Pov: Ruby
"That's it! Everybody on board! This is a mandatory evacuation!" Port said.
"A safe zone has been established in Vale! Please, remain calm and listen to Atlas personnel!"
I ran towards the group and saw Zwei bark, getting Weiss' attention.
"Ruby!" Weiss ran over to me.
"Oh, I found you!" I said.
"Ruby, where have you-"
"Don't worry, I'm fine! What's going on?" I asked.
I noticed Weiss look down.
"Weiss? What is it?" I asked again.
Weiss stepped aside, giving me a clear view of Blake and Yang lying on the ground. Both girls had bandages wrapped around their wounds, and the Yang was unconscious. Behind them sat Nora and Ren, who were too battered and bruised to fight. Blake reached over and placed her hand on Yang's.
"I'm sorry." Blake said as tears came out.
I reached out and opened my mouth to say something, but I didn't know what to say. That's when I heard crying ahead of them, past Ren and Nora and saw Ryuki. Behind them… was Ryuki as she held Satoshi's body, which was wrapped in a blanket. I saw the arrow in his chest and knew what that meant.
"I'm so sorry." Blake said as she curled up.
"Yang... Satoshi…" I said.
"Hey. Yang's gonna be okay, but… you should be with Ryuki. The soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale." Sun said.
"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing." Nora said as she stood up only to quickly sit back down, upset.
"What!?" I asked.
"Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We all have to go, now!" Sun said.
"We're not... leaving! Ugh!" Ren got up before he collapsed again.
Sun turned and casted a worried look at Blake.
"I'll find them... I'll find them, and I'll bring them back." I said.
"No! We will find them. Watch after the others. We'll be back." Weiss said.
Weiss and I ran back towards Beacon Academy.
Pov change: Ryuki
Everything was silent. I stared down at my twin brother as he laid lifeless in my arms. I saw his eyes and saw how big the irises were, telling me that he was no longer in there. I pulled him close to me when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Ryuki, it's time. We have to go." Sun said.
I nodded and hoisted Satoshi up and walked towards the bullhead.
I got on and placed Satoshi down gently. Sun walked up and placed Yang down as well. He hopped in with Neptune before the door shut and we took off to a safe haven.
Pov change: Ruby
Weiss and I were on our way back to Beacon when Weiss' Scroll began ringing.
"It's Jaune!" She accepted the call. "Where are you?"
'Weiss! Please, you have to stop her!' Jaune said.
"What!?" Weiss asked.
'Pyrrha! She's going after that woman at the top of the tower! She doesn't stand a chance!' Jaune said.
"Jaune, what are you talking about!? Where are you?" Weiss asked.
'Don't worry about me! Please, you have to save Pyrrha.' We heard.
"We will. Are you okay?" Weiss asked.
Nothing.
"Jaune? Jaune!" Weiss asked.
The ground shook, alerting Weiss and I to the danger that approached them. The Dragon flew into view, circling Beacon Tower as some black ooze dripped from it. It perched on one of the arches stemming from the tower and screeched. I drew Crescent Rose, shifting it into its scythe form in preparation for the Grimm spawning from the ooze.
"I have a plan." I said.
"You always do." Weiss said as she drew her weapon.
Pov change: Ryuki
We landed and I saw the groups of people who made it. As we got off, suddenly three armed soldiers pointed their guns at me as I held Satoshi.
"Ryuki Suni, put down your brother's body." They said.
I shook my head and glared at them.
"He is a threat to these people."
"He's dead!" Sun yelled.
"And he may very well come back as a Grimm." The soldier said.
"That's enough!" We heard.
We looked and saw the General. He had half of his shirt ripped, showing his cybernetic arm and chest.
"She just lost her brother, have some respect." The general said.
Somebody pushed past the people and yelled.
"YANG!" He yelled.
He looked a lot like Yang so I assumed it was her father. He looked at us and saw my eye.
"Are you Ryuki?" He asked.
I slowly nodded my head.
"Where's Ruby?" He asked.
I turned to stare at the school.
"Oh god…"
He looked at me again.
