Epilogue
It's been 4 years. That was all that passed through Yang's mind as she plummeted down to earth, right towards her target. It had been 4 years since her big broadcast over the CCT, 4 years since she started to really set things right. Why am I thinking about that now?
Pulling her fist back she focused a large portion of her aura to Ember Celica as the writhing wriggling mass of black tendrils snarled up at her. It was a Grimm covered with boney spikes and gaping mouths. As she was about to strike a black glyph covered her fist and she felt it take on an incredible weight. She moved with that Weight and punched down through one of the tooth-filled maws ripping the jaw off and clearing a large portion of flesh with it.
She hopped backwards as the creature snapped towards her and she started focusing her semblance to enhance some of her other traits. One of the mouths sprung off the main body snaking right towards her at incredible speed, its neck elongating as it rushed her.
That's unexpected. Yang thought calmly gazing at the large rows of sharpened teeth from behind her Grimm mask. It was about to snap at her when a thin blade struck it in the side of its head pinning it to the dirt, the beast writhed until Weiss Schnee brought down her huge Glyph cleaver on its neck.
"That's a new trick" Weiss noted, as the severed head screamed before disintegrating. "You'd think with Salem gone; the Grimm would stop mutating."
"She just controlled their evolution; she didn't make it happen." Yang noted quickly moving past Weiss towards the main mass of Grimm flesh. Thunderous shots rang out from afar and the creature started flinching and recoiling back. Yang knew that Ruby was moving from distant vantage point to distant vantage point, peppering the monster with high caliber dust rounds.
The beast, a Shoggoth Weiss called it, had many heads. Each one of those heads turned towards where Ruby's bullets were coming from and started slithering quickly towards her. Yang moved, her hands opened like claws, she didn't need to say anything as black glyph rings covered her fingers, arms, and feet. She dug her claws into its retreating behind and buried her feet into the ground. The creature's pace started to slow as she was dragged forward by its disgusting bulk. The Glyphs started to meld into her flesh as she focused her own semblance and the flames around her hair exploded into black fire while Remnant itself became her strength.
The Beast halted, its many heads shooting around backwards towards Yang at its tail. As the tooth-filled mouths were about to bite into the blonde Bruiser, a dozen or so black-haired Blakes sprung out. They all moved independently slashing and tearing the creature's face and neck apart before reforming into a single Blake covered in moving shadow. The ruined necks retreated into the body and it began to bubble and churn under Yang's grasp.
"You almost ready Lovely!?" Yang shouted back holding the monster down, she glanced back to Weiss and saw a sight that never ceased to amaze her. Weiss' hands moved furiously like a conductor of an orchestra, as glyphs of all kinds moved and suffused around her, two pairs of glowing metal arms had sprung from her back each a variant dust color as she focused.
She never stops growing. Yang thought in awe.
A sudden pain in her gut tore Yang's gaze away from the Atlessian, looking down she saw that she hadn't been stabbed or bitten. And yet the pain persisted.
Still, not back at 100% it seems. She thought bitterly. Biting down her agony and adjusting her grip. The bubbling of the creature ceased, and a large eyeless head sprung up from the center mass. The mouth opened and began screaming all too human-like for Yang's taste. As it moved, its back was blasted with a brilliant silver light that sent a horrid headache through Yang's bones and a near-building-sized Glyph blade stabbed into it.
The back of the creature turned to stone and the rest of it froze solid as the Glyph blade burst into a winter wind. Blake tossed Yang the end of her tassel, gripping it Yang sprinted away from the sealed Shoggoth. Her momentum built up as she ran and with a cry Blake tugged hard. The faunus' pull was strong enough to fling Yang into the air and down onto the creature. Her fist shot out and hit the point where stone and frozen flesh met. As she struck the thunder dust round went off and the creature shattered like weak glass, before evaporating into black dust flakes.
Yang struck the ground as the Shoggoth was ripped asunder around her like a fractured wall.
"Nice job team RWBY!" Ruby said over their comm-beads while the creature's parts vanished in the wind.
Yang let out a sore breath and gripped her stomach, the pain more present than ever now that the adrenaline was dying down. She tried to not show it but as she pulled her mask back the real pain assaulted her. She fell to her knees gripping her stomach and hissed in agony.
"Yang!" Weiss said worried rushing to her. Yang watched her run and grinned as best she could. Weiss had matured so well, the last few years with Yang living in the wild had not taken away any of her elegance. She was taller than 4 years ago (Though still shorter than Yang), had a more serious look and yet still wore a dark fur trimmed set of sleeves. Weiss didn't live in the wilds she ruled them, like the princess she always hated being referred to as.
She still makes my heart skip a beat. Yang thought as Weiss slid in next to her and examined her.
