It was a few days later, and Torchwick had kept to his word. The drugs were sold, and at the same time his heist proceeded without any fault.
For the first time in a while she had plenty of time for herself. There's nothing urgent she had to do, currently, and she was free to pursue her other goals.
Green and Blue Minions were still missing, and she could go look for them. That'd be a fun adventure. She also wanted to find her mother again, never forgetting that dream since she was young.
She had mixed feelings about her actually. There was a lot of anger, and isn't that an emotion she became very familiar since she chose her path of Evil, for her leaving the family. There was anger at what that did to her dad, and to her. Ruby, thankfully, could barely remember living with a mother, and so there wasn't much real pain, unlike herself, her dad, and even her uncle.
There was a desire to find out what happened.
And finally, there was love, and a desire to have a mother again. She was afraid, too. Afraid that despite her anger, despite Raven's reasons even if they were incredibly selfish, that she couldn't turn her away, that'd she let go of her anger, forgive, and accept her back.
That made her feel weak, and that's not an emotion she was used to feeling. She was strong, damn it! She wasn't an attention starved child. She could hear her Mother out, and decide, impartially, if she should forgive her.
And, yet, deep inside, she still feared that she couldn't do that. That her desire for a mother, and her love, would overpower all reason.
She cursed to herself.
She was Evil, damn it! She wasn't supposed to feel like this!
She knew that despite everything she still loved her dad, who wasn't the best, but he still tries, that she still loved Qrow, even if he was hardly ever around, and that she still loved her baby sister and that she always would.
Sometimes she felt like a failure of an Evil Overlord, and felt, ironically, blessed that Gnarl and the Minions still stuck with her.
"Whatever.", she thought to herself, "That's enough of wallowing in sad emotions".
Either way, if she wanted to find her mother, or to go search for her Minions she still had to go to Malachite just in case she had any information. Maybe she should visit Torchwick too. Maybe he knows something in Vale, that Malachite simply does not.
She went to Malachite, and asked her her questions. First she asked about her mother.
"Raven Branwen?", Malachite asked with surprise.
"Yeah?", Yang asked, confused at the reaction. She didn't actually tell her that she was her mother, only that she was looking for her.
"You mean you don't know?", Malachite asked incredulously.
"Know what?", Yang asked, irritated that her questions were not being answered.
"The Branwen tribe is famous here in Mistral. I'm surprised you haven't heard of them. There isn't anymore here that hasn't heard of them"
Yang saw red. To say she was livid would be an understatement. She was surrounded by traitors, she know knew. All this time Qrow knew, he must have, his missions take him all around the world, and no matter how much she used to beg, she kept telling her he didn't know. And Tai!? He was a good huntsmen and someone who carried for Raven greatly, or so she has been told. Could he really not find her? Especially if she was not carefully hidden.
With a deadly calm voice she asked, her tone indicating it was an order rather than a statement.
"Where?"
Malachite frowned, but it seems she valued Yang more as an ally than she was upset at the disrespect.
"South of Kuchinashi. They live in a forest, but there should be a village nearby to more accurately direct you. They move from time to time, but they never go more North than Kuchinashi."
Yang nodded, and left. She went to her Tower Gate and teleported to Kuchinashi, and from there making her way south. After some time, she realized that there were ten Brown and five Red Minions accompanying her. She didn't remember calling them to her, so Gnarl must have sent them as her guard. They probably came out from the Tower gate in Kuchinashi and in her anger she didn't notice.
And she was still angry, so so angry. Her anger fueled her, and even after an hour of walking she felt not even a bit tired. Soon enough she found a village, and the first man she asked directed her where to find their camp, with reluctance and concern for her.
She felt her anger flare even more, and she had thought she couldn't have been angrier before. Malachite was right, everyone knew where those bandits were. She had only now learned they were bandits, for the civilian she had asked warned her about them.
She walked away, marching towards their camp. While the civilian didn't know the exact location, he could tell her where they came for when they came to raid them. Half an hour more of walking, and she saw giant wooden gates, bigger than four adult men. The walls connected to the gate were shorter at about twice the height of an adult male.
She sensed, and then saw the three bandit guards before they saw her for they were chatting in between themselves.
She raised her hand and channeled her rage and the Evil Energy, and the gate exploded in a massive explosions. Evil Missile spell, and its method for casting, was not a complicated piece of Evil Magic. And like she knew Anger could boost the power of such magic easily enough.
The three guards were dead in an instant and finally Yang smiled a cruel smile. They stood in between her and her goal. They were here enemies, they deserved to die.
