author pro tip: avoid twitter if you want RWBY takes. there are no brain cells

sorry for not releasing this earlier! been a weird week- just wanna get stuff out of the way so I can play the new Pokemon games guilt free


Ben weaved from side to side, avoiding Yang's powerful blows. Typical of her to start a match before he could even transform. He was just surprised he could keep up with the girl!

Ben finally found an opening- in that moment, he transformed into Swampfire. He opened up his palms and thrust it forward to attack Yang- who grabbed his arm and proceeded to slam him into the ground several times. She let go at the last slam, leaving Ben lying on his back. Ben groaned as he opened his eyes.

"Okay, should've expected that," Ben frowned.

Suddenly, Yang threw a punch at his head, as Ben avoided the blow by rolling over to the side. The force of the punch left a crater in the ground. Ben flipped back on his feet, as he threw seeds at her body- the seeds grew into vines upon contact with her, entangling her in a mess. Ben grinned, as he cracked his knuckles.

Now it was his turn to strike back.

Ben ignited his arms, as he rushed forward. The boy threw a mad blur of punches that sent Yang flying back. She flipped through the air, and miraculously landed on her feet. Not even wasting a second to strike back, Yang punched the air, unleashing multiple shots of Ice Dust Bullets- spikes of ice shot out of the ground. Ben unleashed a wave of heat from his palms, melting the ice immediately and raising a smokescreen.

"Seriously?" Ben smirked. "What was that supposed to do?"

Yang suddenly rushed out of the mist, throwing a punch at Ben's chest. Ben blocked the blow by crossing his arms in front of his body. Yang threw a few more punches, hoping to shatter his defenses, but Ben wasn't budging. He just needed another opening to unleash his counterattack, and Yang would absolutely be going DOWN for a change!

And maybe he'd finally break that stupid win streak Yang had against him.

The punches stopped, as Ben finally lowered his arms- he prepared to conjure a powerful bout of flames, but...Yang was still winding up for a punch. Ben decided to humor her by standing proud, ready to tank that blow- Swampfire was invulnerable, he could take a punch. He literally planted his feet in the ground (his feet rooted into the ground. Handy for tanking blows!)

Yang thrust her arm forward- something sparked from her weapon...

And suddenly, Ben was being punched back by the GIANT explosion. His legs literally disconnected from his body, as the top half of Ben was sent flying back into a wall. Ben's face was twisted into a shocked, maybe bewildered expression. Yang smirked.

"You like it?" Yang asked. "Courtesy of my mind, Atlas' tech...and Ceres' insanity."

"That checks out," Swampfire panted heavily, as he glared at his opponent. His body regenerated the legs he'd lost. Ben wasn't surprised she wasn't holding back.

"So," Yang wiped some dirt from her face. "Ready to give up?" Her aura was still plenty high, and she was raring to go ten more rounds.

"You seriously expect me to say 'yes'?" Ben opened his palms and spewed flames at Yang. She rolled to the side, and threw her string out at Ben- it wrapped around his leg, and she yanked back on her arm. The leg was suddenly severed, as Ben fell to the ground, now down a leg.

Ben hissed, as he reconnected the leg. "That's getting really old."

"Then change it up a little," Yang smirked, as she jumped in place a little, pumping up her body.

Ben smirked, as he reached for the Omnitrix symbol. "Couldn't agree more, actually." He slapped down as armor plates spread out from the symbol, creeping across his body like vines. The metal took on a dark green and black color scheme, in contrast to the usual monochrome colors the Omni-Drives took. When the metal reached his head, the plates formed into a red and yellow gas-mask, resembling Swampfire's own head. The biggest change was his left arm. The metal around his hand turned angular at the end, with circular hinges at the armor almost resembled a mouth,the lights that snaked across it being the eyes. When all was said and done, Omni-Drive Swampfire raised the now metallic, dragon-like arm and had the "jaws" snap a few times as he tested it.

Yang took in the sight, before she cracked her knuckles.

"Now you're making things interesting!"

The upgraded Swampfire grinned behind the mask, as he aimed his dragonic arm- the maw of the weapon opened up, as it began to unleash massive explosions of flames. They were more akin to napalm, from Yang's perspective. She could barely avoid any of the explosions at this close range, but she could most certainly strike back with her new toy.

Yang swatted Ben like a fly with a giant projection of the open hand, but Ben held up the hand with a single finger on the non-dragonic hand. Yang applied more pressure, but Ben firmly held his ground.

"...you're enjoying this, aren't you?" Yang frowned.

"Maybe just a bit. These power ups make my job so much easier." Ben said, as he held up his dragonic arm again- this time, a napalm explosion did not shoot out, but instead seeds shot out like bullet fire. Yang quickly jumped back, avoiding getting her aura shattered by...sunflower seeds of all things.

"You chose those on purpose!" Yang frowned.

"I like to be funny. Sue me." Ben said, as he ceased fire.

Yang grinned. "Well, here's a joke for you." Yang began to charge up an insane amount of energy, before she rushed forward. She leapt up, as a giant projection of her fist appeared behind her back. All that damage she had taken, she was about to release it. Her hair burned so intensely, that it nearly turned black-

And Ben's eyes shrank.

Those red eyes, with that black hair...he'd...seen it somewhere.

He froze up, a bit lost.

...lost enough to forget he was in battle.

Yang let out a battle cry as she thrust her first forward, right into Ben's stomach. The sheer energy and power from the hit sent Ben flying, crashing into one of the walls. The damage actually caused some of the tech in the wall to be damaged. It'd be a small headache for Ironwood, but emphasis on small.

"Nailed it!" Yang said in triumph.

Ben groaned, as he shook his head. "Ugh...that hurt a lot..." Ben looked down at his armor- there was a dent in it. "Okay, that's new..."

"Something I've been working on. What better way to use all those hits I take then to send 'em right back?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Ben said, shaking his head. "Yeesh...sorry I froze up there. It's just-"

"Hey, you know the deal. Loser buys lunch." Yang grinned. "Explain why Mr. 'I defeated Vilgax in hand to hand combat' lost that one there, okay?"

Ben chuckled, "Alright, alright. Deal's a deal. Guess you have a place in mind?"


"Alllllright~!" Yang said, as she looked at her massive steak. "30$ well spent~" Yang's mind IMMEDIATELY went to this very fancy, very expensive restaurant in Atlas. Ben looked at the steak...compared to his small burger, he was...a bit overwhelmed.

"...jeez." Ben frowned.

"Yeah, servings are kinda off. But still," Yang smirked as she got ready to enjoy herself. "So, I think you owe me an explanation now."

"Huh?" Ben shook off the confusion. "Oh, yeah...the loss." Ben took a bite of his burger. "Yeah, that's...an explanation and a half."

"Well, I'm all ears. Too surprised to see me with almost black hair?"

"...not really. Is it...weird if I've seen it before?" Ben asked.

"A...bit, yeah. Shit, did you see me one day after practice? Thought I managed to get the color to fade back to normal after that one time."

"No, it's just...I've...seen someone like that." Ben said.

"...who?"

"I was never sure if it was a dream or not, but...I think I ran into your mom."

Yang just froze for a minute. "I'm...sorry, what?" She needed to make sure she heard that right.

"I...might've ran into your mom."

Yang set down her fancy drink, and sighed. "So...you might have met my mom?"

Ben paused to think, sipping from his smoothie. "...when I was 12." Ben said, a bit scared.

"When you were..." Yang started, anger building in her voice. She stopped herself from erupting then and there and sighed. "Tell me what happened. Exactly."

"I was camping with Ruby. I don't know what she was on about, protecting and stuff, but...we fought." Ben said. "...and she shot lightning."

"She shot lightning?" Yang thought about it for a minute. "You didn't know about Dust at the time right?"

"I heard bits and pieces, but...I don't think it was Dust. Too...natural." Ben said.

"And...you fought her. Do you...remember her weapon?"

"It was a katana. Long. Red." Ben said. "Couldn't pierce Cannonbolt's shell."

"Yeah, that's her. Dad and Qrow told us about their weapons when they were together at Beacon. Her's was 'Omen'. Dad would correct you immediately if you said katana though. It's an 'odachi' apparently. The blade would've done more damage if you weren't the literal alien wrecking ball."

"Odachi, huh?" Ben said. "So...that wasn't a dream then...no way I could describe someone that clearly...what I don't understand is the whole...electricity thing."

"I don't get that either. You said her blade was red the whole time so it's not Omen. It certainly wasn't her Semblance..."

"What is your relationship with your mom?"

"I don't care about her. She doesn't care about me. Leaving her in the dark was a good choice for me...especially with the results I got from it." Yang stared at her robotic arm for a moment.

"You're...not the least bit curious about her?" Ben asked.

"Getting told I look like her seems like a smack in the face more than a compliment, Ben." Yang said. "I wouldn't care if she just so happened to drop dead today."

Ben couldn't imagine even saying these things about his own mom, let alone anyone's mom.

"...did something...happen?" Ben asked.

"Huh?"

"With you and your mom. Did something happen?"

"...What happened is that I got curious." Yang said, as she stared at her arm. "And maybe I've just associated the event with her in my mind. Correlation is a bitch, I get it. But...even if she had nothing to do with it, I'd feel the same way. She puts herself ahead of the needs of her child. She could be out there, doing God knows what, with God knows who...but…"

Yang trailed off.

"...would you ever forgive someone who walked out on you?"

"...I dunno, nowadays." Ben said. "If it's someone who had to do what they had to do, maybe. I would just...wish they let me in on it."

Yang closed her eyes and sighed. "That's a good outlook."

"Don't really put too much thought into who I hate on a complex scale." Ben admitted. "Just hate my villains cuz they're either psychopaths, murderers with high body counts...or just weird."

"...who the hell falls under the weird category? You turn into aliens, how can you hate someone for just being weird?" Yang asked.

