Chapter 4

Ruby and Jaune passed the trial of Insight, with much introspection. Oscar has been opened up to the force. Blake and Weiss are beginning to talk about Rosa's capture. Clone Commando squad Epsilon has found suspicious outposts. Umbra and Keiser have been given a cleansing mission.

Umbra walked next to Keiser. They stayed silent, wishing they had more to work on. All they knew is that there was a Sith instructor teaching young Sith to shackle themselves to the light. Umbra was disgusted. Such weakness.

"Do you think Salem will soon force us to create a child?" Keiser asked. Umbra looked at him. She didn't want to walk about it.

"We just need to stay one step ahead of her demand." Umbra said.

"For how long. She wants you to give her a child. Perhaps she'll stop forcing us to do these menial tasks if we do." Keiser said.

"She'd stop me from going on these dangerous missions. You have no such luxury." Umbra said. They stopped and looked at the city around them. Umbra felt the emotions surrounding her. She felt pain, anger, hate, lust, disgust, and sadness. The usual for this area. She looked up at Adam. He was a head taller than her.

"Are you saying you want it?" Umbra asked.

"I don't find you repulsive, but I don't find you attractive either." Keiser said. Umbra let out a laugh. Keiser looked at Umbra.

"I don't think Salem will care in the end." Umbra said.

"I know." Keiser said.

"We've got a job to do." Umbra reminded Keiser. That subject, Salem's desire over their bodies, hung over every interaction between them. And Salem forced them to stay together. Umbra sighed as she jumped to a roof top. Keiser looked back at her.

"Even if I wanted a child, why does Salem think this was the best way to make it happen?" Umbra said.

"You are distracted." Keiser said.

"You pretend to not be." Umbra shot back. Keiser turned back.

"You are far wiser than they gave you credit for." Keiser said. They sat down on the roof.

"This is exhausting. In her chamber, I feel like I have to follow every command she gives me. Even now I feel that desire she has, clamber around in my mind. I don't know what this is, but I don't know if I like it." Umbra said.

"I feel it too. Her will has dominated even mine. I didn't think that was possible." Keiser said.

"What was Blake like when she was with you?" Umbra asked.

"Blake… I thought she was loyal to our cause. And she was for a long time. She would have been a Sith Lord if she hadn't left. She was naturally skilled. She was fearless. But she had an urge, a longing to hang onto anyone who would give her attention. I noticed that quickly. She was about to do something that would have regret forever with one of the other members. I knew he meant nothing to her, but she just wanted to feel whole, and she thought that would have fixed her. I kept her by my side to stop her stupidity and hormones from taking away one of our greatest warriors. She was always attached to those smutty books. She wanted me to do what she read in those books. She was blind. She became attached to me." Keiser said.

"Attached. You better not have…" Keiser rose a hand.

"Of course, not. I shut her down. I tried telling her that she was just going through puberty and those feelings were natural, but she needed to squash them. She was not a teenager; she was a fighter. She was a tool of destruction against the humans. After a while, she went completely the other way. She hid from who she was. She started questioning the efficacy of what we did. She couldn't see the chain around her neck anymore. She questioned if we were on the right side. Of course, we are. We are fighting to keep humans from hurting us anymore." Keiser said.

"When I met her, I knew she had been through a lot. I could feel her emotional turmoil. She was afraid to reach out and ask anyone for help. She was a skilled fighter. But she also was scared of us. Scared of what she could become. I tried helping her, but she refused. She ran to Yang for help. For all her strength, how much of it is her own? And how much of it came from others. Only now can I see that weakness. The weakness inherent in most of these so-called Sith. I can see how these weaklings bring us all down. I was once weak. I was once hurt by the man whom I considered a father. I hate the man. He held onto the worst with his final breath. He was weak and forced me to be weak." Umbra said.

"You think Blake is weak?" Keiser asked.

"She is weak, but she can be strong once her eyes are opened to the evils of the Jedi. The masters knew some of what Maku did. He hid things from them. He tried to hide his guilt to himself. He weakened himself. And I gained in his strength. He was a monster. And any who stand by him are monsters. That is why I must show them all the weaknesses the Jedi have given them." Umbra said.

"What exactly did Maku do to you?" Keiser asked. Umbra shook her head.

"He had the ability to block my memories completely. He could do anything he pleased to me, and no one would ever know. I would never have known all his crimes against me unless I killed him. He did… horrible things to me. Him beating me was what got out while he was alive. After I killed him, everything was shown. It still makes me sick." Umbra said. Keiser nodded his head. He could understand that. That look, the feelings she was feeling. He had seen it all too many times.

"He is dead." Keiser said.

"I know he's dead, I killed him. I ripped his soul out of his body." Umbra said. Keiser stood up and helped Umbra up.

"You broke that chain." Keiser said. He walked along the roof. They didn't know if this building held the light Sith, but they needed to check. He looked down into the building. There was a class of Sith training. The Sith had different levels of training. Most Sith were born into the order. Those born with a strong connection to the force were separated from their parents unless they too were Sith. The child would be taught in the ways of the Sith. The children were trained by overseers. They were Sith that were in between Lords and Acolytes. They were given the responsibility to train the upcoming Sith, and deal out proper punishments when needed. They had large classes with the Sith, where a hierarchy of strength was formed. The strong were given everything while the weak were given nothing. Some dropouts at this level were killed, while others were brought into the sith armed forces. The Sith troops were headed by one of Salem's inner councils. If a Sith child failed to meet the standards for military service often didn't last much longer. They did have businesses here. They had farmers who gave everything to the Sith. They had everything they needed to be self-sufficient. But they could only stay in a certain area in the dark lands. If anyone tried to go too far out, Salem's protection against the Grimm would fall and hoards of Grimm would rain down on top of the fool.

