The final chapter is finally here. As I expected, it's a bittersweet moment for me. I'll say a lot more about it after the chapter, as my final AN will be mostly looking back at the experience. It'll probably be rather long, so I'll just give you a quick tl;dr here - I've had fun and can't thank you all enough for your amazing support.
I won't bore you with the details, but this week has been crazy for me. Was a little worried about getting the chapter done on time, but wound up finishing yesterday. Watch for a final Coeur reference, which we haven't had in a while. Overall, I'm happy with the wrap-up, even if I didn't bother with an outline and just sorta winged it.
On an unrelated note, I finally updated my attempt at a Mario Maker 2 course during the weekend. The level is now live and looking for victims. Nothing overly fancy, but pretty challenging. Only people to beat the old version found an exploit to skip to the end. That has been completely removed. Would love to see the play count rise.
SMM2 Course ID: CBF-Y8T-M5G "Bowser Hired an Engineer"
Well, here we go.
"Today's ceremony will mark one week since the tragic attack upon the citizens of Vale," the voice of Lisa Lavender solemnly intoned from the television set in the Azura house's living room. "While members of the Council insist this should be a time to celebrate Vale's resilience against such atrocities, there are few who see it that way. Some are coming to grieve those who died in the heinous attack, while more simply hope for news of their missing loved ones.
"Recovery crews are still working around the clock to sort through the rubble from last week's attack. The Council has asked residents to be patient and not approach the teams, so as not to slow their work. Updated information is posted outside the CCT tower, including what areas have been deemed safe and a list of those still missing. The populace is encouraged to alert the personnel at the tower if any information is inaccurate.
"In other news, police and protestors clashed once more over the recent extension of martial law. Three people were arrested for attacking a police officer, who suffered minor injuries as a result. Two others were hospitalized after police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Officials say both suffered throat irritation and would be released later today. No charges are being pressed against them at this time."
The news droned on, marking the only sound in the room as Lilly sat motionless on the family couch. Her eyes vacantly stared through the continued footage of events in the city, but she hardly noticed. Much like she'd done the last few days, she'd woken up late, trudged down the hall, poured herself a bowl of cereal, and then claimed her spot on the sofa. With the CCT down, the only programs available were the local news, but it didn't matter. She'd only turned it on in the hopes of distracting herself.
It didn't.
"You need anything, dear?" her mom cautiously asked. Just another part of their daily ritual. Thankfully, the questions about if she was okay or how she was feeling had ended days ago. Lilly didn't really feel like talking about it. Her mom bore through it patiently once more, trying her best not to press the issue too much as she trusted her daughter would open up to her when the time was right. "Are you finished with that?" Lilly made no move to stop her as she carefully picked up the bowl of half-eaten cereal. "Your friends called again. Said they'll be here soon." When even that failed to garner a response, her mother finally gave up and began her retreat. "I'll be tidying up the kitchen if you need me."
Lilly felt bad for ignoring her yet again, but she just wasn't ready to talk to her yet. She'd tried once or twice, but it never ended well. The moment they brought up Smit, she'd shut down once more. It wasn't fair to her family, who only wanted to help. She swallowed, finally turning away from the TV to face the doorway her mother had vanished through.
"Mom?"
"Yes dear?" her mother nearly shouted as she shot around the corner. The desperation in the woman's eyes – a strange mixture of concern and joy at hearing her name – hurt more than Lilly cared to admit.
"Th-thanks," was all Lilly could manage at the moment. To Lilly, it wasn't enough, but her mom relaxed under that single word, knowing Lilly meant more.
With a soft smile, her mom quietly came over, sitting down beside Lilly. Her hand slowly reached out to grasp Lilly's. "You know I'll always be there for you. I know it's rough right now, but when you're ready to talk, I'll be right here waiting." Lilly leaned into her mother's side, even as the woman's arm snaked around her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. "I love you, Lilly."
"I love you too, Mom," Lilly answered softly as her mother quietly left the room with a sad smile.
The news carried on with details on construction efforts, reminding people to be patient as the walls would take priority. Beacon had fallen, but the city refused to give in. With the increase in Grimm activity and loss of much of the city's security forces, the Council had encouraged new enlistments before eventually instituting a draft. That hadn't gone over well, of course, but Lilly understood their reasoning.
With that giant Grimm frozen on Beacon Tower, everyone had briefly relaxed, even mounting a recovery effort to retake the school. At least a dozen Huntsmen had gone in, only to find a Grimm horde of unspeakable numbers awaiting them. They'd managed to pull out before being overrun, but the city had declared the school off-limits for now, saying they would coordinate with the other Kingdoms down the road. With the CCT down and Atlas abandoning them, that wouldn't happen any time soon. Had the horde turned its sights on Vale rather than congregating around the tower, the city wouldn't have lasted. Luckily, the Grimm seemed drawn to the wyvern rather than the city.
Speaking of giant, frozen Grimm, Lilly still didn't know what happened that night. The most Yang would tell her was that Ruby had done "something" that defeated both the wyvern and Cinder. Considering the beast had taken on General Ironwood's flagship and triumphed, it was hard to imagine a fifteen-year-old girl vanquishing it so easily. Ruby had been left unconscious from…whatever she'd done, but woke up a few days ago. She'd finally been cleared to accept visitors, so Lilly would be going over there soon to check on the girl. Honey had messaged her last night to say she and Randi would meet at her house before heading over together.
She hadn't seen her team – what was left of them – since Randi's release from the hospital. She'd been pretty weak at the time, but the doctors assured them all she needed now was rest. Her aura had sped up the healing process greatly, but it couldn't fix everything.
