In the chamber where Hati and the rest of the fighters were, it had turned from a heated battle into a one sided massacre. Hati, Qrow, and Ozpin were schooling Hazel, the sole remaining fighter for Salem. Mercury was laying on the ground, legless and totally defeated. Emerald had been smashed and was probably lying behind the icebergs that Hati had conjured with the flick of a hand. Raven had tackled Cinder Fall down into the Relic room for killing Vernal.
That left Hazel defending against one of the best Huntsmen of the age in Qrow, an ancient reincarnated wizard in Ozpin, and a mystic winter wolf turned into a Faunus in Hati. In other words, Hazel was having a bad time.
Even with his massive strength, aided by his ability to metabolize dust crystals into elemental energy, Hazel was finding out quickly just how out matched he was.
"I see now why Salem was nervous about that Lennox Brat! No matter, not even he, or his spawn will keep me from my revenge!"
Hati grinned, if there was one thing he liked doing, it was proving people wrong.
"Oh really? Is that a challenge?"
Hazel raised an eyebrow at the white and blue haired teenager.
"Do you take me for a fool? I can see by the difference between you and your progenitor that you are not built for strength. Maybe he could defeat me, but not you. You are made for speed, not strength."
Hati frowned. He really didn't like to be judged on the Titan that was his Lord. Hati may be smaller, but he definitely wasn't weak. So he shifted Thunder back to its bladed Deagle form and holstered it. He cracked his knuckles and waved off both Qrow and Ozpin in Oscar's body.
"Back up Old Man, little boy Ozpin. I've got this, go check on Ruby and tell Yang to go help her mother."
Ozpin opens his mouth to protest first.
"This is my responsibility Hati, let me and me alone handle this. I do not wish for anyone else to get hurt facing my opponents. I cannot ask for you to do that."
Hati just chuckled and shook his head while effortlessly dodging Hazel's enraged punches.
"You do realize that fully half of my personality is from Y/N right?"
That caused Ozpin to pause for a moment. Before he could say anymore, Hati finished up his argument with a hauntingly familiar phrase.
"That means saving people, hunting things... it's the family business. Therefore, I'm just carrying on the family business. You don't need to ask me to do this..."
Hati paused as he slapped away one of Hazel's massive fists.
"I volunteer."
Ozpin seems both amused and relieved.
"Very well young man."
Both he and Qrow turned to leave, but before they did, Qrow turned to Hati with a wry smile.
"Show 'em who's boss kiddo."
Hati gave Qrow a quick smile.
"Very well, old man. I shall express my dominance. Do not blame me if it becomes quite the flashy performance sir. I do tend to be quite... competitive."
Then he smirked at Qrow and turned to Hazel.
"I apologize not-so-gentle giant, but you'll have to forgive me. This is the first time I have been able to use my strength, I might damage you beyond repair."
Hazel scoffed and took out more lightning dust crystals.
"I highly doubt you could...BOY!"
With that last shout, he jammed the crystals into his arms, once more brimming with power. As he saw Oscar run off towards the other children, he snarled.
"I will be with you in a moment after I dispose of this annoyance, Ozpin!"
Meanwhile, Nora Valkyrie is seen holding Magnhild up defensively protecting Ren and Jaune Arc, who is still healing Ruby.
Nora looked back at Jaune and Ren, satisfied with their new, slightly smaller, definitely cooler, and more old fashioned version of Y/N had Hazel handled.
"You guys doing okay?"
Jaune hesitated, unsure.
"I- I think so. She's coming to. I just wish this would go faster."
Nora
"How about you don't complain and just be thankful you unlocked your Semblance when you did."
Jaune tilted his head, utterly confused by this.
"My Semblance?"
Nora snorted at her always clueless teammate.
"How else do you think you're healing her, dummy?"
Jaune stares back at her in disbelief before looking back down at Ruby.
He shook his head and thought back to what Hati had said.
"No. I don't think I'm healing her. Our Aura heals our bodies. It feels... it feels more like I'm using my Aura to amplify hers! That's exactly what Hati said I was doing!"
Nora's face creased in worry.
"Wait, aren't you worried about running out?"
Jaune shook his head sadly, remembering the first thing Pyrrha told him when she unlocked his Aura for him.
"Pyrrha once told me I've got a lot of it. I still believe her."
Suddenly, Ruby opens up her eyes, stirring.
Ruby tilted her head, groaning in pain.
"Jaune?"
Nora smiles before standing guard again. Then both Weiss and Oscar slid down beside Jaune. Qrow looks at the blonde holding his niece, unsure if he was needed to help her.
