Three years before Kebiin's acceptance into Beacon Academy
General James Ironwood stood outside just a few kilometers out of Atlas's main city walls in front of a crowd of spectators and officials, demonstrating their latest aircraft model. The dark H-shaped fighter swooped over the sky at the speed of their fastest jets, yet was able to come to a full stop and hover just like a helicopter gunship. All the while making a loud high-pitched screeching, roaring sound like that of a monster. It darted across the sky, maneuvered its way around large trees and mountain formations, impressing the crowd.
"As you can see ladies and gentlemen," James started. "These new fighters are far more lightweight, adaptable, and fast."
The "Howler Jet" as they've come to be known as, made another spin and dive along the side of the cliff face, making yet another prominent howling noise as it steadied its elevation. Those wearing military uniforms in the crowd either had an impressed look on their faces or were analyzing the flight style of the fighter very closely.
"Despite their natural superiority to most modern weaponry, these howlers are incredible fast and efficient to make. In fact, we have hundreds more ready on the factory shelves."
One of the audience members raised their hands. "They may be impressive to look at, but what sort of punch do these things have? They won't be any good if we can't use them to kill monsters."
"Glad you asked!" James pressed the comlink in his ear to contact his protege, who in fact was piloting the fighter. "Kayana, care to show us a light show?"
"Yeah!" He heard her chirp from the other side of the signal. "No problem."
The circular webbed cockpit of the fighter turned to face the cliffside and hung in the air, readjusting its position incredibly fast. When it did, several green blasts of energy erupted from two small holes just below the cockpit window, blasting a large crater into the side of the cliff. The blasts faded with an alien-like hiss and twang.
The crowd was truly stunned this time. They murmured amongst themselves about what they just saw, but agreed it wasn't your typical cannon or gun.
"You see, a howler's biggest advancement isn't just how easy they are to pilot or their new twin ion engines, but they also utilize the latest in out top-of-the-line energy cannon technology. In the next decade or so, I have no doubt that firearms will be replaced, and warfare will be forever changed."
The crowd stood up and applauded as the fighter made a gentle glide back onto the ground and right behind James. He applauded as his latest and brightest protege climbed her way out of a door hatch at the top of the cockpit, and down a ladder to wave at the crowd.
She took off her black flight helmet to reveal attractive young woman around her mid-thirties. She had long brown hair and striking blue eyes that always had the look of someone looking out into the future. The look of someone with a plan. Atlas needed people like that.
James held his hand out to Kayana, addressing her in front of the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, today's pilot and Atlas's soon-to-be general, my student, Kayana!"
Kayana smiled and waved at the crowd as James continues to speak to the audience. "Now that you have seen a live demonstration of these fighters, we would like to prove to the world that Atlas is the top dog of technological and economic advancement. With enough funding and scientists to keep up this kind of work, Atlas's military industry would greatly appreciate it if you would consider investing in us in our effort to retain peace in the presence of the Grimm."
The small party afterwards was quite tame, but James and Kayana ended up getting a slew of questions and offers regarding the howler. Several people went up to the fighter, brushing their hands on the vertical facing wings or trying to find out where the non-existent ammo cartridge would be. Kayana handled the people, who were typically military engineers or officials, about the logistics of the fighter while James took on the investors.
Kayana was still wearing her black pilot uniform but had left the one-piece suit unzipped from the waist up, revealing a simple tank top with Atlas's emblem embroidered above her left breast. She held her helmet and respirator underneath her arm.
"Incredible!" One of the spectators congratulated her. "How long have you been studying under the General?"
"Oh, about a year or so. People like me typically enroll in the military at a younger age, but I managed to catch up pretty easily."
"Have you been a pilot for long?"
"Not really. I've been around the howlers for a while but they're really easy to fly."
"Only a year? You must be quite the talented young woman!"
Kayana puffed her chest out in pride. "Heh. I like to think so, too."
"What about the guns on the thing? What kind of ammunition does it use? Dust?"
"Actually no. Like Mr. Ironwood said, these fighters are a culmination of all our most recent developments. The lasers are just that: lasers. It uses absolutely no projectiles."
The small group around her raised their eyebrows and whistled, impressed.
"Astonishing! this is revolutionary. Seems Atlas will spearhead a new age in weaponry. The General must be proud of you!"
"I sure hope so." Kayana laughed. She took a quick glance at James, who was caught up in a similar situation as her. If she broke away now, she would be free for at least a few minutes.