She walked through the wreckage of the exploded gate. She looked the very image of a walking nightmare. Her eyes were not only colored red, but were glowing, her face in a cruel smile, her armor spiky, and as she walked, darkness slithered around her, and grass under her feet withered away from the darkness she was releasing.
"Bring me Raven Branwen", she demanded, her voice cold and inhumane. Unlike before where she would use her Evil Energy to switch how her voice sounded, not really an illusion even if she called it so, now it just changed by itself without any conscious input on her part.
A brave soul, and a foolish one, rushed her. She grabbed his sword with her armored hand, and held it in place in its mid-swing. Using her right hand, the gauntlet-wearing one, she grabbed the man by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
She looked him in the eyes, and she heard screams from him as her gauntleted hand released a blast of Lightning as the result of the Evil Presence spell she had chosen to use. She felt herself submerge within his head, and she worked to use her superior will to attack his. She used her anger, his pain, and his fear, to strike at him. Fear and pain weakened his will, and her anger strengthened her attack. Instead of dominating him, she tore his mind apart, and withdrew from his mind, tossing his now dead body aside.
The Evil Presence spell was mainly used by Overlords to dominate lesser creatures, but the same method of working allowed one to instead destroy the target. If he'd have been of stronger will, in a better emotional state, or even somewhat knowledgeable about Mind Magic perhaps he'd have been more of a challenge.
She released a cruel laugh of pleasure as she felt Evil Energies rush at her and increase her power. For a moment she even wondered why she ever hated the spell, before she forced herself to focus. She couldn't let the corruption affect her mind. She needed to be in control.
Her decision to use that spell was twofold really. Part of the decision was fueled by anger and hate. The other by necessity. They all seemed to have Aura. Aura tended to interfere with direct spells that affected the body. It prevented her, for example, from exploding someone with his Aura up without expending much effort and time, or to choke them with her telekinesis. And like with all damage, it too, dulled the damage of, say for example, her fireball spell.
It also dulled the damage of the lightning part of the Evil Presence spell, however the spell itself didn't cause damage to the body, instead attacking the mind, killing or dominating it if the caster is strong enough for either of the options.
However, while she was using it she was vulnerable to attacks, as all of her willpower is focused on attacking the victim. If the rest of the bandits attacked her now, she would have to fight without it.
"Bring me Raven!", she repeated loudly, "Or I will slaughter you all 'till the last one and find her myself!"
Twenty bandits of various heights and sizes rushed at her.
Yang frowned.
"Wrong choice"
She dearly wished she could explode the ground below them, but since it was as vast as it was, it was near impossible to fill it to the bursting point with Evil Energy. And since there was just more ground below that, it wouldn't even make them fall even if she made a small hole with her fireball spell.
Their weapons were simply, not like ones used by Huntsmen. Out of the twenty bandits that rushed her seven stopped before reaching her, as their weapons were rifles. The melee fighters wielded mostly simple swords or axes. Deadly, but she was used to the deadliness and variety of Huntsmen-made weapons.
She sent her ten Browns to attack the ranged bandits, as she casted an illusion on them making it appear as if there were double them in the amount. The illusion was nowhere perfect, making no sound, slightly blurry at edges, and if one paid close attention, the illusion-Minions looked slightly rippling like water. She rushed to attack the melee fighters as she commanded the Reds to attack the same fighters with their fire attacks. The battle would, she hoped, prevent them for paying too much attention to realize that not all the Minions were real, as for them it looked like she had made ten Minions into twenty.
Of the thirteen melee fighters, five attempted to disengage and to reinforce the ranged fighters. She directed the Reds to focus on them.
This wasn't a hard battle, and there wasn't any need to give it her best. They were stronger than normal men or women, sure, but they weren't huntsmen level even if they had Aura. And with her Slow spell they were easy pickings. The few attacks she couldn't block, she absorbed with her shield, and as the Minions finished dealing with the ranged fighters, they attacked the melee fighters, in effect surrounding them. It was a bloodbath. It felt good to so easily claw through a small army.
However, she sensed this wasn't all of them. She could sense thirty more of them waking up, probably having been asleep from some night missions or partying, or maybe they were just doing something else in their tents.
The same thirty people exited their tents and upon seeing the carnage she caused drew their weapons, and rushed her. She didn't even need her Minions for this one, as she just filled up the corpses around them, and some of their detached body parts, with Evil Energy and used them as Evil Missiles to explode the other thirty.
She heard a scream as some Dark Brown haired female exited the biggest and most important looking tent. Her shock cost her everything. Lightning struck her, and the utter devastation she felt weakened her will enough that Yang easily tore her mind apart. She collapsed on the stop.
