Chapter 45
Year 7 Month 0 Day 0
The final battle has begun but at a great cost. Many Jedi, Sith, hunters, and enlisted men have been killed. Salem separated Karel and began a killing strike against him.
Bora rushed as fast as she could, using the last of the fuel in her jetpack. She took it off and ran to stop Salem. Her life with Karel flashed before her eyes. Jade. Their daughter… needed to be protected. She couldn't hear the cries from all her friends telling her to stop. They had no say in what she was about to do. This was her decision. She needed to do this.
She was glad she left that holo for them. She wondered what Jade would think about this. Hopefully, someone will tell her how much she loved her.
Bora stopped in front of Karel. His eyes opened wide as a lightsaber went through her.
Karel smelled the burning of flesh first. It was the only sense that was working. Salem took out her lightsaber, and Bora fell into Karel's arms. He couldn't comprehend it. He looked at his wife, lying in his arms. The wound hadn't fully cauterized, and her blood was rushing out of her.
"Karel…" Bora said. He could feel her life force slowly fading. He laid her on the ground and did everything he could to help her. Salem stood over soaking in the despair radiating off Karel. He ignored her and he tried to help his dying wife. He pulled out a bacta stim, but she placed her hand on his. She reached up and wiped away the stream of tears he hadn't noticed were freely flowing from his face. He tried to do something, anything to help Bora.
"It's no use…" She said, struggling to talk. "I chose this…" She smiled. Karel brought his head down to hers, letting the tears fall. He tried to take in every detail of her face. The blood that covered her hands was forgotten.
"No… please don't go."
She smiled, hiding all the pain she had felt. She looked around her for a second, seeing all their friends surrounding them from a hoard of Grimm. He clenched and gritted her teeth when she felt another jolt of pain. She didn't have long left to live, so she would need to be brief. It was odd. She could have sworn she saw her brother standing over Karel, a smile on his face. Her legs were going numb. Dying wasn't hurting that much anymore. A teardrop on her face reminded her that she still had something to say.
She used the last of her strength to kiss Karel, then fell back to the ground. She smiled.
"Listen… you need… to live. For Jade" Bora said. "It will be okay. I love both of you." Bora couldn't hear anything anymore. She looked at Karel holding onto her hands. She couldn't feel them anymore either.
"Bora, it's time." Her brother said. "Mom and Dad will want to hear all about your life. And about Jade."
Bora closed her eyes. She let out one final breath, and Karel felt her life fade completely. He held onto her body and dug his head into her chest, not feeling the warmth that she had. He couldn't accept it. She wasn't gone. She could be healed. He looked around for… he saw everyone fighting. Karel looked back at his wife's body, holding it tightly. He kissed her, hoping that something would happen, but he knew better.
She was dead. But she couldn't be. They still had to raise Jade. They still had so much more they needed to do. Why did she step in front of Salem? Why?
His tears fell harder. She was dead. And it was all Salem's fault. He put Bora's body down and started clenching his fists. This was all Salem's fault. SHE WOULD PAY!
Karel picked up his lightsaber. Everyone felt it at once. The light that Karel gave off was gone. Replaced with darkness. His anger shook the ground, and a red aura surrounded him. He rushed forward, destroying the Grimm, slamming his lightsaber into Salem's.
Soule and Zia walked through the hole in the pillar and saw Karel. Zia looked over and saw Bora's body on the ground. She felt the shock roll through her. She showed Soule Bora's body and he understood now that Karel was enraged, taking in the dark side. But it was too much. He should have stopped calling upon it…
The necklace was destroyed.
"Zia, get her body. Karel's as much an issue as Salem is right now." The troops rushed forward. Roni and Vuren stopped after seeing Karel in his state.
"What…" Vuren started when Zia brought Bora's body passed them. She understood. Karel was in pain.
"This isn't good." Roni said.
Rouge killed another Grimm with difficulty. It was getting harder to fight, having no break. Though the Grimm had been lessening. She took a moment to take a few deep breaths when she felt a pain in her chest. She reached her hand up to it and it felt like it was burning. She wondered why that was.
"Rouge, what's wrong?" Alex asked.
"I don't know… I just felt great pain…" She had heard of force bonds. She felt her stomach drop.
"I think something bad happened." Rouge said. "We need to get back to Jade."
Jade started crying. She felt her father's pain, but she didn't know why she did. She couldn't help but cry. She just wanted everything to stop. She just wanted her mommy and daddy with her, telling her everything was going to be okay.
But with the feelings she felt from her father, she knew that something happened.
"Jade…" She could have sworn she heard her mother's voice.
"Mommy?" She asked. She couldn't see her, but she could feel her. She felt a warmth cover her, and Jade felt a little bit better.
Karel's rage flared off him, coating him in a crimson aura, every strike from his lightsaber hit with more power than he had ever felt. He needed to dive deeper into this power to kill Salem. She needed to suffer. She needed to feel exactly what she had put him through. She was going to wish she never came back.
"Die you Bitch!" He said, slamming the lightsaber into hers, the force made her stumble. He kept swinging his lightsaber wanting to make her hurt. Salem took a step back, trying to find her footing. He jumped in the air, twisting downwards towards her, slamming everything, he had into her, she dropped one knee to the ground, grunting. She threw her hands up, sending Karel flying. She smirked when she saw the fire in his eyes. He was falling.
