Beginning of the End.
"I want to be strong".
In a dark room, a young man, no older than a Beacon student, was laying on stone table. He was breathing hard, and looked like he was deathly sick. He was surrounded by glowing dark crystals, and a mysterious figure was walking over to him.
"How the mighty have fallen. You fought so hard for Ozpin and his cause. And yet, you gained nothing in return... you only got betrayal" The figure said in a female voice, revealing she was a woman.
The young man suddenly felt immense pain and screamed in agony.
At another place and time, a smirking Cinder had cornered someone. She shorter hair than she had in Beacon, and a metal version of Midnight with arrows on her back.
"How did you do that?" She asked.
The person she is talking to in an abandoned alleyway, cornered against a wall, is revealed to be Emerald. Emerald has a ponytail instead of her usual locks and is wearing a different outfit, missing her usual white top and arm accessories. Some of the clothes' colors, gloves, pants, even Thief's Respite, are switched for different hues. She glares at this stranger while glancing around, backing away slowly and not answering. Without warning, she attempts to get her revolvers from their holsters.
"Don't" Cinder said sharply, and Emerald grimaces before Cinder continues "Unless, of course, you want them to hear you".
There is a sound of footsteps running past while Cinder speaks. Emerald lets go of the grips "What do you want?",
Cinder stepps forward slowly, glass anklet shifting with her footsteps "I've already told you. And I don't like repeating myself".
"I didn't do anything! Just leave me alone!" Emerald demanded.
"I know my fair share of liars and thieves. Stealing is an art of patience, coordination, and in a pinch, sleight of hand. But you didn't steal the ring in your pocket" Cinder said and Emerald looks shocked and checks the pocket where her prize is as Cinder crosses her arms, continuing "You took it right before the jeweller's eyes. And he smiled".
Emerald looked surprised before she turns to suspicion once more "Who are you?".
Cinder keeps on smiling. She had found someone useful for her plans.
"You will question everything you know".
Back in the dark room, the young man was breathing hard and sweating all over. The mysterious woman was walking around him, before stopping on the side of the table where his head was. She then put her hands on his face as she looks down on him.
"Both you are your sister were strong. So he used you as weapons against me. Do you even know what you were really fighting against?" She asked calmly "Or did Ozpin send you and your dear sister out on a dangerous mission without telling you anything about me? Did you even know who I was?".
The man suddenly felt the pain again and let out another scream in agony.
Elsewhere, we see a bruised and bloodied face of another familiar youth, Mercury. He is missing his armor and sash, and his knees are bandaged and stained with blood. There is light from a burning house dancing to his back as he stands before a confident Cinder and wary Emerald.
"What are you looking at!?" He demanded.
"I'm looking for Marcus Black" Cinder demanded.
Mercury spits blood on the ground as he gestures back at the burning house and the white-haired man lying face down behind him "There you go".
Emerald gets up from her stance "That's... the assassin?".
Cinder calmly looks up at Mercury "And you're his son" Mercury doesn't acknowledge this, merely wiping his lips of blood, but she grins now "We saw your fight from the treeline. He's taught you well".
"Guess so" Mercury said.
"What's your name?" Cinder asked.
Mercury let a moment pass before he tells her "Mercury".
Cinder nodded in approval "Mercury... Tell me, are you anything like your father?".
"AGH!" The young man cried out, still trapped inside the room, and tormented by the mysterious woman.
"Family is always important. They help shaping us in to what we will become. Your sister... she was no nice and sweet. Her name was Sharena right? Tell me. Why did she need to die for Ozpin's cause? And why didn't he tell either of you the full truth?" The woman asked while rubbing her hand over the young man's chest.
The young man screams again.
"So, let me get this straight..." Came the voice of Adam.
Cinder was standing respectfully in the center of a tent, Emerald and Mercury sitting on their knees behind her. Two members of the White Fang armed with a rifle and sword are to one side, Lethe and the Lieutenant were leaning up against the other, as a Adam steps into view before a map of Remnant.
"You could've gone to anyone for help. You could've made a deal with a gang leader, paid off some Huntsmen that have strayed from their... righteous path... but instead, you choose to seek an audience with me" Adam said, not believing these humans could be so foolish.
Cinder remained calm "You're the one we need. Your skill, your ability to lead those beneath you. You're an exceptionally valuable man, Adam. And we've put a lot of thought into-".
Adam interrupts her, stepping forward with his finger raised "Then you're clearly not thinking straight! If you truly understood me, you would know coming here was a mistake. The White Fang is not an organization for hire. We're a force of revolution!".
Emerald shares a look with Mercury, eyebrows raised.