"Excuse me, I need to make a call. I'll rejoin you people in a bit." Kayana trotted off away from the crowd and the fighter, heading far enough and behind several trees to make sure she would be alone. She reached into her back pocket and took out a circular shaped holodisc. She
activated it, and a small blue image of one of her crewmen appeared. Judging from the dark armor and black hood, it was one of the Inquisitors. Rowand.
"How are we this evening, Admiral? Enjoying the local festivities?" Rowand said in a cool and sarcastic tone.
"Ha... ha… ha." Even if Kayana was the most qualified to gain political and military influence on Remnant, everyone knew she would much rather be on the Midnight Song with her crew. "You're going to be stuck down here with me in a little bit, Inquisitor."
"No need to be hostile, Admiral." Rowand said innocently. "Did the locals enjoy the show?"
"Of course they did. They have yet to even move past ballistic firearms yet. But with a little help, we'll have what we need in a few years. If all goes well, we'll be getting a small fleets worth of TIEs in a relatively short amount of time."
"Excellent." The Inquisitor said. "Just a little longer, and Atlas will practically be the Empire without knowing it."
"So are you set for your mission? I've been keeping a rather… close eye on our subject. I'm sure she can help us with our little fuel issue."
"If you think this "Cinder Fall" is capable of getting the Dust we need, then I won't object to your decision, Admiral. My shuttle will touch down in a few days. I suggest you pull the strings needed to keep my presence here unknown to the locals."
"Don't worry, Inquisitor. I'm free-spirited, not sloppy. Just do your part, and the Empire will benefit from your contribution. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to head back to my "mentor"." Kayana shut her holodisc off, and Rowand's holographic image faded away. She turned around, and headed back to the party.
Present Day
Ruby was mesmerized by the Forest of Foreverfalls. In fact, everyone in their class group was. The trees slowly swaying in the wind, the petal leaves gently dancing down onto the forest floor… It was like walking through one of her dreams. But of course, dreams had to end sometime or another. And in this case, the dream ended with the beginning of collecting sticky pink tree sap for Professor Port's class, with Professor Goodwitch acting as a chaperone.
"Now remember children, the Forest of Foreverfalls is beautiful, but this place is full of the creatures of Grimm. Be sure to be on your guard, and stick with your teams." She would say whenever the students would get too immersed into the sights.
Kebiin seemed to be the only one who wasn't having a good time, other than Jaune who had been stuck carrying team CRDL's gear for them.
"Oi, Kebiin, wake up there!" She said, waking her hand in front of his face. "You're not a space man. You gotta keep your mind down here on Remnant. How many times do I need to tell you? If you keep going into la-la land like this you're gonna smack right into a tree."
"La-la land? You're one to talk." Weiss said without any effort at subtlety.
"That's not the point! I'm just try'n to get blue boy here to mind where he's-" Ruby was cut mid-sentence when her foot snagged on a tree root. She was about to faceplant right onto the ground when she noticed she had been suspended off the ground just a tad, and quickly dropped back down, reducing the impact of the fall. She thought she saw Kebiin raise his arm ever so slightly as she levitated.
"Don't worry, I'm paying attention." He said as he helped her back up.
"Thanks." Ruby said as she brushed the leaves from her combat skirt. "It's just that… well, you've been really quiet since your talk with Ozpin a few days ago. Like, quieter than Blake."
Blake shot a rather unamused look at her team leader, but Ruby either didn't notice or ignored it.
"Sorry boss. I'm just a little… I don't know. Confused I guess. Before I know it, I'm going to start mixing up ner joha. ibac Ru'kel cuyir nuhunla, huh alor?"
"Woah, easy on the foreignese there." Ruby joked.
"So I am getting my languages mixed up…" Kebiin moaned. "I should've practice Basi- I mean English more as a kid."
The class finally reached their spot in the forest and were given jars to collect the sap with. How a medium sized tree could be milked enough to supply several large jars was beyond Kebiin, but it seemed to work nonetheless. The teams split up into sap collectors and sentries, most of them sticking with members of their direct teammates. Jaune on the other hand, half followed and was half dragged by Cardin to a separate spot. Pyrrha made it clear that Jaune claimed he knew what he was doing, but Kebiin agreed with her in the sense he didn't believe it one bit. On the other hand, it was clear to him that Jaune wanted to be able to solve this on his own terms. As much as he wanted to, he wasn't going to join Nora on any leg-breaking adventures.
