A/N: Welcome back to another chapter of My Turn!
We're back to shorter chapters…well, shorter than the last two, anyway. Kinda hoping I can keep it that way for a while.
This marks the beginning of the "Intervention" arc.
Now then, we finally get to the canon event…the event that will start the fall of Vale, the deaths of Pyrrha, Penny, and Roman, the ruining of Yang's reputation and the loss of her arm, all of it.
Only one word…no, one name sums up the event I may or may not try to change:
Amber….
Whomayormaynotbeanotherpotentialpairing.
LET'S GO!
Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY.
I sat at the counter in Beef's Bar, idly staring at the glass half-filled with Valean "Root Beer"….
Seriously, how does this stuff keep getting made if that company keeps getting sued?!
Anyway, what was I doing at Beef's Bar other than to get drunk?
Well, that's because…I made it.
Three years. Three goddamn years of waiting. Three years of living this new life I got from spinning the Wheel of Reincarnation that the Buddha showed me in Purgatory (I still consider that blasphemy, by the way). Three years of raising Violet, my sweet and adorable seven year old daughter….
Who happened to be the younger sister of Velvet Scarlatina….
And who apparently was interested in my love life.
Maybe she's trying to get a new mommy or something? I've always seen that kind of thing on television. Always so dramatic how the child suddenly wants a new mommy or daddy and decides to play match maker for his/her living parent. Kinda like the movie Despicable Me 2.
And now it's happening to me.
It's not like I'm trying to stay single! It's just that…well, I never tried to get a girlfriend in my past life, and so that probably transferred to my new life.
…
…
…
You know, I technically had a girlfriend in my past life. It was my last year of middle school, and she had asked me if she could be my girlfriend….
And I had said yes.
The "relationship" didn't really work, though. For instance, we didn't really act like how a boyfriend and girlfriend should act.
We never sat together in lunch. We never held hands. We never went on dates. And by the time the last year of middle school had ended, we wound up separated by life….
And by that, I mean that I couldn't find her by the time the school buses were about to leave, and I never bothered to see which school bus she was on, so I just went home, never to see her again (I think she went to a different high school).
You would think I would be sad about that but…honestly, I wasn't. Hell, I had started to wonder just why I had said yes in the first place.
Probably out of curiosity, I guess.
In any case, it wasn't real, I more than likely didn't feel the same way she did about me (if she even liked me anymore), and so I don't really count it as me having a girlfriend.
I'd say that makes me a terrible person, but…one time, when I was sitting in lunch, she walked by with her friends. I smiled at her, she smiled at me….
And that's it. She just left with her friends to sit somewhere else.
Maybe I was supposed to do something. Maybe she was supposed to do something.
We were barely in our teens, so we probably didn't know any better.
I'd say this was the reason why I never tried to get a girlfriend, but again, I wasn't heartbroken about it. I'm pretty sure I never tried was because no girl interested me, or that I was too lazy or anti-social to even try.
Then again…in my final year of high school, there was this girl I was technically introduced to and…she was beautiful. I liked her the moment I laid eyes on her.
I had asked a friend of mine (we'll call him Roy for now) if this girl had a boyfriend, and he answered in the negative. After a few weeks, "Roy" apparently decided to write a note to the girl, making her believe that it was from me.
The note basically asked if she wanted to be my girlfriend.
…
…
…
Goddamn it, Roy.
She replied back, spouting off about how she needed to focus on her school work.
Understandable, but she could've just said no and be done with it.
After my high school graduation, I actually spotted her among all the other graduates, and she was…kissing another guy….
I was a little sad, but…not to the point that I should feel heartbroken.
Guess it was just a crush and nothing more….
And now I realize I'll never get to hear any other Selena Gomez songs….
Don't judge me! I like her music! Who cares if I'm a guy! And forget WatchMojo making her a "dishonorable mention" in their Top 10 Worst Singers video. The one time I actually disagree with that YouTube Channel!
…Off topic.
Point is, I never tried to get a girlfriend. Mainly because I was anti-social. And when the time came for college, I just stayed in my dorm room, watching YouTube videos with the precious Wi-Fi that the campus had. I hardly even communicated with my roommate!
Anti-social to the next level.
But it was the way I liked it. I wasn't bothered by anyone, and if I ever found a girl to like, then fine. Until then, I just secluded myself to television, video games, the internet, and the eventual hobby of writing RWBY fanfiction.
