67

Chapter 67: Ultimatum

She ran.

The forest of enormous, impossibly tall trees blurred past her as she ran full tilt towards the growls and snarls echoing throughout the endless timber. Up ahead, she could see one of the massive tree trunks on its side, blocking the view of the clearing. She heard a high-pitched yelp from just behind it, making her quicken her pace. She leapt with all her might, her claws digging into the dry wood with ease as she landed atop the fallen tree. The sight before her stopped her cold.

The beast. Skin dark as shadow, enraged red eyes blazing inside its white, skull-like head.

And at its hooves, a wolf, it's black fur streaked with red. The wolf was struggling to its feet, obviously in pain. It glared up at the beast, defiance in its silver eyes.

A keening sound drew her attention downward. A small white fox stood just below her, hunched protectively over an opening in the dead tree. Its ears were pulled back in worry, wanting to help the wolf but unwilling to abandon its post.

She looked back towards the fight… and found raging red eyes glaring back.

She bared her teeth as the beast finally noticed her, snorting in anger as it pawed the ground. It took off in a run, passing right over the startled wolf, it's gleaming horns pointed right at her.

A deep rumbling formed in her chest, like contained thunder begging to be released. She hunched herself down, claws extending, ready to pounce.

The beast snarled.

She roared.

With a sharp breath, Yang's eyes snapped open.

She blinked rapidly, trying to see in the pitch-blackness of the room. She lifted her head a little, looking around in confusion as her eyes adjusted.

She paused when she felt something squeeze her around the waist.

Looking down, she found Ruby cuddled up against her, making a small sound of discontent as Yang's movements jostled her. The blonde was quick to pull her sister closer, running a hand through her hair. Ruby soon let out a contented sigh, unconsciously snuggling into Yang's embrace.

Yang breathed in relief. She then took note of a second set of arms wrapping around her from behind. The soft purrs emanating from just behind her head made it obvious just who was holding her. That, and the fact that she could see Weiss burying her face into Ruby's hair just in front of her.

Yang just laid there for a few moments, letting the sense of calm that filled the room wash over her. She would question her odd dream later. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy this peaceful moment, letting the soothing sounds of her slumbering loved ones lull her back to sleep.

When the RWBY's awoke the next morning, they were treated by two surprising but welcome messages on their scrolls. One was from Ozpin, stating that, due to recent strenuous personal events, all four of them were exempt from classes for the day. The other was from Goodwitch saying that their final week of detention had been canceled, due to the same strenuous events.

After taking the opportunity to wake up at a relaxed pace, they decided to split up and spend the day with their various family, agreeing to meet up in the evening and plan on what to do from there.

Emerald Forest

"So… what kind of business do you have?"

Raven looked over at Ruby, meeting her curious eyes. The two sat on a fallen log deep within the forest, the awkwardness between them mitigated somewhat by Qrow leaning against a nearby tree. A ways in front of them, Yang and Taiyang sparred, the younger blonde's hair and eyes glowing as she pounded her fists against her father's palms.

Taking a moment to process the hesitance in her daughter's voice, Raven bit back a sigh. "Well… it's a little complicated," she admitted, shooting Qrow a glare at his amused snort. "You know how me and Qrow are from a bandit clan?"

Ruby nodded slowly. Raven noted Yang's eyes dart their way for a moment, making clear that her eldest was listening between punches.

"After I… left… I went back to them, seeing's how I had nowhere else to go. They weren't exactly happy to see me after everything, but once I showed off all my new Huntress' skills, they shut up pretty quickly. But, after just a couple weeks… I realized I couldn't go back to being a bandit. I'd gone soft."

"You grew a heart," Qrow interjected, giving Raven an amused smirk.

Raven rolled her eyes at him, then turned back to Ruby. At the confusion in her eyes, she tried to explain. "At the time, the clan really had no rules. There was very little they wouldn't do for a quick buck. Stealing, killing, ransom; they'd do just about anything for money. And those are just from when they were being nice."

She brushed past Ruby's horrified look, flashing her what she hoped was a reassuring grin. "Eventually, I got to the point that I just exploded at the clan leader, telling him just how stupid he was being and how wrong the clan was. He decided to make an example of me for my 'insolence'." She huffed a laugh. "Old bastard wasn't planning on me fighting back… let alone beating him. The look on his face… made becoming leader all the more satisfying."

