Chapter 40
Year 6 Month 11 Day 31
The armies of the Alliance, Empire of Mistral, and Empire of Pare are gathering for the start of the final attack against Salem. In the morning, they shall all go off to the Badlands in a last-ditch attempt to survive.
Everyone had gathered on Vytal. Everyone who was going to fight that was. Most of the armed forces of Remnant were here, but they also had to leave behind a lot of people to protect the cities. Karel asked Rouge to stay behind.
"But master, I should be fighting with you!"
"You earned that right, But I need you to do something more important." Karel said
"What would that be?" She demanded.
"I need you to keep my family safe. If Bora and I don't make it back…"
"Don't say that." Rouge said, cutting Karel off.
"If we don't make it, I need you to watch over Jade." Rouge stared to tear up, but Karel wiped the tear away.
"I don't plan on dying. I'm just going to follow the will of the force." Karel said.
He didn't hear what Bora told her, and he didn't need to. He went to Jade and hugged her tightly.
"Papa's got to go now. You listen to Rouge now. Until Mama and I come back you listen to her, you hear me?" He said. She shook her head, and he kissed her forehead.
Weiss and Winter left their home. Weiss turned around to see their father standing there, with his Cane in hand.
"I got a bad feeling about this." Weiss said. She had a feeling that her life would be forever changed again. Before they left to get to Karel's ship, they stopped by the graves of Whitley and Willow Celeste Schnee.
"Please wait a bit longer for us mom and you too Whitley." Weiss said. Karel stopped by with Bora to get them and placed two flowers down at the hedge stones.
"We still need to stop by Patch." Karel said.
"I know."
Karel put his hands on the gravestones and turned back to Weiss and Winter.
"Shall we?"
Winter showed off a bit of her power and made a light fluffy snow come down on Willow's top of the grave. She always loved watching the snow with Winter, which is why she was named that.
Ruby finished at her mother's grave giving her heroic monologue.
"…but mom, I'm really scared. It all starts tomorrow. If we fail, then everything's been for nothing. And then we'll be…"
"Ruby, that's no way to talk to mom." Yang said. Yang walked up with a rose and placed it on her grave.
"I know. You missed my heroic monologue. I told her all about us becoming knights, and all about how good we are at fighting, and how strong in the force we are…" Ruby's eyes started to get misty.
"Yeah." Yang said.
They went back to their house, with Raven finishing putting on her armor.
"We just got finished talking to mom." Ruby said.
"You're friend should be here soon." Qrow walked in the house and placed down a bottle of his strongest drink.
"This is only after we kill that Bitch Salem." He said.
Karel knocked on the door. He tossed Qrow and Raven rings made from water of the pool of life and knowledge.
"These will protect you in Salem's realm. Pyrrha confirmed it for me. We made enough that the initial strike team can all have them. Ruby, Yang, I got the two of you some earrings. Weiss and Blake are already wearing them." Karel said. He handed Ruby and Yang the earrings and they put them on.
"And for you Tai, I've brought you this." He handed Tai crystal made of the water. It looked like a Kyber crystal.
"Thank you." He held it and felt a power.
"It will protect your home. No Grimm can live in the light of that crystal. You just need to put some of your aura in it." Karel said.
"Thank you."
"Don't say that yet. I can't promise you'll see any of them after this, but I will do everything I can to keep them safe."
Pyrrha finished meditating. She had just finished taking the remaining two relics, the sword and crown out of the realm of light. She saw a vision of the past. The death of the daughter. She learned the final ability, and the ultimate ability she had, to bring someone back from the dead, but at a cost. She finished dropping off her son with Karel's family she boarded the ship with him. Team JNPR and BMBL were together again. Now they just needed to pick up team RWBY.
Jaune made sure his family would be safe. He would do everything he could to survive this battle. He grabbed the legendary sword, Luna. He would fight with everything he had.
Ren and Nora were both given necklaces to protect them once they got into Salem's realm. They were ready to do this. They had to defeat Salem so that future generations would never have to live in fear of her again.
Blake left Ilia in charge of the affairs in Menagerie while she went off to war. Two thirds of the red fang followed her to Vytal as they were getting ready to fight the final battle. She had no words to say. She was silent when she left the gravesite pf her parents. They understood. Sun didn't say anything to her about it. She liked that about him. He was able to read her better than almost anyone. Maybe her teammates would be able to read her better? But that didn't matter.
"When we arrive there, your team will join us, right?" She asked to Sun.
"Yeah. They're already at Vytal. They said something about a big new Atlesian thing they're going to use there. I think they said something about four of them." Sun said. The call wasn't long, but they were excited to talk about whatever it was. Sun was ready to see them again.
"This is the end of the war. After this, we either win or we all die. Those are the stakes we're facing." Blake said.
"I know… Don't forget we lost Sage." Sun said. They got on the flag airship and launched. Many more ships launched behind them. All of them were going to Vytal.
Vox landed on the Island of Vytal and watched as ships of all different sizes and from all the factions landed. She wanted to get the final meetings underway as quickly as possible. The empire would do its part in this invasion. The final plans were finalized, thanks to Recon Zero and Oscar in giving the location. The temple to the dark realm wasn't that far from the coast, but the main problem was that it was on the top of a large hill. Recon Zero also noted that the Grimm had all gathered there. After Salem called them back at the end of the battle of Beacon, they had stayed here. The sky would be blackened by the Grimm. It would be even more difficult because there was a sea of Grimm that would be on the ground, making the invasion extremely difficult. They'd need to punch through the sky and ground before they'd be able to land their forces.
But they decided to send in the droids first. They were going to have them fight off as many of the Grimm as possible, with the Navy firing on the land. The star ships would fire at the Grimm in the sky, but Vox still wondered if they'd be able to punch through. All the star ships and Atlesian war ships were going to fire constantly. Sym had taken control of the part of the battle, leading the imperial forces. The Alliance would have Ironwood take control of the alliance air forces, and the Pare imperials would have their admiral lead their air forces.
The Navy would be led by Lord Watu and admiral Gran. The alliance would have Admiral Cordovin and her Colossus creations. The four of them were never used in the war, being designed for large Grimm and only a select few even being able to pilot them. She handpicked a team of hunters to pilot them. She and Ironwood called them the Ace Operatives. She wondered if they would be able to survive the battle. Salem does have access to some of the most powerful Grimm.
