The head of Salem rolled across the ground, red eyes staring up in mute and unseeing horror. Pale locks fell over her face as her body crumbled like thrown sheets. For the briefest of moments, it hung like that.

Then with a mighty crash, the shadows fell with her. Toppling over their own weight, hitting the ruined the dirt with so much force that it shook the forests from the Everfall to the Emerald Woods. It rocked and boomed in their collective heads, forcing more than a few of them to scream. Then clung to one another, bearing the weight of the darkness falling once again.

But no matter how much of the weight of creation fell on them now, they did not disappear. And soon, the rest of the waves fell to nothing. It left only a large open sky, barren of even a cloud, and not even the ruins of a city around them. Nothing but tilled soil, carved chasms, and the rot that followed.

For a moment it hung there, and Ruby stood tall, staring at the fallen head of her Grandmother.

Into red eyes, silver stared. Until the head of that once great goddess turned to Dust. Her body went with it.

"W-watch out now!" Blake yelled out. "She'll pop out of these shadows! We gotta-"

"No, she won't." Ren's words echoed across the dead land. "She's gone."

"We destroyed chunks of her body before! She'll just-"

"I can see it, Blake. I can see the Truth." The purple monocle stared forward at the same patch of ground Ruby did. "She's truly gone. There is nothing left of her."

"She but… she… how?" Raven's words weren't acknowledged. "What happened? How did it happen!? She had… she had all of the relics, all of them! She was… she was…"

"Careless, maybe. Prideful, I do not know." Ren fell back with his words. Nora was beside him, arms wrapped around him. "I only know the truth. And that is that she is dead."

That was it.

Ruby hoped to hear fanfare, to hear a cheer, to have someone, anyone come out and congratulate them for it. She wanted to hear it all, but she heard nothing but silence. And the little that broke up that solemn void, coughs, groans, hiccups, and moans.

It didn't sit right with Ruby. It was just… she didn't know… too quick? Too easy? No, it wasn't either of those. Easy tasks didn't require watching your parents die. It wasn't quick to fight over the course of day and ruin an entire city. It was just the final blow, and one that had the path lain out for her, too neatly and too easily to ignore.

She had taken it, and now, she was left wondering what was next.

'What now? What now?' Silver eyes shut as she repeated the mantra in her mind. 'What do I do now?' Her Grandpa didn't answer. He wasn't here anymore.

Even his memories were destroyed by Salem. Him… and her dad. Like her mom. Like her real grandpa. All of them… all of them gone.

And she'd taken the one who'd taken them. They were still gone.

It was all gone.

"Rubes… Hey Rubes…" The soft voice of Yang called her. She didn't look at her sister. "Hey… c'm here sis." The blonde drew Ruby into a tight hug. It was arm, hot even, and Ruby was powerless against it. Limbs burning, eyes on fire, and heart cold. Not even the soft methodic rubbing of her back eased her mind. "It's over… it's all over."

"It's over…" Ozpin let out. "I… I can't believe it." Ruby didn't look at him. She kept her eyes shut. "All this time, all these years, and it's finally… It's finally over." He made some wet chocking sound, and Ruby didn't care. It was all over, because it was all gone.

Destroyed even. Crescent Rose shook in her hand. Silver eyes drifted to her blade she wanted so badly to hold, embedded in the ground. The only thing shining in the field of nothing. The Master Sword, lavender hilt like a tombstone to Salem, and glowing faintly.

Fi rose from it, opaque and ringing. All eyes were on her.

"I apologize for not presenting myself soon. I have confirmed that the ethereal presence of the Fierce Deity and Salem have been taken from this world." The words were a hollow nothing to her. "Ruby Rose, my primary mission assigned from Time herself has been accomplished. I offer you my thanks in achieving a statistical impossibility." The blue spirit bowed deeply in the air, voice ringing. "I am not meant to guide you in the second task assigned to me."

"What… what's that?" Yang held her tighter. "You gotta be straight with us."

"I have no intention of diverting in my purpose. I never did for my primary objective either." Her body still faintly glowed. "My duty was to rid the world of taint of Demise. With the death of Salem by the hands of Ruby Rose, Child of the Hero, this has been accomplished. I may instruct her as my final task."

"Final task?" It was Blake asking. "How do you know it's final? Salem was rather open about cycles."

"Because it is a command from the divine Goddesses. Following this final act, my purpose will be fulfilled, and I will return to the side of Time."

"Return? As in-"

"My spirit will cease to inhabit the Master Sword, and I will once more join the Fairy Realm."

Ruby pushed her head deeper into Yang's chest. Her sister hissed as she pulled her tighter.

"You know, I didn't think I was about to scold a dying person with tact. But here I am, getting ready to tell you that we've lost enough people today!"

"You are incorrect, Yang Xiao-Long." Ruby flinched. "You have lost too many, and that is not enough. It is an unacceptable amount. It is why I can only offer my sympathies with my thanks, for despite the cruelty of the lives you have lost, it does not strengthen my tether to this blade. I was made to clean the taint of Demise. Through the efforts of the Fierce Deity, the Hero of Time, Tai Xiao-Long, and Ruby Rose, I have done so." Ruby hated her deed more and more.

"But… you can't go. Not yet. It's not time. There has… there has to be something else done."

"You are correct, Penny Polendina. However, there is a 99% chance you are referring to burial ceremonies or entombments. I am deserving of neither, as I am not dying." Ruby twisted her head against Yang's chest, staring at the glowing spirit.

It was plain as the empty void around them that she was smiling.

"I am returning to when I came. I therefore am not in need of ceremonies, but I would enjoy farewells." Ruby swallowed on nothing. "Ruby Rose. I have need of you to complete my final task." Yang pulled her close.

"She's done enough."

"She has done far more than can be accurately quantified, but I am still in need of her." Fi's voice rang above the barren land. "For as the one who slew Salem, and while she was in possession of the Triforce and force of Destruction, in conjunction with the demise of Master Link and Tai Xiao-Long, she now is the sole recipient of the Golden Power."

Past the reminder that her grandpa was dead, after the reminder that her dad was dead, Ruby heard what Fi was talking about. It was enough to force a wet horse sound from her throat.

"... W-What?"

"The Golden... You mean those Triforce pieces?" Pyrrha sounded mad.

"Correct. Ruby Rose is now the owner of the Triforce."

Bad thoughts ran through her had. Watching what the Triforce did, remembering what Ganondorf was able to do with one, seeing how Grandpa was cursed with living through time with another, watching Zelda turn into Salem because of another, and then the war that tore through the Vale and sky above for it... and she was going to hold that power.

