witch, charging face first and head-on. Rebellious Raven dies. Salem's wounded, or at least her numbers are thinned down. Win-win for Ozpin."
"Raven, I–"
She didn't give him the chance. Summer's scythe had been at home when the fire started and was destroyed, but Omen was fireproof and had survived. A quick swish of the katana against a critical ligament, and Ozpin said goodbye to walking forever.
"Killing you would just set your parasitic soul onto some innocent boy. Enjoy this gift instead."
Raven crouched in front of the now-crippled huntsman as he screamed bloody murder. "You know what your problem is, Oz? You're so sure that you're the smartest. You've been around the block so long that you think you're guaranteed you can pull a fast one over us mortals just because you're more experienced than us. Let me fill you in on the truth: all the experience at lying in the world means nothing against a single skeptical mind."
Ozpin glared at her as he screeched in pain at the wound on his leg. "RAAAH! So, you've finally – arrrrrrgh – shown your true colors and decided to join Salem? T-Traitor!"
"Salem is a monster, but so are you." Raven rose. "The two of you may fight this war of yours for all eternity for all I care. I have no more stake in this. I'm leaving. You may look for me, but you'll only find death."
"Coward! Weakling! You're running because you're weak! Weak!"
If Raven could still feel joy at all, she would've snorted at his humorous stupidity. "You won't get me like that anymore, Oz. I've seen all your tricks. I shall serve you no longer."
"I need you! They need me! Don't you walk away from your duty, Raven! I'm the only one who can bring back –"
Raven's boot landed on his face, and the Ozpin's frenzied ranting stopped.
~ ~ ~ end flashback wavy bullshit ~ ~ ~
Weiss had never thought that a headmaster, one of the four men charged with the defense of Remnant, would stoop so low. Raven ended by describing her return to the Branwen tribe and her subsequent takeover by brutal force, but that part meant very little to Weiss.
"But how did he fake our deaths?" asked Yang. "Ruby, Dad, and I never died on Patch. The cabin's still standing."
"I'm not sure," said Raven. "Ozpin had magic beyond our comprehension at his disposal, not to mention close personal relationships with every hunter from Vale to Vacuo. With all those semblances, I wouldn't be surprised if Oz could call in a favor from someone and make illusions. But in the end, it doesn't matter. You're alive! All three of you are alive! We can be a family again!"
Yang hugged Raven once more.
"That is sensational!"
Both women turned to look at Penny and Weiss.
"Penny!" Yang said with a start. "I wanted to ask, why are…"
Yang trailed off when her eyes met Weiss' for the first time in weeks. Raven's epic tale had been so enthralling that Yang probably hadn't noticed the former heiress or the robot standing some distance away, and Weiss hadn't wanted to interrupt on a tender family moment. Now that the ice had already been broken by Penny, Weiss could wait no further.
"Yang!"
Weiss dashed forward and threw her arms around her lost teammate.
"I missed you!"
Weiss had taken punches before – Lie Ren had a mean uppercut – but none of them could compare to the unfathomable power beyond Yang Xiao-Long's metal fist as it rearranged the shapes of her internal organs. Weiss felt every bit of it, as she hadn't raised her aura. Why would she for a hug with Yang?
Yang backed a few steps away as Weiss fell to the ground and vomited up the last meal she'd had, as well as a not so insignificant quantity of blood.
"That was for Blake."
"Y-Yang?"
"Mom, Weiss killed her own partner because she didn't love her back. She can't be trusted. She's a monster."
Weiss wanted to deny it, but it hurt to speak. Penny intervened on her behalf.
"Friend Weiss saved your life."
"Really? Did you or anyone else actually see Blake attack me?"
"Friend Ruby fought–"
"I don't blame Ruby, but she might've made a mistake. All we know for sure is that I was down, Blake and Weiss were arguing, and Ruby heard something about the White Fang. All the evidence points to Weiss – she has the motive, and she admitted to the entire world that she hates Faunus in the tournament. You all only believe her because she survived and convinced you that she was innocent. Blake fought the White Fang with us in Mountain Glenn! Why would she do that if she were still a part of them? There's no proof! There's no witnesses other than Weiss, the murderess herself!"
"A-Adam…" Weiss rasped.
"Got something to say, killer?" Yang's arm switched into some sort of contraption, and she advanced towards Weiss, but Penny hovered to block her way, swords drawn. Raven, siding with her daughter, pulled out a small hatchet and prepared to throw it.
"I'm afraid I cannot allow you two to harm Friend Weiss. Friend Yang, Friend Raven, please stand down for your own safety."
"Outta my way!"
"Don't you raise a weapon against my daughter!"
"Adam Taurus," groaned Weiss. It hurt to speak after Yang's ribcage-shattering punch, but the three of them were about to tear each other apart. "Blake said he knew of their – cough – plan. If we find him, that's proof."
"Taurus? He'd be on Menagerie, the heart of the White Fang," said Raven.
"Then let's go!" exclaimed Yang. All eyes turned to her. "What are we waiting for? Mom and I can catch up on the long trip, and we can feed tiny little bits of Schnee to the White Fang when we prove that she's lying." The three of them continued to stare at her. "Oh, c'mon, you guys. It's not like I actually want to fight Penny over Weiss. She's innocent. If we can peacefully work this out and then tear that sack of shit limb from limb, I'm all in."
Penny helped Weiss up as her aura finally finished sewing her tattered stomach back together.
"Friend Weiss, are you sure you wish to venture to Menagerie? Friend Yang has a point – a Schnee may not be received well on the island of the Faunus."
"I'm sure. If Yang doesn't trust me, the future of Team Rhapsody is on the line."
"Team Rhapsody?"
"Ruby Schnee Polendina Yang. Team RPSY."
Penny's eyes widened. "You wish for me to join your team, Friend Weiss?"
"Well, I need a partner."
"I'd be honored to join Team Rhapsody."
"You two done making out?" asked Yang. "Mom and I are ready to go."
Penny scooped her arms under Weiss' legs, carrying her bridal style. Kicking off the ground, she hovered in the air with her rocket boots as Yang and Raven hopped onto Bumblebee.
Raven signaled their bearing with a wave of her arm. "The nearest port is due south of here. We can catch a boat there."
"Let's roll."
The motorcycle zoomed forward, with Weiss and Penny following after them.
Omake
Penny: You wish for me to join your team, Friend Weiss?
Weiss: Well, I need a partner.
Penny: So do I, after my old partner Ciel Soleil was reported missing, presumed dead two years ago. But let us never speak of her again. Ever.
Omake 2
Penny: I have a better idea for a team name – Team Puff.
Weiss: How'd you get that from our names?
Penny: Team PFFF. Penny Polendina, Friend Weiss, Friend Ruby, Friend Yang.
Next Chapter: Perilous Voyage – In which Bronzewing bends the rules, Jaune arrives on Menagerie, and Raven talks things out with her daughter.
Author's Notes
Sorry for the sob story on Raven. I'm not trying to make her some over the top woobie-esque character, I just had so many ideas for a Raven-redemption and wasn't willing to part with any of them.
Yang is in a bit of a bad place right now when it comes to Weiss. She's torn between two friends who she trusted with all her heart, and every time she sides with one, she feels like she's betraying the other. I know she said she was over Blake, but there's a difference between saying something and truly accepting it, especially when you come face to face with the something that killed your crush.
Happy rats, and don't do crime!