The Way of the Maiden

by The Court of Talons

The world of Remnant is notable for warriors such as Huntsmen and Huntresses. It is also notable for the Mandalorians, groups of mysterious and nomadic warriors just as ruthless as the Grimm. This is the story of one particular Mandalorian, and how a chance encounter with a child leads to the adventure of a lifetime.

53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53: Memory

As she walked across the invisible floor at her feet, Cinder could hardly contain her excitement. After spending what felt like an eternity in the void, rebuilding herself from the ground up, the young Maiden had finally regained enough strength to make her way back home.

In her mind, this wasn't going to be a simple attempt. This wasn't going to be another lesson or an experiment to see how much power she had or how she could grow. Cinder felt unstoppable today, perhaps for the first time since she found herself in the void. In her mind, there was nothing that she couldn't do. This wasn't smugness or arrogance on Cinder's part, she simply felt stronger and better than the day she was defeated.

And when she would return to Remnant, Cinder believed that she would be just as strong as she was now.

Cinder didn't know all the details on how she was going to leave the void, but her plans included a bigger picture. Once she returned home, Cinder planned to turn Remnant upside down until she found her family and friends. She would find all of the people Lila Birch helped her see and she would do everything in her power to help them just as they helped her.

And most of all, Cinder was going to redeem herself in the eyes of her father. She may have forgiven herself for her past mistakes, but Cinder was uncertain of how Djarin's opinion of her had changed since she had been gone. But whatever had changed, Cinder promised that she was going to set things right.

She was going to make Djarin proud.

"Well... here we are."

Cinder returned to reality when she heard Fall calmly speaking to her. Cinder instinctively looked at her mentor, but changed her mind when she saw Fall's hand gesturing towards the void. Cinder turned to see what Fall was looking at, and the sight immediately took her by surprise.

Standing before the young girl was a large group of multiple women, and each of them were smiling and clapping as they stared at their newest arrival. Cinder knew that they were all previous Fall Maidens, but the sight of this many people in front of her was a surprise. She was usually in the company of at most two older Maidens whenever she was learning or exercising, and Fall was usually among them. So it was a great surprise to see this many people in front of her.

And it was a pleasure to see that some of the Maidens closest to her were acquaintances that she had made.

"Hey, kiddo," said Lila Birch. She immediately wrapped her arms around Cinder with a smile as she greeted her friend. "Good to see you again."

"We're so proud of you," said Mary. She was the Faunus Maiden that Cinder met before Lila, the one who first tapped into the powers of the Fully-Realized Maiden.

Cinder hugged the kind woman back, but she couldn't keep her eyes of the smiling Maidens in front of her. "Wh-What is this?" she curiously asked. Lila let Cinder go, but she allowed some of the other Maidens to explain themselves.

"Well, after today, we probably won't be seeing you for a while," said Mary. "We all wanted to say goodbye, and thank you for being the Fall Maiden." Mary walked closer to Cinder and dried her eyes. "You've been so brave ever since you came here, and we know you'll be just as brave when you leave."

"That's true," said Karma. "But our main purpose here to do what we were always meant to do; help the people who need it most."

Fall put a hand on Cinder's shoulder. "We've all been talking about how we can help you reconnect with your powers," she said. "Karma said she could feel the part that was missing through meditation, and we all sensed it too. But there's only one person who can fully connect to it."

Cinder knew it didn't take a genius to know who Fall was referring to. "Me," she said. "Because I'm alive."

"That's right," said Lila. "Now I know we've never done something like this before, but how bad could it be?"

"You've come so far already," said Mary. "And we're ready to help you go even further. You're worth going the extra mile, Cinder."

"None of this will be easy," said Karma. "It took all of my focus and willpower to sense a fragment of your powers. Reuniting with it will be much harder."

"If we all work together, and focus on the same thing, we should all be able to help you leave the void," said Fall.

Cinder was starting to understand the plan. She was well aware of the fact that each and every Fall Maiden was a part of her, and they all shared a special bond with her. By sharing a session of meditation, by focusing on the same thing, it could be said that Cinder's mind and the minds of all the Maidens would become one.

They would find the remaining powers of the Fall Maiden, wherever they were.

Cinder was familiar with the practice of meditation, given her experiences with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Karma. However, this was mostly done to let go of negativity and discover how much energy resided within her. She was able to discover the spark within herself that served as her only connection to the physical world, but it was only a part of herself.

To concentrate on a much larger part of herself would undoubtedly be a challenge. Fortunately, Cinder felt the same way she felt when Fall found her moments ago.

Unstoppable.

"I'll find it," she promised everyone. "I'll find it, and I'll make it whole again."

Fall gently squeezed Cinder's shoulder in approval. "We know you will," she said.

After Cinder looked back at Fall with a smile, the young girl looked back to the crowd of previous Maidens. While she was willing to reconnect with her powers and go home, Cinder wasn't quite ready to leave just yet.

Not without saying goodbye.

"I know you said you wanted to help me and thank me... but I think I'm the one who should be thanking you," she said as she stepped forward. "All of you."

"..."

Each Maiden smiled and gave Cinder their full attention as she paced around the area and continued to talk. There was a lot she wanted to say to each Maiden, to signify their individual contributions as a Fall Maiden. But since she didn't get the chance to meet all of the Maidens, and since her gut was telling her that time was of the essence, Cinder settled for speaking about the Fall Maidens collectively.

"Because of all of you, the power of the Maidens was able to continue growing and changing the world," Cinder continued. "I know being the Fall Maiden was never easy, but you all did it anyway. You let this power help you see who you are, like it showed me who I am. Or rather... who I wanted to be."

"..."

Cinder cleared her throat before she finished strong. "So thank you. Thank you for rising up to the challenge, for letting the world have its Fall Maiden." Cinder smiled as she remembered why they were all here in the first place. "And thank you for being here with me."

"..."

Cinder received more silence from her peers, but the smiles they all wore and the looks in their eyes showed the young girl how much all of that meant to each and every one of them. Some of the women even had tears in her eyes.

Fall took the chance to speak for everyone with her right now. "Thank you, Cinder," she said as she hugged the current Fall Maiden. "That was lovely."

Cinder hugged Fall back with a smile of her own. "It was nothing," she insisted. "Just the truth."

Fall gently squeezed Cinder for a moment. "Well... take it from someone who's only remembered in a fairy tale; what you said meant the world to us all."

"..."

Cinder let go of Fall and looked back at the Maidens again. She hadn't thought about it until now, but there were so many of them before her. Some were young, and some were old. Some were tall, and some were small. They were all different people, they were all individuals with something special to offer as the Fall Maiden. But they were also past Maidens, people who had passed down the power for centuries and centuries before that.

Cinder felt horrible for realizing it now, but there was a chance that not all of these Maidens were remembered back on Remnant. Their work and their deeds could have disappeared into legends and fairy tales.

They deserved better.

"The world may have forgotten everything you did," Cinder said calmly. "But I won't forget. And I'll make sure nobody after me forgets either."

"..."

Fall took these words to heart, since she knew Cinder was someone who kept her promises. And just by taking another look at all the other Maidens who had become nameless as history passed, they also took these words to heart. And it was clear that there was something else they took to heart.

If there was anyone on Remnant who was worthy of the powers they were going to reclaim... it was Cinder.

"...Thank you, Cinder," Fall said one more time. "Thank you."

*TAP*

*TAP*

*TAP*

The sound of a walking stick dimly hitting the ground behind her caused Cinder to turn around and see Karma standing closer to the center of the circle the Maidens had made. "Time we get started," she said in her natural authoritative voice. "Come on, no dilly dallying!"

All of a sudden, each of the Maidens moved closer towards the center of the circle. Mary and Lila also moved closer, and Fall was preparing to join them. But first, she gestured for Cinder to move into the very center itself. Once she did, each Maiden stopped moving and watched as Cinder awaited further instruction from Karma.

Before more instruction was given, however, Fall said one more thing.

"Goodbye, Cinder. I won't forget you either."

With a smile and a nod, Cinder stepped forward and joined Karma at the center of the circle. Fall then felt a hand on her shoulder, which gave her some comfort in the moment.

"Like we said, Cinder, we'll be meditating once again," said Karma. "I hope you're ready."

"When you are," Cinder said firmly.

Karma nodded in approval and took charge of the final meditation sequence. "Sit down, relax," she calmly ordered. Cinder obeyed and sat in a meditative position. But rather than join her, Karma moved towards Cinder's left side and stood right where she was. "Close your eyes, Cinder."

Cinder obeyed and began to clear her mind of any distractions. She prepared to focus on herself and the remaining power she had, which she confidently believed was the first step to leaving the void.

However, it was hard to clear away distractions when she felt multiple hands on her back and shoulders.

"Huh?" Cinder asked as she opened her eyes. When she did, the young Maiden saw that the Maidens closest to her all had their hands on her. "Um, what are you-?"

"This is a group meditation, Cinder," Karma quickly replied. "We will all meditate as one to reconnect with your power."

"..."

When Cinder noticed that the other Maidens also had hands on their shoulders, she began to understand that they were all linking themselves to each other. Headmaster Kenobi once told her about how the Jedi would sometimes meditate as a group to connect their minds on a single thing. They usually did this to sense the origin of disturbances in the Force or locate lost Jedi, and Cinder became confident that this idea would work.

"We can help you discover the power's location," Karma continued. "But the path to recover them is one you must walk alone. Until then, we will meditate as one."

"..."

Cinder didn't need any further instruction at this point. Her intuition told her to activate the powers of the Fall Maiden, to focus on everything she had left. Once she did, the young girl felt the same spark within herself as her eyes began to burn. She didn't see it, but the eyes of the rest of the Maidens also began to burn.

Fall, Mary, Lila, Karma, and the other Fall Maidens were pleased to have the first step over and done with. Now, they had to connect with Cinder just as they had just connected to each other. Because they were using the same power, their minds soon became connected as well.

Now they needed to connect with Cinder.

However, Cinder began to feel lost. She could feel the spark within herself and the fire across her eyes, both of which always happened when she connected to the power of the Fall Maiden. But nothing was changing for her. Cinder didn't feel like she had regained her powers.

And she was still stuck in the void.

Cinder concentrated harder and harder on her remaining power in the hopes that it would give her a clue about the remaining power, but nothing was happening. She began to feel frustrated, that she was doing something wrong.

Fortunately, Cinder had the right people to help her.

"Body, mind, and soul, Cinder," said Fall. "Remember the connections you made. Use them."

"..."

Rather than break her concentration, Cinder began to calm down and focus on Fall's words. The whole reason that she was in the void in the first place was to get in touch with the body, mind, and soul; all of which were touched by the power of the Fall Maiden.

Cinder had almost forgotten about these connections, but she wasn't going to forget them now. With a deep breath, Cinder remembered all of her hard work to reconnect with her body, mind, and soul.

She remembered everything she had seen in her subconscious mind with Lila's help.

She concentrated on the energy from the chakras Karma helped her unlocked.

And more importantly, Cinder remembered the small spark that created the fire within herself that Fall had reminded her.

With all of these new connections, Cinder felt herself grow stronger. She couldn't see it, but her body was growing a bright orange as she opened herself to her powers and each of the Maidens that she was connected to. Her mind became one with all of theirs, and she could sense that they all shared the same thought.

They were all reaching out and searching for the remainder of the Maiden powers.

Cinder felt herself sharing this exact process, as well as asking herself this same question. However, when she opened her mind, Cinder found out that she was asking herself the wrong question. She had the experience and the memories to not only answer the question, but also find out what else needed to be asked.

The powers that had left Cinder weren't lost, they weren't wandering around aimlessly. They had been stolen and claimed by someone else. Someone who planned to use them in ways that stood against everything a Maiden believed in.

Someone that Cinder both knew and hated all too well.

"Aurora," Cinder said to herself and the other Maidens. "Aurora has the power. She's the key."

Cinder knew that she needed to be asking herself a different question; where was Aurora now?

Cinder and each of the Maidens knew that they had to reach out to Aurora. As Cinder recalled a few moments ago, Headmaster Kenobi said that it was possible to find people through a group meditation. Cinder wasn't a Jedi, let alone a Force-sensitive, but she had faith that her Maiden powers would be able to sense their lost fragment when she and everyone else reached out to Aurora.

Her mind became filled with images of the evil woman. Her sadism and hunger for power were always evident, but Cinder told herself that all that mattered was her hold on the powers. Cinder thought back to the night that she last met Aurora, after she had stolen her powers. She imagined Aurora craving more, but she also imagined Aurora controlling the fire Cinder once knew as her own.

