Chapter 1 - Awakened Reincarnate
Branwen Tribe Encampment, Anima Wilderness - RWBY World - One Week before the events of Volume One
(General P.O.V)
Bandits, Lowlives, Thieves
These are all accolades given to those who are members of the Branwen Tribe, raiders who live only for themselves, and pillage various villages in the continent of Anima, These men and women live under a philosophy of survival of the fittest to maintain the tribe above all else.
The tribe itself is comprised of many who seek to prove their strength, who have suffered and now wish to return that suffering, who have been tossed out by various authorities of the kingdoms, or simply because they enjoy taking from others to satisfy their desires.
It is rough living out in the wilderness and constantly on the move to avoid pursuit by the authorities while continuing their various raids and pillaging from time to time to sustain their destructive lifestyle, It is a constant deadly dance that often runs the risk of drawing the attention of the monsters of darkness, the Grimm, who feed on negative emotion that such raids create.
While the Branwen Tribe considered the authorities a problem, they could always evade them time and time again, as such they had two different core threats to the tribe. The first threat is that of the Grimm themselves, as the tribe often has to be cautious to not stay too long and run the risk of drawing the Grimm to themselves rather than any of the hapless villages.
But like the Grimm, the Branwen Tribe's enemy is often the hunters and huntresses that tend to be sent after them, with the Branwen Tribe potentially having trouble if a team of them were to come after them with any real desire to bring them down.
As such years ago the Branwen Tribe had two young members of the tribe enter Beacon Academy in Vale in hopes of learning how to counter them, a brother and a sister who bore blood ties to each other.
The brother would later abandon the tribe entirely as he wants no part in the destructive lifestyle that the Branwen tribe actively participates in over and over again, becoming a part of a certain headmaster's inner circle…
However, the Sister would eventually return to the tribe, having borne a daughter with one of the huntsman shortly before her return to the tribe, something that was not received well by any outside of the tribe that was close to her.
Even now, that daughter of hers looks for the mother who left her, hoping to get answers from the woman who brought her into this world. Originally this would be a story where the woman who returned to the Branwen Tribe would continue to stay with them until forces larger than her bring her back to the forefront once more.
But as that very same woman, Raven Branwen, begins to wake up to start another day, she will awaken to her soul's true nature and gain both a power that will shake the very course of this world and knowledge that will fundamentally alter the course of her fate…
Raven's Tent, Branwen Encampment - That Morning
(Raven Branwen/Si's P.O.V)
The first thing I feel when I wake up is a splitting headache as memories begin to flood my mind, memories that at first thought might belong to the spring maidens before me but as they gain clarity, it becomes increasingly clear that these are memories from none other than my past life.
Immediately I worried that I might be becoming another Ozpin but it doesn't seem like that's the case, After all, Ozpin can only have male hosts so it seems that whoever I was in another life decided to give me an interesting gift indeed as I can feel an energy that is neither aura nor the Spring Maiden powers fill me.
As the memories finally settle I have names for this new energy and the powers I have been granted which allows me to know exactly whose powers my past self has given me, the power of someone who had been able to face the world entirely on his own at one point.
Madara Uchiha
And it's not just the power I've been granted either, no My past self had ideas of how to make a once unwinnable war now entirely winnable, for so long I've believed that Ozpin's little war was pointless, especially after learning what I did moments before Summer's death.
Not only that, there is additional context to Ozpin or should I say Ozma's actions regarding Salem and there is a sense of revulsion and disgust at the actions of the Gods of Remnant, and part of me genuinely just wants to forget all of this and just try to ignore it.
The thing is I can't, not when I'm likely the only one with the most complete story of how this world came to be as well as the fact that I have multiple ideas on how to stop the shadow war, courtesy of my past self.
And if I'm being honest, knowing that I can essentially create a mountain-sized construct that can slice actual mountains in half is quite an overpowering feeling of pure and utter satisfaction, as I could bring the world to its knees far more than Salem ever could herself.
