The Silver-Twist of Fate
This file was made on 3/6/2020.
To anyone who follows Seals of Fate. I am not abandoning it, I'm still working on chapter 7, and I am half way done with writing it. I'm also in the process of making edits to previous chapters. I wrote this as a way to deal with the writer's block that was plaguing me in the process for writing that chapter. This is meant to be just another project. But I will say that if you're expecting the next chapter soon, then it will be. I won't give a date but it will be soon.
Well this ought to be interesting. If you are one of my viewers from Seals of Fate then you know the speech that I gave at the start of the first chapter. For those who aren't, I'll summarize and alter for this one appropriately: A timeline is a series of events. To change one thing can disrupt everything and possibly create a whole new series of events through the butterfly effect. Sometimes the consequence of changing something can be something small that snowballs into a major change that lights a massive inferno, and other times it fizzles anti-climactically. We go to the world of Huntsman and Huntresses who bravely fight against threats like the Creatures of Grimm and other forces who would see humanity burn or be conquered. We go to the dream of a young one aspiring to join the ranks of Huntsman and Huntresses who change has touched and will see the course of their life altered, not too dissimilar to what fate had already planned, but different, none the less.
Chapter 1
The Day Change Began
Haze
That was the state of the vision that filled a young one's mind within a dream.
Then two glowing figures appeared in the haze, but the viewer was unable to make out any features on the two other than one possessed deer antlers and glowed a golden color that seemed to be full of life and light while the other possessed ram horns and glowed purple that seemed to radiate darkness and destruction.
The being of light spoke.
So brother, we are in agreement that our masterpiece should be allowed to be returned to the planet we created?
The being of darkness responded
Indeed brother, we are in agreement there. I will state that I do not believe that they will be able to overcome their divide, but I wish to be proven wrong. The foolish girl Salem showed us that man could be united by the right cause and manipulation, using their greed. I wish to see if your theory for true peace and unity could be born amongst them before we are summoned to return and judge them.
The first one nodded before he gave his own response.
Your doubts are warranted. But with so many things that shall be after them: the destructive spawn that you birthed before them, the girl who has become one of their number and will join the hunt undoubtedly, and the few among them who decide to tear apart the others and wreak havoc; they will require some final aid before we leave them until final judgement. Shall we do it how we came to create our masterpiece?
The being of darkness agreed.
Of course.
The being of light responded
Good. I shall a select few among the old ones who did not join the girl to be brought back with their memories intact and bestow upon them great power to strike down your spawn. A power that shall pass down from parent to child.
The being of darkness responded.
I find that acceptable. I shall allow the power that our masterpiece once held to be restored in a limited form. A mineral much like what they built great structures from. As long as they are willing to work to harvest it and innovate to improve how they use it, a fraction of the old power shall be available to them and they shall never deplete all of it.
The being of light spoke again.
Now we must work together for these final gifts, I propose the first be that we create a subsect of our masterpiece who shall be given some of the traits of my earlier creations, to better the whole's chances.
The being of darkness nodded in agreement before proposing his cooperative gift.
My spawn have an immortal champion of despair, darkness, destruction, and disunity in the form of Salem who has joined them. For our masterpiece to stand a ghost of a chance, they shall need a champion of hope, of light, of creation, and of unity. I suggest we make him mortal but reincarnating, with each death his soul passes to a new body until judgement comes. And I propose we make it the knight known as Ozma, if he chooses to accept of course.
The being of light stood contemplating before responding
I find it regrettable that we must thrust this decision and curse upon him should he agree to it, but if this undertaking is to stand a chance, then his skill shall be needed. So are we in agreement?
The being of darkness nodded, but said nothing else, feeling that nothing else was needed to be said.
Then let us begin. We have much work to do before we disappear from this world entirely for a time.
This dream plagued a young one's mind until the haze finally clouded it all over and it was over
Xxx
Finally a young black and red haired girl with silver eyes, named Ruby Rose, woke up from the dream, covered in sweat.
This dream had been occurring infrequently ever since she had massacred a large pack of Beowulf Grimm, creatures of destruction, lurking in the forest near by her mother's grave after visiting it 2 months ago.