She would be part of the elite strike team that will go into Salem's realm. Soule and Zia will be joining them. Along with Lady Culls and Amora would be joining her along with some of their finest warriors. The strike team would have to rush up the hill, no doubt under intense fire, then get into the sanctuary.
She saw the Red Fang ships come into view and land.
The White Fang troops and Red Fang looked at each other. There was some tension, but most of them seemed to enjoy seeing the other group.
This was the last night before the final battle. Many of the people here knew they weren't going to make it to the day after, but they all knew the gravity of the situation. They all learned that if they failed here, all life on Remnant would die. Salem would kill them. A woman that Salem didn't recognize walked up to her. She noticed first her blue torn jacket.
"I assume that you're Empress Vox, as you go those guys with you." She pointed to the royal guards with her. "I'm the Summer Maiden, Amelia. Have you seen Oz anywhere? I guess it's Oscar now."
"He has yet to arrive. But it is odd that you're here." Vox said.
"I'm a Silver eyed warrior and the summer maiden. What's weird is that you guys are here. I really didn't believe the news when I first saw it. So, tomorrow's the day. Well, your majesty, I won't Keep you." She walked off, the blue tattered Valesian general jacket waving in the wind. Vox didn't notice what her weapon was. She wondered how she fought.
Amelia walked away, going through the final check list in her head. She made sure she was filled up on electric dust, and her whip was in top shape. Of course, it was. Then she checked to make sure her hidden weapons were still hidden, which they were. She just needed to make sure she had everything before they got to fighting. She smiled when she held the whip in her hand and got reminded of her master. She taught her how to use silver eyes and the light whip. But most importantly, the force. She would be an unorthodox opponent for any black fang.
Karel finally made it to Vytal. Oscar put his hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you. For everything." Oscar said.
"Don't thank me yet. We still have a fight to win." Karel said. After he landed, everyone left his ship, except for Oscar, who held him back.
"I need to tell you something." He said. He made sure Ruby was away.
"What is it?"
"You know that I come back… It's because of the Magic that I naturally have, but after tomorrow, all that will be taken away from me."
"What do you mean?"
"When I activate portal that will let us go into Salem's realm, the device that opens the portal will take all my magic… and my life."
Karel felt shocked.
"What do you mean?"
"I won't make it through tomorrow. Once I place my hand on the pedestal, it will cost my magic, the magic in the spheres, and my life to keep it open, close the portal, and lock it from our side. I won't be coming back after this life." Oscar said.
Karel took it in but felt pained.
"Have you told Ruby?" Karel asked.
"…No. I can't go through it if I do, and I already made that mistake once before. This time, I'm going to have to act like you Jedi and give up my own wants for the needs of humanity." Oscar said.
"Ruby should know." Karel said.
"She deserves that. But I'll have to tell her at the temple. Once there is no going back. If I don't do this, then everything you've done, bringing this whole thing together, will be for nothing. I can't but myself over them out there. I have lived a long life… Too long. I've lived too long. Made too many mistakes. This is my way to repent for all the wrongs I've caused. For all sins I've committed. I don't deserve to live. I caused all of this. I was too weak to stop her when I could have. Salem may live in a literal hell, but I am no less a prisoner of hell." Oscar said.
"You should tell them what's going to happen." Karel said.
"Shouldn't a man get the chance to repent in private?"
The final meeting was held with the heads of state and armies talking to the entire force.
"This is it men. This is the last night before we start the largest battle in the history of Remnant. We are throwing everything we have against the great enemy. We all know what happens if we fail. The witch Salem has the power to destroy everything. All your families, all that which you fought to protect over these last seven years. In fact, this whole war started because of the witch Salem. She has been playing everyone since day one. All the millions who've died in this war died because of her. In the first great war, both sides would fight each other, but once the Grimm came to the battlefield, both sides stopped fighting each other and destroyed the enemy. That is our duty now. We are to destroy the enemy and we will do it with every weapon we have. We will use our star destroyers, our air ships, our carriers, our battleships, our snub fighters, and we will use that she cannot take or destroy. We will fight with the fire that sleeps in all of you!" Ironwood shouted.
"In this final attack we can finally put down the sword. We have been left scarred. Many have lost so much that cannot be replaced. Some of you have lost your homes, your sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters. Some of you have lost limbs, then they were replaced any you were sent back out. I join you in those ranks. This war has been nothing but loss. At this time in the war, we have lost well over twenty-five million. Those were our brothers and sisters that have died in this war, all of them fought to protect something. But I can tell you all this. If we fail here, all those who have died will have died for nothing! We are alive today, here today because of their sacrifices. So, I say let's make those death mean something! Even if we must dwell to the deepest deeps of Hell, we will make sure the witch Salem can NEVER DO THIS AGAIN! We will make sure that this cannot and will not happen again. We will do this for our sons and daughters! Even if we cannot shoot our guns because they've over heated, or use our swords because they've been chipped away, we will fight on!"
Ironwood looked out at the massive crowd.
"And I leave you with this. Once we have defeated our enemy, we will place down our swords, our shields, our weapons of war and we will rebuild the world for the next generation. I fear that if we do not put down our weapons, we will become accustomed to war. I fear that. I hate war. I hate war only the way that we soldiers can. Only us who have survived war have seen how brutal, stupid and pointless it can be. If we do not end this war, this war will end us." Ironwood sat down, with the troops cheering him.
"You sounded like a Jedi at the end." Roni said.
"I learned it from you." Ironwood said. Karel went up next.
"I thank you General Ironwood. You have stirred the spirits of all of us. Now we will go over the final plans. As we have learned because of the efforts of Recon Zero…" He pointed to the captain of the ship. The legendary pilot Cap and her two stalwart allies Via and Misty.