The Sith that went up in the ranks would eventually be introduced to other strong Sith. The hierarchy is destroyed, and everyone fights to get to the top again. At this point, the students would have had about five years of training. They were entering their teenage years. Umbra learned that most of the Sith killed came from this merge. Some classes had Sith that started to stagnate. They were sent out to fight the Jedi. This second class was the purge of the weak. Five more years and they had a final exam. The Sith were gathered for a battle to the death with other upper classes, and the Sith fought each other at random. Only the strongest or most clever survived. Then they faced the Sith trials. Any weaklings that survived this long due to luck were rooted out. It happened a few times a year. The Sith would pass their trial and become an Acolyte. Then a Lord or Darth would pick between the group. Any not chosen were sent out to fight the Jedi, or became instructors.

The Sith that gained masters would be under them for an unknown amount of time. Often it took another five before the Acolyte was ready to be a Lord, but some were far stronger in the force. Those that were strong rose in the ranks faster and came closer to Salem. Everyone wanted to get closer to Salem. Those close to Salem were powerful. That was where Keiser and Umbra were now, seeking more power to move closer to Salem.

They looked into the classroom and felt within the dark side. They found a few children who had a strong connection to the light. Three of them. Keiser and Umbra decided to check this class out.

They entered in the building through the front and climbed to the classroom. Once they showed they were Lords, the staff were more than accommodating. They entered the classroom. This was a lesser class. Keiser walked through first.

"I am Lord Keiser; this is Lady Umbra. We couldn't help but notice that some students here had a strong attunement to the light side." Keiser said. Umbra looked around at the students and made eye contact with some of them. She felt worry fill one of the students. She looked at them.

"Who is that one?" Umbra asked the instructor.

"The boy? He's…" The instructor started to say when the boy rose up, breaking the window behind him with the force. He jumped out the window. Umbra held her hand out, holding onto the boy, and using the force to drag him back into the room. She held the boy by his neck.

"You tried running. Why?" Umbra said. She held the child in front of his class. She felt some of the children enjoying this.

"Please let me go." He said.

"Tell me, did your instructor tell you about the light?" Umbra asked.

"No." He was honest at least. She tossed him to her instructor.

"He would never have become a Sith. Deal with him." Umbra said. The instructor snapped the boy's neck. He dropped the boy.

"That is the power a Sith Lord has. The power of the Jedi is nothing compared to them." He said.

Keiser grabbed the two others. Two more executions. Umbra watched as the children were killed.

"You couldn't find them even though you are with them every day?" Keiser asked. He took out his lightsaber and cut the instructor's cheek.

"If this ever happens again, we will kill you." Keiser said. They left.

"It wasn't him." Umbra said.

"I know." Keiser said. "But that's somewhere."

They continued to travel from class to class. Not every class had a light sider, but some did. Keiser and Umbra looked at the map of all the classes and marked some more of them off. It was getting late. They were getting tired. The city had hundreds of classes to check. And they had to check lesser and greater classes.

"To think this would take so long." Umbra said.

"I wish Salem had more details." Keiser said. They sat on a roof, catching their breath. The constant use of the dark side. They had to make shows of force. They had to scare the children. But that took energy.

"Did she give us a timeline?" Umbra asked.

"I don't think so." Keiser said. She was keeping them here when it could easily be solved by someone else. This was a punishment for not killing Khan.

Umbra tried to get up, but she felt a massive wave of exhaustion come over her. She fell to the ground. She got back up, taking out her lightsaber, Keiser had his lightsaber out as well. They were being attacked. Umbra felt out and felt a presence. She told Keiser where she felt the presence, and they both launched to the enemy. They landed in front of a Sith. He took out his lightsaber and began slashing at Umbra. She used the force to toss him away. She rose her hand and the red light of force drain came out. The Sith started to scream. She dropped it and Keiser rushed in, taking his arm off. He dropped to the ground.

"Why did you attack me?" Umbra asked.

"I was ordered to." He said.

"By whom?" Umbra asked.

"Salem." Umbra cut his head off.

"She wasted his life." Umbra said. She turned away from him.

"She wanted to keep you alert." Keiser said.

"I don't need that." Umbra said.

"I didn't say you do." Keiser said.

Keiser and Umbra appeared in front of Salem at the end of the day.

"I see, you have yet to find the traitor." Salem said.

"We did find many weak sith and ended their threats before they became dangerous." Keiser said.

"And you survived an attack by an assassin. His semblance was meant to take all your energy without you noticing. But he must have tipped you off." Salem said.

"Why did you send him after me?" Umbra asked.

"To test you." Salem said.

"Why do you need to test me?" Umbra asked.

"I need to see how far you are willing to go. To see if you are willing to kill to live. To see if it would turn you against me. I have thousands of reasons. How can you comprehend my reasons?" Salem said.

"Should I be insulted that you sent someone so weak?" Umbra asked. Salem laughed.