Seeing this, Jaune confidently waved the Huntsman off.
"Go! I've got her!"
Qrow nods at him before proceeding forward.
Ruby groans once more.
"Jaune... what's happening?"
Weiss leans over her friend and teammate, shaking her head with tears in the corner of her eyes.
"You took a heavy hit, you dolt. You need to stay with Jaune while the others fight. Well, while Hati schools the last man standing."
Ruby, who had been knocked out when Hati transformed, looks confused.
"How is a tiny wolf handling Salem's goons?"
Weiss looked over towards the man himself, who heard his name and looked over to Weiss and Ruby. He winked at her before throwing a bolt of blue lightning at Hazel's feet, freezing him. Weiss rolled her eyes as Ruby's widened.
"THAT'S HATI?!?! BUT HE WAS A PUPPY?!"
Weiss sighed as she turned back to her excitable teammate.
"Long story short, the Spectre in Thunder merged with Hati to help save my life and heal this..."
She pointed down to the now flawless skin where there had once been a hole all the way through. Ruby gasped and reached out to feel the hole, which was the last thing she had seen before getting knocked out. Then Weiss rolled her eyes.
"And now, I have to deal with the dolt."
Ruby looked up at Weiss's face again. It was obvious she didn't understand.
"What do you mean Weiss?"
Then, with balls of the highest grade steel, Hati called over to them after punching Hazel into a wall.
"She means that she gave me permission to flirt with her Lady Ruby! I fully intend to take her up on that once we cleanse the school of these heathens!"
Ruby smirked at Weiss, who looked outwardly perturbed, but had the ghost of a smile on her face.
Weiss grumbled to Ruby.
"That's..."
She sighs for emphasis.
"... annoying. Why would he pick me of all people?"
But once again, Hati decided to butt in while Hazel was still dazed.
"Can you blame me? She has the brains, the skills, and...what did Lord Y/N call it?"
Now he was the one pausing for emphasis.
"Ahh yes! Elegant beauty!"
Now Weiss's face was burning, both because of the memory of Y/N calling her that, and now because her own version of him calling her that as well.
Ruby smiled at her friend, happy that she was showing her softer side.
"Well I for one am glad he managed to save you!"
Jaune nodded smiling as well.
"Heh, I'm glad to have you back too, Weiss."
Meanwhile, Qrow Branwen is seen getting knocked back into the wall by flaming rocks being fired from the cowardly lion, who was sniping safely away from the fighting. However this didn't last long as he was hit with a purple lightning bolt.
He flies back into a wall and grunts in pain. When he looks from whence it was thrown, he sees Yang in her brown leather jacket, black hood up, and right arm ablaze with scarlet fire and violet lightning. Her eyes are no longer a calm lilac, they are a raging red.
"That's my uncle you bastard. Hitting him with a cheap shot to the back huh? You just really love stabbing people in the back don't cha?"
The aforementioned Uncle grunted as he pulled himself off of the wall he'd been thrown into. He mumbled to himself as he stood up.
"Maybe the Pipsqueak is right. Maybe I'm getting too old or this..."
Then in a feat of ridiculous agility, he leapt in front of Yang and deflected another flaming stone thrown at her.
"Nahh, I think I still have a few good years left in me."
He then flicked his gaze to his niece, who was rocking a jacket that he recognized. Lara, Kal, and their team weren't as popular as team STRQ, but they definitely gave them a run for their money. The leather jacket was Lara's favorite thing when she was at Beacon, she'd never been seen without it. To her, it was the same as Summer's white cloak. But there was a difference between then and now, Qrow was noticing for the first time the black hood that had been sewn into the jacket, and somehow, he just knew that it was part of the Cloak he'd given the Pipsqueak. It was as if she had the protection and blessing of two of the greatest teams of an era. And that gave him solace as to what he was about to say.
"Firecracker, the new Pipsqueak is right. We've got things handled up here. Go help your mother kick Cinder's ass. And while you're at it?"
Yang's red eyes looked up at her Uncle. He smirked and placed his hand on her right shoulder.
"Show that stuck up sister of mine what she's been missing alright?"
Off on the other side of the room, Hazel finally gets free of the ice that had imprisoned his feet and charges forward and punches Hati several feet back. Or at least he tried to. Hati's blue Aura flared and he caught Hazel's punch with one hand. Every facet of Hati that was blue started to glow eerily. Hati's eyes snapped up and glared at Hazel. But Hazel wasn't looking at Hati, he was staring at Oscar.