Yang felt her power increase again. The rush of energy she received felt wonderful. Even the smallest use of the spell drew Evil Energies towards her. For even the smallest bit qualified as torture.
"You know". Yang heard an annoyed female voice, "You could have kept her alive. She was my favorite in this tribe"
Yang saw a Black haired woman exit the tend. Her hair was much like her own, just black in color. The woman had eyes as red as the ones currently in Yang's eyes, although without the eerie glow. She wore some sort of Red and Black colored top, with her forearms covered with red gauntlets with a single spike near the elbow. The rest of her hands were covered with black fingerless gloves. She had black pleated skirt on her. To cover her legs she wore black mid-thigh high boots with a small heel on them. She struck a fearsome image, and she wore a scowl on her face.
Yang brightened up upon seeing her. the red glow on her eyes slightly dulling.
"Mom!", she called out, "I finally found you!", she exclaimed happily.
The absolute bliss she felt upon seeing her mother threatened to overwhelm all the anger that she felt leading up to this point.
"Yes, and you only had to slaughter your way through my entire tribe for that.", Raven said annoyed, "I grew up here you know."
Yang waved away the annoyed accusation as she approached her mother.
"They were in my way", she said simply as a way of explanation.
Briefly Yang mussed over the fact that before she took over Vacuo she would have been horrified at her actions, but shook the thought away.
"And now I'll have to find enough people to replace them", Raven said still annoyed, "And I had big plans for Vernal"
Yang guessed she was that last women she killed. She kinda felt guilty now.
"Sorry,", she said, with a hint of nervousness. The last thing she wanted now is to upset her mother during their reunion.
Raven shook her head.
"I'm not angry at you. If they were that weak, they deserved to die."
Gnarl would like her a lot, Yang thought.
She was nearly close enough to hug her mother before Yang's eyes narrowed and she took a step back, hand on her sword.
Raven did not seem bothered by this sudden hostile behavior.
Yang's red eyes now shined brighter than before, clear indication of her rising anger.
"Who are you?', Yang demanded.
Raven appeared confused.
"Did you suffer some sort of brain damage during the fighting?", she asked in a bored tone.
Yang grew angrier by what she perceived as an evasive answer.
"I sense your power, your Magic, Sorcerer.", Yang said.
Raven's eyes widened a bit, and Yang took it as a clue that she hit it dead on.
"Your kind hasn't walked Remnant since the days of old, where we were a whole race, not this pale imitation we are today."
Raven lost the bored look and instead looked genuinely confused.
"Yang, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Sorcerer! Magic users have been extinct for hundreds of years."
Raven seemed to at least understand part of the conversation as she attempted to reply
"If this is because of my magic-", she started saying before Yang interrupted.
"And now you dare wear my Mom's skin! I'll avenge her, you Monster!"
Yang drew her sword and rushed to attack her. Raven's sword ejected into her hand from her scabbard, and Raven used it to block Yang's strike.
Raven's eyes widened slightly.
"This! Your sword-"
Yang could feel it too, just barely, through all the rage she was feeling. It seems this Sword damaged some additional aura from the hit. The damage to Raven's aura was likely minimal as she simply used it to reinforce the durability of her sword. She struck again. She swung her sword from the right, left, all she tried, Raven blocked. She looked bored, but one could see that her eyes were focused and not as relaxed as her posture suggested.
"You don't have much experience in sword to sword combat, huh, Yang?", Raven asked in a bored tone without really expecting an answer.
Yang lifts her right hand and lighting shoots out from it which Raven dodges with a neat backflip, looking no less bored than before.
This time Yang casts the Slow Spell, and rushes to attack her again. She managed to get two good sword swipes in before Raven adjusted to her slowed down state and began efficiently blocking her strikes again.
"I'd be feeling really honored that you care for me to try to avenge me like that", Raven said with a bit of annoyance in her tone, "If you weren't trying to kill me right now. I can see that you are striking me with an intent to kill. There's a lot of power behind those blows".
Yang stopped attacking her and instead throw what remained of Raven's tribe at her in a Evil Missile attack. Strong gusts of air throw the bodies off the course, the bodies exploding on impact with the ground.
Raven's eye's were glowing as a result of using her powers.
"Impressive", Raven said, for once, seeming genuinely interested in the fight.
"Finally!", Yang said, "You show your true colors, Sorcerer!"
Raven sighs with annoyance.
