Chapter 11

The Battle of Menagerie ended with a decisive Alliance victory. Teams RWBY and JNPR are on their way to Mistral, unbeknownst to them Mistral has been secretly taken over by the Sith.

Umbra stepped back into the dark realm to see Kaiser in her apartment, arms folded. He was angry. She could tell that immediately. She sighed. Kaiser stood over her and glared.

"What the Hell were you thinking?" Kaiser said.

"Nothing happened. Why do you care?" Umbra asked.

"Nothing. Sure, I'll believe that. No, I think you talked with them. You gave them that sad story you rely on." Kaiser said.

"So, what if I did?" Umbra asked.

"Pathetic. You can't control yourself." Kaiser said. Umbra didn't say anything. She turned away from Kaiser.

"I saw Mace Windu." Umbra said. Kaiser looked back up.

"And he let you get away?" Kaiser asked.

"Seems so." Umbra said. Kaiser shook his head.

"I don't understand you. Why do you keep hurting yourself by seeing them?" Kaiser asked with real concern. Umbra looked back at him. She turned from his gaze. She couldn't stand it right now.

"I have to." Umbra said.

"No, you don't. You could have forgotten about them a long time ago. You doing this might as well be you reopening a stab wound. You need to stop." Kaiser said.

"Don't pretend like you understand Kaiser. They are all I had. They were the only ones who I care about." Umbra said.

"What about Salem?" Kaiser asked. Umbra sighed.

"Yes, Salem is important too. She has become important to me." Umbra said. A portal opened in Umbra's living room. Kaiser and Umbra stepped through into Salem's presence. They both knelt down.

"Congratulations on a successful purge. Three hundred weak Sith are dead because of your actions. You two will both take root in Mistral. The Jedi are planning on going to Mistral. It would be best if you stopped their investigations by any means necessary. Leo Lionheart has given the Sith everything they need to succeed in our plans." Salem said.

"Yes, Lady Salem." Kaiser said.

"Umbra, you will become a student once more at Haven. You will be part of a four-man team on the lookout for Jedi students. We only know those who exposed themselves in the Vytal Festival. But we know there are many others. Mark them and wait for the day when they will be killed." Salem said.

"Who will be going with me?" Umbra asked.

"Velum and you will go. You will be joined by two other Sith, two of Darth Vox's apprentices. You will not use your Sith names out there. Vanus will give you the information packet as you get settled in. You may call yourself Rosa until you get the package since you didn't get notoriety in the festival." Salem said.

"Understood, Lady Salem." Umbra said.

"You will need to return and report every so often. You will get more information when you need it." Salem said. They both nodded and the portal opened behind them.

"Velum will be able to tell you where to go Kaiser." Salem said. They went through the portal. After it closed, Salem sat there alone.

"I wonder Umbra, where do your real loyalties lie? With me or with team RWBY? We shall see."

The airbus was flying over the Mistral Kingdom. Ren looked down at his former home. Nora stood beside him. She put a hand on his back. He turned to look at her. They turned back to look at the distance of the mountain range meant to protect Kuroyuri. Ren gripped onto the railing of the airbus as he remembered those nights. He remembered the fire. He remembered the smell of blood. He remembered seeing the Grimm tearing through his town. The Nuckelavee, a dangerous type of Grimm that was rare, was there that night. It was there as his mother was killed. It was there as his father sent him away.

Ren closed his eyes and saw the face of an old wanderer who saved him and Nora. He was a hermit who was on the way up the trail. Ren realized now that the old man was once a Jedi. He felt it even back then but didn't know what it was. He was the one who got them to Mistral.

Ren remembered those days. He refused to let Nora leave him. He clung to her those days. He couldn't have survived without Nora. He… He probably would have killed himself without her being there. But she saved him. And He saved her.

"We were what, six, when the town was destroyed. Years later, and the remains are still there." Ren said.

"It was that long ago, wow. We've come so far along since then Ren." Nora said. She grabbed his hand.

"We have." Ren said.

"There's still a long way for us to go." Jaune said. Ren and Nora turned around.

"Yes, there is. Were you able to look over the white fang documents?" Ren asked.

"They have splinter cells all throughout the kingdom. Master Windu told me that the Jedi were moving into Mistral. But he also told me that we have to be careful. There have been Sith spotted in the area." Jaune said.

"I wonder if any of this has to do with the Maidens." Pyrrha said. The others turned to her.

"The what?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know much about it. During the Vytal Festival, Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, General Ironwood, and Qrow Branwen told me a little about it. Apparently, there are four super-powerful magic wielders around the world. One for each season. The maidens have been scrubbed from history as far as I can tell. When we went to Beacon at the end of the Vytal festival, I took us to that underground vault. There was a woman in that pod thing. She was a maiden." Pyrrha explained.

"Magic?" Ren asked.

"Not force magic, but magic. Ozpin explained that a lot of our myths came from somewhere." Pyrrha said.

"Why haven't you told us about this sooner?" Jaune asked, not hurt, but curious. Pyrrha brought her hands to her legs.

