Chapter 7
The padawans all passed the Trial of Skill, elevating Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc to the Rank of Jedi Knight. Lord Kaiser and Lady Umbra killed Seinna Khan and took control of the White Fang as part of Salem's plans. Oscar Pine, training with his aunt and Ozpin, finished his final trial and swiftly rose to the Rank of Jedi knight. Pyrrha Nikos discovered the Location of the Healing Oasis
Umbra went to Salem's throne room. She was let in with just Salem present at the moment. The Sith guards didn't say a word as they closed the doors behind Umbra. Umbra bowed to Salem.
"Lady Salem, I have come with a request." Umbra said.
"Of course. Go on." Salem said. Her voice was always intoxicating to the Sith. And to Umbra.
"I would like you to give the White Fang on Menagerie a batch of White Fang clones." Umbra said. Salem stood up from her chair and walked to Umbra. Salem grabbed Umbra's face and brought it up.
"Such a simple request. But isn't it rather pointless?" Salem asked.
"It is simple. But to defuse a situation I promised the spies on Menagerie that their ranks would be bolstered by the clones." Umbra said.
"I see. What would I gain from this?" Salem said.
"It would make the work on Menagerie easier." Umbra said.
"That doesn't concern me. You know what I want. Yet I allow you to continue on these missions. That is because you are useful to me. What of Mercury? Do you think he is still useful to me?" Salem asked.
"He is a powerful Sith." Umbra said. Umbra felt the grip tighten around her chin.
"That is not what I asked. Is he useful?" Salem asked again.
"I believe he has lost his usefulness since he lost his arm to Maku." Umbra said.
"Good. You will kill him if he fails me at the Oasis." Salem said. Maku looked up with surprise.
"Kill him?" Umbra asked.
"You heard correctly. He has wasted his talents here whoring away. He has become damaged goods. He has become weak. He has one more chance." Salem said.
"I understand." Umbra said.
"Now, stand Lady Umbra." Salem said. Umbra followed without question. Salem circled around her, examining her. She stood behind Umbra putting both her hands on Umbra's shoulders. She wrapped her arms around Umbra. Salem leaned in and hugged Umbra, her hands over her abdomen.
"You know I hear everything don't you." Salem said.
"Yes, Lady Salem." Umbra said.
"I heard how you helped Kaiser with those wounds. I heard you came up with an idea to give me a vessel. A clever plan. Finally, you are thinking the way you need to. A reward is needed. I have five chosen women who will fulfill what you want. You are within arms reach of giving me exactly what I want. I am very pleased with you Umbra. You are growing more than the Jedi ever would have let you. Soon, you will be able to kill any of them." Salem said. She left a kiss on Umbra's cheek. Salem still held onto Umbra.
"Lady Salem… how did you know what happened all those years ago?" Umbra asked.
"The mysterious powers of the Dark Side are not yet known to you. But they are known to me. I can see all movements of the Dark Side. Even the Emperor of the galaxy at large. And he sees me. I wonder which of us is more powerful. I saw the day you first touched the dark side. I saw how you always had the darkness around you. I just had to make sure the light was gone from you." Salem said. Umbra felt Salem's hands on her. She felt her heart going faster. Salem ran a thumb over Umbra's lips.
"Lady Salem?" Umbra asked.
"I am spoiling you, my servant. Many would kill for this treatment, but you are better than them. You are strong. You are loved by me. You are my Shadow, my Umbra." Salem said. Salem started to take her hands off Umbra. Umbra almost cried out for her to stay. But she stopped.
"Oh, you are so strong willed. I love the strong willed Sith. They deserve everything. The weak willed Sith, like Mercury and Cya, deserve nothing." Salem said. Salem brought her hand to Umbra's back. Umbra felt the tattoo react to Salem's touch.
"Lady Salem, the clones?" Umbra asked, keeping her mind on the request. Salem smiled.
"It will be done. They will arrive soon. You must continue to do well my apprentice." Salem said.
Ruby and her team went to team JNPR and Jedi master Shaak Ti, who arrived with a division of clones. With the efforts to revitalize the desert underway, and working wonders because of the tech, the island was able to finally expand. One hundred Kilometers had been changed into a livable climate by the droids working. That was part of why Shaak Ti came here, to make sure the Engineer clones were right about their calculations. Part of the deal for establishing a permanent presence on the island.
Shaak Ti listened to what Team RWBY had to say.
"I see. This Sith keeps appearing to you. Did she fight back when she was here?" Shaak Ti asked.
"No. She only blocked my attack. It was like she was mocking us." Yang said.
"She probably was." Shaak Ti said.
"Are we still able to go to the Oasis?" Jaune asked. Shaak Ti turned around to Jaune and shook her head.
"If all of you go, the danger should be minimal. I shall met up with you there after making sure everything here is going the way it was meant to." Shaak Ti said.
