So this is it. The final chapter. The end of Aliens Among Us. The I don't know how well this works as a final chapter, to be honest. It doesn't show every character, and it doesn't have the air of finality I was shooting for. I'm hoping the epilogue will do a decent job of wrapping things up.

It's planned for release this Friday. Convergence, the real sequel, won't be out until some time in July (I hesitate to commit to any date), but there will be a few Asides between now and then.

38: Celebrating Victory

"Isn't this Vicki's mansion?" Yang asked as they approached the venue. From the street, they could hear music and voices, and the house was lit up brightly, with a few lights even strung across the fence. She answered her own question. "Yep. Vicki's mansion."

"I hope her parents are okay with it," Weiss commented, looking around. "And I hope we don't get arrested."

"Oh, hi, Anna!" Vicki greeted, waving them inside. She cocked her head and told them, "Don't worry, my parents are in Hong Kong and the cops won't bug us."

"Are you drunk?" Weiss asked bluntly, noticing her flushed cheeks.

"I'm tipsy." She giggled. "It's not the same. I haven't had enough to be drunk."

Weiss motioned to the glass in the girl's hand. "Yet. You will be drunk if you keep drinking."

Vicki waved it off and waved at Blake. She leaned uncomfortably close to the former heiress. "So, are the rumours true? Are you and Bella-"

Blake answered for the both of them, irritated. "Yes. We're together."

"Wow! I didn't realize you two were lesbians!"

Both of them glared at Vicki, and she shirked back. "Sorry, I'm leaving now."

"Well, that was weird," Yang commented from behind them. "I'm going to go find Gavin. You two lovebirds go have fun."

Gavin was sitting on a lawn chair, enjoying his Bud beside the currently-drained pool when he suddenly felt a heavy- and warm- weight on his back. Some drunk idiot fell on him. He began turning to the source, a glare etched on his face. "What the- Yang?"

"Hey," she whispered into his ear before sliding back to sit beside him.

"You're heavy," Gavin commented, both because he was drunk and because he knew his odd girlfriend wouldn't take offence. Well, mostly because he was drunk.

"I am. It's because of all of these muscles." She flexed, and he had to admit it was pretty impressive for a girl of her stature.

He handed her an open bottle of beer. "You're also late."

"Fashionably late." She sighed. "Weiss had to finish her match. Ended up losing it anyway."

Gavin laughed. "Quite the gamer, huh. Is that all she does?"

"That, and try to figure out how to make them."

Gavin raised an eyebrow. "She's looking at game development now?"

"Yeah," the blonde replied, sipping on the alcoholic brew. "She says she's lousy at art so she's going to approach it from the code direction, but I've never seen her program anything before. Although the spinny cube was apparently pretty hard."

The spinny cube didn't sound terribly impressive, but Gavin knew that computer code was ridiculously complicated and much harder than it looked. "When'd she start?"

"A few weeks ago," Yang replied. "When Weiss latches on to something, she just gives it. It's kind of scary sometimes."

He nodded. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Where are you going in September?"

She sighed a deep sigh, leaning into her boyfriend. Quietly, she responded, "I don't know. I haven't really thought about it."

"Are they going to kick you out once you turn nineteen?" he asked. He'd heard horror stories of wards of the state ending up on the street after they grew up, cut off from the services they relied on.

She shook her head. "No, I'm covered for a while. But I do need to move on eventually. It's not easy for me."

"It's not easy for anyone, but yeah, it's probably worse for you," Gavin admitted. "If it's paid for, you could just go to university, piss around with general studies for a couple years. Not a great suggestion, but you could. Or just get a job."

"I don't even know where to start," Yang said. She leaned back slightly. "What about you?"

"I'm going into trades, going to become an electrician," he replied, slightly sheepishly. Was it the alcohol? "BCIT, already registered, already accepted. I don't know what day I'm starting, but it's some time in September."

"That's good." They leaned against each other, feeling themselves breathe in sync for a long moment.

