Chapter 2: Seeing Red

Cyan nervously shivered as Krasnaya converted her hammer into a firearm and aimed it at her. "Is this necessary?" She asked, timidly.

"If you want to join me, then yes." Svetlana replied. "Don't worry, your aura will protect you. This is just so you'll know what it feels like to get shot and get rid of your jitters."

Mikhail grabbed his wife's wrist and pulled her aside to speak in private. "With all due respect… have you lost your gods-damned mind?!"

Svetlana arched an eyebrow. "That was with all due respect?"

"You're talking about shooting our foster daughter: what part of that sounds sane?!" Mikhail growled out.

"Blame James Ironwood: this is how he taught me." Svetlana readily called out.

"And yet you wonder why I've questioned his sanity at times," Mikhail declared with a sigh. "Listen, if you insist on doing this, you need to remember that she's still a child."

"I do remember, and I do care for her safety, but the people she'll be facing won't," Svetlana sternly declared. "Think of this as a test to see if she's really ready and willing to go out and fight crime, as if she's going to quit when I shoot her with rubber bullets, then what chance will she have against live ammunition?"

"Wait, rubber bullets? But then…"

"What, did you think that I'd hit her with armor piercing rounds or something like that?" Svetlana asked with a flat expression, showcasing how insulted she was that Mikhail thought so little of her, to which her husband had the decency to blush in reply.

Regardless, the Crimson Crusader took aim. "On three, okay?"

Cyan took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Okay… I can do this. Okay, go!"

"One… two… three."

The robin Faunus was flung backwards from the impact, enticing both Svetlana and Mikhail to rush towards her. As hoped, the girl's aura had shielded her from the bullet, leaving only a small bruise underneath her shirt.

"Good," Svetlana said with a nod even as she took note of how Cyan's aura was already healing her bruise. "Do you think you can keep going?"

"...you know what? I believe I can," Cyan said with a smile. "So, what's next? Are you going to teach me how to handle a weapon? Help me learn some fighting techniques? Maybe even have me…"

"DODGE!" Sveltana suddenly called out as she threw a punch at her young ward.

"HEUGH!" Cyan groaned as she was thrown across the room from the punch.

Mikhail pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "This is not how I pictured us raising our kids."

The next day, as the sun rose over the skyline of New Rushland, an alarm went off in a small apartment complex, only to be silenced as a large, clawed finger pressed the snooze button. The seven-foot tall shark Faunus rolled off of his back and let out a long, tired yawn. After he got dressed for the day and drank an entire pitcher of water from the fridge, he took a moment to glance at the photograph on his nightstand. "Mornin', mom. Mornin', pop."

After waking up from his coma, Polu Shark tried his best to adapt to life in New Rushland. A task that was much easier said than done. Whenever he walked the streets, people would actively avoid him, quickly stepping out of his way without looking where they were going. He had been able to land a temporary job at a grocery store, but his terrifying appearance prevented him from working the cash register. He was forced to work in the stockroom where he could hear every comment from his coworkers behind his back. He had submitted an application to New Rushland's police department, hoping to use his fighting skills for good this time, and as he made his way to Octavia, he finally received a reply in his emails.

"'Dear Mr. Shark…'" Polu read out loud as he glanced over the email on his scroll. "'We thank you for your application to the Rushland special protection forces… but we regret that your criminal record…'" Polu didn't need to finish reading the message to know that he hadn't gotten the job.

Finally, he arrived at Octavia Ember's psychiatric office for his check up. His friend had personally volunteered to look after his mental health after awakening from his coma and being pardoned by Ghira Belladonna. But Polu didn't like talking too much about his past. "How much longer is this gonna take?" He asked.

"You always ask me that." Octavia sighed. "And every time I say-"

"'Just one more question and we're done.'" Polu nodded. "Fine. One more question. As long as it's not about the White Fang."

"Polu, the White Fang was the turning point for you. It changed everything." Octavia explained. "In layman's terms, it's the psychological equivalent of ground zero. Please, just try to tell me what happened. It's just you and me, here. Please tell me, what do you remember?"

Polu closed his eyes and let out a long, shaky breath. "What do I remember…? I remember… I remember…"


Polu lay strapped to an operating table far below the White Fang's current base of operations. Multiple teeth had been forcibly pulled from his mouth, his dorsal fin had been sliced from his back, his mind felt as if it were on fire from all the blunt force trauma, and his skin was caked in blood. Adam Taurus paced around the table, sharpening his sword as he spoke. "You were supposed to detonate the bomb while the humans were still inside, Polu." He scolded. "But you waited until after quitting time."

"P-Polu Shark is a shark."

"Yeah, yeah, I know… but Blake's not here anymore, is she?" Adam sneered, holding the blade over Polu's throat. "And she's not your girlfriend anymore, remember? She abandoned the cause to go galavanting around with a bunch of wannabe huntresses playing hero. But you still spout that sentimental 'peaceful protest' bullshit she went on about. And it pisses me off."

