Author Note: Yo Everyone! Yes, I know, hate me all you want for this. But PLEASE hear me out, after reading this first attempt at a RWBY fic, and after watching the recent volumes, I've decided that it needs a REAL Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood-style overhaul. Not to mention the original still bears the scars of Ron the True Fan's...personality. Either way, this redo will definitely have a lot of fixes from the old one, especially with the bombshells from Volume 6...one of many. So, without any further delay, let's begin.
P.S.: All Troll 'Guest' comments will be deleted on sight.
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Roosterteeth and Monty Oum, not me. End of story. Okay? Good. Now, let's begin!
Prologue
The Fifth Maiden
Somewhere in Remnant
"Are we clear on the plan?" said an amber eyed, black haired young woman. She was attired in a red knee length dress with yellow highlights, black high heels, and a black jeweled anklet.
Accompanying her were two others, who were the same age as her. One, a mocha-skinned young woman, with neon green hair, red eyes and wearing an attire consisting of a short olive-colored crop top, dark green pants overlapped by brown chaps, which looked a bit on the torn side, dark brown flat shoes, and a pair of white half gloves on her hands. Finishing off the attire, was a belt fitted with two holsters, which carried a pair of revolver type pistols.
The second, was a young male, with a fair pale skin complexion, metal grey hair, and silvery grey eyes. His clothing attire consisted of a black and slate grey two tone zip short sleeve shirt, a pair of orange pants, black fingerless gloves, and finally, a pair of black boots, which held a complex magazine and shotgun system.
"Yeah, when the Maiden comes down the road and falls for Emerald's illusion, we jump her and overwhelm her until she's wide open. Piece of cake," said the young man as he smirked cockily. Only for him to get smacked by the dark skinned woman as she gave him a reprimanding glare.
"Don't get cocky Mercury. She may an inexperienced huntress, but she was picked to be a maiden for a reason," the woman reprimanded.
"Sheesh, sorry Mom!" Mercury shot back, and it looked like the two were about to argue when the same amber eyed woman spoke up.
"Enough!" she ordered, glaring at the two, and the both of them shut their mouths, knowing well enough not to anger the woman.
"Sorry, Cinder," Emerald apologized.
Cinder, seeing the desired result, nodded at that, knowing she got them to stop their usual bickering. She smirked, knowing after this, they will be one step closer to bringing chaos to Remnant. It was her Queen's wish after all.
"You're forgiven," she said, before her face became serious, "Now to your places...and remember: Not one foot, out of place,"
The two nodded obediently at the warning. Knowing from experience that once their boss gives an order, she means it.
With that, the three went to their designated spots, with Emerald staying on the road as she prepare her...surprise, while Cinder and Mercury went to their hiding places in the trees to prepare for their parts in the ambush.
However, even the best laid plans can have the most stubborn of snags.
Unknown to the three, a pair of silver eyes was glaring at the three would-be ambushers with obvious hate. The owner of said eyes showed that they endured a lifetime of misery, pain, and heartbreak, especially from these specific three... they pretended to be friends, caused the deaths of best friends that were seen as family, and lead the world into ruin. All because of a Mad Immortal Queen's desire to destroy beings who were seen as Gods, and a man who she once looked up to, kept all knowledge about said queen and other very important information away from the world, all the while having made no plan to defeat her due to giving up.
The person reached behind their back, grabbing what looked to be a compact rifle. They pressed a button and the rifle suddenly turned into a large red scythe, with it being almost seven feet tall, and pieces of the gun on the staff.
'This is it...,' were their thoughts, 'I can deal with them here. I'll kill them, and stop them from getting the Fall Maiden powers from Amber, and stop the Fall before it happens... I can save them, I WILL save them!'
With that thought in mind and a steadfast determination, she waited as soon as the other two left Emerald on the road.
Then, in a blast of wind, the individual then launched themselves from their hiding spot, shooting off like a bullet... As a stream of red rose petals floated in their wake.
Emerald was getting her semblance ready for the trap, knowing that it needed to be perfect in order to fool the inexperienced girl who would be coming down the road at any moment.
But before that could happen, she felt something on the wind. Turning at the last moment, she caught a bit of red before she was knocked upside the head, by the blunt edge of a VERY large scythe.
Thankfully for her, her aura was still at full strength, and thus spared her from most of the impact. Otherwise she would've had a nasty concussion from just the blow alone. Of course, she was still sent still flying away.
The sound of their compatriot's yell of surprise, caught the attention of both Cinder and Mercury as they turn and see the unexpected guest.
The said person was wearing a red hooded cloak so they couldn't see their face, as they nimbly swung the scythe around, then slammed the blade into the ground and began firing high impact rounds at them, causing them to dodge to avoid getting hit. When they got close enough, the figure went back into close combat as they deftly wielded the scythe in one hand, while the other hand reached behind her shoulder, and drew a longsword, which had an elaborate gold crossguard & hilt, and a blue hand grip.