Karel gripped his lightsaber and rushed forward, slamming the blade, using it more like a hammer than a sword. He was wild and dangerous. He was more animal than human. She struggled but she was getting a good idea of what he could do. If she was anyone else, she would probably have already been killed, but she was better than any of these weaker opponents that they faced up to this point. She was the dark priestess. She wasn't going to die so simply.
Karel gritted his teeth and continued his wild attack. Salem kept blocking; the attacks became more readable the longer this continued. He was using up all his energy upfront, leaving him weak at the end. Killing him in this state would be even simpler than before.
Karel raised his hand and glass appeared in his hand. He slammed it into the ground and Salem was covered by the glass. It was much stronger than normal glass. Karel rushed forward but stopped when he was able to see his reflection.
Karel saw his reflection, saw the color of his eyes.
"If this is what it takes to kill you, then so be it." He said. A dark shadow covered his eyes, but he was sent flying by the Jedi. Ruby sent a force push at him. He gripped the ground and looked at her. His friend was trying to attack him.
"How dare you?"
"This isn't you." Ruby said.
"What the hell do you know about that?" Karel growled.
"I'm your friend." Ruby said.
"Did that save Bora? NO! I love her, and I just watched her get murdered by the witch we're here to kill! Why are you stopping me?" He asked.
"You're turning to the dark side, Karel. You need to stop this before it's too late." Ruby said. She held her hand out towards him, but he glared at her.
"If you're taking her side then I'll just have to take you out as well." Karel said.
Salem smiled. The darkness was starting to take over. His skin started to whiten. She had always wondered what a male body would be like.
"Karel, you're not well. You need to stop this." Blake said.
"Are you standing in my way as well? I will not let her live after what she did." Karel said.
Yang took out her lightsaber and pointed it out at him. She had a sad look in her eye, but she was determined. Vuren and Roni took out their lightsabers pointing them at him. He clenched his teeth. He felt the blood come from his hand as his sharp nails were cutting into his palm.
"You need to calm down." Roni said.
"Why do you all turn against me now? She's sitting right there. It would be so simple to kill her." Karel said.
"You're angry. Your thoughts are clouded." Vuren said. "You need to step back. What would killing her now do to you? We're fighting for life itself here."
"Then let's end this." Karel rushed forward.
Soule jumped in front of him, kicking him back. Karel spat out blood, not noticing it was quickly turning black. He didn't care what would happen to him, he needed revenge.
"This may be weird coming from a Sith, but you need to calm down. Go back to the light or whatever." Soule held out his lightsaber. Karel rushed forward, slashing at Soule. Soule was able to easily block all the attacks, then made a quick disarming motion. Karel went to claw Soule, but he grabbed Karel's wrist, hitting him with force lightning. Karel screamed and dropped to one knee.
"Right now, you're just pathetic. Get a grip." Karel sent out a wave of force energy. Soule went flying back, slamming into a wall. He clenched his teeth as he fell. Karel used the force to grab his lightsaber and went to Salem. Yang and Ruby got in his way, infuriating him.
"Let me do this dammit!" Karel said. Yang and Ruby deflected the blade going to Salem.
"What a wonderful display. The Jedi master can't even beat two new knights. No wonder your wife died." Salem said. Ruby and Yang's eyes widened when they were thrown to the sides of him. He was about to bring the lightsaber down when his hand was encircled by Blake's ribbon. He brought his hand forward, not knowing Blake jumped with the push, kicking him in the face. He stepped back, then went to cut the ribbon when Vuren blocked the strike.
"You know this is wrong." Vuren said.
"She's right."
"I can't see Jade knowing I didn't kill her mother's killer." Karel said. "I have to do this."
"No, stop this"
"You're a Jedi master. Don't do this." Blake let go of his arm, making him stumble. Roni jumped behind him, holding him. He couldn't move his arms.
"You're hurting right now. It's natural to feel this pain, but you are dwelling on it. You're weakening yourself for it." Roni said. Karel felt the clawed fingernails returning to their normal state.
"Did you even love her? I'm still here." Salem said. Roni was distracted, letting Karel go for a moment. He rushed forward when Weiss stood in his way.
"Weiss, move." He said. The other Jedi were ready to charge in at a moment's notice.
"This isn't you"
"No." Weiss said. She was firm on not letting Karel do this. He closed his eyes.
"I need to do this." Karel said. "She's the reason for everything bad here. She killed your family. She started this war. She's a genocidal maniac. So let me kill her."
"No, you don't. it's alright."
"I can't let you do this. We've both lost a lot of people. But you can't do this. I won't let you become like her." Weiss said. Salem let out a sigh.
Maybe Karel was too weak to be of any use to her in the end. A pity, but not unexpected.
Karel looked at Weiss standing there. A sadness was deep in her eyes. Karel let out a scream, making all the Jedi get close when he dropped his lightsaber. The white of his skin faded.
"Please." Karel dropped to his knees.
Weiss grabbed his face. Karel saw Bora's image with hers.
"What are you doing?"
Everything faded until it was just Karel and Bora. Just the two of them talking in a light place. Karel felt a calming feeling radiating from where they were. He wondered what this place was. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before, but then he returned his focus to his wife.
"I'm trying to avenge you." Karel said.
