Chapter 46
Year 7 Month 0 Day 0
Salem has been defeated but at a great cost. Bora Lone and Pyrrha Nikos were killed. After the end of the battle, Karel summoned the Gods.
Karel finished the passcodes to summon the Gods. All the guardians of the relics came together to make a passageway. The door hung in the air and was quickly opened by the Gods. Karel stared as Ashla and Bogan stepped down through the doors, standing in front of Karel.
"Karel Allusis. Jedi Master, Refugee from your galaxy, and Hero to your new home. You are a shatterpoint in this." Ashla said.
"Yes, the Jedi who knew so much. But in the end, he's just a regular Jedi Master. A young one, but still a master, nonetheless. My priestess had gotten out of control and needed to be defeated. I never thought it would get to this level of destruction. This world has been forever changed. My creations have only ever been used to destroy." Bogan said. Karel looked at the two with no emotion.
"I am who you say I am. I have been given many titles, but they mean nothing now. You two are pure aspects of the force. Your power is unimaginable." Karel said.
"That is true. We have power over creation. Remnant is much like Tython. A pure force Nexus. It's a wonder that you were able to survive so much… but I feel the sadness you all feel. You all lost something today. All over your world, the forces of Grimm have devastated your lands. Many towns have been laid to waste. It is a grave thing that has happened today." Ashla said.
"I have a few questions." Karel said.
"We will answer what we can." Bogan said.
"Why did you give Salem flawed immortality?" Karel asked.
"We saw that when Salem was gathering forces to her cause, she was getting stronger than we thought was possible. We used our powers to restart Remnant in a way. Saving only those who were not from Remnant. Those who were not from Remnant would be the ancestors of the Faunus. They were saved because we have no hold over them. But with Salem, we saved her and forced her to find new bodies every thousand years as a punishment. We worried that she would take over the Faunus, but she didn't. We don't know why." Ashla said.
"What is your connection to Tython and its moons?"
"We in a sense come from there. The moons are our spirits, but we exiled ourselves after the force wars. We came to Remnant and guarded it ever since." Bogan said. "It is from what we learned at Tython that taught us how to make life, and control creation. We were attracted to Remnant much the same way many of you were. It is so strong in the universal force that it called out to us, and we could not ignore it. The call was so strong that we settled ourselves here. This world is stronger in the force than many other nexuses combined. We didn't know that we were followed by the Jedi. They arrived here and spread out through what is now known as the kingdoms. Though perhaps that is incorrect." Bogan finished.
"Why is this planet so strong in the force?"
"That's not so simple a question that we can answer." Ashla said.
"Then can you tell me how auras, semblances, and dust came to be?" Karel asked.
"Auras and semblances are connected to the strong nexus that is this planet. They may be called aspects of the force, but they are not fully understandable to those like you. To explain it fully would require you to become like us." Ashla answered.
"Why bring Ozpin back so many times even though his magic was depleting?" Ruby asked.
"We gave him exactly how much he needed to complete his task. We foresaw the long dangerous road you were going down, but we couldn't risk the magic he naturally posed to tempt him. When it did, it took us quite some time to allow him to return."
"How are there so many magical relics and artifacts across this planet?" Soule asked.
"The power to create relics and artifacts comes from the planet itself. Just as we learned to create from the planet, many others learned on a lesser level." Ashla answered.
"What are the maidens?" Winter asked.
"The maidens are magical women, given that magic from the life energy of Ozma and Salem's daughters who were killed. We honor them by keeping their memory and magical ability alive." Bogan said.
"I was told about other timelines and universes. Is what I was told true?" Karel asked.
"You know what she said, but to answer that, it would require faith in her words." Ashla said.
"One last question, what are you going to do with the people of Remnant now?" Karel asked.
Ashla and Bogan put their hands together and created a viewing ball. They watched people from all over the planet.
"It seems that the nature of Remnant is violent…" Ashla said.
"We promised to judge them when we returned." Bogan said.
"And so, we shall." Ashla said.
They continued to view the people of Remnant. Silently judging them.
"Karel, the people fight, but we are sworn to destroy if they are at war with each other. You may defend them." Bogan said.
