Chapter 3

The clones have set up a continent-wide communication system on Menagerie, and Team CFVY have arrived to give aid in the white fang investigation. Ruby and Jaune are undergoing the Jedi Trail of Insight.

Ruby looked around the garden and saw the statue of her mother, eyes closed and head down. She looked down at another Pillar and found Rosa there. The statue of Rosa moved. It jumped down and looked at Ruby. It rose a finger at her.

"You didn't save me!" Rosa shouted.

"I wanted to! I wanted to go after you and help you! But the Sith were all around, and I couldn't." Ruby said. A Grimm appeared behind her. She jumped out of the way and used the force to send the Grimm flying. Ruby turned back to Rosa.

"Why didn't you trust me?" Rosa asked.

"What? Of course, I trusted you." Ruby said.

"If you did, then you would have told me. You said nothing! I wasn't ready for the Sith." Rosa said.

"We wanted to keep you safe Rosa." Ruby said.

"Fucking fine job of that!" Rosa said. She vanished from Ruby's sight. Ruby turned around. She saw the garden start dying.

"What's happening?" Ruby asked. She moved forward, and the statue broke. She turned around and saw her mother's statue break. She reached her hand out to it.

"Mom!" Ruby yelled. Ruby turned around. Ozpin was standing there.

"You failed." Ozpin said.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

Ruby walked toward Ozpin. She was in darkness again. The face of Ozpin changed. She saw the face of a man she didn't recognize, then the faces started shifting. Hundreds of faces switch from one person to the next. She didn't take notice of the faces as they were going too fast, until once again, it landed on Ozpin. Then it changed one more time.

She saw a farm boy with a tan and freckles. Ruby looked at him. She reached her hand out. The eyes were closed. The boy opened his eyes and looked at Ruby. He smiled at Ruby. She blushed at him. She had to admit she thought he was cute. She wanted to touch him. Her hand touched glass. She brought it back.

"Oh." Ruby said. The boy's mouth moved, but she couldn't hear it. She shook her head and looked at him again. She looked at his lips.

"You have silver eyes." He said. She brought her hand up to her eyes.

"I do." Ruby said.

"Don't lose yourself in here Jedi." She saw him say. He vanished.

"Wait!" Ruby called out. He was already gone. She looked around, and everything had changed again. She was in a dark room. She closed her eyes and let the force flow through her. She took a step forward. She stepped forward holding her hand out. Her hand hit a door.

"I have no idea what's going on anymore." Ruby felt her lightsabers come back. "But I don't think that was a good sign."

Ruby opened the door. She took out a lightsaber and turned it on. The silver glow shined in the dark room. She looked around and found nothing. She walked forward.

"I loved you, Ruby. I wanted to stay with you forever. But you forced me away." Rosa's voice came through again.

"I wanted to help you. I wish I did. I want to help you, Rosa! I want to bring you back to the light!" Ruby said.

"Do you know what the Sith are doing to me?" Rosa asked Ruby. She was all around Ruby.

"I know what the Sith do." Ruby said.

"You could have stopped this. But you didn't. You ran away. You let me get raped, you let me get beat, you let them use me as they like. They have abused me. You saw me." Rosa said.

"Did I?" Ruby asked.

"Did you?" Rosa said back. Ruby was in the middle of the room. The hum of the lightsaber was the only thing she could hear.

"Do you think it was Cya? Do you think he did it? Maybe next time I see you, you'll see his child that he forced me to bare him." Rosa said. "Maybe you'll find my dead body on your doorstep just like your mother."

After hearing that, a burning rage filled Ruby and she sent out a force repulse. The rage left her as she realized what she did. She felt that darkness. The room was lighter.

"You see, not even you are immune to the darkness, and you failed to prepare me, someone, who was so vulnerable to the darkness. How was I supposed to not fall? Do you have any idea? Did you even care for me?" Rosa asked.

"I do! Rosa, I'm sorry! I never wanted this to happen. You're my friend! What else could I have done?" Ruby begged.

"You should have told me the TRUTH!" Rosa yelled. "The Sith told me. Why not you? My leader, my friend, someone I thought was my sister."

"The masters said it would be better not to tell you." Ruby said.

"And you listened to them. Not only that, but you also lied right to my face!" Rosa yelled. The darkness started to crack. Light rushed into the room through the cracks, and Ruby saw Rosa's face. She saw the dark bruises all along her body, the cuts that ran along her body. She saw a black eye. Ruby looked at Rosa. Half the darkness broke, lighting half the room.