"I-I don't want it."

"It is not a matter of want, Ruby Rose. They are yours by right of birth and possession."

"I said I don't want them."

"Then let's get rid of them. We can do that, right?"

"No, I don't believe we can." She recognized Headmaster Ozpin speaking. "I tried to rid myself of the four relics when they were first bequeathed to me, and all I was able to do was figure out the depths of their power. I chose instead to hide them in pockets of time and space, all to keep them from interacting with one another. I am terrified to think that it was a part of that which led to this."

"The war for the Triforce has been a constant war for ad Infinium. It is not necessary nor appropriate for you to hold significant guilt for the battles as Ozpin." The sword spirit leaned down as she spoke on. "As the hero you would have once become, your role then was a defender. This being conversed upon, your statement regarding the immutability of the Triforce is 100% correct. The relics of the Goddesses cannot be destroyed."

"Throw them away then. We don't need them."

"Your statement requires context, Blake Belladonna. In relation towards your immediate survival, you are correct. In relation towards the future prosperity of the chosen races, you are incorrect. But this is not the reason why I am bringing forth the Triforce pieces now. Ruby Rose." She flinched at her name but twisted her gaze to stare at the opaque eyes of the spirit. "As one not of the goddesses, and one who now possesses that power, it is for you to decide on how to use them."

"I'll say it again, throw them away."

"I agree." Neptune put up. "Just… throw them into the ocean or something."

"Space… jettison." Raven let out weakly, Ruby heard Ozpin adjust her. "Far from here… farther…"

"Mom's right for once. Wish them away." Yang pulled Ruby tighter against her. "They don't belong here."

"A wish made involving the removal or departure of the Triforce is unnecessary. Following a wish made upon the Triforce, they will separate and return to the Sacred Realm."

"Then wish them back to the Sacred Realm! If you send them there, they aren't coming back, right?"

"In correct. So long as there exists a need for them, the Triforce will manifest again within this world. By dictation of the Three Goddesses."

"Three… what now? I-I think I'm missing something." Ruby wasn't.

"Din, Farore, Nayru. The three goddess Grandpa and Salem made."

"Correction, young Ruby Rose, The Fierce Deity and Hylia. They were fashioned before Hylia fell." It didn't matter. "But they are the ones who will answer your wish. And if no wish is made, they will wait with Time until one is."

"It's still an option to wish them, permanently away, right?"

"That would be unwise." Ozpin finally spoke up. "At this moment… I think it would be best to wish for what we lost. The city, the land-"

"People," Pyrrha finished. "W-Wait, I'm sorry, but can you wish people back?!"

"The Triforce is capable of resuscitation life, with new body as well."

Ruby twisted out of Yang's arms, staring at Fi. The blue spirit continued to smile.

"If that is what you wish, the Goddesses will be able to grant it."

"Wait, wait, wait, stop, stop." Ruby didn't look at Russel as he walked up. "Specifics. You gotta give them. Are you saying, like, one person can come back, or can she wish back the city of people? Is there a limit to this thing, because after what that crazy goddess woman did for it, I better hear a no."

"The Triforce possesses the distilled essence of creation. It is capable of recreating over 99.99% of what exists, or previously existed, within Salem's creation. In summarized words, it may recreate the city, Russel Thrush." He snapped his fingers.

"Then that. Do that."

"H-Hold on, we can't rush it." Neptune was waving his hands. "Wouldn't that mean bringing back a bunch of bad people too? And monsters? And like, Salem?"

"Then phrase it differently!" The boy shouted back. "But we have the literal key to bringing everyone back, and now that we know how to use it, we are not going to waste it!"

"I agree with Friend Russel."

"Penny?"

"If the wish posed by Friend Ruby Rose is sufficiently capable of resurrecting Cardin… I believe that it is a worthy risk." The android stared at her fellow non-human. "I am willing to accept any necessary risks to see him returned."

"And that means Jaune, too right? I-If we say everyone in the city or… or everyone who died because of Salem's attack! Please! You can wish for that." Pyrrha was standing next to her, but Ruby didn't glance at her. She was still staring at FI.

"You must wish for it." Not even Winter as she stood opposite. "That would include the General and Weiss. Wishing for their return will turn this from a heavy loss to a momentous victory. The coals of the battle could be used to relight the land we… we could have burned the enemy's plans to cinders, and waste not a lick of heat."

They spoke about everyone they could bring back, and Ruby could see them all. Standing back up, shaking heads, looking for them, teary reunions, laughing, joy. It was all there. Weiss, her dad, her grandpa… maybe both of them.

"Fi." She stared, slowly. She stopped when a hand fell on her shoulder.

"Ruby, you don't have to do it."

"It must be Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao-Long."

"I know that, but she doesn't have to wish for anything." The hand on her shoulder was hot. "You might not get it in a cold sword, but we just got a lot. Way more than normal."

"It'll be back in a second, once she wishes for it."

"Then give her a second to catch her breath!" Yang barked back at Russel Ruby felt the flame flow out of her words. The boy jumped back. "We all need to we… we just need to focus, alright?"

"Yang's right." Blake spoke, and Ruby saw her stepping next to her sister. "If we make a rash decision now, it could make this worse. With how much time Salem planned for this, we can't assume she didn't consider what a wish from someone else might do."

"What, like she's going to magically come back the moment we make a wish?" Hearing Nora speak critically was odd.

"No," Blake admitted. "As in she may corrupt who we bring back. Ganondorf was a man who hated the hatred put in him, and I can't imagine that everyone we bring back will be immune from that same hate." The idea made Ruby's gut twist, remembering the man being bifurcated by her real Grandpa. "And if she returns again… then we really will have no means to stop her."

"Fear of what could be cannot stop us from what is." Winter stood tall again. "Ozpin, speak sense to them. Remind them that the fires of war have taken all from us, tell them of how impossible it is to return what has been used as kindling!"

"It is impossible…" the admittance was slow. "But if it is now… then Salem returning is also possible. So we do have to be careful, because we can not risk her coming back."

"No matter what we risk it! She was just going on and on about how she'll always be back!" Neptune was at it now. "If she's going to be back no matter what, then we have to wish for everyone else to come back, too. That's only fair!"

"What is fair and just doesn't matter. All that matters now is what is correct. A correct decision very rarely balances scales." It was silent for a moment, and Ruby turned her silver gaze towards him. The headmaster was already looking down at her. "Ruby Rose, you are the only one who can wish upon the Triforce. I beg of you, as a broken man, to make your decision with peace on your mind, and not vengeance in your heart."