Polu angrily spat blood onto Adam's mask. Even though he was sad to see Blake leave, he still loved her. And he didn't take kindly to anyone belittling her dreams. "Polu Shark is a shark." He growled.

"Alright… if that's the way you want it."


"Nothing." Polu lied, opening his eyes again. "I remember nothing at all."

"Hmm." Octavia nodded, doubtfully. "Well, if that is the case, Captain Maroon's son has a special semblance that allows him to read other's memories through-"

"No." Polu interrupted.

Octavia gave her patient a sympathetic look. "Um, listen, you've never mentioned him, explicitly, but… the Faunus who hurt you while you were in the White Fang is dead. You know that, right? He was blasted from a platform that was over seventy feet above the ground. He's gone. He can't hurt you anymore."

Polu stood up from the couch. "We're done here. No more for today. This is voluntary, right?"

"Actually, it isn't." Octavia informed him. "Team CFVY told everyone about the… vigor with which you dispatched those mercenaries after you woke up. As part of your probation, you have to keep seeing me until I'm convinced that you're okay. Accountability, and all that. Like it or not, Rushland's government has a duty of care towards you."

"Right…" Polu made his way to the door, stopping to turn back around with a soft smile. "Hey, uh… Octavia, would you… like to go get dinner sometime?"

Octavia sadly shook her head. "I'm… sorry, Polu. But I can't date patients."

Without another word, Polu left the psychiatric ward, not quite noticing how Octavia looked down at where he had been seated and whispered "I wish I could, though." as he exited the room.

At that very moment, Team RWBY arrived in New Rushland to meet up with their friend. The group had just returned from stopping Whitley's nefarious plan to blackmail the world and were prepared for a little rest and relaxation. Holly had informed them that she'd bought a bar in the metropolitan area and invited them over for dinner.

"I still can't believe you managed to afford this place: where'd you even find it?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.

"I know a guy," Holly declared before nodding to the waitress. "I believe you already know from my descriptions of what my family will be wanting."

"Cheeseburger and a strawberry shake for Miss Rose with a cookie platter for dessert, tuna fillets for Mrs. Belladonna-Xiao Long with a glass of milk, and a plate of ribs with a strawberry sunrise, no ice, for Mrs. Xiao Long, correct."

"Indeed."

The waitress nodded. "And what'll you have, Ms. Schnee?"

"Uh, just a water, please." Weiss replied before looking back at her menu. "Uh, and a cheeseburger with extra mayonnaise, chili fries, and pretzel sticks."

As the waitress walked away to deliver the order, Yang gave the former heiress a confused look. "Hungry, Weiss?"

"Oh, I'm starving." Weiss sighed. "It's all Ruby's fault."

"How?" Blake tilted her head.

"Uuuuuuuuhhhh…" Weiss and Ruby both broke out into a cold sweat. "She, uh… wanted to skip lunch."

Yang just shook her head in exasperation. "I know you missed me, sis, but you don't need to skip meals just to make the flight: you can always just grab the next one and I'll understand that you were held up."

"Uh, yeah: I'll keep that in mind." Ruby said with an awkward chuckle. In an attempt to turn attention away from her, Ruby spoke to her niece again. "I'm so jealous of you, Holly. Not just the bar, but you also got to witness 'the resurrection,' in person! That must have been cool!"

Yang scoffed under her breath. "'The resurrection.' I swear, that guy is so overhyped."

"What, you mean Polu Shark? Yeah, I saw what he did to those mercenary guys in the hospital." Holly nodded. "I think the technical term is 'hardcore.'"

Blake snorted. "Yeah, well, when Polu sees friends in trouble, his instincts tend to go into overdrive. It's one of the things I always loved about him."

"Uh, you do know that we all have that sort of instinct, right?" Yang declared, feeling more than a little jealous.

"True but I noticed it more with him," Blake remarked before giving her wife a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry: I notice it a lot with you as well."

"Good to know," Yang called out with a slight smile.

Meanwhile, Ruby and Weiss had given the excuse that they had to go to the bathroom so they could talk in private.

"So, when are we going to tell them?" Ruby couldn't help but ask. "I'm not sure how much longer we can keep this quiet, after all."

"Just a bit longer, I promise," Weiss assured her wife of a few months now, placing the hooded girl's hand on her stomach with a smile. "Just long enough for us to learn if there were any problems relating to our precious angel."

Ruby just nodded with a smile of her own. "Okay then." she remarked before she and Weiss made their way back to the others. "Sorry we took so long."

"It's fine: you didn't actually take too long at all, actually. In fact, you barely Rose any bits of impatience," Holly declared with a smile, getting a groan from the others. "In all seriousness, though, and seeing how I hadn't said it earlier, it really is good to see you guys again."

"You too," Blake called back.

"Hey, Holly, this bar is great!" Yang complimented her daughter, proudly. "Fair play to Svetlana! I thought she would have reported you to Maroon and had this place shut down!"