"Hiding behind the face of a child? A monster like you must be stopped!! How many more children must die for you?!"
Suddenly, Hati's other hand grabbed Hazel's wrist.
Hazel is surprised.
"Huh?"
Hati snarls, showing his fangs with a raised lip.
Ozpin calls to Hati as Qrow deals with Lionheart.
"His Semblance... he can block out pain. It's how he is able to handle injecting so much Dust into his body."
Nora stares back at Hazel, who stands back up.
Hati stares deep into Hazel's soul.
"I don't need him to feel the pain I inflict upon him...
Hazel screams and tries to rip his wrist out of Hati's grip.
Hati doesn't even seem affected by the Giant's struggling.
"I just need this annoyance to disappear! I've had enough of your grandstanding you self-righteous prick!!"
Hati grunts with the effort, but he snaps Hazel's wrist and hits Hazel with a mighty right cross that reverberates through the room, sending the giant flying through the academy's thick stone walls. Adam Taurus and White Fang soldiers look on.
One particularly brave White Fang Soldier, who was still flinching from the thunderous battle taking place overhead, calls to Adam.
"What's going on in there?"
Hazel pulls himself out of the rubble, unaffected by the pain. He grumbles to the vocal White Fang soldier.
"None of your concern..."
Adam and his followers stare in amazement as they watch Hazel get back up. He then takes out a pair of red Dust crystals and stabs them into his arms. He lets out another roar as Weiss watches from inside the building. She then looks back to her friends and allies, only to see that Hati was smirking at her and waggling an eyebrow at her.
"What do you think of my work Ice Queen? Are my skills impressive enough to stand beside you?"
She rolled her eyes and put her face in her hands, both in exasperation and in embarrassment. This was probably going to be one of her most common actions with this dolt around. But, in the back of her mind, Weiss didn't think she'd mind that.
Something caught Hati's attention and he chuckled. He then pointed out a small back wolf pup following his nose.
"Look down there My Lady, my idiot twin is searching for..."
Hati was then so rudely interrupted by Adam.
"Stay focused! Our friends are almost done here."
Adam and his followers get back to work, but then they hear a voice call out to him.
Blake's voice rings out, causing Weiss to gasp.
"ADAM!!"
Hati smirked.
"There she is. And there he goes."
They all look up and see Blake Belladonna standing proudly on top of the roof of a nearby building with a flaming Spectre standing by her side. In moments, the black wolf pup that is Hati races to her side, now blazing with the same resplendent red Aura as the Spectre.
Adam snarled angrily and spitefully. But he was also surprised. He hadn't gotten word from his agents in Menagerie yet, but didn't think that Blake would have gotten the best of them.
"Blake?"
Hazel, who hadn't gotten back inside yet, calls out to Adam.
"Who is that?"
Blake looks to the White Fang Soldiers, as if analyzing the possibility this could be ended peacefully.
"Stand down!"
The White Fang soldiers aim their firearms at her, ignoring her orders. Then the Spectre yells at them.
"The lady said...STAND THE HELL DOWN!"
This causes the White Fang Soldiers to take a step back in fear. But their fear of Adam is greater, so they held up their weapons even after they felt the power rolling off of the Spectre.
Adam calls out to his soldiers.
"Wait!"
He puts his hands up as the White Fang soldiers stand down, before he laughs evilly.
"To think that I went through so much trouble to find you, only to have you deliver yourself to me."
Blake ignores his idiotic howling and tries to win over the White Fang members.
"This isn't what's right for the Faunus! Stop what you're doing and we can end this peacefully."
Adam shakes his head with a malicious smirk.
"You're wrong, Blake, and you can't stop us."
Blake nods.
"No, I can't. Not by myself."
The Spectre laughs and holds his arms wide as he yells out, signaling the Militia of Menagerie to arrive.
"That's why she didn't come alone! We brought friends!"
Adam and his followers turn to the left in surprise, seeing Sun Wukong standing in front of a massive legion of Faunus all armed with blunt weapons, their shields bearing the old White Fang symbol.
Adam is confused by the appearance of another fighting force.
"What?!"
One White Fang Soldier squints at the Legion of Faunus.
"Who's there?"
They then turn to the right, and see Ghira Belladonna leading another massive legion of Faunus. Ghira's voice, just as deep and commanding as the Spectre's, answers the question with resolve.
"Your brothers and sisters."
One of the White Fang Soldiers lowers his weapon, recognizing one of the Faunus in the crowd.
"M-- Mata?"
Mata is seen in the crowd holding a club and shield.
Mata starts pleading with the Faunus who called his name.