"You still on about that? If you only let me explain-"
She was, once more, interrupted by Yang's next attack which was a fireball that Raven blocked with her own fire attack. Annoyed Yang rushed to attack as the sky turned cloudy. Lighting shot from the sky at Yang. It nearly hit her, before Yang launched her own lighting at the bolt and redirected it at Raven. Earth itself shifted to form a wall to intercept Yang's redirected lighting.
"Using my own attack on me is clever", Raven congratulated Yang.
The wall launched itself at Raven with a push from Yang's telekinesis, and once it got near her it exploded. The dust and shrapnel exploded outwards from Raven which Yang blocked with her hastily conjured Shock Shield spell which shot Lightning in response to Raven's attack which Raven just countered with her own blast of Lightning as the ball of wind she had surrounded herself with to repel Yang's previous attack had died down. Raven hardly looked touched by Yang's attacks, although she did sport a smile on her face.
That her enemy was having fun angered Yang even more.
"Why aren't you using your allies?", Raven asked with some curiosity, "You could use the help after all."
The Minions perked up hoping that Yang will finally call them in the fight.
"I want to avenge my mom myself!", she declared, as the Minions slumped down dejected. Raven had the gall to find their antics funny.
To Yang's comment Raven just rolled her eyes.
"You'll have to do better then, Yang. I'm not really giving my all", she admitted, "How did you even kill Theodore like this?"
Yang rushed her again, and as she swung downwards from the right, Raven blocked again. Yang, however was expecting this and she kicked her left knee with her right foot, kicking Raven off balance and allowing Yang to overpower her for that moment and force her to the ground.
Yang looked to be concentrating as her red eye color was flashing as if threatening to break. She had realized that she needed unexpected tactics now, and that anger was doing her more bad than good. She had difficulty pushing her anger down, but Raven used her right foot to kick Yang back as Raven jumped back on her feet.
"That's how, huh?", Raven said as if she just realized something, "You took advantage of his overconfidence and took him out with a final attack. Probably while you whittled down his Aura in attacks to weak for him to bother blocking".
Yang's anger surged again, and soon after broke away into confusion. Raven wasn't mocking her. She looked like she was congratulating her.
Raven cut air with her sword and a red portal opened, and she entered it. Yang instantly whirled around, sensing the portal opening behind her and attacked.
Raven nimbly dodged Yang's right downwards strike and grabbed Yang with her right hand going around Yang's midsection as she jumped back into the portal.
She appeared in a familiar living room, spun and released Yang, her crashing into Tai who was sitting on the couch and watching TV.
"Tai, could you please calm down my daughter?", Raven asked nicely.
Tai instantly hugged Yang and held her in place even as she began to struggle to escape. Tai stood up, Yang still in hands, which even with her armor was easy enough for a huntsman to carry, and looked over Yang to Raven.
"Raven?", he asked with surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"Calm her down", Raven repeated while pointing at her, "Just for a few seconds."
Tai shrugged and complied.
"Yang, calm down or you're grounded."
Yang was shocked into silence for a few moments before, Raven forgotten, she turned to her dad.
"I don't even live here anymore!", she said outraged, "You can't ground me!"
Raven snapped her fingers to get Yang's attention.
"Now that you, momentarily, I'm sure, are out of your murderous rage-"
"Murderous rage?", Tai asked, but Raven just ignored him.
"Have you ever heard of Maiden's? I'm one.", she finished.
Yang blinked.
"I've had the talk'", Yang began slowly and carefully, "That's not how that works."
"Not what I meant", Raven mumbled with annoyance which seemed like the default emotion for her.
"What else cou-. Oh. Ooooh", Yang said with a realization, "Like one of them girls that pop up every half a decade that everyone dismisses as some sort of made up story, does mainly elemental magic, then eventually disappears about a year or so?"
"You do know of them then, good, that makes it easier.", Raven said, "However it is that you sense Magic, that's why I have it. Not whatever that insane nonsense you've been spouting."
"That wasn't nonsense", Yang started, "It was all-", she said before she was interrupted.
"Wait, Raven, you're a Maiden?", Tai asked with surprise.
"I killed the previous Spring Maiden", she said with a shrug, "She wasn't ready for the dangers of this world and didn't seem to be improving much no matter how much she trained"
Tai looked like he wanted to say something, but Yang spoke first, voice full of curiosity.
"So, Mom, what kind of Sacrificial Ritual did you use?"
"Excuse me?", Raven said with confusion.
"Well...You did say you took her powers, right? How else are you gonna do it if not with some sort of Evil Sacrificial Ritual?"
"Yang", Raven started simply, "You do realize that Maiden's transfer their powers to the last female person they think of when they die?"
