Yang Branwen! : Another Remnant
By RisingGear
On the Island of Patch, A dark-haired woman grinds her teeth as she goes into labor. Unable to go to a hospital, due to a massive storm outside. She is forced to give birth in her bed with a woman in a white hood delivering. Screaming could be heard throughout the house. "Ok, I see the head just keep pushing!"
Grunting and screaming a constant stream of swear words the whole time. Her husband also holding her hand through it all. "Come on You're doing great Raven push!" He cheers her on even as his wife crushes his hand in her grip. He keeps smiling the whole time, his blue eye twitching from the pain.
"DON'T RUSH ME TAI!!" Raven screamed at Tai, nearly breaking his finger in the process. With one last push, a baby is born.
"It's a girl!" The white hooded girl cleans the crying newborn off before giving her to the new mother. The new father gushes over his newborn daughter, causing his wife to roll her eyes. "She's so beautiful just like her mother!"
A euphoric wave washes over Raven after the pain of childbirth has subsided. Now Raven is holding her daughter with an uncharacteristic smile on her face. "I almost can't believe I of all people is someone's mother!" A sweaty and exhausted Raven plays with the blond fuzz on the baby's head. "A strong drink or smoke would be great right about now!" Her brother tosses her a pack of cigarettes. "Longest nine months of my fucking LIFE!"
Tai pops his finger back in place so he can hold the baby. "Hey sweetie I'm your daddy!" He looks at his wife, not even containing how happy he is. "I can't believe we made something so perfect! What should we name her?"
The hooded woman plays with the blond curl on the baby's head. "I guess Taiyang jr is now out of the question?" She deadpans as she rolls her silver eyes. Her joke sparks an idea from Raven's brother Qrow, who was quietly leaning in the corner.
"Why not just Yang?" He suggests with his trademark smirk, taking a swig out of his whiskey bottle. "I mean have you two actually talked about names right?"
Tai looks confused at the suggestion, raising an eyebrow. "We did decide on names but Midnight does not fit this little ball of sunshine." The new Father notes with a goofy grin on his face, barely containing himself.
Raven shrugs indifferently as she boops the baby's nose. "For once I have to agree with Qrow, Yang is a good name for her. Matches the blond hair."
Raven didn't stay long after that, a week later she tried to sneak out through the back door. As she leaves a letter on the kitchen counter, a throwing knife misses her by a hair. "Where do you think you're going, Raven?" Her teammate Summer Rose steps out of the darkness of the night, outrage written all over her face. She can't believe one of her closest friends would just try to abandon them all. When she sees baby Yang in her arms, Summer flies into a rage, attacking her friend in a meltdown. She throws another knife at Raven, only she dodged it and broke a window."How could you do this to Tai!? You know how much he loves you, how happy he is to start a family with you!"
"Great she snapped, she should have known that this was only temporary." Summer throws a punch that Raven catches with her free hand. "She's just like my deadbeat brother! Can't throw a damn punch!" Raven lifts the furious Summer over head by the fist, slamming her down on the kitchen table. The impact splits the table in two leaving Summer stunned. Raven leans in to glote at her friend as she unsheaths her sword. "You really need to work on your hand to hand, Summer." With a single swing of her sword Raven makes a red portal appear out of thin air. "Goodbye."
As Raven steps in her portal, Summer clings to her leg still in tears. "Did you ever care about Tai to begin with? Or any of us for that matter?!" Raven refuses to answer, instead she simply passes through her portal, never to be seen again. She never saw them again after that day and baby Yang never knew her father.
~Branwen Tribe camp - 8 years later~
Raven has raised Yang among her tribe, a collection of brutal bandits that have a feared reputation world wide. Even as young as five Yang wasn't treated any different from anyone else in the tribe. Often forced to learn things most girls her age learn years later, instead of playing with blocks she plays with engine blocks. Because of Raven's status as the chief, the bar has been set pretty high right for her. The tribe's resident engineer even taught her how to salvage parts from any machinery the tribe finds in their many raids across the Anima region.
As years pass by the Children of the Branwen tribe are being trained by the chief herself, Raven Branwen. Several boys and girls fighting in a small patch of dirt, trading blow for blow with each other. Raven grows visibly annoyed by the sloppy performances of her students. As Chief, Raven has an obligation to oversee the training of the children in order to ensure the next generation lives up to the standards set for them.