"…We have learned exactly where Salem's temple is. In the Badlands, there is a temple on the connecting ground between the body and wing of the dragon. That is our target. Once we get there it will be nonstop. We are facing several Grimm that seems to us to be too large to count, but we will get passed that. We will have to send a strike team into the temple. And we will send multiple teams in waves. To get to the temple, we will have to make it though a mad dash to the temple up a large hill, about one hundred forty feet tall. It will be no easy rush, but we will need to get passed that to get into the temple that Salem's realm is locked behind. Once we get in, we will have to fight our way to the top floor, then fight our way into and through Salem's realm. We suspect her best forces will be in the dark realm, including the numerous force users she has revived. Then after we defeat all of them, we then must fight the witch herself, which is much harder said than done."
Karel continued for a little, then he sat back down. The talks continued but that didn't interest Karel. He already knew what they needed to do. He wanted to what it would be like once they launched the attack. He wondered what history would say about this.
Bora grabbed Karel once he left the stage.
"This is the last night before we fight Salem." She said. Karel hugged her and kissed her forehead.
"It is."
So many of the troops acted like Karel and Bora. They were giving their last goodbyes. Not many of them could sleep. Love and passion filled many of the troops. It was the last night many of them would be alive.
Salem knew that there would be an attack. What she wanted to know is how many did they leave back in the kingdoms. She gathered her forces and put many of them in reserve to attack all the major kingdoms the second the attack started.
She looked at her inner circle. She wondered if any of them would be alive by the end of the next day.
"Adam, you have prepared the defenses of the temple well. Once our enemy enters it, if they enter, they're going to have the fight of their lives. If they want to wage war against me, then let them wage war. We have nothing to fear from them. They are nothing but pathetic worms that have made themselves a nuisance to us. They have determined that they could kill me. Such foolishness will be the end of them all. The rest of you will have to fight the best of what our enemy must throw at us. Do no give them an inch."
Salem looked out the window to see her hellscape of a home. She saw the spirits of Sith spirits floating everywhere outside mocking her. She turned to her inner circle and smiled. She rose her hands and the ground shook. Out of the sea of power and death rose a large Grimm.
"Monstra, Arise!"
A loud cry rang out all throughout the dark realm.
Year 7 Day 0 Month 0
The morning was filled with melancholy, people started to say goodbye to each other. The Navy was the first to leave. These ships needed to be in place before they'd be able to send in the landing craft. Karel grabbed Bora's hand as they walked onto the air ship that they captured at the beginning of the war. The 122nd legion was there, lead by now Commander Pixi.
"Commander." Karel said.
"Commander." She returned.
"You deserve that title far more than I do."
"You will always be the commander to me. We have your drop ship ready." Most of the alliance strike team was on this ship, including three of the maidens. They couldn't find the fall maiden, which Karel regretted, but she would be safer this way.
"We all know the mission. I have one order for all of you, this will be my final order in this war. Survive this fight!" Karel said, then turned around as the ship lifted off the ground. He watched the island of Vytal disappear behind him. It just occurred to him the irony in the last battle launching from Vytal. He laughed.
"May History take note that the war will end once we touch back down here. Both wars will end at Vytal." Karel said.
"We're going to have to go to the ships soon." Bora said.
When they got on the ship, Karel turned and saw all his friends.
They all felt inspired. Karel knew right away that it was Grandmaster Ray using battle meditation. He was glad that they would have help in this fight. They would need it. They would need all the help they could get today. It was going to be a long day.
Salem was ready for the fight. Instead of the unease and blatant fear of some of her subordinates, she was excited. One thing she learned was the love of war.
"It is often said that I like war. I will crush that rumor for all of you. I don't like war, I love war. I Love War. I love our guerilla war, I love total war, I love the alliance's defensive war, I love the empire's bombs destroying the cities of the alliance. I love the battlefield littered with mangled bodies, destroyed tanks, unexploded bombs that a child will one day come across and be added to the count. I love when the enemy is suddenly surrounded by our Grimm, and they let out a final useless cry. I love seeing two young men fighting in the battlefield for a knife. I love when the Jedi find out that he is just not enough as he watches all who he leads die in a waste of life. The sight makes my cold heart leaps with joy when I see the utter despair become locked on their faces. I love the sight of war across prairies, grasslands, deserts, tundra, in the sea and in the air. I love seeing a heroic last stand be destroyed by a single bomb. There is no sight more arousing than that of a river of blood. When I see a cannon shell smash into a group of people and they are turned into nothing more than a red mist, I am in ecstasy." She said, wrapping her arms around herself. She turned to them and continued.
"I have but one request for all of you. Give me war. Give me a war so grand that it will shake up the foundations of Hell itself and threaten to swallow us whole! Give me a war so terrible that it will make a sea of blood flow. I ask you, what do you want?"
The voices of all the undead soldiers cried out for war. All but Hazel cried out for war as well.
"Very well. Then you shall have this war. This is my commandment! We will rage this war of ours! This is our crusade against life itself! We will let no one escape our grasps! We will wage a massive war that history has never seen! We will give them HELL!"
"We will give them total war." She said quietly.
Karel felt a disturbance in the force, as did all the Jedi in his ship.
"This is going to be harder than we thought." He said quietly.
Soon, all the forces of this alliance were at the Badlands, and they could see the dark temple. It was a large building built in the same style as the Sith temple on Korriban. The dark building had a long spire that stretched into the air.
"The portal is at the top of that spire. The spire will be the most heavily defended part of the complex. But once we get to the top of it, we'll be able to open up the portal." Oscar said. He looked at Ruby and Karel could tell he hadn't told her yet.
"So, when do we launch?" Arin asked.
"As soon we get the clear." Auron Artis said. He was still a grey jedi, and on the ship.
At the heads of the ships the three head ships were connected to all the airships. Ironwood stood at the deck looking at the mass of Grimm. Easily millions of Grimm were gathered in a ball of Grimm. They all circled the temple, showing the building, mocking them on how close it was. He watched as the ships lined up and waited for the order. He would gladly give it, but he waited for the others to contact him. Two holograms appeared in the deck by him.
"We are ready to start."
"As are we." Emperor Sym said. The Admiral shook his head.
Lord Watu was a part of the conference.
"We're ready."
"As are we." Admiral Cordovin said. The four Colossus all got ready to fight.
"Then as we start firing together. Remember, this is to punch a hole in the enemy guard." Ironwood said.
"Then you're going to send in all the droids, yes, we all came up with the plan." Lord Watu said.