"The Clan values strength above all else," Qrow explained, recognizing that Ruby and Yang were a little lost. "The clan leader is supposed to be the strongest. If you beat them, that means you become clan leader. Raven beat the old man, so she was in charge."

Raven nodded. "Wasn't exactly what I planned on doing, but once it was done, I saw an opportunity. We were the largest bandit clan in the kingdom. That made us an unholy terror to the populace. But, while I was at Beacon, I learned that there were better ways to live than by hurting other people. So, I took my Huntress training, and I went about molding them into something more. I took what I learned about organizing skill sets, structuring command, and started to apply them to the clan."

"And they just -*ugh*- went for that?" Yang asked, ducking as Taiyang threw a punch at her head.

Raven scoffed lightly. "Hardly. A 'traitor' waltzes in, takes over the clan, then starts telling everyone they can't rob every traveler on the road and pillage every town they come across? That the entire clan as a whole is going legit from that point on?" She barked out a few laughs, sounding genuinely amused. "I got challenged as clan leader daily for nearly a year. Old members constantly leaving, new blood coming in; it was a complete mess."

"But… it got better, though," Ruby said slowly, apprehensively. "Right?"

Raven gave her a half-smile, chuckling lightly. "Eventually. Once everyone either accepted that, yes, this is how we were going to do things now, or broke off from the clan to do what they wanted. I started going around to towns personally, offering them protection or us doing odd jobs in exchange for cash or food. Once the money started rolling in, the clan slowly started to shut up. The fact that people started to smile whenever the clan was around instead of running in fear was an added bonus they started to like."

Ruby blinked, her eyes sparkling a little. "So… the clan protects people?"

Raven hesitated for a moment, before sighing. "Yes and no." She groaned when Ruby's face fell, but powered on. "See, on paper, we're considered a mercenary group-slash-private army. If someone needs a Hunter's job done but can't actually get a Hunter to do it, we supply an alternative."

Yang looked over with wide, startled eyes, narrowly dodging a jab from Taiyang. "Mercenaries?"

Raven bobbed her head side-to-side, a look of amusement on her face. "It's the simplest way to describe us. In reality, we're more like Hunters on a budget. Everyone in the clan has basic combat and weaponry skills, but I'm the only one who's officially a Huntress. So, we use quantity in place of quality. If there's a job that a Hunter would be able to pull off on their own? We send five fighters from the clan."

"Is that… legal?" Ruby asked warily.

Raven gave her an amused grin. "Technically. On the whole, the clan is registered in Mistral as 'Branwen Private Defense'. I'm the boss, and everyone else in the clan are considered my employees."

Ruby tilted her head a little, her brow scrunching in consideration. "Isn't that taking work away from the Hunters, though? "

Raven barked out a loud laugh. "We would be, if the Mistralian Hunters were actually doing their damn jobs. Lionheart, the paranoid bastard, has pretty much every single Hunter in Mistral inside the capital city. He says it's for the kingdom's defense, but I'm pretty sure he's only looking out for himself."

"How do you know that?" Yang asked between punches.

Raven snorted. "Mostly because he's my best customer."

Qrow suddenly looked sharply at her. "What?"

Raven gave him an even look before continuing. "The clan has an ongoing contract with Lionheart to help defend Mistral if need be. It mostly just boils down to patrolling roads, escorting caravans, maybe clearing out Grimm from a small town asking for help. Basic stuff the Hunters should be doing, but since they're all holed up in Haven, we gladly help fill the void."

Qrow's brow furrowed, crossing his arms. "And that didn't seem… odd to you at all?"

Raven shrugged dismissively. "Never really cared, honestly. Mistral's roads stay safe, the Clan keeps fed, and Lionheart gets to pretend that he's doing his job. Everybody wins."

Qrow huffed under his breath. "Ozpin's not gonna like this."

Raven just smirked darkly. "Even better."

Beacon Academy Courtyard

"Then how do you decide which village receives the most funding?"