"Oh, the really gross looking henchmen...like the Tummyhead guy." Ben explained.

Yang blinked, as she tried to visualize what "Tummyhead" looked like. She shuddered. "Ew."

"Yeah, see? Hate it."

"I swear sometimes I just have to question how evolution decided to MAKE that. I get, they're an alien but still!"

"You know..." Ben said. "Ceres mentioned there was a similar situation with Cass, when they fought. Do you think that the 'controlling weather thing' is...a weird trait shared between your mom and Cass?"

"Ok, let's say that's true. Why them? Why do they get that in addition to their Semblance?"

"I dunno." Ben hummed. "I'll do some digging. It's a coincidence, but...I dunno, it just stands out to me."

"Yeah...I'll see if there's anything like that for Huntsmen. Maybe it's a rare condition or something. Two Semblances. That's probably not it but better to look and find nothing right?"

"Can a person really have two semblances?" Ben asked. "Who's ever heard of a man with two souls?"

Pause.

"Oh, right."

"At least you caught that before I did."


After they had finished lunch, though Yang seemed to have lost her appetite when the conversation started, the two of them returned to the academy and started to do some investigating. Atlas Academy had one of the largest libraries that either Ben or Yang had ever seen(well, when it came to just Earth-based info, anyway).

"There's gotta be something here." Ben said. "So, let's start the search."

"...uh, you start the search." Yang said. "I gotta go on a mission."

"Aw, what? Are you ditching?!" Ben said.

"Well...no..." Yang said. "Just gotta handle a Grimm problem in Anima."

"Alright, alright." Ben huffed. "Hmm...maybe I can get some of the others to help...Weiss, maybe?"

"Get everyone on it, if you can. I gotta go with Ceres, Blake and Blonko." Yang said.

"Alright," Ben brought out his Scroll and started sending a group text to everyone detailing the plan for now.

Today was going to be a busy day.


After the mission, Blake was hung onto Yang's waist tightly- her motorcycle was a bit too fast for her taste, not that she could voice it. She'd never gotten car sick before, but motorcycle sickness was a first.

Yang's engine was pumped to go fast, and her determination level was through the roof. Why?

...because Ceres was ahead of her ever so slightly, and of course, that meant a RACE.

(And Yang ended up winning, believe it or not.)

Blake caught her breath outside of a fuel station named "Just Rite". Blonko passed her a water bottle.

"Blonko, How on Earth are you NOT sick from riding with Ceres?" Blake asked.

"Plumber training." Blonko said.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Of course."

"No, seriously; Plumber training." Blonko repeated. "High-G training. Ceres drives so fast I feel like my vision is about to 'grey out'."

"...my God." Blake frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Very." Blonko grinned. "The next time you come to the moon Plumber base, I would be happy to show you the device...assuming you are not allergic to moon dust."

Blake blinked. "W-what?"

"Allergic to moon dust. That is a thing."

"...you can be allergic to the moon?"

"Kylie is. She does not like talking about it and it sucks." Ceres called out, as she and Yang walked inside the store.

The bartender working the counter gave Yang a subtle eyebrow raise. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking?"

Yang took off her aviator sunglasses. "I'll just take some water. It's hot out."

"Of course." The bartender nodded. He disappeared, below the counter.

"That was some good driving, Xiao Long." Ceres grinned. "Nice driving skills."

"Hey, you watch a bunch of action movies, you pick up stuff from the stunt people." Yang grinned. "...and Tom Cruise, since he's a mad man."

Howling laughter arose from the drunk man a few seats down from the two.

"Seriously?!" He guffawed. "Are you telling me you're too young to drink? You look like a regular Huntress. And a beauty at that."

Yang felt uncomfortable. "I'm good. Thanks, pal."

The shady character approached Yang undeterred. "Seriously. Not too bulky. Not too lean. You're..."

"Alright buddy, I think we get the point." Ceres frowned. "You're a fucking creep."

The mook put his hand on the countertop next to Yang with a soft moan before reaching out with his other.

"And your hair..."

Yang suddenly grabbed his wrist and practically snapped it before he could touch her hair. When she turned to face him, her eyes were glowing red, startling him. He barely glanced in the correct direction before Yang's metal fist slammed into the side of his face. A tooth knocked out of his mouth, as the man hit the floor and, strangely enough, bounced floor-to-ceiling toward the exit like a pinball before disappearing through the doors.

Blake and Blonko watched in pure amazement as the guy continued to bounce down the road.

"...that's one weird semblance." Blake said to herself.

Ceres blinked. "Well, damn."

"I'm a bit shocked you didn't murder him on the spot." Yang said.

"Eh. Wanted to save on dry cleaning." Ceres shrugged.

The bartender set two bottles of water on the counter. "This one's on the house. He's been driving me crazy."

"Thank you," Ceres smiled, as she popped the cap off of the bottle.

"So, what brings huntresses like you two to these parts?" The bartender asked.

"Eh, just getting back from a job." Ceres said. "I think we'll be getting paid well, right?"

Yang was more focused on another topic. "So, about that guy...what's his deal?"

"Oh, him? He's, uh...just scum." The bartender said. "Not too many people come out here. Too far from the Kingdoms. Only person worth noting around here is... well, just the thieves."

Yang's face darkened, as she snatched up the water bottle. "Looks like we'll have to do our best to avoid them, then." Yang walked out the door, without another word.

Ceres made note of that as well.


Weiss was honestly in her element here. She had been going all over the library to help Ben with his research into the "double Semblance" theory. It was actually quite surprising how many books there were on the topic of Semblances, though many were simply theoretical. How can someone accurately study a soul after all?

"There's no such thing." Kylie said. "Semblances are reflections of the soul. Ozpin is the only person with two souls around here, and even then, he's only got a single semblance."

"It might be outlandish," Weiss said as she examined another book before putting it back on the shelf, seeing that it wouldn't help, "but it's the best explanation we have right now."

"Outlandish is still pretty bad. There's nothing about double semblances anywhere online." Min said. "...aside from cheesy fanfics."

"I think we can safely cross those off the list of reliable sources," Weiss said as she looked over a book for the theory of semblance development and evolution.

"I asked Holiday about it," Rex said, looking through a book. "She said that'd be impossible. Sure, you can have double joints or heterochromia- that's just genetics. But you can't really do that with a soul."

"So we have two people with scientific impossibilities?" Ben asked, "If it was one, you could say it's just something special. But two? With the exact same kind of power?"

"...maybe it's not science," Min said, setting down a book. "What if it's magic?"

"Magic? How would they even be capable of that?" Weiss asked.

"Could be a lot of things. Maybe they just have the aptitude for it, they could've found an artifact that gives them power." Min listed off.

"I dunno. When I fought Cinder, she wasn't wearing anything that suggested she was being enhanced by magic or something." Ruby said. "...unless she...drank, like, demon blood or something."

"I resent that." Min frowned.

"Knowing her, it wouldn't surprise me really," Ben said.

"So, either just a new breed of semblances, or magic. I'm gonna have to take magic into account here." Kevin said. "Stuff is pretty volatile."

"I don't suppose you have anything that could help us with that train of thought?" Weiss asked, turning to Min. "Books on it that would just...help us identify it?"

"I dunno if the demon world is too keen on having visitors. We're not judgemental or anything, it's just that our knowledge tends to be...locked tight. It'd take you a human lifetime to get into one of our libraries." Min said. "Plus, demon grimoire that passes through into this world kinda stir up trouble. Ever see 'Evil Dead'?"

"No?" Weiss said.

"...I have and as much fun as it would be to quote Ash...yeah, we're not dealing with Deadites." Kevin said.

"See? Kevin gets it. Weiss, be like your future brother in law." Min said.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"What?" Kevin asked.

"WHAT?" Kylie blushed.

"You heard me," Min smirked, shrugging off the implications like she didn't just drop a massive bombshell on all of them.

"...Min, I know you're a chaos demon but please, don't break them. We need them for this." Ben said.

"Ben, buddy, you know me. I thrive off that~"

"Okay, let's just...focus. Who can help us here?"

"Well...not sure if she's busy right now buuuuuut who can we thank for me showing up here in the first place?" Min said.

"...uh, I dunno."

"Really? Come on. She had to drive all the way from her college just to find you and figure out what was going to happen with me? And yes, I'm being cryptic on purpose. It's more fun."

"Gwen?" Ben asked. "Really? You think she'd know something?"

"It's worth a shot, honestly." Ruby shrugged. "We also...have not seen Gwen in ages, so...maybe we can find out stuff. And also tell her about us."

"Oh, yeah, we're telling her about us."

"Oh that's right, she has no idea! See, another advantage of that," Min smirked in triumph, acting like she planned this from the start.

Ben pulled out his scroll. "Excuse us..." Ben and Ruby said, walking into a study room.

"Not that I don't appreciate hearing from you, but..." Gwen said. "This is kinda out of nowhere. You usually text me a weird meme I don't understand."

"Well...two things that we need to talk about over voice and not text." Ben said.

"...we?" Gwen asked.

"Uh, hi Gwen!" Ruby said, leaning into the phone a bit.

"Oh! Hey Ruby," Gwen said and gave a little wave.

"So...uh, first things first." Ben said. "We know it's not in your area of interest, but...we have a question concerning magic and aura."

"I was wondering when things were going to move into 'out of the ordinary' territory." Gwen smirked and shook her head. "Alright. Fire away."

"We'll circle back to normal!" Ruby said. "Now...are there any...really powerful magic spells that allow for full blown weather manipulation?"

Gwen hummed for a moment. "...that does sound familiar. It's an S class mage thing exclusively."

They tried not to show it but that definitely concerned Ben and Ruby.

"And it'd take years for someone to reach that level right?" Ben asked.

"Of course." Gwen looking through some spellbooks. "Or, by other means."

"Ok, like what? Anything specific we can look out for or?"

"I dunno. If anything, I'd just assume Charmcaster is giving them the magic powers." Gwen shrugged.