Yang interrupted it. "What if it doesn't work out?"

Gavin shrugged, feeling his girlfriend follow the motion. "You know, I'm not going to lie, it could go bad. It's gonna be one hell of a transition and maybe I won't make it. Or maybe it'll be too hard, or I'll hate it. But for now, that's where I'm going. And if it doesn't work, I'll try something else."

Yang leaned against him, closer this time, with one hand around his neck. She grinned, locking her artificially blue eyes with his natural ones. "Wise words of a wise man."

"Hey, Blake!"

Blake's ears twitched under her cap. For a moment, she considered not responding to Aaron. But although it had been in a very odd context, they had parted peacefully, and he probably just wanted to talk. What was the harm in it?

She shared a look with Weiss before parting, heading toward the tipsy young man leaning against the far wall.

"I thought I saw the hat," Aaron said, already slurring his words. "I thought I saw it twitch. I know who you really are, Blake Belladonna."

Her response wasn't a direct rebuttal. "I know you're drunk."

"Come on, it makes sense," he insisted. "You came here- I'm still not sure how you made it into school- but you came here, probably not on purpose, living under false identities, pretending to be like us. Trying to find your way home. Like some shitty-"

Blake crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Are we really doing this again?"

"Sorry, I'm just drunk. Sad and drunk," Aaron stated with a shrug. He really did lose most of his capacity for speech when he was drunk, didn't he?

Before Blake could reply, he held up the cup of beer in his hand. "Number six. I'm drunk after two."

She snatched it out of his hands. "You're not drinking to celebrate, are you?"

He laughed darkly. "What's there to celebrate?"

Blake rattled off the typical reasons. "Freedom? Independence? Moving forward?"

He shook his head. "Watching all your friends scatter, being forced to move on and get a job, working wondering why the hell you're doing it getting some pieces of paper that's supposed to mean something, having no idea where to go and nobody to help you? Really worth celebrating."

"You're really depressing when you're drunk," Blake commented. She sighed before trying to offer some form of consolence. "Look, Aaron, you're actually pretty well off. Life could be a lot worse."

"It could also be a hell of a lot better," he retorted. "I'm a fuckup, Blake. How am I supposed to make connections when I embarrass myself half the time I open my mouth? How am I supposed to make it through post-secondary if I can barely get through high school? How am I supposed to get a job when everyone thinks I'm a loser as soon as they see me? How am I supposed to find love when I spent six months chasing a girl because she looks like a fictional character, then dumping her for the same reason? I'm a fuckup."

"Aaron." She gently grasped his chin, forcing him to lock his eyes with her. She was really the wrong person for this- Yang or Ruby or even Weiss were better at motivation. "You're not a fuckup, and that's not how people see you. You're capable of a lot more than you think. You can do it, if you just try."

Unable to come up with anything to follow it, she turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Aaron to mull over his thoughts.

Weiss glared at the girl as she approached again, narrowing her eyes. "I thought you said you were leaving."

"Listen, I'm really sorry about the lesbians comment," Vicki apologized, wringing her hands. "I know some people are sensitive about it and I'm sorry-"

"Do you want something?" the white-haired girl snapped. Old habits die hard, especially after a plastic cup of vile alcohol.

"Oh, not specific, but this is my house so I feel like I should play host, you know?"

Weiss did know, all too well. She answered simply but politely, "I understand."

"So, where'd Blake go?"

"To talk to Aaron." Weiss sipped from her cup of beer, gagging imperceptibly at the revolting taste.

"Hey, weren't they dating for a while?"

"Are you always this inquisitive about our personal lives?" She remained polite, but there was an edge to her voice.

"I'm the gossipy, preppy rich girl. It's who I am." Vicki raised her hands and smirked, but her voice sounded weak, unsure.

"Is it really?"

"While I still can be."

"An act, a facade," Weiss reminded her. She'd known for months, of course, and was a bit surprised that Vicki would outright admit it. "I know better than anyone what that's like."

