Chapter 25
After the train cars holding the Knights on Argus Limited crashed, the group traveled to an abandoned farm. The Farm was surrounded by darkness and evil. Sith Artifacts and dangerous Grimm found home at the farm. After escaping the Knights made it to the city of Argus.
Pyrrha and Jaune ran through the streets of Argus to get to Pyrrha's mother's home. Pyrrha smiled as they moved through the streets that raised her. She didn't need a map to get to her home. Her heart remembered how to get around the city. People saw her running and stopped. Jaune could see the shock on their faces as they saw their former champion walking when they all knew she had lost use of her legs. Pyrrha stopped at a park and had a massive smile on her face.
"How are you walking?" Someone asked. Pyrrha turned around and saw the woman who asked her. Pyrrha wrapped her in a hug.
"It was a miracle." Pyrrha said. The woman didn't know what to do. Pyrrha let her go and saw people gathering around them. She found a bench and stood up on it.
"That's right everyone. The Sith did try to take away my legs. They took them away, but they were never able to break me. The Light entered me and a genuine miracle occurred. You here in Argus look. I am living proof that the Light is stronger than any darkness." Pyrrha said.
Jaune had never known her to be like this. It must have been the city. These were the people she grew up around. The people looked at her.
"What do you mean the light?" Someone asked.
"You all know it. That power that holds us up against the Grimm. The power that the Sith have lost. The Light is light and love." Pyrrha said. Jaune didn't know what to say to her. People watched her. They felt something stir in them. She stepped down and looked at Jaune. She started to blush.
"Sorry. I have no idea what came over me." Pyrrha said.
"Neither do I." Jaune said with a smile. Pyrrha looked around the city.
"Home. I'm home." Pyrrha said.
"Welcome home." Pyrrha stopped. Jaune looked up at the red-haired woman. She had the same eyes as Pyrrha. Jaune stood up.
"Mom." Pyrrha said. She jumped forward and hugged her mother.
"Pyrrha. I'm so sorry that I couldn't have been there sooner." She said. Jaune stayed behind Pyrrha. Pyrrha took a step back and turned to Jaune.
"Jaune, this is my mother, Monica Nikos." Pyrrha said.
"Monica?" Jaune commented.
"My parents had an older mindset to them. They didn't follow the traditional naming system. They chose my name from an ancient woman from their religion. But as you can tell… I didn't follow that idea myself." Monica said.
"I'm Jaune Arc." Jaune said. He shook Monica's hand.
"Finally, I get to meet the boy Pyrrha's been telling me about." Monica said.
Monica led them to her house. It was smaller than Saphron's house. It was a cozy family home. It was further in the city, away from the businesses. Monica invited Jaune in. Pyrrha took a step in and took a deep breath. She had a massive smile on her face. Monica put her coat up and looked at the two of them.
"Thank you for having us." Jaune said.
"No need to be so formal." Monica said. Pyrrha and Jaune took off their cloaks. Monica looked at Jaune's white robes he still wore. Jaune looked down and realized that he was still wearing Jedi robes. He forgot he was wearing robes; he was so used to them.
"Don't mind the robes. I forgot I was wearing them." Jaune said.
"We can get you some clothes here." Pyrrha said.
Ruby woke up first from her team. She saw that it was almost time for the sunrise. She got out of bed and looked at what she was going to wear. She stopped before putting on her casual clothes. She saw her Jedi robes. She didn't know why but she had a feeling it was going to be better if she wore that. She put it on. She didn't know why but she'd decided to follow those promptings when they came.
She left the house. She didn't know where she was heading. She was humming to herself as she walked down the road. She made her cloak over her, so she didn't feel the cold. She walked the streets around the house. As she grew with her force powers, like everyone else, she had learned tricks on how to remember how to get back. She was on her way back, not finding anything, when she got to an alleyway behind the houses.
"Really?" Ruby asked. She got the prompting. She didn't expect anything to answer her back, but she still questioned. She went down the alleyway.
She went to the back of the house. She found Maria sitting in a chair, sipping a drink from a straw. Ruby opened the gate. Maria didn't even turn her head when Ruby entered.
"What are you doing back here?" Ruby asked.
"Waiting." Maria said.
"For what?" Ruby asked.
"You, apparently." Maria put her drink down.
"Why?" Ruby asked.
"To discuss those eyes of yours." Maria said.
"I would be honored!" Ruby said. Maria put her hand up.
"Sit down." Maria said. "Let's start with what you do know. Tell me."
"Uh... Silver-eyed people are supposed to be legendary warriors. Or something. And at the Fall of Beacon, I turned a giant Wyvern into stone. A Venator came by and killed it." Ruby said. She was thinking hard. "I used my eyes in Mistral on Darth Ira when Rosa was hit."
"Oh, boy." Maria said.
"I'm sorry." Ruby said.
"Why didn't your master teach you more?" Maria asked.
"Master Windu came to the planet about the same time as Rosa." Ruby said.
"Should have figured." Maria said. "I had my father to teach me, and even he didn't have all the answers. But what he told me makes sense, given what I've seen."
"Was he a Huntsman or a Jedi too?" Ruby asked. Maria found a nostalgic smile find its way across her face.
"It wasn't really an official title back in his day. I only knew him as an old soldier and an excellent teacher. I never attended one of those fancy academies of yours, but I scored higher on the license exam than any other Huntsman or Huntress that day. He was a Jedi Knight. Never made it to master." Maria said. She saw her father in her mind's eye. She remembered his smile, his laugh, his voice. He was a good man.
"You must've been proud." Ruby said. She thought of Tai and smiled.
"Heh, he would've scolded me for showing off. He'd never been able to find much information about our abilities. Just legends of warriors whose eyes shone like mirrors, reflecting the light of the world onto darkness. He found so little, in fact, that it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare? Unless something was actively seeking to destroy them." Maria said. She remembered the last time she saw him.
"Salem…" Ruby said.
"I tried to keep my powers a secret, but as you know, it wasn't enough. I owe my life to my training and my Semblance. At the end of the day, those are still your most powerful tools." Maria said.
"What is your Semblance?" Ruby asked. A lemon fell from a tree about to drop into her cup. Maria caught it faster than it registered in Ruby's mind.
"Preflexes! A silly name I came up with. Hard to explain, but I can sense everything better than most and react to attacks almost before they happen. Combine that with my training and secret ability to turn Grimm to stone, or blind them, or vaporize them. They're better than Jedi reflexes too. If I had one of those fighters no one would have been able to touch me. And that's how you become the Grimm Reaper." Maria said.
"So, how do I laser beam monsters with my eyeballs?" Ruby asked. Ruby wasn't able to dodge Maria's cane. She grabbed the top of her head.
"First, you stop thinking like that! I want you to think of all the times you've triggered your powers. What did those moments have in common?" Maria asked.
"I... was scared, and stressed. Is it emotional? Like unlocking a Semblance?" Ruby asked. She was starting to understand why she was in her Jedi robes now. She had Master Windu who taught her everything about being a Jedi, and now she had Maria who would teach her about her eyes!