"That could work for one...not the other though," Ruby said.

"Ok, what happened?" Gwen asked, catching on.

"...we think there's another woman out there who has similar powers," Ben explained. "Her name is Raven Branwen. We think this magic is some sort of...second semblance."

"I...don't think that's how that works but...well, I could ask about the second semblance part," Gwen mused, "But it's possible that Raven's just gifted with magic. Maybe she just kept that power hidden."

"There is that chance..." Gwen wondered. "Even then, a majority of these spells are hard to come by. These were just some magic books from Charmcaster's uncle from when we were kids."

"So either she's always had the power which I feel like we'd know about, I mean, after all, being a magic user can kinda run in the family or she's getting a power boost from someone else," Ben said.

"Another possibility..." Gwen hummed. "A majority of magic users were wiped out during the witch trials, which does make this hypothesis seem unlikely...but, that's all I've got for now."

"Alright, working theories are better than nothing..." Ben said. "Thanks, Gwen."

"And now, for the normal news," Ruby chimed in.

"Oh, thank God." Gwen smiled. "So, what else is so important you wanted to call me about it?"

"Actually, Min suggested it. We just rolled with it." Ben said.

"Buuuuut..." Ruby said, getting around to Gwen's question. "As for what else was important...well, did you want to tell her or can I?"

"...you two are dating, aren't you?" Gwen chuckled.

"Yeah, we are." Ruby smirked.

"Aw, what? You ruined the surprise..." Ben frowned.

"...Ben, Ruby is literally sitting on your lap." Gwen frowned. "There's no 'friendship' related way you can pass that off in."

Ben and Ruby shared a glance. "I mean...we did this sometimes when we were friends..." Ben lied.

"Uh-huh. And it wasn't just subtle flirting that neither of you wanted to admit?" Gwen asked, seeing right through the lie.

"...also some light teasing friends do." Ruby frowned. "We can hang up, you know!"

Gwen just chuckled to herself. "Seriously though, I'm glad for you two." she said with a smile.

Ben smiled back. "Yeah, it's...it's been a wild roundabout trying to get here. Felt comfortable after we went to Beacon to tell her."

"And it's been going well ever since?"

"Obviously. We're still together." Ruby grinned, kissing Ben on the cheek.

"You tell Aunt Sandra and Uncle Carl yet?"

"...we told Ruby's dad…" Ben said.

"Seriously? You haven't told them?" Gwen asked.

"Hey, we've been...busy." Ben said. "Plus, the last time they saw me, I was...well, you know. Kinda going through my own thing?"

"Promise me you'll tell them soon. They'd be delighted to know this." Gwen said.

"We will, we will…" Ruby huffed. "Geez."

"Anyways...we should probably get back to work on finding out more about this 'double semblance' thing." Ben said. "Talk to you later?"

"Talk to you later." Gwen smiled. "Love you."

"Love you too." Ben said, as he quickly hung up the phone.

"...so, why HAVEN'T you told your parents?" Ruby asked. Ben gave a weak shrug.

"I blame whoever writes my life for that."

"...so, you blame yourself."

"...I am gonna legit clobber you with a book-"


Yang and the others left the bar shortly after that little scene. The sun still hung high in the sky and, for a moment, everything seemed to be going smoothly. That is, until they saw a familiar face standing in the road. Honestly it was surprising he was back so soon.

"Damn," the troublemaker from the bar said, still rubbing his chin. "You hit HARD, don't you?"

"Are we really doing this?" Yang sighed, not even looking at the guy.

"Yeah, we're doing this!" The man grumbled. "You humiliated me!"

"You're already a shameful display. How did we do any more harm to your reputation?" Ceres asked.

"See, here's the thing." The man said, drawing a weapon. It seemed to be a worn and crude pistol, the handle being a brass knuckle with a blade attached to the end. "People around KNOW who I run with. You guys obviously don't! So making me look like an idiot wasn't the best idea you could have!"

Blonko blinked. "...that is a very ugly weapon." He said, flat and honest. It hurt a bit more because of that.

"Well sorry, but not all of us have access to the latest shit," The guy said. "You make do out here."

"Even if you did, that weapon would still suck." Yang smirked.

"Hey, come now- you wouldn't mess with the Branwen tribe now, would you?" The man said. Yang's smile faded.

"Ohhhhh, looks like one of you DOES know who I run with. Yeah, feeling kinda stupid now aren'tcha?" the man smirked.

Yang's expression darkened. "No. Now I know Ceres was right to beat the shit out of you."

"...I'd say something about 'dumb blondes' right now, but that's beneath me. Lemme guess, grudge against the tribe cause they killed your parents, or boyfriend or whatever right?"

Yang just unraveled the string around her prosthetic arm. "Just stop talking."

"The fuck?" the man said, his eyes fixed on the string unravelling. He was so unprepared for that, that he didn't even notice Yang quickly take a few steps towards and throw a punch to his gut.

The blow was strong, empowered by Yang's anger. The man flew through the air, hitting a tree and crashing on the ground.

His weapon clattered on the ground in front of him. He coughed a few times from the impact and looked up to see his weapon. He scrambled towards it, hoping to at least get a fighting chance.

Blake threw her weapon at his hand, landing in between him and his ugly weapon. She pulled back the Gambol Shroud, taking the weapon with her. She caught it in her hand, as she gave the man a scowl.

"Unarmed and outnumbered. You like those odds?" Ceres said.

His eyes darted around between Yang, Ceres, Blake and Blonko. He was cornered...so why did he smirk?

"I like 'em a lot better than you think." The man said.

Blonko's ears perked up, as he aimed the Prototool behind him. He fired a shot into the trees, as a netted criminal fell out of the trees.

"AMBUSH!" Blonko yelled.

"Shit!" The man shouted, scrambling to his feet and taking cover behind the nearest. At that moment, more bandits seemed to just emerge from the forest. Each one was armed with either a cleaver-like sword or a rifle, both seemingly just as crude as the man's pistol.

"Their weapons are in poor condition." Ceres said. "But you know what they say- fear an aged weapon more than a new one."

Two of the bandits rushed in at Ceres as she said that, one man, one woman, each clad in basic clothing and little to no actual armor. The male bandit rushed in and took a swing aimed at her neck. Ceres dodged the attack, and grabbed the male assailant's head. Ceres tossed them at the other one. The two slammed together into a pile. The female bandit was trying to push her comrade off of her so she could get back into the fight.

Blonko brought up the Proto-Tool's shield mode as several of the bandits opened fire with their rifles. Semi-auto, looked like. They could fire as fast as they could pull the trigger. But given how crude the weapons were, he figured one thing. The theory was proven true when one of the bandits stopped firing to unjam his rifle, giving Blonko an opening. Shield still up, he raced over to the exposed bandit and slammed the energy barrier into him, quickly turning to block any incoming shots from the others.

Blake jumped back, throwing Gambol Shroud and wrapping them around two other bandits. She pulled back, ensuring their capture. "Yang!" She called out.

Yang turned to Blake, dodging a swing from the cleaver-sword of another bandit. She grabbed him by the arm and threw him over her shoulder, quickly spinning around to deliver another punch to his back.

"Bumblebee?" Yang asked, looking at Blake, getting ready for the team move.

"Oh, yes." Blake grinned.

Yang smirked and got herself into position, cracking her knuckles. "Ready!"

Blake swung the bandits towards Yang. Yang took a step forward, fist reared back. The bandits Blake had captured closed their ways and braced for it. Yang's fist found its mark and freed the two thieves of Gambol Shroud's ribbon, sending them flying into trees. The impact shook free several leaves from above that rained down down on the bandits.

"God, I love doing that!" Yang shouted.

Blake grinned, as she ran forward-

And suddenly ran into a red portal.

Yang's eyes widened in horror as she saw that. She raced over immediately to try and reach through the portal, pulling Blake back out. She didn't even manage to get close to it before the portal shut. Ceres looked back at Yang. "W-what the hell just happened!?"

"...it's her." Yang muttered. "But she can't do that to someone she doesn't know...unless..."

Yang didn't get to finish that thought. Two beams of yellow energy slammed into her side, knocking her off balance. Yang tumbled to the ground, and Blonko looked around. Where did those shots come from!? Something then slammed into Blonko's back, knocking him forward a bit.

"Where are your eyes, blue boy?" A voice taunted.

Blonko turned suddenly, only to be met with an uppercut, knocking him off his feet. Blonko suddenly fell through a portal that opened on the ground. The same red color as the one that stole Blake. Yang turned to see Blonko fall and she didn't hesitate. Her eyes turned red as she fired two rounds behind herself, propelling herself forward. This new person smirked and right as Yang threw a punch, her new opponent used her odd weapon to force Yang's arm down and elbow her in the back of the neck.

"Hm. Wow. I do see resemblance..." The girl smiled. "You ARE her kid."

She was a young woman with tan-colored skin, short brown hair and icy blue eyes. She had a tattoo of a bird rising from flowers on her left arm. She wore a light brown vest with dark brown panels on the top and a dark brown buckled strap on the back, over a torn white shirt that was partially unbuttoned revealing what appeared to be a black bra, alongside a collar that appears to be slightly turned up behind her neck. She wore maroon-colored jeans with the right side rolled up to her thigh revealing the dark pink lining alongside a brown belt with a pouch attached to the right side. She also wore dark brown calf guards with one having a garter styled strap that went under her rolled-up pant leg. She wore a pair of beige and dark brown lace-up boots with folded over sides, showing over the white lining accompanied by a pair of maroon socks that partially covered her calf guards. She complimented this with dark brown gloves of different sizes, with the right being fingerless and wrist length with large cuff whilst the other was elbow length and covered with a dark brown vambrace. Lastly, she wore a narrow dark brown choker strap around her neck.

Yang narrowed her eyes at this girl, quickly getting up and throwing a series of punches at her.

