A/N: Remnant... it's calling to you. Just let it in.

By the way, this is going to be the last chapter of this for the year. Sorry, no Life Day/Christmas update. I have to work on other projects I neglected. We start the following morning.

Vale City—Residential District—07:43

"Well," Artemis said as he looked over the map of Beacon Academy that they had downloaded on their Scroll. After convincing a landlady (by Jedi Mind Tricking her) to lease them an apartment and an English-to-Aurebesh translation that took almost a full day, he and his fellow Padawan Jadecal looked over the staff list: Glynda Goodwitch, Ozpin, Peter Port. They were all known by several Jedi, and advised by their Masters to not underestimate them at any costs. "This may be a lot more complicated than we thought after meeting Ruby. With the Spirit of Roses back and the Sith in play, we don't really have much time. We need to investigate the Huntsmen Academy."

"Huntsmen," Jadecal breathed as she meditated, a green Dust crystal floating in front of her. "They really can use the Force for both offense and defense, are trained in combat, but are neither Jedi nor Sith as they spend so much time fighting creatures of the Dark Side, but are wild by our terms. They're Gray Jedi Mandalorians sent to battle dark forces."

"The Grimm," Artemis recalled. "The people of Remnant barely have a foothold on this planet so they are not spaceflight-capable. But how did humanity get here, and how did they survive for so long, even if they had the Force?"

"I heard that it was Dust from Master Citarhi," Jadecal said as the crystal lowered into her hands. "I sense that the Force is strong within these crystals, and can be manifested into incredible power. Using this and the Force channeling through this material, they were able to secure themselves within their four kingdoms."

"Ah," Artemis nodded. "So that explains the white haired girl's power. We barely know a lot of what is going on in this world."

"So we're twisting my school approach, kid?" Mont said as she walked into the room the two Padawans had chosen as their base of operation. "I'm however, a little too old to get into Beacon. Though I'd bet I'd look great in a school uniform."

"Oh, Captain Mont," Jadecal greeted. "I didn't know you were going to come so soon. Where's the rest of Havoc Squad?"

"Commander's debriefing our new arrivals while I hang with you kids," Mont greeted, ruffling Jadecal's hair. While Jadecal fixed her hair, Mont continued, "After that fight downtown, Commander Steele had Lieutenant Iris do a background check on the eight Huntsmen that helped you guys yesterday. We're still working on one for Team CFVY, though. Luckily for all of us, she's good at decoding different languages. Her SIS training really served her well. Wanna hear what we got so far?"

"Yes, please," Artemis agreed.

"Gladly," Mont grinned, placing a datapad on the table. She pressed a button, and revealed several translated files on Team RWBY and Team JNPR. "So, Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks really are half-sisters, and the daughters of Taiyang Xiao Long, better known as the 'Sun Dragon'. The guy tore through the Jedi Temple on Tython years ago with only a bow, several arrows, and punching all the things, if the reports are accurate. And their uncle, the Void Crow, won the Mandalorians' Great Hunt twenty years ago with the Spirit's help. So, yeah, their family is already a threat if we tick them off, not counting Red's super speed and Goldilocks' ability to take damage and add it to her own strength, usually with a red hot aura. I've heard 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger', but that's ridiculous."

"Huntsmen really do use their emotions in combat," Jadecal said. "Hopefully not a double-edged sword for them."

"So their mothers are the Spirit of Roses and the Raven of Nevermore, respectively, but their father is the only Huntsman from twenty years ago who is currently unaccounted for," Artemis mused, looking towards Beacon. "What about the other two members of their team and the other young Huntsmen?"

"Well," Mont said, flipping to a page on Blake, "the bad news about the Beauty of Beasts is that not even Iris could figure out where she came from or who she is. We've tried finding intel about Blake Belladonna, and nothing stands out except for the fact that she lacks the formal combat training that most students have prior to attending Beacon Academy. She didn't come from a combat school before this, so she must be really qualified."

"I sensed something strange about her before her reveal as some type of human-Cathar hybrid," Jadecal said. "If she's not formally trained, then who taught her how to use the Force to make illusions like that?"

"Who knows?" Mont shrugged. "All that matters is she's a wild card. You said she is a Faunus, too, so I guess that shot my 'Faunus are cute long-eared humanoids' theory. They're part human, part animal. Now, for Lady Thunder and Lotus Assassin—Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, last name first for the boy—turns out they are childhood friends that live in a small mountain region away from the main part of Vale called Wushi, and the boy has been trained in a similar style to that of the Sun Dragon. Nothing else really big on them, but Valkyrie will only really listen to Lie and their team's leader, the Blonde Knight, real name Jaune Arc."

"He was the one who defeated Rumwash, yesterday, with that sword," Artemis recalled. "I honestly thought that most steel sword-and-shield tactics fell out of practice eons and barely any non-primitive species apart from Wookiees, Gungans, and Ewoks use them. In fact, if you see a sword, it's usually a lightsaber in the hands of a Jedi or Sith or a vibroblade or techblade. Even the other bladed weapons had some kind of technological advancement. Yet, Jaune managed to briefly hold his own and WIN a fight against a Force-user with an outdated weapon that—somehow—damaged Rumwash's connection to the Force. I know we should control our emotions, but... I fear what that blade is capable of."

Mont shrugged, "Yeah, glad I was just a smuggler who the Republic decided to recruit and shipped off to Havoc to get people where they need to go, because that was way above my head." She then turned to the Jedi, and continued, "Jaune… I don't really know much about him, but apparently, he comes from quite the bloodline of heroes, all of whom have that Force-Slaying blade as I dubbed it, and he has seven sisters. Huge family aside, his mother's first name… you guys ever hear of Aurelia?"

