Chapter 6
Team CRDL has been expelled from Beacon. But a new threat is creeping up. Blasters from the crash site have been stolen and are suddenly popping up around the underworld.
Blake woke up first, waking from a dream about her past. She and Adam went around, fighting for equal rights… and how quickly Adam began to change. She couldn't see it from where she was before, but she saw it now. She got out of bed and decided to change into her training outfit. Rosa walked into the bathroom yawning.
"Morning Blake." Rosa said. Her hair was sticking up everywhere.
"Um… Rosa, do you need a hand with that?" Blake asked, pointing to her hair.
"Is it really that bad?" She said, grabbing her brush.
"Yeah." Blake said, with a smile on her face. "It looks like a bird tried to make a nest in it."
"None of the people I played had long hair, so this is a first for me." Rosa said, then she brushed her teeth. Blake went over to her and started brushing the hair, with an ow occasionally from Rosa.
"How'd you sleep last night?" Rosa asked.
"Besides my dream it was normal." Blake said.
"Well… tell me about the dream." Rosa said.
"It was like a movie of all my worst mistakes." Blake said.
"You get dreams of bad memories too?" Rosa asked.
"Not normally." Blake said. She put the brush down and got up.
"Off to morning training?" Rosa asked.
"Want to come?" Blake asked.
"Sure." Rosa said with a smile.
Blake's training was intense. It wasn't the marathon of Rosa's training. It was stealth training. Rosa had stealth skills, but nothing like Blake. Even with the force she barely found Blake half the time. Blake was trained well in keeping herself undetected. Rosa sat down exhausted from how much energy she used trying to find Blake.
"Finally found something that makes you tired." Blake said.
"You're amazing at stealth. Jedi can track people by force signatures. But you were near impossible to see." Rosa said.
"Thanks…" Blake said with a smile.
"How did you get so good at hiding?" Rosa asked.
"A lot of practice." Blake said.
Everyone went to the first class of the day, weapons training with Goodwitch. Rosa was first, and she was fighting Pyrrha.
"Alright everyone, let's start." Goodwitch said. Rosa turned on her lightsaber in training mode. The green color became darker, and the noise slightly changed. Rosa held her lightsaber out and took in a deep breath.
Rosa moved first, rushing Pyrrha. Pyrrha blocked the attack with her shield and tossed her back. Rosa landed with a thud, then jumped back up quickly. She glanced at her scroll quickly and saw that just hitting the ground took a tenth of her aura. She clenched her teeth and held out her lightsaber. Her form VI was her best style, and the only one besides IV that she was proficient in.
Rosa took in a deep breath and rushed forward, slashing at Pyrrha again. She blocked the swing with her sword, then switched it to a lance. She thrust it forward, jabbing Rosa in the stomach. She dropped to one knee. A third of her aura was depleted by that one move. She had barely over half of her aura left, and Pyrrha had barely broken a sweat. She sent out a force push, knocking Pyrrha off balance, then she rushed forward, jumping over Pyrrha. She spun her lightsaber, only for it to be blocked, then Pyrrha kicked Rosa. Her aura dropped over half.
"Sorry."
"No, I was asking for it." Rosa said. Pyrrha got back up and turned her spear into a gun. She shot at Rosa, who blocked it. Pyrrha nodded her head and turned her gun into a sword. She rushed forward and slashed at Rosa. Rosa struggled against her strength. And eventually, her lightsaber was thrown from her hands. She jumped backward trying to use the force to grab her lightsaber when Pyrrha grabbed her lightsaber. Rosa put her hands up.
"You win." Rosa said.
"Miss Reidan, that was the correct choice." Goodwitch said. "But I can't help but notice you have been struggling in this class." Goodwitch said.
"I'm sorry. I'm not an expert in lightsaber combat." Rosa said.
"We'll have a conversation after class. But interestingly, you chose to use acrobatics in your fighting. Not many people do." Goodwitch said.
"Thank you, professor," Rosa said.
"Now you Miss Nikos, you were great, but it seems you slowed down your usual fighting style. If it was to help Rosa, then I will have to deduct points. You are not helping her or yourself." Goodwitch said. Rosa glanced at her and felt guilt coming off her.
"I… was." Pyrrha said. She couldn't look at Rosa.
"Miss Nikos… I understand trying to help your friend, but you need to help her by pushing her higher, not letting her feel good staying at her level. It's not fair to her devotion or her skills to have you mock them, even unintentionally like that." Goodwitch said, then she looked over at Rosa, and saw a fake smile on her face. They left the stage and Pyrrha came up to Rosa.
"I'm sorry… I just knew how hard you were working and…" Pyrrha began.
"It's okay. I know my fighting isn't the greatest. But you should take pride in your work." Rosa said.
When they sat down, Ruby put her hand on Rosa's shoulder.
"I thought you did well." Ruby said.
"No, she's right." Rosa said.
They watched as the next match began. Jaune fighting a girl with chakrams. She was able to beat Jaune, but he did a lot better.
"Mr. Arc, you're progressing well. I'm impressed." Goodwitch said.
"And you Miss Terra did well. It's great to see rare weapons being used with their greatest potential." Goodwitch said. The chakrams were brought together with magnets.
A few more matches went, and Rosa looked at her lightsaber. She sighed as she looked at it.
"Rosa, you, okay?" Ruby asked.
"Kind of. It sucks being reminded of your greatest flaw…" Rosa said.
"And that was the last fight for today. Remember students, we have the Vytal festival coming up soon, so I want you all to show how strong you can be. We're going to start seeing the students of other academies soon." Goodwitch said, then released the class. Rosa went to her after everyone else left.
"Rosa, this class is the outlier. You are struggling in this class. All your other studies, including your martial arts, are much farther advanced. Why is that?" Goodwitch asked.
"I… I don't know." Rosa said.
"I see… you should go see your master and talk to him. He probably holds the key to this. I hope that you will start growing. How about you make goals, then tell them to me after the next class." Goodwitch said.