Not really a good life, but I enjoyed it all the same.
Quite the contrast to my new life, that's for sure.
Why did I go off on this tangent, again?
Oh right, my daughter was trying to set me up with someone.
Sad, really. None of the girls in the village really caught my interest to pursue them, even though several tried flirting with me.
The only ones that even came close to catching my interest were certain girls that I've met in the past three years.
Neo.
Winter.
Even Coco and Velvet, as loathe as I am to admit it since they're barely 18 now due to canon starting this year.
Hell, I had even expressed interest in Amber when I first bumped into her and Qrow when I was resurrected on Remnant. We may have only met briefly, but I still considered the slim possibility at the time.
Amber….
Recently, I had decided to venture out to view the land surrounding the village on the off chance that maybe I'd find the area where Amber would be attacked by Cinder and her two cronies.
I had been walking for hours…until I had decided to return home using this old dirt path. When I came to a clearing…I realized that I had found it.
I had stayed in the middle of the clearing and closed my eyes, remembering that flashback episode in Volume 3 that indicated the battle between Amber and her three assailants.
Remembering what I could about the land, I compared it to where I was now…and it was a perfect match.
This was the place.
This was where shit would begin to go wrong….
Well, to be fair, I'm pretty sure that Cinder would've had the Kingdom fall if she had gotten either the full power…or none of it.
It was part of Salem's plan, after all.
Still…would Cinder have gotten the White Fang to help her if she hadn't gotten any of the power of the Fall Maiden?
Stupid question, considering she had tried and failed to recruit the White Fang before obtaining half of Amber's power.
And according to Aleadrex's "Arc of the Revolution", she would have failed had she tried to recruit them a second time without any Maiden power.
Then again, that's just a fanfiction…that I would never get to finish.
FUCK! Will anyone in that fic ever know that Jaune isn't some badass legend and that they were just being idiots and that they would lose because of their own assumptions?
Seriously, I bet that, were they to find out, the looks on their faces would be priceless!
…Off topic.
Point is, I can't really be sure that, were I to somehow stop Cinder from attaining any of the Maiden's power, that she still won't somehow get the White Fang to join her.
Hell…I'm not even sure if I'll even try to get involved.
Why should I? I've got a good life here in this village. A farm, a daughter, and so on.
Should I really bother to try and change anything?
And even if I did try…could I succeed? Cause I'm pretty sure I'm nowhere near Cinder's skill level. Nor Mercury's or Emerald's.
Hell, I bet I still can't stack up to first-years at a Huntsman Academy!
What can I do?!
With a sigh, I take another sip of my Valean "Root Beer".
"Something wrong, Colt?"
I turn to see Vert taking a seat next to me.
"No…nothing."
I sip my drink again.
Vert stares at me, no really believing what I said.
"Beef, give me my usual."
A filled glass automatically slides to where Vert is.
"Thanks."
Vert takes the glass in his hand and sips it.
He turns to me. "Alright, tell me what's wrong. And don't try to say it's nothing, cause something's bothering you."
…
…
…
"If you had the chance to change something, would you?"
Vert looked confused. "Huh?"
I turn to him. "If you had the chance to stop something from happening, and you knew where it would take place, would you intervene?"
Vert pursed his lips. "…Is this hypothetical, or do you know something I don't?"
"…Let's say it's hypothetical."
"Hmm…well, I may be retired, but I'm still a Huntsman, and my job is to protect the people from the Grimm…and possibly from other people if the situation warrants it."
He regards me with a curious expression. "What's the context of this 'hypothetical'?"
"…Say someone's going to get attacked by some assailants, and it would be preferable that the assailants failed rather than succeed like they should've."
"…What's going on, Colt?"
I take another sip of my drink and sigh. "Let's just say that…a person that I shouldn't know about is going to be attacked. I know where and what time of day, but not the exact day itself. I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should bother to do anything about it."
I look at him. "I've got a farm to tend to and a daughter to raise. Should I really put all that in jeopardy just to stop some bad guys?"
…
…
…
"What do you think will happen if you choose to do nothing?" Vert finally asked.
I let out a humorless chuckle. "It's not what I think. It's what I know. If the event I'm talking about takes place, it'll be the starting point to what could be the worst thing to happen among the Kingdoms."
