Disclaimer: I own nothing; just the OC

'Thought'

"Talking"

*Action*

"Powerful entity (gods, dragons, etc.)"

[System]

"...fuck!" I cried out as I sprint from tree to tree like a certain orange ninja. "What the fuck was I thinking!? Was I thinking at all!?"

Not only did I get angry at Raven, but I revealed all sorts of information that some random guy is not supposed to know! It's a miracle she didn't try and torture me on the spot about how I know all this…

…but I get the feeling that's still going to happen.

[With so many emotions running at once, Raven could potentially become a beacon of negativity for Grimm, we must find her and quickly]

Quest Alert!

Quest: Lost Raven

Raven has run off to who knows where, find her before she gets herself killed… or worse.

Objective: Find Raven Branwen

Rewards: 9000 EXP, 2399 Lien

After a while, I manage to find a village under a cliffside, "that must be the village where the Grimm are converging to."

[There's a possibility that Raven is there as well]

"Let's go." I jump down and rush towards the village at break-neck speeds.

Aura is so convenient.

I arrive at the village and... What the hell!?

Instead of finding decrepit buildings and a dozens of monsters running around… there are people walking around, minding their own business.

It's a normal village.

"What the…?"

"It seems you have arrived."

I turn to the sound of the familiar voice and see Raven with her mask on.

"Raven…" I said.

Raven walks past me, not much caring about the odd looks everyone is giving her.

Quest Complete!

Quest: Lost Raven

Objective (Complete): Find Raven Branwen

Rewards: 9000 EXP, 2399 Lien

Level Up!

I follow her, she seems too calm for someone who was just given a reality check. I expected her to set up some sort of an ambush the moment I entered the village, but instead here she is strolling around like nothing's happened.

"Raven listen, I-"

"You called me a hypocrite. A selfish coward who runs away every chance she gets." Raven interrupts.

My eyes move away from Raven, as if ashamed.

"...and you were right."

My attention snaps back at her, did Raven just admit her own faults?

"But that's when I realized something even more shocking…" Raven turns to look at me, and I can feel the cruel smirk under that mask of hers.

"You're just as much of a hypocrite as I am."

I'm caught off guard by those words. "What…?"

"Of course." Raven says in a matter-of-fact tone. "Is that not why you despise me? Because you find the idea of someone so similar to you that repulsive?"

"..."

Raven's smirk widens under her mask. "You believe that you are some sort of hero, but you are just an arrogant man who doesn't understand how others feel. Do you think I wanted to leave my family behind? I have a duty to the tribe, my family, so who are you to judge me for that?"

"Then why didn't you tell them? I'm sure Taiyang would have-"

"Now, how do you know my ex-husband's name is Taiyang? I never mentioned his name before."

My eyes widen at the massive screw up I just made.

'Dammit!'

"So here is what is going to happen, you are going to tell me how you came across this much information about my past." Raven states.

I lower my head a little, "...I can't tell you."

"Can't or won't?"

"Look, just trust me on this-"

"Oh, so now you're talking to me about trust?" Raven rebuttals.

I grow frustrated at her, "it's not that simple to explain, there are just some things that can't be said."

"Like what, you being a coward?" Raven retorted, stopping me in my tracks. "I have wondered why you wouldn't tell me where you were from and now I understand, it is because you ran away from home. You must have done something awful that brought shame to your parents ."

"...I am not a coward."

"Is that so? Then why are you in the tribe? Why are you not back with your family? You could have left us and never looked back." Raven walks closer and takes off her mask. "It's because your family doesn't love you, and never will."

"You don't know anything." I hiss out, my voice begins to rise in pitch.

The villagers begin to appear as they are attracted by the sounds of the couple's arguing. They seem to be Huntsmen, but what are Huntsmen doing in a remote settlement like this?

"Do you think you are the first to come to the tribe without emotional baggage? Do you think you are that special?" A rare chuckle comes out of Raven's mouth. "I didn't think you were this arrogant."

My face twists as rage slowly grows. "Shut up…"

"You are not special, you are just some naïve fool who thinks they have the moral high ground." Raven states. "How disappointing..."