"This must be Satoshi…" he said.
I nodded.
"Here, you can come with me. I'll put Satoshi and Yang in the bullhead going towards where we live." He said as he helped Yang up.
Pov change: Ruby
"We've gotta hurry!" I yelled.
Weiss looked around for a moment, before casting a series of glyphs up the side of the tower.
"You can do this." Weiss said.
I ran forward, then used my Semblance to propel myself up to the first glyph. I then sprinted up the wall, the glyphs propelling me forward and keeping me from falling off.
I finally reached the top of the tower, landing and all I could do was watch. I saw Pyrrha sitting with her eyes closed, accepting the fate that awaited her. Cinder loosened the arrow, which planted itself directly in the center of Pyrrha's chest. I watched as Pyrrha gasped in pain, the wound in her chest emitting a red glow. Cinder approached her and placed a hand on Pyrrha's head, and in an instant, she was incinerated.
"PYRRHAAAAAA!" I screamed as I began to lose consciousness.
"WHAT?!" I heard.
I heard multiple voices.
"It's alright. I got ya, kiddo. I got ya."
"Nothing."
"Just turn it off. Without the CCT, there's no point."
"Communication down across the entire Kingdom, no way to contact the outside world... and Ozpin's still missing."
"Yeah. Not to mention our… guest."
"This is bad, Qrow."
"Yeah, this is bad."
I woke up to see that I was in my bed back in Patch. I had my gray pajamas on and then saw dad was asleep. I started to get which caused dad to stir awake.
"Ruby! You're awake!"
"Ugh... what happened?"
"Your uncle Qrow found you, unconscious. He got you out of there, though, and brought you home safe." Dad said.
"Wait! Yang! Ryuki! Are they alright!?" I asked quickly.
"Yang is… Uh... She's uh... she's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just gonna take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her. I'm just glad to have my girls back at home."
"What about Ryuki?" I asked.
"Ryuki is… well… she's taking her brother's passing as well as one can expect. She's outside right now. We buried him about a mile out next to a lake. She said that he would've liked it there." Dad said.
"…What happened to the school?! And Vale?! Were they able to clear out the Grimm?" I asked.
"Things at Vale are under control, but the school... It's... it's not that simple. That thing, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you did a number on it. But it's not disappearing. It's... kind of... frozen. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it keeps attracting more Grimm to the school." Dad said.
"I did... what?" I asked.
"Hmm?" Dad asked.
"You said I did a number on it. What do you mean?" I asked.
"I... Look that's not important right now. We can talk about it later. Things are just... kind of a mess." Dad said
"It's always a mess." We heard.
We looked to see qrow as he finished his drink.
"Mind if we have a minute?" Qrow asked.
"What, I can't stay here?!" Dad asked, offended.
"Tai. Please." Qrow said.
Dad stood up, sighed, and then leaned in to kiss me on the forehead.
"I'm glad you're alright. I'll go make us some tea." Dad said as he walked out.
"So, how you feeling?" Qrow asked.
"Um... I kind of hurt... all over." I said.
"Hehe That makes sense, after what you did." He crossed his arms.
"You guys keep saying that! That I did something! What are you talking about?!" I asked.
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"I ran up the side of the tower, and when I got to the top, I... Pyrrha! Is she...?"
"She's gone."
"I... I... I got to the top... and I saw Pyrrha... and Cinder... and then everything went white!"
"Anything else?"
"I remember... my head hurting."
"The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?"
"I... I don't know. I think it was something about..."
"Silver eyes. That's an extremely rare trait."
"So?" I asked.
"You're special, Ruby. And not in the 'Daddy loves his special angel' kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was. Ryuki and Satoshi were special in different ways with their eyes. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down. Heh. It's a ridiculous story."
"But... you think that I might be..."
"Well, a giant monster is currently frozen on top of Beacon Tower. And you're here, safe in bed." Qrow said.
He gets to his feet and walks over to a window, leaning on the sill and staring outside.
"Wait, wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me... the night we met?"