"Please... stop this..."
Adam and his followers look all around them assessing the situation. He figures that he will need to crack his whip to keep them in line.
"Make no mistake, brothers! These are our enemies! And we will not let them ruin--"
Blake retorts vehemently.
"We ruined nothing! It was you who ruined EVERYTHING!!!"
Adam, having had enough, calls to his secret weapon, a gift from Jack Lang in case Y/N or one of his Spectre's showed up.
"You! DRONE!! Shoot her!"
The Spectre, unaware that this is one of the Project Ares test subjects who can shoot through Aura, stands in front of her protectively. The Drone lifts his weapon and aims for Blake. Sensing this, Skoll jumped up and knocked her back as the shot was fired.
The bullet meant to hit her heart missed by three inches. Instead, it shredded one of her lungs. Hati, completely unconcerned with anyone in the way, sped over to the Spectre and Blake, causing the two factions to split apart in the aftermath of the blue lightning he left in his wake. The Spectre shot at Adam, knocking him off his high horse, both figuratively, and literally as he fell off the rock he had been perched upon. Then the Spectre turned to the strange, but somehow familiar smaller, white haired version of himself.
After checking to make sure she wasn't instantly dead, Hati turned and bowed to the Spectre. Blake was in a bad way, she might not have died instantly, but she was going to die shortly no matter how much her Aura tried to heal her.
"Lord Odin, there is still time to save her. But we must be quick."
After giving Hati a surprised look, the Spectre's normally red featureless eyes turned gold and he nodded.
"Very well Hati, my memory is hazy in this form, tell me what I must do."
Hati was pleased not only to be recognized, but instantly trusted. He nodded thankfully to the Spectre and responded quickly.
"I just did this with the remnants of a Spectre like yourself inside of a weapon the original you gave to Weiss. I merged my Aura with it and sunk all of it into her. The energy she gained healed a javelin wound straight through her liver. The byproduct of this was that I no longer had the form of a wolf, and turned into a Faunus. Now the blonde dolt had to help as well since the Spectre had already left the weapon and returned to your original body. His Aura amplification semblance was most helpful. But since you are whole my Lord, you should have no trouble merging with my idiotic twin to save Lady Belladonna."
The Spectre nodded and turned to Skoll, who was now almost six feet tall at the shoulder and pulsing with scarlet aura and runic markings on his back.
"Very well. Skoll, will you help me save her?"
The wolf nodded, howling at the cloud covered moon and the lightning from the fight of the Original Y/N and Fafnir. That bowl rattling howl made most of the White Fang members cower for a moment.
Then both the Spectre and Skoll touched Blake's forehead, either by the palm or by the nose. Hati quickly wondered if he should add some of his Aura in the mix, but quickly dismissed the idea. To him, who had just undergone the blending of his soul with both Y/N's and Weiss's, he knew what was about to happen would be sacred to Skoll. So he merely turned around and held up Thunder threateningly.
Ghira, from the other side of the battlefield, saw the Spectre tending to his daughter, and shrugged off his instinctual parental worrying. Instead he roared at Adam.
"Why!? Why would you do that!?!?"
Adam merely shrugged, a faint smirk still upon his lips as he stood and brushed off his shoulders.
"The correct question, you worthless and spineless fool...is...WHY NOT?!?"
Adam cackled at Ghira and started on an evil monologue.
"For the superiority of the Faunus..."
Suddenly, Adam is interrupted when a Mistral airship shines its searchlight down on Adam and his group. The Mistral police captain is seen on the airship with Kali Belladonna.
A Mistral Police Captain bellows over the P.A. at the White Fang below.
"Adam Taurus, this is the Mistral Police Force! Lower your weapons and surrender peacefully."
More Mistral airships arrive. Over with Hati, Skoll, and the Spectre, the Aura is coalescing like before, but this time, it is wholly a raging red inferno. Much quicker than before, the massive Spectre was summoned forth. Seeing this, Hati once again turned around and bowed to his Lord.
"Lord Odin, I plead you, help my brother save Ms. Belladonna..."
Hati didn't get to finish. Odin smiled at him and nodded as he interrupted.
"Peace child of the Great Wolf of Destruction, I am apprised of the situation. There is no need for you to beg me to save this one. BY ORDER OF LORD ODIN! RISE AND LIVE, LEAD YOUR PEOPLE LITTLE ONE!"
Then in a flash of Red Aura, there was a Thunderclap. As it faded, the entire battlefield was silent, the only noise was the gentle whine of the airships. Hati looked back to Blake and smirked. She was cradled in a man's arms, he definitely looked more like Y/N than Hati did, but then he was always closer to their Lord than Hati was. Hati shook his head as he spoke to his twin, now in Faunus form.