Several dull minutes passed, and everyone had gotten over the whimsicalness of the forest. Boredom had set in, and Professor Goodwitch was out of view. Jaune and team CRDL was nowhere to be found either. Kebiin's eyes were beginning to flutter when he heard a loud *BANG!* followed by a high-pitched ringing noise. He jolted awake, frantically looking around. The noise didn't sound like it was coming from any direction, almost as if it were happening right in Kebiin's own ears, but he could pinpoint exactly where it came from: the last place he saw Jaune disappear to. No one reacted in any way to the sudden noise, as if they never heard it. He tapped Weiss, who was closest to him at the time, on the shoulder.
"Did you hear that?"
She looked at him, somewhat puzzled. "Hear what?"
"URSA, URSA!" All the members of team CRDL save for Cardin himself came running in, screaming their heads off. The one with the mohawk bumped right into Yang, who didn't even flinch. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back up on his feet.
"Where?" She demanded.
"Back there, it's got Cardin!" He said, pointing toward deeper into the forest. Yang let him go, and allowed him to scamper off.
"Jaune!" Pyrrha gasped.
Kebiin unclipped his recently crafted weapon from his belt but refrained from unfolding it just yet. Ruby took more action, unveiling Crescent Rose without a second's hesitation.
"You four go get Goodwitch." She said, nodding at Blake, Yang, Nora, and Ren. "There could be more. Weiss, Kebiin, Pyrrha, you're with me."
The four of them continued deeper into the forest until they entered on the edge of a small clearing. Jaune stood between an enraged Ursa and a crippled Cardin, sword and shield ready to defend.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ruby barely took a step when Pyrrha held her arm out to stop her
"No, wait…"
"They're about to get eaten alive and you're telling me to stop?!" Ruby protested.
"Ruby, I think we should listen to Pyrrha." Kebiin said. Pyrrha may have had her own motivations, but he wanted to see if he was right about what he had felt in hearing that mysterious sound.
The Ursa swung its massive claws down, but Jaune had more than enough time to block. The Ursa charged with its head, knocking Jaune across the forest floor. He skidded back up, and brought his sword up to swing at the Ursa's head. The monster lept into the air, and pounced at its target.
"His shield isn't high enough" Kebiin noticed. "Just a little more, and you can deflect the next blow. Or maybe... " Kebiin reached his hand up, and tried to make contact with the Grimm's mind. Maybe if he could disrupt its thoughts just a bit, maybe if he could-
Pyrrha beat him to it. She raised her arm, a low hum was heard, and Jaune's shield was lifted just slightly enough to deflect the incoming swipe of the Ursa's claws. Jaune spun back around, and decapitated the beast. Jaune stood above the evaporating corpse, triumphant. He walked over to a rather shocked Cardin, and helped him off the ground. Jaune said a few word to him, but Kebiin couldn't here. He didn't need to. That new look in Jaune's eyes told Kebiin everything he needed to know.
"Wait, how did you…" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow at Pyrrha.
"Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs, my Semblance is Polarity."
"Oh… you can control poles…" Ruby whispered in awe.
"No you dunce! She can control magnetism!"
"Magnets are cool too… " Ruby said, keeping her same awed tone.
"So should we tell someone about this?" Kebiin said, looking back over at Pyrrha.
"Hmm… Why don't we just keep this as our little secret?" Pyrrha said, smiling.
"Heh. I can agree to that." Kebiin chuckled.
"That sounds fine." Ruby said, tone still unchanged.
Weiss was already walking off, but she nodded in agreement. Ruby followed her shortly after. Kebiin and Pyrrha lingered just a little longer.
"Hey, Pyrrha?"
"Hmm?"
"What's Jaune's Semblance?"
She pursed her lips together and made a semi-confused face. "I… don't know. He doesn't know either. He hasn't discovered it yet."
Kebiin grinned. "I see. Well, we should get back to our group." He walked back to follow Weiss and Ruby, still with a grin across his face. He was right about the sound he heard. And hearing that Jaune had yet to discover his semblance was only confirmation. Jaune had no Semblance. What Kebiin had felt was the Force. Jaune had only been dormant just like Remnant itself. Now all Kebiin had to find out was what was causing the sudden awakening on this planet.
"You know, you didn't have to come with me on this little excursion." Kebiin said as he walked down the oversized stairs outside of Vale's public library. His arms were already growing tired from the amount of books he had checked out.
"Yeah, but you heard Ruby: 'No one in the team has to venture off alone.'" Weiss said, putting on her best Ruby impression.
"Ruby's voice only goes that high when she giggles."
"True, but she's always giggling." Weiss retorted.
"Well… hmm. I guess you're not wrong there." Kebiin snickered. "Anyhoo, could you help me with these books here? We still got a while before we get back to Beacon and I don't feel like killing my arms today."
