Blake's tears were becoming indistinguishable from the pelting rain. How long had she been running now? The city lights were fading out of view, devolving into a faint yellow glow against the mass of falling rain drops. Her boots were beginning to meet with mud and grass rather than the the urban concrete. She looked onward beyond the city, into the woods. Was she going to take this all the way? They wouldn't be able to find her if she left the city as a whole. Besides, she was an ex-member of the White Fang. She knew how to traverse the woods.

The clouds parted ever so slightly out in the distance. Behind the gray clouds was a barely visible sheet of inky black, only made noticeable by the little points of starlight stuck against it.

"Is that really where Kebiin is from?" She thought to herself. "Do I really believe him? If I could accept him being from up there, why couldn't they just listen to me? Why couldn't Weiss understand?"

The clouds closed in and veiled the small patch of night sky, blocking Blake's view. She looked down at the black bow still clutched in her fist, and slowly opened it.

"No…" She whispered. She had to make things right. Even if she had been living a lie, even if Weiss had turned on her, she refused to be a coward any longer. If Kebiin could come out to her with his story, then she should be able to tell her team hers. She tilted her palm to the ground, and let the little piece of black fabric fall to the ground.

She rotated on her heel and was about to walk back toward the city, eager to get out of the rain. But at that second, her ears twitched. Something shrill ran through her body, her animal instincts alerting her of a possible threat. But it wasn't just her own survivalist senses kicking in. Someone was in danger, deeper in the forest. She patted her wet clothing down to check if she had her scroll to call for backup. No such luck. She left any communication device she had back at Beacon, and if her senses were right, whoever was in trouble didn't have enough time for her to run for help and back. She needed to investigate on her own.

Blake continued to weave her way through the woods, using her acute senses to their fullest to track down the source of distress. Even though the heavy rain would have impaired a human's vision and hearing, a faunus knew how to work around these things.

As she drew closer to her destination, Blake skidded to a halt. A sharp noise was piercing right through the thumping rain and drawing closer and closer. It didn't sound like any animal Blake had heard before, but it was definitely coming from the sky. Some sort of howling?

The sound grew louder and louder, forcing Blake to cover her ears. She felt a sudden gust of wind, knocking her off her feet. When she looked up, a large and dark H-shaped object was soaring right over her head. This was by no means an animal or Grimm. It was a machine. Blake hauled herself up and ran toward the same direction as the flying craft. Whether by coincidence or luck, it seemed to be flying to where she was originally trying to get to.

She followed it until until she came to the edge of a cliff, forcing her to stop in her tracks while the howling craft flew down into the valley below. Blake followed the path of the craft with her eyes until it faded from view. She looked down at the drop below her, spotting a large encampment outfitted with steel railings, platforms, buildings, and watch towers. It resembled a military camp established by one of the kingdoms, but the size of the zone, guards, and vehicles were like nothing Blake had ever seen before. Soldiers clad in white armor patrolled the area, completely unfazed by the extreme downpour. Aircraft identical to the one Blake saw were docked all along various landing pads, along with other strange looking ships and tall odd bipedal machines Blake hesitated to call tanks or mechs.

She crouched and slid her way down the cliff, trying to get a closer look at the sight. As she snuck her way closer to the complex, that eerie roaring noise could be heard again. She looked up, and saw two more H-shaped craft, both on either side of a larger aircraft with one large wing protruding from the top, and two other wings pointed toward the bottom. All three craft landed, the two downward wings on the middle craft folding upward in a rested position. The troops in white armor rushed to the larger craft, positioning themselves in front to create a corridor of people. A rectangular hatch opened under the beak like cockpit, creating an authoritative staccato hissing sound as steam was expelled.

Blake heard footsteps coming from inside the vessel, but turned her head when she heard a door to one of the bunkers open. Two soldiers were hauling someone by their arms, dragging his feet across the ground to the craft. It was the same blonde and muscular monkey faunus Blake and her team had encountered. He was beaten, cut up, and obviously disoriented.

A female figure clad in a black armored tunic stepped from the craft, her hooded black helmet breaking through the steam as she brushed it away with a large maroon shoulder cape on her right arm. She approached the boy, wisps of steam still releasing off of her near serpentine frame. The soldiers dropped him on the ground, and turned to point their exotic firearms at him. The shadowy woman bent down onto one knee, and raised the boy's chin up with the slender fingers of her left hand.

"...So who talks first?" The boy stammered. "You talk first, I talk first?"

The woman backhanded him across the face, sending him straight to the ground. Blood seeped from where the skin on his cheek split.

"I talk first, animal."

Before the boy could bring himself up, the woman walked around his body and extended her left arm outwards. A low rumbling filled the air as Blake felt a bitter cold blow it's way through her body. The boy was lifted from the ground like a demonic puppet, his head rising to meet the hand of the dark figure. She grabbed a tuft of his hair from behind and yanked his head back to expose his throat.

"Listen…" The woman said in a metallic filtered voice. "You have two options. You can let me have my fun with you, or you can save yourself by telling me where you hid that crystal you stole from us."

"Have fun, huh?" The boy grimaced. "You don't seem to be the type of person to play nice."

The woman chuckled, and reached down to her belt to pull out a metal baton encased in what looked like a half ring guard. A glowing red blade expelled from the hilt, just barely a centimeter away from the boy's jugular. The whistling beam began to sizzle as the woman brought the white core of the blade to brush against her victim's neck, burning and blistering it as he refused to scream.