"Alright professor."
Rosa went to Maku shortly after.
"Master… can we talk now?" Maku finished putting a paper away.
"Of course, what is it, Rosa?" Maku asked.
"Why… do I struggle so much with the lightsaber?" Rosa asked.
"Rosa… you're not a Guardian. You have a strong connection to the force." Maku said.
"I know that, but still other Jedi like us don't struggle anywhere near as much as I do with this." Rosa said.
"Rosa… you aren't as strong as most Jedi. That's not what you're training has done for you." Maku said. Rosa felt taken aback.
"What?" She asked.
"Rosa, you are strong for a human your age, don't get me wrong, but for a female Jedi human… you possess below average strength. It's not your fault, but your body has lower limits of Jedi strength." Maku said. Rosa looked at herself.
"But I thought I was strong." She said. Maku put his hand on her head.
"You are strong. But there are more ways to fight than a head-on battle. You will always struggle in those contests. But do you know what you can be?" Maku asked.
"What?" Rosa asked.
"You're training has brought your endurance to a monstrous level. You could run for hours with barely a break. You're very flexible and nimble. That's why I gave you the Jedi armor that I did. It's meant to help you move. You also have a natural talent for infiltration. The masks you make for yourself are next to perfect. Any fight you get in must be short. In and out." Maku said.
"So I'm a spy?" Rosa asked.
"Isn't that what we've been doing?" Maku asked with a smile on his face.
"But what about my weapons combat class?" Rosa asked.
"That's where this is coming from… Well, you'll need to figure that out by yourself. You are no barbaric warrior. Use the force to enhance your speed, and you should be able to blitz anyone. And even without the force, you should still be able to blitz most opponents." Maku said.
"But what if I fought someone who had experience?" Rosa asked.
"Runaway." Maku said.
"I can't just run away!" Rosa yelled.
"Yes, you can. I've trained you to get out of combat situations that you can't handle." Maku said.
"And what about my team?" Rosa asked.
"Make sure they run before you do. And if they don't run, then use the force. You have to use your brain." Maku said. Rosa puffed out her cheeks.
"What do you mean by that?" Rosa asked.
"Rosa, you should meet up with your team." Maku said.
"Fine."
After class let out for the day team RRWBY walked the streets of Vale. People were setting up decorations all over for the festival. Weiss was wide-eyed looking at all the decorations. Rosa was pouting, sucking on candy.
"The Vytal Festival! Oh, this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss said.
"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much, Weiss. It's kinda weirding me out..." Ruby said. Rosa looked out at all the different items appearing in the shops. She stopped in front of one and looked at an Atlesian delight. It was a small red candy covered in a layer of sugar.
"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances! Parades! A tournament! Oh, the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!" Weiss said. Rosa went into the store with no one noticing.
"You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Yang said. She stopped and looked around for their fifth teammate.
"Rosa?" Everyone stopped to see the girl coming out with a massive bag of candy, and a tiny honey dipper in her mouth. She had a smile on her face.
"Candy…" Rosa said.
"That's… new." Blake said.
"Candy is tasty." Rosa said. She smiled barely noticing the eyes on her. She held out the bag of candy to her teammates.
"Um…" Ruby started.
"Take some. I bought them for all of us." Rosa said, putting the honey dipper back in the honey.
"You have a sweet tooth?" Weiss asked.
"It's a bad day." Rosa said. All the girls shook their heads and understood.
"Pyrrha did beat you pretty bad." Yang said, then covered her mouth. "Sorry. Didn't mean for that to slip out." Rosa batted at the air, waving off the insult.
"I was told by Maku I'm not strong." Rosa said.
"What about all the training?" Ruby asked.
"Endurance training." She got more honey. "But he's got a point. I've noticed it a while ago, but to be told it outright hurt my pride."
"Anyway, let's continue to the docks." Weiss said.
"But they smell!" Ruby said. "Why don't we go literally anywhere else?"
"Because Ruby, as representatives of Beacon, we need to make a great first impression on the Vacuo students." Weiss explained.
"You mean you want to spy on them." Blake said.
"Both can be possible." Weiss said. Rosa went up to her and handed her an Atlesian delight.
"You need more candy." Rosa said with a serious face. Weiss took a bite of the candy.
"You know, I've had a lot of these. Atlas is my home." Weiss said.
"I forgot." Rosa said, all the seriousness gone, going for more honey.
"Wow… We need to remember to limit Rosa with candy." Weiss said. "It makes her… childish."
"Hey…" Rosa said noncommittally.
"I could have said worse." Weiss said.
"Fair point."
Rosa put the dipper back in the honey, and they continued down the street when they stopped in front of a broken window. There was a circle cut out of the window. Rosa handed Yang her honey and went over to the window, looking at the glass, eyes wide in shock.
"Shit." She said. Two cops stepped in front of her.
"No touching the evidence." The first cop said.
"I can tell you what cut the window." Rosa said.
"How would you know?" The second cop said.
"Because I have one." She took out her lightsaber and showed the cops it.
"Are you… admitting to a crime?" The first cop asked.
"That's the thing, it wasn't me, or the only other person I know who has one. We were at Beacon. We're students there." Rosa said. The cops looked at the teens.
"We're going to keep in contact with your school. Who's the other person who has this weapon?" The second cop said.
"Professor Maku. He has one arm." Rosa said.
"Then it can't be him. Or you for that matter. No offense kid but you're too short." He showed her a picture of the suspect. They were covered head to toe, showing no flesh. It was impossible to determine if they were a man or a woman. The footage showed a red blade. Rosa stepped back; fear radiating off her.
"What is it?" The cop asked.
"This is bad." Rosa turned back to her team.
"We need to go to see Maku." Rosa said.
"We will, you just need to tell us what's going on." Ruby said.
"He had a lightsaber." Rosa said.
"Rosa… there were lots of lightsabers on Remnant. It could be anyone who got their hands on one." Weiss said. The cops wrote down the important stuff.
