The final class of the day had ended, and for Jaune that meant one thing. It was time for detention.
It wasn't like he was Mister Popular and had all sorts of plans after school. In fact his plans probably would have consisted of spending time with Ruby and Weiss, which was exactly what he would be doing in his punishment. It really was all rather trivial, when he thought about it. What Professor Goodwitch deemed some kind of inconvenience for him was going to be faculty-enforced quality time with his two closest friends and loves. Not that he would ever tell the teacher that, as she would probably do something to separate them should she ever learn that detention was going to be no problem for them.
As his team exited Professor Port's classroom and into the hallway, he noticed that as usual they were getting an undue amount of attention. As expected of the Hero of Beacon Academy and his cohorts, however he would have much preferred to stay under the radar due to his team's unique circumstances.
Before he could make it too far, a gruff voice from behind halted him in his tracks. "Mister Arc."
Turning around, he saw Qrow Branwen stalking toward him and his team. As per usual the man's hands were stuffed into his pockets, and he seemed to lean forward slightly as he approached the team which included his two nieces.
"Professor Branwen," Jaune answered politely, not wanting any of the passersby to look too much into the special bond the man shared with them.
"You're going to detention, right?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Jaune nodded. "Well in that case do you mind if I borrow your one good teammate for a while?"
Jaune cast a glance over at Yang, who was indeed the only member of their team not serving detention for the pornography incident. The blonde girl betrayed no emotion one way or another at being called upon by her estranged uncle.
"Up to her," Jaune said. He trusted Yang's ability to maintain her cover on her own, and he knew she needed no chaperone while interacting with humans.
"It's nothing bad," Qrow insisted. "Just a family matter that's best discussed behind closed doors. Student privacy and all that."
To an outside observer it could have been something as simple as discussing a call from Yang's parents. That is, if Yang had been a normal student. Jaune knew the truth, however. Jaune knew that any personal or family matter concerning Yang also concerned Qrow himself. He was being open and honest about the situation, and yet no one had a clue to the true meaning behind the words.
"I'm down," Yang smirked, stepping toward her uncle. "Always fun to talk about family and all that stuff," she added, again the true meaning behind her words veiled from all but those in the know.
"Perfect. Don't worry, she'll be back before you know it." Qrow frowned as he looked over the three troublemakers. "Try to behave with Professor Goodwitch and not to add more fuel to the fire."
Jaune frowned in turn. It would have been easy enough for him. However…
"I assure you we will be on our best behavior," Weiss stated with the utmost confidence.
He would have to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't watch more porn in detention.
Qrow and Yang walked away to discuss whatever the man deemed needed discussing, leaving the remaining three students to continue on their path to detention. They didn't make it too far, however, before they realized that another party had staked out a spot in the hallway to wait until they were done speaking with Qrow.
Cinder Fall and her underlings lurked close to the wall, and like vipers who'd spotted their prey, pushed off to intercept Jaune and his friends before they'd gotten too far.
Once she'd gotten so close that their chests were nearly touching, she said but a single word. "Jaune."
It was so simple, but so cold. Cinder said more with his name than she could have with a thousand words of threats. He knew that she wasn't pleased with what he'd done. He didn't need her to say any more than she already had. Yet here she was, about to make her displeasure known to him and his companions.
"Hey, Cinder," he smiled weakly. He glanced up to the two other members of her team who'd travelled here from Salem's realm. "Hey, Emerald. Mercury."
Emerald glared at him like he was the scum of the earth. Mercury on the other hand, who stood a foot behind Emerald and several behind Cinder, flashed him a knowing grin as he nodded a greeting back to him. To be honest Jaune was a little bit surprised, but in the end he supposed that bros would be bros regardless of the circumstances they found themselves in. It seemed that even Mercury could appreciate the balls it took to turn the CCT tower into a smut den.
Cinder's eyes burned, both figuratively and literally, as she leaned upward to get a few extra inches on her height. She brought her face closer to Jaune's, speaking soft yet stern words into his ear. "You are by far the dumbest and most infuriating person I have ever known," she whispered into his ear. "Do I need to remind you what will happen if they learn the truth about what those girls are?"
Coming back down to rest on her heels, Cinder glared up at him with bone-chilling coldness. As she'd done before, she hadn't threatened Jaune with what she might do to him, but what those in charge of Beacon would.
Fiery eyes flicked over to Weiss, whose own icy stare met them with unflinching stubbornness. "Keep her under control," Cinder ordered. "I don't care what hobbies she pursues in her own free time. Do not let her run wild. Do not let her jeopardize our mission."
Without waiting for Jaune to respond Cinder pushed past them, followed closely by her lackeys. Jaune blinked. Had that been it? Was Cinder just mad about the porn thing because it could potentially expose their true nature? Did she really not see the deeper meaning behind what Jaune had done? Was she really unaware of the true damage that had been done to the CCT tower?
No, of course not. Cinder, for as powerful and intelligent as she was, wasn't a deviant. She wasn't a teenage boy. She had no experience visiting porn sites, and she had no idea the consequences that came with visiting those insecure websites and downloading adware and spyware. She could never see past the simple lust that she assumed he and Weiss had, and consider that the goal of such reckless web surfing was to undermine the virus she'd planted in the system. After all, she had no clue that Jaune was even aware of the virus. She had no reason to believe he would be trying to thwart it, and her.