"It depends on several factors. How much they already have, how they've weathered storms and Grimm attacks, along with their population. It's not perfect, but it's the best way we have to make sure everyone is as safe and cared for as possible."

As Blake followed behind Weiss and her father, she couldn't stop the broad smile on her face. What had started as a slightly awkward meeting between her, her parents, Weiss, Winter, and surprise-tagalong Penny had slowly turned into a discussion on Menagerie and Faunus culture. To Blake's amusement, Weiss seemed to hang onto her father's every word, just as attentive as during a teacher's lecture, that bright, calculating light in her eyes of when she committed something to memory.

The fact that Winter seemed just as enraptured as her sister, if more subtle about her interest, was an unexpected but welcome bonus. Penny just took in his words with wide-eyed curiosity, reminding her of a certain speedster.

The thought of her youngest Mate sent a small pang of worry through her, making her instinctively reach out through their Link. After the numerous bombshells that had been lobbed at them the previous day, Blake had been a little nervous upon hearing that Yang and Ruby would be spending the day with their family, specifically their recently reunited/discovered mother.

It was a relief, then, when she Felt that they were both okay. Yang was caught up in a bout of Excitement, Focus, Joy, likely from the sparring she was doing with her father, while Ruby Felt Curious, Amazed, slightly Nervous, but with an undeniable undercurrent of Happiness tinging her every emotion. Blake breathed out a sigh, her smile softening as she brought herself back into the moment. As far as she could tell, everyone she cared about was currently alright.

Well, mostly. The only one missing from this perfect picture was her oldest friend, Ilia. She'd been saddened to find out that the chameleon girl had had to leave right after the previous night's meeting, returning to the White Fang so as not to raise suspicion. She felt a little better when her father promised Ilia would return soon, but it didn't stop her worrying. Being near the White Fang meant being near Adam. The sooner Ilia was out of that situation, the sooner Blake could breathe easier.

A small giggle drew her out of her thoughts and towards her mother. She followed Kali's gaze, finding her father and the Schnee sisters still engrossed in their talk.

"Well," the elder Faunus started, mirth in her amber eyes. "It would seem your father has someone new to show off for."

Blake chuckled back, simply enjoying having her family so close. "I'm just thankful that you both are accepting Weiss so easily."

Kali gave her a sidelong look. "Were you worried we wouldn't?"

"... a little," Blake admitted sheepishly. "Just… the leaders of the Faunus finding out a Schnee was part of their family…"

Kali hummed lightly, her eyes narrowing slightly as Blake shrunk under her gaze. She then chuckled lightly, giving Blake a reassuring smile. "Relax, kitten. If I'm perfectly honest, having only ever met Jacques in person, I was a little apprehensive. But after meeting Weiss myself, I am happy to have been proven wrong." She took Blake's hand for a moment, giving it a gentle squeeze. She smiled proudly. "You chose well, sweetheart. They're wonderful."

Blake felt her cheeks warm, a bashful smile on her lips. "Thank you," she said softly.

"Blake? Hey, Blake! Weiss!"

The two turned around at the sound of a shout, Ghira, Weiss, and Winter looking up from their conversation. Blake's ears perked up, a smile on her lips. "Sun!"

The monkey Faunus grinned as he ran up to them, Neptune following behind at a slower pace. "I thought that was you. We were starting to get worried."

"Worried?" Weiss repeated as she walked up, sharing a look with Blake. "About what?"

"Well," Neptune started, having caught his breath. "You guys kind of disappeared yesterday. And… you didn't exactly look happy when we last saw you."

Blake was puzzled by his words, until she remembered the last time she'd seen the two of them: a quick glimpse out the corner of her eye as they walked through the courtyard, on their way to the meeting with Ozpin. She was about to explain it to them, but her mother beat her to it.

"Are these friends of yours Blake?" Kali asked, Ghira giving each boy an appraising look as he came over.

Blake grinned at them both. "Yeah. Guys, these are my parents Ghira and Kali. Mom, Dad, this is Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias." She gestured to each boy, flashing them each a smile.

Ghira's eyes lit up in recognition. "Ah! The two who helped you fight off Torchwick last week."