"But it was red. That makes it a Sith lightsaber." Rosa said.
"Rosa, calm down." Ruby said. Yang went over to her and flicked her forehead. She brought her hands up to her head and looked at Yang.
"Ruby is right. Calm down, then we can go to Maku." Yang said.
"We're going to see this Maku. We have questions for him." The first cop said.
"And when we're asking him questions, we want you girls to go back to whatever you were doing." The second cop said. They shook their heads and watched the cops enter their car and drive towards Beacon.
"What's that?" Rosa used the force to bring to her a mask.
"The white fang." Blake said. Rosa felt fear and anger come over her. She also felt fear come over Weiss.
"But what would the white fang with dust?" Rosa asked.
"I don't care. The white fang has become nothing but criminals." Weiss said.
"They're misguided faunas." Blake said.
"There's a difference between misguided and genocidal." Weiss said.
"Okay, they're very misguided. But that's because of the leaders." Blake said.
"One of them was here and lost the mask. That's what's most important." Rosa said.
"Maybe it was Torchwick. The police never caught him." Ruby said.
"Maybe Torchwick joined the white fang. Criminals are stronger together." Weiss said.
"Torchwick is a human. The white fang would never allow him to join." Blake said angrily.
"Unless he had something they wanted more than anything." Weiss said. "Look at how much dust he's stolen. He could be an arms dealer to them, giving away dust. They're all scum."
"That's not necessarily true…" Yang started.
"When was the last peaceful protest that the white fang held? But I can tell you the last twenty-five times they tried to kill, or killed innocent SDC workers, or members of my family. And that was only in the last three months. Whoever this new leader is, is a terrorist." Weiss said.
"But the people in the white fang aren't all bad." Blake said. "Some of them were just shown that violence works. That humans will listen to them when they kill."
"Blake, I understand that not everyone is totally evil, but they can't be good if they think murder, is the option." Weiss said.
"What other option have they been given?" Blake asked.
"There are assholes on both sides, that I give you, but the people who want change have worked for it without resorting to violence."
"It hasn't worked. Look at the conditions in Atlas." Blake said. Weiss didn't say anything.
"Peace through violence is no peace at all." Weiss said.
"I agree, but they don't." Blake said.
"But you were just arguing for them." Weiss said.
"I was just saying that not all of them are bad. Misguided people are victims of bad people taking advantage of them." Blake said.
"Look, we can continue this later. The first teams are arriving." Weiss said. Rosa felt neither was happy about the outcome.
"I think you both need candy." Rosa said, quickly putting lollipops in their mouths.
"Stop that faunas!" A man shouted. A monkey faunas man swung from light to light with a smile on his face. Rosa felt nothing but joy from him. His dirty blonde hair rustled in the wind. His chest showed as he didn't button up his shirt. The red shoes and bracers stood out.
"Hey, it's just a little snack. It's not like you'll miss it." The boy said finishing the banana. He tossed it on the ground and jumped behind him. When he landed, he smiled at them.
"Oh, and I'm the best damn stowaway you'll ever see." The boy ran past team RRWBY, winking at Blake as they did.
"There's the competition." Yang said.
"Are you sure?" Weiss asked.
"We can still follow him." Ruby said. Ruby, Yang, and Weiss followed him. Rosa stayed behind with Blake, as she was sucking on another glob of honey.
"Shall we go?" Rosa asked.
"What, um… yeah, let's follow them." Blake said.
As Weiss turned the corner, she bumped into someone and saw the Boy jumping away.
"Dammit, we lost him." Weiss said.
"Weiss…" Yang said, helping her teammate up, then she was going to help the other girl, but she got herself up. She dusted off her skirt and readjusted her bow. Her hair wasn't touched. She smiled at the group.
"Salutations!" The girl said.
"Sorry…" Weiss said.
"Hello." Ruby said.
"Are you okay?" Yang asked.
"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." She said. "My name is Penny; it is a pleasure to meet you." Penny held out her hand. Ruby shook it.
"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby. This is Weiss, Yang, Blake, and Rosa." Ruby introduced her team.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Penny said with a smile on her face.
"You already said that." Yang said.
"So, I did."
"Well… see you later friend." Ruby said, as they turned the corner.
"She was… weird." Yang said. Rosa took another scoop of honey, smiling.
"Excuse me, what did you call me?" Penny asked.
"Sorry, didn't know you could hear me." Yang said.
"Not you, you." She pointed to Ruby. The others except Rosa took a step back.
"Me? I-I don't know. I, what I, um, uh..." Ruby faltered.
"You called me 'friend'! Am I really your friend?" Penny asked. She looked at her teammates shaking their heads no, except for Rosa who continued to eat honey.
"Yeah… sure." Ruby said, trying to ignore the facepalms from most of her team.
"Sensational! We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!" Penny said, laughing. Her joy radiated off her.
"Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby asked Weiss.
"No, she seems far more coordinated." Weiss said.
"Are you here for the tournament?" Rosa asked.
"Yes, I am."
"You don't look the fighting type." Weiss said.
"Says the girl in a dress." Blake said.
"It's a combat skit." Weiss said, bringing her hand to her hips.
"Yeah." Ruby skirted over to Weiss and gave Weiss a low five.
"I am combat-ready." Penny said.
"If you're fighting in the tournament, are you with that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?" Weiss asked.
"Who?" Penny asked.
"The filthy Faunus from the boat!" Weiss said.
"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake demanded.
"Because I doubt a stowaway got a bath that didn't involve seawater," Weiss said.
"Or is it because he's a Faunus?" Blake asked.
"Huh?"
"Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!" Blake said.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?" Weiss asked mockingly.
"Stop it." Blake said.
"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang! He broke three, no four laws just coming to the city." Weiss said.
"Why are you such an arrogant brat?!" Blake said.
"Four laws, he stowed away, he stole, he littered, and he arrived without proper identification." Weiss said.
"How would you know about that last one?" Blake demanded.
"There was no time from the shouting starting to him running passed us for him to go through the proper methods." Weiss said.
