Chapter 43

Year 7 Month 0 Day 0

After invading the realm of Salem, the coalition strike team took out Dr. Watts and Tyrian of Salem's inner circle. As they continue the strike team must take out the rest of the inner circle before they are able to face off against Salem.

"Your whole team will die for you Blake." Adam said. He looked around at the dead and wounded Hunters around him. What remained of team FNKI was too wounded to continue the fight. Flynt did his best to stabilize Neon and Kobalt, but he knew what he could do was less than what they needed. Kobalt was fading fast.

"We're stronger than you think." Blake said. She held out her weapons to Adam. He took in a deep breath and looked at the moon.

"The race known as humans will die after today. We will take the relics and bring back the Gods. When they return, we'll burn all humans on this planet. The faunas will be all that's left. No longer will we suffer under the boots of humans. But to create the paradise I have envisioned; I will need to purge all race traitors. Your blood will stand as a testament to all faunas what happens when you side with the humans." Adam glanced at the four huntresses.

"Your vision of paradise is horrible. You never tried to become equal with the humans. You wanted superiority!" Blake said.

"But we are superior. It is a biological fact that we're better than humans. Science does not lie. That's why they fear us. Fear me. They domesticated you. You are a no longer a faunas, and neither is that fool dying." Adam pointed to Sun on the ground, holding onto a wound across his chest. He was unconscious, with Flynt moving him. It was lucky that Flynt took medical training. He took out dust and medical equipment and started to stitch the wound back together.

"How much blood is on your hands?" Weiss asked.

"Less than your father's." Adam replied.

"What happened to you that made you like this?" Ruby asked. "I know that your treatment was horrible, inhumane in every sense of the word, but what made you a killer?" Ruby asked.

"I killed to protect Blake's father, and he turned his back on me. I defended our people, and he cast me out as nothing more than a monster. He was a pathetic pacifist. His ways led to nothing changing. That's why we for so long were forced to be under the heel of you humans. He thought that if we just sat around saying we don't like getting treated worse than the Grimm, the humans would stop hating us. They didn't care about our protests and boycotts. We were a laughingstock, and he allowed it to happen. I didn't" Adam said.

"You're on a path that will lead to your death, and the deaths of millions of faunas." Yang said.

"You think you can kill me. Then try it."


He saw Ruby rush forward at him. He brought his sword up, blocking the lightsaber, then she spun her body. She brought out Crescent Rose and almost landed a hit on him. If he didn't jump back at the last possible second, he would have lost his good eye. He spun around and slammed his sword into Blake's Gambol Shroud. She blocked the attack. Weiss fired a combination of dust towards him. He broke the lock and took out an explosive. It slammed into the dust, making the dust go off. He turned back and ducked under a strike from Blake. He kicked Blake's abdomen, making her stumble back. Yang sent a force push at Adam, knocking him down. He slammed his sword in the ground, and immediately got back up. He reached in his jacket and grabbed another explosive and threw it at Yang. She used the force to dodge the explosives, before she punched at him with her Ember Celica. He blocked the attacks gathering the energy. Weiss used her Glyphs to speed towards him and held out Silence to attack him. He saw her rushing at him, and he sent out some of the stored energy. She spun around, dodging the attack and sent out a sound blast at him. Adam went down to one knee and absorbed the attack.

"That's not good enough!" Adam said.

"What's not good enough is you, Adam." Yang said. She landed next to him, and she went through a series of punches. He was on the backfoot, barely able to block the attacks. Wilt was the best choice he had. But he made sure that blush wasn't ignored. He jumped back and spun his handle to Ruby. He fired at her. She took out her saber staff and blocked the hits. He kicked Yang, knocking her off balance, and allowing him enough time to grab a dust dagger. He went to plunge it in Yang's chest, but it was knocked out of his hand by Ruby's sniper. Adam grumbled, then put his sword back. He jumped back, waiting a second for Yang to come charging in. Before she was about to punch him, he smirked. He fired blush, which launched Wilt, slamming into Yang's forehead. He jumped in the air and grabbed the spinning sword. Yang shook he head and took out her yellow lightsaber. Adam landed on the blade, then used it to jump behind her. He kicked Yang in the back and charged at Weiss. He took out four small explosives and threw them behind him. Blake jumped over the explosives, using her clone to launch herself over the explosives. He spun while ducking to go low. Weiss stepped back, slamming Silence in the ground, Wilt bounced off Silence. He brought blush up and fired. Weiss summoned an arm to take the hit from the gun.

"That's not good enough." Weiss said.

Adam clenched his teeth. He was about to strike again when Ruby rushed behind him. He rolled to the side and spun, bringing his sword up with him. Ruby's lightsaber blocked him. She brought her hand back, and he quickly slammed his sword in the ground. After the force push didn't move him, He was about to get up when his hand was grabbed by Blake's weapon. He looked at Blake and was thrown away from his sword getting close to her. He started struggling against the ribbon, at the same time taking out more explosives. He tossed them at Yang and Ruby who tried to rush him. He pulled out a shard of magnetic dust and pointed it at his sword. The sword flung to his hand, and he caught it. Blake let go of him, then threw her other weapon in the ground. She contracted the ribbon as she flew towards him. He brought his sword up and blocked the hit, having to step back. He held out his gun and fired at Blake. Weiss sent another sound blast at him. He was flung backwards. Blood fell down his mouth. He spat out the blood and looked at the four.


"Your outmatched." Blake said.

"You think so? Because I don't. The second I kill one of you is the second I win. How long do you all think you could last?" Adam said.

"You think you can take one of us down?" Yang asked.

"How highly does the Jedi think of herself? I thought you weren't supposed to be so conceited." Adam knew he just needed to take one of them down. He already got a few good hits in on Yang, but it seems that she'll be the hardest one to kill. But he still needs to take out Blake and Weiss. Ruby seems to be protective of Weiss. He might need to go after her, but then Yang protects her. Weiss protects Blake, and Blake defends her in turn. But then the others seem more than capable protecting the other two. He's not going to be able to single one out. He just needs to be better than two of them at once.

"My cause is greater than yours. I cannot fall here." Adam said.

"Your cause is genocide!" Blake yelled.