Vert let out a whistle. "Wow…you sure you're not drunk?"
I roll my eyes and shout. "Hey, Beef? How many drinks have I had?"
"Just the one," came the bartender.
Vert frowned a bit. "…Well, Colt, I can only say that, were I to have this dilemma, I'd step in. I'm a Huntsman, and I have a duty to uphold. I wouldn't exactly leave someone out to dry."
Of course he wouldn't.
"Then again…this is your dilemma. So let me ask you this…could you live with yourself knowing you could've done something to prevent a catastrophe?"
…
…
…
I downed the rest of my drink. "I'm done here."
I tossed a bit of Lien for the drink and made my way to the door.
As I made to open it, I stopped.
"…Vert?"
He turned to me. "Yeah?"
"…You think you could handle watching my daughter and the farm for an hour each day…for an indeterminate amount of days?"
He pursed his lips. "I reckon so…why?"
"…I may be heading out of the village each day for an hour to…wait for something."
Not saying another word, I stepped out of the bar.
And so now, each day between the beginning of sunset and the beginning of nightfall, I'd step out to the clearing where the attack on Amber would take place.
I made sure to hide in a bush each time, knowing full well that I shouldn't let myself be spotted.
Cinder, Mercury and Emerald were going to set up an ambush for Amber, meaning they would show up here and take their places.
The days had gone by fast, and I wondered if it would ever come, or if this was even the right clearing.
Still…I had to try.
It wasn't until a week and a half later that I got lucky.
I was making yet another trip to the clearing, keeping an eye out for any Grimm that might show up to attack me.
I arrived and took my usual hiding spot in the bush. I pulled out a canteen and took a drink of water.
And so comes another hour of waiting.
This time, I had myself preoccupied with making a list of my top ten favorite RWBY characters.
First was Ruby, obviously. Both the show and fanfiction cemented that spot for her. She's just so adorable! Not as adorable as Violet, but you snooze you lose.
Second was…Winter….
She's hot (and has a great body), she kicks ass, and she somehow still has a great relationship with Weiss, despite hardly seeing her. And her voice was just…wow. Also, fanfiction.
Third on my list is…huh. That's actually a tie between Coco and Velvet. Both are badass fighters. Coco is a confident fashionista, and Velvet's a shy bunny girl.
Fourth…er, maybe Neo, I guess? Though this was mostly due to fanfiction…and also because she kicked Yang's ass…and cause she's short and has multiple colors about her.
Fifth would be…Roman. Definitely Roman. He was such a great villain, and it was a shame to see him die. By Grimm, no less.
Sixth would be…Jaune. He's the guy who we as fans can relate to, and fanfiction does a hell of a job with his character in all the different types of stories.
Seventh…Qrow. Though, I think it's mostly because he's a drunk.
Eighth…Weiss. She really is like a princess, and her cold attitude slowly warming up is nice to both see in the show and read in fanfiction.
Ninth…Nora. Why? Because she's Nora.
And number ten…Neon. Yup, that girl based of the Nyan Cat got the number ten spot on my list. She was just so bubbly. Not to mention she was able to annoy Yang like that.
Well, now that I got that out of the way…perhaps now I should make a list of the RWBY characters I don't like.
Number one…that's actually a tie between Yang and Cinder. Why?
…
…
…
Actually, no. I'm not about to go into an internal rant as to why either one is tied for first. It would make my brain hurt, and I'd get distracted and possibly miss out on something, such as Emerald standing out in the open as Amber got off her horse….
Wait, what?!
I peeked out to see that what I saw was true. Amber was walking towards Emerald, though her attention was on something else. Almost like there was another person there, say a small weeping child….
Yeah, I knew what Emerald was doing.
Goddamn illusionist.
Amber knelt down and held out an apple towards the nonexistent child.
I stayed within the bush, biting my lip.
I could jump out now, warn Amber and possibly aid her in trying to fight off Cinder and her cronies.
And yet…I hesitated.
I know I was spouting on about how I could help Amber and all, but…again, I'm nowhere near skilled enough to take on any of these three.
And if I did get involved and succeeded…I'd be putting myself, and Violet, in danger. And I don't just mean Cinder.