"You Dolt!" Weiss chided her, punching her arm. "I said you still needed rest!"
"I can't stay in my bed forever Weiss, I need to get out!" Yang replied as Blake offered her a hand up. "Thanks Blake!"
Yang rose to her feet and felt the pain briefly spike. She closed her eyes and practiced her Dad's breathing exercises to control the discomfort as best she could. Weiss wrapped her arms around Yang holding her close.
"I'm just worried is all," she said. Yang hugged her back.
"I'm fine Weiss, it's nothing I can't handle" Yang chided, kissing the top of Weiss' head. "I've got you looking out for me."
"What's going on?" Ruby asked appearing in a flurry of petals.
"Yang hasn't fully recovered" Blake answered before Yang could brush it off, she shot a look to the annoyed Faunus and received a shrug in response.
Ruby's gaze shifted to Yang, one eye shining with a faint green tint as she glared at her sister. Yang knew that the green tint was her false eye, the replacement had been made by Penny and her father. Yang still felt a pang of guilt every time she saw that green, but it was less so these days.
"Yang you said you were good!" Ruby chided her sister.
"85% is a passing grade" Yang replied, trying to brush her sister's worries away. "We got the job done, didn't we?"
"No unnecessary risks!" Ruby said pointing at Yang and squinting her eyes. Weiss popped her head up and made a similar face.
"No unnecessary risks Yang!" Weiss repeated before giving Yang a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Ok ok ok!" Yang said lifting her hands in placation, she smiled at the joking around regardless. "I'll take it easy till I'm healed up... speaking of which, we should probably go pick up 'the package.'"
Weiss nodded and started gathering a few things. Blake looked a bit confused.
"I thought Raven was watching the package?" she asked.
"She is, she's keeping it safe," Yang replied pulling out her scroll. "we're just going to take over that particular mission."
"Don't trust her?" Ruby asked grinning with her mockery.
"I trust her," Yang replied sending the pick-up message. "But she's got her own life."
It was only half a lie, she wanted to get back and take care of this mission herself. She waited and waited for the return message.
She's usually quicker than this. Yang thought resending the message.
Y: Mission finished, we're ready to head back.
After a minute a response came back from her mother.
R: you sure? It's no trouble for me.
Yang let an exasperated sigh and Weiss stepped next to her to get a better view of the screen. Her eyebrow rose as she looked over the text.
"I think your mother may be too into her job Yang." Weiss commented.
Y: Yes, we're sure, please bring us back.
Again, they waited, and Yang was one thumb press away from calling her when the portal split reality around them. Blake and Ruby took a step back from it. Yang rolled her neck glad to finally have her transport home back.
"Blake, Ruby" Weiss said. "don't be strangers you've got a standing invitation, always."
"Penny too" Yang added giving Ruby a pointed look, Ruby blushed a bit no doubt thinking of the robotic woman who she still fawned over.
Is that how I look when I think about Weiss. Yang thought taking the final step into the portal.
The place on the other side of the portal was Yang's current safe house, a fort in the deep wilds that she'd found abandoned about a year into her and Weiss' leaving. The position of her home was kept as secret as possible, with its true location was known only to Raven, Yang, Weiss, and Ruby. Old stone battlements on the fort's outside had been reinforced with dust-enhanced plates and about half the funds from their mercenary work went into supplies to build the place up. She'd turned it into the ultimate safe house, and the interior was nice enough to host friends and family, though they were usually blindfolded before being made to leave.
There was a burning fire in the hearth, in preparation for the winter that would hit them soon. The flames created dancing lights along the walls as the pair returned home, Yang loved seeing those flicking lights it made her feel entuned with this place. Raven was sat in a rocking chair in front of that fire, her hands wrapped around 'the package' as she rocked back and forth. Yang stopped and gazed at her mother, she had a streak of grey hair in her volumes of black and it had made her look older, wiser. The hair was one thing that still shocked Yang but what surprised her more was watching her mother gazing at the bundle in her arms. It was a small fragile thing that she'd wrapped up in cloth and held close to her chest. She was humming as she gently rocked herself and the baby girl she held close.
Yin Schnee-Xiao-Long was a small baby only about a month old, but Yang was still so very frightened that she was too small, that she might break. She had worried about somehow breaking her when she'd been pregnant with Yin waiting to come out, the fragility of her child always ate at her mind. But as Raven held her and rocked her to sleep Yang knew she was as safe as she could be in her grandmother's arms. A bit of her swaddling shifted, and a small head was exposed with tiny tufts of white hair atop her head.
Just like her mother.
"Hello Raven," Weiss said quietly approaching her mother-in-law, bending to give the Branwen matriarch a kiss on the forehead. "How was Yin?"