"Which just means to wish for life! That's not asking for revenge, that's wishing for anti-revenge!" Russel threw out. "Ruby, please. I'm not gonna give a sob story, just wish for them back. You can do it!"

"I concur with Friend Russel Thrush. Friend Ruby Rose, it would be the… most stupendous option to do so. I can say with… with 99.9% accuracy that everyone will be satisfied if you wish for it." She covered her mouth as a small gasp for air came out.

"Please Ruby."

"Ruby, you can do it."

"For all of them, you can do it Ruby."

Her eyes shut, hands clenching as she listened to them. She listened, and she knew, and she wanted the same thing. She knew what she wanted she just… she just needed to think.

"Ruby Rose, child of the Goddess, are you ready to make your wish?" Her head shook, eyes still shut. "Then reach out your hand and call forth the Golden Power." Ruby put her hand out, looking up to see if anything would change.

Surprisingly, it had. She knew that the golden triangles on the back of her hand were new.

"Rubes, is that-" something stopped her sister, but Ruby didn't see what. She didn't look, night right now. She had to focus. She had to… to think.

"Gol… I call forth the Golden Power." The words came out without emotion, like she was reading off paper. She swallowed on nothing and tried again. "I'm Ruby Rose and I want to make a wish on the Golden Power!" Her shouts did more.

Making her hand shine gold. She had enough time to blink as it took over her, swallowing her whole.

When the gasp broke, she was staring into a world of light, and standing on shifting clouds.

"W-Whoa…" she breathlessly let out, shifting about and near falling to her butt. She looked back to see why her sister wasn't holding her up, only to see Yang wasn't behind her. No one was. "Yang? Blake? A-Anyone?" Her voice echoed in the expanse, even as boots stepped soundlessly on the clouds. "Fi? Hello?"

Silver eyes looked about her for a clue to where she was, but she found nothing. It felt like she was standing in the sky, and there wasn't a piece of Remnant beneath her. Her eyes shook, looking for anything to latch onto, wondering if she was about to fall at any moment.

"Hello? Hello!?" She yelled out, only to hear her own voice yelling back to her. The girl was sure something had gone wrong now. Was this the gift of the Triforce? Did it grant some wish for hers that she hadn't' even thought of? "Where am I?" She nearly fell to her knees.

"The Sacred Realm." The sudden voice made her jump instead. "We have been waiting for you."

Fast as her rose petals, Ruby turned. There stood three women, taller than she was by several heads, and all looking down at her.

She'd never met them before, she'd never seen them before, and honestly, she was about to debate if anyone in Remnant had ever even heard of them before. Simply, there was no way for Ruby to know exactly who they were. And yet, she had no confusion about them at all.

"Nayru." She spoke towards a woman in a blue robe, holding a harp in the crux of her arm. The tall woman smiled with fluid motions, nodding her head to make blue hair wave like dripping water.

"Din." The Amazonian woman grinned almost ferally at her name, the few strips of red she wore failing to hide her toned dark skin. She slammed a rod down in agreement, making the clouds beneath them shake, like she was holding back her own laughter.

"Farore." The last of the three grinned like a child, even as she stood taller than any normal adult Ruby had met. Green hair bounced with her frilly dress, and she spun the book in her hands like it was a top.

Ruby was sure she had never met them. But she knew where she knew them from.

"Grandpa told me about you… how he made you."

"That's not totally right." Din replied first, pointing at her. "He only sort of made us. More like… he showed us the world Hylia made and had us learning to love it too. He did leave us with all the responsibility though, so I guess he made that for us."

"The actions of our progenitor led us to carry this role," Nayru corrected. "The Fierce Deity only demonstrated the worth of the thrones we rest on."

"A and B, one and two, both come out to be the same thing." The red-haired woman waved off, making her long ponytail bounce. "Point is, we didn't come about from his design. More like what he showed and taught us."

"And what we wanted to learn," Farore stepped forward. "He never pushed us to learn anything. And he was always asking us to learn with him. He did not create the world, but he wanted us to experience. And I know you loved watching them fight." Her finger pushed at Din, making the red-haired goddess grin.

"Like you didn't. How many heroes have you fallen in love with?"

"All of them!" The green goddess giggled. "Because they always chose and do the impossible. It's why they're so amazing." Green eyes turned back to Ruby, making the girl shrink. "It makes moments like these worth the eons of waiting."

"Eons for us, but a rushed moment for her. Please relax, you two." Nayru stepped forward, lowering herself to one knee. She was at eye level with Ruby, and it reminded her too quickly of her real Grandpa. Except for the eyes. They were kind, patient, like a calm ocean. "And it is rude to speak of a guest as though her presence is far from here. Isn't it, young Ruby Rose?"

The girl took in a slow breath of air, staring at the woman, the goddess, in front of her. She memorized every detail she could about her.

"Think you broke her sis, like the last kid you jumped in front of."

"Nothing is broken, Din. She is adjusting to the sight. She knows who we are, don't you?"

"I do," Ruby replied. Her voice was low. She took another breath, earning a laugh from the staff holding red head. "You are... my aunts."

The chuckle turned into a roar of laughter. The blue goddess blinked at the word.

"Aunts... siblings of a parent. Forgive me, but I don't... ah," Nayru stopped herself as she held up a finger. "You see us akin to your mother, don't you?"

"I do, b-because you are," Ruby nodded quickly. "Grandpa was the one who helped Hylia with making you, a-and he was my mom's dad. So that means you're my aunts. Or step-aunts, maybe like that. Because I mean you aren't blood related, if my mom was the first things my real Grandpa made, and-"

"Gonna have to stop you there. We're not your aunts." Din held up her hand, only to have it beaten away by Farore.

"Don't go saying that, and don't listen to her!" The emerald goddess turned with a bright smile. Not just kindness, but love, filled it. "I've been following heroes for so long and this is the first time I can say one of them is related to us, to me!" Ruby watched her nearly run up towards her. She knew nothing was wrong, because she didn't feel anything was wrong.

That was why she let out a quick cry of surprise when Farore lifted her into the air, laughing with hands tucked under her shoulders.

"My niece! I love it! I was always closest to him, and I even called him dad a lot! That would make you my niece!"

"You did not, and it would not."

"Of course I did! Just cause you can't remember," Farore let out at Nayru, before quickly turning towards Ruby, holding the girl like a precious doll in the air. "And making me an aunt! Even if it's a step-aunt, that sounds amazing! Can you call me Aunt Farore? Please?"

The importance of a goddess asking for a favor, with the word please, was not lost on Ruby.

"A-Aunt Farore?" This time Ruby felt a sense of danger. Her hands flew to her ears.