"It didn't seem important. I was hurt and couldn't bear to think about why I lost my legs." Pyrrha said.

"Did he tell you anything else about the maidens?" Nora asked.

"He told me that the four were women. All maidens are women, which I guess is understandable with the name, I guess. He told me that the last fall maiden was attacked by the Sith, by Vanus. I faced off against that power. It was horrible." Pyrrha said.

"Do you think the Sith are hunting the Maidens down?" Jaune asked.

"It seems like something they would want. Were you told anything else?" Nora asked.

"There wasn't enough time." Pyrrha said.

"We should talk with the others about this." Jaune said.

Everyone was caught up shortly after. Ruby grabbed her chin.

"Why do I feel like I've heard something about that?" Ruby said.

"Fairy tales I'm guessing." Yang said.

"Did Rosa ever talk about them?" Ruby asked. They all searched their memories but couldn't find anything.

"Why did you think of Rosa?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to investigate this once were in Mistral." Ruby said. Everyone started to walk away, until Yang grabbed Ruby's shoulder.

"Ruby, can we talk for a minute?" Yang asked.

"Of course, Yang." Ruby said.

"Raven is in Mistral, as you know. I had a vision about her last night. She's got answers." Yang said.

"Your mother? Are you sure?" Ruby asked.

"Yes." Yang said.

"We'll probably have to search her out then. Do you think the Sith are targeting her?" Ruby asked.

"She's strong enough to take on Sith. That's the problem. I don't know who she will allow to see her. Hell, I only have a vague idea where she is." Yang said.

"That should get added onto our list of reasons to be here." Ruby said.

"We have to take things carefully with her. Raven isn't the nurturing type." Yang said.

"Yang, I know that." Ruby said.

"Oh, right. Look sometimes I forget you know all about her okay." Yang said.

"I know." Ruby said. "Oh, that's right, you are probably going to be recognized."

"Why do you say that?" Yang asked.

"Remember, you were the rising star of the Vytal festival. I don't know if you've been keeping up with social media since our training began, but you are still the number one rising huntress star. People see you as a hero." Ruby said.

"It can't be that bad." Yang said.

"Yang look up your name on chatter." Ruby said. Yang opened her chatter app and saw thousands of notifications.

"I didn't even know it went up that high." Yang scrolled down the app and saw people discussing her. She saw a woman matching her style. She saw a man on his knees while edited image of her stood above him.

"I'm never going to be able to unsee that." Yang saw that she was in the news again. The news was beginning to report on the Battle of Menagerie.

"Yeah, you might find some new type of people." Ruby said.

"Uggh" Yang said.

Oscar was walking along the road moving toward Mistral. Ozpin had told him about all the notable students and Jedi. He stopped at a train station. Oscar was trying to get a ticket to get out of the rain. The damn thing wouldn't scan his lien card.

"Why do machines have to be so hard to work with?" Oscar asked. The screen just read "ERROR" to him. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Stupid thing. I'm assuming whatever weird magic this is doesn't come with an infinite supply of money?" Oscar asked.

"I'm afraid you'll have to solve this one on your own." Ozpin said. Oscar sighed, then he almost reached for his lightsaber. He felt this darkness coming to him.

"No! Keep that away. If you take it out now you will lose your life! Be on your guard." Ozpin said. Oscar saw a tall strong man walk into the train station depot.

"Here." Hazel said. Oscar recognized the name and face but didn't know how. Ozpin didn't tell him. Hazel hit the machine, and it spat out a ticket. Hazel stood over Oscar and looked down at him. Hazel was surrounded by the darkness… but he also had a noble sense to him.

"Don't let such a small obstacle block your path." Hazel said. He continued to walk away. Oscar put the ticket away and waited for him to get out of earshot.

"Who was he?" Oscar asked.

"Someone from my past. Someone who should not be taken lightly. Someone who is a Dark Lord of the Sith." Ozpin said.

"That was a Dark Lord? Why didn't he just murder me for fun?" Oscar asked.

"He's not a sociopath. But he is far from a good person. The good person he used to be has long since been absorbed into the darkness." Ozpin said.

"Was he once a Jedi?" Oscar asked.

"Yes, he and his sister. They were some of the first Jedi I met as Ozpin and the Headmaster. Salem found them." Ozpin said. The train came to the station. Oscar stepped on it and took his seat. The train would take him into Mistral. Soon, he would see if his fears about Leo were true.

Qrow had said goodbye to Em. She left him with more memories, and a satisfied smile, which he couldn't make in his bird form. He was traveling faster now. He had to get to Mistral. He saw an airbus landing and knew it was the perfect timing.

He flew down and checked the route the air bus was taking. It was going to Mistral as well. "Finally, some good luck." Qrow said after transforming back. He landed and got to the teller.

"One ticket for that airbus." Qrow said.

"I'm sorry, that one is already sold out." The teller said to him.

"What? How? No one's coming off that thing." Qrow said. His bad luck was hitting again. Then he looked back and saw… Ruby?

"I may be able to get a seat. I see my niece over there. May I?" Qrow asked.