I raise [Palindel] up to Raven's face. "You don't know a damn thing about me; I'm not the one going around the kingdom killing people indiscriminately, Raven!" I spat. "You have some goddamn nerve comparing me to you!"

Raven looks at the weapon, unfazed by the fact it is aimed at her. "I will tell you something." She leans in closer to my ear, "I have transported several of my men here, ready to kill at my command. If you think you are better than me, then go and save them."

My eyes widen at the sudden reveal.

Raven leans back and smirks at seeing my frantic expression. "You better hurry or my men will kill everyone in this village."

My mind goes blank at these sudden turn of events, and that's when I get a disturbing realization.

She tricked me.

There was never any abandoned settlement overrun with Grimm, it was all a ploy to get the two of us alone and for me to eventually spill the beans.

And I completely fell for it!

I frantically dash deeper into the village.

I have to, no, I need to stop this madness!

Meanwhile, Raven's smile only grows wider until it breaks into full blown laughter. "So predictable."

I run through the village, run as fast as I can. Dammit, where the hell are they!? Its like finding a needle in a fucking haystack!

There are just too many people in the way!

"Hey watch it, brat!" A villager yelled.

My neck snaps to their direction and I give the villager a cold glare. The villagers are frightened as they slowly back away before they run.

"Tch... idiots, all of them." I whispered.

"KYAAAAAA!"

A scream catches my attention and I immediately rush to its source. I see a figure in the corner of my eye and, without wasting a moment, shoot them down with [Palindel]. Their body quickly falls and their blood seeps through the bullet holes and into the ground.

"PAPA!"

Wait, what did she just say…?

I look down to see not a bandit, but a man in ordinary village clothing, a civilian.

The villagers see this and scream out at the horrid sight. "A bandit! There's a bandit in the village!"

"Murderer!" A female villager yelled.

"Why…? Why did you do such a thing!?"

"I… I thought it was a bandit." I mutter as my legs lose their strength and I collapse. I killed someone… I killed an innocent man…

I… I didn't know…

I thought he was a bandit!

This… I didn't want this!

But it still happened… and it's all my fault!

"Do you see now? Do you see the futility in your efforts?"

My mind goes blank, all of the other noises vanish as Raven Branwen walks in and stands before me. In her hand is her Scroll, recording everything that has just transpired. "Feeling ill? Judging by your expression, I'd guess you are about to have a crisis." Raven states as she looks down on me. "A fool who doesn't understand the fundamentals of the world, who goes flaunting their own opinions without understanding the circumstances. Can you really call yourself a good person now?"

Raven's eyes ignite with power and proceeds to incinerate the entire village in an instant with everyone in it. I can hear the screams of everyone: men, women, children. All of them scream as their bodies are roasted completely and soon as they come, the screams quickly turn into silence.

She unsheathes her sword and holds it at my head. "I may be a hypocrite but you are no better than me. You still have a lot to learn before you could even think of defying me."

I didn't say anything, I wasn't even paying any attention to her. All I could hear is the noise… and the memory of that little girl screaming and trying to get her father to move.

…and now that girl is also dead.

Eyes flicker from Silver to Red.

[Dragon's Sin of Wrath activated]

Raven POV

I stare at the brat staring blankly at the ground, not even acknowledging the Omen's tip right above his head. I thought he was stronger than this… but he is just like everyone else.

He is weak.

His Semblance aside, if he doesn't have balls to do what needs to be done then he is of no use to me or the tribe.

I click my tongue, what a waste of time!

With a wave of my sword, I open a portal back to the tribe. "Hopefully, I can find someone stron-"

A wave of dread washes over me as my instincts go haywire. I turn around only to meet with what looks to be a floating Grimm skull gathering energy in its mouth.

I move aside and the Grimm fires a stream of red energy, destroying everything in its path.

"What…!?" I am shocked by the display of power. Turning back I see that brat, Asmodeus, standing there with the Grimm skull at his side.

My tighten the grip on my sword at sight of a Grimm working with a human. "I should have known…" I growl. "I should have known you were one of the Queen's pawns!"

