Interlude 1

(For context, the first three segments of this happen at roughly the same time)

Glynda was the first to get up, heading to the back wall. Ever since the 'show' started, the multitude of doors that they all came from had vanished, leaving only one double door at the back. Opening it, she saw that it came to a circular shaped room. At the far end was another hallway, with a label at the top saying GYM. Along the walls of the rest of the room were other doors, matching the number of people that were here in the theatre.

Others began filing behind her.

"Well," Oscar stated, "Seems Colva wasn't lying."

Kali opened one of the nearest rooms and peeked in. Inside was a king size bed, as well as a bathroom. What was strange was that, based on the dimension of the room, it should be phasing into the adjacent rooms. But there was no sign of them.

"Well," she added, "If we get tired, we can get some sleep."

"If they're only ten…episodes," Winter replied, "Then I doubt we'll need them."

"Don't jinx it, Ice Queen." Qrow retorted.

"Okay," Saphron exclaimed, "I seem to be missing some context here. I know we should talk about what we saw, but I kinda need to be brought up to speed. Ruby's broadcast gave me a LOT of questions."

"I believe I can answer them, Mrs. Arc. Oz-Oscar, would you be willing to help?"

Oscar nodded, as the three walked to a corner of the room. Nora felt someone tapping her shoulder. Turning, she saw it was Kali.

"Oh, yes, Mrs. Belladonna."

"Miss, um…"

"Oh, I'm Nora. Nora Valkyrie."

"Miss Valkyrie," Ghira questioned, "You said that Blake…killed Adam?"

"Yeah," Sun added, "That's uhh, kinda important." Ilia nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I should've figured you guys wouldn't know. With the CCT down, there's no way you could've known."

"Would you be able to tell us how exactly that happened?"

Nora's face looked like she didn't want to discuss it. "Uh, sure. Ren, could you give me a hand?"

Ren nodded, as six entered one of the rooms. Meanwhile, Raven was looking over the groups that were forming when she felt something grip her arm. Turning, she saw a scowling Qrow.

"We need to talk." He began dragging her to one of the rooms. Tai immediately saw this, and was about to intercede, when Raven held a hand up.

"It's alright, Tai. This is a long time coming. And I feel it might be better if you stay out of it."

With that, the Branwens entered the bedroom, slamming the door. Tai himself felt unsure of what to do. He believed that the beef between the siblings would be better without his intervention, but he didn't know which other groups he should join. He would be an odd one out with the Schnee, as well as Ozpin and Glynda talking with Saphron. Maybe he could listen to how his daughter killed Adam Taurus, but—

"Excuse me, Mr. Xiao Long." Pietro approached, startling him.

"Oh, Mr. Polendina. Do you need anything?"

"No, no. Just look like you need someone to talk to, that's all."

Tai nodded. "Yeah, well, don't feel like I'd fit into any other talking points, if you catch my drift."

Pietro chuckled, "Believe me, I do," he looked down for a moment, "You have wonderful daughters."

Tai smiled fondly. "The best."

Pietro gave a sad smile, "I'm glad Penny got to know them."

Taiyang felt his heart pierced by a spear. "I'm sorry."

"Do you know when the last time I heard from my little girl was…It was during that broadcast. We were using Amity Colosseum as a new communication tower, it just needed to get high enough. Do you know of Cinder Fall?"

Tai scowled, "Hard not to know about her."

"Yes, well," Pietro took off his glasses and cleaned them, "She attacked us during launch. Penny fought her off, but the thrusters were too damaged. We couldn't get high enough. So she pushed the entire stadium high enough."

Tai widened his eyes, but spoke nothing.

"Unfortunately, during the broadcast…something happened. I don't know what, but she wasn't responding, saying something about getting to the vault. Her last words before she started falling…falling…" Pietro didn't have the heart to say it.

"I love you." Tai finished, "It's one of the worst things you can hear from your children, especially as a Huntsman. Because there's that nagging feeling in the back of your head…that it'll be the last time you hear that. But you have to say it, because, if it's your last day, you want it to be the last words they remember you by. At least, that's how I saw it."