"We all came together today. For years we were fighting a war under a pretense. We were all tricked by Salem into fighting. She caused this war to start. Once we all realized this, we came together and decided to fight as one to defeat Salem. We were outnumbered, tired, and ready for the war to end. We are ready for it to end. The war ends today. We have seen the cost of a war like this. We're all tired of fighting. I know I am." Karel said.
"But there will still be those who will continue to wage war. What do you say to that?" Bogan asked.
"There will always be people who want to fight. We can't stop that more than we can't stop human nature itself." Karel said
"Human nature…" Bogan started.
"Yes, human nature. It makes us become what we are. Everyone has the potential to do good or evil. To judge everyone as the same is wrong. It's even more so when you only look at the worst. You must understand that looking only for the worst of life makes you think that all is evil. I admit there are people all over this universe that honestly make you wonder if life is a mistake. Many people wonder if life was a mistake here. There is a lot of bad here, but there is just as much good. You must have seen how people are. The light and dark sides have a pull on each of us. The light has sway on many of us because we choose to follow it. The same with the dark." Karel said.
"Would you condemn the Sith?" Would they condemn you?" Bogan asked.
"There are some Sith that are ruthless… but I have seen that there can be Sith that are fair. They can show as much kindness as cruelty. I would have to go to an individual level to judge a Sith at this point. I don't know what they think of me, but we can sit down and have a conversation when we need to."
"So who would be the judge of those who does evil? If there was a clan of those who seek nothing more to kill who will stop them? The Jedi?"
"Jedi protect life… but even we aren't enough. It will take a societal change. But even then there will always be evil. We are born into a dark world, in a dark universe. It seems sometimes like we can't do anything about it and that all life is folly, but then I have seen that even the smallest light can make a change. The smallest light and fight back the greatest darkness."
"So you would condemn all those who have darkness in them?" Bogan asked.
"No. I have come to an understanding that we all have darkness in us. We can all do good and evil. It's up to us to choose what we will do. Those who follow the dark tend to create darkness for others. But that's why we need the light as well. To create a balance."
"Balance…" Ashla said.
"We have judged Remnant…" Bogan said.
"We have. We have decided that Remnant must be…" Ashla said.
Everyone held a breath. Everyone wondered what the Gods would say. Would they condemn the people who lived on Remnant? Ruby wondered if she would die so soon after being brought back. She held onto Yang's arm, not being able to see out of one of her eyes.
Weiss grabbed Karel's arm. She stared at the Gods with acceptance on her face. Jaune held Pyrrha's body.
"We have decided to spare Remnant. We will not bring destruction to this planet" Ashla said.
"We have seen that many of our own mistakes have led to the problems here. But we also see that there are things beyond our control." Bogan said.
"As you have said Jedi master, Human nature affects you all in ways that we can no longer comprehend." Ashla said.
"Ashla, Bogan… I have a request." Karel said.
"If it is reasonable." Ashla said.
"That means no, we will not bring back your wife." Bogan said.
"That's not what I was going to ask. I was going to ask if you could let Jaune, and everyone else who's lost someone today have one last conversation with their lost ones." Karel said.
"We cannot allow all… not even you." Ashla said.
"But we can do this for Jaune. His wife was a priestess of Ashla." Bogan said.
Pyrrha's spirit was visible to everyone for a second until Weiss used Silence to give Jaune and Pyrrha privacy.
"Pyrrha… you're gone, but I can still see you." Jaune said, tears falling from his face. "Thank you, Karel."
"It was Karel who helped make this happen? I'll have to thank Bora when I get back." Pyrrha said. She smiled at Jaune. She placed her hand on his face, and he felt it. He grabbed her hand and looked at her.
"Pyrrha, we probably don't have long. We did it. You did it. You saved us all…" The tears came rushing down. "But I wasn't ready to see you leave me! I just want you by my side forever. I wanted us to grow old together, to die together. I wanted us to have a big family where we could train the next generation, and live as a happy family…"
"Jaune, you were always such a kind soul. That's what made me love you. I love you so much, and I wanted that too. But I couldn't put myself ahead of anyone else." Pyrrha said.
"You just died, but it doesn't feel like that. It hurts so much. I thought I was going to have a lot more time with you. It's selfish I know. I must be strong for Silver, but how can I be? I lost you." Jaune said.
"I'm not gone. I'm right here in your big heart. And I know that you will be a wonderful father to Silver. He's going to be such a lucky boy that you are his father…" Pyrrha started to cry. Jaune went to hug her.
