Chapter 72: The Return
'One of the most puzzling rumours to persist for centuries despite being easily disproven - the limited speed of the ships of the time, much less overland travel, and the locations of both parties are proven thanks to multiple contemporary sources - is that there was a secret meeting between Princess Daenerys Targaryen, Queen of Meereen, and the Ruby Order during which the five women settled the succession of the Iron Throne. Even if such a meeting would have been possible - the disappearance of the Ruby Order from Westeros at least theoretically would have allowed a trip to Meereen albeit the Ruby Order would almost certainly not have acted in the crown's name in such a manner, not without authorisation by the Lord Regent, for which there is no source - there would have been records and reports of such an event by everyone involved, distributed to the various parties affected by this. The only such record is an obvious forgery, crafted two hundred years later, in an apparent attempt to discredit the ruling king of the time by his younger brother. However, it is quite evident that the Ruby Order influenced Princess Daenerys's policies, both during the Great Winter Council and the Crusade.'
A Treatise On The Ruby Order, by Maester Kennet Bracken
*****
Meereen, Slaver's Bay, Essos, 299 AC
Standing in front of two massive bronze doors, richly decorated with exotic motives, Quentyn Martell took a deep breath to steady himself. Behind those doors waited the throne room of Princess Daenerys Targaryen - Queen of Meereen, he corrected himself. He couldn't afford to make a mistake now. His mission was too important. Daenerys, thanks to her dragons, was the only one who stood a chance against the Four Maidens. If his family wanted to finally receive justice and topple the usurper from the Iron Throne, they needed her support.
That was the reason Quentyn had travelled from Dorne to Slaver's Bay. His father and his House counted on him. That was why he was standing here, waiting as if he were some beggar, next to the two Unsullied - his skin crawled at the thought of what had been done to them - who were standing guard.
Without warning and with hardly a sound, the doors opened - well-oiled hinges, indeed - and a woman in a silk dress too expensive for a mere servant looked at him. "Prince Quentyn. The Queen will see you now." She stepped to the side without a bow.
Was that an insult, or different customs? Quentyn wasn't familiar enough with Meereen to tell. He banished the thought and entered the throne room with his head held high.
Two rows of Unsullied flanked the carpet leading to the throne, and he could see various courtiers behind them, all looking at him even though a few acted as if they weren't. That was familiar, of course. However, the mix of their appearances wasn't. Even for Essos, the mix of clothes and people was eclectic. Even with just a glance, he spotted what looked like Ghiscari, Dothraki, Lysene, Volantene and even Westerosi fashion.
But the figure on the throne drew, no, caught his attention. Even if he hadn't known her description, he would have realised she was royalty - her composure was as impressive as her Targaryen beauty. Long, pearly-white hair held in an elaborate plait, a white silken dress, cut in a fashion a Dornish could approve of, and adorned with selected jewellery, she looked at him with her chin raised and her mouth set in a slight frown. Stern but oh so beautiful, and he felt his stomach twist a bit at the sight. Dangerous, in more ways than one, as Uncle Oberyn would say. He couldn't see her dragons, though, as he understood, they had grown too large to be kept around during court.
But he was the son of the Prince of Dorne. He was here on his father's orders, and he represented a family that had ruled Dorne three times as long as the Targaryens had ruled Westeros. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken.
He approached the stairs leading to the throne and bowed. Deeply - it was better to err on the side of caution, given the princess's - the queen's - ancestry and what he had heard about her actions in Slaver's Bay. "Your Grace."
"Prince Quentyn." She nodded at him, and her lips twisted into the barest hint of a smile as her eyes narrowed.
"I bring greetings from my father, the Prince of Dorne, and his congratulations for your ascension to Queen of Meereen," Quentyn went on. He gestured at the servant standing behind him. "I've brought a gift as well."
The servant stepped forward and put the small chest he was carrying on the ground, right between Quentyn and the first step, and withdrew again.
Quentyn opened it, revealing a beautiful diadem - not a crown, of course. Still, it was a masterwork of jewellery, a dozen rubies set in white gold, the metal shaped like three dragons with their bodies intertwined.
The Queen nodded in acceptance, but her faint smile didn't grow more pronounced - and she stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes while a servant collected the chest and took it away.
He felt a bit… not unnerved, nor worried, but… curious, he decided, would fit, about it. Of course, the diadem was, while expensive, not worth a fortune - not for the ruler of a city in Essos. On the other hand, it was no trifle, either - a worthy gift for royalty. "It was originally intended for Princess Elia," he explained. "But she was murdered before the craftsman could complete it." He smiled sadly, even though he felt proud to segue into their shared family ties and tragic past.
"I see. You gift me the leftovers of my good sister?" Her eyebrows rose slightly.
"It was never worn," he replied, perhaps, in hindsight, a bit too defensively. "It never left Dorne before this. It is yours, Your Grace." He bowed his head again.
"Yes, it is."
He was growing a little concerned. According to all he had heard, the girl shouldn't be this cold - or hostile - towards him. They did share grievances against the usurper. They were related by the blood each of them shared with Prince Aergon. Why was she acting as if his House - or Quentyn himself - had slighted her? He had done no such thing!
"And it is a not-so-subtle reminder of my family's fate in the Rebellion," she spoke up after a moment's silence.
What could he do but nod? Even though it was quite blunt to lay it out like that in front of the Court. Had the Queen's education been utterly bereft of a courtly education? Or had she taken to the blunt rashness of Dothraki because of her late husband? Nevertheless, he had to push on. "Although perhaps our shared loss of kin could better be discussed in a more private setting, Your Grace." He smiled at her, hoping to convey the right mix of sadness and promise.
He could only hope that she would realise what he implied. The things he had been sent to discuss couldn't be voiced in public; it would be a folly to speak of what amounted to treason when four score of nobles and more guards could listen in; the Usurper's regent would hear about it as soon as the next ship from Meereen reached King's Landing.
She slowly nodded. "Of course you would."
He tensed - she sounded cold. Coldly furious. But why? He caught her glancing - with a thin smile - at the man standing near the corner to her side. Was that Mormont? Quentyn had heard about the disgraced northern noble; his garments, utterly unsuited to the climate, would fit.
But he couldn't let himself get distracted. He smiled winningly at the queen as he cocked his head in genuine confusion. "I beg your pardon, Your Grace?"
"You're here to entice me to support your ploy to take the Iron Throne."
He froze, both at the coldness of her tone and the accusation. How could she say this out loud?
She scoffed. "Do not deny it; Ser Jorah told me about the plans to use me."
She rose and started to descend the stairs.
"About the assassin he was told to stop to earn my trust. About the lies I had been told growing up in exile."
