Chapter 23
The Sith found where the Teams were hiding and attacked with many of their best. Nadir, Bolin, Reese, Scarlet, Sage, and Neptune were all killed by the Sith. Rosa was poisoned by Ira, triggering Ruby's Silver eyes. Sun fought Kaiser in a last stand, only to be taken to Salem's Realm.
The Ship flew fast out of Mistral. They had to get to the Wind Path. Rosa was holding onto her side. A massive gash covered it, and Ira's poison began to flow through her bloodstream. Rosa began to sweat profusely and thrash about. She had taken more of Ira's poison than she thought.
"Yang…" Rosa said. She felt Yang. She felt the rest of her team. She felt the poison flowing through her. Jaune was over her, using Force Heal and his semblance to help her. She gripped Yang's hand. She had to think of the Maiden power. She couldn't give it to Weiss. She's already been through too much. She didn't want to add more to Ruby. She couldn't force her to take on even more. Her options were Blake or Yang, just in case.
"What are you thinking?" Yang asked.
"If I die…" Rosa said.
"Stop that. We're going to get you there in time. Jaune's doing everything he can to keep you safe." Yang said. Rosa opened her eyes and looked at Yang. She saw the concern on her face. Rosa nodded. Oscar was over them. He began digging through his backpack. He grabbed the bacta plant that Rosa created and examined it. The color of the bacta had changed.
"If I understand this correctly…" Oscar pulled out a little book and flipped through it. He stopped and looked at the bacta plant again.
"Where are we?" Ruby asked. She kept her eyes closed.
"We're going to Wind Path now." Pyrrha said.
"Rosa!" Ruby said. She opened her eyes and closed them again.
"Careful, Ruby. That thing you did almost fried your eyes." Qrow said. Blake looked at Ruby. Her ears were down. She reached into a pocket and took out a roll of Ribbon. She moved over to Ruby.
"I'll help you." Blake said.
"Where's Sun?" Ruby asked. "Where's Arslan?"
"The Ship going to Vacuo blew up. She was… probably on it." Qrow said.
"And Sun?" Ruby asked as Blake started wrapping the ribbon around her eyes. Blake fought to keep the tears from her eyes. But she failed. The tears fell on Ruby's leg.
"Blake?" Ruby asked. Ruby brought her hand up to Blake's face and felt the tears.
"He sacrificed himself so we could get away." Yang turned to Ruby and said. Blake stopped moving. Ruby wrapped an arm around her.
"We could have saved him." Blake said.
"No, Blake. We couldn't have." Yang said. "Kaiser was there. More Sith were coming. If he didn't sacrifice himself, we never would have had the time to fix the ship."
Oscar looked at the wound. A purplish color rose to the top. Jaune looked at Oscar. Oscar showed Jaune the page, and he read it.
"The bacta you bit into entered your body. It started to detox. That purple stuff there is part of the toxin." Jaune said.
"So that means a Bacta bath should be able to get rid of the toxins fully." Oscar said.
"Does the Wind Path have one?" Pyrrha asked.
"We may have to get one of the Masters in Vale to get over here and deliver some bacta." Oscar said.
Weiss got a call from Winter; she picked it up.
"Thank the gods you're okay." Winter said.
"Teams ABRN and SSSN were killed." Weiss said.
"We've found six bodies. But… We have found Arslan Altan. She's unconscious but alive." Winter said. Weiss stood up and told everyone some good news.
"We've beaten back all remaining Sith in the city. The tunnel to the docks is completely destroyed." Winter said.
Weiss reported everything they knew to Winter. She listened intently.
"We need to keep Rosa alive. I've got a team flying to Wind Path now to deliver a batch of Bacta." Winter said.
"Thank you." Weiss said.
"General Ironwood has asked that you get to Atlas as fast as you can." Winter said.
"We understand." Weiss said.
Salem stood in front of the Sith who she sent. Two were killed by the teams they were hunting, and another three were killed by Jedi in the city, but that was a small price to pay to get their revenge. If they were killed, they were weak in some way. Salem looked out at the twenty Sith standing in front of her.
"Darth Kaiser, Darth Lilith, and newly named, Darth Ignis. You three will join my inner council. The other positions will be filled by the remaining Sith here. But they must prove themselves." Salem said. Kaiser, Lilith, and Ignis stood up and moved next to Salem. The other seventeen Sith continued to kneel.
"As members of my dark council, you will all be put over the realms of my influence. Darth Kaiser will be put in charge of military affairs. The title Kaiser was once used centuries ago. It meant someone who was a king, a general, a conqueror. You have led the forces and succeeded in every battle except one where we were betrayed. You have proven to me that you are capable of this." Salem said. She raised her hand and placed it on Kaiser's chest. He felt the darkness form into a new tattoo. He knew in his mind's eye the shape of a crown.
"Darth Lilith, you shall take over Vanus's realm of influence. The realm of subterfuge, and sabotage. You shall be the dagger in the night that slits open the throats of my enemies. You shall be the poison that chokes my enemies." Kaiser watched as Salem placed a hand on her chest. He knew she got a tattoo as well. Kaiser looked out at the other Sith. He realized now that there were seven seats open. Salem was fortifying her realm. She moved down to Ignis.