"Why do I need to carry them? They're your books." She said, placing one hand on her hip and the other on her chest. "Besides, it's your fault on getting so many history and biology books. Didn't you already learn this in scho-"
"No." Kebiin cut her off, unamused.
"Oh… right." Weiss bit her awkwardly bit her lip. "Why do you even need those things anyways?"
"Just doing some research on a hunch I've got." Kebiin said as he readjusted the grip on the books under his arms, grunting slightly. "It's personal."
"Right," She said, unimpressed.
"That aside, could you please help me out here?" Kebiin pleaded as he did his best job at making puppy eyes. "This lowly commoner would most appreciate it if her highness were to lend him her aid."
"Hmph…" Weiss scoffed, blushing and turning her head the other way. "Tch. Fine then." She grudgingly lifted several books off of the stack Kebiin had been fighting to balance and carry. His arms relaxed, and he sighed in relief.
"Vor entye, Snowflake. Much appreciated."
"I won't do it again if you make this big a deal about it…" She growled.
"Yikes. Cold today, aren't we?"
"What is it with you people and ice-related puns?!" Weiss yelped, clearly annoyed. "Just because my name and Semblance has to do with the winter season doesn't mean-"
"Shh!" Kebiin said, coming to a stop before turning the next corner around the building they were walking next to.
"Don't you shush me! I'm Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee-"
"Oi, udesii! You hear that?" Kebiin gently put his books down on the ground and peeked his head around the corner.
"Hear what?" It was still midday, so Weiss didn't have to worry about being mugged out in the open. Not that she couldn't handle it, of course. She soon heard the sound Kebiin spoke of. It sounding like a mob of screaming people marching in the distance. She poked her head around the corner right above Kebiin's head and saw exactly that. As the crowd drew closer, she could make out the details on the signs some of them were carrying. They had her father's company logo, but they were crossed out. Others read thing like "Preserve Democracy!" and "Power to the People!".
"Protesters." Kebiin said. "Looks like a lot of them are faunus."
"What could they possible be protesting?" Weiss asked, but already having an idea of the answer. "Nothing major has happened as of late."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Weiss. Faunus working conditions in your company isn't exactly smiled upon."
"Hey, what do you possibly know about my family's company?!" She snapped.
"I know that your dad has been taking the steps to set up an oligarchy, for one. That's something these guys here would be pretty ticked off about."
"Oligarchy!?" Weiss yelled. "Do you really think my father would set the foundations to overturn the world democracy?"
"Who knows? Just look at Atlas and think about it from there."
"Are you suggesting that my father is to blame for the political mess in Atlas?" Weiss was really fuming at this point. This blue-haired street rat had the gall to insult the most influential Dust company in the world! What insolence…
Kebiin retracted his head from the side of the building and undid his scarf, tossing it at Weiss. "What I'm going to suggest is that you put that thing on before these protesters walk by and see who you are. They're moving a lot faster than it looked a minute ago."
Weiss set down her baggage of books and reluctantly agreed to do as he said. She wrapped the scarf around her neck and put the hood over her head. The protesters marched their way along the street, yelling and chanting various pro-equality and anti-corporate phrases. Weiss turned her face away and Kebiin did his best to nonchalantly hide her expensive white dress with his skinny frame from view.
"Let's take a different route." Kebiin whispered. "It'll take longer to get back to Beacon, but it'll be easier than weaving our way through all these guys."
"Yeah…" Weiss nodded, seeing the large size of the mob up-close. "Yeah, let's go."
Before Weiss could turn away, a dog faunus at the edge of the crowd closest to the two of them halted. He sniffed a few times in the air, and looked straight at Weiss and Kebiin. Weiss locked eyes with him for a split second before sharply turning her head away. Too late.
"Hey, I think that's the Schnee kid!" The faunus man yelled. Even among the voices of the crowd, his words cut right through just enough to get their attention. A portion of the mob flooded toward them, screaming insults and questions at the heiress. "Go back to Atlas!" and "Why do you make the people suffer?!" Where among such things that were said. Before they knew it, they were completely surrounded by the mob. Kebiin entered a fighting stance on pure instinct.
"Kebiin, we gotta talk to these people!" Weiss whispered to him. "I don't want to make things worse than they already are."
Kebiin's stance didn't waver. He had been surrounded and cornered enough times for this to become his default reaction. If anything, it looked like he was going to unclip his weapon from his belt. Weiss had yet to see him use the weapon he had constructed, but she had no desire to see it used now.
"Hey, Schnee! Are you just like the rest of your over-bloated corrupt family?!" A crowd member yelled.