"Sir, we don't know if…"

"UNCLE QROW?!" Ruby shouted. Qrow turned his head, and Ruby was there a second later.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"I could ask you the same thing." Qrow said. "And why did you guys buy out the entire airbus?" Qrow asked.

"Oh, we wanted space." Ruby said.

"I'm kind of looking for a ride." Qrow said.

"Oh, yeah, we'll give you a ticket." Ruby said. Qrow turned and smiled at the teller.

"Sorry to bother you."

"I'm not really paid well enough to care sir." She said. She did like Qrow's smile though. Qrow went over to the airbus and saw the rest of the Knights, as Ruby informed them, they all made the rank as they were in Menagerie.

"You sure they didn't just…" Qrow started before Ruby punched him in the arm. Qrow couldn't remember when she was able to hurt him with a punch.

"Don't joke about that. We all worked really hard." Ruby said.

"I can tell. Since when did you know how to throw a punch?" Qrow asked. "And what's with the getup?"

"I ordered It online because I thought it was cool." Ruby said.

"Some things never change." He said while rustling her hair. She tried to knock his hand away playfully.

"Uncle Qrow, stop." Ruby said with a smile.

"Uncle Qrow?" Yang turned and saw him. "What?"

"Looks like we're going in the same direction." Qrow said.

"You know we're going to need to hear more than that." Yang said.

"Yeah, yeah." Qrow said.

The airbus landed to give everyone time to restock supplies and give them time to walk around ground that didn't move. Jaune used to hide the fact he got motion sickness, but now he took the medicine as needed. Yang still never stood too close to him on the airbus.

Ruby was tinkering with a blaster pistol a clone gave her like all the Jedi here received. She was looking at the gas canisters and was trying to find a way to be able to add dust ammo to her blaster. Yang was doing maintenance on her hand and cleaning it out. Despite cleaning it, she did still find specks of sand now and then. Weiss was listening to Jazz as she was reading the Jedi Path, adding her own notes. Blake was figuring out how to keep her weapons together. She was practicing her draw, figuring out the best way to use it.

Ren was meditating while Nora was sleeping, using her backpack as a pillow. Jaune was next to Pyrrha as they were eating lunch. Qrow stood around them and smiled. This is how they should have been existing. They were just kids. They shouldn't have been thrust into the world of Light and Dark. They should have just been having fun. Yang turned to her uncle.

"What are you smiling about?" Yang asked.

"Oh, nothing. You kids…" Qrow started. He took another look at all of them. "No. You aren't kids anymore. You've gone through too much shit for that. You Jedi should have been given a life like right now. No war, No darkness."

"Isn't that what our job is? To make the world one like that?" Yang closed up the hatch to her hand and flexed her fingers.

"Let us grownups reflect on our failures from time to time. It pushes us to be better." Qrow said. Yang shook her head.

"Don't linger on them. I think we all learned that lesson in Menagerie." Yang said.

"You grew up so fast. Enjoy every second of this time Yang. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but this is your time. Make something of yourselves." Qrow said.

"Don't worry about us Uncle Qrow." Yang said.

"I guess I don't have to." Qrow said.

"Uncle Qrow… We do have some questions to ask you. All of us do." Yang said.

"Oh, like what?"

"What are the maidens?"

Sun opened his scroll and called the rest of his team.

"I'm on my way back to Mistral now." Sun said. He was on an airbus going back to Mistral. He hid his lightsaber and Hunter Weapons. He felt around to see if there were any Sith on the airbus. He didn't feel any, but he was being safe.

"We've gotten back a while ago. Things seem different." Neptune said.

"How so?" Sun asked.

"I can't really put a finger on it, but it seems like the air has changed." Neptune said.

"Oh. Please be careful." Sun said.

"We are." Neptune hung up the call. Sun sighed. He felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up and saw Arslan Altan, another Jedi.

"You're finally on your way back to Mistral?" Arslan asked, taking a conversational position next to Sun.

"What about yourself?" Sun asked.

"I'm coming back from a mission. Sun, you have to be careful. There are reports of Jedi disappearing in Mistral. And Hunters connected to them. We're known, and so are our teams." Arslan said.

"You think the Sith are in Mistral?" Sun asked. They kept their conversation quiet, so the other passengers didn't hear what they were saying.

"Ozpin is the reason that Mistral doesn't have a Venator. The masters believe something is happening in Mistral. Something dangerous." Arslan said.

"How many are being sent to Mistral?" Sun asked.

"No one knows. But the masters from the main temple aren't able to go. Something is happening. The seers are warning that there is going to be a choice in Mistral that will change everything." Arslan said.

"Shit. Do they have more information?" Sun asked.

"No." Arslan said.

"What could be in Mistral? What could she be looking for?" Sun asked.

Em was in her home, waking up. She stretched and heard the bell out front. She used the force to sense out and felt a darkness. She quickly got dressed and held her lightsaber in her hand. There was a singular Sith out front. He opened her front gate.

"I know you're there Jedi. I finally found you." He said. Em saw him standing there. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She stepped into her garden.

"Who are you?" Em said.