"You're not actually an orphan from a rich family?" Vicki asked, surprised.

Weiss shook her head, staring into the frothy surface of her beer. "No, that's true. But they weren't exactly the nicest family."

"Oh, so that kind of rich. Don't worry. I won't ask."

Weiss knew what Vicki was really implying, and knew that it wasn't too far off the mark. "I wouldn't answer anyway. So, while we're on the topic, who are you, really?"

The rich girl smiled. "I'm Vicki Lee. I play World of Warcraft, I like hockey, and I have a collection of plushies. My family is well off enough, but racks up debt to appear more impressive. My friends are pretentious little bitches."

And with that, she laughed, a high-pitched, irritating laugh that nonetheless was filled with mirth. "God, that feels good."

"It does. Really damn good." Weiss told her. It had certainly felt good to her when she started to come out as the real Weiss. "I've been addicted to shooters for the past month. I'm playing Battlefield 4 right now, but last week it was CS GO. My friends are great, but weird as hell. I'm not really into sports, but I played football once and managed to tackle one of the football jocks to the ground."

Vicki raised an eyebrow. "Really? Oh, come on, he let you take him down. Probably wanted to get into your pants, not that it would work."

He actually hadn't, but she played along anyway. "His loss."

"So, what are you doing after high school?" the fake rich girl asked the formerly rich girl.

"I'm going into the video game industry," Weiss answered. "I know that sounds strange, but hear me out. When I play these games I see things I could do better. Besides, I'm totally addicted to these things, so if I could make a career out of it, that would be great. And, well, there's a lot of money in it."

"That's really cool," Vicki gushed. "Where are you going to start?"

"I'm not sure yet," the former heiress admitted. "Maybe BCIT- I can do CIT or CST and then do the video game option. I could also do comp sci at SFU or UBC, although that's not as specific. Or I can go to Emily Carr and approach it from the art side- but I'm a lousy artist. You have no idea what I'm saying, do you?"

Vicki laughed. "No, but it sounds like you've got it figured out."

"What about you, Vicki?"

"My parents want me to be a doctor," she said with a shrug. "I thought about it, but I don't really like medicine. I'm thinking about engineering, but I'm not really good at math. I think maybe I'll do general studies for a year, figure out what I want to do. I haven't really thought about it much until now."

"Neither have I," Weiss admitted.

"Well, it was nice talking to you," Vicki said, finishing her beer. "I should go attend to my other guests."

"So, how's Vicki?" Blake asked, joining her girlfriend and handing her a glass of something sparkling.

"She's a bit drunk," Weiss answered, taking the glass. It alcoholic, but also sweet and pleasantly refreshing compared to the swill she had been drinking. "Wanted to talk about how she's a fake rich girl pretending to be something she isn't."

The cat faunus raised an eyebrow. "Familiar?"

"Familiar, yes, but hardly a revelation," she answered dismissively. "I'm not sure what she actually wants, though."

"Drunken rambling. Terrans do that." Blake sipped from her own glass, letting the bittersweet nectar run over her tongue. "What about you?"

"I definitely prefer just letting loose, if that's the correct expression," Weiss answered ponderously. "But I'm not sure if it's really better for me in the long run."

"Because you're still fighting off a lot of conditioning. You're better off being yourself."

"I suppose," Weiss said, moving closer to Blake. Her nose wrinkled at the smell on her lips. "How much have you been drinking?"

"No comment."

"Blake-"

"Not too much."

Seeing that her girlfriend wouldn't budge, Weiss asked, "Have you seen Yang?"

Blake shrugged. "She went somewhere with Gavin."

Her eyes went wide. "Are they-"

"Who knows? I'm sure Yang can take care of herself." Blake grinned mischievously. "But can you?"

"Blake!"

The cat faunus laughed. "Oh, Weiss, I'm just joking."

"Not funny," Weiss muttered. "It's not her I'm worried about."