A knock at the door caught Lilly's attention, but she stayed put as her mom hollered that she'd get it. Moments later, she greeted Honey and Randi – a little louder than necessary to let Lilly know they'd arrived. Who else would it be? We don't exactly get a lot of visitors around here. Honey quietly asked about her, but to her mother's credit, she simply directed the two into the living room rather than hold some sort of hushed conversation at the door.
"Lilly, you're friends are here to see you," her mom informed her as she led the two into the room, hovering near the entrance for a moment before slipping away once more.
"Lilly!" Honey excitedly rushed over, nearly tackling her partner in a hug.
"It's good to see you, Honey." Lilly smiled as she bore through the display. Really, it was nice to have her teammates around. Even if it had only been a few days, she'd missed them more than she'd realized. As Honey finally released her, she looked to the tall, imposing Randi standing a few feet away. "You too, Randi. You doin' okay?"
"Still getting used to everything, but I'll manage." No surprise there. Randi, as indomitable as always, eyed Lilly for a moment, likely trying to figure out how her leader really felt despite her own condition. Lilly couldn't help but glance at the black eyepatch affixed to Randi's face, hiding what was likely a gruesome wound that had cost the girl her eye. A deep scar continued out either side of the patch, marring the girl's face permanently. Lilly knew there were others, mainly on Randi's stomach. "How about you?" Despite her condition, however, Lilly wasn't at all surprised to see Randi more concerned about her than the numerous injuries she sported.
"I'm…" Lilly couldn't manage to finish the simple, reassuring lie. Good? Fine? Okay? Those were the words she wanted to say, but they couldn't be further from the truth. Instead, she took a page out of Randi's book. "I'll manage." Hoping to change the subject, she quickly turned the conversation back on Randi. "How's the new accessory?"
"Thinkin' about getting some colorful ones," Randi mused as she touched the small, black patch on her face. "Black goes with everything, but it gets kinda boring after a while. Wonder if I can find one with a plastic eyeball attached." Lilly felt a tiny laugh threaten to slip through – the first she'd felt since…well, since the attack. "Figure it'd be a great conversation starter. Then again, I'm not the only one sporting something new."
Randi's eye glanced meaningfully at Lilly's hands, which she instinctively drew back like she had something to hide. Feeling foolish a second later, Lilly stretched out her fingers, feeling the new gloves flex as she continued breaking them in. She'd never understood the point of fingerless gloves before, but these brought her a small bit of comfort. The design didn't exactly match what she'd wanted, but it was as close as she could get.
It had been a spur-of-the-moment purchase. Her mom and Violet had taken her out shopping the other day, hoping the fresh air would do her some good. Mom insisted on buying them some new clothes, but didn't know what to say when Lilly spotted the gloves. They'd hurt to look at in the store – yet another reminder of what she'd lost – but she needed something to hold onto. At first, wearing them had only served as a cold reminder of reality, but she couldn't bear to take them off.
It was her way of holding onto him.
"The White Fang have issued a statement condemning the attack on Vale," the news continued, drawing all eyes to the TV at the mention of the terrorist group. "The attack was led by Adam Taurus, a violent leader within the White Fang who was at the top of the most wanted list in Atlas. Reports say he invaded Beacon Academy and slew several students before being killed. The Council refused demands from Atlas for the body, choosing rather to burn it among the countless victims of his attack. The White Fang statement insists he acted alone and has offered to send aid towards the rebuilding of the city, but many feel it is too little, too late. The Council responded yesterday, condemning the organization, both for allowing the attack and inspiring such acts of violence across Remnant."
"So, he's really dead?" Randi asked as she watched the screen, staring at a photo of the man who'd nearly killed her. Yang had told them that someone had saved them and held Adam off while they escaped, but they'd had no idea what happened afterward. "Good. Wish I knew who did it. I'd send them Remnant's biggest fruit basket."
Lilly could understand the sentiment. From what she'd been told, this Adam guy had been an absolute monster. She didn't know the members of CHLK and BLZE that well, but hearing that he'd cut them down so mercilessly, then tried to kill her friends – nearly succeeding with Randi – was more than enough reason to want the guy dead. She had no idea who managed to take him down, but it must've been a professional Huntsman to match blades with Adam. Yang wouldn't say much, but Lilly had a distinct feeling her friend knew more than she let on about their savior.
She just wished someone had been there for Smit, too.
Lilly glanced at the clock, realizing they still had over an hour until Yang expected them, but didn't feel like waiting around. She turned off the television, cutting off some report on rising dust prices. "You guys ready?" Both of her teammates nodded in unison, similarly eager to see their friends once more. "Mom, we're heading over to Yang's!" she called out as they headed for the door.
"Here, take these with you." A platter of sandwiches was shoved into her hands before she could respond. Randi stole it from her a moment later, earning a grateful grin from Lilly before she found herself swallowed in a tight hug. "Be safe."
Lilly didn't bother pointing out that Patch was about as safe as you could get right now. With school's closed for now, the teachers had begun taking small teams from Signal to clear out the Grimm across the island, which had begun to increase from the negativity of the nearby city. As a result, Grimm sightings had quickly plummeted well below normal levels. Lilly suspected the popularity of the hunting parties had a lot to do with everyone's desire for revenge. Violet had signed up every chance she could, including today. She'd come home two days ago claiming she'd taken down a full-grown Ursa with a partner. Lilly suspected she knew who the other person was, given how excited Violet had been. If nothing else, Signal would soon have some of the most experienced students they'd ever turned out.
"We'll be back before dinner," Lilly assured her mother.
