Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.

Moments Before the Universe Imploded

The weak die.

The strong live.

Those were the rules Raven Branwen lived by. If she couldn't be strong to move on, then what was the point of living? She's a bandit after all… the leader of her tribe.

Raven sat in her tent, drinking tea while planning out a route to hunt for food. However, her mind began to wander a bit, thinking about Qrow… and then her mind switched to Yang.

She began to remember the first time she saved her… against some sadistic ice cream girl that was ready to impale her. The sheer sight of the woman was enough to scare her away. With her work done, she disappeared right before Yang came to.

The second time she saved her… it was by complete accident. She was originally going to talk to Qrow about what she had found regarding the merge between Remnant and the Mushroom Kingdom. She still remembered how it happened.

She opened up a portal and went straight to Qrow, finding herself in Gloomy Galleon. She didn't recognize the scenery but she spotted Qrow a little ways off on a tree. She was about to go to him, but she could see a worried look on his face, seeming preoccupied with the scene below.

She looked down, wondering what he was watching… and there she saw K. Rool aiming his Blunderbuss at Yang.

"I could strap you to an anchor and watch you die a slow death, but where's the fun in that when death comes instantly?"

Raven's eyes widened. "What?!" She said, clenching her fists and scowling. Not my daughter, you asshole! She thought as aura shot out from the corners of her eyes.

"Any last words, firecracker?"

"…Go fuck yourself…"

"Ooooh, someone's got a mouth on her! Don't worry, I'll make this nice and painful as possible."

"Like hell you will." Raven said, raising her arm up high.

"Farewell!"

"Haaaah!" Raven threw her arm down where a lightning bolt struck K. Rool.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAH!" K. Rool roared before falling on his back.

"Kaptain! You okay?!"

"Heh…" Raven smirked. "That's what you get."

"Urgh… I may be an insane croc, but I'm not stupid. Everyone, retreat!"

"We lost?"

"Oh no, we won. See you around, hot head… if you survive that long. AHAHAHA!" Raven would watch him fly off in a helicopter pack.

"What is he talking about? How did they win?" Shantae asked.

"I think I know why…" Sky said as Raven would look at Yang.

"Tepig…?" Dàhuô looked at Yang with concern, before Yang fell on her knees.

"Dammit!" Yang cursed, punching the ground while tears fell from her eyes. "Dammit… DAMMIT!"

Raven watched this unfold, she was tempted to go down and comfort her daughter with whatever that crocodile threatened her with, but then noticed a big ape walking through and cradling her.

"There there, girl! No need to cry! Chunky will make you feel all better!"

Raven closed her eyes and let out a small "Hmph". "She doesn't need me." She said, opening up a portal as she turned herself into a raven and flew inside.

Then of course, she found out what really happened to Yang when she was chatting with Qrow at the Shy Guy Buffet.

"Remnant was not part of the Smash World… and now I find out my daughter is part of the Smash Roster."

"Funny how you call her your daughter when you don't visit her often."

"Hey, I saved her-"

"Once… because that was your rule… or should I say twice? You saved her from that crocodile, which I should feel the need to tell you that he took her aura away from her."

Raven's eyes widened. He did what?! She thought in horror.

"Don't tell me you're growing soft."

"I was just passing through!" She lied. "…I thought he would make a good lightning rod."

"Well, what if I told you Yang nearly died when K. Rool shot a mega death laser at her?"

Raven's eyes widened again, this time a bit more horrified. "He did WHAT?!" She said, then saw Qrow smirking at her.

"Oh, looks like the mother does care about Yang."

Raven frowned again. "Tch, so what? She survived, didn't she? She got her aura back." She said. …I hope. She thought.

"…Has anyone ever told you that you're one of the most complicated women of all time?"

"Your point?"

Raven let out a sigh, shaking her head. Despite her best efforts to try to tell Qrow about the Subspace Merger, as she calls it… it didn't seem like he was taking it seriously at all, especially with how some of the creatures of the Mushroom Kingdom have their eyes going green and attacking maliciously… even the Grimm have gone malicious. She could have sworn she saw a deer and a rabbit being under the effects of this malice.

"Raven?"

"Mmmph!" Raven jumped in surprise, having been snapped out of her thoughts as she turned to Vernal.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's fine. What is it?"

"You ready to go hunting? We got a few bandits ready to go."