"You are so judgmental!" Blake shouted.
"What makes you say that?" Weiss said defensively.
"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!" Blake said.
"So, you admit the white fang is a terrorist organization." Weiss said.
"That's not what I mean, and you know it," Blake said.
"Really, then why did it slip out of your mouth?" Weiss said.
"Should I start calling your family business a genocidal organization?" Blake asked.
"I am not my company!" Weiss yelled, getting red in the face, and turned around, walking away.
"We should follow her." Ruby said.
"Go ahead, follow that racist." Blake said. Rosa stayed behind.
"Blake, you're hiding something serious." Rosa said.
"What makes you say that?" Blake asked.
"You blew up on Weiss. She's just as misguided as those white fang members you were talking about. Remember, I was around terrorists and gangs for years. I can spot them pretty easily." Rosa's face changed, and Blake took a step back. Her whole body changed.
"What?" Rosa asked, in a voice she recognized, but not her own. It was the voice of one of the terrorist leaders.
"You changed." Blake said. She handed Rosa a mirror, and she looked at her face. Then she changed back after that.
"What was that?" Rosa asked.
"I think… we just found your semblance." Blake said.
"…Oh…" Rosa said.
"What is it?" Blake asked.
"I took over for that woman as the head of a terrorist cell before destroying it. It was a mask I wore… Maybe that's related to the semblance."
"What else can it do?" Blake asked.
"That's for later, now we need to get back to our team." Rosa said.
"I don't want to see Weiss right now." Blake said.
"Tough." Rosa grabbed her arm and started dragging Blake back until she stopped resisting.
When they met back up, Weiss and Blake said nothing until after dark. Then when they got back into their apartment, it picked back up.
"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem!" Weiss said.
"That is the problem!" Blake yelled.
"You realize you are defending an organization that hates Humanity, don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!" Weiss said.
"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate Humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake yelled.
"People like me?" Weiss stepped back.
"You're discriminatory!" Blake said.
"I'm a victim! You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed. My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood. And then… and then…" Her face started to turn red again. Blake looked away from her, not listening.
"You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!" Weiss finished, tears running down her face.
"Well, maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!" Everyone was silent. Rosa stood up.
"We…?" Weiss asked. She fell to her knees and looked at the ground. She started hyperventilating. "We…? You… were a part of them?" Weiss looked up; her eyes looked lifeless. The warmth that had slowly come over them was gone.
"I…I…" Blake said, then ran out of the dorm.
"Blake wait, come back!" Ruby said. She turned to her team.
"Yang, come with me, we're going to search for Blake. Rosa, stay with Weiss." Ruby said. Rosa shook her head, and Yang followed Ruby out of the room.
"I… she… dammit. Not again." Weiss said, slamming her fist on the ground. "Not again!"
Team JNPR looked in the dorm until Rosa glared at them. They closed the door and stood outside it.
"Weiss, it's just us now… What's going on?" Rosa said in as calm a voice as she could.
"The white fang… So many…" Weiss couldn't finish. Rosa put her hand on Weiss' back and rubbed it.
"It's all right. But you need to tell me what's going on so I can help." Rosa said.
"I didn't mean it." Weiss said. "I keep ruining everything. Why?" Weiss said. Rosa held onto her, letting her cry.
"Weiss, it's not alright right now, but to fix it we need your help. Trust us." Rosa said.
"I can't… trust anymore." Weiss said.
"I swear you can make this better, but I need you to tell me what's going on." Rosa said.
"The white fang… they… they tried to kill me before. They had people my age… try to be my friend. Every time a Faunas would get close… they tried to kill me. Weiss began taking off her dress, to show scars across her body. One on her chest that looked like a knife scar. One on her abdomen that looked like a bullet scar. One on her stomach that looked like fire dust had burned her. Rosa put her hand over the scars and looked at Weiss. More scars appeared.
"They hurt me. In terrible ways." Weiss said. Rosa helped her get back in her dress, then hugged her.
"They abused the trust of a child. I can see why you hate them… but there's more isn't there?" Weiss shook her head.
"There were other ways they hurt me. Other wounds that have faded…" She held onto her head, where she was hit by a brick. "And I wasn't the only target."
"Your family?" Rosa asked.
"Yes… My grandfather and grandmother were both murdered by the white fang. They had nothing to do with the dust company, and they still murdered them. And all my extended family too. Only my immediate family is left now. They killed pregnant women and children because they were related to us. My father… became abusive because of them."
"Weiss… there are a lot of things that have happened… but they aren't your fault. But they aren't Blake's either." Rosa said.
"I can't… trust them. I'm… afraid. Afraid that the next one will try to kill me, and maybe they'll succeed. I have no friends, not for lack of trying. They were all murdered. I marked them for death. I can't trust myself." Weiss said. She looked at her hand and tried to scratch herself, but Rosa caught them.
"Weiss… Please… we're your friends." Rosa said. She trashed in Rosa's grip. It almost broke, but she used the force to keep her hold.
"I'm not going anywhere. And neither is the rest of our team." Rosa said. Weiss stopped fighting.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean it to be like this." Weiss said.
"Your distrust was a defense mechanism… an unhealthy one. One that you have to replace. We're a team, and we're friends. We can help you through anything." Rosa said. Weiss just put her head on Rosa's shoulder.
Ruby and Yang came back hours later.
"We couldn't find her." Ruby said.
"Weiss…" Yang started. Rosa shook her head.
"Yang, we need to stand together right now. And you need to listen to Weiss." Rosa said. Weiss couldn't look at her team as she showed them the scars. She turned around and showed them more scars. She was struck at some point by a whip. Once by the look of it, the scars still remained. Ruby covered her mouth. Whoever did it made sure she felt pain. Weiss showed them everything. Every scar she had and showed them everything in her soul.
"Fuck…" Yang said.
"Weiss… this is… so much." Ruby said, helping Weiss cover herself again.
"I'm sorry." She said.