"You're not coming?" Weiss asked, disappointed.
"The others are already at work doing this. Are you sure you would be missed if you didn't come?" Blake asked.
"It will be one hour. What could happen in one hour there?" Shaak Ti said.
"A lot." Ruby said.
"Then I'll try to get there faster. But there is work here I cannot miss. I will see you soon." Shaak Ti said. "Oh, and Weiss, you can show me your improvements later."
"Ok master." Weiss said smiling at that.
The two teams got on a LAAT and started off toward the Oasis.
"Alright, now it is time to check on the clones. Make sure they aren't making a mess." Shaak Ti said.
Kaiser was summoned by Salem after he left the Sith Medcenter. Umbra did most of the work for the droid doctor. He left and opened a portal to Salem's throne room. The guards let Kaiser through. He entered Salem's throne room. Before he knelt down, possibly injuring himself, Salem raised her hand.
"Because of your injury, I will allow you to stand." Salem walked over to Kaiser.
"Thank you, Lady Salem." Kaiser said.
"I already spoke to Umbra. She imposed on your authority with the White Fang. How does that make you feel?" Salem asked. Kaiser said nothing for a few seconds. Salem gave him a look almost asking out loud for the answer.
"Anger, my Lady. She imposed herself on my people." Kaiser said.
"Anger. Is that all?" Salem asked.
"It's frustrating, my Lady. I am the only one who the leads the White Fang now." Kaiser said.
"Now, you understand why I am asking this?" Salem asked.
"…not entirely, Lady Salem." Kaiser said.
"I am frustrated in many of these Sith. They are weak, but they seek to steal from me. That angers me greatly Kaiser. Many of the Sith seek to break off from me. Traitors all. You led many of those to death in Hellio. But more exist. I know of at least three hundred of them. I want them gone. So, what should we do?" Salem asked.
"How quickly do you want them gone?" Kaiser asked.
"As soon as possible." Salem said.
"Another Hellio. The people are still hunting the White Fang." Kaiser said.
"Good. Now, where?" Salem asked. She smiled as Kaiser was starting to think like the man he needed to be.
"Menagerie." Kaiser said.
"Good. The Clones have established a permanent presence on the island and are expanding the livable space. The Jedi are coming out on Menagerie. The White Fang spy network will show how useful it is. Place a rumor about White Fang outposts in the Desert. Most won't believe it, but enough will. Divide their attention then attack. Simple really." Salem said.
"It will be done." Kaiser said. He turned to leave but felt Salem's hand on his shoulder.
"There are a few more things you have to complete before you start the battle." Salem said. She looked in his eyes.
"Blake will be there. She lives. Her parents are in your hands though." Salem said.
"I understand." Kaiser said.
"Oh, and you aren't allowed to die obviously. You are still needed to create the new vessel." Salem said.
Pyrrha watched the map move closer to the Oasis and felt the excitement grow within her. This was why she came to Menagerie! She was so close to being able to use her legs again. She had been studying how the Oasis works. It seemed that there was no special ritual with it. No baptism into the Jedi ways or anything like that. She just needed to be under the water, and she would be healed.
Jaune would help her into the water. She read that limbs themselves have grown back from this Oasis. The Oasis had power to it. She had to believe that this would work. There was no other option!
Jaune held her hand the entire way to the Oasis. Normally she would have only wanted a few people to go with her, but with the Sith still being around, everyone had to come. That was alright with her.
She was worried when she read that the first people who used this Oasis were naked when doing it. But that seemed to be a bygone tradition. She was ready to go naked if she had to, but she didn't. Or so she thought.
She wondered if this oasis had a connection to Bacta or one of the other miracle drugs in the Galaxy at large. She remembered when she was in the bacta tank that she felt the nerves being fixed from the strike. But the bone around the nerves was gone, so they had nothing to connect to. But this Oasis could create the vertebrae! It had to.
She read about different ways that people had been healed by the oasis. Some soaked in it for hours. Some bathed in it seven times in a row. She didn't know where that one came from. But it seemed that some of the religions on Remnant came about from miracles that stemmed from this oasis and other places like it around the world. The oasis was the most well known around the world. Others had fallen out of knowledge. She was going down rabbit holes looking for the other spots.
"We have to land here." The Clone Pilot said. The LAAT landed outside the Oasis. Pyrrha saw the edge of the water in the air. It wouldn't be a long walk. As the LAAT landed, the Jedi left the ship. Pyrrha almost felt like she could get up and run to the oasis right now! She imagined the bone being restored and her taking her first steps since that night.
Mercury got to the oasis hours before the Jedi even left their home.
Mercury got to the Oasis and looked around for anything out of the ordinary. Of course there was nothing. He went to the oasis water and looked in. He saw his reflection. He saw his metallic arm.