"Darth Ignis, you shall take a realm of influence that has not had a head in many years. You shall take over the realm of purging fire. You shall be in charge of finding dissenters within our ranks and purging them. There shall be a burning of the Sith. Those who are not loyal to me shall met with fire. I foresaw this day. I foresaw you would have the strength to do what others couldn't." Salem said. Kaiser didn't need the force to know that there was now a fire symbol on his chest.
"All of you, report to your new realms of power." Salem said. Kaiser knew where it was, even though he hadn't before. The symbol gave him knowledge that he wouldn't have known otherwise. Kaiser felt power enter him as he opened the portal to his new realm.
The ship flew over a mountain and began the process of landing. Ruby grabbed the ribbon and lifted it up. Her eyes stung, but she could see again. Ruby brought her hood up as the ship landed. Yang and Blake grabbed hold of Rosa. They carefully lifted her and stepped off the ship. Ruby got off and saw a medical team of clones standing at the exit of the dock. She had to remember that the republic ships were much faster than Remnant ships. Weiss got off next and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder.
"Can you see now?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah." Ruby said. She had one eye still covered.
"Are you sure?" Weiss asked.
"I'm resting one eye." Ruby said. Jaune walked passed them.
"We still have more to do today." Jaune said. Weiss went forward. Qrow put a hand on Ruby's head.
"She'll be okay kid. She's in good hands." Qrow said.
"I know." Ruby said. She still stood there. It wasn't even noon, and they already went through so much. Oscar was the last one out of the ship.
"Ruby." Oscar said.
"Yeah?" Ruby asked. She turned around.
"I think I know a way to get rid of the tattoo on Rosa's back." Oscar said.
"It went away once." Ruby said. They were finally moving.
"Yes, it did. It's a long shot, but I think we can do it. I think you already got most of what remained out of her." Oscar said.
"Does it really matter?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. I don't know how the Sith found the safehouse unless they had a way to track us. I think that tattoo has darkness in it, which Salem was able to track." Oscar said. Ruby turned to her.
"You think so?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. Ozpin's had a similar theory, but he's never had enough evidence. We know that they weren't able to track us in the safe zone. We know that they can't track Raven. I don't have concrete evidence, but maybe that tattoo is allowing Salem to track us." Oscar said.
"How are we going to get rid of it then?" Ruby asked.
"It's similar to how the Sith have to gather darkness for spells. But we gather light." Oscar said.
"I didn't know you could gather light like that." Ruby said.
"I think it can work." Oscar said. Ruby looked him in the eyes. Oscar stopped and looked back. Ruby nodded.
"We'll try it." Ruby said.
Rosa was brought into a hospital room. They didn't have enough bacta to dunk her in, but they placed the bacta over the wound. They put it in a machine that dispensed bacta and retracted used bacta. They watched as the doctors worked on her. The Bacta started to flush her system out. They saw the bacta that was being retracted had changed into a reddish color. They saw large clumps of purple floating in the bacta. A clone medic looked over the toxicology report the machine was giving him. The clone handed the datapad to one of the doctors.
"It's a good thing you got her to us when you did. This poison almost entered her organs." The doctor said.
"She'll be fine?" Jaune asked. He was the only Jedi allowed in because of his force healing. He did have to put on scrubs though.
"There is still some poison in her system. We're going to inject her with the antivenom and make sure everything is working correctly." The doctor said.
"How long will that be?" The clone medic asked.
"We don't have exacts with Bacta. It throws our time off. Even more so with your ability. Her aura has been restored. There is a chance she may be fully healed within a day." The doctor said.
"What?" Jaune asked.
"Yes. Everything combined has sped up her healing process." He said.
Oscar and Ruby were allowed to visit later. Oscar looked at Rosa sleeping.
"Her body began to recover." Oscar said. Ruby shook her head.
"Now, I can gather the light. I just need you to see the shatterpoint." Oscar said.
"I see it. It's…" Ruby smiled. "It's her heart. Use it there, and the darkness should leave her."
"I understand." Oscar said. He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes. He felt the light start to gather at his fingertip. He felt a hand on his shoulder. Ruby raised a hand as well. Oscar let go of every thought outside of the light. He felt it enter his body. He felt every cell being re-energized. He felt the light gathering.
"The light side is our power. It is our rest." Oscar said. There was a ball of light floating in the air. Oscar brought his hands down. The light entered Rosa.
Oscar opened his eyes and saw the darkness leaving her. He turned to Ruby.
"Thanks." Oscar said with a smile.
"You're welcome." Ruby said. Rosa turned in her bed. Oscar looked back at Rosa and nodded his head.
"What was that?" Rosa asked. Oscar turned back and saw Rosa getting up.
"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up." Ruby said.
Rosa looked down at herself.
"At least it's not a Bacta Tank." Rosa said. Ruby smiled at that.
"You got all the bacta you needed." They removed the machine a few hours ago after they got the poison out of her.
"Sorry for scaring everyone." Rosa said.
"You don't need to apologize." Oscar said.
"We got you a new undershirt, since your last one kind of got covered in poison and blood." Ruby said.
"Oh. Where's everyone else?" Rosa asked.
"Getting sleep or food." Ruby said.
"We've been here for a day now. The doctor's first estimate was just a little high." Oscar said.
"Do you have anything with honey?" Rosa asked. Ruby laughed.
"I'm so glad to have you back." Ruby said. Ruby stopped laughing when she remembered about teams ABRN and SSSN.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help more." Rosa said.