Blake didn't need to see any more. She had to rescue this boy. She stood up, raised Gambol Shroud, and fired a volley at the dark woman. The figure raised her arm, and Blake's bullets froze in mid-air. The soldiers fired glowing red bolts on Blake's position, only to find themselves shooting an afterimage. The troops looked back at the boy on the ground, only to see Blake carrying him in her arms and fleeing the scene.

"Don't worry, I've got you!" Blake said to the boy as she ran. Now that he was in her arms, she was finally able to see all of the other injuries he had sustained. Several ribs looked broken, he had bruises and cuts all over his arms, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"You…" He coughed up. "You were with the blue haired kid..."

"Yeah, I was. Hold on, I'm going to get you out of-"

Blake felt a violent tug on her body before she was able to get out of the encampments view. She had a clear shot back into the forest, but she felt as though she had just run into an ethereal wall. A slight back and forth tug in gravity caused her body to quiver, but she was frozen on the spot. The faunus boy fell out of her stiff arms and shook her shoulders, trying to get a response.

"You tried to run away?" The female metallic voice said from behind. "And here I thought we were getting along well."

Blake darted her eyes down to Gambol Shroud. The boy nodded and unclipped the weapon from her belt, drawing it on and firing it at the black-clad woman. Rather than dodge the oncoming hail of bullets, the figure reignited her weapon, this time with two blades protruding on either end as the half ring unfolding into a full circle. The blades began to rotate on the guard like a track, creating a flashing shield that disintegrated the bullets on impact. Gambol Shroud's clip emptied, and flew out of the boy's hands and into the palm of the dark figure.

"Is this yours?" She said as she inspected the weapon as she put away her own. "It's mediocre, but charming in it's own little way."

The boy tried to lunge at her, but without even looking, she extended her right arm, sending her cape upwards and revealing an entirely chrome limb. A cybernetic replacement. The boy froze on the spot just like Blake, quivering but unable to truly move.

"Come to think of it, I don't know your names." The woman purred. "How about the three of us get to know each other better since you were so eager to join us tonight, kitten?"

Blake tried to bare her teeth at the woman, but the most she could do was furrow her brow slightly.

"My name is Nyxona. And you are…" She rested her chrome arm in front of the boy's forehead, and leaned her helmeted face forward. Blake began to see his stomach and chest convulsing. He did his best to shut his eyes and shake his head, creating violent, almost unnatural motions as he desperately tried to escape Nyxona. When she released her grip, he was drenched in sweat and breathing erratically.

"Sun Wukong." Nyxona said satisfactorly. She stalked her way over to Blake, and once again held up her metal arm at Blake's face. She felt a cramped burning sensation begin in her chest, which quickly spread through her body and slowly crawled its way up into her head. She couldn't help but try to escape, tightening her muscles in failed attempts to run. She felt thousands of scalding needle like hands dig their way into her mind, ripping out whatever they wanted. When the pain finally stopped, she knew what had been taken.

"Blake Belladonna." Nyxona giggled. "I remember now… You were with our lost little Mandalorian mutt at the docks… I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Blake."

Mandalorian? That's what Kebiin said he was… but the only person he ever told that to was Blake. No, there was no way this was possible. This woman, Nyxona, she… was she from Kebiin's galaxy?

Nyxona tilted her head back when she heard the crunching of boots approaching their location. Several men in white armor came into view, snapping to attention once they caught up to Nyxona.

"Stormtroopers." She nodded.

"Inquisitor!" One of the troops said. "What would you have us do with the prisoners?"

"Nothing, yet." She walked back over to Sun. She bent down onto one knee, and grabbed his cheeks with her silver skeletal fingers.

"The crystal. The one that belonged to my colleague. Where did you hide it?"

Sun gave her a cocky grin, doing his best to show a lack of intimidation. "I broke it."

Nyxona's head bobbed backwards out of surprise, but eventually shook her head and let out a humored snort.

"Fool. Did you even know what that thing was?"

"I don't need to." Sun spat. "That thing… it wasn't right. When I touched it, I saw what was inside. I'm not letting you have the info that was on that thing!"

"Don't lie to me. You don't simply "break" a Kyber crystal. Especially the one you foolishly took. But that is of no matter. The crystal showed you a glimpse of its memory. Maybe if I look hard enough, you can show me what you saw."

"Forget it!" Sun growled. "I'd rather die than let a witch like you take anything from me!"

"No, you're going to die after." Nyxona said matter-of-factly.

"And you…" Nyxona raised her arm, and Blake was levitated off the ground, feeling her neck being pulled upwards by invisible fingers. "You're going to tell me everything you know about the Mandalorian child."

Blake tightened her jaw and stared into Nyxona's faceless mask, looking at her fierce reflection in the large visor. "I won't let you hurt my friends!" She mustered up.

"It's not a matter of choice, Blake." Nyxona laughed. "Stormtroopers!" Nyxona commanded.

"Yes, Inquisitor?" They perked up.

"I don't think our guests will be needing the use of their legs for the time being. Bring Sun and Blake to my Lambda after you're finished." Nyxona folded her cape back over her arm, and levitated Gambol Shroud back into her natural hand. As she walked away, she tightened her fist, and the weapon crumpled into a misshapen mass of metal as it hovered over her hand.

Blake watched helplessly as the stormtroopers began to senselessly beat Sun with the butt of their rifles, snapping his bones and ignoring his cries of pain. She saw some of the white armored men approach her unmoving frame, and closed her eyes in anticipation of the same beating the faunus boy next to her was receiving.