"Uh, yeah, they don't… technically know about this place…" Holly sheepishly admitted as she gave her mother another strawberry sunrise with no ice. "I mean, I'm gonna tell them, obviously. Once I get my liquor license approved. It'll be fine, though. Really. It's fine."

"That's...not as reassuring as you think it might have been," Blake felt the need to call out. Once their daughter left to tend the bar, Blake turned back to her wife. "Now, Yang, be nice. We're going to visit Polu while we're here to see how he's doing. And given that he's been having a rough time lately, I expect you to be on your best behavior."

"Just out of curiosity, how exactly did you even meet Polu Shark anyways?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.

"My dad was the one who found him." Blake explained as she sadly gazed at her drink. "He was hiding under some poachers' truck. This was back when the White Fang was just starting out. Shark Faunus are a particularly rare subspecies of Faunus. When my dad and his team arrived, these bastards were in the middle of butchering his parents. They were cutting off their dorsal fins to sell as trophies of all things. Polu never would have survived on his own. And a live shark Faunus like that is worth a fortune on the black market. So my dad brought him back to Menagerie."

"And what happened to the poachers?" Weiss asked, still stuffing her face with food.

"Well, they shot at my dad. And missed." Blake shrugged. "So, he shot back. And didn't."

"Let me guess: you were the first person around his age he met when your Dad brought him home," Yang remarked, trying to hide her jealousy as she did.

"Actually, yes, but we didn't start dating until a few months after that, and the breakup was a mutual thing, as we came to realize that we were emotionally more like brother and sister than we were boyfriend and girlfriend," Blake declared with a bitter chuckle.

"That's fair," Yang said with a shrug, feeling some of her jealousy fade away for the moment.

"Uh-oh." Weiss gulped. "Yang, watch out. Captain Maroon just walked in and she's making a b-line for Holly."

The group watched as the police captain confronted the doppelganger at the counter. "I wonder what they're saying." Yang mumbled.

"You don't wanna know." Blake remarked as her cat ears drooped.

"Allow me. I'm an expert in body language." Ruby cleared her throat as she began voicing them. "Holly; 'hi, Captain Maroon! Hope you're not mad about the whole illicit drinking den. Can I get you anything?' Maroon; 'I applaud your entrepreneurial spirit. I'm here to give you a liquor license retroactively. And mine's a virgin appletini.'"

"Shh, quite. Here they come." Weiss scolded.

Team RWBY watched with sympathy as Captain Maroon led Holly away in special-made handcuffs designed specifically to restrain doppelgangers. "Uh… apparently it is not fine…" Holly meekly muttered as she passed her parents.

Blake could only wince here. "Guess Polu Shark isn't the only one having a string of bad luck lately."

With her mind clouded from the booze, the indignity of seeing her daughter arrested, and her jealousy spiked from her own wife's praise of him, Yang slammed her fists against the table. "I mean, 'Polu Shark?' Oh, come on! What kinda name is that?! But everyone's like; 'oh, Polu Shark! You're my hero! And you've got two rows of teeth! And you killed tons of bad guys at Menagerie!' And I'm like; 'that was a whole year ago!' He's a wash up! He's a hasbeen! He's-!"

"Just walked in." Blake interrupted with a firm elbow to Yang's ribs.

Sure enough, the blonde brawler saw the seven-foot tall shark Faunus entering the bar. Her disposition immediately changed. "Oh, hey there, Polu! Great to see ya!" She nervously chuckled. "We were just talking about Menagerie, y'know? With the thing! And the stuff! And, uh… wow, you've got two rows of teeth! That's awesome, man!"

Blake rolled her eyes at Yang's pathetic attempts to hide her jealousy, only to notice that her ex-boyfriend was staring at Ruby. Polu didn't say anything, he just seemed to be fixated on the hooded huntress. "Uh, Polu? Are you okay?"

Suddenly, without warning, Polu snatched Gambol Shroud out of Blake's holster and fired directly at Ruby's chest.


One Hour Later…

"And then what happened?" Captain Maroon asked as she took witness statements from the rest of Team RWBY.

"We rushed Ruby to the hospital and Polu went on his…spree." Blake was still struggling to process what had happened. Weiss and Yang were still speechless from seeing Ruby hurt, and Blake was almost in the same boat as them. Nevertheless, she went on with the witness statement. "He shot four other individuals; Rusty, Cherry, Garnet, and Brick. It was as if they were just… in his way."

Just then, Detective Cash ran up to her captain. "Hey, Maroon! We found Shark! He's barricaded himself inside Dr. Ember's office in the psych-ward."

"Oh, great. So now this has become a hostage situation." Jane sighed.

"Well, on the bright side, Officer Silver has the surveillance van all set up." Cash offered. "He says he can tap into the building's security system to get a visual on Polu and the hostages."

The group walked towards the van. All the while, Blake couldn't wrap her mind around what was happening. "This doesn't make any sense." She thought to herself, out loud. "Why would he just randomly attack innocent people?"