She stopped a few steps before the floor. High enough that he had to crane his neck to meet her blazing eyes.
"About Illyrio's plans to use my dragons and me for his schemes. Your and Varys's schemes."
Quentyn couldn't help it; he glared at Ser Jorah with a gasp. How could he betray their confidence like this?
When he heard her scoff again and saw her sneer, he realised his mistake.
"I am no tool to be used! No child to be manipulated! I am Queen Daenerys Targaryen! Mother of Dragons!"
A shadow fell on her, and a moment later, Quentyn almost cried out in fear when a dragon swept down to perch on the railing of the balcony behind her throne, the impact seemingly shaking the palace walls themselves.
Quentyn swallowed, trembling against his will.
"I will never let anyone use me again!" she spat. "Not through bribes, not through lies, not through empty promises and false tales of the past! I know about your plot! Go tell your father that I will not ally myself with those who approach me under false pretences!"
He wanted to deny the accusation, explain that it wasn't true, beg for a private discussion so he could explain that Father was supporting the rightful heir to the Iron Throne - her nephew - but then the dragon behind her roared, and it was all he could do not to soil himself as he fled the room.
It was scant consolation that the court must have been as frightened as Quentyn himself had been, he realised once the doors closed behind him, for they had not laughed at him, as many would have done to curry favour with their queen.
Father would not be pleased to hear about this. Not at all. Yet he must know as soon as possible to counter whatever consequences this public confrontation would bring for him and their House.
Quentyn could only hope that their ship had already finished reprovisioning.
*****
Ruins, Wilderness, Kingdom of Vale, Remnant
Ruby Rose slightly staggered when the ground changed beneath her as she stepped through the portal and the gleaming light vanished. She quickly looked around, Crescent Rose ready. It looked… "...kinda familiar," she said out loud. Old, crumbled stone walls, mostly overgrown. The trees sprouting between the stone remains were old-looking - tall, the branches thick, pretty different from the scraggly trees (except for the Weirwood ones, of course) in Dorne. And the bushes looked different too. And the mountains in the distance… yes, she knew them. Well, not the names.
"Those are the ruins where we were transported to Westeros," Weiss said - her partner was also glancing around, Myrtenaster raised.
She was right - Ruby recognised the ruins. And the forest around them. She had looked at the pictures (a few times) and read their own descriptions of them (often) in Westeros. "That means we're home!" she blurted out.
"It's our moon," Blake said, looking up at the sky.
"Yeah," Yang added. "So, be on the lookout for Grimm - the ones we killed will have been replaced."
Right. They were in the middle of the wilderness. Ruby nodded. Oh! "Cover me!" she pulled out her scroll. "I'll check if we have a connection!"
"They better not have cancelled our subscriptions during the time we were missing," Weiss muttered as she stepped closer to Ruby.
Ruby stared at the scroll, watching the symbol spin as her scroll tried to connect to the CCTS.
"We would need to have a repeater in range to get a connection," Blake said. "And we're in the middle of nowhere, so that's very unlikely. We'll have to trek back to…"
With a soft beep, Ruby's scroll established a connection. "Yes!" She smiled at her friends. "I've got a connection!"
"Really?" Weiss looked surprised - and pulled her own scroll out.
"Yes!" Yang grinned widely as Ruby nodded at her.
Blake frowned. "That means there has to be a repeater nearby, but that means there'd be an outpost, or at least a Huntsman camp nearby."
"Whatever! Let's call Beacon so they can send a Bullhead to pick us up before we lose connection!" Weiss said. "And let's hope that they won't believe that we're bandits trying to lure them into an ambush with found scrolls - we have been missing for over a year, so…" She trailed off with a gasp. "That can't be right!"
"What?" Ruby cocked her head to look at Weiss's scroll. "What's wrong?"
"According to my scroll, it's the same day we left!" Weiss replied, staring at her scroll. "The same hour, perhaps even the same minute."
"What?" Ruby blinked, then checked the date and time on her own. "It's…" She blinked as she tried to remember the date, then checked her scroll's calendar. "...the same day, yes."
"And the same time," Blake added. She looked at the hill. "If that's true, then we should find our own tracks up on the hilltop there."
"Let's go!" Ruby said, starting to jog up the slope.
"Stop! Don't touch the magical artefact!" Weiss yelled.
Ruby turned around to frown at her partner. "I wasn't going to, duh!" Yes, there, on that hill, was the thingy she had touched so long ago. But she wouldn't touch it again - she didn't want to be transported back to Westeros!
Weiss huffed. "You better not. I do not want to return to Westeros."
"To the in-between, as the Blacksmith called it," Blake cut in. "She said the artefact took us there, and she moved us to Westeros."
"No matter the destination, I absolutely do not wish to leave this world again!" Weiss snapped.
"Let's just check for our tracks," Yang spoke up.
"Yes!" Ruby used her Semblance and flew to shortly before the hilltop - no need to risk accidentally touching the thingy. Yes, the area looked like there had been a fight - lots of torn up ground and… "Oh! There's a spent cartridge from my baby!" She picked the case up and held it out so her friends could see.
"Are you certain?" Weiss asked as she came up the slope. "Other Huntresses probably use anti-material rifles as well."
"Yes!" Ruby nodded. "I loaded that round myself - see the mark on the casing? That's my emblem!"
"Not from here, no," Weiss replied.
"Well, it is mine!" Ruby replied. She looked around. It was true. The moon, the location, the connection, the cases… She took a deep breath. "We're home! We're really home!" She used her Semblance again to dash towards Weiss, hugging her partner. "We're home!" And their families hadn't spent a year thinking they were dead! That was even better! Or almost as good!
Weiss tensed up, but Ruby felt her return the hug. "Yes, we are," her partner whispered, followed by what might have been a sniffle. "We're home."
"Yeah! We're back! Group hug!"
Two more pairs of arms closed around them.
Ruby closed her eyes and didn't bother to wipe the tears away.
They were home! They were finally home! They could see their families and friends again!
*****
Wilderness, Kingdom of Vale, Remnant, Second Semester, First Year
Their base camp - which was a fancy name for the spot where they had stashed the supplies that had been too unwieldy to carry into a fight - was untouched. Of course, they had cleared out all the Grimm nearby before leaving for the ruins, so that was to be expected. And with the number of Grimms they had had to kill, the odds of anyone else having been around to loot the camp had been very low.
Ruby was still relieved to find everything whole and where it should be - especially the repeater. Sure, the fact that their scrolls had a connection meant it was working, but… After everything they had gone through, she was justified in being a bit paranoid.
Still, it looked like everything was OK. "Alright, let's call Beacon then!"