"EEEEEEEEEE!" She protected her ears, but there was no way for her to stop the hug that surrounded her. "Oh how wonderfully precious! I can't believe it! All these years watching and waiting, and we're rewarded with a little girl who calls us aunts!"

"You, Farore, not me." Din stood next to her, and Ruby had to look up past Farore's chest to see the bronzed woman grinning wolfishly down at her. "Doesn't mean I'm about to forget where she comes from though."

"None of us will, which is why I beg you to release her, Farore. She can hardly be expected to converse against your bosom." The goddess holding her made a sound, and Ruby found herself being held out again. The emerald goddess bit her lip as she blinked at her.

"Sorry, guess I kind of acted on instinct there. Following Link and heroes for too long, did what was natural." The girl settled on her feet, staring up at the trio of goddesses again. "But still, thank you for calling me Aunt. I really appreciate it." Ruby could only nod her head.

"Before another thoughts takes a hold of your faculties then. Ruby Rose, we are all glad to see you are the one to come here." She looked at the goddess, her robe still flowing down her like water. "Time may have had many others, but you have been the favored to see us."

"It was between you, Ozma, or Jaune Arc, in case you're wondering." Ruby looked at Farore.

"Jaune? Jaune could have been here?"

"Yes, with his will and desire to be a hero. And, though it be generations later, being among the forefathers of the first Link." Ruby's mind felt rattled for a moment.

She knew they looked alike. She knew it. Jaune was like the great-great-grandpa to another Link like her Grandpa... which meant another person Ozpin would take over... but now...

Jaune was dead, Weiss was dead, Grandpa was dead, so many others were dead. Her head shook, rattling pieces back into place.

"But what does that mean now?" Ruby asked them, silver eyes looking between blue, red, and green. "Salem, she-"

"Slew thousands in a second, and millions more before." Nayru answered, smile and cheer gone. "Our mother, true mother, fallen to darkness by the allure of creation. A thirst to undo what has been wrought, a without a means to quench her inclination, dragged all others down with her."

"Don't sugar coat it. She went crazy because the Fierce Deity wouldn't kill for her." Din let out simply. "And now, we have this girl to thank for finally ending it. Guess it makes sense that the one thing he'd make is someone who loves like he does."

The words hurt more than Ruby thought they would. She didn't think it was possible to feel hurt like that.

"But the nightmare she fashioned to ruin her own world has been dispelled. Through your courage, through your will, and your desires, Ruby Rose, you freed not only a fallen Goddess, but also many others beneath her thumb. You did well." Her hand was heavy on Ruby's shoulders. Their grins, their eyes, were just as weighty.

She looked about them, knowing what was happening, thanked by literal goddesses, and knew that something wasn't being said.

"It's not permanent, is it?" Their grins shifted. "Salem she... she kept talking about it. Cycles will repeat, this will go on. She made it clear that even if she did die... she was still going to win." She looked at Aunt Farore. "It's because... Grandpa can't come back, can he?"

She bit her lip and looked down, far beneath Ruby. She could hear the fingers clench against Din's staff.

"You are correct," Nayru admitted to her. "Hylia, corrupt or not, is a part of her creation. So long as it exists, her will shall be drawn forth again. A different body, a different time, but she will return. Nothing remains to draw out the Fierce Deity. He is no more, as creation has swallowed him." Nothing... that stung even worse.

"It's okay to cry. You can cry." Farore was tempting her, a giant hand, thin for her size, gently rocking her. Ruby pushed it away. She couldn't cry yet.

"No I... I'm here because of him. I'm here because I have a wish, right?" They all looked at her. "Fi told me that I can use the Triforce for a wish. I can use it."

"You can, and all that it is capable of." The Goddess of Wisdom assured. "Be it the coagulation of fate to fashion new forms for the lost, a ripping tide that will submerge the world, or even something as simple as laughter from heaven. You can wish for any of it, all of it, and it will be yours."

"But what... what should I wish for?" Obvious thoughts flooded her head. "Should I wish for it just because I thought of it?"

"We cannot tell you. Otherwise, you are not granting a wish, but are merely a vessel for our own desires. It would do no favors or honor to the burdens you have endured to speak to you in such a way." That sounded too simple.

"She's right," but Farore agreed. "It's why we can't tell you. If we told you what you should do, you'd just trust us, and then you're doing what we want, not what you want." She put her hands to her forehead. "Agh, my first time being asked something as an aunt, and I can't do it~."

"Stop being an aunt and be a goddess," Din cajoled her. "And you don't need us to tell you what you want. We heard you talking to your friends before. You know what you want." Ruby wasn't surprised to hear it. Of course they knew.

"I do but... is it right?" Her eyes fell from the goddesses to the clouds they stood on. "Everyone that died... and I couldn't save them. If I just wish them back... would that make it right?"

"You're worried they'll be mad at you? I don't follow all you guys down there, but I'll at least tell you no one's gonna be mad about being wished back to life."

"Those are not the meaning of her fears and trepidation, Din. This young girl, you are the child of the Fierce Deity, but you are also born of Creation. That cannot be forgotten." Nayru knelt once more, her blue robe following her. "And that is why you asked us what we would do, for we are made of Creation as well."

"Oh? So she's smarter than she looks? Heh, she was always a bit too fast for me to focus on much else."

"I am not saying that we may answer your question now, but you understand where your thoughts are birthed from. That is good, and it will lead you on a better course than those who follow blindly the words and tales of others. You must think Ruby Rose. Think of what you should wish for."

"I-I did, with everyone else, but... but I feel like... more people would be mad if I did that."

"I told you, no one's gonna be mad if-"

"Not now, then." Ruby swallowed when the goddess's red eyes bore down on her. "They'll be mad... and blame me, and m-maybe even die if... if I wish for people to be alive now." The bronzed goddess blinked at her but turned a wiry gaze at Farore when she started to giggle.

"That's two~. Twice someone else has made you realize you're wrong~." Din may have told the emerald goddess to be quiet, but Ruby didn't hear it, not fully at least. "But that's why I like my niece so much. She really is a hero, thinking about people she's never gonna meet even."

"I'm not a hero." Ruby knew that was true. "Fi told me I wasn't."

"Not before you had to watch your family suffer." Nayru interjected. "Not before you put your life on the line to save the world. Not before you bore the weight of the future on your shoulders and carried it before us. You were not a hero a few scant hours ago. But now, you alone hold that title."

"And we are the goddesses, only ones left, too! So what we say goes. Nayru's the smartest here, so if she says you're a hero, then you're a hero! My heroic little niece!" Farore sounded jovial at the declaration, but Ruby couldn't accept it. Her hand balled at her chest, clenching the fabric.