"It's emotional but more focused than that. Think, what is it you wanted?" Maria said.
"I wanted to protect my friends."
"Precisely! It is the desire to preserve life which fuels the light inside you. And to make no mistake, it is light. Preservation is an extension of creation, or, at the very least, an enemy of destruction. There is a reason every single silver-eyed warrior had an affinity for the light side of the force."
"Because it's pure light?" Ruby asked.
"Good." Maria said.
"Okay, where do we start?" Ruby asked.
"Well, not here. The light will only work in the presence of Grimm. Meaning the only practice you'll get will be a trial by fire. But, what you can do is focus on creating a state of mind that you can tap into when you need it. Don't think about your light as a means of destroying evil, but as a way to protect the people of Remnant." Maria said.
"It's kind of like Vaapad." Ruby said.
"I have no idea what that is." Maria said.
"It's Master Windu's special lightsaber form. He's a form VII specialist but he created a form of lightsaber combat that uses the dark side against itself. I've… had struggles getting into the mindset. You have to enjoy fighting. You have to move close to the edge. It's all in the mind." Ruby explained.
"Dangerous. Probably the only reason you can do it is because of those eyes. They give you a layer of protection." Maria said.
"Really?" Ruby asked.
"Of course, you can still fall. If you do, your eyes can't be used anymore. The power comes from the light side." Maria said. The back door opened. Terra was taking out the trash.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to disturb anything." Terra said.
"Oh, no, this is your home. We're not trying to be in the way." Ruby said.
"I finished my drink anyway." Maria said.
"Where'd you get that?" Terra asked.
"I'm a big girl. I can move around on my own." Maria said. Maria brought the rest of the bottle from her jacket and handed it to Terra.
"This… this is the expensive stuff." Terra said.
"What can I say? At my age, you have good taste." Maria walked into the house. Terra looked at Ruby. She looked down at her lightsabers for a second.
"Have you seen lightsabers before in person?" Ruby asked.
"No. I didn't know they existed until the Atlas." Terra said. Ruby handed one of her lightsabers to Terra.
"This is lighter than I thought." Terra examined it. She looked closely at the various parts of the lightsaber.
"Sorry. I'm kind of a nerd when it comes to swords." Terra said.
"You like weapons too?" Ruby asked. She knew she liked Terra for a reason.
Rosa was walking the streets. She knew they had to wait for a ship to arrive, but that didn't mean she had to like wasting her time. She liked Jaune's sister's house. Yang and Weiss thought Adrian was adorable. She thought he was cute… but… seeing the baby… It reminded her about what Salem had her do. She forced those women to bear children they had no relationship with. They didn't have a say over their bodies. Salem forced them to bear those children. Those children were going to be gathered up one day by Salem or Kaiser or someone. It wasn't right!
She found a bench and sat down. Blake turned the corner and saw her.
"Rosa? You okay?" Blake asked. She sat down next to Rosa.
"Yeah. Seeing Adrian… I'm sorry. I shouldn't be blaming him." Rosa said.
"What's going on?" Blake asked. Rosa pulled out her scroll. She sent Blake a file. It was the report from the datapad. She read over it.
"Five children? You and Kaiser?" Blake asked.
"Salem always got what she wanted. She wanted children. She has them. It's been a few months. The women were probably moved so we don't know where they are. I… They don't deserve the life I forced on them." Rosa said. She leaned forward. She ran her hands through her hair.
"Do you want to find them before the Sith take them?" Blake asked.
"And do what? I'm not their mother. I'm just a donor. I have no rights to them." Rosa said.
"I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. This is a lot." Blake said.
"I know. But you don't have to apologize. These are my mistakes." Rosa said. "How do you deal with mistakes?"
"I used to just run away. Like when you all first learned I was a faunus, or when I left the White Fang. But… there were some mistakes that you can't just run from. What I said to my parents when I went with Kaiser for one. Gods I was so stupid. I was so nervous when we went to see them. But they forgave me long ago. Weiss and I had to forgive each other. We had to deal with the fact that trusting Maku hurt you and helped push you over to the dark side." Blake said.
"When I was a Sith, I didn't look at my own actions. I did terrible things. I… I…" Rosa couldn't get the words out. She looked down at Maku's lightsaber. She bleed the crystal. She murdered people. She learned to be cruel.
"What did you do?" Blake asked.
"I… I killed Jedi. I murdered people." Rosa said. Her eyes had a distant look to them. Rosa couldn't focus on anything. Blake shifted slightly. Blake put her arm on Rosa's shoulder.
"I don't know what to say. What made you kill Jedi?" Blake asked. There was no judgment in her voice.
"I was filled with hatred. I was filled with anger. I was filled with hurt. I saw the Jedi as responsible. I saw them as the ones who hurt me. I wanted to hurt them back. I killed a master and padawan. I attacked alliance outposts." Rosa said.
"The darkness was influencing you." Blake said.
"I know that. It felt like I wasn't me. I was Umbra. Rosa was dead. There was no good in the world because I couldn't trust anyone. Salem warped my mind and made me think that evil things were good and good things were evil. She made me see in strong and weak. She made me think there was no hope for me so I might as well do what all Sith do." Rosa said.
"What helped you realize what you were doing was wrong?" Blake asked.
"After Mercury revealed who I was, everything began to change. That old persona, Rosa, came back. I thought you all would hate me. I thought that you all would try to kill me. Salem had been telling me that. Vanus had been telling me that. But I saw that wasn't true. Then I talked with Yang. I realized how much anger I was holding in was about me. I was angry with myself. I didn't know what was true anymore." Rosa said.
"You are trying to make up for those mistakes now, aren't you?" Blake asked.
"In any way I can, but how can I?" Rosa asked.
"I think you're already doing it. Do you see the Sith as evil?" Blake asked.
"Yes." Rosa said.
"You're trying to destroy that evil now, right?" Blake said.
"Yes." Rosa said.
"That's a good first step. There is no line that you cross and think finally you've made up for all the evil you've done. I've realized you look back and see you've long since passed what others saw as a line." Blake said.
"Thanks, Blake." Rosa said.
Blake wrapped her arm around Rosa.
"You can always come to us. We're all glad to help in any way that we can." Blake said.
"I know. Thanks." Rosa said, a smile on her face. A glint of sunshine hit her eye. She brought her hand up and blocked the sunlight.
"Must be by something." Rosa said. She got up, and so did Blake.
"I'm still going to walk around. I still need to think about some things." Rosa said.
"Do you need someone to go with you?" Blake asked.
"I don't think so." Rosa said.
"That didn't sound so sure." Blake said.
"I'm not sure." Rosa said.
"I could walk with you if you need it." Blake said.
"Don't you have things to do?" Rosa asked.
"I finished that stuff up. I was coming back to the house." Blake said.
"Sure. Let's walk." Rosa said. They got up and left. After they left the street, a man in armor got up from his hiding spot. That was the same woman he saw using Amber's powers in Mistral. He turned to his wrist computer and saw a name pop up.