"Aurelia?" Artemis asked. "…No, it's not likely… is it? Grand Master Shan would have mentioned it if she thought she was alive…"

"Perhaps she doesn't know, yet," Mont said. "Or it's not her. But the real star of Team JNPR has to be the Amazon they have. Pyrrha Nikos, a young champion from Mistral—another kingdom on this planet. Why more than one central government, I have no idea, but it makes any real annexation plans far more difficult. Anyway, Nikos hasn't lost an official tournament match in her life, and she's a celebrity. My opinion, she'd totally be Jedi material if she wasn't determined to try to live a 'normal' life as a Huntress, the school seems to have a keen interest in her... and she didn't have an obvious crush on the Blonde Knight where your group practices celibacy."

"She and Ruby showed remarkable skill facing Rumwash," Jadecal said. "Both could have defeated him or at least stood on even ground without his army attacking them. However, you failed to mention the Dust-using girl with white hair… Weiss Schnee."

"Oh, Miss Snow White is where Commander Steele's lead is," the captain smirked. "She's got a juicy past that the Commander couldn't ignore. Or rather, her father and his company she's set to inherit."

"Huh?" Jadecal asked. "Is she in danger of falling to the Dark Side?"

"Not sure about your Jedi lingo, but her father's company has been doing some questionable things. And we have reason to believe he knows about the Republic and the Sith more than most people on this planet do. According to the Commander, that makes him both a potential asset and a threat."

"Then we should monitor Weiss Schnee's father as well as Ruby Rose, her mother, and Jaune Arc," Artemis concluded.

"And our Amazon," Mont reminded. "She's powerful, and if I may be so bold, a gifted Force-user. Crumma may only want to enslave one redhead out of spite to the Spirit of Roses, but if he discovers the existence of another skilled redhead girl, he will take note and make her an apprentice, as well."

"If not for the threat of war, I would suggest recruiting them both," Jadecal mused. "Still, our Masters have requested we just stick to monitoring the Huntsmen students. We will act when the time comes."

"In the meantime," Mont said, "I have to give you two your school supplies." Both Jedi looked at each other before having two Beacon uniforms plop onto their laps.

"What are these robes?" Jadecal asked. "No offense, but the skirt's a little short..."

"Yeah, apparently, every Huntsmen Academy except for those in the desert region of Vacuo have this dress code during school classes. That's the girl's Beacon uniform... in your size, no less."

"Dare I ask where did you get these?" Artemis asked.

"Do you want to know the answer to that question or do you want me to get you on Beacon Academy's soil and not be immediately stabbed by Huntsmen?"

Frost Rune―Skies Above Vale Ocean―11:34

"Thanks again for the lift, Miss Schnee," a blonde man said as he looked outside the airship window from the bridge. "Would have taken me a few days to get back otherwise." The white haired young woman flying the ship put it on autopilot, looked around, making sure the soldiers, human and robot, were not there, and smiled.

"Not a problem, Mr. Xiao Long," she said. "After all, you and I said we were going the same way for our respective missions. Our relatives also just so happen to be partners, after all. Why not visit them together?"

"Yeah, small world," Taiyang Xiao Long chuckled. "Who would have thought that my Little Wolf Ruby would be partnering up for four years with the younger of the Schnee sisters?"

"Apparently, fate," Winter Schnee answered. "I'm willing to bet that Weiss was extremely angry that not only did she fail to get the partner she desired on her team, but lost her desired leadership position to a fifteen-year old. No offense."

"None taken," Taiyang said. "While I'm a combat teacher, I usually let others―mainly my old teammates―do the heavy thinking for me, while I sat people down, talked to them about their issues, punched people who deserved it in the face, or make very subtle death threats to the boys who stared at Yang's chest or butt for more than five seconds or those who tried anything on Ruby."

"Overprotective," Winter observed. "You know, my father is somewhat like that, too... except he hasn't exactly been an ideal father to me or Weiss. He has tried to control our destinies since we were children, trying to compete us against each other. It got worse when the White Fang began to be a problem. He's never approved of us being Huntresses like you do to your girls. If I would take a guess, Father sees us more of as trying to have a legacy and entice rich, powerful allies to get us to marry their sons. I'm glad Weiss has decided to leave Atlas and Father behind. Part of the reason I'm in the military and a Huntress was to grow out of his influence."

"I'm sorry to hear that you two have problems," Taiyang frowned. "My girls may think I'm overprotective... and they're right. It's just after their respective mothers, I can't help but be worried. But I at least show my love for them." Holding up his Scroll that displayed a white holocron, "Too bad I have to talk to James and—for some reason—President Schnee keeps ignoring my calls. He and I have a lot to talk about parenting among other things."

"You said you knew the specifics about the attack on Vale and how it involved both of these foreign powers," Winter recalled. "And you need that artifact. What do you know about them, if I may ask?"

"Normally," Taiyang confessed, "I wouldn't talk about it apart from close company, but with it affecting your sister and you being James' apprentice, I feel like you should probably know what's going on. Qrow's going to be pissed, though, but it's my choice." With a sigh, he began, "This all started twenty-four years ago, about... six weeks before I came to Beacon for my Huntsman training. I had just left my home village outside of Vale called 'Wushi', having completed my basic training, when a literal starship crashed not far from the trail. I fought off a ton of Grimm, broke into the ship, and hauled out the only two survivors of the crash... one was this old smuggler guy that turned out to be really cool, and the second was a cute redheaded girl with pretty silver eyes. I didn't know it at the time, but I had just met my second wife. Not that my first wasn't amazing, either. I wish I knew what I did wrong, though, to make Raven leave... and I should have gone to protect Summer." Taiyang let a few tears slip, but gently wiped them off.

"Sounds tragic but romantic at the same time," Winter commented, leaning in. "Please, Mr. Xiao Long, do keep going. It'll help"

Forever Fall—16:10

While Mont's trio were planning and Taiyang and Winter were talking, another plan was in motion. A red and white Republic starship landed in a clear spot in the forest. Masters Kombu and Citarhi, alongside Steele, walked through the forest towards the ship. The ship opened up, and out of it emerged a human woman who looked pretty good for someone in her mid-late sixties with light brown hair, blue eyes and fair skin, wearing a blue sleeveless tunic over beneath a long brown cloak and brown pants, a lightsaber at her belt. She was followed by five more people and a gold protocal droid.