The girl avoided the punches. "Too slow, kid!"

"Where did you take them?!" Yang yelled, throwing another punch that the girl dodged easily.

"I dunno~! I'm not the one with the portals, and YOU of all people should know that." The woman grinned, aiming her weapons at Yang. Yang was pissed now. She tried to calm herself, she knew the rage was just going to make her sloppy, but it wasn't going to work. The other bandits had now focused all their attention on Ceres, rifle shots ringing out and blades being swung at her. Ceres blocked the bullet fire with his gauntlets, and sent a burst of flames at the bandits.

The girl Yang was facing took notice of that and, after dodging another one of Yang's punches, threw one of her odd weapons at Ceres. It was a crescent-shaped blade with a circular center and grip, four blades jutting out above it. Beneath the top main-blade, a pair of rectangular gun-barrels gave away how she was able to fire those lasers. The blade spun in the air after she threw it. She wasn't even aiming to really damage Ceres, she just needed to distract her.

Ceres sent another fireball at the mysterious attacker. "Who are you? Are you the leader of the tribe?"

"Not the leader." The girl said. "Well...not yet. Maybe one day. But daydreams aside," she ducked another punch from Yang, "I'm the one who's holding all the leverage here."

Ceres smirked. "Please." Ceres began throwing more fireballs.

"Okay, maybe you didn't get it...but I meant blue boy and your goth girl. They're my leverage."

Yang's eyes immediately turned red. "And you better release them, if you know what's good."

"Oh, I will," The girl smirked, twirling one of her blades. "Once we're paid."

"PAID!?" Yang yelled, hair burning brighter.

"What, you think we're not getting something out of this?"

"You're gonna get a fucking broken arm out of this!" Yang yelled.

"No, I'm getting a payday out of this. We've done this before, blondie. You try anything, and...well, you can put it together from there I think." The girl smirked.

Yang's rage just grew and grew and grew- her mom was probably doing this on purpose.

"So, you know the choices. Which one ya going for?"

"I'll take my chances." Yang growled.

"Huh...I'll let 'em know you said that," the girl smirked before taking a quick shot at Yang with her lasers. Yang avoided the lasers, and charged head first at the woman. Ceres ran at her too, hoping to overwhelm the stranger.

"Mind telling us your name, lady!?" Yang yelled, as she reloaded her weapon.

"I could," the woman said, firing more quick laser bursts at the two, "but that DOES kinda ruin some of the fun!"

Ceres growled. "Then, what, are you with Salem? Or just here to annoy us?"

"Salem? Wow, you're paranoid! We don't work for that bitch," the woman smirked, "I mean unless she can pay well."

Yang's eyes just got angrier, as she finally landed a pretty damn powerful punch on the mysterious woman. Her aura cracked and shimmered, as a hint of blood trickled down from her nose.

"Fuck!" The woman yelled, staggering back with her hand reaching up to cover her nose. "Stupid...ok...I'll give you that one. I got cocky..."

Yang brought up her fists again. "And there's more where that came from." The woman was just about to charge at Yang again...until a red portal opened up behind her.

"Are you fucking serious?! I can take them!" She shouted at no one really. When the portal didn't close, she cursed under her breath and sheathed her weapons. "Next time, I guess."

Yang yelled. "GET BACK HERE!" She blasted herself forward, using her weapons to propel herself forward. She reeled back to punch the woman in the face-

Only for the woman to disappear through the portal, and for Yang to hit the ground, hard enough to leave a small crater.

Yang couldn't let her anger overtake her right now. Blake and Blonko were still in their grasp. Yang suddenly turned and saw that most of the defeated bandits were still around. The ones who were still conscious by the time Raven's lieutenant, or whatever she was, showed up had already fled. She went over to one of the duo of bandits she'd sent flying into a tree with the Bumblebee move.

"Think we can wake him up?" Yang asked.

Ceres paused to think. "I believe we can. We just need to convince him a little bit."

"Good...cause he's gonna tell us everything he knows," Yang's were still red, though her voice had taken on a more subtle rage tone to it instead of outright anger.

Ceres took Yang's shoulders. "Easy now, Yang. I know emotions fuel your semblance, but here? Regardless of how you feel right now, don't let it fuel you. We want a rational Yang Xiao Long. I know it must suck knowing your mom purposely kidnapped your girlfriend and friend, but right now...we need to be careful about this interrogation."

"Ceres...I appreciate it," Yang said sincerely, "but I got this." That rage in her voice seemed to die down ever so slightly.

"I should hope so..." Ceres said. "So...how are we gonna do this?"

"Once he wakes up...how good of a 'bad cop' can you do?" Yang smirked, knowing the answer already.

Ceres cracked her knuckles. "The best."


The Outcasts search still wasn't pulling up many leads. Even with the entire library of Atlas at their disposal, nothing was turning up. It was infuriating.

"No mentions of it in magic, no mentions of it in history, not even a newspaper tabloid..." Weiss frowned.

"I don't get it." Min said, closing another book that just turned out to be a dead end. "Something like that and nothing? Almost seems deliberate..."

Ben groaned, leaning back. "Why is my head just mush at this point!? I should not be this stressed. Not until college."

"So, Gwen doesn't know about it. Min doesn't know about it..." Ruby hummed, clicking her pen a few times. "Then...who would know something about it?"

Almost as if the universe heard them, Oscar entered the library and approached them.

"What are you guys doing?" Oscar asked.

"Oh, uh...hey Oscar." Ben said. He was embarrassed to admit- Oscar hadn't been added to the group text just yet.

"We're looking something up...except there's absolutely NOTHING on it which just raises more questions!" Rex said, leaning back in his chair.

"Well...what is it?" Oscar said, taking a free seat at the group's table.

"We're looking if a person can have a weird power. Could be magic, could be a semblance." Ruby said. "Ben claims to have encountered a woman who could control the weather. Same powers were seen with someone Ceres fought."

...control the weather, Ozpin said in Oscar's head, Ask them about that. I need details.

"Uh...what exactly do you mean by 'control the weather?'" Oscar asked.

"They could call down lightning for one." Ben said. "Ceres said her opponent could even control ice and wind, take advantage of her cold weakness..."

...oh no. Ozpin said.

Kylie took note of Oscar's expression. "Hey, you alright? You kinda turned pale after that last sentence..."

"Uh...well..." Oscar began.

I think it would be better if I explained. Ozpin said. With that, Oscar's eyes and voice changed to show he wasn't the one talking anymore.

"Everyone...I feel I...must apologize," Ozpin said, "Had I realized Salem had brought those pieces to the board, I would've said so sooner..."

"Pieces?" Kevin asked. "The hell are you talking about?"

"...I know exactly what you're talking about." Ozpin said with a sigh. "I should've mentioned them sooner."

"Mentioned who?" Ben asked.

"...the Maidens."

Ruby blinked. "The Maidens...why does that sound familiar to me?"

"Miss Rose...tell me...are you familiar with the Story of the Four Seasons?"

"Uh, yeah. It was the story about how the kindness of four sisters got them gifted with amazing powers, right?" Ruby said.

"That's right. And do you remember who gave them those powers? Who's heart their kindness touched?"

"Some old guy in a barn." Kylie said.

Silence.

"...oh my GOD, was that story real?" Kylie said. "Are you the old guy!?"

Ozpin just nodded.

"Oh...my...god." Weiss said.

Ben groaned. "We seriously could've just asked you!? God, that was a full day wasted!"

"That...is also my fault, actually," Ozpin said. "There...is a reason you won't find anything about them in books."

Min suddenly chimed in. "Knew it!"

Kylie slapped Min's hand down. "Not now."

"Okay, so, why erase it from history?" Kevin asked. "Seems like an important story since it's real and stuff."

"It is important...but I did so to protect those who would become Maidens. Their powers, their magic, they were once well known...and were seen as a valuable prize. Whoever controlled the wielder, controlled the fate of entire nations." Ozpin said.

"You said 'who would become maidens'- is it like a birth rite thing?" Ruby asked. "Genetics? Oh, god, does Yang have maiden powers?"

"No...though she is actually a possibility for a future Maiden." Ozpin admitted, "Well, if one of them thinks about her when the time comes."

"...are the powers released mentally?" Weiss asked. "Interesting."

"Not exactly. The powers are transferred upon...passing."

"...woah." Ruby said.

"The...specific way it works," Ozpin began. "Is that the powers can only be transferred to women. If the previous wielder has someone in their thoughts during their...final moments, the powers will pass to them. If they don't, the selection of a new maiden is...random."

"Only women?" Ben asked. "That does make sense. Maiden wouldn't befit a guy, honestly..."

"There is somewhat of a...loophole," Ozpin admitted, "The last person in a previous Maiden's thoughts...may very well be the person who takes their life."

"So, what you're saying is...Cass could've killed a Maiden?" Weiss asked. "Who was the last maiden?!"

"It depends. As with the story you've heard, there are always four. Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter."

"Any differentiation between which is which? There's a chance that Cass could've been any of them." Ben said.

"Unfortunately no," Ozpin admitted, "though sometimes individual Maidens will favor one element of nature over others."

"...okay, then I'll ask this- which Maiden most recently died?" Ruby said.

"...Fall." Ozpin said, looking down from the others. "It...it was Fall."

"...so, Cass is the Fall Maiden." Ruby frowned.

"No...someone else..stole that power. Someone you and Mr. Tennyson fought the night of Beacon's fall."

"...Cinder."

"Okay, but...what does that mean, exactly?" Ben said.

Perhaps...that one is best explained for later. Ozpin hummed, as he returned control back to Oscar.

"Um..." Oscar said, suddenly being thrown back into the driver seat. "He...said he'll explain later."

"...did he REALLY switch out?" Min asked.

"Whatever." Kevin huffed. "We got what we needed."

"Sorry if I wasn't able to get you the full picture, guys...I dunno why Ozpin did that..." Oscar said.