"Perhaps I needed him dead. If that was it, then maybe I sent him to you because you are strong. Whatever my reasons are, they are my own." Salem said. Salem stood up and touched Umbra's face. Umbra felt the warmth in her hand. Salem brought Umbra's head up to look her in the eyes.

"You may believe that I don't care for you. I do. Very few Sith have as open access to me as the two of you do. You two are powerful. Your chains will be broken. Come, embrace the order I have given the both of you. Embrace the order that I will bring to our galaxy. One day, we will be free from the cares of this world. We will leave this world. We are trapped here. We will not be condemned to lay in squaller beneath the broken moon for much longer. I have started to move the pieces so we can escape to the stars." Salem said.

"What is our hand in this?" Keiser asked.

"You are my hands. But unfortunately, my right hand doesn't know my left. How can I trust they will work together when I am not there?" Salem asked. Umbra looked at Salem.

"Kiss him." Salem said. Umbra couldn't resist. She had to follow Salem's order. She kissed Keiser, not knowing why. Salem brought her back.

"See now, Umbra. You are important, but you aren't the one who makes decisions. Much like the hand doesn't control the brain. But you are mine. Both of you. If I order something, I want it done. Trust in me. I will not do anything that will harm either of you." Salem said. Umbra nodded her head. She was fully engulfed by Salem's words. Her will was gone. She realized it but couldn't find a reason to find that concerning right now.

"Kiss her." Salem said to Keiser. His hands cupped Umbra's cheeks and he leaned into her lips. He ended the kiss.

"This is a lesson for both of you. If you refuse to listen to my words, you shall be punished. But listen to me, and you will be rewarded." Salem said. Keiser and Umbra looked at Salem. They were helpless against her. She learned some trick to control them. To break their wills. She was being benevolent when she didn't force them to create the child. They looked at each other. They knew they were at her mercy. She could command them to do anything. Salem sat on her throne and looked that the two Sith.

"I believe that has cleared up some misconceptions." Salem said. She smiled at the two Sith.

Ruby hung onto Yang as she remembered her trial. The images flashed in her mind. She remembered Rosa's face. She remembered that boy. She still didn't know why she saw his face. She smiled as she remembered seeing her mother.

"You good back there?" Yang asked.

"Yeah." Ruby said.

"You just started gripping onto me tighter." Yang said. Ruby could barely hear her.

"I saw mom in there." Ruby said. Yang didn't say anything.

"I miss her too." Yang said. Ruby smiled. She looked over at Jaune. He didn't need to hold onto Kit Fisto. She was kind of jealous. But then she remembered she was with Yang. And that about evened it out.

They got back to the city. Jaune got off and turned to Kit.

"Thank you master." Jaune said.

"You are welcome. I will be leaving soon. The Grimm are still attacking Vale, even though most of the large Grimm are gone. It takes a lot out of us." Kit said.

"I bet." Yang said.

"We should meet back up with everyone." Ruby said. Kit bowed to the Jedi and moved to the docks.

Keiser looked at Umbra. They were forced to kiss each other. Despite all their power, their wills were easily broken. He was disturbed by that. They had to kill find the traitor. They got more details. Salem told them that the traitor stayed behind with some students after class was over. They also learned he was a greater class instructor. They also learned in the general area he worked in. It cost them a lot to make Salem happy enough to give her that. He had to do things to Umbra, and she had to do things to him. She loved that they were uncomfortable. It was a punishment.

They finally found their target. Umbra looked at him. They needed proof that he was the traitor. Umbra and Keiser used the force to quietly enter the school. They found the instructor with a group of twenty students. He was talking quietly about the light side. Umbra listened.

"The light side is not weakness. It is the harder way, but in the end, it is the greatest way." He said. Umbra looked at Keiser. He was caught. The instructor looked no different from any average Sith. He was a human. Average height, average build. He was just… average. And that made him a greater threat than ever. He hid himself well. But his students didn't. Salem knew who it was the whole time. But she wanted to punish them for failing to kill Khan. A mistake they would soon remedy.

Keiser rushed into the classroom and started draining the life out of all in the room. The students were all drained. But the instructor was a little stronger. Keiser stopped draining the room, and Umbra got behind the traitor.

"Salem wants you dead." Umbra said.

"Of course, she does. I scare her. If we let people find enlightenment, then she cannot control them anymore." Umbra snapped his neck. Keiser grabbed the body and tossed it over his shoulder.

"Let them be an example." Keiser said. The children were all dead. In a few seconds, Keiser drained them all. Umbra was reminded once again just how powerful Keiser is. But she was powerful as well.

They brought the body back to Salem. She looked at him and smiled.

"You two have done a wonderful thing. Now, go." Salem said.

Ruby, Yang, and Jaune met up with everyone. The sun was going down. They went into the Belladonna home.

"What did we learn today?" Ruby asked.

"We found that most of the old outposts are abandoned. Not too surprising, but what was surprising was just how empty they were." Blake said. She looked around at the others. Team Epsilon but a datapad on the table, showing footage of the outposts outside of the city.

"We found a few with people, but this is far less than there should be. All I can assume is that Menagerie isn't where the bulk of the white fang are. But then where are they?" Beat asked.

If we can confirm the white fang aren't operating out of Menagerie, we'll just be moved onto the next area they think they may be." Coco said.

After they finished discussing everything, Weiss went out to the balcony in their room. She looked out at the land of Menagerie. She was finally getting some time to just look at it. For so long, her father told her it was a horrible backward place. But she didn't see that. She was told it was crime-ridden. That was false. She closed her eyes.