"Tell Ruby I hope she's feeling better."
"Will do," Honey promised, distracting her mom long enough for Lilly to escape out the door. "See ya later, Misses Azura."
The trek to Yang's house wasn't a long one, but Lilly had plenty of time to notice the subtle changes to her quiet home. New homes were rapidly being constructed everywhere she looked. In the distance, the tall rooftops of a new apartment complex could be seen on the border of the town. All the extra space would be needed, as the population of the island had risen sharply. Many people had fled Vale for the safety and space of Patch, especially once the surrounding villages began to retreat to Vale under the threat of the Grimm. Some chose to flee the city entirely, but flights out of Vale were limited. Patch had become a sort of unofficial smuggling town, as every person with an aircraft or a boat snuck people out of the Kingdom in the night. No one cared to stop them, however, as there were bigger things to deal with at the moment.
What really bothered her, though, was the way the locals looked at her. The new arrivals were in the dark, but most of Patch knew by now that she'd been at Beacon during the attack. Word travelled fast on Patch. One or two had tried talking to her, but most just stared from a distance or whispered about her. She didn't want their pity.
She wanted Smit back.
Honey nudged her shoulder in silent support, even as Randi took the lead. Where Lilly had caught the occasional glance, the intimidating faunus with a missing eye was sure to be the talk of the town by nightfall. Lilly quickly found herself relegated to old news as the gossipers began crafting stories around her teammate. She doubted any of their tales would compare to the reality of who she'd fought.
Their journey ended in relative peace, the crowds vanishing as they approached the secluded Xiao-Long household. The mailbox hung open, packed with letters in bright envelopes. Lilly carefully removed them, closing the box tightly. As expected, the top envelope was addressed to Ruby, as most of them probably would be. She still had all her friends at Signal, after all.
Lilly could hear movement inside as she approached the door. A quick knock silenced the house for a moment, before steady footsteps approached. The door swung open, briefly revealing Yang before the girl shot forward.
"Lilly!" Yang exclaimed desperately, adding to Lilly's already high hug count for the day. She patted Yang's back with her free hand, careful not to drop the stack of letters as Yang finally let her go.
"I…got your mail," Lilly said, holding out the arrangement of envelopes awkwardly. In hindsight, that felt like an odd greeting.
"Oh, thanks," Yang replied, quickly snatching the pile and tossing them on a nearby table and waving them in. "Everybody's already inside." Everybody? Lilly didn't realize anyone else would be there. Maybe Weiss and Blake are here. It would make sense for her team to be present. In fact, they'd probably been staying here since the attack to keep an eye on Ruby. A team practically counted as family, meaning they'd have access to Ruby long before everyone else.
Which left Lilly completely unprepared when the members of JNPR watched her enter rather than the other half of RWBY, who were nowhere to be seen. Jaune spared a pained smile for her, but Pyrrha looked away the moment Lilly turned to her. To his credit, Jaune noticed and slipped an arm around his partner, rubbing her arm in encouragement. No one really knew what to say, scared that the wrong word could set Lilly off. The unsettling silence that engulfed them hurt just as much.
Thankfully, Nora was much less reserved.
"It's true!" Nora excitedly cheered as she raced up to Randi. "See, Ren. I told you'd she'd have an awesome eyepatch!" Looking back to Randi, Nora excitedly proclaimed, "I always wanted a pirate friend."
The room went silent, everyone shocked by the lack of care Nora addressed the injured girl with. Yang winced, even as Ren sighed, his head drooping in despair. Lilly looked to her teammate, worried about how offended Randi would be at Nora making light of her permanent wound.
"Arrr, matey! I be that friend." Randi's response, done in what might have barely passed for a pirate accent in some b-rate movie. Even Nora seemed surprised, staring wide-eyed at Randi as the girl played along, until a chuckle broke the silence.
Another echoed it.
Soon, the entire room was laughing along at the ridiculous display. The brief tension in the room seemed to melt away as Nora made plans for the two of them to embark on a treasure hunt. Lilly took the opportunity to claim a seat next to Pyrrha, intent on forcing the girl to relax around her once more. The last thing she needed right now was yet another person acting weird around her. Instead, she wanted everyone to treat her like normal, knowing that was the only chance she'd get at getting back to normal herself. A moment later, everyone had found their seats. Randi and Honey claimed a couch with Yang, while Nora and Ren shared the aptly named loveseat.
The group slowly relaxed as things calmed back down. "You sure you're okay?" Yang asked, still a little hesitant to talk about Randi's new limitation. While Lilly didn't have the obvious, physical proof of their suffering that Randi sported, she had to imagine they were going through something similar. They just wanted some sense of normalcy.
"I'll admit, life as a cyclops has been weird."
"How so?" Randi grinned at the expected setup line.
"Flirting's a lot harder, for one. Guys can never tell when I'm winking at them now." Yang's smile threatened to split her face at the stupid joke. "It definitely takes some getting used to. Had to get used to people staring at my patch all the time, too."
Several sets of eyes shifted uneasily, keenly aware they were just as guilty. Just like I thought. Randi knew she was injured, so everyone reminding her about it, even accidentally, served no purpose. At best, she'd shrug it off, but the special treatment only served to rub it in her face. Lilly doubted she'd be comfortable enough to crack jokes about it if it happened to her, but the bold approach did seem to help.
"Can be kind of fun, though," Randi continued, leaning forward. "Got some coffee yesterday. When the guy asked for a name, I told him it was Randi with one eye." Even Lilly couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity.
"You didn't!" Pyrrha giggled.