"Then let's talk to someone who DOES have some idea…" Ben said, standing up. "Who's up for a meeting with the general?"


Blake groaned, as she slowly came to. What happened? She remembered...being ambushed and...now, she was awakening to find herself trapped in a cage and her wrists bound by rope. She looked around- Blonko was still knocked out, and she noticed the bandits from earlier that took her. One of them was drinking, while the other noticed the Faunus waking up.

The bandit grinned. "Well, well, well, look who's awake."

Blake shook her head. "Wha... What's going on? Where am I? Where's Yang and Ceres?!"

A voice chuckled. "You know... I never thought I'd see a Belladonna in this camp."

"A-ah! Vernal!?" The drinking bandit was caught off guard. The two bandits suddenly stood at attention. Vernal walks over to the cage, holding the Proto Tool in her hand. Blake stood up, while her captor admired Blonko's weapon.

"What do you want?" Blake asked, glaring daggers at Vernal.

"Straight to the point. Typical Belladonna." Vernal sighed. "If only that worked for your daddy's failed movement."

Blake could've snapped her neck with her legs.

"So, what, is this human trafficking?" Blake said.

"Eh, the Crown isn't really above ground anymore. Trafficking isn't our usual style either, " one of the bandits corrected.

Vernal spun the Prototool around. "But...this IS ransom."

"And how much, may I ask, is our net worth?" Blake looked over to see Blonko, wide awake and angry. "I know someone who would gladly pay that..."

"Cute. You think this is about money." Vernal said. "Honestly, I wish it was. Can't believe THIS is how she wants to get her attention..."

"Her? Are you in kahoots with Salem?" Blonko demanded.

"Kahoots?" Vernal repeated.

"I try to keep a verbose vocabulary." Blonko said.

"...uh, no." Vernal said. "This is alllll about the chieftain meeting her stupid kid or whatever." Blonko and Blake didn't follow. The confused looks on their faces annoyed Vernal. "It's about blondie, you idiots! We're trying to get Blondie to come to us so that the chief can talk with her!"

"Yang's...mother?" Blonko repeated. Blake suddenly recalled some words she exchanged with Yang, a year back-

Yang looked up at the ceiling. "I really haven't thought of my mom in a while. And with good reason. I want to blame her for this arm but...deep down, it's my own fault."

Blake bawled up her fists. "This is pathetic. If this is the way you want to get her attention, it's just sad."

Vernal frowned. "It's sad- you would've fit in well around here. But, you would've run off...just like the last group, right?"

Blake REALLY could've snapped her neck then and there.

"Well, sit tight." Vernal said, pushing the two of them back on the ground. "You two will be here for a LOOOONG time...and you two." Vernal turned to the other two bandits. They tensed up. "The boss wants a word..." She motioned for them to follow her, as they gulped and walked off...probably to never be seen again.

(Or just really spooked.)

Blonko grumbled. "This does not bode well."

"Tell me about it," Blake huffed.

Blonko looked at Blake. "What did that lady mean by 'Yang's mom'? Does she lead this group?"

"Why are you asking me?" Blake asked.

"You are Yang's girlfriend and partner. Is it not uncommon for people that close to share their vulnerabilities and fears?" Blonko asked.

Blake took a deep breath. "Fine...but what's said in here, don't go around repeating it. Okay?"

"I will keep my promises." Blonko nodded.

"From what Yang told me, her mom...is an enigma that evaded her. She abandoned her at a young age." Blake said. "And...we're just stuck in her clutches because she misses her daughter or something."

"Or she wants to sell her out to Salem..." Blonko suggested.

"Doubtful. If she wanted to sell her out to Salem, we'd be dead." Blake said.

Blonko huffed loudly. "This is the most inane and time wasting kidnapping I have ever seen. I am thoroughly miffed."

"Woah, expressive...language there." Blake said, "I thought you'd be calm about this."

"I would be, had I not had plans later..." Blonko pouted.

"...plans?" Blake said, a bit confused. "What kinda plans do you-"

"I...was to do monitor duty. With Lev." Blonko said.

"I wouldn't be so bummed about THAT, Blonko." Blake joked. "Monitor duty is so boring, what could you-"

Blonko turned a bit red. "Because...Lev and I...may have something going on."

Blake paused in her jeering and blinked. "...come again?"

"There is this...odd bond between the both of us." Blonko explained. "And...I am wishing to explore it further. I feel something special may come of it."

"...like, romantically?" Blake asked.

"It could be." Blonko shrugged.

"I never thought you were...gay." Blake said. "Or even interested in pursuing a relationship at all, honestly."

"Now, whatever gave you that impression?" Blonko joked.


Ironwood quietly looked over the paperwork on his desk, tapping his pen on the desk as he read. It was a boring document, but being a headmaster and general tended to have some boring moments.

...at least, until now. Ironwood heard the sound of the door to his office slide open. He looked up from the document and saw Oscar and the Outcasts enter save for Yang, Blonko, Blake, and Ceres.

"I take it that something happened?" Ironwood asked, putting the pen down.

"Why didn't you tell us about the Maidens?" Ruby asked, stepping forward.

"How do you know abou-" the general started.

"Ozpin told us." Weiss explained.

"Of course he did..."

"We fought two maidens- you didn't think to inform us about their existence?" Ben frowned. "I almost died because one of them!"

"There...were times I wanted to tell you. None of them seemed...good, though. After all, you were all still reeling from the god revelation...as was I, honestly."

"Yeah, but the Maidens are literally TAME compared to Gods wiping out all life on Earth." Kevin frowned.

"It still didn't seem wise to drop ANOTHER bombshell like that. Doesn't matter if it was tame or not..."

"You kids shouldn't really be yelling at him." A voice from behind said. "I should've told you all earlier." Ruby turned around to see Qrow, looking a bit upset. "But...it was still a bad move NOT to tell the kids during the story, Oz."

"Wait...you knew too?" Ruby asked.

"I was Ozpin's right hand man. I had a right to fill in the blanks, but...with you kids just going all out on missions and such...all of you were never really together. So...hard to tell you all at once." Qrow said.

"I wasn't going to keep this from you forever," Ironwood said, "There was...just never a good time. But...given that you know about the Maidens...I assume Ozpin told you everything?" the general emphasized the last word.

I said I would tell them later, James...but I suppose later is now. Ozpin mentally said.

"He told us...most of it." Ben frowned. "Which is fine, but...still. A good time to fill us in is when we need to know what we're fighting for."

"Well then, let me make up for not telling you about the Maidens...and instead, let me tell you about their purpose," Ironwood offered, "Why it's...rather dire that Salem has two of them..."

Weiss didn't like the look on Ironwood's face. "And the reason is?" She asked, afraid of the response.

"The Maidens, to put it simply, are keys."

"Keys?" Ben repeated. "To, what, the secret of all aura? Semblances? Humanity?"

"No. To the vaults beneath each academy," Ironwood said calmly.

"...come again?" Ben asked.

"Beneath each Huntsmen academy, there's a vault that can only be opened by one specific Maiden. For example, the Atlas Vault can only be opened by the Winter Maiden."

"...i-is that true? Is that why they attacked Beacon?" Ruby asked.

"Without a doubt," Ironwood said.

"Though," Ozpin said, having taken over from Oscar, "they decided to go for the hardest Vault first. I added...extra protection for the one under Beacon."

"Which was?" Ben asked. "Us?"

Ruby elbowed him in the gut.

"Actually, no. Let's just say it won't be that easy to find once you're under the school."

"Right...so, what's in the vaults?" Kevin said. "Gold? Mystic artifacts? Monsters that could bring about the apocalypse?"

"More of...a combination of the last two," Ozpin said, "the Relics."

"Salem's presumable McGuffins, I presume." Min guessed.

"If...you want to call them that. But...if she gets all four...the Brothers...will return," Ozpin said, "and we are not ready for that."

"W-wait, seriously!?" Ben gasped. "Okay, nevermind- this just changed a lot."

"You neglected THAT important detail!? WHY!?" Ruby yelled, a bit outraged.

"When I told you about the gods, I was dying, lest we forget."

"Yeah, but when a dead man spills his secrets, you SHOULD mention the REALLY, REALLY big important one!" Kevin said. "Don't die before you tell us where you buried the damn treasure!"

"Yes, like that's something one can control," Ozpin rolled his eyes, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"It's on YOU for not telling us everything, and it's especially on YOU two-" Kevin pointed a finger at Ironwood and Qrow. "For not filling us in on the blanks."

"I tried telling you everything I could...I knew time was short and it seemed...wrong to leave you in the dark," Ozpin said.

"Kid's right though...shoulda told them sooner," Qrow sighed.

"It's still a matter of trust." Ironwood said. "The kids were rather torn up when everything first went down. I was worried that if I told them at the time, some of them would break off and be walking around with that knowledge...could be fair game for kidnapping."

"While Salem wouldn't have learned anything new, there are plenty of others who could take advantage of that kind of knowledge. If the world doesn't know about the Relics, then no one can hunt for them. Same philosophy as to why you won't find mentions of the Maidens outside of the fairy tale," Ozpin said.

"There are threats beyond Salem. If they know, they could seriously cause some damage with the Relics." Ironwood said. "Ours included."

Ben wanted to argue, he really did. But there was at least some merit to what they were saying. He shuddered at the idea of someone like Vilgax with Relics, or worse, someone with even LESS restraint.

"What...relic does Atlas possess?" Kylie asked.

"We possess the Relic of Creation." Ironwood said. "It's a powerful relic."

"Powerful, but like all Relics, rather...finicky. The Relics have rules that are...quite specific," Ozpin added.

"What, like, summoning conditions?" Kylie asked. "Or just like, do they come out in certain circumstances?"

"A little of both. For instance, the Relic of Creation can, as the name implies, create anything the wielder asks. But, in order to get exactly what you meant you must be as detailed as possible. Blueprints, diagrams, visuals."