It was this fire that caused a new spark to ignite. The powers that Cinder and her fellow Maidens possessed soon understand where the fragment it had lost now was. It was odd, but Cinder sensed that the power within her seemed to have a mind of its own. She never noticed it before this group meditation, but she could sense the power calling out to its lost brethren. It was calling out directly to Aurora.

Cinder was expecting to see Aurora in the present, to see her using the power for her own selfish desires. But nothing prepared her for what actually happened.

A cold chill on her back was enough to make Cinder open her eyes and become aware of her surroundings. But rather than the calm and white void she had grown used to, all Cinder could see was darkness and a thick fog around her. She couldn't help but jump up with a gasp as she grew unfamiliar with this place, a place that did nothing but terrify her and raise questions.

But what scared her even more was that all of the past Maidens seemed to be vanishing right in front of her.

"What?" Cinder asked as her fears grew. "No! No, don't go!" Cinder rushed towards one Maiden, but she disappeared without a trace. The young girl looked back at the rest of the group, who either waved at her or shared a saddened look at her before vanishing. "Come back! Please come back!"

"We can't."

Cinder turned to see Fall, Mary, Lila, and Karma all looking at her as the other Maidens vanished.

"We have no power here," Karma sadly replied. "We helped you reach this place, but you must walk the path alone." With this sad reminder, Karma began to vanish herself. "I'm sorry."

"Wait!" Cinder pleaded as she watched Karma vanish. "Where am I?!"

"Aurora," said Mary. "That's all we know. All you need to know, Cinder." She too vanished like a ghost.

"It's like you said, kiddo," said Lila. "Aurora's the one who did this to you. And if there's any chance you can find your power, it's here." Before she disappeared, she smiled at Cinder and firmly nodded. "You got this."

Cinder was appreciative of the support, but she was still afraid of the darkness and fog around her. "But where am I supposed to go?" Cinder asked. When she saw that Lila had disappeared, Cinder desperately turned to Fall. "Please... tell me what I'm supposed to do."

Fall knew she couldn't stay for long. But she also knew that there was one thing Cinder could do. Her intuition told the woman exactly what Cinder needed to hear in order to find her powers.

"What anyone does when they're lost in the darkness," she said as she raised her hand. "Look for the light."

"..."

A small ball of fire formed in Fall's open hand, which she extended to her pupil. Cinder understood that this would serve as a source of light until she found another one, so she graciously accepted the gift and found herself holding the small fire and basking in its warmth.

And so, with a heavy heart, Cinder took the next steps on her new journey. The first step was looking to Fall with a grateful smile and one final word.

"...Goodbye."

---

While Cinder had found herself in a strange new place, the woman she was searching for was in the same place she had been for the past half hour.

Aurora was still at Haven Academy with Pre Vizsla, Hazel Rainart, Raven Branwen, and the Mandalorians who had joined them tonight. The invasion had turned into a large-scale battle after Obi-Wan Kenobi summoned his fellow guardians, but Aurora wasn't concerned.

Ever since she found the path to Haven's Relic, Aurora was quite pleased.

Hazel was the first to discover the path, though he inadvertently removed the elevator mechanism when he destroyed a large statue covering the path. Fortunately for her, Aurora was able to make an elevator of air with her part of the Fall Maiden's power. As soon as Raven and the Spring Maiden joined her, Aurora let the elevator descend towards the Vault.

The only downside to this plan was that Aurora was forced to make the elevator move rather slowly. Her control of the Fall Maiden's power was still weak, which made the Faunus infuriated at both Cinder and Flora. Flora had been sent to kill the Maiden, but Aurora never sensed herself reaching her full potential. Either Flora had yet to arrive at Vacuo, or she had somehow managed to fail and make things even worse.

But whatever the case of the matter was, Aurora knew she had little choice but to proceed to the Vault as planned. In order to pass the time, Aurora spoke to Raven's fellow bandit.

"Are you nervous, girl?" she asked calmly. "The first Maiden in..." She couldn't help but briefly laugh to herself before she talked again. "I don't even know how long, is about to open a Vault."

"..."

The girl remained silent as she stared at Aurora. When she turned away without a word, Aurora became curious.

"I would say it's quite an exciting time. Don't you feel honored?"

"..."

Aurora would have been honored if she was in this girl's place. She was meant to open the Vault at Beacon, to be the first Maiden to open a Vault and retrieve the Relic inside. When she found nothing at Beacon, she was angry at everything and everyone around her. Salem used that anger to fuel Aurora's new training, and Aurora was starting to remember this anger when she once again heard silence from the girl.

Aurora quickly stopped the elevator and stepped towards the girl. As fast as lightning, she grabbed the girl's throat and pressed her against the stone behind her.

"Speak when you're spoken to, girl!" Aurora said as her eyes burned brighter. "Or I'd be happy to tear out your tongue!"

Raven quickly stepped in and pulled Aurora away from her companion. "That's enough!" she demanded as Aurora looked at her. "You won't be getting an answer from her anytime soon."

"..."

Now it was Aurora's turn to be silent, but the anger on her face spoke for her. Fortunately, Raven was able to calm her down by explaining why her Maiden wasn't talking.

"She lost her voice when a Grimm cut her throat," she said. "She can't talk even if she wanted to." Raven looked at the young bandit. "Show her."

"..."

The girl remained silent, but she pulled at her shirt's collar to reveal a scar on her neck. It was a scar that was as clear as day, just like the sadness on the girl's face. Whether it was from being attacked just now or relieving the memory from her past, the Maiden was clearly upset about her condition.

"...Alright," Aurora said as she backed away from the young bandit. She then looked at Raven with a casual shrug. "Just curious, is all."

Raven didn't bother with harboring a grudge at the moment, not with something as important as the Relic on the line. So in order to get back on track, Raven answered for the Spring Maiden.

"She thinks what I'm thinking," she began. "That we're not concerned about any of this. All we care about is our tribe... our family. The powers are a burden, not an honor." Raven looked to her Maiden. "Am I right?"

"..."

The girl remained silent, but she slowly nodded at Raven. Both Raven and Aurora were satisfied with this idea, but Aurora was curious about something else.

"You've conditioned her quite well, Raven," Aurora began. "But I remember Bo-Katan describing her as a little more polite. And younger." Aurora looked closer at the girl. "She seems... different, from what I expected."

Raven moved to the side of the elevator. "You're talking about Hera," she said. "She's no longer with us."

"...I see."

"..."

Aurora decided that enough time had passed to get to know the apparently new Spring Maiden. She indeed spoke to Bo-Katan before arriving at Beacon, about a young girl named Hera who helped lay the foundations down for a new Mandalore. Aurora did this so she knew what to expect, but she didn't bring up these differences from her memory until now.

However, all that matter was that this girl had proven herself to be the Spring Maiden. She was the only one who could open the Vault and claim Haven's treasure for Salem.

With that, Aurora allowed the platform of air to descend once again. As she did, Aurora lamented on the fact that she still didn't have the full powers of the Fall Maiden. She was waiting for anything to give her a sign that Cinder was dead, that she had finally let go of the powers. At this point, Aurora was just waiting to receive any news about Cinder. Not just if she was alive or dead, but also if she was still in Vacuo like Flora said earlier.

But what Aurora didn't know was that Cinder was closer than she currently believed.

---

Despite her best efforts, Cinder was still lost in the darkness.

She didn't know where she was, she didn't know where she was going, and she had no idea what was going to happen to her here. It had been this way ever since Cinder left the void, which could be called a paradise when compared to this cold and desolate place.

Cinder had been walking aimlessly in the fog for what felt like hours. As she did, memories of her time at Haven Academy with Obi-Wan Kenobi came back to her. Memories of how she disobeyed his orders and ventured into a forbidden cave all alone, and memories of seeing nothing but fear and anger that overwhelmed her.

In that time, Cinder felt alone and depressed. She felt so far away from the people who loved her and that she couldn't do anything right. Whether it was as a Maiden or as a Mandalorian, Cinder felt like the world's biggest failure.

And as she walked deeper and deeper into the never-ending darkness, Cinder felt that way once again.

Cinder couldn't help but fall to her knees and lament at her failure and her isolation. It was almost like this place was a prison, like a different kind of Hell. Obi-Wan once told her that Darth Nihilus, the Sith she fought in the woods, compared himself as the darkness where the light would die.

And in Cinder's mind, this was that place.

A part of herself told Cinder to get up and keep moving, but it wasn't loud enough. The part that told her to lay down and die, on the other hand, was growing stronger by the second. She didn't realize it until now, but Cinder saw that this place was also a depiction of her worst fear. The fear that resided within her ever since she was born and ever since she was found by the Mandalorian.

Deep down, Cinder was afraid that she would be alone in the world. That one day, she would return to living the same lonely life that she lived when she was an orphan. And something about this place made this fear seem incredibly real.

Cinder wished it all back. She wished that she was in the void with the previous Fall Maidens and the woman who should have been her mother. She wished that she could be where the sun was shining and she was supported by the people who she loved.

But most of all, she wished that Din Djarin was with her. More than anybody in the world, Cinder would give anything to be with her father again.

"You'd know what to do, Dad," Cinder sadly whispered. "You'd know what I should do."

"..."

Cinder knew this to be true, that her father was the best teacher and friend she could have ever asked for. He taught her dozens of life's lessons ever since they met, and Cinder believed that she could use that wisdom now.

Luckily for the young Fall Maiden, it did.

"You're in a tunnel right now, Cinder. You think everything is hopeless and dark, since that's the only thing you're seeing. But there's something else in that tunnel."

"..."

Cinder finally stopped looking at the ground and focused on the ball of fire in her hand. The idea that she remembered her father sharing with her once upon a time was mostly a metaphor, but the hopelessness and darkness around Cinder was very real. And something else that was real was right in front of Cinder.

"A light," she said to herself. "You won't see it right away... which is why you need to find it for yourself." Cinder finally got up and looked at the ball of fire in her hand before she looked up at the new void again. "You're right, Dad. There's a light somewhere in here... and I'm going to find it."

Cinder had an idea on how to find this light. It wasn't the best idea, and it was incredibly risky. She would be vulnerable to anything that came her way, but Cinder knew she had to find her light at the end of the tunnel.

In order to do that, there was one thing Cinder needed to do.

"When you're lost in the darkness..." she repeated to herself. "Look for the light."

With that, Cinder made her ball of fire, the only source of light in this terrible place, disappear.

It seemed counterintuitive in hindsight, to remove the only source of light she had to guide her through this place. However, Cinder knew that there was another light waiting for her here. The Fall Maiden knew that she needed darkness in order to truly see this light, to let it reveal itself all on its own.

And whether it was by chance, or something even stronger... Cinder caught a brief glimpse of this light.

The young girl had to rub her eyes to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. She even pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. But nothing she did changed the fact that there was a small orange light about twenty feet in front of her. Cinder cautiously moved closer and closer to this light, which began to shine brighter with each footstep.

It was almost like a fire, the way that the light stood and shined in the immediate area. It wasn't in a ball or in any shape she recognized, but Cinder knew what this light was right from the start.

"The rest... The rest of the power," she said as tears of joy spread down her face.

It was almost impossible to believe, but Cinder knew that she had done it. Within this darkness was indeed a light, and that light was indeed the missing piece of the Fall Maiden's powers. With it, Cinder could finally be the Maiden she was always meant to be and finally return home. All she had to do was reach out and let it return to her.

*WHOOSH*

Rather then returning to her hand, the immeasurable power flew away. The girl's tears of joy had just been replaced with tears of fear as she watched the light travel across the fog.

"What?" Cinder asked as she watched her powers move away. "No! No, no, no!" The young girl instinctively ran after the light and tried reaching out once again to reclaim it. Chasing the power of the Fall Maiden wasn't hard, since it wasn't moving very fast. However, with each attempt she made to grab it, Cinder found the power constantly evading her.

Cinder had forgotten that the power of the Fall Maiden seemed to possess a will of its own, that it could almost think for itself. This was what happened when she participated in the group meditation, and now it was happening again. The concept was very strange, but it had just given Cinder an idea.

Maybe, just maybe, Cinder could reason with the power.

"Wait!" she desperately called out as she stopped running. "Stop!"

"..."

There was no sound or voice that replied to her pleas, but the power stopped moving just as Cinder had stopped. It was incredible and unbelievable, but it seemed that the floating light understood her. But rather than question this phenomena, Cinder snapped herself out of her daze and spoke again.

"I have the other half of the power!" she said as she closed her eyes. When they opened again, fire burned just as bright as the other half of the light. "I need to be whole again!" Cinder reached out again. "Please... come back to me."

"..."

Once again, this new void remained silent. The power was remaining just as still as Cinder was, which made Cinder even more confused than before. She believed that she had proven herself to be the Fall Maiden, the one person who should have both halves of the power.

But if that was true, why did the light make no attempt to reunite with her?