A smile erupted on his face. He'd never been so happy to have been threatened by the dangerous woman as he was now.
It didn't go unnoticed, as Ruby tugged on his arm to earn his attention. "You seem really happy right now," she commented.
"Positively positive," Weiss agreed.
Jaune nodded. He couldn't help bit sigh happily as he grinned. "You know what? I really am. It's been a while since things worked out exactly how I wanted them to."
Ruby looked confused. Weiss' scrutinizing glare told him that she was trying to figure out the meaning of his words in her mind, but was struggling to come to a conclusion. It didn't matter now anyway. Maybe he would tell them later when they were in private. For now, however…
"Come on, let's get to Professor Goodwitch's classroom," he urged them before starting off down the hall.
The two hybrids walked with him side by side. There was still so much work to be done, but for the first time in a long time Jaune felt he finally had a handle on it. He could only hope that whatever Qrow was doing with Yang would move them closer to their shared goal of saving these girls.
Peace and serenity surrounded her. It was a harsh contrast to the roiling emotions churning inside of her.
This place, what was it called again? Forever Fall? As Yang glanced around she saw that the leaves here were perpetually red, as if colored by a lifetime of bloodshed. As if they'd been soaked in it. Was that her fate as well? Was that what awaited her at the hands of her own uncle?
Her right hand squeezed tightly. Her left hovered close to the stolen shotgun she wore on her hip. If it came down to it she would fight even him. Especially him. After all, that foul Branwen blood coursed through his veins. Yang had killed a huntsman before. She could do it again.
So far the man hadn't said much since arriving here with her for their little family outing. She still had no idea why she wanted to speak to her in private, but apparently the privacy of their own dorm room wasn't good enough. Not even some restaurant in Vale was deemed appropriate by the man. No, here in the woods no one would be able to hear a person scream. Nor would they be able to hear a hybrid. Yang had always had a strong sense of survival, and betrayal had been ingrained in her very core from a young age. She was right to be suspicious of a man who shared her blood in him. Especially because it was him.
Her pace slowed just the tiniest bit as they strode through the woods, allowing her to fall a step behind her uncle so that if it came to it, she would be able to get the drop on him first. After a few seconds he stopped, likely noting that she had left his periphery and lurked behind him. Smart. Of course he had to be in order to survive this long in a profession where men and women died young.
Yang stopped with him, and he turned back to glance at her. "Tired?" he asked.
Anything but. Yang's adrenaline was pumping and she was on high alert. Nothing about this seemed right, and she wasn't about to be caught flat-footed. All the same, she brushed off his concern with a soft snort and a flick of her wrist. "Not at all," she denied. "You?"
He held her gaze for a few moments longer before shrugging. "Nope."
Without saying another word he began walking again. Her eyes drilled holes into the back of his head for another couple of seconds before she set off after him. He clearly didn't see her as a threat, and he very much wanted her to know that. He had silently called her out on her actions and then told her that he didn't care.
His overconfidence was going to be his downfall one of these days.
"So why'd you bring me out here?" she finally asked, leaving nothing to the imagination anymore. "Did you finally decide to put me down, Uncle Qrow?"
The man stopped again, and Yang sensed a spike of negativity in his heart. It was brief, but it was there. Much like herself, no matter how much he could control his appearance, he could not control the emotions which lay unseen beneath the flesh.
"Put you down?" he asked, turning to face her fully.
Yang's left hand came to rest on a cocked hip, showing off a sassy and confident side of her, but at the same time sitting but an inch away from her weapon. "You heard me," she pressed, not backing down for a second. "I know who and what I am, and I know what I am to you."
His eyes didn't leave hers. "What you are is my family."
She wanted to laugh. Another breath slipped through her nose as she confidently strode up to him, staring up into those red, beady eyes of his. She shook her head slowly. "Monster," she said, letting the word hang in the air for a moment before continuing. "I'm a monster in your eyes. I'd wanna kill me too if I were you."
To his credit he didn't flinch. He didn't back away. He didn't reach for his own weapon. Despite the mix of emotions which Yang sensed in his heart, he remained outwardly unmoved. "I'm not going to kill you," he told her. "And I don't think you're a monster either."
She sneered, equal parts angry and amused by his response. "Then you're even dumber than you look," she spat, glancing him up and down before settling once more on his face. "And how do you know that I'm not gonna kill you, huh? All this open space out here," she said, her arms spread out wide gesturing at the forest around them. "And not a huntsman around for miles. Grimm, on the other hand…"
She let her unfinished sentence do the speaking for them. There were most certainly Grimm out here in the wilderness, and Qrow was but one lonely huntsman. Even if she didn't manage to finish the job, the Grimm surely would. With no backup and no escape, he would stand no chance if he were wounded. Yang was capable of doing that, and more.
"I don't believe you'd do that," he said, causing her eyes to narrow on his. "You get along with humans quite well for a Grimm hybrid."
Humans, yes. When she had to. Qrow on the other hand barely registered above a maggot in her eyes. "Then you obviously don't know how much I hate you. You and your sister."
