Yang found herself waking up in a dark space. From what she could tell, it looked somewhat like Beacon's Cafeteria, but the smell of smoke and ashes burnt her nose. She looked down, only to be surprised to find that she had both of her arms, completely intact, but the sound of footsteps approaching her startled her into looking up. Instantly, her iliac eyes widened in fear as approaching her from the darkness was Adam, his Wilt and Blush on his hip and all the red segments on his person glowing in the dark.

Quickly adopting a fighting stance, Yang realized that Ember Celica was now equipped onto her forearms, so she began to launch a barrage of shots towards the approaching Bull Faunus, with a desperate yell. Each shot however, seemed to phase right through him, as if he was a mere shadow and he kept getting closer and closer, with his hand now resting on Wilt's handle. Panic began to develop inside of the blonde's heart as she attempted to fire another shot, only to realize... that Ember Celica had disappeared. She looked at her bare left arm, and then at where her right arm should be, however it wasn't anymore, the only thing remaining is the stump she has. Yang could feel the rapid beating of her heart as the fear continued to settle in. She was starting to panic, looking all over the place for a way out of this nightmare, to escape from... him. But it was too late. Adam had already closed the distance. Yang's terrified eyes locked with his through his mask, a small smirk forming on his lips as he slightly unsheathed Wilt, revealing part of its glowing red blade before everything went dark.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yang gasped as her eyes shot open. Her breaths were heavy and panicked, but upon realizing that she was back in her bedroom, she slowly began to calm down. Another nightmare... Ever since the fall of Beacon, she's been haunted by images of Adam. Losing a part of her that not only made her feel strong, but also protected and safe deeply affected her... God she hated it. She hated feeling so helpless. Her mind then wandered over to Akito. She remembered the state he was in when she first saw him... blooded up, missing his entire left arm... and an emotional wreck, yet even then, he got up and pressed on to find Blake, even if he had to fight with only one arm. Yet here she was, given a second chance to feel whole again, yet she was too afraid to even touch it. She took a small glance over to her second chance, the mechanical arm that laid idly on her bedside table.

Yang's thoughts: "He only has one arm, one eye and lost his entire family but he's not moping around like I am... How...? How am I so... helpless compared to him...?"

Before she could continue to think about it all, her attention was drawn by some faint voices coming from downstairs. With her curiosity hitting, she decided to go take a look for herself.

>Chapter 34: Family<

The one-armed blonde made her way down the flight of stairs as the voices she heard continued to get louder and louder. As she got closer to the bottom, she heard that one voice was that of her father's, but the other voices caught her by surprise as they very much sounded like her former Professors, Port and Oobleck.

Port: "And-and-and then, in comes Qrow, wearing a skirt! I was just a T.A. I... I didn't know what to do, so I just left the room to laugh!" The three men erupted in laughter as Yang peaked around the entrance to the kitchen, where she saw the men in question.

Taiyang: "Yeah, we told him it was a hilt, he'd never worn a uniform before so he didn't know."

Oobleck: "That's terrible! What is wrong with you!?" He laughed, with the blonde male chuckling as his grin widened.

Taiyang: "Selena asked the same thing! She tried to stick up for the old bird but couldn't stop herself from laughing either! Plus, the girls all said he had nice legs! Dante and I did that jerk a favor! Besides, that's not even the best part! See, we were about to pull the same thing off with V just-" He was cut off by Port suddenly standing up and putting his leg on the table.

Port: "Like what you see~?" All three of the men burst out laughing before suddenly, the professor lost his balance and fell onto his back, causing Oobleck and Taiyang to laugh louder. Port was too laughing while on the ground before Yang's own giggles were heard. When they all looked at the doorway, where she was, the two Professors quickly did their best to return to their professional demeanors, with them both standing to greet her.

Port: "Oh, um, Ms. Xiao Long! Please, join us."

Oobleck: "Yes, yes, pull up a chair. Please, pull up a chair."