"I was there," Honey testified.
"You should've seen the look on the guy's face!"
"You're terrible!" Yang said as she shoved Randi playfully. "Anyways, I've been staying with Honey and her mom in Vale. Pretty much adopted me already." That sounded nice. Randi didn't really have anywhere to go. Lilly had thought about talking to her parents about Randi, but with three kids already running around, it would've been a bit of a hassle. Randi's eye slowly shifted to Lilly. "She's thinking about moving to Patch…"
"Really?" Lilly excitedly asked, looking to her partner.
"Randi's idea," Honey answered. "Mom's really leaning that way. I didn't want to tell you until we'd made a decision, but…surprise!"
Her team moving so close was the best news Lilly had heard all week. She felt so much more relaxed with them around. She'd gotten so used to being around them every day, that having them live nearby just made sense. If nothing else, it would be nice to have them around for support. She'd already had some rough days and knew there were plenty more ahead. With Yang busy caring for Ruby and feeling too awkward to discuss such things with her family, Lilly had no one to turn to.
But maybe that would be about to change.
Before they could discuss her team's relocation any further, the creaking of floorboards upstairs had them all turning to the stairs. Slowly, the leader of Team RWBY descended, followed closely by her father, who looked ready to scoop his daughter up and carry her but held back as best he could. Ruby smiled as she noticed everyone waiting for her.
"Ruby, you're up!" Yang surged off her seat, taking the stairs two at a time to reach her younger sister. "I got you." Yang swept an arm under Ruby's armpit, supporting the small girl's weight as she gently eased her down the remaining steps.
"Yaaaang!" Ruby whined, fighting to push her crutch away. "I can walk on my own!" True to her word, Ruby shuffled over to an empty seat, but couldn't sit down before another set of arms wrapped around her.
"I missed you, Ruby," Honey said as she held onto her first friend at Beacon.
"I missed you, too," Ruby answered, looking around the room. "All of you. I can't believe everyone's here!"
"Not everyone," Yang grumbled before reclaiming her seat. No one missed how she kept watching her sister, or how Yang shifted forward, as if to throw herself across the room at any moment. If Yang had been protective before, recent events had only made it far worse.
Ruby's eyes widened when she looked to Lilly and Pyrrha. Lilly managed a weak smile, but knew what Ruby was thinking. Much like Pyrrha, Ruby felt uneasy around her now. According to Pyrrha, Ruby had arrived just as Smit died, meaning they were the last two to see Smit alive. The weight of that moment weighed on them both. Lilly didn't blame either of them – such was reserved for Cinder alone – but she knew both of them likely blamed themselves. It was easy to wonder if there was some way they could've saved Smit. Pyrrha could've fought harder. Ruby could've gotten there faster. Little things that might've kept Smit alive.
Such thoughts led to madness.
Ruby quickly dropped into her seat, eyes pointedly avoiding Lilly's side of the room as she thanked them all for coming. "It's so nice to finally have visitors," she smiled. "Ugh! I've been cooped up in that room for days! I thought I'd go insane!" Some random realization dawned on her. "Oh! Thanks for all the letters, guys. It really helped to hear from everyone."
"Lilly brought your latest batch of fan mail in," Yang informed her, jerking a thumb to the small table in the entryway and the letters strewn across it.
"Well, you lot behave," Tai instructed as he picked through the envelopes, tossing a few ads in the trash, along with something that looked official but was probably just some credit card offer. "I'm leading one of the Grimm hunts today. Tell you mom I said thanks for lunch!" The last part was directed at Lilly as he snatched a sandwich off the platter, which Randi had deposited beside the letters.
"Good luck!"
"Stay safe!"
"Don't hurt yourself, old man!" Tai shook his head at the jab from his eldest daughter before disappearing out the door, leaving the nine of them alone. For a moment, no one spoke, unsure of how to broach the topic on everyone's mind.
"What happened to you?" Honey cut straight to the burning question. As nice as exchanging pleasantries was, no one really knew the details of what happened on the tower. Pyrrha recalled some of it, but given that she'd just watched someone dive in front of her, taking the killing blow meant for her, she'd been a little preoccupied to notice everything. Ruby would know more.
"I…I don't know, exactly." Before anyone could protest, Ruby hastily continued. "I remember what happened, but it still doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Uncle Qrow explained a little when I woke up, but there's plenty I don't understand."
"What do you know?" Lilly's question lacked the amount of care she wanted, but she just had to know more.
"You all have to promise to keep this secret," Ruby insisted. "You can't tell anyone." Every head nodded slowly, both in agreement and confusion. "Well…did any of you see anything weird that night?"
"You mean aside from the dragon and killer robots?" Jaune asked.
"The light," Lilly whispered to herself. When Ruby suddenly looked to her, she knew she'd hit the mark. "I saw a bright flash from the tower. It was only for a moment, but…are you saying you did that?"
"I don't know the details, but Uncle Qrow says it has to do with my silver eyes." Ruby widened her eyes for emphasis, but Lilly didn't see anything special. People had all sorts of eye color. Yang's even changed from purple to red when she got mad. What's with this family and their eyes? "He said…he said silver eyes were rare. Something about them being the mark of a legendary warrior or something. That I could strike down Grimm just by looking at them."
The old Lilly would've balked at the suggestion of Ruby somehow being special, but there was a frozen wyvern that begged to differ. Lilly realized she'd never seen anyone else with silver eyes. Randi and Mercury – whose eyes she'd like to gouge out – both had gray eyes. While they looked similar at first glance, Ruby's eyes were far brighter. In fact, the only other person she'd ever seen with that color was…
"Your mom had silver eyes too, didn't she?" Yang had shown Lilly some family photos a while back. She recalled noting the matching eye color, but thought nothing of it at the time. Is it hereditary? If so, that might make it even more rare. Then again, maybe it was a recessive gene that could pop up in any birth, but a silver-eyed parent would increase the odds.