He nodded. "Your mother."
A wave of fury washed over her. It was brief, but it was powerful. "Which one? The one who abandoned me? The one who raised me? Or the one who turned me into this?"
"I know how much you must hate her," he continued, ignoring her questions. "Trust me. I know her all too well."
"You know nothing!" she snarled. Yang could feel her pent-up rage bubbling to the surface.
Back in Salem's realm she had an outlet for her anger. She could tear apart Grimm and fellow students alike in order to sate her bloodlust. Here in Vale, however, she was limited to what she could do in class and in training. She hadn't had a proper fight in weeks.
Was that why he'd brought her out here then? Did he intend to fight her? If so, she was down. The poor fool would be lucky to walk away alive when she got through with him.
Qrow held his hands up in front of his chest. "Take it easy. We're just here to talk, okay?"
Talk. Talk talk talk talk talk. That's all these damn humans ever did. They talked out their problems. Well when about when words weren't good enough? What did you do when no amount of talking would settle things? What did you do when it wouldn't solve what needed to be solved?
What would Qrow do when he realized that she wanted nothing more than to pulverize his face into a red ruin of blood and meat?
"You want to talk? she seethed. "You think you understand? You think you know how I feel? You don't know a damn thing! How could you possibly know what she did to me! What gives you the right to talk to me in her place!"
A sigh slipped through Qrow's nose, and he nodded reluctantly. "You're right. I don't know how you feel, and I can't be the one to speak for what's been done to you. But… I know someone who can."
Yang's hand flinched when she saw Qrow's own reach down, but instead of grasping his weapon, a scroll came from his pocket. Slowly and deliberately he opened it up, always keeping his eyes on her as he did so. After a few seconds he put the device to his ear and spoke.
"She's here," were the only words to leave his mouth before shutting the thing down again.
In an instant Yang was once more on guard, and instincts began to take control of her mind. Sensing around the forest she still felt nothing. If there were hidden huntsmen coming for her then they were still far away. Too far away to stop her before she would rend her bastard uncle limb from limb.
"Yang, calm down," Qrow demanded, his voice becoming sterner than before. "No one else is here."
No one? Then who was on the damn scroll? she thought as her eyes continued to dart all around her. However she couldn't argue with what he'd said. As far as she could sense and see there was no one else in the forest but them.
Until a swirling red vortex appeared from out of nowhere next to Qrow.
As horrifying as it was beautiful, the sudden appearance of the tall, oval-shaped maelstrom forced Yang to take a step back. Her focus darted between it and Qrow, and seconds seemed to last forever as she wondered just who, or what, had caused it to appear.
Then it stepped out. She stepped out. A tall woman, clad in from head to toe in red and black. Thigh-high stockings and a short skirt left little bare skin to be seen, as did the black and red jacket which covered her torso. However it was the ornate and monstrous white mask she wore which drew Yang's attention the most. Like a horrifying creature of Grimm, the faceless woman's gaze pierced Yang to her core despite the fact that her eyes went unseen.
The shock was short-lived, however, and fear quickly turned to rage when Yang realized who this person was. Even without seeing her face she knew.
"Yang," the cold voice from behind the mask said. "We have a lot to talk about."
Yang snapped.
Professor Goodwitch ran a tight ship in detention. Adamant that there would be zero talking, and thus zero fun, she had spaced out the three offenders who were serving with her so that they were on opposite sides of the room. Jaune sat in the middle seats, while Ruby was to the far right and Weiss to the far left. He could only hope that they had found some ways of entertaining themselves for an hour of silence.
So much for fun time with his friends.
There was always homework, but then again Jaune really didn't care about doing any of that. He had much bigger things to worry about than getting good grades, and at the end of the day they wouldn't affect his life in the slightest. Still, maybe tackling that history homework Professor Oobleck assigned could just kill time? Maybe he'd even learn a thing or two as well. As long as he was here alone what harm could it-
"You've been a busy boy."
Jaune yelped, nearly jumping out of his seat and slamming his knees on the underside of the desk. The sudden commotion earned the attention of not just Ruby and Weiss, but Miss Goodwitch as well. She glanced up at him from her own desk at the front of the room, irritation etched on her spectacled face.
"Is there a problem, Mister Arc?"
Collecting his thoughts and reaching down to rub his injured leg, he jumped in fright once again as he felt that an unseen hand had already found his knee. Now he was in even more pain, not to mention fright, as before.
"Mister Arc!" Miss Goodwitch snapped. "No goofing around in detention!"
It was a simple enough rule to follow, but Jaune couldn't very well do it if there was something, or rather someone, hiding underneath the long and enclosed seating which wrapped around the arena of Professor Goodwitch's classroom like a coliseum. Someone hidden from view, lurking in the shadows by his legs.
He had a good idea of who it was, too.
"Right, no problem," he squeaked as he felt an all too familiar caressing touch from those unseen hands. "Sorry!"
Miss Goodwitch held her gaze for a few seconds longer before it returned to her desk and the paperwork on it.