"This is what the Sith have done to me. Look at me!" Rosa said. Ruby looked at Rosa. She saw massive gashes along her body. She saw her clothes torn until they covered nothing. She saw blood. There was so much blood. Ruby saw Rosa and grabbed her chest. Tears flooded her eyes.

"Rosa! I'm so sorry!" Ruby said as she slammed her fist on the ground.

"Sorry?" Rosa said.

"I should have gone after you!" Ruby said. Rosa stepped back, and Emerald, Mercury, and Cya appeared in front of her. Emerald and Mercury took out their lightsabers. Cya went over to Rosa.

"She's mine because of you Ruby." Cya said. He started touching Rosa. Ruby opened her eyes wide and took out her second lightsaber.

"I'll save you this time!" Ruby said.

Emerald stepped forward, rushing Ruby. Ruby remembered how Emerald fought. She was a quick fighter who liked avoiding retaliation. Mercury was behind her. He used strong slow attacks. She would be able to defend against his kicks. But he was strong. She couldn't take a hit from him. She rushed forward going after Mercury first.

She started her attack as fast as she could. He blocked the strikes, but she kept moving. Here, unlike back at the arena, she had room to move. She decided to go after his legs. He was fast enough to block her strikes, but not much else. Ruby was digging into the force and using it liberally to take out Mercury.

Right before she was about to land a killing strike on Mercury, Emerald kicked her in the face, sending her back. Her back hit a pillar in the room, and she looked up. Cya was… Ruby stood back up. Emerald rushed forward. She ducked under her strike, kicking Emerald. She didn't go back far, and she was ready to fight again almost in an instant. Mercury was on top of Ruby again. She had to back up from him. She felt a pressure building behind her eyes. She kept being pushed back by Emerald and Mercury as Cya was violating Rosa. She kept hearing her cries. She brought her hands up to her eyes and screamed.

Her eyes glowed. She felt her eyes burning. Then after the light faded, it took her a moment to get back up. When she stood up, Emerald and Mercury were gone. There was only Cya and Rosa left. Cya tossed Rosa to the ground. She let out a pained groan. Her eyes were dead. Cya looked at Ruby.

"She is mine, Ruby." Cya said. He took out a lightsaber. Ruby rushed forward, using her semblance. The rose petals hung in the air. He blocked the first attack, but she kept trying to get a strike against him. He kept blocking the strikes.

"You let this happen." Cya said. Ruby placed her foot on a pedestal behind Cya and used the force to launch herself forward. Her lightsaber ran through his body. Ruby put away her lightsabers and ran over to Rosa.

"Rosa, are you okay?" Ruby asked. She held Rosa. She tried to help Rosa. Rosa looked up at her with pure disgust in her eyes.

"You did this." Rosa said. She couldn't move anymore. Ruby tried to pick her up, but when she picked Rosa up, she felt Rosa grab her lightsaber. Ruby dropped Rosa, quickly took out her own lightsaber, and quickly knocked the stolen lightsaber aside. She looked at Rosa. She had a good look at the destroyed body.

"Is this what happened to you?" Ruby asked.

"You can see me now." Rosa said. She looked at Ruby with her Sith eyes glaring. Ruby closed her eyes. The red lightning came from Rosa's hands. But Ruby didn't feel it. She went the image of Rosa. The force drain didn't work on Ruby. She dropped to Rosa's level and hugged her.

"I'm so sorry, Rosa. You are right. We were wrong. We should have trusted you." Ruby said. Rosa faded into Ruby's arms. She stood up, and a door appeared in front of her. She opened it and saw the image of her mother.

Jaune walked into… his family home. There was everyone. He was on the stairs on the second floor, and he looked down to the first floor. Everyone was around as he stood in front of them, telling his family he got into Beacon. His mother hugged him. His sisters congratulated him, and then there was his father. Telling him that one line. That one sentence that hug over Jaune's head. He was always welcome back home.

His father didn't know how much that hurt him. He wanted to hear praise from his father, but he didn't get it. His dad didn't know. He didn't mean it, but it still hurt. And he could feel it from his sisters too. They… they were ready for him to come home. They all were. But he was the boy who didn't do know what aura was before coming to Beacon. Jaune looked down at who he was. He looked at the boy who was a nervous wreck. The boy who was depressed but was too scared to look after himself.

"Mom, Dad. I know you didn't mean anything by it. But it hurt. It hurt a lot. I just wanted your confidence. I just wanted to know that you thought I could do it. I didn't need to be told I had a spot back home. I needed someone to tell me I could be the hero. I needed to feel like I was wanted. I wanted to feel like I could succeed. I know you love me. I know you said you are proud of me, but why didn't you understand how much that hurt? What kid doesn't need their parent's total faith in them?" Jaune said.