Yang: "I'm good." She said as she went next to her father before sitting on the counter. "So, what are you doing here?" She questioned as the two professors took their seats.

Oobleck: "Despite popular belief, teachers do have a life outside the classroom."

Port: "Professor Goodwitch is working around the clock to restore Beacon to its former glory. But Mistral wasn't built in a day, and we all need some rest from time to time."

Taiyang: "Look, let's not worry about that right now. So, there we were, standing in the auditorium, looking at Qrow wearing a skirt! Then Oz tells everyone: 'It's time to work on our landing strategy!'" The three men began to laugh as Yang's mind went a bit wild, picturing her beloved Uncle in a Beacon Uniform Skirt before she quickly shook the embarrassing image away.

Oobleck: "The Sparda Brothers and Branwen twins have always been... interesting, to say the least."

Port: "That sure didn't seem to stop young Tai and Vergil..." The two looked at the blonde man, with Oobleck laughing while Taiyang and Yang didn't look very amused.

Taiyang: "Hey, come on man, she's right here!"

Port: "Oh, please! She's a mature young woman. If she can handle combat, she can handle a few jabs at her old man and step-father."

Taiyang: "That's not the issue Pete, and besides, she's still a teenager."

Yang: "'She' is also in the room and can be directly spoken to." She intervened, hopping off the counter while narrowing her eyes. "And 'I' think I've been through enough to be considered an adult at this point."

Taiyang: "Adult or not, you still got a long way to go before you're ready for the real world." With her frustration growing, Yang unleashed a loud groan as she stared at her father.

Yang: "Oh my gosh! Does every father figure just have the same three condescending phrases?"

Taiyang: "Yeah, but we only use them when we mean it!" Port and Oobleck just shared an awkward look as the argument between father and daughter continued.

Yang: "Is that so?"

Taiyang: "As a matter of fact it is so!"

Yang: "How come you've never been on Ace's butt about this!?"

Taiyang: "Ace has already been through the ringer about this sort of stuff already, long before he even started living here with us!" Yang just groaned and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, if you honestly think that you're ready to go out there on your own like your brother... well, guess you lost some brain cells along with that arm."

The room fell silent as Yang, Port and Oobleck all looked completely surprised at the mere fact that Taiyang mentioned his daughter's lost appendage in such a manner.

Yang: "You jerk!" She exclaimed, punching her father's shoulder before the two of them suddenly began to laugh.

Oobleck: "Are we finally talking about the Goliath in the room?" He asked in a bit of a hushed tone. Taiyang and Yang both shared a glance before bursting out in laughter, with Oobleck and Port soon joining in. Soon, the laughter began to die down gradually.

Port: "Miss Xiao Lo- Yang, if you don't mind me asking, why haven't you tried on the arm yet?"

Oobleck: "Oh, yes yes! A piece of Atlas technology being given out like that is rare indeed, not to mention the effort it took to deliver it here. It seems a great many people want to see you return to normal." The blonde teen looked down as she clutched onto the counter.

Yang: "I'm... scared. Everyone keeps talking about me getting back to normal and I appreciate it. But... this IS normal now. It's just... taking me a while to get used to it."

Taiyang: "Well... Normal is what you make of it." Everyone looked towards him, with Yang narrowing her eyes slightly.

Yang: "What is that supposed to mean? Do you want me to just pretend like nothing happened? I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone and it's never coming back."

Taiyang: "... You're right, it's not coming back. But that doesn't have to stop you from becoming who you want to be." He fully faced his eldest daughter. "You're Yang Xiao Long, my sunny little dragon. You can do whatever you put your mind to. So whenever you're ready to stop moping, and get back out there, I'll be there for you. And I know for a fact, if Ace was here, he'd say the same thing." The blonde female looked at her father, contemplating his words.

Yang: "I..."

Port: "Fear is like any other emotion, it comes and goes. It's all in how you handle it. Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time."

Yang: "Really? You?"

Oobleck: "He's afraid of mice." He said in a hushed tone before suddenly.