She did not feel like a hero.

"You are a hero, Ruby." Nayru spoke to her, voice a gentle rumble. "And now, I may say so no different than your grandfather."

"What?"

"She means Link didn't think he was much of a hero either," Din spoke with a crack of her neck. "Everyone called him a hero, because he was one. Everyone looked up to him, because they knew he'd risk neck and life to save them, but he never called himself a hero. Everyone else did. He was never anything else but Link, and eventually dad. Hero, that wasn't what he called himself. Too proud or stubborn, he wouldn't have it."

"Humble. Link was humble," Farore corrected. "Just like our niece! Well, my niece, if you both won't have her. But she is." Her green eyes were still shining. "Maybe more depressed than much else now... but still humble. But that's... not the point, is it Nayru?"

"It isn't." The goddess agreed. "What is at the forefront now is what must be done. Ruby Rose, we cannot tell you what to do, and only the barest of questions can we answer. You are the one who feed our mother. You are the one who carries the title of hero. You have courage deep within you, but you are not blind to the wisdom of it. Reckless you may pretend to be, others know your worthiness as leader."

Ozpin was in her mind, and her dad, and Blake, and Yang, and Weiss, and Jaune.

"A memory of those who supported a claim to lead and boasted honestly about you. A brave girl, a wise child, and a hero no longer in the making." Ruby hated it. She hated it. "You must choose now what you wish for. Speak it, and we will make it so."

"Th-That's it?" Ruby shook her head. "I-I just... I just tell you and that's it?"

"You don't think you've done enough already? You were right, Farore. She is humble."

"No! I mean... I-I just have to talk and then... and then whatever I want's gonna happen?" Tears stained her silver eyes. "What if what I want... isn't what I wish for?"

"Then what you wish for will be, and you will carry the regret of your silence for the remainder of your days." Nayru's calm voice belittled the harshness of her words.

Farore shoving her sister, made up for it.

"Don't talk to her like that!" The emerald goddess let out at her blue sibling. "Sure, she might regret it, but it's not gonna last a lifetime." She looked down at Ruby, and that was when the girl realized it. The goddess was crying to.

She didn't know if that was good or bad, making a goddess cry.

"You know Link regretted a lot as well, choosing do a lot of things he didn't want to. But he didn't regret it forever. You won't either. No matter what you wish for, I know you're gonna move past what you didn't wish for eventually. I don't have to be a Goddess of Wisdom to know that."

"But it would help."

"Shut up Din."

"I'm just saying the truth."

"As you would construct a fire with dragon's breath," Nayru chastised. "But Farore is correct. As am I. The guilt, the anguish, the sense of wrongness you feel upon your decision will be there. There is no one wish to make all happy. There never has been nor will be. But in Time, in her motion, you will come to accept what you choose, and you will know it was just."

"H-How… how will I know that." She smiled at Ruby, but so did the others. Din, and Farore, grinning as only goddesses could down at her.

"Because you the child of the Fierce Deity, the child of Link, and the child of our mother. You are the summation of forces divine and mortal, and one who worked for a future you fought for. Brave, courageous, strong, and wise." Her hand brushed Ruby's hair, tucking it behind her ear. "You are strong, in ways very few others ever could be."

"A-And that's… good enough?"

"Enough? It's the best. There's nothing higher." Din lifted and dropped her staff. The clouds beneath them rumbled. "It gives you a lot to hold onto, but it gives you even more to be proud of. Gotta hold onto that pride, hold it high, and keep it protected. It's what so many others give up."

"But that doesn't mean to be selfish. You are too courageous for that. Your aunt knows, all the best heroes were selfless. And you're walking in the same forest as them!" She looked like she wanted to jump. "Being brave means letting your fear go. Feeling it, recognizing it, but then acting against it."

"The fear is the first instinct of wisdom, and the reminder to ponder your choice well. And you, Ruby Rose, have shown to be capable of just that. Thought on how to fight against the Fallen Gerudo King, on how to assist Link when he was trapped in the forest, in looking to save your grandfather when you knew not even his name, and of course, for ending the threat of our mother. You have the qualities to make this wish."

They were goddesses giving her a pep talk, and Ruby still didn't feel convinced.

She stared at the shifting clouds beneath her, at the twinkling stars past the trio's heads. Silver eyes looked about them, throat rumbling too much to force out a syllable, let alone a word. Din was lifting a brow at her, Nayru staring patiently, and Farore… expectedly.

"You know what to wish for. You do." The emerald goddess encouraged. "It will work out. You know it will."

"B-But I don't I… I-I'm not my dad o-o-or Grandpa or-"

"No, you're you. And it's because you're not them that you can make the wish." Din corrected. "Only reason why you're thinking on this is cause you've got two options in your head, and you know what's the right one. Thing is, everyone else would've made the second choice. You know better. It's probably why you're the one who's here." Din grinned up at something Ruby couldn't see. "It's why we can't tell you what to wish for."

"One of many reasons, but Din is correct. But no matter how well we know of the proper wish, and you as well, we cannot act on it until you speak." The large hand of the Goddess of Wisdom was upon her again. "Speak, Ruby Rose, and decide upon the path Time will march."

"But no pressure!" Farore threw in, almost literally. "Really, none! No matter what, it will be a decision, you're decision. That's why it'll be a good one."

"J-Just because of me?"

"Yes, because of you." The emerald goddess was kneeling in front of her, too. Kneeling and bowing so she had to look up at Ruby. "All because of you. We can't emphasize anymore about how strong and courageous and wise you are, but it's more than that. You're also divine." Her hands nearly swallowed Ruby's arms as she grabbed them. "My niece knows best what has to be done, and I know she's strong enough to do it."

"I don't know… if I am…" Ruby felt her arms weaken in Farore's hands. "I'm just… good at running away. I wasn't strong enough for so much a-and so many died."

"Ruby, you shouldn't think what they want, but what they need." Now Din was kneeling, but she was still tall enough for Ruby to look up. "That never goes far enough. They don't need comfort, they need trials. They don't eternal peace, they need eternal strength. You can't listen to what they want, because you know, you know, it's not what they need."

"But-"

"But nothing. They're not the one who slew the greatest evil in creation, and they didn't talk to the god who helped keep it under control. They don't know. You do." Her finger tapped Ruby's chest. She did her best to not fall over.

"Be intelligent, Ruby Rose."

"Be strong, kid."

"Be brave, Ruby."

"And make your wish." The goddesses all spoke as one.