"Do you remember when your brother was killed? You killed a Sith that day. He was my master." The Sith said. He took off his mask and Em saw a young man there. He held out his lightsaber. The Red blade pointed to her.

"Do you have a name?" Em asked.

"Not one you need to know." He said.

"And you came alone?" Em asked.

"A true Sith doesn't need anyone else to kill you." He said. He hadn't noticed the roots around him moved around his legs. Em was using her semblance to trap him.

"Does Salem know where I am?" Em asked.

"This has nothing to do with her. This is personal." He said. He was about to jump, but Em's eyes glowed, and the roots changed form. Massive thorns grew instantly and went through his legs. He screamed and Em rushed forward. He was dead in an instant.

"I have to be more careful. This weakling found me." Em said as his body was being dragged under the ground to be absorbed into the plants. His body would avoid all of the produce she used and move to a forest nearby. She put away her lightsaber quickly and grabbed his.

"I should probably call the Jedi." Em said. "Let's hope they don't ask to see the bodies this time."

Umbra entered the room first, then did Velum. A week passed since she reported to Salem about Menagerie. It was a bit more spacious than the one at Beacon. She looked around and saw they were the first ones here.

"Well Rosa, looks like we're back at school. And here are our outfits." Velum, Emerald said.

"It's weird having to go back to using our other names." Rosa said.

"Yeah, but you get used to it. Master certainly did." Emerald said.

"At least we each get our own rooms this time around." Rosa said. She opened the door to her room and saw a packet and her school uniform. She picked up the packet and opened it. It had her things from Beacon in it. She wondered how Cinder got them for her. She felt around and grabbed a folder. It was the mission packet. She opened it and saw that she had a set schedule during the school day.

"Really, they're going to have us going to school?" Rosa asked.

"Yes. Oh, and you can't use your lightsabers. You've trained with many weapons, but master wants you to use daggers." Emerald said.

"I see." She took out two daggers. They were longer than the average Sith dagger, but the skills would transfer over.

"We're on observation duty for a bit. We know of two Jedi that come from here, but where you find one, there are dozens of others hiding." Emerald said.

"What if anyone from Beacon is here? Isn't my disappearance going to make things difficult?" Rosa asked.

"To be honest, you are nowhere near the top of anyone's list. With many Jedi and Ozpin missing, you have been able to slip through the cracks. But since the Jedi know that you are alive, and a Sith, you will have to be careful." Emerald said.

They heard another Sith portal open. Emerald and Rosa left Rosa's room and saw the other two Sith enter the apartment. The first was a blond-haired man, tall with some muscle, but not too much. The other was a black-haired man of average build, except for scar on his cheek. He was taller than Rosa, but not by much. Both were already in their school uniform. Rosa noticed that the blond had piercing blue eyes and short, tousled blond hair that seemed effortlessly styled, giving him a youthful, approachable look. Rosa turned her attention to the other Sith. Stockier and slightly shorter than his companion, his jet-black hair is cropped close to his scalp, accentuating his stern and brooding demeanor. His deep and cold dark brown eyes reveal a restrained but ever-present fury. Rosa shook her head.

"You need to have a less 'I'm going to kill you' look." Rosa said.

"You must be Umbra." He said. "Oh, yeah, we're not using those names here. Rosa."

"You two are?" Rosa asked.

"I'm Kaelor Veyne, and he's Ravik Onyx " Veyne said.

"Alright, Veyne, Onyx." Rosa repeated.

"Why are you saying our last names?" Onyx asked.

"Fine. Kaelor, Ravik. Whatever you want to be called. What's the team name?" Rosa asked.

"Team REKR, or wrecker. I'm leader." Ravik said.

"REKR? Fine. It's probably the best they could do with our names." Emerald said.

"Weapons everyone. What are they?" Rosa asked. She showed her daggers, which she realized could become pistols. She would need to put the daggers into their holsters, and the change would happen there. The weapons would retract for a second and switch to pistols. So, she could use two pistols, a dagger and a pistol, or two daggers at her choice.

"I got these twin swords that once I put them into their sheath in my back can become a rifle." Kaelor said, showing them how it was done. It seemed to Rosa that the same person made her weapon and his. She remembered what Vanus said about her role. Her Kaelor were from the same school and made similar-style weapons.

"I was given this bow that can create a light polearm." Ravik said. He showed his weapon and pressed a button on the side of his bow. It collapsed in on itself and straightened. The head of the polearm was similar to a lightsaber blade, but there were some differences.

"When do we have to report back for updates?" Rosa asked.

"I have every third week." Ravik said.

"I report in once a month." Kaelor said.

"Rosa reports every other week. I report in if there is anything we need to take note of." Emerald said.

"Good. We got that covered. Oh, I may be taken every once and a while to check in with Kaiser." Rosa said.

"We have a few days to learn the lay of the land before the semester starts." Emerald said.

"Our classes we can ignore are marked. They are lead by teachers loyal to the Sith, and one is a Darth. Darth Magis. She's on the lookout for Jedi so we don't need to attend that class often." Kaelor said.

"We do need to attend weapons class. We believe the Jedi will reveal themselves there." Ravik said.