"Is it truly genocide when it's against the humans? You can only commit genocide against people, not pathetic worms." Adam said.

"You're in no state to continue this fight."

Everyone turned to the top of the door of the castle. Jedi Tanner and Em stood there.


"Get out of here! I don't need help!" Adam said. Tanner tossed Adam a bag of explosives, and Adam felt Salem take over. She made him jump to the top of a stone pillar.

"We're here to give Adam enough time to recover. We don't stand a chance against you all." Tanner said. He took out his lightsaber and rushed at Yang. Ruby rushed to her side and the three lightsabers clashed. Adam watched as he felt his aura return to normal levels. It wasn't satisfying, but if they could make the women there a little easier to defeat that would make his fight easier. Ruby's fighting style was the most unique of them all. If her lightsaber wasn't working then she would bring out Crescent Rose, then switch back to her lightsaber in the blink of an eye. Yang was a strong fighter, who didn't give her opponent a second to breath. Tanner had no chance of keeping up with them. He just wasn't good enough. But he would be a good distraction for Adam.

Then there was Em. She was a speed fighter who switched quickly between her pistols and her rifle. Weiss was a smart fighter, using dust like no other person could. He had never seen anyone who had the innate talent with the mysterious source of energy on Remnant. Even without her Myrtenaster she was nothing less than elegant. It seems she had adopted a dust launcher hidden by her sleeves that took place of that feature of her old weapon. She was able to create a shield against the bullets which surprised Adam. She was a monster, but she knew how to fight. The sound barrier she created stopped the bullets, which he took note of. He needed a moment to analyze their fighting styles. They were fully fledged huntresses, able to fight alone, or together. Blake had improved the most out of anyone he trained. She had been able to start slicing bullets shortly after they were fired. Her reflexes were on par with that of the Jedi. She was a master at using her clones in offensive and defensive ways. It amazed him how strong she had gotten over the war. The woman he knew and the woman he saw were two completely different people. She wasted nothing. It amazed him how quickly she could switch from one strategy to another.

But he was stronger than any of them. But the question was if he was stronger than their whole. He wondered, and soon the answer to that question would be answered. He restocked his explosives and made sure his dust was ready to be used at a moment's notice.

"Checkmate!" Ruby cried out. Weiss and Blake nodded and rushed at Em together. Weiss brought up glyphs to keep her from moving and launched magnetic dust, grabbing her guns.

Em took out two dust daggers and got in a defensive position. Blake fired at her and ended shooting out one of the daggers out of her hand.

Em threw the dagger at Weiss, who spun around it with a glyph. She widened her eyes as the glyphs came down and she felt a slash across her chest and back. She dropped to her knees and smiled.

"Thank you. Please save Tanner." Em said. She started to fade. "And be careful. Salem is stronger than any of you think." Em faded away.

"Understood." Weiss said.

"That's one of them." Blake said. She and Weiss turned to Yang and Ruby, who were in another lock with Tanner.

"I'm sorry for everything I've done. I just wanted to stop Salem, but she found me before I could stop her." Tanner said.

"You have nothing to apologize for" Ruby said.

"I'm fighting her, but I can't last long. Quickly, end me." Tanner said. "May the force be with you."

Ruby and Yang nodded. They took out Summer's lightsabers and stabbed Tanner with them. The green and blue blades intersecting in an X.

"I'm going to see Jash again. I'm glad I'm dead now." Tanner dropped his lightsaber. "Take out Adam quickly. They're going to need your help." Tanner faded.


"They just gave up. Pathetic. They had no spirit in them at all." Adam said. He was better now. He jumped off the stone pillar, spinning in the air, taking out his sword. He landed on the ground, but all of team RWBY jumped back. He cracked the ground when he landed. He reached in his jacket and took out four of the explosives and threw them.

Ruby and Yang used the force to bring the explosives to them then tossed them at the castle.

"You're going to need more than that to stop us." Yang said.

"It seems so." Adam said.

Adam spun, slashing his sword in the air, releasing the energy stored up in a giant slash. All the members of Team RWBY put out their weapons to block the attack. Adam watched as the attack became a dust cloud, and he knew it wasn't enough. After the could left, he saw the women standing there.

"I have to admit that you're stronger than I thought. But that won't stop me. I must prevail. Only then can I lead the Faunas to our future." Adam said.

"Adam, you're already dead. You should never have come back. The Faunas won't follow you. They can't follow you." Blake said.

"Your words mean nothing. I may have died because I was weak, but I have been reborn stronger now. I will lead my chosen people forever. Because I have tasted of death, the embrace of death had no more hold over me. I will be the judge and king of my people. I will bring peace, freedom, prosperity, and justice to my kingdom. The little child will no longer have to live a life afraid of those lesser beings who call themselves humans. I will bring a new golden age of the Faunas." Adam said.

"You think you're a god?" Ruby asked.

"Think?" Adam asked while smirking.

"You're insane." Yang said.

"Maybe." Adam rushed forward, placing the explosives on his sword, and swung at Blake. She blocked, and the explosives went off. She was thrown backwards into a stone wall. She coughed up blood and fell to the ground. He brought his sword down then turned it sharply up at Yang. She held out her lightsaber, and used the force to protect herself, but she was flung backwards as well. Weiss casted four Grimm that rushed Adam. He slashed at them all. All of them faded, but he was out of explosives. Adam turned to Weiss who had her hand outstretched, almost able to touch him, and sent out a sound blast. He felt his face hit the ground and he spun in the air. He let go of his sword, then kicked it at Ruby. She moved, but not far enough as the blade cut her side. She brought her hand down to the wound and gritted her teeth. She used her semblance to rush forward and took out Crescent Rose. She spun the weapon in her hand and gripped Adam's body. She used the force to smash against the stone wall. He took the hit. He saw Ruby holding onto her weapon. He looked at Ruby, and reached out, grabbing her throat. Adam used his other hand to grab a handful of explosives. She widened her eyes as she retracted her weapon. She landed on the ground then took out her lightsaber. Adam threw all the explosives at her. She waved her hand and the explosives exploded against the rocks that had fallen. She rushed forward and slashed at him. She used her speed to get behind him. Normally it would have been a killing blow, but he took all the energy from her attack.


