This one was a long time writing, but it was a super interesting challenge and twist on what could have happened instead during the fall of Beacon.

This idea and story were commissioned by beacontacticsmod! Thank you so much for the support, and for the opportunity to write such an amazing story! I hope you'll enjoy!

If you like my work, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.

Shattered Destiny

Prologue. The Prophecy

Yang didn't know what was happening.

One moment, she'd been walking through Beacon's courtyard, following the cobblestone path under the guide of the silver moonlight. She couldn't remember why she was there, nor could she remember how she'd gotten there in the first place. She just had this... feeling that she needed to go somewhere, that she needed to keep walking.

So she did.

Until a gray mist began to surround her on all sides, rolling in as though the clouds had sunken down from the sky to clog the world below.

There was an ounce of fear in her heart. She longed to turn back.

But she didn't have control of her own body. She just kept walking, chin held high, as though she'd done this a million times before, and she had to do it again.

She didn't know what it was. But something was calling her.

At first, it was without sound. It was more of a conviction, drawing her in, guiding her through the dark mist without promise that she'd ever get out again.

And then, it was calling her in a literal sense.

"Yang..."

The voice was thin and wispy, as though the fog itself were speaking to her. The only thing that made her certain she'd heard it at all was the fact it was echoing around inside her skull, reverberating inside her body, causing her to tremble.

This seemed so familiar. And yet, she couldn't recall ever having done it before.

But her footsteps continued to bring her forward. There was no turning back.

"Yang..."

She followed the whispers of the fog, until she could recognize it as a voice. It became clearer, louder, more certain.

"Yang."

Inadvertently, she quickened her pace, her body moving on its own as though this unseen force was demanding it of her. She started running, like a slave being called to her master, desperate and under command to get there no matter the cost.

She ran hard, until she was panting, until a stifling heat had wrapped around her.

Up ahead, she spotted a shadow in the gray mist. As she approached, the shadow became a figure, and the figure soon took shape.

Dark robes outlined in crimson like blood.

Long, sharp black hair that jutted out like a bird's feathers.

Piercing red eyes that sent a familiar chill up her spine.

Yang skidded to a halt before her mother, one last wordless breath falling from her lips as she did so.

The woman looked her over with cold, calculating eyes – not the warm affection or even sadness of a mother who had left her child so many long years ago.

She wasn't here to apologize or to pull Yang into her arms. She was here to present her with a task.

"Yang. I'm so glad you could make it. We have a lot to talk about..."

Her expression was unreadable. Not even a trace of a smile could be found on her lips.

Again, Yang got the overwhelming sense that she'd been here before, but she just couldn't remember when or how or why. She put a good distance between herself and her mother, jaw still hanging slightly slack before she managed to compose herself.

"What... What are you doing here...?"

Her voice was strange, half a whimper and half a snarl. How dare Raven show her face to Yang now? After so many years...

But Yang was obliged by something intangible to linger, to stay put there until she'd heard all she needed to hear, and seen all she needed to see.

Raven took a single step forward, clearing a section of the mist away as she did so.

"I'm glad you asked. But we don't have much time. I can't explain it. I'll simply have to show you."

Yang stood her ground as her mother advanced.

"Show me? What do you-"

But she was cut off when a sudden pang ran through her head. It was so sharp and painful she was on her knees in seconds, clutching her skull tightly with both hands as she cried out.

Intrusive images began pouring into her mind, things she'd never seen or thought of before on her own. Pictures were being forcefully inserted into her brain, pictures she'd never be able to un-see.

At first, it started with Yang herself, just standing there. Shapes and colors swirled all around her in a dizzying pattern of flashes and motion, until they began to take shape. She saw her teammates, her friends, her family...

But the first thing she felt was a searing pain.

There was a physical ache in her stomach, and it felt as though someone had kicked her. There was a blow to her face, then to her back. In her mind, she was being beaten severely by some unseen force, the pain surging constantly throughout her body.

And then, it wasn't external any longer.

It was simply a tightening inside her stomach, like thick, thorny vines constricting her intestines, puncturing her in a million different places, from the inside out.

She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She was helpless.

By the time those images had faded, Yang was sobbing, and could barely breathe.

But it wasn't over.

In her mind, the torment continued.

Weiss was screaming out in agony. Fire surrounded her, staining her dress and skin coal-black. Then, creatures of Grimm burst through the flames and pounced on her. She vanished beneath a barrage of white teeth, black fur, and red fire.

Yang couldn't move to help her.

Nor could she help Blake when she saw her fighting a man. A man Yang knew right away.

She could only watch helplessly as her partner ran in terror, but he was faster. He caught her by the hair, dragged her back, and impaled her on his blade. Blake screamed as he twisted the sword inside her, then let her drop silently and bleed.

Then it was Ruby.

A figure was standing there, one Yang couldn't discern. Sharp, pointed arrows were aimed at her little sister's chest.

Yang tried to cry out, but no sound came.

One by one, the arrows were shot into her baby sister's body, until Ruby collapsed and didn't move again.

Yang couldn't take this any more. She needed to do something. She couldn't just sit and watch anymore. She needed to know what was going on.

But her mother provided no such answers, nor any ounce of comfort. She just gave her another vision.

By this point, Yang couldn't bear to see anything else, to feel any more of this harrowing anguish and helplessness.

But then she saw another girl, one she'd always admired, one she'd always been close to.

Pyrrha was the first person in those images who seemed to see Yang in return. She smiled and put up a hand to wave to her. Her lips moved as she said something that Yang never heard.

And then she was gone.

A cruel, red light consumed her, until there was nothing left but dust.

Only then did the images fade.

Yang screamed, her breath hitching as she finally came back to whatever reality this was. Sobbing and trembling, she turned fiery eyes upon her mother, terrified and furious all at once.

"What..." she cried. "What is this? Why are you showing me this?!"

Raven was unfazed by her daughter's poignant agony. She simply looked down on her with the same unreadable expression.

"Because," she said. "You are going to change it all. Or at least... I hope you will."

Her words were nothing short of prophetic. As they echoed on the air, Raven turned away, the materials of her cape flapping just inches away from Yang's face.

"Wait!" She reached out and tried to grab the clothing, but her fingers fazed right through. Yang cried out again, but her mother didn't turn back.

The mists pulled in, concealing her, and she was gone.

Yang groveled there on her knees, sniffling and crying as her mother left her once again.

The awful images she'd just been shown started to fade along with her conscious, though something told her they'd be back with a horrible vengeance.

But for now, she was allowed to forget them.

She fell forward, eyes closed, and everything became black and still.

A/N: I'll bet this sort of fic has been done before, but I promise you, not like what BT and I have planned.

If you like my work, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!

Please review!