Returned

Yang was incredibly happy. Although she didn't know her birth Mom too well, she knew she cared. That was enough. She could make Cookie Mom and Dad happy again. She could make her Uncle come back. She wasn't paying much attention to the surroundings, least of all the Grimm warily judging Raven and moving towards Ruby. Yang heard a singing metallic noise and looked up to see three Beowolves mercilessly beheaded by her birth Mom with her red blade.

That's when she noticed her very Grimm-like eyes, venomously glaring at the nearest Grimm to Ruby. She was about to stumble back in fear but Raven held her close to her chest and got closer to Ruby before putting the blonde in the red cart with her sister.

"Over my dead body will you have them.. come on, try me" Raven sneered in contempt and the stupider Grimm answered her.

They were killed with a quickdraw, dissipating into black smog before they hit the ground.

Yang watched with awe, the fear of her Grimm eyes fading away as the remaining wolves fled to live another day. Raven knelt down to her level and Yang saw relief in her scary eyes. Like what her Cookie Mom and Dad had shown.

"Yang, are you okay? Why did you come out here? With your sister no less? Haah.." Raven sighed in exasperation but Yang hugged her once again.

"Don't go again.." Yang clutched her dress tightly.

Raven felt it in that moment. The flames inside shrunk just a little bit. They grew upon seeing her daughter in peril but they calmed once she was safe and in her arms. Raven took a relieved breath and returned her hug as her sclera turned from black, back into white. It seems her emotional state determines her transformation. Negative emotions like spite come so easy to her and it can quickly change her physical appearance. But peace, love and other such positive emotions keep herself in check.

"Nice dress. Black suits you" Yang pulled at Raven's sleeved dress as she coughed.

"No no.. I'm not edgy.." Raven tried to correct her.

"What's an edgy?" Yang had no idea what her Mom was talking about.

"Nothing.. let's get you and Ruby back to your house, okay?" Raven pat her long blonde hair and started dragging the red cart with Ruby and Yang on it.

"Mom are you a fawn-us?" Yang asked, looking at the white horn jutting out of her Mother's head.

"You mean Faunus. Not exactly" Raven gave a thoughtful hum as she answered.

Just then, she felt a familiar feeling and saw Qrow rocketing toward them in bird form before turning back above the treeline and dropping in front of them, looking like he saw a ghost. He brought his hand up to reach out but froze once he saw the horn jutting out of his twin's head. He put his hand on Harbinger's grip, just in case and looked at her cautiously.

"Qrow" Raven sighed and let go of the wagon, looking at her brother.

Thanks to the dip in the Grimm pool, she could feel negative emotions as Grimm do. Right now, Qrow was giving off the feeling of despair and intense fear.

"I'm still me, Qrow. I survived" Raven sighed in relief as she felt Qrow's negative feelings diminish. Likely due to her words and seeing Yang hug her waist tightly.

"Now now.. aren't you going to give your big sis a hug?" Raven opened her arms with a smirk.

She was trying to break the tension but unexpected to her, Qrow actually hugged her. Then he hit her head with a trembling fist.

"You.. you st- god damn it, Raven.. You actually sacrificed yourself for Summer" Qrow was at a loss for words.

"Ow. I'm not apologizing for saving her" Raven then pat his shoulder with a small smile.

"You have to tell Summer, Tai and I what happened. Tonight. As for you, Firecracker.." Qrow gave Yang a stern look.

"We did way stupider things when we were younger, Qrow. She shouldn't have come out here alone, let alone bring her sister. But she understands that well now" Yang nodded her head with a guilty expression.

"Which is why if there are no issues.. I'll be training Yang to never be helpless in a situation like that again" Raven put her hand on Yang's head.

"Yeah! Huntress training!" Yang raised her small hand in excitement.

"You won't say that for long.." Qrow muttered as he turned away and made his way to the Rose-Xiaolong house while texting on his scroll.

"What's that mean?" Yang looked up at Raven, who didn't say anything and just ruffled her hair.

As soon as they got back to the house, Summer and Tai were seen waiting with worry evident on their faces. Summer was the first to run over, followed by Tai. Summer picked up Ruby and Yang and planted kiss after kiss on their heads, causing Ruby to wake up.

"I was so worried! You're lucky your Uncle found..." Summer stopped as soon as she looked up and saw Raven and Qrow.

She quickly took two steps forward but stopped upon seeing her horn. She felt different now. The feeling she had when she faced Salem returned. But it was far more subdued. Like it was buried under who Raven was. Summer stopped for five seconds before bear hugging her old partner with tears in her eyes.

"Raven..! It's.. I.." Summer just sobbed as she hugged her friend tightly. Raven returned it as gently as she could while rubbing her back.

"It's me, Summer.. A little changed, but it's still me" Raven sighed and consoled her friend as Tai wiped his own eyes. Ruby and Yang were squeezed between the Mothers but they too, joined in the hug.

"What happened to you.." She whispered and looked at her horn.

"She's not a Faun-uss Cookie Mom" Yang saw fit to comment as she looked up at Summer.