"Weiss… only you can talk to Blake. You've both felt terrible undeserved pain. No one else can meet her soul to soul." Rosa said.
"But she has to hate me." Weiss said.
"You two barely knew each other before. Now… you can make this right." Rosa said.
"You assumed a lot about Blake, and she assumed a lot about you. Now, you both need each other." Yang said.
"Weiss… she's hurting right now, and so are you. You can't heal yourself without healing her, and the other way around." Ruby said.
"I'm not strong enough to do it." Weiss said. "I'm too weak."
A knock came at the door. Rosa opened it to see Maku.
"I heard that Blake has fled campus. The staff is looking for her with the authorities, but I know that won't be enough." Maku said.
"Master…"
"I heard what Weiss said. Everything." Maku said. "I was outside the door for a while."
"Then we need your help… and there is another issue." Rosa said.
"I know. I'll do my best on both fronts. And Rosa… This is the kind of strength a Jedi truly needs."
Blake found him, the Faunas who ran away. He tossed a banana peel over the side of the building and looked at Blake. She undid her ribbon, showing her Faunas trait. He shot up, looking at her.
"So, I guessed it right." He said. "The name's Sun by the way."
"You… did?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good at finding other Faunas, but you… you found me." Sun said.
"I just followed the banana trail." Blake said.
"…So, you have…" Sun said.
Blake looked over the edge of the building. Sun stepped next to her and looked.
"The white fang was here..." Blake said.
"That would explain why there are so many cops around." Sun said. "But I got to ask why you tried to find a random faunas."
"I had… a falling out with one of my teammates. She kept…" Blake stopped.
"The Schnee girl?" Sun asked.
"How did you know?" Blake asked.
"The emblem on her back was pretty obvious. And the snow-white hair." Sun said. Blake didn't say anything.
"You know… I always wondered what it was like to live somewhere so cold." Sun said. "And not just the snow, but living above so many people… It's got to do something to you."
"Weiss…" Blake said. Sun looked behind his back at her and smiled.
"Do you know everything about her situation yet? Obviously, she doesn't know yours." Sun said.
"Her family was hurt by the white fang… and she holds all faunas responsible." Blake said.
"What do I know… but I would say there's something else to that. That Jedi friend of yours looked at both of you." Sun said.
"How do you know what a Jedi is?" Blake asked defensively.
"I know a lot of stuff. I'm a lot smarter than people take me for." Sun said with a smile. Blake just watched him. She calmed down.
"So, you got a place to sleep for the night?" Sun asked.
"…No." Blake said.
"Here." Sun tossed his hotel key card to Blake.
"Why are you giving this to me?" She asked.
"I wasn't planning on staying there tonight anyway. I'm still learning the layout of the city." Sun said.
"How much do you know so far?" Blake asked.
"About half. Now's the fun part." Sun said, then turned back to Blake. "But first, you need your sleep."
Rosa meditated on the top of the dorms, trying to feel for Blake. When she opened her eyes, she was back in the war. She felt the rain pelt her robes. She recognized the world as Donovia. It was a separatist mining world, with a droid factory on it. She turned her head to see the ARC clone, Captain Fordo.
"Here's what I found of their defenses. Over One hundred thousand B-1 battle droids. The factory is defended by a thousand super battle droids." The ARC troop nodded. Rosa took out her holo map and gave it to Fordo.
"Understood." Fordo said.
"Captain… we should be receiving another five infiltration squads. Master Maku has given you command over all the clones." Rosa said. The Red ARC turned to look at her, then looked back.
"Good." Fordo said.
"Captain, there is a sewer system that leads to the energy shields, but they're protected by auto-turrets, mines, and droids. The shield seems to connect to all the buildings of political importance. But they have left the mines wide open. The people don't know that the shield doesn't cover the mines. I believe they want us to jump in the system destroying the mines with civilians in them." Rosa said.
"Understood." Rosa couldn't feel anything from him. She felt a little afraid of him… but she understood him. He must wear the same mask she does.
"May the Force be with You captain." Rosa said. Fordo nodded, and the blue ARCs followed behind him. They moved to the city undetected.
The five infiltration units they had planet side met up with them in the city with Rosa. Maku entered the city with the other five infiltration units. Fordo met up with Maku, and Maku handed off the new clones. Rosa and Maku made it to the meetup spot with all the clones unspotted.
"Master, Fordo knows the mission." Rosa said.
"I know. You did well. His troops are waiting for your troops before they start the main assault." Maku said.
"I understand." Rosa said, moving her troops to where Fordo was supposed to meet them. She got there first when he jumped down behind her. She turned about to punch him when he caught her fist.
"Sorry." Rosa said.
"We're going to start the main attack. Start the diversion." Fordo said. Rosa and Maku jumped down to the ground and cut down a squad of battle droids. They continued the fight, Rosa being much slower than Maku. He compensated well for her weaknesses. Soon, there were explosions all over the main building.
"I guess Fordo did his job." Rosa said.
Her vision ended, and she just sat back confused.
"Why that memory?" Rosa asked. She barely noticed the sun coming up. She sighed as she got up. Pyrrha walked up behind her and looked.
"Any luck?" Pyrrha asked.
"No, I just had a vision of a battle. I don't get it at all. I tried tracking her, but every time I thought I had her, that signature vanished." Rosa said, removing her Jedi cloak.
"We need to keep searching." Pyrrha said.
"And I will… I just need a break." Rosa said. "My body can't take another multi-hour session like that right now."
"What do you need?" Pyrrha asked.
"Food, a drink, maybe a shower." Rosa said. Pyrrha smiled a little.
"I worry about her too." Pyrrha said.
"Why wouldn't you? She's, our friend." Rosa said.
"How's Weiss taking it?" Pyrrha asked.
"She's… not doing well. She's barely done anything besides worry about Blake. Ruby forced her to function like normal." Rosa said.
"That bad?" Nora entered the balcony, stretching.
"No luck for you either?" Rosa asked.
"No… It's like she just disappeared." Nora said.