"Rosa Reidan. Former Beacon student. Former Padawan. Former Sith. Lots of formers there." He said. His voice came out from a voice modifier in his helmet.
Nora and Ren went to the Alliance outpost in Argus to see if there was anything that they could do to make it go faster.
"We're Jedi. There has to be something we can do here that will speed things up." Nora said. The clone that she was talking to shook his head.
"We can't spare the ships. Argus has been seeing more and more Grimm. We can't spare any ships at the moment. We have to wait for Atlas to send back more ships. With the failed coup in Mistral, people's emotions have been bringing more Grimm to the walls. We're stretched thin as it is." The clone said.
"Is there anything we can do? Can't you tell us where the Grimm are so we can take care of them?" Ren asked. The clone turned his head.
"Let me see them." The voice came out. It was an older woman's voice she got up to see them. She was shorter than Nora thought she would be.
"Commander Cordovin, these are…" The clone started.
"Jedi Knights Nora Valkyrie and Li Ren. I was at Hellio." Cordovin said.
"You were? We didn't see you." Nora said. Cordovin tried to hide the anger rising.
"I was in the air." Cordovin said.
"Is there something we can do? We need to get to Atlas as fast as we can." Ren said.
"We can't send you as you know. But the city council has a few missions they need. They're offering search and destroy missions." Cordovin said.
"That will help get us to Atlas faster?" Ren asked.
"It could free up a ship in the end." Cordovin said. "If we have a decrease in Grimm we can send a messenger to Atlas."
"It's better than nothing." Nora said.
They grabbed all the missions that they could find and went back to the house.
Jaune found a white pair of pants, a black shirt, and a white vest. He put on his belt. He looked in the mirror as he was putting on the new clothes. It was somewhat formal, but it gave so much breathing room. It was unbalanced. Pyrrha handed him a black jacket with a red inside on him. She handed him a red tie. The red of the jacket matched the red inside his pants. He found a pair of nicer black shoes with golden accents. The belt had a big golden buckle on it. He grabbed his utility belt and put it on above the first belt. His lightsaber and the blaster hung on his waist. Pyrrha helped him adjust both, by attaching his Jedi belt to the other belt. Jaune felt the pockets in the jacket and the pants.
"This… is different." Jaune said.
"You look like a hero." Pyrrha said. She snapped her finger and grabbed a pair of black gloves with golden highlights on the knuckles. Jaune unbuttoned the top button and lowered the tie. He looked in the mirror.
"I can see what you were saying." Jaune said. He moved his arms around and the extra space in the elbows helped him move around. He shook his head.
"Honestly, this could probably get you about anywhere. The vest ties it all together." Pyrrha said. Jaune smiled. Pyrrha leaned forward and kissed Jaune. He smiled. He clenched his fists and felt how comfortable he was with the gloves.
"Amazing. This feels good. I feel like I can move around in this, but I also feel like I look good." Jaune said.
"That was the point." Pyrrha said.
"I got a new outfit, but what about you?" Jaune asked.
"Right here." Pyrrha pointed to the outfit on her bed.
"Do you want me to leave so you can get dressed?" Jaune asked.
"I didn't leave." Pyrrha said, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.
"Yes! Right…" Jaune said. "But your mom…"
"She's out right now." Pyrrha said.
"Ok…" Jaune said. Pyrrha smiled as his face was burning up. She did have a thought... but he did just get into those clothes.
Pyrrha changed into her new outfit. She chose to wear a black shirt as a base level. It went to her neck, and she wore a heavy layer above the base. It was a dark red. It was a dress that reached to about where the Beacon uniforms went. The gold buttons gave small dots of color against the red. The dress went to her wrists and had a strap that held up the last few inches of sleeve. There was a belt in the dress itself, tied together by a bug gold belt buckle with her emblem on it. Pyrrha grabbed a red capelet that had a gold button and put it on as an outer layer. The collar of the dress went down over the capelet. Pyrrha opened the top buttons of her dress, which were still covered by the capelet. She put her lightsaber and the blaster pistol in there. She grabbed the blaster she built and pressed a button halfway down. The blaster collapsed in on itself. She hooked it on the side of her dress.
"We're ready for the cold of Atlas now." Jaune said.
"How do I look?" Pyrrha asked.
"Beautiful. The Red really makes your eyes shine." Jaune said. Pyrrha let out a smile.
"I think it's time we finally go back to see everyone else." Pyrrha said.
"Have you told your mother?" Jaune asked.
"I did." Pyrrha said.
Jaune nodded and they made their way back to Terra and Saphron's house. Terra was outside watching Adrian playing with some friends. Terra looked up and saw Jaune and Pyrrha.
"Jaune! Gods you look different." Terra said hugging him.
"Last time you saw me was… Before Beacon?" Jaune asked.
"Something like that." Terra said. She turned to Pyrrha.
"And no one in Argus could forget you, Pyrrha. Made quite a stir in the park." Terra said. Pyrrha blushed as Jaune went down to Adrian's level.
"How's my best Nephew?" Jaune asked.
"Isn't he your only nephew?" Nora asked as she opened the door.
"Hey guys." Jaune said.
Oscar stood next to him, wearing new clothes as well. He wore an olive coat with dark red shoulder pads and a belt. Underneath, he wore a white collared shirt, and bandages wrapped around the neck. His gloves were slightly open U-shapes with black X-pattern wrist straps. He also wore black trousers and red boots colored orange at the toe. His Jedi utility belt was around his waist with the collapsed cane and his lightsaber.
"We got missions. Search and destroy." Oscar said, holding up the mission packets. He handed them to Jaune.
"Nice outfit." Jaune said.
"Same." Oscar said. Jaune handed Pyrrha the packet after opening it and seeing all the missions they took on.
"That's quite a lot." Pyrrha said.
"Fastest way of getting to Atlas." Nora said.
"Really?" Jaune asked.
"Yes. We have to earn our tickets to Atlas I seems." Oscar joked.
"Well… we aren't afraid of work." Jaune said. "Who has the relic?"
"Weiss has it right now." Ren said.
"Is team RRWBY not coming?" Jaune asked.
"They're not back yet. We've downloaded all the different missions so we're going to report them back when we finish them." Oscar said.
"Which one first?" Pyrrha asked.
"I was hoping to deal with the caves." Nora said.
"I would like to do the forests." Oscar said.
"And I thought we should take the roads." Ren said.
Jaune looked over at the three. They were all good options.
"Anyone got a chance cube?" Jaune asked.
"Is there one around the dish?" Terra asked.
"The Dish?" Ren asked. Terra pointed to the cliff that protected Argus. There was a massive satellite dish up there.
"I think we have one… here it is." Pyrrha picked it out. Everyone looked at each other and decided to do it.
"Since you're asking, we'll do it." Jaune said.
Ruby walked into the house. Weiss was studying with the Holocron. The Relic was on the table next to them.
"What are you learning today?" Ruby asked.
"How to use my semblance with the force." Weiss said. She was listening to what Niclas had to say to her.
"Where's everyone else?" Ruby asked.