"Then are we ready?" Ironwood asked.
"Yes."
They all sent out the order at the same time.
"FIRE!"
A thunderous tsunami of fire came from the ships smashing into the ocean of Grimm. Each shot taking out dozens of Grimm, but they were replaced right after. The spear of light slammed into the shield of darkness. The death cries and ashes of Grimm were lost to the sound of the cannon fire. The endless army of Grimm roared in defiance, many of them started rushing to the ships, only to be destroyed by snub fighters. Thousands of snub fighters were in the air all of them taking down unnumerable Grimm, but the ocean of darkness seemed unable to lessen. The deafening sound of guns firing constantly hide the fact that many Grimm of the ocean left.
Rouge kept up with all the events of the battle, until the sirens roared all though out the city, meaning only one thing. Grimm were attacking. She took out her lightsaber and left the house. A giant Lancer landed right in front of her, but it didn't last long. One of the things she was excellent in was taking on Grimm. She was glad for their wisdom at this point. She used the force to send more Grimm away from her. She finally understood why she was needed here, any why Karel didn't take the rest of his family. Alex and Adi joined the fight taking down Grimm and defending the city. Team CFVY and Jedi master Black also joined in the defense of the city. It was going to be a hard-fought battle indeed.
Jacques Schnee just finished the rest of his paperwork when he went to the window. He saw a Grimm in the air. Then another, then another, then a hundred, then a few thousand. He got his staff to a safe room, but not before one of the Grimm burst into the household. Jacques looked at it.
"Where is Jacques?" The Grimm said.
Jacques didn't say anything. He was too scared. He pulled out a pistol and fired it. The Grimm grumbled and turned to Jacques.
"I must kill you." It said. It rushed forward and slammed into Jacques. He dropped the pistol.
"If you kill me, what will you do next?"
"Leave."
Jacques looked at the options. The staff members were close by, and this Grimm would be able to find them so easily. None of them would last any longer than the ones out at the front guarding the place.
Noire was in the museum looking over the paintings when she felt a dark presence. She went to the director's room and took out her lightsaber, and her mask. She was going to defend this museum. It was all she had on this world, and all she will ever have now. When she got to the entrance of the museum, she found the dark presence. She thought it was a Grimm. She didn't get to see what Grimm it was before it let out a cry that shattered all the glass around her. She had to put up a force shield to not get mutilated. She used the force to see that large Grimm in the air and used the force to bring it down.
The images of what she learned in her pervious life flashed in her head. She rushed forward and plunged the lightsaber into the head of the Grimm. She looked at the skies and saw so many of them. This was going to be harder than she thought. She felt a dark presence approaching the Museum, and recognized the face. It was the face of her daughter in her past life.
"Leave them out of this." He thought of Karel. His brave boy. He knew it was the end for him, but he took solace in the fact that Karel, Winter, and Weiss were doing the right thing. It was the last thought that went through his head before it came off.
Attacks were launched all over Remnant. All according to Salem's plan. If they were going to give her war, she would show them war. She would show them total war. For everyone Grimm they killed she was going to kill one of their citizens. She gave them Total War.
The first dropships launched, all full of droids. They were sent to secure the landing beaches. Some of them were destroyed before even getting to the ground, but others landed, the droids getting out of the ships, killing some of the Grimm, the Grimm destroying several of them. But the droids were doing their job. They were fighting back the Grimm enough that they secured the beachhead. It only took around an hour of constant fire with likely millions of dead Grimm. The secured beach head became larger as the constant blasts killed any Grimm that were getting close. But they still had far to many for them to launch the live troops.
"Let me out there." Pyrrha said. She made a motion with her hands, and she started to glow a bright light. Their ship launched and the doors were opened. Pyrrha stepped out, with Jaune trying to catch her, but it wasn't needed. She was able to walk on the air. She walked to an opening point that pointed right at the temple and pulled out Sol. It absorbed all the darkness, then she raised her hand. At the same time, she launched all the darkness and changed it to light, then released the light in her other hand, creating two large beams of light. Any Grimm that was touched by it immediately were vaporized. She brought the beam across the sky, taking out many Grimm. She then turned her attention to the ground, and laid waste to all Grimm that were caught in the beam. Thousands a second were destroyed. There was a massive line of space where the Grimm couldn't be. She then widened the space and went back to the ship. She was breathing heavily from that but regained her composure. They launched all the drop ships of the first wave of the elite troops. The Grimm were in disarray when they landed. Once they landed the ground shook.
Three of the largest Grimm in existence arrived. The Wyvern, the Leviathan, and Monstra arrived on the battlefield. In the sea, one of the smaller ships was destroyed when Leviathan picked it up and crushed it. A cluster of Sea Feilong came rushing towards the other ships. They had the smaller guns fire at them.
"It seems they sent in reinforcements." Sym said.
A pride of manticore Grimm landed on the ships, but many of them were shot off by the smaller turrets, and snub fighters. Some were able to start chewing into the metals, but none got far. The most important materiel was hidden deeper inside the iron hauls of the ships. Some Grimm attempted to get close to the engines, but every attempt ended with them being killed in a blaze of fuels.
The drop ships finally landed on the ground, and the strike team all got on the ground. They all saw the temple. The near two hundred fighters all rushed forward. As soon as the boots hit the hill, gunfire came from the temple. All the force users took out their lightsabers and started blocking the gun fire.
Sun was behind Blake, who returned fire. No one said anything and most of them let out screams. The hellish climb led to so many of them getting hit, but thanks to semblances, they weren't immediately killed. One of the troops that were charging was shot in the head, dying and falling to the ground. The climb was starting to become deadly. But they couldn't stop the climb, or they were going to die. A blast sent some in the back flying. Sun couldn't look back to see who it was.
Scarlet kept on running. It was the mission. They were halfway to the top when a Grimm jumped on him. He struggled to get it off and kill it before continuing the run. But he was behind. He rushed with everything he had in him, but the Grimm were starting to chase him again. An explosion overhead made him trip, but it did take out some Grimm. He continued the run and felt his ears. He felt blood from one ear, then he felt a claw rush across his back, tearing his clothes and wetting the ground. He turned around and fired at the Grimm.
