Chapter 37

Year 5 Month 9 Day 20

With the secret meeting starting between Karel and Soule, and the instruction of Pyrrha, the talks continue.

"A peace summit?!" Rouge yelled out. Karel watched Sno move, probably trying to hide how uncomfortable she was about this whole situation.

"Yes, a peace summit. We will not start it, but we will come to it. We need a high-ranking member of the Alliance to suggest it, and there are few heroes of the Alliance like you Karel." Zia said.

"But this goes against all that the Sith stand for. Peace is a lie and all." Karel said. "Why are you suggesting this?"

"We both know the state our forces are in. We can't get out of this endless gridlock. Even with the resources we've bene bringing back from off world, we're getting to the end of what we can do. We know that everyone's running out of resources. Only Salem has resources to spare." Soule said.

Karel rubbed his chin.

"She's trying to get the relics during the war. From what we learned from Oscar, once all of them are gathered, Ashla and Bogan will return. If we are still in our war, they will destroy all life on this planet." Karel said.

"They have that power?" Sno asked.

"Soule, do you know about Ziost?"

"Of course. I remember the greatness of Ziost. What happened to it?" Soule asked.

"You were set in stasis during the great war, I forgot. Well, there was a war with the republic a few years later, about eleven if I remember correctly. Well, at the end of the conflict, after dealing with the Revanites, there was an incident on Ziost. Your emperor stole the entire life energy of the planet, killing everyone and everything on it. I have the proof right here." He held out the third Barsen'thor's Holocron.

"Ziost, destroyed…" was all Soule could say. It shocked him to the core.

"These gods are stronger than the emperor. They created the Grimm. They can make this planet another Ziost. I won't let that happen." Karel said.

The group looked at him.

"Then you'll consider it? The peace summit?" Sno asked.

"Right now, we can't even consider it. The council has too much say in our affairs. We need to get rid of all those who will stand in our way. I knew we had a traitor. I also know you use Echo to do dirty work. Why haven't you sent him in to kill the traitor?"

Soule laughed.

"The traitor has been useful, but now they've used up their usefulness. We all have a common enemy. Salem is going to do something soon. She's looking for the spring maiden. From what we've been able to gather, she has control of the lance of creation thanks to your grandmaster trying to destroy it." Soule said. Karel clenched his fist.

"Don't make fun of the grandmaster." Karel said.

Soule nodded.

"I wasn't trying to mock her. But even you know that her final mission failed. Salem got a relic. And the fact that she's been looking for the spring maiden makes it seem like she can't get the other relics, except for one. If she gets it, we're going to need to make an immediate alliance to stop our utter destruction. But I fear that even our two powers aren't enough. Though they are small, the galactic empire has better tech than we do. Even with our destroyers, it would take all three of us coming together to end this war."

"Do you have a way to get them to join us if we were to join together?" Karel asked.

"We're working on that now. You are by far easier to get on our side with this. Haven't you noticed that we've been fighting less and less. We're tired of killing each other. But if you have those Councilmen who get profit from this endless war, we will be forced to defend ourselves." Soule said.

"You attacked us first." Bora said.

"You declared war first." Zia countered.

"Just think about what I've said. We're going to have more talks like this. Oh, and that Councilmen, here's his name." Soule tossed a letter at Karel. He opened it and Bora saw his eyes widen.

"So that's how…" Karel started.

"Who is it?"

"The traitor is…" Soule walked out of earshot before he could hear the name. The councilmen were more than one person. Many of the faceless people on those councils. How many had gained money from this war. Atlas was so corrupt that Soule had to stop Sym's plans on invading. It was so close to collapsing on itself, but now they needed it.

"Master…" Sno was about to ask, but Soule stopped her.

"Now we need to prepare." Soule said.

"You know, I think we're going to have a good year."


Year 5 Month 11 Day 08

After the meeting, Karel kept meeting with Soule. He didn't like hiding it, but if it were found out, he would be known as a traitor, while trying to get rid of the actual traitors. He had finally succeeded in ousting one of the six traitors. He finally figured out why they would need a year. He needed time to get evidence and handing it to the right people.