He took a deep breath. He found a smile on his face.

"But you are the greatest parent I could have asked for. I know you believe in me now more than ever before. I know you're proud of me. I love you." Jaune said.

A door clicked and he turned to it. He stepped through and he saw Pyrrha in her chair. He looked down at him helping her into the bath for the first time. His heart was going so fast. He was trying not to look at her beautiful body, even though it was right in his face. Her face was red too.

"I'll put you in now." Jaune said.

"Alright." Pyrrha said. He put her down in the water and got back up. She wasn't completely comfortable.

"Is there something else I could do?" Jaune asked.

He remembered that he didn't move her legs to give her support. He was so nervous. This wasn't a regret he had. He was honored to help her. But he did regret that she lost her independence. That he could do nothing to help her. He regretted not being there for her. He regretted that he was injured. He still carried that scar on him. He saw everything. He was embarrassed, but Pyrrha told him that was okay. He learned he needed to stay by her side when her leg slipped, and she went under the water. He helped her, but she had been dunked in the tub.

He wanted to help her. He wished there was a way for Pyrrha to get her legs back, but he knew it was a massive, long shot that the healing oasis would work. But he was willing to give it a shot if it helped her. She was the most beautiful, kind, loving, strong woman he knew. And she trusted him. She loved him. She was the first person to believe in him. He wanted to be with her for as long as she would have him. He loved her. He wished he kissed her before the finals of the Vytal festival. He was an idiot. He didn't think she liked him. If only he wasn't so dense, he would have seen it. She loved him. He loved her. But they were afraid. It amazed him. Pyrrha was afraid to say something. She fought against massive Grimm, and countless people, but she was afraid of what was in her heart. It made him love her more.

"I swear to you Pyrrha, I will give you all my love." Jaune said. "I'll stay with you, no matter what. These are the bad times, so it only gets better from here."

Pyrrha told Jaune he was the only man to see her naked since she was in diapers. It was a joke she tried making. It didn't work. Jaune got worried that she thought he would do something he shouldn't. Did she think he was going to touch her? He wasn't like that. Oh, he was physically attracted to her, but he hid it from her.

She was beautiful. He could stare at her all day. She was the goddess of beauty. Her elegance, nervousness, and her kindness made his heart aflutter. He loved smelling her perfume. It reminded him of her. He wanted to hold her in his arms. Hold her on his bed and just talk. He wanted to always be next to her. He was dedicated to her.

That's what had this hurt so much. Her injuries were hers, but he felt some of the pain. He wanted to help her more. He wanted to be there for her. She said he was, but he wanted to do more. He needed to do more. Gods, he wished he could fix it. But that won't work. He did try to heal her with his semblance and with the force, but it can only do so much. It couldn't recreate bone.

"Pyrrha, I want nothing but the best for you. I love you." Jaune said.

The next door opened. He walked through it. He saw Cardin. He let out a sigh.

"What are you doing here?" Jaune asked. Cardin smirked at him.

"Jaune. I finally get to get my revenge on you." Cardin stood in the center of the room.

"You're pathetic Cardin." Jaune said. He stood in front of a door keeping Jaune from moving on.

"You have no power here Jaune." Jaune reached for his lightsaber. He waited for Cardin to move. The lightsaber turned on. Cardin pulled out his mace. Cardin charged Jaune. Jaune blocked the first strike with one hand and thrust his lightsaber up, making a quick flick of his hand, sending the mace away from Cardin's hand. Jaune put away his lightsaber.

"You died. At Hellio. I guess I wish you could have changed. You were nothing but an arrogant prick. You could have changed at one point, but you let the hate blind you. You let yourself become a terrorist because you hated Faunus. You are a terrible person." Jaune said. "But I do wish you could have gotten help."

A door appeared in front of Jaune.

He felt good after turning away from the taunts. He went through the door.

Blake kicked open the door to another white fang outpost. There was still no one.

"DAMMIT!" Blake yelled. Another empty white fang outpost. It was almost like they just disappeared. She had no idea where they could have gone. All the old hideouts were already attacked. The white fang was target number one again, but the shitty thing about them is that they know how to hide. She knew how to hide.

"Calm down!" Coco yelled.

"They are here! They destroyed Vale and they're here. What bullshit! They've been given free rein." Blake said.

"What's with you? Ever since you came here, you've been obsessed with finding and destroying the white fang. What did they do to you?" Fox asked.