"Weiss Schnee."

Weiss eye's shot open. She felt out through the force. She tried to feel something, but she couldn't feel anything. Then she turned around and saw the Faunus. Even after all these years she recognized that face.

"Ilia?" Weiss asked, fear in her voice. She wasn't the Jedi anymore. She was that little girl Weiss was stabbed by her friend. Her hand ran up to her wound.

"You remember me." Ilia said. She took a step forward, and Weiss took a step back.

"Why are you here?" Weiss asked Ilia.

"To finish what I started. To think I just needed to move the knife a few inches to the left. A shame." Ilia said.

Blake burst through the scream window, her lightsaber in hand. She turned her lightsaber on and brought it to Ilia's neck in a heartbeat.

"How dare you come back." Blake said.

"I never left, unlike you Blake." Ilia said.

"If you touch one hair on her head, I'll end you." Blake said.

"Oh, I've already left my damage. I'm sure you've seen my handiwork." Ilia said.

"Why are you here?" Weiss asked.

"Lady Umbra wants you." A spider web hooked around Blake's hand and forced the lightsaber away from Ilia's neck. Weiss rose her hand, sending a force push at Ilia. A bat Faunus dropped and slammed the butt of a blaster rifle in Weiss' face. She fell to the ground, then rose her hand, sending Yuma away. Weiss got back up. Ruby and Yang entered their room, seeing the white fang coming into the room. Twenty white fang burst through the windows. Ruby and Yang turned on their lightsabers, blocking the stun rounds flying at them.

"What's their goal?" Yang asked Ruby.

"Ah, all four are here!" A female voice called out. In a second, a hole was cut in the roof, and a Sith lord dropped. Everyone backed away a step.

"I am Lady Umbra. Team RWBY, follow me and be saved from your ignorance!" Umbra said.

Outside the home, the white fang were fighting the red guard. Team CFVY was dealing with four elite white fang. Team JNPR were fighting their way to team RWBY's room. Team Epsilon was surrounded white fang. They were going to have to fight their way out.

Kali and Ghira were being protected by Sun. He quickly killed two white fang that were trying to capture Kali and Ghira.

"What do you want with us Umbra?" Ruby asked.

"You are all slaves to the Jedi. I have come to emancipate you." Umbra said. She took out two lightsabers, a red and a green one. She wore a mask covering her upper face. She wore dark black robes that hid everything about her except her hands. Her hands were once tan, but now, they were white, with her veins showing. Ruby spun around, quickly taking out a white fang troop. The troops started firing at them again. Weiss fumbled to take her lightsaber out, and it cost her when Yuma kicked her, sending her back.

She rose a hand. Out shot a metallic arm, grabbing Yuma by the throat. Weiss looked at it. She summoned it. She moved her hand, throwing Yuma away. She took out her lightsaber and turned to Umbra. Blake got her hand free and used her semblance to go after a white fang troop. She cut them down. Yang sent out a force push at Umbra, and she avoided it. The push sent Trifa off the balcony. Ren rushed forward, taking out two white fang. Nora was behind him.

"You think you're going to get away with this?" Nora asked.

"You will all see the corruption of the masters!" Umbra said. She turned her attention to Weiss. She made sure none of the others tried to take her down. Umbra wanted to prove to Weiss that she was weak. She wanted to show Weiss the strength of the dark side. She jumped in the air, bringing both her lightsabers down. Weiss twisted out of the way and made a swipe at Umbra. She brought up the green blade to block it. Weiss tried to look at the blade, but Umbra moved it back.

"That's not for your eyes Weiss." Umbra said. Something about the way she said Weiss' name made her think of Rosa. Umbra moved forward, putting pressure on Weiss. She was elegant in her movements. She blocked the swipes made at her. The red blade bounced off the blue blade. She saw a flash of yellow through the mask. She had a smile on her face.

"Rosa begs for you." Umbra said. Team RWBY stopped and turned to the Sith. They stopped moving and looked at Umbra. Weiss felt anger fill her.

"Don't you dare say her name." Weiss said. She flicked her hand and send a force push at Umbra. She was sent back a few feet and summoned the armored arm back out, with the massive sword. It slashed, killing a white fang troop, but was stopped by Umbra's lightsaber. Umbra put away the red blade and held the green blade in her hand.

"You want to see her again?" Umbra asked. She moved her hand to her mask, and as she took it off, she changed. She looked like Rosa.

"I know where she is. But I don't think she wants to talk to you now." Umbra put her mask back on and changed back. She snapped, and the white fang vanished. Ilia turned to look at Blake as she too vanished in the darkness. Umbra looked at the Jedi around her.

"This is her lightsaber." Umbra said, showing Rosa's lightsaber.

"How dare you?!" Yang shouted. She rushed forward. She brought her lightsaber down on the blade. Umbra dropped to one knee and sent out a wave of force lightning into her. She flew back and slammed into the wall. Blake rushed forward after Yang. Umbra spun out of the way and hit Blake in the back of the head with the pommel of the blade. She fell to the ground. Umbra used the force to drop a bookcase on her. Blake let out a pained gasp, her aura taking most of the damage. Weiss moved her hand up, catching Umbra in a time glyph. An instant later, a red blade slammed into the ground, into the glyph.

