Okay, so here we go, what should be the final chapter of Darth Arc. After this, my focus is going to be on The Punisher, Endless Possibilities, My Self Insert 'Out of Place' and my drunk fics. Hope you all enjoy.

WITH JAUNE

Jaune released the suppresant on Ozpin and helped him to his feet.

"Hey Professor, you still got some fight left in you?" He asked as Ozpin was shocked that he was acting like this.

"Jaune...is it really you?" He asked not believing what he was seeing.

"If it wasn't me, would I have really cut off Cinder's hands?" He asked as Ozpin grinned.

It was him alright.

Jaune held his blade to Cinder's throats, she was powerless without her hands, and she was at his mercy.

"I am afraid I have to do this though." He said as he cut her head off.

Pyrrha and Ozpin were a little shocked at that, but even more shocked by what happened next. Cinder's body started to disintegrate. The power of the Fall Maiden shot up into the sky. The beams of energy swirling around and around. Salem was glaring at it, as if it was the sun about to cast light on her mistakes.

"NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" She yelled out as she couldn't believe it.

She tried to contain the power before it was too late. But as luck wasn't on her side, she was too late. You see, the maiden Cinder had stolen her power from was dead, and Cinder herself was now dead. So the power had to lock on to someone who was worthy, and had a taste of the power beforehand. Pyrrha had no idea what to do when the power of the maiden shot towards her.

"AAHHHHHHH!" She yelled as the power enveloped her.

"PYRRHA!" Jaune yelled out, his voice was still being changed by the respirator. So it was weird to hear Vader's voice shout out in concern.

"WOOOOOOAAAH!" She said as the energy cleared and she felt alive.

"I...I feel great!" She said as she had never felt this powerful.

"Pyrrha, you're alright?" He asked as she nodded.

"Yeah, I guess since we weren't stealing it from anyone, it didn't change who I was...that's a relief." She said as she couldn't help but panic at the thought of losing herself.

"Well right now, we got bigger problems." Jaune said as they turned to a seething Salem.

"I noticed, and Jaune?" She asked as Jaune looked at her.

"I missed you." She said as Jaune's breathing reverberated through the air.

"Me too...I was gone for a long time." He said as he prepared Crocea Mors for battle.

"How cute..." Salem said as she looked at the three.

"You don't seem too angry. Despite the fact I just killed Cinder." Jaune said to his former mistress.

"If she was stupid enough to have her arms cut off so easily, she wasn't suitable to live." She said as Jaune looked at her.

"You still don't seem too upset about that." He said as he was surprised at how calm she was.

"Oh, I am seething, but the thing is, this minor setback won't save you." She said as she moved with blinding speed and punched Ozpin into a wall.

"OZ!" Jaune yelled, not knowing she could move that fast.

"You may be strong, but you're ants compared to me." She said as she threw Pyrrha into a wall.

Jaune was scared of her for once in his life. He knew Salem was powerful, but he had never actually seen her demonstrate her power. To think that Ozpin just got taken out so easily was UNBELIEVABLE. She had been this strong this entire time? If that was the case why didn't she finish everyone off a long time ago.

"I don't understand, you could have killed us from the beginning, why wait?" He said as he had his shield up.

"Oh Mr. Arc, you see, I don't obtain my power by normal means, you can say I am like a Grimm, I grow stronger with every negative emotion in the world...and there is a lot of negativity in this world Mr. Arc." She said as Jaune's eyes widened.

"That's why you had Cinder frame Atlas, that is why you started this whole thing, to get people to fear and hate one another." He said as it was starting to make sense.

"Correct, you see, I may be strong in my own right, unfortunately, Ozpin and his damn defenders would still beat me in a fair fight, they represent the light side of humanity, while I represent the dark side of the Grimm." She said as she was starting to ramble.

"When light overcomes darkness, there will only be small shadows here and there, but when the darkness becomes more common than the light, then Shadow is all anyone will ever know." She said as she grabbed Jaune by the throat.

Her fingers constricting around his neck, actually bending the durasteel around his neck piece.

