9 years have passed since that fateful day she first met her Minions, Yang reflected. She was so young then, so naïve about the wider world.
She still was, she supposed. But that was about to change.
It was midnight, and her dad and sister were fast asleep. Yang put down a note on the table, saying her goodbyes. It was time for her to embark on that journey she had promised to Gnarl.
She couldn't wait. The excitement was killing her. She was always the adventurous sort, but 9 years of waiting for this moment, well, she was eager to set off.
She was finally old enough to join Signal if she wanted to. That means she was old enough to start training to be a Huntress. That's why she picked this date, her birthday being just yesterday. If she'd be tough enough to train to be a Huntress, then she was tough enough to brave the whole wide world.
Her family life wasn't bad, although since her biological mother, Raven, left, it was hard on her father, and she had to do a lot of growing up fast. She helped raise her sister when her dad couldn't. Uncle Qrow helped too, on the odd days he was around. It took a while, but dad finally had pulled himself by his bootstraps and manage to dig himself out of the depressive emotional hole Raven's departure left him in. Dad certainly made up for all that lost time, and affection, in the years that followed.
She was happy with her life. Everything was great. But, adventure called for her, and it was time to move on. She hoped Ruby and the rest of the family would forgive her. She knew neither would approve.
She wasn't taking anything on this journey. She wanted to start fresh. Just her, the clothes at her back, and nothing else. Well, except her Evil Castle, of course. And her Minions.
She was heading west to the desert land of Vacuo. She was certain that this would be where the Red Minions had fled after the Death of her predecessor, the Fifth Overlord.
About others, she wasn't sure. Maybe she could find Blue's near Atlas or something. It didn't matter. The adventure was what mattered. She'll find them all, of course, she'll just have to dig up info and rumors.
It was enough reminiscing, she decided. It was time to start her Journey.
She left the kitchen, and left through the front door. She closed it, and inhaled. She slowly exhaled.
"This is it.", Yang said to herself aloud, "No going back after this".
She wasn't sure she could convince herself to leave again if she returned even for a short visit.
She started walking, slowly. She had plenty of time.
There was only one way off Patch. She was going to have to catch a ride on a bullhead.
And with no money?
Yang laughed silently to herself.
She thought it was poetic. What better way to start the journey to find artifacts of Evil Overlords of Old than with some petty crime? It'll cement her Evil Path, even if the crime won't be anything major.
As she was nearing the exit from the forest, she saw ten Minions standing there waiting, with her equipment in their little hands.
She allowed herself to be fitted with her new, properly evil looking, armor with the Helmet being included as well. She took a large great sword from one of the Minions and held it in her right hand, letting it rest on her shoulder. It was a bit too impractical to use with just one hand, but it did complete her look.
She continued moving, her loyal Minions behind her. No words were spoken. There wasn't any need.
She could feel their excitement too. It was almost three decades since they properly went on a quest with their last Master. She was excited too. Ah, but she was repeating herself.
The Captain of the one of the only bullheads in Patch was finishing up last of his work on the bullhead. He loved the ol' girl to death, and had spent the entire day fixing her from a recent accident that had caused it major damage. It was all fixed now, and he looked upon it with a happy smile.
He turned around as he heard heavy metal footsteps approaching. He saw a figure approaching in metal, maybe it was steel, armor. He looked at the figure from toe to head. The figure was wearing metal shoes that seemed to be merged with the leggings, making it hard to tell where one began and where the other ended. The feet part of the shoes seemed reinforced with more metal than the rest of the leggings. There were metal skulls of some horned goblin like creature on the kneecaps, similar to ones he saw following behind the figure. Like the foot area, the shins were also reinforced with more metal. The figure had a metal belt, the middle of which also had a skull on it. The figures left hand had a gauntlet on it, that glowed with frightening orange color. The other hand, and the rest of the body was covered in metal. On the figure's face rested a helmet. It covered most of the face, leaving only the violet eyes and bits of mouth visible. On the top of the helmet, there were three spikes, two at both sides of the helmet and one at the front.
All in all, the figure looked like trouble. Still, he decided to play nice.
"May I help you, Sir? And your…uh…companions", the Captain asked in what he hoped was a pleasant voice that betrayed none of the unease he felt.
"You will take us to Vacou", the armored figure responded with a distinctly female voice. A young one, a teen if he had to guess.
"I'm sorry, Miss, but our operating hours are over for today. You'll have to come back tomorrow"
He hoped to God that she will take that as an answer and leave. He wasn't nearly as lucky.
"That wasn't a request", the female figure replied with a stern voice.
She raised her gauntleted arm, and her goblin-like companions rushed him. In less than a minute, he was defeated and forcibly kneeling before this figure, her servants forcing him down.
"You will take us to Vacou", she repeated, "Or I will find someone who will".
Seeing as she chose to attack him, the implications of his refusal were quite clear to him.
"Al-Alright, alright, you win.", he conceded, "I'll do as you say"
"Excellent", the lady said in pleased tone, "Minions. Release him. If he needs help to get us to Vacuo, help him. I'll be borrowing the cargo hold, Captain"
Her servants bowed their heads, and replied with excited shouts of "Yes, Overlord!", as they released him.
His bullhead was now commandeered by this 'Overlord', and he was forced to play ball or die.
He gave a sigh.
Better get moving then.
Meanwhile, Yang has settled herself in the cargo hold. Thankful that no one was listening, she gave a sigh of relief. That went well. She was thankful that he hadn't called her bluff. She might be an Evil Overlord now, but she didn't plan on murdering civilians any time soon, or at all if she could help it. The mere thought of that was horrible, not to even speak of what such an Evil act would do to her.
She briefly recalled one of the lectures Gnarl gave her on Evil. He said that "particularly Evil deeds, like killing innocents, and I use the term loosely, increases your Corruption level.". This wasn't without benefit, as more Evil she did, the more Evil Energies would be attracted to her, increasing her corruption, but also her powers. But, like Gnarl said, killing innocents is "rarely suitable for establishing a long-term Evil plan. That requires people, living people. Gratitude comes with it's own rewards."
Yang laughed.
Gnarl could be surprisingly moral if it was for the Greater Evil.
Still, she opposed the idea morally, and she didn't particularly care to hurry on a path to corruption.
Well, with the Captain now evilly bullied into submission, she would hopefully reach Vacou soon.
Four hours later, and they had docked on the landing zone of Vacou's capital named Vacuo. She always found it a bit weird that the Kingdoms were named after their capitals. And that they had no kings. Made everything really confusing.
Still, the Captain did his job, and best of all he did it fast. He must have had one of those new high-speed bullheads she had heard about recently.
She stepped out to of the bullhead, and breathed in the fresh air.
She commanded her minions telepathically to bring the Captain to her.
When he arrived, he immediately kneeled.
That will take some getting used to, Yang supposed. Still, that kinda felt good.
"You did well, Captain", Yang congratulated the man. She then continued, "But we now must part ways. You have been helpful. I'll remember that"
And truly, she would. He made her journey possible. But he didn't need to know that.
From his expression, Yang could guess that being remembered by her was the last thing he wanted.
"Farewell, Captain. If we next do meet again, I'll be sure to repay you for services rendered".
Speaking formally like that will also take some getting used to. But, it was for her Overlord persona.
She turned around, and left the bullhead behind, her Minions hurrying to follow her.
Now it's time to get some information about the local landmarks. She heard Vacuo had a volcano. She was certain that the Reds would not only love the heat-filled and dry Kingdom of Vacuo, but a volcano would be the cherry on the top.
Find information, head to a volcano. Easy. First Grand Expedition of her journey was about to begin.