"Rosa and Blake were walking. Yang's with the clones. Team JNPOR is hunting Grimm. I don't know where Qrow is." Weiss said.
"They didn't tell me about the Grimm missions?!" Ruby shouted.
"You weren't here." Weiss said.
"It's just the one thing I need to start to figure out how my eyes work." Ruby said. Niclas turned around to Ruby.
"Do you have Silver eyes?" Niclas asked. Weiss and Ruby looked at him.
"Yes." Ruby said. She was surprised.
"I knew many Silver-Eyed Jedi in my day. I married one." Niclas said.
"We have blue eyes." Weiss said.
"Now, but not always." Niclas said.
"Maria is teaching me about my eyes now." Ruby said.
"I see." Niclas said. "In my days the Silver-Eyed Jedi were numerous, but from the data I've gathered over the centuries since my time, the number has decreased."
"Salem." Ruby said.
"I assumed so." Niclas said.
Rosa felt that she was being followed. Blake noticed it too. It was subtle, but every so often she was able to catch the same presence even after they had traveled far. Rosa shot Blake a glance. They didn't recognize the presence. Rosa felt her weapons on her hip. She felt the lightsabers and the daggers.
"They're good if they're hiding from you." Rosa said.
"That's what worries me." Blake said. They turned the corner and saw an empty street. This was a large city. There shouldn't have been empty streets.
"This can't be good." Rosa said. They heard the sounds of jetpacks. They landed around Rosa and Blake.
"Our leader would like to have a word with you." The Mandalorian said. Blake and Rosa were back-to-back.
"Who's your leader?" Rosa asked.
"Me." The Mandalorians spread out revealing a man with two lightsabers on his belt, and a blaster around his back. Rosa looked at the armor.
"Is that Mandalorian Iron?" Rosa asked.
"It is. Brought here by our ancestors. Gifted to us once we proved ourselves." The leader said.
"Mandalorian Iron? That's the lightsaber resistance stuff, right?" Blake asked.
"Yes. Your lightsabers won't be able to stand against our armor." The Leader said.
"What do you want from us?" Rosa asked.
"I need a question answered. Are you the Fall Maiden?" The leader asked.
"Yes." Rosa said.
"Did you kill Amber, my sister?" He asked.
Jaune looked around the top of the hill. There were no Grimm to be seen yet. Oscar looked at the paper.
"They do say that the satellite tends to have a higher amount of Grimm attacks than normal. They specified some of the Grimm as well." Oscar looked down the list. He stopped.
"Something's not right here." Oscar said. Jaune took out his lightsaber.
"I feel it too." Pyrrha took out her lightsaber. She spun around and brought her lightsaber down, blocking the lightsaber of Lord Vespera. He jumped back and turned on the second blade. Nora and Ren had their lightsabers out as well.
"So, you made it." Vespera said.
"This isn't going to end well for you." Nora said.
"I'll take my chances." Vespera said. Vespera rushed forward toward Oscar. Nora jumped next to Oscar and brought her lightsaber up. Vespera swung his lightsaber on a wide arch. Nora brought her lightsaber down and blocked the attack. Oscar stood next to Nora and thrust his lightsaber forward. Vespera jumped back.
"Salem wants him alive." Darth Requiem said as he dropped from the sky on the back of a Nevermore. Had landed on the ground and turned on his lightsaber. The Nevermore stayed in the sky. Jaune entered battle meditation. He contacted Pyrrha, telling her to take out the Nevermore. Pyrrha nodded her head. Requiem turned on a dual-sided lightsaber. Jaune and Ren went after Requiem.
Yang shot up as she was walking back from the outpost. She felt something was happening in the city. She focused her senses… Rosa and Blake! They were in trouble! Yang got on her bike and started driving. She felt them through the force. She tried sending something that told them she was coming for them. She didn't know if they got it, but she had to hope. Luckily for her, they weren't that far. Unluckily, she had to deal with everyone else. She tried looking for other ways around people but couldn't find anything. She was stuck behind a car.
Yang started to get anxious. She hadn't had too many promptings from the force like this. She wished she was able to teleport like her mother right now. The light couldn't get green fast enough.
"Dammit." She said. Her foot was tapping against the road. She didn't know what she could do to make it go faster. It turned green and Yang was able to go around the car shortly after. She was focused on getting to Blake and Rosa. She felt their presence growing stronger. She had to be ready for anything.
Yang turned a corner down a street and saw a bunch of fully armored Mandalorians.
"What's going on here?" Yang shouted.
"Yang!" Rosa shouted out.
"What are you doing with my friends there?" Yang asked.
"You must be the famous Yang Xaio-Long." The leader of the group said. Yang looked down and saw the two lightsabers he had. Yang immediately jumped off her bike.
"We've met plenty of Mandalorians already. There's no need for this to become something it isn't." Yang said.
"Who? Bora Lone?" One of the Mandalorians said in a derisive tone. The Leader turned to him. She didn't know how, but she knew that he was glaring at his subordinate. He turned back to Yang.
"This could all be over now. Tell me, did you kill Amber?" The leader turned toward Rosa.
"I don't know who that is." Rosa said.
"She was attacked by a Sith. She vanished because of the Sith. You were a Sith. Did you murder my sister?" He said each sentence clearly, but Yang could tell Rage was building up in him. She had no idea who Amber was. But the fact he knew about Rosa and the Sith… that wasn't good news.
"I killed Darth Vanus and took the power from her. She never told me where she got the power." Rosa said.
The leader turned to Yang.
"If this is true, Jedi, we have no issue with you. If I find out you lied. I will hunt down and kill every last one of your group." The leader said. Yang took out her lightsaber. The other Mandalorians took a step back. The leader didn't. He grabbed one of his own lightsabers. A blue light shined from the blade.
"You killed Jedi?" Yang asked.
"Sith. Then I replaced the crystal." He said. The way he said it let Yang know he was stronger than she thought. He looked at the other two. They took out their lightsabers.
"Scatter." He said. His Mandalorians flew away until it was just him and the three. He looked between the Jedi.
"If you back down, nothing needs to happen. If not…" He took out the second lightsaber. Another blue crystal.
Rosa looked back at Blake and at Yang.
"How can we trust you to keep your word?" Rosa asked.
"I am a Mandalorian." He said. The words were both promise and threat. One of his men came back down.
"We have Sith and Jedi fighting on the clifftop by the dish." He said. They turned to the dish.
"So, the Sith are here too. I may get another blade yet." The leader said. He brought his wrist out into an alleyway and sent a wire cable it came back and it was a jetpack. He placed it on his back and flew away.
"What are the chances that the Jedi aren't the others?" Blake asked.
"Probably zero." Yang said.
"You two meet me up there." Rosa said. Before they could say anything, she created the wings and started flying.
"Dammit. We don't have information here." Yang said. She jumped on her bike with Blake.
Weiss and Ruby left the house and saw Mandalorians flying toward the clifftop. They then saw Rosa flying.
"Something's going on up there." Ruby said.
