Known by its Song

Restaurant...

Rain is pouring outside. Qrow Branwen opens up a sliding door leading into a small restaurant. A man is sleeping at a table in the corner, while the Ramen Shop Owner stands behind the counter sharpening his kitchen knife on a wood block. Qrow walks up to the owner, who is still paying attention to sharpening his knife.

"Regular? Or the Special?" The ramen shop owner asked.

"I'm actually looking for someone, goes by the name Shiro Wan. Ever heard of him? I heard he's a regular around here." Qrow said.

"Who's asking?"

"Hey, I'm not some cop if that's what you mean. I need Shiro for a gig. We go way back."

"Way back, huh?" The ramen shop owner asked, nodding his head and he looked up at Qrow. "So, he's a friend of yours."

"Hm, yeah, I'd say so. He's a pretty alright guy." Qrow said, rubbing his chin.

"Well, in that case…" The ramen shop owner said, and his tone turns hostile, pointing his knife threateningly at Qrow. "You tell that jerk that he better not show his ugly face in here until he pays me the Lien he owes me!!"

"Uh, did I say friend?" Qrow asked, nervously chuckling. "I, uh- I meant acquaintance."

The owner angrily slams his knife into the counter.

"Really, we're just colleagues!" Qrow said, slowly backing away, nervously chuckling again. "Anyways, thanks for your time, buddy. I'll just be taking off now."

Qrow exits the restaurant, quickly closing the sliding door. He quickly turns around, leaning against the door. He takes a drink from his flask before pulling out his scroll, which has a list of 'CONTACTS' with the following names:

WAN, SHIRO

GRIFFIN, BLANKA

RAINE, BOYD

KREISS, AMETHYST

ALTHAM, IVY

RIVAS, AOI

VACCARO, FARROW

LUNSFORD, HARKIN

Qrow crosses off Shiro's name.

"Great start." Qrow said, letting out a sigh.

Suddenly, the owner's knife is stabbed through the door cloth, barely missing Qrow's head.

Mistral...

Qrow then walks up to several people asking if they know any of the Huntsmen on his list; first, a pair of two men standing on the rainy street. Next, to a one-eyed, blonde blacksmith selling her wares. Then, he seeks the help of a beat-up man filled with bruises, resting while two other men are currently fighting in a match. After every person he asks, Qrow's expression and body language grows more aggravated, and each time, the number of Huntsmen he crosses off the list increases.

Finally, he walks up to a small house with boarded-up windows. He looks at his Scroll for his two remaining contacts, the first of which had been crossed out.

FIORENZA, SHANI

SHIELDS, HEATHER

"Heather Shields." Qrow said, knocking on the door.

A group of small children is seen near the house. After Qrow turns around from looking at them, since there's been no response, he bangs it loudly with the side of his fist. As he's about to bang on the door again, a man opens up the door.

"Oh, uh, hey there. I'm looking for Heather?" Qrow asked, and the man just stares back at him. "Look, pal, I've had a rough day. Do you know where she is or not?"

"Daddy?" A little girl asked, walking up next to her father. "Does he know where Mommy is?"

Having realized that Heather was missing in action, or worse, Qrow immediately regrets his mistake.

"I um...I'm sorry to bother you." Qrow said, sadly.

The man and his daughter go back into their house. Qrow walks back out into the rain. He removes his flask from his shirt and considers taking another drink from it, but decides not to.

At the park, he looks up at the Mistral Bounty mission boards, listed as the following. He then got added to a group chat that Jared created.

LUCERO, FLANN - MISSION TYPE: VILLAGE SECURITY

MISSION STATUS: IN PROGRESS 8 WEEKS AGO.

"Do you think Qrow is doing good?" Madoka asked, in a text. "Helping you guys find Huntsmen."

DURHAM, AZURA - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: IN PROGRESS 6 WEEKS AGO.

"I don't know." Ruby said, through a text. "He's trying his best."

COWAN, DOVE - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 1 WEEK AGO.

"How many people do you think he brought?" Sayaka asked, in a text.

CHOI, LALI - MISSION TYPE: BOUNTY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 7 WEEKS AGO.