"Technically, we haven't finished the mission," Weiss said. Ruby gave her a look. As did Weiss and Blake. "But I think the fact that we discovered a magical artefact is enough justification, so it shouldn't affect our grades."
Ruby blinked, then stared at her partner. "Weiss!"
"It was a joke!" Weiss defended herself, blushing slightly with that adorable pout of hers.
Ah! Ruby nodded, and Yang chuckled, which made Weiss pout some more.
"So, let's call Beacon. And hope Professor Goodwitch won't believe we're trying to cut the mission short," Ruby said. This was, after all, as the Headmaster had explained, a way to get them to 'lie low' after they had kinda trashed a highway fighting Torchwick, even though that had totally been that criminal's fault and not theirs.
"Oh, right!" Yang chuckled again. "I'd almost forgotten this was a punishment!"
"It wasn't a punishment!" Weiss objected. "We didn't receive detention or a demerit. It was merely a… "
"It was an informal or unofficial punishment," Blake interrupted her.
"That doesn't count," Weiss retorted.
"Guys!" Ruby shook her head. "I'm calling the professor now!"
She used the repeater's communication mode for it. Using her scroll would feel a bit, what was the word Weiss used? Right, frivolous.
The call went out, and Ruby watched the symbol on the small screen blink as she waited for the Professor to accept it.
After a few seconds, the screen changed to show Professor Goodwitch's face. "Yes?" she asked with her usual half-frown. But before Ruby could start explaining, the professor's eyes widened. "Miss Rose?"
"Yes?" She knew Ruby, didn't she? They hadn't been missing for a year, not at all… Oh. It had been a year for Ruby, but only a few days for the Professor. "Yes!" She nodded firmly. "I know it's a bit early, but… There was an incident. Totally not our fault!" she quickly said when the professor's eyes narrowed. "But it's very important and a long story, and we really need to get back to Beacon right away!" She almost mentioned magic before she remembered that the Blacksmith had warned them of traitors and spies around.
"Is it an emergency?"
Uh. Ruby frowned. Then she nodded. "Yes."
The Professor looked at her, and, for a moment, Ruby thought she would demand an explanation. But then she nodded. "Very well. I'll send a Bullhead. But if this is just an attempt to cut your mission short…"
"It isn't!" Ruby said. It wasn't! "It's really important!"
Ruby grimaced as the screen went dark. The way Professor Goodwitch's eyes had narrowed before the call was ended probably meant she hadn't fully believed them. Well, she would. Probably. "Uh… what do we do if they don't believe us?"
"We've got pictures of the Blacksmith on our scrolls. And pictures of the other world. Worlds," Yang said.
"Those could be faked," Blake said - but Ruby saw her check her scroll.
"We've got Ruby," Weiss said.
Ruby blinked. "Eh?"
Weiss frowned at her - was she still mad about the anvil accident? "You've grown far more than would be possible in a few days."
"Ah, right!" Ruby smiled and looked down at her dress. "I got new clothes." Oh. "That must be why the professor asked if it was me!"
"Well, that, the pictures, the dress - and that our story sounds far too far-fetched to be a plausible lie should help with our credibility," Weiss said.
"And if they don't believe us?" Ruby asked.
"Then we look for those traitors and spies ourselves," Blake replied. "We've been doing it before."
And they had been told quite strictly that they shouldn't be doing it any more. But this was a matter of life and death for the world!
Ruby nodded. "Yeah."
*****
Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale, Remnant, Second Semester, First Year
"Goodwitch's waiting for us at the landing pad."
Weiss Schnee took a deep breath when she heard Yang's comment. They should have anticipated this, of course, having called in an emergency, but part of her had still expected to be able to head to the dorms first, get more presentable - their combat outfits had held up admirably, but after a year in Westeros, they were anything but pristine, and part of her recoiled from the thought of attending a high-profile meeting in anything but impeccable clothes.
On the other hand, their current appearance should lend credence to their report; Professor Goodwitch wasn't the type to miss even a hair out of place when they were wearing their school uniforms, after all. And, Weiss reminded herself, Ruby wouldn't fit into her school uniform any more anyway, so it behoved Weiss to show solidarity with her partner and team leader and not change clothes either.
She made a mental note - no, wait, she could use her scroll for non-essential tasks again! She set a reminder in her scroll's calendar to go shopping with Ruby; her friend and partner needed a new wardrobe, and Weiss was quite certain that a bit of fashion advice would be helpful.
But first, a different kind of support was needed. "You can do this," she told Ruby in a low voice while the Bullhead set down. "You've been talking to Kings and Princes."
"Yeah, but… those were just nobles; this is Professor Goodwitch."
"And she will take us to the Headmaster if she believes our story," Blake added - quite unhelpfully, in Weiss's opinion.
But to Weiss's - in hindsight misplaced - surprise, Ruby nodded at that, her expression growing firm. "Right. And the world depends on us. We can do this."
They stepped out of the Bullhead and walked towards Professor Goodwitch. She was tapping her crop against her thigh, Weiss noted, and her expression… Well, the last time Weiss had seen her was over a year ago, so she wasn't actually certain whether the professor was looking more annoyed than usual, but she was definitely not amused. Although not as annoyed as she had been after the food fight - Weiss almost blushed at the memory of that blight on her academic record.
"Team RWBY."
"Yes, Professor!" Ruby nodded. "I mean, reporting in!"
"You've called in an emergency. What is its nature? You do not seem hurt or…" Weiss could tell when the Professor noticed the general state of their combat outfits. And Blake's ears, she supposed, when her eyebrows went up. Yet she merely finished her sentence with "...exhausted."
"It's a long story," Ruby replied. "And one we should talk privately." She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "We know that there are spies around nearby who work for someone who wants to destroy everything!"
To Weiss - this time justified - surprise, Professor Goodwitch stiffened at those words, then nodded. "Is this something the Headmaster should know?"
Ruby blinked. "Uh, yes, I think. It's really important."
That earned her another frown, but the professor didn't rescind her implied offer. "Follow me, then." She turned around without another word, leaving Team RWBY to trail after her.
Which they did, of course.
"It feels good to be back in Beacon!" Ruby exclaimed after they had cleared the landing pad and were approaching the main building of the academy.
"Yeah!" Yang said.
Weiss had to agree. Seeing the familiar spires, the arches, the students milling around or heading to classes… It felt good. It felt like home. More than her actual home did, a small voice in the back of her mind added. She ignored the voice - this wasn't the time to dwell on her personal situation.