"Wait a sec!" Yang interjected, waving her hands in front of her. "Are you sayin' Mom could shoot light from her eyes too?"
"M-maybe," Ruby stammered, clearly wondering the same. "Uncle Qrow made it sound like not everyone knew how to use…whatever I did. I don't know what I did. Or how. Or what happened afterward."
"It definitely hurt the Grimm," Pyrrha explained. "It sounded like it was in pain, then went still. It must've hurt Cinder too. She ran away clutching her face."
"But what about you?"
"Hm?"
"Did it hurt you?" Randi clarified for Pyrrha. "It didn't just hurt the wyvern. You said it hurt Cinder, too. Did you feel anything?"
"N-no…I felt…I don't really know what I felt." Pyrrha stared at the floor, trying to recall the moment in detail. "It was…almost warm. I'm not really sure how to describe it, but it definitely didn't hurt me like it did Cinder."
Jaune watched his partner closely, then summarized everything as eloquently as could be expected. "Huh, weird."
"A light-based power that only targets your enemies…how interesting." Ren's quiet musings reminded everyone who the voice of reason on Team JNPR was.
"Yeah, yeah. You nerds can share your theories later." Yang waved a hand dismissively. "So you…froze a Grimm with your eyes?"
"It's like a superpower!" Nora excitedly cheered, shifting the loveseat with her bouncing.
"Nora, I'm pretty sure super speed already counts," Jaune pointed out, reminding his teammate that they all basically had different abilities straight out of a comic book, before turning back to Ruby. "Have you tried using it again?"
"Back the truck up, buddy," Yang cut in. "Using it once nearly put her in a coma. I'm not sure she's ready to try again."
"Sorry."
"No, it's fine," Ruby assured him with a gentle smile. Lilly had a feeling she'd tried recently, but didn't want her family to know. Yang watched her sister suspiciously, showing she'd picked up on the same thought. Ruby was unlikely to get much alone time for a while. "Honestly, I still have no idea how to use it. It just…sorta happened."
"Perhaps there's something that triggered it," Randi mused, tapping a finger against her chin. "You've fought Grimm before, but never one that large. Then again, maybe it was something about Cinder." Randi shared a knowing look with Pyrrha, but Lilly didn't get it. She looked to her partner, only to find Honey nodding along. Am I the only one in the dark here?
"It could've been any number of factors," Ren added.
"Do you remember anything from right before it happened?" Jaune asked. "Maybe we can piece it together."
"Let's see…I ran up to the tower. The dragon was already there. Cinder too. The last thing I saw was Smit–" Ruby eeped suddenly, sitting up so straight it looked like someone replaced her spine with a rod as her eyes slowly slid to Lilly. The rest of the room went deathly silent as they all looked to her. "L-Lilly, I'm so sor–"
"It's okay, Ruby." Lilly wasn't, but she could hardly blame the girl for mentioning Smit's name. She wiped at her eye, but wasn't surprised when her hand came away dry. She'd cried for days, it felt like, until there were no more tears to shed. Her stomach knotted for the thousandth time, but she swallowed and tried to press on, if only to help Ruby. "Smit did what he knew was right. I miss him…a lot." Lilly's face fell as she felt her throat tighten. "B-but Smit…he…" She felt her arm begin to shake. Lilly clenched her fists as she fought for control, knowing it was a losing battle.
A hand gently rested on her trembling arm, steadying her as she looked to Pyrrha, who smiled back despite the droplet snaking down her cheek. With a deep breath, Pyrrha tried to comfort her. "Smit was a true hero. I was proud to call him friend."
I want to be the type of man you're proud of. Smit's words rang in her head. Back in the park – what felt like an eternity ago – he'd uttered those words, claiming her approval as his ultimate goal. At the time, she'd already been proud of what he'd accomplished. She'd seen how hard he'd struggled with his inner demons. It was a fight few could understand without experiencing it themselves. And yet, she'd never said those words – never told him how proud she was of him.
More words she regretted not saying sooner. She'd said them all since – whispered them to herself, howled them to the ceiling, cried them into her mother's shoulder – all in the vain hope he'd somehow hear them. If he had, she'd never heard an answer.
Despite her overwhelming grief, she had never been so proud of Smit. He'd been given the toughest choice imaginable – his life or a friend's – and done what you only read about in stories and headlines. It was easy to think she'd have done the same, but when faced with the harsh reality of the decision, most would waver. Going back to save Pyrrha was hard enough. At least then, there was a chance they'd make it out alive. But he'd gone further, throwing himself in front of Pyrrha, despite knowing it would mean his own death.
Pyrrha gave her arm a final, firm squeeze as she sat back once more, even as Jaune pulled her to his side. If the two had seemed inseparable before, they were joined at the hip after the events of last week. Team JNPR was whole because of Smit's sacrifice. Lilly just wished everyone else could be so lucky.
"Where's Weiss?" Lilly asked, aware that hers wasn't the only team missing someone. It felt a little odd not having half of Ruby's team present, but surely there was a good reason.
"Weiss is…she's gone."
"What? What do you mean, gone?" Lilly demanded of Ruby.