"Idiot. What did I say? I told you to take care of Jade. How the hell are you going to do that if you get yourself killed. I don't need to be avenged. You don't need to be an avenger. You just need to be the Jedi I know you are." Bora said.
"What is this place?" Karel asked.
"You probably don't see what I do because you're still alive. You aren't needed here for a few more decades. A Jedi like you could probably make it a century… maybe. But please don't make me wait that long to see you again." Bora said.
"Are you leaving now?" Karel asked.
"We don't have that much time. We're cheating here. We're only able to talk now because of how close the realms of Ashla and Bogan are to the realm of death, and how good I've been." She smiled at that last part. Karel did too.
"What about you? Are you okay here?" Karel asked.
"Yeah. I'm catching up with everyone who's already died. But this is for you. You were going crazy there. That needs to stop now."
Karel felt a wave of guilt wash over him. Bora rushed over and hugged him.
"It's okay. It's okay." She began petting him on the head as tears started to form.
"I'm so sorry." He said in between breaths.
"When this is all over, Jade's going to need a new mom." Bora said.
"What?" Karel asked.
"She'll need a mom in her life. Someone who will love her, and someone who will love you. Oh, and she should someday become a big sister. And make sure she finds a good partner who will love and cherish her. But don't meddle in her life. What else?" She said, tears forming in her own eyes.
"Make sure she knows her mommy loves her and is watching over her. And that her Daddy loves her as well. Tell her that I sacrificed myself to take down Salem."
Bora began to fade. Karel looked and saw her fading from view and reached out to her.
"I will. I'll let her know everything you said." He reached his hand out, feeling her hand slip from hers. The room faded. Everything was starting to return.
"Bora…" Karel said.
"Karel… please listen." Weiss said. The tears fell freely from his eyes. "You're a good man. You saved me. Saved my family. When you came into our lives you were able to melt the pain, we all had in our hearts. You made us an actual family. You were the one we all relied on even in beacon. You were a light to everyone, someone who we could rely on. No matter what happened you were there with us, helping us each step of the way. Please remember. You were the reason the Jedi returned. You were a light in the darkness of this war! Please… come back to us."
Weiss held him tight when his tears continued. Her kind but firm grip held him.
"I'm so sorry…" his eyes returned to their normal color. The red aura around him had faded away. All the anger washed away, leaving a scar on Karel's heart. Weiss brought her hands down and Karel's head fell into her shoulder.
"How disgustingly touching." Salem said. "But it looks like you forgot I was still here."
Weiss held onto Karel letting him let out his emotions. She didn't care about the tears wetting her shoulder as she told him it was all right.
Salem slammed her fist against the glass. Ruby took out her lightsaber and stabbed the glass, slamming the blade into Salem's hand. It burned, but not as much as her hatred. Pyrrha stepped in front of the glass and held her hand out.
Salem let out a massive burst of dark energy, breaking the glass. Pyrrha blocked the flying glass, but all the energy from the blast threw everyone away. Salem gripped Pyrrha by the throat and slammed her to the ground. Roni jumped forward first, but she was swatted to the side. Soule appeared behind Salem, plunging his lightsaber into her. She cursed, then grabbed Soule, tossed him over her, then turned her attention to Pyrrha. She brought out her dark blade trying to slam it into Pyrrha, but Ruby rushed forward, and activated her silver eyes. The light burned Salem, and she sent out force lightning. It slammed into Ruby, sending her flying.
"This is getting tiring," Salem said.
"I agree." A giant ice spike flew into Salem's chest as Winter started her attack. Salem melted it and raised her hand towards her. Ama whipped her hand, causing the electricity to go towards her, but the energy never reached her. The whip absorbed the energy. Raven flew by, bringing her sword to bear, cutting Salem's body in half. The body came back together with the dark ooze, leaving Salem in a bad mood. She felt the power of darkness waning. The spirits seemed to not be able to work together even when they needed to.
"Are you alright?" Weiss asked Karel.
"Not really… but now I have to focus on the fight."
"Your spirit is wounded Jedi master." Ahsoka's spirit said.
"I know."
"Let me help you." Ahsoka said. Karel felt a healing warmth overcome him. But he still felt a hollow sadness in him. He needed to push it aside. He needed to focus on this fight. They needed to kill Salem.
Pyrrha struggled against all the attacks on Salem. She was fast, strong, and cunning. She needed to step up her skills if she hoped to last much longer in this fight. Easier said than done. She was grateful for her husband's help, but he had no hope of defeating Salem. She had to protect him, and all the others.
"This is the end for all of you." Salem said. She jumped back, Pyrrha saw a quick glimpse into the future and knew what she would have to do. She rose her hands, creating a wall of light as a massive spear of darkness was launched. It stopped inches away from Pyrrha. Pyrrha and everyone else would have been killed if it had hit the ground. Salem started breathing heavily.
"What's wrong Salem? I thought you were going to destroy us." Soule said.
"Somethings take patience little Sith." Salem said. Salem floated down to the ground and looked at her opponents. She laughed. The finally joined the party. The inquisitors pulled out their lightsabers, ready to join in on the fighting.
"This is it? A couple of puny Jedi, little Sith, and lackeys to real Sith. The only reason any of you are still alive is because of that priestess over there."
"Never throw away the key to victory just because you're insulted," Barris said.