Suddenly, the light began to split down the side. It wasn't breaking up, but Cinder noticed that the light was changing right before her. The piece that had just split from the center then raised itself horizontally, at a very slow pace. It almost looked like a human arm, one that was pointing out in the distance. More specifically, towards Cinder's left.

When Cinder looked to her left, at the direction the light was "pointing" at, she almost didn't believe her eyes. Across the foggy distance, there was a brick building standing tall and completely isolated. It was covered in vines and had multiple windows, it seemed to look like an apartment complex. This was the first building Cinder had seen in the void, the first one she had seen in a long time. She didn't believe that such a thing could exist in the void, but there it was.

Cinder suddenly saw the orange light fly towards the building at an incredible speed. When she realized that she had gotten distracted, Cinder tried to make it stop. "No, wait!" she yelled in desperation as she lunged forward. "Come back!"

"..."

There was no audible response to Cinder's plea, but she saw that the light she had been following had disappeared into the building. Seeing little choice but to follow it inside, Cinder hurried towards the building and stopped when she reached the front gate.

There were two supports on the sides of the open gate, both of which were made of brick. Cinder marveled at the sight of the place and even touched the support on the right. When she felt the cold and hard structure of the brick for herself, Cinder knew that this was real. It had been so long since she felt something like this, something that she could touch with her own hands.

Cinder suddenly realized how much she missed this feeling people normally took for granted.

As she slid her hand against the support, Cinder found what appeared to be a plaque on it. When she moved her hand, she indeed saw a bronze plaque with a few words written on it. Cinder's curiosity made her momentarily forget about the orange light she saw and led to her reading what the plaque said.

"Ms. Lavell's Boarding School for Young Girls," Cinder read slowly. "Boarding school?" The young girl looked back at the tall building in awe as well as confusion. "Why would my powers be here?" Cinder looked at the plaque again and silently read it once more. "Why would this be here?" Cinder had no memory of ever being at this place, and its identity had only led to more questions than answers.

It seemed there was only one way Cinder could find these answers.

With a deep breath, Cinder took the first steps toward the building. She ascended a flight of stone steps and found herself at a wooden door. Instead of opening it right away, Cinder pressed her ear against the door and listened for any signs of danger. She could hear something muffled on the other side, but she couldn't make out exact details.

With this in mind, Cinder braced herself for whatever came next as she slowly opened the door.

"Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"I got you!"

"No, you didn't!"

Cinder didn't know what she was expecting before she opened the door, but it surely wasn't this.

Inside, the Fall Maiden could see around seven little girls playing and laughing. There were girls playing tag, there were girls watching TV, and there were even girls reading and drawing on paper. She had just opened the door and stepped inside, and all Cinder could see or hear was happiness. The lights were even on inside the building; it was a sharp constant to the cold and darkness outside.

A million questions came to Cinder's mind, and she had no idea what to say or think about this. But since she was here to get her powers back, Cinder decided to see if the children could help her.

"Um... hello?" Cinder called out.

"Come on, let's play something else!" a girl with dark hair said.

"Wanna play rock, paper, scissors?" a blonde girl asked.

The children didn't seem to notice Cinder or even hear her. Rather than wonder why this appeared to be the case, Cinder spoke a little louder. "Hello," she said as she walked closer. "I'm sorry to barge in, I just need some help." Nobody looked up at Cinder, but she didn't stop talking. "Have any of you seen-?"

"Hey, everyone!"

Cinder suddenly saw a young girl run straight towards her with no signs of stopping. But instead of crashing into Cinder, the girl passed right through her as if she wasn't there. Cinder gasped at the sight and put a hand to her chest, which didn't pass through her body. Cinder grew even more confused by this, but she was able to hear the girls talking.

"It's dinner time!" the new girl said to her friends. "Come on!"

All of the girls suddenly ran towards their friend and passed through Cinder again in the process. Cinder was once again surprised by what she had just seen, and it even started to make her doubt the reality she was witnessing.

But this all seemed to be real. Cinder was indeed in a building, a school of sorts. And the girls she was talking to seemed to be the right age for "young girls." And right now, the young girls were all gathered at a large table where food was set up.

And standing at the end of that table was a woman in gray clothes.

"Hmm..." the woman hummed as she looked at the girls and table. "Something is not right."

"..."

Cinder felt drawn towards the table and found herself walking into the dining room. She tried to make sense of what was going on and even felt tempted to call out to Fall or the other Maidens for help. But before she could, the woman clapped her hands to get the attention of the girls.

"That's what's missing!" the woman said as she pointed to an empty seat. "There's supposed to be twelve of you, but I only see eleven. Has anyone seen where Ms. Adeline has gone?"

"...Who?" Cinder asked herself.

"I think she's upstairs," said a girl with brown hair. It was the same girl Cinder had seen summon the other children in the playroom. "I'll find her!"

Cinder watched the young girl run towards a flight of wooden stairs, which she assumed would lead to another part of this building. But rather than paying attention to the child, Cinder found herself looking up towards the top of the stairs. There was a light shining across the wall and on top of some of the stairs. The light wasn't the same color as the numerous lightbulbs and lamps across the immediate area, but this was an orange color.

A familiar orange color.

Cinder realized that the light she had been following was now upstairs. She had almost forgotten about it when she saw all of these children, but Cinder now knew that she had to go upstairs to find her powers.

And hopefully, some answers about this place.

Cinder wasted no time in moving towards and up the stairs. She was behind the young girl who promised to find her friend, but the girl still didn't notice Cinder's presence. As soon as she reached the top of the stairs, the girl began to open door after door and looked inside every room she could see. Just as she had promised, the child was looking for her friend in all of the rooms.

Cinder, on the other hand, was drawn to one room in particular; the room that shined orange through the cracks of the door.

Cinder gently pushed against the door to open it, and she found herself in a room with multiple beds. On one of the beds was another little girl who appeared to be drawing in a coloring book. Multiple crayons were thrown across the bed, and the girl was using each and every one of them. Like some of the other children, this girl was a Faunus; she had a pair of tiger ears on her head.

But what struck Cinder as odd was that the child was glowing the same orange color as the Fall Maiden powers.

"What the-?" Cinder asked as she looked closer. There was no denying that the child was glowing orange, and Cinder was determined to find out why. "Hello?"

"There!" the girl said as she looked at her picture. Just like the other children in the building, the Faunus didn't notice Cinder. "All finished!"

"..."

Cinder looked closer to see that the girl had been drawing two people on a piece of paper. From the looks of it, it appeared to be a mother and daughter with tiger ears as well. Cinder only glanced at the picture and tried to look at the girl's face, to get a clue as to what was going on.

The clue, however, came in the form of the little girl who had originally come upstairs. She had just stepped in the doorframe and was now looking at the Faunus on the bed. And what she said next took Cinder's breath away.

"Aurora, come on! It's dinner time!"

"..."

As soon as Cinder heard that name, she snapped her gaze at the young Faunus on the bed. She was now looking up at the young girl and revealed her face. Despite the fact that she was young, Cinder was able to recognize the young girl and the fear that travelled throughout her body at the sound of the name.

"A-Aurora?" Cinder uttered as she stared at the glowing child.

"Yay, finally!" the glowing girl yelled as she jumped off the bed. Cinder's body tensed up as she tossed her fists to defend herself, but the young Faunus simply ran past her and out of the room.

"..."

Cinder needed a moment to breathe and recompose herself after what happened. Nervous sweat came down her forehead and her chest became as hard as Beskar as Cinder remembered everything that happened when she last saw Aurora. She remembered pain, fear, and hopelessness when Aurora stole her power, and Cinder felt all of them again as she looked at the direction the child ran in.

She needed to sit down in order to recompose herself, and Cinder was beginning to calm down once again. As she did, Cinder did her best to try and rationalize the events around her. The school, the children, Aurora... it was becoming even more difficult for Cinder to see the meaning behind it all, to know why she was here.

"Aurora has the power. She's the key."

When Cinder remembered what she had said a few minutes ago, everything began to make sense. Aurora indeed had the power, she had it since the night she stole it for herself. And if that was the case... maybe that was why the powers didn't reunite with Cinder. Maybe the glowing was a sign that the powers couldn't leave Aurora.

"That makes sense," Cinder said as she stood up. "If Aurora has the power, I'm going to have to take it from her."

"..."

Cinder didn't like hurting people, but she knew that it was the only way she could return home and protect the people she loved. Just as Ozpin and Djarin had said, Aurora was an unworthy Maiden; she was going to use it to bring death and destruction to all of Remnant.

And Cinder had to stop her.

"But why am I here?" Cinder asked. "This school? Aurora as a kid? What's all this supposed to mean?!"

"Ha, ha, ha!"

"..."

The sound of laughter reached Cinder's ears and caused her to look back towards the stairs. In an attempt to regain her powers, as well as make sense of all this, Cinder walked out of the room and slowly walked down the stairs back to the first floor.

When she reached the bottom of the steps, Cinder found Aurora with the rest of the girls at the dinner table. The table was covered with bread, salad, and roasted chicken that a cook had just brought out. All of the children, even Aurora, looked at the meal with joy and excitement. But before they ate, all of the girls lowered their heads and clasped their hands together.

And all together, the girls began their own version of saying grace.

"We love our bread, we love our butter. But most of all, we love each other!"

With more laughter, each of the girls began to eat their dinner. As they did, Aurora turned to some of her fellow Faunus and began to talk to them.

"This is delicious!" Aurora said with a smile.

"I know!" said a young cat Faunus. "I never had chicken like this before!"

"It's fine, I guess," said a Faunus with fangs. "My daddy makes chicken like this when I'm home for vacation."

"Really?" Aurora asked. "That sounds great!"

"Yeah, you're really lucky!" said her cat friend.

"I don't know," said the other Faunus. "When you've had one chicken, you've had them all."

Aurora and her friend laughed at the idea as they continued to eat. "Well, I'll tell you what," she said after she took another bite. "I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life!"

"Yeah, me too!" said her friend.

"..."

It all made sense now.

The children, the school, and the young version of Aurora all made sense now. Aurora was truly the key to all of this, to Cinder reclaiming her powers and returning home. It seemed in order to find Aurora, Cinder had to understand her. Not just her skills or her battle tactics, but who Aurora truly was.

And the powers of the Fall Maiden seemed to know the best way for Cinder to do this.

"Oh, my Gods," Cinder said as she watched the children eat. "I'm... I'm in Aurora's memories."

---

Cinder's conundrum was a very unique one, but she wasn't the only one who had found herself walking down memory lane.

He had just been blown away by a dangerous explosion, but Din Djarin was starting to awaken once again. At least, he believed that he was awake.

The landing pad the Mandalorian was at was surrounded by darkness, given that it was nighttime in Mistral. However, when he opened his eyes, all Djarin could see was whiteness that was engulfed in a soft light. There didn't appear to be any defining features of this place, given that all he could see was the single color of white.

This changed, however, when the silhouette of a person appeared before him.

"Easy, now," a woman's voice said as Djarin felt soft hands on his back and his head. "I got you."

"..."

Djarin didn't fight the woman who was helping him off the ground. His body felt exhausted to the point of being unable to stand, so he settled on sitting upright. He didn't care about being exhausted, and he didn't care that his armor had been scorched from the explosion he had been caught in.

The one thing he did care about was that the woman was starting to take off his helmet.

"W-Wait," the Mandalorian ordered as he took the woman's arms. "Don't... do that."

"..."

While he didn't mean to sound ungrateful, and he didn't follow the Way of the Mandalore anymore, there was only one person Djarin allowed to see his face. Revealing himself to anyone else, especially while Cinder was still comatose, didn't feel right to Djarin.

"Come on, Din," the woman said calmly. "You don't have to hide from me."

Djarin was still tired, but he couldn't help but quickly look at the mysterious woman. "...What?" he asked. "What... What did you call me?"

"..."

Djarin was no stranger to the sound of his own name, but the only people who called him "Din" weren't alive anymore. When this was combined with the woman's voice, the Mandalorian couldn't help but feel a strange sense of familiarity.

An impossible familiarity.

The woman's shadow-like appearance began to disappear and reveal her more detailed features. She was a fair-skinned young woman, who looked about the age of a late teenager. Along with a soft smile, she possessed a head of black hair and a pair of amber eyes; all of which resembled someone Djarin held close to his heart.

"Cin... Cinder?" Djarin asked hopefully.

The teenager laughed as she shook her head. "No," she replied. "But you have the right idea about family, buddy."

When all of the pieces came together, Djarin couldn't help but release a small gasp under his helmet. The appearance was one thing, but the use of his name and the familiar term of endearment were used by one person only. Not even Cinder said it to him.

But his older sister always did.

"Ikki," Djarin corrected himself as he realized the truth.