Jaune meanwhile dared to peek underneath the surface of the desk he sat at, and to his relief, found an all too familiar girl clad in black curled beneath the seating near his legs, allowing her hands to roam over his legs. In doing so she was suggesting incredibly naughty things without speaking a single word.
"Blake," he whispered harshly down to her. "Where did you come from?"
"From shadows," she replied, offering a familiar enough answer to his question.
Jaune supposed he shouldn't be surprised. This was the girl who had the ability to seemingly meld into the shadows themselves and move unseen even in broad daylight. The extent of her abilities was truly baffling, as was the source of them. Had she learned such techniques through her time with the White Fang? Was it as a result of the hybrid she'd become later? Or perhaps both?
In any case, he simply had to ask what she was doing underneath his desk here in detention. "What are you doing?"
"Me?" she asked naively, her golden eyes suggesting innocence, but the coy smile she wore on her lips betraying them. "Why, I'm not the one who's been watching disturbing amounts of pornography. Had I known that you were suffering such a drought I could have provided for you…"
He wanted to assure her that no such drought existed, but at the same time he didn't want her to continue down the dirty path her mind was already on. "Okay, why are you under the desk?"
Blake's completely normal and human tongue poked out to lick her lips, much to his surprising disappointment. "Do you want me to say that it's to fulfill the carnal fantasies which are undoubtedly running through your mind right now? That I might take it upon myself to please you beneath the desk even as Miss Goodwitch sits here in front of you? How dirty of you, Jaune. How utterly despicable to wish to defile this institute of learning…"
He knew he could say no, but he also knew that Blake, like the rest of the hybrids, could sense his emotions. She undoubtedly felt the lust he was experiencing, but it honestly wasn't his fault. How could a girl kneel under a desk and ask him those kinds of questions and expect him to not start to think about them?
At least she appeared to be feeling better. Jaune supposed he would take Blake's provocative prodding and elusive answering if it meant that she was beginning to recover from her traumatic ordeal.
She always did enjoy playing games with him. He would play along with them as long as it meant that she would be happy. "Come on, tell me," he whispered. "Please?"
Blake smiled that Cheshire grin of hers, flashing teeth at him from his place beneath him. "I do so love when you beg, my darling," she purred. "Very well. Just for you, I bring a gift."
The faunus girl reached down to somewhere unknown and unseen, and a second later produced a scroll to hand to Jaune. Considering that Blake wasn't supposed to be here, she possessed no scroll of her own. Anything she did own was stolen from others. This was undoubtedly another person's scroll she'd taken.
"And what is this?"
"A scroll, silly," she smirked, causing Jaune to roll his eyes. "Oh, you wish to know whose scroll?"
Jaune sighed in frustration. Getting straightforward answers out of Blake never was easy. "Yes…"
Blake hissed that soft, dark laugh of hers, clearly enjoying his reactions to her. "A scroll which belongs to none other than our dear teacher down there," she said referring to Professor Goodwitch. "Though she doesn't know it yet, this most private device has gone missing from her desk. A device which she has so carelessly allowed this bad kitty to observe the pass code to in order to gain access. Did you know that she's downloaded multiple dating apps? Who knew our Professor Goodwitch was such a naughty Badwitch?"
Under any other circumstances, learning about his professor's love life might have been big and exciting news. However he knew that Blake had more information to offer him than just what kind of profile the woman was making on the Lonely Huntsmen app.
The hybrid reached to recover the device, and after a few presses of her thumbs had unlocked the scroll. She handed it back to Jaune, and as he gazed down at its screen underneath the cover of the desk realized that a text conversation had been brought up. One between Miss Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin.
They were discussing a breach in the CCT network. Moreover, they were discussing solutions to resolve it. To remove any and all infected and compromised material which would put the school in jeopardy.
Jaune's eyes widened when he realized his plan had worked.
"Knowledge is power. Guard it well," Blake stated ominously.
She took the scroll back from Jaune's hands, and he was happy not to be in possession of such a powerful device any longer. It would be catastrophic if when the teacher realized it was missing she ultimately tracked it down to his hands.
Another tug on his pants made Jaune glance back down, and he found Blake holding the scroll's screen up for him to see again.
On that screen was none other than a very private and very risqué selfie that Miss Goodwitch had taken of herself clad in black lace lingerie. Nothing too personal was visible, but it was more than he ever thought he would see of the very stern and uptight, and as it turned out, very hot teacher.
His legs bashed against the underside of the desk yet again, causing the loudest noise yet.
"Mister Arc!" the teacher shouted once more.
He would never be able to look at her the same way again. A naughty Badwitch indeed.
Raven was fortunate she was wearing a mask. Had she not, the young woman before her would have seen that red eyes that were normally so cold and sharp had gone wide. Not with surprise, but fear.
Yang. Her daughter. The daughter whom she'd long ago abandoned. The daughter who'd been twisted into something unrecognizable by Salem, stood mere feet away from her. For the first time in years Yang was nearly in arm's reach. A few steps is all it would take to be able to reach out and touch her. This beautiful girl, almost a spitting image of her mother but for her differently colored eyes and hair was standing right before her. Raven didn't know what to say. She didn't even know where to begin.
Until Yang screamed.