"Oh", Yang seemed a bit embarrassed now, "That actually explains a lot about what little history the Minions have on these Maidens"
"Those are those weird creatures we left behind in Mistral?"
"Yeah", Yang said with a nod, "It's fine, I'm sure they'll find their way to Kuchinashi and teleport back to me.
Raven raised her eyebrow in unspoken question.
"I'll tell you later", Yang promised her.
"How did you two meet?, Tai asked curious as he didn't think Yang would have found Raven, much less that she would come back home.
"She found me in my camp outside of Mistral", Raven simply said.
"It was horrible", Yang said, "I actually had to step in Mistral. That place sucks."
"I think it's nice enough", Raven disagreed.
"Yes, well, you are a bandit. They pretty much control most of Mistral.", Yang countered, which Raven didn't bother denying. That definitely played a role in why she liked Mistral. That it was a Kingdom least loyal to Ozpin was also a big reason.
Tai seemed to remember something.
"Wait, Raven, you said Yang was in murderous rage?", Tai said, asking for clarification.
"It was a misunderstanding!", Yang objected.
"You tried to kill me", Raven said with a deadpan tone.
"Yang!", Tai shouted, horrified.
"It was a terrible misunderstanding!", Yang insisted.
"It wouldn't have been a misunderstanding if you just let me clear it up", Raven countered.
"Ha!", Yang said defiantly, "You are not the first one to tell me to not make impulsive, rash, and reckless decisions, and you won't be the last!"
Raven shook her head in some sort of amusement.
"What have you been teaching her, Tai?", she asked
"The exact opposite of this", Tai insisted.
Raven looked downwards to his hands which still held Yang, who by this point just gave up on struggling and accepted that she was being held in the air, and Raven's eyes seemed imploring Yang to share her version of the story.
"Well...he did try to be a good role model, not like Uncle Qrow who tried to be more of a cool role model", Yang started and she was interrupted by a satisfied "I told you!" coming from Tai, and then she continued, "But, I mean, I did raise myself for a good amount of time. Uncle Qrow was not often around, and you leaving hit dad really hard throwing him into a massive depression. He could barely even make it to his job"
Raven's eyes jumped back up to Tai's who looked somewhat nervous and Raven's cold expression.
"Raised herself?", she asked with the tone that indicated that this better be just a joke.
"Don't try to pin this all on me! I've spent every single damn second afterwards trying to atone for that!"
"And he has done a pretty good job. He's a pretty good dad", Yang helpfully supplied but she was ignored.
"And you weren't there yourself, so you aren't really any better!", Tai bit back at Raven.
"I don't deny my failures at her Mother, and I am proud of what she became. But you didn't leave, and you were there. You should have done better"
"You think I don't know that?!", Tai said with anger, "Did you come back to just mock me?"
Raven shook her head.
"I came here to bring you Yang back. That I got an opportunity to talk with you both is a bonus."
She picked Yang back up from his hands, and despite Yang's protests she didn't put her back down.
"She seems like a small bundle of anger and bad decisions", Raven said changing the topic.
"Hey! I make plenty of good decisions!", Yang protested.
"Was the attack on Vacuo one of them?", Raven asked knowing it was not.
Tai actually laughed at that.
"She's very deeply in denial about that, actually."
Yang's eyes flashed red for a moment.
"I don't get in denial! Ever!"
"Do you ever fully think through your actions?", Raven asked with curiosity.
"Sometimes", Yang had to admit, "But thinking things through can make you realize how stupid or boring your plan is and makes it harder to commit to that plan. It's also less fun"
Raven turned to look back at Tai.
"You know, I start missing the days before she found me. I left nice, if immoral life, and now I am here listening to my daughters reasoning's and I start to get worried for her"
Tai smiled at that.
"What, is the old Raven coming back?"
"Hardly.", Raven denied, "Although I do need to borrow a bed to sleep in. Yang destroyed my place."
"It was preemptive self defense!", Yang argued.
Raven opened her mouth as if to ask for clarification, then closed it.
"I don't want to know. That's just probably some stupid retroactive justification."
"Sure, you can crash here. You can take the spare bedroom"
"You're losing your touch, Tai", Raven said with a small smile, "Back then you would have taken the opportunity to invite me to your bed"
"Eeeeew!", Yang said in disgust, "I did not need to hear about my parents love life!"
"I'm not suicidal, Raven"
"Never stopped you from coming after me before"
"Missing the good ol' days?", Tai said with a knowing smirk.
Raven thought for a bit, then gave a small nod.