This had been the third time she had the dream, but this was the first time she was able to discern this much.
The young huntress in training looked towards the necklace that her mother had passed down to her before she vanished on a mission.
The necklace had a strange Dust crystal attached to it and Ruby had tried every form of Dust catalyzation that she could access in order to produce a reaction from the strange specimen and the 20 others that hadn't been turned into a necklace and none of them had produced any reaction.
Her father told her that they were a gift to Summer Rose from an old friend that had the two had known back during their days at Beacon Academy as part of Team STRQ.
The thought of Beacon brought a frown to her face as she began to think about the newest development in her life related to Beacon, her big sister Yang Xiao-Long had been accepted and was due to move to campus within the next few days.
Two years age difference meant that the only person she was sure understood her was about to be gone from her everyday life for a while.
Yang was probably grateful that the club owner whose building she started a brawl in decided not to press charges, otherwise her acceptance would probably be in massive danger of being rejected.
Ruby sighed before she laid her head back onto her pillow and allowed her thoughts to wander.
Eventually she decided to take a visit to Vale, the city nearby Beacon, for a few days until Yang was.
'Maybe something will happen that will make everything better.'
Ruby shook her head at that thought
'Yeah right, like something like that could happen. But maybe it could take my mind off everything for a few days.'
Then the young huntress in training drifted off, her unwaking mind no longer plague by visions of the two figures and thoughts of what they could mean.
Xxx
The capital of the kingdom of Vale,
The city of Vale
Several hours later
Well apparently the thought that drove her to come here had been full of crap.
Nothing but more reminders.
Eventually she wandered over to her favorite shop in town: the Dust Till Dawn, a store that primarily sold Dust crystals and Dust powder used for custom munitions cartridges among some other things.
The silver-eyed girl looked around the store and noticed a couple there, most likely good friends, talking in a corner.
The taller of the two was male with black hair with a pink highlight, with his hair tied into a long pony tail like braid. He seemed to be quiet and was trying to keep his friend from causing too much commotion.
The shorter of the two was female and had orange hair, with what looked to be a grenade launcher attached to her back. She could be heard half way across the store and talked kind of fast.
Ruby eventually heard one of them say that they were due to be at Beacon in a few days for initiation, which meant they were first years and going to be part of the same class as Yang.
Ruby had managed to push pass some of her mounting fear and insecurity, but hearing that brought it back.
Ruby wandered over to the side of the store where the magazines were kept, maybe there would be a weapon magazine that would give her an idea for Crescent Rose, her Scythe and Sniper Rifle hybrid weapon, should an upgrade be needed or a Dust Research that would have a new Catalyzing method to test on those strange crystals Ruby possessed.
The young reaper picked up an issue of a weapons magazine and pulled out her headphones and music player. She was just about to hit play when a voice from behind her got her attention.
"Hey excuse me, could you possibly help me?" Ruby quickly turned around to see the source of the voice.
The source of the voice turned out to be a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a dark hoodie under basic armor with a sheathed sword at his belt. The handle of the sword appeared to have a compartmental slot that must have been for enhancing the blade with dust crystals. That was an unusual weapon design choice for a weapon nowadays but if it was an old weapon from back when that design style would have been popular then it would make sense, and the weapon definitely looked old and in rather excellent condition considering its apparent age.
Ruby finally responded: "Y-yeah, what are you looking for?"
The Blonde boy responded: "I'm looking for the Dust crystals, and I'm new around here and have no idea what I'm doing."
Ruby nodded. "Yeah I know where they are. Don't worry, I think everyone has been in that spot once or twice."
Blondie nodded and began grabbing up crystals and storing them in a case to be paid for. "Thanks for the help. I'm Jaune Arc, by the way. It's short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, and ladies love it."
Ruby quirked up an eyebrow in response to his claim, she could believe the first three but found the fourth one a tad bit unbelievable, before responding: "Do they really?"
Jaune's previous confidence melted away but he tried to salvage it: "Well no, at least none that I have met so far."
Ruby giggled slightly: "Well I like it somewhat, I'm Ruby Rose."
"And I'm Nora Valkyrie!" a new voice added.