"You did everything you could. We all did. We just weren't ready for what Salem threw at us." Ruby said.
"Speaking of Salem, Rosa, we're going to have to talk about everything you learned." Oscar said. "When you're out of here. Probably on the train." Oscar said.
"We still need to get to Argus." Ruby said.
"Shouldn't we get in warmer clothes?" Rosa asked.
"We all got heavy robes. They even have fire dust sewn in so we can warm up at any time." Ruby said with a smile.
"Jedi robes?" Rosa asked.
"That's part of our disguise. Salem can't track us anymore, so now we have to find ways to hide as we travel. The robes are different enough that most won't recognize them as Jedi, but other Jedi will recognize us." Oscar explained. He opened his bag and took out his robes. They were green. Rosa saw the differences between this and the regular Jedi robes. Maybe she could handle wearing that.
It took a few more hours for Rosa to get out of the hospital. After she did, Weiss took her on a last-minute shopping trip getting everything they would need for her on this trip. Rosa has her lightsabers, but not the dagger-pistols that she brought with her when she left the Sith.
Rosa stopped Weiss after they left another store.
"Weiss. Thank you." Rosa said.
"Of course." Weiss said. She started moving again.
"I mean it. Not just for helping me here, but… for never giving up on me. I… I haven't thanked the rest of you guys yet. I want you all to know… I never could have left Salem without your belief in me." Rosa said. Weiss turned around and hugged Rosa.
"It's alright. Thank you for believing in us." Weiss said.
Rosa hugged Weiss back.
Weiss ended the hug and smiled.
"We're back together. All of us. We've all learned and have grown far beyond where we were. You've faced the darkness and have come back." Weiss said.
"I had to see you guys a lot to realize where I was wrong." Rosa said.
"We were all wrong. But we learned. And we've changed." Weiss said.
"Thank you." Rosa said.
The teams got everything they needed. Team RRWBY and JNPOR, as team JNPR had taken Oscar into their team, boarded the train. Qrow did as well, but he had a private train car. Everyone got a meal from the train brought to them. Qrow got a drink that Em showed him. It had a fruity taste to it, but it burned just the same going down.
Blake was sitting next to Yang. She was trying to read a book, but Sun kept flashing in her mind. She closed the book. She put it down.
"Are you okay Blake?" Yang asked.
"I keep seeing Sun. I see flashes." Blake said.
"Blake, it wasn't your fault." Rosa said.
"No. I'm not seeing him from before. I'm seeing him now!" Blake opened her eyes wide.
"How? He…" Weiss started.
"Did he die?" Rosa asked.
"I don't know. I wasn't conscious to feel anything." Ruby said.
"I was dealing with the poison." Rosa said.
"I… I didn't feel his death. But we weren't as close as either one of you were." Weiss said.
"I was busy trying to get us out." Yang said. "But I didn't feel anything either." Yang said. Blake didn't say anything. Her eyes were open wide.
"I see Kaiser. I see him in a room with Sun." Blake said.
"Blake?" Ruby asked.
"I can sense nothing but darkness around him." Blake said. "I… I can hear something."
Kaiser stood in front of Sun. Sun's body was covered in cuts and bruises. Kaiser closed the door behind him.
"I won't break. No matter what you do." Sun said.
"That is brave talk, Sun. Let's see how long that lasts." Kaiser said. Kaiser picked up an amulet from the table in the room. Kaiser stepped over to Sun. He put the Amulet on Sun. Sun started screaming as each of his nerves started activating at once. Every injury he had felt like it was reopened anew.
Kaiser took out a knife from the table. He brought it down Sun's chest. Sun felt the new cut and felt the blood flowing. He gritted his teeth. He closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths and opened his eyes again. He glared at Kaiser. Kaiser put the knife down. He punched Sun, but Sun didn't scream.
"He's gone into a Jedi trance to help them deal with pain." Salem said.
"How should we deal with that then?" Kaiser asked.
"Physical pain only does so much. But there are other ways to hurt a Jedi. Like I am now. His little friend, Blake Belladonna has been seeing what we've been doing to him." Salem said. Sun looked over at Salem.
"No!" Sun said. Salem raised her hand and sent force lightning at Sun. He screamed.
"Yes, she is a witness to your torture." Salem said. The vision ended. Blake was sweating and taking deep breaths.
"Sun's still alive. But Salem has him." Blake said.
"What?" Yang said.
"They're using my connection to Sun… to force me to see what they're doing to him." Blake said. Yang put a hand on her shoulder.
"It stopped." Blake said. The others looked at her.
"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.
"I… the vision stopped. I can't see him." Blake said. "Oh gods…"
Blake brought her hands up to her head. She saw what they did to Sun. She couldn't get the image out of her mind.
"We have to save him." Blake said. She looked at Rosa. "Are you able to make a portal? We have to get him."
"Let's see." Rosa raised her hand, but nothing happened. She closed her eyes, but nothing happened. She looked at her hand.
"I don't have enough darkness." Rosa said.
"What?" Blake asked.
"Darkness. That's what powers the portals. I haven't had any darkness added in a while…" Rosa said.
"What?" Ruby asked. "You can lose the power to make portals?"
"It's not a power the Sith have. It's one they borrow, from Salem. That dark tattoo that's on my back…" Rosa started.