The young woman confirmed this assumption with another smile and a hug Djarin hadn't felt in years. "Hi, Din," Ikki addressed her brother.

"..."

Djarin had fallen silent from the shock and joy he was experiencing, but he was able to return the hug. A part of him was even unwilling to let her go, given how long it had been since he lost her.

The Mandalorian's mind became flooded with memories of the night he lost his older sister. He remembered the Grimm, the fear, and the solitude that he had been forced in to be kept alive. And one look on Ikki's face showed that she too remembered everything. She showed Djarin how the heartbreak she received the night she protected her brother from the Grimm had finally passed when she looked upon his face.

She wanted Djarin to see this with his own eyes, so she once again moved her hands against the Beskar helmet

"Wait," the Mandalorian pleaded as he stopped her once again. "I... I don't-"

"It's okay," Ikki said calmly. "You don't have to hide from me."

"I'm not hiding, I-"

"Din." Ikki lost her smile as she attempted to convince her brother to let her see his face, but she didn't give up. "Please."

"..."

It had been so long since he had seen his sister that Djarin had forgotten a few things about her. It was mostly what her favorite food was and what kind of things she would always do for fun, but Djarin realized that he had also forgotten how much he hated seeing Ikki feel sad. One look of sorrow on her face used to be enough to make him cry, which would usually result in the siblings trying to comfort each other.

The Mandalorian didn't have any tears to shed right now, but he knew how to comfort his sister. It took him a few seconds, but Djarin let go of her hands. With that, Ikki removed the iron helmet and saw the true face of her brother.

"Oh, my Gods," she said as she studied his face. It was completely different from that of a child's, given the age and the facial hair Djarin had grown. Her brother had changed drastically since she last saw him, but Ikki didn't mind. In fact, she seemed to be proud at the sight as she gently caressed Djarin's face. "Look how big you've grown."

Djarin couldn't help but smile as he leaned his cheek against Ikki's hand. It was a simple touch, but it was just as heartwarming as the day Cinder saw his own face and accepted it in the same manner his sister was accepting it. And now that she did, Djarin realized that he had his own observations to make about Ikki.

"Look at you," he said. "You... haven't changed at all."

Ikki laughed again as she recognized the awkward situation she was in. Despite the fact that she was Djarin's older sister, he was the one who appeared to be the eldest sibling. "No, I guess not," she said with a smile. "We don't really age anymore, not since we came here."

"...We?" Djarin asked.

Ikki didn't answer him right away when he asked this. Instead, she turned around and looked at the empty space in front of her. Djarin followed her gaze to see that there were two more silhouettes out in the distance, that there were two more people with them. They were two far away to make out any features to identify them, but the Mandalorian could guess who they were.

"Wait," he said as he tried to get a closer look. "That's... Those are-"

"Yeah, Din," Ikki confirmed. "It's Mom and Dad."

"..."

Djarin was taken by surprise once again, which caused him to momentarily lose his voice. He almost didn't believe his eyes, but he believed his ears when Ikki spoke again.

"Mom and I found Dad, after we came here," she said. "You remember all that stuff we said about Vale? How great it was going to be?" Ikki made Djarin look at her so he could see that she was telling the truth. "It's ten times the place Vale could be, where we are."

Djarin remembered all of the talks he had with sister about leaving Mantle and going to Vale. It was this dream that inadvertently led them to meeting the Grimm, but they left Mantle for good reason.

When the events of that terrible night occurred, Djarin couldn't help but feel depressed about it all. Survivor's guilt easily took him when he was found by the Mandalorians, and it got even worse when Djarin left Nevarro to see the city of Vale itself. He had been carrying this guilt for years and years, even when he adopted Cinder. But now, Djarin couldn't help but feel comforted by the idea that Ikki herself said that she was in a better place. He was never very religious, but he trusted his sister.

And he felt even happier when he heard what she said next.

"And we've been waiting for you too, Din."

The Mandalorian quickly turned back to his sister. Things began to make sense and feel better as he understood what this place was and what she said. "You mean... I can come?" he asked.

"Yes," Ikki confirmed. "Of course you can come."

"..."

For the first time, in a long time, Djarin began to feel an innate sense of hope. Not determination, not pride, but actual hope. Things had gotten worse for him since the Fall of Beacon, and Din tried his absolute hardest to make the best out of it and keep moving forward. But given where he was now, and the Mandalorian invasion of Haven, it seemed that all these actions were in vain.

But now, Djarin could tell that all of his hard work wasn't without reward. Nothing mattered more to Djarin than family, and now he had finally been given the chance to be with his family again. Though he initially didn't believe in the afterlife, the Mandalorian was happy to admit that he was wrong. And he was even happier as he stood up and took his first steps towards his family.

"But not yet."

Djarin's heart sank into his stomach as his sister spoke and put a hand on his shoulder. "What?" he asked. "No, I'm... I'm ready."

Ikki slowly shook her head. "I know you might think you are," she said. "And I know you've had such a hard time. But big things are coming." Ikki's hand moved towards Djarin's chest. "And you're going to want to be there."

Djarin lowered his head in shame. "That's not true," he insisted. "Things haven't been hard. They've been impossible." He clenched his fists. "I could've stopped a war. I could've joined the real fight sooner. I could've done everything differently. But I didn't. I didn't!" Djarin quickly hit his leg in frustration. "I'm not cut out for this."

"..."

"If I'm not ready... then why am I here?"

A hand on his chin gently pushed Djarin's head up, and he didn't do anything to stop it. The Mandalorian didn't feel like doing anything except taking the next, and final, steps forward. In his heart, he felt that nothing was going to make him change his mind or how he felt about himself.

But that didn't mean Ikki wasn't going to try.

"Because it's about time someone helped you," she said as she took her brother's hands. "It's time someone told you how much you mattered right now. I mean, do you even know how far you've come?"

"..."

One look on her brother's face told Ikki that she had his full attention. Now that she had it, Ikki planned to tell Djarin the whole truth. And nothing less.

"I know that Mom and I never prepared you for anything like this," she began as she looked at Djarin's armor. "I don't think we prepared you for anything at all. But that's not your fault."

"..."

"I never planned on you becoming a Mandalorian of all things, but I know that they're some of the strongest warriors the world has ever known. Even if they lost their way or not, they grew stronger every day." Ikki squeezed Djarin's hands. "You've grown stronger. Stronger than anyone I've ever known. And that strength hasn't vanished since this war started."

"..."

Djarin was somewhat happy to know that he had made Ikki proud, but his heart still weighed with his previous failures. Ikki knew this, which was why she didn't finish.

"I think I know why this has all been hard for you," she continued. "Because unlike those people who nearly killed you... you took what the Mandalorians gave you and shared it with the world. You shared it with Huntsmen, Huntresses, students, and even that amazing little girl you have." Ikki couldn't help but smile at the mention of Cinder, but it quickly vanished. "So I understand how it feels when you can't always protect everyone."

Djarin softly gasped at the mention. "You mean... you've seen it all?" he asked. "And you've... seen Cinder?"

"Not here," Ikki confirmed. The last thing she wanted her brother to think was that Cinder was dead. "But I've seen her, yes."

It was hard to describe, but Ikki was able to watch over Djarin ever since she left him. And more importantly, she was able to see her brother adopt a unique little girl.

"I saw how you met her," she said. "And raised her. But most of all, I've seen how much you love her." Ikki continued to smile. "And for good reason."

Djarin couldn't help but smile. "She's... really special, Ikki," he said proudly.

"I know she is. So don't you think it'd be unfair to leave?"

The smile on the Mandalorian's face vanished as quickly as it arrived. "Even if she woke up... she'd be better off without me," he said. "I was trying to make her like me. Even after we found out about Salem. I wasn't the father Dad was." A tear moved down Djarin's cheek. "I'm not the father she needs."

"No," Ikki said. "You're the father she deserves, Din. Do you know why?"

"..."

Silence gave Ikki all she needed to answer her own question. "It's like I said; I've seen how much you love her." As a frown came to Ikki's face, she reminded Djarin of what she had seen of Cinder. "That poor little girl had nobody in her life. And the people around her couldn't have cared any less about her."

"..."

"Do you remember the Marigolds? How I had to be their slave to make ends meet?" Ikki wiped her eyes as she recalled her job in Atlas, how she had to work for a rich family who kept her in line through methods like Cinder had to endure. "Cinder had it worse than I ever did. And she had nothing at all. Not even love. Can you imagine what that's like?"

"..."

In all honesty, Djarin couldn't imagine what such a thing was like. He was loved by both his parents and Ikki, despite the fact that he was never close to his father. And the Mandalorians treated him like he was one of their own while he lived among them.

Cinder didn't have any of that, not until Djarin came into her life.

"You changed her whole world, Din," Ikki said. "I know you think it was just a small kindness. But that small kindness led to a change of heart. And that change of heart led to a courageous act." Ikki found it within herself to smile once again. "Do me a favor, buddy. Take a good, hard look at what all of that did for the both of you. Really look for me."

"..."

Djarin recalled the small kindness, change of heart, and courageous act that Ikki was talking about. The time he saved Cinder from IG-11, decided to save her from Watts, and defied the Bounty Hunter Guild to keep her safe were all what Ikki said they were. And because these things happened, a lot more happened afterwards.

Because these things happened, Djarin and Cinder travelled the world to find Ozma and did good along the way. They saved lives and protected others, which made Cinder feel a new sense of purpose and made Djarin see how much he needed her. More acts like these followed, even though there were failures along the way. Cinder failed just as Djarin failed, but she always got back up. Djarin taught that to her, and now he was being taught the same lesson right now.

And because Cinder kept getting back up, she did remarkable things. She grew as a Maiden, saved lives, and even helped kill a Sith Lord. All of this happened because Cinder knew she had to pick herself up off the ground.

Just like Djarin needed to do right now. Because if he gave up...

"Nothing good would happen," he said.

Ikki didn't exactly agree, even though she couldn't deny that this was true. "Don't think of it like that, Din," she said. "The way I see it, you'll be missed if you leave now. The world deserves more of what Din Djarin and Cinder can offer."

"..."

Djarin and Ikki smiled at each other as they felt proud of themselves. While Ikki was proud to see her brother again and be his teacher once more, Djarin was proud of all that he had done. Where he was once ready to die, the Mandalorian was now more than willing to keep on living.

"Thank you, Ikki," the Mandalorian said sincerely. "I... I really needed to hear that."

"It needed to be said," his sister replied. "And no matter what happens, Din... don't forget that we love you. Just the way you are." Ikki pulled her brother into another hug. "Always."

Djarin happily returned the hug. "I... I love you too."

When Ikki let go, she quickly moved to the ground and picked up his helmet. "I think you're gonna need this," she said. Din lowered his head down so Ikki could put the helmet where it belonged. "Huh." She let out a small chuckle as she looked at her brother. "It actually looks good on you, buddy."

Djarin chuckled as well. "That's a first," he said.

Suddenly, the light around the Mandalorian began to shine brighter. It became so bright that Djarin was beginning to have a hard time seeing his sister again. It was sad to see her go, but he knew it was necessary. He knew that he had to be like Cinder and pick himself up off the ground. He remembered how strong she was, and how strong she believed him to be.

Now was the time to live up to these expectations. And no matter what happened next, Djarin knew that he was going to see her again.

And the lesson he learned from his sister would be something he would remember for the rest of his life.

---

While Djarin found himself to feel much better about his situation, Cinder found herself feeling worse about her own.

When she learned that she was in Aurora's memories, Cinder became angry. Not only because she couldn't regain her powers immediately, but because she was stuck with the one person Cinder could call her nemesis. To Cinder, Aurora was a cipher. She was a sick woman who could only get joy out of life by hurting and stealing from others without remorse. And to make matters worse, Aurora was the one responsible for Cinder's condition. And the young girl was sure that she had perverted the portion of the powers she had, that she used it for evil.

And yet... here she was looking at little girl who apparently had done no wrong.

Cinder watched Aurora and all the other little girls do things that were considered normal with the woman in charge of this school. They would have lessons, have meals, and have fun together. They had a routine of leaving the house at half past nine, in two straight lines, to walk around the city of Vale in rain or shine.

But Cinder couldn't care less about any of this.

"Why are you doing this?!" Cinder angrily screamed at the glowing girl. She wasn't yelling at Aurora, but the powers she had instead. "What am I supposed to get out of all this?! Do you expect me to just forgive her?!"

"..."

Cinder grew even more frustrated when she received no answer from her powers. And even if she did, Cinder knew that seeing these memories wasn't going to make her forgive Aurora or try to help her. She was a servant of Salem, and she was too far gone to be considered a possible ally. Nothing was going to change Cinder's mind about Aurora being anything but her enemy.