The clothing showed the figure of the interloper as a woman, the attire itself being a white high-neck décolletage blouse with brown studded wristbands on the arms. The rest of her outfit comprising of a black skirt with red tulle underneath, an overbust corset with a red strip holding it in place, and finishing it off, was a black belt, bordered in red, holding a string of bullets, and pouches, along with a magnetic clip that was clasped around her waist. Over that were pieces of combat armor, including a white gold trim pauldron on her left arm, showing this woman was ready for war.
"Who..." Cinder began to demand, only to be interrupted by the attacker's voice.
"I'm your worst nightmare...," the stranger said, steel in her tone. But what she said next, sent Cinder for a loop, "...Cinder Fall."
The mystery woman began her attack, both blades narrowly missing Cinder with each swing. The false Maiden knew that this woman, whoever she was, was beyond her current skill level. Why?
Cause she saw the bitch was just TOYING with her. The longsword flew by her face, and Cinder was surprised when it actually cut through her aura and left a small cut on her cheek.
Meanwhile, Emerald, who had shaken off the dizziness after the hit to the head she received, decided to engage the mystery woman via by shooting at her with her kama revolvers. However, the woman did something none of them expected...she actually blocked them from hitting her with her aura alone.
They then saw something that further shocked them, as a pair of silver flames appeared under the hood illuminating her silver eyes.
Cinder's widened at what she was seeing in front of her, before she was snapped out of it when the stranger spoke again.
"You have no idea how long I've waited for this Cinder." The woman began to say, making the trio blink in confusion at that, "First thing I'm going to make you and your cronies suffer, and when I'm done with you, I'm going after your bitch queen, next,"
That made Cinder's eyes widen in shock. How the hell did she know about Salem? Did Ozpin tell her? She mentally scoffed at that, knowing that the old fool was too paranoid to tell anyone else about Salem, knowing too many people knowing will spread the word and cause a panic. Not to mention, from what Salem told her, that the man was afraid of people finding out about the big problem involving not dying.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the red cloaked woman charged at her again using tremendous speed, while roaring a battle cry, as she slashed at the False Maiden. The blades of the two weapons were wielded expertly by the woman, as they kept getting closer and closer.
Cinder realized one more thing... this crazy bitch was out for blood... Her's!
The sword's blade finally made contact, cutting deep into Cinder's arm, making her wince as the mysterious huntress went back a few steps, a smirk of satisfaction was seen on her mouth as she prepared the final blow.
Mercury and Emerald's eyes widened at what happened. they knew that Cinder was no slouch when it came to fighting, but this woman had her on the ropes. And now she was going to kill her.
Emerald, desperate to save the woman who gave her a purpose rather than just being a common thief, rushed in to help Cinder, only for the said mystery woman to spin and hit her again with the blunt edge of her scythe, and sent her into the fence, shattering it and caused her to bounce twice off the ground before stopping. Mercury came to support his teammate but was met with the same results, as the woman swept him off his feet with her scythe, before finally stomping him on the head, knocking him out temporarily.
The red hooded woman then turned back to Cinder, who was nursing her arm and gulped when she saw the stranger's focus back on her. She saw the woman begin to approach her, sword and scythe at the ready, as a smirk formed.
"No fire powers for you, you murderous c-" The mystery woman stopped suddenly, then grunted, before she began coughing... which sounded horrible if the hacking was any indication.
Cinder, along with Emerald and Mercury after they recovered from the beatdown they received, all blinked in confusion as they saw the coughing get worse, and the woman lost concentration. Her weapons dropping to the ground, as she dropped to her knees and grasping her chest as if in pain.
"NO! *cough,cough* Not...now!" the woman gasped out, as Emerald and Mercury got back their bearings. After a moment of confusion at seeing the woman on her knees coughing, they saw their chance and rushed at the woman, grabbing her arms and restraining her, "AGH!"
Cinder stood up, wincing a bit, while an arrogant smirk plastered itself on her face. She then reached into the pouch on her belt, where the glove Salem gave her was stored. Although it was a pain to put it on due to her now injured arm.
While a struggle, she managed to get the glove onto her hand. She was going to need a LOT of medical attention, soon-to-be Maiden or not. She walked up to the restrained Maiden as her hood was pulled off her head by Emerald, revealing mid back length black/red colored hair, with black being the root and red being the tip.
"You nearly killed me." Cinder actually complimented, "But in the end...I still win, Maiden."
The Maiden's response was to glare hatefully at her before spitting a mix of saliva and blood at her face.
"Go... Fuck... Yourself." She said spitefully, only to get kicked by one of Mercury's cybernetic legs, making her keel over, and making the coughing worse.
"Aww, now see?" Cinder said as she wiped the mixed spittle away, "That's the spirit!"
She then reached down and lifted the woman's head up by her chin, and looking into her silver eyes that showed a good amount of defiance.