"You can't defeat me like that." Adam said. Before he could bring his arm around to slash at Ruby, he felt his arm getting wrapped around by Blake's weapon. He looked over at her and grumbled. He brought his arm forward, but she stood her ground.

"We can't let you continue like this." Blake said.

"My cause is right!" Adam said.

"Faunas equality is a righteous cause, but not faunas supremacy!" Weiss said.

"Supremacy… The idea of it makes me happy." Adam said

"But empty." Yang said, as she walked back to Weiss' side.

"And alone. That's why your ideal can't win. In the end, you have to fight alone." Ruby said.

"I've been alone before. My whole life in fact. No one stood beside me for long. They all turned their backs on me. When we were about to take one step ahead, they got cold feet. I never did, and it left me alone. But I can go alone. If I'm the only one who can take the necessary step, I will take it. I can never… Will never abandon my ideals. I have too much blood on my hands to give up now. I've given up too much to give up." Adam said.

"You've lived a pained life. You can give it all up and move on. You don't need to torture yourself any longer." Blake said.

"I wonder if I could have changed…" Adam said. He gripped his sword hard. "But I can't give up now. No matter how much of the pain of all faunas I must carry by myself, I'll carry it all for those who can't carry the pain." Adam flung his hand behind him.

"You forgot that you had others with you. You could have changed. You were once a good man! I cared about you! My father cared about you! We all did. But you changed. You let yourself become corrupt." Blake said.

"My heart has been filled with darkness for so long. I doubt even your words could stop me now. Just look at those I killed in this fight. How can I repent? How Blake?" Adam said. He felt a tear coming, but he wiped it away.

"You could have stopped." Blake said.

"But you let revenge cloud your judgement. You let hatred rule your world." Ruby said.

"I did." Adam sighed as he gripped his sword again. "Promise me that you will make us equal."

"We will fight for the cause of equality. I swear it." Blake said.

"And so will I. Once I become the head of the company, I will fix it from the top down." Weiss said.

"I'll keep you to that promise Weiss." Adam said. "Salem is taking away my ability to talk. Be ready."


Team RWBY got ready for Adam. His eyes turned black, and he rushed at Blake. She held her weapons out, blocking the attack. He kicked behind him, hitting Ruby, then he broke the lock, throwing a dagger at Weiss. She swiped it out of the air and rushed him, Yang on his other side. He took out a handful of explosives and threw them all at Yang. She jumped in the air and used the force to throw the explosives over the ocean. Yang landed slamming her lightsaber against Adam. She rolled off the sword and swung behind her. Adam quickly brought his sword down and blocked the hit. He fired at Yang who took the hit. She stumbled back, and her eyes turned red. Ruby fired at him, making him go on the back foot, blocking the bullets.

Blake rushed him with her clone. Each strike was difficult to dodge, but he did. After he rolled to the side, Blake shot at Adam, who absorbed the attack. He got hit in the back by a sound blast. He coughed out blood, then turned back. Ruby rushed forward, hitting him with her scythe. It cut his shirt, cutting his side. Yang jumped in the air and brought her fist back. Ruby jumped back as she landed with a blast of fire circling her. Adam flipped back in the air and threw an ice dust shard at Yang. It activated, but it started to melt when it hit Yang. She stumbled backward, then fired a shot at him. It scrapped across his cheek. When Adam landed, Weiss made a glyph, and two arms came out, gripping Adam. He felt the pain rush up his body, then he swung blush up and fired Wilt, which ran along the arm. It faded, giving him a free arm. He caught Wilt and slashed the other arm holding him. When he dropped to the ground, he went for another explosive but found he had no more. He jumped back when the yellow lightsaber tried to cut him. He had no more dust either. This was the end of the fight, so he was going to make it memorable.

Adam made the sky turn red again and saw Team RWBY coming at him in a straight line. Their movements appeared slow to him in this state. He grabbed his sword and rushed forward, bring out his sword when he ran across each team member. After standing behind Blake, he spun his sword and plunged it into its sheath. He turned around and saw a sight he never seen before. All of them managed to block his most powerful attack.

He spun around but his sword was shot out of his hand by Blake. She glared at him and let out a yell. The rest of her team was a step away, all letting out the same yell.

He widened his eyes when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Blake had stabbed him. Ruby and Weiss both plunged their swords into his chest. He let out a cough and saw the yellow blade enter his chest. He looked down at his chest and saw the blood rushing down it. The four took out their weapons. He coughed up blood and turned to look at them all. He felt his legs get heavier. He dropped to his knees.


"So that's how it ends. I got overconfident." Adam said.

"You could never have beaten us." Blake said.

"Is it because I was alone?" Adam asked.

"Yes. You were stronger than all of us alone, but together, you weren't enough." Weiss said.

"Remember the promise you made me. Make us equal…" Adam sighed. "Maybe I was wrong about all this. I was wrong about what strength meant. I feared humans. They made me angry, and then I hated them. Where has that hate left me? What do I have left? I was no savior of the people. I just wanted to have people share in my pain…" Adam started to fade.

"You were right about one thing. You could have changed. I'm sorry Adam." Blake said.

"Perhaps when I'm in hell, I can start to fix things. If I can…" Adam fell to the ground. "I'm sorry." Adam faded completely.

"Blake?" Yang asked. She had tears falling down her face.

"I wish he would have just listened." Blake said.

"He couldn't." Sun said, walking slowly back to Blake's side.

"Sun? You shouldn't be moving." Blake said.

"I'm not dying. One of the Jedi healers just got here, along with the fifth wave. They're holding down the entrance so we can leave quickly." Sun said.

"What about the bodies?" Ruby asked.

"They're sending thousands of droids now for that. It seems that we're not going to take any chances with Salem." Sun pounded his chest, then grimaced.

"We got to keep moving." Yang said.

"Go on, I need a minute with Sun." Blake said.

The rest of the team nodded and went back to the castle. Sun smiled and felt Blake bury her head in his chest. She cried and he held her.

"I'm sorry. This never should have happened." Blake said.

"It's alright." Sun said. "I've always got your back."