Sun blinked up at the massive Faunus, Blake feeling a bit amused by how nervous his usual grin seemed. "Uh huh! That, uh…. That'd be us. Sir."

Ghira half-smiled in amusement. "No need for formalities, son. Just Ghira or Chief is fine."

"And just Kali for me," his wife assured with a kind smile.

Sun swallowed a little, glancing towards Blake as if for permission. "If you say so… Miss Kali." His odd little bow of a nod made Kali smile, Neptune's attempt to imitate him pushing her to giggle.

Further speech from the boys was cut off when Penny suddenly pulled Neptune into a hug, lifting the blue-haired boy off his feet. "Hello, friend Neptune!"

Neptune managed a respectable squeak as he greeted her back through crushed lungs, before Penny gave Sun the same bone-crushing hello, much to his dismay. Blake caught Weiss looking to the sky out the corner of her eye, plainly showing her annoyance of the three. Blake could only smile at the Amusement she could Feel Weiss held for them.

Neptune, once recovered, then turned to Blake. "Then, I guess nothing bad happened yesterday?"

"Hmm? Oh, no!" Blake was quick to assure. "Our parents all showed up at the same time and… we were just a little out of it."

Sun made a sort of 'ah-ha' sound in the back of his throat, nodding sagely. "Yeah, I can see that." After a moment, he glanced briefly between Ghira, Kali, and an appraisingly silent Winter, then locked eyes with Neptune. "Well, we just wanted to make sure you were all okay. Didn't mean to interrupt family day. We'll just be moving on. Say hey to Yang and Ruby for us, okay?"

Blake and Weiss nodded in return. "Okay," Weiss said. "We will."

Sun shot them one last grin, turning to leave. Then Neptune elbowed him in the side, a nervous look on his face. Sun turned to him, annoyed, until he followed his partner's gaze. His tail suddenly straightened in surprise, an uneasy look coming over his face.

"Oh! Uh… shoot, forgot about that. Uh, Blake?" He turned around suddenly, giving Blake a sheepish smile that just reeked of trouble.

"Yes…?" Blake said slowly, already worried.

Sun chuckled a little, his tone a tad high. "Just um, a quick warning. We met some of your friends yesterday, Team JNPR? Cool guys, but, well… they kind of figured out who your dad is, and one of them began insisting that we start calling you-"

"Hello there, Princess Blake!"

Blake's ears fell flat against her skull as she whipped around, finding a beaming Nora Valkyrie running full tilt towards them, an exasperated Ren trailing behind her. Jaune and Pyrrha followed at a slower pace, the two looking much too amused for her liking. The shout drew the attention of most of the courtyard, dozens of curious eyes turning towards them.

Sun cringed, his tail hanging limply by his ankles as he jerked a thumb towards the approaching girl. "Yeah, that."

Blake slumped where she stood, hiding her face in her hands as her cheeks flared. Weiss patting her sympathetically on the back made her feel a little better.

Her father chuckling and mother giggling at her misfortune did not.

Beacon Guest Quarters, Roman and Neo's Room

"So… I guess I have some explaining to do, huh?"

From her place on the plush red couch, Neo narrowed her eyes. Her hands flew through a flurry of movement, her agitation making them sharp and rapid. What do you think?

Roman let out of groan as he paced about the room. Beacon's guest quarters we're quite a step up from the dingy little apartment he and Neo had shared for the past week, what with its crimson curtains and polished oak furniture. But Roman had little time to reminisce about the familiar surroundings, given the irate teenager who had been glaring at him for the past few hours while they got settled.

Roman rubbed the back of his head, huffing. "Well, okay then. Where do you want me to start?"

Neo made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat. How about the fact that you had a sister? Nieces!

Roman clicked his tongue. "Never really needed to bring it up. Actually, I worked pretty damn hard to make sure I never did have to bring it up." He snorted to himself, grinning sarcastically. "Didn't plan on the Rosebuds actually hunting me down, but, well, there you go."

Neo huffed at him, unsatisfied. Why did you never tell me you used to be a Hunter?

Roman rolled his eyes. "Why the hell would I? It was a lifetime ago, one I really never expected to be dragged back into. Besides, how the hell would that conversation go? 'Hello, I'm criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick, formerly Roman Rose, a washed-up ex-Hunter who got scrubbed out for ditching his post to chase after his missing sister's shadow'." He barked out a laugh. "Yeah, should have put it on the business card."