"Was on your back." Ruby said.
"It's already gone?" Rosa asked. She turned around and pressed the privacy setting on the door. Rosa turned around and raised her shirt. The tattoo wasn't there anymore.
"Yeah. It's gone." Yang said.
"Oh…" Rosa said. She sat back down and looked at Blake.
"Sorry. I needed that. It was a mark saying that Salem granted me power. With it gone… I can't get back." Rosa said. Blake sat back down.
"What are we going to do about Sun?" Blake asked.
"I don't know." Rosa said.
"We have to tell the Masters about Sun." Weiss said. Ruby nodded her head. She pulled out her scroll and called Mace Windu.
Mace was in the temple, meditating about an issue. The Sith attack on Mistral revealed to them that Salem was sending out higher-quality Sith. But they still had no idea how many Sith or Jedi there were. They had a few thousand here. Vacuo, Atlas, and Menagerie also have many Jedi, but were they up to the task? If they weren't, what should they do?
He heard a buzzing and ended his meditation. He went to his desk and found his scroll. Given to him by Ozpin. Mace would rather someone use his Comm Link, but if they had his number, they knew him. It was Ruby Rose. He picked it up.
"Knight Rose." Mace said.
"Master…"
Ruby reported everything they learned about Sun. Mace felt disturbed to hear the report. He trusted Sun and used him as a measuring stick. Sun was strong. But if he was already hurt and fought Kaiser, he could see how he lost.
"And Knight Belladonna is sure about this?" Mace asked.
"Yes, Master." Blake said. Mace nodded his head.
"Right now, it is impossible for us to make a strike against Salem. We don't know where she is. Is there any information that Rosa Reidan can give to help us?" Mace asked.
"I know it was in the badlands. I know it is close to the center of the continent. I know that there is an endless Grimm hoard outside the realm that Salem uses to kill anyone who tries to desert." Rosa said. Mace nodded his head. He was glad to hear her voice. He could still hear the aversion in her voice too. She didn't want to talk to him.
"We're going to have to get another Sith to switch sides." Mace said.
"That's going to be difficult. To even have a tattoo, you need to show a certain talent or loyalty to Salem. It'd be like getting another me." Rosa said. "And one that has darkness left in her."
"We don't have the strength right now to attack Salem directly. Perhaps if we gain all the relics, we will have the power we need." Mace said.
"We have one." Ruby said.
"And you have a maiden. We've also got Raven more friendly to us now." Mace said.
"What should we do now?" Ruby asked.
"Do what you were already going to do. Let the force guide you." Mace said. The call ended soon after.
Ruby put away her scroll and turned to Blake. She just looked at her hands. She clenched them.
"We need to get to Atlas." Blake said.
"We're still stuck on the train." Rosa said.
The train shook. They knew immediately, Grimm. Team RRWBY and JNPOR opened their doors at the same time.
"On the roof." Jaune said. They ran to the nearest train door and opened it. Jaune sighed as the way to the roof was blocked. A little old woman in blue opened the door opposite of them.
"That one." She said. She poked a button on the panel next to her and the covering retracted.
"Thanks… whoever you are." Jaune said. He jumped up. They saw the regular kind of Grimm all over. Rosa raised her hand and sent out a blast of fire into one of the Grimm. It dissipated.
"This doesn't feel like all of it."
Rosa heard the cry of a new type of Grimm. But it sounded familiar. She turned around and saw a massive Grimm that looked like the Drexl, a winged reptilian war beast that the people who lived on the moon of Dxun rode.
"What the hell is that?" Blake asked.
"It looks like a Drexl." Rosa said.
"A what?" Yang asked.
"Are those fangs?" Weiss asked.
"Close enough. Stay away from it." Rosa said.
"Rosa, the galaxy is terrifying." Jaune said.
"I know." The Drexl landed on the train. Its claws ripped into the top of the train. The guns spun around and started shooting the Drexl. It brought its claws up and slashed at the turrets.
"I'd rather deal with a Nevermore." Ruby said.
"I'd take a Manticore." Qrow said. Its tail shot up and rushed at the Jedi. Rosa brought her hands up and stopped the tail with wind magic. Ren jumped in the air and landed on the back of the Drexl. He brought his lightsaber down. The Drexl brought its head up just in time to avoid losing anything besides a spike. Ren fell down the back of the Grimm.
"How do you deal with these things Rosa?" Blake asked.
"I've only seen the tamed ones before." Rosa said.
"Tamed?!" Oscar shouted. A Manticore Grimm landed behind them. Oscar turned around and had to jump back. He took out his cane and held it ready.
"Qrow! You got your wish!" Oscar shouted. Qrow turned around.
"Are you fucking serious?" Qrow said. He brought out Harbinger and blocked a claw strike from the Grimm.
"What are these things doing here?" Nora asked. Nora jumped in the air and brought Magnhild down at the Manticore. The Manticore blocked the strike with a paw. Its tail reached over its head and went to sting Oscar. Oscar stepped back and felt the Relic on his hip.
"Is that it?" Oscar asked. Ruby jumped back, standing back-to-back with Oscar.
"Ruby, I think it's trying to get the relic." Oscar said.