"Don't you dare call my father corrupt, you holligan!" Weiss screamed back.
"See? She's just like the rest of them! People like her sit on their thrones while she lets the faunus die in the Dust mines!"
"What!? The Schnee family does not sit idly by while our employees are subject to harm!"
Various people, especially faunus, began yelling at her without any sense of unity or collaboration.
"You care about us? A Schnee could never care for the common faunus!"
"Who do you think you are? You've been pampered all your life! You have no idea what hardship is like!"
"Power belongs to the people, not to you!"
Weiss had no time to attempt to answer any of them. They kept yelling and screaming without even letting the idea of giving her a voice slide. The crowd backed them further into the wall of the building, waving their banners and signs higher and higher into the air, shouting louder and louder.
The uproar of emotion was starting to become too much. Kebiin couldn't focus. The dog faunus from before lunged at Weiss, making at attempt to grab her for whatever reasons he intended. Weiss easily sidestepped him, but this action was all that was needed to set Kebiin off. He lunged for the faunus, punching him square in the jaw. He fell to the ground, out cold. The crowd was silent for a moment, trying to make sense of what just happened. Was this blue-haired punk her boyfriend or something?
Kebiin realized what he just did and came back to his senses. The little color in Weiss's face drained completely, anticipating the crowds reaction. Kebiin knew that if he and Weiss didn't come up with something quick, a disaster would be at hand.
There was a burst of sound from the crowd, and those in front took a few steps forward. Kebiin threw his hands up, reaching out to the Force with every shed of concentration he had in him. The crowd halted, many of them looking confused. Kebiin knew he had done at least something right if the mob wasn't already tearing his limbs off. He could feel the pause in at least a few of their minds. He heard Weiss dial rapidly into her scroll.
"You want to go away." Kebiin commanded them. He was never the best at mind tricks, but it was the only thing he knew that had any hope of resolving this peacefully.
Virtually the whole crowd was saying things like "huh?" and "what?". Kebiin had confused them, but he needed to do more. The crowd is fickle, and a crowd tends to shift mood and operate as though it were one organism. He just had to think of them as one mind. One person shouted from the crowd, breaking free of his induced confusion.
"Hey, kid! What the hell are you talkin' about!?"
Kebiin took a deep breath, and emptied his mind the best he could. His fear and anxiousness was still present, so he could either use or ignore them. Either way, he simply needed to get the job done. He felt the Force course its way through him and into the crowd. He sensed every individual, their anger, their willingness to fight, and the energy that bound them all. This was his chance.
"No! You all want to back off and go, now!"
More of the crowd was effected this time. At least half of them. A few of them stumbled backwards, unsure about what they were feeling. "We… we don't want to-"
"Usenye! I said, GOOO!"
Many in the crowd began rubbing their heads and taking minute steps backwards. They didn't know what they wanted to do. They wanted to tell the Schnee heiress off, they wanted to punish them for all the trouble they had caused. Yet at the same time, the kid that was with her mad so much sense… they didn't want to stay, they all wanted to go away…
Weiss had no idea what to make of what she was seeing. Her teammate was commanding a whole angry mob that was hellbent on beating the two of them senseless, or worse. Most of them had a look of uncertainty on their faces, like they had no idea what they were even doing in the first place. Others in the crowd seemed totally unaffected, but were too confused to try and help the rest that seemed totally mesmerized.
The sound of a motorcycle engine in the distance began to gain prominence in the distance. Weiss's call had gotten through. The sound broke Kebiin's concentration, and he collapsed onto the ground, sweaty and panting. A good portion of the crowd fell to their knees and grabbed their heads as if they just had a major headache. They quickly parted ways and ran when Yang rode in on her motorcycle, going full speed expecting the crowd to move out of the way. She continued until she reached the small clearing where Weiss was helping Kebiin back onto his feet.
"Cavalry's arrived, kids! You called?"
"Yang, can you just get us out of here!?" Weiss gritted between her teeth, carrying Kebiin over her shoulder. He was heavier than he looked.
"Geez, you two attracted quite the audience. What'ya do?" Yang asked as Weiss slumped Kebiin onto the bike seat, hauling herself up right after.
"I'll explain later! Just drive!"
"Hold on kids, this might be a little bumpy!"
The three of them sped off from the confused mob in a whirlwind of excitement, exhaustion, and pure bewilderment.
Kebiin was surrounded by a city of rubble. Vegetation had taken over many of the collapsed buildings, and remains of ancient looking ships dotted the jagged landscape. He could hear several snarls coming from the dark corners of the broken buildings, and occasionally caught glimpses of pale hunched-over creaters darting back and forth between the ruins, but they never made an advance on him.