The first was a Twi'lek that was clearly male with blue skin and white robes and a lightsaber at his side. He had a sour look on his face as he looked at the planet, almost as if he sensed the darkness of the Grimm all over the world.

The second was human man in his mid sixties with curly black hair that was graying, blue eyes, a slight beard, wearing an orange flak jacket, brown pants, with a pair of pistols at his hips, and a small pole on his back that had two prongs on the side and several buttons.

The third wasn't really a person at all, but a giant creature covered in brown fur, with a large sword and what appeared to be some kind of high-tech crossbow strapped to its back, and a giant brown belt with several explosives and an odd metallic skull crest pinned to it. Yep, it was a Wookiee.

The fourth was another non-human, a two meter tall Ithorian with green skin, blue eyes, and wearing simple brown clothing. The protocol droid was sticking closest to him.

As for the last person, it was Lieutenant Duncan Lyonvas, having been cleared for active duty. The lieutenant took a look at the Havoc CO, and stood at attention.

"At ease, lieutenant," Steele said, allowing the man to relax. "Going from watching pirate activity and monitoring a dwarf galaxy for signs of contact beyond it to escorting ambassadors on a diplomatic mission. Can't tell if that's a promotion or demotion, Lieutenant."

"I don't know either, sir," Lyonvas said. "I guess after securing the safety of Chancellor Bi, General Blu Gil thought I'd be better off on the front lines but still serving as a bodyguard for Ambassador Grengit. Don't mind too much... I'm not exactly Special Forces like you and Havoc. Just a grunt with a blaster and an implant that allows me to slice into networks and better targeting."

"You sell yourself too short, LT," Steele said. "No offense to the Mon Calamari, but the General is wasting you on guard duty."

"He and a lot of people also felt that I was too close to Chancellor Bi after Rishi," Lyonvas added. "Command is worried that a soldier serving as the Chancellor's immediate bodyguard makes her look vulnerable."

"Now that makes sense," Steele chuckled. "She is easy on the eyes and is incredibly nice for someone in her position in the middle of a war, but she bellies a firm belief that the Republic stands far stronger united together. She's the first Supreme Chancellor in almost twenty years who DOESN'T want this war to end in the absolute destruction of the Empire, but knows the Emperor is probably the only reason this still continues. She's only hard on crime because the Hutt Cartel keeps harassing Republic territory. She's an idealist, and probably won't last longer than her first term, but we could probably use a breath of fresh air in a while."

"[Indeed,]" Ambassador Grengit said while walking over. "[A change of scenery is nice. Don't you think so, G7-1T?]"

"Of course, Master," the droid nodded. "I hope the people of Remnant are quite well mannered. Although I can't help but wonder why we landed in this Maker-forsaken forest instead of a proper spaceport?"

"Sorry, Gee-seven," the old human male chuckled. "No spaceports detected on our approach, and landing a starship in the middle of a city after a Sith attack, especially with all of those guns above the city? Bad move. It's okay, though, the scenic route looks nice this evening."

"Admiral!" G7-1T protested. "You have no idea where the city is nor what creatures lurk here! Besides, you have a duty to guarantee the safety of the Ambassador!"

"I'd say eight klicks southwest between this LZ and the city limits," Steele answered. "Far enough that nobody would've seen you landing this late, but close enough to the city that you'll get there before daybreak. And don't worry about the beasties... blasters and lightsabers seem to have better effect on the monsters than this world's Dust." To prove his point, he turned around, and shot an approaching Ursa a few times, burning holes in its body. The creature dissolved while the rest of the group watched in awe. "Two confirmed kills on those ursae species, eighteen on a biped canine species, twelve of a swine species. And that's just me. Jedi got a bunch more, and they started retreating towards the deeper parts. I think they've cut their losses, tonight. If not, between the lot of us, the Ambassador's in safe hands."

Meanwhile, the Jedi were getting reacquainted. "Grand Master Shan," Kombu greeted, "When you called saying you were on route to Remnant, I wasn't expecting you to come so soon."

"I had to, Kombu," the woman, Yale Shan, explained. "This is the daughter of Ashura's apprentice we've been discussing. If the daughter of Natsumi Himura is really a threat, I should personally oversee this mission to stop the threat. And if she's not, well, I wish to at least introduce myself to her and answer her questions about her destiny. I owe her that much, seeing as this began with my trip to Voss. Also, Master Tillicru wished to see this as well."

"And Admiral Oriole Onasi?" Citarhi asked. "Why are you and Mallawarr here? Not that any of us mind having a Wookiee on board."

"[Like the Grand Master said, this is Natsumi's daughter we are discussing,]" the Wookiee reasoned. "[My father was Huntmaster when she and her friends tore up the galaxy on the Great Hunt, taking on worthy foes. I should also at least meet her.]"

"Oh, you're curious," the Cathar realized. "I know Natsumi was really skilled in bounty hunting of all things, but… Ruby Rose may be different from her."

"So that's the child's name?" the Twi'lek nodded. "I'm surprised that Natsumi had children at all, knowing what the child could possibly do. She could be the end of the Light, or the End of the Dark. That would cause the foretold Chosen One to bring balance to the Force... but we do not know if it could be for better or worse. Even though the Sith would want the Jedi destroyed and wish to use the girl to do just that, why would one deliberately endanger the Force when it gives them their power?"

"No idea," the admiral, Oriole Onasi, shrugged. "Glad I wasn't born Force sensitive, though." Looking at the Wookiee, he asked, "What about you, Mallawarr?"

Mallawarr shrugged, "[My kind has been able to survive without the Force. You have been skilled without it, Admiral.]"

"Good point," Oriole smirked, "we non-Force-users get by easy enough."