"Weiss's father came for her. He…he took her back to Atlas. I've been writing her letters, but I don't know if they're getting through." Understandable, given how dangerous transporting such things could be. Grimm didn't make exceptions for mail carriers. With the increased presence around Vale, it would be even more difficult. Their best bet would be to have them flown to Atlas on one of the evacuation shuttles, but that wouldn't be a high priority to the government.
"Did she say when she'd be back?"
"Her father didn't tell us anything," Ruby complained. The lack of details was hardly encouraging.
"Poor Weiss," Honey summarized for the group. "All alone in Atlas."
"She's not completely alone," Ruby countered. "Penny promised she'd keep in touch with Weiss when they got back."
"You saw her?"
"Not me. Kind of out cold at the time," Ruby chuckled. "Yang spoke to her, though."
Having successfully cast the spotlight back on her sister, Ruby looked to Yang, making it clear she'd be responsible for any update. "She and Ironwood held off against the Grimm until help arrived. She stopped to check on Ruby, but said they were returning to Atlas with their prisoner."
"Torchwick?"
"She couldn't say, but didn't deny it either." So, she basically told you without breaking protocol. For a robot, Penny could be pretty sneaky it seemed. "All she would say is that their mystery prisoner," Yang added air quotes, "had a chance to run, but let himself be taken."
"He likely assumed it would be safer under Ironwood's protection," Ren offered as explanation. Whatever his role in Cinder's plans, he seemed to have failed. Out on his own, Cinder might hunt him down and silence him. If he provided answers to Atlas, however, they might keep him safe. Worst case, if things turned south, he had plenty of experience breaking out of high security prisons.
It seemed life in prison beat death by vengeful mass murderer.
"What about Blake?" Jaune asked, noting the other absence in the room.
"What about her?" Yang practically spat. No one knew how to respond to that. Blake's her best friend. What set Yang off like that?
Jaune finally mustered up the courage to press the matter, even if Yang's tone made it clear she didn't want to. "W-where is she? I thought she'd–"
"You thought she'd stick around? Maybe come check on her injured teammate?" Yang gestured to Ruby. "Or maybe even just talk to her partner? Well, that's what I thought too, but I guess we were both wrong." Yang's chest rose and fell angrily. "She ditched us."
"But I thought she went with Randi."
"She did, but as soon as they patched her up, she just…Blake just ran off. Didn't even bother to explain or anything. Just left us behind without saying a word."
"That's not entirely true."
Randi pulled out a small, folded piece of paper, carefully passing it to Yang, who hesitantly accepted it. She unfolded it slowly, then began reading to herself. Her eyes widened as she continued scanning the page, taking in the words faster and faster while the rest of them became impatient.
Thankfully, Randi already knew its contents. "When I woke up at the hospital, I found this note beside my bed. Blake must've written it on the shuttle and figured I'd give it to you. It says she's returning home to Menagerie. Needs to make sure her parents are safe and…mend a few fences. Also says she needs some time to sort some things out, including Adam."
"She knew that psychopath?" Lilly gasped.
"They were…close before Beacon." Lilly shuddered at the emphasis Randi put on that word. How Blake could've had feelings for the monster that nearly killed Randi was beyond her understanding. He'd gone after Blake as well, meaning they either had the most messed up relationship on Remnant, or the romance had well and truly died. They were both in the White Fang before she left. Maybe he saw it as her abandoning him. That didn't justify what he'd done in return, though. Then again, she was probably branded a traitor to the terrorist group. She might've been too dangerous for them to leave her alone, given her knowledge of the organization. She'd already located one of their recruitment rallies. Maybe they feared she'd help the authorities locate them.
"When will she be back?"
"It doesn't say," Yang answered as she finished reading.
"Maybe she's just not sure how long she'll need," Randi attempted to justify for the missing faunus. "Regardless of what Adam became, he was clearly a big part of her life at one point. Plus, it sounds like she's got a lot of catching up to do with her family. I'm sure she'll let you know when she's ready."
"She'd better," Yang said as she tucked the note away, "or I'm on the next ship to Menagerie."
"I think you might stand out on an island full of faunus," Ren pointed out.
"She'd go in disguise. Duh!" Nora insisted, as if it were the most obvious conclusion on Remnant.
"I doubt they would fall for a cat-ear headband."
"Well of course a cat would be too obvious! I could totally pass her off as a canary faunus, though." Nora shot Yang a thumbs up, wholeheartedly encouraging the island infiltration. Nora began making plans for exactly how she'd fool everyone, which basically came down to sticking a bunch of feathers in Yang's hair. For her part, Yang didn't looked thrilled at the idea of letting Nora mess with her luscious locks. Looks like Operation Canary-Who-Caught-the-Cat is a no-go. A shame, since Lilly would've made sure to help, if only to get photos of the ridiculous getup.
Lilly watched as the room descended into a whimsical debate about making Yang a faunus with a small grin. Her hand slipped over to grab Smit's, only for Pyrrha to give her a sympathetic smile when Lilly darted back. Jaune caught the subtle moment, but rather than be offended at Lilly making a move on his girlfriend, he stood up and walked over to Nora to argue some stupid point, drawing everyone's attention with him as Pyrrha slid closer to Lilly and slipped an arm around her shoulder. Yang was the only one to notice, waggling her eyebrows jokingly before getting pulled into the argument once more.
This feels nice, Lilly thought to herself. And she didn't mean being held by Pyrrha, though the silent support of a friend was more than welcome. She'd spent the last week wallowing alone in her grief. The sadness was still there, but being surrounded by her friends helped distract her if nothing else. It also felt better to be treated as a part of the group, rather than the focus of their pity. As they carried on with the ridiculous game, no one tiptoed around her feelings or treated her any differently.