"What?" Ruby said. The Drexl opened its wings, sending Blake and Rosa flying. Rosa nearly slipped off the train but held onto the edge at the last second. Blake tossed Gambol Shroud, and it stuck into the back of the Drexl. She used the ribbon to bring herself forward. When she got on the back of the Drexl she tossed her weapon at Rosa. Rosa caught it and was pulled back up.
"Rosa, how do you tame one of these things?" Blake asked.
"I don't know. I just know on Onderon they have riders for these things." Rosa said. Blake dropped down to the wing of the Drexl and sliced it off. The Drexl reeled back and let out a screech. The Drexl spun around. Rosa created an ice wall and blocked the tail. Ren jumped from behind and grabbed onto the other wing. He raised StormFlower and fired into the back of the Drexl. It tried to throw him off. Rosa reached down for her hunter weapon and pulled out the pistol. She shot at the Drexl as well.
Ruby saw Weiss. She looked at the two Grimm.
"Weiss! You got to kill one of these things. That's how your summoning works, right?" Ruby asked.
"Yes, that's how it works." Weiss said, avoiding a slash from the Drexl. She spun around and fired at the Manticore that Qrow, Jaune, Pyrrha, and Oscar were fighting. She fired twice into the head of the Grimm. It let out a pained roar and went to swipe at the nearest person, who was Oscar. Oscar brought up his cane and blocked the strike but was knocked back. Jaune slid and grabbed Oscar before he fell off the train.
"Got you." Jaune said.
"Thanks." Oscar put his feet on the side of the train and got back up quickly. Qrow brought Harbinger in Scythe mode up, creating a massive gash in the Manticore.
"Ruby! Let's end this one." Qrow said. Pyrrha was behind the Manticore and used her semblance to wrap the roof of the train around the feet of the Manticore.
"Got it." Pyrrha said. Ruby put Cresent Rose in scythe mode. She smiled as she rushed forward. Qrow was on the other side of the Manticore. He smirked.
"Just as I taught you." Qrow said. Ruby shook her head. Qrow and Ruby joined together speeding up and slashing at the Manticore. They were going faster than they had before in training. She stopped in front of the Manticore for a second and saw the giant gash in him. She rushed back with her semblance, and rushed forward, carving into the Manticore.
It let out a scream and fell. Pyrrha let out a breath and moved the roof back to where it used to be. Qrow stood there, smiling at her. Ruby gave him a thumbs up.
Nora brought her hammer down onto one of the claws of the Drexl, completely severing it. She bounced off the roof of the train and landed on her feet. Ren took out his lightsaber and cut the second wing off. The Drexl dropped down. Weiss had a perfect shot. She created glyphs and rushed forward. The Drexl started to look up when Weiss's lightsaber stuck out of its head. It faded.
"Great job, Weiss." Blake said.
"That's a flying summon now." Rosa said.
"I had Lancer Grimm before." Weiss said.
"Could you ride them?" Rosa asked.
"No." Weiss said.
"Now you have something you can ride." Rosa said. Weiss's face blanched.
"It looked slimy." Weiss said.
"It wasn't." Blake said.
Oscar looked at everyone.
"I think I know why they found us." Oscar said.
"What, why?" Jaune asked.
"I think they can sense the relic." Oscar said. Everyone looked at it.
"Why do you think that?" Pyrrha asked.
"The Grimm tried to grab at the relic. I think." Oscar said.
"Does Oz have anything to say about that?" Qrow asked.
"I haven't been talking to him for a bit." Oscar said.
"Why not?" Jaune asked. Oscar turned away.
"Reasons." Oscar said.
"We need to get back inside. We're getting close to a tunnel." Ruby said. They looked ahead and saw the mountain coming. They all left the roof.
Ruby and Oscar were the last ones down. Ruby grabbed Oscar's shoulder.
"Is this about Vanus?" Ruby asked. Oscar turned and shook his head. He clenched his fists. He tried to find the words to explain why he was getting upset, but how could he make the others understand his anger?
"I know everyone says it was okay what I did. They say that it had to happen. That she was evil and a threat to everyone. But I have to live with it. I have to feel the pain she couldn't." Oscar said.
"I'm sorry that you had to do that. You're a good person." Ruby said. Oscar looked up at her.
"You're not saying I was in the right?" Oscar asked.
"It's affected you. I can tell that it's hurting you. I'm sorry you had to go through with it. I know that you really don't like violence or killing. I get where the others are coming from too. They see it as a key part of Vanus's death and us getting Rosa back. They've had to kill a lot more people than you have. I wonder what it's done to us sometimes. But you, that was the first time you played a direct hand in someone's death." Ruby said.
"Thanks for understanding." Oscar said. He opened the door. Qrow was standing there.
"What was the chat about?" Qrow asked.
"I gave a quick pep-talk." Ruby said.
"Are you all good now?" Qrow asked.
"Yeah." Oscar said.
"Good. Because we need to talk about that revelation you just had." Qrow said. The train car shook.
"What was that?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know." Ruby said. She looked around at the others and saw the rest of the knights. They went to the door and saw a Grimm there.
"Is that a Hawkbat?" Rosa asked as she saw it. It had a corrosive substance coming from its mouth. It had chewed through the connecting cars. Rosa raised her hand and brought it closer. She held out Maku's lightsaber and killed the Hawkbat Grimm. The train cars they were in started to shake.
"Hold onto something!" Rosa shouted. There was a Giant Nevermore that appeared and hit the train car. The train car was lifted off the tracks and started tumbling down the side of the mountain.