"How did I get here?" Kebiin thought. "Yang was driving us back home and then…" Kebiin quickly realized his situation. He should have figured his vision of the Jedi Purge wouldn't be the last. The Force truly was cruel.
A sudden electric howling noise rang through the various ruins and debris, followed by a cry of pain. That noise… it vaguely resembled a lightsaber ignition. Kebiin rushed to the source of the sound, and sure enough, four people surrounded a young man. His arm had been amputated, and the remains of a slashed lightsaber hilt lay next to him. Azrilin stood over him, wielding a crimson half-circle guard lightsaber above his head. The blade didn't resonate the trademark hum of a lightsaber, but rather a chilling yet almost musical whistling sound. Two others stood next to her, both roughly her age. A male human, and a green-skinned female Mirialan. The fourth individual was the Kaleesh Inquisitor Kebiin saw on his final day in his home galaxy. He stood patiently, waiting for Azrilin to execute the Jedi. The strange, almost musical whistling hum of her lightsaber was the only noise in the whole area. The Mirialan was the first to break the silence.
"Come one Azrilin, do it already!" The malice in her voice didn't seem to fit her body. Mirialan's have always had a history with the Lightside of The Force. Seeing one just under Kebiin's age demanding the death of a defeated Jedi was beyond unsettling.
"Nyxona, quiet down! Don't you dare to talk to my sister that way!" the male grabbed her by the collar of her tunic, just about ready to punch her.
"Oh, silly Rowand… You former Jedi are so naive. This is why I'm glad our dear Emperor found me before the Jedi had the chance to. Always so weak, always so cowardly. You'll never be able to-"
"SHUT UP!" Azrilin screamed at the two of them. "I… I have to do this! F-for the Empire!" Her voice wavered just on the verge of tears. Her arms shook violently, unwilling to kill another person.
Kebiin wanted to step in, wishing he had an actual tangible effect within his dream. But there was nothing he could do. He could only stand by helplessly and watch the scene unfold. He tried to look away or cover his eyes, but something in his mind told him not to.
"Sis…" Rowand was lost as to what to say.
"Just because I'm your sister doesn't mean you have to protect me, Rowand! I… I can-" The lightsaber flew out of her hand, and into the palm of the Kaleesh.
Sister? Kebiin nearly lost his balance at the sound of the word. His mom had a brother. Kebiin looked more closely at Rowand, examining his features. He shared the same amber eyes as him and his mom, the same lean but firm build, and he had a blue tint in his dark hair that resembled Kebiin's. There was no mistaking it. The boy in front of Kebiin was his uncle.
"Master Xaelos, I... " Azrilin stumbled backwards, looking at the expression of sheer terror on their victim's face. Xaelos approached her, shaking his head. He grabbed her by the jaw, kneeing her in the gut and punching her several times before throwing her back onto the ground.
"Azrilin!" Rowand ran to take care of his sister, but was stopped by Xaelos. Kebiin tried to muster his strength to run toward his mom, but his legs were stiff and unresponsive. He tried shouting, but the air refused to carry his voice. Xaelos brought the lightsaber back up, and forcefully placed it in Rowand's hands. Xaelos tilted his head back at the terrified Jedi. Rowand knew immediately what he was being asked to do. He reversed his grip on the lightsaber, pointing the blade downward, and approached his victim. The Jedi was to frightened to speak.
"Rowand, stop!" Azrilin extended her arm toward her brother, but Xaelos planted his clawed foot on her hand, breaking it. She immediately drew it back, hugging it close to her body and groaning in pain.
"I'm sorry…" Rowand closed his eyes, and impaled the Jedi through the collarbone and out his lower back. The body toppled over, sliding out of the side of the blade and leaving a long deep cauterized gash in the side of the corpse. The lightsaber hissed back into its hilt, but Rowand still held it in the same position. His mind was having difficulty registering that he had committed murder for the first time on behalf of his sister.
"Hmph. That's more like it." Nyxona snickered, crossing her arms. "See master? This is why these former Jedi shouldn't be in the Inquisitor program. They're far too-" She was cut short by Xaelos backhanding her across the face. She was knocked off balance, but managed to somehow stay on her feet despite the force of the blow. A large red mark was now visible on her green skin. Blood seeped from cuts inflicted by Xaelos's talon-like claws.