"It's not what they've done. I… I used to be one of them." Blake said.

"Revenge then." Coco said.

"Not very Jedi-like." Fox said.

"What do you know?" Blake said. She stopped clenching her fist and closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Blake said.

"At least you have enough sense to apologize when you're being an asshole." Fox said.

"Fox." Coco said.

"He's right. I am being an asshole. It's just… whenever I see that symbol, I'm reminded of my worst mistakes. I'm reminded of the things I did. The things I've seen. I don't want to be like that person. Not anymore. I'm my own woman. But I still feel that mask on my face." Blake said.

"What did you do?" Coco asked.

"I… I didn't murder anyone. But I hurt people. I felt good doing it. I felt really good." Blake said. She was being so open, it surprised her.

"Do you need to talk about it like this?" Fox asked. She shook her head.

"Thank you." Blake sent.

"Go on. This can only help you." Coco sent.

"I remembered all the times we protested. My father organized the protests. He cared about Faunus rights. Atlas, Vale, Mistral, Vacuo. All the kingdoms had problems. We even went to small cities. Pare, Hellio, Argus… We would protest against the crimes against the Faunus. We spent so much time in Argus. They pretend to be a perfect city, but they were so discriminatory. It was the attitude. The people there didn't care. Some did I should say. There were humans who stood with us. But in the end… there was nothing that changed. They called us names when we protested the economic discrimination. We protested this issue and that. We boycotted. We hit them in their wallets… and I thought that was enough. But then they came around with the media trying to sell us as spoiled children. They sold their stories saying that we were full of criminals. Talking heads talked over us, saying this or that was wrong. They never asked us. That put the target on our back. We started getting harassed by the political party in charge. They sent their goons out when we started protesting. Then it someone called us Grimm spawn. Animals. Bitches and sons of Bitches. Mutt. Pest. You get the idea. That's all it took for someone. He threw the first punch. The media focused on the punch, and not the insults. They made it so that if you supported the white fang, you were seen as a radical. Then there was a woman named Khan." Blake sent.

"What did Khan do?" Fox asked. "I mean, I heard that name from Velvet, but she never liked talking about that."

"Khan took over the white fang. She ousted my father. It was slowly, but she did. It started while we were moving from one city to another, and we were attacked. Dad almost died. Khan and Adam fought back. They… Adam… killed a man. I still remember seeing his blood. I was so scared. My father was horrified. But Khan was glad. She wanted violence. I was scared and I saw strong people willing to fight for the Faunus. I joined them. I… said horrible things to my parents." Tears ran down Blake's face. She dropped to the ground.

"You need a moment." Coco said. She sat next to Blake. Fox closed the door and took a seat.

"I said he was weak. I told him he was holding us back. I told him I hated him. I said Adam was more of a man than he was. Gods, I can't believed I actually thought that. I told him he would never see me again. He tried to stop me, but I lashed out at him. Now that I look back at it, that was the first time I felt the force. It was dark. I pushed him back, into a pillar. I ran away. I saw the look on his face. He was destroyed. I hurt him. I just wish I could go back and stop myself. I was an idiot. Then I started following Adam. We attacked people. We beat them up. Then an accident happened. Then another. I kept hearing the media say we were the bad guys. I told myself they only lie. I tried to get with Adam. He didn't reciprocate, thankfully. Then there was the attack that made me decide to leave. We attacked someone in their home. I saw his daughters holding each other, so scared of me. I decided then. I had to leave. After we attacked an SCD train, I left." Blake finished.

"I see now. But does this have anything to do with the Sith and Rosa as well?" Coco asked.

"Maybe." Blake said.

Umbra opened the portal back to the dark realm. She gathered enough information. Salem called her. She had another mission. Keiser arrived before she did.

"I saw them." Umbra said. Keiser turned to her.

"Blake?" Keiser asked.

"Yes. They're looking for the white fang on Menagerie." Umbra said.

"I see. They're looking in the wrong place." Keiser said.

"They also set up a communications relay. It's as powerful as a CCT tower." Umbra said. They continued to walk down the halls. Sith went passed them. Keiser stopped at the door to Salem's room first. Two Sith guards stood and let them in.

"You've arrived quickly Umbra." Salem said. Umbra dropped to one knee.

"I was gathering intelligence, my Lady." Umbra said.

"About Menagerie. I know all about the plan you have. I doubt it will work. But there may be one or two of those who could join us. Yang Xiao-Long would be easy to tempt. Perhaps even Blake Belladonna." Salem said. Umbra said nothing.

