"Come now, its been a full on year!" I heard the soft voice of the woman who had saved me. I was meditating, hovering just over the railing, facing towards the sun. I had tried over and over again to remember who I was, and couldn't remember anything. They found me out at sea, barley alive. They believed that I was a patient aboard a ship that was sunk, but no records could be found. "You're not going to get any more triggers on your memory if you just meditate, the last one you had was when you saw our daughters photo. Who knew you ran into Blake? So many questions I wanted to ask." She said with a smile as she walked over and stood next to me.
"Kali?" I said, cracking an eye open to look at her, with me seeing her looking at me with a curious and happy expression on her face. "Its hard to focus." I said as I landed on the railing and sat down. "Everything I see, I cant tell if its the past, present or future. I see fire, and a temple, someone in a mask and a red blade of light cutting everyone down. Then there is your daughter and three colors, red, yellow, and white, then my head gets cut-"
Suddenly there was a bang on the door. "I will be right back." She said as she placed her hand on my shoulder before leaving me to meditate. Closing my eyes, I tried to focus once more, then just as I begin to feel myself float once more, I was again interrupted. "See! Your friend!" I heard, with me turning to look at the one known as Blake, and some blonde monkey fannus.
"Get back!" Blake ordered her mother as she now stood in front of her with the boy, holding a handle of sorts. Getting off the railing, it ignited, with me feeling a lot of emotions coming from the red blade. "How are you alive?!" She questioned, with me crossing my arms.
'So... I take it that we were not allies?' I thought as I looked at the fear on Kali's face as she looked up at me. "I see I have caused some... hostility. I shall go." I said as I walked towards them, then past them as they stepped aside.
"Answer the question, Dakota!" She called out, with me looking at her.
"Blake, calm down!" Kali ordered as she placed a hand on her daughter's, lowering her weapon. "He has amnesia, so he cant remember who he is." She informed as I turned to face her.
"Dakota... that is my name?" I asked, with them looking at me. "That's all I need." I said as I made my way towards the entrance and left.
Later
Holding my hand out, the wooden planks floated forward and lined up to create a bridge. Next were the nails, they each found their marks and applied themselves. "That takes care of the easy part." I said as I walked across, tapping my foot on each plank as I walked. "Everything looks sturdy." I said as I turned to face the cart, where I waved them over.
They started pushing it across, slow and steady. Once they made it across, they waved goodbye and we went our separate ways. As I continued to walk, I could feel eyes in me. Everyone I past waved at me, with me doing the same. Yet the eyes lingered.
Stoping at a cafe, I ordered some tea before sitting down at the outside tables. After a bit, I watched as the blonde boy and Blake sat across from me. "So... You really don't remember anything?" The Blonde boy asked while rubbing the back of his head.
"I don't." I answered as I put my cup down. "I only have flashes here and there, but nothing major." I said as I looked down at the tea, seeing my reflection.
"You see fire, and a temple, someone in a mask and a red blade of light cutting everyone down. Then there is me and three colors, red, yellow, and white, you were about to say something else to my mother before I interrupted you." Blake said, looking up. "The fire, and temple, from what Weiss has told me, was your home when your sister slaughtered the rest of your family." She informed, with it confirming that I had no family left. "The person in the mask with the red blade of light, could either be your sister, or you." She said, confusing me.
"What do you mean?" I asked, with her looking me in the eyes.
"Your sister wore a red and black mask, and was prominent in fighting with one blade." She said as she placed the handle on the table. "You fought the same way but in a reverse grip, until she bested and cut your limbs off." She informed, with me looking at my arms and legs, unsure how I had them if they were cut off.
"Trust us, its weird seeing you with them, let alone your head... but more so that you're alive!" The blonde boy said while shivering. "You had this skull like mask placed on your head that injected needles into your face, and mind controlled you. You used a double sided blade to fight, and you were powerful at that." He informed, with Blake elbowing him.
"You took on three teams of four huntresses, and three veteran huntsmen, one of which is your adopted aunt. Fifteen in total, and it definitely could of been more and still have been even." Blake informed, with me nodding.
"So, I saw my sister killing everyone then, as the first mask description fits what I saw." I said as I closed my eyes. "My sister?" I asked, unsure if she was alive or not.
"Burned to death, betrayed by the ones who hired her." Blake informed, her ears lowering. "I know you wanted revenge against her, but she got what she deserved." She said, with me nodding my head at that.
"I cant help but feel relieved some how... that she is gone." I said as I leaned back in the chair. "And the colors?" I asked, with Blake rubbing the back of her head.