Jaune and Ruby both jumped at the intruder who Ruby recognized as the shorter of the two who she noticed when she entered the store. But before either could respond, a tired voice spoke.
"Nora, don't jump in to conversations that you're not a part of and in a conversation with strangers." The boy said.
The girl who was identified as Nora giggled and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry Ren. Just thought I would introduce myself considering they were."
Had this girl been eavesdropping on them? And if so, for how long?
The boy who Nora called Ren just shrugged and sighed before responding. "I apologize for Nora, she usually means well but she tends to act before she thinks. I'm Lie Ren."
Ruby was confused, his friend called him by his last name. Why?
Before she vocalized it, Jaune asked: "Why did Nora refer to you by your last name if your first name is Lie?"
Ren responded: "I told her that my name was Lie years ago when we met, but she chose to call me Ren. It got to the point that I started introducing myself as Ren rather than Lie, and honestly, which name do you think comes to mind easier: Lie or Ren?"
Jaune and Ruby both admitted the point behind the logic
With that question answered Ruby and Jaune introduced themselves to the odd duo.
The conversation continued with the new contributors until Nora decided to ask something.
"Hey, are either of you getting ready to attend Beacon as part of the newest class? Me and Ren are and it would be awesome if you two were as well." The orange haired girl declared.
Jaune answered first while Ruby dealt with the pit in her stomach opening back up. "Yes actually. I was here to pick up some Dust crystals for later. What about you Ruby?"
Ruby sighed before answering: "No, I'm not. I've still got two years at Signal before I can apply to one of the four higher Academies. I was just here to take my mind off somethings."
Nora responded first: "Well that sucks. I was looking forward to seeing you there. Maybe something will happen and you can join this year's class."
Ruby shook her head. "No if it was going to happen, it would have happened already."
The conversation continue after that with Nora trying to remove the sadness she accidentally brought into it.
However the conversation was disrupted by something happening.
"Hey kids! Hands where I can see 'em!"
All four of them turned to see four thugs wearing suits and red sunglasses with pistols on them and with red katana drawn for some and axes for others.
Nora responded. "Are you kidding me? You see four kids in a store minding their own business and your first instinct is to walk to them and threaten them. What are you trying to do rob the place?"
The thugs responded "Yes!"
The four kids looked at each other before quickly drawing their weapons and subduing the thugs.
Ruby quickly pulled Crescent Rose's storage mode off her belt and quickly unfolded it into its scythe form.
Nora's grenade launcher had its handle unfold into longer straight handle, revealing it to be a hammer.
Jaune drew his sword, confirming Ruby assumption about its age but it still appeared to be sharp and usable, showing that it had been maintained well enough. He also grabbed the sheath and attached it to his other arm at the wrist and pressed a button, causing flaps to unfold out and extend into a shield.
Ren pulled two presumably automatic pistols with blades attached to them out of his incredibly tight sleeves.
Eventually more thugs showed up and they were dealt with just as easily.
They rushed to the front of the store and saw a man dressed far differently from the rest, with a white jacket and a bowler hat, bright orange hair, and holding a decorated cane.
"Well you were with every cent I paid to hire you. Truly you were." He mumbled under his breath before he turned and exited onto the street.
Ren quickly addressed the shop owner: "Do you need one of us to stay while authorities come?"
The man quickly shook his head and the four chased after the man who was standing around waiting for them.
The thief shouted: "Sorry 'bout this kids but I have got orders to rob places like this of any Dust and Dust crystals I can carry. You can turn around and walk away and we'll be good or we can do this the hard way? So which will it be, Red, Blondie, Slim, Shorty?"
The four kids look at each other and knew exactly what to do.
They rushed him as fast they could and a melee began.
A durable weighted cane against a scythe, a sword, a pair of bladed automatic pistols, and a large hammer.
Slashes from the bladed weapons and massive swings from the hammer were countered by the cane wielding thief with blunt force.
Even explosive rounds fired by the cane was countered by the students.
Neither side would give but eventually the scales were tipped by the arrival of a new combatant entering the fray.
The thief recognized her: "Shit, just my luck. Goodwitch was in the neighborhood."
The newly identified Huntress known as Goodwitch said softly but with recognizable power and authority: "I suggest you come in quietly and maybe you won't spend the rest of your life behind bars, Roman."