He was in the council chamber again, not saying a word.

"Knight Allusis." Grandmaster Ray said.

"Sorry. I have a something to report." Karel said. He pulled out the letter Soule gave him and handed it to Grandmaster Ray.

"Where'd you get this?" She asked as she read the names.

"…Darth Soule." Karel said. The masters looked at him.

"What?" Master Black said.

"I have met with him three times in the last two months. Everything he's told me has checked out." Karel held his head down.

"He's a Sith!" Master Black said.

"And he's offering us something we can't refuse. A peaceful end of the war, and the defeat of Salem." Karel said.

"Dammit" Roni said, biting her thumb. "I should have known something was off. The way you and Rouge have been acting has been strange."

"Masters, right now, we need to end this conflict. We're going to lose at this rate. We don't have the land, resources, energy, or manpower to continue. I've been fighting for most of my life. I'm tired of war. And now I'm being told by our enemy that if we don't join to fight Salem, we're all going to die. The entire planet. It's our duty to save the planet from that fate even if it means great sacrifice. We're barely surviving as it is! One year is all I need to get these traitors kicked out!" Karel said.

"I say that we should try it." Master Gael said.

"I don't like this. I also don't like the fact that you hide it from us for so long Karel." Grandmaster Ray said.

"Give me a year. Please…" Karel asked.

"A year to root out the traitors?" Roni asked.

"Yes. If even one of these councilmen aren't traitors, then I'll give up on this topic." Karel said.

"You're padawan, is she ready for the trials?" Ray asked. Karel looked up, then thought about Rouge.

"Almost. She's exceptional. I've extraordinarily little to teach her." Karel said, feeling better at the change in topics.

"You put us in a hard spot. You went to our greatest enemy without our permission. But if it will lead to peace, we can give you some leeway. Once Rouge has finished her training, we're going to ask you to join us on the council." Grandmaster Ray said. Karel knew it was to shorten his lease. He wondered what that felt like up until this moment.

"It would be my honor." Karel said, as he left the room. He was going to have to work overtime. The thought of hiring Echo had crossed his mind, but that would go against all his principles. He couldn't accuse the five remaining traitors publicly. They had too much power, so he had to take them out in chunks. And he was not in a good spot. A year was too long for Rouge. She would only be his padawan for a few more months at most. Half a year?

He was going to need help.


Year 6 Month 1 Day 5

He went to Ironwood.

"General." He shook Ironwood's hand. He was in Ironwood's home in Atlas. He was with his family visiting the Schnee's. It was surprising how much Jacques liked the rest of his family. He brought his sister Jira with him, as she was the one who found the critical piece of information to take down with the first councilmen.

"Welcome Commander. Come, I've got some drinks here. What do you like?"

"Whiskey with ginger." Karel said.

"And for you?" He asked Jira.

"I like scotch myself."

"I can do both. So, what's this important?" Ironwood asked as he got Karel and Jira their drinks.

"We have four more traitors in our ranks. I got good information, and even a list of names." Karel said, sliding the letter.

"And you need someone to take care of them?" Ironwood asked.

"I no longer have time to get any more of them. I got two of them, but the other four are too much for me. I do need to disclose where I got this information from." Ironwood didn't react when he heard where it came from, and he just kept drinking.

"Normally I would ask you to leave after saying that, but since I double checked your work, I think I'll be able to handle them from here on out. We're going to need to replace them…" Ironwood trailed off.

"I'll work with you on this." Jira said.

"I'm going to need to get a taskforce for this. Thank you for coming to me." Ironwood said. They walked together.

Karel wondered why Ironwood hesitated.


Salem was shocked when her forces were repelled so easily. The Remnant Imperials were strong enough to end her attack on the capital quickly. All her force sensitives she sent there were killed. They were able to produce more Sith than they should have been able to. She wondered how they got the numbers so quickly.

Watts appeared in front of her and bowed to her.

"I found the answer you've been looking for. It appears that the Grey Jedi have entered a schism. About half of the members have pledged themselves to the Jedi or Sith organizations. The remaining Grey Jedi have moved to a new location. I just personally visited the temple. Seems they've gone into hiding again. The rats have holes all over Remnant." Watts said. She wondered she hadn't heard of this, but it was of little importance.