It was primal. Raw. Filled with indescribable pain and anguish. Despite the fact that she lacked the abilities of the Grimm, Raven could feel all of the hate and negativity from her long lost daughter in that scream. All of that anger and frustration was directed at her.
Knowing what she was, Raven stepped back and readied herself for combat. Her knees bent ever so slightly. Her right hand rested on the handle of Omen, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. Red eyes had narrowed on the girl in front of her, only to go wide once more when the true nature of her daughter began to show.
Skin paled in seconds, quickly turning from a natural tan to a sickly shade of white. Veins once hidden beneath the flesh became darkened and pronounced until every bit of Yang's skin was covered in twisted black lines. A pair of long and pointed horns jutted from her forehead, and eyes which had once been the color of Raven and Taiyang's union turned as red as the blood that the girl undoubtedly wished to spill in this moment.
However, it was the arm which made Raven's breath catch in her mouth. Monstrous and terrible, its flesh was black as midnight, and red veins ran along it like lava flows cutting through obsidian. More horns, or boney spikes of some sort, dotted her shoulder like some sort of chitinous protection.
She was every bit the monster Raven recalled seeing all those years ago. She was even more horrific now than she had been then. Since then Yang had years of time to suffer under the direction and guidance of Salem. Years to be experimented on. Years to have that twisted appendage grafted to her body.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this…" Yang snarled.
Raven had no time to respond, nor lament her past mistakes before Yang lunged at her. With speed unthinkable for a creature with a right arm as large as her entire body, Yang lashed out with her cruel fist. Raven only barely jumped out of the way in time, and the thunderous impact of Yang's strike on the forest floor shook the very ground itself. All around her the branches of trees swayed underneath the impact of the attack.
The rotary chamber of her scabbard spun, and Raven drew a blade made of ice dust to face down the beast. Yang's head spun at the source of the sound, and Raven could see that her eyes were as cold as her own blade, if not more so. The hatred emanating from the girl was palpable. There would be no talking her out of this. There was no calming her down. Here before her was a bull who'd seen red, and all it had on its mind was death and destruction.
"Fight me!" the girl shouted, frustrated that her blow had missed its mark.
Perhaps it was best to simply put the poor creature out of her misery once and for all.
Yang charged her once more, and Raven stood poised and ready to strike. Yang may have been a powerful beast, but her mother was a trained and skilled swordsman. Raw power would never defeat finesse in the hands of a skilled opponent.
The hybrid struck once more, but Raven was faster. The blade of Omen sliced through her daughter's oversized fist as it swung at her, and under any normal circumstances that would have been enough. Putrid flesh ripped apart as a blade of ice cut through it as if it were a stick of butter, but Yang did not flinch nor relent. As if she didn't even feel the slightest bit of pain at all, she lashed out with her human left hand and snatched Raven by the throat. In one swift motion the older woman was lifted from her feet and slammed down onto the forest floor, and Yang came with her down to her knees. Raising the stump that was her ruined right hand, Yang thrust it downward onto Raven's waiting face.
It took the use of her Maiden powers to tear herself out of Yang's grasp and propel herself away just before the mess of red and black skin once more pounded the dirt where her head had once been.
It had been too close of a call, and Raven had barely escaped with her face, and her life, intact. Using power she'd never needed to call on since taking it, Raven hovered midair as she peered down on the girl determined to kill her. At the very least her blade had turned the massive claw into little more than a blunt stump. Dangerous still, but not nearly as useful.
At least she thought so, until the fell flesh of Yang's Grimm appendage began to knit itself back together before her very eyes. Gnarled black sinews and blood-red veins repaired the damage done, and in mere seconds the very claw which had been cleaved from her arm had reappeared, dagger-like talons and all.
If Yang could regrow her hand after it had been removed, then Raven would simply have to amputate the entire arm. How many other tricks was she hiding? Regardless of the answer Raven had tricks of her own. She held the power of the Spring Maiden inside her. All she needed to do was go all out and Yang would be finished.
"You seem surprised, mom," Yang spat, with that last word particularly venomous on the lips of the girl. "Then again it's not surprising you don't know a damn thing about your daughter!"
She knew one thing for certain. "I know that you're an abomination," she stated calmly, looking down both figuratively and literally on her daughter. "You're a monster who has no place in this world."
Yang sneered up at her. "You talk big for someone who thinks she's safe up there. Allow me to change that!"
She took a couple of steps, and then without warning used her legs to catapult herself up off the ground toward her mother. The speed in which Yang could attack was remarkable, and in less than a second she was airborne and on a direct collision course with the hovering Maiden. Raven held Omen out to block the strike of Yang's fist, and block it she did. The blade of ice dust shattered on impact though, leaving Raven woefully exposed to what came next.
The bestial claw wrapped around the woman's entire torso, and as they were still midair Yang threw her down to the ground with as much force as she could muster. It was considerable, for before she could even think to use her powers to regain control of her flight Raven hit the ground hard. The impact knocked the air out of her lungs, and as her eyes cracked open she saw her daughter descending on her with teeth bared and fist ready to obliterate her head into a bloody pulp.
"Die!" Yang screamed as she fell toward her prey.