Walking in the wake of Professor Goodwitch ensured that the other students gave them a wide berth; no one wanted to earn the professor's ire. It didn't stop them from staring, though, nor from whispering amongst themselves. The gossipmongers were probably speculating what Team RWBY had done this time, Weiss thought. Or they were talking about Blake being a Faunus. They would have to deal with that, of course, Weiss knew - she saw Cardin Winchester frown at them with his team of thugs - but that could wait. They had much more important issues to deal with, first.
And, Weiss thought as they entered the main building, after dealing with plotting nobles and assassins for a year, dealing with a few bigots wouldn't be much of a challenge.
*****
When the lift doors opened to the Headmaster's office, Weiss could see that Headmaster Ozpin was sitting behind his desk, a mug in hand, looking far more relaxed than a man in his position and with his responsibilities had any right to be. At least, based on her experience. Although whether he was truly relaxed or merely putting up a front, it wouldn't matter; she was sure the coming revelation would disturb the man. And a small part of her was looking forward to seeing the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch's reaction to their story.
"Team RWBY to see you, Headmaster," Goodwitch announced them. "They claim to have important information and fear spies of someone who wishes to destroy everything."
She stressed the last words, and Weiss could see how the man briefly tensed at that, though he hid it well by taking a sip from his mug. "Oh?"
"Yes!" Ruby took the initiative. "It's a long story, so it will take some time, but… We discovered magic!"
Once again, the Headmaster tensed, cocking his head slightly to the side. Professor Goodwitch also tensed, Weiss noted - but neither seemed to dismiss Ruby's frankly extraordinary claim out of hand.
And that was telling by itself. Weiss remembered the Blacksmith's words: None except a very small number are aware of the threat.
"Magic." The Headmaster set the mug down and interlaced his fingers, elbows on his desk.
"Yes!" Ruby nodded. "A magic artefact - from the time when humans could use magic, or so we were told. But they're all gone now. The humans who could magic, I mean - the artefact is still there where we found it. And, um, where we accidentally activated it."
"You activated a magic artefact?" The Headmaster's eyebrows rose.
"Yes! Accidentally! And it transported us to another world," Ruby went on. "Well, it transported us to the in-between, and someone else transported us to the other world, but we only found that out later - today, actually. Shortly before we returned."
Weiss pressed her lips together. Ruby was… not making a mess out of it, actually, but her presentation wasn't as structured as Weiss would have preferred. But she hadn't missed anything important so far.
"Anyway, we landed in the Lands of Always Winter and were attacked by ice people and ice zombies."
"The Others and their Wights," Weiss added. "That was what they were called."
"Yes, yes." Ruby rolled her eyes. "But they were ice people and ice zombies. Anyway, we fought them - there were a lot of them, and they didn't stop fighting unless they were completely destroyed, both of them, and they had ice spiders, and ice magic, too, but ultimately, we killed their leader - the Night King," she added, and Weiss closed her mouth. "And everyone fell down, dead."
"That is quite a story," the Headmaster commented.
"It's just the beginning," Ruby replied. "And, well, it's mostly for context. Anyway, we looked for a way back, but there were no ruins or artefacts where we had arrived, and so we looked around some more, met some members of bandit tribes, who attacked us, so we defended ourselves, then we met the Night's Watch, who were guarding the Seven Kingdoms against the bandits…"
"Wildlings," Weiss whispered.
"...who are actually called Wildlings," Ruby continued with a slight eye roll. "But they act like the bandits here, raiding villages and all. Anyway, we beat them easily since no one there has any Aura or Semblance, and they didn't have any mechashift weapons, not even guns - they had no Dust at all, it was all horses and swords and crossbows - and then we travelled to the ruler of the North, one of the Seven Kingdoms, Lord Eddard Stark, but he didn't know how we could get back to our world, either, so we went to the capital of Westeros - that's the name for the Seven Kingdoms, and the island it's on - the King of the Seven Kingdoms, King Robert, was willing to help us, too. But his people didn't know where we could return to our world, either, and then he was murdered, and we had to deal with the Court, prevent a civil war or a coup, deal with assassins and spies who used maimed children as agents… Anyway, after a year, we finally found a way home. A magical altar, an anvil, which sent us to the, uh, person who had sent us to Westeros. The Blacksmith." Ruby beamed and pulled out her scroll. "And we recorded what she told us! Which is the important thing we need to talk to you about. Because she told us that there was a person like the Night King in our world, too, and they had spies very close to us."
"And that we should go to our teachers," Yang added.
Weiss nodded. "Because there are supposedly a few people who know about this, and are trying to stop that person." She looked at the two teachers while Ruby held out her scroll, but except for Professor Goodwitch glancing at the Headmaster, they didn't show any reaction.
"I see. Would you mind sending me the recording so we can watch it?" he asked.
"Uh, sure!" Ruby smiled a bit embarrassedly and tapped her scroll a few times. Then a few times more. "Sorry, it's been over a year since I last shared something on my scroll. Ah! Sent!"
"Thank you, Miss Rose." The Headmaster's attention was already on the holographic screen that had appeared above his desk, though - where the recording from Ruby's scroll started playing.
"Your world faces a threat not unlike the Long Night in Westeros. As with the Night King and the Others…"
*****
"...you ready to return home, then?"
The Headmaster hadn't taken his eyes off the recording, Weiss had noticed. And that despite the numerous glances Professor Goodwitch had sent him, obviously trying to meet his eyes. He was obviously taking this seriously.
"'None except a very small number are aware of the threat, and only two of them know the true extent of it - one behind the danger, the other trying to stop it'", he quoted the recording. "'Traitors close to you and to those in the know'. And the worst of them are those trusted with the most important secrets," he said, still staring at the now-empty screen.
"As you have seen, we believe they are planning to use Atlesian Knights against us," Blake added.
"That is why we suspect that Roman Torchwick and a cell of the White Fang are working for this person," Weiss added.
"And if the traitors are close to us, to Team RWBY, and to you, that means they have to be at Beacon already!" Ruby blurted out.
"That would be a logical conclusion," the Headmaster said. "However, they could also be a person close to any one of you."
Weiss narrowed her eyes. "You sound as if you have a few suspects already, Headmaster. And I believe you already knew about this threat - as did Professor Goodwitch."
Headmaster Ozpin smiled, though it looked sad rather than pleased. "I believe it would be foolish to deny it any longer."
"Headmaster!" Professor Goodwitch hissed.
He shook his head. "It's quite clear that, despite my intentions, someone else chose to involve Team RWBY in our struggle. Someone whose decisions, I think, are beyond our means to contest, given what we know about Miss Rose and her friends' intentions." He looked at Ruby, then at Weiss, Blake and Yang. "I doubt that I am mistaken when I say that you are determined to do your part to stop this threat."
"Of course!" Ruby nodded emphatically.