Port: "THEY BRING ONLY DISEASE AND FAMINE!" he slammed his fist on the table, triggering Yang to start bursting out into laughter. "And DON'T even get me started on their tails! So hairless... simply unnatural..."

Oobleck: "Port, I assure you, you're safe. There's no mice here right now."

While Yang was laughing from the reveal, Taiyang looked at his daughter, watching how she laughed, like she used to back before the Fall. A gentle smile came to his face, seeing his daughter enjoy herself for the first time since the Fall. After talking with the professors some more, Yang decided to retire back to her room upstairs for the night. She was near the top of the stairs before she waved down to them as they were heading to the front door.

Yang: "Goodnight!" She walked to her room. Upon entering, she spotted the robotic arm she was given as a gift. Conflicting feelings began to fill her heart before she could hear the faint sounds of her father and professors talking outside. She walked over to her room window and peaked, seeing the three men just out the front of the house.

Port: "Thanks for having us over, Tai."

Taiyang: "Anytime. You're always welcome."

Oobleck: "Olt may be a while before we return. There is still much work to be done at the school."

Port: "I... hesitate to ask but... Is there any word from young Miss Rose or Mr. Sparda?" Taiyang's expression slightly deflated as he glanced back towards Yang's room window.

Taiyang: "Not yet."

Oobleck: "Well, you're fortunate enough to know Ruby's current destination. Have you thought about going after her? Trying to bring her home?" There was a brief sigh before the blonde man looked back towards the two.

Taiyang: "I've got to... look after some things."

From her room, Yang's eyes widened as she hid out of view. She clutched onto her upper right arm, looking down with guilt as she remembered, her younger sister was out there, doing something extremely dangerous while she was still here, wallowing in her own misery. And then there was Ace, her beloved brother. No one knows where he's been since the Fall of Beacon nor has anyone heard from him. It was as if he went completely off the radar. It wasn't even confirmed if he was alive or not. The Blonde then glanced towards the metallic arm once again and stared at it, before she finally made up her mind...

Yang's thoughts: "Tomorrow." Yes... that's right. Tomorrow, she'll stop moping. It was time for her to get her fire back. Her brother and sister needed her after all.

Anima...
Team RNJR and Setsuna...

With Team RNJR and Setsuna, they were continuing on their long journey towards Mistral. Ruby had the map, which was thankfully not upside down, courtesy of Setsuna making sure that it wasn't.

Ruby: "C'mon guys! If we pick up the pace we can hit the next town before sunset."

Jaune: "Assuming it's still there." He mumbled, before Setsuna elbowed his side, while rolling her eyes. "Sorry, sorry..."

Ruby: "Of course it'll be there! This one's supposed to be pretty big." She looked at the map and squinted her eyes as she attempted to read out the name of the village in question. "Hee.. gan.. bay.. Na..."

Ren: "Higanbana. It's a well-protected village with a popular inn."

Nora: "Which means... no more camping in the rain!"

Ruby: "See, everything's gonna be fine!"

Jaune: "You know, we've had a lot of ups and downs, but things could be a lot worse. Really thought we'd see more Grimm."

Ren: "As did I." Unbeknownst to them, Setsuna started slowly down slightly, her wolf ears twitching as she glanced behind her, towards a cliff, with her narrowing her eyes as she thought she could hear something.

Nora: "I guess our luck is finally turning around. To Higanbana!"

Ren and Jaune: "To Higanbana!"

Ruby: "To Higanban-BANNA!" She then noticed the Arctic Wolf Faunus not saying anything and looked back, only to notice that she was falling behind. "Setsuna? You okay?" The rest of Team RNJR looked towards her, the white haired Faunus looking at them and blinking before scratching the back of her head and jogging up to them

Setsuna: "S-Setsuna's fine. Just spacing out. To Higanbana!" She said, her cheerful demeanor coming back, her wolf ears wiggling and tail wagging happily.