"You never had a chance to defeat me. You think just because you broke free of my spell that you will win? No, it just proves that your will was stronger than I thought, as long as the people of this world feel hate, as long as they feel anger, as long as suffering is as common as the cold. I will grow stronger." She said as Jaune was having difficulty breathing.

"So thats it, you turn them on each other, and you grow more powerful as a result..." He said as he understood now.

"Exactly, pity you humans and faunus can't learn to get along, it would have saved you so much trouble." She said as she prepared a hand.

"You're forgetting one thing Salem." He said as she raised an eyebrow.

"And what is that?" She asked curious as to what he was going to say.

"This cloak of hatred you put over us will not last, eventually someone will lift the veil, and you will find yourself growing weaker and weaker, until eventually we come back to kill you, once and for all." He said wanting to spit at her.

"How adorable, you still think you can win? I commend you on your optimism, admirable, but foolish." She said as she prepared a knifehand.

"It's a pity, I really did enjoy Lord Vader, it almost hurts me to have to do this." She said as she thrusted her hand forwards.

Straight into Jaune's chest, and into his remaining lung.

"AGGGGHHHHH!" He screamed as he felt the hand go out his back.

"JAAAAUUUUNNNNNNEEE!" Pyrrha screamed in horror at having to see him go through this again.

"Maybe one day someone will kill me...but it won't be you." She said as she threw him towards Ozpin and Pyrrha.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have matters to attend to, I can't waste time with you fools." She said as she chuckled in an evil tone.

The next thing she did was wave her hand, a black and red portal opened up, she took one last look at the trio, and she walked through the portal. It closed as soon as she walked through it. Salem had gotten away.

And they couldn't do a damn thing to stop it.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled as she walked over to Jaune.

His breathing was even worse now. He was taking shallow breaths, just trying to get some air. Even his respirator was having hard time keeping up. His aura had stopped the bleeding, but he didn't have enough to heal the gaping hole in his chest.

"We have to get him out of here!" Pyrrha said as Ozpin nodded.

He was convinced that Jaune was back, and he needed help.

"James! What is your position?!" Ozpin said through a headset.

"The bastards are running away! Victory is ours!" He said with a hint of relief.

"Afraid not, Salem got away, and we need a medical transport!" He said as Ironwood's voice sounded panicked.

"What?! Did Miss Nikos get injured?!" He yelled wondering if the worst had happened.

"No, the medical transport is for Jaune Arc." He said as Ironwood was shocked.

"But you told us he was dea-" Ozpin cut him off.

"I was wrong! He was still alive! And he needs help!" Ozpin yelled as Ironwood decided to take Ozpins words to heart.

"We're sending a medical bullhead to you right now." He said as the com link went out.

"Pyrrha..." Jaune said underneath his armor.

"It's okay Jaune! Help is on its way! Just hang on!" She said as his breathing was raspy.

"I'm scared..." He said as Pyrrha held him close.

"Just hang on...we can fix this..." She said as she refused to let him out of her sight.

She wasn't going to risk him being taken away again.

"Please...don't let my family...know about what...happened to me." He said as she glared at him.

"You're not going to die! We're going to fix you up! You won't have to wear this suit anymore! You can go back and say hello to them!" She said as Jaune coughed up.

"I'm not sure...if that is an option." He said having trouble formulating sentences.

"Just hold on, just for a little longer." She said as she heard the sound of a bullhead.

"Come on! We have to get him on there." Ozpin said as they put him on a stretcher.

"Damn! He weighs a ton!" Pyrrha said as she forgot how much the extra enhancements must add on.

Needless to say, some of the soldiers on board were scared shitless when they saw them bring aboard a living and breathing Darth Vader. And they were even more surprised that they were trying to keep him ALIVE. They could have sworn this was the man they were supposed to be fighting against? Why did they want him alive? It made no sense.

"HELP HIM!" She yelled at some of the medics who got to work.

It was going to be a long flight back to base.

BACK AT BASE

Team RWBY and NPR were waiting outside the medical center. When the teams had heard the news about Jaune. They were overjoyed to find out that he beat Salem's influence. But then Pyrrha described what happened to him. And now they were even more worried. Jaune might be alive, but he might die anyways. And that would be a horrible thing.