"I doubt Blake would fall, my lady." Keiser said.

"Why is that Lord Keiser?" Salem asked.

"Blake has a strong will, but she is unable to do what must be done. She is too afraid." Keiser said.

"I see. Umbra, do you believe you would be able to kill those friends of yours if I demanded it?" Salem asked.

"…I would." Umbra said. Salem stood up.

"Is your loyalty to them so great that they have a higher place in your heart than me?" Salem asked, grabbing Umbra by the face. She winced.

"My lady." Umbra said.

"You have made strong force bonds with them. Bonds that are not easily broken. But you must. If these weak Jedi are chaining you down, you must be ready to cast them aside. Are you able to do that?" Salem asked.

"Yes." Umbra said, one eye closed. Salem let go of Umbra's face.

"They are on a journey to stop me, through they don't know it yet. They oppose me Umbra. Do you know what happens to those who oppose me?" Salem turned around. Umbra dropped to the ground.

"They should be destroyed." Umbra said.

"You do know what happens to them then. Good. If they interfere with my plans, they will be killed. You will kill them." Salem said.

"I understand." Umbra said.

"Now onto Keiser." Salem looked at Keiser. She flexed her finger, and Keiser fell to the ground.

"You did not kill Khan. She holds far too much power to still be a pawn on the playing field. We are within arms reach of the power to leave this world. We are almost able to bring unending darkness to the galaxy. Yet you left Khan without killing her. Why?" Salem asked.

"I determined it was not the right time." Keiser said.

"Why not?" Salem asked.

"Lady Umbra was not in the mindset to help me defeat her." Keiser said.

"And why was that?" Salem asked. She looked at Umbra.

"All she told me was that the Sith lady Myst was the cause of something." Keiser said.

"Umbra. Tell me what happened." Salem demanded.

"We were in Khan's throne room. I told her that I was one of the Faunus raped at Hellio, then I brought into my story the things Myst did to me before I killed her." Umbra said.

"Things? Like touching you?" Salem asked.

"…Yes." Umbra said.

"And you became afraid. Another chain. You used your passion to exact revenge on her. And her apprentice. But yet you are still traumatized by her touching you. Break that chain Umbra." Salem went down to her knee to look at Umbra. She put a hand on Umbra's head.

"I have tried. But I keep remembering every time someone has… done something like that to me." Umbra said.

"Let it go. Break the chain. Become stronger." Salem said. She stood back up and looked at the Sith.

"You both have a mission. Among my teachers is a traitor." Salem looked at them both. "He or she has been training my Sith in the light side. His or her students have not told us who they are. But if there is even one Light side Sith, that endangers everything. Find the chain maker and kill them." Salem said.

As they left the audience chamber, Keiser turned his head to her.

"You have a dislike for sex. I was wondering where that came from." Keiser said.

"When I was a Jedi in the galaxy at large, Maku took me to too many places where there was sex trafficking. I was… nearly made into a sex slave on my first mission in the clone wars. I have also been… molested by gangsters before Maku came to save me. Perhaps he let it happen to punish me for his friend's death." Umbra said.

"There are ways among the Sith that help with those issues." Keiser said. They left the castle.

"What, exposure therapy?" Umbra asked.

"Yes, there is that." Keiser said.

"I almost thought Salem was going to make me go through it." Umbra said.

"You never talked about this with them, did you?" Keiser asked. They traveled to the lower levels of the city. They were going to find the light Sith in the lower training centers.

"No." Umbra said.

"If this issue is not resolved, I'm afraid Salem will use it against you." Keiser said.

"Why do you care?" Umbra asked.

"I need you working with me. Khan is still alive because you weren't able to keep it together." Keiser said.

"Pushing the blame on me?" Umbra asked.

"Where it rightfully lies." Keiser said. He let out a sigh.

"Look, I understand that you have trauma involved with the act, but we can't allow ourselves to be bogged down by anything." Keiser said.

Ruby looked at her mother. She was turned around. There she was. Summer Rose. Ruby held out her hand.

"Mom." Ruby said.

"Ruby." She said.

"What are you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"I can't give a helping hand to my daughter?" Summer asked.

"What is all this?" Ruby asked.

"A trial. I think that maybe you were so focused on taking one more step forward that you forgot to look around. You've lost sight of what you need to." Summer said.

"Mom… Even if you aren't really here, I have a few things I have to say." Ruby said.

"Go on."

"First, I love you mom. Second, this whole thing has been really stressful. First, I'm walking down this weird hallway with nothing to look at, unlike Jaune, then I go to a garden where you were. Then I see Ozpin and this boy. Then I had to fight my friend. What's going on?" Ruby said.