"Hopefully enough so I don't have to call you Magical Girls." Jared said, in a text.

LIN, FUSCHIA - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND RESCUE

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 6 DAYS AGO.

"So, you want to rely on us less." Mami said, in a text. "I see."

SILVER, STARK - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: IN PROGRESS 1 WEEK AGO.

"We have to." Jaune said, in a text. "You Magical Girls have to fight Witches, I heard."

HAWKINS, JAY - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: IN PROGRESS 3 WEEKS AGO.

"Don't forget Uwasa." Ren said, in a text.

HAWTHORNE, LUCERO - MISSION TYPE: BOUNTY

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 4 DAYS AGO.

"Jared told us about you. And he told you about us." Kyoko said, in a text. "Smart guy. How is he?"

ANDREWS, RORY - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 9 WEEKS AGO.

"I'm not doing so well." Jared said, in a text. "I had an awful nightmare."

CASTILLO, AURORA - MISSION TYPE: VILLAGE SECURITY

MISSION STATUS: IN PROGRESS 8 WEEKS AGO.

"What did the nightmare have?" Mami asked, in a text.

HUGHES, DAISY - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND RESCUE

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 4 WEEKS AGO.

"It had everyone and I had to lose a battle." Jared said, in a text. "A Pokémon battle."

LEVINE, MAE - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 3 DAYS AGO.

"A Pokémon Battle." Sayaka said, in a text. "You normally win those."

FOREST, WYATT - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 5 WEEKS AGO,

"But there was a catch." Jared said, in a text.

PAGE, ORION - MISSION TYPE:

MISSION STATUS:

"What catch?" Madoka asked, in a text.

RIVERA, STAR - MISSION TYPE: BOUNTY

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 4 DAYS AGO.

"I had to lose this one." Jared said, in a text.

KRATZ, CYAN - MISSION TYPE: BOUNTY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 8 WEEKS AGO.

"You losing a Pokémon battle?" Nora asked, in a text.

HYACINTH, ZACH - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 2 DAYS AGO

"That's normally not like you." Ren said, in a text.

NASH, INIGO - MISSION TYPE: VILLAGE SECURITY

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 5 DAYS AGO

"Was it a good idea to add Uncle Qrow in here?" Ruby asked, in a text.

TEALE, CAROLINE - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 10 WEEKS AGO

"It's fine." Jared said, in a text. "Not like it matters much."

LI, MIDORI - MISSION TYPE: BOUNTY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 2 DAYS AGO

"It mattered to you." Jaune said, in a text.

THURMON, ONYX - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND RESCUE

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 4 WEEKS AGO.

"So it matters to us." Homura said, in a text. "I found this chat now."

VARGA, VIOLA - MISSION TYPE: VILLAGE SECURITY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 2 WEEKS AGO.

"Homura." Jared said, in a text. "So the two groups I care about are here. What should I do now?"

CARRILLO, NOVA - MISSION TYPE: BOUNTY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 5 WEEKS AGO.

"You keep moving forward." Ruby said, in a text. "Like I said."

HALE, VENUS - MISSION TYPE:

MISSION STATUS:

"Okay." Jared said, in a text.

HUNT, TERRA - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 2 DAYS AGO

"Where are you?" Mami asked, in a text.

ERDOS, MAUVE - MISSION TYPE: BOUNTY

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 5 DAYS AGO

"Oh! He's with us." Ruby said, in a text.

BASHIR, MAZA - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 8 WEEKS AGO.

"What are you doing?" Sayaka asked, in a text.

RHODES, CASCADE - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 2 WEEKS AGO

"We're cooking dinner." Ren said, in a text.

HOPKINS, CLOVER - MISSION TYPE:

MISSION STATUS:

"How many people do you think will show up?" Madoka asked, in a text.

LARSEN, MAPLE - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: ON HOLD 9 WEEKS AGO

"With me being here and us texting you guys." Jared said, in a text. "I don't know. It could be a lot of people."

YU, LOTUS - MISSION TYPE:

MISSION STATUS:

"That is true." Madoka said, in a text.

LYNCH, ASH - MISSION TYPE:

MISSION STATUS:

After looking at the boards, Qrow crosses off the following names on his Scroll.