"We'll ask him that when we bring him in." Cash declared. "Just say the word, Captain, and me and the boys will burst into that room and take him down."

"No. We can't risk Dr. Ember's life." Maroon shook her head.

"Hey, guys, I've almost got a visual." Silver called out, earning everyone's attention. "No audio, yet, but look at that shape. There's a third person in there."

"Let's hope they're a calm, sensible type." Weiss crossed her fingers. "A peacemaker."

Silver continued adjusting the resolution until the image became clear. "And we're in. The third person is-"

"Oh, hell." Yang gulped. "It's mom!"

Sure enough, inside Octavia's office, the doctor was tied to her chair with a steel pipe Polu had bent around her waist while Raven had been impaled by her own katana and was now bleeding out on the floor. "Listen, Shark…" Raven growled. "As someone familiar with the challenge of adjusting to post-war life, I can honestly say that this attempt at drawing attention to yourself is pretty pathetic."

"Clever." Polu chuckled. "You want me to lose my temper and give you a chance to attack me. But let's remind ourselves of our roles, shall we? I'm the one who barged in and overpowered you. I'm the one holding the gun. And I'm the one who, apparently, is having a major psychotic episode."

While Polu was distracted talking to Raven, Octavia reached over to her intercom and discreetly turned it on before he noticed. As she'd hoped, the police van was able to pick up on the broadcast. "And we've got audio! Good work, Silver!" Maroon praised.

"Wasn't me." Silver admitted. "I dunno what just happened."

Nevertheless, the group listened. "Now, as for you. You're the ones who are either tied to a chair with a pipe, or laying on the floor and bleeding out. And until I get what I want, it's gonna stay that way."

"All right, I want five men outside that door ready to break it down if Polu tries anything." Maroon ordered. "But wait for my signal. The last thing we want to do is provoke him."

"Be careful out there: there's a reason why his codename back in the White Fang was 'Bloody Water'," Blake felt the need to declare.

Back in the office, Octavia knew that she had to keep Polu distracted if she and Raven were going to make it out alive. "So, why are you doing this?" She asked.

Polo blinked in response. "Excuse me?"

Octavia simply shrugged here. "Hey: you are still my patient, so I'm hoping to help out if I can."

"Yeah, try and interview the person holding us hostage: great idea." Raven called out with a roll of her eyes.

"Shut up!" Polo barked out before shooting the former Maiden in the gut much to Octavia's shock and surprise.

"You wanna know why I'm doing this?" Polu snarled out as he turned towards the room's other occupant. "This is about accountability! It's about a duty of care! Your words. Not mine."

"I-I know you're hurting, Polu." Octavia stammered, trying to keep his attention away from Raven as she continued to bleed out. "I know your thoughts hurt your head. But if I'm going to help you, you need to be more specific."

"Specific?" Polu pointed a claw at the hostage's face. "Alright, fine. Four months, two weeks, and five days. There. Specific enough for you?"

Back in the police van where everyone was watching, Yang turned towards the police officers. "What? What's that supposed to mean? I don't get that."

Blake's heart sank. "I think I do."

Back in Octavia's office, Polu continued to fume in rage. "That's how long it took for Ghira Belladonna to send a rescue team to try and find Team SWCD! Four! Months! Four months before he decided to look for us! Four months before they peeled my friends' dead bodies off of me! FOUR MONTHS!" The shark Faunus picked up the scroll and dialed the number. "Maroon! You know who it is! I'm here with Octavia Ember and Raven Branwen, and I'm happy to kill both of them unless you call Ghira Belladonna and tell him to get his ass over here! He gets one chance to explain himself before I tear out his heart and eat it raw!"

Octavia took this time to go over to Raven and try to patch her up, giving off a flat look as she did. "Yeah, antagonize the unstable person holding us hostage: great idea."

"Ah, shut up."

"Alright, Mr. Shark." Maroon replied over the scroll. "I can call Ghira Belladonna and tell him about your ultimatum, but Menagerie is a long way away from here. It'll take time for him to-"

"Shut up!" Polu shouted. "I don't want a conversation! I want results! Get Ghira over here, now, or these two are dead!"

"You'll get your results, but I felt you should know that you might have to wait a bit, seeing how Ghira is literally in another part of the world at the moment," Maroon deadpanned.

Polu just sighed. "You're right, you're right: it would be unrealistic to assume that he'd show up right away, hostages or not. In any case, I've waited four months for rescue a while back, so this will be nothing."

Sometime later, Holly would find that she couldn't help but groan at her current circumstances. It was actually not too long ago that she had found out that, as punishment for her illicit drinking den, she had been given twenty-four hours of community service. Officer Coal drove her to the psychiatric hospital and she was given the task of riveting the steel support beams together. Captain Maroon's son was already there, also on riveting detail.

"So, what have we learned?" Coal asked.

Holly just groaned. "Wait until after I get my license to start up a business."