Ruby used her semblance to rush forward. The silver blade bounced off the green blade. The glyph broke, and Umbra kicked Ruby, sending her into Weiss. Ren rushed forward, jumping into the air. He had out his hunter weapons. He fired at Umbra, but she blocked the attacks. She jumped when Nora rushed in. Nora brought her lightsaber down where she was standing. Ren landed. Both blades were blocked by the green and red.

She brought her hands back, taking a step back. Ren stumbled first. Umbra brought her leg up, slamming it into Ren's stomach. She quickly turned and kicked Nora in the face. She spun her leg back, slamming it onto Ren again. She put away her lightsabers and jumped out of Yang's attack. She put away her lightsaber and had her hunter weapon out. Yang punched at Umbra when she landed, but Umbra ducked under it. She moved backward, avoiding the punches Yang threw. After Yang sent out another punch, she twisted, grabbing Yang's arm. Umbra brought her elbow into Yang's face, and brought her leg behind Yang's sending her to the ground, where Umbra brought her leg up in an axe kick. Yang let out a pained moan as Umbra kicked her. Umbra dropped Yang and rushed forward. She jumped in the air, jumping over Ruby. She spun, using her momentum to land a powerful kick to Ruby's head. She went flying into the wall. Weiss turned around, only for her lightsaber to be kicked out of her hand.

Weiss brought her hands up, only able to block the attacks Umbra was sending her way. She added punches to her attack. Weiss stumbled back when she tripped over Ruby's lightsaber. Umbra caught her arm and twirled her around in her arms. She held Weiss close. Weiss got a good look at Umbra, feeling something she recognized about it, but a second after, she let out a pained cry as Blake's attack was blocked by Weiss. Umbra held her tight for a second.

"I can take you to her." Umbra said. She let go of Weiss and sent out a force push, sending Weiss into Nora. She caught Weiss with little difficulty. Jaune had out his lightsaber.

"Do you regret leaving Rosa alone?" Umbra asked. She blocked Jaune with Rosa's lightsaber. He gripped his blade harder.

"What do you know about her?" Jaune asked.

"I know her better than all of you. Did you know Maku abused her?" Umbra said. The Jedi stopped and looked at the Sith. They felt the truth in it.

"Why would he?" Jaune asked. He was getting better, Umbra noted. He was stronger and faster.

"Because Maku blamed her for everything. He beat her. Scarred her. Did things to her." Umbra said. "Maku blamed Rosa for living. His friend was killed by a Sith about a decade ago, and Maku blamed Rosa for that. He justified it because she had a weakness to the dark. He beat her and locked away those memories."

"Don't lie to us Sith." Jaune said.

"Jaune Arc, you feel the truth in my words. I've heard these words from Rosa's mouth. The masters knew about the abuse and covered it up." Umbra said.

Jaune's grip loosened for a moment. Umbra brought her hand up, making Jaune let go of his lightsaber. He was punched four times in the face quickly, then she put the lightsaber away. He stumbled back but couldn't bring up a defense as she slid under his legs. She spun, knocking both his feet out. He fell, slamming into the ground. Umbra got up and looked at Pyrrha.

"Vanus is taking better care of Rosa than you ever did." Umbra said. Pyrrha turned in her chair and held a blaster out at her. She fired. Umbra brought her hand up and took in the energy. She brought her hand out and used the force to take her blaster.

"Don't you dare compare us to Vanus." Pyrrha said.

"She never lied to Rosa. Unlike all of you. You, who were supposed to be her friends. You were supposed to be her teammates. You who were her sisters. That is the greatest betrayal of all." Umbra said. She stood in the doorway and looked at the Jedi. They were holding back to keep Pyrrha safe.

"But she still loves you. She hates you and loves you. Confusing, isn't it?" Umbra asked the Jedi. She turned on her lightsabers and quickly turned. The clone commandos fired at Umbra. She blocked the strikes but was getting pushed back.

"Join me and be with Rosa again." Umbra said. Cross had his head surrounded by spider webs and was dragged.

"Good, take them out." Umbra said. Cy rushed forward and fired a sonic grenade. Umbra used the force to close the door and brought up a force shield. The sonic blast slammed into the force shield. It almost broke. She stumbled back. Ilia's whip broke through Cy's armor and went through his arm. The whip came back. Cy dropped his weapon and let out a scream.

Sun turned the corner and saw Umbra outside of team RWBY's door. He turned on his lightsaber and rushed forward. Umbra brought her hands up and caved in the hallway leading to the clones and in front of Sun. He stopped and looked at the pile in front of him. Umbra cut a hole below herself and fell through, seeing the shards blast through.

"Get out of here." Umbra said in her comm. The white fang stopped fighting the clones and vanished again. Tip fired, hitting one of them in the head. They wore their stealth suits. Umbra faded as Sun dropped down.

He rolled out of the way of her lightsaber. He brought down his with his full strength. They continued to fight in the basement. Sun was going for the kill.

"You came right to us!" Sun yelled.

"This is just the beginning." Umbra said. She blocked Sun's strike with both lightsabers in an X. She twisted the lightsaber out of his hands and put her lightsaber away. She took out her Sith dagger. Sun knew what it was, and how dangerous it was. One hit from that and a dark side poison would ravage him. Not even bacta could heal it. He brought out his hunter weapon and blocked the strikes. He needed to get that out of her hand. He was only able to knock it aside. He kept losing ground, moving further from his lightsaber. Sun fired at Umbra. She took a few of the shots, but her aura was weakening.