"Life was a lot simpler back then, wasn't it?", she said without many details, but Tai nodded as he understood perfectly.
"So, can I ask something?", Yang asked.
"Is it why I left?", Raven guessed.
Yang nodded in her hands.
"Neither me or Tai, I would guess, like to talk about it. Suffice to say that there were world-changing revelations and we differed in how we handled it. We couldn't come to an agreement over that, and over actions of Ozpin I disagree with, and so one day I just left. A bandit tribe was no place for a baby, and I didn't want to be on the run, running a bandit group, and raising a child. I knew Tai could give you a more comfortable life. That's all I'm willing to say."
There was silence for a few moments as Yang digested it all.
"I'm not sure if I am entirely ready to forgive you", Yang said, and despite that her heart wanted nothing more than to forgive and embrace her mother, "But I appreciate that you were completely honest. No sugar coating or nothing."
"I am not ashamed of my decision.", Raven said, "There is no reason to lie."
Awkward silence reigned for a few minutes.
"So...now what?". Yang asked.
"I am curious though", Raven started her question, "You really had no one to guide you? Mold your moral compass?"
Yang snorted.
"If by 'mold' you mean destroy, sure. Gnarl, my advisor, taught me lots. Some he succeeded teaching me better than others", Yang said.
"He did a great job teaching you restraint", Raven noted sarcastically.
"It was not something she was very willing to learn. It's her spirit, her nature. It wants freedom, to rage against the world. People like that don't mesh well with restraint.", Gnarl said as he walked up towards them. It seems that as they were talking he took the opportunity to make his way here.
Raven turned around to look at Gnarl, and one of her hands instinctively reached for her sword although she did not draw it.
"Pray tell me, Master, why do you not break free?", Gnarl asked.
"She has a very strict grip", Yang complained.
"Master?", Raven inquired.
"We are Minions", Gnarl said as an explanation, "We serve the Overlord. We are born to serve the Overlord, we fight to serve the Overlord, and we die to serve the Overlord. We have done it since the first Minion has been born. That is what we are. That is what we will ever be. I am Gnarl, the Minion Master. I advise the Overlord. And in this era, the Overlord is the Young Master you refuse to let go."
While Tai has on occasion seen Gnarl before, this is the first he has heard this speech.
"That seems...awful", Tai noted somberly.
"That is what we are born to do", Gnarl explained, "We enjoy our task. The times in between Masters are dull, with little purpose."
Yang points at Gnarl.
"Mom, Dad, that is Gnarl, my advisor. Gnarl, I'm sure you can figure out whose who."
"I'm sure I can manage, Sire."
Raven seems to relax when she notices that the old Minion who had sneaked up on them was not a threat.
"So you thought her, then?"
Gnarl nodded.
"Yes, although things like restraint are hard to teach.", Gnarl said.
"As if you or the others are know much about restraint!", Yang protested.
"It is true. By nature we are not a race that likes to sit around and think. We like to do. But my experience shows me the value of restraint, of sometimes thinking things through.", he said, and then paused, thinking wistfully before continuing, "It is an issue all Overlords come across. It is not in their nature to stop, to bow, or limit themselves. Their nature is conquest, their path unrestrained. It is understandable why she has trouble with it, especially considering her age."
"Overlord?", Raven asked, familiar with the term but not its importance.
"You will find that in one way or another every Overlord changed the world. They bring about a reign of terror, one that humanity very much hurries to forget.", Gnarl.
"Yang will bring a 'reign of terror'?", Tai clarified not believing.
"Perhaps. Terror is a matter of perspective, after all.", Gnarl said.
"Who's the most notable of the Overlords then?, Raven asked.
"The Third Overlord", Yang answered quickly.
"Indeed", Gnarl agreed, "Not even his son had reached the height of the Third's achievements. But maybe that's for another time."
Tai decided to change the topic.
"So are you the one that taught her to be so loose with killing?"
"I cannot claim credit for that. She learned that on her own, shortly before becoming the Emperor of her new Empire."
"I did", Yang confirmed, "I can't hesitate, to wallow in regret, when so many enemies surround me. My enemies deserve no feeling but anger and despise"
Tai seemed concerned about her easy dehumanization, but Raven took another approach.
"Your words imply that you can feel regret and that you ignore it by focusing on your next enemy."
"They are my enemies", Yang sharply insisted, "I do not feel regret for them."
"No, you do not", Raven said with a nod, "But if you thought about them would you?"
"I do not regret Theodore's death, even when I came to respect his strength."