"Hell, yes, we are!" Yang bared her teeth.
Weiss, as well as Blake, as she saw, restricted their reactions to firm nods.
"So, we won't. But I have two requests for you," he went on, and his tone removed all doubt from Weiss that these requests should be refused. Not that that would stop her team, should they feel they had to be refused, of course. "First, you should rest. You have, as you have said, and Miss Rose's appearance proves, spent a year in another world. You will need time to reacquaint yourselves with the Academy and our world before you can help with this threat. It will also give me time to find those spies and traitors you were warned against."
That sounded logical. They had spent a year in Westeros, often under considerable stress, and they would need time to recover and refamiliarise themselves with the academy. And, Weiss had to suppress a gasp at the thought, with the curriculum.
"Sounds OK." Ruby nodded. "And the second thing?"
The Headmaster leaned forward. "Tell me everything, every little detail, about the Blacksmith and their meeting with you. Leave nothing out."
Weiss had to swallow at the sudden intensity of his gaze, and a quick glance at her friends showed that they felt the same.
"Uh, of course…" Ruby managed to reply. "Anyway, so, we heard the sounds of her work, first, well, Blake did, and followed those to her forge, where we met her, and…"
*****
"...and then we were back where we started," Ruby finished.
Weiss managed not to add 'where you took us from'. It would be unfair - Ruby hadn't expected, couldn't have expected, that the artefact would do this. But after accidentally touching another artefact that might have sent them to any random destination - it was mere good fortune that it had worked out; the Blacksmith had been waiting for them, but they didn't know that - she was oh so tempted to comment to make the lesson not to touch magical artefacts stick this time.
But they were finally home, and it would feel petty to bicker. And make them look bad in front of the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch - albeit the Headmaster was currently looking at his desk, or at something far away, and mumbling… something about Ascension? Weiss was surprised; they had mentioned the price for such a transformation - or new beginning - quite clearly, and she didn't think the Headmaster would be interested in this.
Professor Goodwitch cleared her throat and broke the sudden silence. "Headmaster?"
"Ah." He looked up and smiled. "My apologies, I was caught up in the narrative." He coughed into his fist. "We have much to ponder after this, as I am sure you know. However, it is also clear that you have gone through an ordeal few have experienced and are in dire need of some rest and relaxation - far more than most teams after much longer missions, I dare say. So, please, do not attempt to look for the traitors and spies you were warned of and leave that to us; take care of yourself, first and foremost." With a smile, he added: "And use the time originally allotted to your mission to refamiliarise yourself with our curriculum; I doubt I am far off the mark if I assume that you have not been able to keep up with your studies in the other world."
Weiss pressed her lips together to avoid gasping; the Headmaster was, of course, correct about that. She would have to make an effort to ensure her - and the team's - academic standings would not be negatively impacted, or not too much, by their prolonged absence.
Ruby made a noise that was close to a whimper at that, Blake sighed, and Yang loudly groaned. "And here I thought we could just sleep in a real bed for a few days!"
If Weiss's friend had tried to appeal to the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch's mercy like that, it had failed. The professor frowned, and the Headmaster chuckled. "As much as you have earned a respite - and I once again stress that you should rest as much as you can - we cannot risk drawing the attention of the aforementioned spies to you by granting you special treatment; please act as normally as possible. Needless to say, you should keep your experience in strict secrecy from everyone outside this room."
"But…" Ruby started to say, then flinched under Professor Goodwitch's glare. She rallied, though. "That could be a bit difficult, Headmaster. I, ah, have grown a bit in the year we were away."
Weiss nodded. All of them had, though Ruby, by virtue of being the youngest, showed the most pronounced change.
"I had to have a new combat outfit made!" Ruby added, pointing at her clothes.
"So, those are garments made in the other world?" The Headmaster leaned forward, and Weiss inched a bit closer to Ruby before she realised what she had done. "Made in a world with magic…"
"They were made normally, not magically!" Ruby protested.
"I see." The Headmaster leaned back again. "A thorough examination would still be advised, I believe. Of all of you, actually. In case there are lingering consequences of your experiences that could affect your health."
Weiss blinked. She hadn't considered that. And she should have - it was obvious in hindsight. They had been to another world - two other worlds, in fact. And they had brought souvenirs.
"And I believe such an examination might also provide a cover story for your, ah, physical changes, Miss Rose, should your friends notice and comment."
Their friends, right. Their friends whom they couldn't tell about this. Their friends who might actually be spies. Weiss clenched her teeth at the thought. She trusted them, and yet…
She would have to discuss this with the team, to ensure everyone was on the same page. This was too important. As important as restocking their Dust supply, actually - but she could do that through her scroll while they waited.
*****
"Not quite the triumphant return we had imagined, huh?"
Blake Belladonna nodded at Yang's comment as they left Beacon's infirmary with a clean bill of health - well, as clean a bill of health as could be expected after 'roughing it' for over a year without access to modern medicine; Aura could compensate for a lot, but not for everything. Still, nothing a few supplementals taken for a week or three wouldn't deal with.
"Taken everything into account, I believe this is the best outcome we could have hoped for," Weiss said. "Our warnings were not dismissed, and we have not suffered any significant ill effects as a result of our mission. Although we will have to study hard to prevent our grades from suffering - which could imperil our cover story," she added with a glance at Ruby.
Blake softly snorted at their team leader's expression. But Weiss was correct; this was almost the optimal outcome. They were back at Beacon, hale and hearty, as the saying went, and the Headmaster was looking into the threat to this world. However… She looked around, ears twitching. She couldn't see or hear anyone nearby, but… "Let's head outside for a quick talk," she said.
The odds of anyone bugging the entire outside area were much lower than someone bugging Beacon's halls or dorms. Blake hadn't been much worried about being under surveillance before this, not even after facing Torchwick and the White Fang - she knew best how limited her former comrades' means were - but now that they knew that spies were close, they had to be far more careful.
"Right." Yang nodded with a serious expression - before grinning and slinging her arm around Blake's waist. "And if anyone asks, we're looking for a spot to make out!"
"With us as chaperones?" Weiss asked with her eyebrows raised. "I have heard better cover stories."
"We're calling it a team meeting to discuss Blake and Yang's relationship!" Ruby said. "If anyone asks."
That was… actually quite sensible. Blake nodded in agreement, then leaned into her girlfriend's side as they made their way outside and then to a remote spot near the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest.
A number of students stared at them - at her, Blake knew; her ears were clearly visible, after all. And she caught more than one whispered comment thanks to them. But that could - would - be dealt with later. They had more important problems to deal with right now.
"So?" Ruby asked when they stopped.