"Got it." Weiss summoned the Drexl. Ruby hopped on next to her and they were off. They saw Yang and Blake as they were rising in the air. They were going in the same direction.
"I see a bunch of Grimm coming to the dish." Weiss said. This was going to be a hot landing.
"Should we tell the Alliance base about this?" Ruby asked.
"We don't have time." Weiss said.
Pyrrha had killed the Nevermore easily, but after she killed it, hordes of Grimm were coming from the forest. She turned around and blocked the strike from another Sith. She appeared from the woods.
"You're here too?" Pyrrha asked. Luctus was here. She jumped back and looked at Pyrrha.
"Once we heard there were Jedi in the city, we had to find out who we had to kill." Luctus said.
"You're not getting us today." Pyrrha said. A Beowolf jumped over Luctus. Pyrrha quickly killed it with a slash. Luctus pointed her lightsaber at Pyrrha.
"Let's see how many you can kill." She said. More Grimm rushed at her. She slashed at them as they came.
Requiem blocked Ren and Juane at the same time. He looked at the two Jedi. He could feel the pressure on his mind as Jaune was using battle meditation. He heard the sounds of jetpacks. He looked up and saw Mandalorians landing on the levels of the station. They brought out their weapons and started shooting the hoard of Grimm. There was one that dropped down and took out two lightsabers. Ren and Jaune pushed Requiem back. Requiem brought his hand forward and the Grimm rushed his opponents.
"What are you doing in Argus?" The leader asked.
"Mandalorians are always getting in the way it seems." Requiem said. The Leader pointed a lightsaber at Requiem.
"Leave this city alone or die." He said.
"Is that a challenge?" Requiem asked. He felt more and more of the Grimm were being killed.
Rosa dropped down in the middle of the battlefield with her lightsabers on. Weiss and Ruby dropped after riding a Drexl summon.
"This is getting out of hand." Requiem said to himself.
Qrow brushed off his hands. The two Sith who fought him as he searched the connecting road to Argus and the other cities that Argus connected to, were dead now. The seven cities that Argus connects to, otherwise known as the Argus protectorate, were all small cities the size of Pare, Hellio, or Cheland. The protectorate was under the authority of Mistral but was given some privileges other areas of the Kingdom weren't. Mistral itself, and the thirty large cities it protected were still a much larger force. They each had alliance outposts. They each had a shared mission which he took on. They were having reports of "bandits" on the road to the protectorate. But if Argus was able to do one thing, it was taking care of simple bandits.
Raven dropped by next to him. She looked at the dead Sith at his feet.
"What is it?" Raven asked.
"I needed to pick your brain. Your people knew to stay out of this part of Mistral. Have you heard of an increase of bandits in the protectorate?" Qrow asked.
"No. I haven't. The protectorate isn't fond of them." Raven said.
"They seem to have forgotten that message." Qrow said.
"My men have already left. We aren't involved with this area anymore." Raven said.
"I know. Something…" Qrow started. He and Raven turned back to Argus.
"Dammit. That's Yang." Raven said.
"Are you going to run, or help?" Qrow asked.
"She hates me. She won't want my help." Raven said. She looked down at the ground.
"You need to stop making those bullshit excuses. She's mad at you because that's how you've always treated her existence." Qrow said.
"I've messed up. There's no way she'd forgive me." Raven said.
"You don't even know her. It may take a while, but if you keep acting like this, you'll have fulfilled your self-fulfilling prophecy." Qrow said. Raven looked at Qrow.
"I don't want to hurt her anymore." Raven said.
"Which is what you'll do if you keep thinking like this." Qrow said. Raven looked at Qrow, she brought her sword out and created a portal. Qrow ran in first. Raven followed after.
Yang was driving up the hill when she saw her mother's portal open. She almost crashed.
"Yang! Focus or we'll both die." Blake said.
"Sorry. Raven's here." Yang said. She saw a crow fly passed them.
"Are you sure?" Blake asked. Yang saw a Raven fly and land on the glass in front of her bike.
"Positive. Why'd you show up Mother?" Yang asked. The Raven looked at her. It opened its mouth, then shut it.
"I felt you were in danger." Raven sent Yang.
"Since when did you start caring?" Yang asked.
"I'm sorry Yang. I know I've been terrible. I am trying to be better." Raven said.
"Summer told me that I'd have to let go of my hate for you. She's the reason I'm trying." Yang said.
"She came to me the night before the attack on Haven. She's been helping me remember… That I don't have to be afraid of the darkness anymore. That I don't have to run." Raven said.
"You've seen her?" Yang asked.
"I don't understand how." Raven said.
They got over the hillcrest and were in the air. Blake and Yang let go of the bike and took out their lightsabers. They saw a battle going on. Everyone was here no. Raven landed and turned back into herself. Bumblebee slammed into the head of a Grimm. Yang rolled and pressed a quick sequence on her robotic hand, making the bike leave the area. She brought her lightsaber up and into an Ursa Grimm. She saw Mandalorians firing at the Grimm. A few Sith fighting everyone else, including a Mandalorian who was using two lightsabers. Blake went next to Yang and looked at the scene ahead of them.
"What is going on?" Blake asked.
"Something." Yang said. Raven was in the air and brought both of her hands down to the ground. It started to shake and quickly, a giant tree burst from the ground where Jaune and Pyrrha were fighting Luctus.
"You sure like trees." Nihil popped down from the top of the tree.
"What the hell?" Raven quickly blocked the strike. She spun in the air as she landed on the ground, dropping two vials. The vials released a pinkish color from them. Nihil brought her hands down and touched the gas. It hardened and rushed toward Blake and Yang. They brought up force bubbles, so the shards broke on impact or missed. Raven dropped down, air going around her face. Nihil laughed.
"This has gotten way out of hand. Salem would want us to regroup. So much for our simple reconnaissance mission." Nihil said. Raven swung her lightsaber down. Nihil brought up her lightsaber and blocked it. Raven brought her free hand forward and slammed Nihil into the tree. Her hood went back, revealing pink hair.
"What?" Yang asked.
"Do you like it?" Nihil asked.
"You… why are you called Nihil?" Raven asked. She couldn't figure it out. If Nihil meant what she thought it meant, nothing, then why was this person called Nihil?
"Because nothing lives after I'm done." She said in a sickeningly sweet voice that made Blake's skin crawl. She looked behind where some of the shards missed. The trees were all dead.
"Yang, be careful not to inhale any of that stuff." Blake said. Yang nodded her head.
"You won't be able to do it forever." Nihil said. She brought her lightsaber up, but then she jumped to the top of the tree. She turned to the other Sith.
"Salem's calling us back now!" Nihil shouted.
Luctus broke off her fight with Nora and Ruby. She jumped back into the tree lines. Rosa raised her hand and sent a ball of fire her way. A Grimm jumped into the path of the fire. Requiem dropped a vial of darkness and created Nexu Grimm.