The thief identified as Roman merely shook his head: "Sorry Glynda, but I've got incentive to stay out. I know when to fight and when to run and right now, its running time. NEO! NOW!"
A second thief dropped down onto the street, she was wearing a similar outfit as Roman modified to be distinctively feminine. She held a parasol instead of a cane and had two hair colors: brown and pink and the same for her eyes but inverted on which side from her hair. She gave a mocking bow and a smile that was filled with dangerous and bloodthirsty glee.
Ruby quickly used the scope on her scythe to line up a shot to kneecap the new combatant and fired, but when the shot connected both thieves shattered like they were made of glass.
No sign of either thief was found.
Xxx
The woman identified as Glynda Goodwitch, a professor at Beacon Academy, had taken the four kids to a holding room.
She gave them a stern lecture about the consequences of their actions.
She stated that had disciplining them been up to her she would have given them a pat on the back and a slap on the wrist.
Ruby had a feeling she was being completely serious.
However she also mentioned that some people wish to talk to the group and left the room.
A few minutes later, two men came walking in.
One of them was a man that Ruby and the rest recognized almost instantly: Professor Ozpin, the Headmaster at Beacon Academy.
The other one was someone that they didn't recognize. A tall tanned man with relatively short hair colored so darkly purple that it may have been mistaken for black and eyes that were also colored purple but almost seemed to glow.
The stranger spoke first and smiled: "Well, little red and black with Silver eyes here is someone who I don't need to tell me who she is for me to know exactly who she is. You're Ruby Rose, Daughter of Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao-Long. Am I right?"
Ruby took a few seconds to find the right words: "Y-yes. Who are you and how do you know that?"
The man just kept grinning: "Let's answer how first then who. Well you look like a carbon copy of your mom, with shorter hair of course. You have silver eyes, which are an exceptionally rare trait that is passed down from parent to child regardless of the other parent's eye color, and Summer was one of the last people, if not the last person alive who possessed it. I know they were married because I was invited to the wedding, but was unable to attend due to circumstances. But most of all, that necklace you're wearing, with the black Dust crystal, I gave it and about 20 other crystals like it to Summer when she won the final round of the Vytal Festival Tournament as commemoration for her victory. And my name is Tyriant Blackshadow, I was a friend of your parents back in the day."
"Oh, well nice to meet you." Ruby responded trying to process the entirety of the spiel that was spoken a little too fast for her tastes.
Ozpin chuckled at Tyriant's antics and the effect it had on Ruby.
"And it would appear that Miss Rose here has taken her mother's sniper rifle based weapon and merged it with a scythe weapon used by a particular old friend, a dusty old crow." Ozpin added.
Ruby nodded at that: "Uncle Qrow was one of my teachers, though I didn't really listen when he said I should have designed the alternate melee mode after something better for extreme close range encounters against opponents who could use a scythe's weakness against me."
Ozpin nodded: "A mistake perhaps, but with the right training and skills one that can be easily overcome. Though I'm afraid we didn't come here to talk about weapons and their designs as well as the mistakes found in them."
Tyriant nodded: "We also pulled information about you three as well. Nora Valkyrie: location or village of origin unknown but scored extremely well on the exams used to test the potential of Higher Academy applicants from outside kingdoms and/or didn't attend one of the lower academies: like Signal in Patch or Sanctum over in Argus. She set some of the highest known scores in the last 30 years for the exams that tested physical strength. Lie Ren, location of origin: Oniyuri. Last known survivor of the village as well as the influential Ren family who was one of the heads of the initiative. Village was destroyed about 10 years ago by a Grimm attack led by the infamous Mistral Apex Hunter, a rather young Nuckelavee Grimm from a type of Grimm that is known for their extreme intelligence that grows far faster than their strength when compare to other Grimm. The Hunter is a particularly infamous specimen of its kind in thanks for its intelligence having developed to the point that it no longer requires large enough quantities of negativity to attack settlements. You also did rather well across most of the exams just like Nora did."