"They represented each member of my team. Red is Ruby, she usually wears a black dress with a red cape. White is Weiss, like Ruby, she wears a white dress, no cape. Then Yellow... Yellow is Yang, her long blonde hair... sorry, shes hard to talk about." Blake said, with me looking at her.
Holding my hand out, I watched as she tensed up, with me seeing flashes. I watched as Yang cut my head off, then someone cut her arm off. Pulling my hand back, Blake gasped before going into a coughing fit. "So, Yang killed me?" I said as they looked at me, where Sun was looking Blake over in concern.
"How did you... what did you do?" She asked as she held her head, looking to be about ready to pass out.
"I... searched your memories... I don't know how I did it, like I don't know how I can move stuff or even control lightning, but at times, its like I can hear a voice, or voices, and they guide me on what to do." I said as I looked down at the handle. "Its more... effective if there is a lot of emotion attached to the object or person." I said, with her grabbing it and holding it out to me.
"Then... what about this? Ice dust doesn't suddenly turn into fire dust, something you did! So, explain that." She said, with me taking it from her, with me seeing her swinging a white blade at me, only for me to catch it, and turn the blade into a red one before taking it from her, then there was a multi colored girl looking at us with a smirk and then placed her unbrella on her shoulders.
Letting go, it fell back into her hand. "Bleeding." I said, shaking my head. "Bleeding a lightsaber is a process that involves corrupting a kyber crystal with the Dark Side of the Force. This process turns the crystal red and the lightsaber crimson, which is associated with the dark side." I said, as they looked at eachother and then at me.
"Whats a kyber crystal?" Sun asked, with me raising an eyebrow at them.
"Its the crystal thats inside it." I said as I lifted it up and took it apart without touching it. Once the crystal was in front of me, I held it over my hand. "This is a kyber crystal." I said as it rotated. "Kyber crystals are the core of a lightsaber and are said to represent aspects of the Force. The color of a Kyber crystal symbolizes the user's personality and connection to the Force. Blue represents loyalty, truth, justice, and stability. Blue crystals are associated with the Jedi's commitment to justice. Green represents harmony, growth, and safety. Green crystals symbolize balance within the Force. Red represents power, anger, and hatred. Red crystals are commonly used by the Sith and signify the embrace of the Dark Side. Purple represents wisdom and nobility. Black represents a deeper connection to the malevolent aspects of the Force. White symbolizes a strong connection to the light side of the Force. Solari, or orange, is only used by Jedi who were pure in spirit." I informed, where Blake pulled out a book and placed it on the table.
"You speak of the Legends of Old, a story passed down from your family from their first appearance." She said, with me taking the book and reading through it. "Weiss... really took up researching your family, and came across several books. The Legends of Old was something that she said might be connected to your family, with everything that it talks about. Being able to move stuff with their minds, able to control lightning, even mind control, though to a certain extent." She added, with me looking up at her and then back to the book. There were bits and pieces of what I had just said, even the words Jedi and Sith were here as well, but from what I could see, it was incomplete.
"It mentions... the force?" I said as I placed it down.
"Okay... you called it force aura, is that what you mean?" Blake asked, with me raising an eyebrow at her.
"Force Aura?" I asked, with her making similar hand jesters to what I do when I want to move something. "What are you doing?" I asked, with her rubbing the back of her head while looking embarrassed.
"Well... we thought it was your semblance, but you said that it was your lightning... but I'm beginning to think that you don't have any aura." She said as she got up and walked over to me. Looking up at her, she placed her hand on my chest, closed her eyes and focused.
"What are you doing?" I asked, with her pulling her hand away.
"Just confirming something, and I was right, you don't have any Aura, so the lighting and force aura cant be semblances." She said as she sat back down.
"So, what is it then if its not aura?" Sun asked, crossing his arms and lowering his head in thought.
"Weren't you paying attention?" Blake said as she shot him a look. "He already called what his ability is, the force." She said as she looked back at me. "Your family must of knew about it, and did their best to lie about it, to make it seem like it was really aura that they were using... maybe its an evolutionary thing?" She asked herself.
"I don't think so." I said as I crossed my arms. "If I died... then how am I alive? Your mind revealed that Yang cut my head off... so how am I alive if that is the case? What happened to my body? The one that was decapitated?" I asked as I looked her in the eyes.
"As per your family's tradition, it was burned, nothing remained... Glynda, your aunt, holds your ashes in her classroom... well, thats if they are still there after the fall of beacon." She said, with me raising an eyebrow at that.
"Whats Beacon?" I asked, with her sighing.
"Its where you went to school, Glynda was a teacher there, and you were apart of a team... though we never saw them... I think you graduated and stayed behind or something? You never told us, and I was apart of Team RWBY, with Ruby as our Leader... though with us splitting up, the team has been disbanded." She said as her hears lowered.