Karel held out his lightsaber and saw Echo toss eight needles at him. He held out his hand and sent out a force blast. One of the assassin's threw a smoke grenade, and Karel used the force to break the doors. Some of the troops went in.

"Don't get to close to each other!" Karel said. He saw Echo jump out of the smoke, and the other five assassins running along the wall. Echo took out two daggers and dropped next to Karel. Winter and Karel blocked the daggers. Jet landed behind Karel and brought her twin pistols. She fired into two alliance troops. Karel looked back but felt the dagger lift. He turned back and pushed his hand forward. Echo flew backward into the wall. He plunged the blades into the wall and jumped off them. He threw four needles into the back of the crowd, taking out four more troops. Karel and Winter rushed forward, but Winter was stopped by an assassin with a staff. They brought the staff to block the swords. She grunted and saw the staff come apart. It became a blow pipe. Winter used magic to send the Assassin away. She saw them changed the rest of the staff into a sniper rifle. They fired twice at Winter. She used a glyph to get out of the way and continued to run. She ducked under a sword and sent a magic blast at the assassin.

Soule rose his hand and caught an assassin, slamming them into the wall. The mask cracked, then they brought a flute to their lips. They let out a sound that made his body go stiff.

"What?" He asked. He dropped the assassin and saw Jet coming at him. Gael grabbed Soule's shirt and tossed him in one of the rooms. She brought up corruption. Jet stopped and looked at Gael. She put away the pistols and took out throwing knives, throwing them at her. She blocked and destroyed the knives. Jet jumped back and threw a grenade. In the center of a group of troops. The third sister used the force to toss the grenade in the air. Gael rushed forward and brought out her lightsaber. Gwen Darcy rushed forward to aid Gael, but she was smashed into a door by one of the assassins. They took out the spear in her arm and held out a pistol. A knife broke the mask in two. The took a step back and Gwen threw another knife. They dodged the knife and shot Gwen. Umber saw Gwen get shot and rushed in. The assassin took out two daggers and jammed them into Umber's stomach. Then the assassin felt a whip around his neck, and Ama was there, choking the assassin. They reached up, and tried to reach for a knife, but the whip started to choke them. They screamed, then Ama rushed forward, taking out a shoto saber and cutting off the assassin's head. Ama held her hands out to Umber and Gwen. She took out the weapons and healed them.


Karel got close to Echo, who took out his daggers. Karel put away his lightsaber, and Oblivion, blocking the daggers with his hands. He ducked, dodged, and sidestepped the strikes. He heard a noise come from Echo's mask and saw a poison gas leave the mask. He took a deep breath and gripped a hand. He used the force to increase his strength and ripped the dagger out of Echo's hands. Echo reached in his jacket and tossed more poisoned needles at him. Karel used the dagger to slash at the daggers in the air. He started to step back, having to block the attacks. Echo rushed Karel, with the stolen lightsaber in hand. Karel threw the dagger at him, and Echo swiped at it. Karel took out his purple lightsaber and blocked the lightsaber strike. Echo was probably one of the only none force sensitives that could use a lightsaber with any level of competence. Karel realized that he was nearly fighting a mirror of his style.

"Copying me won't work." Karel said. While he was no master in it, he had studied with Roni and Vuren in Jar'kai dual blade fencing. He took out his blue lightsaber. He used his knight level skills with the combat style to push against the weakness of form I. Shii-Cho had a weakness against multiple lightsabers unless the user of Shii-Cho was highly skilled. Echo wasn't fast enough to keep up with Karel, but his sloppy style let Echo get some near hits in. He spun, putting away his blue lightsaber and smashed his purple lightsaber into Echo's lightsaber.

He switched to back to form IV and he started to see improvements against Echo. Echo had a hard time keeping up, but even that impressed Karel. A non-force user shouldn't have been able to keep up with him. It may have been his semblance, which would make it harder for him to get the final blow. Karel jumped, avoiding an arrow that was fired at him.

Bora flew forward, firing at Echo. Echo jumped on the side of the hallway, then jumped at Bora. She spun in the air, twisting towards him, firing twice. He slashed both bolts out of the air, then grabbed Bora. Karel used the force to try to grab Echo, but his concentration was disturbed by the other assassin. Vox jumped towards Karel, seeing Bora slam Echo into the wall. Echo let go of Bora and slid down the wall, jumping to avoid Vox's lightning. He rolled and brought the lightsaber up with him. Vox blocked it and used the force to push him. He pulled out a blaster pistol and fired. Vox quickly deflected the hit back at the pistol.


Barris Offee pushed her way through the troops and saw an assassin standing over the body of three stormtroopers, and one of the Sith that joined them. She turned on her lightsaber and rushed forward. The assassin spun their chakrams in their hand and threw them at Barris. She brought up her lightsaber and blocked it. The chakram bounced off the lightsaber and found it's way back into their hand. She used the force to grab the mask and crush it. The male assassin glared at her and went low to the ground. Fire seemed to flow off him, and he rushed forward. Barris rolled to the side, seeing the spot she was just in covered in fire.

"You must die for that." He said. He rushed forward, and he threw the chakrams. They seemed to multiply and each of the multiples were made from a different kind of dust. Barris used the force to push one of the Chakrams to the side, but the others landed in more troops. She rose her hand and lightning rushed from her fingertips. He dodged the attack and rushed her, the chakrams spun in his hands. Barris smiled as she spun her own lightsaber. The spinning chakrams multiplied at once and smashed into Barris' lightsaber. The spinning chakrams that were made of dust were destroyed by the lightsaber. But the metallic Chakrams rushed passed the lightsaber and one ran up her arm, slicing it. She flinched and force pushed the assassin. Before he landed, she grabbed him and pulled him towards her. He landed on the lightsaber, and Barris opened her mask. She kissed his cheek, then threw the body to the side. She rushed into one of the side rooms. She took out a med pack and started bandaging her wound and injecting a Bacta shot.

Jet finished plunging her daggers into Joanna Greenleaf. She was trying to avoid Gael, but her ability with the force was strong. The best she could do was avoid her, but even she knew she couldn't run forever. She pulled out her special daggers, coated in Echo's best poison. She rushed passed Gael, ducking under the strike, and ran into the crowd. She was determined to take out as many of the coalition forces as possible. She slashed taking down team seven members Roy Stallion, Brawns Ni, and May Zedong. They all dropped, the fast-acting poison stopping their hearts. Just a scratch could end you quickly. She smirked as she continued to take down humans. Robyn Hill grabbed hold of her arms when she looked back. Gael catches up.