"This is your trial of insight. You are facing the mirror. And you need to do this alone." Summer said.

"So, is this real or…?" Ruby asked.

"It depends." Summer said. Summer looked around the room. She smiled. Ruby looked around as well.

"Doing this brings back memories." Summer said. "I remember when I went through this trial. But you still need to finish. Your break is over."

"What do you mean?" Ruby said.

"I've said too much." Summer said. "You still haven't noticed."

"Noticed what?" Ruby asked. Summer vanished. Ruby looked around the room. It faded, and she held onto her head. She dropped to the ground. She closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, she noticed she was in a different room.

"What?" Ruby said. Penny was standing there. Ruby rose her hand.

"Penny!" She yelled. Penny turned around, she smiled at Ruby, then before she could start walking, she… broke. The metal wires wrapped around her, crushing, and cutting her. Ruby held out her arm. Penny fell to the ground.

"Why? Why were you so slow?" Penny asked, as her eyes faded.

"This can't be happening." Ruby said. She stood up and looked at the room again. She was back in her dorm at Beacon. Everything was shifting. She didn't get a break. She saw Rosa's bed, with her body atop it, blood covering the ground.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked. Why was she here? She felt a darkness crawl upon her hand. She looked down and saw a small wisp Grimm, the nightmare seed. She quickly killed it with her lightsaber, then she looked up.

Grimm of all kinds came out of the ground. She held onto her lightsabers. But before she went to attack them, they all melted. In the dark mist, she saw a face. It was her own face. Her silver eyes were replaced by yellow. It took a step forward. She turned on two red lightsabers. She stepped forward.

"This is your future. Just like it was Rosa's." Dark Ruby said. Ruby looked at her. No, this wasn't right. She didn't know how to explain it, but she knew something here was wrong. Dark Ruby rushed her. She brought up her lightsabers, blocking dark Ruby. She stumbled backward, finding herself on the cliffside.

This was all wrong.

She felt a kick to her face. Ruby went flying back, until she hit her mother's grave. She opened her eyes, seeing dark Ruby. Ruby rose her hand and sent a force push against dark Ruby. She stood up. This was all wrong.

"Whatever this is, it isn't real." Ruby said. The dark Ruby rushed her, But Ruby put her lightsabers away and closed her eyes.

She opened her eyes and saw the door appear in front of her. She opened the door and found herself in the vestibule to the test chamber. And her memory came rushing back. This was the trail of insight. She saw through the trick the force was playing on her after a while. She left the testing chamber and saw the desert.

Jaune stepped through another door, and she was back in the hallway again. He shook his head. These images were strange, but they were illusions. He finally realized it. It was simple to realize it when he saw the mirror.

The door he went into after seeing Cardin was a long hallway, showing more of those visions of alternate timelines (he guessed) of him finding love. He wondered why the force was showing him those. He saw some of them where he was polygamist, one where he got married while drunk, a few where he was a faunus, and a few more that he didn't get. Jaune thought he saw him… wait, did he just conquer the world in this one? And this one, he was a Sith lord who led an army of Sith. And this one, he was on… a moon? And the moon shot out a laser and destroyed a planet. He kept walking down the hallway, and the pictures became darker.

He saw a vision where Pyrrha died at Beacon, and he fell to the dark side. He was captured with Rosa, and they fought everyone. In the vision, he killed Blake… Weiss… Ren… Nora… Ruby. It disturbed him. He felt him doing it. He looked to another one, and he it was him… killing Pyrrha. He looked around and saw the entire hallway filled with these dark visions of the future. He started hearing his voice come from the visions. He heard the dying screams of all his friends.

"This is all fake." Jaune said. Then he looked up, seeing a door. He rushed and opened it. On the other side was a mirror.

"Look." He heard.

Jaune looked. He saw… himself. The Jaune in the mirror was crying. Jaune put his hand against the mirror.

"Hey, me. What's wrong?" Jaune asked.

"Everything." Mirror Jaune replied. The mirror Jaune stood up and looked at Jaune.

"We're too weak! We lied! We killed people! We left people to die! How can we even think we're worthy to exist?" Jaune looked at his mirror counterpart.

"I guess this is what I need to see. We did lie. We lied to get into Beacon, but it was the best damn lie I ever told. It was the best thing I have ever done. We learned. We have friends."

"They hate us!" Mirror Jaune replied.

"I know you don't think that." Jaune said.

"We killed people."