"Good." Coal nodded as she left. "At least you've got company."

Holly glanced over at the purple-haired teenager who bitterly went about riveting the steel I-beams together. She shrugged and started work right next to him. "Hey, as far as punishments go, I've had far worse. I wasn't always this pale, y'know. What're you out here for?"

Boris grumbled. "I was… you really wanna know? A janitor at my school found some data discs in my locker. He showed them to the principal. The principal said she was disgusted. She called my mom. And I got grounded and put on rivet duty until further notice. The thing is, I had already downloaded the discs' info onto my laptop. I should've just thrown 'em away."

"What was on the-?"

"Nope." He responded, bluntly. "Not answering."

Unfortunately, for him, Holly wasn't one to give up easily. "Confidential information? Huntress porn? Confidential huntress porn?" The more she guessed, the more she got excited. "Hey, I can keep a secret, y'know. I haven't told anyone that my mom can't keep her aura up if-"

Boris sighed and cut her off. "Footage of people dying. Executions. Assisted suicides. CCTV. But… yeah, footage of people dying."

Holly suddenly went from excited to disturbed. "You smuggled snuff movies into your school?"

Boris became irate. "Look, I don't watch that stuff for pleasure! I just… it's complicated, alright?!"

"...you're not satisfied with your circumstances, are you?"

Boris just blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Hey, it's okay if you feel that way, you know: I can honestly relate," Holly said with a shrug. "It's actually why I tried starting up my bar in the first place...and it might be why I ended up here in the first place: I wanted so badly to be known as Holly Xiao Long instead of as the Savior that I stopped thinking straight. One thing I learned from all of this though is that you can't rush through things or refuse to acknowledge the problem at all as the longer you let your emotions stew, the more likely you might end up exploding from anxiety or something like that, and then you're really in trouble."

"Shut up." Boris grumbled as he continued riveting the steel I-beams. "Just… shut up." Before Holly could respond, Boris' scroll rang. "Hello? Mom?"

"Oh, tell her we're having a riveting conversation!" Holly snickered. "Trust me, she'll laugh at that!"

"Shh! Shut up!" Boris snapped before turning back to his scroll. "What's up, mom?"

"Boris, how'd you like to shave some time off of your punishment?" Jane asked. "I need you and Holly to take a walk."

"Uh oh: that's your 'I'm pulling some strings' voice," Boris couldn't help but declare. "You only use it when I'm more useful to you out in the open rather than spending my time learning my lesson or what-have-you."

"...huh, I hadn't realized that I've done this enough times for you to notice," Jane remarked. "But right now, I need your help."

"Just tell me what happened and I'll see what I can do." Boris promised.


A Few Hours Earlier...

Back inside the doctor's office, Raven continued goading Polu Shark. "Alright. You win. Two… hours… I am so bored I think I'm gonna - look, Shark, I sincerely doubt that you have the balls to see this through to the end, but in the event that you do, can we please skip to the end where you kill us?"

Octavia was distraught by how lightly the Branwen was handling the situation. "Raven, what is wrong with you?!" She spluttered.

"You tell me." Raven scoffed. "That's your job, isn't it?"

"Now that's a fair question." Polu remarked with interest. "Why are you here? Everyone knows you're damaged, but why are you damaged?"

"Huh, you think I'm gonna spill my guts for you?" Raven gave an unamused chuckle as the shark Faunus pointed his gun in her face. "Oh, please. All you can threaten me with is death?"

Polu sneered and turned towards the doctor. "Okay, you tell me. Why is she here?"

"You know I can't answer that." Octavia replied, evenly.

"Why?"

"Because it's confidential! And because I have a duty of care towards my patients!"

Polu aimed his gun at Octavia now. "Oh, yeah? Let's see how that works in practice."

Raven could see Octavia shivering from the cold steel of the gun pressed against her cheek. She was really willing to die to protect her secrets. The former bandit gave a tired sigh. "Oh, alright then. If you must know, I'm here because I was kicked out of the Branwen Tribe. And I took it badly. Very badly. Like, clear the area and send in my daughter badly. So if I want to remain in my daughter and husband's lives - and I honestly think I do - then I have to talk things over with Dr. Ember. The thing is, you and I aren't so different."

"Wrong!" Polu snapped as he holstered the gun. "I'm here because of an injustice! You're here because you appall people!"

"Hey, you think this is me?" Raven's glare hardened. "You think you know me?! You don't know anything! I used to be a Maiden! A protector!"

"You also used to be a bandit." Polu noted.

Raven sighed. "Not at first. See, the thing is, 'Branwen' isn't my real name. I don't really know what my real name is. Qrow and I were orphaned as kids and joined the Branwen Tribe to survive. And while we were there, they made us do things. Things we couldn't undo. We resisted, of course… at first. Heh. Never underestimate the persuasive power of a leather belt to the face. Then, one day, they kind of ordered us to kill some higher up in Vale. We screwed that up, royally. Ended up getting arrested by a beat cop named Ironwood. Yeah, exactly. And while he was hellbent on letting us rot in jail, Ozpin came and gave us a chance to turn our lives around in exchange for a few favors."