"Admiral Onasi," Yale asked, "why did you come if you weren't curious about this?" Oriole looked away from the Jedi Grandmaster, and sighed. "…It's about your daughter, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Oriole confessed. "I mean, she is technically your niece as well, and she was pretty strong in the Force like you, but she had her problems. Sure, she was a good pilot—I taught her that. However, she was only sixteen when I saw her last, and her ship was in the Rishi Maze before being shot down by that pirate gang… I can't help but wonder what's happened to her. If she's still even alive… she's my daughter, after all."

"I understand," Yale nodded. "My elder sister and you loved her very much, and my brother never met her… the strange thing is that despite the unimaginable amount of Dark Side energy I feel because of the creatures here, I sense her on this planet. Though her connection to the Force is… stronger than it was before."

"[The Force has a high connection here?]" Mallawarr asked.

"Yes… this whole planet's connection to the Force is strong. Almost too strong. It's like the planet has a Force wound that has never healed, creating the darkness, but the Light Side energy on this planet still shines, almost like a beacon of hope."

"But the light is barely stable enough, here, and the darkness clouds much of the core of this planet," the Twi'lek said. "Perhaps the extreme amount of darkness is what that Jedi Master sensed before she wished to destroy this planet, and in the end, make her lose her way."

"Uh-huh," Oriole said. "I'm not even going to pretend I understood HALF of that Jedi talk. Only that we all can agree that she was crazy enough to commit genocide on people who don't even have space-flight or the Republic existed, yet. But what is important is that we can still find my daughter and she's alive? Well, that's good to know that I have a chance before I retire to see her."

"Anyway, our report so far," Citarhi said.

"One second, General Citarhi," Lyonvas said, tapping his implant. Two holograms appeared next to each other... one was a male Mon Calamari wearing a Republic general's uniform, and the other was Chancellor Asasha Bi. Oriole, Lyonvas, and Steele all saluted. "General, Supreme Chancellor."

"At ease, gentlemen," the Mon Calamari said. "Take it you're all on Remnant?"

"Yes sir, no casualties so far," Lyonvas said, returning to his more relaxed position.

"Glad to know everybody's okay," Asasha said. "So, bring me and General Blu Gil up to speed on the situation, please, and leave nothing important out."

"Can do, Lady Chancellor," Citarhi nodded. "We've made contact with the Daughter of the Spirit of Roses, and she is surprisingly nice, almost too trusting. Natsumi is still going by her new identity, Summer Rose, and her daughter is named Ruby Rose… alliterative, almost cute in a way. I guess it was a nod to our old friend on Korriban. She's here in a city kingdom called 'Vale'."

"Here I was thinking we'd have to commit a planet-wide manhunt," the Mon Calamari said. "I guess that 'spread out and sweep' order wasn't necessary."

"To be fair, old friend," Kombu said, "it took us some time to have Specialist Ciara Iris translate the reports in Mistral to Aurebesh from this 'Remnant English', otherwise, we would have found her sooner. Sergeant Ulgo and Lieutenant Iris are still figuring out how Dust works and if we could properly use it, heading to Atlas, otherwise they would be here."

"And Captain Mont is with the Padawans working on accessing the target's location," Steele added.

Citarhi continued, "Anyway, Ruby and her team of Huntresses, alongside four other young Huntsmen, managed to defeat a rogue Sith apprentice and forces. This attack was on top of another recent attack caused by a radical group of terrorists called 'the White Fang', made of predominantly a local alien species called 'Faunus'. Not all Faunus agreed with this group, however, but public opinion of them is at a low. Ruby's team and their companions that assisted us defeating the Sith are currently at a facility called 'Beacon Academy'."

"Beacon?" Oriole asked.

"It is a school that trains Huntsmen and Huntresses," Kombu explained. "Think of it like the Jedi Temples and Enclaves."

"They have fully equipped training facilities?" Blu Gil asked. "Eight of them nearly destroyed the Empire, outfought whole units of the Republic, and actually beat Sith and Jedi strike teams. If these people decided to ever invade us, I wouldn't know how we'd defeat them apart from sheer numbers, since they don't share styles, especially not Sith styles."

"Fear not, as this planet is far from advancing to spaceflight," Citarhi assured him. "The civilizations here have problems with Grimm—beings of pure Dark Side energy we defeated on our way here. They've made efforts to expand their civilizations, but their efforts have been mostly in vain. It's a tragedy, but until they secure themselves from the Grimm even further, they will not expand into the galaxy for about a few generations at least without outside help."

"We should probably offer to help them," Yale suggested. "We should have one of our teams we brought here to make an offer of assistance. This should limit the potential hostilities."

"[Good suggestion, Master Jedi,]" Grengit smiled. "[I sense this planet could use the Mother Jungle's merciful touch.]"

"We should get started right away!" Asasha agreed.

"Everybody, as kind as it is of the Jedi and you two diplomats are to offer aid on the Republic's behalf," Oriole pointed out, "I'm not one-hundred percent sure that's an entirely good idea. For starters, if this city of Vale just survived a Sith attack and a week prior was subject to a terrorist attack by a group of non-humans, they're not going to be openly trusting of Force-users or non-humans in general―no offense to the aliens present."

"[Some taken,]" Mallawarr said in a humorous grunt.

"Second, we'd have to make an outrageous claim like we'd be able to wipe out the entirety of the Grimm, and it's unfair to use that as a bribe to get Remnant in the Republic. Finally, it would take realistically decades to properly uplift their planet to join the galactic community. We can't just force this issue."

Asasha looked disappointed with a cute pout, but relented, "Fair enough… I want to help this planet be safe from Crumma, at least."

"[Can we at least start attempting negotiations?]" Grengit asked.

"I wouldn't be adverse to it," Oriole said, "but this is pretty much still first contact, so be wary. They're going to treat you with a lot of distrust, Ambassador."

"Anyway, you will not believe who teaches at Beacon," Kombu interjected. "Plus who we ran into besides Natsumi."

"Franklin Ozpin the Emerald Wizard and Qrow Branwen the Void Crow," Yale concluded. Oriole chuckled at Ozpin's first name. "They are both powerful Huntsmen, and I sense them. Which means they sense me. This situation needs to be approached with more caution than I thought it would need to be."