"Took you long enough, you clotpole! A few moments later and she would have been lost to us. But then you've always been slower than me, haven't you Skoll?"
The man turned to Hati with a look of challenge in his eyes. He had midnight black hair and two pointy black wolf ears on top of his head. Without them, he'd probably be two inches shorter than Y/N himself, but with them they were roughly the same size. The only other visible difference between Y/N and Skoll were his crimson eyes with gold flecks in them. This was a good thing because Blake's shirt was ripped in an... embarrassing fashion. So Skoll quickly removed his black hooded cloak and draped it over Blake's body. It had his red runic markings emblazoned upon it, and as he put it on her, Blake's eyes fluttered open. She saw Skoll looking down at her with his unique eyes and her own widened.
"I...felt that. You are..."
Skoll inclined his head with a wide smile.
"Aye, that I am. I am a merging of the part of Y/N's soul that loves you and Skoll the Wolf who Chases the Sun, both halves had his memories of you and..."
Blake blushed, completely understanding what he meant. She tentatively spoke to him, entirely embarrassed.
"So, you...would respond to what I said to you earlier...?"
Skoll waggled his eyebrows and smirked down at her. He was having fun with this.
"Yep. I would respond in kind, Kitten. I love you as well Kitty Cat."
Hati cleared his throat, interrupting the moment to his great pleasure.
"That's great and all you dolt, but we still have a battle to fight. Procure an abode for the two of you later, you filthy minded imbeciles. Or in words you can understand, Skoll... Fight now, Flirt Later."
Both Skoll and Blake glared at Hati, but he didn't care. He bowed to Blake.
"I have my own Lady to stand by Lady Blake. I do apologize you drew the short end of the IQ stick with my twin Skoll. I hope you are satisfied with him. Ta-ta!"
With that Hati vanished in a flicker of blue lightning, zooming back to give Hazel, who had tried to sneak back into the school, a haymaker to the jaw. Skoll shook his head and helped Blake stand up, careful to keep her covered under his cloak. She shrugged the Cloak on and fastened it to her outfit.
Once he was sure Blake was ok, Skoll started grumbling about Hati.
"He beats me one time eons ago in a contest of wisdom and he never lets it go! Urgh! When I get my hands on that little weasel... He may be slightly smarter, but I am stronger by far."
Blake giggled and covered her mouth with a hand.
"Sibling issues?"
Skoll turned to Blake and nodded before slamming his right fist into his left palm.
"However my twin was correct, we are on a battlefield. We must focus on that first. I do believe your crazy ex is violating your wish for space. Shall we show him why that is not the right decision?"
Skoll held his hand out to Blake, intending to do this together or not at all. This simple inclusion of her made all the difference. Before she took his hand, she unclipped the holster for Storm from her thigh and handed it to him.
"I think you'll need this bigshot."
He raised his eyebrow at her and she gave him another cursory glance in his black and red t-shirt, showing just how close to Y/N his body was. So she quickly amended her sentence, knowing that Skoll could beat down practically anyone with his fists and fists alone.
"Or you'll want it?"
Skoll smiled at her, showing his fangs, and tapped his temple.
"That's more like it, Kitten."
Together they both turned and jumped off of the hill they were on. As they hit the ground, Adam turned back to them and shouted in surprise and a hint of fear.
"How?! How did you do this?!!"
Blake glares at her ex with distaste and disapproval.
"Adam, it's over."
Adam looks around as the crowds of Menagerie Faunus get closer to him and his group. He then pulls out a detonator and decides to go full psycho.
"Then it's over for all of us."
A Female White Fang Soldier sees what he's about to do and yells indignantly at him.
"Hey wait!"
Adam's followers hold up their arms as they brace for the impending explosion. Adam presses the button, but nothing happens.
Adam, needless to say, is completely in the dark.
"Huh?"
He presses the detonator button a few more times, nothing happens.
Another White Fang Soldier shouts at Adam angrily.
"What are you doing? Trying to get us all killed?!"
Suddenly, Adam grabs his collar. Enraged, he shakes his own soldier and roars at the hapless soldier, spittle flying from his lips.
"I am making humanity pay for WHAT THEY'VE DONE!!"
Adam let's go and pushes the White Fang soldier back when Blake speaks.
"We sent someone over to confirm your explosives, and once we did, she disarmed them."
Skoll chuckles and shouts aloud.