"That is what she did." Rosa said
"Not like that, I mean fell off the face of Remnant." Nora said.
"She's still in Vale. I felt her a few times." Rosa said.
"We'll find her soon." Nora said.
Blake woke up in the hotel room and found Sun holding a White Fang mask. She shot up in bed and looked at him.
"Found one of them and learned what their plan is." He tossed Blake the mask.
"Are you okay?" Blake asked. She couldn't see anything wrong with him, but that didn't mean anything. She got up and grabbed his face, turning it from side to side.
"I'm okay. He wasn't tough at all." Sun said.
"What's the plan?" Blake asked.
"They're moving all the dust tomorrow at the docks." Sun said.
"Then we have to stop them." Blake said.
"First, you have to tell me why you are so attached to this." Sun said.
"…I was once a member of the white fang. Born in it. That was before our first leader was… excommunicated." Blake said.
"That was a few years ago, wasn't it?" Sun asked.
"Yeah… I didn't leave them then. My worst mistake." Blake said.
"Sienna Khan leads them now, right?" Sun asked.
"Yes, she leads the White Fang, but… I worked with a man named Adam. He was the head over Vale…" Blake said. She looked out the window and sighed.
"We're you two a thing?" Sun asked. Blake's face became red, and she put her hands out toward Sun.
"It wasn't like that… Even… if I wanted it to be." Blake said. "He was a mentor to me, but I thought he would see me as something more if I did everything he asked. I left my parents right before that, so I didn't have people. He always kept a distance from me even though… I wanted him. I was just a stupid girl with a crush. That's the one good thing about him. He didn't see me that way, and he shut it down every time."
"Something had to wake you up." Sun said.
"He was just so… violent. He killed people and started bringing in violent people. We hurt people. I… I saw what I was becoming, and I ran from it. I wouldn't become the monster people think we are. I was determined to be someone better. I wanted… still want equality, but I don't want any more bloodshed." Blake said.
"So, that's why you want to stop them. Good. Don't worry, I'll join you." Sun said.
"I didn't ask you to." Blake said.
"You're going to need me. They got a dark side force user with them." Sun said.
"Dark side?" Blake asked.
"Has Rosa really not told you about the Sith? Wow." Sun said. "The Sith are the opposite of the Jedi. Their whole philosophy is that the strong deserve to rule, and they are the strong. Their code talks all about how conflict makes someone strong. And don't even get me going on how they act. They have no self-control." Sun said.
"How do you know this?" Blake asked.
"Again, I know a lot of stuff." Sun said.
Weiss walked the streets with Ruby and Yang looking for Blake. She didn't say anything, just looking at the ground. She hadn't said anything for hours.
"Good morning, friends." Penny said.
"Good morning, Penny." Ruby said.
"Weiss, your hair looks lovely today." Penny said. Weiss just nodded her head.
"Sorry Penny, she's… not doing too well." Yang said.
"I'm sorry… is it…" She whispered her question to Ruby. She shook her head.
"No Penny, no. It's not that, we lost our friend Friday night, and we're looking for her."
"The Faunas girl?" Penny asked.
"How did you know?" Ruby asked.
"She had cat ears under her bow. Have you not noticed?" Penny asked.
"…" The girls looked at Penny.
"She does like tuna…" Ruby said.
"Ruby, that's racist." Yang said.
"I didn't mean it like that." Ruby said. "I was just making an observation."
"Do you know where she is?" Penny asked.
"If we did, we wouldn't be going on foot." Yang said.
"Oh, yes." Penny said with a smile. Yang just let out a sigh and waved her hand. "We can split up to better look for her." Penny said.
"Ruby, you got Penny?" Yang said. Penny grabbed Ruby's arm and started walking away from Yang and Weiss.
The sun went down, and Sun and Blake went to the docking bay. They looked out at the dust from SDC sitting there. Blake took in a deep breath when a ship came flying overhead. She looked at it and let out the breath she was holding. She saw the White Fang symbol on the side.
"There you are." A man in all black said. Torchwick walked up next to him.
"Hey, we got the dust here. Even with all the shit people, you keep sending me." Torchwick said.
"Is that a complaint?" The man in black took out his red lightsaber and turned it on, inches from Torchwick. He didn't flinch, but he turned his head to light his cigar.
"Yeah, it is, what about it?" Torchwick asked. The man didn't answer.
Rosa opened her eyes, she locked onto Blake. She was at the docks. She took out her scroll and called her teammates while running off to find Blake. She felt a dark presence there, so after she finished telling her team, she called her master. She used the force to boost her speed. She ran along the rooftops. She sensed danger radiating from the docks and sped up.
"This isn't right, what are the white fang doing working with a human?" Blake asked.
"We can figure this out later, but we need to be smart about this. That's a Sith." Sun said. He looked over to see Blake was already on the move. He facepalmed and took out his secret weapons. Blake stood behind Torchwick.
"No, you idiot! This isn't a leash!" He said when Blake put her sword against his throat. "What the hell? Oh, for fuck's sake."
"Nobody move!" Blake yelled.
"Whoa! Take it easy there, little lady." Torchwick said happily.
"Brothers of the White Fang! Why are you aiding this scum?" Blake asked. No one moved. The Sith turned around and began to laugh.
"Oh, kid, didn't you get the memo? The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together! But we've got no room for wannabe huntresses." Torchwick fired his cane, shooting a dust shard, causing an explosion. Blake jumped back and heard the familiar sound of a lightsaber turning on. The Sith stood in front of her.
"You fool." He said as he brought his lightsaber down. A green blade blocked the red blade.
Rosa stood over Blake. She got up and saw Sun beating Torchwick.
"Go after him, I got this one." Rosa said. Blake was stopped by white fang members pointing weapons at her.
"You're weak Jedi." The Sith said.
"I'm stronger than you'll ever be Sith." Rosa said. He laughed again. Rosa recognized the form V heavy combat, and it was all Rosa had to not get overwhelmed. The Sith was barely taller than her, but he was so much stronger it scared Rosa.