The sky rumbling beneath her, the words of the trio of goddesses echoing in her head, and the reminders of what was lost at the forefront of her mind, Ruby did know what had to be done. Tears fell from her silver eyes as she thought of it.

They didn't stop as she said it.

"Where'd she go? Where did she go!?"

"I have told you, Yang Xia-Long, Ruby Rose is within the Sacred Realm conversing with the Goddesses. When the wish has been made, she will be returned."

"How do you know she's coming back. You're not coming back, are you!?"

"I will not be, or there is a 99.99999% chance I am not. Ruby Rose, however, is not a spirit of the Sacred Realm, and will be returned to Remnant when the power of the Triforce has been exerted."

"How do you know that?!"

"Because she's the only one who can, Yang. She even said it's one of the reasons she's here." Blake pulled on the blonde's shoulder. She didn't blink when red flaming eyes looked at her, not when hers already glowed. "So please calm down. You're making the rest of anxious."

"Not anxious, furious." Winter corrected with another gout of fire. "All that has been lost and burnt to ashes and cinders, left in the hands of a meek girl to reforge."

"That meek girl just killed the single most powerful threat that has ever existed, and very likely ever will exist." The stern voice of Ozpin echoed over the dead land. "I have confidence in her. Enough to temper my patience."

"You want me to douse my flames?"

"Reduce the kindling if you can." He replied to her fluidly, earning a flick of the woman's tongue. It was long and serpentine. The exchanges were watched by others present.

"You think she's gonna be back soon? You think she'll wanna come back?" Russel asked, sitting cross-legged on the ground. "Go to some place called the Sacred Realm and I might not want to come back."

"Why does the denotation of Sacred make the proposed location Friend Ruby Rose is at more preferrable?"

"Cause I've been shown the light, and I'll grab onto something sacred." He fell back into the charred dirt. "Better than staring at a ruined land and dead sky."

"Can't say you're wrong. Anywhere is better than here." Neptune balanced on his polearm next to them. "Like waiting for a gunshot right now. Can't even hear the wind."

"Ain't that a disturbing thing?"

"Given the lack of obstructions around us and proximity to the shoreline, a lack of differencing barometric pressures is statistically unlikely. However, it is not significant enough to be considered disturbing, not when compared to historical events through the CCTV." Neptune looked at the girl.

"Wait, you still got connections to that thing?"

"I have latent information downloaded to my solid drive. This decreases latency issue."

"I… don't even have the time to go over the drawbacks of that. Like, doesn't that mean you're going to limit the amount of extra information you can save? Won't you literally run out of room for memories and stuff like that? It would also mean more up-tick time for actually being able to-"

"I thought you didn't have the time for all of it."

"Yeah, because I figured any second now Ruby was gonna be walking back with everyone else in tow. Or they'd start popping up over this place… or something like that, I don't know."

"Kinda hard to judge what will happen. Ruby is gonna bring them, back right? Asking you Penny. She and I didn't exactly talk a lot."

"I have great confidence that Friend Ruby Rose will revive Cardin." Neptune let the beat hit before he stared at her with a question.

"… and everyone else?"

"Absolutely, and all others that were killed by Dark Goddess Salem."

"Just making sure. Just… gotta make sure."

They spoke without looking at one another, staring at the spirit who floated above the Master Sword, waiting for a girl in red to reappear. They were occupying the time with watching the Headmaster treat Raven, lying on the ground like a burnt doll, and a pair of their friends glowing with power, arguing with a literal dragon of a woman.

They weren't alone in that regard.

"You think Jaune-Jaune's going to be back soon? He will be, right?"

"There is a good chance, if what Fi said about the Triforce holds."

"But it has to, because she said it does. So then there's no reason he shouldn't be back, which just means that Ruby is taking her time making him come back. You think she's talking to him?"

"I… don't believe so, but I honestly don't know." Nora looked up at her friend.

"You don't know? But Renny, you know everything!"

"I believe if the past few months have taught me anything, it is how little I know. Very very little I know." The boy cupped his forehead. "And to your point, I don't know because if Ruby is talking to the Goddesses, I can't say if Jaune is there or not."

"There's nowhere else he could be." Pyrrha responded without a turn of her head. "He's there or he's not gone. One of the two."

"Again, I can't say you're wrong."

"Then don't try to." Nora looked between her teammates, eyes flipping in thought. "I'm sorry. That was rude a-and today has been hard enough. I just… I don't want to think about it."

"You have no reason to apologize. It is a mutual feeling." Ren adjusted the monocle settled over his eyes, wiping off a smudge of dirt that stained it. "It feels like… waiting for judgement from a higher authority, after being told to do the impossible."

"You mean like when we had to kill those Beowolves for the traders?" Pyrrha was ignorant of what Nora was speaking of.

"Yes, like that." Pink eyes met emerald, and he explained. "When Nora and I were first escaping from Kuroyuri, and we needed transport. We agreed to kill a group of Grimm for some traders. We were kids, and barely armed."

"But we had Aura, big beautiful fields of Aura, and they didn't." Pyrrha got it.

"So they wanted you to fight, thinking you were strong enough?" She thought of Link, then Ruby, children, then realized just how young they were. "No… they wanted you to be a distraction."

"That's it," Ren pointed, either passive or careless of the damning assertion. "Of course, we succeeded, and came back with them more shocked to see us. I know they were going to ask us to do it again."

"But I told them that we were tired, and we really wanted a place to sleep." She was smiling and kicking her feet behind her. "I think my smile helped. Maybe I should smile for Fi. You think that would get Jaune-Jaune to come back faster?"

"You had a great smile, Nora." His eyes returned to Pyrrha. "And your hammer was dripping when we came back." Pyrrha got it with a nod. Eyes still forward.

They continued to watch the barren land in front of FI, floating before the Master Sword. Ruby still wasn't back; the lack of even wind made the air tense. Pyrrha could hear her fingers scratching at her skin, almost feel the gauntlets tearing into them. It was impossible to not hear the exchange between Yang and Blake, listening to Winter demand more from Ozpin and Raven. The only ones quieter than them were Penny, Russel, and Neptune.

Even though, she couldn't say if they were being loud or if the patience for what was coming made everything seem… bigger.

It was hard to say if that was it, considering they had only just endured the greatest battle of their time.

"You think it'll happen soon? I want to give Jaune-Jaune a big hug when he gets back."

"You can do everything but break his back when he's here," Ren returned. "I think Pyrrha might be first though." She turned at the comment.

"I would… appreciate it."

"Nope, you don't get to go first." Now she looked down at the girl, seeing that she was balancing herself on the Megaton Hammer. "We all get to hug him, and nothing else. You hug him, Ren hugs you both, and I pick you all up and swing you around. That way I'll make sure we never let go. It makes perfect sense."