"Wait, so...say someone presents details to the Omnitrix." Weiss said. "Are you telling me the Relic could build that?"

"It could build Rome in a day if they have the blueprints. It can extend to anything." Ozpin said.

"What are the other three?" Ruby asked.

"Knowledge, Destruction, and Choice," Ironwood said, "Knowledge is held beneath Haven Academy, Destruction is under Shade, and Choice is under Beacon."

"Though I imagine Salem's forces getting rather frustrated, being unable to find the Vault proper." Ozpin added. "Perhaps sewing chaos in Vale was a distraction for them to find it."

"It...would make sense. Have your enemies look elsewhere while you go for the real prize." Weiss said, thinking it over.

"When Yang gets back, she's going to freak out," Ben muttered.

"Speaking of...where IS Yang, anyway?" Kevin asked.

"...they should've been back by now." Ruby said.

Ben took out his scroll to check if she had sent a text yet. Nothing. Maybe he should check in. 'Hey, we made...a lot of progress on our end. How are things going for you?' he texted.

(Yang felt her scroll buzz, but she didn't acknowledge it. She was...preoccupied with a very, very fun torture session.)

Ben gave it a few minutes, but no response.

"Ok...either she's busy or there's no signal." Ben said, trying to be optimistic.

Ironwood took a deep breath. "Why were any of you so curious about this?" Ironwood asked.

"...there's a chance I may have fought one when I was 12." Ben said.

"What?" Qrow asked.

"You...fought a Maiden...when you were TWELVE," Ozpin said.

...at this point I need to ask what Ben HASN'T fought when he was twelve. Vilgax and all. Oscar mentally said.

...touché. Oscar. Touché. Ozpin admitted.

"I mean, I had the arsenal for it." Ben shrugged.

"He really did! He was obsessed with Feedback for a good while." Ruby said. "We legit had to hold an intervention for him."

"It wasn't THAT bad..." Ben argued.

"Dude. You used Feedback to put out a fire. And you came up with the lamest excuse for it." Kevin frowned. "'Could've been an electrical fire' THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS-"

"If you saw her again, do you think you could say who she was?" Ironwood asked.

"Well...that's another thing," Ben said. "We...already figured that out."

"...who is it?" Qrow asked.

Ben paused. Should he just up and spill the beans here and now? He didn't know why, but...the idea of spilling such a secret was...useful? Something about giving away a Maiden who probably wanted jackshit to do with all of this.

"Um...well." Ben hesitated.

"Come on, out with it."

"Uh...well..." Ben looked to Ruby. "It's...a bit complicated. Because, there's a chance the person might be dead."

"And how'd you figure that?" Qrow asked, crossing his arms.

"Well...they were old." Ben lied. "Really old."

"...Kid, don't go hiding something from us after that whole argument about us keeping things from you."

"No, seriously! I'm telling the truth!" Ben said.

Ironwood sighed. "If that's the case...fine. I'm not willing to look into it. As long as you kids are informed...then I can live with that."

"Wait, really?" Rex asked. "That's it?"

"I still don't buy it. You gotta know something," Qrow said.

Ruby shook her head. "Ben thought it was a dream until today. Seriously."

Qrow sighed, reluctantly leaving it there, "Fine."

"We should probably clean up in the library." Weiss said. "Don't wanna leave a mess. Come on, guys." The group left to depart. Ben looked back at Ironwood, Qrow and Oscar one more time, before he left.


Yang gently tapped the side of the bandit's face. She didn't want to break him before the interrogation and ruin her good cop image, after all.

The bandit groaned, as his eyes slowly fluttered awake.

"There we go," Yang said, "welcome back to the land of the living."

"Ughhh...w-what..." the bandit muttered.

"Tell us what you know about what the Branwen Tribe intends to do with the kidnapped." Ceres frowned. "We've moved past this being a 'hostage' situation."

"The...kidnapped...ohhhh fuck," the bandit cursed, realizing his position, "Lemme guess...we stole your cat?" he chuckled at that. Honestly, Yang was trying her best not to smack this idiot for that one.

Ceres seized the man by the throat, her palms heating up. "That was a very, very funny joke. Will it still be funny once I melt your neck?"

The bandit gripped Ceres' arm, struggling against the chokehold.

"See...I'd NOT piss her off," Yang said, "I can only keep her at bay so much, you know."

"R-right! Not funny! Not funny at all! What? Who said that was funny?" the bandit gagged.

Ceres choked him harder. "Tell us why your leader wanted them kidnapped."

"S-she...she said...she said they were...b-bait! She never said for who! She just said 'If you see...a blonde...leave her...distract whoever else is there! I'll deal with the rest!'"

Ceres smirked. "Thank you. Now go back to sleep." Ceres choke slammed him into the ground.

"No no no no!" the bandit begged before he was knocked back out.

Ceres brushed off her hands. "Now...shall we?"

"Let's." Yang nodded. After knocking him back out, Yang remembered that she got a notice on her scroll. She took out to see that she got a text from Ben.

"Well, at least there's some more good news," Yang said.

Ceres looked at Yang, a serious look in her eyes.

"Yang." Ceres said. "About the leader of the Branwen tribe. She doesn't happen to be..."

"...yeah. She is," Yang said, not even needing her to finish the sentence. "It's a long, complicated story that I really don't want to get into right now."

"She's an absentee parent. More than enough reason not to treat her with the utmost respect." Ceres said.

"Oh it's way more than that," Yang said, trying to keep her rage in check.

"I figured." Ceres said. "Look. I'm not gonna say 'you should make up' or 'reach out' or whatever. I don't stand for absentee parents."

"But?"

"There's no one here." Ceres said.

"Oh...sounded like there would be one...nevermind." Yang brushed it off a bit awkwardly.

"I don't have patience for cunts like that. Come on. She took my partner." Ceres said, as she got on her motorbike.

"And she's gonna fucking pay for it." Yang said as she got hers. The motors revved to life and the two sped off to find the bandits' main camp.

Raven knew the second that she could hear engines, that Yang and Ceres had found her hideout. That didn't take long.

"Impressive." She said to no one in particular. "Faster than I thought." Raven wasn't even really disturbed by their arrival and started to get ready for a meeting that was long overdue.

Yang parked her bike at the front of the gate and took a deep breath. "Alright...here goes."

The two guards out front looked at eachother, trying to decide whether or not they should attack these two.

Ceres pulled up next to Yang, and frowned. "Lemme guess. They're not gonna let us through?"

"Probably not," Yang cracked her knuckles, "but that's fine. We don't need an escort."

Ceres' fists lit up. "I couldn't agree more."

The two guards saw that and...admittedly they were concerned. There was a silent argument between the two about who should strike first, but it was rendered moot when one of them suddenly got a hard right hook to the face, slamming them into the wooden wall surrounding the camp.

Ceres and Yang stormed in- Yang had to admit, that was a very 'superhero rescue' moment from her. Blake's ears perked up, as she looked over.

"Is something happening?" Blonko asked.

"Yeah...cavalry's here." Blake said.

"Then there is no need to pretend to be sitting swans anymore." Blonko said, focusing Revonnah Kai into his body.

The bandits that were guarding them got from their seats after sharing a look with each other. They grabbed a hold of their crude weapons and stormed out to aid the others in the defense. But before they could get too far, they were suddenly knocked off their feet by an explosion of wood and metal from behind them. They weren't hit by any debris, it was just the sheer force of the blow that tipped them over.

Blonko shook his fist a little. "That felt like it was excessive..."

"...I think it was fine." Blake said.

"Shit!" one of the bandits quickly spun around, still laying on the ground and he took aim with his rifle. He fired off a few shots at Blake, but she didn't seem affected by the bullets. That confused him...until Blake vanished. A sudden kick to the grounded bandit's head took him out of the fight before it really began.

"We need to locate our weapons." Blake said.

"Agreed," Blonko said. "I do not want to think about how they could have mishandled them." With that, the two began their search.

Back in the camp proper, another bandit was thrown into the wooden defense wall, dropping his sword to the ground with a clatter. Quite a number of the bandits were already down before Yang and Ceres, but they just kept coming. To their credit, the bandits weren't just going in one at a time like idiots. They WERE trying to overwhelm the two with numbers. But when going up against a pissed off but focused Xiao Long and an equally furious Archimedean? Numbers were irrelevant.

Vernal stepped into Raven's tent. "Raven." She said, her voice serious. "Your daughter took the bait."

Raven finished sipping her tea, and sighed. "Good."

She set her drink down and rose from her seat, grabbing Omen on the way out of her tent. Everything was going well so far. Now for her moment of truth. She prepared to walk out the door, when she stopped. Raven's eyes slowly moved over to her mask.

"...Vernal." Raven said. "This is the first time I've met with my daughter in years. Should I...maybe..."

"Personally? Forget the mask on this one. Don't think she'll be happy to see you, but…" Vernal shrugged.

Raven closed her eyes. "Of course." She put her hand on her weapon, as she walked outside to see Yang, glaring daggers at her.

Raven was about to say something, but Yang spoke before she could even open her mouth.

"Where are they?" Yang demanded.

Raven closed her eyes. "I'm sure they've escaped by now. Maybe you missed them." Raven said.

Sure enough, around the time that Raven said, two more bandits were thrown to the ground. One had been slammed in the face with a shield-bash while the other had been simply thrown.

"No, no, no ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" The bandit screamed before he hit the ground with a thud.

"Almost like I had that planned." Raven muttered to herself. Blake and Blonko walked back out, their weapons recovered. Blake and Blonko said nothing as they rejoined the group.

Blake stared at Raven- so, this was Yang's estranged mother. It wasn't hard to see the resemblance. When Blonko and Blake joined up with Yang and Ceres, they were expecting the bandits to rush them again. They almost went on the offensive themselves when Raven drew Omen. At this point, Yang had no qualms with fighting her. But then something unexpected happened. With Omen drawn, Raven held out the blade and made a sweeping motion, which to the bandits apparently meant "stand down."