"SUN!" He shouted. "KEEP GOING!"
Scarlet turned around and took out another Grimm. Then another. He thought of Nathan, then his other teammates. He felt a claw puncture his lung. He remembered watching Sage die and made sure he wouldn't let the others see him die.
He let out a roar and chopped off the head of the Grimm that punctured him. He then swung the sword again taking out another Grimm. He pointed his pistol at another Grimm and took it down. He suddenly realized he was surrounded. He felt the blood coming to his mouth and knew it was time to use his ultimate weapon. He called it Pixie Dust. A massive bomb, made entirely of dust of all kinds. He jumped in the air and used his semblance glide to move away from the explosion. The bomb went off. It was a glorious explosion. He knew the Grimm crowded around it because he put a Grimm attractant on it. He must have hundreds of Grimm. Maybe even a thousand. When he landed, he fell forward. A bullet punctured his heart, then another went through his other lung. He fell to the ground and died.
Sun heard the explosion and turned around. He saw Scarlet land and be killed.
"SCARLET!" He cried out.
"We need to keep going!" Blake yelled, grabbing his shoulder.
Auron continued his climb and was the first to step foot at the top. But what met him couldn't have been prepared for. He suddenly felt like the battle was unwinnable. He couldn't think straight and saw the problem. He recognized the Grimm. Apathy. They were much deadlier than most of the Grimm on Remnant. He used the bulk of his remaining will power to toss his lightsaber at the closest one. When he did, he saw a lightsaber coming towards him, but he couldn't do anything to stop it.
Auron dropped to the ground and saw one of the Black Fang Sith standing over him. He plunged the lightsaber into his heart, killing him.
Ruby was the next to get up and saw the Apathy Grimm. She knew how dangerous they were because of an experience she was told about by Maria Calavera. She immediately used her silver eyes, killing the Apathy Grimm and the force user who killed Auron. She closed his eyes and took out her weapon, slashing Grimm that tried to kill her. The once grey Jedi teal came to the top and looked at Auron with a pain in her heart. She picked up his lightsaber and continued in the temple.
Karel and Bora were towards the back, making sure they could keep the back safe from Grimm. Bora replaced her spent cartridges and looked behind. There were a few bodies everywhere. The droids were also keeping the Grimm back for now. She held onto the detonator for all the bombs she dropped on her way up and waited for the last of the troops to make it before detonating all of them. Hundreds of Grimm were caught in the explosions.
"It seems you lot like blowing things up." The Third Sister said. She took out her lightsaber and went to the locked door. She started cutting the door with Teal. Once they cut through, they combined a force push and sent the doors flying, crushing a black fang troop. The imperial guard stepped in the building and immediately killed six of the black fang. He didn't say anything.
"Pare of Mistral?" Karel asked.
"Mistral."
He took out a sword and slammed it into a door. The black fang troop on the other side collapsed once he pulled the sword back.
The strike team entered the entrance of the temple, the red and black of decorations was oppressive.
"We've just started. Assume that there is resistance behind every door. We should get more help once they can get here. We have killed a lot of Grimm, but we still need to kill more.
"I'm getting really tired of killing Grimm." Rouge said as she landed on the ground from killing a Nevermore. Vale had been doing better than anyone thought they would, but still, it was a hard-fought battle. The remaining troops and Jedi had their hands full. Lance took Gwen and Jade deeper into the house and waited. Jira started coordinating the defense from HQ. They were prepared for this fight.
"I hear you there." Adi said. She took out another ursa Grimm that charged them. She wore some of her stormtrooper armor. She wasn't going to let them get to the house.
"I wonder how Karel's doing?" Alex said, after dropping another Grimm. She looked around and saw more Grimm coming, but she also saw them all get destroyed within seconds. Coco arrived to help.
Karel got in a quick lightsaber battle with a black fang force user. They weren't a skilled fighter, and after a swing that was just a little too large, Karel ducked under the blade and drove his own into the heart of the black fang troop.
"Keep your eyes open!" Karel said. He saw a black fang troop fall to the ground and saw Bora pointing her pistol towards the air.
"Same goes for you" she said. Zia flew high in the air and launched a hailstorm of wrist rockets, slamming into enemy defensive positions. Soule jumped in the air and deflected a shot back at its sender, then landed on the main stairwell. A shot took out a stormtrooper that was next to Blake. She grabbed his blaster and jumped up on the stairwell then jumped to one of the non-damaged stairwells. She aimed at a target further up, taking them down. She hooked the blaster to her waist belt, then took out her weapons, swinging them behind her, slamming them into a black fang troop who thought they got the upper hand on her.
The third sister jumped and threw her lightsaber, taking the heads off three black fang troops. She used the force to bring back the lightsaber then landed on the stairwell, rushing up it. Karel blocked all the shots that were fired at him. Sun followed Blake, allowing her to focus more on firing at those further up. He took care of two black fang troops that rushed in.
A grenade landed at the base of the temple, taking out four of the team. Oscar was right next to Ruby the entire way. She knew he was needed if the mission was going to succeed, and she made sure he was safe. It made him guilty for not telling her what was going to happen.
Neptune followed behind Weiss, firing at the enemy. One dropped down and he changed his weapon into trident mode. The sword was caught by him, then Weiss killed the enemy with Silence. She gathered the noise in her palm and launched it at the troops. She then created a glyph and summoned an ursa Grimm. The troops were distracted enough that they didn't see the team firing at them, killing them. The ursa ran though the hallways, taking out two more before being killed.
They got to the second floor of the temple, and saw a giant library, filled with Sith Holocrons. Karel took out his purple lightsaber and continued forward. Qrow tossed him aside and used his sword to block an arrow coming right at him. He used the natural dark side energy to send a wave of Lightning at the attacker.
Karel got up quickly and ran to Qrow. He placed his necklace on his back. The dark side energy was cut off.
"Sorry about that." Qrow said.
"We need to be careful. If you use the dark side in this room, it seems that you can easily get locked into that." Karel said.
"Not too far off." The voice of Tetra rang out. The inquisitor landed on the ground and looked at Karel.
"You're different, but you still have those eyes. Those damned eyes. Oh, and your girlfriend who killed me is here too." He said. He took out his lightsaber and four more dark side black fang troops came out of the shadows.