Blake looked around again, listening, then nodded. They were as safe as one could be without electronic countermeasures. She sat down cross-legged, then blinked when Yang joined her and plopped her head into Blake's lap with a wide grin.
"Alright!" Ruby nodded. "So… brainstorming! What do we do?"
"The Headmaster said we should rest and relax," Weiss said. Her wording and tone clearly showed that she had some doubts about that, Blake thought.
"Well, yeah. And we do need some, ah, 'downtime'." Ruby nodded again. "But… apart from that? What do we do? We know there are traitors close to us, but we don't know who."
Blake nodded. They didn't know who to trust. Anyone could be a traitor; even their friends. She pressed her lips together at the thought. "We need to keep our eyes and ears open," she said.
"Yeah." Yang made a scoffing noise, and Blake was tempted to run her finger through her hair. She held back, though. This wasn't the place. "We can only hope that Ozpin and Goodwitch find the traitors soon."
"Even if they do unmask a number of spies, that doesn't mean that there aren't any more," Blake pointed out.
Yang muttered a curse under her breath.
"Yes," Weiss agreed.
A brief silence followed. If not for the subject of their discussion, this would be perfect - the sun shone, a soft breeze blew from the Emerald Forest, and her girlfriend had her head in Blake's lap.
"Wait!" Ruby jumped up. "The Blacksmith said 'the worst traitors are those trusted with the most important secrets' - and we haven't trusted any of our friends with our secrets!"
"Just because there are worse traitors does not preclude the existence of other traitors," Weiss said.
"Well, yeah…" Rub sighed and sat down again, leaning against Weiss.
"Still, do you really think any of our friends are traitors?" Yang asked. "Jaune?" She laughed.
Weiss sniffed, but Ruby nodded. Blake wasn't quite so certain. If Jaune was just pretending to be a novice and, arguably, a fraud… No. "His backstory would be too much of a liability," she said. "And revealing it to get bullied?" She shook her head. "No spy would have taken that risk."
"And Pyrrha is…" Weiss trailed off.
"Too Pyrrha?" Ruby offered with a weak grin.
"Too earnest," Weiss agreed. "And too prominent, of course. I doubt she could be turned into a spy for such a threat while being in the spotlight like she was."
That was a good point.
"And she's a student," Weiss went on. "How many would recruit students as spies?" Blake raised her eyebrows at her, and she flushed. "Alright, it would be the easiest way to infiltrate Beacon. And yes, I remember Varys."
And Blake had been an operative for the White Fang since she was a child - and she hadn't been the only young recruit. "Pyrrha is too noticeable, yes," she said. "But we cannot be sure," she added, and winced a little when she saw Ruby's expression turn into a frown again.
"What about Nora and Ren?" Yang asked.
Blake could see Ren as a spy - the boy was quiet and observant and didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve. The kind of unassuming informant that fed the White Fang without exposing themselves. However… "He and Nora are a package deal," she said. "And I don't think Nora could be a spy." Unless she was the greatest actress of her time. Of course, the best spies were great actors and actresses… "But we cannot be sure," she added.
"Ugh! I hate that!" Ruby gestured with both hands. "We're back at Beacon! We shouldn't have to deal with plots and spies and traitors hiding everywhere!"
She was right. But what should be and what was was seldom the same - as a Faunus, Blake knew that better than most.
"So… We keep our mouths shut until we know if they're spies or not?" Yang said, sitting, to Blake's regret.
"And how do we check if they are spies?" Ruby asked - and then looked at Blake. "If we start spying on our friends, what does that make us?"
Blake knew what we meant in this case; of her team, she was the best, probably the only one able to spy on people. Ruby was far too earnest, the less said about Yang's attempts to gather intel, the better, and Weiss… Weiss might be able, actually, to find some clues, after spending a year dealing with plotting nobles face-to-face.
"Cautious?" Yang chuckled at her own, weak joke.
"It's the only course of action open to us," Weiss said. "As despicable as it might be, we have to keep our eyes and ears open even near our friends. Especially among those close to us."
Which included their families, Blake realised. Well, perhaps not her own - she hadn't talked to them in a long time. Though she could, had to, rectify at least this -Yang would never let her forget if she procrastinated on such an important task.
And she did miss her parents more than ever after a year spent in another world without knowing if they would ever return. If she hadn't returned, the last thing she had said to her parents, the last words they would have remembered of her, would have been… She really needed to call them.
*****
"Hey, Ruby!"
"Oh! Hi, Jaune!"
"Yo!"
"Hello."
Blake nodded at Jaune. They were fortunate to have met him first - anyone else might have noticed how forced Ruby's greeting sounded.
"Are you already back from your mission? I thought it was supposed to be several more days," he commented as he paused in front of the door to his dorm room.
"Ah, well… Yeah, things happened, and we finished early," Ruby replied. "A problem with our scrolls."
"Ugh." He winced. "I hate when that happens. Back home, there are spots where we have a spotty connection to the CCT."
"Exactly! Anyway, we've got orders to rest and relax, so…" Ruby smiled, again forcedly - although probably not as blatantly as she would have done so before their time in Westeros.
"Oh, yeah. Go get some rest!" He smiled at her, then started to nod at everyone else - and froze, blinking. "Ah…"
Blake nodded at his unspoken question. "Yes, I am no longer hiding who I am."
"And we're not hiding our relationship, either!" Yang cut in, wrapping her in a one-armed hug and resting her cheek on Blake's shoulder.
"Ah…" Jaune was still - or again - staring, seemingly frozen with surprise.
"That's another thing that happened," Ruby told him.
"Right. Uh, so… Good to have you back, safe and all." He smiled, genuinely this time, and waved - and then fumbled before he managed to open his door in the second try.
Blake heard him call out: "Guys! You will never expect what I just discovered!" when she followed the rest of her team into their room.
"Good distraction." Weiss nodded at Yang and her.
Blake winced and felt her ears twitching as she heard a door being slammed open. "I'd hold that thought. Jaune just told his team."
A moment later, the door to their dorm was pushed open by Nora. "Is it true? Oh, it is!" she cried out as she barged in, followed by an apologetically smiling Ren as well as Pyrrha and Jaune, who was grimacing.
Nora, meanwhile, was staring at Blake, then at Yang. "Is it true too?"
Yang used the opportunity to pull Blake into her lap. "Yes to both!"
And Nora started rapid-firing questions, not leaving them any time to answer. "Oh! Did you get together during your mission? How did you do it? Who took the first step? Was it in the middle of a deadly fight that you thought you would die? Or was it when you were sharing a guard shift, under the light of the moon, just the two of yours?"
While Ren tried to rein her in and Pyrrha seemed to blush more, Blake leaned back into Yang, enjoying the familiar chaos. Yes, they were back home, at Beacon.