However, on the cliff that Setsuna was originally looking at, a Beowolf was staring down at the group of five, ready to pounce and claim its prey. Before it could however, a familiar sword stabbed through its back, killing it instantly. Qrow Branwen rested his Harbinger on his shoulder, with Dante slowly approaching him as there was a trail of dissolving Beowolves behind them.

Dante: "Higanbana huh..." he humbled before there the sound of a bird of prey caught their attention.

They looked over to a nearby tree, only to see a red-eyed Raven perched in a tree. After cawing once more, it flew off in the direction of the village as the sound of thunder could be heard, signifying an oncoming storm. "Well that wasn't suspicious at all." He deadpanned while Qrow just scoffed.

Qrow: "Hmph, 'luck'."

>>Later<<

Night had fallen and the downpour came down as Team RNJR and Setsuna checked into the inn in Higanbana. Qrow and Dante sat in the bar across from the inn, watching the team of young Huntsmen and Huntresses. However, their attention was soon diverted by a waitress approaching him and handing them each a drink

Qrow: "Uh, we didn't o-"

Waitress: "From the woman and man upstairs, red eyes, blue eyes; said you two wouldn't mind bottom self."

Dante: "Huh..." He glanced up towards the upper floor, before looking back at the waitress. "Well look at that..."

Waitress: "But, I went ahead and gave you both top. Lucky you~" She winked at the two men before walking off, clearly swaying her hips in a sensual manner, drawing both of their eyes.

Dante: "I call dibs."

Qrow: "Fuck you and your dibs."

The two stood up, their drinks in hand before making their way to the second floor of the tavern, where they were met with the two figures in question, both sitting at a corner table for four. The first was a woman with jet black hair and crimson red eyes; the same woman that Yang described seeing on the train to Vale, her and Ace's mother and Qrow's sister, Raven Branwen.

(Raven Branwen)

And sitting next to her was another familiar face. The man in question was in the photo of Teams STRQ and CDSY. He was Ace's father and the brother of Dante, Vergil Sparda.

(Vergil Sparda)

While Vergil sat beside the ravenette, his eyes closed and arms crossed as his beloved sword, Yamato rested comfortably in his embrace, Raven merely smiled towards the two men.

Raven: "Hello there boys."

Dante: "Sup, emo tits." Qrow elbowed him and narrowed his eyes at him.. "Ow."

Qrow: "Raven. Vergil." The two men took their seats, opposite from their siblings. Qrow and Dante both looked at Vergil first, who still remained silent, seemingly like he was merely there just because. The drunkard fighter slowly looked back to his sister, a skeptical expression on his face. "So, what do you want?"

Raven: "A girl can't just catch up with her family?"

Qrow: "She can but you're not. Now how bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these comin'." He raised his drink up to emphasize his words. As he began to raise his drink, Raven glanced over to the man next to her, who merely waved his hand dismissively, wordlessly telling her to go first.

Dante: "Still the silent treatment after all these years, V? And here I thought you'd lighten up a bit after knocking Raven up." He said with a sarcastic tone, taking a swig from his drink as he stared at his brother, while Raven merely rolled her eyes at the man's comment, Vergil slowly opened his eyes and looked at his brother silently. Dante merely scoffed and glared back. After cautiously looking around for anyone who could be eavesdropping on them, Raven decided to move the conversation forwards and looked back at Qrow and Dante.

Raven: "Does she have it?" There was a brief silence as Qrow trailed the rim of his cup with his finger while Dante merely stroked his nape.

Qrow: "Did you know Yang lost her arm and Ace went missing?"

Raven: "That's not-"

Qrow: "Rhetorical Question, I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family then carry on like your own kids don't exist."

Raven: "I saved Yang and Ace was-"

Dante: "'Trained by you and Vergil, he's strong enough to be by himself', yeah we've heard it already. The moment he decides to up and leave, neither of you don't bother to show him the slight bit of concern the moment he goes missing huh. Talk about real 'mom and dad of the year material', am I right?"
He slightly elbowed Qrow who merely scoffed in agreement, causing Raven to grit her teeth in annoyance.

