It's me, ColdAsKnight, back at it again with another chapter. After my huge hiatus, I have come back to grant you the gift that is another chapter, this one almost a massive 3700 words, which is a bit of a duzy if you ask me. Read away...

Chapter 9

Sliding Back The Curtain

Rising from her bunk as the sun rose on a Saturday morning, Yang awoke from her slumber, just like any morning, except she had one thing on her mind. Revlis. The teenager had been driving her crazy over the last week. He blatantly rejected her advances, disappeared whenever she appeared to try and speak with him, and he had taken quite the interest in her little sister. No man had ever been able to play so hard to get when she was involved, yet he had outright rejected her. She had considered that maybe he swung for the other team, but she had caught him giving some of the girls around the Academy some suggestive looks.

Getting out of her bed, she noticed the rest of her team was nowhere to be seen. Looking around the room, she spotted a note laying on her Scroll. She picked it up and gave it a look, reading it aloud.

"We are doing some morning partner training in the sparring arena, while Blake went to the Library to get some more books to read. We are meeting at the Cafeteria at eight o'clock. Do try to arrive on time. Signed, Weiss." 'How formal' she rolled her eyes. "P.S. Ruby says she has invited Revlis, and he will make an appearance." That sparked Yang's interest. Maybe she could try to gain his attention again. Her head spun toward the clock, so fast her head almost snapped, and her eyes widened in shock.

"It's 7:55 right now!" she yelled, sprinting into the bathroom in a desperate attempt to get ready on time.

Revlis had been having a typical morning, practicing his skills and abilities, even venturing out into the Emerald Forest to kill some Grimm. So it came as no surprise that when he arrived back at his dorm, Ruby invited him to breakfast for the fifth day in a row. He wasn't sure if Ruby was inviting him to learn more about him or to hook him up with her sister. He didn't care much either way so he accepted, despite it being a weekend.

His bacon and eggs were not of much interest to him, compared to the situation happening in front of him. Pyrrha seemed to be dropping hints to Jaune about her very obvious crush on the teen, but the blond was too thick-skulled for them to make an impact. It didn't seem to affect Ren very much, as he merely sighed and turned back to Nora, who was recounting some fictitious story that she had once again dreamt up. Revlis had no idea how their team was even functional, let-alone even capable of team combat. It seemed to be a constant swirl of hormones driving their antics.

As for Team RWBY, they were -much to Revlis' confusion- much more docile than usual. Blake was reading one of her books, having finished her breakfast swiftly. Ruby and Weiss were still eating, with the latter carefully eating an omelet, making sure not to drop any on her clothes, while Ruby had somehow procured a plate of cookies and strawberries at eight in the morning. Both teams were wearing their combat uniforms as they planned on making a trip to Vale.

Revlis finally took a bite of his food before turning to Ruby. "Where's your sister?"

Her eyes widened, and she swallowed the cookies she had crammed into her mouth. "I told her to meet us here at 8. But she takes forever to get ready so who knows when she'll get here." She said, before cramming more cookies in her mouth.

"It could be hours before we see her. She is too obsessed with her hair." Weiss added.

Revlis nodded, understanding. His mother used to be obsessed with her hair before… the attack on his village. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. He had to look to the future, to what Fate had in store for them all.

"I'm here!" Yang yelled as she skidded to a stop next to their table. Her hair was damp and looked unkempt, while her clothes looked like they had been thrown on quickly, with her jacket unbuttoned and her boots untied.

"I see you got my message," Weiss smirked. Yang shot her a glare and sat down beside Ruby. She poked her head around to the other side of her sister, where Revlis was sitting, a smile on her face.

"Hey there, hot stuff. You got any plans for today?" Now was her time to activate her plan to get Revlis to fall for her, and that would be one more challenge completed. It would be proof that no one could resist Yang Xiao-Long, not even the silver-haired teen who bested her in combat class. He would soon be hers, as long as he didn't shoot her down.

"I do actually." Just like that. Yang's smile dropped into a frown. "I'm going to meet with some old friends of mine down in Vale."

"Well we were planning on going to Vale, so maybe we can all go with you and meet your friends?" Ruby asked.