"You almost sound like you were bitter about it."

Raven just shrugged. "What can I say? I still hold some resentment for how they essentially held our lives hostage...but in the end, I suppose it wasn't all bad. After all, that was how I ended up meeting Taiyang and Summer."

At that very moment, Svetlana and Cyan arrived at the hospital to check on Ruby. While Cyan thought her foster mother was going to immediately suit up and go kick ass, Svetlana seemed to be more concerned with the aftermath of Polu's actions. The robin Faunus hadn't spoken a word, she just waited for her mentor to say anything that would help her understand why they were at a hospital instead of going after Polu Shark.

Once they were alone with them, Svetlana rubbed her chin as she studied the victims. "Hmm. Ruby Rose, Rusty Steele, Cherry Tart, Garnet Blaze, and Brick Mason… why only five?" She questioned herself.

Cyan looked at her foster mother in disgust. "'Why only…?' Geez, Svetlana! Maybe Polu thought he made his point! Shouldn't we be glad he only shot five?!"

"Well, yes, but Ruby was with Weiss, Blake, and Yang." Svetlana explained. "And Brick was with his friends from work. Why didn't Polu take them out, too?"

Cyan looked back at the resting victims. "What, you think he was targeting these guys?"

"Consider this your first lesson in detective work, Azure. Sometimes, in order to see a pattern…" The Crimson Crusader moved an arm in front of her young ward and walked backwards. Immediately, she noticed that all of the unconscious victims were wearing red and black clothing, cementing her suspicion. "... you need to take a step back."

"Oh my gods," Cyan gasped out as she noticed the same thing as her mentor. "This could be a problem later on."

"Indeed."

"We gotta do something! We can't just sit here and wait until - HUEGH!" Cyan was cut off by another strong blow that once again sent her flying.

Svetlana was disappointed. "DOOOOOODGE!"

Meanwhile, Raven was continuing with her explanation to her uneasy companions. "So then, Ozpin offered us a place at his school," she found herself declaring. "He said he was doing us a favor. But in the end, I guess I can't complain about it since I ended up meeting Taiyang. We graduated from Haven, became Team STRQ full time, settled down in Patch, had Yang, and for a time… and in hindsight it seems like such a short time… I had everything I ever wanted. But the thing is, nothing good ever lasts. I ended up having to kill the Spring Maiden in self-defence because Jacques Schnee tried to clone my best friend. But that's another story. Anyway, when I was forced to leave my daughter and husband to keep them safe from those who'd want the Maiden's powers, I went back to the Tribe, killed the man who abused me and Qrow, and took control."

"Just one more question and we're done… why were you kicked out of the Branwen Tribe?"

"Literally, all I did was try to kill Vernal." Raven grunted in annoyance upon seeing Polu and Octavia's reactions. "Okay, obviously, I know that sounds bad! But… it's complicated, okay? See, during the final fight with Salem, she ended up in a coma. I made sure to check up on her every chance I got, but six months went by and she just… she wasn't getting better. And I couldn't stand to let her stay trapped in her own body. Olivia - another Branwen - invented this weapon. She calls it the aura-eater because, basically, it drains the aura of whoever it's aimed at and turns it against them. Brilliant, nasty piece of shit. But painless, y'know? Anyway, I used it on Vernal. Or… tried to. Olivia caught me in the act and hit me with 'the Veto.' Because that's how it works; any Branwen can get rid of another Branwen at any time."

"You never told me any of this!" Octavia spluttered.

"Well, you never threatened to shoot a friend of mine!" Raven snapped back.

"A friend?" Octavia whispered to herself. "...just out of curiosity, how is Vernal doing right now, or do you not know?"

"Oh, I know. As a matter of fact, she woke up one week after I tried to kill her." Raven sighed. "She's in charge of the tribe now."

Polu had the decency to actually wince in sympathy upon hearing this. "That must have been awkward."

"You have no idea," Raven groaned out. "But for me, the worst part is that Vernal didn't even blame me for what happened. I had tried to kill her and she just brushes it off like it was no big deal...though then again, she has been hanging out with Ruby and Yang a bit - trying to get to know the rest of her family or what-have-you - so that might explain where she leaned how to forgive me so easily."

"I think that just shows that you raised a fine daughter," Octavia said with a smile.

However, Polu's focus had shifted towards the window. "Hey… the sun's gone down! Why isn't Belladonna here yet?! Looks like it's gonna take a death to get things rolling." Polu grunted as he cocked the gun. "Do we have a volunteer?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Raven spat blood in the Faunus' direction.

Octavia held up her hands, desperate to diffuse the situation. "Everyone, just calm down! Polu, stop! I know what this is about! What this is really about!"

"Don't listen to her!" Raven goaded. "It's a trick! Pull the trigger!"