Raven pushed the swaddling back a bit, looking in awe at the baby's face. Yang kept her distance and focused on her breathing to reduce the adrenaline pumping in her veins from the fight.
"She's been perfect," Raven answered not looking up from her grandchild. "You didn't need to rush back so quickly."
"We didn't want to keep you" Yang answered watching Yin's small hand reaching out to grip Raven's finger. The baby tugged a bit and kept her eyes closed as she tried to bite the digit she'd captured.
"I'll always make time," Raven said slowly slipping her finger from the baby's grip. "I think she's hungry though."
She lifted the child up towards Yang. Yang still felt nervous taking the baby and hesitated to reach towards her, luckily Weiss was there to intercept before it turned awkward. She held her child close and dangled a little silver rattle which elicited a happy coo from the tiny Yin.
"She can wait, I've missed my baby." Weiss said rocking the child as she walked.
You're too good for me Weiss. Yang thought gratefully, watching her Wife holding her baby close.
Raven turned towards Yang and wrapped her arms around her. Yang hugged her back, her mother had a few more crow's feet in the corner of her eyes since that day Yang's life changed.
I can still feel the strength in her arms though. Yang thought.
"It's okay to be frightened Yang," Raven said into her daughter's ear. "Dust knows I was."
Yang breathed out a shuddering breath as the hug ended. The birth had been agony, she'd spat out curse words that she didn't know she knew and fallen unconscious at least once. She cursed Weiss, Raven, everyone who ever lived, Ozpin, and the stupid creatures that somehow blew up a moon. Neo had been the Nurse for the at-home birth, a skill set that freaked everyone out a little, Yang especially when the pain killers were suddenly injected into the big Vein on her neck. But through that pain, Yin had emerged healthy though small, incredibly small. In the end, her mother had been right about children.
"You making up for lost years mom?" Yang asked, Raven raised an eyebrow in question. "for all the time you couldn't spend with me"
Raven chuckled at that. "They say you should be disciplined with your children and spoil your grandchildren. I'm just trying my hand at being a grandmother."
"You're doing well," Yang said laying a reassuring hand on Raven's shoulder. "Can you bring Dad over next time you get a chance; he's been bugging me about seeing Yin again."
"I will," Raven replied when she saw the look on Yang's face as she kept her eye on Yin. "Yang, listen to me, she's strong like her mother, you won't hurt her, it's not in you to do that."
Yang took a deep breath and saw her wife gently rocking their daughter. Yin Cried a bit, probably out of hunger. Releasing the breath Yang unclasped Ember Celica 2.3, set them down, and extended her hands to take back her baby. Weiss smiled and gently placed Yin into Yang's arms.
"Thanks, Snow Queen" Yang said giving Weiss a kiss. Yin quieted a bit as she nuzzled up against Yang's chest. Inadvertently Yang's Semblance bloomed and her warm flickering flames illuminated her child. She felt so small in her arms, so tiny so fragile.
So full of weakness. Yang thought not for the first time as the lights from her semblance danced along the child's shut eyelids. Mom was right babies are little balls of weakness.
Yin cried a bit and her face scrunched up as something bothered the baby. For a second Yang was worried that she was squeezing the infant too hard, or that she was burning her somehow, or a whole host of others things. Then the tiny bundle of frailty opened its eyes and her little red irises locked onto her mother's face and she giggled loudly, reaching up to her.
A strange feeling suffused Yang and she leaned her head down so those little hands could touch her face and gently tug her hair. Yang slowly kneeled onto the soft rug beneath her, moving as to not shake her child.
Mom was right about something else. Yang thought, lifting her shirt up to feed her hungry Baby.
"Dream of anything, I'll make it all come true." Yang sang to Yin Schnee as she teethed. Weiss walked over to her wife and daughter two glasses of water in her hand as she looked down at the pair.
"You know there are plenty of chairs to sit in?" Weiss teased lovingly. Yang only nodded in response not looking away from her tiny baby girl. The Atlessian gave an exasperated sigh before kneeling down with Yang resting her head on Yang's shoulder and smiling down at the now giggling, cooing child. "Our little princess"
Yang kissed the top of Weiss' head
"My snow queen," Yang whispered to her wife as Weiss reached out and held tiny Yin with Yang. "The Dragon will keep you both safe, I promise Yin, I'll always keep you safe, Always."
Author's Notes
Just a final Epilogue at the end here. And a place to Announce the sequel series in the works RWBY: WYLD. The first trailer should be out soon.
Also, Each and every one of you Reviewers over the three years of writing Rogue AU have been a great blessing to me, with your excellent criticisms helping me adjust the story to a more proper structure to your words of encouragement, it really helped me write this story, so in a way you're all co-writers for this tale. I am eternally grateful for your contributions.
KEEP BEING AWESOME!