Chapter 6

"Raven." The glare that Qrow shot off had made more than a few people with weak hearts die. Anger rolled off of him in waves, making it more than clear what he thought of his sister.

"What's the matter, Qrow?" The bandit leader teased, striding up to him. "Not happy to see your big sister after all this time?" She smirked as Qrow took more than a few steps backwards. "Careful now, Qrow. You haven't forgotten what the tribe taught us, have you? The weak-"

"-die, the strong live." The former bandit finished, cutting her off. Unknown to most people, Qrow wasn't just any huntsman. Even before he'd gone through Hunter training, he'd been a force that few people would stand in the way of. A bandit that thrived on the misfortunate. Fighting was his entire life, then AND now. There were only so many things, though, that a man could handle before he just snapped.

From an outsider's perspective, Qrow's tense posture melted into an almost casual stance as his facial features smoothened out to an icy indifference. Any trained and experienced person would easily notice that he was still ready to fight at a moment's notice, though. In fact, loosening up his posture had made it even more obvious. Tensed muscle might have been good for taking a blow but it was slow to react, after all. It wasn't something that could be taught, as this kind of stance relied on instinct and muscle memory, honed from countless battles.

"Cut the crap." A tone, so icy with indifference that it almost sounded bored, flowed from his lips. "What do you want?"

A grin practically split her face in half. "There's the person I wanted to speak with." Raven spoke. Standing in front of her now wasn't Qrow Branwen, loving uncle and the fun drunk at parties. This wasn't the renowned pervert that frequented bars and spoke sweet nothings into the ears of women that were looking for a distraction.

This was The Crow. The former bandit that had massacred entire villages by her side for the tribe's survival. The agent of Ozpin that kidnapped, murdered and tortured along with innumerable other atrocities, all for "humanity's sake".

The darkest part of the being that called itself Qrow Branwen had come alive once again.

Even as she grinned, Raven had to resist the urge to wipe away the imaginary sweat that trickled down the side of her face.

She was just imagining it. It definitely wasn't real.

Still, it couldn't be understated exactly how dangerous of a situation Raven was in right now. Getting Qrow to switch to his colder, darker persona might have been part of the plan, but she was treading on a very, very thin line.

Those that knew of Qrow's semblance usually underestimated him because of it. A deadly mistake. The truth was, his semblance couldn't be turned off. That didn't mean that it couldn't be ramped up at will.

Even she had to suppress shudders of fear the last time her brother had gone off on a rampage and fought without care for the destruction that his semblance could cause.

The Crow was a merciless scourge capable of causing the city of Vale to fall within days. One of 4 Hunters so dangerous that they'd been crowned as the legendary 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Qrow Branwen may be an amazingly skilled and terrifying Hunter, but he was nothing compared to his counterpart, The Crow. After all, it had been given the title of Famine, a Hunter that could plague entire cities with enough misfortune that the entire area wouldn't be habitable for a decade.

All the luck in the area would rot and die. Fires would blaze with no hope of being put out, lightning would strike their unlucky targets 6-7 times in a row, disease would spread and cause suffering on a level unimagined. The worst part though, was that anyone that tried to help would only worsen the fates of those involved. Pushing someone out of the way of a falling pillar would instead push them into a burning inferno, trying to cure someone of the plague would instead cause them to die as your "cures" would cause them to suffer worse fates as they have bad reactions to the chemicals, even providing shelter to someone that had miraculously survived several lightning strikes would cause your family members to die under mysterious circumstances.

The only good thing was that Qrow Branwen's alter ego generally followed a logic-based mentality. The Crow was more likely to listen to what Raven was about to say than Qrow Branwen ever would, having cast aside all emotions.

"Well?" Famine of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse asked, his head slightly cocked to the side. "If you're not going to talk, then I'll have to kill you for wasting my time, Raven."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare try." She spat out. "You're not willing to use that semblance of yours around this many people." The black-haired woman gestured to the wild throngs of happy families that flocked from place-to-place. The stench from the nearby bathrooms and numerous [OUT OF ORDER] signs may have kept them out of earshot but it was far from out of range of The Crow's semblance. "There's too many of your precious innocents running around. You might not care about it, but my foolish brother would. And we both know that without it, you wouldn't stand a chance against me."

Famine couldn't care less about the well-being of innocents, but she was banking on the fact that Ozpin would. The Horseman knew that it wouldn't be wise to cross someone like the headmaster for no reason.