"Piece of shit!" He yelled. He stepped back and felt his anger rolling off of him.
"Maku. You piece of shit! You here me Maku! Wherever you are FUCK YOU! I hope you enjoy being in Hell!" Mercury saw his father in the reflection.
"Pathetic." He said.
"Piss off. What do you know? You know what 'Dad'. I actually killed Jedi. Unlike you. I actually got a Sith master. Unlike You. I actually got respect in the Sith. Unlike YOU!" He sent out a force wave against the water. The water splashed, but every drop went back into the oasis.
"You were just the son of a whore. Maybe that's why you spend so much time around them. Makes you feel at home." Mercury spun around and saw Cyan there. He had such a smug look on his face.
"You died the second Umbra got the chance. I don't want to hear anything from you." Mercury said. He knew intellectually that Cyan wasn't there. But he had to release all the rage that had been building up.
"You were hurt by Maku, and you still bitch about it months later. Seriously, no wonder no one believes in you." Cyan said.
"You want to test your theory?" Mercury took out his lightsaber. Cyan took out his.
Mercury rushed in first. He jumped in the air, bringing his whole weight down on the first attack. His lightsaber slammed into Cyan's lightsaber. Mercury only used his real hand. He brought up his metallic hand and punched Cyan in the face. Cyan stumbled back and held onto his nose.
"Lucky hit." Cyan said.
"You would say that." Mercury rushed forward, bringing his lightsaber across in a slash. Cyan blocked the attack and stepped back. He spun around, slamming his pommel into Mercury's face. Mercury stumbled back. He rushed in with a classic Juyo opening. Power! Mercury had power!
He killed his father without using a lightsaber. He had to use his power then. He dug deeper. He slashed from high and caused Cyan to step back. Mercury brought the lightsaber up with a backhand. Cyan blocked the attack and stumbled. He broke the lock quickly and stepped back. He brought his lightsaber back up and rolled to the side of a wild strike Mercury used. Cyan spun on the ground and kicked Mercury in the side. Mercury stumbled back and brought his leg up for a kick. Cyan blocked the strike with his lightsaber. Mercury used his other gun to send him into the air. He spun around for a spinning ax kick. Cyan jumped backward. Mercury left an indent in the sand.
"Don't stop now! Where was all that good shit you were talking a minute ago?" Mercury asked. Cyan spun his lightsaber in a figure 8 motion. Cyan rushed forward going on the offensive. Cyan jumped in the air for a classic form IV, Ataru, opening. Mercury stepped a full step backward and blocked the lunge. Cyan rolled on the ground and got back up. He spun around for a slash. Mercury brought up his lightsaber and blocked the strike.
Cyan grunted. He brought his power and pushed Mercury back. Mercury brought his lightsaber down quickly and blocked another strike that Cyan had for him. Mercury swung his lightsaber up into the air with Cyan's. Cyan was wide open. Mercury spun around and planted his lightsaber into Cyan's heart.
Sweat dropped down his face. Mercury saw Cyan fade away. Mercury stood up and spat where Cyan was.
"Never doubt me again." Mercury said. He switched his lightsaber over to his robotic hand and quickly spun around, raising his lightsaber. Maku was standing there. An evil smile covered Maku's face.
"I was close to killing you Mercury. You were saved by Emerald." Maku said.
"Bullshit! You got a lucky hit on me." Mercury said.
"What a terrible excuse." Maku brought up his leg and kicked Mercury. Mercury went flying back and rolled in the sand. He quickly got back up and blocked the overhead slash Maku sent his way.
"Umbra killed you." Mercury said.
"Interesting how they all have Sith names, then there's you." Maku said.
"Your padawan joined us because of you." Mercury said.
"She was always in the dark. I should have killed her long ago. Maybe then you wouldn't be acting like a brat." Maku said. Mercury brought his lightsaber around over his head and brought it down. Maku blocked the strike. Mercury activated his boots, and his knee came flying into Maku's chin. Maku stumbled back and shook his head.
"Your tricks won't work forever you know." Maku said.
"Why would I listen to you? Of all people?!" Mercury screamed.
"Fine then. Suffer." Maku said. Maku brought his hand up and sent a massive force wave into Mercury. Mercury flew backward into a tree and fell to the ground. He coughed and spat. Mercury got back up and saw Maku rushing toward him. Mercury brought his hand up and sent out a wave of force lightning. Maku brought his lightsaber up and blocked the attack. Mercury ended the force lightning then rushed forward. He jumped in the air and spun, giving his strike more power. Maku blocked the strike. Mercury landed low on the ground. He shot back up with another strike. Maku blocked the next attack. Mercury kicked Maku, hitting him with the gun. Maku stumbled back. Mercury sent another wave of force lightning. Maku began to scream. Mercury stepped closer to Maku.