Kebiin woke up from another restless and guilt filled night. Blake had been missing for over a week now, and in his eyes, it was his fault. Afterall, it was him who convinced her to reveal her origins. If he had just shut up and decided it was best to keep it all to themselves, things would have continued on as normal. An admittedly selfish part of him wanted to blame Weiss since it was technically her words that drove her away, but he felt conflicted about displaying anger or contempt at her. In all honesty, Weiss was devastated. She skipped meals, talked to her teammates very little, and did everything in her power to avoid Kebiin without physically separating herself from the group. She knew that he was only trying to help Blake by letting her confess, and she had turned that on them and did something malicious. However, he still felt more than frustrated with her, something that Ruby and Yang were well aware of.

He glanced up at the clock. 3:43 am. He woke up too early again. Without sitting up or looking, he used the Force to open his pack that was propped up against the foot of his bed, and levitated his father's white and bronze Mandalorian helmet to his hands.

"Ni linibar at atiniir, staabi Buir?" He whispered to the helmet. "Just like you always said, Dad. I gotta tough it out and stick it through. Atiniir."

Kebiin looked over to the folded weapon sticking out of his pack next to his lightsaber. Naming one's weapon was a common tradition on Remnant, and the Mando'a word meaning "to endure" seemed appropriate enough. Besides, being surrounded by weapons called things like "Crescent Rose" and "Ember Celica" made calling it "his weapon" sound dull in comparison.

"Atiniir…" He said once more, both as a small naming ceremony and as a command to himself. He exhaled, sat up, and placed the helmet on his nightstand, making a noticeable *thunk* when the heavy metal made contact with the wood.

Kebiin looked over at the clock in the room, despite checking it mere moments ago. He didn't feel like he was going to fall back asleep any time soon. He hauled himself out of his sheets, put on a regular pair of jeans, a black turtleneck, and an oriental-style brown obi and tabards set Ren loaned him since he never used it with his gi. Kebiin looked at himself in the mirror that was leaned against the wall, inspecting how the Jedi-like obi and tabards looked on him. He Forced his lightsaber to him and clipped it on his belt, checking out his attempts at fashion. He yanked on the ends of the tabards to straighten them out, careful not to make them fall off of his shoulders. The obi belt wrap seemed enough to keep them in place, however.

He twirled in place a few more times in front of the mirror, wondering if this is what a Jedi actually would have dressed like. He figured it probably would have looked more official if he actually had a real under robe or clone war armor underneath instead of a turtle neck, but he decided it looked Jedily enough.

"Heading out?" He heard a voice whisper. It was Weiss. "It's a little early, don't you think?"

"Now you talk to me…" Kebiin groaned. Rather than turn to face her, he settled for just looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Weiss didn't respond directly to the remark, but instead continued with trying to go on with a normal subject.

"I like the outfit." She complimented weakly. She wasn't going to try and make things up by complimenting his clothes, was she?

"People in my mom's old village used to wear this type of thing." Kebiin said as he adjusted the obi. "I just didn't get a chance to actually wear one myself. And yes, I was planning to head out."

"Were you going to look for her again? If you want, I could-"

"I'm just going on a walk." He interrupted sharply. "I don't need your help to do that much." Kebiin raised the volume of his voice slightly. He saw Weiss swallow in the mirror, trying to keep her eyes from watering up.

"Kebiin…" Weiss started, removing her blanket and sitting on the edge of her bed in her nightgown. "I never meant to… Look, I know what I did wasn't smart of me, but-"

"K'uur, I said I'm just going for a walk. We can figure it all out when we actually find Blake, but right now, I just want to clear my head. You can stay in bed if you want." Kebiin wrapped his blue hooded scarf around his neck and grabbed Revan's holocron along Atiniir on his way out the door, not giving Weiss any room to reply.

He walked down the hall, at first satisfied that he had told Weiss off, but quickly realized how much of an ass he just acted like. He put his palm against his forehead and grunted in frustration. He figured he should apologize to her when he would get back, but as was the trend with the past week, another part of him wanted to keep their exchanges at a minimum.

It was still a little dark when Kebiin made his way into the school's large courtyard, but the orange glow of the sun was starting to make its way over the horizon. The morning fog was still plenty thick, and a visible amount of steam escaped Kebiin's mouth whenever he exhaled. He arrived at the statue just in front of the main gate of the academy, retracing the steps he and Blake took on their midnight stroll. He looked back up at the two figures the statue depicted. A man and a woman, Hunter and Huntress, standing triumphant over a Grimm. The stone figures dwarfed Kebiin in comparison, but he figured that was the point of the design. Not imposing or intimidating, but something to aspire to. Something that symbolized Humanity's and Faunus' triumph over the forces of Grimm. He hoped that would apply to him some day.

Kebiin let out a long sigh in an attempt to sooth his mind. He was feeling too much fear and anger this week, and it didn't help that most of that building anger was directed at Weiss. He couldn't allow himself to succumb to these emotions since it could not only lead to the Dark Side, but attract Grimm as well. But then again, wasn't he justified in his anger? Revan stood for balance, so didn't that mean a little bit of both Light and Dark? How bad could it really be?

"No…" Kebiin shook his head. "You're the last hope for the Jedi. This is what Mom wanted. You have to stay on the Light."

Kebiin frowned and glanced at the pavement. "I really have to do it, huh?" He redundantly asked the planet. "Train a new generation of Jedi… Will you even let me?"