"Team?" I said as I thought about it. I could remember smiles, but not faces, but something stuck to my mind when I did. "Team... FEDM? Freedom." I said, remembering the name. "They all died in the line of duty... a year before I met any of you." I said as I remembered each of their deaths.
"Exactly what is the first thing that you remember?" Sun asked, with us looking at him. "Like, before you got here? Theres got to be something... right?" He asked, with me thinking back.
"Some liquid, glass, voices, a demons face? I... broke out and... saw more of me, disfigured ones... then... yellow eyes looking down at me... after that, the entire place exploded, and I was on some island... the next thing I knew, I was washing up on land, where Ghira found me." I said as I tried to recall what I could.
"You don't think?" Sun said as he turned to look at Blake, who nodded her head.
"Yeah... he isn't Dakota." She said, with me raising an eyebrow at her. "You said that there were other versions of you... then it's possible that you're a clone." She said as she crossed her arms. "I never thought it would be possible... but you just confirmed that it is... The only parts of you that weren't burned were your limbs, which were cut off by your sister." She said, with me remembering the arm and leg version of myself.
"So, I was borm from Dakota's limbs?" I said as I thought about it. "It's possible, and would explain the disfigurements... but if I didn't have my limbs when I died... how do I remember what they weren't there for?" I questioned as it didn't make sense.
"Your soul might of found this body and decided it was what it wanted to live in!" Sun said, with hs looking at him.
"He... might have a point?" Blake said, more questioned than anything.
"Right... as interesting as this sounds, this is just a story, you said it yourself." I said as I passed the book back to her. "I can understand the concept of me being a clone, after what I saw and destroyed it is likely... but this is just a story." I said as I tapped the book with a finger. "I don't even know who to listen to, the voices in my head or you." I said, standing up. "I'm... not who you want me to be. He is dead." I said as I walked away, not looking back at her.
Later that night
Having left the village, having travelled through the woods, I now stood on the edge of the desert. Even in the darkness it was hot, I could feel the heat rising up from the sand. In the distance, I could feel two things. A large amount of anger, and the other was more of a pull than anything.
"Go to it." I heard, with me following the voice as it guided me. I needed to get to this location, this area. I felt the pull once before, all the way from the island, though it was weaker then. Whatever it was, it was strong with the force.
After hours of walking, I came across a small rock in the sand. It was a point, but I knew it was more than that. Sitting down, I crossed my legs and placed my hands on my knees, took a deep brearh and meditated. It felt like hours, but in reality it was only minutes. Opening my eyes, I was not sitting at the entrance of some tower. The doorway was guarded by two robbed figures thag held two blades in front of them. There were thousands of open windows, and each window had smaller statues of people meditating, much like I was.
Standing up, I narrowed my eyes and approached. Walking into the tower, I turned around and saw the sand was forming a giant wall around the tower, meaning I had no choice but to go through.
The very air around me seemed to hum with a strange energy, as if the temple itself was alive, pulsing with an ancient presence. My boots sunk into the fine sand as I trudged onward, the swirling dust gradually giving way to the rise of stone beneath his feet. The temple was not just a monument to the past; it was alive with the Force, steeped in power. I reached a large entrance, its archway obscured by the natural erosion of centuries, but it stood intact, as though waiting for me.
Stepping inside, the temperature shifted, and the air grew dense, charged with a dark resonance. The walls of the temple were etched with symbols I had never seen before, unfamiliar runes carved into the stone in intricate patterns. My connection to the Force deepened as I walked further into the depths, the walls seemingly alive with whispers, as if the temple itself was aware of my presence.
And then, as I stepped into a large chamber, it happened. Flashing of brights light hit my eyes in rapid succession. I staggered back, overwhelmed by the intensity of it all. I saw Blake, a small group of people attacking her in her own home. The scene was violent and chaotic, the Force screaming in pain as bullets filled the air. I could feel her panic, her helplessness. He saw their faces, her father, her mother, desperately defending their home.
The image shifted. A school, one that I had never seen before, was burning. Smoke filled the sky as flames engulfed the structure. A boy with a cane screamed, their cries carried on the wind. I could see the flash of colors—Red, White, Black, and Yellow. Team RWBY as Blake had mentioned, was their designated colors.
Before I could process more, a new figure appeared, a woman, tall and demonic in appearance. I had seen her once before, from the island. Her scream echoed through the chamber, filled with rage and hatred. Her glowing eyes stared directly at him, fury burning in her gaze. My heart raced as I gripped my chest. It was not real. It was a vision... a warning.