Pietro exhaled, clearly choking on words. Tai knelt down, placing a hand on Pietro's shoulder.

"From what Ruby told me about Penny, it seemed like she meant the world to my little girl."

Pietro gave a sad chuckle. "Yeah. When Ruby and her friends came to Atlas, Penny was ecstatic. And Ruby's reaction to seeing her again was…Mr. Xiao Long, I have to ask, has your daughter ever, and, if this is too personal, I understand…has she dated anyone before?"

Tai did a double take. "What? Where did that come from?"

"I'm going to take that as a no. Well, let's just say that Penny had 'butterflies in her stomach'."

Tai's eyes widened, but then he chuckled. "Go figure. No, Ruby hasn't dated anyone in her life. Married to your job."

Pietro nodded, "Truth be told, when Penny asked me what that phrase meant, and why she felt that way around Ruby, it was a good thing I wasn't drinking anything. I had to dodge the question. But the way she felt around Miss Rose…it was undeniable. And, given Ruby's reaction to hearing Penny died…You've lost your wife, right, Mr. Xiao Long?"

"Please, just call me Taiyang, or just Tai. And…" he looked to the side, "Yes. She died twelve years ago."

"Does it get easier? Losing a loved one?"

He shook his head, "No. But, in time, the good memories begin to drown out the bad. They're still there, but the good ones are easier to remember."

Pietro again cried, and Tai decided to change the subject.

"Let's stop talking about that. Any funny memories about your daughter?"

"Well, there was the time Penny asked why she was a gynoid, instead of an android. That wasn't a pleasant conversation. Mainly because, since it was very early on into her 'life', she couldn't understand basic concepts."

While Tai didn't fully understand it, he chuckled for Pietro's sake. "I remember the first time my girls got their Semblances. Yang nearly burned the kitchen down with her hair, and Ruby knocked herself out by running into a tree."

Pietro now chuckled. The two fathers had both suffered losses, but they'd figure the best way to honor them would be to push forward.

As the groups dispersed, Kali and Ghira dragged Ren and Nora into a bedroom, Sun and Ilia following closely behind them. Closing the door, Ghira turned to the two.

"Okay, I don't know if these rooms can keep the noise out, so let's not yell too much."

"Understandable." Ren replied.

"So," Nora said, "Where do you want me to start?"

"How about how Blake killed Adam?!" Ilia replied.

"Okay, if this sounds too personal, you do not have to answer…What was Adam to Blake? I know they were close, or something, but…"

Ghira took a deep breath. "When I stepped down as leader of the White Fang, and Blake stayed, Adam was the one to 'help' her."

Kali continued, "We didn't hear much about what was going on inside the group after we left. Ilia?"

Ilia sighed, "Adam and Blake would go on every mission, or, at least, every mission Adam allowed Blake to be a part of-Okay, the way I said that made it seem like she was simply a prisoner, but it wasn't like that. Sienna didn't want Blake put in too much danger, as she was a symbolic symbol for the Fang. Blake…," Ilia took a breath, "She cared about him. I don't doubt she loved him. But, it was clear that his love was more…of a possession. He wanted to be in control of every aspect of his life. Which meant controlling Blake. Despite how much he hated humans, he made sure to keep that side of himself as small as it could be when Blake was around. But, well, you saw how he threw that out the window once she left."

"Yeah," Sun added, "Guy went full megalomaniac."

"So how did Blake end up killing him?" Ghira questioned.

Nora rubbed the back of her head. "Well, it kinda started when we reached Argus. The commander there was being kind of a butt, and wouldn't let us go to Atlas. So we…kinda stole one of their ships."

Ghira's eye was twitching.

"In truth," Ren added, "We very much didn't want to, but, given how important our cargo was, we couldn't afford to wait."

"It's alright. Continue."

"Alright," Nora said, "So, the plan was, since Atlas would allow only Weiss to go back home, she'd take an airship, fly away from the city, then kick out the pilots. Afterwards, she'd turn around and pick us up. Blake's part of the plan was to shut down the radar tower that would've picked the ship's signal."