And yet, this little girl was a complete stranger.

Each time Cinder saw Aurora smile, it was genuine. Instead of enemies, she had friends. Instead of pain, she caused joy in others. It was almost like this little girl was the complete opposite of the enemy Cinder had made in real life.

Maybe there was something she was supposed to get out of this.

As she calmed down and looked through memory after memory, Cinder remembered that there was more to being a Maiden than simply power. She had asked the other Maidens she met what it meant to be a Maiden, how one should think and behave as a defender of the world. Fall taught her that kindness and selflessness had a larger impact than one might initially think, which was something that Cinder learned through her conversations with the other previous Maidens. And while she never asked Karma what it meant to be a Maiden, the old woman taught Cinder to always have an open mind and to never stop learning.

So maybe there was something Cinder was supposed to learn through these memories. Not just to understand her enemy, but to know her as well. So when Cinder thought about what she could learn from all of this, she eventually had one idea. While she could never forgive Aurora for what she had done to her, Cinder began to understand that not everyone really started off evil.

But if that was true... what changed with Aurora?

"Hey, over here! Check it out!"

Cinder snapped out of her thoughts when she saw all of the girls rush towards a window. She hadn't noticed it before, but Cinder was now in a bedroom. Memories had been playing for her, and each one brought Cinder to a different place. Sometimes it was inside and sometimes it was outside; now Cinder was inside again.

All of the children, who appeared to be in their pajamas, were huddled around a large window. Since Cinder was much taller than the girls, she could see what they were all looking at.

The headmistress of this school, Ms. Lavell, was outside at the front gate of the boarding school. There was a black and white car parked out front, and there were two uniformed police officers talking to her.

"Wow, it's the cops!" a little brunette girl said.

"What are they doing with Ms. Lavell?" a blonde girl asked.

"Do you think she's in trouble?" a black haired girl, the tallest among her friends, wondered.

"No way!" said Aurora, who was the smallest of the children. "She's never done anything wrong!"

"Yeah!" said another Faunus. "Where've you been?"

"Look, she's coming in now!" said the brunette girl.

A few seconds later, the door to the large room opened and the school's headmistress stepped inside. Before she spoke, the woman dried her eyes with a small handkerchief. It seemed that she had been crying, though Cinder didn't know why. She was always happy with her students whenever Cinder saw her, so something bad must have happened outside.

And she was about to find out what it was.

"Girls, get away from the window," Ms. Lavell ordered calmly. As she watched each child move away and get into their own beds, the woman's eyes fell onto one girl in particular. "Aurora, I need you to come with me."

The young Faunus stopped in her tracks and looked to her teacher. "Me?" she asked as she pointed to herself. "Why?"

"I... I'm afraid... the gentlemen outside need to speak with you."

The room filled with gasps and whispers very quickly. Each of the girls were surprised at such an idea, at one of their fellow students needing to talk to the police. While each of them wondered what was going on, Cinder's mind quickly drew to the conclusion that this was Aurora's first crime. Even though the Faunus was a child at the moment, Cinder knew what Aurora was capable of.

And she had a bad feeling about this.

"Girls, that's enough!" the headmistress said firmly. When silence fell upon the bedroom, Ms. Lavell offered her hand to Aurora. "Come with me, dear."

"Wh-What's going on?" Aurora asked as she stepped forward. From the sound of her voice, she sounded terribly afraid. "I-I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything!"

"I know, sweetheart. I know." The woman had to dry her eyes again. "But we have to talk outside."

As she watched Aurora follow her teacher, Cinder rolled her eyes and let out a grunt. "Didn't do anything," she said sarcastically. "Yeah, right."

Suddenly, the light that was enveloping Aurora grew brighter as she left the room. Cinder was the only one who noticed it, just like she noticed how the light grew brighter with each step the girl took.

It seemed the power of the Maidens wanted Cinder to follow Aurora, whether she liked it or not.

And so, reluctantly, Cinder followed Aurora and her teacher down the stairs and outside the old building. There, she saw the duo standing in front of two police officers.

"Is she the daughter?" one of the officers asked.

"Yes, this is her," the headmistress sadly replied. She suddenly turned around and let tears fall down her eyes. "Oh, Gods. How could this be happening?"

Aurora looked up to her teacher with more confusion and uncertainty. "Wh-What?" she asked. "Ms. Lavell, why are you-?"

"I'm sorry, young lady," the second police officer said to get the girl's attention. "But we need to talk."

Aurora looked back to the police officer and once again stated her innocence. "But I... I didn't do anything!" she said before she turned back to her teacher. "Ms. Lavell, I didn't do anything!"

The teacher finally turned around and looked back at the officers. "I'm sorry, I couldn't do it myself," she said. "I just-"

"It's alright, ma'am," the first officer said. "We understand."

The second police officer kneeled down to Aurora's level and spoke. "Aurora... I'm afraid we have some bad news," he said.

"..."

While she was still hesitant about being in Aurora's company, Cinder began to grow somewhat curious about this turn of events. The look on the officer's face showed that he seemed rather reluctant to talk more about this "bad news;" perhaps it was because he never had to do it with someone as young as Aurora. Ms. Lavell, however, was incredibly heartbroken over the current experience.

Cinder immediately found out why, though she wished she hadn't.

"It's about your mother, Aurora," the officer said. "You're... the only one we can talk to about it."

"My... My mommy?" Aurora asked. "Well... she's going to be here in a few days. You can talk to her then if you want."

"..."

Ms. Lavell cried even more as the officer braced himself before he spoke again.

"Aurora... you're mother's not coming," he said. "I'm sorry."

"..."

The officer didn't seem to have the heart to break the news even further, so his partner took over.

"Aurora... your mother was running errands for her boss earlier today," he said. "She was buying groceries when a... a bad man came in."

Aurora still didn't understand everything, but she was starting to have a very bad feeling about all of this. "Is... Is she okay?" she asked with a trembling voice.

The officer slowly shook his head. "...No," he said. "I'm sorry, but... your mother is dead."

---

Besides anger and sadistic pride, Aurora was always one who hid her feelings well. After all, a tragedy such as the one she had been dealt as a child would have broken anyone.

It was breaking Gretchen Rainart right now.

She and the rest of Team BGNY, as well the students who accompanied her, had just reached the main auditorium where Pre Vizsla began his invasion. There, they witnessed many Huntsmen and Huntresses locked in combat with more Mandalorians than she had ever seen. It was clear that while the defenders of Haven were still standing, the Mandalorians had an edge over them. Even Headmaster Kenobi and Professor Ozpin were starting to tire as they held on.

But unlike the common Huntsmen and Huntresses, Obi-Wan and Ozpin were trying to hold back an abnormally large man with Dust in his arms. While his face was hidden from the group of Huntsmen and Huntresses that had just arrived, Gretchen recognized the shape of the man and his inhuman yells.

"Oh, no," she said in a whisper. Tears came to her eyes as she prayed that she wasn't seeing what she was seeing "No, not again."

The woman's mind became flooded with dozens of memories she shared with her brother. While some of them were good, mostly the time they spent as children together, Gretchen's most recent memories of her brother were bad. They were so bad that Gretchen could predict Hazel's intentions of killing everyone here with the Mandalorians. It was a terrible thing to ponder, but Gretchen's memories didn't lie.

And neither did the actions of her brother.

Gretchen's present company easily noticed her despair, but her best friend was the first to see why she was so distraught. "Gretchen... is that Hazel?" Nerissa asked in disbelief.

"No way," said Yuri, who watched in shock as the large man continued to beat Obi-Wan and Ozpin to their breaking points. "He's still fighting us?"

The students who had joined Team BGNY were unfamiliar with the man, so they had no choice but to ask what was going on. "Wait, who's Hazel?" Lilith asked.

Everyone had almost forgotten that the students were still with them. Bailey turned to them all and answered. "Gretchen's brother," he sadly replied.

"Her brother?" Andrea asked. This was the last thing she expected to hear, and the last thing she expected to see. It was rare for her to see members of the same family apparently take different sides in battle.

Max agreed with Andrea and voiced his confusion. "What the hell's he doing fighting Professor Ozpin?" he asked.

Bailey was sure that his teammate was still upset, so he answered for Gretchen once again. "He joined the Mandalorians," he said. "Gretchen found out when we took back Beacon. Don't ask me how or why, but he wants to finish what they started."

"Th-That's crazy!" Lilith continued. "Doesn't he know they're trying to kill us all?!"

"It doesn't matter if it makes sense or not," said Max, who realized what he had to do. "We can't let him kill Professor Ozpin!"

"Or the Headmaster!" said Andrea. "Do you have a plan, Max?"

Max was taken aback by the man's stature and his use of Dust, but he easily saw that his team and Team BGNY outnumbered him. "We can rush him together," he said. "If we just-"

"No."

Everyone turned to Gretchen, who had dried her eyes and looked at everyone as seriously as she could. It was hard for her to contain her emotions, but she was doing the best she could. Fortunately, her emotions didn't hamper her logical thinking.

"I saw what Hazel did to people at Beacon," she said. "If you three try to fight him, he'll break you like sticks."

"Gretchen's right," said Nerissa. "We've fought bigger Grimm than him before. We'll take care of this."

Max couldn't deny that Team BGNY was probably better equipped to fight Hazel. However, he didn't feel that he and his friends would be very helpful by simply abandoning the elite Huntsmen and Huntresses. Fortunately for them, Bailey had an idea.

"I saw Mandalorians by the CCT towers," he said to the students. "The Huntsmen and Huntresses might need help defending them."

"Got it," said Max, who quickly moved toward the twin towers close to the auditorium. His two friends were right behind him, and Lilith wished the team good luck before they charged towards Hazel.

Given the state the man was in, Team BGNY would definitely need luck.

The more time he spent fighting Ozpin, the angrier Hazel got. He had already injected himself with enough Dust to render a Goliath unconscious, but all it did was give him strength.

And yet, Ozpin continued to fight.

Along with his trustworthy cane, which he constantly used to send a series of quick jabs at Hazel's chest, the former Headmaster of Beacon Academy had Magic on his side. The fight had reached the point where Ozpin knew he needed his own Magical abilities to defend himself, and he had used it to create an energy shield as well as blast a beam of pure energy at his foe. And with Obi-Wan at his side, Ozpin refused to fall.

But then again, neither did Hazel.

All three warriors stopped fighting as they caught their breath. This was quicker for Hazel, since his Aura recharged at an alarming speed. And when it was fully charged once again, he found himself walking towards Ozpin after he struck Obi-Wan.

*BAM*

The Aura-boosted strike was strong enough to not only deflect Obi-Wan's lightsaber, but it sent Obi-Wan sliding across the floor and next to Ozpin. The old man was about to help his friend, but Hazel's footsteps and his voice immediately captured his attention.

"Is he still in there, Ozpin?" Hazel asked as he marched forward. "The one whose body you stole?"

"..."

Ozpin said nothing as he prepared to defend himself, even though he knew what Hazel was talking about.

"She told me what to you are," the large man continued. "How you steal more and more lives when your past ones end." Hazel cracked his neck as he moved closer. "But that wasn't enough, was it? When you weren't stealing bodies, you convinced people like my sister to fight for you. You disgust me."

"..."

Ozpin knew that Hazel was broken in a way that couldn't be healed, and he knew that robbing others of their freedom was the last thing he wanted. But with every word Hazel said, a wave of guilt and remorse came crashing upon him.

"Your current body, whoever he was... their blood won't be on my hands," Hazel said as he lifted his arms up. "It will be on yours." When the speech ended, Hazel sent his arms crashing down towards Ozpin.

*BAM*

Ozpin found himself on the floor with Obi-Wan, but it wasn't two fists that had knocked him down. Instead, a small shockwave that resulted from a collision had sent him on one knee. When he realized that he wasn't hurt, that something had protected him, Ozpin looked up and received a welcoming surprise.

"Gretchen..." Ozpin whispered.

Hazel was also taken aback by what had just happened; Gretchen was not only at Haven as well, but she was holding his fists back with her own hands. She had injected Dust into her own arms to withstand the force behind Hazel's strike, and now she had him right where she wanted him.

*SHICK*

*SHICK*

"Aaugh!"

Hazel looked behind him to see a trident and a metal pitchfork embedded into his back. Nerissa and Bailey had joined together to attack the man, and together they threw him away from Ozpin while Gretchen pushed against her brother.

When he was out of her way, Gretchen helped Ozpin and Obi-Wan back on their feet. "We'll handle him!" she said after she pulled them off the ground. "Protect the rest of the school!"

Ozpin was the first to object when he saw Hazel get back up and scream in fury at the sight of his sister defending the person he wanted to kill. Not only did Ozpin not want Gretchen to learn about his past, but he also felt that Hazel's presence here was his fault.