A powerful gust of wind courtesy of her Maiden powers blew Yang off course, forcing her to land several meters off to the side. Raven had no chance to think, and she was back on her feet in an instant. Shoving the handle of Omen back into its scabbard, she drew a new blade of fire dust a moment later, ready to continue the fight against her powerful monster of a daughter.
Yang picked herself off the ground as well, flexing her right hand repeatedly. "Is that all you have?" she wondered. "Is that all you can do? Defend and evade? Run away? Then again… running is all you've ever been good for, isn't it?"
There was a glimmer of insanity in her crimson eyes when they flicked up to meet Raven's once more. This beast. This rabid animal. Reason and rationality were gone. She had every intention of killing her foe, and Raven knew that she needed to go all out if she was to win. She knew she was stronger. She knew she was superior. It was about time she showed that truth to her opponent.
Her daughter had shown her hand. She'd shown her abilities. She was strong. She was fast. She was agile. She could even regrow her Grimm appendage. Raven on the other hand had been holding back. Yang had seen but a fraction of what she was capable of. No longer would that be the case.
Yang charged headfirst at her again, but this time before she could even think about connecting, Raven reached down to summon more of her Maiden abilities. Another burst of wind threw Yang's fist back. While she was still reeling Raven lunged forward and with a single strike cut through the Grimm limb once more, removing the lower half of the arm in a single blow.
With her left hand she summoned ice and reached out to grasp her daughter's stump of an arm. For the first time since beginning Yang cried out in pain as the remnant of her right limb was frozen solid. With the handle of her sword still in her fist, Raven lashed out and punched her in the face, and the sickening crunch of knuckles on cartilage sounded when fist met nose.
Now quite literally disarmed and reeling from the heavy blows, Yang stumbled backwards. However even as black ichor leaked from her nose she still stood tall. Her fiery eyes still burned with all of the hatred she ever felt for the woman in front of her. For someone who had taken so much punishment there was still so much fight left in her.
With her arm frozen Yang appeared to be having difficulty regrowing her Grimm appendage, but it was clear that she didn't care. Even frozen solid she could still use her stump as a blunt object, and Yang swung wildly with her club of an arm. Raven parried the blow aside with ease, though Yang refused to give up. Again and again she struck until Raven finally decided to sidestep the attack. Harnessing the electricity from the gathered storm clouds above, the Maiden called down a lightning bolt to strike the hybrid where she stood, earning another terrible howl from the beast and stopping her in her tracks.
Then, deciding to take the bull literally by the horns, Raven reached out to grasp one of the sharp protrusions on her daughter's forehead. With superhuman strength she lifted Yang by her right horn off of the ground. The hybrid flipped in the air before Raven slammed her onto the ground. The impact and torque made the horn in Raven's hand snap clean off her forehead.
Yang cried out in pain again when she landed on her back, now down a horn in addition to an arm.
Raven tossed the broken keratin aside with disgust. Leaving her with no chance to recover, she knelt down over her daughter's chest and struck her face. Again and again she brought her fists down on her foe, each time the sickening sound of flesh meeting flesh echoing in her ears. Yang's vile black blood splattered with each strike as Raven pounded down onto her face over and over again.
After long seconds of striking Raven finally regained control of herself, and she breathed heavily as she stared down into the bloody and bruised face of the hybrid beneath her. Pristine white skin was black and gray from bruising, while black hybrid blood oozed from her nose, her mouth, and the small dozen cuts which Raven's fists had opened up on her face. There was no fight left in her now. Raven had beaten it out of her. All that was left was to finish this.
To finish her.
Standing up over her, Raven stared down at the monster that her daughter had become. All it would take was one downward thrust. One blow to finish this. One final act to erase Yang, and the stain of Raven's own mistake, from the world forever.
Yet she didn't. She couldn't. Even as she held Omen in her shaky grasp, one of Yang's crimson eyes slowly peeked open, staring her would-be executioner in the face and staying her hand.
Raven released a breath she hadn't known she was holding in. After long moments of meeting Yang's unflinching gaze she stepped back and away from the girl's prone body and turned around. Raven had done many horrible things in her life, but that had been before. The woman she had become couldn't bring herself to kill her own daughter. Even if it was probably best for everyone.
She turned and walked away from the fight she'd just won. For the first time since it had started she noted how Qrow was still there and standing off to the side. He hadn't said a word nor lifted a finger to intervene. He'd stood there the whole time, but Raven had no doubt in her mind that he would have stepped in should she have intended to deliver the killing blow.
Instead he had remained on the sidelines silently judging her. Even now as she walked away she saw it in his eyes. She saw his contempt for her. It was all over his face. She glared back at her brother with all the scorn she'd ever felt for him. As if she cared what that weak and pathetic man thought of her.
"You're weak…" a voice, but not her brother's, spoke from behind her.
Raven halted at the sound of Yang's voice, and it seemed as if the girl wasn't finished yet. At least not verbally. She doubted that even a Grimm hybrid could recover so quickly from the beating she'd just taken.
"So weak and pathetic," Yang continued. "Too weak to finish the job…"
Raven closed her eyes and exhaled. "And look at you," she said back, raising her voice enough so that her daughter could hear her voice when turned away from her. "For all your own strength that you possess, there will always be someone stronger than you. Always someone who can kill you. Just as I can right here and now."