Cinder was not intimidated by his words "I believe our plan will be beneficial for all parties involved. I have... an associate in Vale. He and I are working on a revolution of our own. But we can't do it without your forces. We need-".
"What you need... is to leave" Adam said as he aggressively holds up his weapon "You're asking my men to die for your cause, a human cause. That is not an idea I am willing to entertain".
Cinder scowls in obvious displeasure, but makes herself bow to the White Fang leader "Very well".
The three leave the tent and go off into the nearby woods, with Adam stepping out to look at them from behind his mask.
Blake steps up behind him, hand on her side "What was that about?".
"Nothing" Adam said as he began walking away "We need to finish preparing. The train will be here at dawn".
Blake follows her mentor, unaware of what was going to happen.
The young man coughs violently as he finally got of the table. He was shaking violently, his very veins glowing through his skin. The woman looks down on him, smiling as she could tell he was finally done resisting, and was opening up to her words.
"You know you hate me. You despise me. I was the one responsible for your sister's death. Or at least, that's what you've been believing up until now. But who is really responsible for Sharena's death?" The woman asked.
"Ozpin..." The young man answered, clear hate in his voice.
"Yes... He sent you and your sister out completely unprepared. Had he just told you the truth, then maybe your sister would still be alive" The Woman said before offering a hand... her hand was pale as death "Tell me... what do you want?".
The young man accepted her hand "I want... revenge".
The Woman smiled more "Well, you can have it... what was your name again?".
"Who I was no longer matters... The old me died with my sister... Call me... Líf" The young man answered, his eyes glowing with hate.
On a forest path, a lone white horse trotting along slowly, a green-cloaked rider with golden armor and her hood up on its back. The animal comes forward as the sharp sound is heard once more, and the two stop when they come across the scene of a young green-haired girl curled up and crying next to a felled bicycle.
Despite the fact that another camera angle shows only a fully-grown Emerald standing there, the rider dismounts from her steed and slowly approaches the child, who looks up as the mysterious stranger kneels down to her level and smirks. The girl flinches in fright when the woman reaches into her clothes and pulls out an apple, not realizing she's only offering it to empty air.
Emerald stands only a few feet away from the oblivious heroine, scrunching her face up in determination and readying to attack by grabbing her weapons and sliding a foot back. The kicked-up dust manages to be seen behind the girl even when the one who kicked it doesn't, and the woman gasps as the image of the child happily reaching for the apple suddenly disappears.
Dropping the fruit and leaping back quickly as the horse turns to run away, Amber ditches the cloak and pulls out her weapon, expanding the double crystal-headed staff to full length. She sees Emerald running towards her, guns blazing green shots, each of which are deflected against the Maiden's hand. Amber twirls the spear around her body, kicking up the winds and blasting it towards her opponent, forcing Emerald to slide back.
Just as she does this, Mercury comes up from the side and jumps over the fence, landing on her staff as she forces him and a returning Emerald back with another gale. Mercury simply leaps on a post and launches himself at her, forcing Amber to unleash a stream of fire from the red crystal on him, but her attacker merely curls up and lets his legs take the brunt of the damage, flames burning away the orange pants as the complex machinery and lit-up metal making up the robotic prosthetics underneath is revealed.
With his artificial limbs, he continues to come forward through the fire and kick Amber on her back, only for Emerald to land on her from above, cracking the very ground underneath. She and Mercury jump back and get ready to fight again when Amber gets up, head bowed until she looks up with orange energy pouring from her eyes. The winds erupt from the Maiden, swirling around and making her enemies cover their faces from the force, when she lifts off the ground and spreads her arms to the sky, lightning now rumbling in the clouds for her to aim at the two, who barely get out of the way in time.
Calling upon more of the storm, Mercury and Emerald continue to dodge each bolt as Cinder steps into view a ways back from the fight. The two ambushers fire on Amber, but the invisible shield now covers her whole body, taking each shot as she reaches to her side and clenches a fist, making the leaves rise into the air and come to her. With a raised arm, the leaves turn from green to frozen ice, and she rains the newly-sharpened projectiles down on her foes, who are unable to avoid the attack.
Amber continues this assault until she senses Cinder running towards her from behind, face set in determination, and summons a fireball to launch at her third adversary, who manages to leap over the attack. Cinder slides across the ground, kicking up dirt. Cinder faces her palm to the dirt, the yellow fabric on her sleeve glowing, and coalesces the dirt into several glass shards, which she aims at the floating Maiden. Amber is knocked back from the damage, face down in the dirt, until she looks up with normal eyes just when the sharp sound is heard again. She first sees the area empty, but Emerald flickers into view for a moment, and Amber slowly realizes what's happening as Mercury also shifts into her frame of vision, with Cinder coming forward in spurts, swords raised.
