[Earlier that day, around 5pm]
The doors were kicked open, soon revealing Yang as the one barging into a bandit camp. A few of the bandits had attempted to attack her, but she simply punched them down or knocked them away with her weapon. The brawler noticed more bandits lining up along the path, giving angry glares or fearful glances at her.
Vernal stepped out of her tent to see what the commotion was about. The false maiden looked more confused and even a bit horrified.
No… it can't be… She looks like Raven, but not…
From another corner, Lily emerged too, looking angry at the intruder.
Who is this punk and what does she want?
Yang soon arrived at the camp's main tent. Raven emerged from it with her mask on.
"What's all the ruckus?"
Under the mask, Raven appeared surprised at seeing her daughter.
"Mom."
Raven removed her mask. "Yang." And surprisingly smiled at her daughter. "So, after all this time you finally decided to visit me."
Yang felt her left hand shaking once again, but she used her robotic hand to calm it down, hoping no one would notice her pain.
"You know that I searched for you. I spent years looking for you."
"And you've found me. You were patient, determined, and strong enough to make your dream a reality. Well done, Yang." She briefly frowned. "But did you have to be so rough with my followers?"
Yang scowled. "I didn't want a fight. They started it."
"Well, you certainly finished it."
A tense moment of silence passed between them.
"I'm sure this is all very overwhelming. But I must admit that you've proven yourself. So any questions you have I'll be happy to answer. You can stay with us tonight. I'll even have the cooks whip up something for you."
Yang told her, "That's not why I am here."
The bandits were surprised with Yang's irreverence.
"What was that?"
"I'm not here for you. I'm here for answers, and for my sister." Yang affirmed. "Ruby is somewhere in Mistral with Qrow, and she's going to need my help. I just need you to take me to her."
"And why would I do that?"
"Because we're family."
Raven scowled, muttering to herself, "Family. Only coming around when they need something." She spoke clearly again, "I have to say, I'm disappointed. After all, you found me, didn't you? Why not take that drive and use it to find your little sister if she means that much to you?"
"Because you're going to save me time and give me the answers no one else can." the blonde brawler began. "Ruby was heading to Mistral, but there's no guarantee she made it there. Looking for her in Anima could take ages. But... Dad told me how your Semblance works."
The fallen huntress spoke under her breath, "Tai…"
"You can bond to certain people. And when you do, you could create a portal that takes you straight to them." she explained. "You've got one for Dad. One for me. And you've got one for Qrow. He promised me he would find Ruby and watch over her before he left. And I trust him."
"You know, it takes real strength to march in here and demand such a favor of me. I'm impressed. It's very noble to want to help out your sister. But if she's with Qrow, then she's already a lost cause."
"What does that mean?"
"You don't want to get mixed up in all of that, Yang. Ozpin is not the man you think he is. And Qrow is a fool for trusting him. I would know, I trusted him once, too."
Yang glared at her mother, her calmness beginning to crack. "Why should I care what you think?"
"Your choice is your own. All I'm suggesting is that instead of getting wrapped up in something too big for you, for any of us, that maybe you take a moment to wonder if you're already where you belong."
"Save your breath. You can spout off whatever you want, but nothing is going to keep me from my sister."
"Well, aren't you stubborn?"
"I get it from my mom." Her eyes turned red with rage. "I said send me to Qrow, damn it!"
"That's enough!" one of the bandits ordered. "You watch your mouth in front of our leader!"
Some of the bandits tensed up.
"You also said you wanted answers, but really, you're asking a lot of me." Raven remarked.
With her eyes still red, Yang proposed a challenge. "Let me fight you, and if I defeat you, you'll take me to Qrow, and by extension my sister."
"Very well."
Seems you're still impulsive… Raven thought.
Raven got out Omen as Yang readied Ember Celica.
Vernal interjected. "Wait!"
All eyes turned to her.
"You shouldn't have to fight her." She soon added, "Also, it would be unwise to risk attracting Grimm to the area when there is a better solution."