"We will find them later. Do you have any leads on the spring maiden?" She asked. She learned that they were all deceived. The spirit of the ancient Sith Lord Kallig, or someone who claimed that name had told her all about the deception. Of course, she didn't believe it at first. Then the evidence became overwhelming. And when the woman she thought of at first came to her feet, well, that just confirmed it.

OF COURSE it would be easier if someone Salem would rather not think about right now didn't lose her half of the maiden power. She nearly killed her when she reported back, but she did report one interesting thing. The woman with the other half was taken by the Priests of Ashla. That ancient order was still alive, or undead.

"I knew I felt the order of Ashla become stronger. She must have become my rival. That Bitch." Salem said.

"My lady."

Salem didn't normally swear in front of her servants. It gave away too much about her emotional state. But just thinking about that god enraged her. She stood outlooking her dominion, the opposite of where she was. The darkness gave her strength. The girl this body had once been long dead; taken in by the darkness. The wonderful darkness. Salem gave into her every lust and desire in it. And the power she felt excited her more than any mortal pleasure. To even think of the hellish light having an agent made her hungry for blood. But she was trapped in her domain. Ozpin's past live made sure of that.

"And what of the spheres?" She asked.

"They have yet to discover the secrets of Nixvajo."

"Good."


Month 2 Day 16

"I need you to make it look like an accident." Ironwood said. He set up a meeting with a man only known as Echo. He promised Karel that he would take care of the traitors, and he would. The only punishment good enough was death. But he knew Karel would get suspicious if more than one died like this.

"And my payment?"

"Here. Untraceable Alliance lien. Enough to settle down for a lifetime." Ironwood said, handing the assassin a large briefcase of bills.

"I work mostly in the empire. Got something better?"

"Consider this a gift from me then. And…" He pulled out a bag full of gems. A second of gold, and a third of poisonous ingredients.

"You must really want this man dead." Echo said.

"Just as much as you wanted that assassin above you dead."

Echo had taken down the second seat and had become the Second most powerful assassin in the order. Jet had moved up as well.

"You do some serious research. I'm quite impressed."

"I'm sure that bastard deserved it. Just keep this between us."

"Always." Echo left. Ironwood watched him go. It was worth every cent.


On Menagerie, the Red Fang and the Jedi were working on finishing transforming the land into a paradise. They were so close to finishing that they were starting to celebrate. But they got to a giant canyon.

"Which canyon was this again?" Blake asked.

One of her people looked through the records on their datapad and found it.

"Got it." They said. Blake took the datapad and saw that this was the Nixen canyon. The river was named Vajon.

"How hard will it be to get the droids across?" Blake asked.

"We'd need to get a ship, but we're going to need to make a bridge at some point." Her aide said. She was about to sign off on it when she spotted something down in the valley. She got out binoculars and spotted Grimm at the base of the canyon. And it seemed that there were black fang troops with them.

"Quick, contact Kuo Kuana!" Blake commanded. The Jedi that was with Blake went to her side.

"What's the matter?" She asked.

"Grimm. Jedi, we're going to have to clear them out, but we also got Black Fang." The Jedi took out her blue lightsaber and made a quick call. After she ended her call, she used the force to descend the Canyon. Blake wanted to go after her, but it was too dangerous. She waited till a drop ship came into view. She waved the ship down, and quickly went to the riverbed. The Jedi was losing a fight against the Grimm and the Black Fang. Blake and the soldiers rushed out. Blake wished she had Yang with her.


Yang and Arin were Kuo Kuana training. Arin had changed since he was taken over by the dark side spirits. His own estimation of himself was damaged. Yang had spent all the time trying to heal him, but she found there were some scars that she couldn't heal. Even Master Gael couldn't heal his spiritual wounds. And she couldn't fix Yang's scars. Her mother had reappeared in her life. It was a shock to say the least when she and Ruby went to patch and saw her there. Yang almost fought her when her father stopped her. He just let her back in. Even after all the YEARS of loneliness that she caused. All those nights where Tai spent crying after summer's death. All those times she just wanted to have her mother see her. She hated Raven.