"I have open periods. I guess that those are for me to work with Kaiser." Rosa said.

"Or go back to Salem." Mercury said.

"You two need to get dressed. We're going to Headmaster Lionheart's office." Ravik said.

"He's wanting us now? What for?" Rosa asked.

"An introduction." Ravik said. Rosa nodded her head and went into her room. She would have time to go through her stuff later. She changed quickly. She finished getting her shoes on when Emerald knocked on her door.

"Waiting on you now." Emerald said.

"Just a second." Rosa put on the white armband and stood up. She spun around and made sure everything was sitting right. Good enough. She looked at her skin and saw it was still a little too pale. She opened the door, and Emerald noticed the skin tone as well.

"Right now, Rosa, you need to use your mask semblance. Later we can go over hiding dark side corruption." Emerald said. Kaelor and Ravik were impatiently waiting.

"I thought everyone had to have mastered that ability before they were brought out to the field." Ravik said. Emerald pulled out an artifact, a hairpin and pulled Rosa's hair into a ball. Rosa flinched at the sharp pain.

"Are you trying to rip out my hair?" Rosa asked.

"Just trust me." Emerald continued to fix Rosa's hair until it looked good enough. She placed the hairpin in her hair, and suddenly, the dark side presence of Rosa had faded. She saw the tan return to her skin.

"What the hell is that?" Rosa asked.

"An artifact I got from Tuskon. Don't worry about it." Emerald said.

"She better be good enough if she's this much of a risk." Kaelor said.

"I'm more than worth it." Rosa said.

"Whatever. Let's go." Ravik said.

They walked through the campus. There were enough people that seeing unfamiliar faces wasn't that out of the ordinary. No one paid them much attention as they entered Haven Academy. Rosa saw the statue in the main lobby.

"Who made that?" Rosa asked.

"No idea. They call it something pretentious like "Knowledge ascending" or some bull like that." Kaelon said. They walked through the hallways, Rosa memorizing everything she could. They got onto an elevator and waited as it ascended to the highest point of the school. The doors opened into the green waiting room. A secretary, a Sith assassin, was writing down important information.

"He's going to need a minute or two." The assassin said. She gave a wicked smile to the team.

"Who is it?" Rosa asked.

"One of the professors. She's being convinced to join our side right now. Slipped in something into the tea to make her see reason." The assassin said. Emerald leaned in.

"Call her Lightning" Emerald said.

"Do they have themed names now?" Rosa asked.

"Her sister was Siren. Lightning is her public name." Emerald explained.

"Oh." Rosa shook her head. The door opened, and the professor walked out. Rosa saw a telltale sign of darkness, a mark on her cheek. This professor, whoever it was, had joined with the Sith. She realized that the darkness must have worked differently on those with no force sensitivity.

"Ah, Team RKER, come on in. We have to talk." Leo Lionheart said. The door closed, and the office itself was shaped into a half-circle, with another, smaller half-circle jutting out to the room's front door. A large desk made of mahogany dominated the space of the autumn-colored office. In the right-hand corner, for a more comfortable setting, were a small table and chairs for guests. On the table is a tea set. Two tall bookshelves flank the front door. Spanning the far wall of the office and above the windows were a single shelf lined with books, boxes, and lamps. Ladders were present to provide access to the high shelves. Much of the floor was open, and a large, rectangular green rug led from the door to the desk. There were many boxes, books, and papers scattered about the floor. The ceiling slanted, declining from the front to the rear of the room. In the center of the ceiling was a chandelier of four lights with square-shaped shades.

"You did ask for us." Ravik said.

"That I did. Salem has told me of the plan, and I for one am fully on board. So are most of the professors here. I have received word that the Jedi Sun Wukong and Arslan Altan are on their way back here. However, I wasn't able to figure out what airbus they were using. If I did, I would have obviously had a bomb planted in it. We can't have the enemy realizing until it's too late that they are completely surrounded, so we can't have accidents on school grounds." Leo said.

"Of course." Emerald said.

"Salem also gave me instructions that Lady Umbra, or Rosa Rey as she is to be known here, is to be made available to work with Kaiser at any time." Leo said.

"We know that already." Rosa said.

"Oh, and it looks like the two Jedi teams, RWBY and JNPR, are en route to arrive in Mistral soon. They are not to be killed. They are the key to finding the Spring Maiden and Ozpin's reincarnation." Leo said.

"Odd. Why are two Jedi teams coming here?" Kaelor said.

"You can ask Rosa there." Leo said. "But that's at a later point. There are Jedi here. And more are coming to Mistral each day. Luckily, we don't have a clone presence, otherwise, you wouldn't be able to act so freely. We need to keep it that way. The White Fang are still gathering here. They've lost two major battles recently. They also won two battles, but that's not what's important. The White Fang are the bait and foot soldiers for the plans. Help them with whatever you can." Leo said.

"Anything else?" Ravik asked.

"If you go to the lower levels, watch yourselves. I know you are Sith, but there are somethings down there that are truly dangerous." Leo warned.

"Is that it?" Rosa asked.