"I guess not, though I had hoped that my servants would have killed a few more of you. Their failure has set me back, though not by much." Salem said. She wondered who she should kill first… Then she saw her target. She smiled as she rushed forward, towards Weiss.
Weiss noticed she was rushing for her. Was she about to die?
Karel stood in front of her, making a quick move with his lightsaber, knocking the lightsaber off its path. But the blade cut him on his side. He clenched his teeth. He brought his lightsaber up, cutting her handoff.
"Damn." Karel said. He breathed heavily. Weiss looked at him.
"Karel?" Weiss said.
"That was too close." He held onto his side. Karel's knee buckled.
"Karel!" Weiss grabbed onto him. She took out the bacta stim that he had for Bora. She gave it to Karel.
"Weiss, thanks." Karel said.
Salem shook her head. Once again Karel was in her way. That annoying Jedi. She had to fall back. The others were going after her.
Ruby started dashing side to side, slashing at Salem. She was on the back foot. Ruby took every advantage she could as she was trying to get a killing blow if one existed. Then she remembered how her mother fought Salem. Salem was able to deal with speed. What she couldn't deal with were her silver eyes. Ruby began the process, sending Salem back, her arms beginning to burn. Ama wrapped the whip around Salem's neck, and she rushed forward. She used her silver eyes against Salem, burning her again. She let out a scream and swung her arms around. Her arms slammed into Ama and Ruby. She brought her arms together, slamming the two silver-eyed warriors together. They fell to the ground. Yang jumped behind her, punching her in the back. Then she took out her lightsaber, slamming it into Salem.
"All this means nothing!" Salem said.
"Nothing?" Pyrrha said.
"This will all mean nothing when I've killed you all." Salem said.
"Talk's cheap," Barris said. She threw her first lightsaber into Salem's chest, then rushed forward, cutting off her head.
Salem's body reattached itself. She grabbed her head and put it back on. She let out a sigh, the ignorance was beginning to annoy her. She sent out a force repulse, sending everyone flying. Ren took in a deep breath and rushed Salem. He held in his hand his Father's arrow. Salem put out her hand, letting the arrow enter her skin, but realized her mistake immediately when her hand exploded in light. He had hidden one of the light crystals in the arrowhead. She punched Ren with her good hand, and brought a clawed hand up his chest, leaving deep wounds.
"Clever." Salem said.
Blake threw her weapon into Salem's back and jumped for it with a light shard in her hand. Salem took out her lightsaber, making Blake disconnect. Weiss was on the other side of Salem and released all the dust in her weapon all at once. The massive explosion left a hole in her torso. She was taking a lot of damage. Pyrrha wondered if they could end up killing her in the end.
The hole closed back up, but she was visibly weaker now. Weiss stepped back from Salem's reach. Zia planted a wrist rocket in Salem as the torso was reforming, blowing it open. She screamed as the black ooze flew all over the ground. Salem's body was looking horrible. Her healing factor wasn't working fast enough, and it couldn't heal her hand without the presence of Grimm. That's what made silver-eyed warriors so dangerous to Salem. They could damage her body.
Akio and Mizuki joined back up with the group and saw Salem's body being destroyed and healing itself.
"If blowing her up doesn't work what will?"
Salem formed back up, looking at the group. She heaved then slammed her hands on the ground. A wave of darkness rushed forward, slamming into the group, only Pyrrha was able to block it. She looked back at her friends, knowing she needed to fight for them. She turned back to Salem, who smiled.
"This fight is between us." Salem said, "So maybe those who fight with you will finally understand that."
Salem rushed forward slamming her lightsaber into Pyrrha's weapon, feeling a rush of pain. She was slower. She was barely keeping this body together. But before that, she needed to take out the priestess. She needed to make sure she could steal another body. It was a shame that this body was so young, but it had taken too much damage to continue being used.
She fought Pyrrha with everything she had, taking on the witch. She noticed that Salem had become slower. It couldn't have been exhaustion, so she wondered what exactly it was. She knew this body was too young to naturally be deteriorating, so she wondered what was causing this. Salem was beginning to get desperate. Pyrrha recognized that. She wondered if Ruby and the Silver eyes had something to do with it. Ruby's eyes did the most damage to her, except for one of the light attacks. She knew she was going to need to get the others involved again. She wrapped Salem in light and threw her at the dark gate she made. Salem slammed into it, letting out a cry as she was brought in the air, and slammed down.
Pyrrha let Salem go, throwing a light attack at the gate. Salem brought out a dark hand, catching the light. Both were destroyed. She brought herself out of the ground and turned to Pyrrha.
"How many times do I need to tell you that won't work before you stop it. This fight is between us. No Sith, no Jedi, no Hunters. Just us priestesses." Salem said.
"That's the difference between us. You are always alone. I'm never alone." Pyrrha said. Light spirits rushed the Gate, slamming into it and cracking slightly.
"NO!" Salem said, rushing for the gate. She was hit by a large light ball on her back, throwing her away from the gate.
"You don't get to decide who I fight with or not." Tears started flowing upwards "You don't get to kill my friends. And you sure as Hell don't get to destroy the whole world!" Pyrrha said, rushing at Salem. Salem widened her eyes. She held her hands out and fired force storm. Pyrrha brought her hands in front of her, making a shield, but it wasn't enough. Her shield was broken and she started falling to the ground. She landed with a thud, making Salem laugh.