"This is for Joanna." Robyn says as Gael puts her lightsaber through Jet. Jet lets out a cry and looks down, seeing the lightsaber in her chest.

"This isn't… how it… was meant to end." She said, as she dropped her daggers, and died. Robyn put down Jet's body and put away her daggers.

"My team will take care of the injured." Robyn said.

"Thank you." Gael said.


The imperial guard had his force pike pointed at the assassin with the flute. They played the paralysis song, but he wasn't affected by it. The assassin put away the flute and took out a dagger. They rushed forward, but the Imperial guard swiped away the dagger, and punched the assassin. They stumbled back; they shook their head. They pulled out a blaster and jumped up. When they landed, the imperial guard brought the force pike behind him, knocking the assassin's head. He spun around and slashed as the Assassin. They stepped back, their back touched the wall. He pulled out a heavy blaster and fired at the assassin, but they rolled to the side. The wall had a massive hole in it. He spun the force pike and jammed butt of it in the assassin's back. An electric shock ran through their body, and they screamed. They landed, spinning and fired at the imperial guard. The guard brought up a small plasma shield, blocking the blaster bolts. He pulled up the heavy blaster and fired. The assassin tried to avoid, but it bolt hit their foot. The assassin let out a scream. The imperial guard spun his force pike and brought the end into the neck of the assassin. The assassin gurgled on their blood as they died.

He saw Barris enter one of the side rooms and he entered the room to cover her.

"Mistress, we've taken down four of them." He said.

"Good." She said. He ordered two of the stormtroopers in the room to help Barris.

"Are you going to be alright?" The imperial guard asked.

"Yes, I will. The assassin didn't poison the chakram, so I should be good." Barris said.

Winter was the assassin in the smoke. They made the end of the hallway smokey again after throwing multiple smoke grenades. Winter summoned multiple Grimm, which the assassin was able to quickly take down, but she summoned them to slow the assassin down. She saw the assassin and sped up. She brought the swords against the sniper staff. The assassin stepped back and took out a sword. They didn't seem to be able to see in the smoke. Winter jumped in the air, and brought her leg down, but the assassin was able to see her before she got to him. He rolled out of the way of the attack and threw at Winter a knife. She held out her hand and caught the knife. She threw it back at the assassin. It hit the mask, breaking it. Pyrrha appeared behind the assassin and placed her hand on his back. He screamed as she used some of her light powers.

"You have been revived by Salem." She said. The assassin turned and tried to slam the sword in Pyrrha, but Jaune brought up his sword.

"Don't attack my wife." Jaune said

He took out a thermal detonator and raised it in the air. His body was covered in ice, and the light wrapped around the ice. The thermal detonator exploded, but the damage was minimal thanks to Winter and Pyrrha.

Karel jumped in the air and sent a force push at Echo. He was slammed against the floor, dropping his lightsaber. He jumped back, when the smoke dissipated, he looked at his enemies. He saw a hoard of hunter level or higher fighters and all his assassins dead, including Jet.

"This is the end of the line." Karel said.


"It seems it is. Congratulations. You beat the best of the assassins. Even though we killed many of you, you were stronger than us." He looked as Weiss and her team came in the room.

"You're beat." Karel said, bringing his lightsaber close to Echo's throat.

"Some of you wonder what I look like. You'd check my body after Karel here would kill me. But I don't want that." He took out a vial of liquid Grimm. He jammed the vial in himself, and rushed Pyrrha. He had turned like one of Salem's undead. She used the light to destroy the body. The mask fell to the ground. His body became nothing. Karel looked at his jacket that had fallen to the ground, and all the vials of poison and weapons fell out. He shook his head

"That's how he dies?" Karel asked. "Getting exactly what he wanted."

Weiss looked at the mask. She grabbed it and just looked at it.

"Mom, sleep well." Weiss said. She dropped the mask.

"Are you alright?" Karel asked.

"Yes. Let's keep going." Winter said. She looked behind her and saw only a few who were able to keep going. Many of the troops were healing from the last attack.

"Only those who can keep going come now. Everyone else, come when you can." Karel said. He took a quick drink of water and opened the door. The handful of Sith and Jedi that were still able to keep going saw the doors to the throne room of Salem. And the two last members of the inner circle.


Ironwood watched as another ship was brought down. The Grimm had noticeable decreased, but the reports he's been getting from all over Remnant show that it wasn't all because of them. Jacques Schnee and many of the Atlesian elites were killed early on. The few leaders of Atlas that were still around were holding onto the land with every ounce of strength they had. Penny, and her other guardian siblings were keeping vast sections of Atlas safe, but it seems that they had a target. If Jedi Master Black wasn't there, he assumed that they would have succeeded in taking down what kept Atlas floating.

Vale was barely standing, with parts of the city having fallen. Salem had sent Grimm that were in effect bombs and destroyed many of the buildings. The local defenses, and the Jedi were holding the city from utter destruction, but it was the most heavily damaged kingdom. Vacuo was protected by Master Brock. He was a master at desert fighting, and he was using everything he could to keep the kingdom not just stand but push back the Grimm. He got reports from Pare that they initially were surprised but they had been able to push back the Grimm.

He had also heard the fates of many of the small villages. Many of them were wiped out. Just as Vale was heavily damaged, the villages were even more so. The villages didn't have the luxury of giant anti air cannons, and the Jedi from the temple. He knew they were going to have to go back and start again rebuilding after this fight. Many of the council members of Vale will have to step down if they weren't killed. Some of them had been in the early attacks.

Mistral was attacked worse than Vale, but the people had a strong determination to destroy the threat of the Grimm. Even the smallest villages were able to destroy hoards of Grimm before any of them were destroyed. He realized that they could not win against the Empire, and he was glad that they had agreed to ending the war.