Blake jumped in the air and shot at one of the white fang troops. They took the hits and fell down. She landed and wrapped her ribbon around the legs of two white fang members, she brought her arm up, dropping them to the ground. The ribbon let go, and she took out the katana of her sword. She ducked under a sword swipe, and slashed at her attacker, she jumped back, firing at the next White Fang troop.
Sun was holding off Torchwick expertly, it is going smoothly, until he took a step too far, leaving his side open. Torchwick shot him and made him stumble backward. Torchwick used his cane to grab Sun's head and brought it to his knee. Sun grabbed his nose, then kicked Torchwick in the side. He stumbled back and smiled. He took out his new weapon and fired at Sun. The blaster bolt almost contacted him, until Sun pulled out a lightsaber, sending the bolt back.
"Shit, I never would have guessed." Torchwick said, before tossing out a dust grenade and tossed it at Sun. He opened wide his eyes and used the force to toss it to the side, but it still exploded, knocking him off his feet. Torchwick stood over Sun, holding the blaster to his face.
"One less Jedi." Torchwick said, but his arm was grabbed by Blake's ribbon. She launched herself at Torchwick sending him flying back, then rushed forward, slashing at him. After the second hit, he brought up his cane and blocked all the hits.
Sun got up and jumped over Blake, kicking Torchwick in the chest. He got up and tossed his cigar at Sun. He tossed out another shard of dust, but it was shot midair.
"Blake! Rosa!" Ruby yelled out. Rosa couldn't look at her, she had to focus everything on this fight. She had to avoid most of the strikes, and she barely had any time to think about a counterattack. She started getting pushed back when another lightsaber turned on.
The Sith was sent flying, and Maku stepped in front of Rosa. She dropped her arms and sighed.
"Take a break, I'll deal with it from here." Maku said. The Sith stood up and looked at the Jedi master.
"I don't know about this Jedi Master." The Sith said. He brought his hands together, and smoke came from his body. He disappeared.
"We'll finish this later Jedi." The Sith said before appearing on an airship. Penny stepped forward, and shot out a massive laser, destroying three white fang airships.
"Another time Red!" Torchwick grabbed onto a ladder as the airship lifted off the ground. Maku outstretched his hand to hold the airship, then Torchwick fired the blaster at him. Maku took out his lightsaber and blocked the bolt. The ship flew away.
"Blake!" Weiss yelled. Blake turned around and saw Weiss running over to her, tears coming down her cheeks. Blake stepped back defensively, then Weiss jumped into her arms, hugging her. They fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry." Weiss said. Blake felt tears come and she hugged Weiss back.
"I'm sorry too." Blake said.
"I shouldn't have said what I said. I hurt you." Weiss said, burying her head in Blake's shoulder.
"And I should talk to you guys." Blake said. They sat on their knees and looked at each other. Weiss wiped away her tears.
"I don't care you're a faunas. I was wrong to judge." Weiss said.
"I said a lot of things too." Blake said.
"But I said worse things." Weiss said.
"Blake, Weiss…" Yang said, looking at her teammates. They smiled at her. "I guess I worried for nothing." Sun tried to walk away but Yang grabbed his shoulder.
"You aren't leaving here yet." Yang said.
"But I helped…" Sun said.
"What did you do with Blake?" Yang said as calmly as possible, but he felt pressure on his shoulder.
"Nothing. I gave her a place to stay, and we came here. Jedi's honor." Sun said.
"Jedi?" Everyone asked. Maku came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. He let out a secret he hoped they didn't notice.
"Um… I was kind of hoping you would overlook that. But yes, I've been trained as a Jedi." Sun said.
"By who?" Maku asked.
"There are Jedi here, though most are in hiding. There's a darkness on this planet that we've been trying to purify for centuries." Sun said.
"Who trained you?" Maku asked.
"He's dead. He died of old age." Sun said. Maku let out a breath.
"I'm sorry." Maku said. Rosa just looked at him and clenched her fists. She was so weak; that she couldn't even sense another Jedi.
"Where's Penny?" Ruby asked. The redhead was gone.
"Blake… next time come to us instead of a stranger." Weiss said, holding onto Blake.
"Alright." Blake said with a smile.
Team RRWBY had returned to their dorm, and Rosa closed the door and locked it.
"Weiss… You need to show Blake." Rosa said. Weiss nodded her head and undressed quickly. Blake looked at her confused until her dress fell. She saw all the scars on her body.
"Weiss… who did this to you?" Blake asked.
"Every time I trusted a Faunas, they betrayed me and hurt me." Weiss showed the scars from the whip. "After a while I couldn't trust any Faunas… until… now. Blake… I'm trusting you with everything. I swear… when I lead my company, I want you there to help me with the faunas. I want all of you in my life…" Weiss said.
"Weiss… I will do everything I can to help you." Blake said.
"Now Weiss, we don't need you becoming a nudist, get dressed." Yang said. Rosa heard a quiet huh from outside the door, and she slammed her fist on the door.
"Perverts." Rosa said.
Weiss' face was burning red as she quickly got redressed. Rosa opened the door quickly to see all of team JNPR falling down on their floor. Ren and Jaune closed their eyes.
"She's dressed." Nora said. A puff of steam came off Weiss and her body became squiggly, and she fell into Blake's arms.
"We just wanted to welcome the complete team RRWBY back. We didn't know that Weiss was undressing." Pyrrha said with a massive blush on her face.
"Get us as many sweets as you can find and we'll maybe we'll forgive you." Rosa said.
After doing what Rosa said, they all entered the common room. Team JNPR apologized to Weiss, and they had a little party.
Sun knocked on the window, making everyone jump from their seats, and Blake let him in. Sun introduced himself to everyone. They all continued.
"…Then we found them. I wanted it to be a surprise attack, but Blake grabbed Torchwick before I could do anything." Sun said.
"I needed answers." Blake said. "And you could have told me you were a Jedi."