"We did. I did. I killed people. And I still think about it. How easy it was to plan to end someone's life. How easy it was to swing my lightsaber into someone. How easy it was to kill. I was… I am scared about the power we hold. I'm scared I'm going to screw everything up. I'm scared that I'm going to bring everyone down with us. I'm scared that I'm going to lead my friends into a death trap! I'm scared that someday, I'll be alone! I'm scared that I'm not enough. I'm scared." Jaune said. "But if I wasn't scared… I wouldn't be brave. No, I would be weak. If I was a hero with no fear, what I did wouldn't be brave. No, fear isn't something that keeps me down. It's something I have to rise above. And yes, it will be scary. Yes, I may in the end be left alone. I may not be enough. Overcoming fear, that's brave. That's what makes a hero. That's what makes me strong. Not succumbing to my fear but overcoming it. I'm afraid I can't do enough for Pyrrha. I'm afraid I won't live up to my family's reputation. I'm afraid I'll be weak and someone like Cardin will come around and bully me. I'm afraid that one day, I'll wake up back in bed before I chose to go to Beacon and have to live knowing that the best damn dream for me is over. I'm afraid. Like you. But… I'm willing to face that fear. You are my self-doubt. You are who I was. But I don't hate you. You are a part of who I am. I wouldn't be whole without you. I wouldn't be whole without every part of me."

Mirror Jaune stood up and put his hand on the mirror, on the opposite side of Jaune's hand.

"Thank you." He vanished.

That was when Jaune knew the force was helping him here. He laughed. He felt the force he so strong. He felt everything around him, and realized, he was still in that room next to Ruby. He turned around.

"Insight… I got a look into my soul. I guess the force wanted me to start untangling everything." Jaune said. He ignored the visions. They weren't him. They could be, if something about him changed, but they weren't. These didn't show him the mirror. He walked until he got to the door. He opened it, and saw Ruby was right ahead of him. He smiled as she left. He left too.

"You both made it back safely. What did you learn?" Kit asked.

"I think I learned a lot about myself." Jaune said with a smile.

"So did I." Ruby said.

"Good." Kit said. Soon, they were going.

Weiss walked next to Velvet and Yatsuhashi. They finished their list of old outposts. Nothing. Wherever the white fang were, they were amazing at hiding. She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Velvet asked.

"Do you mean besides not finding anything?" Weiss asked.

"If there is anything." Velvet said.

"I'm just tired of the white fang. That's all." Weiss said.

"Are you sure?" Velvet asked. Weiss looked around at all the Faunus. She looked down at the ground.

"No, I'm not sure. I'm not sure about a lot." Weiss said. The shadow of self-doubt had been haunting her ever since Rosa… left. Weiss just wanted to see her friend again. She realized far too late how much she had put on Rosa. It wasn't fair. To either of them. She had risen Rosa to a pedestal. She refused to see the warning signs. They all knew Rosa was a target. But she believed in Rosa completely. She believed Rosa would be able to overcome anything. But she couldn't. The Sith won. Weiss wanted to believe that Rosa was alive… but she may be dead. Or worse.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Velvet asked.

"Rosa, it's about Rosa." Weiss admitted.

"You miss her." Yatsuhashi said.

"It's more than that. She was taken by the Sith. Do you know what they do?" Weiss asked. They shook their heads.

"Three options, she has three options. Die, fall, or be… violated." Weiss said. Velvet put a hand on Weiss' shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." Velvet said. She took out her scroll and tried to call Rosa. It didn't connect.

"Rosa, this is Velvet. I know you aren't going to get this, but I have Weiss here with me." Velvet handed it to Weiss.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked.

"Leave her a message. It'll help." Velvet said. She handed Weiss her scroll. Yatsuhashi left the outpost. Weiss looked at the scroll. She let out a sigh.

"Rosa. I miss you, Rosa. Ever since you… were captured, I've been thinking about how I could have changed things. How we could have changed things. I don't think we should have followed the masters anymore. They were wrong. We were wrong… I was wrong." Velvet put a hand on Weiss' shoulder and squeezed it.

"You're doing great." Velvet said.

"We didn't… believe in you. I'm so sorry. Maku told us that it was better if you never knew what happened. We shouldn't have listened." Tears started falling down Weiss' face. Velvet rubbed Weiss' shoulder.

"He was wrong. We should have done something. I never thought you could have been taken. I thought I would always wake up with you and the others. And now you're trapped by the Sith. I swear, we'll save you. Just give us some time to get stronger." Weiss finished.