"But you still think of him as your enemy.", Raven said seemingly understanding Yang's thinking, "What, if for a theoretical argument, you decided to not consider him as an enemy?"
"Do you regret your kills?", Yang countered.
"No", Raven said simply, "But my life isn't a normal one. I do what I must to survive. If they were to weak to survive, that's on them."
"Then why do you keep attacking my way?", Yang asked.
"You 'can't afford to wallow in regret', right?", Raven asked for clarification, to which Yang nodded, "But you wallow in anger and hate. From what I've seen of you, and from this talk, I see that you are quick to angry, have little control on it, have very little value for human life, and take delight in petty cruelty"
"I value my family, and my people, and innocents too", Yang disagreed, "And I don't take delight in cruelty!"
"But what is an innocent?", Raven countered, "If an enemy you are quick to make, doesn't everyone eventually turn from innocent to an enemy? As for the other point, I remember what happened with Vernal. And I remember hearing your laughter from my tent even before that. Cruel smile, and cruel laughter for a cruel woman."
"You're one to talk about innocents and enemies!", Yang said, "You're no better".
Raven shrugged.
"I don't deny what I am. You do. Food for thought. I do find it interesting that you didn't deny my other points."
"Ah, yes, that", Gnarl said, "Young Master still struggles with her powers. She's too strong, and too anger-filled, for much control", he finished vaguely.
"What does control have to do with her alleged cruelness?", her dad asked.
"Mother of the Great Master, what were the spells you were most impressed by that you saw her use?", Gnarl asked Raven instead.
Raven turned to Tai.
"You know, Tai, if I don't stay here longer because I suddenly remembered my love for you, I might just stay for the titles. 'Mother of the Great Master' sounds pretty cool doesn't it?"
Despite the situation, Tai laughed.
Raven turned to look back at Gnarl.
"All of them were impressive given that Magic is impressive in general. But, if I had to chose the most impressive, that lightning one seemed powerful and versatile. That one that turned projectiles into explosions was pretty impressive. I certainly didn't expect it to be as dangerous as it was. Oh, and that spell that slowed me down was pretty impressive too."
Yang seemed pretty happy at the indirect praise.
"Two out of those three spells you mentioned were Evil Magic. The Slow Spell was the exception being just a very useful normal magic."
Raven snorted.
"Seriously? You lot seem the last group to arbitrarily label something Evil".
"Not arbitrary!", Yang protested.
"The Sire is right", Gnarl agreed, "There are four branches of Magic, two of which are mutually exclusive. On the side of Good, the Holy Magic. Even for saints this branch of Magic is incredibly hard to perform. Even small amounts of this Magic can make Evil Creatures nauseous, and greater amounts can make them flee for their lives if not burn them entirely. There is no worse feeling that an Evil Creature can feel than Holy Magic. That the Master feels it with regularity is nothing short of impressive-"
"Yang is an Evil Creature?", Tai asked shocked.
"Yang uses Holy Magic?", is what Raven found more important instead.
Yang senses that Tai hasn't put his Aura up, and uses her Telekinesis spell to pull him towards him and touches his chest, while with her other hand she touches one of Raven's hands that are holding her.
Their world almost seems to expand before returning to normal. But now they can sense animals in the forest, frolicking about, they can sense the locations of objects in the room without needing to see them, and much more. It was intoxicating, all that knowledge of things around them.
A snap of the fingers were heard, and they turned to look at Gnarl who pointed to Yang in Raven's arms. They turned to look at her too.
Raven let her go, as she an Tai took a step backwards, their new senses quickly overwhelmed by an extreme and oppressive dark presence coming from Yang. Yang took a step forward being careful to keep her hands on them. In before their eyes Yang had seemingly melted, replaced by a figure of her exact form. But where Yang had skin and bones, the figure, nothing less than the oppressive darkness they had felt crashing into their senses, was pure black, with black smoke circling it giving off the feel of pure evil. The figure took a step back, connection between her hands and them lost, somehow melted back into their daughter. Their expanded senses crashed down into their normal ones, and in comparison they felt if blinded.
"That", Yang said, "was a ride on my senses. That is what I feel with my powers, and the figure you saw was nothing else than what I have done in pursuit of Magic. Reshaped, remade, creature of Evil I became. The black smoke that felt like Evil was the literal Evil given form, Evil Energies that surround me, proof of Evil actions I had taken."
"While I applaud the use of dramatic speeches in most cases, Master, perhaps this is not the best time?", Gnarl suggested.
Raven seemed to get over her shock first, and pointed out, warily, "You felt horrible. I had never felt a worse feeling in my life"
Tai could only nod in his stupor.
