I recommend reading the comic if you haven't yet. My writing doesn't do it complete justice.

therwbyquest,tumblr,com/post/131052424076/rwbyquest-0140


-Epilogue-

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

An alarm blares noisily from a night stand, awakening the sole person in the room from their slumber.

"Mrghhh…"

Be-*click*

Ruby Rose, age 21, sits up in her bed and stretches her arms over her head, cracking and popping the kinks in her back. Groggily she sets off to freshen up and get dressed for the new day ahead.

-click-

"This thing on? Oh, there it goes." Ruby sits in front of a camera situated in her room and greets the audience that will be behind its lens. "Hey guys! Ruby here!...and Zwei, but he's sleepy- It's a bit early in the morning for us. This video's gonna be a bit different than the normal... Not HRT updates this time, haha—" Ruby smiles into the camera, absently scratching a snoozing Zwei behind the ears and back.

"Most of you probably know that today marks the 6th anniversary of the "Beacon Incident" also called the Beacon massacre…..Most of you watching probably also know that I was there."

At that moment Zwei started to awaken, nuzzling against Ruby's arm before looking up at her expectantly and wagging his tail.

"When I started making videos, it was kinda so I'd have a place to talk about stuff…this included. Um…Today I just wanna talk about…stuff that came after. And how me and my friends are now."

Out of hundreds of hunters-to-be and teachers at Beacon, only eight people survived: Myself, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Velvet, Pyrrha, Ren, and Cardin. The eight of us were deemed clean, after spending a long time in quarantines and labs. After that, there was nothing else to do but go home and try to forget.

You can't forget. Time catches up to you; the silence after the storm, when you have nothing to do but sit there and think about everything. All the choices that were made that you wish you could undo. Everything you could have done; all the "what ifs". It catches up to you.

Ren probably thinks about the "what ifs" more than anyone. It's been tough for him, but he's living. That's all we can ask for right now. He's got his own place now. Pyrrha makes sure to visit at least once a week. I join when I can! He lives with a cat, Jun—they go for walks together and stuff. Having Jun has helped him a lot. Caring for a pet makes you feel like your life matters. They depend on you. It's easier to go on if you have that. I get that with Zwei, too…It's weird to explain, but…I'm the one who feeds him, and he'd be worse off without me, so that makes it easier.

When Pyrrha isn't with Ren, she's usually with Velvet. Often, Blake is with them, too. The three of them go to a lot of Faunus meetings together. In the end, Pyrrha kept the horns and the stigma, despite the public "subtly" trying to make her have them cut away. She had Blake and Velvet educate her on Faunus issues, from a more…untainted perspective than our textbooks. Some of us became avoidant of conflict after the incident; not Pyrrha. If anything, it lights a fire in her more than before. It seems like with every rubber bullet bruise and slur she receives, her fire only flares hotter. She said "this is me now; might as well use my 'big name' for something worthwhile, while they still remember it." Oh, and she and Velvet are still, like, mad gay.

While a fire has been lit in Pyrrha, it seems Yang's fire has died down completely. She avoids conflict, and is calm. She says being angry and aggressive did her no good, and it has too many associations now. I get that. She asked Junior for a job at his club, which she got. She seems happy. Yang is the type to put up an unaffected front, especially towards people she cares about. She doesn't want us to worry about her or know that she's suffering. That's her thing. But I can still tell.

The state offered to cover the expense and replace the gnarly DIY project of a hand with a more proper prosthetic, but when they opened the hand up, it turned out that the metal is completely fused with Yang's flesh. It puzzled doctors, but ultimately they decided to leave it be, as replacing it would be a far more invasive surgery that anyone expected. I think that 3D's healing powers did this; even her nerves have fused and become one with wires. No human body can do that on its own. In any case, Yang was always able to operate the prosthetic as easily as her original hand, so she decided there wasn't really any harm in keeping Celiclaw, regardless.

Blake lives with Yang, which is fortunate, because if not for Yang, they would just never get up. Blake is tired all the time, and they'd just sleep. I'm kind of jealous that they can sleep so much without nightmares, but sleeping all the time isn't good for you either.

Cardin is alone. He doesn't get into fights anymore. In fact, he doesn't talk to anyone at all. We only know he's in his home because someone has to be picking up the groceries that are delivered to his door.

Weiss lives with me now. With the money her father sends, she can live comfortably even without a job.

"…Good morning, Ruby."

Without even trying she can hear me from the way I walk, no matter how much I sneak.

"Morning, Weiss! You're up early."

"Yes, well…Not everyone sleeps in as much as you."

Yes…Weiss is still mostly the same.

"Though, since you spend so much time in the bathroom…We will be late if we don't go right away."

She got these cool glasses, too! They let her see by transmitting tiny signals into her brain. Of course, she had to have some surgery to make it work. It's funny—they had to shave some of her hair to get the operation done, and she said to cut the rest too.

*Ruby holds up her Scroll* "Smiiiiile~"

She had always been fond of her long hair, so I asked her why she did that. She said "There's no way I can rock an undercut like Pyrrha does, so I'm cutting all of it. I can't show up next to her looking like a subpar imitation, you know."

"C'mon, Ruby. We're going to be late."

I think she was joking, but honestly, that's such a Weiss thing to say that I can't even be sure.

Sometimes I catch myself thinking that our time at Beacon never ended, and I'll wake up back there the next time I sleep.

"Sorry to make you all wait-! We're here now!"

"It's ok, sleepyhead~"

"Be nice, Blake!"

Everyone (except Cardin) is gathered around a large memorial. Various gifts of flowers and memorabilia lay at its base surrounding it.

But then I wake up again, and I'm out here. And I'm picking up the pieces one by one. And I'm alive.

Ruby scans the hundreds of names carved onto the slabs of stone. Familiar names of students and teachers are easily recognizable, along with the names of Dead Draw Domination and Forced Move King.

It feels unfair. But we are alive- even if they're not.

We have to care for ourselves, even if they're dead.

It feels unfair, but we have to go on without them. We have to try, at least. Probably the most difficult thing we'll ever have to do.

"Well. We made it another year, huh? Good job, everyone." Yang says. "That makes six."

"Yeah. Good work, guys. Proud." Pyrrha smiles wistfully. "…You know, I'm starting to feel like we can really do this. That we can really live."

"…Same." Ruby says with a smile as tears begin to stream down her face. "I'm proud of you all, too. I'm glad I have all of you to help me through."

We'll be okay- someday.

Until then, it's enough to just be alive.

"C'mon, guys. Let's go get something to eat."

There is still a sky above, between the rooftops. It won't black out the sun again. I have to remember that.

Everything is over.

We can pick up the pieces and put ourselves back together. We will all be alright- someday.