It was true the planet was in a rather odd state of flux. When he arrived on Remnant, Kebiin couldn't even feel the Force. He felt sick just living here. Now what? He was able to meditate somewhat, fight a horde of Grimm, and live perfectly healthy. The planet was being caught in a spiritual struggle, and Kebiin had no idea why. And now… now he wasn't the only Force sensitive. Future Jedi were a possibility. Jaune...

"Hey, Kebiin! What are you doing out this early?" Speak of the devil.

"Jaune? I didn't take you for an early bird."

Jaune came jogging down in his white hoodie with a pair of earbuds sticking out of his pocket. His forehead was sweaty and he was breathing a little heavier than usual, signaling that he had been jogging.

"I'm not." He responded. "I've just been feeling really… alive as of late. Is there any new word on Blake?"

Kebiin bit down on his lip. "No…" He said gloomily. "Nothing new at all."

"I see… I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry, we'll find her." Kebiin tried to reassure Jaune as much as himself. He thought he would have been able to sense her presence, but over a week of turning Vale upside down yielded no results.

"How's the rest of the team holding up? Is Weiss doing alright?"

Kebiin gritted his teeth and crossed his arms in frustration.

"Cuyi ibac bid?"

Jaune removed his earbuds and scratched his head. "Huh?"

"Oh, sorry! My mind just wanders off to my first language a lot…" Kebiin was telling the truth in that department, but that's not what he wanted to talk about now that Jaune was outside with him.

"I've noticed." Jaune said as he approached closer to him. "Ruby says you talk in your sleep a lot. I think her exact words were "If he keeps this up, I'm going to be bilingual by the end of the year.""

"My dreams have been a little… intense lately. I can't really help it."

"Yeah, I get what you mean." Jaune said genuinely. "I've been getting some pretty crazy dreams too. It's kinda funny really."

"Really? How so?"

"I know this is really strange, but ever since that trip we took to Forever Falls, I've been feeling so alive. Like, I feel more awake and aware than ever before, and I haven't been feeling sick at all. But at the same time, I started to get these really weird dreams."

Kebiin's eyes widened slightly and his mouth opened just a tad when he heard Jaune's explanation. If Kebiin had any doubts regarding Jaune's Force Sensitivity, they were definitely fading away. His hopes began to rise.

"What do you mean you haven't been feeling sick? Has that been an issue in the past?"

"Oh, yeah." Jaune chuckled. "Just ask my mom about it. I always felt queasy, I had the worst spacial awareness of any kid on the planet, and the headaches were the worst. It used to scare my parents a lot when I was a baby, especially when I had these episodes when I could barely breathe. Why do you ask?"

Kebiin didn't answer. That was exactly how he felt when he first came to Remnant. The overbearing sickness, the mind splitting headaches from the emptiness, all of it. In his excitement, he grabbed Jaune's hands and leaned closer.

"What about the dreams? What do you see, what do you hear? Please, I have to know!"

Jaune was taken aback by Kebiin's sudden burst of excitement. He would have payed closer attention to the blue haired boy's questions, but he was more concerned with the fact that their noses were practically touching.

"Uhh, Kebiin? You're kind of umm…"

Before Kebiin noticed how cuddly he was getting with Jaune, he spotted a quick flash from the corner of his eye, accompanied by the click of a scroll's camera.

"Whoah, look at you two!" Yang called out, still holding up her scroll. "You gonna make this a habit, Kebiin? Sneaking off with cute boys and girls while you think we're not looking? Tsk tsk…"

"What the- Yang!" Kebiin cried back. Jaune was still trying to register what just happened.

"C'mon, I'm just teasing. I'll delete the photo. Just be careful. Seeing the cute younger kid hold hands and staring into the eyes of his dear upperclassman only a few weeks before the Vytal dance might give people the wrong idea." Yang winked.

"Vytal dance?" Jaune's face started to glow red.

"Cute younger kid? Upperclassman? I'm only a year younger! And we're in the same grade!"

"Hush, child. I'm just teasing. I heard you and Weiss arguing and decided to check up on you. Ruby's taking care of Weiss right now."

Kebiin finally broke away from Jaune, who was looking well above awkward at the moment.

"I woke you two up?" Kebiin moaned, realizing how loud he actually must have been. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's alright." Yang said. "No big deal. You weren't that noisy, just… I don't know how to explain this…"

"Cold?" Jaune chimed in. Yang look confused, obviously wondering how someone would be able to "hear cold", but Kebiin tensed up, knowing exactly what he meant. Jaune wasn't out on a morning jog for the heck of it. Even if Jaune didn't know it, he sensed Kebiin's burst of frustration. He followed it on instinct.

"Sorry!" Jaune stammered, trying to recuperate from his odd response. "I'm not sure if this is a conversation I should be in. I'll just… head off. Good luck, you guys." Before Kebiin could say anything to stop him, Jaune had already put his earbuds in his ears and was jogging back to the main school building.

"That was weird…" Yang raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?"

"No clue." Kebiin lied quickly. He was trying to process all the information Jaune had given him.

"Uh huh…" Yang said skeptically. Even if Kebiin jumped to his answer a little too fast than was natural, she decided not to pursue the subject. "You want to come back to the dorm? It's still chilly out."

Kebiin took one last glance at the statue. "Is Weiss alright?"

"Yeah, she's ok right now." Yang's shoulders sagged once Jaune was out of view. Her normally vibrant lavender eyes faded in tone once she checked back into reality. She couldn't be the giddy one all of the time. "She's just… not over the whole thing completely."

"Neither am I. Are any of us, really?"

Yang paused. "No… I don't think we are. I just hope we don't have to be."