"I would hope so," a female voice spoke up.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The ground shook as a massive Deathstalker's upper body fell several yards away from them, having been diced in half. The body then began dissolving away. The group looked to see Raven sitting in a tree, looking at her Nevermore mask.

"Because I'd hate to see what my brother or my husband would do to you if you and your Padawans tried to go after my daughter or Summer's. The Imperials alone have caused us a great deal of trouble. Summer and I have been nothing short of busy exterminating baited Grimm for the past two days for the first time in years. A militaristic tour de force would have made things worse and lowered my already poor opinion of the Republic."

"The Raven of Nevermore," the Twi'lek scowled.

"Yes, me," Raven replied. "Now, how about we—"

SHING. CLICK-CLICK.

"Never mind," the samurai finished, looking at Tillicru's blue lightsaber. Oriole and Steele stood in front of the Ithorian, aiming their weapons at Raven, while G7-1T put his hands in front of his face to minimize the possibility of being slashed there. Mallawarr pulled his crossbow, and aimed it at the samurai.

Tillicru demanded, "Lower your weapon, and surrender to the judgment of the Jedi Council now, Nevermore, and answer for your crimes against the Republic!"

"I don't think so," Raven said. "I have business to attend to. Besides, you didn't say 'please', Tilly." Tillicru leapt up, kicking off several trees.

"Tillicru, wait!" Kombu yelled up to the Twi'lek, but he was ignored.

When Tillicru reached the level Raven was up, he charged at her with a mixture of Force Speed and Force Jump, and sliced the branch Raven was on, but Raven had already vanished into a portal before his blade cut her in two. She appeared in the branches of a taller tree, a yellow Dust blade drawn and her mask on.

The samurai asked, "Oh come on, one teasing of your name, and you're already trying to kill me?" Tillicru lunged at her, but Raven clashed her katana with his lightsaber, the blade sparking with electricity. "Three words: sense of humor. Get one." The two began swinging their swords rather quickly, occasionally jumping between portals or jumping from tree-to-tree to catch up between clashes, respectively.

"Well, this is impressive," Blu Gil said while more of the treetops were torn apart by the two fighters. "A Jedi vs. a Huntress. A battle of good vs... what can we call 'Huntsmen'? They're not evil like most Sith, but the Republic has had trouble with them before, and calling them 'good' just makes us look bad... I liked this idea better when we were simply fighting the Empire. At least that was easier to tell between the heroes and villains. Here's, it pretty gray."

"Should we stop this?" Asasha asked. Raven, after blocking an attack, pressed a button on the hilt of the sword, causing an electric current to channel around the blade. Tillicru was forced backwards by this moment. Raven then sheathed her katana, allowing electricity to build up in and around the sheath, before quickly drawing it, slashing a series of electric energy beams that shocked the Jedi Master and sent him flying through several branches.

"You want to slow down, now?" Raven questioned. Tillicru recovered, and continued his pursuit. "Never mind!"

"Blast it, Tillicru," Citarhi grumbled, watching the fight. "You're letting your mistrust of non-Jedi Force-users get the best of you."

"You can't evade me forever, Nevermore!" Tillicru warned her while the two ran across several trees.

"I was going through a phase when I picked that nickname," Raven said while Tillicru leapt at her, which caused her to swing back, blocking the blade again, but that was what the Jedi wanted. He turned off his lightsaber mid-block, pulled back his free right hand, which seemed to have a huge ball of energy building up. Raven gasped a half-second before Tillicru released the ball into her face, the Force pushing her straight through the branch and five more. Raven, recovering through her fall, stabbed her sword into a tree, causing a bit of sliding down the trunk slowed down by her boots digginging into the bark. Meanwhile, Tillicru landed on a nearby set of branches.

"You certainly got tougher," Raven complimented. She noticed his lightsaber was back on, and his arm was starting to move backwards. "Please don't throw that lightsaber."

She was answered was answered by the whooshing sound of a Saber Throw. Raven quickly turned up her boots, and kicked hard enough to break the blade at right above the handle, and continuing her fall right as the blue lightsaber slashed through the tree where the samurai used to be, causing the giant tree to fall into the forest, slamming into the ground. Raven stuck the handle into the sheath, switching to a blue Dust blade, slashing an ice wave at Tillicru, hitting him with an energy slash that froze him to a tree. Raven then slashed a portal a few meters above the Republic group, falling straight through it to avoid hitting them, and reappeared with a thump against the roof of the Republic ship. Tillicru broke free of his ice prison with the Force, recovered his lightsaber, and landed on the roof across from Raven, who was getting up and breathing hard with the amount of effort she had to pull.

"You are outmatched, Nevermore," the Twi'lek said. "Surrender, and we may show mercy."

"I didn't come here to fight you, but I will," Raven replied between breaths, sheathing her sword. "I came to deliver a message. You can hear it, or we can waste a few more hours that I could be using to stop Grimm from attacking Vale because of the Imps. Grimm are drawn to dark emotions like fear, and an attack like Rumwash's has people confused and worried. The only reason the city's standing is because Summer and I have taken turns with guerilla."

"A likely story," Tillicru said, rushing towards her—

"Enough!" Yale said, jumping between the two, blocking Tillicru's blade with her own black-handled blue lightsaber. "Master Tillicru, you must control yourself. She wouldn't come here seeking us for no reason." Raven removed her mask smirking as she did so.

"That didn't get as messy as I thought it would," Raven said. "I'll forward you the bill for any rips in this kimono. Now can I finally speak my piece?"

The two Jedi jumped off the ship, Yale putting her lightsaber away, but Tillicru pointing his at Raven. "You have five minutes, starting now."

"You have a bigger problem than going after my daughter's half-sister," Raven said. "Also, since we're on Remnant, we kind of have immunity from any crimes against the Republic because our planet is beyond the jurisdiction of the Republic."