"How did he come back?" Ren asked as he thought he was lost forever.

"I reminded him about how much he cared about me..." Pyrrha said as she was certain that was what brought him back.

"What's the point if he doesn't survive?!" Yang asked punching a wall.

No team made a sound at that.

"All of that, all the hard work we put in to save him, and Salem puts a hand through his chest! It makes me so ANGRY!" She said as she punched a hole in the wall.

"Team RWBY? NPR?" General Ironwood said as he came out of the room.

"How is he?!" Ruby asked.

His only response was a sigh, and a sad look on his face.

"I'm sorry...the damage done to his lung was too much, and the amount of damage done to his body already, it's a miracle he has lived this long...the doctors say he has about fifteen minutes to live...you should...go and say your goodbyes..." He said as he walked away.

In truth, Ironwood didn't want them to see him cry. Having to inform them of their friends death, this time for real, it was a horrible feeling. Every single time he had to go to a mother, wife, sister, or friend to tell them that their loved one had been killed in battle. It took a toll on his soul. It was...an awful feeling.

Some would call him heartless, but his crime was that he cared too much.

"No..." Ruby said as she turned to hug Yang.

"Why? We just got him back..." Weiss said as she also hugged Ruby, with Blake joining in.

Nora found comfort in Ren. And Pyrrha was shocked beyond all belief.

All of that struggle, all of that pain, and all of the suffering, and Jaune was going to die anyways? IT WASN'T FAIR!

"We...we have to see him..." Ruby said as everyone nodded.

"Yes we need to do this..." Nora said as Pyrrha looked up, tears threatening to spill.

"For Jaune..." She said as they opened the door.

He still had his armor on, the helmet had not been removed, as the doctors were focusing mostly on his damaged chest area and lung. They never thought to take the mask off.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked with barely contained tears as she saw him on the hospital bed.

"Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Ruby, Weiss, Yang, Blake...it's so good to see you all again, I thought I would never get that chance." He said with his respirator still giving out that scary voice.

"Pyrrha, help me take...this mask off." He said as Pyrrha walked over to him.

"But you'll die." She said trying to give Jaune hope.

"I heard Ironwood, nothing can stop that now. Just one last time, let me see you all again with my own eyes." He said as Pyrrha couldn't help but feel anguish.

Jaune knew he was going to die, and he seemed to have accepted it. Pyrrha reached for the back of his helmet, and found a latch on the back. She heard a hissing sound as it came loose. And the top part of his helmet came off. She saw that the helmet was two pieces, with the guard only covering the back of his head. They were all scared as to what was going to be behind the mask. Pyrrha peeled the front off, and they finally saw Jaune, but they didn't recognize him.

His face had gone deathly pale, his blond hair was gone, as if it was burned off, he had two Scars going diagonally across his eyes, but it was the eyes that made them realize it was him. Those blue eyes that started back at them with love and affection, especially for Pyrrha.

"Yes, you're all just as...wonderful as the last day I saw you..." He said thankful he could see them all again.

"I...I didn't want to be this, I tried to fight against it, but Salem, she was...she was too strong." He said as he remembered everything he did as Vader.

"All of those horrible things I did, all of those memories, the guilt is never going to go away, I can only hope that Oum is willing to forgive me for all the evil I have done..." He said as Pyrrha gripped his hand.

"He will...He will." She said as Jaune smiled at her.

"You always knew how to cheer me up." He said as she frowned.

"But we couldn't even save you." She said as the others, even Ren were all crying.

"But you did, all of you saved me." He said as they looked at Jaune.

"If it wasn't for you all, I would have never broken free from Salem, I would have been a slave to her until the end of time, you saved me from that fate, you guys were right, you were right about me, you believed I could be saved, when even Ozpin thought it impossible, you were right, and tell Victoria, that she was right." He said with a smile.

"I just wish, I had more time, I wish I didn't have to leave you all alone, but I'll be watching." He said as he turned to Ruby.

"Never give up on your dreams Rubes, the world can be free and beautiful, I know Salem said the world was doomed, but I believe you Ruby, can save it from itself, you can bring a beacon of light to this world." He said as she smiled a bit and wiped her tears.