"How much longer can we stay like this?" Jaune asked.
"Not too much longer. It's hardly enough time. I have a message for Silver. I had it in my pocket. It should still be safe. But if it isn't tell him this. I love him, and I did this for him. I did this so he didn't have to live in a world where he had to be afraid of the Grimm. Tell him not to be a picky eater. He's going to need a lot of greens to become a strong man. Tell him he's also going to need sleep, and good friends. Friends that he can count on. Tell him that he needs to keep up with his studies and that if he becomes a hunter, he's going to need to be just like his dad and be a kind soul that can find the best things about someone. Tell him that if he's not a leader of a team, I won't be disappointed in him. Let him know he should be respectful of others, and he should be smart with money. Tell him that he's a wonder to the world and that he can become anything he wants with hard work. There's so much more I want to tell him but there's just not enough time." Pyrrha's eyes were fountains. She choked the last few words through tears.
"And tell him, that above all else, his mother loves him, and his wonderful, hero father. Tell him that I'll always be watching over him and that I'm always with him. And if you find another woman, make sure she will love Silver like her own son. Let Silver know that it's okay with me. Tell him that I will always love him, but now, he will have someone else who will love him."
Pyrrha took a few breaths and chuckled to herself.
"Look at me nagging. It's just…"
"I'll tell him everything. I'll tell him how strong his mother was. I'll tell him how strong she was, and that she was the kindest person in the world to his weakling of a dad." Jaune said.
"Jaune, you're no weakling." She said firmly. "Don't you ever dare talk bad about the man I love. Don't ever talk bad about my husband and my hero. That's what I got to tell you. Never lose sight of who you are. You are the man I love. I married you because I love you. Never forget that. When you think you're weak just remember that your strength comes from your heart."
Pyrrha began to fade.
"No, not yet!" Jaune said.
"Jaune… We'll see each other again. But I want you to live your life the best way you can. I love you Jaune, and I love Silver. I love both of you with everything I have. Never forget that." Pyrrha faded completely.
"I won't" Jaune cried out. He wiped away his tears, then calmed his breathing. "I love you Pyrrha. I always will."
Weiss closed the circle. She had a tear fall down her cheek. Jaune looked at her.
"I'm sorry Jaune. I know I wasn't meant to hear any of that, I can't help it." Weiss said. Jaune checked Pyrrha's pocket and found a perfectly working holo recorder.
"It's alright Weiss. Thank you for doing that." He said. Jaune stood up and hugged Karel.
"Thank you." He was barely holding back a new set of tears. Karel held him tightly.
"We're going to be okay." He said.
"Now this meeting is coming to a close." Ashla said.
"Ashla, Bogan. If it is possible…, can I ask one last thing from you." Karel said.
"What is it?" Bogan said.
"This world, it's the strongest force Nexus known in the universe. So, we can't leave entities as strong as you on here without there being drastic restrictions. Both of you had to separate your realms from the rest of the world. But the moon can be a place where your realms can flourish. Please, instead of the surface of Remnant, please, take the moon." Karel said.
"You are bold to ask this of us." Bogan said.
"But we understand your concern. We already decided to do what you were suggesting. Strangely, I admit. I thought you were going to ask us to open our realms to everyone." Ashla said.
"You already tried it, and humanity showed it was incapable of handling that tempting power. But the moon is different." Karel said.
"You are wise beyond your years. You are truly an asset to the Jedi." Karel looked away from the Gods.
"How can I call myself a Jedi after what I did? I fell to the dark side, and it took everyone to show me my mistake."
"The dark side is dangerous. Jedi have a blind spot. Those that trained you fell because of that blind spot. They are willingly blind to the dark side. They do not train you to handle it or to keep yourself safe from it. They teach avoidance, not how to get passed it. And you had no failsafe. You used it to destroy Salem's clone. And this is also the greatest dark side nexus known to the universe. And your wife was killed. It was hardly your fault that you fell when you did. But you have people that love you. People that stand with you, and who will correct you. You can have no better friends than those you have. Truly you are the most fortunate soul on Remnant." Bogan said.
"The dark side needed a little opening to take control. That is the danger of this place. It's the danger of darkness. Like a poison to one such as you. The second that you use it here, you start guzzling it. The Jedi will understand." Ashla said.