FORHAN, ROUX

DE SENA, SLATE

CHOI, LALI

He then checks for more names on the mission board one last time.

UMBRA, AYRESS - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND RESCUE

MISSION STATUS: TERMINATED 1 WEEK AGO

GRIFFIN, CARMINA - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND RESCUE

MISSION STATUS: IN PROGRESS 8 WEEKS AGO

WAN, SHIRO - MISSION TYPE: SEARCH AND DESTROY

MISSION STATUS: IN PROGRESS 5 WEEKS AGO

Qrow sighs and takes a seat on a nearby bench, realizing that all of his contacts, let alone many others on the mission board, were nowhere to be found.

Restaurant...

After a while, Qrow goes back into the restaurant from earlier. The owner has more wood carvings on his counter now. He notices Qrow walk in.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up back here, unless you've brought that idiot with you." The ramen shop owner said.

"How much did Shiro owe you?" Qrow asked.

"Well, I'd say about...16,000 Lien." The ramen shop owner said, noticing Qrow's somber expression.

Qrow then tosses a Lien note, which clatters softly on the surface of the bar.

"Wait, what? Man, you must be in some serious trouble with him if you're paying me off." The ramen shop owner said.

"His name is clear." Qrow said.

"Yeah." The ramen shop owner said, frowning when Qrow starts to leave again, and he returns to his carving. "That idiot…"

"Yeah…" Qrow said, opening the door.

Branwen Tribe camp...

Vernal pours cups of tea for Raven Branwen, Yang Xiao Long, and Weiss Schnee. They are all inside Raven's tent with the latter three seated around a table.

"You can wait outside. Thank you." Raven said, looking at Vernal.

Vernal does so.

"So, what's the 'truth'?" Yang asked.

"You know, it's better when it's hot." Raven said, taking a sip from her cup.

"You know, you're really obnoxious." Weiss said.

"The truth is that 'truth' is hard to come by. A story of victory for one person is a story of defeat for someone else. By now, your uncle has surely told Ruby and her friends plenty of stories."

"Well, he's never given me a reason to doubt him before." Yang said.

"That doesn't mean those reasons don't exist." Raven said, and Yang glared at her. "You know, you and your teammates might as well be the poster children for the Huntsman academies. Your motives vary, but you all enrolled to try and make the world a better place. It's adorable."

"It's what Huntsmen and Huntresses do."

"Not all of them. Some people are just in it for the money and the fame, but there's even more that are just looking to grow stronger. Your Uncle Qrow and I didn't attend Beacon to become Huntsmen, we did it to learn how to kill Huntsmen."

Yang and Weiss gasp at this, exchanging a brief look with each other.

"Daddy and Uncle left that part out, hm?" Raven asked, while she began to pour more tea for herself. "Aside from the Grimm, Huntsmen were the only ones capable of ruining our raids and hunting us down. Our tribe needed a counterforce." She takes another sip. "And Qrow and I were the perfect age." Yang's mother stood up. "The entrance exams were child's play compared to what we'd already been through. We were good. So good, that we caught the attention of Beacon's very own headmaster, Professor Ozpin. Even after we were put on a team, I could tell he was keeping his eye on us. Back then, I thought it was because he knew, but it was Team STRQ he was interested in."

"What do you mean by that?" Yang asked.

"Constant attention, extra training missions, turning a blind eye whenever we happened to break the rules and get into more trouble than we should've. Sound familiar?"

Yang and Weiss share another glance at each other. Weiss gestures Yang to keep going.

"What's your point?" Yang asked.

"How much do you know about Professor Ozpin? About his past?" Raven asked.

"He was...a prodigy. One of the youngest headmasters to be appointed to a school." Weiss said.

"Because that's how he planned it. Because the man you know as Ozpin designed those schools and has followers inside every academy on Remnant that are loyal to him and no one else."

"That doesn't make any sense! How could he have...? No. Why would someone even do that?" Yang asked.

"Because old man Oz has a great and terrible secret. One that could spread fear across the world. One that he eventually entrusted to our team, and once I knew, there was no going back. I needed to know more, but with every new discovery I made, the more horrifying the world became." Raven said.