"All those missions I go on... all the times I'm away in some far-off place... it's been for Ozpin. But he's missing now. Something's been set in motion. With Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where he left off." Qrow said.
"And what could I do? If I'm so special, then I can help, right?" I asked.
"You really wanna help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now. Besides, our enemy's trail leads all the way to Haven. That'd be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you. Catch ya later, kiddo." He winked as he left.
I stared at the mirror for a bit before I got out of bed. I walked down the hall to see Yang's room with the door open.
"Yang?
I waited for a moment but heard no response, I turned to go away
"Ruby." I heard.
I turned to see her irritated eyes.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" I said as I hugged her.
"But I'm not." She said.
I frowned and released the hug.
"It's all gone - the school, Penny, Pyrrha… Satoshi… and..."
"Yang, where are Weiss and Blake?"
"Weiss' father... came for her."
"What? What do you mean?" I asked.
"No one outside of Vale knows what happened here. Before the tower fell, the last thing people saw was Atlas attacking innocent people and Grimm destroying the city. Everyone's scared. No one knows who to trust. So, Weiss' father came to take her back to Atlas, where he thinks it's safe. She's gone."
"Well, what about-"
"And Blake ran! Sun saw her go. After we got to the city, she just... ran!"
"But... why!?" I asked.
"I don't know... and I don't care."
"There has to be a reason she-"
"No, there doesn't! Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby! Just like how Ryuki had to… had to kill Satoshi…" Yang wiped her eyes.
"So, what do we do now?" I asked.
"You can do whatever you want. I'm gonna lie here."
"Yang..." I said.
"Just leave me alone."
I slowly left the room, but paused in the doorway, looking over my shoulder to say one last thing.
"I love you." I said.
"Save that for my boyfriend's killer." She said as she looked out the window.
I walked outside and saw the path to the lake and followed it.
Later
I made it to the lake and saw Ryuki staring at a grave. I walked up and placed my hand on her shoulder.
She looked at me and sighed.
"Hey…" I said.
'He always wanted to get out of the city. Gone somewhere where we could just spend our remaining days together where no one can hurt us. At least now… no one can hurt him anymore…' Ryuki said.
She placed her hand on mine and turned around to cry into my shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I said.
We stood there for a while and let her release her emotions.
Months later
I stepped outside, wearing a backpack, and quietly shut the front door. I turned to see Jaune and Ryuki who had a black winter coat and Satoshi's sword and her bow. She had a photo of team STRS all smiling.
"Hey." Jaune said.
"Hey, Jaune. Haven's a long way to go." I said.
"I know. It's the only way we have." Jaune said.
"Are you sure you want to come along?" I asked.
"The journey will be perilous, and whether we'll find answers at the end is entirely uncertain." Ren said.
"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it." Nora said.
Ryuki walked up and kissed me on the cheek.
"Then let's get started." I said.
The five of us began our long trek, down the road leading away from home.
We made it to Satoshi's grave and I gave him a kiss on the cross.
'You will always have a place in my heart.' I said as I pulled out his sword.
I lifted up and planted it a few feet in front of the cross.
"Ready?" Ruby asked.
I nodded and we went to the next spot.
A bit later
Ruby said goodbye to her mother and we were off to Haven.
"You think we'll run into Tatsumi in Haven?" Nora asked.
"Perhaps. He does come from there." Ren said.
Pov change: Salem
"A smaller, more honest soul... It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly mankind's greatest attribute. Which is why I will focus all of my power... to snuff it out. How does it feel, knowing that all of your time and effort has been for nothing? That the story of the twins has been partway completed? That you are responsible for the death of the Grimm boy? That your guardians have failed you? That everything you've built will be torn down before your very eyes? Your faith in mankind was not misplaced. When banded together, unified by a common enemy, they are a noticeable threat. But divide them, place doubt into their minds, and any semblance of power they once had will wash away. Of course, they won't realize it at first. Like you, they'll cling to their fleeting hope, their aspirations. But this is merely the first move. So you send your guardians, your Huntsmen and Huntresses, and when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same pitiful demise. This is the beginning of the end, Ozpin... and I can't wait to watch you burn."