"I'm sure they're fine, whatever they're doing."

"Yes, I'm sure," Weiss shook her head, than took Blake's hand. "Do you think you could manage a dance?"

"I can try."

"So, how was your night?" A boistrous voice asked as a mass placed itself over Weiss and Blake's shoulders. It didn't wait for them to answer. "Mine was awesome."

Weiss shrugged out of the embrace. There was no way they would make it through the doorway with a half-drunk Yang on top of them. "I'm happy for you. Please don't elaborate."

She grinned evilly. "What? We just-"

Her partner glared at her. "You heard Weiss. Please. Don't. Elaborate."

"Hey," Gavin said, striding up to them with a half passed out Aaron on one shoulder and Darrel following behind them. He dumped Aaron on Darrel before kissing his girlfriend on the cheek. "Wow. The last party of the last year, huh?"

"Yeah, it feels like the end, doesn't it?" Aaron agreed bitterly.

"Yes and no," Yang reminded them. "We're done high school, but life goes on. We're going to move on to other, greater things. It's not going to be easy, but... uh, we'll do it."

"Well, you almost delivered a motivational speech," Gavin told her. "I'm too drunk for this deep shit."

"Yeah, well, I almost." She laughed, waving as she stepped toward their ride home. "I'm sure we'll all see each other around."

Gavin waved back. "Oh, I guarantee it."

"Ugh... what the hell happened last night?" Yang groaned, shutting her eyes against the light streaming in through the green drapes of their living room. Her head was pounding and she could barely string two thoughts together; lingering effects of her previous inebriation.

"A wild drunken Terran grad party," a haggard Weiss commented drowsily, stumbling out of the kitchen with a mug of tea.

"Our rite of passage into adulthood," Blake added from the other side of the room. "Which is signalling the end of childhood by washing all our memories away in a haze of intoxication, apparently."

Yang shook her head and immediately regretted the motion. "Eh... I still think the Signal party was worse."

Her partner began to comment, "Well, now that we're done with school, we can move on with-"

"Good morning team RWBY!" the cheerful voice of their leader shouted as a red blur zoomed into the room. "I have an important announcement! Planning of summer activities shall begin today-"

"Do you have to do this today, Rubes?" Yang moaned.

"Yes! School may be over for you, but we're still a team!" Ruby announced, standing on the table. "We're gonna have the best summer ever!"

TotoTail: This fic is done, but Monochrome will be carried over to Convergence.

Tatopatato: This one does continue indeed. Emergence was intended to be a series from the very beginning, and I actually have the resolve to carry it through.

TehUnoman and 055: It's actually, statistically speaking, fairly likely. I didn't actually intend it this way; I didn't realize I was writing the grad chapters around grad time until others pointed it out to me. I operate on a different schedule now, and my school year was already finished a month ago.

GreatWyrmGold: Bad phrasing on my part. It's Vancouver, not Toronto, and the schools are pretty big but not that big. This one is in the 2000-3000 student range. Admittedly, it is a thin chapter- I just didn't know what to write and I am getting tired now. I'm assuming your second paragraph is meant for someone else, because it doesn't seem to be in response to anything I said. 38 isn't significant numerically, but a Stargate stays open for 38 minutes and there is another significance to it that I can't recall right now.

linkthetoaoftime: To be honest, I'm pretty lost when it comes to slice-of-life. It's hard to write believable characters in realistic scenarios when I don't really know what people actually do. I can handle sci-fi and military fiction much better, oddly enough.

Last but not least, a few notes on Convergence. It will have three acts: The Interlopers, The Intruders, and The Invaders. I'm not sure about the length of each act, but I think the third will be the longest. I'm going to shoot for longer chapters, but updates will be much slower to give me enough time to juggle this with real life. It'll be plot-driven like Emergence and written more like a techno-thriller, as opposed to this character-driven slice-of-life fic.

As for the plot, well, wait and see, but there are some hints around, and not just in this fic.