But that was the old her. Or maybe it was her when she used the dark side. It was unintentional most of the time, but her bloodline make her weak to things like that. She was glad to have Raven there to help her get over this... It wasn't the first time she needed some help to get over that darkness that clouded her. She needed constant help.

They both had things they held onto. Things that they should let go, but how could Yang so easily forgive her mother? But she had rejoined their lives, and she was trying. Yang wished she could just wish away these dark feelings.

They heard a notice come from their comms. The other Jedi they came with sent out a message to them. Yang saw it and saw that she was with Blake.

"Arin, there's a situation."

"Alright." Arin said.

They were quick to get to a ship with a squad of Red Fang troops. It wouldn't take long to get to the danger site, but they didn't know how long they had until the situation got worse.


It was bad. The Jedi was too overconfident and tried to kill a manticore Grimm and two force sensitives, but it proved too much. Blake had barely enough time to get the Grimm off her when another drop ship arrived. She barely had time to notice Yang and Arin coming out. She took a second to realize that the third Jedi was already dead. She glanced at her and saw a lightsaber in her chest. Blake swore before ducking under the tail of a Manticore. She quickly brought her weapon up and cut the tail off. Yang threw her lightsaber in the head of the Grimm. She jumped in the air and used the force to take her lightsaber back and change it yellow. When she landed, she rolled forward and thrusted her hands forward, killing a Grimm. The Red Fang troops held off the rest of the Grimm as Arin and Yang dealt with the force users. Arin rushed passed with his lightsaber and jumped over the first of the two force sensitives and sends out a blast of force judgement. The shocked black fang Jedi struggled through the attack, then sent a force wave at Arin. He raised his arms, and brought a force barrier, which broke. He was flung backwards a dozen meters.

Yang jumped towards the undead jedi activating her semblance. The force of the punch along with her force augmentations made the hit powerful enough that the undead Jedi's arms which they used to protect themselves broke. The black fang Sith took out two lightsabers and jumped at Yang. She backed up and got into her base djem so form, waiting for her opponent to slip up. The Sith threw frenzied strike after strike, but Yang realized that this Sith wasn't anywhere near as strong as a lord. She was probably as strong as Sno, maybe weaker. She would just have to be careful.

After the Sith went with a reckless downward slash with both lightsabers, she found her opportunity. She turned the lightsaber back to its blue crystal and blocked the two lightsabers. The Sith looked at the lightsaber aimed at her chest and knew she didn't have time to get out of the way. The yellow blade came out, piercing her heart. The Sith was done for.

The undead Jedi was quickly killed after that by Arin, both returning to the living force. Arin let out a sigh of relief when the last Grimm was killed. The Grimm dust floated into the air as the bodies turned to nothing. They all looked around after to see why they were there.


"Yang. Do you have any idea why…" Blake started when Arin found and opened a hidden door.

"This may be why." Arin said.

He pulled out a flare and dropped it. The flare dropped about twenty meters. A second landing craft landed, taking away the dead and wounded, leaving with them lights. Arin didn't wait and went down the shaft, getting to the bottom. He found a large room filled with research material.

Yang and Blake came down after him, Yang turned on her lightsaber to match Arin. Blake went over to one of the tables covered with papers, none of which were damaged.

Troops entered the bunker and started filling it with lights.

"When was the last time the river flooded?" Blake asked.

"This river doesn't flood that often. The last time on record was at least fifty years ago."

"So that's why this place is in such a good state." Blake said.

Stacks of papers littered the room. The red fang slowly took the papers out and started sending them to the capital. Blake ran her hand along a table and picked up a large folder with report 13 written on it.

"Do you guys know about this?" Blake asked Yang and Arin. Arin looked at it and remembered the reports Jash Beam died to send to the temple. 13 was the last one they were looking for.

"Damn. I never thought we'd find it." Arin said. Yang looked at him.

"Find what?" She asked.