"However," Ren continued, "Adam was waiting for her at the tower. None of us could go to help her except Yang."

"Yeah. From what Yang told us, she ended up ramming her bike into him. Too bad the bike fell into the water after that-But, anyway, Yang and Blake fought Adam at that point. They tried to get him to just go away, but he wouldn't listen."

"And…," Ren finished, "That's all they said about it. They didn't say they killed Adam, but, based on their faces…I think it's safe to assume."

Kali and Ilia were horrified at their words, while Sun and Ghira simply looked…disappointed.

"The guy was a freak," Sun stated, "But I think I'd have felt better with him behind a cell forever."

Ghira agreed, "While I won't mourn for him, the fact that my daughter killed him will be…difficult."

"Well," Nora shrugged sadly, "It's the life we chose to live. Not every bad guy is going to give up, or give us a chance to take them alive."

"Have…Has she killed anyone else since then?" Kali pleaded.

"Oh, Gods, no! Frankly, it seems killing Adam still has her horrified."

The Belladonnas wouldn't say it, but they felt relieved. You should never get used to the idea of killing people, even if it's to protect others. Ghira continued.

"Well, once we get back, we should talk with her. I doubt she's had time to actually process…killing someone."

"Yes," Ren replied, "It's likely that Mr. Xiao Long will also want to talk to Yang about it. However…that will all depend on where team RWBY and Jaune end up when they get back. Hopefully it'll be in Vacuo, but they could end up anywhere. And, with global communications down-"

"Don't worry," Kali said, "If they end up in Mistral, we'll both pick them up and head straight to Vacuo."

"We will?"

Kali's eyes widened, before turning to Ghira, eerily slowly. Ghira didn't mean what Kali thought he meant, but she wasn't going to listen to reason.

"Uh oh," Nora giggled, "Better back up, Ren. The black panther is about to pounce."

"It'd say that was insulting, but you are right."

Qrow dragged Raven into one of the rooms, slamming the door shut.

"Alright, talk."

"What's there to talk about, Qrow."

"Don't bullshit me, Raven. When you left, you made it clear you wanted me dead. Now, I find that you're not only living with Tai, but also helping. Yeah, I know you too damn well to know this isn't a con."

"Then you know nothing about me."

"Wouldn't surprise me if I didn't. After all, you up and disappeared on us for years. Now, you decide you want to be part of a family? Yeah, I don't buy it."

"What do you want from me, Qrow?" Raven turned away from him, "There's nothing I can say that you'll believe. Just know that I won't be running. Not this time."

"Bullshit. You've always run away before, so why not now?"

Raven, without even intending to, glided a hand to her stomach. Realizing her mistake, she quickly pulled it away. However, the sudden removal tipped Qrow off. He looked down at her stomach, and realized something.

His brain didn't process it at first, thinking she was overeating. But he knew his sister wasn't the type. So, when his brain finally clicked, his eyes widened in absolute shock.

"You've got to be kidding me." He turned around, intending for the door, when Raven grabbed his arm.

"Don't."

"Seriously, is that how you convinced Tai you're on our side. By seducing him. For fuck's sake, Raven, I knew you were despicable, but-"

Qrow was interrupted when Raven punched him in the face.

"Don't EVER think I tried to manipulate him."

Qrow rubbed his face. The punch should've been enough to give him a bloody nose, but nothing. Perhaps this realm has more to it than he thought.

"And how does having a kid make you want to stay and fight?"

"Because…" Raven took a deep breath, "Because Yang deserves to have a sister."

"She already had a sister. Ruby Rose."

At the sound of Ruby, Raven's eyes widened.

If I do this right, then there's nothing to worry about. Trust me.

'Why? Why does her daughter have to sound so much like her?!'

Whether Qrow was aware of Raven's sudden stiffness, he didn't care.

"And you dragged both of them into a death trap! Why'd you do it, Raven?!"

"I didn't want any of them dead, just you gone! They followed you to Mistral, rather than staying at home, where it's safe!"

"Safe?" Qrow gave a manic cackle, "Like you ever cared about their safety."

"I did! But you kept giving them hope against Salem, hope that there could be some happiness at the end of it all! If I removed you, they'd go back home!"

