"So," suddenly said a female voice behind Blake and the now-dead Adam. "Is he dead?"

Blake turned around and saw before her a masked black-haired woman wearing a black and red dress. "Who... Who are you?"

The mysterious woman simply took her mask off and said, "I cannot tell you that now. I will be in serious trouble if I do." She then knelt down and inspected Adam's body, the burn marks from Cinder's lightning still present. "So, how did you do it?"

"I didn't," Blake replied, slightly offended. "Cinder did as he killed her."

"Woah, what?" The woman was taken aback by this development. "You mean to tell me this asshole double-crossed Cinder?"

"Don't call him that," Blake told the woman firmly. "He saved my life. I defeated him in battle before, and as Cinder tried to beckon me to kill him, I refused. She tried killing me, so Adam killed her at the cost of his own life." Blake then pointed to Cinder's impaled body nearby. "She was thrown from a walkway above and got impaled on that piece of machinery. She's deader than a doornail, thank God."

"She deserved it," the woman said as she got up to look at Cinder's bloodied body. "But that leaves one question..."

Blake, now confused, asked, "What question?"

"Once again, I can't tell you." In the back of the woman's mind, she thought, "Who was the last person Cinder thought of before she died? If it was Salem... Oh my God, no. She can't have the Fall Maiden's powers, lest we all get killed." "You know what, fuck it. I'm gonna tell you my name for shits and giggles." The woman sighed deeply. "My name is Raven Branwen, Senior Special Agent of the Royal Valeanian Intelligence and Signalling Service, and a former huntress of the Royal Valeanian Hunting Corps. If you've heard the name "Branwen" before, that's because you've met my twin brother, Qrow."

"Say," Blake replied as she took this information in. "Aren't you Yang's-?"

Raven then cut Blake off by saying, "Mother? Yes. And an awful one at that. But that's not the point now." She then yawned and wiped her eyes. "We need to get the hell out of here, now. You need to go back to Yang, and I need to go to my HQ to tell them about this. I wish I could go with you, but..." Raven then sighed as tears began to form in her eyes. "My jobs and investigations forbid me." She then began to quietly sob to herself. "I came too late to stop Adam from hurting Yang..."

Earlier

Adam noticed that Blake had picked up the arm he had just cut off of Yang. "How pointless." He then looked around and gazed at the destruction his group and Cinder had wrought upon Beacon Academy. The cafeteria so many students had shared memories in was pretty much gone, and several other buildings were on their way.

Then, his gazing was interrupted by a shrill female voice behind him. "What the hell did you do to her?!"

Adam turned around and came face to face with an unmasked and infuriated Raven Branwen. He said, "I see you're back, spy scum." He then drew his sword.

"I am," Raven said as she spit on the ground in Adam's direction. She then charged at him with her own sword drawn.

Adam immediately blocked her with Wilt and Blush, resulting in a fierce battle. As Raven tried slashing at his legs, Adam slashed Raven's left arm, causing her to cry out before she managed to slash Adam's left shoulder open. As their semblances began to try to heal their injuries, Raven yelled out, "Never touch my daughter again, you piece of shit!"

She then charged at Adam full force, only to be met by a sudden blow to the back of her head and to her stomach at the same time. She immediately winced and fell to the cold, hard ground, knocked out by the severe pain.

Adam stood before her alongside a White Fang grunt who had managed to jump into the fray as Raven charged at Adam. He said to him, "Good work. You sure did save my ass jumping in like that."

"Anything for you," the grunt replied. "Your wish is my command. After all, you're probably gonna be our next leader." He then turned to Raven. "Should we off her?"

"Nah," Adam replied. "She's suffered enough. Let's get the hell outta here and let the Grimm take care of her for us."

"When I woke up," Raven said as she finished her story. "He was gone."

"Oh my," Blake said, in shock. Then, she paused as she formed her thoughts. "So... What's your whole deal with Yang and Ruby and their dad and their stepmom or whatever?" She began to hoist Adam's body up onto her shoulders.

"It's complicated," Raven said. "It actually starts with my grandparents. Many years ago, the Branwens lived a much... Different life than me and Qrow. We were transient and basically bandits. My paternal grandparents, however, left the group and made a living in modern civilization on Patch Island. Things were pretty good, I guess. Then, at the same time me and Taiyang, Yang and Ruby's father, began having a breakdown in our marriage, the more rougher parts of my family began contacting me."

Blake asked, "What do you mean "contacting?""

"They threatened me and Yang. They told me if I didn't rejoin, they'd kill her and force me to watch before killing me too." Raven then sighed. "That's why I basically deserted Yang and Tai after the divorce. I decided that if I was going to rejoin them, I wanted to also bust them. I didn't care they were family, because fuck them. Thus, I resigned from the RVHC and became an operative and later agent of the RVISS. I passed on info about the Branwen Bandits to them, and I still do, though I also infiltrate other groups as well, like the White Fang." She then became even more serious. "Blake Belladonna, I have done shit for this country that will haunt me for the rest of my life, regardless of how much alcohol I drink like my brother Qrow. No psychiatrist can help me."

Blake laughed. "Story of my life, though at least you did it for a good cause, I guess. I did shit for a genocidal terrorist group."

"I know," Raven replied. "Now, let's get out of here."

October 28, 2015

"So," said the leading doctor in charge of Yang's surgery as he talked to her, Ruby, Qrow, and Taiyang with Blake and Weiss waiting outside the door. "The operation was indeed successful. It's a miracle the arm was even recovered, given the dire circumstances, especially so fast." Her severed arm was still wrapped up. The surgery had lasted for 2 whole days as a team of doctors worked feverishly to reattach it.

Yang, still in her hospital bed, asked, "How long will it take to recover?"

"Approximately 4 months. It seems like a while, but it isn't, especially with a surgery this complicated." The doctor smiled. "As for your Beacon Academy stuff, you will be allowed to do class work, but not missions, until those 4 months are up."

Yang shrugged and said, "I don't mind, to be honest with you, doc. We got the rest of the semester off anyways because they need to repair stuff."

"Oh yeah, I heard about that." The doctor then got up. "Now, Taiyang, you know everything about her prescriptions and stuff for pain, right?"

"Yes," Taiyang replied. "Thank you, so much, for everything you've done for us, Doctor Paladino."

"It's my duty," the doctor said as he bowed and left the room. "Your daughter is a very brave woman. She should be proud."

Ruby told Yang as she smiled, "He's right, you know." She then hugged Yang. "I love you, Yang."

Yang's eyes began to well up with tears as she replied, "I love you too, Ruby."