Meanwhile, back in the police van, Maroon felt her scroll vibrate from an unknown caller. Reluctantly, the police captain moved away from the other officers to answer it in private. "Hello?"

"It's me." A familiar deep voice replied.

Jane cupped her hand over the scroll's receiver and discreetly exited the van. "This is a police channel! Get off, right now!" She whispered, angrily.

"Listen, I think I know why Polu started shooting." Krasnaya went on. "I think he was choosing his targets. Deliberately. Subconsciously. I'm not sure, but I do know why. He was only shooting at people who reminded him of-"

"-Adam Taurus!" Octavia breathed nervously back in her office. "That's what this is about, isn't it?! Forget Team SWCD! Forget General Belladonna! Forget four months! This is about four syllables! It's about what Adam Taurus did to you all those years ago! And what you never got to do back!"

"Shut up!" Polu snapped. "That's not true! You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Then why Ruby?" Octavia called out. "Why would you have shot Ruby Rose of all people if not for the fact that she was wearing red just like Adam used to?"

"I...it doesn't matter: all that matters is that Ghira needs to get here within the next hour or things are going to get ugly." Polu said with a snarl.

Meanwhile Jane could only widen her eyes in horror as she too processed what she had heard. "You're certain about this?!"

"Deadly serious, as cliche as it sounds," Krasnaya declared over the scroll.

"Okay, thanks for the heads up, but I need you to stay out of this," Jane called out. "Polu is volatile as is, and I don't know how getting you involved would affect things."

"Don't worry: I'll only step in if things become too much for you to handle." Krasnaya promised.

"That's good to know, but don't worry: I think I already have a plan as to how to handle things." Jane remarked before hanging up and making another call.

After waiting a bit, she got a response. "Hello? Mom?"


Now...

"And that's what happened." Jane called out.

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Boris declared.

"We?"

"Yeah, my cellmate is insisting that she comes with: said that she wants to help if she can."

"That's fine: something tells me that we could use all the help we could get here," Jane said with a nod.

A few minutes later, Coal came in with two very familiar individuals following behind him. "Hey, hope we didn't keep you waiting too long" Boris couldn't help but declare as she and Holly approached the area.

"Oh good, you're here. Listen, I think I have an idea as to how to resolve our current situation, but we'll need a distraction for it to work," Jane called out with a serious expression.

"I believe that's where I come in." A familiar chieftain spoke up.

A few minutes later, Boris and Holly were outside the psychiatrist's window while the guest knocked on the door. Polu reloaded Blake's weapon and aimed it at the door. "Who is it?" He asked. Instead of a verbal response, the door slowly creaked open.

"Looking for me?" a new voice called out much to everyone's surprise.

"You...you actually came…" Polu Shark couldn't help but declare.

"I said I would, and I do my best to keep my promises." Ghira remarked as he approached his fellow Faunus before giving a sigh, shutting the door behind him. "I'm just sorry that I failed to keep the one I gave to keep your team safe."

"An empty apology from a warrior-turned-politician." Polu sneered.

"Do you know how long after the fall of Team SWCD I had started lobbying for the retrieval of their bodies?" Ghira asked. "Less than an hour after I had gotten the report. I actively refused to leave them just lying there like a set of fallen dominos for even one day. Unfortunately, between the ongoing war and various other bits of politics, I wasn't able to actually get a team out there until...well, you already know the answer to that, don't you?"

"Wait, what?"

"Why are you so surprised? You know from our shared past that I hate the thought of senseless death," Ghira called out, reminding his fellow Faunus that he used to lead the White Fang.

Outside the office, Holly kept an eye on the disturbed Faunus while Boris prepared his rivet gun. "Okay, mom, you're right. Mr. Belladonna's got him distracted. Now what?"

"As we discussed, you can use the rivet gun. It doubles as a laser to drill holes." Jane instructed over the scroll.

"And… a-and you really want me to shoot him?" Boris trembled at the idea. "I-I'm wounding him, right? You want me to wound Polu Shark? Not kill him, right?"

Jane could feel the other officers and huntresses staring at her, anxious to hear her answer. At last, "Yes, sweetie. Wound him. But make it count."

"W-wait, something's going on." Boris called back. "Damn it! He stepped towards Mr. Belladonna and behind a pillar! I lost my line of sight."

Jane silently cursed at this turn of events. Suddenly, she remembered what Krasnaya had told her. "Okay, Boris, I've got an idea. Give Xiao Long your rivet gun and press your hands against the window. You remember that newsreel about the Menagerie War?"

Back inside the office, Polu was aiming his weapon at Ghira Belladonna, not noticing Raven turning herself over and attempting to remove her katana from her abdomen. "I don't want your excuses!" He snarled. However, a bright light suddenly shone past the group and projected an image on the wall. The shark Faunus trembled as he saw Adam Taurus butchering his friends and slicing into him as he lay helpless on the ground. Polu dropped his weapon and fell to his knees. "N-no… not again… p-please, not again… I… I-I… P-p-p… Polu Shark… i-is a Shark!"