"DIE!" Mercury brought his lightsaber down into Maku, who began to fade away.
He dropped to the ground and started gathering his energy again. He stayed on the ground for a moment. Then he rolled himself around. He saw Emerald above him. He sat up.
"What are you doing there?" Emerald asked.
"Relaxing. I'm on vacation." Mercury said sarcastically.
"Good. Then…" Emerald got on top of Mercury. She leaned down and kissed him. Mercury didn't see this coming. He closed his eyes. Then they shot back open as he remembered her poisons.
"You are so desperate." Emerald said. Mercury couldn't move. Mercury looked at Emerald.
"What are you going to do?" Mercury asked.
"What I always wanted to do. I'm going to fuck you." Emerald said.
"What? No. That can't be right." Mercury said.
"Why not?" The dream Emerald began to take her clothes off.
"That's the one thing I know she doesn't want." Mercury said. He kept staring. He knew this was fake. Did he care?
"But it's what you want." Dream Emerald said.
"I mean she's hot. And yeah, I want her…" He felt strange about this. "This isn't right."
"We're Sith. What's right and wrong to us?" Dream Emerald said.
"No. Get off." Mercury raised his arm and pushed dream Emerald off of him. She was on the ground and his strength began to give out.
"No! This isn't real." Mercury said. But his body fought against his protests. Dream Emerald's hand moved…
"Stop!" Mercury said. Dream Emerald sighed and vanished. Mercury felt the poison leave his system. Or… it wasn't in there in the first place. He was seeing things he realized. This oasis was testing him.
"Fuck you." Mercury said to the Oasis. The image of that dream Emerald filled his mind. She looked so lifelike. She felt real. He shook his head. He could have experienced Emerald, and he ignored it. What was wrong with him? Or maybe something was right.
He looked around and saw the Oasis started to change back to the way it was when he got there. He saw a tree and sat up there. This place was too much for him right now.
He couldn't get the image of Emerald out of his head. Why? What was it about her that affected him like this? He knew he should be calling her by her Sith name, but that wasn't who she was to him. She was just Emerald. Vanus' apprentice before him. He realized why she was different. He cursed himself. She wasn't like any of the whore. She wasn't like the countless girls at Beacon he got nudes of. He liked her. He liked her a lot.
"Dammit Mercury! You aren't supposed to get attached to them." He said. He broke off a limb of the tree he was on.
"If she hated me before, this arm doesn't help me at all." Mercury said to himself out loud. He sighed. He needed to figure out a way to get her image out of his mind. He was surprised how accurate the dream was to Emerald in reality. He… he bugged her shower. It wasn't long! It was to test it. But Mercury heard how hollow the words were in his own head.
"I'm fucking disgusting." Mercury said. But that didn't stop him. His shame made it easier to justify what he did with the memory. Shame completely filled him after he was done.
"Why am I like this?" Mercury said.
He stayed in the tree and took out a knife and started to carve the limb of the tree.
He spent a few hours in that tree waiting for the Jedi. Then finally, he felt the wind blowing from the LAAT.
Kaiser entered the White Fang spy network HQ underground. All the White Fang bases on Menagerie came to this point. The Jedi missed every entrance to the HQ when they checked the old bases. Kaiser kept the portal open when White Fang clones exited the portal. Yuma was the first leader Kaiser saw.
"Yuma, take this." Kaiser tossed him a scroll. It was a new scroll that was able to connect to the computers here and connect to everyone, similar to the republic commlinks. Yuma plugged it in as more clones walked through the portal. Yuma saw the image of Menagerie, and battle plans.
"We're going to attack Menagerie?" Yuma asked.
"The Jedi and the Clones think that they can just come here and take away our homeland. We will prove them wrong. Gather everything, we will need to start the attack. I will gather our forces." Kaiser said.
Umbra opened a portal into the HQ and saw all the clones. Kaiser turned his head to Umbra and rushed over to her. He grabbed her arm and dragged her back through the portal, into her apartment. Kaiser turned back to Umbra.
"Never do that again. You overstepped your boundaries Umbra." Kaiser said, still holding onto her arm.
"Let go of me." Umbra said.
"You are lucky Lady Salem wants to attack Menagerie like we did Hellio." Kaiser said. He still held onto her arm.
"I said let go." Umbra said. Kaiser let go of her arm. He realized how long he held it.
"I'm sorry." Kaiser said.
"What was that about?" Umbra asked.
"Never overstep again." Kaiser said, finger in her face. She swatted it aside.
"I did what I thought was best Kaiser." Umbra said.
"You insufferable woman!"
"I'm the insufferable one? What about you? Who always leaps into action instead of thinking about what he should do next? Don't you think that maybe you should have stepped back from Seinna when she started to put her claws on your back? Don't you think before going into action?" Umbra said.