"Okay, then tell us. What's the big secret? What's so crazy that the rest of us don't know?"

"The Creatures of Grimm...have a master named Salem. She can't be stopped, she can't be reasoned with, and she will not rest until humanity crumbles at her feet."

As she speaks, Weiss and Yang's eyes widen more and more. They sit in silence.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"You know, you two haven't even touched your tea." Raven said, taking another sip from her teacup.

Yang stands up, "Why should we believe any of this?"

"Now you're catching on. So far you've done nothing but accept what others tell you…" Raven said, putting her cup down "...but you need to question everything."

The two stare at each other face to face, before Raven turns around.

"Otherwise you'll end up just as blind as Qrow…" Raven said, and Yang grits her teeth, and her eyes narrow, seething. "...and your fool of a father."

A shot from Ember Celica is heard, destroying the table. Raven's empty teacup clatters across the floor, stopping when it hits the heel of her boot. Raven looks toward Yang, faintly smiling.

Yang's eyes have turned red, "Don't you dare talk about my family like that!"

While Yang speaks, Weiss stares up at her wide-eyed and flinches when she raises her voice for emphasis. A weapon is heard being drawn at Yang.

"You need to calm down." Vernal said.

"Yang, please." Weiss said, holding Yang's hand.

"Listen to your friend, Yang. Your teammates and that fanboy never let you down before." Raven said.

"You don't know the first thing about my teammates! About Jared! About me! You were never there! You LEFT US!" Yang said, as her eyes then turn back to normal. "Why?!"

The blonde hangs her head in sadness.

"I know more than you realize. Not just about you, and not just what I've been told, but things I've seen with my own eyes. I know the Grimm have a leader, I know people who can come back from the dead, I know that magic is real, and I can prove it." Raven said.

Weiss stands up, while Raven continues addressing her daughter.

"You said Tai told you all about my Semblance." Raven said, and Vernal lowers her weapon while she heads toward the back exit of her tent. "Well, I doubt he ever told you what Oz did to my brother and me."

Raven exits her tent. Yang and Weiss exchange confused looks.

"Go see for yourself." Vernal said, leaving the tent.

Yang and Weiss take her advice and exit the tent. They see no one there.

"Mom?" Yang asked.

"Yang, are you okay?" Weiss asked.

"I'll be fine once we can get her to take us to Ruby and Jared."

Weiss relents while Yang continues to look around, "It's okay if...you're not okay."

"You didn't believe what she said, right?" Yang asked.

"I...of course not. Well, not all of it. It was crazy. We have Dust, Semblances here...but, I mean, there's no such thing as magic in our universe. At least. That's left in the Doctor's world with Magical Girls." Weiss said, sadly.

Just then, the two hear a bird caw. They watch it fly in front of them.

"A raven?" Weiss asked.

"I've...seen that bird before." Yang said.

"Maybe it belongs to your mom?"

The two continue to watch the raven fly in the dusk-colored sky. It descends, flying and weaving between the trees, before shapeshifting into Raven herself. Raven lands back on the ground on her feet, while Yang and Weiss have shocked expressions as she stands back up.

"How...did you do that?" Yang asked.

"Well, I could explain it to you…" Raven said, drawing Omen, slashing behind her, creating a portal with her Semblance. "...or you could ask your uncle."

"You're letting us go?"

"I'm giving you a choice." Raven said, while she sheathes her sword. "Stay here, with me, and I'll answer all your questions and more. We can have a fresh start." Yang glares at her. "Or…" She steps to the side of her portal. "...you can go back to Qrow and join Ozpin's impossible war against Salem, and meet the same fate as so many others. But can you really go back to trusting someone that's kept so much from you?"

Weiss reacts timidly, while Yang just glares at her mother.

"All I care about is making sure my sister and one of my best friends is safe." Yang said.

"Ugh…" Raven said, dissatisfied with Yang's response.

Yang and Weiss hopped onto Bumblebee.

However, before they can enter the portal, Raven addresses her daughter one more time, "Yang. If you side with your uncle, I may not be as kind the next time we meet…"

Weiss rolls her eyes and looks ahead.