Raven sighed, releasing some of her anger. "You have a point." A brief pause of silence passed before she turned to Yang, her eyes now back to lilac. "Very well. Come into my tent, and we can discuss this over tea."
She entered her tent, and after a sigh, Yang and a quiet Vernal followed.
Meanwhile, Raven's brother had been soaring through the sky for quite a while. The sun slowly set, its light reflecting into Qrow's eyes, forcing him to dive a bit lower in an attempt to avoid being blinded.
Damn it, this sun is blinding. Thankfully I'm faster as a bird than I am as a human. I should hopefully be there soon.
Eventually, his avian eyes detected a village from down below.
There it is. The village of Zephyros.
As he gradually descended, he noticed some of the many, many flowers growing around him and being sold by florists. He saw and/or smelled sunflowers, roses, peonies, yarrow and honeysuckle.
The Festival of Flowers is still going strong it seems. But I have no time to partake in celebrations. Not when Haven Academy is on the line.
Citizens went out and about their daily lives, purchasing flowers and other goods. In the background, Belle was shown selling more of her baked goods to customers, with a black haired, green eyed woman waiting in line.
He also picked up on certain conversations as he landed to rest on a nearby tree branch.
"So… I heard Haven has closed down." a man remarked. "Think that'll affect us?"
"I have no idea. I mean… we'll probably be fine though."
Hmm… Should I remain in bird form and listen to gossip, or should I start asking around in hopes that someone knows where she is?
He tried to remember Anastasia's appearance. Red hair, usually worn in a bun or sometimes a ponytail, blue eyes, a look of tiredness, and usually black or dark gray attire in the last few years.
Anastasia is likely to have been home for at least a while...
The two men left, leaving Qrow all by himself.
I don't remember anything about her family though… Said to have an older sister, mom and dad… Maybe a little sister too?
She looked closer at the black haired woman in line.
She looks a little like Anastasia… could that be her sister?
He got up from the branch, and saw the similarities between them, their facial features, the same long noses and eyebrow shape.
She took a bag of baked goods and went on her merry way. Qrow ascended above the buildings and followed her from a distance.
I know this isn't the most ethical situation, but desperate times call for desperate measures…
He looked down below at the woman, hoping she would guide him to the huntress.
[cue music- Meghan Trainor ft. Teddy Swims- Bad for Me]
Back at the Branwen Bandit Tribe camp, Yang looked at her mother and (somewhat reluctantly) sat down at a table. Vernal poured cups of tea for herself, Raven Branwen and Yang Xiao Long. They were all inside Raven's tent with the three seated around a table.
Raven looked at her trusted ally. "Thank you."
"So, what's the 'truth'?" Yang asked after a moment of silence.
Vernal took a sip of tea. "You know, it's better when it's hot."
"The truth is that "truth" is hard to come by." Raven answered. "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."
"He's never given me a reason to doubt him before." Yang responded.
"That doesn't mean those reasons don't exist." She glared at her mother, but Raven continued. "You know, you and your teammates might as well have been 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."
Yang finished a sip of tea. "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."
Yang gasped at this, hesitating.
No... that can't be true... is it?
"Daddy and Uncle left that part out, hm?" Raven poured more tea for herself. "Aside from the Grimm, Huntsmen were the only ones capable of ruining our raids and hunting us down. Our tribe needed a counterforce." She took another sip. "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 the whole of Team STRQ he was interested in."
"What do you mean by that?"
[chorus]
"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?" she posed.
Yang looked at the steam coming up from her untouched cup. "Where are you going with this?"
"How much do you know about Professor Ozpin? About his past?"
"He was a prodigy, wasn't he? One of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school?" Yang questioned.
"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."
"That doesn't make any sense! How could he have done that?"
[second verse]
"Because old man Oz has a great and terrible secret." Raven warned. "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, so tell me. What's the big secret? What's so crazy that the rest of us don't know?"
Raven faltered briefly. "The Creatures of Grimm... have a master named Salem. She can't be stopped, she can't be reasoned with, and she will not rest until Humanity crumbles at her feet."