Rosa opened her eyes and held onto her head. She had a massive headache. Jaune was standing over her. She got up and raised her hand to her head. There was blood there.
"Thanks, Jaune." Rosa said. The others were already up. She felt the freezing wind blowing in through the windows. Ruby stepped back in the train.
"We got the Nevermore." Ruby said. She helped Rosa up.
"Everyone okay?" Rosa asked.
"Yes." Rosa turned her head and saw the old lady from before with a smile on her face. She had something over her eyes. It looked like mechanical eyes.
"Who are you?" Rosa asked.
"Maria Calavera." She said. Rosa just noticed the skulls that were a part of her fashion style. Her dark skin was similar to Rosa's own. Her long silver hair was tied back but there was little attention given to it.
"Come on. Time to get up." Maria said. She got up and walked out of the train car. She was using her cane to move. Rosa stepped out into the wilderness.
"Middle of nowhere, freezing our asses off. Of course." Rosa said. Ruby handed her a red cloak like the one Ozpin showed her. She quickly put it on. She could feel the fire dust working immediately. She let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice cloaks." Maria said. "Had the same idea."
Maria revealed that there were fire dust crystals lined throughout the inside of the cloak.
The cloaks seemed to match their personal colors. Yang wore a yellow one, Blake wore black, and Weiss wore white.
They looked at the crash site. They were a distance from the mountain.
"Yang's bike is outside the range of any towers. We have to walk." Ruby said.
"Yang's bike?" Rosa asked.
"She sent it ahead of us to the clones in Wind Path. She brought it on the train, and luckily it survived." Weiss explained.
"No, why would Yang's bike be able to get to CCT towers?" Rosa asked.
"Upgrades." Yang said. She was checking on her bike. She pressed a button and got a map of the area around them.
"I'm going to need to hear more about that." Rosa said.
"Looks like we have a farm not too far from us." Yang called out.
"While we're walking, Oz can tell us why the relic attracts Grimm." Qrow said. They turned to Oscar. Oscar rolled his eyes and sighed.
"I'm here." Ozpin said.
"Did you know?" Qrow asked.
"Know, no. I did suspect it could have an attractant power over the Grimm. But I never had proof. I didn't have them long enough to run into more Grimm than usual." Ozpin said.
"No heads up?" Blake asked.
"If I did tell you, and I was wrong, what would that have done? The Grimm come after negative emotions. It would have attracted them nonetheless." Ozpin said.
"Tell us when something like this comes up. We need information Ozpin." Yang said.
"I understand." Ozpin said.
"Can Salem still track us?" Rosa asked. Ozpin looked at her.
"I think so. The Grimm that are based off creatures from the galaxy at large are only seen when a Sith is near." Ozpin said.
"You've seen more Grimm from the galaxy?" Rosa asked.
"Over the thousands of years I've been alive, I've seen many creatures not from here. But… They are appearing more now. I think… Salem must be worried if she's sending these Grimm." Ozpin said. Oscar's eyes stopped glowing.
"I'm back." Oscar said.
They continued toward the Farm that Yang saw. Rosa saw Maria sitting on the bike as Yang pushed it. She looked at Oscar. She looked at the Relic.
"Oscar… what does the relic do?" Rosa asked.
"I don't know. Ozpin hasn't told me." Oscar said. He grabbed the relic. He looked at it.
"It is called the relic of knowledge." Yang said.
"So can it tell us anything we want to know?" Rosa asked. Oscar's eyes glowed again.
"The Relic of Knowledge has a limit to what it can do. We can ask three questions. I think it's once per century. But whenever I used it, I did use it around the turn of the century." Ozpin said.
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"I thought it was one per century." Ozpin said. "She didn't tell me anything I didn't ask for. I asked her three centuries ago why it was only one question per century."
"She?" Pyrrha asked.
"Yes. Think of this relic like a Holocron. After I asked that question, she revealed to me that there were three questions she could answer." Ozpin said.
"So how many questions do we still have?" Nora asked. Ozpin had to look at the date before he was able to answer.
"I think there are still two left." Ozpin said.
"Do we have any important questions?" Rosa asked. They looked at each other.
"I can't think of anything right now." Ruby said.
"What will happen if we get the relics and the Maidens together?" Ren asked.
"That is a good one." Yang said.
"We'll have to decide later. Right now, we have to get to that farm." Jaune said. "How far is it?"
"It looks like it's about… three miles away." Yang said.
"How far in real measurements?" Rosa asked.
"4.83 Kilometers." Ozpin said.
"Thank you." Rosa said.
"Rosa, since when did you use metric?" Yang asked.
"Always! I just adapted to this weird measurement system." Rosa said.
"I'm pretty sure this is the first time we're hearing about it." Blake said.
"I pick my battles." Rosa said. "But right now, I'm cold." Rosa said. The dust warmed her up.
"I'm pretty sure we're all cold." Ren said.
"I'm not." Weiss said.
"Alright, everyone who didn't grow up in a frozen wasteland." Ruby added.
"I grew up in Argus. It's not too warmer than here." Pyrrha said.
"Fine! We have exceptions!" Rosa said.
"Aren't you all using your aura to keep you warm?" Maria said. They turned to her.
"What?" Rosa said.