Karel looked at his hands.
"I tried attacking my friends. I tried to fight them, to hurt them. How can I call myself a Jedi master? How can I call myself a Jedi?" Karel asked.
"Are you so harsh a teacher that you believe your students are doomed after one mistake?" Bogan asked.
"No," Karel said.
"So why are you so harsh on yourself?" Ashla asked. "You just need to ask forgiveness. That's it. Why make it harder for yourself? They're good people. They're people who can understand what you were going through. All you need to do is forgive yourself."
Karel felt tears fall. He wiped them away as fast as he could. But they kept coming. He brought his arm to his eyes.
"Karel. You made a mistake. One that you regret. The best thing about humanity is that it's able to forgive the worst mistakes." Ashla said.
"This war is over. The fight between Ashla and Bogan is over. But the battle between light and dark is not over yet. But you no longer have a hand in that fight." Bogan said.
"What about Salem?" Yang asked.
"Salem has suffered, hasn't she? Thousands of years living as she has. In the end, she's always just been that scared girl in the tower. The darkness that covered her soul will stay behind, but the woman Salem once was, she deserves her rest." Ashla said.
"But what about what she's done?" Zia asked.
"Once she let the darkness enter her, Salem's soul has been trapped by the monster she became. She was alone trapped again in a tower of her own making. That tower has finally come down." Ashla said. The dark soul melted, leaving behind a light soul.
"It's time to leave." Bogan said.
"Wait, let Ozpin's soul rest. And all Ozma's reincarnations." Ruby said.
"Go back to the gate and see it for yourself." Ashla said.
Jaune and Karel brought Pyrrha's and Bora's bodies with them as they left the dark realm. Once everyone left the dark realm, and they took out as many of the bodies as they could, Oscar dropped the spell. The gate was about to close, but Oscar felt a tugging at his chest. He saw Ozpin, and all his other reincarnations. The souls all looked at Oscar with a smile. There were so many. They walked away, all except Ozpin and Ozma.
"You made me proud. All of you, my former students. No, that doesn't express who you are. You are the best Beacon has ever produced. I couldn't be prouder of any of you." Ozpin turned but turned back.
"I believe that the human spirit is indomitable. If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams are something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death." Ozpin bowed to his students. "And one last thing from your old teacher. Remember, keep moving forward." Ozpin faded.
Ruby felt a tear fall down her cheek. She smiled to herself.
"Thank you, professor." Ruby said.
Ozma watched Ozpin leave. He turned to Oscar and smiled. He gave a salute to Oscar, then turned back. He held his hand out and Salem's spirit appeared. It was her without the darkness. She was beautiful.
"I'm so sorry. I made so many mistakes… I've done horrible things. I…" Salem started to cry.
"It's all right. I know you were trying to see me again. Now you can. We must move on." Ozma said.
"Yes." Salem said. She turned to see those she hurt.
"I'm so sorry. I know I can never be forgiven for what I did. Nothing I say can heal the wounds I created. Everything I did, all the darkness I brought, that hurt can't be undone. I will spend the rest of time trying to fix this in any way I can." She turned and faded. The gates to the dark realm closed, and the ground shook.
"I think that's the Gods going to the moon." Soule said.
"Let's leave this place." Karel said.
The troops left the temple, taking all the bodies out as they could. Karel limped when he got out of the temple. He gritted his teeth. He was feeling the adrenaline leave him. Drop ships flew toward them, and all the people on the beach. The smell of smoke and gunfire covered the air. Karel held onto his wife for as long as possible, until he fell from exhaustion.
The death toll was catastrophic. If anyone wanted to fight after this, they couldn't. All the armed forces were crippled. Millions died. Ironwood looked over the dead at the launch island. They had to separate the dead by nation. Then they had each nation gather their dead. Entire massive airships were full of nothing but caskets. Those with caskets were the lucky ones. Many bodies would never be recovered. This was the genuine cost of war.
Karel sat next to Bora's casket. He didn't move an inch until Weiss and Winter walked next to it. They placed their hands on the casket. Weiss looked at Karel and closed her eyes.
"Karel, we'd be honored if she was buried at the Schnee family cemetery." Weiss said. Karel looked up at Weiss.
"But it's only for Schnee…" Karel started.
"She's part of our family." Winter said. Karel stood up, not saying anything.