His joking attitude only seemed to make Neo madder, a growl formed in the back of her throat. Is there anything else? Any other world-shattering secrets you're hiding that I should probably know?

Roman thought for a moment. Much to Neo's ire/dread, he got a sheepish look on his face. "Eh… kinda? It's not really a secret, just something that I guarantee Little Red is going to bring up the moment she finds out about it." At Neo's confused, expectant gaze, he went on. "Do you remember the Ramsey job a few years back?"

Neo groaned. Yes, she did remember, much to her chagrin. There was some entertainment studio that had been gifted a prototype Atlas vehicle to use for some kind of promotional event. Roman needed someone small enough to squeeze through the vents to get to the garage. It was one of her first big heists… and the first time she got caught.

Fortunately, due to her being twelve at the time, the guards thought she was just some big fan of the studio breaking in. Unfortunately, since she was a minor, getting her out of police custody had been… complicated.

Neo rolled her eyes when Roman just looked at her expectantly. You forged a bunch of papers saying you were my dad, and the cops fell for it.

There was no real way to the describe the odd dread Neo felt when Roman looked off to the side, a shifty look in his eyes that never meant good things for the person on the receiving end.

"Well... Funny story there. Forging the papers was my original plan, but there was no real way to do it in such a short amount of time. It was easier to just to fill out the actual paperwork, and then pay off a lawyer to get it officiated and make it look like it had been on the books for a few years."

Neo blinked slowly, Roman's words not really processing for a few moments. Her shoulders lowered as what he was saying sank in, her eyes going wide. The paperwork was real?

Roman chuckled awkwardly, refusing to meet her eyes. "Yeah... On paper, according to the kingdom of Vale, you are the adopted daughter of Roman Rose."

Neo felt her eye twitch, huffing out a silent, disbelieving laugh. You're joking. You're joking… right?

In answer, Roman gave a sheepish shrug. "Sorry."

The forced grin on Neo's face quickly slipped away, her eyes narrowing. Why did you never tell me that?

Roman ran a hand down his face, letting out a frustrated groan. "Because it never really mattered. We don't exactly go through proper channels for, well, anything. And you never got caught again. It's never been even remotely a thing in the last four years, so why would I bring it up?"

When Neo signed nothing in response, Roman huffed. "Look, I'm really only telling you because, when Little Red finds out about this… and, knowing this family, she is going to find out about this eventually... there's a very likely chance that she's going to want to meet her new 'cousin'." Roman rolled his eyes, punctuating his words with air-quotes.

Neo stared at Roman with wide eyes, trying to wrap her head around the fact that Roman… smart-aleck, annoying, constant-pain-in-the-neck Roman... was, as far as the government was concerned, her father.

Then she realized that, yes, Roman was right. That would make both Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long her cousins. Oh, and that meant the stoic, terrifying Bandit Queen Raven Branwen was her aunt.

Later, she would take the time to truly process what all this meant and how she felt about it moving forward.

At the moment, however, she did the most sensible thing she could think of.

She hit Roman over the head with her parasol.

Hard.

Ozpin's Office, the Previous Night

As the elevator door slid shut for the final time, Glynda sending him a questioning glance as she vanished behind them, Ozpin let out a tired sigh. Out of all the possible things he'd been expecting at the start of this meeting, the sheer enormity of the disaster brewing within his own halls had given him a shock to the system like he had not felt in eons. The fact that the only thing that had prevented such an atrocity was the whim of a rogue Hunter and his rekindled familial bonds was both terrifying and laughable. There would be no end of sleepless nights in the near future as he worked to stop Cinder Fall's mad scheme... and reevaluate all the carefully laid-out plans of his own.

With the foresight of his future headaches, Ozpin wanted nothing more than to have one last peaceful night's sleep before diving back into protecting the world.

Unfortunately, sleep would have to wait for a while longer. There was still one final thing to address before the night was done:

The silent, irate mother glaring at him from across the desk, her red eyes giving him a look akin to that predator eyeing a subpar meal.