The room finally calmed down as they exhausted their ideas, which had quickly become more and more ridiculous until the whole thing turned into a joke. The room seemed brighter with all the smiles and easy laughter. Everyone basked in the friendly atmosphere for a moment, happy to finally have a happy moment after their recent struggles.
Sadly, nothing lasted forever.
"So what now?" Honey quietly asked. Smiles faltered as reality crept in once more. "What happens next?"
"I don't know," Jaune admitted as he sat down once more. "I heard Coco's team were considering Shade Academy."
"Already?"
"They've worked hard toward their Huntsmen licenses," Jaune shrugged, reminding them that Team CFVY were further into their schooling than them. "Plus, they had to do something."
"Sounds like some of the local Huntsmen are forming their own hunting parties around Vale," Randi added. "Claim they're accepting Beacon students. Cardinal and Cyan are planning to join."
"What are they planning?"
"Not sure," Randi shrugged in response to Lilly. "Will probably focus on clearing out Grimm around the city, but they might try to reclaim the school if they get enough people. Not much has been said yet."
It sounded like they were bent on revenge against the Grimm – something that appealed to Lilly. It wouldn't be as satisfying as discharging Brevis in Cinder's face, but at least it would give her some sense of purpose. Besides, a Huntsman was meant to defend people. Thinning out the Grimm around Vale while the city recovered was exactly what they'd been trained for. School was nice, but experience was better.
Of course, that still left out the one responsible for their suffering.
"What about Cinder?" The mood of the room darkened at the name. Everyone waited with baited breath for Lilly to continue. "I'm glad people are sticking around to help Vale, and I get the idea of finishing school, but what's being done about her?"
"No one knows where she went," Jaune answered, hinting at having looked into it himself. Apparently, she wasn't the only one interested in seeing her brought to justice. Or killed. I'd be fine with either. Considering Cinder had nearly killed Pyrrha, he likely had an axe to grind with her…or a sword to plunge into her. "Where would we even start?"
"Mistral." Ruby's definitive statement caught them by surprise, mostly from how serious Ruby sounded as she continued. "Uncle Qrow said their trail lead to Mistral."
"Oh yeah," Yang thought aloud, snapping her finger as she connected the dots. "Their team came with Haven, right? That means they had to be enrolled there. Maybe the Headmaster can help us."
"But why would he meet with a bunch of kids?"
"We could pretend to be interested in transferring there," Honey chimed in, providing them a cover to get in. "Sun's team are studying there, too. Maybe he can help us snoop around."
"Wait a minute." Lilly cut off their rapidly forming plan to be the voice of reason. "Are you guys seriously suggesting we travel all the way to Haven on a hunch?"
"If it gives us a shot at Cinder, then absolutely," Jaune stated, making the idea seem more enticing. A chance to get back at that monster? This time, they'd have help, while Cinder would be without her pet wyvern. Plus, if they could get Haven to help, they might be able to take her down before she killed anyone else. It would be incredibly difficult, but that's how every legend started. Someone set out to do the impossible. Why not them?
"What about the rest of you?" Lilly asked, not wanting to drag everyone in.
"Gotta keep an eye on my Rubaby," Yang shrugged. "I'll go where she goes." She knew full well what that meant, effectively signing on to the expedition. "Just…don't let Dad know."
"I wouldn't mind a rematch," Pyrrha answered, a competitive gleam in her eye.
"We'll break her legs!"
"We could assist the villages along the way. I'm sure they'd be happy to provide us food and shelter in return."
With the remaining half of RWBY and all of JNPR on board, Lilly turned to her teammates. She wanted nothing more than to make Cinder pay for what she'd done, but wouldn't force her team to come along against their will. "Well guys, what do you say? Feel like babysitting these troublemakers a little longer?"
"I'll follow your lead," Honey smiled, giving Lilly her vote of confidence. All that remained was Randi.
"If we are planning to chase down Cinder, I think it best everyone know what we're up against," Randi said, staring at Pyrrha. "Cinder is more powerful than you all realize. No one is served charging in blindly." Lilly nodded along, unsure what exactly Randi meant but agreeing that they needed to know more about their enemy. "In the end, I swore to keep Pyrrha safe, so that's what I intend to do."
"Pyrrha?" Lilly knew the two were close friends and all, but to hear Randi put the girl before her team hurt a little. Randi typically had a reason for everything, though. "Why Pyrrha?"
"Because she has something Cinder wants. Well, a little of it, anyway. Don't you?" Pyrrha's face reddened at being called out. "I thought so."
"Wait, what?" Lilly gasped, looking to Pyrrha for proof. "What's Cinder after?"
"The same thing she was after a week ago," Randi answered for her friend. "The same thing she destroyed Beacon for…that Ozpin died trying to protect. Cinder got most of it that night, but thanks to Smit and Ruby, Pyrrha kept the last piece."
"The last piece of what?" Lilly demanded, already annoyed by the cryptic words. "What was so important that she'd do all of this to get her hands on it?"
Pyrrha's eyes darted to each of them, but locked onto Randi as the faunus stared meaningfully across the room. Honey smiled encouragingly, even as Jaune nudged his partner in a show of support. Whatever the horrible secret was, it seemed half the room already knew, leaving the rest of them totally in the dark.
"Ozpin wanted it kept secret," Pyrrha muttered.
"Ozpin was wrong," Randi quickly countered. Lilly wanted to end their little dance and press for answers, but could tell Randi was angling for the same. "He wanted to keep us safe, but it's too late for that. We're in this fight now. If they're gonna go after Cinder, they deserve to know everything. Or, at least, what little Ozpin told us. Don't make the same mistake he did."
