A Silent and Mysterious Blade Behind It All
WARNING: This fanfiction contains cussing and a degree of violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
End of Volume 4 Timeline
Somewhere near a village in Anima
1845, Mistral Standard Time
Several men and women dressed in White Fang battle attire - protective masks, armors, military-grade weaponry are sweeping through the shacks near the river. The White Fang in the area just got a report of a suspicious human activity, predicted to be Huntsmen or Huntresses around the settlement. One of their members was reportedly killed by someone, so they sent a backup team to the scene to investigate.
As one of the White Fang grunts kicks open the door and heads inside a cottage, the deer Faunus mother of a child she holds tightly cowers behind the corner. Though to her surprise, her child does not show any sign of fear. Instead he gushes over the White Fang grunt and how 'cool' looking he is.
"Seen any long blonde hair, purple eyes human around here?" The White Fang grunt demands.
The female adult deer Faunus shakes her head. "No, sir."
"Do NOT lie to us!" The White Fang rages, smashing a wooden table with his bare hand. "There was a loud fucking gunshot and explosive sound and one of our guys was killed in the middle of this settlement when all of you were working your business. Yet you still didn't see?"
"I swear with all my life, sir, I didn't see it."
The White Fang grunt then points finger gun at the woman. "Oh, you haven't paid your tax to us too over the past few months. Remember to be thankful that we provided security. Now I'm going to take one of your properties in exchange..." behind his mask, he grins. "Your child make for a good soldier."
The innocent woman's eyes bulged in fear. "Are you insane?!"
Raven Branwen
Raven is sitting on top of one of the shacks, peeking out to see lots of White Fang grunts clumped in the middle of the settlement. She just sighs at the sight of it and heads back to behind a wall. A thought pops out of her mind.
'I've met enough Faunus who bitched about how unfair the human community to them. They got their own island exclusive for them, just enough spaces, free to walk around the whole universe... sure there are some human assholes, but they already got the same rights.
... Fucking whiny animals.'
Raven then checks on her sheath, ensuring the Dust chambers are filled.
'They are rather... misguided. The White Fang being shit to their own race. Adding to the bullshit factor once more...'
She then stands up and turns to the direction of the White Fang grunts below. Gripping onto her weapon.
'These militants think they received proper training to handle situations. Amateurs almost never expect any danger that is haunting them. A silent blade can easily change the tide...'
At the right moment, Raven leaps from top of the building and lands on top of one of the grunts, her nodachi already piercing through his head to his torso.
"Contact!" One of the White Fang yells, prompting the rest to ready their blades and guns at the mysterious red-black figure that covers her face with a Grimm mask.
They only could fire their guns a few rounds before Raven dashes to one after another, slicing though them fast like a thunderbolt and eventually sheathes her sword again. All White Fang grunts around her drop to the ground and lie in a bloody mess.
The villagers who are watching the whole scene are deadly afraid, yet astonished at the mysterious masked woman's capability.
"Is she... one of them?" One innocent whispers to another.
"No idea, but she's very deadly," the other whispers back.
Raven then comes back to take cover behind one of the cottages as the remaining White Fang grunts gather to see their fellow comrads slaughtered in a bloody and sadistic manner.
"Holy shit!" One of the White Fang mutters.
"Spread out and find the intruder!" Their leader says, shown by the distinctive mask she wears.
Before her order can be confirmed, Raven steps out of her hiding and sprints toward one of them, drawing her sword and slashing him apart and running around in circle slicing through the White Fang goons until they all drop dead, leaving only their leader remains.
"Who exactly are you?!" The White Fang leader demands, pointing her sword toward Raven.
"Clara Black. Former graduate from Beacon Academy. Left to join the White Fang. Wanted for causing major destruction in Vale," Raven says as she walks around her. Sure, she is also a rogue like her. But on a different motif. Raven has access to the world's top secret information that only Ozpin's Inner Circle would know and dossiers of many people around the world. She could identify that the White Fang detachment leader is a wanted woman due to her signature emblem being visible on her clothing.