"It is. Good luck." Leo said. Team RKER was ready.

Oscar stepped off the train and saw the gates of Mistral.

"This is where you need to focus Oscar. Keep a perfect knowledge of your surroundings. Let the force flow through you." Ozpin said.

"I understand." Oscar said. He had a headphone in, so it looked like he was talking with someone else. He felt off. This place was dark. He extended his vision and saw suffering down here. Oscar saw a woman in a window, and he turned his eyes away.

"How are they able to have that in the open?" Oscar asked.

"We are in the lower levels. We are outside the gates. We are outside the law right now." Ozpin said.

"Was it always this bad?" Oscar asked.

"No. No it wasn't." Ozpin said, a haunted voice coming out. Oscar saw two people fighting. His first instinct was to take out his lightsaber and stop them.

"Oscar, I am sorry, but we cannot fix the issues out here. That darkness is making things worse. The Sith are here, and your lightsaber will be a beacon to all of them. You will save nothing and no one by pulling it out here." Ozpin said. Oscar hurried along. He had to ignore the injustices going on here. There was someone high off some drug. He wondered why the train ticket was so cheap. Now he knew.

"Sadly, yes, that train has an… unsavory reputation. Only those who were down on their luck or trying to hide use that line." Ozpin said.

"Then why did we use it?" Oscar said.

"You are trying to hide." Oscar stopped a second before slamming into a larger man. He stepped out of the way as the person behind him slammed into the man. Oscar heard more vulgarity than words in that moment. He ran faster, but he heard the sound of guns being drawn.

"Are we even going to make it to the gates?" Oscar asked.

"That depends on you." Ozpin said.

"I swear I'm never coming back here." Oscar said. He felt his arm getting grabbed and he looked to see a woman holding his arm. She took a look at him.

"You look lost sweetheart. I can look out for you." She said. Oscar knew that she meant horrible things to him.

"No thank you, I know where I'm going." Oscar said.

"Come on sweetie." She leaned in closer. Oscar was surprised at her grip. "I'll let you feel 'em. A boy your age is always curious."

"No thank you." Oscar said.

"What, you one of those religious kids coming to the big city? Don't you realize you can do whatever you want? Come on, we don't ask questions in here." She said. He felt someone coming up from behind looking at his backpack.

"If your friend touches my stuff, there will be consequences." Oscar said. He put as much command into his voice as he could. She looked down at him with a surprised look.

"So, you aren't so gullible. I love that. We have ladies here who would love to see you." She said. Oscar flexed his muscle and brought his arm down. He broke her grip and looked at him with a shocked look.

"You make me want to take a bite out of you." She said smiling what should have been a seductive smile, but it didn't work on Oscar. Apparently, the man behind Oscar didn't know he was caught already. Oscar jumped up and kicked him in the face. The woman tried to grab hold of Oscar. He ducked out of her way.

"I want you more now."

"You need therapy!" Oscar said.

"Gods I love the strong ones." Oscar ran away.

"I don't know if that has happened before Oscar. Good job handling that." Ozpin said.

"What, being solicited?" Oscar asked.

"Oh, no, that has happened before. But being so young when they tried to get you. That's an unfortunate record you now carry." Ozpin said.

"Great." Oscar said.

"You know that man behind you probably was once in the same position." Ozpin said.

"I realized that, so I went easy on him."

"Good." Ozpin said.

Oscar was continuing to the gates when he saw a young man on the ground. There was a young woman next to him, and two… white fang members. Oscar felt the young man was still alive but wounded.

"He told you to give us what we want!" The first one said.

"Enough. Let go of her or die." Oscar said. The two white fang turned and laughed at Oscar.

"You leave me no choice." Oscar rushed forward and used the force in his kick. He spun in the air and landed a spinning ax kick. The first white fang member slammed into the ground. Oscar brought his elbow into the stomach of the second white fang member. Oscar grabbed his head and slammed it into his knee. The two white fang were still alive, but they were unconscious. Oscar took a breath. He turned back to the young man and woman.

"You two have to leave, now." Oscar said. The young woman, a ram faunus, and a human man. Oscar looked back at the two.

"You didn't kill them. But… soon, you will most likely have to take a life. Are you ready for that?" Ozpin asked.

"If only to help." Oscar said.

"Good."

Oscar finally got to the gate and had more Lien ready. There was a guard at the gate looking bored. He looked down at Oscar.

"Reason for entry?" He asked. Oscar put the Lien down. He raised his hand up and moved it.

"I'm meant to be in the city." Oscar said.

"You are meant to be in this city." The guard said. He let Oscar through.

"Clever." Ozpin said.

"A paper trail isn't the best thing to have right now." Oscar said.

"That is true." Ozpin said. Oscar waved down a taxi and got in. He needed to get to the higher levels.

The airbus landed on the docks. Qrow led the others out and introduced them to Mistral.

"The City of Mistral..." Qrow said as the last of them got off the airbus.

"Ugh! It's about time! We're a whole month late!" Nora said.

"Well, we did face many obstacles. The trials, training, and becoming knights." Ren said.

"Oh, and, you know, all those people and monsters that tried to murder us." Jaune said.