"Yang, its good to see you back in action, I heard about what happened to your arm, and I'm glad it didn't dampen your spirits too much, look out for your sister, thats my wish for you." He said as Yang smiled and nodded.

"No problem...Vomit boy." She said as Jaune chuckled at his old nickname.

"Weiss...sorry for all those times I flirted with you, but I'm glad we became friends, I really hope that in another time, and another place, we can be friends again." He sad as Weiss was trying to keep in tears.

She tried to maintain a cold exterior, but it was hard around her friends, so she just let them go.

"Blake, thanks for getting those plans out, you helped strike a blow to Salem's plans, she may be out there, but she doesn't have as nearly much support, I hope you find even more ways to strike fear into her heart, and help bring her down." Jaune said as Blake wiped her eyes and smiled.

She would do everything she could to help stop Salem.

"Nora, don't ever change, the one thing I missed about you was your crazy random stories, and how you could brighten up anyone's day, never let anything change that." He said as Nora gave him a hug.

"I'll m-miss you." She said not bothering to try and hold in tears.

"Me too Nora...Me too." He said as he hugged her with his remaining hand.

"Ren, the brother I never had, Take care of Nora, you two are my family, and family looks out for one another." He said as Ren nodded. Promising he would take care of his teammates.

"Pyrrha, oh Pyrrha, how I missed you, and how I love you, I wish I could have realized that sooner, I wish none of this had happened, and I wish we could have a future together, but I'm afraid that's not going to happen..." He said as Pyrrha held his hand tight.

"I would have loved to see kids with your hair and eyes dancing around, playing with the other kids, but I can't give you that. I wish we could sit at a fireplace, telling stories to our kids about our young days, but I can't give you that. All I can give you is a promise that I love you, and always will. And that I'll wait for you in the afterlife. But don't you think about joining me too soon...alright?" He said with a smile.

Pyrrha responded by capturing his lips in a kiss. He may have had his breath taken away, but this time it was for a happy reason. And he happily kissed her back.

The others watched the display of love, and felt a little warmth enter their hearts at the display.

They broke the kiss as Jaune looked at the amount of time he had left. About thirty seconds.

"It's time for me to go guys..." He said as they all looked at the timer.

"Please...tell my family, I died heroically, don't let them know the truth, it would break them..." He said.

25 seconds.

"We will." They all said.

"Tell Ozpin, I never blamed him for any of this..." He said as they all nodded.

20 seconds.

"Burn my body with the armor, no one must ever find any trace that I ever existed, Darth Vader will become a figure of the past, only to be found in our memories. He will never be heard from again." He said with conviction, no one should ever learn about Vader ever again.

20 seconds.

"Pyrrha, I want you to keep Crocea Mors, use it, sell it, hand it down to an apprentice, do whatever makes you happy...just please, take it." He said as he handed the sword and shield combination to her.

"I will treasure this my love." She said as she held it close to her chest, while holding his hand with the other.

15 seconds.

"Weiss, could you do me a favor, and sing a song at my funeral?" He asked as she nodded.

"Of course, its the least I can do." She said with a smile.

10 seconds.

"Can you ever forgive me for what I did to you all?" He asked with hope in his voice.

"You didn't do anything to us, Vader did, we don't need to forgive you...because you did nothing wrong." Blake responded.

5 seconds.

"Well, this is it, goodbye my friends, I'll miss you all. But I'll see you all again someday..." He said as his time was up.

"But not yet...not...y...e...t." His voice started to fade away.

Dnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

The heart monitor went flat as Jaune passed on into the next life.

The two teams couldn't take it anymore as they burst into cries of sorrow. Mourning the death of their lost loved one.

Ironwood was in his office drinking heavily, with Glynda of all people offering comfort. Ozpin was in his office, thinking about how of all the mistakes he had ever made...this was his biggest failure. Qrow for once wasn't drinking, knowing his nieces would need a shoulder to cry on, and it would be best if he was sober.

There would be no joy tonight. The sorrow that they all felt was so great, it would take a long time before they could move on. But they needed to, they would...for Jaune.

They say the Grimm are attracted to Negative emotions, but even on this night, they dare not go towards the base. The pain was too great, even for them. And they dare not tempt the fates.