"... How do you know?!" The leader demands.
"Some Academy graduates think their lifetime training is already sufficient to keep them in check. Grimm and humans are... different. And it takes much more in handling humans and Faunus alike," Raven replies as she stops walking and turns toward the leader.
The White Fang leader is out of her temper and launches toward Raven. Before she could land a hit, she feels a long slice of metal hitting her chest. If it's not her Aura protecting her, she'd already cut in half. But it doesn't matter since at this moment she knows she messed up.
Raven drawed her nodachi in a flash, iaijutsu technique similar that Adam showed. The leader gets thrown and smashed into a cottage, breaking through the wall and into the floor. That single strike has already caused her Aura to go down to zero. Her black Aura dissolving.
Raven walks toward the downed White Fang leader and stands in front of her. The leader slowly stands up, recovering from the injury and draws her sword once more. Instead of begging to surrender, she lashes upon Raven, which is a bold move.
Raven just cuts off her arm and then sweeps her blade through her leg, making her to scream in pain and fall to the floor before Raven ends her misery with a cut through her neck, decapitating her.
The mother of the innocent child prompts her child to back off from the masked woman, but her child is bulged in amazement.
"I don't know who you are, but if you came here to save our lifes, I don't know how to appreciate it," the woman says, kneeling before Raven.
"All of you better escape. More of them will be here soon," Raven says and then just turns around, leaving the settlement and goes deep into the forest.
"Mom, I wanna be like her," the kid shoves her mother.
Qrow and Taiyang always despised Raven for her view and leaving the team. Instead returning to the tribe she and Qrow once to be in. Borned and raised.
Nobody knows what her motives are...
Yang Xiao Long
1935, Mistral Standard Time
On the way to Mistral
Feeling a sense of duty as a grown up Beacon graduate, she drifts Bumblebee around and heads back to the village she previously stopped by to get a drink. She knows that she's near Mistral now, but she wants to help those who are defenseless before she meets up with Ruby.
"But you were right, bad things do happen, all the time, every day. Which is why I'm out here, to do whatever I can, wherever I can, and hopefully do some good." - Ruby Rose -
'We've all been naive... so many things to uncover... and I still got something to face.'
Yang reminds herself as she speeds up her bike.
1945, Mistral Standard Time
Near the village
The yellow sport bike is running down the path, its tires kicking up mud and water. After about a few minutes, Yang skids to a stop near a tree. She gets off from her bike and puts off her helmet and aviators, before walking past the forest into the village.
As she treks through, she hears the sudden sound of footsteps around her. Alerted, she raises her fists and get Ember Celica to its battle form. But just before she could react, a blade is already swung toward her. Stopping by her neck.
'Damn it!' Yang's eyes look at the red-black masked figure beside her, who is threatening her with a nodachi.
"... mother?!" Yang mutters.
"Yes..." Raven puts down her sword and sheathes it back to her sheath.
Yang then confronts Raven. "You left me! Things could have been better if it was not for you being the dissolution!"
Raven then puts off her mask, blinking her eyes and staring at her daughter's. "You improved. But still reckless, as always," Raven says, walking around a tree.
Yang punches the tree beside her in anger. "I hate to say this, but what the hell you had done to your family?! You just left and put us all onto trouble?! Now you're questioning my capability?!" She demands.
"Look... Yang..." Raven sighs and turns to Yang. "It's hard to explain. I can't-"
Yang's eyes turn red and she throws a punch at Raven, which she evades. "Punching me won't solve it," Raven says.
"I am your daughter, and I demand to know!" Yang grunts.
"It's a long story. I'm not supposed to tell, but promise me... don't tell anyone about this. Promise?" Raven says, trying her best to not go angry back at Yang.
Yang's eyes shift back to purple. "If it's really necessary, I will."
Raven then leans against a tree. Yang does the same on the opposite tree.
