Still no feedback on whether this should a story conjoined with the first Why Are We Still Here? No worries. But hopefully someone heard the news we may be getting more RWBY content soon. Who's excited for that? Anyway, thank you all for being a wonderful audience. So lets get into it.
[Mistral]
Rain is heard pouring outside as an old and tired jeep finds a nice resting spot. Sarge put his cowboy hat while Mercury flipped his hood on. The bigger man opens up a sliding door leading into a small restaurant. Another man can be seen sleeping at a table in the corner, while the Ramen Shop Owner stands behind the counter sharpening his kitchen knife on a wood block. Sarge walks up to the owner, who is still paying attention to sharpening his knife.
The ramen shop owner barely looked up from his spot, "Regular? Or the Special?"
"I'm actually looking for someone, goes by the name Shiro Wan. Ever heard of him? I heard he's a regular around here." Sarge walked in with the confidence of a man without any fear. Mercury trailing behind him like his shadow as he leaned up against the wall near the entrance.
Ramen Shop Owner grew suspicious about, "Who's asking?"
"No need to worry, I'm just asking for an old friend I need Shiro for a mission."
The Ramen shop owner nods, "Way back, huh? So, another friend huh?"
Sarge rubbed his chin, "Hm, yeah, I'd say so. He's a decent fellow if I say so."
The ramen shop owner changed his tone to a hostile one pointing his knife threateningly at Sarge, "Well in that case, just like I told that other guy. You tell that jerk that he better not show his ugly face in here until he pays me the Lien he owes me!!"
Sarge started walking back, "Uh, did I say friend?
I, uh- I meant a guy I sort of know..."
The owner angrily slams his knife into the counter as Sarge and Mercury exit the restaurant, quickly closing the sliding door. He quickly turns around, leaning against the door. He takes his hat off wiping away the sweat before pulling out his scroll, which has a list of "CONTACTS" with the following names:
WAN, SHIRO
GRIFFIN, BLANKA
RAINE, BOYD
KREISS, AMETHYST
ALTHAM, IVY
RIVAS, AOI
VACCARO, FARROW
LUNSFORD, HARKIN
Sarge sighed as Mercury looked over his shoulder at the phone, "No worries this is just a setback." Sarge assured to Mercury.
Suddenly, the owner's knife is stabbed through the door cloth, barely missing both of their heads.
Sarge and Mercury then travel around to several people asking if they know any of the Huntsmen on his list; first, a pair of two men standing on the rainy street. Next, to a one-eyed, blonde blacksmith selling her wares. Then, he seeks the help of a beat-up man filled with bruises, resting while two other men are currently fighting in a match. After every person he asks, Sarge grows more and more exhausted, while Mercury grows more agitated. And each time, the number of Huntsmen he crosses off the list increases.
Finally, they walk up to a small house with boarded-up windows. He looks at his Scroll for his two remaining contacts, the first of which had been crossed out.
FIORENZA, SHANI
SHIELDS, HEATHER
Sarge, lightly taps on the door, "Heather."
He knocks on the door. A group of small children is seen near the house. After Mercury turns around from looking at them, since there's been no response, he bangs it loudly with the side of his fist. As he's about to bang on the door again, a man opens up the door.
Mercury stepped back while Sarge placed a hand on his shoulder, "Oh, uh, I'm sorry we were just uh..."
The man just stares back at them, almost on the verge of looking much more glum.
"Sorry sir, me and my assistant were looking for an old friend. We need her set of skil-" Sarge began but stopped.
A small girl spoke up catching everyone off guard, "Daddy? Do they know where Mommy is?"
Having realized that Heather was missing in action, or worse, Mercury immediately regrets his mistake. Meanwhile Sarge seemed to have froze something awful, as if seeing a ghost from the past.
Mercury, "I um... I'm sorry to bother you."
The man and his daughter go back into their house. While Mercury walks back out into the rain, stopping once he realized Sarge hadn't moved. Going back and pulling him by the arm.
The two find themselves parked near an area where huntsmen jobs were listed. There Sarge and Mercury came to a discovery they weren't prepared for. Some of the huntsmen and huntresses on his list were gone for months, some weeks and few were gone for a few days.
Sarge's list of people to help find Emerald had become smaller and smaller. Soon Sarge found his way back to the top of the list. After a while, the two go back into the restaurant from earlier. The owner has more wood carvings on his counter now and notices when they walk in.
"I heard... I... I'm sorry about Shiro..." The ramen shop owner kept his head down.
Sarge reached in his wallet, "How much did Shiro owe you?"