There was a pause in the air as Raven glared at her brother's alter ego, while Famine of the 4 horsemen stared back with cold indifference. "Shelt, Kingdom of Vacuo."

The bandit leader arched an eyebrow. "What are you-"

"Gorg, Kingdom of Vale. Fuyuki, Kingdom of Mistral." The man with Qrow's face pushed as he strode forward with each name. Anyone who knew of the infamous Raven Branwen would have been shocked at that moment as the leader of the tribe renowned for insane bravery against all odds, backed away with each step he took.

"Einzberg, Kingdom of Atlas." The fake Qrow Branwen finished with a step more akin to a lunge.

And for the first time in her entire life, Raven Branwen acknowledged her fear as she quickly jumped back and found her hands on the handles of her blades, seeking reassurance against the man that was now sporting a twisted rip on his face, a sick perversion of a smile that didn't even reach those empty holes in his face that people would normally call eyes.

"Have you ever heard of them?" The thing in human skin asked, cracking his neck. "No? That's quite...un-fortune-ate." It said, with an emphasis on "fortune".

What it said next nearly stopped her heart.

"Qrow Branwen knows where the tribe is."

"You're lying!" The response that leapt from her mouth shocked herself more than it did her brother's Alter. Taking a second to compose herself, Raven continued. "If he knew where we were, then we wouldn't be as successful as we are now. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the second he actually found our location, we'd be swarmed with Kingdom forces in less than an hour."

Famine chuckled mirthlessly. "Oh, he knows. The difference between him and I," The horseman paused to look at the raven-haired swordsman directly in the eye. "Is that I'm not held back by whatever lingering...emotions, that idiot still has for his sister."

Raven didn't miss the almost distaste it had when it even mentioned the word "emotions". While there was a part of her that was glad to know that some of the brother she knew (and would never admit that she loved) still existed, she was terrified that the same brother knew where the rest of their family was.

Because if Qrow knew, then he knew.

And that monster was practically rubbing it right in her face.

There are few things as unnerving as being stared by a crow right in the eye. Which is why being stared at right in the eye by THE Crow was more than just unsettling.

"I operate on a strict set of rules, Raven Branwen. And I hope that you haven't done something as foolish as to break my rules." It shook its head in a mockingly sad manner. "Otherwise, Qrow Branwen may just have to wake up one day and find that his sister and the rest of the Branwen Tribe learned the same lesson that so many others have. You can't outrun misfortune."

There was a deafening silence between the two of them, the non-stop pounding of happy, everyday citizens all around them almost mocking the dangerous situation with its cheer.

"So tell me. Right now. Have you broken one of my rules?"

Raven, not trusting her voice, could only shake her head slowly.

"Good. Now, I better now ask for a third time, Raven." The wind rustled and dragged a few leaves on the ground as the horsemen dragged out his next sentence. "What. Do. You. Want?"

Something in its tone sparked a change in the bandit leader. 'He's… interested.' That one thought sparked a subtle change in her entire demeanor as everything fell back into plan. It'd been risky, and the fact that the abomination knew where they all were hiding had throw her off. It didn't matter now. She had power. She had leverage.

She had something he wanted.

And for now, that was enough to ensure that her goals could be achieved.

"I haven't broken any of your little rules," She began with a smirk. "In fact, I'm here to help you, little brother."

Crow didn't say anything. He didn't have to though. His silence spoke volumes. Raven Branwen held his interest captive.

She was like a shark that smelled blood, and he was her prey.

"You're harboring a monster, and you didn't even know it."

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Throngs of people flocked around from one place to another all around a certain trio of hunters' kids. Somehow, Yang and her two little siblings had gotten themselves shifted to the center of a maelstrom of happy madness. At this point, the girl with lilac eyes couldn't even see the area that her uncle had walked off to.

Something wasn't right.

Yang definitely knew something wasn't right. Her hair had started to frizzle, and that was never a good sign. Uncle Qrow should've been back by now.

A tug on the hem of her shirt made her look down to see a worried-looking little boy with orange-ish hair staring up at her. At 9 years old, she was practically head and shoulders over the 7 year old Kit, who still hadn't even gotten taller than Ruby yet.

"Yang? Where's Uncle Qrow?"

His big, worried eyes cut straight through her. Before she knew it, her arms had pulled him in, his head on her chest. His fox ears folded down as she rested her chin on top of his head just past them. She knew he could still hear her through his human ones. "Uncle Qrow's gonna be right back, kiddo. You'll see. Everything's gonna be just fine."