Raven: "We told you Beacon would fall and it did. We told you Ozpin would fail and he has. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?"

Qrow: "I thought you weren't interested in all of that."

Raven: "I just want to know what we are up against."

Qrow: "And which 'we' are you referring to? You and your boy toy?" A snicker came from Dante. Raven was about to respond, only to be stopped by Vergil, the white-haired man gently grasping her shoulder, stopping her from standing.

Raven: "Tch..." She slowly leaned back in her chair and attempted to calm herself down.

Dante: "Oh? I thought you were all strong and independent, Raven. But the guy didn't even need to speak and you submitted? Wow... you've changed."

Raven: "And you certainly haven't... You're still such a pain in the ass."

Dante: "Why thank you~" He playfully bowed, holding a smirk on his face. Raven just grumbled while Vergil merely shook his head at his brother's attitude.

Qrow: "You two should come back, you know. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us." He emphasized that with a small hand gesture. Raven however didn't take that so kindly as she scowled.

Raven: "You're the one who left. The tribe raised us and you turned your back on them."

Qrow: "They were killers and thieves."

Raven: "They were your family."

Qrow: "You have a very skewed perception of that word." That finally triggered the woman enough for her to stand up angrily.

Raven: "I lead our people now and as leader, and with Vergil by my side, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival."

Dante: "Yeah we for sure saw that shit. The people of Shion saw it too."

Raven: "The weak die, the strong survive. Those are the rules."

Dante: "Oh is that so? So that means you consider Summer and Claret-"

Raven: "They chose to follow Ozpin and look at where it led them." Dante just stared at her and crossed her arms, with Qrow scoffing. The ravenette then grabbed her mask. "If neither of you know where the relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about. Vergil."

Standing up, the man unsheathed his beloved Yamato, the cold blade reflecting the dim light of the lantern on their table before with one swift strike, a rift opened up behind him and Raven. Just as Raven was about to take up her mask, Qrow stopped her by grabbing it.

Qrow: "We don't know where the Spring Maiden is either, but if you do, I need you to tell us."

Raven: "And why would we do that?"

Qrow: "Because without her, we're all going to die." The ravenette merely smirked and scoffed while pulling her mask out of his grasp.

Raven: "And which 'we' are you referring to? You and that man child over there?" With that final statement from her, she equipped her mask and took up her weapon, Omen before walking through the rift.

Dante: "I take back what I said. She hasn't changed at all." He sighed before glancing at his Brother, who had his back to him "And you. You not gonna say anything asshole?" There was silence for a brief moment before the man in the blue coat reached into it and pulled out what looked like an envelope, sealed together with orange wax shaped like a small wolf head. He turned and looked at Dante before handing it to him. "Uh..."

Vergil: "Claret's kid. When you see him again, hand that to him. It was written by her before she disappeared." He said, leaving the two men in a confused and even stunned silence.

Vergil took this moment to turn and leave. Just as the rift closed, there was a gasp, followed by the sound of glass shattering. The two looked behind them, only to see that it was the Waitress from before, who looked surprised. Qrow said nothing and raised his glass to her.

Qrow: "Make this one a double."

Waitress: "Y-Yes, of course!" She quickly began to clean up the mess she made. As she did, Qrow looked back at Dante, who looked at the envelope in his hand as written on its surface simply said...

"I'm so sorry, my dear Wolf Cubs."

Patch Island...

Taiyang was outside, watering the plants when suddenly, he heard the creak of the front door. Turning his head, he was surprised to see his daughter, Yang, stepping outside with a more positive expression. But what was even more of a surprise for him, is that she finally tried on the arm. The blonde teen looked down at her prosthetic, opening and closing her palm to test its responsiveness, which was basically spot on. She then looked back at heh father, who smiled at her and approached her.

Taiyang: "Okay. Let's get started."

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Next Chapter: Menagerie