"Pfft, we were fine." Ruby said.

"Yeah, we made it through all of that!" Yang said.

"It prepared us for anything the Sith have to throw at us." Blake said. They started walking, Qrow leading them.

"So, how much farther to Haven Academy?" Jaune asked.

"Almost there. But I figured I'd take you kids on the scenic route. Don't fall behind." Qrow said.

The group approached a pair of large, wooden double doors, which Qrow opened, flooding the tunnel with sunlight. Ruby ran out onto a massive platform that doubled as an elevator, stopping at the railing to gaze out over the city in wide-eyed awe. The others joined her to take in the view of buildings and stone stairways perched on mountains.

"Mistral is a sight." Pyrrha said.

"It's certainly something." Qrow said. Ruby looked out at all the Kiosks and saw one that immediately caught her attention.

"Oh my gosh, look at all the weapons!" Ruby said. She rushed over to the Kiosk before anyone could stop her. She looked at all the different kinds of weapons he was selling. He had axes, swords, knives, dust daggers, pistols, and SMGs. He also had add-ons to other weapons.

"I guess we're going to take a stop here." Qrow said as the elevator stopped on that level.

"There are so many different kiosks here. What do they sell?" Weiss asked.

"Vendors here'll sell you just about anything... whether they should or not." Qrow said. They were high enough up that they didn't have to worry too much.

"They really made the most out of these mountains." Jaune said.

"Every inch. Stay away from the lower levels. The higher up you go, the nicer it gets." Qrow said. He let everyone look around for a few minutes.

"Alright, come back everyone. That means you Ruby!" Qrow said. Ruby turned around and thanked the vendor. She used her semblance to get onto the elevator. It started to move.

"And we are going up!" Nora said.

They had a few more stops on the higher levels. Yang got off quickly and grabbed everyone to-go boxes of Lo Mein. She handed them out as they ate. She handed everyone forks and chopsticks the vendor gave her. Qrow smirked his head.

"Well, if you're in the home of this type of food, might as well get it." Qrow said. His Lo Mein had chicken in it. The others didn't understand why he found amusement with that. Nora finished hers first, slamming it down.

"Thanks for the meal, Yang." Nora said.

"Did… Did you chew?" Weiss asked.

"Of course I did. I'm not an animal! But I do love noodles." Nora said with a smile on her face.

"Hope you realize we're getting close." Qrow said.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"We should see Leo shortly after entering the school." Qrow said. He turned around, wanting to see the reaction on their faces as they saw the school.

"Wow! Haven's huge!" Ruby said.

"It is as big as Beacon." Qrow said. He looked at all the other reactions and smiled. He wondered if that's what he looked like when he first arrived at Beacon. It was a large spacious complex with many different buildings all of regional architectural type. The front gates were open, and Leo Lionheart was standing there.

"Ah, Qrow, you've arrived. Good to see you." Leo held his hand out for Qrow. Qrow shook his hand.

"We have to talk Leo." Qrow said.

"Yes, we do." Leo said. Leo looked at the knights.

"Oh, and these must be the Youth you were talking about. We will have a place for you to stay while you are here. You'll be staying in the dorms while you're here, won't you?" Leo asked.

"Qrow has a house set up in the city for us, thank you though." Ruby said.

"Oh, I see. I was hoping since we have some dorms empty. Since Vytal, some have been… reluctant to come back. Especially those who… lost someone." Leo said. Pain filled his face. "Excuse me, children. I feel it is a personal failure that some of my students were killed by the Grimm." Leo said, not being able to look them in the eye.

"We understand." Jaune said.

Oscar got to the top of the mountain, giving a large chunk of his money to get here. He felt a pull here. He saw a bar and felt a pull from his cane. What?

"That must be Qrow." Ozpin said. Oscar snuck into the bar pretty easily. He slipped into the house and saw multiple people here. He saw a couple sloppily kissing each other.

"Get a room." He heard someone mumble from the other side of the room. They ignored Ozpin.

"Oz, you better get here soon." Oscar looked around to see who called for Ozpin.

"That was most certainly Qrow." Ozpin said. Oscar saw a man with a red cape, nearly passed out at the bar.

"Him?" Oscar asked, hoping the answer would be no.

"Yes, that's him." Ozpin said.

"Are you sure?" Oscar asked.

"Oscar, don't judge him right now." Ozpin said.

"Alright." Oscar said. Oscar stepped forward, standing behind Qrow.

"Excuse me." Oscar said. Qrow turned around, his eyes showed he had been drinking.

"You know, I don't think they allow kids in here, pipsqueak."

"Well, introduce yourself." Ozpin said. Oscar turned his head.

"Shut up, I'm getting there." Oscar said. He had Qrow's attention now. Qrow's eyes widen, then shrink in suspicion.

"Tell him 'I'd like my cane back.' He knows why." Ozpin said.

" Umm... I'm supposed to tell you... I'd like my cane back." Oscar said. Qrow blinked and closed his eyes for a brief moment before nodding with a slight smile. He stood up off of the bar stool and faced Oscar, causing Oscar to take a couple of steps back. Qrow lifted the collapsed cane off of his hip. He held it like a lightsaber.