I charge at the bastard, but my attack is parried by a skeletal hand with a yellow hole in its palm. The hand then fires yellow-like projectiles in succession as I parry them with my blade.

"Humph, is that the best you can do?" I taunt.

The brat doesn't respond and instead raises his hand, summoning six more of those skeletal hands each with different colors. The hands converge a fire a single large beam of light straight towards me. I dodge the attack, but the beam bends and is now heading towards me. I keep dodging but the beam seems to be homed in on me, so I quickly open a portal and let the beam go inside and then quickly close it before it can change direction.

Two skeletal fists fly straight towards and I destroy them. But that proved to be a distraction as the brat rushes in with a black version of Omen for an attack but I intercept it with my own blade, resulting in a deadlock.

"Is this what you do, steal other people's techniques? You-" But before I can continue a fist collides with my face, sending me back. When I look up, I see that he is wearing a black version of my daughter's weapon. But before I can react, the brat raises his arm and instantly a wave of fire suddenly erupts from seemingly nowhere, trapping me in. I can feel the unbelievably intense heat coming from those flames as if they desire to burn everything to ashes.

This isn't a Semblance, which means…

"You're a Maiden!?" That's not possible, only women can become Maidens! And he can't be Ozpin either, that bastard is still alive in Beacon for Brothers' sake!

I activate my Maiden powers as I am surrounded in lightning and fire. I conjure ice and throw it at him, but the moment they make contact the ice breaks down completely without dealing any damage. I jump back and create an ice wall behind me, propelling off of it back at him. He swings his construct at me, but I feint at the last second and hurl lighting at him point-blank causing an explosion.

A smile slowly forms on my face, that's one pawn the Queen isn't getting back.

Suddenly, cracks begin to form around me and black spikes sprout from the ground and try to skewer me. The smoke clears, revealing Asmodeus in his hands covered in black Aura with his fingers deep in the ground. I jump upwards to avoid them, but blue strings shoot out from the smoke and wrap around me before slamming me back to the ground hard. I try to break the threads but they seem to get tighter the more I struggle.

What the hell is this!? He wasn't supposed to be this powerful! He is just some random kid with some naïve notions of justice, and yet he is beating me! Him. How is this even possible!?

"You think you have me cornered!?" The words tear out of me in a shriek, my bindings tighten further. "I don't know how you got this power, but I can assure you it will not be enough! I have been the Spring Maiden for years, how can a novice going to defeat a master!?"

The brat merely stares at me with cold silver eyes that seem to only express one emotion.

He finally opens his mouth. "You talk too much." Every word uttered is dripping with venom.

A black miasma rises from his body as it morphs into dozens of different weapons hanging limply in the air as if they are on strings. With a wave of his hand, all of the weapons launch themselves at breakneck speeds straight towards me. I conjure a dome of ice but it is quickly destroyed by the endless onslaught of constructs.

A loud scream can be heard, but I can't discern where it's coming from. It did not take long to realize that it was me screaming as I am bombarded with different weapons. Some pieces of my armor and clothes are torn off from their speed, leaving bits of my body exposed. My Aura is holding but that doesn't stop the pain.

The pain just would not stop!

The bombardment suddenly stops and the strings vanish. I slowly try to get up only to be greeted by a knee slamming into my stomach followed by a kick to the face, driving out whatever air I had in my lungs. I didn't even see him coming, he was standing still for a second and now he is pinning me down, taking away my sword.

Oh gods. Is he going to kill her? He is, isn't he? I can see it in his eyes. The anger, the rage, the desperation, it's all there.

"Look at you…" He said as he planted his foot in my stomach. "The mighty Raven Branwen, Bandit Queen and Spring Maiden, reduced to such an awful mess. Just what would the tribe think when they see you like this?"

I slowly raise my hand as power flows to it, but it is impaled by a black knife. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"You think that just because you have power, you're above consequences? Don't be ridiculous." He takes his foot off my stomach but not before kicking me back so hard that coughs up blood. My Aura flickers in and out, this can't be… how am I losing to some random kid…?