The woman's scream grew deafening, and before I could react, he saw myself igniting a blade, a flash of white light cutting through the dark. He struck down the woman in a single, decisive blow.
The vision shattered.
My breathing was heavy, and my eyes fluttered open. I stood in the darkened temple once again, my mind racing. A presence stirred in the air, as if the Force itself had drawn me here for this purpose. As if it had orchestrated the visions to guide me to something I was meant to find.
Before me, embedded in the stone, were two handles, half-buried in the dust. My fingers tingled, drawn toward them. I stepped forward, unable to resist the pull. My hand reached out, and with a gentle tug of the Force, I pulled them free.
The hilts were strange, unlike any handles I had ever seen. They were dual-handled, dark and etched with runes that matched the temple's markings. I felt the weight of them, the gravity of the moment. They were not just weapons, they wanted to be a part of him. I had been chosen.
I ignited the first one, the blade glowing with a pure white light, bordered by a deep black edge. The second hummed to life as well, its blade a stark black, outlined by a white glow, opposite yet complementary to the first.
The two blades burned with an intensity I had never felt before. They were balanced, in perfect harmony, like two halves of a whole. I could feel the power of the Force flowing through them. These sabers were not merely tools of war; they were guides, and they had led me here for a reason.
I held the twin blades before him, their unique glow casting a faint reflection on the stone walls. I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling the weight of my responsibility. The visions had been clear. Something dark was coming, something tied to the Team RWBY. A force of destruction, a force unlike any I had encountered before.
I accepted them. I accepted my destiny.
The Force had led me here to claim them, and with them, I would stand against whatever darkness threatened to consume the world. I turned, my resolve unwavering, knowing that the answers lay ahead in the shadows.
The wind had begun to pick up once more, and for a moment, I felt a sense of dread. Yet, as my mind settled into the embrace of the Force, a presence behind me snapped me out of my reverie.
I didn't need to look to know that someone was there. The Force, which had been guiding me, now screamed in warning. A flash of red light lit the dimness behind me. Without hesitation, I spun, the two blades clashing in an eruption of sparks. The dark figure before me wore a similar helmet, and from what Blake had said, this was my sister's helmet. It's visor cold and expressionless, its owner hidden from view. But the intensity of the attack was unmistakable.
The stranger pushed me back with a powerful strike, and I staggered, using the Force to steady myself before I dropped into a defensive stance. The attacker moved with practiced skill, her red blade slicing through the air in relentless arcs, each strike filled with precision and speed.
I danced backward, deflecting and countering the blows with ease. This aggression was unlike anything I had felt before. She was fast, and she was determined to land a hit, but I could feel her presence more than her strikes—her emotions, raw and focused.
I deflected her attacks, parried, and took every opportunity to best her. When she thrust forward with a vicious slash, I sidestepped, bringing my white blade down with precision. Her red lightsaber shattered in a shower of sparks, and she staggered in surprise.
I quickly moved, pressing the advantage, my twin blades poised at her back. The she paused, still, as if sensing something, perhaps realizing her defeat was imminent. She turned, slowly.
There, standing before me, was my sister, the mask gone, her eyes, once yellow, now back to her blue.
"Revan?" I questioned, my voice barely reached above a whisper.
She looked at me with a mixture of sorrow and bitter acceptance, the once-vibrant eyes of my sister now clouded with the weight of something far older and darker.
"You shouldn't have come here," she said, her voice hollow, distant, yet filled with an undercurrent of pain. "This place… this place is a prison for the soul."
I lowered my blades slightly, confusion washing over me. "What do you mean? You, you were… you were dead. I felt it... You were gone. I saw it." I said as I saw the flashes in my mind of her death.
Her head lowered, her shoulders slumping as though the weight of centuries rested upon her. "I am dead, Dakota," she said softly, her voice breaking. "But death isn't always what it seems. Not when you're drawn here, to this cursed temple."
I stepped closer, my mind racing with hundreds of thoughts, but I felt that time was not something that I had. "Cursed temple? But… it brought me here, it guided me."
Revan's lips curled into a grim smile, but her eyes were filled with unspeakable regret. "The Force brought you here, yes… but not in the way you think. This temple is a place of forbidden power, a place that feeds on the Force, twists it. And those who come here… are not who they believe they are."
My heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean? I'm not—?"
"You're not who you think you are," she interrupted, her tone sharpening with a cruel edge. "You're a clone, Dakota. A copy, created to fulfill a purpose. Your true self… is long dead. What you are now is only a shadow of the person you once were, drawn to this place by the Force, to finish a task that was always meant to be yours, not his."