The blonde also knew that every word that came out of her mouth was a lie. Something was wrong. So very, very wrong.

Her hair had never started frizzling this badly before.

Maybe it was because she'd been worried so much that she'd paid more attention than normal, maybe there'd been just a small lull in the cheery voices around them, or maybe the two people had been just a little louder than everyone else. Whatever it was, her hair had been proven right again as she heard before she actually saw the two lanky men with piercings and tattoos.

"Where the f*ck are those brats, D?" A man with piercings in his ears and the outline of a bird covering his face in a warpaint tattoo.

"If I knew, then I would've said somethin' a'ready, Z! Now shut up and keep lookin'. Boss wants those kids found NOW!" The other man heatedly fired back. His red mohawk contrasted with the black warpaint around his eyes.

If anyone from the kingdom of Mistral were here, they'd have recognized the Branwen

Tribe's Bandit garb. Styled in shades of red, black and grey, the both of them looked like walking stereotypes of raiders, ravagers or bandits.

Yang hoped that she'd just heard wrong, but looking over at Ruby's face made her realize that she hadn't. Her little sister's eyes were panicked.

The brawler didn't know why there were weirdos looking for them, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She and Ruby looked at each other, and something passed between them. Yang didn't have Kit and Ruby's "twin telepathy" (which she still didn't believe was real!), but she didn't need it for something like this.

They were both big sisters. They knew what they had to do.

Silver eyes firmed with resolve as they locked onto lilac ones. Yang bent down and held her little brother's face in her hands. "Hey, since it looks like Uncle Qrow's gonna be on the can for awhile, why don't we go have some fun, huh?" She gave him the best smile she could manage.

Seeing the trust in his eyes as he gave an excited grin and nodded didn't make her feel any better about lying to him.

"Well come on then, slowpoke!" She said as she grabbed his left hand with her right. Ruby came up and grabbed her younger twin's right hand with her left, Yang giving her the scroll that their uncle had given her earlier as she passed by. "Hey Rubes, why don't you call Uncle Qrow and let him know where we're going, ok?"

You could call Ruby a lot of things. Innocent, fun-loving, and a bit of a bro-con. Calling her naive wouldn't have been true, though. She gave her sister a small nod.

They were in trouble, and Uncle Qrow needed to know.

The three of them ran off, each of the sisters dragging their brother along by one of his hands. Neither of the two sisters saw that Kit's fox ears had twitched.

___________________

Famine of the 4 Horsemen was…. Intrigued. Raven had caught his interest, and held it captive.

That little smirk on her face meant that she knew it, too.

Her whole being had practically changed in an instant. Whereas before he could practically smell her fear, now she radiated a kind of confidence that only came when someone had the upper hand and knew it.

Qrow Branwen would've loved to wipe that smug look right off the bat. When it came to himself though, the Alter was fine with it. She could be as smug as long as she wanted, assuming Crow got what he wanted.

He looked into her eyes, knowing that it unsettled most to be stared at by him. "Continue." He demanded.

"My, my. Don't tell me you're as impatient as your other half, now." She teased.

Crow Branwen scowled. If there was one thing he hated, it was being anything like the buffoon that was Qrow. They both knew it, too.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything while she still held leverage over him. If the information that she had wasn't satisfying enough though… well there was more than one way to gain satisfaction.

Just like there was more than one way to skin a cat.

Sensing that he was close to hitting the limit of his tolerance, Raven knew that she couldn't keep holding it over his head for much longer. "Qrow already knows that the story of the 4 seasons is true," She began. "Have you ever wondered, though, about what other myths, legends and folk-tales might also be real?"

Crow's scroll went off and was immediately silenced. He didn't care who it was or what they wanted.

He had his priorities.

_____________________

Something was wrong. Kit knew there was definitely something wrong. His tail was bristling. Kit always trusted his tail. It didn't always warn him when something bad was happening, but he always listened when it did.

The younger twin looked on as he saw his older (not that he'd ever admit it) twin share a look with their older sister and shake her head slowly. Something passed between them, kind of like what he had with Ruby, before they started running even faster.

Then he realized what was wrong.

They weren't looking at him.

Both of his sisters knew that he hated it when they were trying not to look at him! It wasn't like he could actually talk, after all. You could only talk to someone with VSL if they were looking at you, and even his twin-thingy with Ruby only happened when they were looking at each other!