She tossed her dagger at Sun. Sun rolled out of the way, barely in time to avoid getting hit by it. He used the force to get his lightsaber back. Umbra turned on only the green lightsaber.

"You can't defeat me Sun." Umbra said.

"How do you know who I am?" Sun asked. Umbra smirked.

"Anything Rosa knows I know as well." Umbra said. Sun held his lightsaber closer. She rushed forward, meeting Sun strike for strike. Sun realized she was using an advanced application of Niman. And he knew she had enough experience to quickly switch between the weapons. He had to be careful. She was pushing him back and refusing to use her Sith blade. Jaune, Nora, and Ren dropped down the hole she created and turned on their lightsabers. Umbra saw them and looked back at Sun. She turned off her lightsaber. Sun widened his eyes as she turned on her lightsaber. The blade ripped through his shoulder. Umbra took the blade out and looked at the others.

"Everything that happens could have been stopped." Umbra said. She stood over Sun, putting her boot on him. He glared up at her, and she brought her boot down on his face. He held onto his injured shoulder. Sun let out a groan.

Nora ran forward. She jumped in the air, bringing her hunter weapon down at Umbra. She stepped out of the way and continued to avoid the swings. She stepped back and saw Nora change the weapon into its grenade launcher setting. She opened her eyes wide as Nora shot her point blank with a grenade. She flew backward, slamming into a wall. She got up, holding her stomach, and rolled out of the way of the second grenade. She realized that if she was pregnant, the child would have just died. But Salem hadn't forced that yet. She ran ahead of the grenades, barely, and she went into a room. She cut a hole in the wall and quickly stepped through it. The door was burst open by a grenade. She thrust open her door and rushed forward. Nora had to reload. Ren started firing at Umbra. She took out her second lightsaber and started blocking the bullets. She rolled to the side, and she rose her hand. Force lightning rushed from her hand, hitting Ren. He started yelling, then Nora stepped in front of Ren. She held her lightsaber up. Umbra stopped it and rushed forward again. She jumped in the air, but was thrown to the side by Sun on the ground. Umbra saw her aura break. Umbra stood up and started breathing heavily.

"You know, this isn't over yet. None of you are safe from me." Umbra opened a portal and stepped through it.

Twenty white fang were killed. Thirty-six red guards were killed. Sun was severely hurt, and unable to use his left arm. Team RWBY and JNPR saw the bodies. Weiss looked at the death.

"Why?" Weiss asked.

"She's still out there." Ren said.

"And we saw her use a portal here. So she can come back at any time." Ruby said. Team CFVY walked in, bringing Ghira and Kali. Blake hugged her parents.

"Why did this happen?" Kali asked.

"I don't know." Blake said.

"I don't think we can stay here. We already caused too much damage." Ruby said.

"The white fang and the Sith are after you. You need somewhere to be somewhere safe." Ghira said.

"Are there any Jedi outposts nearby?" Jaune asked.

"None that I know of." Ghira said.

"The Jedi don't have an outpost here. We didn't want to paint a bigger target on the Faunus. So we find people who are willing to take us in." Sun said.

"So that leaves us with nowhere else to go right now." Coco said.

"We still have no idea why we were attacked." Yang said.

"I mean besides being Jedi." Jaune put in.

"And Umbra seems to know about Rosa. Maybe she knows where they're keeping her." Pyrrha said.

"She has a link to Rosa and Vanus." Velvet added. The clones finally gathered with the rest of the group.

"The white fang have been using stealth suits and seem to know we were watching them. The cameras never went off." Beat said.

"We still need to get through our other trials before we can go after Rosa." Ren said.

"But we still need somewhere to live until then." Nora said.

"We may have to ask for aid from the others." Ghira said.

"That won't go well for you." Kali said.

"They attacked my home and killed my guards. The clones were injured. We need help Kali. Everyone here does." Ghira said.

"Who would we even call?" Blake asked.

"Reports show that another Venator came to Remnant shortly after the attack on Vale. Vacuo has the best relationship with Menagerie." Beat said.

"How many clones do you think we would need?" Kali asked.

"We can house five hundred. All those white fang outposts that are abandoned can be filled with the clones." Ghira said.

Umbra met with Vanus. She bowed in front of her master. Vanus ordered her to stand. Her voice had been healing quickly.

"Report." Vanus said.

"I have contacted the group of Jedi in Menagerie. I fought and defeated each to an extent. Team JNPR was able to bounce back much quicker than team RWBY and I was attacked by them with the intent to kill. I stabbed Sun Wukong through the shoulder and would have taken care of him if Nora, Ren, and Jaune didn't find me. Over thirty of the red guard are dead. And my resources tell me that Ghira Belladonna has requested five hundred clones from Vacuo. Our plan to destabilize Menagerie is still on tract." Umbra said. Vanus stood above Umbra and put her hand on Umbra's face.

"The enemy knows we have Rosa?" Vanus asked.

"Yes." Umbra said.

"Good apprentice. Keep them distracted in Menagerie while we continue our plans in Mistral." Vanus said.

"Am I the only operative in Menagerie?" Umbra asked.

"No. There are others. But you must not trust any besides Keiser. You and Keiser have become targets from lesser lords. They believe you are too weak. They will try to kill you. Salem gave you the warning. If you are injured in this operation to the point you cannot continue, you will bare Salem a child." Cinder said.

"I understand master." Umbra said. Vanus brought Umbra up and motioned her over.