"Evil Energy, and Magic performed from it, is an...", Yang started searching for the right word.
"Antithesis, perhaps, Sire?", Gnarl suggested.
Yang snapped her fingers.
"Right! Thanks, Gnarl!", she said as she was moving on, "Right, so as I was saying, that branch of Magic, and more broadly creatures that are born or created with it, or as a natural conduit for it, are antithesis to what makes normal creatures normal. To those that can feel us, Evil Creatures like the Minions or Me, their mind tries to reject us, recoil from us. We are so completely unlike them. A normal mind that can sense, finds not a bit of itself in us, and gets frightened and repulsed by our inherent nature. To it we feel unnatural, oppressive, and to those of us with Evil Energy, the Mind can sense the inherent Evil, even if it could never describe it before. It feels wrong to it. Minions were born from a very dark place, the Netherworld, or so do the very few records they keep claim. Their successive generations inherited their Evil nature, some through reproduction, some through creation, those that were not born naturally. Truly Evil creatures like them are rare in nature, far more come from creation, although still the list is not huge."
"How exactly are you completely unlike me, for example?", Raven inquired.
"It is a completely different state of being.", Gnarl answered instead of Yang, "Evil begets Evil, Normalness begets nothing at all, and in theory, Holiness would beget Holiness. It is the nature of things. Evil Creatures are more susceptible to influences of Evil, and it's energies, but also more commanding of the Evil Arts. Normalness, if seeks anything at all, it seeks the continuation of the status quo. Evil, by nature, seeks to usurp the status quo, remake it in its image. After all, truly, what is Evil if not the corruption and destruction of rules preset? Non-Evil creatures find our very existence incomprehensible."
"That doesn't mean I have no choice in my actions", Yang rushed to assure.
"Indeed, choice is our Grand Master's end-all.", Gnarl confirmed, "And yet, she had already chosen her path."
"Power", Raven concluded.
"You killed the Spring Maiden for your limited magical abilities, and I embraced my destiny for abilities with no limits", Yang answered, feeling as if Raven had silently accused her.
"Except Holy Magic, Master", Gnarl reminded her, "That would be quite disastrously for you."
Yang shook her head lightly.
"Even if there was someone alive that could teach it, I would have chosen the Evil Arts. Destiny as an Overlord or not."
"But why?, Tai asked seeking understanding.
"Evil Arts rage and fight against the current order of things. They seek to change it, and so, they offer a lot of useful abilities", Yang said.
"Most serious of them at a price.", Gnarl added.
"Yup", Yang said with a nod, "Sure, there's normal stuff like explosions, illusions and the like, but then come the real abilities that aim to change the order of the world. You want Magic? If you are willing to be remade, and suffer both the benefits and flaws of your new form, you can gain Magic. Do you seethe knowing that Eleven Magic is unavailable to the rest of mankind? Sacrificial Rituals can steal their Magical abilities and surpass the limitations that prevent your usage, at the cost of the sacrificed Elf. Do you fear death?-", at this Raven seemed to be listening really intensively, "The Evil Arts offer ways to live past death depending on the price you are willing to pay. Some fear death so much they sacrifice everything that makes them human, or living, and lock themselves away in objects, only touch of reality by possession of long dead bones. Some are unwilling to pay that steep of a price and seek alternatives. The talent of the caster, of course, can mitigate the cost needed, or perhaps find alternative better off. Imagine how much harder would it have been for me to have reached this far without Magic. I think I can change the world for the better, if only it bows to my will."
"And does it also give the ability to return from death?", Tai asked hopefully.
"Summer", Raven said with realization.
Yang looked at Gnarl and they seemed to be in a silent discussion for a moment, before Yang looked back.
"No mortal has ever succeeded at that", Yang said sorrowfully, "The closest anyone has ever gotten was the Blue Minions who can revive recently died Minions"
"That is not entirely true, Master", Gnarl corrected her, "Really powerful blue Minions, like Mortis was before his death, was able to revive even long dead Minions at the cost of at least two other Minions and sometimes more depending on the dead Minion's strength"
"I didn't know that", Yang said.
"It was hardly important to mention, Sire, as most Blues don't survive that long. They are after all, very fragile"
"So there's no hope?", Tai asked dejected.
"Evil bows before no rules", Gnarl said, "But hardly any Overlords worried about resurrection, they were far more concerned to live past death."
The bringing up of Summer's death seems to have killed any interest in further discussions, and Tai left to mull over what he heard. In a rare moment of compassion, Raven followed him, she too put in a bad mood over remembrance of her friend's death.