Letting out a small sigh, Ozpin met her eyes evenly. "Well, Miss Branwen? I would ask if I could help you, but I assume you stayed behind for the usual reasons?"

Ozpin was sure that Raven's fiery glare normally reduced lesser men to a nervous wreck within seconds. But he had stared down far more fearsome beings than her in his years. He just held her gaze, waiting for her to speak.

It took two minutes of intense silence before she did.

"I have something to offer."

Ozpin blinked, her unexpected words startling him for a moment. But as he processed her statement, he had to let out a tired breath, rubbing his brow. "Raven… There is no point offering me anything. I have told you time and again, I don't know-"

"You don't know where Summer is," Raven cut him off sharply, rolling her eyes irritably. "Fine. But you know something. You always know something."

At that, Ozpin could help but give a bitter chuckle. "I think today has proved that I don't know everything."

Raven was undeterred. "No, but I know one thing about you, Ozpin. You may not know everything, but the things you do know are vast. And you rarely give up all that information when it's asked for." She took a step forward, putting herself right in front of the desk. "You give some, enough that you know is necessary. But never everything. You always hold something back, waiting to reveal it 'when the time is right'." She spat the words, eyes blazing.

Ozpin took a deep breath, reigning in his frustrations. They had had this conversation so many times… "I did not know the danger would be that-"

"You didn't tell us there be danger at all," Raven cut him off, her rage boiling over as he reopened the old wounds. "'Quick reconnaissance', you said. 'In and out in under an hour.' Instead, we had an entire Grimm horde after us, leading them towards an ambush we didn't even know was there. You used us as bait, all for one of your little trinkets."

"It was a calculated risk-"

"One we didn't know about!" Raven shouted. Ozpin watched patiently as the Bandit Queen pulled back slightly, visibly restraining her temper. When she reopened her eyes, Ozpin could see that her fire had been turned inward, her burning eyes betraying her calm visage. Her voice was cold, emotionless save for that glare. "I almost lost my brother that night. I had a daughter and pregnant girlfriend waiting for me at home, who I almost didn't make it back to, all because you held back." She crossed her arms, looking down her nose at him. "No more."

Ozpin held her eyes, shaking his head slowly. "Raven… I know the pain of losing those closest to me. But I swear on everything I still have to hold dear, I do not know where Summer is, or what happened to her. If I did, I would never leave you or your family without closure."

Raven stared at him for the longest time. The Headmaster could see her fingers twitching, no doubt wanting to switch to action since talking wasn't giving her what she wanted. But then… Raven smiled.

"Fine…" she said slowly, her voice carefully restrained. "I'll play for a little while and pretend that's true." She shook her head a little. "It doesn't matter anyway. You're going to give me what I want, regardless."

At that, Ozpin raised a brow at her, more curious than concerned. "Oh?"

Raven nodded slowly. "Yes. Because the moment my daughters are safe again… and once you've finished cleaning up this spectacular mess you've unknowingly been wading through… you are going to commit your every single resource to finding out what happened to Summer."

Ozpin let out a heavy sigh, already shaking his head. "Raven, you are asking the impossible. I can not-"

"You will."

The sheer conviction in her voice made Ozpin pause. When he met her eyes again, he found them shining with a frightful mix of hope and desperation. After a moment considering her, Ozpin slowly asked, "And why would I?"

Raven was quiet for a second. Blazing eyes boring into Ozpin's own, she slowly put her hands on his desk, looming over the professor, their faces inches apart. When she spoke, it was with soft tones and iron-clad conviction.

"Because I have the Spring Maiden."

In an instant, the air in the room changed. All the tension in the room vanished, replaced with cold, overwhelming shock. Ozpin's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking.

Seeing that she truly had the Headmaster's attention, Raven's smile shifted into a harsh smirk. "A few years back, my second-in-command found this frantic, half-starved little girl during one of her patrols. Frail little thing, younger than my Ruby. Said she was being hunted by 'bad men.' I had just met up with them when said 'bad men' showed up, a bunch of very familiar ones whose looks just screamed 'cult'. Vernal and I made quick work of them, but one managed to get by us and grabbed her." Raven gave a feral smirk. "Imagine my surprise when this little girl unleashed what felt like Heaven's fury and damn near atomized the bastard."