The little blond girl she is currently training with a wooden sword. Raven knocks the practice sword out of the girl's hands then knocking her across the face.
"Yang your grip is too light!" Yang gets back up on her feet, definitely spitting blood in her mother's direction. The young girl smiles ear to ear, making Raven's eye twitch. "Not to mention..."
"Hay put me down you little shit!" Yang throws the nearest adult she could find at her mom before she finished speaking. She uses the distraction to her advantage goes in for another attack.
Before Yang can swing a low blow with her wooden sword. Raven uses the guy her daughter had thrown at her as a club. *WHAM!* Yang is sent flying to the other side of the training grounds. "... You're a bit too predictable!" She casually tosses the poor guy aside with a bloodthirsty smile that screams maternal pride. "However, you are getting much more creative, I'll give you credit for that."
The tribesman they used as a weapon watches her as she schools the kids, popping open a cold beer. "I swear the chief and her kid are total sadists." He then turns on a nearby radio while holding his cold one on the bump on his head.
"In the news today, The Schnee Mafia Family avoided legal action yet again after a raid on an illegal dust mine ..."
"Hay Mann sorry about throwing you!" The eight-year-old Yang says apologetically. Before she punches out another kid and taking his sword. "Play me some Tunes while I kick mom's old flabby ass!" The cocky girl runs towards her mother with two wooden swords.
"Yeah Keep running your mouth, Yang!" The two lock blades with Yang even able to push Raven back slightly. Earning a smirk from her mother before pushing back."Momma can easily prove to you just how wrong you are." Raven brags as one of Yang's swords cracks, then giving her a kick in the stomach.
Mann watches the mother and daughter fight, rolling his eyes. "Oh Fuck this!" He changes the radio to a music station. "Hay alright I freaking love Queen!"
"~Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good timeI feel alive and the world I'll turn it inside out - yeah And floating around in ecstasy So don't stop me now don't stop me!~"
Yang breaks the struggle and continues to go on the offensive, using her free hand to nearly hit her mom in between the legs. Raven blocks it with her knee, avoiding the blade with a smirk. The chief retaliates with a swing across Yang's head, hard enough to knock her out cold. "Class dismissed!"
The blow causes an unexpected change in the young Yang. Her blond hair burst into flames as her violet eyes glowing Red. "IM NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!!" With a single step, the ground beneath her feet explodes.
"~Cause I'm having a good time having a good time I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky Like a tiger defying the laws of gravityI'm a racing car passing by like Lady GodivaI'm gonna go go go!There's no stopping me!~"
Raven dodges the incoming fireball that is her daughter by creating a portal in front of herself. Yang exits it right behind Reven, who breaks Yang's cracked sword with a single swing. "Alright lessons over for today!" Raven says pointing her sword at the girl on the ground.
In Raven's tent, the little bruiser changes the bandages on her hands. "If I can only beat her once..." She pouts to herself before hearing the familiar sound of her mother's heels.
"And then what Yang? Take over the Tribe?" Raven asks as she enters the tent with a proud smile on her face. "So why do you want to beat me so bad Fireball?
Yang glares at her mother with her eyes still red, determined to beat her. Then calms herself down with a deep breath. "If I can beat you then that means I'm the most powerful fighter in the tribe!" Yang explained with a cocky grin, pride beaming in her eyes. "And I refuse to be second best to anyone, even your mom!"
Raven looks at her like she just looked in a mirror to her past. Seeing too much of herself in her daughter, and every mistake she made being reflected in Yang's eyes. "Power is only a means to an end Yang. You can't have the means without the ends, so what are they?"
The question makes the young Yang pause to question herself. She never gave it any thought to what she would even do with the strength she wanted for herself. The eight-year-old "I…I don't know! Strength is the only thing that matters to the tribe, so why not get stronger for that reason?"
Raven can't help but shake her head in disapproval, then smacks Yang upside her head with a wooden sword. "Everyone has their own reasons to seek out power. You are going to have to find a better reason to look for it than simple arrogance. When I was your age I had to always become stronger to survive the harsh world we are all born into."
*RWARRRRRR!!!*
A loud demonic scream is heard from all over the camp. Raven draws her sword and opens a portal. "Grimm and big ones!" She says before walking into her portal. "Stay in the tent and keep your weapons ready."