And yet, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't push the nagging thought that wondered if any of their friends were hiding something from them away.
*****
Beacon Academy, Kingdom of Vale, Remnant, Second Semester, First Year
Her scroll was looking positively daunting today, Blake felt as she held it. Or that was just her nerves.
"No getting cold feet now!"
She rolled her eyes, ears flattening, as she glared at her - pushy - girlfriend. "I'm not getting cold feet." She was merely slightly nervous about contacting her parents. That was a perfectly justified feeling after having a falling-out and running away from home. And her stomach felt like it was trying to bury itself in the ground and drag the rest of her down with it. She groaned and closed her eyes.
"Blake," Yang said in a much softer voice than her teasing remark before. "If you're not ready for this…"
"I am. I'm just… nervous," Blake said, hoping she wasn't lying. "Let's get this over with."
"That's my girl!" Yang cheered, but Blake caught her glancing at her with concern when she started the messenger service, and she put her hand on Blake's shoulder. "Besides, it's not as if you're calling them. You're just sending a message."
That made it even worse, actually, Blake thought. You could explain things much better face-to-face than in a message. But Menagerie didn't have a CCT tower, and so she couldn't call her parents - she had to send a message to a contact - former White Fang, but her parents' generation - who would then send it to Menagerie with the next ship that went to her home island. Another sign of discrimination against her people.
But she didn't want to think about that right now. She had to think about her parents. How she missed them. How much of an idiot she had been to run away - and with Adam, at that. And how she had almost lost them forever.
She leaned into Yang a bit more and started recording. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. It's me. Blake. Ah… I just wanted to tell you that I'm fine. I'm now attending Beacon, in my first year, training to become a Huntress. I've… broken up with my former boyfriend. He got too extreme. That was before I started here. If he asks after me, please don't tell him anything." The message would be encrypted, but she was loath to reveal too much. But these comments should be enough to ensure her parents wouldn't trust Adam. She forced herself to smile. "So… I've got a great team, RWBY. Our leader is Ruby Rose, a prodigy. Her partner is Weiss Schnee. Funny, right?" She laughed, actually genuinely. "And my partner is Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's sister."
"Hi!" Yang leaned past her to grin and wave at the scroll.
Blake rolled her eyes but couldn't stop smiling. "She's also my girlfriend," she added when she pulled Yang back.
Then Yang used that to kiss her, in front of the recording scroll, but that was fine as well.
*****
"So, how long until your parents get the message?" Yang Xiao Long asked her girlfriend as they stepped out of their dorm to join the others in the library for more studying; they were really behind things, as they had found out to their, and especially Weiss's, dismay.
Blake shrugged. "It depends on when the next ship leaves for Menagerie. Could be a week, could be longer."
Damn. Yang knew Faunus had it hard, but to be cut off from the CCT? That drove it home. If Yang wanted to talk to Dad, or her friends from Signal, she could just call them any time she wanted. Sure, Uncle Qrow wasn't often available, but he was roaming the wilderness as a Huntsman, so that explained it. But your whole family and friends being out of touch like that? "They really should build a tower there."
Blake snorted. "Who would pay for it? And who would give us the option to shut down the entire communication network? We'd need a main tower, a repeater wouldn't work, and those are all so intertwined, if one goes down, the net goes down. Atlas would never allow that." She frowned. "Of course, if they could avoid that, they would probably like being able to listen in on our communication."
Yang snorted, though it wasn't funny. "Well, maybe they'll develop something better." Lame, she berated herself. She should have thought of something more optimistic or thoughtful to say. Not something lame like that. She should…
"Look at that animal! Finally stopped hiding, Belladonna?"
With her arms hooked around each other, Yang felt Blake tense at hearing those words - and the snickers that followed. Cardin Winchester and the rest of Team Bigot, looking as if they had come straight from combat training, stood in the hallway crossing to the side, sneering at them. "Couldn't find a better lover, Xiao Long?" Winchester added. "Or do you like the animal parts?"
Alright, Blake wouldn't like it, but Yang wasn't going to let that… She blinked when she felt Blake pulling her towards the group - and separating on the way. Oh!
"No answer to that, huh?" Winchester gloated, but he looked as surprised as Yang felt when Blake stopped in front of him, Yang falling in next to her partner.
Two versus four, and the four were wearing armour and carrying weapons. Not the best odds. But that never stopped Yang before.
She glanced at Blake, but her girlfriend was staring at Winchester. "And here I thought bigots like you had learned better than insulting my people."
Yeah, Winchester looked surprised. But he doubled down almost at once. "People? Don't make me laugh. Those ears clearly show that…" He reached out to touch Blake's ears.
And she cocked him right in the face, then drove her knee into his stomach while he was reeling back, followed by a disarming move that sent the idiot's mace flying.
"Alright!" Yang grinned while she launched herself at Thrush, next to Winchester. He tried to draw his daggers, but she grabbed both his wrists and twisted them, and he cried out as his blades clattered to the ground. Disarmed, he couldn't really do anything while she threw him with a wrestling move from Ser Barristan into Bronzewing, then kicked the latter's short sword away.
Blake, meanwhile, had already disarmed Lark as well.
That left them still at two to one odds, but with their weapons gone? Yang grinned and motioned at her two opponents to come at her. Unarmed, she'd bet on herself against all four, and she was with Blake.
*****
"What part of 'rest and relax' and 'catch up on your studies' includes beating up your fellow students?" Goodwitch asked, tapping her crop against her thigh as she glared at Blake and Yang in her office.
Yang was about to answer that a good brawl was relaxing, but that Winchester and his fellow idiots had been too weak to give them a good fight, but Blake spoke up before she could. "We were defending ourselves against Winchester's attempt to molest me, Professor."
"What?" Goodwitch stared at them.
Yang managed not to do the same.
"He tried to touch my ears, Professor. Against my will. They are very sensitive," Blake replied.
Oh! Yang nodded. "Yeah. Very sensitive." Which was actually true.
Was Goodwitch blushing a little? "Nevertheless, that doesn't justify such a… beating."
"Should I have let him molest me? He has a fixation with Faunus body parts. And when I fought him off, the others attacked us, and we had to defend ourselves against them. They were armed and armoured, and we weren't," Blake retorted.
Yang nodded again. Granted, they had jumped the idiots before they had managed to draw their weapons, but they had clearly tried to attack. Probably. "Besides, we didn't hurt them. Much," she added after a second.
"Beacon still doesn't condone fighting between students in the hallways - or anywhere outside the combat training halls."
"It also doesn't condone sexual assaults," Blake retorted. "If you punish us, we expect them to be punished as well. Otherwise, how could any Faunus feel safe at Beacon when Winchester and his ilk are allowed to molest them?"