"A Nexu?" The leader asked. Rosa looked at him. He was looking at Requiem. The two had fought, mostly uninterrupted. The Leader had to kill a few Grimm, and Rosa tried to jump in a few times. Vespera was still fighting Oscar. He blocked a strike from Oscar and brought his lightsaber up. Oscar's lightsaber was briefly in the air. Vespera brought his knee into Oscar's stomach. Oscar dropped down, but before he could recover, Vespera kicked him back. Ren jumped and caught him.
"I'd say this mission has been a success." Nihil said. The others were in the forest. Rosa felt the familiar darkness of the portals. The Grimm were still all around. Nihil took out a red vial and tossed it into the hoard of Grimm. Whatever it was energized them. Nihil jumped into the shade of the tree and vanished.
"We still have the Grimm to deal with." The Leader said. His Mandalorians continued to fire at the Grimm taking them out, but now they took more shots, and were moving faster. The Nexu Grimm jumped forward and slashed at the Leader. He was slammed into the ground. The noise of the claws scrapping against his armor filled Rosa's ears. She brought her hands forward and a shard of ice came at the Nexu. It jumped off the Leader. It avoided the shard. Rosa realized it was going after her now.
The Leader raised his wrist, and the cable wire shot out and wrapped one of the legs of the Nexu. A Beowolf rose up behind the Leader. Rosa threw her lightsaber at the Beowolf. It stuck in his chest. She ran forward, jumping over the Nexu, and the leader. She grabbed her lightsaber. She took it out of the Beowolf. It let out a cry, then swiped at her. She rolled to the side.
Ruby rushed forward, using her semblance to get behind the Beowolf. She quickly took out Cresent Rose and fired it. The bullet went partway through the head of the Beowolf. There was a massive chunk missing, but it was still alive.
"How hard do we have to hit them now?" Rosa asked. She brought up her hand and sent out a blast of force lightning at the Beowolf. It backed up. Ruby spun in the air and wrapped Crescent Rose around the neck of the Grimm. She twisted her body, and the head fell to the ground. She stood next to Rosa.
"Whoever that Sith was made these things so much stronger." Rosa said.
Weiss was hanging onto a Beowolf trying to get her lightsaber up, but it kept moving. She gritted her teeth and just turned her lightsaber on. She had it about halfway up the Beowolf's body. It stopped moving for a second. She was about to bring her lightsaber out when the Beowolf's head exploded. Weiss brought her lightsaber out and turned around. It was one of the Mandalorians. The Grimm were starting to move toward the dish itself.
Yang brought her lightsaber across as she ducked, cutting the legs of an Ursa Grimm. It collapsed to the ground. She got up and spun her lightsaber. The Ursa tried to swipe at her legs, but she jumped in the air. She brought her lightsaber down it to the head of the Ursa.
"Don't get up." Yang said. The Grimm didn't listen. She took her lightsaber out and swung it at her feet. The head bounced and the Grimm was killed. Yang looked over at Blake and saw her dealing with a King Taijitu. She jumped in the air, spinning, wrapping the Grimm with her ribbons. She quickly brought her arms up and around a heavy tree limb. She quickly tied the ribbons together. She jumped down and tossed Gambol Shroud into the head of the second half. The white half turned its head to look at Blake as she fell.
"Need a hand?" Yang asked.
"Take the black half." Blake said. She landed and grabbed Gambol Shroud. She fired it into the Grimm annoying it. Yang rushed forward and slammed into the black half. Blake took out her lightsaber and slashed at the eyes of the Grimm. She was still holding onto Gambol Shroud as it rose up and tried to throw her off. She lost her footing, but not her grip.
Yang hit the black half so hard it was moving toward Blake. She raised her lightsaber, and the black half slammed into it. The Lightsaber stuck out of the other end. Yang rushed in and jumped, slashing in a sideways flip. The slash cut off the head of the black half. Blake found her footing again and slashed into the back of the Grimm, leaving a gash. She went to her belt and took out a small dust grenade. She put it in the gash and pulled out Gambol shroud. She ran down the body of the King Taijitu as the grenade went off. The head blew right off. She stopped at the halfway point and made a quick slash, cutting the Grimm in two. Just in case.
The Leader had the attention of the Nexu now. It growled at him. He put away his lightsabers and took out his blaster. The blaster was his own creation. Clan Pride he called it. It was in the Carbine mode. He fired it, and each round fired different dust bullets. At the short range, the Nexu took the hits. It had to. He stopped firing to take out the used magazine and the Nexu jumped him at that very second. It slammed him against the ground. He brought up his wrist and activated the flamethrower. The Nexu jumped off of him. He got up and switched the blaster into its first mode. This mode he called Clan Honor. It was the assault rifle mode. The "HMX-15" as some called it. It stood for "Hunter-Mandalorian executioner" made by the gunsmiths. The fifteen stood for the amount of guns it could possibly be made into. The creator was the Gunsmith known as "Hawkstrike."
The Nexu didn't dare move against him. He was ready. It made the first move. He brought the gun up and let the burst rounds fire. Five bullets hit the same spot on the head of the Nexu. It crashed on the ground behind the Leader. He pressed a button by the bump stock, and a bayonet came out to the front. He brought the Bayonet down into the head of the Nexu. He fired again. Making sure it was dead.
The leader turned around. The Grimm weren't advancing anymore. Pyrrha had been taking down more and more of them. She took down two Ursa at once. The Leader knew she was a powerful opponent. She would have made a good Mandalorian. If she could fight that well in what she was wearing… he didn't want to know if she was in Mandalorian armor.
Jaune raised his hand and sent out a massive force wave, sending the Grimm back multiple meters. Rosa went next to him and brought her hands up. She created a massive ball of fire. The Grimm were beginning to get up when she sent it. The Grimm were clumped together and were hit by the ball. Many of the weaker Grimm were killed on impact. The others got back up and continued to burn.
"Just stay down." Rosa said. She brought her hands to the ground and the tree roots below them came out of the ground and impaled many of the Grimm. Instead of killing them, the roots started to catch on fire.
"Oh fuck." Rosa said.
"I think that just made them angrier." Jaune said. The first one broke away from the root. It was a Beringel Grimm. There was a Beowolf Grimm that got in its way, only for the Beringel to grab it by the neck and rip the Beowolf's head off. It was still burning and had a massive root sticking out of it. It turned its attention to Rosa. It charged. Rosa pushed Jaune out of the way and created an ice shield. It smashed through the ice shield and grabbed Rosa. She was picked up and slammed into the ground repeatedly. After it grew tired of beating Rosa into the ground it tossed her. Qrow came down and grabbed her.
"Dammit." Qrow said. Raven dropped and brought her leg down against the Beringel. It raised its arms to block the strike. Qrow put Rosa down and rushed in Harbinger was in the War Scythe mode as he charged in. Raven pushed off the arms of the Grimm and landed. Qrow slammed the Scythe into the arm of the Beringel. It moved its arm at the last second. Qrow brought Harbinger out of the Grimm and quickly brought his arms up as he was punched by the Beringel. He went flying back, skidding across the ground. The leader grabbed a hold of him as he moved passed. Raven brought her hands up and created a massive ice spike. It slammed into the Beringel's chest. It let out a pained roar. It slammed down on the spike and broke it.