I felt a chill run through me, a deep sense of loss gnawing at the edges of his consciousness. "A clone… I know-"
Before I could finish the thought, the pain me him like a sudden blow.
A cold, searing pain erupted in his back. My body was lifted off the ground by an unseen force, my breath caught in my throat. Two red blades pierced through me, their burning heat against my flesh.
I gasped, my vision swirling as I felt himself rising, powerless, lifted by the blades of some unseen attacker. The world around me blurred, the Force screaming in my ears as my strength waned.
Then, everything went black.
My eyes snapped open. I was no longer in the temple, but lying face down in the sand, my breath ragged. My eyes shot to the ground in a panic. The rock... The place where I had been meditating earlier, the one where the Force had called me.
My mind was hazy, my body numb, but something felt different now. My senses felt sharper, more alert than they had been before. And there, now rising from the stone as it opened for me, was one of the lightsabers, the black-bladed weapon.
It was no longer a vision. It was real.
The next day
Carrying a large net of fish over to the boat, I let it drop. "You make this too easy for us." A bear fannus said as they started undoing the net and letting the fish out of it.
"When I repay everyone for the kindness that they have showed me than I'll show you a trick or two." I joked as he smacked me on the back as we started collecting them, putting some of them back as they were not apart of the quarry that we needed. We didn't want to over eat the population of fish, we had to be careful on how much we got.
"Blake was looking around for you last night." He said as I finished one bucket and moved onto the next. "Said you remembered your name?" He said, with me stopping and looking at him, with the others doing the same but looking at me.
"It's... not that I remember my name, but its a name." I said as I went back to work. "Dakota, thats what she called me and its what I remember, but it doesn't feel right." I said as I moved onto another bucket. "Dakota, from what she said, died. I can't be him, but I remember the name nonetheless." I said as they started getting back to work.
Later
Walking down the market, I came to a halt when I saw something that was out of place. A member of the White Fang, wearing a mask. Normally they do, but on Menagerie land, they are forbidden from doing so. It wasnt a law, more a cultural thing than anything.
'It's not my place.' I thought to myself as I pulled the bag of fish ocer my shoulder as I continued towards my destination. Walking past them, they drew a blade and held it at my throat. I stopped as they did, with me looking at them. "I am not here to cause any commotion." I said, seeing them turn to look at me.
"You're no welcome here, Human." She said, followed by he blade extending and turning into a whip based weapon. It went to wrap around my neck, but stopped as I held my hand up, halting its actions. I pushed the weapon away and backed up from it, with her charging at me.
Moving aside, her whip hit the ground where I was. Holding my hand out to it, the whip stopped before it could hit me and flew back at her, going back into its blade form before getting up close and personal.
Her stabs were directed to the side to prevent from stabbing me. Her slashes were dodged, a simple side step here and there. Seeing as her stabs and slashes were ineffective, she started throwing in punches and kicks as well. This only got the same result.
Holding my hand out, she was stopped all together, holstered up in the air mid kick. "Lets calm down, you're making a ruckus for the people." I said, looking at everyone that was watching us, some in confusion and other in fear. Giving her a slight bow, I walked away, leaving her in the air as punishment for attacking me and causing a commotion.
Making my wayball the waybto the end of the market, I found the shop I was searching for. "Toru, Faph, I brought you the fish you requested!" I said I opened the door. "I'll meet you out back!" I said as I closed the door and made my way towards the back door.
Once there, the door opened and a woman with two horns opened the door. "Thansk again for the drop off." The woman said with a slight mispronunciation of the word Thanks.
"No problem, Faph." I said as I put the bag down in the ice cooler that she had brought with her. "Toru running the shop right now? He's usually the one to answer the door." I said, with her nodding.
"He ish dealing with one of hish favorite cushtomer right now." She said as I grabbed one end and she grabbed the other end of the cooler and we brought it inside. Once over by the fish stand, we started picking out the ones she thought would sell and what wouldn't. What wouldn't she and Toru would eat.
After getting paid, not much, I left to go home...
Well I really didnt have a home to go too...
Feeling someone wrap their arm around me soulders, they started walking me with them. "You have NO idea how hard it is to find you!" Sun said with a large grin on his face. "Blake and I have been looking all over for you! You even have her parents worried!" He said, where I looked at him with skepticism.
"Why are you here? And where are you dragging me off to?" I asked as I wasn't going to resist him. Something deep down told me not too. He was a good guy, so I would trust him.
"I told you, we were looking for you!" Sun said as he pointed off into the distance. "As for where we're going, right there!" He said as he pointed at the Belladonna estate. "Besides, we have to tell Blake about the White Fang!" He said making me sigh as we continued on our way.