But I don't want to become another Salem, I don't want to become another Ozpin either as while I am effectively immortal now thanks to the powers I've gained from this so-called company I have become a contractor of it seems, I absolutely refuse to become just like them.
And I don't want to keep running anymore, especially from a promise I made to Summer…
Now I can't help but notice a sensation of resolve that I had once believed was shattered fill me once more, that same feeling is one that I didn't think I could feel again after Summer's death. Regardless this means that my plan to stay on the move with the tribe now must change as they are no longer vital to keeping my status as the Spring Maiden a secret in light of these new abilities in my possession.
I soon stop and frown as I notice something wrong with my Spring Maiden powers, and quickly discover that they've gotten weaker, seemingly as a temporary trade-off to obtaining all these new powers, skills, and knowledge which is honestly something I am willing to bite the bullet on so long that it is temporary.
Of course, this might actually work to my advantage for the time being to maintain the facade but I'm not exactly certain how long it will take for the Spring Maiden powers to full strength, because if the restoration rate is the same as aura then it would take only a few days to return to their original strength.
Eventually, I decided to grab a small mirror and gaze into it, deciding to test my new ocular powers for myself as I funnel what I believe is Chakra into my eyes, watching them soon gain three comma-like markings that surround the pupil of my eyes intriguingly.
It seems that due to my eyes already being the same shade of red, it will be impossible to properly tell if I'm using the Sharingan without looking right into the eyes, which is never a good idea for those who are from the world that practically lives with the energy of Chakra…
While Genjutsu is practically impossible in this world, illusions themselves are more than possible when you consider that Emerald girl's semblance, Either way, that doesn't mean these eyes have no purpose when there is far more to them than that.
My mind turns to the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the Legendary Rinnegan that I now possess, bearing powers that could turn this world to dust and not the elemental kind either, of course That does not mean I am completely unbeatable if any of Salem's pawns figure it out, the man that came from Atlas to serve Salem, Watts, comes to mind having the intelligence to figure it out and likely come up with a plan.
After all, I would rather not rely on a certain mountain-sized construct if I can help it, especially with the skills I now possess that can ensure I won't be forced to use it unless it is absolutely necessary…
I sigh and soon deactivate the Sharingan, deciding to get up and put on my mask while grabbing my weapon, Omen, before leaving my tent as I intend to find Vernal and discuss the possibility of leaving the tribe behind together as out of the entire tribe, I know I can count on Vernal to be loyal to me rather than the tribe.
Of course, should my understanding of Vernal prove to be mistaken, then I am more than prepared to do what I must as much as it would hurt to do so, especially with so much at stake and so many opportunities I want to take advantage of before things get chaotic.
However, almost as remnant itself heard my internal musings….
"Grimm Pack sighted!" can be heard being shouted out by one of the guards who are standing in front of the gates, the entire tribe immediately ceasing all normal activity as everyone begins to grab their weapons while some begin to start rapidly disassembling the camp as fast as possible.
Gritting my teeth at the poor timing of this, I let out a frustrated sigh before rushing toward the gates of the encampment as I spot Vernal coming along to join me at my side, this is mostly due to the fact out of everyone in the encampment right now, we're the only two with aura.
Something that I took advantage of in my rise to becoming head of the tribe, but now it's also why myself and Vernal am the only two who can actually handle the Grimm directly, which means that most of the tribe has to focus on loading everything into their various vehicles as fast as possible while shooting down any Grimm that get past us.
"How large is the pack…?" I ask in a no-nonsense tone of voice to the guard who announced the Grimm Pack, the man is obviously tense but is quick to give out a short report as he claims to have spotted an Alpha at the head of the pack, making me look down the dirt path toward the oncoming Grimm pack.
Almost immediately I could see a single Alpha Beowolf at the head of a large pack of Beowolves, much like a pack we tended to use at times to raid villages, meaning someone had been careless enough to leave a trail right back to us in the last raid.