"I never knew there was a fifth Maiden power that featured silver flames around their eyes," Cinder said as she examined the now growling woman. "Definitely strange...but also fortuitous."
"Don't touch me!" the Red Hood snapped as she tried to jerk her head away, but couldn't as the coughing had weakened her, making her unable to wrench away from Cinder's grip.
Cinder chuckled in amusement at the girl's attempts to yank herself away from her, before a thought crossed her mind, "You know what? Despite not being who we were after, I think I'll just take your power anyway," she said while that sickeningly sweet smirk turned more sinister, "And if possible, I think I will keep you alive so I can take you back to Salem, so we can learn how much you know about us,"
With that she began raising her gloved hand, which the woman saw as her eyes widened with fright and tried frantically to get free, much to Cinder's sick enjoyment.
"No! No! NOO! DAMN IT! GET AWAY FROM ME!" the woman shouted again, thrashing desperately, just as as an insectoid Grimm appeared on the palm of the gloved hand. Mercury had to punch the struggling woman across the face to stun her, before grabbing the back of her head and make her face the Parasitic Beetle Grimm.
'N-No...N...not like this,' were the woman's thoughts as she saw the Grimm insect getting ready to steal the Maiden power from her. She cursed the condition she had as the pain was beginning to take it's toll on her, as she can see her eyes darkening. Tears fell from her eyes as they fluttered closed. 'Everyone...I-I'm sorry,'
With that the woman blacked out just as Cinder was smirking in victory.
But victory was short lived. Before she could start the process, a shotgun blast rang out, followed by a storm of frozen leaves that forced Emerald and Mercury to let the woman go, as she slumped to the ground.
Soon a grey-black haired man with a sword and their original target, the Fall Maiden Amber, from their intel reports appeared and proceeded to beat the three away from their attacker.
'For fuck's sake... Branwen?!' Cinder cursed.
While she was an even match for him, she was wounded, and Qrow would mop the floor with Mercury and Emerald. Not to mention the OTHER Maiden with him.
'Dammit! Just when I had the power of a maiden at the tip of my fingers!' she thought in confusion and anger. Along with that, thinking about what Salem told her about the Maidens, and how to identify them, via the flames around their eyes when they were using their powers...
...Ice Blue for Winter...
...Dark Pink for Spring...
...Yellow for Summer...
...and finally, their original target, Orange for Fall...
And the woman whose power she had just now failed to acquire...they were a pure silver...making her a FIFTH Maiden
She racked her brain for any logical reason this could be so...but right now she and her posse were dealing with an experienced huntsman, and they had all used up their aura fighting the unknown woman and thus decided the best course of action for this scenario...
...In other words, run away and not die.
"Let's get out of here!" Emerald and Mercury heard as they looked to her, "...We'll try another day!"
The two looked at her for a moment before they nodded in acknowledgment. With that the three of them disappeared, thanks to Emerald's hallucination semblance.
"Dammit!" Qrow shouted, "They got away!"
He then turned his attention to Amber who was now kneeling on the ground next to the woman who was now unconscious.
"She's blacking out, and coughing up blood." Amber said in worry, before she reached over and removed the woman's hood, which had fallen back over her head after they dropped her, and her features startled Qrow.
She had black mid-back length hair with red highlights, and her eyes, though half-lidded, were a deep silver.
She looked like his old teammate and friend from Team STRQ, Summer Rose. But Summer's hair was a darker hue, and that wasn't her weapon.
That was Crescent Rose, albeit it looked slightly banged up and modified, which belonged to his niece. The sword was a interesting touch, though.
But Ruby was 14, turning 15 this year. This was NOT her. The woman before them looked to be in her mid twenties at least!
Deciding it was best to ask questions later, Qrow pulled out his scroll as he began to type a text to Ozpin, while Amber tried helping the woman.
"You better get here fast, Oz...," he said to himself, before he heard something that made him stop cold.
"Uncle...Qrow,"
Qrow blinked in confusion, before snapping his gaze back to the woman as she held her hand out, eyes now open and struggling to remain so.
"Un...Uncl...Uncle Qrow," she managed to gasp out, her tone sounding desperate, "I...I'm...I'm sorry...I-I...I screwed up...please ...f-forgive... Me...,"
With those words said, her silver eyes rolled back into her head and went limp in Amber's arms, which then resulted in the young woman in trying to wake her up.
Qrow meanwhile, was at an absolute loss at what the woman just said to him.
"She's out cold...," said the Fall Maiden, "...we need to get her help."
The Red Reaper despite not understanding what's going knew that Amber was right and continued in sending his message to Ozpin.
'Just what in the hell is going on around here?,'
Patriot-112: And first redo chapter done! As you'll all probably noticed, I decided to condense the prologue down, while also adding in more content. And, as you can see, I decided to do something a little... special, for Ruby. By this point, you're probably asking, what are Ruby's Maiden powers? Who gave them to her? Well, that would telling now would it?
You'll just have to wait till the next chapter peeps. Until then...later!