Then the man turned to Jaune: "Jaune Arc here is from a port town called Reflectment which lies on the rather large bay between the Kingdoms of Vale and Mistral. One of the lower academies, Refractment Academy is there and Beacon received a transcript for Jaune from the institution. But we noticed, thanks to scrutiny due to tonight's incident, thank the Brothers, that it bared much similarity to an older student's transcript and thus we inquired the headmaster about it who said you had never attended, but he did share that you helped dealt with the Grimm when they attacked as well as the occasional bandit."
Jaune's face dropped at hearing that and asked "Does this mean I'm rejected?"
Tyriant looked at Ozpin and asked "Do you want me to tell him or do you want to do it?"
Ozpin smirked "I think I will take this one and the next one. No Mr. Arc you are not rejected, you have been accepted. This just means that additional classes will have to be set up to get you into the skill level that would be acceptable. Either Tyriant here or Glynda or someone will be working with you to get you there. Not many people these days are willing to do the right thing simply for the reason that it is the right thing to do, but I believe that you have demonstrated that you are more than willing to do it."
Jaune looked almost overwhelmed with joy.
Ozpin continued this time focused on Ruby. "Which brings us around to you Miss Rose, you have demonstrated something similar to what Mr. Arc was praised for. I know Qrow Branwen very personally and he does talk about you with considerable praise and criticism, both positive and negative. He mentioned that you were two years out from attending Beacon, but the level of combat mastery you have demonstrated tonight as well as well as your transcripts from Signal, that were provided after tonight's incident, have proven that you have met the base requirements of Beacon. A Semester of sessions with a specialized teacher for these kind of students would have the missing gap in your education filled. Now I have a question for all four of you, do you know who I am?"
The four responded as one: "You're Professor Ozpin."
Ozpin smirked in amusement: "Hello."
The four responded with various greetings: a simple "Hi." was Ruby's response.
Ozpin reached into his jacket's pocket and pulled out an envelope and handed it to Ruby. "Open it." He said in a soft voice.
Ruby did as she was told and found a formal letter in it which she began reading.
Then her eyes went wide and tears began to form as she realized what it was.
"What is it?" "Is it good?" "Come on, what does it say?" the other three kids asked.
Ruby responded, tears rolling down her cheeks: "It's an acceptance letter to Beacon addressed to me."
Ozpin smiled and asked: "Would you like to attend my school?"
Ruby answered: "Yes, very much so."
Ozpin smile grew just a smidge and he responded: "Very well then. Beacon shall be honored to have you. Tyriant, have our primary concern with Mr. Arc taken care of. Afterwards, get a transport to Patch for Miss Rose so she can gather what she needs. I'll have Glynda add her to the roster. I expect to see the rest of you in a few days at Beacon Academy for the orientation."
Tyriant's smile was joined by an almost half-hearted salute, almost because there was too much enthusiasm in it to be anything but. "You got it, boss."
This was one of the best nights of Ruby's life.
'Maybe that thought hadn't been so full of crap after all.'
Xxx
Beacon Academy
3 days later
Ruby laid her head down her pillow in the large room that the first year students were using for a sleep area until the teams were established.
Some students, specifically ones Ruby had pegged for troublemakers, were on their best behavior, especially after Tyriant Blackshadow announced that for tonight, any infraction of Beacon's Zero Tolerance policy would result in immediate expulsion and banning from the higher academies.
She had already met back up Jaune, Nora, and Ren.
Though she remembered that Jaune looked a little queasy at the start of the ride on the airship, but thankfully Mr. Blackshadow showed up with a motion sickness pill and a glass of water.
It was almost like the man knew where he was needed and when, with exactly what he needed to solve the problem.
Yang had introduced herself to her little sister's new friends. When they asked who she was, and then found out, they all remarked that they found it hard to believe.
Though when Ruby had found out who was among their class mates, she did find out that both Weiss Schnee and Pyrrha Nikos were among them.
Weiss was impossible to not know of in passing when it came to Dust, thanks to her family's monopoly of the mining of.
Pyrrha was known for being a champion at fighting tournaments for the lower academies, representing Sanctum Academy in Argus. She was hailed as one of the greatest prodigies to ever emerge from any of the lower academies.