"Good." Velvet said. She put her scroll away after ending the call. Weiss wiped her eyes. She looked down at the ground. She couldn't look up. Velvet gripped her shoulder tightly.

"You are brave for doing that." Velvet said.

"I wasn't brave enough to trust her." Weiss said.

"Do you need a hug?" Velvet asked. Weiss just shook her head. She had no idea how Velvet was so good at helping.

"Thank you." Weiss said.

Clone commando squad Epsilon stopped in front of an out-of-the-way building. They pulled out a thermal scope powerful enough to look through buildings. They found ten heat signatures inside the building. This building was supposed to be abandoned. It was outside the protection of the city. Beat marked the building. They found out about this building because some first signals came from here. They were checking all the old signals. Tip used his vibroblade to cut a hole in the tree they were at, and placed a small camera in it.

"This activates when it spots motion." Tip said.

"Does it have a good view of the hut?" Beat asked.

"Did you really just ask me that?" Tip asked.

"Understood." Beat said.

They dropped from the trees and moved back to the HQ. They had two more spots to check out. He was shocked at how few places used scrolls here. Even if they didn't have a tower, they still had so many uses. Beat didn't understand why Menagerie was so reluctant to use the technology.

But then he remembered the information they received about political relations. Scrolls were made in Atlas, which had, at best, one of the worst relationships between any two nations. Racial issues and economic disparity were the major force behind it, but there were other attitudes that were harder than Mandalorian iron to break. It was so ridiculous. They lived on a planet with Grimm and they still had the idiotic ideas found in the core worlds where people pretended their politics were masterful games of chess when they were, in reality, playing a poor excuse for dice. Beat hated politics. He hated them with a burning passion. Of course, it wasn't all his own hatred. That had been imprinted on him by his Mandalorian trainer. His trainer hated politics. He hated the waste of energy it was.

Politicians were the worst. Play cards against one and you'll see the evaporation of all their skills and acumen. That He knew how to kill a politician in a thousand ways in the card halls. And even more, ways to blackmail someone. They held no real power. The only thing they learned to do was hide their intentions. Another reason Beat hated politics. Instead of doing what's right for everyone, the politician does what's right for only himself. It disgusted Beat how wasteful politics was.

Oscar Pine learned about the force from his aunt. What shocked him was his aunt was a Jedi. She had awoken Oscar to the ways of the force. He felt the connection strongly to the living force.

"Wow. Aunt Em, this is amazing! This power!" Oscar said after he ended his meditation. He stood up and felt through the force to all the life around him.

"The force is a great power. But you must be careful. This power has two different sides to it, the light and the dark. Do you remember a few weeks ago when Vale was attacked?" Aunt Em asked.

"Yes." Oscar said.

"The Sith, the opposite of the Jedi, attacked it. They use the darkness inside of them to give themselves power. They just want to destroy. They care nothing for life. They only care about power. None of them have the connection that you have. None of them can feel the force as you do. They can't feel the life surrounding them. Look around you. Feel around you. You'll find that the plants call out to you. That is the call of life. The call of the Force." Em said.

"What is the force, really?" Oscar asked.

"The force is a power that infiltrates all life. In the deepest part of who you are. It's energy. It's life. It surrounds us and binds us to life. You feel it course through you. The force is with you, me, the blades of grass, the apple, the currant bush, even the insects. It surrounds everything. Even now I feel the force surrounding me." Em said.

"What is the dark side?" Oscar asked.

"The dark side is the antithesis to life. Darkness condemns life. It destroys life. It is the easy, seductive path. It leads to nothing but despair." Em said.

"How will I know the difference?" Oscar asked.

"You will know, when you are calm, at peace." Em said. Em took out a lightsaber. The blade was humble. It was not made of fine metals scavenged from all over the world, but from around the area. Oscar held the blade. He looked at Em, and he knew instinctively how to turn it on. When he did, the green blade shot out. It hummed. Oscar felt the life around him. He turned the blade off and handed it to Em. She put it away again.

"Soon, you will create your own lightsaber." Em said. "This crystal has been passed from generation to generation in our family, and since I have no children, I will pass the crystal onto you, when you are ready." Em said.

Author's Notes: Chapter 3 is done.

Jaune and Ruby have finished their trial of insight, passing. Oscar is on his way to becoming a jedi, and he is doing it without a certain professor coming to him yet. Umbra and Keiser are off to destroy a threat to the Sith.

I'm back to work now, so updates are much slower. But this month has been amazing for me. We finished part 1, wrote Jedi Hunter: Winter Love, and got three chapters of this story done.

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May the Force be With You

-DragonZlayerx12