Chapter 3

"R-Ruby, is that you?" Yang, said tears running down her face. Her good arm still holding the blanket around her body with the elbow, while her hand covered her mouth. Trying to silence the sobs that were threatening to come out. Falling to her knees in shock.

I could only nod my face also covered in tears. Though I was unable to cover them as I was still holding my two blasters and helmet in front of me. By the Force, this could have gone better.

"Yang, did you get the robber?" Blake yelled as she ran around the side of the house. She having taken time to at least throw on a robe before grabbing her weapon. As she came around the corner she froze, her eyes locking on me. Her weapon falling from her hand.

"...Ruby?"

"Yes, Blake it's me I'm back," I said shifting my helmet to under my arm and holstering my blasters.

"Back? What do you mean back?" Yang questioned, still crying on her knees." We saw you die, I saw you die!"

I flinched at the question, and the pain that was in her words. Like someone finding out they have been lied to their whole life. Her pain was amplified by the fact that I was her sister, losing a member of your family was the biggest loss to bear. I could only think of all of my brothers I had lost in the Clone Wars, and of my mother.

"Well you see, Salem and I actually didn't die," I said slowly trying to find the right words, holstering my blasters as well. The shock on their face told me that wasn't the right thing to say. As Yang shot to her feet and Blake tense as if we were going to be attacked at any moment by the Grimm goddess herself.

"She's alive? Where is she, did she follow you? We to tell the others." Blake frantically questioned, pulling her scroll from her robe.

"NO. NO, she is dead she just didn't die here on Remnant." I said shooting my hand out trying to defuse the situation. Oum, I could only imagine the panic if Blake sent the message that she was alive.

My two old teammates luckily stopped panicking, but that didn't stop their confusion as they looked back and forth between me and myself. While they had relaxed a little, it was obvious that they were tense with questions. This was going to take some time to explain.

"Mommas, is the scary robot gone?"

We all heard the small voice of the little girl from earlier. As she came around the corner of the house to stand next to Blake. Well next was relative, when she saw me she hid behind Blake's legs. Blake smiled as she rested her hand on her daughter's head.

"Everythings fine dear, it's just it appears you now have another aunt," Yang said as she moved to be next to her daughter as well. I felt my heart lift at the title, joyed with the fact that I now had a niece. Even if I was a little late, I had some birthdays to make up.

I grinned as a thought came to me. I still needed to explain to them where I had been. Why not do it flashily. Pulling my arm in front of me I typed some codes into my bracer, before the familiar faint roar of my fighter could be heard. It becoming louder, till the spacecraft was right overhead. Its engines making the leaves, dirt, and Yang's blanket flying into the air. Luckily Blake grabbed the blanket before Yang lost her modesty.

After the fighter set down, I turned to see the dumbstruck faces of my family. Yang and Blake had the jaws of the ground, their daughter, however. Had disappeared? I heard a squee of excitement behind me, where I turned to see my niece darting around the fighter.

"Mommas, look it must be a new type of Bullhead. How does it work though it isn't dust? Wait if it not using dust what is it using? Strange Robot Lady what is this?" She said thoroughly looking over the machine before looking at me. From where her head poked out of the Atromechs access port.

Adorable.

"It an Aggressive Reconissence - 170 starfighter. Though this one has a slightly more powerful engine, Navi computer, and better handling. Also, the paint job is custom." I said proudly walking up to my fighter, Yang and Blake following behind me. Still trying to pick up their jaws.

We turned our heads again to the sound of beeping and thrusters. As R5 came flying toward the fighter, annoyed that there was an organic in his seat. Said organic tackled him to the ground in curious joy, as she started to inspect the droid. R5 was now beeping in fear activating his thrusters, before flying around with my very happy niece clinging to his back.

"R5, stop that right now she isn't going to hurt you. Now come down before I let these two turn you to scrape." I yelled at my droid, as I held back to very angry parents. Only just able to due to my training while fighting, with clones. R5 listened and landed before moving to my side, my niece still riding happily on him.

"Ruby, what is this? Where did it come from?" Blake asked gently prying her daughter of R5. To the glee of R5, the dismay of my niece.

"Well remember when I said that Salem didn't die here," I asked getting a nod from Yang and Blake. "When I tried to deliver the final blow. Her and I were transported aboard a ship called the Malevolence. Where she was killed by a blaster bolt through the heart. Apparently, leaving the planet broke her curse, so she was able to die."

"Leaving the planet? Wait do you mean you were even on Remnant?" Yang asked shocked at the idea of being off-planet.

"I wasn't even in the same galaxy. Look I promise to tell you everything, but I think we should go inside first. I just brought my fighter here to help answer questions and to show off a little." I said with earnest, pointing at the blanket that was still wrapped around my sister.

She blushed at this, but nodded, turning to head inside. Blake followed close behind, holding her daughter. While me and R5 took up the rear. Entering the house through the front this time, I took a seat in the living room with R5 rolling up beside me. While the rest went to clean up.

While they were gone I thought about how I wanted to tell my story. I would have to tell Yang and Blake something, but I still needed to inform the rest of my friends that I was back. Not to mention my father and uncle. Maybe after I told these three the beginning of the story I could, pause long enough to get everyone else together to tell the rest. Yes, I think that would work.

I turned my head at the sound of the three entering the room. Yang was now dressed in a white T-shirt and cargo pants. Blake was wearing a black shirt and sweat pants, while my niece was wearing shorts and a blue T-shirt. The living area had two couches each facing the other and while I was sitting on one they all sat on the other with their daughter sitting on Yang's lap.

"So before we get started. I want to say that I will tell you everything, but I wish to tell everyone that I'm back." I said getting looks of understanding and a few nods. "So to start off, I'm only going to tell you the start of my story. I will however need to stop at some point till we get the others together."

The couple simply looked to each other before nodding in understanding. I smiled I was glad to have such an understanding family. But the story that I was about to tell made me nervous. It was a story of a war after all, and while my friends had witnessed a war. It had been a war vs creatures with no soul, not a war vs thoughtless machines that number greater than any of the Grimm on Remnant.

A war that spanned across many worlds, filled with infinite innocents. That was not just under the threat of the droids, but of pirates, bandits, smugglers. That also wasn't including the clones, and their countless painful deaths. This war was not in any way pretty and was full of death and pain on a scale that the people of this world could never have imagined.

I had to tell them though, their face were filled with concern when I showed up out of nowhere. I couldn't keep my life a secret from them. Taking a deep breath I steeled myself, here goes nothing.

"In a galaxy, far far away….."