"Let's not forget the little fact that you took your sister into a dangerous forest, Young Lady.. You're lucky you were brought back safe and sound!" Summer scolded her with a still worried but stern expression.

"I'm sorry..." Yang looked down in clear guilt as Summer sighed.

"Don't worry about punishing her. Raven offered to train her after all" Qrow said with a wry grin.

Tai's face soured and Summer looked pitifully at Yang, who just tilted her head.

"Fine.. you're off the hook if you promise not to do that again.." Summer sighed as Yang nodded repeatedly.

"Now let's go back inside for dinner. Raven can join us and explain things afterward" Summer carried the kids in, followed by Tai and Qrow before he had his arm grabbed by Raven.

"Do not tell Ozpin I survived.. He'll most likely treat me the same as Salem" Raven whispered to him.

Qrow wanted to refute. To defend his friend and boss. But he knew how paranoid he could be. He himself had doubted Raven when he first saw that horn. He still held some doubts even now. He nodded and they both went back inside the house.

Hours later, Raven finally got to explaining what happened to her. Right up until she got out of the pools of destruction. She stopped, taking a look at their somber and horrified faces.

"I survived. The man who was responsible for my second life here told me the will I held onto during my first life was turned into a tangible power" Raven explained with a small huff.

She wasn't going to tell them about Elizabeth or not stopping Salem. That was asking for them to tell Ozpin and lose trust in her immediately. Instead, although she felt bad for doing so, she lied.

"Salem was gone when I had pulled myself out. I had to find my weapon though, so I looked for days while avoiding the Grimm. I broke into her Castle and took her dress too. I guess she didn't expect her castle to be broken into so.. I did it successfully. My clothes were ruined from the pool so it was the best thing I could think of" Raven shook her head helplessly.

"That sounds rough.. half naked in the Grimmlands" Summer sympathetically pat Raven's shoulder.

"Somewhat" Raven shrugged.

"So.. what are you going to do now? You still have a place here, seeing as you have all your faculties and aren't very Grimm-like except for the horn" Tai asked, looking at Qrow, who was thinking.

"I'd like to stay here with you. Yang seems to like me for some strange reason. On top of that, I want you to not tell Ozpin about my return. You know how paranoid he is. He'll doubt what I said and think I became one of Salem's agents" Raven looked at them all. All of them agreed, even the forever optimistic Summer knew.

"Thanks. On top of that, I do still want to help people. But to avoid any kind of identification, I'll need to be disguised when I go out to do Huntress things" Raven sat back and thought about what kind of disguise she could make.

"OH! Let me make you it!" Summer practically yelled with excitement.

"It'll be heroic! Inspiring! Cool!" Summer started to run to her room and pull out a notebook.

"Ah but it must have armor too.. not too heavy though. Kehehehee!" Summer gleefully started to sketch, much to Tai and Qrow's exasperation.

"There she goes.. Weapons and Costumes.. Remember when she had that fixation on the Black Knight fairy tale? She tried to act like a knight during our second year at Beacon" Tai brought up Summer's embarrassing chuuni phase as they started to reminisce.

"Oh yeah. She even made Raven dress up in that Black Knight set she made out of plastic and steel. Didn't look half bad but she roleplayed a bit too much. She made herself the White Knight armor and treated Raven as some eternal rival, remember?" Summer and Raven's faces flushed red as Qrow brought that embarrassing set of memories up.

"Hey! A lot of people liked the armor.." Summer tried to defend herself.

"Only one I remember liking it was Kali. Though it was only when Raven wore it.. Huh. Tai am I crazy or did Kali have a huge crush on Raven?" Qrow hit his palm with his fist in realization.

"Oh you didn't know? Yeah she kept glaring at me for flirting with her. Remember she always showered when Raven went to shower?" Tai nodded with a small grin.

"Wait Kali? Kali Belladonna liked me" Raven raised a brow at them.

Tai nodded and Qrow was thinking about all the signs that seem obvious now.

"Yeah she sat with us at lunch a lot. Beside you, more specifically" Qrow said with a dry chuckle.

"That's probably why Ghira didn't like me" Raven scratched her head before a thought and a rush of an emotion came over her.

~Get the sexy cat~ By the time she registered the random thought in her head, she shook her head hard and coughed.

~No.. NO. She's married and I still love Salem. What the hell was that thought though? I'm not some horny teen..~ Raven sighed as she listened to more of Qrow and Tai's conversation about all of Kali's signs, which seemed obvious now that they were adults.

"Ah.. I'm just gonna go to bed now. I'll leave you two to make out or something and Summer to draw the third costume design" Raven waved to them and walked upstairs as Qrow and Tai waved back to her and continued to reminisce.

"What? Tai and I? Never.. Hmm.. maybe if he was a hot blonde bombshell?" Qrow scrutinized Tai, who just shoved his shoulder playfully.

Summer didn't even respond, she was far too interested in the revised 'Black Knightess' design. Her eyes shone in awe as she kept drawing different designs for the concept.

"So cool.." Summer whispered and started to giggle to herself.