Kebiin nodded and motioned for Yang to take the lead on getting back to the dorm. She did so, and the two of them started down to the main building.

The sparring round on the stage ended at the sound of a sharp siren. The two combatants hauled their sore bodies back to their seats as Professor Goodwitch took their place, positioning her hands behind her hip in her usual authoritative manner.

"Remember class: If you want to make it in the Vytal tournament, all of you will need to make vast improvements, especially if you're going to be competing against Atlas this year. Their new leaders will want to prove themselves to the world, but I have faith in all of you. Class dismissed."

Ruby stood up to leave but took a glance at the two empty spots next to her. By this time, everyone had known what happened to Blake, but Kebiin was nowhere in sight.

"Ms. Rose." Glynda called out as the rest of the students exited out the door. She motioned with her finger for Ruby to join her on the stage. Ruby nodded and climbed her way toward the professor, letting Weiss and Yang know to wait at the door for her.

"Yes, professor?"

"Ms. Rose, I understand that you team has been… unstable as of late."

Ruby's shoulders slumped forwards and her eyelids dropped half way out of tiredness.

"I know…"She groaned. "I'm sorry professor, but I honestly don't know what to do. Ever since she ran away, we've all been on edge. Weiss and Kebiin… I don't know what to do about them."

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Huh?"

"Mr. Ceibur has been skipping classes for days now, I'm sure you've noticed. I've talked to his other teachers, and we agree that it isn't helping him. It's very apparent that when he's seen outside of class, stress is beginning to eat away at him. If you can, please convince him to come back to his studies."

"He's just upset over all of this." Ruby tried to explain. "Maybe he just needs some alone time."

"Ruby, the last thing your friends need right now is to be alone. Not only do I want him to stay on top of his studies, but he needs you girls more than ever."

"But what am I supposed to say?"

"You're their leader. Not only that, but I hope you know Kebiin sees you as family. Ozpin told me that he has a very good reason to think so. You'll know what to say."

Glynda nudged her head over to the door leading out of the classroom. Ruby turned to see her friends waiting for her, and after giving the professor another glance, jogged to join them.

"What did she need?" Her sister asked once Ruby caught up to them.

"Just asking how everything is doing."

"I bet that was a pleasant conversation…"

"Hey, do you know where Kebiin is? I wanna check up on blue boy."

"Be my guest." Yang snorted. "I'd check our dorm, but if not, I've seen him sneak out into the courtyard before."

"Thanks. I'll meet back up with you next class. We still going out later tonight?"

Weiss silently nodded at the mention of finding Blake. Yang sighed and placed her hands on either of their shoulders.

"Y'know what? Ruby, why don't you take just Weiss and Kebiin out for the night? I can cover for you guys here."

"Just three of us?" Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you come along?"

"I have work I need to catch up on. Besides…" Yang gave her a pat on the back. "...It'll be good for you. Don't worry, we've still got a few hours before then."

Weiss nodded and began heading off into the direction of their next period. Yang followed soon after.

"I'll meet you back in a few." Ruby said. "Hopefully, I'll bring you-know-who back with me."

"Revan, please!" Kebiin begged. "What you've been teaching me isn't working. I need some other way to find her!"

"You can't find her because your mind is clouded." His mentor said calmly.

Kebiin had been secluding himself in his dorm for nearly a week now. For all the time he was skipping out on classes and lunches, he was doing everything he could to learn how to track someone with the Force from Revan. But even with so much devotion, his powers refused to properly obey him.

"I'm trying!" Kebiin gritted his teeth. "I do what you say: Empty your mind, feel the current, locate her energy signature. But every time I try, I'm just… I don't know, blocked."

"I'm trying to tell you why that is. You're so preoccupied with your frustrations that it's preventing you from remedying the cause of it."

"But it's not just that." Kebiin groaned. "Remnant… the Force doesn't feel the same here. It's not like back home. I can feel it now, but it's… distant. The plants, the people, the air... It's all I know, but it's all so strange. It doesn't feel complete."

Revan's small blue image flickered. "This world may be different, but you can sense the Aura in these people, can't you?"

"Yes, but I already told you! There's no flow or greater connection, just separate power."

The shimmering hologram folded his arms and placed a hand on the chin of his mask, formulating a response. For the moment, there was no sure way to guarantee that his theory was correct. But even if Aura, Semblances, and Grimm were somehow descended from the Force, it didn't make the situation any easier.

"Revan." Kebiin began, this time more softly. "Back when you were alive, I heard you trained certain people for a specific purpose. You taught them how to negate everything else, and focus on a single person. If I can't use the web of the Force to find Blake, what if-"

"No!" Revan erupted. "You want me to show you how to be one of my assassins? You don't know what you're talking about."

"But they worked!" Kebiin argued. "They could find anyone with no distractions. If I learned how to do that, we could find her in no time! I don't have to listen to everything else, I would just cut right to the point!"

Revan's image inflamed even further, emitting more energy than Kebiin had seen before. The power the device was now giving off shocked Kebiin, causing him to fall onto the floor.

"I will not allow that to happen!" Revan's slightly electronic voice shouted. "Those assassins were nothing more than mere hunters. Do you want to know why they were so skilled at finding their targets? They fed off of them. They turned their prey into their very reason to live. That desire drove them into utter madness, corrupting them beyond repair. Do you, the last remaining hope for the Jedi, want to be reduced to that?"

Kebiin stood back up and looked down at his master's projection. He straightened his back and clenched his fists in an attempt to look confident, but his watering eyes told a different story.