"Oh… right." Raven nodded as she walked out with Vernal. "Alright team… we're going hunting. Let's move."

"Yeah!" They all agreed… and then suddenly, everything around them started to distort.

"What the…?! What's going on?!" Vernal yelled.

"Gah! This is freaky!" A bandit said.

"Hold yourself together!" Raven ordered. "This is no time to panic! Whatever this is, we'll get through it! We always do!" She declared… and then everything went white, and then the sound of crying babies were heard.

"Do you hear the baby stars? These newborns will grow up to become galaxies some day. When stars die, they turn to stardust and scatter across the cosmos. Eventually, that stardust reforms to create a new star… and so the cycle of life continues. But the cycle of life never repeats itself in the same way. So… you'll see."

"Uuungh…" Raven groaned as she rubbed her head, sitting up and looking around. She could see her bandits and Vernal all scattered around her camp, all of them groaning as they were slowly coming around.

"What happened…?"

"Did we just die…? Were we weak?"

"No." Raven said. "We didn't die… we're still alive." She said, but even she didn't look so sure of herself. "…Right…? The strong live and the weak die… those are the rules!"

"Hate to tell you, Raven but… I think we died, but came back alive." Vernal said, rubbing her head.

"No… no no no, we didn't die! There's no way we didn't!" Raven said, still looking completely unsure of herself. "We're strong…"

"Raven… are you okay? You don't sound like yourself."

Raven folded her arms. She didn't know who that voice belonged to… but something deep inside her told her… that the universe was just destroyed, only to be repaired moments later.

"No, I'm perfectly fine." She said and then her mind started wandering. What was that distortion… was her brother okay? She had to find out. "I'll be right back… I need to go check on something." She said, opening up a portal and running in.

At Toad Town…

Raven hopped out of the portal and landed on a tree branch. She looked around and saw everyone partying. What in the world… She thought, then seeing Yang in the midst of the crowd having a good time. She let out a sigh of relief, but then something else caught her attention. She could have sworn she saw someone familiar to her.

"Summer…?" She whispered. No… my eyes are playing tricks on me, that can't be her. She thought.

"Raven?" A voice caught her attention as she looked down and saw Qrow. "What are you doing here?"

Oh thank the gods you're alive. She thought. "Can't I check up on my brother? After all, the universe was destroyed… but it was restored." For some reason…

Qrow let out a smirk. "Decided to get worried about your family, hmm?"

Raven blushed. "I wasn't worried! I was… checking to see what had changed." She lied, but noticed Qrow's smirk never fading. That never ending annoying smirk. "Wipe that smirk off your face, I wasn't worried at all!"

"Heh, whatever you say. So, I imagine you're dying to say something, seeing as how you were worried."

Raven scowled at him. "I wasn't!" She said, completely unaware of Summer turning her head and seeing her.

"Raven…?"

"Anyway, I just came here to see what had changed. Nothing more. I wasn't concerned for you at all, nor anyone else." What the hell am I saying…? Have I been shaken up THAT much?

"Whatever you say."

"Tch…" Raven folded her arms, but then thought of Yang. "…How's Yang?"

"The firecracker? Oh, she's doing pretty alri-" He paused, and then looked at her with a knowing smirk.

Oh, now you've done it… Raven thought.

"Well, isn't that something. You still care about your daughter."

"I do not! Ugh… you can be so annoying at times." What am I even saying…? Am I… really thinking straight? She thought before she pulled out her katana and swiped it down, opening up a portal. "Glad to know that all of you are okay after that mess." She said and then walked inside, closing it behind her.

Raven leaned onto a cage, holding on to her head. "What's going on with me… am I feeling okay…?"

"Raven? Are you okay?" Vernal asked with concern.

"I'm… I'm fine, I just need a minute." She said, walking over to her tent, her mind racing furiously, wondering what the hell happened. What happened that caused the universe to collapse in on itself? What caused it to be repaired in a matter of seconds? And why is she so… shaken up about her core beliefs?

Am I weak… or am I strong? Does this saying even matter anymore? What's WRONG with me?!

She put her hands over her head while curling into a fetal position, wondering… if there was an answer to this predicament that she was in.

The weak die.

The strong live.

Those were the rules.

However… no one said anything about reviving from the dead, especially when the universe imploded on everyone.

Raven got shaken up pretty well, didn't she?