Still, this could be a potential solution to my current problem as I believe I could use a pack this large to fake my death to the tribe, the only wrinkle is that I need to bring Vernal along either through words or by force as I am not about to potentially leave her to die here wastefully.
"Vernal and I will head off the Grimm pack, and have the tribe start preparations to move to the location Shay scouted earlier this week…" I command the Guards out of the front who nod and go back behind the gates that close up and leave Vernal and myself out with my hand drifting toward the handle of Omen.
With but a single glance at Vernal who looks confident with me at her side, I start walking toward the oncoming pack of Beowolves and take a deep breath, soon activating my Sharingan behind the mask before watching the precognitive effect of the basic three tomoe Sharingan give me a clear indication of where the first Beowolf will strike.
Immediately I fire out Omen from it's sheath as it rips through the stomach of the first Beowolf before it can make a lunge at me, prompting me to run forward and grab Omen's handle mid-flight slicing another Beowolf in half at it's waist, Vernal's chakram pistols sailing past me to strike down two more as she runs forward to catch them on the return journey.
Almost immediately I sheathe Omen's Red Dust Blade and shift it to the Blue Dust Blade before rushing forward to back up Vernal, combat sliding under a Beowolf just after drawing Omen once more and using the moment of the slide to bifurcate the Beowolf in two halves before it fades into blackened ash.
Soon enough I arrive at Vernal's position as we're surrounded by the Grimm Pack, broadcasting the negative emotion of anger in order to keep their focus locked on us rather than the tribe as Vernal fires into the pack with her regular dust bullets.
"Vernal, clean sweep!" I command before ducking under a lunge from a Beowolf and lobbing off its head in one go, Vernal nods as she crosses her arms in a familiar pose, forcing me to go prone right before I see bright orange beams of light surge out from the barrel of her Charam, the woman twirling as dozens of Beowolves are struck done in the span of three seconds at most.
However, seconds later Vernal is forced to eject the now-spent Fire Dust that allowed her to produce the vibrant orange beam of death, holstering the chakram pistols momentarily as a resounding click is heard, after which she draws them once more with a grin.
"Only got three more clean sweeps left Raven!" Vernal says before she resumes firing into the still sizeable pack of Beowolves, although I just noticed that the Alpha that I spotted from before the fight is nowhere in sight, which is concerning…
It's only when I look over to the Gate of the Encampment that I let out a loud curse as I can see that the Alpha and a small pack of Beowolves had flat-out decided to ignore us and went straight for the tribe anyway.
Vernal looks incredibly alarmed as she sees the Alpha Beowolf successfully slam down the gates and begin to rush the camp, gunfire, and combat soon ringing out. The situation at the encampment has momentarily distracted her, which would have allowed a Beowolf to knock her down had I not noticed in time to strike down the Beowolf myself.
"Vernal, we need to leave NOW!" I say as I know that the tribe is about to be slaughtered and I am not about to stick around to see the grisly fate that awaits them, with Vernal looking shell-shocked at the proclamation as she takes one last look at the tribe before grimacing and nodding.
With that, I sheathe Omen and switch the Blue Dust Blade for the normal Red one before focusing on using my semblance, Kindred Link, to create a portal to someone I believe I owe a very much overdue explanation for my time away.
Moments later I walk into the portal with Vernal following close behind, letting me take one final glance at the overrun campsite before the portal closes for good, leaving the Branwen Tribe to their fates as the Grimm's slaughter continues for some time…
Xiao Long Household, Patch - Minutes before Raven Opens the Portal
(General P.O.V)
Taiyang Xiao Long sighs as he looks out the window of his home, knowing that his daughters are out in Vale right now with Ruby likely checking out the various weapon shops or Yang still looking into the matter of her mother.
He's honestly not sure how best to broach the topic himself, as his feelings on the matter are admittedly complicated as the woman herself is, he's not heard from her for years now and if he's being completely honest with himself, he's not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
He doesn't want their daughter to get involved in the Branwen Tribe at all, but at the same time, he can see how much that search for Raven is acting as a drive for Yang to get stronger, so she can one day find out where Raven is exactly.