"Hmm. It's good to see you again, Oz." Qrow said. Oscar thought he saw Ozpin smiling in his mind. Qrow tossed it at Oscar, who caught it reflexively. The cane immediately extended itself out from the collapsed base when it touched Oscar's hand. Oscar looked down at it, surprised. His other hand came around to hold the shaft before he looked up at Qrow and blinked.

"Qrow." Oscar said.

"Follow me Oz. We've got a lot to talk about. But not here. I got a safehouse nearby." Qrow said.

"And the padawans?" Oscar said, with Ozpin's voice coming out.

"Knights now. They're here. Ran into them on the way. Oz, I know you must have felt it too." Qrow put down Lien and ordered a bottle of Whiskey to go.

"The darkness." Oz said.

"Yes." Qrow grabbed the bottle and led the way.

Leo turned around to see the Seer Grimm.

"The knights are here, but they refused to stay here. Qrow suspects something. I don't think he suspects how big the situation is right now. But he knows something is off." Leo said.

"I see. Is Ozpin with him?" Salem asked.

"As far as we can tell, no." Leo said.

"And team RKER, was it? How are they?" Salem asked.

"They have settled in. Umbra, Rosa, seems to know that her former friends are here as well. Was it wise to bring her here?" Leo asked.

"Trust me Leo. I know what I am doing." Salem said.

"I will Lady Salem. I'm going to try to get to the knights again. Ask them if they want to join my students this term. Send them on missions. I looked through the records and saw that two of their band are from a town that was destroyed twelve years ago. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. I was hoping to send them back to their home and ambushing them there with the Grimm and Sith." Leo said.

"If you can Leo. But remember that you need to convince them that you are on their side. Everything I have given you can be taken away, Leo. Even Liliah can be taken from you." The Sith assassin who had become Leo's lover.

"I understand Lady Salem." Leo said.

"Good. Continue to look for Ozpin and the Maiden." Salem said. The seer ended comms.

Jaune was sitting on the red couches of the safe house Qrow found them. He was with Pyrrha and Yang. Yang was doing some research, and Jaune was reading his copy of the Jedi path, reading about the other lightsaber forms. He decided it may be best if he started training in another form. He was looking at Form III, to strengthen his defenses. Weiss was on the Balcony with Blake and Ren, meditating. She asked them to help her with her meditations and force training. And she would help them with lightsaber combat. Ruby was in her room. Nora was… somewhere. Jaune didn't know.

They heard a knock at the door. Jaune and the others turned their head to the door. Yang and Jaune grabbed their lightsabers. Jaune used the force to open the door, but before he turned his lightsaber on, they saw a young man, holding onto Qrow. Ruby was down in a second, holding onto her comic. The boy looked at them hesitant and uncomfortable. Jaune looks back over his shoulder at the others, Yang puts her lightsaber away.

"Can I help you?" Jaune asked.

"Is a Ruby Rose or Yang Xiao-Long here?" The boy asked.

"We're here." Yang said as she stepped forward. Qrow stumbled into the house and collapsed.

"Come on Uncle Qrow! You should know when not to drink!" Ruby yelled. Oscar looked up, and felt his breath catch in his throat. He recognized her as the girl in his vision in the cave. His mouth was open wide, and his heart may have skipped a beat.

"Oscar, are you going to stand in the doorway all night? Or are you going to introduce yourself?" Ozpin said. Ruby looked up and she recognized him.

"You're that boy from the cave!" Ruby said.

"What?" Jaune looked at Ruby confused.

"You mean when you and Jaune took your trial of insight?" Pyrrha asked.

"You have Silver eyes, Ruby." Oscar said.

"You said that in the cave." Ruby said.

"I found him!" Qrow said. Weiss opened the balcony door and looked in at the scene.

"What happened to peace and quiet?" Weiss asked.

"I found him!" Qrow shouted back. Weiss sighed as Blake grabbed her arm and brought her back down. Weiss was going to need to focus.

"Who is he?" Yang asked.

"My name is Oscar Pine…" Oscar said.

"Wait for it!" Qrow said.

"But you probably know me as... Professor Ozpin." Oscar said.

"I did it!" Qrow shouted.

"And We have a lot to talk about. I owe each of you a long explanation." Oscar said, Ozpin taking over. "But the most important thing is to say how glad I am to see you all again."

Author's Notes: Mistral here we come! We've made it to the start of Volume 5 (Though we may have to go back and do a few things from Volume 4.) The intrigue has begun!

With the new Sith team, REKR, the knights have to be careful. Each member of RKER is about as strong as Mercury or Cyan at their peaks. I was originally going to have the knights stay on campus but realized that would make things a lot harder as we go along.

If you have any suggestions for this story I would love to hear them. Please leave a Review and the rest

No reviews since last chapter. But there is good news. Andor Season 2 and Visions season 3. The best Disney Star Wars out there. And We are getting an episode from the studio that did Attack on Titan!

May the Force be With You

-DragonZlayerx12