"If you thought either of Summer's kids were going to simply give up, then you don't know our leader."

Again, the mention of Summer made her freeze.

You're just going to leave them?

You're one to talk.

"Qrow, why are you so determined to screw up our family's lives?"

Not detecting the sadness in her voice, Qrow ranted on. "Our family? No, you haven't earned the right to be a part of this family. Don't care what Tai thinks, but you and me aren't siblings anymore. So, tell me this, Raven, WHY should I give a damn about you? Why were you so adamant of staying away? What are you afraid of?!"

Because you're afraid of Salem.

"I WAS AFRAID OF YOU!"

Raven screamed the words without even thinking about them. Those words were meant for Yang, what she wanted to say to her. Qrow didn't expect them either, because he took a step back, and his rage was replaced with heated confusion. There were tears coming down Raven's head as her knees felt weak, but she wouldn't let herself collapse here.

"Afraid of…me?"

Raven lowered her head. 'I've already dug my grave. What's a couple feet more?' "Not just you. Tai, Summer…Yang. I was afraid of all of you. Afraid that, at any moment, Salem would take all of that away. With all the power she has, she could do it with a snap of her fingers. I…I couldn't handle that thought. Qrow, I can handle a life of misery, because I'd know that, one day, someone would kill me, and take that misery away from me. But happiness…I couldn't handle that. So I ran. I ran, because I was afraid of my family."

Qrow wanted to hate her, she truly did. However, a concept came to his mind.

'Would it have been better if I never met Clover?'

"What would you have done, back at Haven, if, somehow, you killed me?"

Raven gave a long, hard look at her brother.

"I would've opened a portal to Tai, and tossed Ruby and Yang through it."

"Raven…Did you think, at all, that Summer's kid wouldn't be as stubborn as you. That Yang wouldn't also be as stubborn as her."

Well, aren't you stubborn.

I get that from my mom.

Raven squeezed her eyes shut, trying to drown out the words her mind was screaming.

"However," Qrow continued, "In a way, I get what you mean. I understand wanting to be miserable instead of giving myself some happiness."

Raven looked at Qrow, and saw…someone who lost someone close.

"Who?"

"His name was Clover. His Semblance…it canceled out my own Semblance. And, unlike most Atlesian, he didn't have a stick up his ass."

'An Atlesian? Right, Summer's kid might've taken the lamp to Atlas. It would've been the safest spot.'

"What happened?"

"Fucking James. The guy went full paranoid insane. He wanted to run away, leaving Mantle to die. Frankly, after seeing her army, I could understand wanting to run. But leaving the entire city behind, that was where I drew the line. Our ship crashed into the tundra…and I made a huge fucking mistake."

Raven gestured for him to continue.

"First, did you know Tyrian Callows was one of Salem's agents?"

Raven raised an inquisitive eyebrow, which told Qrow her answer.

"Thought not. Well, we had him captured, and was in our ship when it crashed into the tundra. He got out, and it turned into a three way brawl."

"Dangerous."

"Yeah, except Clover came after me. Tyrian noticed this, and offered to take him out so the two of us could have a rematch."

"Did you accept it?"

"No…but I may as well have. I kept attacking Tyrian because I figured Clover would want to take out the mass murderer rather than me. However, he still came after me. I could beat Clover or Tyrian alone-"

"Debatable." Raven quipped.

"But I couldn't beat both of them. So I started ignoring Tyrian, and going after Clover. Eventually, I broke his Aura, and then…Tyrian stabbed him through the back, with my own goddamn weapon."

Raven pitied her brother. He always considered his Semblance a curse more than a blessing, something that hurt his friends, rather than a weapon against his enemies.

"Did you find out why he wouldn't listen?"

"Because I was James's fucking orders."

Raven gave a sad chuckle, which made Qrow look at her in fury.

"Well, that's something you two shared. You're both loyal to a fault. You are loyal to Ozpin, and he was loyal to James."

Qrow was about to say that his loyalty to Ozpin had been shattered, and about Salem's immortality, but Raven continued.