"And why should I believe any of this? You abandoned me shortly after I was born."
"So far you've done nothing but accept what others tell you," she answered, putting her teacup down. "but you need to question everything."
The two stared at each other face to face, before Raven turned around.
"If you don't, you'll end up just as blind as Qrow…" Yang gritted her teeth as Raven added, "and your fool of a father."
[chorus]
Yang slammed her right arm down, destroying the table. Raven's empty teacup clattered across the floor, stopping when it hit the heel of her boot. Raven looked toward Yang, faintly smiling. Yang's eyes turned red as anger consumed her.
"Don't you dare talk about my family like that! You don't know the first thing about my family! About me! You were never there! You LEFT US! LEFT ME!" She breathed in, seething as anger turned to sorrow. "Why?!"
She hung her head in sorrow, letting years worth of tears fall. Vernal stood, unsure what to do.
"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. You said Tai told you all about my Semblance." Raven headed toward the back exit of her tent. "Well, I doubt he ever told you what Oz did to my brother and to me."
[bridge]
She left, leaving Yang in stunned shock.
"Go see for yourself." Vernal instructed.
Vernal left. Yang took her advice and exited the tent.
"Mom?"
Damn it, what is she doing? Some kind of magic trick?
Yang continued to look around.
Come on, what are you thinking? There's no such thing as true magic…
Just then, she heard a bird caw.
A raven? I've... seen that bird before.
She continued to watch the raven fly in the dusk-colored sky. It descended, flying and weaving between the trees, before shapeshifting into Raven herself. Raven landed back on the ground on her feet, while Yang was left speechless.
"How... How did you do that?!"
"Well, I could explain it to you…" Raven drew Omen, slashing behind her, creating a portal with her Semblance. "or you could ask your uncle."
"You're letting me go?"
[final chorus]
"I'm giving you a choice." She sheathed her sword. "Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start, and, perhaps if you have my power, you can learn how to use it."
Me? Turning into a bird?
She stepped to the side of her portal. "Or… you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others."
Is this all true…? Ozpin being a liar?
"But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?"
I do want answers… Answers for the questions I've never even thought of, but…
"All I care about is making sure my sister is safe."
Raven sighed at her daughter's response. "Ugh…"
Yang mounted herself on her motorcycle. However, before she entered the portal, Raven addressed her daughter one more time.
"Yang. If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind the next time we meet…"
Yang blinked, faintly releasing small tears. "You weren't kind this time either. You never truly were…"
She proceeded through the portal on Bumblebee, the gateway soon disappearing into nothing.
"I know…"
Raven turned away, a single tear upon her face.
[music fades, 6:30pm in Zephyros]
As the music ended, the scene turned to Qrow, now in human form, standing at the door of the Chrysanthe family home in Zephyros.
"Okay, hopefully I'll have some luck here." Qrow murmured to himself.
The portal soon opened up, showing Yang slowly riding her motorcycle through.
"Yang?"
The blonde brawler looked around as the portal closed behind her. "Where's Ruby?"
Qrow was too befuddled to respond. "Well…"
At that moment, the door opened up, revealing Anastasia.
Anastasia glared at Yang. "What are you doing here?" Before glaring at Qrow. "And what do you want?"
"I.. I came to talk to you about an important matter." he began.
"Who's at the door?" Francis asked as he got out plates.
The flower huntress turned to her father. "I don't know, some huntsman and his associate?" Anastasia guessed.
Francis finished setting up the table. "Do you know what they want?"
"Not really."
"Then invite them in. I'm sure they're friendly, and we got plenty to go around."
Anastasia bit back a sigh. "Alright!" she said cheerfully to her dad. She turned back to Yang and Qrow with a sneer. "Very well. Whatever you want from me and will probably not get, perhaps we can 'discuss' this over dinner."
She turned on her heel and went back into the house, the camera focusing on the two visitors.
"Dinner?" Yang questioned.
"Time to eat!" Avril sang out from afar.
Yang and Qrow silently darted their eyes at each other, with the former appearing to be more anxious.