"No." Kebiin forced out. "I understand what I have to do, but that's a long time off! Right now, I have to find my friend!"

"You're not listening to me! This isn't what-"

"I thought you of all people would understand, Revan!" Kebiin bursted. "Is this what your master said when you wanted to rescue Bastila?"

Even if his face was covered by a mask, Kebiin could see his mentor's shock. If his jolted body language didn't give it away, he could simply feel the effect of the words in the air. For this, he didn't need to Force to sense.

There was a lengthy pause. Should he apologise? He had spoken out of turn, but Revan wasn't scolding him yet.

"...I didn't think you would have known her name." Revan said, his composure restored. From his serene tone, Kebiin wondered if he had even lost it in the first place. "I was afraid Bastila had been lost to history. That was a long time ago."

"...Of course I know all the stories." Kebiin mumbled. "Mom learned it because you saved the Republic. Dad learned it because you were the only one who could beat us."

"It seems our situations are alike." Revan admitted. "We both lost someone close to our hearts, and we both have duties to perform. I had to save the Republic, and you have to restore the Jedi."

Kebiin bit down on his lip and tilted his eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry, master… I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"No, it's fine." Revan said. "You reminded me that I was based off of a real person. That maybe I'm more than just a program."

"Do you remember what it was like? Being alive, I mean."

"Sometimes, I think I do. I can remember my travels with all my friends on our rusty old freighter. But at the same time, it's someone else's memories. They were only given to me because I had to be the person who lived that life."

"I see…" Kebiin took a deep breath and let out an attempt at a relaxed sigh. "I think… I think I should go."

"Kebiin, I'm sorry. I don't know what this world must feel like to you, so I can only teach so much. You have to wait and find her on your own like I did with Bastila. Good luck."

"I know, Revan." Kebiin swallowed. "Thank you."

Revan nodded, and Kebiin shut the holocron off.

There was a moment of silence before Kebiin heard a sudden knock on the door. He jumped, nearly dropped the holocron, and fumbled awkwardly to catch it.

"Y-yes?"

"Kebiin, you in there?" It was Ruby.

"Yeah, just a sec." Kebiin rubbed his temple with his fingers and floated Revan's holocron back to his nightstand. He walked over to the door, slightly disoriented from his practice.

"Is there something you need?" He asked Ruby as he cracked the door open slowly.

"Are you alright? You look… tired."

Kebiin took a peek at his reflection in Ruby's silver irises. He was paler than usual and he was developing noticeable dark circles under his eyes.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine."

"You don't look like it. Who was that man you were talking to? I don't see anyone in there…"

Kebiin went stiff. She heard him?

"I was just on my scroll. No big deal."

"But you two were arguing. Kebiin, is he why you're not showing up to class?"

"Among other things…" He grumbled.

"What?"

"No, he's an… old friend. We're not exactly seeing eye-to-eye at the moment. How much did you hear?"

"Not much, but you called him "master". What does that mean? Does he want something from you?"

"Ruby, I already told you it's no big deal."

"But if he's bothering you, I have to know!"

"What, I have to tell you everything!?" Kebiin raised his voice. "I already told Blake everything, and look what happened!"

"Kebiin…" Ruby said softly in a hurt tone. "I know things are rough right now, but we're a family. I want to make sure you're ok…"

Kebiin's eyes widened once he heard Ruby's voice paired with her concerned expression. For a moment, Kebiin would have thought he was looking at Weiss. She had that exact same look. They were only trying to help, and he kept shooting them down.

"Ni ceta… I'm sorry." Kebiin slumped his head. "He was a teacher I had a while ago. I thought he could help us find her, but we're on our own."

"Is he a good person? He won't hurt you?"

Kebiin nodded. "The things he's taught me have saved my life more than once. He… he was a friend of my mom."

Ruby jumped forward and gave him a surprise hug. After catching himself, Kebiin hugged her back.

"You want to come back to class?" Ruby asked. "We could use the company."

Kebiin took a breath and broke the hug. "Okay." He agreed. "Lead the way, Alor."

Ruby, Weiss, and Kebiin waved back at Yang as they set foot outside the academy gates since she wouldn't be joining them on their search tonight. Yang didn't say the exact reason why she was staying put to Kebiin, but he made his best guess once he realized he would be spending more time with Weiss.

"Okay people, let's make tonight count!" Ruby said with a not so subtle double meaning. "Where do we start?"

"We need to think outside the box." Weiss said. "We've managed to check all of Blake's favorite places and points of interest, but where do we go from there?"

"Let's try something new…" Kebiin exhaled. "Hope I get this right."

"Get what right?" Ruby asked.

Kebiin closed his eyes and stretched his hand forward, doing his best to follow Revan's repeated advice.

"Uh… What are you doing?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Empty your thoughts, let your mind be free. Follow the current, let it guide you…"

Ruby approached him nervously. "Erm… What's going on?"

A quiet rumbling ran through the air. Kebiin's muscles relaxed as he let the small amount of detectable Force energy run it's course through him and into his surroundings. He saw flashes of the city, his vision darting from person to person. He came to a stop at a familiar face, but it wasn't Blake.

The rumbling ceased with a bassy pop, and Kebiin staggered backwards, his head feeling like a block of ice had been broken against it. Ruby and Weiss caught him by his arms before he could fall to the ground.

"Woah there, settle down." Ruby said slowly. "What was that? What happened to you?"

Kebiin sloppily hauled himself back onto his feet, partially wondering the same thing. But he now had an idea on how to go about their night.