"...You know she's not wrong," Asasha admitted while everyone returned their weapons.

"I know, but I hate it," Blu Gil said.

Looking at the Jedi Grandmaster with a large grin plastered on her face, Raven asked, "Did they mention that Summer has negotiated a temporary truce with your Jedi and she and I are being monitored by one of your Padawans—Naywi?"

"[You kidnapped a Padawan!?]" Grengit asked. "[How did you pull that off?]"

"A starship full of candy, lightsaber crystals, and free HoloNet-Flix," Raven joked. "No, she volunteered to temporarily join us to monitor the Remnant situation. We're not holding her hostage. Citarhi and Kombu ordered, as part of our alliance, for her to stay with us. We don't do anything bad, the Jedi don't come after us. Meanwhile, you guys don't do anything that ticks us off, and we'll play nice."

"A truce?" Yale asked, albeit with a knowing smirk on her face. '(Natsumi really channels her Master.)' "A rogue Sith wishes to form an alliance with the Jedi?"

"Against my personal judgment," Raven answered. "I'd rather not deal with Jedi. I'd rather be trying to build anything akin to a connection to the daughter I barely know right now... because I was afraid that I'd be a terrible mother. And I was right about it. I'm trying, but it's gonna take time. However, we need your help to put Crumma down."

"Jedi do not normally kill if they can help it," Yale said.

"I don't think anyone in the entire galaxy would hold it against you if he's dead," Raven argued.

"She keeps making good points, why is nobody stopping her?" Blu Gil asked.

Raven continued, "Crumma is a monster who has killed millions of people in both the Republic and the Empire and far beyond. He's been killing and torturing since he was first able to use the Force. While you may not care much, he slaughtered many acolytes during his training on Korriban, even though it crippled the Sith Order. He massacred at least one Supreme Chancellor ship's entire crew just to restart your Galactic War because he hated the peace and attempted to pin in on Summer and Imperius, who wasn't even on-board prior to the agreed negotiation period. He violently took over the Empire to the point that even they want him gone but don't talk openly about it. And he'll keep on killing, especially if he gets his hands on Remnant and Ruby. Summer, although not your biggest fan, is willing to work with you because Crumma's that serious of a threat."

"And her daughter isn't?" Tillicru asked.

"What Summer was doing before Crumma attacked her ten years ago was keeping Ruby from being a threat," Raven said. "Ruby is not a tyke bomb, Ruby is Summer's daughter. Summer kept Ruby in the dark about her former life since she thought she was retired from the galaxy. You all could have avoided dragging Summer out of retirement and this Battle of Remnant we're in wouldn't be happening if you Jedi were better at acting on the real threat and got rid of Crumma years ago. You could have saved millions, if not billions, of lives by ending one monster when Summer couldn't despite her best efforts. But yet, you didn't start really stepping up until Yale Shan finally was promoted to Grand Master. Perhaps that's why Summer and I have had to spend ten years doing your jobs of covertly crippling the Empire's efforts for you. Sure, we've hit Republic-related missions as well, but that was because the Republic—especially because of that one Jedi—nearly killed our world, and we will be damned if we let it happen again."

"The Jedi should not act solely on instinct," Tillicru argued.

"Your display of hypocrisy aside, that single-mindedness of 'waiting around until the true threat emerges' is what led the tragedies of the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Civil War, and the Great Galactic Wars that have been plaguing your galaxy for over a millennium in the first place," the dark-haired woman spat.

"I hate to say it, but the solid points she keeps making really hit home," Blu Gil groaned. "But how did you know that one?"

"Summer made me sit through hours of galactic history holos," Raven replied. "Anyway, when the Jedi finally decide to do something… you immediately turn on an innocent teenage girl who would have never been a problem if you hadn't stuck your noses in our business. So, you all have a choice. You could A, waste time and men in an attack on Beacon which will result in the death of many innocents you Jedi are SUPPOSED to protect and a war between Remnant and the universe, or B, actually stop Crumma with Summer and I and save the galaxy and end our own personal conflict in the process. Do you accept this truce or not?"

"You're being sincere about this," Kombu concluded, sensing Raven's honesty.

"Summer's not a Sith anymore, and she's always played as nice as she could," Raven said. "She doesn't want people suffering the way she did." She then pulled a datapad, and threw it at the Wookiee. "If you want to help, all you need to know is on the datapad. Summer and I have some ground rules in this conflict that we expect everyone to play by. First thing, bloodshed in the cities between the Republic and the Empire can't happen again. You're playing by Remnant's laws, so you might wanna brush up on your Aurebesh-to-English dictionaries. If you have to kill each other, do so outside of the safe zones of the kingdoms and colony cities. Second, we don't accept Credits here, so I hope for your sakes you can find some Lien, find a job, or you packed heavy, including food. And most of the animals want to eat you. Third, we have four kingdoms here, each governed by their own laws. I know Atlas will never work with you or the Imperials. The Empire already has a head start appealing to Vale, so you're gonna have to play catch-up if you want a good foothold. And last rule, this one's the personal and most important. If you so much as harm one hair on Ruby, Yang, or their friends, I will not hold back next time." She then sliced behind her, creating a portal in the air. "And don't worry about Naywi. She's surprisingly reasonable, and Summer's taken quite a shine to her." With that, Raven jumped into the portal.

"You shouldn't have antagonized her, Master Tillicru," Yale said as the portal slammed shut.

"Forgive me, Master Shan," Tillicru sighed. "I cannot bring myself to trust the word of a Sith or these Huntsmen. Huntsmen especially... they're disrespectful to actual order and act like hired guns than an actual organized group. Sith, you know they'll betray you. But Huntsmen? We don't know how they work."

"This is one of the few times a Sith has asked for our help," Yale said. "We should at least humor them. Now, what is this the Raven of Nevermore gave us?" Looking at the datapad Raven dropped, she gasped. "Coordinates, perhaps? Why would Natsumi invite us now?"