"She's, my wife." Karel said.
"You're not supposed to be married Jedi." Aifohhogu the other inquisitor said, with another four dark side black fang. She turned on her lightsaber.
"So, you were the failed inquisitors." The third sister said. The fifth brother stepped behind her.
"And it seems that they want to fight us." He said. He took off his helmet to reveal a Weequay.
"It seems that we got a challenge. Aifo, take on the ugly one." Tetra said. The fifth brother took out his lightsaber and rushed Aifo. She was put on the defensive.
The other four dark side black fang rushed forward. Teal, Xar, Arin, and Akio blocked the attacks. The third sister rushed at Tetra with Callus, Soule, Vox, and one of the new Sith attacking.
The lights in the library came on, with more Black Fang coming in. Ruby put away crescent rose away and took out her lightsaber. She used her semblance to bring Yang to another set of stairs going to a second layer of the library. They fought back the Black Fang along with the troops that back them up. The Jedi were able to handle the dark side users well, while Vox had already killed her Sith, but the fourth Sith they brought was easily killed.
The Fifth Brother used a force push to send Aifo back. She feigned an opening and waited for the Fifth Brother to charge. Once he did, she sent a blast of force lightning to him. He took it. It burned his chest but didn't kill him. He couldn't do anything for a moment, which was all Aifo needed. She rushed forward and plunged her lightsaber into his chest. He coughed up blood and fell backwards.
After he was killed, she looked up to see Karel almost at her. She stepped back just in time to not die, but she couldn't go on the offensive. He was stronger this time and faster. If she tried to do what she did on the Weequay, it would be her death. She jumped back and tossed a Holocron at him. He sliced it and held out his hand. He had a ball of water in hand. He crushed it, and where she landed became water. He then threw a shard of ice dust and it landed on the water. Aifo couldn't dodge the attack, and the water froze. The ice ran up her legs, keeping her in place. Before Karel could land the killing blow, a purple lightsaber blade exited her chest.
Raven stood behind her, killing her for the final time. She then used her power to send a massive
shockwave towards the enemy. They were all thrown off balance, and many of them were opened to counterattack that lead to massive amounts of destruction.
The Wyvern Grimm landed on one of the Colossus and let out a blast of fire. If the glass didn't resist it, Vine would have been dead. He used the giant robot to grab the Wyvern by the neck. It let out a cry then opened it's wings wide, unleashing a hoard of Grimm. They all jumped on the robot's arm and ran up to the hatch. Vine didn't say anything. He brought the arm down, slamming the Wyvern into the ocean. He brought the Wyvern out of the ocean, without most of the Grimm and it wrapped its wings around Colossus. It but the glass, breaking it.
Vine quickly brought the other arm up, or at least tried to. The wings restricted the amount of movement he had, so he moved the Colossus away from the rest of the force. He moved it on land, stomping on Grimm and droid alike.
"Vine? What are you doing?" Harriet asked.
"My duty. We knew these were Grimm killers. But if I stay with you, it'll take out the rest of you. Go, I got the Wyvern." He said. As he went further in land with the Wyvern, a large group of Grimm followed him. He lasted a few minutes before the top of the robot was ripped off. He pressed the self-destruct button. It was built with a massive bomb at the center that once the process was started, it couldn't be undone, except by the pilot. If the pilot was K.I.A, the bomb would go off, taking with the pilot whatever killed it. The Wyvern tried to get away, but Vine grabbed it with the robot arm. It looked at him and unleashed its fire blast. But it didn't matter now. They were far enough in land that they wouldn't hurt anyone else.
Vine may have died, but his sacrifice took out the Wyvern Grimm, the evidence of it being the loud bang and tip of the explosion being visible by the air ships. The Wyvern was gone.
But that still left them with the other large Grimm that they were struggling with. Harriet was dealing with the Leviathan by herself. Marrow and Elm were taking down Monstra.
She fired a blast from the cannon arm, but it shrugged it off. She clenched her teeth and she drove the giant arm into it. Leviathan stumbled back, but then sent an attack back to Harriet. She brought the arms up to protect her. Leviathan was hit with rounds from some of the Navy ships. If roared out at them, but that didn't stop them. It got hit by another round with the cannon arm. She went to punch it again, but it clenched down on the arm of the robot. Harriet let out another shot, hitting the Leviathan face, but that only enraged it. It ripped off the arm of the Colossus with its jaw. Harriet brought the robot's leg up and kicked the monster, knocking it to the sea floor. The waves hit the ships and the shore.
"Be careful! We need to fix our sights. It'll take some time." Cordovin said. The Leviathan opened its mouth then Harriet slammed the cannon arm into the open hole.
"Chew on this!" She fired another cannon round. This time in the mouth of the monster.
"Back to Hell where you belong!" She fired another round, and a third. On the third time, the Leviathan was decapitated. Its body started to fade.
"If you're done over there, we need some help!" Elm said. Monstra was the hardest of the Grimm to kill. It constantly sent out smaller Grimm and seemed to brush off any damage it took.
"We got all of us on this one now." Marrow said.
"Don't get comfortable." Ironwood said.
"Yes sir. Won't happen again." Marrow replied.
Ironwood looked out at the battlefield. He saw that they had massively decreased the number Grimm.
"This is taking forever." Sym said.
"We can't even begin to count the amount of Grimm we killed. But we can see the effects of it. I think we've got enough of them gone to where we can send the next landing crafts." The Admiral said.
"I agree." Lord Watu said.
With that the second wave went to the shores. A mixture between droid and live troops landed and secured the beach front. Many of them took into the blown-out craters on the ground to give them cover.
"We have to hope that they're able to get us a foothold in the temple." Ironwood said.
Karel blocked another attack. Teal was wounded, losing an arm. Gael had taken her away and Karel took up the fight. Mizuki ducked under a strike and plunged her lightsaber into the enemy.
"Master Karel, we've got to get moving!" Mizuki said.
"We need to take these guys out." Karel said. He brought up his lightsaber and held the lock with one hand. He brought Oblivion out and cut across the assailant. He stepped back and flew backwards. He put his lightsaber away and blocked an attack coming towards him. A bead of sweat came down his face. He used an inactivate lightsaber to impale the enemy.