"Tell me what your plans are to bring them over to our side." Vanus said. Vanus sat on her couch. This was her home. Umbra started telling Vanus everything that Umbra planned. She was going to go after them one at a time.

Umbra finished with her plan and Vanus stood up.

"I see what you want to do. It is a good plan. On another note, Salem has ordered me to help you with your issue. She believes you need physical touch to break your chain." Vanus said. That explained why Vanus touched her face. She never did that before. Vanus unclipped the cloak, and let it drop.

"She says you have a fear. A fear of feeling another's touch in an… intimate way." Vanus said.

"Yes, my master." Umbra said. She couldn't lie to Vanus. Vanus smiled and started to undress Umbra. She stopped when she saw Umbra's hand shaking.

"Oh, I see. It is that bad. What happened to make you so afraid?" Vanus asked as she pulled away Umbra's mask. Umbra couldn't look at Vanus in the eye.

"I think you already know." Umbra said.

"I need you to say it." Vanus said.

Oscar finished his meditation. He opened his eyes and saw a bird had been sitting on his shoulder. He felt the bird arrive, but he didn't care. He was connected to everything. He loved meditation. The world around him was good. Life surrounded him. He couldn't believe how little he understood before. Now he felt everything, and everyone around him. That connection lit a fire in his chest.

He wanted to find out about everything around him. He could hear the plants speaking, he could feel the animals around him. He was perfectly calm. Nothing could disturb him. Then he held onto his head. He closed his eyes as a pain shot through his head. It felt like something was burning, then it was gone.

He got up and went inside the barn. He found a mirror and looked at the side of his head. He couldn't see anything that was wrong with him. He shook his head. It must have been the physical exhaustion. He ran a hand along his face, turning the sink on, and wiping his face. He looked back up at the mirror. Something about it… wasn't right. His image started to… shake.

"Hello?" Oscar asked.

"Hello! I'm Professor Ozpin." Oscar backed away from the sink. He looked at it, and at the mirror.

"Okay, I'm going crazy. I should probably get some sleep." Oscar said.

"You're not going crazy. Though this may take some time to explain." Ozpin said.

"Then explain." Oscar said. "Because I'm almost convinced the past few days have been a dream."

"Past few days?" Ozpin asked.

"I've learned about the force, and learned I have a connection. But now I got another voice in my head. Am I going insane?" Oscar asked.

"No Oscar, let me explain what's going on…" Ozpin started.

Umbra finished telling Vanus everything that she could think of. She was surprised.

"You can verbalize the issue, but you're powerless to do anything to fix it. Fascinating." Vanus said. She brought her hand up, and took off Umbra's robes, exposing her body to the air. Vanus circled Umbra.

"But that leaves the question, why are you so able to say what's caused this, but you are completely powerless to fix it?" Vanus pondered. She put her hand on Umbra's back. She ran her hand down it.

"You're not a prude. With how Keiser saw you, you don't care if someone sees. But you have a problem when someone feels." Vanus continued to circle Umbra.

"Is this necessary?" Umbra asked.

"It seems it is. I thought you were just nervous. But this is fear. True fear." Vanus groped Umbra and saw the fear cover her face. She let go of Umbra, taking a step back. Even here, Umbra was deathly afraid of physical touch.

"Could this go back to Maku? Perhaps on some psychological level, you remembered how he touched you. Even when you knew I was going to touch you, you still were fearful. This is trauma. But we need to get to the bottom of this. If your enemy finds out about this, then you might as well die." Vanus said.

"How can this be fixed?" Umbra asked. She wanted to let go of the fear. She wanted to be free of this fear. Vanus thought of things they could do.

"Your mind has made defenses to strengthen your mind after Maku's death. I'm not sure he'd even be able to do what he did anymore, so we can't force it to be solved by taking your memories of the events. We also can't just wish them away. We could send you to a trained therapist, I guess. Have you disguise yourself." Vanus said.

"Why is Salem forcing this?" Umbra asked. Vanus grabbed Umbra's face, gentler than she normally would. She brought her face to Vanus's face.

"You are delaying giving her a child, but you cannot delay it forever. You will have sex with him, and at this rate, you won't have a choice in the issue. Your potential offspring is important. If you have sex with him, I don't want you traumatized. You're probably going to have to do it more than once. She'll take your child as her own. Then you'll keep giving her children until she says to stop. This trauma you have needs to be solved. One mistake, and you will be fucking Keiser. Do you understand? I don't want that. I want you to be the Sith you are meant to be. The Sith who can destroy the Jedi order. But since Keiser discovered his drain ability you lost your position as her vessel. Now you are the vessel for the vessel. She wants every power available, and she sees herself getting that by forcing you to spread your legs. One mistake. That's why you need to train and get over this. You are not a whore. You are Sith." Vanus let go of Umbra's face. She looked at her master.

"I will not fail you master." Umbra said.

"Don't say that yet." Vanus grabbed Umbra again. She fought to keep her face free from fear. Vanus felt the fear in Umbra.

"You still are afraid. Don't let this chain you. Break the chain. Delve into the dark side. Break the chain. Instead of being afraid, make others afraid." Vanus continued to touch Umbra. "You are letting this become a weakness. Overcome this like you overcame the chains of Maku. Use the anger you felt for him fuel you. Recover from this. Show me the Sith."