"You stupid girl. You should know the dark is always stronger. The light has nothing. They weaken themselves by needing others. They weaken themselves by caring about pathetic life forms! Only the strong deserve to survive in this universe. Only those who struggle and thrive have any place near power. All others who make themselves slaves are weak and deserve to be broken like the trash they are! Just like this whole pathetic planet deserves to be destroyed. Your Alliance and Empires fought and died for MY CAUSE! They are all here because I ALLOWED IT!" Salem stood over Pyrrha and kicked her. She flew a few feet back.
"I survived when all other life was destroyed. I survived alone when I was betrayed by the man I loved. I survived living in this Hellhole for thousands of years! I survived the Gods. What do you think they can do to stop me? NOTHING! I've become more powerful than them! You are NOTHING compared to me." Salem said. She grabbed Pyrrha by the neck and drew her hand back, turning on her lightsaber. Pyrrha looked up and blast a massive hole in Salem's chest. She let Pyrrha go. When she landed, she took out her sword and cut off Salem's hands. Salem stumbled back, seeing Pyrrha holding out her hand. She fired another massive light attack, melting away her top half. The attack slammed into the gate, breaking through it. She huffed, wiping away the blood from her mouth.
"The thing about darkness is that those who follow it are always blinded by the light."
She fell to one knee and waited. She knew no even that would be enough. Not yet.
Ruby rushed over to Pyrrha first.
"Pyrrha, are you okay?" Ruby asked.
"I'm good, but it isn't over." Pyrrha said. Ruby turned back to see Salem's body begin to reform itself. The disgusting sounds of the darkness recreating itself sicked Ruby.
"If that didn't finish her off what will?" Ruby asked.
"We just need to destroy the body. Once we do that, we can go. And right now, her body is barely working." Pyrrha said. The others finished walking into the arena. They marveled at the damage, wondering what Pyrrha had done while they were away. Jaune rushed over to her.
"Pyrrha, let me help you." He started healing her and she smiled.
"Thank you love." Pyrrha said. "That's helping more than you know." She said. She was able to take some of Jaune's excess light to help herself while he healed her body. Karel felt a pain in his chest, but he pushed it down. Now wasn't the time to think about himself. Bora was with her family now. She was in a better place, and she was watching over him. He needed to finish this fight, then he would give himself all the time he needed to grieve. But Salem had to come first. Jaune must have noticed and after he was finished with Pyrrha he placed his hand on Karel's shoulder.
"It'll be okay." Jaune said. He wanted to hug Jaune, but he just nodded his head.
"I can't think about myself right now. There are too many people counting on us all."
Outside the battle had started to turn. The Grimm were starting to get pushed back. The crews of all the ships started to feel hope again, and they were even able to establish a permanent base on the ground. Pixi wondered why she had a feeling of dread, but it wasn't for her or her crew. She continued the attack.
Ironwood let out a sigh of relief. This was the first moment that he had been able to even think about victory over survival. The Sith were more than pulling their weight. He knew he was going to have to study their tactics when this was all over. But he looked back at the temple wondering what was going on in there. He hoped that they would take the witch out soon.
Karel felt all the connections he had coming together now. All the masters whose spirits were here, all those who were alongside him. All those who've died and all those who are still alive were here, for this final attack.
Salem finally reconstructed herself, with visible patches of black all over her. Her body was starting to deteriorate. All the horrible beauty was gone, replaced by the image of what Salem truly was. Most Sith Lords' bodies became little more than walking mummies and they all lived a fraction of the time of Salem. She was the face of darkness incarnate. More monster than human. Not even the foulest of Grimm could compare to Salem at this point. Her voice was gone, replaced by one of disease. Every word she spoke was a curse.
"Fools. You've pushed me to my limits. But in the end, you've all come here to DIE!" Her arms thrust in the air, and a massive dark spike came raining down. It broke into a million tiny pieces. Pyrrha lifted her arms up in the air and covered them from the dark rain. Salem smiled, as the spikes Pyrrha missed laid in the ground.
"How fast is darkness I wonder?" She asked. A mania rushed into her voice. As she was losing control of her body, it seemed she was losing control of her mind. She hadn't delved this deep into darkness for a long time. One moment she was where she stood, next she was at one of the spikes in the ground. Pyrrha couldn't keep up with where Salem was. She would have to use instinct and the force to determine where she would appear next. The others looked at the spikes and began to attack them, but they were all thrown back. Only light could destroy the spikes. She let out a wave of light energy, all that was given to her by Jaune, and broke multiple spikes, but not all. Some were just out of reach. She held out her hand like a gun and fired at the spikes. Salem smiled and rushed Pyrrha. She was teleporting so fast that she was building up speed. No one was fast enough to stop the attack from landing. Pyrrha barely noticed that she was in danger when rose petals flew in the air.
Ruby was the only one who could do this. If Pyrrha died, they all died. This all would have been for nothing. She knew she was the only one who could save Pyrrha.
But she was afraid. For a moment, a fraction of a second to anyone else, but an eternity to her, she had to decide what to do. She knew doing this would mean her death, but not doing it would mean they lost.
But…
No.