"Save yourself, Ms. Rainart!" Ozpin insisted. "Your brother justly blames me for you being here. He is my responsibility!"

"No," Gretchen retorted. "He's mine."

Nerissa quickly joined her best friend's side. "And if she wants to fight, we're in this together."

"We got this!" said Yuri, who pushed on Ozpin's chest. "Just go!"

"..."

Ozpin and Obi-Wan turned back towards the broken statue and realized that they didn't have a moment to lose. The Relic was more vulnerable than ever, and it was more important that Ozpin keeping his past a secret.

"Thank you," the professor said as he rushed towards the statue. Obi-Wan followed closely behind him, but both of them were forced to stop when the Mand'alor and his Wraiths stood in their way.

And to make matters worse, Bo-Katan had just returned as well.

"Not so fast," she said as she and her comrades unleashed a barrage of missiles upon them.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

Ozpin and Obi-Wan were able to use both the Force and their own natural speed to evade the missiles, but Ozpin knew a group of Mandalorians like this would require better help.

"Find Revan and bring him here," Ozpin said to Obi-Wan. "He'll make short work of these invaders."

"He hasn't returned from his escapade," said Obi-Wan. "I fear he's found more trouble than he can handle."

"Then go to him." Ozpin readied himself for battle with his cane once more. "And may the Force be with you."

---

Obi-Wan's memories served him right. Revan was indeed outside with multiple Huntsmen and Huntresses, where Mandalorians were attacking the Kingdom's CCT towers.

Haven was unique among the other Huntsmen Academies for various reasons, but one thing that distinguished it from the others was that it housed two CCT towers instead of just one. They weren't as tall as the others Atlas created, but they were just as capable of sending communications across the Kingdom as the others were. While the destruction of Beacon Tower put worldwide communication to a halt, the Mandalorians knew that destroying these towers would be disastrous for Mistral.

But all of the Huntsmen and Huntresses were prepared to make sure they didn't fall.

The Mandalorians had managed to shoot a few blasts rockets at the towers, but the damage wasn't enough to disrupt communication. The Huntsmen and Huntresses prevented this from happening as they focused on taking out the airborne Mandalorians, which was what one Huntsman was doing with his Semblance.

At least, that's what everyone believed.

Revan was using the Force to make the Mandalorians either fly out of control or crash into the ground. When they did one or the other, a Huntsman or Huntress would finish the job.

Revan knew that this was what he did best, but each Mandalorian he killed left him unsatisfied as well as impatient. He came out here for one reason only, and that reason was somewhere near the towers. But no matter how hard Revan searched and how many Mandalorians he killed, the Jedi couldn't find what he was looking for.

Which only meant one thing.

"He's watching me," the masked Jedi realized after he pushed one Mandalorian towards a group of Huntsmen with the Force. "It has been a while since we last met. He would want to know what I'm capable of."

*SWISH*

The quick swing of his purple red lightsaber and the sight of heads rolling on the ground signified Revan's frustration. "I must remember everything he is capable of. He's already lured me out here, but that never satisfied him." Searching through more memories of his apparent enemy made Revan realize what was about to happen. "If he's still as much a Sith as I recall, he'll go after the weakest link. And let the fear from his enemies sink in."

Based on his own experiences as a Sith, Revan was confident that this was true. He remembered times when those like him would start their battles by killing the weakest member or the closest ones to them. The Sith would then feel a new sense of pleasure and invigoration from the fear of their enemies, and then they would work up the chain. Anger and hate would do the rest.

But the only question was... who among these brave Huntsmen and Huntresses would be the weakest? Who would a Sith attack first to reveal themselves?

While Revan desperately searched for an answer before it was too late, the Huntsmen and Huntresses were joined by three young students from the auditorium. True to their word, Max Bolt lead Andrea Gloss and Lilith Gelb out towards the CCT towers. There, they found themselves fighting against the Mandalorians with their own weapons and their improved hand-to-hand combat.

They stopped going on the offensive when Andrea needed to recharge her Aura. Max and Lilith covered her to the best of their ability, and they found themselves observing the battle outside.

"This is nuts," said Lilith. "How can there be so many?" She was taken aback by the untold number of Mandalorians, as well as their ability to kill some of the Huntsmen and Huntresses.

Max was also surprised by the size of this invading force, but he focused more on the fact that he and his friends were still standing. "You know what's even more nuts?" Max asked. "How we've managed to hold out this long."

Lilith began to look on the brighter side of things. "Yeah, no kidding." Her eyes fell on the red and purple lights in the hand of the hooded warrior. "I think that guy's mostly to thank, though."

Andrea was starting to feel better, even though her Aura wasn't fully charged. But she felt strong enough to keep fighting. "Yeah," she agreed as she stepped forward. "Who is he?"

"I don't know," Max replied. "Was he on our ship?"

"No way," Lilith replied. "I'd remember someone dressed like that."

"And I'd remember a mask like that," said Andrea. "He kinda looks like a Mandalorian with that thing."

"Who cares about the mask?" Max asked as he pointed towards Revan. "Those are some awesome weapons." The young man looked at the weapon he had on his back. He hadn't used it in a while, since he knew the Mandalorians usually fought with hand-to-hand. "I wish I thought of something like those things."

Lilith was also mesmerized by Revan's lightsabers. "I think Headmaster Kenobi has something like those," she said. "Maybe they created them together?"

"Probably," said Andrea. "I wish we had more weapons like that."

*HISS*

Lilith turned around when she heard what sounded like something activating behind her. The night cast parts of the school grounds in shadows, but a red light stood out like a sore thumb amidst the darkness.

"Looks like you got your wish, girl," Lilith said with a chuckle. "We're in luck."

Max and Andrea turned around to see the red light behind them. They could see a human silhouette behind the red light, as well as a single hand grasping the sword.

"Oh, thank God," Max said as he waved at the person with both arms. "Hey, there! We could really use some help!"

"..."

It was hard to make any features of the new warrior, but everyone was sure that they were making eye contact with the person. And yet, the silence they received was unexpected and a little strange.

"Uh... hello?" Andrea called out in an attempt to make contact.

"..."

Andrea was still feeling brave from her earlier confrontation with the Mandalorians, so she took a few steps forward. But when she took a fourth step, the figure lunged towards her as fast as lightning.

*WHOOSH*

"GET BACK!"

*CLASH*

Sparks and an invisible push caught Andrea off guard as she flew backwards. Her friends fell with her, and they soon looked up together to see what had just happened.

As Revan locked his blades with the one before him, he praised the Force for his swift speed and clairvoyance. He had spent enough time studying both light and dark to uncover numerous abilities in the Force, as did the other Jedi and Sith. But one of his greatest strengths was his skill with "Force Sense;" it was an ability to sense other beings, their feelings, impending danger, or even the future. And Revan had just used it to sense that three young students were in danger.

Unfortunately, the Force was also with Revan's enemy. And he had just used it to relentlessly attack the masked Jedi.

*ZAP*

Electricity escaped the man's free hand, and it immediately crashed into Revan. The Jedi tried to block it with the Force, but he quickly found his abilities to be hindered. The attack was lethal and powerful, but it wasn't the first time this man used the Force.

As he suffered from the electricity coursing through his body, Revan cursed himself for forgetting something important. He had forgotten that his enemy possessed a unique Force power as well. Namely, that he could suppress the abilities of another Force user.

Revan was feeling suppressed now, which allowed the Sith to make him suffer in more ways than one.

All three teenagers were now on their feet, but they couldn't find it within themselves to run. The sight of a bald man with metal over his mouth was strangely intimidating, as well as the dull gray in his angry eyes. But what was most intimidating of all was his raspy, almost mechanical voice; a voice that he directed towards the students rather than Revan.

"First blood."

*WHOOSH*

The Force augmented the man's speed once again, and allowed him to strike hard at Andrea with his lightsaber. The girl's Aura shattered upon impact and left a large, burning cut on her torso. She screamed in agony as she fell to the ground, which brought a sinister laugh from her attacker.

Max was about to reach towards his wounded teammate, but then he saw that the warrior had a shell-shocked Lilith in his sights. He raised the lightsaber once again and moved it towards her head, but Max was fast enough to intervene.

"Lily, look out!" he yelled as he pushed her aside.

*SLICE*

"AAAAAAHHHH!"

The lightsaber had missed Lilith's head, but it had severed Max's left arm.

Both of the children fell to the ground, and the collision was able to knock Lilith back into her senses. She looked at her wounded friends in horror, especially the stump where Max's arm used to be.

"Seventy years," the warrior said to get Lilith's attention. "And this is supposed to be Mistral's future?" He wasn't aware that Lilith was from Vale, but he didn't care. "Truly pathetic."

"..."

Lilith did nothing as she watched the lightsaber raise above her head once again.

"Alek, stop!"

The warrior stopped moving his lightsaber and turned to the sound of the voice, which had apparently spoke his name. Revan was standing up slowly, but the lightsabers in his hands told the Sith that he was ready to strike back.

"Your fight is with me!" Revan insisted.

"You're next, Revan," the Sith said in his raspy and mechanical voice. "After these fools remember their history." He turned towards Lilith once again. "There's nobody left who remembers who I was before. Who we were, Revan. But they'll remember Malak." He raised the sword again. "I'll make sure of that!"

"No!"

*CLASH*

The lightsabers made contact once again, for the second time in almost seventy years. Darth Malak became angry at the interruption, at the man who stood between a Sith Lord and his prey. But Malak was able to use that anger to increase his own strength. His own anger and resentment towards Revan had returned tenfold, and all it did was increase his strength and strike once again at Revan.

*CLASH*

*CLASH*

*CLASH*

Each blow was more powerful than the last, but Revan was able to block and push against each one. With each one, Revan remembered that Malak was always more headstrong than him. It was this trait that often led Malak into recklessly charging into danger, which was what he was doing right now.

It was sad to recall, but Revan remembered that he would always have to rescue the man that was once his brother when he found himself in such danger. Now the Jedi was forced to inflict this danger upon the Sith.

While he was blocking and dodging the strikes, Revan used the Force to heal the wounds he had received. It took a considerable amount of power, but it was better than retracting the Aura in his lightsabers and leaving him defenseless. But now he was able to return the strikes as he leapt and spun in the air.

*CLASH*

*CLASH*

*CLASH*

*CLASH*

The blades of Revan and Malak crashed against each other over and over again as they traversed the grounds of Haven Academy. Both warriors ran across the ground and leapt in the air as their battle continued, and their unique blades cut through numerous objects as well as people. Revan was able to kill two birds with one stone when he reached out with the Force and pulled a Mandalorian towards his side. And when Malak swung his lightsaber, he made contact with an unsuspecting Mandalorian instead of Revan.

Each Mandalorian he inadvertently killed made Malak angrier by the second. He didn't care whether or not the Mandalorians died, since he still harbored a grudge against them during the Great War. In fact, it was the Mandalorians themselves who destroyed his home village and left him and his brother as immigrant orphans. However, what Salem said to him was true; he wanted to kill Revan more than anyone.

And it was this anger that allowed Malak to influence the Force once again to increase his strength and power. Revan didn't have this ability anymore, but he still had his strategic mind.

During the Great War, the brothers were known for their swift victories and intimidating body count. Many in Mistral credited Revan's military strategies for the Kingdom's success, but others considered Malak's fierce courage and relentless fury at the forefront of every battle as the key to the victory. Revan knew all too well that this was true, and he was trying to think of a sound strategy to beat his former friend and ally.

Unfortunately, Malak wasn't planning to give Revan the time.

"She said you would be here," Malak said as he weaved past Revan's red blade. "To save the weak!"

*CLASH*

When Revan lunged at Malak with his red lightsaber, the Sith saw an opportunity to disarm the Jedi. He struck hard at the sword, which in turn twisted Revan's hand hard enough to drop his lightsaber and watch it bounce out of reach. He was about to use the Force to retrieve it, but he was forced to block another powerful strike from Malak.

"I sense no weakness here, Malak," he said as he pushed against the red blade. "Only your fear."

"..."

Revan may have been restraining himself at the moment, but his connection to the Force allowed him to sense what his enemy was hiding. "You can be angry all you want, but I see you brother. You remember what it was that caused Salem to lock you away with the rest of her lunatics."

This was true, that Revan played a hand in Salem deeming Malak unworthy of remaining free. And a part of Malak did fear what Revan was capable of, given what he just saw and remembered of his brother's abilities. But there was something else about this fear.

"It is a necessary fear," Malak said as he watched sparks fly from the lightsabers. "A fear that does nothing but gives me strength. It gave you strength once."