"No, I'm sure you have things you want to do besides hang out with me and my boring friends. They're also not the most social of people, so I wouldn't want to make things awkward. Maybe another time, when they're a bit more used to the city?" Revlis scratched his head and smiled at her. He quickly pulled out his scroll and checked the time. "Besides, I have to be leaving now anyway. I promised I'd meet them at 9 o'clock." He gave another smile, before standing up and heading for the exit.

"Ok. Well, we'll see you around I guess." Ruby said defeated. She also wanted to spend more time around the teen, to get to know him better and to see his weapons.

"There, there Rubes." Yang consoled her sister. "We'll get him another time."

FLASHBACK

As he walks through a city with the rain pouring from the sky, Revlis thinks back on the last few years since the attack on his village. It was hard getting by without his family and friends, but he managed. Moving from settlement to settlement, doing whatever Fate asked of him. Kill someone here, break something there, he even helped people from time to time. He did what Fate asked because it was all he had left.

Although Fate asked tasked him with many missions, training is what took up most of his time. He'd discovered many of his newfound powers and abilities, like his increased speed and strength, and the incredibly fast healing that had saved him on many occasions. With time, he learned that instead of tanking hits, he could dodge or block, instead of revealing one of his trump cards to his opponents. Fate assured him he had many more abilities that would come with time, although he wished that they would come sooner.

Stepping out of the rain and into the village's tavern, Revlis found a table to sit at and took off his coat to dry at the fire inside. He had been staying at this particular tavern and inn in the small city of Ilm-Schael for about eight months, in which time he had only been on five missions for Fate, the rest of his time spent training, exploring, or generally just trying to entertain himself. He had made several connections with people, some of which might be described as friends. The baker, the hunter, even the Captain of the King's Guard of Ilm-Schael, not to mention several young females who had caught him in their eye. Revlis was not one for being friendly, as he had not had much use for it in the past few years, but he could understand the usefulness of his current situation, as he had formed a playful friendship with the daughter of the Captain of the King's Guard, Marianne. Her growing fondness of him allowed him to develop some feelings for her, as any teenage-boy-who-is-influenced-and-brought-back-from-the-dead-by-a-powerful-formless-entity would be, and he saw her as more than a friend.

As he ate a bowl of soup, the liquid warming him from the inside and expunging him of the cold of the rain, two muscular men entered the tavern, asking for a room for several nights. They seemed like bandits, with their dirty, worn clothes that signified long times away from civilization and the weapons at the hips only further confirming their potential history of violence of some kind. The one, a tall, pale man with black hair, purple eyes and a clean-shaven face, wielded a broadsword on his hip, and a bow and quiver slung across his back. The other, a slightly shorter, dark-skinned man with orange hair, green eyes, and a short beard, had a large war hammer strapped across his back, and two daggers attached to his thighs. They had to be very lucrative bandits with weapons like those, or perhaps they were some particularly hardy mercenaries. Nonetheless, they paid for their room and got some soup and bread, sitting only a few tables away from Revlis.

Revlis hoped that Fate didn't want him to fight them. Even though he was confident in his abilities fighting and killing civilians or lesser-nobles, he wasn't confident enough about fighting fully armed men. His most challenging battle was against a city guard who had refused him entry late at night in another city, and even then the only thing that saved him was the shock of him "resurrecting from the dead" that allowed him to stab the man. You didn't typically expect the person you just ran through with your sword to stand back up and attack you again.

Revlis decided to forget about them for the time being, as they weren't important for now. He had already had the flashes of what Fate tasked him with pass through his mind. A man by the name of Jonalka Muora had escaped death and was to die by his hand, although Revlis was unsure why as he was a very unimportant man. Despite this, he had places to be and things to do, so he slung his pack over his back and left the tavern. Walking down the stone streets of Ilm-Schael, he thought up a plan to kill Muora that night. However, in his thinking, he was not paying attention to where he was walking and walked into straight into another person. He started to fall but caught himself and the other as well. As he looked up at their face, he sighed.

"Marianne." He said as he stood back up.

"Revlis! When you said you would run into me later, I didn't think you meant so literally." Marianne said as she smiled. Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders, framing her beautiful face and brown eyes, her pale skin speckled with raindrops. "And I told you to call me Maria!"