"You've already done so much for me. How can I ask you to do even more?" Karel asked
"Don't think this is a burden. No, this is an honor. She was our friend. She was your wife, and mother to Jade. This is the very least we could do." Weiss said. Karel didn't say anything. He just shook his head.
Commander Pixi walked over to Karel, Erik following closely behind her. She heard the news but couldn't believe it until she saw the casket. Zia walked over. She looked at the Jedi.
"She was a Mandalorian. There are burial rites for our people. One of these includes cremation, but others will leave her with a resting place. She was a fierce warrior, one who had the true heart of our people. She fought like us, bleed like us, and in the end died better than all of us. If you will let me, I would like to say a few things to her." Zia said.
"I have studied your people's cultures. She was connected to her people stronger than most. She was proud to be a Mandalorian. I want her to have those rites as a Mandalorian." Karel said.
"You honor us. Which would you prefer, cremation or burial?" Zia asked.
"My family needs to see her off. I wouldn't mind cremation, but I also want a resting spot for her." Karel said.
"Then… I'll start." Zia spoke in the Mandalorian language, only Karel understood what Zia said.
"Her body will be transferred to a better casket when she's buried." Karel said. Zia looked at him and nodded. She modified the chant, then finished it. She turned to look at Karel.
"Bora was… a true Mandalorian." Zia said. She went back to her people.
"That's it? A true Mandalorian?" Pixi said.
"In their culture, there is no higher compliment. And that chant was all about the glory and honor she had that would stand on forever after her." Karel said.
"But still… I can't see her not being here. After almost seven years, she's… gone." Pixi said. She took a deep breath in, and let it go.
"Many of my closest friends were killed in this war. We lost a lot of our best. Including almost all of squad 7. We're in no state to continue the war. Even I must admit that." Pixi said.
She put her hand on Bora's casket. Karel could feel the pain she was hiding. Erik placed his hand on her casket.
"I didn't get to know you for long… but you've been there for our family. Damnit, I'm going to miss you." Erik said. He looked at his brother.
"Are you okay?" Erik asked.
"No."
"I didn't think so."
Year 7 Month 0 Day 13
The return home was bad. So many lost everything on that day. Vale had just barely survived, and only because of the Jedi and hunters. Goodwitch was organizing the funerals of many of her former students. The list made her cry. She knew so many of these people and helped many of these people. She trained many of them on how to fight, and here they were, on a massive list of casualties. It tore at her deeply. She slammed the desk multiple times seeing names of hunters she never thought would have been killed in the war.
"Why? Gods why?" She said. She brought her hands up to her face, trying to wipe away the tears, but she knew it wouldn't help. This was too much. She just wanted to disappear. She didn't see Qrow standing in front of her desk.
"Glynda…" Qrow said.
She wiped her eyes and looked at Qrow. He looked as bad as she did. She didn't think that was possible.
"Qrow. What can I do for you?" She said, ignoring the fact that he saw her mental breakdown.
"You need help. Just as much as anyone. You're doing too much."
"They were MY students Qrow! I taught them to fight. I should have taught them better then maybe more of them would be alive…" Qrow slammed his hands on her desk, shocking her.
"You weren't there Glynda! You have no idea how strong they were! Anyone who made it out of that temple was lucky. You did the very damn best you could, so don't give me that! You couldn't have prepared them for what they saw! We went through Hell Glynda, Literal Hell! You failed no one! You didn't have to see someone you love die in front of you…" Qrow said.
"Did you… but your nieces aren't on any of the lists, I saw them both…" Glynda started.
"Pyrrha died bringing Ruby back." Qrow said.
"She did… oh gods." Glynda felt her hand rush to her scar.
"Ruby lost an eye trying to burn Salem to a crisp, but she just popped back up a minute later." Qrow said.
"Qrow… is it over?" Glynda asked.
"Yes. Salem's gone forever." Glynda put her head on the list of casualties.
"Then maybe… they didn't die for nothing." She said. Qrow sat on the floor, and put his hand on his face, hiding from the world.
Pyrrha's funeral went as smoothly as possible. Jaune was overwhelmed by all the things people said about her. He couldn't hold back all the emotions he was feeling. He could barely hold onto Silver as he cried. It wasn't fair. She always gave up so much for others. She was so selfless. Jaune would miss the little things that only he noticed about her. Karel held onto Jade, not letting a tear fall down his face.