"Like you think about seeing Blake again! Constantly! Don't think I don't know about you going to check up on them all the time. I haven't seen her in years, and I'm okay with that. But she's your pet project so she's off the table for the attack. But one day soon, Salem will give up on them. Just like she has given up on Mercury. What then? Who will you follow?" Kaiser asked.
"I can get them." Umbra said.
"Can you?" Kaiser got up in Umbra's face. She stepped back. She wasn't afraid of this outburst… she had never seen him like this before. Truly angry. Her heartbeat picked up. She felt adrenaline begin to course through her veins. Why was this her reaction?
Kaiser stopped, both of them breathing for a few seconds. They both realized they were getting too fired up. Kaiser brought a hand up to his face and wiped the sweat off.
"This is Salem, isn't it. She's heightened our emotions around each other." Kaiser said.
"I didn't know you had those emotions." Umbra said. Kaiser took a few seconds to breath.
"I think she wanted to see what our reaction would be." Umbra said.
"I thought you go the go on that project." Kaiser said.
"I did. But… Maybe she wanted a show." Umbra said.
"Gods don't put that in my head. I'll be paranoid all week now. Come on. Let's return to the HQ." Kaiser said.
"What, no questions about what we did?" Umbra asked. She put back on her Faunus disguise mask. She went up to Kaiser and straightened his mask.
"You didn't need to do that." Kaiser said.
"Fine. Go look disheveled in front of the White Fang. I'm sure that will bring hope to them." Umbra said.
"I was trying to be nice there." Kaiser said, grumbling out each word. He reopened the portal and they both went in.
Ilia was the nearest leader to them now. Umbra stopped and let Kaiser take the lead.
"We got the Clones now sir. But your plan calls for Sith. I don't think we have any right now." Ilia said. The clones were all going deeper into the HQ, a large military base created during the Great War and retrofitted by the Sith since then. It went down multiple levels. The clones were moving down.
"Don't worry. We shall have them soon." Kaiser said.
Kaiser and Umbra went over everything they needed to make this mission a successful one. Umbra and Kaiser would stay in the HQ directing everyone's movements while the Sith would be given free range on where they would fight.
The plan was for the HQ to remain hidden. But if it was discovered, Kaiser would delete the files, and they would abandon the fight. They had a few of the stolen tanks ready to go. The battle would be a large one.
Umbra looked everything over and turned to Kaiser.
"Everything looks right here. Can you handle it from here?" Umbra asked.
"Of course I can. Where are you going?" Kaiser asked.
"To go help or kill Mercury. All depends." Umbra said.
"I see. Good riddance." Kaiser said. Umbra opened the portal and stepped through it.
Oscar Pines left the cave entrance with a Kyber crystal of his own. A deep emerald, green crystal. He had everything else already put together on his own lightsaber. The rest would be easy. Aunt Em watched as he grabbed his own lightsaber, which had a wood-based hilt to it. It was an average length hilt. Bronze and silver rings hooked the different parts of the lightsaber together. The activation button was a gold button. Oscar closed his eyes and disassembled the lightsaber. He used the force to place the green blade in, then opened his eyes. He raised his emerald blade high in the air.
"That was the last step you needed to take." Em said.
"I know…" Oscar said. He had everything he needed to help Ozpin and the Jedi. Em stood there, with a smile on her face. She was holding back tears. Oscar hugged her.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine out there. You are the one I worry about." Oscar said.
"You don't have to worry about me Oscar. I'll be just fine here." Em said. Oscar handed Em back the family lightsaber. Em looked at Oscar and he nodded.
"I'm going to be okay." Oscar said. He grabbed his pack, the one he prepared before this task, filled with everything he would need. He started walking down the path, Em beside him.
"I will always have a room ready for you." Em said.
"I know. And don't worry. I'll be back someday." Oscar said. There was a split in the road in front of them. Oscar took a few steps down the road. Oscar turned back and gave Em his best smile he could give.
"Thank you for everything!" Oscar shouted. "I love you!"
"I love you, too!" Em shouted back.
And Oscar was on the road. Alone, except for Ozpin in his head.
"In terms of good-byes, that was probably the nicest one I've had the pleasure of seeing in a long time." Ozpin said.
"She needed it." Oscar said.
"That was sweet of you Oscar." Ozpin said.
A few minutes later, Oscar started whistling. There was just the long road ahead of them. Nothing was coming to mind. Ozpin sighed.
"Are you going to be doing that the whole time?" Ozpin asked.
"What else is there for me to do?" Oscar asked.
"Anything else." Ozpin said.
"Nope. Hey, since you know so much, why don't you tell me a story." Oscar said.
"Really? Oscar you're a grown boy now. Do you really need someone to tell you a story?" Ozpin asked.
"You can choose the topic." Oscar said.
"Fine. Let me tell you about a girl. This story is a cautionary tale and is still on going." Ozpin said.