"I'm shocked Ozpin didn't teach you that in Beacon." Maria said. She looked at Oscar. They kind of forgot she was there.
"Ozpin says that was the job of Professor Redwood." Oscar said.
"We didn't have him." Rosa said.
"He was a third-year professor." Blake said.
"Fine, let me tell you how to do it." Maria said.
She spent the next hour talking about how to use one's aura to block out the cold.
Salem was alone in the throne room. She sat down and closed her eyes. She stretched out to sense the Relic. The light coming from it was very subtle and impossible for any other Sith to track. Part of the Dark God's doing. He put a curse on all the relics that all but his own creations would be able to follow it. It was only because of her connection with the Grimm that she had been able to track it as far as she could.
The guards opened the door to her throne room. Valum and Kaiser stood there. Salem looked at the two of them.
"Welcome. I will be brief. You two will be working together from now on until you have brought Salem here, alive." Salem said. Kaiser and Valum looked at each other. They both hated Umbra. They both were the most affected by her betrayal. They knew how she acted and had force bonds with her.
"What about the other members of her team?" Valum asked.
"Separate them. Together they have proven far too… resistant. We know they will be going to Argus. Their being on the Argus Limited shows us that much. If you can break up that band, they will crumble." Salem said.
The two bowed and left her chambers. Her thoughts turned to Sun Wukong in the torture chambers. She had seen how Kaiser dealt with the monkey, but he was unable to go far enough. She knew that soon, she would have to step in. She knew exactly how to break a Jedi like him. She would enjoy herself. She knew that Sun still had some notion that if he could hold for some later date when Blake Belladonna would arrive, he would be safe.
She had to break that out of him. She had to show him how little control he had over his situation. She had to show he had no control over anything. Not his mind, not his will, and not his body.
She was going to break Sun. Physically, Mentally, emotionally… and in other ways. She loved sensing the hopelessness that overcame Jedi after her visits.
But she had to restrain herself for now. It would be better if Kaiser was able to figure out how to break him. But he thinks too much like a general. He knew how to break bodies. She knew how to break Jedi. There was no line that she was not willing to cross. There was no line in many millennia. The Jedi were prey. She had been able to do anything she wanted to Jedi.
She remembered the connections Sun had between the knights. She may break one of them through Sun. It would be an amazing feat if she could pull it off. She knew how to use those bonds he had made. She was going to keep Sun alive.
She had an idea. It was going to be after Kaiser's next visit. She was going to let Sun leave the prison for a brief period. He would get out and get a hope that he could get free, only for her to reveal that this was a cruel trick. Eventually, he would be so broken that even if they didn't chain him up, and they left the door open, he would stay in the cell. She would show the image of Blake Belladonna to get him to think she arrived. He would leave and it would be revealed it was a trick. She just needed to do that a few more times. He would be so broken that if she ever did arrive, he wouldn't trust her.
That is unless he turned to the dark side before, she came. She would allow Sun to become a Sith. He would be a powerful Sith. He was well known as a Jedi, and he started to become a symbol. For it to be revealed that this ray of sunshine and light had changed into a Sith, it would break the faith of many.
Salem imagined what she was going to do to Sun. She had forgotten for some time about the relic. She remembered what the true goal was. She needed to find a replacement for Vanus. There were two obvious options. Valum or Lilith. Valum had a claim to it as she was the last surviving student of Vanus. Both were able to get into places. Lilith was a dangerous opponent. While of no challenge to Salem herself, Lilith was one of her strongest Sith. Her weapon gave her a great advantage.
Salem stood up. She knew what she was going to do. She had Tyra she could experiment on. She did her best work when she had a difficult decision to make.
Oscar felt the relic hanging at his side. The relic kept bouncing. With everything around, him that was all that he could think about.
"Oscar… are we going to talk now?" Ozpin asked.
"About what? About how you used me?" Oscar said. Everyone turned to him.
"I know you felt the pain. I know you still see the image. But if I hadn't…"
"I know. I know. I know! Everyone keeps telling me that. If you told me maybe I could have been ready. Maybe I wouldn't feel like this. Maybe I could have been able to see where you are all coming from. But all I can see is blood. Ever since you came into my life, I've never felt more confused. You say this was meant to be. Maybe it was. But fate is a cruel bitch and I'm the one stuck in this situation. Not you. You get to ride along in my head and pop out to answer all the questions. You take over when you think I'm going to fail. Even when I did everything right against Vox, I wasn't good enough. He wanted to rip me apart. He almost did. Qrow took the hit and was lucky only his arm broke. I'm not enough for this." Oscar said. He looked up and saw everyone stop. They were all looking at him.
"Oscar…" Ruby said.
"I said that out loud?" Oscar said. He looked at the ground.
"You done now kid?" Qrow asked.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted.
"We need him. We don't need him like that. He's unsure of himself right now, and that's how people get killed." Qrow said.
"He's right, Ruby." Oscar said.
"He's just fifteen." Maria said. "Even if he has Ozpin in his head, he's still just a boy. Probably new to this."
"How do you know?" Jaune asked.
"I've seen this before. Isn't that right, Orlando?" Maria said. They looked at her.
"Who's Orlando?" Rosa asked.
"How many lives ago was that now?" Maria asked.
"Four." Oscar said. "I'm guessing you knew me back then. I can't remember who you are."