"Please, no... his debt... his debt is taken care of. I'm sorry."
"Me too." Sarge walked over to the counter and ordered a quick drink to remember his fallen friend.
The shop owner went in front of Sarge to pour two shot glasses, taking the other. The two raised their glasses in the air and gave a final farewell to their friend, "To that idiot..."
"Yeah... to that idiot..." Sarge cheered and the two men swallowed their drink.
[At the Branwen Tribe camp]
Vernal pours cups of tea for Raven Branwen, Yang Xiao Long, and Weiss Schnee. They are all inside Raven's tent with the three seated around a table.
Raven turns her head to Vernal, "You can wait outside. Thank you."
"That doesn't mean those reasons don't exist. You know, you and your teammates might as well be the poster children for the Huntsman Academies. Your motives vary, but you all enrolled to try and make the world a better place. It's adorable." Raven mocked a little.
"It's what Huntsmen and Huntresses do."
"So, what's the 'truth?'" Yang said sarcastically.
Raven took a sip from her cup before speaking, "You know, it's better when it's hot."
"You know, you're really obnoxious." Weiss replied.
"The truth is that 'truth' is hard to come by. A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else. By now, your uncle has surely told Ruby and her friends plenty of stories."
"Well, he's never given me a reason to doubt him before." Yang glared at her mother.
"That doesn't mean those reasons don't exist. You know, you and your teammates might as well be the poster children for the Huntsman Academies. Your motives vary, but you all enrolled to try and make the world a better place. It's adorable." Raven mocked a little.
"It's what Huntsmen and Huntresses do."
"Not all of them. Some people are just in it for the money and the fame, but there's even more that are just looking to grow stronger. Your Uncle Qrow and I didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen, we did it to learn how to kill Huntsmen." Raven admitted.
A gasp escapes Yang and Weiss' mouths, exchanging a brief look with each other.
Raven pours herself some more tea, "Daddy and Uncle left that part out, hm? Aside from the Grimm, Huntsmen were the only ones capable of ruining our raids and hunting us down. Our tribe needed a counterforce. And Qrow and I were the perfect age. The entrance exams were child's play compared to what we'd already been through. We were good. So good, that we caught the attention of Beacon's very own Headmaster, Professor Ozpin. Even after we were put on a team, I could tell he was keeping his eye on us. Back then, I thought it was because he knew, but it was Team STRQ he was interested in."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Constant attention, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever we happened to break the rules and get into more trouble than we should've. Sound familiar?" Raven listed the several similarities between STRQ and RWBY.
Yang and Weiss share another glance at each other, Weiss gestures Yang to keep diving deeper, "What's your point?"
Raven began to ask them questions, "How much do you know about Professor Ozpin? Or his wife, Salem? About their past?"
Yang went down what she knew. "He was... a prodigy. One of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school. And she was born with an unfortunate condition that gave her Grimm-like features."
"Because that's how he planned it. Because the man you know as Ozpin designed those schools and has followers inside every academy on Remnant that are loyal to him and no one else." Raven admitted.
Yang refused to believe a word she said, "That doesn't make any sense! How could he have...? No. Why would someone even do that?"
"Because old man Oz and sweet Salem have a great and terrible secret. One that could spread fear across the world. One that he eventually entrusted to our team, and once I knew, there was no going back. I needed to know more, but with every new discovery I made, the more horrifying the world became."
"Okay, then tell us. What's the big secret? What's so crazy that the rest of us don't know?"
"The Creatures of Grimm... have a master, a controller, a being known as Krovos. It can't be stopped, can't be reasoned with, and will not rest until Humanity crumbles to dust."
As she speaks, Weiss and Yang's eyes widen more and more. They sit in silence, until Weiss breaks the silence, "What?"
"You know, you two haven't even touched your tea." Raven shifted the topic away.
Raven takes another sip from her teacup, while Yang stands up, "Why should we believe any of this?"
"Now you're catching on. So far you've done nothing but accept what others tell you, but you need to question everything. Otherwise you'll end up just as blind as Qrow... and your fool of a father." Raven insulted her brother and ex-husband.
A shot from Ember Celica is heard, destroying the table. Raven's empty teacup clatters across the floor, stopping when it hits the heel of her boot. Raven looks toward Yang, faintly smiling. Yang's eyes have turned red, her teeth gritted ready to mess something up.
"Don't you dare talk about my family like that!" Yang threatened.
While Yang speaks, Weiss stares up at her wide-eyed and flinches when she raises her voice for emphasis. A weapon is heard being drawn at Yang. "You need to calm down." Vernal warned Yang.