"Fuck no, I'm not missing this!" Yang says as she slams her fist together as flames briefly spark around her. Raven rolls her eyes at the cocky little maniac she raised. "Then it's about time you prove your strength and loyalty to the tribe! And for crying out loud don't get yourself killed, it would be embarrassing to see my progeny die in her first battle with a Grimm."
Raven grabs an all black katana off a rack, removing it from the scabbard. The blade is jet black but has a red shimmering flash in the light reflected in the light. She then hands it to Yang, who is completely mesmerized by the beautiful sword. "This sword belonged to your grandfather back when he was the Chief. With it, he fought in countless battles and earned the tribe its reputation."
Then she grabs Yang by the jaw, forcing the girl to look her in the eyes."If you want to be better than me one day, prove to me that you're a worthy inheritor by staying alive!" She sternly tells Yang, her intense red eyes scarring the eight-year-old. The gung-ho Yang chuckling with a cocky grin. Raven nodes her head in approval, seeing a lot of herself in her eyes. "Good bad girl! Now stick to low-level Grimm and let the grownups handle the Boss battle."
Back outside, the other tribesmen already have the front gate secured. People in makeshift watchtowers picking off Beowolves with Snipers. *BANG!* A man starts planting explosives around the front gate as a precaution. Raven and Yang step out of her portal, weapons drawn. "I want machine guns up on those towers! Our best Melee fighters front and center!" She orders her men, who immediately do what she says.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" One of the snipers screams before a large humanoid claw grabs him at lightning speed. The guy can only scream before a loud crunch can be heard throughout the camp. The sound of heavy footsteps can be heard walking toward the front gate. "Open this gate and I will reward you all with a painless demise." A booming demonic voice says as human-like hands grab the top of the gate. The sound of smashing bones and tearing flesh can be heard. Then the bottom half of the sniper is thrown over, landing next to a frightened Yang. "The offer was merely a formality, I love a slaughter!"
*BANG!* This thing started pounding on the wooden gate violently, the wood beginning to crack and break open slightly. Glowing red eyes poke through holes, looking right at the tent the children are in. "A large portion of tasty bite-size sneaks!" Those words send a chill down the spine of everyone in the camp. "How kind of you to gift wrap them for me!" It sniffs the air before looking right at Raven. "HEHEHEHE! You will be the main course… Maiden!"
The gate exploded open with tribesmen getting torn to shreds in the blink of an eye. Blood and gore flying in every direction, like water balloons. Standing in their place is a Tall six-armed Grimm. Its the body is hauntingly human shaped with a white bone-like substance covering its face like a horned Oni mask. "Who's first?"
"A Warmonger!" Raven screams before everything fades to black.
~Beacon Academy - 10 Years Later~
An eighteen-year-old Yang Branwen wakes up abruptly in her dorm in a cold sweat. "Yang we got class today." Her partner Adam tells her while covering his eyes when a white-haired woman walks by, whiskey bottle in hand. "Weiss we've been over this, stop drinking when we have classes!" Without even looking at her, he dodges an incoming bottle being thrown at him. *CRASH!*
Weiss flips him off, her disheveled hair covering the burned part of her face. "Good morning to you too Bullshit!" She snidely exclaimed before stumbling into the bathroom. As usual, her tone is bitter and angry! Both Adam and Yang look at the destroyed top bunk of her bed. Empty liquor bottles and ammo casings fill the dirty bed sheets. A young tied up naked blond man eating a ball gag looks at them, using his eyes to signal to help me in morse code. White lipstick all over his face.
"Oh, Good Morning Jaune. I would ask if you slept well but we know you didn't." Adam casually tells the helpless Jaune Arc before ignoring him completely.
"Hard to believe that drunk was a member of the Schnee crime family." Said Yang as a drop of sweat escapes the side of her face. "Then again I am…" A moment of guilt flashes in her eyes briefly from shame, her eyes turn red from anger. "...was a member of the Branwen Tribe." She hopes out of bed, revealing a missing right arm and distinctive bite mark scar around the stub. She gets changed into her uniform rather quickly, the old tribal habit of getting ready at a moment's notice.