"Y-yes Master." She said, holding back a tear of pain. "I'll try not to speak out of turn next time…"
This didn't satisfy Xaelos. He grabbed Nyxona's face with the tips of his fingers, lifted her off the ground, and dug his claws into her face, dragging them across her traditional tattoos. Her cries of pain were muffled by his reptilian palm. The harder she kicked, screamed, or tried to grab his wrist, the more pressure he applied to his claws. After what felt like an eternity, Xaelos finally let go of the Mirialan girl. She collapsed onto the ground, hands covering her face and still muffling her screams. Azrilin and Rowand simply stood there, petrified at what they had seen their teacher inflict upon what they assumed to be his preferred student. Blood leaked from between her fingers.
"I-I will not speak again, Master! I promise!" Nyxona cried through her hands, making a weak attempt to hide her sobs.
Xaelos nodded in satisfaction, and ripped the lightsaber out of Rowand's hands. He walked off toward deeper into the ruins, and his students had no choice but to follow. Azrilin went to help Nyxona off the ground, but she quickly scrambled up and shoved her away, still covering her face with one hand.
"I don't need your help, Jedi. Leave me be..."
Azrilin sighed and limped toward her brother, clutching her broken hand.
Kebiin woke up. The small amount of light shining through their curtains indicated that it was very early morning. It wasn't cold, but he was shivering somewhat violently. Kebiin honestly didn't know how to feel. He didn't want to keep receiving these visions. They were too painful to sit through. But on the other hand, he now knew that his mom and clan weren't the last of his family. But that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He doubted his uncle Rowand and his mom left the Empire together seeing as how she never mentioned him. Even if they did, that would mean he would have been dead for a very long time. But the alternative would mean he was a full-fledged ex-Jedi turned Jedi hunter. Kebiin's train of thought was disrupted by a light shake on his shoulder. He looked up to see who it was, but he knew it was Blake before he even got a glimpse of her.
"You've been asleep ever since Yang and Weiss brought you back. I figured I'd wake up early to check up on you."
Kebiin couldn't help but smile just a little. It was nice knowing that people cared for one another here. "So you you were just staring at me while I was asleep?" He joked.
"Of course not!" She yelped. She quickly put her hand up to her mouth, remembering to lower her voice. "Of course not. I'm not a vampire or anything. Besides, you're not the only who can't get a decent rest because of occasional nightmares."
"Well that sure is comforting." Kebiin smiled slightly as he sat up, catching a small glimpse of Blake's slightly more sharpened feline canines. A few strands of his hair dropped down in front of his eyes as he propped up. Even in the slight dimness of the dorm, he could still clearly tell that his hair was a more vibrant shade of blue than his uncle's.
"Was it worse tonight?" She asked.
"The dream? I… I don't know. Different, but… still scary. What about you? Was it about your old group?"
"Always is." She sighed.
"Adam?" The name escaped his mouth before Kebiin even realized he had been picking up on Blake's thoughts. He couldn't help it. Her thoughts were floating free, and his mind was tired. It acted like a sponge, soaking up whatever information it could, voluntary or not while he was in his drowsy state.
Blake was caught totally off guard. She had never told anyone Adam's name. " But I never… How did you…?"
Blake leaned forward. The dead serious look on her face paired with the near panic in her eyes created a stark contrast that Kebiin was having trouble responding to. He had cornered himself. Blake was smart, she knew she never told him her old partner's name. There was no way he could convince her otherwise. And she was strong-minded enough to resist influence through the Force. Even if she wasn't, Kebiin wouldn't consider it an option.
"Kebiin, answer me. How did you know?"
He needed to tell her something. He needed his answer to make sense, and the truth wouldn't make sense. This wasn't the time or the place. Ozpin was now the only one who knew, and it was more comfortable to keep it that way, at least for a little while longer.
"My… my people have a special aspect to our Semblance. It allows us to see into the minds of others. We can see and hear certain strong thoughts. Flashes of the past, glimpses into someone's emotion…"
"You were reading my mind!?" This time, Blake woke everyone up. "You better not be lying!"
"Blake, I'm sorry, it was an accident!" Kebiin pleaded. "I didn't mean…"
"Blake, what's going on?" Yang was the first one up.
"Looks like Kebiin "accidentally" looked into my head."
"I'm sorry! Blake, I never meant-"
"No!" She barked at him. "What else did you see? Did you look into all our private thoughts?"
"N-no, I would never…" Kebiin looked genuinely hurt. He retreated to the other side of his bed and his eyes were turning watery. He almost looked like a child.
Weiss was the first to break the awkward silence. "You're a mind reader? That's ridiculous! There's no Semblance powerful enough to read minds. It's impossible." She said in her always charming voice.