"Her maternal instinct," Citarhi answered. "I know her... she's putting the threat of Crumma over his distrust of us."

"This will be interesting to see through," Asasha said. "She didn't hold me hostage back after Rishi Station. Even if I'm on Coruscant, I want in on that meeting via holo. I wish I could meet this Ruby, though."

"It could be some kind of trap," Tillicru warned

"Tillicru has a point," Steele said, "Desperate or no, she has no reason to trust us considering we violated your deal by having armed forces on foot here. I'm lucky she didn't just Force Choke me over the HoloNet."

"I understand your concern," Yale said. "But I should remind you that Natsumi's Master, Darth Imperius, was unusual in the sense that she kept her word despite many Sith specializing in the art of backstabbing, and Natsumi kept hers, too, as long as nobody tried double-crossing. The fact that she always wanted to start our confrontations with either excited hugs, tea and either sabacc or dejarik rather than flip on her lightsaber because she was a Sith and I was a Jedi said something about Imperius. Other than that weird crush she had on me. Natsumi, if she is anything like her Master, she is telling the truth."

"Still, Master Yale," Kombu pointed out. "The Spirit of Roses is a dangerous woman, and I seen her and her daughter both in action. Both are powerful. We need to be careful."

"I fully expect Natsumi to have something in store for us," Yale nodded. "But for now, an alliance against Darth Crumma would be preferable than fighting two fronts."

"[If Natsumi is siding against Crumma, that is good,]" Mallawarr said. "[But if she is against you all, my Chieftain may not approve of me fighting her.]"

Yale nodded, "I understand your concerns. If it pleases you, we'll listen to what she has to say, and pray she doesn't try anything." The Wookiee nodded. "Alright, here's the plan: we humor Natsumi for now, but keep an eye on her daughter. If she values her daughter's safety, she will not pull any punches, especially with Darth Crumma aware of the girl's existence. But only some of us will monitor Ruby, someone needs to do negotiating with this Council we keep hearing about, while the rest of us go to Natsumi. I will lead the team that goes after Natsumi."

"[I will handle negotiations with this planet with the help of G7 and Lieutenant Lyonvas,]" Grengit suggested. "[After all, if these people cannot understand Ithorese, I will need a translator and a bodyguard just in case.]"

"Damn shame," Steele said. "I was hoping you'd join Havoc, Lyonvas."

"I'm not good enough for Havoc, sir," Lyonvas declined.

"That leaves me in charge of monitor Spec Forces and overseeing the Daughter of the Spirit of Roses," Oriole volunteered.

"Shouldn't a Jedi lead the team that monitors the Daughter of the Spirit of Roses?" Tillicru asked.

"No for good reasons," Oriole said. "If what everyone is saying is true, then she's being protected by a lot of people from her mom's past. A Jedi might spook both the Huntsmen and the civilian population. Furthermore, this planet is mostly dominated by humans, right? Once again no offense, Tillicru, but… you're a Twi'lek. I'm not sure an alien Jedi leading the mission keeping track of Ruby will be a good idea."

"He has a point, Tillicru," Kombu said. "This world has only two types of sentient beings: humans and Faunus, a new species that is part human and part other mammal. Furthermore, if a Jedi-led team came near her, we'd risk antagonizing the Huntsmen."

"I see," Tillicru said. "Still, a Jedi should at least keep an eye on her."

"My Padawan and Master Kombu's are already trying to find a way around that," Citarhi explained.

Steele added, "Also, Havoc Squad has found a lead on one of Natsumi's daughter's friends. I'm beginning to think back-up is what we need right now."

"Unfortunately, Commander," Asasha said, "besides fighting the Imperial campaign, we're busy with another threat. For some reason, there are reports of pirates, gangsters, mercenaries, and all other ill folk forming practically an army and attacking Republic-affiliated territories, mainly civilian centers. Although many of these criminals are known Hutt Cartel affiliates, the Cartel is denying responsibility and is doing nothing to convince them to stop. I understand saving Remnant is important, but I can't ignore protecting the people already in the Republic's protection. I have to divert a majority of our forces to guarding our people, and that fleet I gave Grand Master Shan is all I can spare. Surely you understand."

"I do," Steele replied, "but I don't really like it. Could this be a distraction?"

"Seems that way," Blu Gil said. "When we last talked with the Cartel, I couldn't help but notice Bal'rog was missing... and reports say his dreadnaught, the Star Swamp, was last seen heading towards Rishi. Which means one thing: he's heading to make a claim on Remnant."

"Then we have him to deal with," Oriole groaned. "Figures the Hutts want a piece of Remnant Patogga."

"And you are absolutely sure you can't give us back-up?" Steele asked. "Unlike the Imps, Bal'rog won't care about subtlety or manipulation."

"That reminds me," Blu Gil said. "I packed a present for Havoc Squad on board. Lieutenant, has he come online?"

"He should've been out here by now," Lyonvas answered. Soon enough, metallic footsteps echoed throughout the forest. The group looked to see a white and orange striped war droid towering over them with a Republic symbol on the chest plate.

Kingdom Rider92's Notes: And thus, we have most of our factions set for this conflict. I'm willing to bet a lot of you forgot that I had mentioned the Hutts. And yes, this means a certain pirate who left our lovely Chancellor for dead (and is indirectly responsible for the deaths of Dohet and Sturgas since he could have helped them evacuate) is about to return.

I'm sorry there is a strong lack of Team RWBY and Team JNPR in this chapter. I wanted to focus on the Republic side, since I've been building up the Imperial side early on (Darth Mel, Gray, Crumma, Rumwash and Cipher 13), as well as introduce two other major Huntsmen into the story.

Mont, in my initial writes of this story, has become one of my favorite "normal" Republic people. Also, my plan was to eventually get Artemis and Jadecal in Beacon, but I failed to figure how to get them there. Simple answer: ex-smuggler.