Ren stood behind the Beringel. He jumped up and slashed into the back of the Grimm. It shot up in the air. Nora dropped down and slammed into the Beringel. Ren jumped off before Nora hit. The Beringel hit the ground hard. Nora jumped back and looked at the Grimm. It got up quickly and grabbed Nora. Pyrrha jumped forward and brought her lightsaber down. She cut the arm off the Beringel. She landed and spun around. The other arm hit her, and she was thrown into the tree.
Oscar held onto his hand. There was a ball of light there. He needed to get to the Grimm, but it would be far too fast right now. Ruby put a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you going to be able to keep the energy if I get you to the Beringel?" Ruby asked.
"I think so." Oscar said.
"Got it." Ruby used her semblance as she held onto Oscar, she went behind the Beringel and stopped in the air. She grabbed Oscar who was still holding onto the ball of light. She flipped him in the air. He almost lost control of the ball. She put her hands on his boots and used the force to push him as hard as she could. Oscar flew toward the Beringel with the ball of light. It turned around at the last second. Oscar slammed not into its head, but into its back. The ball of light burst. The Beringel let out a pained cry.
It collapsed. Oscar stood over it.
"That should do it." Oscar said. The Beringel got its second wind and brought its arm around. It grabbed Oscar by the neck and slammed him into the wall. Ruby felt her eyes begin to glow. But once she realized, the power stopped.
She tried to get it back, but the more she tried, the less she felt the power. She landed on the ground and brought her lightsaber out. She rushed forward, bringing both her lightsaber around as she spun, using her semblance. She came out of it just in time to cut the Beringel's head off. She landed, rose petals following her. She turned off her lightsaber and turned around. The Beringel is dissipating. She rushed over to Oscar. He grunted but he pulled himself up.
"Thanks." Oscar said.
"Oscar, I'm sorry my eyes didn't work." Ruby said.
"Ruby… you still saved me." Oscar said. Ruby's eyes opened wide. She realized that she had saved him. She found a smile on her face. She nodded her head. The Leader stood behind Ruby.
"The Grimm are gone." The Leader said.
"Good." Ruby said.
"I'll give you the same warning I gave to Rosa Reidan. If I found out you had anything to do with the death of my sister, Amber, I will hunt each of you down." The leader said.
"Who's Amber?" Ruby asked.
"The Fall Maiden before Vanus." Oscar said.
"We tried to save her." Qrow said. The Leader turned to Qrow.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"She was ambushed by the Sith. They stole part of the Maiden power. I couldn't get to her in time." Qrow said.
"You better start explaining." The leader said.
"It's just as I said. The Sith have the ability to steal the Maiden power. I don't know how they did it, but they can. She lost most of her power, and she was killed during the Vytal festival by Darth Vanus." Qrow said.
"Did you even try to keep her safe?" His hands were next to his lightsabers.
"Yes. Many Jedi died trying to keep her safe. Many of us almost died trying to keep her safe. Ozpin died trying to keep her safe." Pyrrha said.
"This isn't over. We'll speak again. Whatever business you have in Argus, I suggest you get it done quickly. We are the protectors of Argus." The Leader said.
"We're trying to leave. But we need to clear up the Grimm, and now probably the Sith as well." Jaune said.
"We are not allies." The Leader said. He turned to his people.
"Return." He commanded. The Mandalorians all followed him.
Raven stood away from the group. She was about to leave when Yang stopped her.
"Where are you going?" Yang asked.
"You don't need me anymore." Raven said.
"You think you have the right to just pop in whenever you feel like it?" Yang said.
"I knew you'd be angry to see me." Raven said.
"I am angry. I'm also angry that you're trying to leave now." Yang said.
"Which is it? Do you want me here or not?" Raven asked.
"I want you to stop running away. Have you seen Dad since you've stopped being a bandit?" Yang asked. Raven looked away from Yang.
"He has to hate me even more than you do." Raven said.
"Grow the Fuck Up Mom." Yang said. Raven looked up at Yang. She could see the anger in her eyes. But there was something else there too. Something new. Something that she had never seen before.
Did Yang want Raven in her life? Raven didn't know how to react.
"Should I go see him?" Raven asked.
"What could go wrong?" Yang asked. "The worst that could happen is what you fear. He deserves an explanation."
"When did you get so mature?" Raven asked.
"After you left. I had to grow up fast." Yang said.
"I'm sorry." Raven said. The words hit her worse than anything else she had said. It was her fault that she lost her childhood. What kind of mother was she? Raven opened a portal. She looked back at Yang. She saw a flash of all the years that she could have had if she had stayed. She saw the happy life she could have had. Ruby wasn't in the picture though. She stepped through the portal.
Raven found herself on Patch. She knew these woods. She felt him. He was in his garden. She was so stupid to have come here. She almost turned around and left.
"Raven. I know you're there." Tai said. Raven stopped. Her heart skipped a beat. How could he tell, even after all these years? She looked at him as he stretched. She couldn't leave now. He had already seen her.
"Are you coming down? I'm still fit enough to go grab you." Tai said.
Raven looked at him. He turned around. She could never resist that smile he had. It always disarmed her and found its way into her heart. Look at her. Thinking about matters of the heart like she was some schoolgirl going to confess to her crush. They had seen everything the other had. They had known each other so intimately. She had seen him at his most vulnerable. And she stabbed him in the back. She had left him with Yang barely finished with breast-feeding and handed her to Tai. She left. She attacked him. She didn't even realize that he had climbed up to her level. She had her eyes closed thinking about what she had done to him and to Yang. She could never forgive herself.
Summer must have done more to her than she knew. Or maybe… she finally realized started making the right choices and all her mistakes were crimson clear to her now. She tried to hold back the tears. She didn't cry. She never cried. Not since leaving Yang behind. She was… she was never stronger. She only convinced herself that she was. She had been so deep down in the dark that she convinced herself that there could be no light.
"Raven." Tai said. She opened her eyes and saw him standing there.
"Don't look at me." Raven said. She tried hiding the tears. She couldn't let him see them. If he did, then they would never stop. She had to stop herself.
"There's not much else to look at up here. I think there are some things we should talk about." Tai said. The tree limb started to crack with all the weight on it. Raven's eyes opened wide as the branch gave way. She grabbed onto Tai and brought her hand down as they were falling. She sent out some air magic. They landed safely. Tai looked at Raven.
"That's something new." Tai said.
"Why aren't you mad at me? Why aren't you yelling? Why aren't you telling me to leave? It doesn't make sense!" Raven said.
"I've never yelled at you Raven… except that one time when I was trying to make you come back to your senses." Tai said. His voice comforted Raven. It reminded her of what she once had. What she should have held onto for dear life. What she gave up because she found the easier path.
"I'm sorry." Raven said. Twice she had said the words that she always found so hard to say. She didn't know why she let her guard do so readily with Tai and Yang. It went against all the training she got from her clan. It went against all the years as leader of that clan. She didn't understand why Tai had this effect on her.
"I forgave you a long time ago." Tai said. Raven brought her fist down on his arm as her head was on his chest.