"Then how could he know…" Blake trailed off. She had already made the situation suspicious enough as is.
"Blake." Ruby said. "I think we all just need to calm down a little. I just want to know what's going on. You need to relax."
"I need to relax?" Blake snapped. "If Kebiin is telling the truth, who knows what else he goes through in our heads? How would you feel if someone just went through all your personal thoughts?"
"Well…" Ruby started. "I… I guess I wouldn't really like that." She was silent for a moment before beginning again. "So, can you actually read minds?"
Kebiin regained himself. He sat up straight, took a deep breath, and gave his explanation. "It's complicated. People like my mom and I can sometimes see bits and pieces off what someone is thinking or what they have done. Only flashes though. Nothing extensive. Years of rigorous training is needed to hone that type of skill."
"And why should we believe you on that?" Weiss said, raising an eyebrow. "You do realize how all this sounds right? We're all sound asleep when suddenly Blake starts screaming that you're a mind reader. Not only do mind readers not exist, but now I've missed out on another good hour or two of sleep. So you better have a way to prove it."
"You already know how I can prove that." Kebiin said somewhat ashamed. "It's not something people like. You saw how the mob earlier reacted."
"You mean… you were messing with their minds just to keep them off us?"
"Sort of. We were both scared and I didn't know what else to do. I had to act fast or who knows what would've happened."
"Well… huh." Weiss straightened her back and placed a hand on her hip. "I guess that would make sense. I've never seen anyone have that kind of influence on so many angry people. But all they did was look confused. I mean, I sure was at the time. Not because someone was going through my head, but because you decided to take them all on by yourself. Maybe that's what made them pause."
"Making them feel confused was all I could do." Kebiin tried to convince her.
"You know what?" Yang said, leaping off her bunk. "I'm an open book. Go ahead. I'm thinking of something really hard right now so I'm pretty sure you can see it." She said with a hint of sarcasm.
Kebiin leaned forward at her slightly and concentrated. Around two seconds past and Kebiin broke the link, blushing violently. He saw a little more of Yang's thought than he wanted to.
"Soooo what did'ya see?" Yang said with her usual upbeat attitude.
"I don't think it'd be appropriate to say in front of everyone else…"
"Nonsense! You can just whisper it in my ear or something. And I want details. Gotta confirm your mind powers."
Kebiin walked up to her, and whispered for a while into her ear, blushing through the whole thing.
"Ha! Looks like he can read minds!" She laughed as she clapped her hands together. "C'mon, one of you guys give it a try!"
"Yang, I appreciate you trying to lighten the mood, but looking into someone's mind isn't exactly a walk in the park. Besides, I just don't feel… comfortable with it anymore." Kebiin said.
"Oh…" Yang replied weakly. "Sorry…"
"No, it wasn't you. I've seen a little worse than that when I was back with my old clan." He said, giving a light smirk while rubbing the back of his head. If the smirk was meant to make the situation feel less awkward, it didn't work. "I'm just…" He turned to Blake. "I'm sorry. It was wrong of me to go through your private thoughts. Not to mention rude of me to tell you guys about this just now."
Blake sighed and crossed her arms. "Fine. I accept your apology."
Another moment of awkward silence passed. Even though Blake accepted Kebiin's apology, it still felt as though it hung unreceived in the air. This time, Ruby was the first to make a sound by making a slight wincing noise.
"Aahh sooo… Oh! why don't we go check out the Vytal festival preps after school? We can see all the decorations and ships come in at the docks. It'll be fun!"
"Yeah…" Kebiin sighed disappointingly. He glanced back at Blake before averting her eyes again. "That'd be cool."
"Good idea, Ruby!" Yang chirped, trying to keep up a nervous smile as the negativity swirled around the room. "I think it'd be a blast."
"That's two votes!" Ruby proclaimed. "Weiss, Blake?"
"Sounds nice. We could check out all the different people coming in for the tournament." Weiss said. "But for now, I'll see you when I wake up in an hour or so." She crawled back under her sheets, and snuggled against her pillow.
"That's four votes! Looks like we're goin'."
Blake climbed back up to her bunk without saying a word, but grunted in acknowledgment. Kebiin knew he wouldn't be able to sleep for the next hour, but that wasn't much of a deal to him. Early mornings were standard for Mandalorian children, and a requirement for street rats. Becoming a student didn't seem to change at least that much. He wished he could sneak out with his holocron and talk to Revan. His master may have been somewhat monotone at times, but a certain charm had developed from that over the years. Besides, he knew him best. All he could do for the moment was occasionally toss over in his bed and figure out how to make it up to Blake.