Another fun fact is that this chapter was going to be introducing Weiss and Winter's father LLOYD SCHNEE. However, I'm still working on the kinks in his personality, but I have a grasp on Winter's. Initially cold and formal because of her military training, she does let herself warm-up and slip into a friendly manner with people she likes (mainly Weiss), and the reason she's nice to Taiyang Xiao Long is because he's so goofy, kind, caring, albeit slightly overprotective father figure she could probably see a better version of what a father should be like than her and Weiss' actual father. Meanwhile, Qrow is an unapologetic snarky troll/pervert that deliberately causes trouble to mess with people, in this story taking refuge in audacity by hijacking an Imperial ship, bringing it into town, calling the crew pirates and getting away with it. Speaking of Taiyang... yeah, he still loves both Raven and Summer, has little idea they're alive, and is a gentleman when he can be, and is a goofball at best when he's not... but he'll be a dangerous opponent.

Finally, I realized I've starved you of a fight scene for a while, so yeah, Raven vs. Tillicru. Raven COULD have kept going, but she didn't feel like it, and she was trying to talk to people. Similar to Qrow, she holds back in "play-fights" enough to not kill anyone. However, yes, she CAN use her portals to literally rip her enemies apart. However, I wanted to show how powerful Tillicru, a Jedi Battle Master, really is. He's able to tank a lot of Raven's attacks and keep going, but he lacks patience and is pretty no-nonsense nemesis to anyone he fights. Master Shan actually has to ask him to calm down.

Speaking of Yale Shan, she may not have done much here, but you will eventually see her fight... and chances are unless it's a professional Huntsmen, Cinder, Adam, Crumma, or Darth Mel, it's going to be even more of a curbstomp than Tillicru can manage. Oh, and Oriole Onasi is her brother-in-law. The old guy has more than a few tricks up his sleeve, and a Wookiee mercenary at his back. But these guys all seem to know about Aurelia (originally named Amber). This will be explained later.

Alright, so, the new Star Wars having officially opened to public, let's answer the two reviews I have before I forget.

A.K.b00m: I really wanted to do Summer's backstory justice. All we know about her in canon is she was on the same team as Taiyang, Raven, and Qrow, was Taiyang's second wife, hides the right side of her face (a fact that I didn't know until the Volume 3 opening), is tiny compared to her cohorts, appears to be the leader of Team STRQ, and disappeared for years and is assumed dead, but we have no body. There's a lot of room for interpretation, and here, it's more than enough to make her a rogue Light Sith from Alderaan, which is in an awkward stage of although Republic-affiliated, has an Imperial presence. This was back during an age of peace between Republic and Empire, by the way. The war discussed here is twenty-four years old.

Velvet is a very popular character in the RWBY fanbase. I myself am a sucker for cute shy girls in fiction... and Velvet's the closest thing we're getting. Velvet serves as an older sister-like character to Team RWBY right before their first mission, so she would want to help them as much as she could. Also, Titan's Claw serves as a major point in a lot of the backstory of this setting. It's where Velvet was orphaned, it's where Summer was betrayed and "died", it's the location of the Cliffside alter Ruby goes to visit every now and again, it's where Yang took Ruby to find Raven.

The Grimm. I swear, I did not forget the threat they pose, but I realize that only two, maybe three of the major antagonists I have with this story (Cinder and Crumma confirmed, still iffy on the third) could use them effectively. The problem with the Grimm is that while they're powerful and remind one of Kingdom Hearts' Heartless, as a race they're just pretty much generic doomsday villains compared to Cinder and Crumma. Cinder wants to take power from those in charge on Remnant, and is leading a secret war to do so, Crumma may be a homicidal maniac who wants to take over or kill everything in the galaxy, but he and every other Star Wars OC villain here is driven by some form of revenge or against Summer, greed, or ambition (in Crumma's case, it's revenge for defying his attempts to "purge the Sith Order of the weak (i.e. non-human/Purebloods and slaves) so they can take over the galaxy" and cutting off his hands and leaving him to die in a fire). I will have battles against them (Raven getting through with one), but I can't promise full-blown Grimm fights that don't involve Crumma. Or Goliaths and Black Dragons, and I would have to use those two sparingly.

My opinion of the lack of seeing the actual damage the Grimm inflicted is that it was disappointing how easily it was written off, but Prof. Goodwitch is really quick at repairing entire areas for full functionality. Also, there were Huntsmen and the Atlesian military on the scene quickly because, as the villains pointed out, Torchwick was forced to go early with the Breach. It would have been a lot worse had the plan gone on time...

RedemptionWarrior: Force ghost Dohet is still a master wordsmith, but he's also still as much of a snarker as he was alive, if not more now that he's dead and can't become one with the Force. I think that's the best part about him... Obi-Wan was serious, and Dohet won't let something like death stop him from having a bit of fun being humorous while actually spouting advice.

Coco is a character that entertained me in Volume 2's ending... and her fight scene in Volume 3. She's kicking ass and looking good while doing it. She also serves as a bit of a cool big sis to Velvet here, and definitely one to Team RWBY and Team JNPR. Again, I still want her and Velvet to bond a bit.

As for Jaune... well, he has the Force-slaying blade, is kind of in an awkward love triangle between Pyrrha and Ruby (yes, I'm a Lancaster/RoseArc-shipper, but it's subtle in this story and Arkos seems to be winning, here, let's move on from shipping wars, your ship's probably better than mine, anyway), his parents (mainly his mother) are somehow involved, and he is now marked as the rival to Rumwash. Also, we have reason to believe Ozpin knows about the forged transcripts, yet let him into Beacon anyway. Why the heck wouldn't he have a destiny at this point, even if it's as subtle as a "guardian"?

Yes, "Red Like Roses Part II" is one of my favorite Volume 1 songs. Not only is it the song to which both our A and B teams are formed, but it gives Ruby and Summer some form of backstory. I just had to reference it.

And that Jedi Master (Yale Shan) was just the tip of the iceberg of "we're about to get down to the war part".

Okay, so that is everything. See you all after The Force Awakens and have a happy new year! Farewell, my subjects!