Yang nodded once more. Not that she was much concerned about being punished; Ozpin wouldn't drive them away. Not after what they knew.
For a moment, Yang expected Goodwitch to argue further, but the woman scowled instead. "I will discuss this with the Headmaster. You are dismissed - for now."
"Alright, Professor!" Yang managed not to say 'teach', but she couldn't quite keep the grin off her face as they left the office.
Though her grin vanished at once when she saw Ruby and Weiss waiting outside. Ruby was looking far too concerned, and Weiss's scowl was worse than Goodwitch's.
"Hey!" Yang plastered a confident smile on her face. "I know we had planned to study together, but something came up, and we had to beat it down."
"Winchester tried to fondle my ears," Blake added.
Both Ruby and Weiss immediately switched from concerned and annoyed to angry. "Oh! Where are they? My baby and I have to discuss this with them!" Ruby announced.
"I think they need a lesson taught. One that sticks," Weiss added with narrowed eyes.
"Oh, we already beat them up," Yang told them.
"That's not enough!" Ruby retorted.
"In… another place, they would be sent to the Wall for that!" Weiss added.
"Really, we handled it," Yang said, holding her hands up. "If they try it again, we'll do worse. But it's OK for now."
"I don't think we'll be punished," Blake added. "They would have to punish the entire Team CRDL as well."
"Well, they should! Punish them, not you," Ruby clarified.
"They won't," Blake said. "But news will spread."
"It already has," Ruby replied. "That's how we found out." She frowned at them.
Oops. "We were going to call you, but Goodwitch appeared too fast," Yang explained. And they might have taken a bit too much time ensuring that CRDL stayed down, but that was neither here nor there.
Ruby huffed. "Anyway, now that you're free, let's head back to the library to study!"
"Who are you and what have you done to my little sister?" Yang joked.
"Yang!" Ruby pouted, then frowned. "Don't make me look for Faceless Men!"
Right. No jokes about people who could copy your appearance - after killing you. Yang still looked around, and the others did the same. It would probably take some time to lose that habit. Then again, who knew how spies here operated? Maybe they should be staying on their toes…
*****
Patch, Kingdom of Vale, Remnant, Second Semester, First Year
"...and now news from the world. Atlas's military leader, General Ironwood, has declined to comment on concerns about another procurement scandal and speculation that the Paladin that went on a rampage in Vale a bit over a week ago wasn't the only piece of expensive equipment that had been misappropriated. He didn't answer any questions in the Council, either, about the delay involving the planned additional troop deployment for the Vytal festival, or so anonymous sources claim, and…"
Yang Xiao Long closed the app showing the news on her scroll. "Wanna bet how many Paladins Torchwich stole?" she asked the others as they made their way up the hill through a light forest.
"No," Blake replied.
"I doubt that he managed to acquire more than one," Weiss said. "They aren't in full production yet, according to Winter."
"Oh? Pumping your big sister for information?" Yang grinned.
"I merely voiced my perfectly reasonable concern after I was attacked by what was supposed to be an exclusive piece of Atlesian military hardware," Weiss replied with a sniff. "And my sister didn't break any regulations; the information she shared was publicly available already, if not quite as easily found as other information."
"The Atlesian information security is not very good," Blake said. "So, we can't assume that they didn't lose more such machines."
"Enough about that talk!" Yang called out. They could do that once they were back at Beacon. This weekend, they were visiting family! "There's our home ahead!" She could just see the roof from here.
"Yes! Zwei! Can you hear us? ZWEI!"
Yang winced, then reached out to grab Blake's hand. To steady her, not to keep her from running away. Though that was a secondary motive, Blake should have gotten better about her fear of dogs after spending a year close to direwolves. Of course, Zwei had his Aura awakened, and so he was quite a bit more dangerous than a grown-up direwolf, but still!
Anyway, Blake did manage not to flinch too much when Zwei dashed out of - and through - the underbrush to jump into Ruby's arms with enough force to push her back a step or two.
Good. Not that Yang had truly expected to have Dad meet her girlfriend while Yang was trying to coax her down from a tree or something, but she hadn't excluded that either.
But as it was, they approached the house at a steady pace while Weiss and Ruby fussed over Zwei.
And there was Dad! "Dad!" Yang waved with her free hand and started running towards him.
"Yang!"
She reached Dad, released Blake - oops, had she dragged her with her? - and hugged him with all her strength. "Dad!"
"Oof, you've grown stronger! Watch my back!" he mock-complained - she could feel his muscles, tough as ever. "Welcome home, my little dragon!" He pushed her back and looked her over, head to toes.
"Dad! Weiss, hold Zwei!"
"Of course!"
And Ruby threw herself into Dad's arms - and this time, he staggered. "Oof! You've grown more than I thought!"
"Dad!"
Dad was laughing, but Yang noticed that he looked longer at Ruby than at her. Right. He would notice that she had grown older than expected. But he wasn't making a deal about it, not yet. Then again, Ozpin had said they could trust Dad with the truth, just not over scrolls… Well, something they could address later. "And you must be my girls' partners!" Dad turned to the rest of Team RWBY without releasing Ruby.
"Yes, sir. I am Weiss Schnee." Weiss actually curtsied, Yang noted.
"Best partner at Beacon!" Ruby cut in with a beaming smile as she grabbed Weiss's arm. "We're besties!"
"Ah."
"And this is Blake Belladonna!" Yang wrapped her arm around Blake's shoulders - so she was between her and Zwei - and beamed. "My partner and girlfriend!"
"Oh!" Dad wasn't nearly as surprised as Yang had hoped, but he played along. "Well, I'm sure you have lots of stories to tell about your adventures." And that wasn't a joke, Yang could tell.
So could Ruby. She winced. "Yeah, Dad. It's a really long story. Kinda."
"Well, get inside and sit down then." He waved at the hut.
"Alright!" Ruby dragged Weiss inside, followed by Dad, but Yang hesitated.
"Something wrong?" Blake asked in a low voice.
"No," Yang said. "Just…" She looked around. "...taking in the sights, you know?" She smiled. "I'll take you to meet Mom after this," Yang told her.
Blake nodded.
"Yang! Stop making out with Blake and come inside!" Ruby yelled from the living room, followed by Zwei's bark.
Yang chuckled and hooked her elbow into Blake's. "Well, you heard her. Don't worry, neither Dad nor Zwei will bite."
Blake gave her a look, and Yang grinned, then kissed her.
"Yang!"
"Blake, drag your girlfriend inside!"
Laughing, they stepped inside.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Yang felt perfectly alright - and at home.