"They've cut off the exit!" Soule shouted. He made a quick move and was behind his enemy. He tried to turn around, but only half his body did. Soule stabbed him through the head to kill him. Vox used the force to lodge a Sith Holocron into the back of her opponent. She then brought the lightsabers up, bringing hers down across their chest.
Tetra was gasping for air. He used the dark side to send out an electric storm. The third sister got hit by it and gritted her teeth. She almost dropped her lightsaber, but a blaster bolt went thought the head of Tetra. Bora spun her pistol and fired at another troop.
"Looks like we've got an opening." Weiss said. She just finished taking out the half dozen troops blocking the way. Teal was stabilized, with a Bacta patch over her wound.
"We can't leave you here, so you're going to have to follow us." Gael said.
They heard fire coming from below them.
"It looks like we're behind schedule." Lady Callus said.
They moved on to the third floor. It was a massive floor that Oscar recognized immediately.
"This is a recreation of the castle lived in." He said.
"Wait, what? You lived with Salem?" Xar asked.
"It was a past life a long time ago." Oscar said.
From the ceiling of the roof came seven of the remaining legendary swordsmen.
"I am Carmine Angel, leader of the legendary swordsmen. I am the user of Eclipse." She said.
"Everyone, be careful! One wrong move and you die!" Karel shouted.
"You are Oblivion then? And you are Silence?" She said.
"I am Darth Soule, Member of the Royal family of Mistral. I challenge you." He put his lightsaber out."
"I accept." Zia rushed to his side as the dome was made. "You cannot think of fighting Salem if you can't kill me." Carmine said.
Lady Callus and Vox took one two more of the swordsmen. The four remaining swordsmen spread out and charged at them. Karel slammed his sword in the ground, sending out a shockwave, stopping Thunder and Suspicion stopped in their tracks. But the last two Corruption and Loyalty went after the back half of troops. They took out five troops each before getting stopped by Mizuki and Gael. Two more domes were created.
"Thunder uses the element to attack and defend. He also has great speed!" Karel yelled. He held out his hands and got iron. He crushed the image and tossed it at thunder, who he held there using the force. His hands were chained together. The third Sister charged at him, and Xar and Akio jumped to fight Suspicion.
"NO!" Weiss called out. It was too late. The dome already came up.
"Suspicion fights with shadows! He makes large groups think they're fighting enemies while they're actually fighting themselves!"
While the seven swordsmen were in their fights, the rest of the floor was covered in Grimm.
Weiss slammed her sword in the ground and absorbed the sound. She had learned a trick to allow her allies to hear while she has the silent zone up. But the enemy had no such luck. Weiss called out to the people and told them where the Grimm were. They were able to sneak up and take out the Grimm.
Gael was fighting Corruption, which would have made her laugh if not for the serious nature of the fight. She had read the reports from Karel about the Swordsmen, but she frankly didn't believe all of it. Corruption would be probably her best matchup, but it was still going to be a hard-fought battle. It was the counterpart to Oblivion, except instead of killing with a scratch, it destroyed weapons in a scratch. It was a katana style blade. Her luck was good since the weapon's special effect only worked on lightsabers if they hit the actual hilt, and not the plasma blade.
She ducked under an overhead strike, then sent out a force blast. He slammed against the wall but seemed to not care.
"Salem is a monster. You must stop her." Corruption said. He rushed forward again, but this time his image split into four. The semblance of Corruption was corrupting a sense of the enemy. He most often went for eyesight, but he can do others. Eyesight was a particularly poor choice for a Jedi, but then it hit her. He wants to die.
She used the force to see him. She rolled to the side, then used the sharp debris on the floor to attack him. He couldn't block most of it, and he had multiple stone shards hanging out of him. She took out a scalpel and threw it at him. It rusted the scalpel immediately, but it left him not looking at her. She used force speed to rush to him in the blink of an eye, and she plunged the lightsaber in his chest.
"Thank you." He said. He touched her forehead, and his memories came rushing into her head. Unlike the other members of the new legendary swordsmen, she was able to almost immediately get back into the fight, but it did take her a few minutes to be able to get to her feet.
It seemed she was the first one to beat a swordsman, but she knew he was holding back. She held the katana in her hand, looking at its masterful craftsmanship. It looked like a regular katana, until she held it, when it changed to fit her more. Its length changed, and color. The metal changed to match the color of her lightsaber, and the hilt felt good in her hands. She learned exactly how to wield the blade and its history.
Mizuki had a hard time even raising her lightsaber. Loyalty's semblance made even the greatest of enemies become subservient to the wielder. Only those who's will was stronger than the wielder could resist the commands. It was a gamble to go up against loyalty. If you had a weak will, you would die easily. If you had a strong will, you would be able to continue the fight. She struggled as he just ordered her to stand down. She struggled to keep the lightsaber up every inch it was at. Loyalty fed on those who thought they could take advantage on the seemingly weak opponent.
It was a battle of wills, as Loyalty had to stay still while casting the request until it was completed. Instead of a battle of blades, it was a battle of wills. Mizuki gritted her teeth and thought of everything she's been through. All these years of the toughest missions imaginable.
But she felt her body completely ready to obey the order of Loyalty. The sword pointed at her stopped her in her tracks. But the sword was a double-edged blade, quite literally. Mizuki almost gave up, then she felt a voice, the voice of Akio call to her. The images of their time together flashed in her mind, and she felt s surge in her. She broke the spell and rushed forward. She killed Loyalty, who then placed a hand on her head and smiled.
"Salem can no longer hold us against our will. You must destroy her." She said as her body was turning to dust. Mizuki learned the history and gained power. She learned that who Loyalty was. She had to admit that she found it odd how easily she died, but she knew that she gave up. Loyalty was loyal to her cause till the very end. She looked at the blade in her hand, a small blade, but one that was exceedingly deadly. The blade had an inscription on it. "Loyalty is the greatest virtue." She turned the sword and saw "Will is the great strength"
The two domes fell, and Gael and Mizuki were now both wielders of the legendary swords. They were both exhausted. But they both got back up and felt in a few minutes reinvigorated.