"I thought I gave you more than enough clues to get that." Sun said. He pulled out his lightsaber and turned it on. The blue blade shown in the room.
"You're a guardian?" Rosa asked.
"You're a Jedi?" Team JNPR asked.
"Yeah, there are a few of us on Remnant. Didn't think we were getting anyone from the main temple." Sun said shrugging his shoulders. "And yes, I'm a Jedi guardian."
"It wasn't really a purposeful stop. We crashed." Rosa said.
"I think I heard about that." Sun said.
"So does the rest of your team know?" Pyrrha asked.
"We're all descended from Jedi that came here thousands of years ago. Even back then the moon was still shattered. But yeah, they know. Most of us are descended from Jedi." Sun said.
"But Jedi aren't supposed to have romantic relationships." Rosa said.
"We're… from an older tradition, before Exar Kun and the Sith Wars." Sun said.
"But the Jedi rediscovered this world…" Rosa said.
"You mean Starlight Beacon? We're in it. And those Jedi either had no families or did. We numbered in the thousands at one point, but after the Great War, and the darkness, we're a lot more lowkey." Sun said.
"The Darkness?" Rosa asked.
"That's what my master called it. An unknown enemy that is allied with the Sith has been slowly hunting us down from the shadows. No one knows how many of us are left. Anywhere from a few hundred down to a few dozen. But since no one tracts that anymore because of fear of Jedi hunters finding the lists, no one knows." Sun said.
"Jedi hunters?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah, there are a few tribes of bandits and others like them that have produced people able to take on and kill Jedi. Then there's the dark side. This world is covered in it. So, finding a Sith isn't all that uncommon in our line of duty." Sun said.
"But Ozpin told me the Jedi are all but unknown." Rosa said.
"A lie that we want to keep up." Sun said.
"I have so many questions." Rosa said.
"I can only answer so much. I just became a knight." Sun said.
Rosa sighed, wanting answers to all her questions.
Maku made his way to Ozpin's secret lab in Beacon. He found Ozpin looking at the brain chip. He looked at Maku and shook his head.
"Professor, you're not going to like what I have to tell you, but we cracked the code to the Inhibitor chips." Ozpin said.
"I fought a Sith briefly today at the docks. The White Fang and the criminal Roman Torchwick have the blasters." Maku said.
"So, we find out some of our problems… But I fear we have more. It's a good thing the first term is ending because we're going to need all the time we can get." Ozpin said.
"What did you find out about the chip?" Maku asked. Ozpin turned on a holo table, and it showed all the commands in the clone's head. He read each of them carefully, feeling disgusted at order 37. It would allow the GAR to capture and execute an entire civilian population. He read all the scenarios attached to it. He read Order 49, an Order that allowed the bombing of CIS civilian hospitals, homes, and other protected areas if deemed necessary. Other orders justifying war crimes. Then he got to order 65. An order that allowed the Jedi to arrest the supreme chancellor, but the Jedi had no knowledge of this. It was an unusable order. His heart skipped a beat when he read order 66.
Order 66: "In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established."
But that wasn't all. A sub-order clarified that all Jedi were under Jedi officers. The chancellor had the ability to order the clones to turn on their Jedi Generals at any point. And seeing even how far out they were, doing what the Republic demanded of them, Maku knew it wasn't just a rogue Jedi. It was all of them. The chancellor for some reason had launched order 66 on the Jedi.
Obi-Wan's report stated that Count Dooku had said the senate was now in the hands of a Sith Lord… Palpatine must have been manipulated to launch Order 66.
"These are dark days professor." Ozpin said.
"This… is too much. I need to focus myself." Maku said. "The masters… are gone."
"Not all of them." Ozpin said.
"What do you mean?"
"You…"
Torchwick took out another cigar and lit it.
"Look, we got three confirmed Jedi. I don't know what you want me to do. I don't have force powers. I don't have a lightsaber. I don't even have a fucking semblance. So, from my point of view, almost killing a Jedi was a massive success. The Sith here got as many Jedi as I did." Torchwick said to Cinder, who stepped out of the shadow.
"We lost material." Cinder said.
"The SDC will bring another shipment. It's the only way they can recoup the cost of the loss. Hell, are we trying to put them out of business?" Torchwick asked.
"It will be a pleasant side effect." The Sith said. He took off his robe but kept his mask on. His white hair stood up.
"The SDC failing will cause a chain of events. It is the largest dust company on Remnant and owns many of the other smaller companies. If the SDC falls, the economic disaster will cause protests in Atlas, making Ironwood leave more troops there. More Grimm will be made, and Vale will be all the weaker for it." Cinder said.
"This all seems a little petty don't you think?" Torchwick said.
"Perfect for a petty criminal."
"Hey, I earned my right to be called a criminal mastermind. Do you know how many people I had to kill to get that? How many businesses I had to blow up? Without me, this whole dust operation would have fallen apart." Torchwick said. Cinder put her hand on his face and smiled.
"I understand how important you are, but you should understand how important this is too." She let go of his face.
"I'm leaving behind two of my… apprentices. Don't make me regret this." Cinder said.
"Well Cye, welcome to the team." Emerald said.
"I still don't like the idea of going to Beacon." Mercury said.
"And I don't like hearing you nag, but we don't always get what we want." Emerald said.
"You'll get along, just fine."
Author's notes: That's the end of Volume 1! I didn't get this chapter out earlier because I didn't have a lot of writing time.
Sun is a Jedi! An on-the-spot decision. And there are Sith in this! Not an on-the-spot decision.
We're going to have a few chapters before we go into Volume 2. Maku knows about order 66! And the plot thickens.
I would like to thank those of you who reviewed this since the last chapter. CT7567Rules and StarWarsLover1998. We have talked already, but one thing I want to say is that I should have said it better last chapter. I should have said that I want you to give Rosa a chance and not judge her right off the bat as a Mary Sue because she's a woman.
And Yes, Captain Fordo has made a cameo in the story.
May the Force be With You
-DragonZlayerX12