I'm not sure how Salem will take some random farmer interfering with her plans. Not sure if she'll get involved…maybe not at first. She'd send Cinder and the other two after me.
While I was in my internal debate, I didn't notice that the battle had begun.
Okay…let's go over this slowly.
Now…if I decide to help Amber, I'd have to contend with one of her three assailants.
Cinder, Mercury, or Emerald….
Well, Cinder was out of the question, and as much as I'd like to pit Emerald's weapons against the first iteration, her damn Semblance will put me at a disadvantage.
Which left Mercury. The guy with metal feet, trained by his father, an assassin, and who could shoot me from a distance and possibly encase me in a tornado of boot shots….
Still not a good choice in opponents. Then again, none of them are.
I'll just figure that out in a moment.
A whistling sound caught my attention. I looked up in time to find Amber's Aura visibly shatter, having been pushed to its limit.
This fight was nearly over.
As they approached the downed Maiden, Amber knocks away the assailants with a gust of wind. Mercury regains his footing and makes to attack, but Amber fires a bolt of lightning at him, knocking him away.
Amber unleashes a ball of fire in a random direction…oh right, Emerald's Semblance. She gets it right this time, firing it at the real Emerald.
Amber uses her staff to support her as she limps towards a downed Emerald intent on finishing her off.
This was it. If I wanted to have any chance of success, I needed to intervene before Cinder fires the arrows at Amber's back. Emerald's hurt, and so is Mercury (possibly). Cinder is the only one I'd have to deal with, and while she's a strong fighter before gaining half of Amber's power, she has to be tired, or winded at the very least. Plus, Amber can still fight (barely), so there's a chance this could work.
And yet…I'm still afraid to step out.
Amber stops before an injured Emerald.
I could still stay hidden, let what's about to occur take place, and go back to my village to continue raising my daughter.
Cinder conjures her bow.
N-Now that I think about it, this isn't my problem. Just cause I know what's going to happen, doesn't mean I should get involved, right? I could just…let the Kingdom fall.
Cinder pulls out an arrow.
I-I mean, I'm sure Monty had a plan, right? O-Obviously there's a lot to the show. Hell, there was this comment I read that believes the title for the final episode of Volume 3, End of the Beginning, could possibly hint to the fact that Volumes 1-3 were simply the beginning, and that the true story begins.
Cinder pulls the arrow back on the string of the bow.
I-I might be in over my head, here. M-Maybe I should stay out of this.
Amber lifts her staff to finish Emerald.
No! I…I came here for a reason! To stop this from happening!
So then…why wasn't I moving?!
Time seemed to slow.
…
…
Move.
…
…
Move.
…
…
Move!
…
…
MOVE!
...
...
MOVE, GODDAMN IT!
I dashed forward out of the bush as Cinder released her arrow.
"LOOK OUT!"
Amber and the other assailants turn to me in shock.
I barely manage to tackle Amber out of the way, the arrow missing and soaring over Emerald's head since she was still on the ground. Mercury, who had been getting up, had to duck to avoid the deadly projectile.
Not sure if I'd have preferred it that one of those two had been hit with the arrow instead, but oh well.
I groan and lift myself a bit off Amber, and I look to find Amber's shocked face….
Which was rather close to mine.
Just like I pointed out when I first met her, she was really pretty, and her eyes were interesting to look into.
My cheeks feel warm, but I ignore it and let out a smile.
"Hey…long time no see."
She seems confused by what I just said, which is understandable. I didn't really expect her to remember me after three years, especially since we only met briefly.
Before she could ask for me to clarify, however-.
"Who are you?!"
Yeah.
I turn my head to find Emerald standing up, if a bit slouched in pain, with her weapons out in their sickle forms. I see Mercury making his way over with a slight limp some ways behind her.
When I turn to my right…I find Cinder Fall herself.
And she did not look pleased, let me tell you.
I gulped. "W-Well…this is awkward."
Alright, I decided to intervene….
Now what?
A/N: Oh no! A cliff hanger!
Yeah, had to at least have one of these just in case I don't have them in the future.
So yeah…I've decided to get involved, though I get the feeling I didn't think this all the way through.
Oh well, trial and error.
Will I be able to succeed, or will I fail and my story comes to a premature end?
Tune in next time on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z….
No wait, shit! Wrong ending!
*Rewinding sounds*
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See you in the next update.
LATERS!