After pulling a thin metal box out from underneath her bed. After opening it up, Yang pulls out a bulky robotic arm. The fingertips are bladed and have a larger hand then her real one. The whole thing seems to have been built from salvaged Atlas military robot parts. She attaches it to a connection slot in her stub. Then her stomach growls loud enough for her teammates to hear it, causing Adam to smirk. "Come on let's get something to eat."
Yang and her partner walk through the courtyard towards the cafeteria. Adam noticed Yang is being uncharacteristically quiet this morning. Normally she is the straight man to all of the team's insanity, so it's out of the ordinary for her to be this shaken up. "You had the dream again?"
Yang then perks up to save face, hoping to drop the subject and move on. "Dude it's nothing don't worry about it." She puts on a brave face but her hands are trembling from the nightmare. "It's nothing I can't handle."
Adam flicks her in the forehead out of annoyance to her trying to dodge the issue. "Yang we both know something is bothering you. I'm saying this because I care about you, keeping your personal demons contained will only lead you to self-destruction." To emphasize his point while he spoke, he poked her in the chest with his finger. He unknowingly pokes her in the breast and doesn't realize he is doing it right away. When he does notice his face gets as red as his hair. "Sorry!" Then they both get an automated text from the academy on their scrolls.
"Team YWA, please report to Headmistress Salem's immediately." It reads causing the duo to facepalm. Yang looks at Adem with a confused expression. "What do you think we did this time?"
~Headmistress Office~
Stepping out of the elevator, they catch up with Weiss, now sporting an eyepatch. Before she can open her mouth, Yang puts her finger on Weiss's lips. "Let us do the talking Snowball, Every time you open your mouth you piss Salem off." Weiss just smirks mischievously with a chuckle, she wears her troublemaker status as a badge of honor. The former mafia princess then sucks on the finger in her face, earning a punch in the face. "Oh alright fine, I'll be on my best behavior.~" Weiss comments in a sing-song tone, spitting out a tooth.
The elevator opens into a big room decorated with expensive antique furniture. Black silk drapes to block out the sunlight. With them is a younger girl in a red hood dressed in black. She waves politely at them but gets ignored. Headmistress Salem's chair turns around, revealing a young blonde woman. "Welcome please take a seat."
Weiss seems to be the only one to even question the hooded girl even being there. "Who's little red riding hood? Shouldn't she be on her way to deliver food to her granny?" Headmistress Salem pores some hot tea into some fine china, always the courteous host. Complete with little cakes that smell of cinnamon. The former mafia princess takes a sip of her ginger tea with lemon, finding hot tea soothing her hangover.
"In light of your previous teammate's expulsion. She is your new partner Ms. Schnee."
The hooded girl offers out her hand to them with a nervous smile on her face. "Hello, my names Ruby Nice to meet you!" Yang gives her a nod as she shakes hands with her new teammate. Then Ruby spots Yang's arm and goes into an enthusiastic frenzy. "Is that an Atlas Knight's arm refitted into a prosthetic?!"
Yang politely nods with an appreciative grin, finding it refreshing to meet someone who finds her cobbled-together robotic arm cool. "Actually yes, I put it together myself." She replies much to the delight of the younger girl. "When you live a nomadic lifestyle it pays to be creative." Yang then pops in a magazine causing the hand to transform into a Gatling gun.
Ruby watches this with stars in her silver eyes, practically floating off the ground. "Well I like it, it's not only is it cool to look at it can reconfigure into a machine gun!" The younger girl squeals in pure joy at the weapons of her new teammates. Turning her attention to Adam's sword with a rifle scabbard. "That is a thing of beauty! I'm gonna make an educated guess and say the blade can be shot out of the scabbard for speeding bullet quickdraws?" She asked while seeing her own reflection in his red-tinted sunglasses.
"You have a good eye for weapons… Ruby was it?" He rubbed the back of his head, feeling embarrassed by not remembering her name. "Sorry, I have a hard time remembering names." He bashfully admitted before an alarm on his scroll goes off. "Oh no, we're late for class… again!"
Salem had already prepared passes back to class and sends them on their way with a motherly smile. After she is alone, her eyes change from blue with white sclera to red with black sclera. Feeling weak suddenly she dropped to her knees behind her desk, coughing up strange black blood. Her hand reaches up from behind the desk changed, her skin now a ghostly white with black veins bulge out all over. "I can't do this forever, I'm going to have to find a new headmaster to take my place. Before he can make a move!"