"This is very sensitive, so you better grow up and be mature, professional. So do your friends, but I don't want you to tell anyone about this. The world is full of secrets."
Yang calms down her emotion and focus. "I got it. Let's just get to the point."
"Back when I was your age, I was... mysterious, quiet, awfully introverted, and the only friends I had are pretty much my team and a few others."
Yang shrugs. "You've always been mysterious."
"Always." Raven takes a look at a photograph of Team STRQ back when they were still students. "I told myself that I'm a cold, mean, heartless person that nobody liked. Until Tai helped me with some annoying homeworks. That's when I got feeling for him. He's... nice."
"Then why did you leave him?"
"Years after our graduation, we ended as one of the best teams and Ozpin's most trusted Hunters. But then... bad things appeared. You really think Cinder is her own boss?"
"... I don't know."
"There is someone named Salem."
"Who is he?"
"It's a she actually. In short, Salem is someone leading a group of people with malicious plans. Her goals are to find the Maidens, take their powers, take the Relics from the Huntsman Academies and weaken humanity... eventually destroying us all and making this world hers. We, alongside Ozpin, tried to stop her. But she's just... too powerful."
"There must be a way."
Raven shrugs. "We will find... soon."
"Also, you saved me from the umbrella little girl."
"If if wasn't for me, you'd already be dead. That's why I was testing you out to see how far you improved."
Yang then notices the necklace that Raven wears... and then she remembers Neo... it looks... similar.
"Your necklace... it's the same as the umbrella girl wore."
"All you need to know is that I ripped out something she loved that I made her mute. And the necklace serves to remember that she bows before me," Raven says in a casual manner.
"Okay... so... why did you save me?"
"Because I cared for you."
Yang bulged in disbelief. Why would her mother care if she left her father... abandon the family... made Yang had to take care of Ruby?
"Explain," Yang demands.
"Alright. Who saved you and Ruby from the Beowolves when you were little?"
"Dusty old Qrow, who else? He actually cares, unlike you."
Raven chuckles. "You can say that... if it weren't for me, Qrow wouldn't have saved you and your little sister."
"... what are you talking about? You LEFT us!"
"Know what my semblance is? It's related to prophecy."
"Prophecy?" Yang stops her grudge against Raven for the time being.
"I cared for the team, humanity, you, just like everyone else. But I had to leave... because I would mess it up. Qrow and Ozpin just didn't believe what I said."
"How would you mess up?"
"Silver eyes... Qrow already told you about it. Summer got those. I left. Tai then married Summer. Ruby got those eyes too."
"... holy crap," Yang suddenly kneels before her mother. "What are you... mother?"
"Qrow has the tendency to mess up. I have too. You'll find it out as you continue what you do. And once again, if it wasn't me... you'd have your chest cut off instead of your arm," Raven then walks away from Yang.
"W-Wait!" Yang jogs back to her side. "Mother... I promise to keep what you told secret. But I need to know more!" She mutters.
"Nah, kiddo. As I said, you'll find out the rest. Oh, and the village? I handled it. The inhabitants already moved out. Next time, don't be so loud. Don'r rush, be careful." Raven then puts her mask back on and opens a portal with a swipe of her sword, entering the portal and disappearing.
Yang can only gasp and cover her face.
'She has a point. Maybe the mother I was always hoping for... is really her? Am I been too naive this entire time? Gah... I don't know... still much to learn about.'
2010, Mistral Standard Time
In the village
What Yang sees in the village are the corpses of White Fang goons. Some of them had been ripped apart violently. She checks in the cottages. Most valuable properties are gone alongside the inhabitants.
'I guess I judged her wrong this entire time...'
Yang then treks through the forest and goes back to her bike, putting on her aviators and helmet. Starting the bike and then pulling away from the location. Heading toward Mistral.
'Many mysteries to find out. Evil to banish from the face of Remnant. What a strange and mysterious world we live in. Heroes that are not that heroic. Oh Ruby... I bet you've seen shits like this too.'
'Mom... we shall meet again one day.'