"You weren't kind this time either." Yang said, angrily.

Yang and Weiss proceed through the portal on Bumblebee. The portal then disappears.

"I know…" Raven said, sadly.

Mistral...

Qrow is seen leaning against a stone railing, "This isn't right. I get one or two of them, but...all of them?"

Qrow sighs and hangs his head in disappointment. Suddenly, he hears the sound of Raven's portal behind him.

"Raven?" Qrow asked.

The sound of a motorcycle is heard coming from the portal.

"Oh." Qrow said, surprised.

Mistral house...

Team RNJR and Jared are helping prepare dinner: Ruby Rose and Lie Ren are cooking at the stove, Jaune Arc and Jared Shay are setting up the table, and Nora Valkyrie is cutting carrots, occasionally eating slices.

"Alright, the first batch is just about done." Ren said.

"Awesome! Now we just need Qrow and we'll be all set." Ruby said, happily.

"Do you really think he's gonna bring that many people?" Nora asked, still eating carrots. "This is a lot of food."

"That's more than enough food." Jared said, entering the kitchen to see Nora eat another carrot slice. "Like I said, I wanted a buffet."

"Uh, I don't know, a buffet sounded cool at first, but it sounds like we could use all the help we can get." Ruby said.

"I'm back!" Qrow said, nearby.

"Be right there!" Ruby said, excitedly.

"Ruby, you're going to overcook that. And Jared, don't take over. You don't know how to cook." Ren said, looking between Ruby and Jared.

"No I'm not gonna overcook it, shut up!"

"And shut up, Ren, I may not know how to cook. But at least I'm helpful." Jared said, crossing his arms.

"Hey, uh, Ruby? Jared?" Qrow asked, nearby.

"I'm coming!" Ruby said.

"Um, Little Red." Jared said, and some smoke comes from the pan Ruby is cooking with. "It's burning!"

"Fine!" Ruby said, looking at Ren. "Ren, you take over. Let's go, Jared."

Ruby grabs the tea tray and heads to the living room with Jared while Ren helps cook the pan.

"So, we didn't know how many people were coming, so we just cooked all of it." Ruby said, looking at the tea tray.

She looks up, and gasps as she drops the tea tray and its contents, which shatter on the floor.

"Weiss, Yang…" Jared said, letting out a lot of tears. "It's been years on my end?"

Ruby stares with Jared in disbelief at the sight of not only Qrow, but of her older sister Yang and teammate Weiss.

"Years?" Yang asked. "You can tell us later."

Yang approaches her little sister.

"Yang, I... I'm so sorry!" Ruby said, her voice cracking. "I...I should've stayed with Jared, and I should've talked to you more! I'd...I just…" Tears start pouring from her eyes. "I wasn't sure if you wanted me and Jared around and…"

Suddenly, her big sister gives her a strong hug. Ruby's lips quiver, and she looks toward her sister.

"I love you." Yang said, and tears stream from her eyes.

Ruby sobs as she leans into her sister's hug. "I love you too."

"When was the last time you saw us?" Weiss asked, looking at Jared.

Jaune, Ren and Nora enter the room, smiling at the sight of the two sisters embracing each other.

"The same time as you. The Fall of Beacon." Jared said, shrugging his shoulders.

Qrow smiles as well.

Oscar Pine enters the room, "Uh…"

"You're lying." Weiss said. "When was it actually?"

Oscar looks up, seeing Ruby and Yang hugging, and smiles.

"A couple of weeks ago." Jared said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I saw you face off against Beowolves. I also watched Ruby and Yang do hand to hand. I went and saw Blake. I missed you guys."

Weiss smiles as she wipes a tear from her eye, before frowning while looking down, "You did? You watched all of us?"

"I thought I was dying. It was a rough few years."

"Weiss. Jared." Ruby said, happily.

Weiss and Jared lookup, and sees the two sisters open their arms up for them. They smile and eagerly join them in their hug.

"Come on, ice queen. I missed you and Yang so much!" Jared said, excitedly.

Everyone smiles as they watch three of the four Team RWBY members and Jared embrace each other.