Umbra felt the fear melt into anger. She threw a punch at Vanus. Vanus caught it and punched Umbra back.

"I will beat this lesson into you. Fear is useless for a Sith to have. We make people afraid. We are not afraid." Vanus looked down on her apprentice. "You showed a bout of anger, but you were still afraid."

"I'm sorry master." Umbra said.

"I know. Perhaps I need you to think about Keiser taking you to motivate you. If you want to run from that future, you will fail. Face this. Face the fear." Vanus said.

Salem looked out at the city. She waited for Umbra to arrive. She needed to know why she attacked in Menagerie. Salem wondered if she would be getting that child sooner than imagined. Umbra entered the throne room.

"Why did you attack?" Salem asked.

"I was under orders from Vanus." Umbra said.

"Under orders?" Salem asked.

"It's part of the plan to weaken both Menagerie and Vacuo." Umbra said. Salem stepped over to Umbra.

"Rise, Umbra." She did. She looked at Salem.

"While I would not have attacked so openly, you have shown you are willing to hurt your old friends. I was wrong in thinking that you were so weak. But I still have concerns. They don't know who you are yet." Salem said.

"Is that not part of the plan in keeping that hidden?" Umbra asked.

"It is. They were chosen by Ozpin. They are more important than even they know. So I need them to be where I want them. You must not show your hand too soon. They are on Menagerie to train. But they will leave at some point to rescue Rosa." Salem said.

"I will make sure they do not learn the truth." Umbra said.

"There is one thing I want Ruby Rose to know. Follow me." Salem said. Umbra followed Salem as they left the audience chamber and went further into the castle. Normally, this deep into the castle is meant for Darths and above, but with Salem with her, Umbra was allowed to go. They walked deeper, passing by a massive library, and a room full of Sith Holocrons.

"What I have to show you is a highly guarded secret Umbra. This secret is one that only my inner council knows." Salem stopped in front of a door where two Sith guards stood. Salem grabbed Umbra's hand and cut it. She poured the blood into a vessel on the other side of the door. Unlike the teleportation vessels, this vessel dropped into the ground.

"It now will track this secret. If you leak this information, I will know, and there will be consequences." Salem said. They continued down a spiral staircase, with glowing red orbs going all the way down. Umbra looked at the orbs, and Salem grabbed her arm.

"Do not get too far behind me, or you will die." Salem said. "These orbs will drain your soul. Much like you can do."

"How's that possible?" Umbra asked.

"I have lived for thousands of years. I have learned magics beyond your comprehension." Salem said.

They got to the bottom of the staircase, and Umbra saw rows upon rows of vats. Salem brought her through the room.

"These are where the white fang clones are grown. Medicus, or Watts, has made this possible. We have found out how to clone much like the Spaarti cloners. We have a few donors." Salem explained. They stopped in front of twenty bodies hanging in suspension. One of them was a clone. Salem looked at four of them with a sense of distaste.

"These four are silver eye warriors, much like your friend, Ruby. This is not what I wanted to show you." Salem said as they continued. Umbra saw the rows of bodies in different stages of cloning. She was taken further into the building. They took an elevator deeper. Umbra looked at Salem. She had no idea this was here.

"This is magnificent, is it not?" Salem said.

"This is so much grander than I ever thought." Umbra said. There was a hallway that led to one room. They were over the dark vats where the Grimm were being spawned. Salem put in the code. Umbra didn't see what it was. They walked into a room. It was a circular room with all the lights off. All of a sudden, the room filled with light. Umbra looked around and saw the walls were covered with people in suspension. She looked ahead and saw… Summer Rose. Ruby's mother hung there.

She… was moving. She was alive. She opened her eyes and looked at Salem and Umbra.

"Summer. Your daughter is causing me problems." Salem said.

"I knew she'd do great things." Umbra looked at Summer Rose. It was undeniable that it was her. She looked so much like Ruby. Summer's eyes looked over at Umbra.

"Another lackey." Summer said.

"She knows your daughter. She was on her team." Salem said.

"So she's a traitor." Summer said.

"Oh, you still have that mouth. I'm so glad I've kept you alive all these years. When Ruby falls, I'll bring her here as well. I must thank you for showing me just how to use you people." Salem said. She stepped up to the computer that kept them suspended. Summer was the only one forced to be awake at all times. Salem turned to Umbra.

"She gets what she needs to live. And I use her power." A silver eye warrior was brought down, into a vat. Summer started to scream as her power was being drained into the vat. And out of the Vat came a Grimm. A strong Grimm. A hound.

"Ruby will stop you Salem. She's far stronger than you know." Summer said.

"That idol threat." Salem said. "She is being trained as a Jedi."

"Then soon, you shall no longer exist. And everything you ever created will disappear. It will all collapse without you."

Author's Notes: Summer Rose?! What? How? I guess you just have to keep reading.

This chapter is a Sith-focused chapter. I wanted to show a little of how the Sith works on Remnant. But I also want to move the plot along, which is why the fight happened. And Oscar finally met Ozpin.

This story has 3 reviews, all by my friend, CT7567Rules.

C1. This is the time of the Sith.

C2. They, in fact, were not enough.

C3. As we talked about in private, this Khan is Sienna Khan, but I just call her Khan to help me. Either Amber or someone who is related to her was the person who saved Oscar when he was attacked. What equipment are you superficially talking about?

Please leave a review, Follow, and Favorite.

May the Force be With You

-DragonZlayerx12