"Jade, we have to say goodbye to Pyrrha." He said.
"Daddy… is she coming back?" Jade asked. Karel went down to her level and put his hands on her shoulders.
"Jade… Pyrrha died. That means we don't get to see her anymore. But we can still remember her. That's why we see them before we bury them, to get one last good look at their faces. So we can remember what they look like forever." Jade had tears coming.
"Is that what happened to Mommy?" Karel felt tears forming, then he hugged Jade.
"Yes. And Mommy's looking down at us right now." He couldn't let Jade see the weakness he felt.
Jade went to the casket, holding Karel's hand. He brought her up to see Pyrrha's smiling face. She looked lovely, and Karel could tell how much Jaune's family cared about her.
"Don't worry about Jaune. We'll take care of him." Karel said.
"Mrs. Pyrrha, can you please tell my mommy that I love her." Karel held her tighter.
Year 7 Month 0 Day 15
They returned to their house. Karel no longer felt the comfort it once brought. It was a dark feeling. He couldn't be here any longer.
"Karel… it's going to be okay." Gwen said.
"I can't live here anymore." Karel said.
"I understand…" She said. She hugged Karel. He felt the love of a mother.
"At least… not for now. Jade and I… we're going to spend time with Weiss and Winter. They're in just as bad a state as I am." Karel said.
"We'll come back after the funeral. Take the time you're going to need." Gwen said.
Lance entered the living room dressed for the funeral. He sighed as he saw Karel. Lance wasn't his normal self.
"Karel… You're stronger than most." Lance said. Everyone else was walking out of their rooms, wearing their funeral attire. Karel and Jade were the only ones not wearing black. They wore their Jedi robes.
"This is a helluva day." Adi said. "Maybe worse than hell. At least in hell, no one's innocent."
The ride over to Atlas was quiet.
Karel didn't know how long he would need, but he needed to be strong for Jade. And for the Schnee's. Weiss was more stressed than he could imagine, having to bury her father, then take the position of SDC chair head.
Weiss watched the ship land, and the Allusis family descend the ramp. They kept Bora's body preserved, waiting for today. Team DYMD and other Mandalorians were there. Another ship, with Team RWBY and what remained of JNPR landed.
Others would come, including Pixi. Karel spoke to the crowd first.
"Bora is a hero, that can never be taken from her. We all should remember that above all else, Bora gave her life so that all others may live. She was a true Mandalorian. You all saw her fierceness and her loyalty. She is the love of life, and I know she'll be with us long after this. Her spirit, that will she has, will be with us forever. She kept me from becoming a monster. She was my support and my wall. She knew better than anyone how hard it was to live with a Jedi like me. But she saw passed that and fell in love with someone like me. She is an inspiration to us all." Karel said.
He saw everyone looking at the fine casket. Karel finished what he was saying, at sat down, as close as he could to the casket.
After everyone finished what they were going to say, Karel took Jade to see her mother's face, one last time. She cried, and so did Karel. The tears hit Jade's head, and she looked up to see her dad crying.
"Daddy?" She started to say.
"Jade, it's time to say goodbye."
Jade looked at her mother, reached out for her. She touched her face but pulled her hand back when she felt how cold Bora's face was.
"It's alright Jade."
"Mommy's face is cold." Jade said.
"I know… but that's alright." Karel put his hand on her face, feeling it one last time, then stepped away.
Year 7 Month 1 Day 02
A month had passed, but there was still an air of sadness in the Schnee household. Karel was gone on Jedi business. He was opening the Atlas Jedi temple. Ruby and Yang were there as well. The Jedi decided to reopen temples in all the major Kingdoms in the alliance. Grandmaster Ray had asked Karel to take over as guardian of the Atlas temple, and he accepted. The Temple had been cleaned and was ready to open.
"Grandmaster Ray is sending one more council member to Atlas. I think it's Gael, but she needs a little more time to get everything ready to join back up with you." Yang said.
"It's a good thing I sent in my resignation to Beacon. I'm going to have my hands full here." Karel said. "And so will you." Both the women in front of him had apprentices standing a few feet behind them.
"Grandmaster Ray was so happy we were alive that, but she always keeps her word." Ruby said.