"I think I know someone who can help us."

"What? Who?" Weiss asked eagerly.

"I don't know why exactly, but I saw… Penny."

"Penny!" Kebiin called when he finally came into her view. He followed the path of his vision, sprinting nearly the whole way. Ruby and Weiss were asking him questions along the way, but now that they had caught up to their destination, all they could do was pant.

"Salutations, friends! I was wondering if we would ever… Excuse me, where's Blake and Yang?"

"Yang?" Kebiin gasped for breathe. "She's…" Kebiin held up his index finger as bent down and lowered his head to his knees to breath. "One sec…"

"She's back at Beacon." Ruby said, recovering the fastest out of the three of them.

"And Blake?"

Weiss braced herself on Ruby's shoulder, taking a deep breath and restoring her posture before responding.

"We were actually hoping you could help us with that. She's gone missing, and Kebiin said you would be able to help somehow."

"She's missing!?" Penny cried. "How did this happen? When did it happen?"

"She's been gone for about a week." Kebiin said. "We didn't know where else to go, and I just thought that maybe you might be able to-"

"How can I help?" Penny stiffened out her back and changed her expression to one of determination.

"I… I don't know, actually. Something told me that I had to find you, that you could lead us to her."

"Hmm…" Penny placed a hand on her chin and leaned towards Kebiin, examining his features carefully.

"I think I might know someone who can help."

"Who?" Weiss leaned in.

"My uncle! He's really smart and good at finding people. If I introduced all of you to him, I'm sure he'll help out!"

Ruby, Weiss, and Kebiin all nodded in agreement. This was the closest thing they had to a lead, and Kebiin had no choice but to trust in the Force for now. His experience led him to Penny, so that's where he would follow.

The sun was starting to dip down even lower in the sky, and the fractured moon was rising up to take its place. As Penny led their group to where her "uncle" was, they began to notice that they were retracing their steps back to the docks. Where Weiss and Blake had their original fight. The same place Kebiin sensed the dark side presence.

"See? right over there, by that warehouse on the harbor."

The team gave each other some skeptical glances, Weiss looking the most awkward out of them all.

"Penny, are you sure this is where he is?" Kebiin asked nervously. "This doesn't look like the kind of place someone would just hang out."

"That's odd…" Penny squinted her eyes at the warehouse. "I didn't think there would be other people here."

"What do you mean?"

"Hey, get down!" Ruby hissed through her teeth. The four of them ducked behind some crates at a distance from the warehouse entrance. It opened, and several masked faunus began to unload large capsules of dust from inside the building. Four airships came into view as well, landing on the harbor.

"Wait… are they-"

"White Fang." Weiss nodded. "And it looks like those crates are my father's Dust company's. We need to call for backup."

Ruby nodded and flicked out her scroll and began to type Yang's number as Weiss dialed the police. Penny kept scanning the area, worriedly looking for her supposed uncle. Kebiin was about to ask if she was alright, but he paused when he felt a knot in his stomach. He sensed something. A similar dark presence to the once he originally felt the first time he had come here. This one was different, but it was enough to catch his attention. It was somehow… sadder compared to the cruelty of the previous presence. But that didn't matter. He sensed the Dark Side, and that was his main worry right now.

A loud gust of air overtook their hiding spot, rapidly waiving all of their clothes and hair. The group looked up to see what was happening, but were blinded by an intense light. Another airship.

"Hello there, Red!" A man's voice called from the craft's built in speaker. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"Torchwick…" Ruby gritted her teeth.

Kebiin looked back over his shoulder to see the mass of White Fang… retreating? They were all aware that him, Ruby, and the others were present, but instead of fighting with numbers on their side, they all began to make b-lines to their remaining airships.

"Ruby!" Weiss shouted over the airship's engines. "They're getting away!"

"I know!" Ruby yelled back. "We're on our own. Let's make this quick!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Torchwick said through his speaker. The dual chain guns on the ship began to fire, sending fragments of concrete into the air as they pounded into the ground. Weiss managed to launch away on one of her glyphs while Ruby and Kebiin used their natural speed to dart away, Kebiin grabbing Penny to pull her away just in time to avoid getting shot.

Ruby and Weiss already had their weapons drawn by the time they had evaded the fire, but Kebiin stumbled from Penny's surprising weight. He came out of his dash rather clumsily and quickly set Penny back onto her feet, unclipping Atiniir as he did so.

"Kebiin?" Penny's voice quivered. "Who are these people? Why is that person trying to hurt Ruby and Weiss?"

"I don't know exactly, but it doesn't look like he's friendly." Kebiin flicked a switch, releasing the dual curved staff blades on his weapon. "Penny, we need you to stand back. We can handle this."

Penny looked at the ship attacking Ruby and Weiss, then back at the masked faunus escaping on the other aircraft. "No!" She protested. "I can help!"

"Penny, this isn't the time to-"

"Don't worry, I'm combat ready!"

"What in Mandalore's name are you-"

Two panels in Penny's back slid open, revealing a set of floating blades. The swords unfolded, arranging themselves into a circular formation. Kebiin could hear various electronic whirls and clicks from inside of Penny's body as she took her combat stance.

"You're… you're a droid?"

"Kebiin!" He heard Ruby shout as she dodged another volley of rounds. "You and Penny take care of the other ships, Weiss and I have Torchwick under control!" She must have seen Penny's short display.

"Okay! C'mon Penny, you heard her!" Penny gave Kebiin an unsure look, but nodded when she saw the two girls holding their own against the single flying craft.