Pyrrha hesitated, briefly struggling with the idea of betraying the late Headmaster's wishes, but Lilly knew it was a losing battle. Randi had focused the choice on her friends, something Pyrrha valued above all else. The room waited patiently as the conflicted girl weighed the options before finally giving in.
Pyrrha sat up straight, watching them cautiously as she steadied herself and took a deep breath. With a somewhat resigned smile, she addressed the room.
"What's your favorite fairytale?"
And that's a wrap. Quick, standard AN, then we'll get to the deep reflections.
First of all, the canary faunus reference was from Coeur's "White Sheep" comedy fic. Good story, although I prefer the more serious ones (who could've guessed that?). Also, the "Randi with one eye" joke came from my hilarious wife. Too good not to use.
The quick mention of CRDL staying behind for the new group focused on defending Vale is actually the basic premise for the CRDL-centric fic I've thought about for a while. May pursue that at some point, but haven't really decided yet. Still needs a good main plotline to make it interesting.
Tried to highlight some of the overall changes LHSR made. Even though they didn't get a happy ending, a lot of others did. Yang has both arms. Penny survived. Torchwick is alive and scheming (Neo escaped as a sort of fallback plan to bust him out when needed). Pyrrha's still alive as well, making Arkos fans' dreams come true.
Of course, I'm sure there are some that will want to argue about Pyrrha getting some of the powers, but I've seen good arguments on both sides and chose to give her a portion. Presumably, Honey's initial block in the vault gave her more than she would've gotten in canon, but Cinder already had a good amount and got more by killing Amber. Still more than enough to use the power, but Pyrrha might manifest some abilities later on. Won't be nearly as strong as Cinder's, obviously, but every little bit counts. That does put a bit of a target on Pyrrha's back, though, as Cinder will want the rest of it.
Now for my own reminiscent ramblings. If you're just here for the story, feel free to ignore the rest.
I've always wanted to try writing, but never felt like I was skilled enough. Then, thanks to a review video for RWBY: Grimm Eclipse (good game that I played to death), I started reading RWBY fanfiction. I was hooked almost instantly. More than that, though, I saw intricate stories being designed by normal people, which got me thinking about trying my own. Had already started planning a novel, but wanted to see if I had any potential as an author and came up with a personal challenge: an OC-centric RWBY fanfiction. Figured if I could take one of the most hated-on story types and manage something remotely readable, I could write something good with practice. Thus, the adventure of Team LHSR was born.
I'm notoriously bad at following through on my ideas, so posting a chapter every week was a real challenge, but I stuck with it. Fast forward almost a full year, and what was supposed to be a simple exercise has turned into something very meaningful to me. Not only have I enjoyed writing (something a younger me wouldn't believe), but the entire process has actually helped me a lot. I've learned a lot about myself through my characters (kind of a weird phenomenon). On top of that, all the support I've gotten from my amazing audience (you guys) has really helped me through a rough year.
I do have a few regrets, of course. I wish I'd kept the original outline instead of always saving over it. Would've loved to look back on my old plan and see all the changes. Smit and Lilly weren't meant to be a thing. Randi had no sense of humor, taking everything literally (think Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy). Honey had less involvement. Bianca was some unnamed nobody that never made an appearance. The final product turned out so different, but I definitely like the changes. I also wonder if exploring Randi's ancestry and playing up the Silver Wolf thing could've been a compelling subplot, but I worry it might've distracted too much and made her seem more of a Mary Sue along the way - something I have been terrified of since the start.
I have something to say about foreshadowing. I've dabbled in that a bit in my writing, most notably with Honey's issues early on, but there's one I doubt anyone picked up on and just have to point out. Many of you probably noticed the death flags for Smit near the end, but he's always been marked for death thanks to his name. In addition to being the past tense of smite, his name in Hindi can mean "wood used to feed fire during ritual." Was halfway tempted to have Cinder burn him to death, but felt the meaning was good enough with his death. Very subtle hint, as Smit is more commonly associated with Smith, but Lilly added to the fun. Flowers have meanings, after all. White lilies are often associated with death and funerals, particularly for innocent souls. Basically, their names were meant to hint at Smit dying and Lilly having to deal with the loss as leader, and later on, as the romantic interest. Doubted anyone would catch it, but it was fun for me to dangle that in front of everyone along the way. Just another way I entertained myself.
Again, I've really enjoyed writing this and all the support you guys gave. I feel like my writing improved dramatically from the start. I'm looking forward to writing my novel sometime soon (hopefully), but will always treasure Team LHSR. I hope to have them make another appearance in the still-unnamed humor fic in which Randi and Honey start a Beacon matchmaking service. It'll be pure comedy, sorta like the Chibi episodes for RWBY (which I wish there were more of). Don't have any idea how long that will run, but hope to post the first chapter on Valentine's Day next year. Will also be looking for suggestions of potential pairings for the two to arrange, so feel free to come up with some ideas. Not saying I'll use them all, but some might get featured. After that, I don't know what I'll do, but I have a feeling that won't be the last you see of me on this site. Have a couple basic ideas already, but will wait for inspiration to strike before I really pursue one.
Thank you all again for putting up with the craziness of my writing. I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did. Would love to hear final thoughts from all of you as well. I still go back and read your reviews and messages from time to time, especially the ones talking about the more emotional chapters. Those were both the hardest and most satisfying to write, and hearing that it actually impacted people still shocks me. Now, excuse me while I go mark this story as Complete and bid a fond farewell to my children...I mean, characters.