"Well then Maria," he added extra length to her name "what are you doing out here in the rain?" He asked her. Maria was quite the pretty girl, both in looks and in personality. She almost always avoided anything that might dirty her or any labor. As the daughter of the Captain of the King's Guard, she was not expected to do any work, but instead, she lived a rather posh and luxurious life. That is until she met Revlis. She fancied him almost immediately, and unlike all the other girls of the city, Revlis indulged her in her advances and reciprocated with his own as well. It was a welcome change for her, as before, any potential suitors were often scared off by her father, but not Revlis. He was courageous and as much as she loved her father, she was sure Revlis could defeat him in battle. He had an aura about him that exuded strength and confidence, but the kind that was seated in based on experience. He wouldn't talk much about his past, but when he did he talked about his travels and the obstacles he had overcome. She was attracted to that, and his personality. His looks and his build were a definite plus as well.

"Looking for you, silly!" she giggled.

"And just why would a lady like yourself be looking for a rapscallion like myself? In weather such as this no less?"

"Well, I came to invite you to dinner with my family this evening if you are not busy that is?" she asked, a hopeful look in her eye.

"For you, I am free any time." He winked "What time should I arrive?"

"Dinner starts at 5 o'clock, but I hope you would try to arrive before then."

"I shall see what I can do. If that is all then I shall be off."

"Oh! But there is one more thing!" She said excitedly.

"Which is?" He asked, curious as to what she meant.

"You have to close your eyes first, silly!" She said. With that, he closed his eyes and awaited her surprise. He felt warm lips press against his for a brief second, but it felt like it lasted forever. When she took a step back, the cold rushed back over his face and he opened his eyes in wonder. She smiled and started to walk off down the road turning to flash another smile and shout at him "Remember Albin! 5 o'clock!".

He grinned as she walked away, thinking to himself the whole while. He and Maria had been in somewhat of a relationship for a few months, but it was rather unofficial as he had yet to ask for her parent's blessing to court and marry her. He must do it tonight, he told himself. He was in good standing with her father, helping the city guard on many occasions, and her mother was quite fond of the man who spent so much time with her daughter, being nothing but a gentleman and making her so happy. Tonight was to be the night his life would finally take a real turn for the better. He could finally have a family again, for the first time in fifteen years. But first, he had to deal with Muora, and then he could make it to the dinner with Maria and her family.

PRESENT DAY

Walking through the streets of Vale was not the fastest way to get around, but randomly appearing on another side of the city could cause him undue trouble if he was being watched, which he was fairly sure he was. He hadn't noticed anyone following him, but he had a suspicious feeling someone, or something, was. Once he was close to his destination he stepped around a corner and teleported, stepping into the bar. Aptly named The Bar, it was in a darker, seedier part of Vale that would scare off many who had lived an average or rich life. He may not have looked like the type of a regular patron, but those around the bar had quickly noted that messing with him was a quick way to find your way to the hospital because you'd been thrown through a wall or shot in the kneecaps. He sat down on a stool at the bar and ordered a drink, something strong enough that he could feel it. He was supposed to meet his friends here like usual, but they were usually the early ones. Confused, he opened his Scroll to text them. Just as he got to their names, time seemed to slow down as he sensed a threat behind him.

Quickly, he kicked the stool behind him and whipped one of his pistols out with his right hand, aiming where he could feel someone. A hand grasped the slide of the gun, pushing his aim wide and forcing their way into his guard and going for an uppercut. Twisting, he kicked off the bar itself and let go of his pistol, flipping up and over the attacker, his feet hitting the ceiling as he pushed off once again, slamming down where the attacker was with his fist. Had they been slow enough to be hit by the attack, they would have been severely damaged, but Revlis was not so lucky, His assailant, hooded and quite fast, had quick-stepped out of the way and was already attacking again, sending kick after kick and punch after punch his way. He blocked and dodged most until he had an opening. His opponent overextended on their roundhouse, leaving a small but exploitable gap for him to slip in. He stepped in, grabbing their leg and bringing his elbow down on it, stunning it for but a moment. Time enough for him to knee his opponent in the ribs, slip his knife out of his wrist holder and into their shoulder, and end it with a switch kick to their head. As he fell to the ground he grunted and his hood fell, revealing a head of orange hair.