Weiss held Yang's hand to keep her calm, "Yang, please."
"Listen to your friend, Yang. Your teammates never let you down before." Raven mentioned.
Those words set Yang off, "You don't know the first thing about my teammates! About me! You were never there! You LEFT US!! Why?!" Yang asked hanging her head in sadness.
"I know more than you realize. Not just about you, and not just what I've been told, but things I've seen with my own eyes. I know the Grimm have a leader, I know people who can come back from the dead, I know that magic is real, and I can prove it."
Weiss stands up, while Raven continues addressing her daughter.
"You said Tai told you all about my Semblance." Vernal lowers her weapon while Raven heads toward the back exit of her tent, "Well, I doubt he ever told you what Oz did to my brother and me."
Raven exits her tent while Yang and Weiss exchange confused looks.
"Go see for yourself." Vernal leaves.
Yang and Weiss take her advice and exit the tent. They see no one there.
"Mom?" Yang calls out.
Weiss had to check on, "Yang, are you okay?"
"I'll be fine once we can get her to take us to Ruby."
Weiss relents while Yang continues to look around.
"It's okay if... you're not okay."
"You didn't believe what she said, right?"
"I... of course not. Well, not all of it. It was crazy. We have Dust, Semblances... But, I mean, there's no such thing as magic."
Just then, the two hear a bird caw. They watch it fly in front of them.
"A raven?"
"I've... seen that bird before." Yang recalled.
"Maybe it belongs to your mom?"
The two continue to watch the raven fly in the dusk-colored sky. It descends, flying and weaving between the trees, before shapeshifting into Raven herself. Raven lands back on the ground on her feet, while Yang and Weiss have shocked expressions as she stands back up.
"How... did you do that?" Yang questioned.
Raven then draws Omen, slashing behind her, creating a portal with her Semblance. "Well I could explain it to you...or you could ask your uncle."
"You're letting us go?"
Raven sheathed her sword, "I'm giving you a choice. Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start. Or... you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others. But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?" She stepped to the side giving her daughter the option.
Weiss reacts timidly, while Yang just glares at her mother, finally giving her an answer, "All I care about is making sure my sister is safe."
Raven scuffed dissatisfaction with Yang's response, "Ugh...'
Yang and Weiss ride on Bumblebee, however, before they can enter the portal, Raven addresses her daughter one more time, "Yang. If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind the next time we meet..."
Weiss rolls her eyes and looks ahead.
"You weren't kind this time either." Yang and Weiss proceed through the portal on Bumblebee. The portal then disappears.
"I know..." Raven admitted as her daughter rode away through her portal.
[Back In Mistral]
Sarge was currently sitting on a bench looking at the dirt, after going through the whole list of huntsmen and huntresses he once knew in the area, he came to the unsettling confusion... they were all gone. So while sitting in mourning, Sarge had practically given up hope, while Mercury had still some fight in him between the two.
He kept trying to bring back Sarge's fire in his belly, "Hey, Sarge this... this is part of the job... we aren't guaranteed a way home."
"..." Sarge grunted as he wasn't in the mood for rousing speeches.
Mercury had just about given up on him when he sat next to him, "Fine, you know what... we tried..."
They felt the bench connected to their from the back move with the same force Mercury had when he sat down. Someone must've been going through some terrible shit just like them?
"Rough day?" Mercury asked to the person who had their backs turned to them, he didn't even turn around to look at them.
The person didn't turn around and just carried on the conversation, "Yeah, guess you can say that."
"Well, we lost a few good people today..." Mercury continued on the conversation.
"Yeah, same here pal. Some were friends, some I didn't know too well... but... ohhh boy..."
"This job don't get easy somedays..." Sarge finally spoke.
The stranger agreed, "Yeah, I hear ya..."
"Makes me wonder, why are we still here?" Sarge asked.
The man sighed, "Yeah... well I should leave before I stay here for too long and my kids worry about me." The stranger stood up from the bench.
Sarge sighed and finally stood up, "I couldn't agree more... anyway take care." Sarge turned to wish his mysterious friend well.
"Yeah you too." The mysterious friend turned to wish the other farewell, only for them to realize who they were talking to.
Sarge paused for a moment finally seeing the face of Qrow Branwen, not saying a word. In turn Qrow didn't move or say anything at all. It took what felt like a minute for them to make the connection and when they did they finally spoke in sync, "Wait, what?"
"Qrow?! What in Sam Hill are you doing here?" Sarge asked he nearly fell back.
Qrow was just as puzzled as Sarge was, "Me? I'm here with my niece and her team. What are you doing here?!"