"Come on out little one! Show your brothers and sisters what the right path is!"
Ilia Amitola walks out from around the tower, dropping her black camouflage as she holds the wires in her hand that disabled the bombs. Adam seethes, realizing that the situation is no longer in his favor.
Adam turns to Hazel, who has once more been thrown out of the building by Hati.
"What do we do?!"
Hazel, with great pleasure, spits Adam's words back at him as he is cracking his knuckles.
"This... is your business. Not mine. Fix it."
Adam just glares back at him before turning to Blake.
Blake glares once more at Adam, her resolve strong, and her stare steely.
"I told you, Adam. It's over..."
Adam, not having any of it, yells out in frustration and charges forward toward Blake. He takes out Wilt from Blush to slash at her, but Blake uses her Semblance to get out of the way and she knocks him down by balling her fists together and hitting his back. He quickly bounces back to his feet and attempts another attack...only to be slapped back by Skoll to his soldiers, creating an impact crater from the force of the blow.
Skoll stands there, as tall and resolute as a mountain, his scarlet aura surrounding him in raging flames. His crimson eyes sparkle, belying the wrath that he's feeling towards Adam.
"Not on my watch. Not again."
Adam crawls out of the crater and falls to the ground on his knees, before yelling out to his followers.
"KILL THEM!!!"
And thus, the battle between both Faunus groups begins. The White Fang soldiers draw their weapons and attempt to fire at the Mistral airships. Sun leaps around twirling Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang in its staff form, landing on one's shoulders to shoot them. A Faunus with a club battles one soldier, while Ilia fights two more with Lightning Lash. Sun knocks another down before shooting at a second, nearby a horned Faunus strikes her opponent and drives them back. Skoll and Blake stand back to back, taking down White Fang Soldiers easily, but with careful non-lethal strikes. This may be a battle for survival, but Blake still wants to be a force for peace, not war and revenge. Skoll is enjoying himself. Storm in one hand and fireballs in the other, he is unstoppable. None can stand before him. Blake isn't far behind. It seems that she was affected more like Yang than Weiss. Her purplish black Aura was now alight with black flames. Her shadow clones could use these black flames without dust as well. All in all, Adam's plan had failed.
Hazel observes the situation in front of him but is then suddenly impaled by a white, glowing stinger. He is then pulled back inside the building and sits up to see that Weiss is back on her feet next to Hati with a summoned Queen Lancer flying above her. Weiss once again tries to make a joke with a reference to an old scroll game.
"GET OVER HERE!"
Hati seemed to like it as he patted Weiss's head, leaving her a blushing mess for a moment. Then she mumbles something about him being a dolt and pushes his hand off to hide her embarrassment and recenter herself. As she prepares to fight again, she gasps as she notices someone entering the building. Yang and Ruby look back as well and gasp when they see Skoll and Blake, her eyes widening as she sees all of her teammates in the same place.
Cautiously, Blake squeaks out her best friend's name, fearful of her judgement.
"Yang?"
Yang stares back at her in disbelief, before her sister snaps her out of her trance.
"Yang! Go! Uncle Qrow said your mom was on our side! Go help her!"
She points in the direction of the vault entrance.
Yang runs forward. The newly standing Emerald throws her kusarigama and tries to stop her, as she yells angrily.
"No!"
Emerald tries to stop Yang, but fails to and falls to the ground, then shimmers, revealing herself to be only an illusion. But then the real Emerald tried to cut Yang's right arm with her weapon.
But Yang isn't going to fall for that again.
Yang's eyes briefly turn red before turning back to normal. As that happened, her right arm's fire and lightning Aura burst to life and melted right through the metal of Emerald's weapon. Choosing to leave Emerald to her friends, she pulls away from Emerald and books it towards the entrance.
She then jumps down the hole leading to the vault. Emerald attempts to give chase, but she is stopped by an ice wall that suddenly appears in front of them. She turns around to see Weiss with her Queen Lancer summon and Hati beating the absolute shit out of Hazel, who is finally understanding what the word pain means, as Weiss prepares to fight the Emerald. Jaune watches from his position and smiles. Ruby then turns back around to look at Blake and Skoll, and both girls nod at each other as the cat Faunus goes back outside to join the battle. Skoll winked at Ruby, who was looking at him confused. He then raised his arm and pulled his sleeve back to show Runic markings on his forearms.
As Ruby's eyes widen in recognition, Skoll wiggles his eyebrows and then takes off after Blake. Ruby looks back in and her eyes meet Hati, who is holding Hazel in one hand and beating his face with his other hand. He raises a smug eyebrow and nods at her. He just confirmed for her that the guy who looked like Y/n that just left was indeed his twin, the former wolf pup...Skoll.