"Mommy, I want to be a hero like you someday." Ruby told her mother when she was just a child. The memories all flashed before her now. She remembered when she was training with Yang before they entered Beacon. She remembered that night when she stopped the robbers and got into Beacon. She was so nervous but also excited. She left that old life behind a few years sooner than she thought she would, but she was now that she didn't regret it. That life let her meet everyone. She remembered meeting Weiss. That awful first meeting would never give anyone the hint that they would become best friends.
Then there was Blake. She was a mystery for so long. She kept deep darkness in her for so long until Weiss brought it out. Even then, even when she was hurting, even when she ran away, Ruby never gave up on her. No, she never doubted her teammate once in all these years. Even when she was less than pleased when all the Jedi stuff started interrupting their lives, Blake was with her.
And Yang. Her big sister. What more is there to say about her? She was strong but had a soft spot. Yang loved Ruby. She knew that. And this would hurt her a lot. But she was so strong that Ruby knew she would one day understand her decision. Yang was a lot smarter than most people thought. She was everything Ruby needed to be. Most importantly of all, she was brave. A trait that Ruby craved for herself. She wanted to be accepted, and loved, and to be the Hero that would stand against evil. Without Yang, she never would have gotten to this state.
She couldn't forget about Team JNPR, or BMBL, even though it wasn't called that anymore. She couldn't forget how much Pyrrha helped everyone grow, and how they all helped her grow. She and Jaune were a good couple and even better people. Same with Nora and Ren. Karel was the biggest shock to her system, and she doubted any of this would have happened without him. Without him, she never would have opened herself to the force. Without him, Weiss and her family would have never healed. Without him, Weiss and Blake wouldn't have been able to reconcile so easily. She wouldn't have met Vuren or Roni. She wouldn't have been able to see her mother again.
She wondered if this is what her mother was thinking about when she died. She was the bravest, best, most noble mother anyone could ever ask for. She wished she had more time with her. But this was the end. Salem had killed her. But Ruby remembered the most important lesson about her eyes from her and her other teacher Maria. Ruby realized that here, in the end, she was the amalgamation of all those relationships. Qrow had taught her well. She would always be thankful for him watching out for her.
She did feel guilty though. She was leaving Oscar behind. She wished that they had the life Bora and Karel had. But he would live, even if she didn't and that was enough for her. He would be able to find a woman who would love him for who he is. Ruby just thought it would be her.
But she was a Jedi Huntress.
And the moment had arrived.
The lightsaber entered Ruby. Ruby felt the anguish in Yang at that moment. She was more troubled than she thought she would be. Blake and Weiss were also hurt by this. She felt a wave of despair wash over everyone. Her mind flooded back with all the good in her life. Her eyes began to glow.
"Don't worry… this was my decision." Ruby said. Salem looked up at Ruby. Fear, anger, hate, and all the dark feelings that she thrived on flooded her system. She was hit by a blinding silver light.
At the entrance of the realm, troops were being brought in, and they saw the light flood the sky. All the darkness was gone from them. Everyone had to shield their eyes from the sight. All the dark spirits were pushed away.
Sidious and Vader spirits returned to their bodies.
"Pathetic."
The ground started to crack. It started to shake. The waters began to crash hard against the rocks. Everything became a blur of white. Any Grimm that remained in the realm were eliminated. And so were any left of Salem's forces.
Oscar saw the light rushing through the entrance and knew immediately what happened. The tears rushed down his face.
"RUBY!"
No one could believe what just happened. No one could even see what was going on. Everything was too bright to see. Karel couldn't feel in the force what was going on, barely protecting himself from the light. He felt a cloud of darkness that was still hanging over him dissipate. He fell to his knees and shielded his eyes. The light hung in the air long after Ruby let out the last of her energy.
Ruby's body fell to the ground with a smile on her face. Her eyes had a milky look to them. Salem was nowhere to be seen. Yang was the first to the scene, holding Ruby in her arms.
"Come on Ruby, we got to make it back home." She said, tears forming in her eyes. She wiped away the hair that covered her eyes. Ruby sat there, not moving. Qrow was next. He just looked at her, arms outstretched, knees weak. He collapsed to the ground, slamming his hands on the ground.
"WHY GODDAMNIT WHY? WHY HER? SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THIS!" Qrow yelled. He grabbed her head and just stared. It was too much for him. He put his head to hers.
"I wasn't good enough." Qrow said. "You shouldn't have died."
"Uncle Qrow…" Yang started. "Is Salem… gone?"
"I… I think so." Qrow said. Yang buried her head in Ruby's chest, crying for her sister. She felt a hand on her head.
"I'm sorry Yang." Raven said. "No one was fast enough to help her." Raven dropped to her knees and hugged Yang. She just cried more.
Weiss and Blake stood there, completely numb.
"This can't be happening." Blake said.
Weiss couldn't stand it anymore. Everything crashed on her. She only felt despair.
"Not again. Not again." She said, holding onto her head. "I can't do this again."
Karel stood behind Weiss, placing a hand on her shoulder. She had nothing left in her. She let out every emotion she was feeling.
"Weiss…" Karel started. "Weiss…"
She couldn't hear him. He went closer to her.
"Please, Weiss. I need you to be strong."