"At the very start of the war we sent out Jash Beam to go investigate an attack of one of our jedi. He was killed and brought back to the temple. We have spent a lot of time looking for this last report. Our only clue was Nixvajo. A place, but…" Arin started to think about it.

"It was a combination of two places. We found it by accident." Yang said. Arin opened the folder and started to read it.

"The key to defeating Salem. That is what this report is all about. She's getting closer to finding me. I've had to start preparing the rest of my reports. As soon as I finish, I plan on getting this report to my secret hideout. I found out the goal of Salem. She wants to revive the dead gods and take over. She also wants the complete destruction of life. Anyone who lives is her enemy. Bogan and Ashla made her immortal somehow. It seems to have no connection to the ancient Sith ritual that extends life. It is difficult to study any more on this topic without going into the occult and ancient legends. The pains taken by this project have been extensive and have left me with one of the greatest collections of ancient Remnant Myth and History.

The ancient order of Sirens was around during and some of their members survived after the great destruction. Some reports that I've read have suggested that the survivors were from the age of the hundred-year darkness, but this may not be true. As is later stated in the history of Malo, which gives the greatest historical account of the order's origin, it may be that they started off as just a group of sex workers, and not merely have that as a front. The Siren order does seem to have been obsessed with finding magic in the population. Many of their clients are from the few humans that survived the great purge.

The great purge, or the great destruction is the event which the Gods wiped out most of the population of Remnant as punishment, but they kept a few thousand alive so they could repopulate the world. Somewhere around this time it seems that Faunus appeared in the history of remnant. Around this time the Sith arrived on Remnant and for centuries had hold of the whole planet. They lead the Sirens from that time till their destruction by an ancient hero and all the maidens. They created all the Siren Spheres in this era. Salem fought against this order as they were both dark side forces. They waged a war in which they created a temple that sealed Salem's realm away from the rest of the world. Siren spheres or massive amounts of magic are needed to open the portal, along with the blood of a Jedi.

That same hero who destroyed the Siren order went to the tower and invaded Salem's realm, locking her inside it. After this point, she must use her influence to bring new bodies to her. Her physical body destroys itself, leaving behind her spirit. The latest body was the Jedi turned Sith who started hunting down Jedi. We have hidden from her until just recently. Our numbers went from a few hundred to less than fifty. I have found thirty siren spheres. It is not enough to lock the doorway to the dark realm. If Salem can gather the relics, she will be able to destroy Bogan. Currently, I believe that she has equal power to the ancient Sith Emperor. She controls all but the most ancient Grimm. I will bring this report to a hidden place to keep it safe. Use the siren spheres to defeat Salem. The body must be destroyed and the entrance to her realm locked from ever being opened again.

-Tanner"

"We need to get these to the Jedi council." Yang said, holding the bag of Siren spheres.

"Let's go." Arin said.


Soon, Arin and Yang were given an escort to Vale lead by Blake. She had more of her troops gather the reports left. They got to the city with little resistance. Karel was sent to meet them.

"What is it?" He asked.

"We need to get to the council!" Yang said. They all started running towards the temple.

"What's going on." Karel asked. Yang tossed the bag with the Siren Spheres. Karel looked at them with a grimace that told Yang he knew all too well about them.

"Does this involve the Grandmaster?"

"What" Yang asked. They were at the temple, thanks to using the force.

Master Gael was walking into the temple when the three Jedi arrived.

"Karel, Arin, Yang, what's going on?" She asked.

"We need to meet with the council." Arin said.

"They're not all here. It's just Master Roni and I." She said.

"That's good enough." Karel said. Soon they were in session.

"So what's going on?"

"Masters, we found Tanner's last report. The one we've been looking for since the start of the War." Arin said.

"What?" Roni said. She was shocked to say the least. She gave up hope of ever finding it.

"Not only that… they found these." He held up a siren sphere. Gael didn't understand what it was.

"A Siren sphere. And a lot of them." Roni said.

"At least a thousand people were sacrificed to make one of these. If these are connected to the final report, than this must be the key to beating Salem." Karel said.

"We may just have to go to that peace summit after all." Roni said.

"Peace summit?" Arin asked.