Octavia was horrified. Even though he had kidnapped her, Polu was still her patient, and she didn't want him to regress after all the progress they had made. Luckily, he was close enough to her that she could put her arms around him even though she was still tied up. "Don't look, Polu!" She said, soothingly. "It's alright. Close your eyes. It's okay. We're done. That's enough for now. No more for today… no more for today…"

Outside, Boris was using his semblance to project his memories of the Menagerie War's news feeds through his hands. "Okay, the projection's distracted him. But I'm stuck like this!"

"It's okay, Boris. Just keep it up." Jane instructed. "Holly?"

"I… I think he's in my sights." Holly nervously held the rivet gun in her hands. During her battle against Salem and her forces, she had mostly relied on her doppelganger powers to take them down. She had never actually handled a firearm before. However, with her mother and the entire police force of her new home watching, she didn't want to admit to her weakness and eventually pulled the trigger.

Unfortunately, the laser missed Polu and instead took out the side of Octavia's head. Polu was horrified. "AH! NO!" The shark Faunus forgot all about the projection and leapt to his feet in an attempt to help the doctor. But while he was distracted, Raven had recovered and ran him through with her sword, rendering him unconscious.

"Yes…" She growled.

A few hours later, Svetlana and Cyan were still at the Penny Polendina Memorial Hospital to check on Octavia. Holly sat outside in the waiting room, crying in guilt as her parents tried to comfort her. Eventually, Jean arrived to give them the update on her coworker's condition. "Well, she's stabilized." Jean sighed, tiredly. "But we couldn't save her eye. And she's gone into a coma. We have a few options to replace her eye, but I can't even begin to operate until she shows signs of recovery. Plus, it won't be cheap."

"Do whatever you have to, Jean. Let me worry about the funds." Svetlana offered. "Spare no expense."

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about Polu anymore." Cyan remarked. "He's locked up in Ironwood Asylum, right?"

"Yeah: hopefully they can give him the help he needs." Blake declared with a sad sigh.

"Hey, he's tough: he'll be just fine," Yang remarked as she took her wife's hand in comfort.

"I thought you didn't like him." Blake said with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm still on the fence about that, in all honesty, but hey: he's important to you, so he's important to me," Yang said with a shrug and a light smile.

"Glad that that's settled," Raven called out, happy that her family was getting along nicely.

"Do you really have to go back?" Ruby couldn't help but ask.

"I'm afraid so, my niece: I technically haven't been cleared to re-enter society just yet," the former Branwen Tribe leader said with a sigh.

"Well, for what it's worth, we'll be sure to welcome you back with open arms," Weiss felt the need to promise.

"I should hope so. After all, I'm looking forward to meeting my new grand niece," Raven declared with a light smile.

Weiss and Ruby could only look at the older woman in shock. "How did you…?"

"Let's just say that growing up as a bandit taught me to be rather observant of my surroundings," the former Maiden remarked with a wink. "Don't worry, though: I know how to keep a secret."

Meanwhile, Svetlana drove Cyan back to their farm, discussing the day's events. "This was an unfortunate event, Cyan." She told her ward. "Sometimes, even the ones we regard as friends can cause harm when you least expect it. And when that happens, New Rushland will need us more than ever."

"So, does this mean that we'll be continuing my training?" Cyan couldn't help but ask.

"Yes."

"Great!" the robin Faunus declared. "I can't wait to see what else you will…"

"DODGE!" Svetlana called out as she threw a punch at her foster daughter...only for the robin faunus to backflip out of the way.

Cyan simply smirked from where she had landed. "What: did you think that I'd just blindly let myself get hit?"

Svetlana gave a light chuckle. "Nope. In fact, I was hoping you wouldn't. Now, how'd you like to see something really cool?"

"What do you mean?"

Twenty minutes later, Cyan gripped the armrests of her seat as Svetlana drove her around in the Warthog for the first time. The young robin Faunus failed to contain her excitement as they went offroad and accelerated.

To Be Continued…


Epilogue

Back at the hospital, Holly finally left once visiting hours ended. The hybrid dried her eyes as she made her way outside. It was then that she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Holly."

"Roman?" Holly couldn't help but call out, a light blush on her face. "I haven't seen you since the conference in Atlas."

"Yeah, it has been a while," Robyn's nephew remarked with a light smile, "though for the record, I'm thinking of changing my name to 'Roger' so as to not be confused with that Torchwick fellow."

"'Roger', eh?" Holly declared with a grin. "Not going to lie: it suits you. But what are you doing here?"

"I heard you were beating yourself up about a little accident, so I came to make you feel better." He replied in a comforting manner. "And anything beats joining Uncle Briar for another karaoke night."

"Hey, cut your uncle some slack." Holly teased. "He's got a good set of pipes."

"I know that." Roger rolled his eyes. "He just can't seem to control his volume."