"How can I? Everyone around me is dying! Everyone I love is dying! Why is it always this?" Weiss asked. Karel hugged her. They both needed healing. Weiss was strong for him, so he would be strong for her. He couldn't let out everything he was feeling either. He wanted to scream at the universe. The universe seemed to want nothing more than to take away everything it could from those who were trying to save it. The universe was a cruel place, no matter how far you go. How could anyone what to live? How could there be happiness?
But he felt the crystal around Weiss' neck glow, touching his heart. He saw the wonderful things in life in a flash. Everything he knew was shown to him. He knew that this life could be more than suffering. Even for someone so undeserving of it like him. He held onto Weiss tighter.
"I'm so sorry Weiss." She grabbed onto him. He looked up at Blake. She shook her head to his open arm.
"It's alright." She said. She was putting on a mask to hide her pain. Roni stepped behind her.
"It's okay. No one will judge." She told Blake. Blake turned to hide. Even as adults, they all still felt like children right now. Especially compared to Ruby. She took out Salem and saved them all. She was really one of those heroes from the children's books.
"What a pathetic display from you all."
Salem stood on a hill overlooking the group. Everyone looked at her, the hope they felt washed over them in an instant. She was still alive.
And Ruby's sacrifice…
She teleported behind Pyrrha, the last spike, guarded by Pyrrha herself, laid safe. Before anyone could do anything, Salem stabbed Pyrrha. She let out a gasp and fell to the ground.
Ren rushed Salem, letting out everything he had. She took the hits, laughing. After his pathetic attempt to stop her, she quickly sliced his arm off, sending him tumbling. Yang went to attack her, but in her state, Salem easily deflected the hits and hit her in the stomach with force lightning. She flew back.
Salem laughed. She was invincible now. Those that posed a threat were gone. Ama let out her silver eyes, hurting Salem, but it wasn't enough to kill her. She sent out a force wave at Ama, sending her flying, using her force shield to stop her from dying.
She unleashed force storm to attack everyone else still standing. Everyone began falling. They weren't dead yet, but Salem would soon finish them off.
All that was left was Karel and Weiss. He protected the two of them. Once again, a pain in her side.
"Don't you understand yet, you are about to die here?"
Karel stood there lightsaber outstretched. He took a deep breath and began to let the force enter him like never before. He cleared his mind.
"Weiss, please stay behind me." He let the force guide him. He was no longer the Jedi. He was a conduit with the force. He held off Salem's wild attacks. He let the force tell him what was needed him to do, and he did them without thought. Karel felt as though he was outside his body seeing this fight happen. He was faster and stronger than before. Nothing would stop him. He could deflect each attack from Salem easily.
She was distracted by the purple blade, that she didn't see his blue blade fly away from either of them. She was too focused on victory. He stepped back, and he felt the force leave his body. He collapsed to one knee and watched Salem stand over him.
"After all this time, you come to your end. You avoided it long enough Jedi. Now, we finish this."
"No… I was the distraction."
Pyrrha sent out a massive wave of light energy against Salem. She dropped her lightsaber, and her body began to fade. Pyrrha held onto the wound, blood coming from it. Karel knew it wasn't a good spot for her to be in, but she was doing better than Salem.
When Salem's body was beginning to reform, there was a core that Pyrrha saw.
"This is it Salem. This body is done. Never again will the world have to fear for its safety from the Grimm." Pyrrha stabbed the core. Letting out massive dark energy from it. She could hear Salem's soul scream. The two relics fell to the ground.
And there it hovered. A tiny ball of darkness, floating in the air. Pyrrha held out her hand, and chains wrapped around it.
"Now she can't steal another body." Pyrrha said. She let out a sigh. They defeated Salem.
Ironwood watched as the Grimm started to fade. Slowly at first, but then all at once. All the guns stopped firing at once. Where once was a sea of Grimm, now there was nothing. He heard nothing for a moment, then cheers rang out in every ship.
Emperor Sym knew that the deed was done. Salem was defeated, and with that, all her creations were destroyed. He felt calm for the first time in a while. He, and his people, were truly free from the witch.
All throughout Remnant, the Grimm started slowly fading. The cities were saved from the Grimm. Rouge should have been happy about that, but she knew that it had come a great cost.
All the spirits of the Jedi returned to where they once belonged. It was over. The fight was won.
Salem and Bogan were defeated.
Pyrrha fell to the ground.
"Karel, come here. I need to tell you the passcodes to the relics. Bring the Gods back." Pyrrha said.
Everyone stood back up. Salem's attack was strong, but they were still alive.
"What now?" Jaune asked. He saw Weiss bringing Bora's body. Everyone followed her. Weiss placed Bora's body next to Ruby's.
"Thank you, Weiss." Pyrrha said.
Pyrrha looked at Jaune, then Karel.
"I'm going to die. But before I do, I can bring one of them back." Pyrrha said. The shock rushed across everyone.
"What do you mean you're going to die?" Jaune asked.
"Salem hit a vital area. I'm only alive because of the powers, but they're fading. Soon I will be dead. If you don't decide who I bring back, all three of us will die. I will not accept this. You must make a choice who comes back." Pyrrha said.
It was madness.
"Bring Ruby back!" Yang said. She covered her mouth when she saw the hurt in Karel's face, but tears fell down her face again.
"Please… I need her."
"Bring Bora back." Zia said.
"I agree." Winter said. Yang felt betrayed that Winter could say it so easily.