He just hopes that the answer she gets won't disappoint her in the end…
"I hope she doesn't go to that club that Qrow talked about last time he was here, from what I know that place is nothing but trouble for a girl like her…" Taiyang says under his breath, although if he's being honest, he's almost certain Yang will likely head to that same Club later tonight even if he tried to stop her as she's just as stubborn as her mother.
Taiyang wishes that Summer was still around, she'd probably know how to handle Yang's desire to find her biological mother perhaps even better than he would as while he is Yang's father, he knows that he's not up to the task of trying to explain things himself just yet.
The Blonde man is broken out of his musings by a sudden cool breeze passing through the house, making him shiver slightly as he realizes he should probably start getting firewood for the winter times sorted out before it becomes too late to start working on it.
Just as Taiyang is about to exit the house in order to start said firewood though, he's stopped when he sees a red portal suddenly show up just outside his house, a very familiar-looking red portal at that, his eyes widening before the blonde man rushes out of the house and towards the red portal.
Eventually, he sees two women leave the portal, one whom Taiyang does not recognize at all but judging from the rugged attire she wears, she is likely from the Branwen Tribe. However, it's the second one that has Taiyang stunned the most, as while she is wearing a particularly intimidating Grimm mask, the long black hair and the outfit she wore all the way back during her Days in STRQ, along with the drawn Red Dust Blade leaves absolutely do doubt who it is in Taiyang's mind.
"Raven…?" Taiyang hesitantly asks the woman in the Grimm mask, the sudden question prompts the other woman with a buzz-cut hairstyle to point her chakram pistols at Taiyang but before he can get into a stance, the woman whom he hopes is Raven swiftly puts a hand on the other's shoulder before shaking her head.
As the woman with the chakram pistols slowly puts her weapons away, the one wearing the Grimm mask sheathes her blade before gently removing the Grimm mask, revealing to Taiyang that his suspicions were correct as the woman who looks so much like his daughter stands before him.
"It has been a long time….Tai…" Raven says as she has a wry look on her face, her gaze expressing a lot of complicated emotions that pass through the ravenette in mere moments, the sight of Taiyang's first wife standing before him fills the man with just as many complicated emotions as well if not more so.
"That it has Raven, that it has.." Taiyang says with just a touch of bitterness, something that Raven seems to pick up on as she turns her head away to hide the deepening feeling of guilt crossing her facial expression, although not quickly enough to prevent Taiyang from noticing as he frowns before sighing…
"Be frank with me Raven, why are you here?" Taiyang asks as the portal that Raven made closes behind her, the woman looking back through it momentarily before she sighs and turns around to face Taiyang once again as she takes a moment to think.
"The Branwen Tribe is no more, another casualty of the Grimm" Raven finally says, Taiyang's eyes widen as he processes the news momentarily before he looks over to the other woman with Raven, likely the only survivor along with Raven herself.
It doesn't take him long to realize why she must have come here, Taiyang sighs yet again as he pinches the bridge of his nose while weighing the pros and cons of the situation in his head, while he does want Raven back in his life, he's not sure if the woman she's brought along will be an issue he might not be able to handle.
However, it seems that Raven has likely picked up on why Taiyang is so hesitant to allow her and the other woman to stay as she holds up a hand, taking a moment to think carefully about what she wants to say before finally…
"Vernal will earn her keep while she and I stay here, won't you Vernal..?" Raven says while giving the other woman, the one that Raven has called Vernal, a firm look as the former Branwen Tribe member looks at Raven, then at Taiyang before looking back at Raven with a slow but firm nod.
Ultimately Taiyang sighs but ends up allowing the two of them to stay at the house, with Taiyang giving Vernal the task of gathering firewood that he was originally going to do himself, not only to have Vernal start earning her keep right now but to also allow Taiyang and Raven to speak privately.
Once Vernal is out of sight and out of earshot, the atmosphere around the two is awkward and tense as neither of them actually knows what to say to each other after the long years without having contacted each other, let alone seeing each other in person as they are now.