"You idiot. You should be angry with me. You should tell me I'm a monster." Raven said. She couldn't hold it back. The tears were falling. He made her cry even after doing everything she could to stop that from happening.
"There's the Raven I know." Tai said. His laugh made her melt. Did he not understand? Or did she not understand?
"How could you forgive me?" Raven said.
"I could answer you out here… or there it my nice warm home just a few steps that way. I have coffee." Tai said. Raven wiped her eyes. She tried to get all the tears off her face. She probably wasn't successful. She looked up at him. He gave that smile that told her things were going to be alright somehow. Somehow, despite all the evidence to the contrary that would have been harassing her normally, she trusted him.
Salem looked at the four Sith Lords who were sent on the Recon mission in Argus. She was very well pleased by their report. They had found exactly what they were looking for. They knew that the Jedi were in Argus now, along with the traitor, Rosa. Salem imagined what she would do to Rosa as soon as she got her hands on her. She wouldn't die immediately. She would probably have her bear more children for her. And this time, there was no way around it. She would of course torture her like she has Tyra and Sun. But she knew the most effective way to break Rosa. She would never become Umbra again. Though it would be good to keep calling her that. Give her some hope that everything will be over.
Salem focused back on the four in front of her.
"You have all done well. Requiem, Nihil, you two shall be in charge of the destruction of Argus. I have a special Grimm for you two to use against the Protectorate. I call it Leviathan." Salem said.
"It would be an honor, Lady Salem." Requiem said.
"I'll be able to test my new Miasmas." Nihil said.
Salem had other plans for Luctus and Vespera. They fought admirably. But their skills would better be used elsewhere. Luctus with her Griefwell semblance, and Vespera with his Shadowmeld semblance would be better used elsewhere. Perhaps Vale. They do need to kill those alien Jedi masters.
She dismissed the Sith. She soon left her throne room and went to the torture chambers. She had opened the cell of Sun Wukong. He looked at her with fear. Just as he should. She looked down at the man. He was covered in his own filth and blood. She found a bucket of water in the room and used the force on the water. She slammed the water into him, getting some of the Filth away, but also hurting him at the same time. She didn't care for his stench. She stepped forward and put a hand on his chest. She brought her and down, feeling the cuts and bruises. He couldn't move against her touch. He tried to look away. She brought her hand to his face. She felt his features. She examined him. He was expecting the pain to begin any second. He was bracing for whatever was going to come next.
She brought her fingernails down. They dug into his skin and caused him to bleed. She brought her fingers away. She leaned in and licked the blood from his face. He tried to fight back, but that earned him a push against the wall. He couldn't recover if she kept having to hurt him.
"You are such a fun toy. It is an honor to have this much of my time." Salem said. He tried to look away. She brought her hand to his face and forced him to look at her. Sun tried to close his eyes. Salem put a finger on his forehead until he finally opened them. Salem forced him to look her in the eyes.
"There will not be any way you escape here alive unless you join the Sith." Salem said in a quiet, almost seductive voice.
"I'll never join you." Sun said.
"You Jedi are so hard to break. That's what makes you so fun to play with." Salem said. She reached down and grabbed his tail. He flinched when she did.
"You Faunus have such pride in these animalistic features. Perhaps if I took this away, you would be more cooperative." Salem said.
"Please! No!" Sun shouted.
"There's no need to shout. It won't do you any good. I control everything here." Salem said. "If I want you to bleed, you will bleed. If I want you to eat, you will eat. If I want you to entertain me, you will do so. You have no control here. Not in your mind. Not in your heart. Not in your body. I have control over everything here." Salem said.
"You'll never control my mind." Sun said.
"You are so mistaken Sun." Salem ran her finger over his lips. She felt him trying to move to get out of her reach. She took a step closer. She felt his heart going faster. She could feel the fear radiating off him. She reached behind his neck and ripped off his shirt. She looked at him.
"I have decided that you don't have the privilege of clothing. If you will identify with an animal, I shall treat you like an animal." Salem took all of his clothes forcefully. He stood there. She laughed. His fear, his embarrassment, his humiliation. They were all feeding her. She slapped Sun. She always played ruff with her toys. Sun was proving to be one she could be extra ruff with.
Kaiser opened the door. Lady Salem turned to him.
"Darth Kaiser." Salem said. She was somewhat annoyed, but she had to hand Sun over to him.
"Lady Salem. Why is Sun Wukong naked?" Kaiser asked.
"That is my own decision." Salem said. Before she left the room, she turned to Kaiser. "You are not to clothe him."
"I understand." Kaiser said. Salem left. Kaiser looked at Sun. He… he had to have deserved this. Sun was a Jedi after all.
"She did it because I'm a faunus." Sun said. Kaiser stepped into the cell.
"You don't talk unless I ask you questions." Kaiser said. Sun's words bounced in his mind. Salem had to have a better reason than that for this.
"She said if I identified as an animal, I should be naked like an animal." Sun said. Kaiser slapped him. He disobeyed Kaiser.
"You didn't listen to me." Kaiser said.
"You know this is wrong. You know I'm telling you the truth." Sun said. Kaiser raised his hand again. Sun looked him in the eyes. That angered Kaiser. He knew that Sun was telling the truth. Kaiser slapped him again.
Author's Notes: I wonder if that will change anything in Kaiser. Or will he just ignore what Salem is doing to him just? Only I know. Salem is pure evil. Whatever qualities she once had all those thousands of years ago are dead and gone. She revels in the pain of others.
The Leader, as he is called right now, is a character that CT7567Rules has created and that I am using. The Leader does have a name, but outsiders won't know it, and right now, the knights are outsiders. We didn't see all he had to offer.
I had a scene where Raven and Tai reunited in SGW, and I think there is something similar here, but there are differences too. Raven is a coward. That is her major character flaw. She tries to hide it by gaining power and having people she can boss around, but in the end, Raven is, or was, a coward.
Pyrrha's Mom was going to be named a few things, including Thetis (Mother of Achilles), and Vesta (almost because she is a goddess of fire, but in the end that name wasn't chosen because Vesta is also a virginity goddess), and lastly, Monica. Monica is the name of the patron saint of Motherhood. I did about an hour of research to figure out that name for a character that is barely in the chapter.
Oscar is in the outfit he got in Argus and is still wearing today. Jaune's outfit is based on Dishwasher1910's design for him. Pyrrha is based on Koyorin's design for her.
The idea of the Protectorate was something I came up with to explain where Qrow had gone. I do think that the world of Remnant does have a problem of being too small. I get that it's supposed to be somewhat small, but the show itself has a hard time showing that.
We had two reviews for the last chapter. Guest and another person saying they want to draw this story.
So quickly to go over the artists, once more, You can draw this story if you want. I don't want to pay for it. And if I get another artist calling ME broke when they are trying to scam on a FANFICTION website, I'll scream.
Now, Guest. Fordo was last seen in Menagerie, but because of what is happening in Atlas… He's going to be there.
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May the Force be With You
DragonZlayerx12