Ozpin could only stare back at her opened mouthed, desperately trying to form words. "I-Is… is she…?"

Raven clicked her tongue in annoyance. "The kid's fine. She never told me how she became a Maiden, but… given how she starts shaking like a leaf whenever I ask, I doubt its a nice story." She crossed her arms again, now ignoring Ozpin's gobsmacked look as she continued on. "She's a good kid. Not much of a fighter, unfortunately, but it's fine. She's more comfortable cooking for the clan than fighting for it anyway. Safer, too."

As Ozpin scrambled to form a coherent thought, Raven loomed over him again. "I can have her here in Vale with a single scroll call. Alternatively, I can give my boys the order to protect her at all costs from anyone who so much as smells like they know you, and hide her somewhere you'll never find her." Her smile then turned proud. "She's basically the little sister of the whole clan. They'll never let you near her unless I say so. And right now," She leaned in close enough that Ozpin could feel her breath on his face. "I say, 'no.'"

Ozpin stared up at the dark woman with mounting alarm. "Raven, you can't-"

"I can." Raven's eyes hardened as she pushed away from the desk, staring down at the Headmaster. "And I am. Until I know what happened to Summer, I will make sure that you never get your hands on the Spring Maiden. Your choice… sir."

Ozpin quickly stood as Raven backed away, looking panicked as she raised her arm. "Raven, wait!"

But he was too late. Without breaking her smoldering gaze with Ozpin, Raven summoned a portal below her and instantly fell into the swirling mass of red clouds. The portal snapped shut with a crack like thunder, echoing throughout the cavernous room.

Ozpin could only stare wide-eyed at the space Raven once occupied, his arm outstretched in a fruitless attempt to stop her.

Ozpin's office, Present

Ironwood stared at Ozpin, caught between shock and exasperation. "Oz… please, please tell me you're joking."

Ozpin let out a small huff of a laugh, devoid of all humor as he stared out over the Emerald Forest. "James, I have found distressingly little to joke about in the last twenty-four hours, least of all this."

Ironwood was silent for a moment, before letting out a growl of frustration. He huffed deeply, putting a hand to his brow. After a moment, he gave Ozpin a sharp look. "Do you have any idea what happened to Summer Rose?"

Ozpin turned to him, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Believe it or not, James, but I do care for my students, current and previous. If I had the barest clue as to why Miss Rose disappeared, I would have searched for her years ago."

This only seemed to frustrate Ironwood more. "Then... what? Raven just refuses to accept that? Even after last night?"

Ozpin let a slow breath out his nose, his eyes dipping downward. "She's grieving for her lost love, James, even after all this time. At this point, I don't think it's a matter of whether or not she thinks I know what happened to Summer. She has to believe I do. The alternative is accepting that her beloved is well and truly gone, and she will never know why."

Ironwood scoffed under his breath. "So she's going to hold the fate of the world hostage until you give her information that does not exist."

Ozpin nodded slowly. "Indeed."

Ironwood threw his hands up in exasperation, before putting a hand to his aching head. "Brilliant. Just… brilliant."

Silence ticked by between the two headmasters, one stewing in frustration while the other stared out over the endless timber, as if the answer to all their problems lay hidden within.

"So, then," Ironwood eventually said, joining Ozpin in his sightseeing. "What do we do now?"

To his surprise, Ozpin let out a small, tired laugh. "It's obvious, isn't it?"

Ironwood raised a questioning brow at him.

A sharp huff left Ozpin as he shook his head in mild disbelief. The corner of his lip quirked into an incredulous half-smile as he looked to Ironwood. "Well… if we are to finally find the Spring Maiden… we will simply have to find Summer Rose first."

Betaed by Covert Weapon

A/n: Welp, seems I missed Christmas and New Years.

Whoops.

Regardless, welcome to 2019, everyone! As of last Christmas, this fic has been going strong for three years now. Thank you to each and every one of you who have stuck with me and this crazy little fever-dream of a fic for so long, especially after all craziness that happened in it last year. Here's hoping to keep this crazy train a-rolling for the foreseeable