He looked at the seas. A giant crab Grimm immerged from the ocean, and it snapped one of the smaller ships in half. But he had to focus on the sky as his ship was being attack by massive bat Grimm that seemed to launch smaller flying Grimm on the ships. The ships were trying to take these Grimm down, but they all had trouble fighting them.

He saw a Grimm flying directly towards his ship.

"Shields!" He cried out.

The shields rose as the Grimm exploded over them. They were having Grimm dive bombing them. He wondered what was causing them to explode, but he couldn't focus on that now.


Emperor Sym watched as the Grimm exploded on the beaches. The droids were able to get through the hoard and enter the temple, but more than half of them were destroyed. The Hound Grimm was tarring apart many of the soldiers on the ground. The troops were trying to take the hound down, but it wasn't dying. He grew frustrated at it.

"Can we fire a round at the hound Grimm?" He asked.

"Sir, that blast would kill many of our allies."

"Dammit. Send another drop ship. We need to kill that thing." Sym said.

"Of course, sire." One of his officers said. They rushed off leaving Sym alone with his thoughts. He looked at the reports rushing in from his kingdom. The Grimm attacks were being repelled by the people. He smiled as he saw it. He was proud of his people. He was going to travel across his empire after this day ended.

His smile faded somewhat when Watu's hologram appeared.

"My emperor, we're under attack. It seems that the enemy has managed to take out some of the main guns." Watu said.

"Hold your position." Sym said.

"Of course, your majesty." Watu took out his lightsaber and slashed a Grimm in half. "It seems that they've gotten inside the ship. Our forces are barely holding them back." The image of Watu shook. Sym saw an officer run up to Watu and give him grave news.

"It seems the Grimm have destroyed the haul of the ship. The ship's going down. I've just sent out the order to evacuate."

"Lord Watu, are you going to leave the ship?"

"Only if you command it." Watu looked out at the deck. More Grimm landed on the decks and started exploding.

"It seems that's the only way you're going to survive." Sym said.


Watu saw the water rushing. The ship was sinking so fast. Watu used his lightsaber to cut a whole in the metal and jumped out of the command station. When he got on top of the station, Admiral Gran looked at Watu.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"The ship's going down Gran. The evacuation order has been made. I plan on dying in battle, not in water."

"Then this is where we depart. Go, kill that Hound." Gran said.

"I will."

"I just wish you let me draw you." Gran said.

"If you somehow survive, then you can." Watu said. He jumped down to the main deck and used the force to run down the sinking ship. He jumped, nearly flying in the air, flying towards the beach.

Watu landed in the shallow water, then rushed on the beach head. He saw the Hound Grimm coming right towards the beachhead. He took out his lightsaber and rushed forward. He ran to the hound Grimm and thrusted his lightsaber forward.


Yang stepped in front of Karel and placed her hand in front of him.

"This is my fight." Yang said.

"Yang. Don't underestimate them." Arin said.

"We'll take them on together." Ruby said.

"Ruby, sit this one out. Arin and I can take them on. You go get Salem." Yang said.

"You're going to find it hard to fight Salem." Cinder said. "And this time, you don't get to run. You don't get backup." She rose her good hand, and everyone but Arin and Yang were flung out of the room. The door closed, and Cinder rose a barrier.

"Looks like this is it. Yang, remember what I taught you." Uriel said.

"That's my line. Arin said."

"Shut up!" Cinder said, turning on her lightsaber. She rushed Yang. Uriel rushed forward as well.

"I got Uriel." Arin said.

"Got it." Yang said. She took out her lightsaber and the blue light came out. Arin's lightsaber emitted an orange light, blocking the black lightsaber from Arin. Cinder's red lightsaber smashed into Yang's lightsaber. Yang noticed the opening sequence of Djem So. Yang realized that Cinder was different from before. Before she was calm and collected, now she seemed crazed. Yang ducked and rolled under one of the attacks and ran a few feet down the corridor before swiveling and bringing her lightsaber around in an attack. She slammed the blue blade off Cinder's lightsaber, then sent out a force push. Cinder flew backwards, landing with some difficulty. She rose her one arm to her bad eye and placed a Bacta batch on it. She growled as she rushed forward again. Yang widened her eyes as Cinder seemed faster than before. Her one eye was a volcanic yellow. Yang jumped back, landing on her hand and continuing to jump till she landed back on her feet. Yang put her lightsaber away and punched at Cinder. Cinder blocked the bullets and rushed at Yang. She sent out a force push which made Cinder jump in the air. Yang took out her lightsaber just in time to block the attack. She dropped to one knee, then pushed up on Cinder.

Cinder kicked Yang in the face, then brought her foot back to kick her in the chest, sending Yang stumbling back. She stumbled then brought her lightsaber up just in time to block the force lightning rushing at her. She rolled to the side, avoiding another wave of force lightning. Cinder grumbled and took out multiple shards of ice dust. She activated them, and Yang saw the ice rushing towards her.

"Fire can be summoned through the force and controlled." The words of Uriel rushed back into her head. Yang lifted her hands, and a stream of fire came out. The fire was weak, but it stopped the ice dust. Yang held her lightsaber up, waiting for Cinder to jump out. She closed her eyes and felt for Cinder. Cinder jumped in the air and sent a force push at Yang. Yang opened her eyes and rolled out of the way. The hallway broke into shards from the force push, and Yang gripped the shards through the force and sent them at Cinder. She landed, avoiding all but one. One cut her cheek. She glared at Yang.

"You bitch. You think you can touch me?" Cinder said.


Yang just held her lightsaber out. She rushed forward this time. Cinder brought her lightsaber up to block the attack and stepped back. She noticed that she was no longer fighting in form V, but form VII, Juyo. It was a danger that she never had the chance to fight against. The Jedi of Remnant banned the study of it after the first great war. Yang had to rely on her training with Karel in form III and her own natural ability to keep from falling. Each strike was bolstered by the force in strength and speed. Yang struggled to keep up, avoiding any strike she felt she wouldn't be able to safely block. The quick ordeals of fights she had with the black fang Sith were nothing compared to this. Yang was no longer in charge of this fight, but Yang knew that Juyo couldn't be sustained in long stretches of time. And Yang also knew by her appearance that she had used a lot of energy in a recent battle. Juyo was too dangerous for her to continue the assault. Yang jumped backwards, and crushed a stone pillar, bringing it towards Cinder. She jumped in the air and sliced the pillar in two, but after she did, she was sent backwards with a shard of wind dust. She slammed against the roof and started falling. She landed and put her hand on the pillar. It became a super-heated blob of molten rock. She used the force to pick it up and throw it at Yang. Each step she took left a heat mark on the floor when she was walking to Yang. She used fire before, but Cinder was going to show her that she was heat itself. Yang rose her hands up and caught the pillar. Some of it dripped on the floor. The windows started to crack. Yang dropped the pillar to block Cinder and she took out her lightsaber.