She attempts to slice Amber with the two blades, only for the Maiden to deflect each hit and kick the assailant away just as Mercury and Emerald come forward in her stead. The two miss their initial attacks and get kicked for their efforts, but Mercury lands a blow on her only for Amber to rush at him, not noticing Cinder connect her swords together into their bow shape and notching three arrows. Amber manages to punch Emerald and kick Mercury away.
However, she looked up and saw a fourth enemy had joined the battle. It was Líf. He was wearing his black armor, which almost made him look like an armored skeleton. Cinder smirked, having already been informed that the final member of her little team might be joining them in this fight, and she was happy to have him.
Amber quickly retrieved her weapon and unleashed a large fire ball towards Líf, who pulls out his dark sword which unleashes a dark blast of energy, which cancels out the fire. Amber was barely able to react as Líf burst through the dust and brought his sword down on her. She managed to block was easily forced down on a knee. Líf freed one of his hands before the same dark aura from before surrounded it, and before Amber had a chance to dodge, she took a direct hit from it, causing her aura to fade away.
Cinder appears with her partners behind her, slowly approaching their target as she gets up from her hands and knees. She swipes at the them with a gust of wind that blows them all away, but Mercury races back towards her until he's blasted back by a bolt of lightning from the now burning-eyed Maiden. She suddenly turns back and sends a fireball at Emerald, only for it to disappear and the real thief to be revealed on the other side, also getting a blast of flame.
Líf charged in but was also blasted with lightning. He grunts in pain but began powering through it. Amber began to panik. Was this guy even human!? Líf had endured far more agony than anything Amber could inflict on him so he powers through the bolts before he swings his sword... and cut up a nasty wound in Amber's side. She cries out in pain as she backs a away a few steps before collapsing on her knees, holding her wound.
Líf was breathing hard, Amber's attack took more out of him than he expected it to, but Cinder put a hand on his shoulder "You did good. We'll handle the rest".
She takes out a white glove as Mercury and Emerald holds their defeated foe in place. Amber and Cinder meet eye-to-eye before the villainess lifts up her now gloved hand, the back of it marked with the red symbol of an open eye in a compass shape, broken on one side by five diamond shapes. Cinder reaches down, palm towards Amber when the white suddenly opens a small red portal, out from which a Grimm bug comes out.
"Please don't..." Amber begged.
The creature spits out a web of black, attaching to Amber's face in a familiar pattern. When she looks up, screaming, her one free eye is blazing, a final blast of wind erupting from her as the glow fades into the inky strands, up through the glove, and into Cinder's body. Her own victorious eyes light up with power, a shower of sparks surrounding her and black-and-red circle appearing under their feet. Amber closes her eye...
Then without warning, footsteps are seen racing towards the ritual, and Cinder only has a moment to look up and see Qrow swinging his sword down on them, severing the web and making them all leap back. The Huntsman grabs the unconscious Maiden before she hits the ground, and Cinder watches to her hand as the glove burns away into nothingness, leaving only a tattoo of high heels between her exposed shoulder blades.
Cinder looks up with a grin, right eye now brimming with golden energy, as she gets up from her position and raises her arms, embers circling around her. Qrow can only see her shimmering face for a second before the ground under him starts to glow, and he gets himself and Amber out of the way just as it explodes. He looks back and finds that the three are gone, then turns his worried gaze to the marked and comatose face of Amber.
Back to the White Fang camp, Adam and the Lieutenant are in a different tent standing around a table with maps, masks, and vials of Dust all around.
"We'll find her, sir" The Lieutenant said as he holds a hand up to his chest "I swear on my life".
"Forget it. It's time I returned to Mistral and..." Adam began but his sentence is cut short with the sounds of groans, explosions, and crashing are heard outside the tent flaps. The two come out of the tent, blade and chainsaw raised "What is this!?
Cinder stood with her swords drawn amid the still-smoking battlefield, with White Fang soldiers laying all around and her subordinates kneeling on the ground with cases in front of them, and Líf was holding Lethe by the neck. She was struggling to break free, but no matter how much she clawed at Líf's arm, he acted like he didn't even feel it.
"We could've gone to anyone for help" Cinder discards her weapons and strides towards the White Fang members "But we chose you, Adam Taurus" A wall of flames abruptly starts at their feet as Cinder raises her hand "Our plan will be beneficial for both of us. Or one of us" Emerald opens her case to reveal Dust crystals and collector canisters inside, while Mercury shows the neatly-arranged stacks of Lien in his "So, which will it be?".
Adam slowly straightens up while Cinder lowers her arm, clothes going back to their regular colors as she smiles. She then motions to Líf who drops Lethe to the ground, and she held her neck while struggling to regain her breath.