Back down in the vault, Cinder Fall snarls at Raven.
"Vernal was a decoy the whole time."
She paused and then turned her accusatory eyes to Raven.
"The last Spring Maiden must've trusted you a great deal before she died. I bet that was a mistake..."
Raven growls and shoots Omen out of her hilt, and the two Maidens begin their battle against each other. They strike at each other with a flurry of vicious sword strikes. The two eventually clash, the strike breaking her weapon and the shrapnel hurting her Grimm arm. She holds her arm in pain.
Raven noticed this and snorted.
"Aura can't protect your arm, it's Grimm. That's one more weakness you have, little Maiden. And to think I once believed your side to be more powerful. My vision must have been clouded indeed."
Cinder pulls the shrapnel out of her arm and faces Raven again. Raven taunts Cinder even more.
"You turned yourself into a monster just for power."
Cinder pauses, conjuring another weapon while glaring.
"Look who's talking..."
The two proceed forward to clash again. During their bout, Raven quickly switches between the various colored blades in her hilt to counter Cinder's various weapons that she conjures. As their battle intensifies, Cinder conjures a giant flaming sword while Raven uses her Maiden powers to create a massive ice sword. Their clash creates a massive shockwave that shakes the cavern, with the combatants above ground also feeling the tremors. Due to their battle, the giant stalactites hanging from above start to drop. Both Maidens jump back to dodge out of the way. As Raven prepares for her next strike, Cinder's Grimm arm elongates through the dust and grabs Raven's neck. As the Grimm arm slowly drains her powers, Raven notices something and smirks. She sends out a frost-like attack from her palm and freezes Cinder's feet in place as more boulders from the cave-in crash down on her. Raven, now free from her grip, does a massive leap into the air and lands on top of one of the falling stalactites. She looks down and notices Cinder survived the cave in, using her fire powers to fly up to her. The two fight their way around the falling stalactites. Eventually, the stalactites land back on the ground, and both Maidens are on their knees, panting in exhaustion while their Auras shimmer as they are about to break.
Raven though, is in much better shape after their spat. Because of this, standing back up, she pushes her
"Had enough yet?"
Cinder growls ferally at Raven, frustrated and feeling useless.
"Shut up!"
Raven isn't bothered by the girl's intimidation attempt. In that arena, Cinder was clearly trying to punch waaay too far above her own weight class.
"If you were stronger or more clever, then maybe... you'd remember to watch your back!"
Cinder is confused by this claim, until she turns around and sees Yang's flaming fist an inch away from her face. Cinder didn't do anything to block it because she couldn't do anything to block it. The force of Yang's unstoppable punch smashed Cinder's face and sent her over towards Raven. Raven held her sword made of ice like a baseball bat and smacked Cinder into a wall.
Yang looks over at Raven, her face unreadable to the older woman. Cinder was laying in the rubble, groaning and currently incapacitated, so Raven takes the risk.
"Hello Yang."
Yang nods impassively at her mother.
"Raven."
The air was both awkward and tense, but Yang broke it before Raven could.
"Uncle Qrow said you finally picked the right side."
The judgement was dripping from her words, but there was also a hint of hope. She had been on a roll lately for things returning to her, and as much as she hated Raven for abandoning her, she really did want her mother back.
"Yang, I..."
Raven was interrupted by the sound of Cinder moving the rubble and attempting to get up. Raven turned to take care of the annoyance, but Yang wanted to hear what her mother needed to say right now. So she threw a bolt of purple lightning at Cinder, shutting her up and zapping her silent for a few more moments.
"Continue, please, I really want to hear this."
Raven nodded and began to speak again.
"Once we are out of battle, we can sit down and I can tell you everything. But the short version is that I was afraid."
Yang's eyes turned red and lightning flickered not only on her arm, but also in the air around her.
"You abandoned me because you...were afraid!?!"
Towards the end of that, Yang's voice took on an ominous edge. To say she wasn't happy with the answer she had searched for, for over a decade, would be an understatement.
Cinder tried to pop up again, but this time Raven threw some Frost at her, freezing the rubble around her. She knew this was going to be painful for both Yang and herself. And she was ready for all the consequences. Raven had finally gotten the courage together to face what haunted her the most, her decision to leave her only daughter.