Revlis had a quick moment to register the hair and the oh-so-familiar opening he had seen and exploited before, when another attacker seemingly appeared from nowhere, dropping from the ceiling and onto his back. He twisted as hard as he could, dislodging the man and sending him flying towards the wall, where he turned to smoke as he hit it. Another trick he had seen before, unfortunately. Revlis flash-stepped backward, quickly flipping over the table behind him to create more distance before he removed his sword from his hip, slicing the air before him. The shockwave hit his invisible opponent who had been charging him and launched them back, landing on their side next to the other assailant.

Had this been any other day, Revlis would have surely killed them both, but today was not such. Sheathing his weapon, he grabbed his fallen pistol and both of his attackers and teleported to an abandoned warehouse several blocks away. He tossed the orange haired one into the ceiling, fifty-feet above, and kicked the other one into a support beam, bending the steel upon impact. They both fell back to the ground, each with their own loud 'thud!' as their bodies impacted the concrete.

FLASHBACK

Muora hadn't been hard to find, but he hadn't been easy either. He wasn't such an important person that he would be easy to find, but perhaps that was for the best. Those kinds of people were often very well guarded or could defend themselves well. And while he was confident in his ability and his powers, some of his previous targets hadn't been pushovers either. No, Jonalka Muora was quite plain and unimportant which made him hard to find. Known by few in the city, he was a simple labourer, bouncing from job to job and place to place, and he hadn't been in the city for very long either, only a few short months. Despite this, after a few hours of searching, Revlis had tracked him down and found where he was living out of. A small squat shack outside the walls of the city, but not past the boundaries of the other buildings itself. Not exactly luxurious, but what could one expect from such an unimportant person?

He crept up to the window, glancing inside. A man sat at a chair by the fireplace, with his back to the window and seemingly unmoving. Revlis crept over to the door, glancing around quickly before opening it slowly and stepping inside. Quietly stepping across the floor, he made his way over to the chair and slowly unsheathed his dagger. The space was too small for his sword, and he didn't expect much of a fight, if not none at all if he kept quiet enough. He was still working on his stealth, but he liked to think he had gotten quite good. Once he was directly upon the chair that his target was sitting in, he raised his dagger in the air, preparing for a killing blow. The blade shone in the light from the fire before it plunged directly where the man's heart was.

Or rather, where the man's heart should have been had he had one. Upon feeling little resistance, Revlis stepped around the chair. The man in question had a large hole through his chest where his heart should have been.

His target had already been killed!? By who!? Thoughts and confusion flooded his mind, as he couldn't fathom how this could have happened. The body was fresh, as the blood was still dripping, and as he felt the man's skin he felt a bit of warm still. Whoever had done this had done it recently, and by recently he meant within the hour recently.

"So you're the new one, eh?" A voice called from the shadows. He spun around looking for a being in the darkness. Spotting nothing, he took a defensive stance. Before he could react to a noise behind him, a blade was shoved through his chest, staining his shirt with blood and tearing the fabric as the steel flashed through.

Before he closed his eyes to regenerate, he heard the voice once more.

"Guess you got a lot to learn, Kid."

PRESENT DAY

"Fuckers," he said, spitting blood out of his mouth and onto the dusty concrete floor "This is getting old. Like come on, it's been thousands of years and you still insist on pulling this shit? Can't you learn to say 'Hi' like a reasonable person?!"

"Oh Kid, you know we ain't normal." The orange-haired one stood up, seeming to levitate from his position on the floor to his standing position.

"It's just what we do." The black-haired one said as he too stood up. "Plus, we have a lot to talk about. Fate has got some big plans for us."

And there it is! An early Christmas/Holiday/whatever-the-hell-you-celebrate-or-not present for you all. I hope you enjoy it. So for the next few chapters, I will try to be more consistent with my uploads, depending on how life and my next bout of classes go.

Now, who are these two and why do they know Revlis and Fate? Will we ever find out how Revlis knows Jaune? What are these so-called big plans that Fate has? Find out next time on the Esoteric Immortal Huntsman!

So until next time, this is ColdAsKnight signing off!