Eventually Raven takes a deep breath before she looks at Taiyang as she knows that it's probably best that she be the one to speak up first as it was her disappearance that resulted in all of this awkwardness.
"How is she…?" Raven hesitantly asks, the woman is not exactly comfortable at all with this sort of thing which is something that Taiyang knows well about her, the blonde man sighing as he knows who Raven is referring to here.
"Our Daughter will be entering Beacon this year, as she recently graduated from Signal" Taiyang says before a scowl comes up on Raven's expression, something that Taiyang guesses is because of Ozpin although unknown to him that's not the only reason she's scowling at this…
"I see…" is all that Raven says, the tension in the air thickening slightly as he swears for a moment Raven's red eyes shift but when he blinks whatever he thinks he must have seen is gone, so he passes it off as perhaps some trick of the light.
"How long will you be staying…?" Taiyang asks as he is genuinely curious if Raven is truly coming back for real or if this is a temporary thing, the question making Raven sigh deeply before she looks right into Taiyang's eyes with a sardonic smirk that Yang sometimes has on her face.
"As long as you're willing to let me stay," Raven says as a feeling of shock fills Taiyang, he honestly expected her to only stay for a short time in order to find somewhere else to run off to, but if she's coming back for real then…
"So you're back in the fight?" Taiyang asks although he wants to ask another more burning question, he doesn't want to ask it just yet as he doesn't want to potentially have her running off again if he does ask it…
Raven merely rolled her eyes before slowly nodding as the ravenette slowly walked into the house and left a stunned Taiyang behind, the blonde man watched her saunter into the house as she owned it with ease with his gaze looked longingly at her as she left his line of sight.
It is then that Taiyang pulls out his scroll before deciding to make a call, one that he never thought he would be making at this point in time but either way he calls the person in question's scroll number and waits patiently for the other side to answer.
"Hey Ozpin, It's Taiyang…Raven's back…"
Author's Notes
Welcome one and all, to my first proper RWBY fanfiction with the self-insert substitution this time around is the "Bird Mom" Raven Branwen herself, and boy is this going to be complicated, to say the least.
Honestly, I've been getting requests to try a RWBY-focused Waifu Catalog fanfic for some time now from both readers and Discord members alike, so I figured I'd try my hand at this one.
Now normally I wouldn't do a Plot discussion bit for the first chapter, but I do want to actually make one regarding Vernal herself, or rather what I've changed about her weapon as it will change how she will be fighting in some capacity going forward
I want to address the Spring Maiden Powers being reduced as well so look forward to that…
Vernal's Weapon - Orange Beam of Death
If one were to recall the nature of Vernal's weaponry back during the late stages of Volume 5, its design was quite unique as it was a Chakram with pistol-level firearms capabilities.
Well, it SHOULD have been, until Vernal pulled a certain Orange Laser beam out of nowhere against Weiss in canon, which while perhaps would have made sense if Vernal was the actual spring Maiden, well Vernal was NOT the Spring Maiden so the sudden Death Beam that goes insanely wide made no sense.
So I decided to take inspiration from a scene in Iron Man 2 to fix this conundrum about Vernal's weapon, ergo make the Orange beam of Death come from a specially affixed charge in the weapon that needs to not only eject the spent dust crystal but be holstered to reload that same charge.
But that brings us now to…
Raven's temporarily reduced Spring Maiden Powers
This one is mostly to do with how finicky the Waifu Catalog ended up being with trying to set up the build here, as Raven here had been Granted the Madara Uchiha Powerswap but that made her unable to count for the Four Seasons perk that would have made this a simple situation to fix.
Instead, I had to do a round-about fix to ensure that Raven still had all of her abilities and skills while also ensuring she still had her Maiden powers which is why Raven is now dealing with a temporarily weakened set of Spring Maiden Powers.
Anyway, next time on Spring of Rebirth: Raven explores her old home, Yang returns home and a Dusty Old Qrow appears.
See you all next month!