"Damn that's hot" Yang said.

"Let's make this even hotter." Cinder said. She rushed forward and tried to grab Yang. Yang jumped back and sent a force push at Cinder. She put her hand up and blocked the push. Yang grunted as she took out a shard of ice dust. It activated in front of Cinder, but her heat melted the ice as soon as it shot out. She smirked as she put out her hand. A ball of fire came out, then she added more heat to it. It grew, then she brought it to face Yang. Yang brought up a powerful force shield and tried to defend against the hit. The fire circled around her when it hit, but Yang couldn't hear anything besides the fire. It seemed to circle around her, making a small fire tornado, and it crashed on Yang. She held her hands up, barely holding onto her shield. She felt some of the flames whip across her back. These flames weren't burning her clothes. They barely left a mark, but it still hurt. The roar of the inferno nearly left her deaf, and she felt her skin starting to burn. After a minute, the flame died down, and she lowered her arms. They were burned, and so were her legs. She breathed heavily and saw her hair's tips had burned.


"You were supposed to die in that." Cinder said. She walked towards Yang, who was barely holding on. She coughed right before Cinder was about to touch her, then she brought her hand up. Yang's eyes turned red, and her aura turned to a black, radiating from the realm around them.

Yang brought her hand back and slammed it into Cinder's stomach. She let go of her hand and was about to bring her lightsaber to chop off her head, when Cinder barely brought her own lightsaber up to block the attack. Cinder held on her stomach as she coughed trying to get air in her lungs.

"Pathetic." Yang said, the dark aura crawling over her. She slammed her lightsaber into Cinder's time and time again until she couldn't block it further, then Yang sliced the lightsaber in two. Yang shot her hand out, and Cinder started floating in the air, her hand rushing to her throat. Yang was using force choke on Cinder. Cinder's legs kicked in the air.

"Yang! Let her go!" Uriel said.

"Yang!" Arin said. She shot her head over to her former masters. She was about to crush Cinder's throat when she heard a voice.

"Yang don't do it. If you do, you'll fall to the dark side and forever will it control your destiny." Summer said. She widened her eyes, and her eyes returned to Lilac. She dropped Cinder and dropped to her knees. She felt her earrings shake, and the dark cloud that hung over her evaporated. Yang barely had time to bring her lightsaber up to block Cinder's attack. Yang stepped back and held the lock.

"I won't let a bitch like you kill me." Cinder said an angered look in her eyes. Yang brought out Summer's green blade and held the lock in place.

"You almost made me become like you. A pathetic child screaming to the universe. I forgot that I have people who love me, who care for me. You're alone. You sold your future for power." Yang said.

"I will not be lectured by a pathetic Jedi!" Cinder said.


She pushed Yang back and rushed Yang held Uriel's lightsaber out and switched it to the longer yellow blade. Cinder smashed her lightsaber against it, then brought her lightsaber up. Yang jumped back, some of her hair falling. Yang put away Summer's blade and gripped her lightsaber with both hands. Cinder rushed forward, and Yang brought her lightsaber towards Cinder.

After the strike, neither of the combatants moved. Yang let out a breath and put her lightsaber away. Cinder dropped to her knees and dropped her lightsaber.

"How?" Cinder asked. Yang had landed the final strike against Cinder. Uriel and Arin kept fighting, but Yang went to Cinder's side.


"Your defeated." Yang said.

"It should have been you… No. I left myself wide open. I wanted to die." Cinder said, looking at the top of the roof. Her breathing was starting to slow. She brought a hand up, and Yang caught it.

"I was promised unbelievable power. I always flirted with the dark side, but it seems to have only just now caught up with me. When I can't do anything about it. I thought I had all I wanted with Uriel being with me, but nothing mattered. No matter how long we stayed together, or how many I killed. I lost the one thing that mattered to me in my search for power. My humanity. I lived a long and hard life…" Cinder started to fade.

"Was it worth it?" Yang asked.

"It was not. All my life I have seen visions of what could have been. Nightmares. I hate you, because I see in you what I could have been. No matter how many I killed, no matter how many I brought pain to, it never filled the void in me. This life has been torment, and I am glad to leave it." Cinder faded away. Yang stood up and turned to her two mentors.


She went to Uriel, who was hold off Arin, but neither of them could land any hits on the other.

"She is gone then?" Uriel asked.

"Yes." Yang said.

"I loved her. It made me blind. It made me not see who she was becoming. It all started when we were sent to hunt down Salem's cult. We found you Arin Jones. Your mother was one of Salem's cultists, and she was about to sacrifice you to Salem. We entered your home and struck her down, but Cinder was tempted by the promise of power. After we delivered you to the Jedi, she was changed. The Grandmaster saw it in her. I didn't. I refused to see it, so I left the order to finish her training. I was a rouge Jedi. I refused to see her for who she was. She told me what we were doing was for the greater good. She told me that she loved me, and she wanted us to start a family. I was about to propose to her when I found out the truth. The horrible truth. I returned to the Jedi after killing her, but shame ruled my world. That was until I met you Yang. You helped me as much as I helped you. Now I have one final selfish request to make from you." Uriel said.

"What is it mentor?" Yang asked.

"I need you to kill me. Make sure I don't hurt anyone else. I need to die." Uriel said. He turned and looked at Yang. He smiled. "It's alright." Uriel said. He dropped his lightsaber.

"I…" Her hands were shaking Arin just looked at him.

"You'll attack her as soon as she comes over." He said holding his lightsaber at him.

"Arin, I'm fighting the control of Salem. I can't hold it off for long. Please, kill me." Uriel said. Yang lowered her head and felt a tear fall down her face.