She heard shuffling from behind her, though not enough to be concerned about. "Then do it!" her daughter snarled. "What are you waiting for! Do it!"
Part of her thought that maybe she should. Maybe she should end her daughter's misery here and now. Maybe she should destroy this abomination. This tool of Salem. This reminder of her failures in life. Her failures as a human being. The old Raven Branwen would have done so in a heartbeat. The Raven who was little more than a warrior and a tribal leader would never have hesitated.
The Raven Branwen that was Taiyang's wife and Robin's mother, however, was a different woman. Mercy and kindness were things she'd learned since Yang had been lost to her. Qrow said that there was a chance to save her, and maybe he was right. Maybe he could do it.
She would allow him that opportunity.
With a single slash Omen cut through time and space itself, and Raven used her Semblance to open up a portal back to Patch. Back to her family. She could finally put this ugly episode behind her and return to her loved ones. Qrow would hold true to his word and he would never bring up Yang again. He would never visit her again without her invitation. It was over. She'd won.
When she was about to step into the portal, she heard what could have been the final bone-chilling words from her daughter.
"Why didn't you want me…"
She froze before she could step foot back on Patch.
Gone was the anger and rage in Yang's voice. Gone was the disdain and hate. All that remained was something so vulnerable, so heart-wrenchingly simple, that Raven could only picture it coming from a human's lips. Not the beast she'd just battled.
Yet as she turned around she saw that the girl was still a hybrid. Still monstrous and still missing an arm, Yang propped up on her elbows and knees looking up at the woman who was her birth mother.
Raven had an unspoken answer for that question. Because I wasn't fit to raise a child. I couldn't be the mother you needed.
Yang's face was bloody and in tears, and a mixture of both fell from her cheeks onto the dirt below. "What did I do wrong…" she asked, her words shaky as sobs slipped from her lips.
She was bloodied and broken, but she refused to stay down. With weak and battered limbs she crawled toward Raven on her one good hand and knees, asking the questions she'd always wanted to know the answers to. Asking the questions she'd had a lifetime to contemplate. Questions which had been buried long ago by resentment and hate.
Again, Raven had an answer. Nothing. You did nothing wrong.
She was sure they were answers Yang wouldn't accept. How could she? When all a child ever wanted was their mother's love it wouldn't have mattered if that woman wasn't ready or fit for the duty. All they could wonder was why they weren't good enough for the most basic love that existed between parent and child.
"Why didn't you love me…" Yang choked out, her good arm quivering beneath her.
That was the hardest question of them all. Why couldn't a mother love her own child? Raven knew all too well the answer to her daughter's question.
Because I was a monster.
It was too much for the hybrid to bear, and not possessing the strength to hold herself up anymore she collapsed face-first into the ground. Raven could see her heaving back, but the tears she wailed went unseen as they were soaked up by the dirt they fell into.
Raven stood unmoving as she watched Yang weep, though for all of her outward appearance she could hardly say that she was unmoved by the sight of it. Before her was a sobbing and vulnerable girl. For all of her monstrous appearance, she was reminiscent of Robin when he was a baby. Crying, seeking the love and comfort which only his mother could provide. Here and now Yang was much like that herself. A child who wanted, and always had wanted her mother's love.
Ten years ago Raven would have been able to ignore a crying child. She could have ignored her own crying child. However as she stared at the girl who she herself had savaged only moments prior, she couldn't take her eyes off of her.
Removing the Grimm mask from her face, Raven tossed it aside as she walked back over to where Yang lay on the ground. There was no longer any danger from her. Yang had been broken more than just physically by her, and the worst part was that it wasn't the first time she'd done so. She'd broken her daughter long ago back when she was but an innocent little girl.
Raven knelt down next to Yang and placed a hand on her left, human shoulder. The hybrid's back stilled, and using all the strength she had left inside her she peered up to stare into the eyes of the woman who'd just mauled her to near death.
She had the answers to Yang's questions. Answers she didn't like to admit to herself because it reminded her of the person she used to be. Answers which Yang deserved to hear after all this time. "Because I was a monster too," she told her. "One who wasn't even capable of loving her own newborn daughter."
Yang sniffled and gasped a shuddering breath, but said nothing. It must have been difficult to hear from the woman herself. That all of the awful feelings she'd ever had were proven right in a single sentence.
"You would have an excuse, being what you are. I suppose that makes it worse, doesn't it? What excuse do I have?"
Fire reignited in Yang's tear-soaked eyes as she stared into Raven's own. "This is your fault," she whispered harshly. "This is your fault! I'm like this because of you! I hate you! I hate you!"
The words stung harshly, but truthfully. It was because Yang went out looking for her mother that she was abducted. Had she never left Yang would still be her happy and human self. That was what hurt most of all about this. It was entirely her fault that her daughter had become the monster that she was.
"Yes," Raven agreed softly, reaching out to run her fingers through her daughter's pale golden locks. It was astounding that her hair was still so soft and smooth even when she was in her Grimm hybrid form. "It is my fault. My fault alone that you've wound up as you have. You have every right to hate me for everything I've done."