"There were a lot of Jedi that lost their masters. We all must take on a responsibility to train those left behind." Karel said. He looked at the apprentices, both were young girls. One of them was a faunas.
"How are you doing? It's been just over a month…?" Ruby started.
"It's hard. I spent years with Bora being there, and every day I could swear that I hear her, see her, smell her perfume. It's like a ghost wanders my mind." Karel said.
"And how's Weiss?" Yang asked.
"She's doing better than I am, though that's not hard. She's got a lot of responsibility that's been thrust on her. I doubt she's ready for it." Karel said.
"We should drop by." Ruby said.
"That would be good." Karel said, then he snapped. "She's meeting with Blake today. What luck!" Karel said.
"Menagerie." Blake had taken over as the leader of the country. She had won the first election of New Menagerie. She was starting a trade deal between the SDC and her new government. Karel knew there was still some bad blood, but the SDC was working at a loss for this deal. It could do this, but most people didn't know how much it could. Weiss and Blake were having race to the bottom for the price. Blake was refusing to take the dust for basically nothing. Weiss felt guilty taking most of the money offered. Karel smiled.
But then the smile went away.
The momentary light in his eyes faded just as quickly as it started. Ruby and Yang both noticed. But then he changed his face again, putting on a brave one for them.
Karel couldn't let anyone see how much he was hurting.
Year 7 Month 3 Day 21
Karel had thrown himself into work. He had to. There were so many others who died while he lived, he had to make that sacrifice mean something. That was the only thing that made up for him living.
The Padawans sat in front of him. He took on three Padawans of fallen Jedi, and so did every other Jedi master, except for Grandmaster Ray. She took on five. His padawans, who were all very close to becoming knights, were Alice, Bruno, and Cami.
Alice used a yellow lightsaber, Bruno a green one, and Cami used a blue one. Alice was the closest to becoming a knight, but she also hurt the most about her master. She was talented with a lightsaber, and a scholar of the myths. Karel did everything he could to help her with that.
Bruno was attuned to the force in a way that most padawans weren't, and even some knights. His Faunas heritage barely stood out, even though he had a tail. Bruno needed a lot of help with his lightsaber forms, but besides that, he was a perfect Jedi consular. He was a bit brash, but Karel knew how to deal with that.
Cami was young, needing at least two years before Karel would suggest her to the trials. She excelled in Forms II, III, and VI. She was from Atlas, and it showed. She was born into a rich family, but she tried to keep that hidden from the others. She was ashamed of it. She also seemed to like Bruno. Karel shook his head at the obvious feelings she had that Bruno couldn't pick up on.
They all met Karel's youngest apprentice. Jade.
They all loved her, but Karel knew they would all one day leave Jade behind. Karel explained that he would have a lot of padawans from now on, but she was his highest priority.
Rouge came to the training on this day to inspect all the new padawans.
"Padawans, this is my first padawan, Rouge." Karel introduced her to the new padawans, and they all started asking her questions about Karel. Karel was glad to have a moment to himself.
"Look, my master is one of the greatest Jedi ever, but I know a lot of embarrassing stories." Rouge said. Karel wondered what she was going to say.
"Like what?"
"You're going to have to earn those." Rouge said. "I know his training regimen better than anyone. But here's a free one, Karel once was training me when he was wearing his robes…" Karel remembered this one.
"Rouge, isn't that a bit much for a free reward?" Karel asked.
"Come on, Bora…" Rouge stopped herself. Her smile was gone. Karel tried to hide it, but that hurt. "Sorry master." The padawans were all quiet. They didn't say anything. Bora was well known among the Jedi, almost always being with Karel.
"It's alright." Karel said, trying to hide his hurt. "Padawans, Bora was my wife. She gave her life to ensure I survived, and to ensure we would defeat Salem."
The padawans didn't say anything.
Bruno used the force to feel his new master. He felt a lot of sadness.
After the lesson for the day, Karel went to the council chambers. Gael was sitting there, with a Xar there as well.
"Xar?"
"Hello, Karel."
"Sorry, I wasn't expecting to see you here." Karel said.
"I'll be going soon." Xar said.
"You don't need to." Karel said.
"You need to talk to my old master. I'll go." Xar said as he left.
"What is it Karel?" Gael asked when Xar left.
"The last battle still haunts me," Karel said.