He laughs. "But that's what you do isn't it?" A skeletal hand appears above me and grabs me by my neck as I am suspended in the air. "And how has that worked out for you?" The hand zoom flies closer to him and stare directly at his silver eyes. "You go headstrong, doing your own thing and when things don't work out, you cut them down."

He punches me in the face. "You left your family the moment your daughter was born because you thought they had grown soft." He punches me in the stomach. "Then you take in the Spring Maiden but when she couldn't keep up with you, you decided to kill her and took the power for yourself."

"I… it was mercy…" I wince as blood floods my mouth.

"Of course it was, because everything you've done was out of mercy. But here's the issue with that." He punches me harder than before and then grabs a handful of my hair. "DO YOU HONESTLY THINK THAT SHIT YOU PULLED IS MERCY!? ARE YOU STUPID OR SOMETHING!?" A couple of teeth fall out. "You hide all of your insecurities under the façade of a ruthless killer, but in reality you're just a little girl who's scared of the freaking Wicked Witch of the West. Shit, your brother probably knows this, but he's too nice not to say anything and believes that you'll admit it on your own and come back."

I narrow my eyes at his statement.

Qrow. Knows. Nothing.

He choose to become another cog in Ozpin's machine, fueled by his honeyed words and empty promises.

"So here's what's gonna happen." Asmodeus sends a glare that only promises pain. The light coming from his eyes makes it even more menacing. "I'm taking over the tribe, I beat you so that makes me the new leader by default, and I'm going to turn it into a force of change that'll wash the putrid stench that is Salem off the face of Remnant."

"Y… you think they will just let you-"

"Well if they don't like it, they can walk away or fight me. I really couldn't care less at that point, but you are a different story." The strings around me tighten as he forcefully grabs my face. "You do not deserve a second chance at a normal life, you threw that away the moment you walked out of that door. I would love to kill you right now, but your Maiden powers make you just valuable enough to let you live."

"So what's it gonna be Raven?" He states. "Will you use the remainder of your life doing something worthwhile or die a dog's death in the middle of nowhere."

I say nothing as I stare at Asmodeus like he's grown a second head, but what choice do I have? If I go back to the tribe, they'll berate me for losing to him and possibly kill me to the title of chief. I can't go back to Tai… he's already moved on from me and I don't want Yang to see me like this.

But then a chill suddenly runs down my spine, Salem would find me.

Salem would beat me, rip the Spring Maiden from my broken body and leave it for the beowolfs. I could join her, but that would only slow down the inevitable. Either way, I will die regardless whether I work for her or not.

That only leaves… Ozpin.

Ozpin the liar. The deceiver. He and his little group protecting this quiet that they call "peace" and sacrifice countless Teams - children - for the sake of their "peace". If he finds out I am the Spring Maiden, he will never let me out of his sight. Not now, not ever.

"I… *cough, cough* I accept…" I groaned out.

An ominous smile forms on his face… it's a smile filled with delight. "Good girl." He snaps his fingers and the threads vanish, causing me to fall into the ground. He kneels in front of me and puts his hand on my head, "[Heal]". Instantly, all of my wounds heal as if my Aura has been supercharged, boosting its healing factor.

"This is the start of something beautiful, Raven."

Deep below the earth, something awakens.

Eyelids open revealing piercing red eyes.

The ground shakes violently, giant cracks appear everywhere.

"Oh what now!?" Asmodeus cries out annoyed.

The ground crumbles as buildings are swallowed into the ground. Asmodeus tries to grab me, but the ground under us collapses and we fall into the darkness.

Author Notes

So yeah, the confrontation finally happens but it doesn't end with Raven's defeat. The MC berates her for her hubris and announces his take over of the tribe and persuades her to join. How this will affect things down the line is up to debate, but it will make things interesting that's for sure. By all accounts, Raven should be stronger but whatever [Dragon's Sin of Wrath] did must have put the MC on an even level with her.

Leave a comment/review and tell me what you think. If you have any ideas on how to fix it or suggestions for the next chapter, just PM me or send a message on Shiro's server. Critique is highly appreciated.

Peace~