"Rosa?" Oscar said.
"Yes. Though I have no idea how you know her name." Ozpin said.
"I saw you having an argument with her Jedi Master." Oscar said.
"Unfortunately, that isn't too descriptive. Well, let me tell you everything." Ozpin said.
"Go on." Oscar said.
"Rosa came on a ship. As I learned later, it was a stealth ship. I was standing at the railing thinking about how to set the new semester up and such. It was chance that I saw the ship coming crashing." The image appeared before Oscar.
"Rosa and Maku crash landed on this planet. It was a miracle that either of them survived. The ship had been ripped in two. Only three survived the crash itself. Rosa had to cut off Maku's arm. It was obvious that she had fought Grimm when we found her. I knew instantly she was a Jedi. We brought Maku and Rosa back to Beacon. Those days seem like a lifetime ago now. Anyway, after she met Miss Ruby Rose, Rosa and the rest of the first years participated in the entrance exam." Oscar saw images from the tests. He saw an image of Ruby standing atop the cliff.
"Wait, who's that girl? I've seen here before." Oscar said.
"You have? Interesting. She is Ruby Rose, a very talented young woman. Two years older than you." Ozpin said.
"Oh." Oscar said.
"You will most likely see her at some point." Ozpin said.
"Ok." Oscar said. "She is cute…"
"Oscar, what was that?" Ozpin asked. Oscar knew he was smiling and realized he said that second part aloud.
"You can continue your story." Oscar said.
"Alright. I'll tease you later. Where was I… Ah, yes. The teams were formed later that day. As Rosa was a late addition to the roster, she became one of the rare 5th person on a team. She was part of team RRWBY. That first semester was quiet. There were some problems with personalities, but that was all solved at the end of the semester at the docks. Little did I realize that Rosa had become a target." Ozpin said.
"A target?" Oscar asked.
"Salem. The darkness we fight against. Rosa became a target for the Sith." Ozpin said.
"Why her?" Oscar asked.
"I still don't know." Ozpin said. "It was after that event that the Jedi arrived at Beacon. Plo Koon was the first of the master's to wake up. All of Rosa's friends and teammates soon were revealed to be force sensitive. The Jedi joined in the fight against the White Fang, and that was when everything started going downhill for Rosa. For quite some time, she lost every fight. She lost everything that made her stand out, or so she thought. She went on her first mission as a huntress, and it went terribly." Oscar saw an image of Rosa after being recovered from the train. He gasped. She was covered in blood. Her blood. He realized that terrible things happened to her. Ozpin let Oscar hear what Ironwood reported back to him about what happened.
"Gods…" Oscar said.
"I know. She was in Atlas as it was attacked. She was in Hellio as the White Fang took over, and as it was reconquered. She fell to the dark side for a brief time. She tried to kill herself, and almost did. But Salem stepped in and brought her back to life. I tried to help her. I fired Maku around this time. She suffered so much. But she had to go through more." Ozpin said, holding back emotions from entering his voice.
"What happened to her after?" Oscar asked.
"She was with her team during the Vytal festival. We learned that she had touched the dark side. But after Penny…" Oscar remembered seeing that fight.
"I don't know where she went after that. But I believe she was captured by the Sith." Ozpin said.
Pyrrha saw the oasis. She saw her reflection in it.
"Are you ready Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.
"Yes. I am." Pyrrha said. Jaune grabbed her. He turned back to the other Jedi there with him.
"Let's all hope this will work." Jaune said. He stepped into the oasis holding onto Pyrrha. Tears started welling up in her eyes. Jaune kissed her on the cheek. He stepped further into the oasis. Half his torso was in the water when Pyrrha's feet touched the water. Pyrrha closed her eyes and held her hands together.
"This has to work." Pyrrha said.
Jaune let her down further in the oasis. Her feet touched the bottom. He was there to make sure she wouldn't drown. He was holding onto Pyrrha.
"All the way in Jaune." Pyrrha said. Jaune nodded his head. He leaned her back and fully submerged her. Jaune wondered if she meant him to when her hand reached out and dragged Jaune down too.
"Come to see if the oasis is really such a miracle?" Mercury jumped down from his perch and watched as the six remaining Jedi were all shocked as Mercury stepped forward.
"You!" Yang took out her lightsaber. Ruby took our both of hers.
"Nice to see you girls again. Oh, and Ren too." Mercury said. Ren got into an offensive stance. Weiss and Blake were ready to fight. Mercury took out his red blade.
"Lets see how much you've all grown why don't we." Mercury said. Ruby was first. She jumped in the air. Weiss was right behind her and rushed Mercury using Glyphs. He lost track of Ren. He rolled out of the way of Weiss and found Ren, right above him. Mercury pushed off the ground with his boots. He summersaulted over Yang and slashed at her. Yang spun around and blocked the strike.