"If they can go through the lot of you like a hole puncher does paper, then I don't think I can trust you all to test their strength." Raven said.

"...are you serious?" Yang frowned. As the bandits lowered their weapons, Raven looked to Yang and the others and sheathed her sword suddenly.

"All of you, come with me." Raven said.

"I'm not going anywhere with you." Yang said coldly.

"I want to talk. And I'd prefer to keep the conversation private."

"Give me one good reason why I should listen."

"Because...I'm going to tell you the truth behind this war." Raven said.

Yang froze.

"...fine."

Inside of Raven's tent, the group was seated around a decently sized wooden table. The place was dimly lit, and it fit the style of a bandit leader. Rugs had been placed out on the floor to give it a more "homey" feel (if anything about a bandit camp could be called that anyway). A collection of feathers hung off of a large weave-wall to the right of the table. Seems that, even after all this time, Raven still liked to keep to the bird theme. Behind the group, a clock could be heard ticking away, being the only other sound in the room for a few tense moments. Vernal poured cups of tea for Raven, Yang, Ceres, Blonko and Blake. Mats had been set out for them before the table instead of chairs. Guess they didn't have any.

Yang sat down on the ground, as Raven sat in front of her. The others soon gathered, as they patiently waited for Raven to speak.

...they waited. Yang didn't want to.

"So? What's the stupid truth?" Yang said.

Raven didn't answer immediately. Instead, she first took a sip of the tea and sighed.

"It's better when it's hot, you know," the bandit matriarch said, like she hadn't just staged an elaborate kidnapping.

"You're right. All the more reason I should just pour the hot tea on your lap." Blake said. Everyone was a bit taken aback, but...considering Blake HAD been kidnapped? She had a right to be angry.

"If that's the way you treat your hosts," Raven didn't even finish the sentence. The poorly veiled insult was easy to see to everyone in the room.

"I thought you were gonna tell us the truth," Ceres said, "Not just talk about tea..."

"I would much like to know the truth. You are most certainly trying my patience." Blonko said, in a low, calm voice.

Yang knew that Blonko was ready to snap.

Raven put down her cup. "'Truth' is a funny thing...isn't it? A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else. I'm sure that, by now, Ozpin's told you plenty of stories. Maybe even asked you what your favorite fairy tale is..."

"Yeah. When he told us about Salem. Said a majority of those stories were real." Ceres said.

"He never mentioned the story of The Circle, did he? Or the Infinite Man?"

"...the Infinite Man?" Blonko asked.

"Long ago, a magical man known as "The Infinite Man" traveled a lonely journey, going from town to town saving people from the creatures of Grimm." Raven said. "During one of his fights, the Infinite Man passed out from exhaustion after slaughtering the Grimm, being given a chance to recover by the townsfolk. When he awoke, a young girl pointed out that he seemed to be magic, as no Dust was as powerful as the Infinite Man had shown to be. Reluctantly, he admitted to being immortal and a being with magical powers, and to his dismay gathering a small following as he tried to sneak out of the town."

"...that has to be Ozpin." Blake said.

"It is. Or rather, was."

Yang didn't like the way Raven emphasized that last word.

"As the group began to rescue those in peril, word traveled fast about its existence, with more and more people wishing to join. Over time, and much to the Infinite Man's chagrin, they adopted the name The Circle and began to master Aura and Semblances. They knew of a threat far greater than any mortal man, far more ruthless than any normal Grimm. And I'm sure you can figure what that threat was." Raven paused to take a drink.

"Salem herself." Ceres frowned. "So, what, they charged at Salem and died?"

"Not...exactly." Raven said. "As morbid and possible as that is, the group self-destructed on itself...like a slow domino effect."

"One of them was...curious. They had heard that the Infinite Man was immortal, that he would always return...and they wanted to test that. So, out of curiosity, they became the Circle's very own Judas. They poisoned the Infinite Man, but escaped the justice of the other members. As he lay dying, the Infinite Man told the girl who inspired others to follow him...to let him die," Raven went on, "He said 'I am just a man...and not even a very good one.'"

Upon hearing those words, the four had the uncomfortable flashback of seeing Ozpin, on his deathbed after Beacon's fall, sharing his secrets with them all.

"Sounds familiar, doesn't it? It took a few years for the man to return, and a few decades for the place he reluctantly built to fall apart..." Raven said. Despite how angry they were at Raven, they were invested in the story. They just didn't let that show.

"Stories spread far and wide about the Infinite Man, drawing more and more people to the group, and the newly built town the Circle had made in honor of their leader. Those who joined were trained, becoming as close to gods as normal people could get. But, like I said, it crumbled around him. Warriors raided the settlement, led by a woman wielding blades infused with gravity and lightning Dust. She had one goal in mind: to face a god. The Infinite Man tried to talk her down, saying that gods were not as infallible as she thought. She refused to hear it, and so they clashed. Even during the fight, he asked her a simple question: did someone send you? She didn't answer. That was all he needed. The fight could've gone on for...hours and so, in an effort to minimize collateral...he made the mistake of choosing to die."

"...so, what. You're saying we're the same as the Circle? That we're just gonna repeat the same crap over and over again?" Ceres said. "The hell does that have to do with the war?!"

"So, you're not going to question how many other 'Circles' there have been over the years? How many people have joined up with him? Even if he had all these allies, surely he'd call on them. And he hasn't...I wonder why."

"...what does this have to do with the war?" Yang asked quietly.

"I'm saying it's just a cycle they keep going. You're just the latest iteration. Even when Beacon was still up and running, it was just another repeat. Constant attention from Ozpin, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever you happen to break the rules and get into more trouble than you should've." Raven said.

"...it happened to you." Ceres said.

"It happened with all of STRQ." Raven corrected her. "We were the next in line."

"...and your point?" Yang asked.

"My point is this. Ozpin's told you so much about himself, told you about some of his failures. But he's never told you about the worst ones. He still has so many secrets he's keeping close to his chest."

Raven paused for a moment.

"Do you even know what he's done to me?" Raven asked. "To give me and my brother an 'edge'?"

Yang shared a look with Blake. What was she talking about?

"...no?" Ceres said.

"Well then...better to show than tell."

Raven smiled. She stood up, and walked outside of the tent.

Vernal followed her, not even motioning for the others to follow, it was just expected of them. Not even really having a choice, the four followed the two bandits out of the tent. Except, when they exited the tent, only Vernal was standing there.

"Where did..." Blonko asked, looking around the camp.

"Look up."

Vernal jabbed her thumb to the sky, where the group saw a bird flying overhead. Yang's eyes narrowed.

It was a raven.

"Wait..." Yang said. Soon, everyone's eyes, save Vernal's, widened in shock as they saw the bird suddenly descend, like it was about to dive bomb them. As it reached the ground and curved back up, the bird's form suddenly shifted. In the blink of an eye, the raven's form shifted from a bird...to a human. Raven landed and skid across the ground, dust rising up from the ground as she came to a halt in front of her guests.

"You can...turn into a bird?" Blake asked.

"A...raven no less." Blonko said. 'Fitting."

"Ozpin saw a theme and went with it." Raven responded. "He 'gifted' me and Qrow the same power."

"What tactical use would that even serve you?" Blake said.

"Easy to miss. Unsuspecting. Fast travel." Ceres listed off. "Ozpin knew you two were special..."

"He made some joke about Odin, too. Huginn and Munin..." Raven said.

"So...what now? We are supposed to question everything Ozpin does?" Blonko asked.

"Not everything. I just don't want you following him blindly. We did...look where it got us."

"...you kidnapped my friends just to warn us about Ozpin? He's the least of our worries right now." Yang said. "You couldn't visit Ben and do that?"

"...what?" Raven asked. She wasn't ready for that one. Yang knew about that?

"Ben told me. He's pretty sure your little fight with him wasn't so much a dream." Yang said.

"...and if it wasn't?"

"Then I guess you didn't get your electricity absorbed by Feedback." Yang frowned.

"If it happened, it was probably Dust," Raven shrugged.

"Not from the way he described it."

"Well, he's never taken a closer look at Omen, either, has he?"

"He said it was a red blade, able to use Dust within the holster that can give your blade a variety of effects." Yang said.

"Maybe he misremembered then." Raven deflected. Yang didn't believe her, something was wrong. Raven just kept trying to deflect it, saying Ben got something wrong. She was hiding something.

"Kevin said you appeared to him as well. You wanted him to relay a message to me, and then...you got all creepy." Yang frowned. "I heard he chewed you out."

Raven went silent at that.

"So, I guess my question is...why even bother with me if you're not gonna talk to me? Why talk to people close to ME and not me, the person you birthed?" Yang said. "Your own fucking flesh and blood?"

Raven just stayed silent, but the air around her that seemed to run cold indicated that there was something more than just simple annoyance.

"...why did you visit them, mom?" Yang asked quietly. The mood in the air was tense.

"...maybe she just wanted to talk to apexes. Someone who could actually keep up with the brats." Vernal interjected.

Wrong words.

"Vernal..." Raven said, her voice was cold, with barely contained fury.

"What? I'm right, aren't I? Hell, with the way you trained me, I could probably take 'im. Blondie probably can only barely land a hit."

Yang's eyes turned dark red. "Say that again." Her mind was going back to the battle with Cinder...

"You had to fix up your precious daughter after she took on a big bad maiden...pathetic. No wonder she carries your husband's name. Weak. Just. Like. Him." Vernal taunted.

"Vernal," Raven warned, "Say one more w-" But she never got to finish her thought. Yang just threw a punch at Raven's second, who managed to quickly draw one of her blades and block it.

"Not fast enough, kid." Vernal grinned.

"Never said I'd hit you with this arm." Yang snarled, as the "skin" around her hand began to wrap around Vernal's weapon. Vernal gasped, as Yang smashed into her face with her other arm.