The second group finally arrived. Roni and Vuren were among the first to get to the third floor.
"We could move on, but I don't think that would be beneficial." Karel said.
It was a moment of reprieve before they had to continue through the temple. Each floor became harder to climb than the last.
"He's gone." Sun said.
"I can't believe it." Neptune said. They were the last ones in the team. They survived so much, but they couldn't survive the war.
"We will have time to mourn. But right now, we must focus." Karel said. "I'm sorry. This never should have happened." He said.
"We better plan on what we're going to do after this floor." Roni said.
"Yang and I can scout ahead." Arin said.
"That may be beneficial." Roni said.
"But you should take Captain Violette with you." Karel said.
"Alright." The three of them continued up the stairs and found that they were just one floor away from the Spire. It seemed that the third floor was meant to slow them down. They did lose over one hundred, and so they were more cautious. Arin got up and hid behind a door. He used the force to open the door. The shards of the door slammed into a black fang troop. It seemed that they had people behind almost every door. They had someone behind every door.
"Captain, go back down and warn them. Mad dash to the top. Like first floor." He whispered. He was surprised they hadn't heard him take out the black fang troop, but he was glad about that.
"Yang, we'll go up. Watch my back." He said as he stepped through the door.
Vox used force lightning against her opponent. He used the sword called Betrayer. She didn't know what it did, but she wouldn't give him a second to try anything. Betrayer opened, creating a giant blade with one giant hole in it. Surrounding the circle read "Senses." She looked at it, then she got hit with a soundwave. She opened her eyes but couldn't see anything. She felt nothing, she could hear nothing. She realized at once why this sword was called betrayer. It was a sword that betrayed the senses. She might as well be floating in a sea of darkness. But she still had the force. She held her hands out and sent out a massive shockwave of force lightning. She used the force to sense her attacker. Even though she didn't know where he was, that set back wouldn't stop Vox. She sensed him behind her. She spun, or what she thought was a spin, she couldn't tell. She brought her lightsaber in a wide arc.
"Release." He said. Soon after she felt all her senses return.
"That won't stop me." Vox said.
"Perhaps not." The sword was still open, but the words were changed.
"Arms." It read. Suddenly her arms fell to her sides.
"Dammit" she said. She was on the backfoot for the rest of the fight, she ducked sidestepped, countered, and dodged, but it was obvious that she wasn't fighting with anywhere near the skill she was a few moments ago.
She felt the rage building up in her and found that rage in her throat.
"ENOUGH!" She shouted and Betrayal slammed into the domed wall. The sword folded back, and she felt her arms return to her control. She rose her hands, and he started to float in the air. She sent force lighting towards him. He squirmed in Vox's hold. She got closer to him and took out her lightsaber. She slowly put it through his stomach. She pulled it out and left an X on his chest. She put her lightsaber away when he jumped back up, placing his hand on her head. As the dome fell, Vox glowed a dark crimson. She laughed as she fell to her knees. Lady Callus also exited the dome with the Rage blade.
Soule was ready to finish this. He noticed she had become much slower and was in the range for her death. She stopped and slammed her sword in the ground.
"I will not fight any longer." She said. Her body started to convulse. "You must kill me!" She said with a scream. Salem was trying to control her, but she was fighting back. Soule didn't let this chance pass him by. He finished of Carmine. But before she died, she put her hand on his head. He had at last gained his semblance.
The third sister just finished off Thunder when she collapsed. Gael went to check if she was dead, but she wasn't. She just barely defeated Thunder. It seemed that only one last swordsman needed to be defeated.
Xar was fighting against Suspicion. Akio was killed early in the fight just leaving the swordsman for him to fight. He jumped over a swing and tried to slash him from the back, but the Swordsman blocked it and thrusted upwards, kicking Xar. He slammed against the wall.
Akio was about to land a killing blow, but he stood over Xar's body. He was going to protect it from the swordsman. He jumped back and swung his sword, using his semblance to slam a blast of wind against him. He felt the air leave his lung once he hit the dome wall. He felt a voice come to his head.
"Don't fight him. He's Xar." Karel's voice came to him. "That's what Suspicion can do."
"Akio?"
"Xar?"
The Illusion faded. There he was suspicion. He was using two swords. He grumbled as Xar, and Akio rushed him. He blocked both attacks, but he was exhausted from keeping up the ruse on two Jedi. He made a flurry of attacks which Akio and Xar defended against. He felt both lightsabers enter his chest. He let out a gasp and placed both hands on the Jedi. Both became suspicion.
After some time passed, all the swordsmen were better, and they continued.
"You listened to me." Karel said to Xar.
"It was hard to believe that it was you, but I trusted in you, as you've trusted in me."
"Both of you have had challenges with the dark side, so you were both going to have a challenge against Suspicion, but you both trusted in the truth." Karel said.
They all got up the stairs, but when they did and they started to climb the stairs, black fang jumped out of everywhere. Vuren blocked every hit, sending them back to the senders. But many of the troops were less lucky. A stormtrooper fell from the top of the stairs, and some of those at the bottom were killed by grenades. The stairs at the bottom broke, so half of the force had to go through the entire force of Black Fang before getting to the top. They wanted to fight the lowest number they could.
Yang just finished blasting another Black Fang troop when a Jedi came to her. They were one of the Grey Jedi recruits.
"We've been pushing the Black Fang back." Yang said, then continued. She took out her lightsaber and changed it to the blue crystal. She was stopped when Raven appeared in front of her.
"The unit has been split in two. We're going to lead the attack against the Black Fang wherever they are." She said.
"Alright mom."
"You should get back with Arin. He's not to far away." She said.
Oscar and Ruby were the leaders of the charge. They were the first ones to get to the top floor. When they got to the top of the temple spire, they saw the dark room. A giant wall stood between Remnant and the realm of Salem. There was a single man there.
"It's been a long time Ozpin."
"Hazel."
Author's Notes: This is the start of the end. The cast has been drastically cut down. And this is on long chapter. The rest of the chapters are going to be filled with action.
It's been a long road, but we're finally here. I've spent so much time building towards this one thing. This has been a long road.
I don't have much to say this time. Please review.
May the Force be With You
-DragonZlayerX12