Nora rushed forward and brought her lightsaber in an upward swing. He broke the lock he was in with Yang and brought his flesh hand up, sending a wave of force lighting her way. She flew back a few feet. Blake came down from a tree, kicking Mercury. He stumbled forward and spun around. Yang fired twice at him. He swatted away the strikes and quickly spun to block Ruby. She left herself wide open, and Mercury kicked her. Nora jumped back and punched Mercury. He was sent five meters back. He recovered quickly as Ren snuck up behind him. Mercury brought his leg back and kicked at Ren. Ren had to block the strike.
Ruby rushed forward again, bringing out her hunter weapon. She unfolded it and slammed the scythe into the ground. Mercury felt Ruby shoot him with Fire and Ice dust bullets. Weiss got up close and personal. Her Form II was good. He blocked the strikes as best as he could. He jumped back and landed on Yang's shoulder. He fired again, sending Yang flying with the kinetic energy.
Blake rushed forward. Mercury brought his lightsaber up, but instead of a lightsaber, she pulled out her hunter weapon and fired at him. A few of the shots got through. She tossed the weapon at him. He rolled to the side and sent a wave of force lightning at Weiss who recovered. Weiss fell back, and felt the energy run through her body. Mercury used the force to stop Blake's weapon. He tossed it aside, into a tree.
"Better than before." Mercury said reluctantly. Ren jumped at Mercury, landing a kick to the face. Mercury fell back, hitting a tree. He sent a wave of force energy out at the Jedi. Ren, the closest, was sent flying, landing against a rock. He let out a painful noise. Ruby, who was in the air was tossed back. She slammed through a tree branch. Yang and Nora were able to raise force shields in time. Blake jumped in front of Weiss as she was getting back up and rose a force shield for the two of them.
Mercury rushed forward and brought an overhand strike down against Nora full force. Nora blocked the attack, but lost hold of her lightsaber. Yang blocked the second strike meant to kill Nora. Mercury looked back at Yang.
"How's your mom doing?" Mercury asked. That got to her. Yang's eyes turned red.
"Shut up." Yang said.
"Man… The things I've seen." Mercury smirked and looked down at Yang's chest.
"Fuck you." Yang said.
"Please." Mercury said.
Ren rejoined the fight and went for a jab. He backed up, brought his knee down on Ren's hands, causing Ren to drop his lightsaber.
"Too noticeable there Ren." Mercury let go of Ren's hands and force pushed him into a tree. Weiss and Blake were now fighting Mercury as Nora and Ren got their lightsabers back. Blake worked well with her teammates. Mercury was losing a lot of ground. Yang and Weiss used very aggressive styles against him. He was on the back foot blocking the strong strikes from Yang and the precise strikes of Weiss. Blake kept moving to areas he struggled to keep control over.
"You know girls I don't really do foursomes." Mercury said.
"Shut up!" Weiss shouted.
"Is there anything else you think about?" Blake asked.
"A few things." Mercury ducked under a strike from Yang and sent a blast of force lightning her way. She stumbled back and fell to the ground. Ruby got back up and shook her head. She grabbed her lightsabers and went back into the fight.
Pyrrha knew the fight was going on outside. She felt something start to change. Jaune looked back to where the fight was taking place. He looked back at Pyrrha. She nodded her head, and Jaune placed her down carefully. He swam back to the top of the Oasis. They found out that they could breathe somewhat inside the water at the bottom. It took a lot of effort, but it was possible Pyrrha could have sworn that she felt her legs move. But she didn't know yet.
Jaune exited the oasis and jumped up. He closed his eyes and activated battle meditation. He was able to use it now while fighting. He took out his lightsaber and rushed into the battle. Mercury was beginning to wonder if he could take them all on. He was starting to get slower. They seemed to be getting faster. He knew Jaune was out of the Oasis. He ducked under a strike from Blake and kicked Weiss in the chest. Weiss stumbled back and dropped to one knee. Jaune stood next to her.
"Be careful." Jaune said. He was still dripping wet, but Weiss didn't mind. She just shook her head. Jaune moved forward and started to engage Mercury. His Shii-Cho was good, Mercury had to admit. Kit Fisto taught Jaune well. The fact that Jaune could still fight this well and use battle meditation was nothing less than astonishing. But this fight was starting to get dangerous. He had to take Jaune out. He redoubled his efforts on Jaune. The others tried to compensate for that, but a kick to the chin to Blake knocked her back and knocked her out. Jaune was able to block the strikes well. Ruby was also annoying him.
"Where was all this when Rosa was in danger?" Mercury asked. It gave him the second he needed. He spun around and slashed Jaune across his abdomen. The battle meditation broke. Jaune stumbled backward and collapsed.
