Chapter Text
Wherever Ruby had been expecting to end up when they stepped through Raven’s portal, an Atlesian airship wasn’t it. Yang had explained how Raven’s semblance worked (or at least what her sister knew about it, since Raven wasn’t exactly the chattiest person out there), and how Raven could create portals that connected to a person that she had a strong bond with. Anyone who went through a portal while it was open would be transported to the same location as that person.
So in simpler terms, the portal should take them right to Qrow. Ruby is expecting to end up somewhere in Vacuo, since that was where he was supposed to have ended up. She was picturing stepping out into the desert, or maybe Shade Academy itself. Qrow wasn’t supposed to still be in Atlas at this point. What happened?
“How-how did you get in here?” Harriet exclaims, staring at the four of them with wide eyes. Oh right, some of the Ace Ops are here too. And Robyn. It’s a bit crowded with all of them in such a tight space, but none of that matters to Ruby right now. She’s far too relieved to see her uncle.
“Qrow!” She launches herself into her uncle’s arms, Yang following suit. Clearly they’ve still got some things to sort out, but right now all Ruby cares about is hugging the life out of her uncle. They’ve only been separated for a few days, but it feels like a lifetime.
“Girls!’ Qrow catches them both instinctively, the same way he’s done since they were little kids, and returns their hugs eagerly. He stiffens when he sees who else is with them. “Raven?” He asks incredulously. “Tai?”
“How do you think they got here?” Raven asks calmly, as if today is just another ordinary day for her. “These two got themselves into a bit of a sticky situation, so I stepped in to help. I figured that returning them to you was the best plan.”
“And I figured it was time for me to step in,” Tai adds casually. Harriet, Marrow, and Vine are watching them with wide eyes, their mouths hanging open. Robyn, too, is clearly surprised by this unexpected turn of events, but she’s able to keep her composure a bit better.
Unsurprisingly, she’s the first one to speak up. “As nice as this family reunion is, I have to ask: what is going on here? How did all of you get onto this ship?”
“That’s-kind of a long story,” Yang replies unhelpfully. “But that’s not really important right now.”
Right. Yang’s right, they’ve got other things to worry about right now. Such as, “Why are you guys still in Atlas?” Ruby asks them. “Did something go wrong with the evacuation?”
“That’s a bit of a long story,” Marrow sighs, glaring pointedly at Harriet. “But the short of it is, something happened while we were trying to get out, and we ended up missing the boat, so to speak.”
“And Atlas is underwater now, so we’re basically stranded,” Elm chimes in. A quick glance out the window tells Ruby that that’s not just a figure of speech. The city below them is literally flooded.
“Does this ship have enough range to get to Vacuo?” Tai asks, glancing around and taking stock of their situation.
“Even if it did, there’s not enough fuel in here to make the trip,” Robin tells him.
“Great. So we’re stuck here,” Raven mutters under her breath.
“Actually, I don’t think we are.” Ruby turns to face Raven. “I’ve got an idea. I’m pretty sure that if the two of us work together, we should be able to make it to Vacuo no problem.”