They did it. Sort of. Cinder was gone, as were Emerald and Mercury. The former being in prison, and the latter dead. Ruby had managed to kill Cinder in battle, thanks to a certain former thief's betrayal. Hazel, Watts, and Tyrian were all either dead or in prison for life. But Salem escaped. Sure, she had been severely injured, maybe even crippled, but she was alive. However, the immediate threat had been dealt with. The Huntsmen Academies were safe, and peace talks were underway between Atlas and the other kingdoms. The maidens were all accounted for, and hidden throughout Remnant, each being guarded by experienced teams of huntsmen. The four young women had also been given training in how to use their powers, as well as traditional weaponry and the use of aura and semblance.
Teams RWBY and the remaining members of JNPR (Jaune, Ren, and Nora), were currently on break from school. They had decided to temporarily enroll in Haven, until Beacon was repaired. While the Huntsmen to be missed Beacon, Haven was treating them well, and they could continue on their path. Of course, they had briefly debated attending Shade, or even Atlas Academy, a certain Faunus couple were quite insistent on Haven. Personally, Ruby would rather be away from this place, away from Mistral. After watching the people she loved most fight and nearly die here, she wanted to go home. Some did die. Team RWBY was still alive and intact, and Jaune, Ren, and Nora had made it out alive, if barely. Several students from Haven had died in the fight, as well as nearby Huntsmen and civilians. Team CFVY had arrived just on time to help, but had lost Fox, and Team SSSN's Sage had been blinded by Tyrian's poison. Unfortunately, the scorpion Faunus was still able to produce the deadly substance, even without a stinger.
Despite all this, they had decided it best to continue with life, allowing the older Huntsmen, and trusted Atlas military personnel to continue the search for Salem. They would only step in again if need be. It was time for them to heal, emotionally and physically. Ruby's own injuries were brutal, and still caused her some pain. It had been months, but the burns to her back from fighting Cinder had been severe. Were it not for her aura, they would have been fatal. That being said, she had been so drained that aura could not protect her completely. So there Ruby sat, awake with nightmares and pain.
"Bad dreams again?" Ruby jumped slightly at hearing her sister's voice. That was something else Ruby had begun to do. Jumping at unexpected sounds, or when she saw movement from the corner of her eye.
"Yeah. Will the dreams ever go away?" Ruby knew Yang had suffered through her own nightmares after the fall of Beacon. She remembered when Yang had first arrived in Mistral. The two of them had shared a hotel room, and Ruby noticed Yang waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes in tears. Her sister had explained her dreams, how she felt helpless and terrified. Ruby had decided the best solution was to share a bed, like they'd done as children. Unfortunately for Ruby, her own nightmares weren't so easy to tame.
"Maybe, maybe not. I still have them sometimes, but I've learned to deal with them. My fear doesn't control me anymore. The same will happen for you, you'll see."
"But what if it doesn't? What if I can never move on? It's not so much that I'm afraid, but when I close my eyes, all I see are the faces of the people I lost. And then I see everyone else. People died because of me, and more might die because I couldn't kill Salem. I guess it's guilt."
"Guilt is a pretty common thing to feel. Even if it is misplaced." This came from Blake. The cat Faunus certainly knew a thing or two about guilt, having been involved with the White Fang in the past. "You've done nothing wrong, Ruby. This fight belonged to all of us. Those who fought chose to do so. We all know the risks of this line of work."
"What about Salem? I couldn't stop her, she got away. Now anyone she hurts, it will be because of me. I was too weak…" Ruby finished her sentence on a sob. She felt scared and alone. She hated herself for not stopping Salem once and for all.
"Would you quit being such a dolt and blaming yourself?." Weiss had come into the room, clearly having just woken up. Yang glared at her, but the former heiress just continued, saying, "It's not your fault, Ruby. Salem was just too strong. The most experienced Huntsmen in Remnant couldn't stop her. You're just a child, we're all still children, really. Besides, she lost all of her allies, and is currently in hiding. She's weak now. The more experienced Huntsmen and government officials will stop her. Our role in this fight is over now."
"You can't know that for sure, Weiss. Maybe I could have done something, if I hadn't been so reckless. They might not ever find her, and if they do, they could be killed! Besides, this isn't just about Salem." Ruby said the last part quietly.
"Then what could it be?" Blake asked, not understanding her friend. They all seemed confused by this revelation.
"I fought Cinder three times. Twice before Beacon fell. If I had stopped her then, none of this would have happened."
"Seriously, Ruby, you're worse than Blake, and we all remember how much trouble her guilt caused" Blake stared at Weiss, angry, but not surprised. The girl had always been a bit blunt.
"That's a completely different story," Blake defended herself, "I was involved with a group of terrorists, pretending to be revolutionaries. Of course I felt ashamed. And if I remember correctly, you're the one who told me to come to my team for help."
"Put the claws away, kitty-cat. That's not what I meant. You're guilt nearly destroyed you, I just don't want to see anyone else do the same thing." Blake was still offended at the "kitty-cat" remark, but realized her friend had a point.
"She's right, you can't blame yourself. None of us are to blame for what happened. The people who died, we didn't cause that. Salem and her pawns did this. All of it" Yang's voice was firm, but still kind. As much as Ruby knew she was right, it did little to calm her turbulent emotions.
"You're right. You guys can go back to bed, I'll be fine. Maybe I'll get some fresh air, and then sleep." Ruby knew it wasn't very likely that she would sleep tonight, but she didn't want to be a burden on her team. She stood up to leave, grabbing Crescent Rose on the way out. She never went anywhere unarmed. Ever. Even if she were somewhere that didn't allow her to bring her scythe, she still carried a small dagger with her. It wasn't as useful as her usual weapon, but it was better than nothing. Tonight, she had both.