"Wait..." Lethe coughed out "W-We aren't really going to work with these... humans, are we?".
Adam said nothing... and Lethe looked a little betrayed. One of their own had already abandoned them, and now this?
"Welcome to the fold" Líf said darkly.
A dangerous alliance had been formed.
Back in present day Mercury is still cradling his injured limb, Emerald kneeling beside him and Yang in the center of a ring of security, all with rifles aimed at her.
"Please, somebody help him!" Emerald called out in distress as paramedics come over with a stretcher, lowering it to Mercury "Can you do something!?".
There is a rip in the leg of Mercury's pants, and skin and blood are visible through the rip.
The Paramedic exchanges a glance with his coworker "We need to get this boy to a hospital. Grab a blanket".
They get Mercury on the stretcher and rush him off, Emerald following right behind. Yang looks on with a horrified expression, her lilac eyes now almost colorless.
She looks at the guards "You don't understand! He attacked me, I swear!".
The Security Guard lifts his guns higher in response "Stow it! You've already caused enough of a scene!".
Meanwhile, Emerald runs alongside the two paramedics as they come across an open door with a woman in the same outfit inside, gesturing them to stop "Here! We've got an ambulance ready to go!".
Later, the back door closes on the emergency airship they loaded Mercury in.
The Paramedic sighed "Hope they'll be okay. That girl won't leave his side".
Cinder nods under the white cap with a red cross she's wearing "We'll take good care of both of them".
The transport flies away from the Colosseum, and Mercury is lying on a cargo box in the back, still moaning and crying beside Emerald sitting next to him.
"Oh doc, tell me, will I ever walk again?" He receives a punch in the arm from Emerald, looking at her as he rubs the sore spot he actually got hurt from "Ow! What's your deal!?".
Emerald groans suddenly as she puts a hand up to her forehead "Ugh, headache. One mind I can handle, but two is a stretch".
Cinder calls back to them from the co-pilot's seat "Well, you all performed marvelously, driver included".
The driver, wearing a similar uniform as Cinder, blinks her magenta eyes back to their usual brown and pink shades and nods in silent gratitude.
"So, you think it worked?" Mercury asked.
Later Lisa Lavender was reporting on what happened "A terrible tragedy took place this afternoon in the one-on-one rounds of the Vytal Festival Tournament-".
TV static switches the channels to a Haven Tourist out in the streets of Vale "I don't know what Beacon's Headmaster is teaching his students, but that was disgraceful! Completely uncalled for!".
TV static switches the channel to a News video of several Grimm, Goliaths, Ursai, Nevermores, Boarbatusks, and Beowolves, running across Mountain Glenn towards the city "Despite Atlas reinforcements, local authorities are still calling on any available Huntsmen to aid in suppressing the spike in Grimm activity".
The projected screen in the warehouse switches off entirely.
Mercury was sitting at a table with his mechanical leg on a table, a screwdriver in hand as he works on it "Hey, I was watching that!".
"Shut up!" Emerald warned.
"Is this how you treat a patient?" Mercury asked teasingly before Emerald reaches over and twists the screwdriver in his leg, causing him to wince "Ah, too tight!".
"Enough. Our Mercury put on a wonderful show. He was quite brave" Cinder said.
Mercury looks at Emerald as he resumes fixing his parts "These things aren't exactly cheap, you know".
"So, what's next?" Emerald asked.
Cinder turns to her, grinning with arms crossed "You and I will ensure that our next matchup goes just as smoothly".
As Cinder turns to leave and Emerald follows, Mercury spoke "What about me?".
"You get to lay low until the end. We wouldn't want people to see you on your feet and have this all be for naught, now would we?" Cinder asked
"Can do" Mercury said as he goes back to screwing his limbs back to perfection, smiling, and the blue area under his artificial knee lights up.
Meanwhile, Líf stands in front of a secret locker. He opens it and it reveals his black armor inside. Finally, he could stop pretending to be a student, and get his revenge on the people responsible for his sister's death... she was killed right before his eyes, and he could do nothing to stop it. And that was something he could never forgive.
"At last... they will know my pain..." He said darkly, his eyes glowing with pure hate.
Hate, was the only thing that was still pushing him forward... and what he desires now... is revenge.
.
I was thinking of skipping this episode. But it did give me a chance to shed some light on Líf back story. For those who don't know, in Fire Emblem heroes Líf did loose his younger sister, and everyone he cared about. And the suffering of such a loss drove him in to darkness. He abandoned his real name and became Líf, naming himself after his ancestor.
Of course he will be different in this story than he is in Fire Emblem. But I figured his back story could easily fit in to RWBY as well.
.
Tell me what you think.