Pyrrha felt the oasis working on her. She felt the vertebrae begin to heal. She felt the bone begin to recreate itself. But she also felt the attack Jaune endured. It was a deep gash. She opened her eyes wide. She used her arms to swim to the top of the Oasis and saw Mercury. He stood over Jaune, his lightsaber ready to be brought down into Jaune.
"NO!" Pyrrha said. She used her semblance, and Mercury opened his eyes wide as his arm stopped. He turned his head and saw Pyrrha at the top of the oasis. She glared at him as she clenched her fist. His arm and his legs were made of metal. In a second, Mercury went from winning the fight, to losing three of his limbs. He collapsed to the ground. He lightsaber was completely destroyed by Pyrrha's attack. Mercury had lost in an instant. Pyrrha, the champion, was still there.
Jaune looked up at Pyrrha. She used the force to drag him to the Oasis. Everyone got back up, injured, but still able to fight.
"Mercury. It's over." Ruby said.
"You didn't win. That bitch Pyrrha did." Mercury said.
"You are going to tell us everything you know." Weiss said.
"I still have enough power to…" He realized he had used everything he had in this fight. He didn't have any energy to do anything else. He brought his hand down.
"Where is Rosa?" Yang asked. Mercury looked at his hand. He laughed.
"Still so blind. You really haven't been able to put all the puzzle pieces together? Or is it that you don't want to see what's right in front of you." Mercury said.
"Stop playing games Mercury. Where is she?" Blake said. Mercury saw a portal open and saw Umbra step out.
"Well, I'm fucked anyway. Hey Umbra, they want to know about Rosa. You want to tell them, or should I?" Mercury said. Umbra took out her lightsaber.
"Don't you dare!" Umbra said.
"Or what? You won't be able to kill me again!" Mercury said.
"You! Why do you keep appearing?!" Nora said, turning on her lightsaber.
"You know where Rosa is?" Ren asked.
"You've already seen Rosa you fools." Mercury said. Umbra rushed forward but was blocked by Nora. She ducked under Nora and continued to rush forward.
Mercury brought his hand up and pointed a finger.
"Rosa is right there!" Mercury pointed to Umbra. With the last of his power, Mercury ripped off the mask Umbra wore.
Umbra stood there in front of Team RWBY and JNPR, her face revealed to them. Everyone stopped moving. Mercury began to laugh. No one moved. Umbra's eyes burned. She raised her hand and force choked Mercury.
"YOU FUCKER! YOU RUIN EVERYTHING YOU TOUCH! DIE!" Umbra said. Mercury's neck was snapped.
"Rosa…" Ruby said.
"No…" Weiss fell to the ground.
"That's not possible!" Yang yelled.
"How could you?" Blake yelled.
"You're a Sith? Why?" Nora asked.
"Why have you been playing with us this whole time?" Ren asked.
"Rosa… why?" Jaune asked, clenching his teeth at the pain.
"What happened to you?" Pyrrha asked. Umbra stood back up. She unclipped the cape she wore over shoulders to hide her features. Umbra screamed to the sky.
"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO RUIN IT MERCURY?" Umbra said.
"Rosa, wait!" Ruby said.
"Now you know the truth." Umbra said. She created a portal behind her.
"Wait Rosa! Come back with us!" Weiss yelled.
"Back to the Jedi? Never. They knew what Maku did and STILL DID NOTHING!" Umbra said.
"The Sith aren't the right choice." Blake said. Kaiser stepped thought the portal.
"I knew it. I could feel it back at the base." Kaiser said. Blake turned on her lightsaber and rushed Kaiser. He blocked the weak attack. Kaiser placed a hand on her shoulder. Yang fired at Kaiser, who blocked each attack.
"Was everything just a lie?" Nora asked.
"I should be asking you all that question." Umbra said. Umbra started to walk back into the portal as Kaiser blocked Yang's desperate attacks.
"Rosa, No!" Weiss shouted out.
A LAAT landed and Shaak Ti came out with a group of clones. She rushed in and saw…
"ROSA!" Shaak Ti shouted. Umbra glared at Shaak Ti, and she faded into the portal.
"You all made Rosa into this. You are all to blame for her fall." Kaiser said. He stepped back into the portal as well. Ruby dropped to her knees. Rosa had joined the Sith. Rosa has slip through her fingers once more.
Author's Notes: That was fast.
Honestly this chapter has been planned for so long that it was easy to write. Finally, the Jedi know what happened to Rosa. They know her fate now.
Mercury is dead. I was toying with the idea that he would kill Sun but decided against it. He was always going to be the one to reveal Umbra after losing to the main cast.
Oscar knows all the major details of the first story now. He's off, and we're done seeing aunt Em for a while.
The plot is moving along. Big events coming soon. Please leave a review and everything like that.
(Double Feature, Double trouble)
May the Force Be with You
-DragonZlayerx12