"I have to admit, I think I'd enjoy that," Pyrrha answered with a smile. "Only if you promise you give time for Jaune to hug us."

"Will do!" She saluted.

Pyrrha smiled at her teammates.

Then she shut her eyes as another bloom of light blinded her.

"Wha-She's back!" Pyrrha heard Nora shout over the light, and she had to grin as she realized she was right. The light was quick to die down, returning the decrepit plane back into sight, and there she was. The granddaughter of the God of Destruction, standing in front of Fi. Pyrrha immediately knew something was wrong. So did Ren.

"Why is she alone?" He summarized it with a question.

"Ruby! Rubes!" Any answer was drowned by Yang running at her sister, stopping just shy of tackling her. "Oh thank God you're back. I was seriously starting to think you weren't gonna make it back." She laughed like it was a joke. Again, perhaps because it was so quiet, it sounded as if she roared with laughter. She was also the only one. "Ruby?"

"You have made your wish upon the Triforce. You have spoken to the Goddesses." Fi's voice was resolute as she spoke. "Am I correct, Ruby Rose?"

"Y-You are… I… I-I did." She sniffed. That wasn't good. "Farore… she called me her niece." And suddenly, Pyrrha wasn't sure if a goddess calling you family was good or bad. "And Nayru… said I was done."

Fi leaned forward with the comment, grinning as she hung over the girl.

"Then I am pleased to say that my duty to you and the Heroes is complete. The evil of Salem has been purified, and the wish of the Triforce granted." With a ring, the opaque spirit 'hopped' as much as one could, in mid-air down to her. "My existence in this time has been considerably shorter than my prior projections, but it has also been the most fruitful. I owe over 93% of this to you, Ruby Rose."

Ruby, who Pyrrha knew was always eager to hear people thank and compliment her, did nothing else but nod once. Something was very wrong. She kept looking around and seeing nothing. Nothing was her problem.

"May the Goddesses watch over you for all your days, and let your wish be one of great fruit. Farewell, Ruby Rose, Hero of this time."

Then the spirit began to twinkle. Twinkle, and opaque nature shifting to a transparent line. Penny observed it with her ocular sensors monitoring the passage of light. From 0% subsurface scattering to 20%, then 40%, and increasing in both amount, and area.

Fi was vanishing, like twinkling stars, ringing out as they drifted away. Ruby watched, not reaching out a hand or asking her to stay. She only watched… and let out a single world.

"G… Goodbye."

Nothing responded to her. Nothing but the glimmer of the empty blade on the ground.

"She's gone? Just… Just like that?"

"She is," Ozpin replied. "And I don't believe anyone is more pleased with that than she is."

"Fi looked happy but… but gone?" The curious question left Blake. "She was hardly here."

"Done… more…" Raven's raspy voice let out. "Should… have…"

"Don't harm yourself," Ozpin cajoled. "But you are correct. She could have done more while Summer held her or done more for Link in the future past. Those, however, are no longer moments we can think of. They were, now we must think of what we are."

"Stop fanning the flames in this barren field," Winter shot back. "Light wall and show the plans. What are you hiding through your illusory distractions?"

"I'm hiding nothing. There is quite literally nothing left for me to hide."

"Not you," the Schnee woman returned. "Her." The lance leveled at Ruby. Tired silver eyes looked back at her, fearless… perhaps even empty. "You made your wish, but I see no one here. No fires bloom, no embers are being kindled. Nothing. What did you wish for if it wasn't the rejuvenation of life?"

"H-Hey, she could have still wished for them." Pyrrha stepped forward, silver gauntlets raised. "They could just… be spread out. They didn't die around her. So maybe… Jaune is back with the fallen Bullhead, a-and Weiss is at Beacon. Right? That makes sense?"

"That does make sense. So we-"

"They won't be there." Ruby's words were ice and salt, thrown on open wounds. Her voice did no favors. "No one's… no one's coming back."

"No… one… No individual is returning," Penny spoke the words like they were a complicated equation. "Why is this? Was there a condition in the wish making process Fi did not expand upon?"

"No."

"Then was there a limitation in the wish that has required it a necessary amount of time to propagate the energy needed to induce a retrieval of life and body?"

"No." Yang took a step back from her sister.

"Then… Ruby Rose, I must ask you to expand upon your statement. I am not aware how you may wish for others to return without them returning." She didn't speak. "My statement of course is predicated on the knowledge that you did wish for our friends and allies to return, correct?"

Ruby still said nothing.

"Ruby Rose, now is not the time to smother a flame." Winter's grip on her lance made a grinding sound. "Strike while it is hot, speak, now."

"Hey… back off," Yang let out. "She's just… she just came back from what has to be literal heaven. Give her a second to get used to this place again, kay?"

"If she was coming back with everyone else, I would," Winter's red eyes bore on Yang's. "But seeing a lone flame flicker, and without the desire to spread, only infuriates me. Does it now you?"

"I-It has me worried," Pyrrha spoke now. "I'm sorry but… but Ruby, you did ask for them to come back, somehow? Please?"

"I didn't." Someone let out a weak gasp. "I didn't wish for anyone to come back. I wished for Salem and Grandpa to stay dead."

With the words said, Ruby took a step back.

SHING! Winter's lance was millimeters from carving her face. The air was alight with the fire.

And Yang was on her a second later. Maiden powers, or her own rage, she put the famed Specialist in a Full Nelson, holding her back. She kicked with beating wings, almost lifting Yang up. Tree roots… rooted her feet to the ground.

"You bitch!" The eldest sister roared. "Why'd you-"

"MY SISTER!" Winter howled. "You refused to bring back my sister! You were her friend, and you didn't bring her BACK!" Fire spewed from her mouth like spit.

Ruby stared at her, dispassionately.

"I know. Not… Weiss…" The dragon woman kicked the ground, scorching what little was left of it. "Not Jaune." Pyrrha let out a weak sound as her knees hit the dirt. Nora was screaming again. "Not Cardin, not Sky, not Dove." Penny was still as a statue, hands holding Russel as he raged. "Not Sun. Not Scarlet. Not Sage." Neptune was in the same situation. "Not Glynda. Not Dad. Not Mom." Ozpin lowered his head, holding Raven as she shook with pain… and rage. "Not Grandpa… no one." Her fist twisted against her chest. "No one's coming back."

"Why… Ruby, why?" Blake asked. "You, I know you had a reason. You wanted to save everyone so why not?"

"Because I had to. I had to decide… to do what Grandpa would."