"Salem is the greatest threat to all life on Remnant. To defeat her, we'll have to end the war." Karel said.

Arin would need to hear this suggestion.


Month 4 Day 27

Karel realized it was time for Rouge to become a knight. It devastated him to say the least. He was going to miss her, but he could hold off no longer. Even with the news that Ironwood finished taking down all the traitors he was still sad. She had been as close as a sister to him. But now it was time for her to join the knights of the Jedi order. Karel watched as she finished her final trial, the trial of insight with flying colors. It was odd to think of her as a Jedi knight with Ruby. Yang and Rouge both finished their last trials, making them both knights. He watched his blade rush up, cutting the padawan braid. His blade cut it, making her a Jedi knight. He had a vision of her becoming a master in his mind, but it was only a flash. Rouge would now go off on her own. She would go down her own path.

He was proud of her, but he also knew what was next. After she was made a knight, he and Arin were both made masters. He thought all about what he had learned in this war. And he wondered if he would be able to do this. He knew this was more out of desperation for masters, but he was still glad to accept the rank of master.

He was offered his seat on the council, and Arin was offered a seat, but he said no. He was still needed out there. Karel accepted the seat. He was now one of six Jedi to hold the rank. He was given some time before he would have to take one of the departments of Jedi training.

He looked over the list at home with Jade in his arms. He had two interests in the list, History, and Combat. Bora and the rest of his family all congratulated him on becoming a master.

"Bora, I have to step down as commander. I already know that." He made sure Jade was asleep before he took her to bed, Bora following him.

"Why do you need to step down?" She asked.

"Now that I'm on the council, I have been asked to step down. Master Ray asked me, and so did a few of the councilmen. With that, we're going to have to hand over all military material in the house. They can't kick us out since we bought this place. Commander Pixi will take command. I will be considered an advisor in the army, and can sometimes fight alongside the legion, but I can no longer lead it. I think the council found out that I caused four of them to be kicked out." Karel said.

"But they were traitors." Bora said.

"Yes… But there is a benefit of no longer being the commander." He reached for her hand. "I can finally enjoy this family more fully." Bora looked at Jade and smiled.

"So, what does a Jedi master want to do?" Bora asked.

"I'd like a warm bath. Got a lot of tight muscles. Maybe share a glass of wine?"

"Wine and a bath? You're really letting your military retirement get to you." Bora said.

"You can join me."

"Maybe later."

Karel heard his scroll ring, so he picked it up. It was Ruby.

"Hey Ruby." Karel said.

"You're on the council?!" Karel held the scroll away from his ear.

"Yeah. I accepted the position today." He said.

"That's amazing!"

"Thanks. I heard you got your knighthood as well. Are you going to train a padawan soon?" Karel said.

"Maybe. I don't know." Bora came back with two glasses and a bottle of white wine.

"I'd recommend it. Have you talked to Yang yet?"

"Just finished talking to her, that's how I know. But this is amazing. So, what are you going to do?" Ruby asked

"I don't know yet. Got a few options. And with having to step down as Commander, I can focus on the order." Karel and Ruby finished their friendly chat. Bora loved watching him.

"We got more Siren spheres. Fifty-one in total. We're on the verge of defeating Salem. Soon, we'll have peace. Jade can grow up in a world where she can live without fear of war." Karel said. He looked at Jade asleep and felt a tear fall down his face. Bora put her head on him.

"Come on. We'll have time to think about that later. We're going to have some fun tonight." She said, dragging him away.

Jade slept there, not knowing that she was using the force to levitate her toys. She also put them down with no difficulty.

Yang went back home to patch. Her mother had spent the past year doing everything she could to try to be a good mom. Yang liked the attention she got, but tonight she was even happier.

Arin and the band, Raven and Tai, and her team were all at her home.

"Congratulations!"

Author's notes: Karel is a master, and the main cast are knights! Time for these characters is speeding up. Just like when we all get older. Months at a time pass by. This chapter had a lot of stuff that will bring us into the peace summit arc.

Thanks for reading. I kind of didn't think I'd ever get to this. But here we are. Almost time for this story to end.

May the Force be With You

-DragonZlayerX12