Even his twin wasn't looking!

'Wait… she's not looking at me?' There was only one reason why even his twin was trying her hardest not to look him in the eye. 'She's… trying to hide something from me?' What was it, though?

Kit's fox ears twitched, right as Ruby crashed into someone.

They stopped for a second. Kit could hear his twin apologize to the person that she'd knocked down, some other kid. All of it faded into the background though, as Kit's faunus ears had picked something up.

"There they are, D! The 3 brats are over there!"

"Well don't just stand there yelling. Get them!"

THUD. Somebody was chasing after them. THUD. Chasing after him.

His blood ran cold. Chasing. The sound of waves crashing filled his ears! Chasing. There were people after him! CHASING!!!

Quick as a flash, Kit suddenly broke out into a sprint.

The trees were everywhere, every single one of them trying to trip him up. They would've too, if this had been the first time he ran through them. It'd only been a few weeks, but he was already able to duck, dodge, dip and weave through them. Mom had been so proud of how easy he'd made it seem.

He ran faster. Some trees he weaved around, some of them seemed to move out of his way. Why wasn't he moving faster? He always moved faster than this.

The birds had gone silent. They always did when he was being chased. They always flew away whenever he needed them. They never helped him when he was being chased.

'CAVE!' It was a little far, but he was getting closer to it now. They wouldn't find him there if they didn't see him go in.

And…. NOW!

He suddenly dashed to his left and dove into the cave.

He was safe….

Wait.

Something was coming into his cave.

IT SAW HIM GO IN. IT FOLLOWED HIM HERE!!

His eyes were burning. Pain. Why did it hurt? It stepped closer, he could feel it coming up from the entrance behind him. Oum, it hurts! He could hear it coming closer, and closer.

He didn't want to die. He didn't want to die!

He spun around, the pain in his eyes seemed to just burst, and light flooded out-

"-it! Kit!"

The light faded, and he saw someone with blonde hair standing in front of him, chest heaving. Who was she? Why did she look worried? Why did he not like it when she was so worried?

Sudden as it came, the confusion passed. 3 words flashed through his head, the clarity making of those words making everything that just happened feel so murky, like a bad dream that was already being forgotten.

'Yang.'

'Sister.'

'Safe.'

Before he knew it, he'd leapt into her arms, crying. It wouldn't stop. The water wouldn't stop falling from his eyes. His chest wouldn't stop catching like he was hiccuping, his throat hurt like that time he was sick.

Kit kept his head buried in her chest, not moving even when he felt someone else's arms wrap around him. He could tell that it was Ruby. He could always tell when it was Ruby.

The youngest sibling could hear his older sisters say something to each other as they comforted him.

"Can you try calling Uncle Qrow again, Rubes? If he doesn't pick up this time, just call Dad. Tell him it's an emergency."

"I can't, Yang. I dropped it when I bumped into that one kid with the collapsible staff. I couldn't pick it up before we had to run again from those guys." Ruby unentangled herself from the awkward group hug that they were all in. He could feel her moving in the direction that they'd all come from. "I don't see those creepy guys anymore, Yang. I think they probably ran past us. It's a good thing Kit spotted this alleyway and dove into it, or they might've caught us by now."

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Unknown to any of them, the only reason that 3 kids had outrun 2 full-grown adults with bandit training was, ironically, because they had been dressed like bandits. The same outfits that had terrified people back in Mistral and sent them running away, had excited kids and their families into running towards them instead.

Apparently dressing up as a bandit in Deez Knee Land made people think you were part of an attraction. Who knew?

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"Let's get out of here for now, Rubes. We'll get away from here and find some police or hunters and use their phones to call Dad. I don't know what happened to Uncle Qrow, but we'll figure it out once we're safe." The blonde sister to two unwrapped her arms from around her kid brother. Kneeling down so that she was level with him, she held his face in her hands. "Hey, Kit. You okay now?"

Her younger brother nodded his head, nose still a little runny. His tears were still drying, with his eyes red, but she could tell that he was trying to be brave.

It made her want to find the people that had made her brother so scared and punch them in the face, but she knew that now wasn't the time for that.

"Glad to hear it. How about we get out of here, huh?" She smiled as he nodded back to her. Ruby came back from scouting the entrance to the alleyway that they'd came from, and they all headed towards the other side where the exit was.

They didn't get far.