Though Ruby did spy a lone girl in black sitting in a corner with a candle reading a book. She did notice the bow she was wearing on her head and found it a tad bit odd to be wearing right before bed. Ruby just dismissed it as a dressing quirk, nothing she could judge, running around in a red hood.
Though she had to admit that Jaune's onesie was a little funny and a little adorable.
Though she looked at Yang who was savoring the opportunity to savor the eye-candy, both the boys and girls, while giving some of her own.
"What ya doin'?" Yang asked.
"Trying to sleep." Ruby replied.
"What? Why? There is so much to do and enjoy right now." Yang said. Ruby turned her eyes toward her half-sister and noticed the impish smirk on her lips, Yang was teasing her.
"Because initiation is tomorrow and I don't want to wake up feeling like crap and get torn apart in whatever we will be doing, and you just know there is going to be Grimm there." Ruby retorted.
Yang lost the smile before responding: "Yeah, yeah I hear ya. Though I don't think that they will be throwing us into anything to dangerous."
Ruby looked over at her: "Famous last words."
Yang neutral expression dropped to a complete frown: "Ah Shit."
Ruby smiled slightly: "You said it not me."
Yang smirked slightly before responding: "You're the worst when you decide to start poking fun at people."
Ruby's smile widened slightly: "I know. You wouldn't have me any other way. Good night Yang."
Yang smile turned gentle before laying her head down: "No I wouldn't. Good night Ruby."
The two sisters drifted off to sleep.
Unaware of the dangers they would be facing tomorrow.
Xxx
Undisclosed location
The scientist work hard as he reviewed the notes on the formula.
The newest concoction seemed to work far better than anticipated. Subjects exposed to it by injection developed far more promisingly than previous attempts.
He looked at the test subject labeled 2478. It was moderately big and strong and had developed quite the intelligence from its time in the world. But the injection made it even greater than it any other previous test subject of its kind. And tests showed that had it encountered any specimen of its kind that was not injected with the formula, then they would automatically default to it as their alpha, even other pack alphas.
Every last possible variable and development was document and recorded to ensure that the results could be recreated.
But now the subject required a test to determine it viability.
And the scientist knew just the place to deploy the subject.
The cliff side Emerald Forest outside of Beacon, where the academy held initiation.
Surely the students would serve as a worthy test for its capabilities.
"Test Subject Deploying Unit 242, take Test Subject 2478 to the Emerald Forest and then pull back to a safe distance. Observe and record the Test Subject and then await further orders."
The robot acknowledge in Morse code through a light next to its eye before deploying.
The scientist laughed, those fools who tried to denounce him as a mad man would now pay the price once testing was complete.
Then these Freaks of Nature would achieve an evolutionary perfection that humanity was incapable of.
End Chapter 1
Well that was the first chapter. It was completed on 3/9/2020.
I have not decided fully on if I'm going to keep up with writing this fic. It falls to second priority to Seals of Fate.
At most it will probably be sandwiched between chapters of Seals of Fate.
Anyways, I hope my writing was well enough. I hope I didn't butcher anything too badly. I don't have siblings so writing the interaction between them is a little hard.
I think I gave enough hints in the last segment to tell you all who it is. If not, then more hints will be dropped next chapter.
Anyways, I've got to get back to Seals of Fate. If you like it then leave a review, tell me what you did and didn't like, and how I can improve.
Change Log (3/10/2020): First off, shout outs to RiggyMinus for the first review on this Fic. Second off, I heard ya and I have made the appropriate changes. I thought that Lie was Ren's Family name due in part to the facts that he is always referred to as Ren, he is from the Mistral region which draws heavily from Far East (and Greece and Rome with Pyrrha) for theming, and his general Chinese theming and use of the folktale of Hua Mulan for a basis. So in my defense, it would make sense for Ren to have a traditional eastern naming scheme, with family name first and then given name. Although I will admit that I'm half convinced that it was originally planned to be that way before Monty Oum passed away. I also fixed some small stuff and fixed a flub where I called Oniyuri "Kuroyuri." Anyways, just thought I would point it out. I have started work on the next chapter for this Fic, but I have obligations to Seals of Fate Chapter 7 before this Fic's Chapter 2.
Until next time:
SEE YA LATER!