"Ruby." Blake said. "I'm… I'm sorry Karel."
"Ruby!" "Bora!" "Ruby!" "Bora!" "RUBY!" "BORA!"
They kept shouting the names back and forth. Karel sat there. Soon everyone realized that the vote was going to have to be split. Jaune didn't say anything. He was horrified.
"Why?" He asked.
"Jaune… Please. How can I die knowing I could have saved another person?" Pyrrha kissed Jaune and smiled. Jaune buried his head in her shoulder.
"What would Silver think? I need to do this. And you need to be there for everyone. You're stronger than you know. You can do this." Pyrrha said. He whispered his vote but hung onto Pyrrha. She smiled.
It all came down to Weiss and Karel. Weiss saw both her best friends on the ground, dead. Only one could come back. She shouldn't be given this choice. She used silence to tell Pyrrha her vote. Leaving the two votes in the air.
"Okay. I won't say." Pyrrha said. "But that means were down to the tie-breaking vote. Karel. That's you. It's exactly half and half." Pyrrha said.
Karel felt the eyes of everyone on him. No matter what, his choice would decide who lives and who dies. It was more than should be put on anyone. It wasn't fair. He placed his head to the ground and clenched his fist.
"B-"
Karel couldn't finish. He was taken to that place again with Bora.
"Oh no you don't. Don't you even dare Karel!" Bora said. He lifted his head and saw his wife.
"But… why not? Why can't I let you live?"
"Because it's my time to die. If you bring me back, I will kill myself! No, I can't live knowing that Ruby was denied a chance to live! I love you Karel, but that isn't a reason you should be thinking like a jackass right now. You have everything you need to go on. I lived the best life I could, and I have no regrets! Ruby hasn't been given the chance to live her life. She has regrets. I feel them!"
"What? You could… feel them?" Karel asked.
"Yes. I can feel the regrets she has. She left behind so much. She suffered through so much. More than I did. Save her life!" Tears began flowing. "I'm alright here. Trust me. This is a good place, but she will feel those regrets for the rest of time if you don't bring her back. She has regrets even she doesn't know about." Bora said.
"How can I face everyone after choosing Ruby over you? I love you!"
"I love you too, but how can you hurt so many others because of your own personal feelings for me? Don't ignore my own wishes. I'm okay. Trust me, like I trust you. Tell Jade how much I love her. She's a good strong girl. She'll know she's special to me. This is the end. Our last goodbye. So Karel… Please listen to everything I told you before. And you know, I think you know who you should end up with after me. Just give yourself some time before you do anything. I love you."
"I love you Bora." She smiled as she gave him a final kiss goodbye. She stepped back, and Karel was able to see for a second what the afterlife looked like. It was glorious.
"Karel…?" Weiss said. He blinked his eyes, wiping away the tears. He had moved, but he knew they didn't hear what he said, or heard what he heard.
"I'm ready Pyrrha." Karel said.
"So you are." She smiled. Karel wondered if he heard.
"I just spoke with Bora, and she helped me realize that Ruby has regrets in this life. She can't pass on peacefully with those regrets. So Pyrrha, please, bring Ruby back." Karel said.
That was that. The vote was decided. No one said a thing. They just waited for the deed to be done.
"Karel, I'm going to need some help. Please…" Karel moved over.
"Place your hand on Ruby's head, then one on mine." He did as he was told. "After this, bring the Gods back."
"Alright." Karel said.
"Now, stay still." Pyrrha closed her eyes, and all the light faded out of her, rushing through Karel's arm, into Ruby.
Pyrrha fell to the ground, and Ruby began coughing up blood. Yang rushed over to her, making sure she was okay.
Jaune held Pyrrha in his arms.
"It's okay Jaune. I knew this was going to happen when I put the crown on. But it was my choice."
"I don't want to say goodbye." Jaune said.
"I know, but we must. I love you Jaune. I love you and Silver." Pyrrha began to slow her breathing. She closed her eyes and passed on. Jaune held her tightly.
"Jaune… I'm sorry." Karel said.
"I… I… I'm sorry too. For your loss." Karel went over to Jaune and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"I'm going to summon the Gods now." Karel said.
He gathered the Relics, and he said the passcodes that Pyrrha told him. After unlocking all the relics, Karel stared at them.
"Summon the Gods."
Author's Notes: And How was THAT. Three main characters deaths all, the BBEG beaten, and the Grimm gone. This chapter has been in the works for literally years. I wonder how good it came out. These next few chapters will be the end of the story. I've put some thought into this and wonder if I should write a new timeline and series. The Jedi Huntress series. It would be shorter than this series.
I want to continue writing for this website, even though I don't write that often for it. To me, it's a place where I can let out my creative muscles after going through stuff, or I get tired of writing books and such. This series is my focus, but I may do some one-offs here and there. I hope that one day this series will be liked.
After so long with 2 reviews on this, and only a few more throughout the series, I wonder why so few people want to tell me if they like this. I will still write, but I would appreciate it if you leave a review of this. Also, my PMs are also open. I just want people to talk to, and feedback.
I want to know if I should do a rewrite of the first story, polish it up, make it fall more in line with things from here. Oh, and when this story is over, I may write a little more, short stories going on after the SGW, maybe some before the first story. Who knows?
Anyway
May the Force be With You
-DragonZlayerX12