"It should be. That last battle, we lost so much, and you lost a lot too." Gael said.
The talk continued. Karel started to feel better, and it soon became a weekly ritual. Gael became his therapist.
Year 7 Month 6 Day 4
Karel returned home at noon. Today was a day off for his apprentices, but they still showed up, just to say happy birthday. They were coming along. Alice would be a knight by the end of the next month. Winter walked down the stairs of the home, holding a small present.
"Happy birthday." She said, a small smile on her face. "The Mandalorians dropped this off for Jade. For your child they said. Her lightsaber." Winter said.
"She's not going to make that for a few more years. But I'll take care of it." Winter looked deep into his eyes, making him uncomfortable.
"What are you hiding?" She asked.
"I'm not hiding anything." Karel said.
"I've known you for way too long for that to get by me. Something is wrong." Winter said.
"My wife died Winter." Karel said.
"You're not letting anyone get passed that. You're putting up a wall." She said. She put her hand on his head.
"I'm not a child anymore Winter." Karel said. She gave a small smack to his head.
"You'll always be my little brother. Now shut up and listen. Right now, you are hurting, so you need to talk to someone. No not just someone, you need a network of help. Good thing you have friends and family. And right now, Jade needs your help. She hasn't seen you cry for her mother since the funeral. Almost six months. She doesn't even know if you cared about her death."
Karel widened his eyes.
"But right now, she's in her room. Go fix this before it becomes a problem."
Karel rushed to Jade's room and calmed himself. He knocked on her door and opened it.
"Jade… can we talk." Karel said.
"Talk, about what?" Jade said. She put away her sketchbook.
"About you mom."
"Mommy?"
Winter stood close by the door but turned away after Karel hugged Jade, asking her to forgive him for not seeing how much he hurt her. She didn't need to hear anymore. It wasn't for her.
She walked to Weiss' office, where she looked at her mother's drinking glasses, she hid around the home.
"Mother was hurting. Could we have done anything about that?" Weiss asked.
"She didn't want help. That was the problem." Winter said.
"But you stepped in with Jade." Weiss said.
"She's still a child, and Karel is our brother." Winter said. She notices a very subtle change in Weiss. Winter stepped in front of her.
"Or do you want something different?" Winter asked.
"What are you saying?" Weiss said.
"Nothing little sister." Winter smirked
Year 7 Month 9 Day 24
Weiss took a deep breath in and walked into Karel's room. He was meditating. Alice had become a Jedi Knight, and Bruno was close to becoming one. He had thrown himself into being a Jedi. He also did wonders with Jade, but he was still ignoring himself.
"Karel." Weiss said.
"Yes?" He asked.
"It's time. You need to start taking care of yourself." Weiss said.
"I am."
"Meditating isn't enough. When was the last time you took a shower? When was the last time you gave yourself time to heal? When did you last go out of your way to see anyone?" Weiss said.
"I showered last night." Karel said.
"At least your taking care of something. But now you need to focus on yourself. Get dressed. We're going into town. And don't worry about Jade. Your mother's here and so is Winter."
Karel didn't have a choice, he had to go.
But when he was in the town, at a café, he didn't feel so bad.
"You're punishing yourself. You're going to crash soon. The war's over. You don't need to be ready for another attack every day. Your body will collapse on itself." Weiss said. Karel had to admit, he was happy not to be in the itchy Jedi robes today.
"I know… but it hurts." Karel said.
"Of course, it does. That's why we're here for you. That's why I'm here for you." Weiss said.
Karel and Weiss continued talking and going around the town. It reminded Karel of the days before beacon.
"Find someone who will love you and Jade."
Karel heard Bora's words in his head. She kept saying it in all her messages to him.
Karel didn't say anything about that to Weiss, but he smiled. And this time it didn't fade.
Author's notes: The war is over, and the gods have left Remnant alone. This chapter covers so much, but it does slow down at the end. The story needs time to let what happens digest. There may be an epilogue chapter or two, but really, the war's over.
The main story is complete.
Now, it's just wrapping up the last few things.
It's unreal that we're here. Years ago, I wondered if I was ever going to finish this story, and right now, here it is. But I'm not gone yet.
Many of my friends have left, and I'm here, disconnected mostly from the community, but I'm still around.
Please leave a review, like and favorite.
May the Force Be with You
-DragonZlayerX12