A WEEK LATER

As they promised, they had prepared a grand funeral pyre for Jaune. He was being buried in his armor, they have no idea why he chose to be burned like that. But maybe it was so people would truly believe Vader was dead. Once again, he was thinking about the masses. Unforturnately, the funeral pyre was being recorded, and sent to the armies, so they could know once and for all, that the butcher known as Darth Vader was truly dead. They would have all preferred to keep it a private affair. But Ironwood did pull some strings.

While video was being taken, there was no audio, so they could say their goodbyes to Jaune, without anyone learning the truth. He claimed it was a technical glitch, and the people bought it. Ironwood knew they deserved to say goodbye to their friend in peace.

Pyrrha held the torch, Crocea Mors secure at her waist, she was wearing a black dress, her red hair covered by a black hat. She went up to Jaune's body, the oil covering the wood giving off a faint odor.

"Farewell my love, I will see you again." She said as she lit the fire.

The pyre burst into flames almost immediately as soon as Pyrrha stepped back. And everyone watched as Jaune's body was being burned.

"Weiss...you can sing now..." Ruby said as Weiss nodded.

She had heard this song before because Jaune was always singing it, it was from a show he liked, she think it was called Supernatural.

Carry on my wayward son.

There will be peace when you are done.

Lay your weary head to rest.

Don't you cry no more.

She started to sing, as the lines of the first chorus seemed to invoke an emotion through the attendees. Funny how a rock song could bring out such emotion. However, the way she sang it was more like a funeral song. Her lyrics only tugging at the heart strings of those involved.

With every lyric she sang, the more Jaune was engulfed in flames. It was a sad thing. But they knew it was what he wanted.

Ironwood ordered the cameras to be turned off as soon as his soldiers started cheering, knowing that Vader was truly dead. Now RWBY and formerly JNPR could mourn in peace.

As soon as Weiss finished her song, they all layed down and thought about their memories with their friend.

He may be gone, but his dream will live on...and they would do whatever it takes, to rid the world of Salem once and for all. Even if it took them fifty years, Salem would be defeated, and Jaune would not have died in vain.

"Well Jaune...you got what you wanted..." Pyrrha said as the others looked at her.

"In the end, you really were a hero, to all of us, I just wish the whole world could know that..." She said as everyone nodded.

They all fell asleep at his pyre that night. None of them would go back to the base, choosing to spend the last of their time with their old friend.

THE NEXT MORNING

Ren was surprisingly the first to wake up. He yawned a bit, remembering what happened last night. He stretched out a bit, dusting off his funeral garb. As he looked towards the pyre. It had finished burning a while ago, most of Jaune's body was gone, and it seemed even the armor was gone.

CLUNK

Or so he thought as he saw something roll towards him. He bent down to pick it up. Only to see it was Vader's helmet.

Just looking at it brought back the memories of that ominious breathing.

HoooooPaaahhhh...Hoooooooppppaaaahh

The breathing was ringing in his ears as he looked at the helmet. For some..odd reason, he felt compelled to take it.

"Come on Ren! We got to go!" Everyone was waking up.

Ren took one last look at the helmet. And he put it in his bag. After all, what harm could a helmet do?

It would remind him of Jaune's sacrifice. After all, he made the greatest sacrifice of them all.

What was wrong with honoring him?

ITS OVER! ITS FINALLY OVER! OH THANK GOD! Anyways, so its kind of a happy ending, but its bittersweet. Salem is still alive and kicking, planning god knows what, and Jaune is dead and buried.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the story. If you liked this, I have a new one called 'Out of Place' where it is me doing a drunken self insert. And there is always Endless possibilities for Jaune arc, and who knows what other crack one shots I'll come up with next.

Punisher is still being a bit of a pain, but I have gotten some writing done on that lately. So it might be updated more often, now that I don't have to worry about Darth Arc.

Anyways, thank you all for reading this, if you have been here from the beginning, then I applaud you. I didn't expect you all to keep reading til the end. Mostly because of a lot of the plot errors I made.

Anyways, Hope you all have a fantastic day. And God bless you all. And God Bless America!