Maybe it was her admission of guilt which broke Yang once again. Or maybe it was the gentle touch of her mother that she'd always longed for. Whatever the reason, Raven saw how Yang's lips quivered. How her eyes and cheeks shook. How the tears erupted from her daughter again, and a pained wail sounded with no reservation or shame.
As Yang broke down again she was stopped from sinking her face into the dirt as she had before. Resting on her knees, Raven reached out underneath Yang to hoist her up until her face rested on her lap. There was no resistance on the girl's part. Her broken body was little more than a ragdoll to be manipulated in Raven's hands.
There, as the hybrid lay sobbing on her thighs, Raven couldn't see her ghastly white skin. She couldn't see the twisting black veins. The blood-colored eyes which promised murder and carnage were nowhere in sight. She was just a girl now. Just Yang. Just her daughter.
The savage beast had vanished, its will to fight having been beaten out of her. In its place returned something entirely more human and vulnerable. All of her previous arrogance and strength were stripped away. Only a wounded girl remained now, injured both physically and emotionally. A girl with a decade's worth of tears to weep into her mother's lap as she knelt on the battlefield of Forever Fall.
"I've done many horrible things in my life," she told the crying girl as her hands brushed through her hair. "I've killed countless people. Even an innocent girl younger than you, all for the sake of power."
Yang didn't respond. That was fine. Raven didn't need her to. She didn't even need Yang to listen to or understand her words. All she wanted was for this poor girl to get everything out. To cry as she never had before in the arms of the mother she'd never known.
"But nothing is worse than what I did to you," she whispered, a pair of tears forming in her own eyes. "I failed you not once, but twice, Yang. I've failed you and nothing I can ever do will change that."
At long last she'd taken responsibility for her actions. She'd admitted her fault to the person she'd hurt the most. For the first time since Yang was a newborn baby, she knew her mother's loving embrace. The question now was what came next?
Perhaps the two simplest words she could utter. The two words Yang deserved to hear now more than any. Raven had no right to say the three words which Yang longed to hear most. Neither of them would have believed those words anyway.
"I'm sorry."
She didn't expect Yang to be able to respond to her earnest words, and all she received in response to them were more tears. That was fine. Crying was cathartic, after all. Getting the emotions out was necessary in order to move forward. They could have a real conversation later. All that mattered now was giving a decade of repressed feelings an outlet.
Yet it was still only the first step on a long and difficult road which lay ahead should Raven choose to walk it. Her enemy wasn't her daughter. It never had been. Her true foe was the one who'd turned her daughter into the monster she was. The foe she'd been avoiding for seventeen years now.
Salem.
"If I could right my wrongs and save you from the pain, it's not enough," she whispered soothingly as her hands continued to stroke her crying daughter's hair. "It's not enough for me to break her rule upon this world."
Raven had no illusions about the truth in those words. Like it or not, Salem did rule this world, even if only a scant few people knew it. She was immortal. She possessed powers and abilities that made even Raven's Maiden powers pale in comparison. Worst of all, she controlled the might of the Grimm.
Even the victory of reconnecting with her daughter would be short-lived if Salem still held some sort of influence over her. In order to regain what she'd lost she would need to break Yang free from Salem once and for all.
She didn't know how they would do it, but Qrow seemed to believe that it was possible. He believed that saving her was possible. Another glance over to him showed that he had been watching the entire scene unfold before him. As before he hadn't made a move to interfere at all, as if deciding that whatever happened here today would be a result of their actions alone. No one else would be to blame if she and Yang couldn't reconcile.
"I'll never be able to be the mother Summer was, but I want to find a place in your life," she whispered into Yang's ear. "If you'll have me. If you'll give me another chance to prove that I'm not the person I used to be."
Again, she received no response to her overture. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe all the important details should be hashed out when the girl in her arms wasn't a bloody and teary mess.
Raven didn't know what would happen once Yang had cried herself dry. She didn't know how her daughter would feel once she'd recovered her strength. She didn't know what their relationship would consist of, or if maybe Yang would try to kill her once again. The future was filled with unknowns, and Raven wasn't fond of not being in control. Something had changed today, though. Unlike before, she was willing to face the unknown in order to find out what would happen.
She was willing to face an uncertain future with Yang. She wanted to find out what would happen next in their relationship.
Author's Note: Fight scenes are the bane of my writing existence. Hopefully it didn't ruin the emotion behind Yang and Raven too much!
Yang's arc has taken the longest, but that's because it wasn't something Jaune could resolve. It had to be Raven. And so here we have at least the beginning to their resolution. Now that Raven has finally started to become invested in all of this, the rest of the pieces can begin falling into place.
I didn't have much for Jaune here, mostly just the follow up to his plan. As it turns out it was a smashing success. After all, why would Cinder, in all of her arrogance, ever think he knew what she was planning? Why would she ever believe that fool would be capable of playing chess with her? Especially when it's completely masked by Weiss' porn obsession, which Cinder is all too familiar with?
Other than that I enjoyed bringing Blake back, who's not so insane anymore, but is still her dark and dramatic self. Oh and I added that Glynda bit on a whim. Poor woman needs some action too, after all.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I had a ton of fun writing it. As always, thanks for reading.