"It was almost eighty years ago now." Maria said.
"You can't be that old." Pyrrha said.
"Thank you. The light side does keep me very youthful." Maria said.
"What? You're a Jedi?" Ren asked.
"Was a Jedi master in my days. But now I'm just a simple old lady." Maria said. "Who knows how to spot the same souls in different bodies."
"What?" Ruby asked.
"Oscar is a special case as far as I know. But when you get to be as old as I am, you get to see patterns much easier. Some of you remind me of Jedi I knew in my day. And you, Qrow, have the Kyber Crystal of one of my students." Maria said.
"Master Quinn? That would make you… The Grimm Reaper?" Qrow said.
"That's a name I haven't heard in quite a while." Maria said.
"Who's the Grimm Reaper?" Ruby asked.
"She's the reason I trained with Scythes. Which means she's also the reason you did." Qrow said. Ruby looked at the little old woman again. Maria was smiling and laughing. Ruby turned back to Oscar. She slowed down a little. Qrow was talking to Maria about her experiences. They all seemed to have forgotten about Oscar's outburst. Except for Ruby. Maybe Maria did that on purpose.
Ruby stood next to Oscar.
"You want to talk about all that?" Ruby asked.
"What good will it do?" Oscar said.
"It could help a lot. It helped get Rosa back to us." Ruby said.
"Thanks for the offer." Oscar said. Ruby stopped him.
"Okay, that's not how we act with friends." Ruby said. Oscar looked at Ruby's shoes.
"I shouldn't be feeling like this." Oscar said.
"That's not the right answer either." Ruby said. "You can't just make yourself not feel something because you don't want it. I know that you've been going for pretty long without a break again."
"I'm sorry." Oscar said.
"You are the person who has to live with what you did. I can't make it all better for you. But… I understand where you're coming from. At least… partially." Ruby said.
"Every time I think things are finally in control, and that I can relax, something happens." Oscar said.
"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.
"Have I told you that a Sith murdered my family?" Oscar said.
"Not directly to me, no." Ruby said. They listened to the sounds of boots crunching snow.
"I was little. A Sith killed my father, who was a Jedi. I remember the fire, and Aunt Em saving me. Then I moved in with her. She sold my parents' land, and I moved out to her farm in the middle of the country. It took a while but finally some stability. It was like that for a few years. One day I was taking some of the crops into town for some extra cash and I got caught by this thug. This woman comes by and tries to help me get away from him. She did something to spook him, and he slit my throat. Amber saved me with the Maiden powers, but I still have the scar. Then the news about the White Fang and Hellio. I saw everything unfold. It was a few hours away from me. That safety was gone. There could be White Fang anywhere. We learn about these people called Sith. Then we hear about Vale and learn that thousands are dead. Then I learn about the Jedi and that I am one and Ozpin appears. All in the same month. I had to give up my life." Oscar explained.
"I'm sorry that happened to you. Dad used to say that sometimes, the best people are put through the worst. He said sometimes it's just chance. But sometimes, it's because… well he didn't say god or gods or the force, but I think he was going with that idea, knew that they were the only ones who could handle it." Ruby said.
"I'm sorry. I know you Weiss said I have a right to complain sometimes. I feel terrible when I do. I see what everyone else is doing. I saw that Jaune had a lot to complain about, but he never did, especially with Pyrrha. I don't want people to have to worry about me." Oscar said.
"You can't stop that. You're part of the team now. Hunted and on the Run from the big bad darkness." Ruby said playfully punching his arm.
"Thanks. I hope they don't think I'm weird." Oscar said.
"Oscar, we are all weird." Ruby said.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Oscar said.
"Good, because you should." Ruby said.
"I can see why he made you a leader." Oscar said. Ruby turned back and smiled at Oscar.
"Oh, this doesn't come naturally. It's really hard to know what to say." Ruby said.
"You make it seem easy." Oscar said.
"Now flattery only gets you so far with me." Ruby said. "Come on. I think I can see the farm from here." Ruby said.
Author's Notes: This is a bit on the shorter side, but after the long chapter last time, I think we can do that. So, this chapter starts the character off at Volume 6. You all know where we're going next time. Let's see how the JNPR characters deal with the Apathy Grimm.
I hope I wrote that Oscar section well. I want to give him a good character and show some of his struggles. Ozma's curse has wide-reaching effects here. Why did I name one of his past lives Orlando? I did it in SGW when Oscar and Salem were having a final face to face in the last arc of that. I needed names that started with O, and Orlando fit that. He was one of many.
I need to give Rosa more moments with the rest of her team one-on-one like I did with Weiss. I hope I'm good enough to do it right.
Originally, I planned for Sun to die in Menagerie. He and Mercury were going to have a fight. He would have had the fight in the desert, which would have led him to have a chapter of him getting back to civilization. He was going to call his teammates and apologize to them. But the call wouldn't have gone through.
Next, I planned to Kill Sun off when the team left Mistral. I changed the ending of the fight between Kaiser and Sun. Kaiser was originally going to kill Sun, until I realized that there was more that I could do. I do feel bad for what Sun is going to go through.
What can I improve on? What do I do right? I would appreciate it if you could tell me.
There were no reviews last time. I'd like to thank everyone who has gone out of their way and reviewed this story.
Please leave a review and everything else.
May the Force be With You
-DragonZlayerx12