"Enough!" Raven yelled, drawing Omen with a red blade and stabbing it into the ground. A burst of fire from the ground forced the brawler and the bandit apart before their second round could truly begin. "Vernal Branwen, you will not claim superiority over my daughter...not now. Learn your place and learn when to speak, because right now I am very close to doing something I know I will regret!"

"Oh don't tell m-"

Vernal shut up as soon as Raven started to glare daggers at her.

"As for you...maybe it's time for you four to leave," Raven sighed.

"Yeah." Yang said, clenching her fist. "You're absolutely right."

Raven simply sheathed her blade and stepped aside, letting the four walk out. If any of the other bandits had thoughts of attacking the group on their way out, they kept them in check. Pissing off Raven right now would no doubt end in a death sentence.

Ceres, Blake and Blonko looked at Yang, who was quiet and silent the entire walk back to their rides. Ceres wanted to say "she deserved it", but...part of her knew it was the worst thing to say.

Blake held onto Yang's hand. Yang didn't return the hand holding. Blake was fine with that.

Yang simply hopped back onto her bike when they reached it and started getting her helmet on, ready to ride out. Though, before she did, she checked her Scroll. She got a call earlier and never answered. Didn't hurt to check to see who it was.

It was Ben.

She'd call him later.

Actually, no, she'd just talk to him when she got back. Maybe the ride would help calm her down, because right now, she could go for punching a hole through an Ursa's chest for some easy catharsis.

Blake got on the back of the motorcycle. She paused for a few moments. Ceres and Blonko got on their ride, and shared an uneasy look with Blake.

The faunus shared their concern. When they got back, and when she and Yang had some time alone, she would talk with Yang.

But, for now...all Blake decided that was best was for...her to just hold on to Yang tight.

She needed a hug.

Yang did seem to relax a little when she felt Blake's arms wrap around her waist, but for now, she was focused on driving home.

Raven watched her daughter go, a mask on her face.

...it was the only thing that could hide her tears well enough.


It took a while, but eventually, the group of four were back in the familiar, skyscraper-line urban sprawl of Atlas. The ride hadn't done much for Yang's mood, something that caught everyone's attention when the other members of RWBY and Zeta saw her again. Ben was in the middle of asking how it went before he caught himself.

Yang's foul mood screamed a lot of things- Ben knew the feeling. Maybe they should wait to exchange news, when Yang doesn't look like she wants to murder someone.

Ruby was concerned, but she felt like asking Yang about what happened was...well, not the smartest move right now.

"Um...Blake? Is...Yang ok?" Ruby asked.

"...no." Blake said quietly.

"...oh." Ruby said, her face falling a bit.

"I'll...I'll try talking to her, but...let's just say our trip...didn't go as planned."

"Our search didn't either...just not in the way we expected."

"You found something?"

"Yeaaaaaah...'something.' Look, we'll talk when everything is sorted out, okay?" Ruby said. "I want Yang to be in the right mind when we share everything."

"Right, sorry..." Blake looked over to Yang. The blonde sighed, realizing she wasn't gonna really improve her mood doing nothing, and walked off. She need to get her mind off of...all of that.

Yang threw a punch, shattering another of the hardlight Grimm she'd been fighting in the training room. The program came to an end before she called out, "Again!" The program reset, spawning in the same group of Grimm, a pack of Beowolves led by an Alpha. Could she have gone for a more challenging program? Absolutely, and she has in the past. But Yang didn't want a challenge right now. She wanted a punching bag, an outlet. The Grimm rushed in as they always did and the brawler set to tearing through them again.

Another heavy haymaker shattered the beast like glass. "AGAIN!" Yang yelled, as another came charging at her, unintentionally resigning to its fate.

The Grimm kept charging her, rushing headlong to their fate. Time after time, Grimm after Grimm, and it was just more of the same. How many times had she run this program? She wasn't even keeping count.

Blake was watching Yang go at it from the observation deck at the end of the room. Yang could tell she was being watched, but it didn't affect her. She blocked the swing of a holographic Beowolf with her gauntlet before going for a sweeping kick, knocking its legs out from under it. She threw a punch and fired a shotgun blast into its chest. If the creature was real, ribs would be snapped and it wouldn't be getting back up.

Yang huffed and puffed a few more times, as she slumped down to the ground. She kept her head low, trying to hide her sobs.

Why? Why was Raven the polar opposite of Summer Rose?

A small part of her yearned for Raven to be as caring and nurturing as the long deceased Summer. She missed her everyday, and she hated that...

She hated how Raven just...existed.

Blake wanted to say something, but she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll talk to her." Qrow Branwen said.

Blake wanted to say something, but Qrow simply moved down to the training room floor. Blake wanted to follow, be there in case Yang needed her, which...she really did right now. The door to the training room slid open, the holographic Grimm had vanished, leaving just Yang and Qrow.

"Hey, kid," Qrow said softly as he walked over to her.

"...I met Raven." Yang said quietly.

"I heard." Qrow said, as he sat down next to Yang.

"She..." the blonde tried to say, "I..." She couldn't find the words. She just had so much on her mind, all this anger, all of it directed at Raven. How could she even begin to put it into words?

"I don't see my sister very often, but she does try to keep in touch... whenever it suits her." Qrow said. "I don't enjoy our talks. We just end up arguing each and every time. I honestly prayed you and Ruby wouldn't end up like us..."

"We didn't..." she paused for a moment before sighing, "I...I wasn't expecting anything, when we went out there. You know? I knew we weren't getting a warm welcome...she ambushed us. Had her...lieutenant? I guess? kidnap Blake and Blonko...all so she could TALK to me."

"That's how she grabs attention. She makes you come to her when it's serious." Qrow said. "Or she sends her messengers...but, they don't last long when they make it back."

"This one wasn't...normal. Special weapons...crescent knives. Better fighter than the others too, she held her own against me and Ceres."

"Vernal..." Qrow huffed. "Her latest second in command...those guys don't last long, no matter how tough they are. The Branwen Tribe tends to be more brutal than most hunter associations- hell, I'd just call them an assassination guild at this point. Or a suicide guild."

"...how long do the leaders last, then?" Yang sighed.

"They're the exception. They're brutal and unforgiving. They don't look back at their decisions. Especially your mother." Qrow frowned.

"Obviously... She told me...y'know. About...about what Ozpin did for you two."

"...the bird stuff. Yeah." Qrow frowned. "Not too fond of it, but...it has its perks."

"She...she also...told us more on Oz...you guys...when you were all students, you got the same treatment we did. Extra missions and all...and she told us...about a story Oz might've...inspired. Maybe he lived it..."

"...The Infinite Man." Qrow said.

"...so it's true." Yang said. "We're a part of a modern day circle."

"...I don't know. Maybe we are. Maybe we're the ones to finally break it. That's what she thought."

"...regardless...I can't walk away now." Yang said. "There's a whole story involving the people I love, a kind old man that was taken too soon...and a whole mystery with what Salem really wants with the Corrodium."

"I know, kid. But...I don't think I was clear. When I said that's what she thought, I didn't mean Raven."

"Then...who..."

"Summer. And, I know that...if she was here, she'd tell ya to go for it. Find out what that bitch wants...and stop it."

Yang smiled a bit. "Thanks, uncle Qrow."

"You're welcome, firecracker." The Branwen brother smirked, ruffling Yang's hair a bit. "Now...I think there's someone else who wants to see ya. Got her all worried about ya up there, y'know."

"...Yeah." Yang said, as she got back up. She wiped away some remaining tears, and walked towards Blake.

As soon as she saw Yang get up, Blake raced down from the observation platform to meet up. Once she was there, she ran and immediately pulled Yang into a hug.

Yang hugged back, quietly stroking Blake and telling her everything was okay. She was fine.

"If you need to talk later," Blake started.

"I know. I know," Yang smiled.

"But...for now. We...really need to swap info with Ben...sounds like they found out something big..."

"Well, at least they had more luck than we did."


"...Vaults?" Yang asked.

"Hiding Relics that...well, count as superweapons if Salem got a hold of them," Ben said.

"If it's an open secret amongst the other members, why not inform us?" Blake asked. "Not like we can open the vaults and hide them..."

"They were worried that, if they told us sooner, we might leave...and just knowing about the Relics would make us targets," Weiss explained, "Not just for Salem. If anyone got a hold of that knowledge and, let's say they didn't believe in gods...it sounds like they could accidentally start the apocalypse."

"Did they say what the Relics were? LIke, to ballpark how strong these things are?" Ceres asked.

"They only explained Creation."

"They said it could actually build Rome in a day if you had a diagram of the city," Ruby said, "And more it sounded like."

"Imagine what kind of things Salem could build with that if she was given the powers of it..." Kylie shivered.

"Destruction sounds obvious. Knowledge as well. What power would Choice give?" Blonko asked.

"No idea...but if it's on the same level as the other three? I don't wanna know," Kevin said.

"What's the one under Haven?" Ben asked.

"Knowledge," Weiss said, "But there is somewhat of a silver lining. The Relics have rules, apparently."

"That's something..." Ben said. "I get why they'd hide it, but...we're in so deep already..."

"And then they throw us another curveball..." Yang sighed, "Great."

"We've had enough curveballs thrown, honestly..." Kevin groaned. "I need a break."

"I've had to come to terms with a million other things today, and I am exhausted..." Min yawned.

"That makes two of us," Yang said.

"...I'm just gonna head to bed..." Ben yawned.

"...it's 8 PM." Ruby said.

"And mentally, it's 3 AM. Come on." Ben said, stumbling away.

"Honestly, sleep sounds good right now." Yang smirked.

"It does, honestly..." Blake said. Who knows? Maybe she'd even ask Yang if she could cuddle up with her, help comfort her after today.

She deserved it.


Heyyyyyy, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review, I need validation