"Wait your niece is here? Is Emerald with her?" Sarge practically shook Qrow.
Qrow nodded as he finally found someone to help, "Yes, yes, yes! Her, her team, that big bear she has as a guard dog, yes. And most of team JNPR!"
"Haha, this is turning out to be a good day." Sarge announced giving Qrow a hug, that's when the universe decided it didn't like them. Raven's signature Portal opened up nearby them and the two entered a fighting stance with Mercury still in shock.
Until the portal let out something much better than Raven.
"Well I'll be damned." Sarge chuckled as he saw who it was.
[Mistral Back at The House]
Emerald peaked over at Jaune's shoulder to inspect the cooking he was doing. So far he was doing an excellent job, even if he did refuse to add some spices that Emerald had grown accustomed to. However Caboose had to be watched at all times, as he would try to sneak a piece of desert same with Ruby.
The twins were busy prepping some of the food while wondering about the amount, "Will this be enough?" Melanie asked.
Militia shrugged, "Dunno, I think we're only expecting a few. Maybe ten extra at most."
"Doing good guys, doing good... Nora! Stop eating from the pan!" Emerald demanded.
Nora groaned loud enough to get Tucker to come down.
While they were finishing up prepping the meal the door swung open while Ruby was helping with a pan, being overlooked at by Ren.
Qrow called out to the kitchen, "I'm back!"
"Be right there!" Ruby answered.
Ren studied Ruby's dish with watchful eyes, "You're going to overcook that."
"No I'm not, shut up!" Ruby argued.
Qrow kept trying to summon some of the kids, "Hey, uh, Ruby? Emerald?"
"I'm coming!" Some smoke comes from the pan Ruby is cooking with, forcing her to turn to Ren, "Fine! You take over."
"Hehe, come on Ruby!" Emerald waited as Ruby picked up a tea tray while she picked up an appetizer tray.
Ruby looks at the tea tray while walking into the room, "So, we didn't know how many people were coming, so we just cooked all of it."
While walking, Ruby bumped into Emerald who stood frozen as a board, standing next to her she saw her eyes fixed at the door. She looks up, and gasps as she drops the tea tray and its contents, which shatter on the floor. She stares in disbelief at the sight of not only Qrow, but of her older sister Yang and teammate Weiss. Emerald lets go of her tray as the appetizers fall on the floor, a pig in a blanket rolled all the way to a certains someone's cowboy boot. Mercury scooped it up and brushed it off before eating it, standing next to him was a proud Sarge. Yang approached her little sister, while Emerald approached her mentor.
Ruby's voice began cracking, "Yang, I... I'm so sorry! I- I should've stayed, and I should've talked to you more! I'd-- I just... I wasn't sure if you wanted me around and--" tears kept flooding down her cheeks.
Suddenly, her big sister gives her a strong hug. Ruby's lips quiver, and she looks toward her sister. "I love you." Yang admitted with tear streams falling from her eyes.
Ruby sobs as she leans into her sister's hug, "I love you too."
Sarge stood with his hands behind his belt buckle, "Emerald... I... It's good to see you're doing well... and uh... well you see the thing is..."
Sarge stopped speaking as Emerald hugged him tight, her head getting buried in his chest. Sarge had his arms up, unsure of what to do at that moment, until instinct took over and he held her in his arms with one hand on her head.
"I missed you so much." Emerald nearly cried fighting back her tears.
Sarge started rocking her side to side, "It's okay... I'm here now."
Jaune, Ren, Nora, Donut, The Twins and Caboose enter the room, smiling at the sight of the two sisters embracing each other, a mentor holding his student in his arms. Qrow smiles as well, while Oscar Pine and Tucker enter the room.
"Uh..." He looks up, seeing Ruby and Yang hugging, and smiles.
Weiss smiles as she wipes a tear from her eye, before frowning while looking down.
"Weiss." A voice called out to her.
Weiss looks up, and sees the two sisters open their arms up for her. She smiles and eagerly joins them in their hug. Everyone smiles as they watch three of the four Team RWBY members embrace each other. While Mercury smiled at seeing Sarge hug Emerald.
[End of Chapter]
Hey y'all thanks for your patience and understanding. Also been kinda sick recently and been having a hard time getting more work so... yeah. Anyway hope y'all are doing well. I did not expect this chapter to make me cry again, especially right there in the end. No one gets a shitty father figure in this show, I mean, except for Weiss.
Anyway... can't wait to start on the next chapter. So let me get started. As always Churchisalive, signing off for now.