Revan used the Force to push against Malak so he could break the hold. "The Dark Lord Revan is dead," he insisted as he spun his purple blade. "I am a servant of the light now." He reached out with the Force and saw his other lightsaber fly off the ground.

But rather than come to him, it remained still in the air.

"A servant that does not hesitate in striking fear in the hearts of his enemies," said Malak, who was preventing the lightsaber from returning to Revan's grasp.

"..."

Revan pulled harder on the lightsaber, as did Malak. But as he pulled in silence, Malak spoke from underneath the metal over his mouth.

"These Mandalorians are all different in origin, but I sense their fear. A fear they felt for you in combat."

"..."

Malak's hold was strong on the lightsaber, and his next words were even stronger.

"Well done, Revan. I was certain that you were only helping Ozpin defend places like this. But after what you did to those worthless Mandalorians... I see there is more of your old self in you than I expected. You are stronger than I thought; stronger than you ever were during your reign as the Dark Lord. I did not think that was possible."

Revan wasn't one to waste time talking when he was supposed to be fighting, but a part of himself told him that he needed to beat Malak, his former apprentice and brother, in more ways than one.

"It is as I said," he insisted. "I serve the light now. It is stronger than you know."

Malak remembered that Revan once said the opposite, when Salem captured him and molded him into a Sith. If it could be done once, it could be done again.

"I came here to kill you... but I am tempted to try and capture you alive, Revan," Malak admitted. "Then I can break your will and bind you to me as my apprentice, as Salem did."

"You do not have the power."

"Do you not recall my work with Bastila?"

*CRACK*

The metal of Revan's lightsaber began to break when he heard Malak say that name. Malak sensed that he had struck a nerve, which was why he continued to talk.

"You'll be a far greater asset to me," he said. "Than even Bastila and her battle meditation. If I could control you... but is it worth the risk?"

"..."

Malak took great consideration into this idea. He wanted nothing more than to see Revan suffer as he had suffered, but the sense of self-preservation revealed itself.

"Perhaps you are too powerful to be my apprentice. I betrayed you, when I realized my own strength was greater than yours. In time, you might try to do the same to me."

"Such is the way of the Sith," said Revan. The lightsaber was cracking even more, but he paid no heed to the weapon. "You may be powerful, but you will never be strong enough to make me serve the darkness once again."

"Foolish words."

*CRACK*

*CRACK*

Both Malak and Revan could see a red glow emerging from the breaking lightsaber, and still they pulled on it. A broken lightsaber was useless in battle, and the consequences of losing one would be dire. And so, it was Malak's goal to make sure his brother never retrieved the weapon. Instead, he made it crack even more as he spoke.

*CRACK*

*CRACK*

"The darkness and the light wage a constant war within you," the Sith continued. "The balance is tipped one way now, but it can easily be tipped back."

*CRACK*

*CRACK*

"Savior. Conqueror. Hero. Villain. You are all things, Revan. And yet, you are nothing. In the end, you belong to neither the light or the darkness. You will forever stand alone."

With that, Malak did something that not even Revan could have predicted. Rather than continue to hold the lightsaber, Malak pushed it towards his former brother as the red light continued to shine brighter.

A light that soon became a small yet powerful explosion.

*BOOM*

Revan was knocked back by the explosion, and he felt most of his strength leave him. The power that had erupted was deafening and capable of breaking any human or Faunus in its path. And now, Revan was laying on the ground in a weakened state that only his Aura and the Force could heal.

But neither was fast enough to rival Malak's speed as he leapt into the air with his sword in hand.

"And now, you will die alone!" the Sith shouted as he moved downwards.

*CLASH*

Both Revan and Malak expected the burning lightsaber to have stabbed into the Jedi's chest, where it would bring a slow and painful death. But instead, the red blade had made contact with a blue one; a blue one that was held by none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi.

"Not tonight, Sith," the Jedi Master promised as he used the Force to push Malak away from him and Revan. Malak fell to the ground and rolled on it a few times, which gave Obi-Wan the chance to quickly help Revan stand.

But while he was grateful for the assistance, Revan was skeptical about having someone else fighting this battle with him.

"Leave me be, Obi-Wan," Revan ordered. "This is my fight."

"The Jedi have spent far too much time fighting their battles alone," Obi-Wan insisted. "We must fight them as one, as the Order did before its fall."

Revan immediately sensed the rage coming from Malak, who was now standing with his lightsaber in both hands. He screamed in fury as the chance to swiftly kill his brother had failed, and he had lost any interest in breaking Revan's will. Now all the Sith wanted was to see Revan die the worst death imaginable.

Obi-Wan sensed these feelings as well, but he still refused to leave Revan's side.

"Very well," Revan agreed as he reactivated his purple lightsaber. "Together."

---

Along with violence and death, there was much hatred at Haven Academy. Gretchen hated her brother for attacking what should be defended, Malak hated the Jedi that he swore to kill, Qrow hated his sister for siding with the enemy, and Din Djarin still hated Aurora for what she did to Cinder.

And he wasn't alone.

Cinder was still in Aurora's memories, she was still exploring the origins of her nemesis. She understood now that not everyone started off as bad or evil, but this didn't diminish the hate Cinder felt for Aurora.

And yet, there was something about these memories that made Cinder falter in her hatred.

The last thing the Maiden had just witnessed was the police arriving at Aurora's boarding school and delivering bad news. Cinder learned more from the memories, that Aurora's mother worked for a wealthy family in the Kingdom of Vale. She had used her wages and savings to enroll Aurora in a fine school, so she could hopefully have a bright future ahead of her.

Unfortunately, that ended tragically when Aurora's mother arrived at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Her job was, on paper, somewhat simple. She was somewhat of a caretaker, she would perform various tasks and chores around the house. And on occasion, she would go shopping for the family and buy whatever they needed.

And according to what the police said, her last shopping trip ended when a robbery went wrong.

As Cinder watched the young girl cry her eyes out and be comforted by the friends she made at the school, she couldn't help but notice the similarities between the child and her own younger self. They were both orphans, though Cinder never had the luxury of knowing her parents. But she knew what it was like to be alone, without anyone to properly take care of her. And it seemed Aurora knew that too.

That was when Cinder began to feel incredibly afraid.

"This isn't right," she thought to herself as she ran away. "This isn't right!"

Cinder charged out of the house and back into the darkness and fog as she breathed heavily. She was feeling nauseous, breathless, dizzy, and incredibly disoriented.

She wasn't a doctor, but Cinder felt like she was having a panic attack.

"Why is this happening?!" she yelled. "Are the powers trying to tell me I'm like Aurora?! That I'll be like Aurora?! Like Salem?!" Cinder once had a fear of this when she was a child, that she would be like the evil people she knew and heard because she shared similarities to them.

Her father once comforted her about this, but Cinder had nobody now.

"No!" she screamed. "I don't wanna be like them! I hate them!" She began to slap herself in the face as her panic made her act on impulse. "I hate them! I hate them! I hate them! I hate them! I hate them! I hate them!"

"..."

Silence was her only company in the void, and it was this silence that made Cinder realize that the only person she was talking to was herself. As she regained her senses, Cinder breathed slowly and turned back towards the school.

But there was something else behind her now.

Instead of an old building covered with vines, Cinder was standing in front of a large house. It was mostly white, had multiple windows, and a much larger flight of stairs than the school had. In fact, the doors appeared to be made of metal with illustrious carvings on it. It appeared to be similar to Winter's house, which she had visited dozens of times.

But such a place couldn't be involved with Aurora... could it?

The sound of a car caught Cinder's attention, which caused her to turn once again to see a white limousine pull up to the front of the house. The driver stepped out and moved towards the passenger door without a word.

"There they are!"

"Quickly!"

Cinder was caught off guard by the sounds of voices and suddenly flashes, which blinded her. She was forced to step aside to avoid the flashes, where she soon regained her vision. Once she did, Cinder saw multiple people with cameras and Scrolls taking pictures and asking various questions at the passengers of the limousine.

The first passenger was a tall man with brown hair, who was wearing a suit as black as his eyes. The second was a woman who also had brown hair, but her eyes were almost as white as her irises. There was a third passenger, who turned out to be none other than Aurora.

Aurora was also caught off guard by the sudden flashes and she also closed her eyes. The two adults seemed more accustomed to the flashes and apparent reporters, as they slowly made their way to the front of the house without a word.

Cinder grew more curious by the second, since it was clear that she was wrong about Aurora not being involved with this house. She was also curious when she heard one of the reporters call the man "Mr. Vayne." Out of all the names she heard when she arrived at the new void, "Vayne" was the only one that sounded familiar to Cinder.

The next thing Cinder heard was a rather moving speech from the man, which answered many questions she had. As he stood before the reporters and photographers, Mr. Vayne told the crowd that he and his wife were the employers of Aurora's mother, and that they were devastated when they heard the news of her passing. And so, the couple said they would make amends by not only welcoming Aurora into their home, but also by promising change for the Kingdom of Vale.

That is, Mrs. Vayne said, if she was "elected."

"Oh, wait a minute!" Cinder realized. "That's right!" Her eyes fell on Mrs. Vayne as she posed for the cameras. "That must be Odile Vayne! She served on the Vale Council years ago!" Cinder remembered hearing about her from one of Doctor Oobleck's lectures, how she earned her seat by her promises to bridge the gap between humans and Faunus.

It made even more sense when Mrs. Vayne started posing with Aurora directly in front of her.

"Doctor Oobleck said she earned a lot of votes from the Faunus community from promises she made and stuff she did," Cinder thought as she looked down at the glowing Faunus. "And some of that stuff... was adopting Aurora?" Cinder never heard anyone mention this, and the reporters didn't seem to get any other information from the Vaynes; they retreated into the house with Aurora.

Cinder knew her powers still had a reason for showing her all of this, and she knew that she couldn't be separated from them any longer. So, she ran straight to the door and stepped inside just before it closed.

It was at this moment that everything changed forever.

"Excellent work, dear," said Odile's husband. "They ate it all up."

"They always do," said the future Councilwoman. "If this won't get me a seat, then nothing will." The couple shared a smile at each other before Odile spoke again. "I still have that charity dinner to prepare for, I'll have to practice my speech."

"I'm sure you do. But first things first."

Odile watched her husband point towards her leg. When she looked down to it, she saw a young Faunus staring back up at her with wide eyes.

"Oh, right," Odile said. "Aurora, did your mother ever tell you what her role in this house was? Before her passing?"

"Um..." Aurora nervously uttered. All of this, being brought to a big house and being in front of multiple cameras was all very vexing for her. And at such a young age, she didn't understand what all of it meant.

"I'll take that as a 'No,'" the woman said as she stared at Aurora's innocent face. "Allow me to be crystal clear." She didn't kneel down to Aurora's level to speak to her. Instead, she leaned forward while she looked down. "You're to make sure the laundry is folded, the dishes are spotless, and the floors are clean enough to eat off of."

"..."

Odile's husband, who also looked down at Aurora in the same manner, picked up where his wife left off. "Let this be a lesson," he said. "Nothing in this life is free. Especially our house."

"..."

Cinder couldn't believe what she had just heard.

By taking Aurora into their home, the Vaynes had a responsibility to her. To make sure she was well-raised and given the attention and support her mother couldn't provide her anymore. But now, these people were throwing any idea of responsibility out the window. Everything that had just happened outside was an act, one that hid a sinister truth.

A truth that Cinder knew all too well.

Suddenly, the motion of memories and past events began to move a little faster. Cinder saw Aurora's life "fast-forward," in a sense. Just as she was told, Aurora became a slave for the Vaynes. While she was in the house, she attended to all of her masters' needs with her only reward being a roof over her head and what passed for food.

While she was outside, on the other hand, Aurora was a pawn. The Vaynes would flaunt her to the public and make her appear that she approved of the work her "parents" were doing for the Kingdom. The Vaynes called it "progression," but they were simply mimicking the values that society was starting to develop.

At heart, they saw the Faunus and their political movements as an opportunity to gain power for themselves. And Aurora was simply their tool for business as well as leisure.

When she didn't do what they said... consequences followed. It seemed that "Vayne" was the right name for the two humans.

Cinder grew angrier and spiteful by the second. She knew what it was like to be a slave, and she was horrified to learn that it was happening all over the world. All her life, Cinder believed that what happened to her was an isolated incident. That someone in Atlas found a way to bend the rules despite the fact that slavery had been made illegal after the Great War.

But it seemed she had more in common with Aurora than she previously thought.

Despite the fact that she was witnessing flashbacks of Aurora's memories, Cinder began to have flashbacks of her own. There was a time in her childhood when she shared something with Djarin. A fear, to be exact. Cinder told him how she believed she shared similarities with Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi who turned to Salem. He was also a slave, and he also had issues with his own anger.

And now it seemed Aurora was the same way.