"I can't" Yang said.

She heard a laughing coming from above. She looked at Uriel. He was twitching and used the force to pick up his lightsaber.

"Too late." Salem's voice rung out of him.


"No." Yang said. Uriel spun around with blinding speed and brought his hand up, sending Arin into the wall. He made in imprint, and he fell to the ground. Uriel turned to Yang and rushed at her with the same speed. She was backpaddling to keep from being killed, barely surviving the strikes. The fury of blows made Yang delve deep into the force. She blocked a hit, causing a force wave to roll off the blades, and she brought her hand up. She punched Uriel, then kept punching him. He flew into a wall, and she rushed forward with her lightsaber in hand, but she felt Uriel's hand on her throat. She saw Uriel stand up and bring his lightsaber back. She kicked his face, then Arin jumped in, blocking the strike. Uriel thew Yang at Arin, both smashing into the wall, Arin had the wind knocked out of him.

"Fight it." Yang said.

"It's too late for that Branwen girl." Salem said. Uriel grabbed Yang's hair, and brought the lightsaber up, cutting it in half. Yang saw the hairs falling and knew her hair was ruined. Normally she would have killed whoever did that, but Uriel was too strong.

He picked up Yang and threw her halfway across the hallway. She tried to get up when he punched her in the stomach. She stumbled back, then felt him kick her across the face. He then brought his leg down on her knee, making her fall. He used the force to pick her up and slam her into the wall. He used the force to drag her against the wall, smashing into many of the dark paintings, then she slammed on the door to the throne room. Yang was tossed back at Uriel with the force. She felt the blood rushing from her. She barely had any strength left. She wabbled while getting up, stumbling. Uriel punched her in the face, making her fall backwards. She felt her lightsabers fall to the ground, then Uriel got on top of her and gripped her throat with both hands.

"Kill me." Uriel said. Tears were coming down his face, falling onto Yang. Her vision was starting to blur. She couldn't breathe. She was about ready to give up, when she thought of Ruby. She thought of Qrow. She thought of Raven and Tai together. She thought of Arin. She felt her hand touch her lightsabers. She gripped them.

"Now." Uriel said. She felt the pressure leave her neck as Yang jabbed the blue and green blades into Uriel. Uriel let go of Yang and fell to the side. "Thank you."

Uriel laid on the ground, feeling himself starting to fade.

"Yang, I'm sorry. I was blind. I could have stopped so many horrible things if I was just a Jedi, but I failed the order." Yang got up and went to Uriel's side with Arin coming to her side. "I have taught you everything I could have, and Arin here has finished was I couldn't teach you. Arin, help Yang. She's going to need it. I was the last one. After I fade, there will be nothing stopping you from Salem. She's right through those doors. This war's about to end. I wonder if I'll see Cinder on the other side. Maybe not. Yang Xiao Long, you have surpassed me. You are my greatest student." Uriel said.

"You were a great mentor." Yang said.

"My favorite summer dragon. You look good in short hair. May the force be with you." Uriel's smile faded with the rest of his body. Yang looked at the spot and felt the emotions coming up. She turned to Arin and hugged him.

"I'm sorry." Yang said.

"I should be saying that, for what happened to you." Arin said.

"I was reckless. I nearly got us both killed." The barrier broke, and the door flung open. Raven and Ruby were the first in the room. They rushed over to Yang. Raven pushed Arin and looked at Yang. Blood and dirt covered her face. Yang looked at Raven.

"Who did this to you?" Raven asked.

"We got them mom." Yang said.

"Please don't scare me like that again." She hugged Yang.

"Yang, please tell me your okay." Ruby said.

"I got hit hard, but I made it." Yang said. "Uriel's gone now. We just have Salem to take care of."

"Salem's right through those doors." Arin said.

"Gael, please heal Yang. I'm going." Karel said.


Before anyone could protest, he opened the doors. Karel saw a staircase leading to a platform. As he got to the top of the tall staircase, he saw the throne room. It was a large empty room with a lot of windows of the outside. There was a table in the center of the room, and he noticed the room coming to a rounded end. At the end of the room was a large throne where Salem sat.

"Ozma, you seem to think that this pitiful force that remains can stand up to me. With all my pawns gone, you fail to realize that I am a piece of the board that can lay waste to any you throw at me. You could never defeat me. No matter how many times you tried before, you have never learned that you can't beat me. I am the one who killed the Jedi. I am the one who led the rebellion against the Gods. I control the Grimm. No matter how light a room is, a room is never without darkness. The greater the light you shine, the darker the shadow it leaves. How can you not see that?" Salem asked Oscar.

"Salem. You have been the prisoner of shadows for so long that you have forgotten the power of light. No matter how dark things get, not matter how unbeatable you may seem to be, you have no hope of winning." Oscar said.

"This little charade has gone on for too long. Your pet Karel has entered my throne room. Let's but your theory to the test." Salem said.

"Remember, the night is always darkest before the dawn." Oscar said.

"Salem…" Karel said, holding his lightsaber.

"Jedi Master Karel Allusis. It is an honor to finally meet you. I've been excited for this day for so long. Do you know that the hidden Sith is dead?" Salem said.

"Siren…?"

"That is what she called herself. She is now one with the force. You failed her. And the man who you thought of as a father is dead as well."

"Jacques!" Karel said.

"Yes. I ended his pathetic life mere hours ago. Everything you are fighting for is falling before you. Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, Atlas, Pare, and Menagerie is all falling as we speak." Salem said, holding her wine glass. She rose it and drank from it. After she finished her wine, she threw the glass against the wall.

"I'm here to stop you forever." Karel said.

"You will try." Salem brought her hand down and her black lightsaber came out of her sleeve. She rose her hand, and the throne room burst. The walls flung and the roof was gone. The open wind hit his face.

"Prepare to die Jedi Master!"

Author's Notes: That's that chapter. Now all that's left is the Salem fight. It's going to be at least two chapters. This chapter was so much fun to write.

I finally got someone who reviewed this story, and I must thank you so much. Before the end of this story, I have learned that there are some who like this.

There's not much more to say than thank you all for reading.

May the Force be With You

-DragonZlayerX12