"No, you didn't. You didn't have to do anything like that!" Blake twisted to see Pyrrha standing, screaming. "You didn't have to do it! You had to bring Jaune back or a-a-at least try! But you didn't! Why not!?"

"I was… I had to."

"Were you forced to?" Penny responded, voice more robotic than ever before. "Were you under threat of life? Did those goddesses threaten the destruction of yourself or others? Was there an implication of your untimely demise should you not do as they asked?"

"They literally wouldn't tell me anything. I asked, a lot."

"Then I am unable to determine a suitable reason why you were required to forbid the return of life to Cardin and others… Ruby."

"I-"

"She has no reason!" Winter yelled again. Yang grunted as she beat at the air. "She just wanted to douse the last bit of hope that we held, coming back to show and brag of her icy heart! No flames of love! No desire to throw kindling to our needs! A future devoid of warmth and fire! You! You wished for this Ruby Rose!"

"N-No, I-"

"But you did," Pyrrha's voice was pained. "I-I'm sorry Ruby. I-I am b-but… But you did. She's right. You did wish for that, because now Jaune… Jaune's not…"

"What about my team! Don't you care Blake!?" The Twili shook at Neptune's scream. "Sun loved you! He cared about you a-and now he's dead! He's never coming back! Sage and Scarlet, they did nothing against you! Why'd you have to leave them dead!?"

"BECAUSE SALEM WOULD COME BACK!"

The shout came with a flash of silver.

It was followed by silence, staring at Ruby's glowing eyes.

"R-Ruby," Yang was ignored.

"I kept asking them over and over what I should wish for, and they kept saying they couldn't tell me! They just said they could bring everyone back, but Salem was going to come back, and Grandpa wasn't! Grandpa w-would never come back, and Salem would! She'd just kill us all over again! She would and she will because she wants to! So I… I-I had to wish her to stay dead! Or w-w-we'd all be dead."

It was in the middle of her tirade they all noticed the streams flowing down her silver eyes. Like the Fierce Deity, crying like a little girl. Crying like what Ruby was.

"B-But maybe… maybe I was wrong. Maye I should have just wished everyone back! She'll be back and she'll be strong, b-but I guess I was wrong. I guess I ruined my once chance t-to be what… to do what Grandpa wanted." The light faded from her eyes. "I tried. I-I tried…"

"Ruby it's… it's okay." Yang's fingers slipped out from Winter, but her sister only shook her head.

"It's not… It's not. Y-You're all right. I'm just… I just messed up." Her feet about dragged away from them, stopping when she was in front of Fi's empty vessel. "I just wanted to do right. I wanted… to be a hero." She reached out and grabbed the blade.

Effortlessly, she picked it up.

"A-And they said I was… Fi said I was… but I don't feel like it. I feel… I-I don't know." Ozpin watched the girl, careful to breathe as he supported Raven. Not even she had a quip to make. "If this is what a hero is… then I know why Grandpa didn't want me to be one. I'm just… I'm not good enough."

Silver eyes looked back at all of them. Silver and stained.

"I'm sorry… I-I hope… I hope I didn't ruin everything." Yang reached up with her hand.

In a trail of petals and wisp of wind, Ruby Rose was gone.

"RUBY!" Her sister's voice called to the air, nothing returned.

The wind whistled back, and nothing at all. The blonde stared forward, with no family to hold her hand.

"Did… I-I didn't know."

"No, you did not, Ms. Nikos." Ozpin cajoled. "Your disappointment is understandable… but Ruby made a wise choice. Harsh, but wise. I'm sure her understanding of that wish is the only reason she was capable of slaying Salem at all." The man's words were not to be ignored.

"What? Ozpin, what is it? What are you hiding now?"

"Nothing. I only just realized it myself." Ozpin waved Winter off. "The Wisdom and Courage of the Triforce were, together, a guarantee that Salem's plans would come to fruition. So long as she chose what she wanted, Wisdom would show what would need to be done, and she had Power to make it so."

"That doesn't explain anything. She wasn't there with Ruby. She wasn't."

"No, but Ruby realized what she did want." Ozpin looked at the remaining students and lone standing adult. "Not the death of Link, not the destruction of everything, those were consequences. What she wanted… was to have a complete death."

"The Goddess of Creation, wanted to die!? That's stupid!" Russel roared. "That's stupider than your dumb plan to get us to be partners! That's dumber than an Ice Queen fusing with a volcanic dragon!" Said woman growled.

"My plan worked, Mr. Thrush. And so did Salem's." He looked past them, staring at the Master Sword embedded in the ground. "The truth reached Ruby, and she realized that if she wished for everyone else to return, Salem would eventually to. And then… this would all repeat. With what she wished for; Salem will never return. Her hatred has been exorcised from the world. Do you truly know what that means?"

"Ruby wasted a wish that could bring back the dead to keep a goddess away?" The boy wasn't done.

"My sister made sure the goddess wouldn't hurt anyone else," Yang challenged.

"By making sure everyone else is going to stay dead! You think that makes it better?!"

"NO!" The roar cowed the boy. "And you'd have to be dumb, blind, and ready to die if you think Ruby was okay with it! Did you not see my sister in tears? Did you think she was happy about it! In case you forgot she just told of wishing back her friends, too!"

"Her untampered hatred has cost me the sight of my general and my sister!" Embers fell from Winter's jaw. They rose from Yang's glowing eyes.

"And Summer and our dad! And Weiss was Ruby's best friend! Do you have any idea how hard this has to hurt her! She just… she just said that w-w-we can't see our dad again. A-And Weiss gone and… and they're gone and Ruby's… Ruby…" The embers fell away with tears. The blonde fell to her knees.

Blake caught her, her own glowing gaze leveled at those around them.

"No one here is free of loss, Ms. Schnee," Ozpin took over again. "And to compare the loss between us would be nothing but insulting, even detrimental."

"Then what are we going to do?" Ren asked the question, almost desperately. "What's… what's left for us to do?"

"Left, as in goals? Much. We have to inform the other kingdoms, ensuring that they are doing well. The Grimm Lands have to be contained now that the Queen has been killed, as there is no telling what the Ancient Grimm may do. I also do not know if all of Salem's cohorts were executed during her assault, or by our members here. They must all be contained, and I'm sure there will be no question about what to do with them."

"All of that? We've got to do all of that?"

"Yes, but not at this moment." The Headmaster stood to his tallest, on shaking limbs. "At this moment, we can do none of those. It would be immature to attempt any of them."

"Then… what are we going to do. As in now?" The question came from Russel, jaw still peeled back in rage. Ozpin met it without a shred of caution.

"Honor the dead."