Djarin was able to convince Cinder that it was choices, not similarities, that made people who they were. The idea made Cinder feel better, since she chose to be with her father and she chose to stay at Beacon. But she wasn't so sure if those words held any merit anymore.

If they did, then why was the power of the Fall Maiden showing her all of this? Was it trying to warn Cinder? Was it trying to tell her that she was going to end up like Aurora? Like Anakin?

Did that mean... it was too late?

"Hey! There she is!"

The voice of a man caught Cinder's attention. Even though she wasn't in the mood to watch more memories, Cinder knew that wallowing in self pity while asking questions wasn't going to help either. And so, she dried her eyes of tears and turned around.

Aurora had grown into an older woman, a little older than Cinder to be exact. Whether or not she was still a servant of the Vayne house, Cinder had no idea. All that she could see was darkness and trees.

This memory appeared to be in the middle of the night, and Aurora was running. Not just running, but sprinting as if her life was depending on it. She appeared to be in the middle of the woods and she didn't seem to be on a path. Instead, Aurora was moving deeper and deeper into the woods.

"We're getting paid tonight, boys!"

"I'm gonna mount her ears on my wall!"

Cinder turned around fast to see that Aurora was running because she was being chased. There was a group of men holding guns and flashlights following Aurora's trail, and they were closing in fast.

Once again, Cinder became horrified at what she was witnessing. She had heard of things like this in the news, across various Kingdoms. They were unspeakable and they were unlawful. But above all else, they were wrong.

Aurora was trying to run from a lynching mob.

*BAM*

*CRACK*

A human tackled Aurora and sent her rolling down a hill. Her leg hit a rock as she fell, and she let out a scream of agony. The human was mostly unharmed, and he was on top of Aurora with a knife in his hand.

"You really thought you could do it, huh?" he asked sarcastically. "You really thought you could just walk away? Think again, freak!"

*SMACK*

Aurora was able to hit the man's knife away from her face, but the grip she was in was as hard as iron. But that didn't stop Aurora from fighting. Based on her age, it seemed she had lived through so many years of pain, isolation, and cruelty. And now, one look on the Faunus' face told Cinder that Aurora was ready to show this man how much she had suffered. Unfortunately, she didn't seem to have the strength or Semblance that Cinder was all too familiar with.

"Hold it, buster," said another man on top of the hill. He and his fellow humans came down the hill as fast as they could. Once they did, the leader smirked as he looked at the position Aurora was in. "Mr. Vayne said to get creative. And we're not in a hurry. Right boys?"

"..."

Even though she didn't want to, Cinder began to think about what was going on. It seemed that Aurora had tried to escape her "home," to stop being a slave to very powerful people. But rather than let her go, it seemed that the Vaynes preferred to teach her a lesson.

Cinder couldn't bear to watch what happened next. She knew Aurora was putting up a good fight, but she was outnumbered by people who were much stronger than her. She closed her eyes and covered her ears, but Cinder could still hear the sounds of Aurora being tortured.

Cinder had heard the phrase "I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy" before, but she had no idea how much weight the phrase had until she heard what was happening to Aurora. While it wasn't as extreme, Cinder had been tortured before. It was terrible, something she believed no person should have to endure. And yet, not everyone thought as Cinder did.

Through it all, Cinder asked herself once again what all of this was supposed to mean. She could draw similarities to her own experiences in Atlas once more, but what happened to Aurora was far more brutal and extreme.

And it seemed to get even worse when the Grimm came.

*GROWL*

*ROAR*

All of the men quickly looked away from Aurora and towards multiple Beowolves and Ursai. Some of the men fired their guns at the beasts, but cowardice overtook the cruel men and caused them to run away. They weren't Huntsmen, they were just hired muscle.

Hired muscle without any spine.

"Leave her!" said the leader. "Let the Grimm have her!"

Cinder saw that Aurora had indeed been left for the Grimm, and she had certainly seen better days. Her clothes were all in tatters, and her body was riddled with deep cuts. Her face was bruised, but every other part of her body was cut deeply. Red blood covered all of her clothes and the soil beneath her; the humans indeed got creative with her.

The majority of her cuts were on her belly, and they bled just as heavily.

But what struck Cinder as odd was that none of the Grimm seemed interested in finishing the job the hunters had started. Instead, they were simply smelling her and all around. They obviously sensed the pain and negativity from this act, so they should have been causing more. Cinder had seen enough Grimm and been to enough of Professor Port's lectures to know that it was their nature to cause nothing but harm.

Unless... they were told not to?

The memories and scene changed for Cinder once again. Aurora was still laying on the ground, she was still covered in cuts and blood. However, she wasn't in the middle of the woods anymore. Instead, she appeared to be on a cold and rocky beach. The ground was covered in red rocks instead of gray ones, however.

Aurora awoke with a jerk and slowly raised her head off the ground. She couldn't help but gasp and flinch in pain as she moved, and she couldn't even scream. She moved her hands across each of her cuts, and flinched back as soon as she touched each one. Eventually, she crawled over to the shore and felt the cold water slowly hit her body.

Aurora moved to her knees as quick as she could, since the saltwater hurt each of her scars. As she did, the Faunus looked at her reflection in the water to see what the humans had done to her. She saw each cut and wound she had received, and each one made her feel disgusted and angry.

But when she saw the numerous wounds on her stomach, the sight was enough to make her cry. She didn't want to get up or do anything else, she just kneeled on the ground and continued to cry. She cried because there was nothing she could do to change what happened.

Because she was weak.

Because she was afraid.

But most of all, because she was alone.

"..."

Cinder never stopped hating the Faunus, but she couldn't help but feel pity for Aurora. Losing her mother, becoming a slave, and being tortured just because she wanted a new life were all terrible and undeserving. Cinder knew Aurora was a criminal and a terrorist because of what happened in Vale, but she hadn't committed any crimes in the memories she saw.

It was at this moment that Aurora hated the world. Not just the people who wronged her, but the whole world of Remnant. Aurora couldn't remember the last time the world gave her anything good or wonderful in her life. Instead, the world took her mother, her freedom, and her body. And Aurora hated the world for all that had been done to her.

Cinder understood it well, and so did the figure that stood behind the Faunus.

When Aurora felt a cold palm on her shoulder, she didn't turn around immediately. Instead, she looked at her reflection in the water to see another woman standing behind her. The shock she received was what caused Aurora to turn around and face a woman with pale skin and dark eyes.

"I know it's dark," said Salem, who was smiling an almost motherly smile. "But you'll get used to it."

Aurora was still wary of humans but seeing a woman appear as more Grimm than human was a sight to behold. "Wh... Who are you?" she asked.

"A lost soul," Salem replied. "I was shunned away from the world too, once upon a time." Salem began to walk away from the water and Aurora, but she didn't seem interested in leaving her behind. "Come with me."

"..."

Cinder watched Aurora take one last look at this place. It was clear that she wasn't going to be leaving any time soon, and she wasn't in the shape to leave alone. Even if she was, she had no place to go to. The world had already rejected her... so now Aurora decided to reject it as well.

And she did that by following Salem.

Everything began to move fast once again for Cinder. Multiple memories unfolded at the same time, and Cinder saw how Aurora changed under Salem's tutelage. She saw how Salem reminded Aurora of her past and her suffering every day, and she saw how Salem convinced Aurora to use that hatred to become a warrior. Not just a warrior, but an assassin as well.

Aurora carried out many deeds and missions for Salem. She killed humans, Faunus, Huntsmen, and Huntresses all for the purpose of getting Salem what she wanted. Salem told her every mission was meant to make her stronger, but Cinder knew better.

She knew Aurora's life was Salem's to command.

And it didn't stop with Aurora. Cinder saw how Salem made the Faunus her envoy, and how she was able to convince the Mandalorians to join her. Both Gar Saxon and Pre Vizsla were impressed and intimidated by her abilities and power, but Salem used more than that. She used Aurora as an example, as to how the world rejected everyone that stood with her, and that it was the whole world that deserved to be burned away.

In the end, hatred won them over.

"Oh, my Gods," said Cinder, who had just watched Pre Vizsla submit to her will. "I... I get it."

All of a sudden, the memories became still. Darkness overtook the environment until it became like the void Cinder originally found herself in. Darkness and a thick fog surrounded her, but Cinder wasn't afraid.

Everything she saw was strange and unbelievable, but Cinder had emerged with understanding and clairvoyance. Both of these factors not only made Cinder see what she had to do, but they also allowed her to see the floating light once again.

The powers of the Fall Maiden had returned.

"I get it now," Cinder repeated. "That's why you showed me all of that."

"..."

"Fall and everyone else... they helped me see what a Maiden is," she continued. "But you... you wanted me to see what a Maiden isn't."

It was strange, to say the least. Seeing Aurora's entire life had put everything into a better perspective for Cinder. Even screaming and shouting how much she hated Aurora and Salem made Cinder understand what all of this was about.

All of her time spent in the void was amounted to Cinder rebuilding herself from the ground up. To reconnect with her powers by opening herself in ways she never thought possible. She had to find herself, to know who she really was and what made her the way she was. Cinder even learned what it meant to be a true and worthy Maiden, she learned who she had to be to properly bear the title.

And now, after everything she had just witnessed, Cinder learned who she wasn't supposed to be.

Watching Aurora lose everything and grow to hate the world taught Cinder that this was what Salem thrived on. It was hate that had led Aurora to Salem, it was hate that led her to become the witch's most faithful servant. And it was hate that led Aurora to stealing the powers of the Fall Maiden.

If Cinder let hate be her motivation to fighting, she would end up like Aurora. And also, she would end up like Pre Vizsla and the other Mandalorians. She would end up as a slave once again. Not just to Salem, but to her own rage as well.

That had to stop right now.

"I... can't forgive her," Cinder said to the floating light. "What happened to Aurora was wrong. And I'm sorry that she had to go through all of it. But all she cares about is making the world feel how she feels. She already did it at Beacon, at Vale. I can't let her do it again."

"..."

The light gave Cinder no answer. However, that didn't stop Cinder from continuing to share her lesson.

"I'll stop her... and I'll do it the right way," Cinder promised. "If it means that it'll drive me straight to Salem, then I won't let anger or hate guide me."

"..."

Cinder was extremely confident that she had learned her lesson. After he shared his story about Anakin Skywalker with her, Headmaster Kenobi told Cinder that every Jedi faced the dark side of the Force once in their life. She knew that it happened to Anakin, but now Cinder truly understood what he meant by that.

She wasn't a Force-wielder, but Cinder understood that she had to push her own dark side as far away as possible in order to stop Aurora. And fortunately for her, the fragment of the power seemed to understand this as well.

Of course, there didn't seem to be any other reason why the power was extending an "arm" once again. An arm towards her, to be exact. Now, after all this time... Cinder and the power were ready to be made whole again.

"Let's do this."

---

Author's notes: hey everyone. Hope you're all doing good. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I really am. Between my other story and work, it's been kind of hard to leave time for writing. I hope you understand. But I'll be sure to get to work on the next chapter as soon as possible.

Also, I hope you liked Aurora's backstory. I wanted to try and flesh out her character, to let Cinder truly know her enemy. One thing I didn't really like about RWBY was that we had to wait eight volumes to get Cinder's backstory. I feel like it should have been explained earlier, so that's why I wrote the backstory for Aurora. As for what will become of all this, you'll see in the next chapter.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave your thoughts in the comments, your feedback is really important to me.

To GojiraRWBYSW18, hope you liked Malak in this chapter too. And don't worry about Obi-Wan, he's still standing strong. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

To Servos New Head, a shame Vader didn't win the fight. Oh, well. Onto the next Death Battle. Dressing in the uniform of the enemy is actually pretty common in Star Wars, especially in the comics. Whether it's a war crime, I'm afraid I don't know. But I'm glad you liked my idea with Malak and Revan, I hope you enjoyed them in this chapter. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

To CT7567Rules, I'm sure you saw those two fights coming. I just hope they lived up to your expectations. As for the identify of the man talking to Salem, I'm sure this chapter speaks for itself. I hope you liked it. And yes, Cinder is going to wake up real soon, I'm happy to admit. As for Aurora and the triplets, you'll have to wait and see. Yeah, I'll have to see Rambo, but did you see Oppenheimer? An incredible movie. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

I hope I haven't disappointed you or bored you in any way with the story so far. I'm saying this because I've noticed a real shortage of comments for last chapter. Please don't hesitate to share your thoughts. Tell me what you like/don't like, what you think went well or could be better. This story's a journey for me as well, and I always strive to be a better writer for all of you. Your thoughts and reviews are the backbone of this story. And the more, the merrier.

That's all I have to say about that. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope you all have a great day.

The Court of Talons is adjourned. See you next time!