"Yes Yang. I was afraid. Not of the responsibility, because I was ready for that. No, the reason I was afraid was because from around the time when I started getting intimate with Tai, to the time I left you on his doorstep, I was getting even more violent. I couldn't contain my rage. I started having hallucinations...and I was afraid. I was afraid that I would hurt my only child. The only good thing I've done in my life. I knew you'd hate me for leaving. But that was better than hating myself after hurting you...or worse, killing you and your fragile little body."
Yang actually stumbled backwards. Of all the reasons she had thought up for Raven to leave her...this was not among them. She hadn't been left because she hadn't been loved. No... she'd been left because she had been loved. That realization and the truth of the reason Raven gave because of the tears leaking from Raven's eyes...it hit her like a runaway bullhead. In moments, both strong women standing there, mother and daughter, were sobbing silently. Neither wanted to be the one to give in first, but they both really wanted to embrace each other.
The moment never came though because a certain snide Fall Maiden started slow clapping.
"Aww...how cute."
Both women turned towards Cinder with blazing crimson eyes. The intensity of the hate they felt for her was palpable. She flinched and stopped clapping, but she still had to get her thoughts in.
"Two beefed out bimbos making up. It really does melt this stone heart of mine..."
She then snorted as her confidence rose.
"That is...it would...if I had one.."
But at the height of her confidence, the two Branwen women brought her low. Raven quickly dashes up behind her and lands a devastating lightning attack on her face, shattering her mask and revealing the heavily scarred left side. The sheer force of the attack sends Cinder over the edge of the vault's walkway and above the abyss. She stares back up at Raven, who uses her powers to freeze the Fall Maiden into an ice statue. Yang then charges up a massive lightning bolt and casts it at the frozen statue of Cinder Fall...and Cinder fell.
Cinder's frozen body fell down into the dark depths of the abyss, fading from view. Raven looks down as she watches her enemy continue plunging, before deactivating her Maiden powers and sighing.
Raven turns to her daughter and gives a small, but well intentioned smile.
"Thank you, Yang."
Yang doesn't waste any time, she runs over and tackles her mother to the ground in a bone shattering hug. She dares not let her mother go in fear that if she does, Raven will disappear once more.
As if sensing this, Raven gently brushes a few loose strands of Yang's bangs behind her ear and whispers even more gently into her ear.
"I'm not going anywhere sweetie. You're stuck with me from now on. I promise."
Yang finally loses it and sobs harder into her mother's shoulder. For a while the two of them just lay there, sobbing and getting to know one another's Aura once more.
After they were both satisfied with the fact that the other wasn't leaving, they stood up together. Raven cleared her throat awkwardly and spoke, trying to be motherly.
"I'm proud of everything you've done since you started Beacon. Oum, even before that, I saw how you grew. I was almost always watching from the shadows, afraid if I got closer that I'd mess up the amazing woman you'd become in my absence."
Yang turned to her mother and decided to get her used to the patented Yang charm.
"So what you're telling me is that you've been stalking me since I was a child?"
Completely out of character, Raven begins to sputter.
"Well I...uh...well you see..."
Eventually she just lowers her head and nods.
"Yeah. Pretty much."
There was a pause as Raven looked back at Yang's face, only to see Yang's smirk.
Yang took out her aviators and put them on. As she did, she came out with one of the worst plays on words she had ever spouted.
"That's cool. You were my very first stalkerazzi."
Raven grimaced for a minute...then she picked up on it as Yang walked further towards the vault itself.
"Yeah...wait... FIRST? YOU HAD OTHERS?!?"
Yang chuckles and waved her right fist in the air.
"Don't worry mom, I can take care of myself... always have, always will be able to."
Admittedly, that was a low blow, but Yang felt she was owed a few...thousand of them.
So with a sigh of acceptance, Raven then proceeds to the Relic chamber's doorway. She activates her Maiden powers again and begins the process to unlock the chamber. Eventually, the door opens up, and on the other side, a massive desert is shown with a path leading to the Relic of Knowledge, which rests on a stone pedestal. Just as she's about to enter the chamber, she turns to Yang and holds out her hand.
"Want to get it...together?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Yang takes her mother's hand in her own, and proceeds to drag her mother into the vault.
A/n: And there it is! Arguably my biggest divergence from Cannon. MY RAVEN ISN'T A COMPLETE ARSEHOLE! I just felt like Yang deserves better than some indecisive bitch of a mother. So...yeah. Raven still isn't off the hook, but she does have a whole lot better reason for leaving Yang, and did actually keep up with her life. I am confirming it here. Raven isn't lying, in this story she really did think she'd hurt her daughter in her...wait for it...BRAWNWEN RAGE! Hence why I touched on it before with Qrow.