"Frankly, the only one less loyal to Ozpin's ideas, next to me, was Summer, especially-"

Raven's eyes widened, as her brain caught up to her words. She slammed a hand over her mouth to stop herself, but it was too late.

"Especially what, Raven?"

Qrow looked at Raven, but she refused to answer.

"Raven, Summer always followed Ozpin's rules. She may have been a bit more loose with them, but she wasn't some rule breaker, so why would you say she wasn't loyal to Ozpin?"

Raven had no response, because she feared any would reveal too much. Instead, she walked past Qrow, shoulder checking him.

"Raven? Hey!"

Raven didn't respond as she exited the room.

"So," Saphron slowly states, "The Brother Gods are real?"

"Yes." Ozpin replied. Ozpin and Glynda were explaining the entire situation to Saphron, as well as the Schnee family.

"And they'll come back once all four relics are together?"

"Correct."

"Aaaaand if we fail their 'test' when they get back, they'll kill us all?"

"That's...correct."

No one spoke for a moment. Eventually, Glynda broke the silence.

"Is there anything you'd like to ask?"

"Sorry," Saphron apologized, "Just wrapping my head around that. The queen of the Grimm, the Four Maidens, the Brother Gods…Not to mention what we watched just now. It's…a lot to take in."

"Completely understandable," Ozpin replied, "Honestly, I'm not usually this forthcoming, but the situation has forced my hand."

"Ozpin," Willow exclaimed, "Considering everything that's happened, I feel safe to say…you're an idiot."

"That's a feeling I've grown accustomed to."

"No, seriously. The way you describe it, the gods are just as dumb. They made humanity to be soo divisive, yet, all of a sudden, they want humanity united under one banner. That's impossible. Especially with the Faunus. Not being racist here, but there'd never be a time where both of our species are in perfect harmony. There'd always be at least some people who think differently from the crowd. And the gods expect complete unity."

Ozpin gave a deep sigh. "That's…something I'm starting to realize. Even when Salem's army was bearing down upon Mantle, some of the people would still complain about trivial things."

A door opened, and Raven came out, walking straight for the theatre. Qrow followed out, but his face was one of concern.

'Interesting.' Ozpin thought.

'What is it?'

'After Haven, I didn't think Qrow would show any pity or concern for Raven. Whatever happened in that room must've been big. Anyway, I think it's about time we switch.'

'Wait-'

Ozpin relinquished control back to Oscar, the boy slightly jittering at the sudden switch.

"Oscar?" Winter questioned.

"Yeah. Ozpin's just got back in-"

He was interrupted when Saphron hugged him.

"Ummmm…"

"You shouldn't have to do something like this."

Oscar sighed. "Probably. But, honestly, I don't think I could sit on a farm if I knew the world was burning around me."

"Does your family know?"

"My Aunt knows I was going on a long trip to Mistral. It's not the first time I took a long trip. Our village was extremely isolated. Though, I doubt she knew exactly what I was doing, or what I got myself into. My parents…have been gone for a long time."

Saphron simply hugged him tighter. They heard another door open, as they saw the Belladonna group exit the room.

"Is everyone ready for the next episode?" Glynda questioned.

Everyone nodded their head and/or said yes, with the exception of the missing Raven.

"Alright. Let's return to the theatre and see the next episode."

As they did so, Glynda felt a chill go up her spine.

"Something tells me this episode might push my sanity." She muttered.

She didn't notice, but every Schnee and Klein also had the same chill.

Author's Notes: Yeah, didn't expect that from Raven, did you. Unfortunately, I kinda had to work around the fact that Raven KNOWS what happened to Summer, and I want to try to keep this as close to canon-compliant as possible, even though I've thrown that out the window by making Raven pregnant her. (And, before anyone asks, Colva has made sure to halt the pregnancy until they get back. He doesn't want the accelerated time in the theatre to cause an instant birthing.)

As for the Nuts N' Dolts thing, I mainly did that to make any mention of Penny in this hit much harder for Tai and Pietro (especially Episode 8)...I'm a cruel person, aren't I?

As always, leave a review, fav/follow, and I'll see you all in episode two.