Penny and Kebiin turned the other direction to run after the escaping ships. Two of them were already long gone, leaving just the other two left. White Fang grunts scrambled to get aboard, completely ignoring the two teens moving to intercept them.

"Don't let them escape!" Kebiin yelled. One of the ship's engines were beginning to warm up, producing flames and preparing to lift off the ground.

"Take out the engines, but don't kill the passengers." Kebiin flicked another one of Atiniir's switches, and it retracted into the general shape of a musket.

"Penny, watch out if they change their minds and shoot at us."

"No need to worry!" She smiled intensely. "I think I know what you have in mind."

Kebiin gave her a fangy smile and aimed his weapon at one of the escaping ship's engines. Penny's swords reorganized themselves into a cylindrical shape, each blade angling themselves so the tips came together at a point.

"Time to put those Dust crystals to use." Kebiin thought to himself.

Atiniir's barrel glew a vibrant indigo, and a raw bolt of lightning cracked out with a loud "BOOM!*, slamming right into the the first engine of the White Fang ship. Kebiin would've been impressed with his own handiwork, but when he turned to see the green flash of light from Penny's own blast, he was sure he had to be hallucinating. Lasers protruding from the ends of Penny's floating swords collided at their collective center, forming a single, far more powerful energy cannon. An exact mirror of an Imperial superlaser.

Kebiin froze. No way… Penny's laser, that should be impossible! He had to have just imagined it. But the sound, the color, the method of fire… it was identical to what he had seen back in his own galaxy. Penny looked at him, at first proud of their combined effort, but then turned into an expression of worry once she saw Kebiin's face.

"Kebiin? What's wrong? Did I do something wrong? Why aren't you moving?"

Penny's shake on his shoulders zoned his mind back into the moment, but he ignored the crashed wreckage of the ship they had just dispatched, and further ignored the second ship that was in the air and fleeing. He quickly grabbed Penny's arms, causing her to yelp.

"Penny, where did you get that?!"

"Ah! Kebiin, I don't understand…"

"That superlaser, do you know what that was?"

"What do you-"

"Tell me!"

"Kebiin…" Penny's eyes went watery. "Did I do something to make you mad?"

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?!" Weiss came in, closely followed by Ruby. "He's escaping!"

The sound of Torchwick's ship flying above their heads to joining the second escape craft was enough to make Kebiin let go of Penny.

"Penny… Ni cuy' Ni ceta…"

"C'mon people, let's do something!" Ruby commanded.

"Right. I'll go after Torchwick's ship, the rest of you keep that White Fang ship from getting out of here."

"Are you crazy? How are you supposed to-"

Kebiin took a quick breath, and launched himself into the air with the Force. He guided himself toward Torchwick's ship, extending his arm to open the landing ramp and climb in. Before he did so, he looked back at how the others were handling the White Fang. Penny was already hauling in the craft with her swords like a fish hook, while Weiss prevented it from moving forward with her glyphs. They were more than capable of handling it.

"Maybe he has some answers…" Kebiin thought as he opened the hatch. "I'm going to find out why I keep sensing the Dark Side here."

Kebiin landed on the now open hatch of Torchwick's airship, using the Force to stabilize his landing.

"Oh, what is it now, Red!?" Torchwick swiveled from the pilot's chair and widened his eyes upon seeing that it wasn't Ruby who had landed on his ship. "You? I remember you! You were that orphan kid that kept mooching off of our food. Y'know, you never paid your debts. I figured you found someone else to steal from like you usually do, but I never expected you would be running around with the brats from Beacon!"

"Torchwick! You're coming with us. If you don't land this airship, I'll-"

"Neo, if you would."

Kebiin felt a sharp pain run across the length of his forearm. A short girl with brown and pink hair had appeared from behind him, brandishing a thin sword draped with blood. In his confusion and pain, Kebiin dropped Atiniir and gripped his sliced arm. A long deep gash was running from the base of his radial artery to the midsection of his brachial. He began to apply pressure with his functional arm onto the stinging cut in an attempt to slow the profuse bleeding. He saw the girl reappear from the corner of his eye, but was too late to retaliate. She slashed open his leg, severing his fatal femoral artery. He fell down as he felt his blood violently rush from his leg. He tried to get back up on his feet, but the pain from his leg and the slippery blood on the metal floor only caused him to fall back down. Kebiin shivered as he felt the color leave his body, curling up in a pool of red.

"Neo, would you be so kind as to take the wheel?"

The girl obliged, and took her seat in the pilot's chair. Roman walked over to Kebiin's bleeding body, and smacked him several times with his cane.

"Y'know what, kid? You had some sympathy from us a while back when you were little. But now, you're just being a pest. Plus, I've recently come across someone with an eerie resemblance to you that I more or less loathe at the moment. So, if you would be so courteous, get off my ship!"

Neo angled the ship slightly up, and Kebiin began to slide out of the hatch from the lubrication of his own blood.

"Wait a minute… What's this?" Torchwick bent down, and Kebiin watched helplessly as the man unclipped his mom's lightsaber from his belt. The last thing Kebiin saw before sliding away to drop several hundred feet out of the air was Roman activating the pale yellow blade. He stared at it in shock. Kebiin could see that he was making some sort of connection in his head, almost as though he had seen a lightsaber before.

The gentle hum of his mother's blade gradually faded away as he fell off the ship, and plummeted to the ground below. His vision was becoming hazy, and his body felt drained. Before he lost consciousness, he heard the trademark whimsical sound of one of Weiss' glyphs activating below him.