Outside on the quad of Haven Academy. The battle between the White Fang and the Menagerie Faunus as well as the Mistral police force continued. One of the Mistral airships shined its searchlight on three White Fang soldiers.

"Cease fire, immediately!" A Mistral policeman ordered over the P.A.

The three try to run away, but they were stopped by a combined group of Menagerie Faunus and Mistral policemen led by Ilia. Eventually, two of the White Fang soldiers dropped their weapons and held their hands in the air to surrender when they were surrounded. The last White Fang soldier, however, tried to fire his weapon, but it was whipped out of his hands by Lightning Lash and he was tackled to the ground by Ilia, who restrained him.

A female Rabbit Faunus smiled down at Ilia. "Thank you." She said gratefully. Ilia looked at the rabbit Faunus, smiling and nodding back.

Elsewhere, Blake stood proudly over Adam, who was on his knees before standing back up. "I'm going to make you regret ever coming back..." He said, seething in rage.

"More police are on their way, Adam. Huntsmen too." Blake warned him.

Adam chuckled evilly. "Still too afraid to face me on your own." He taunted.

"I'm here for Haven, not you." Blake said, completely dismissing him and walking towards the building.

Angered, Adam pointed Blush at Blake with Wilt in his left hand. However, Nicolas quickly moved into his way. "Don't worry, though. You get to play with me." He said excitedly, before his expression darkened. "And after what you did to Blake back at Beacon... And the the damage you and the White Fang caused to me and my friends back at Beacon... the hurt you caused all of them... I hope you're ready to play VERY rough." He said, readying his old Warhammer, Earthquake, which he hadn't used since Beacon, a true sign he was deadly serious.

Adam readied himself to fight the necromancer "Tell me, does Blake make all of her classmates fight for her?" He questioned.

"Nah. That's just what a good friend does. Especially a good boyfriend. One who's not an abusive prick." Nicolas told him. Adam growled and stepped forward, but Nicolas raised a finger. "Ah-ah-ah! You may wanna check your math before you start a fight you can't finish. Because from where I'm standing, it looks like an army... Against YOU." Nicolas said, gesturing around them.

Adam looked around, seeing his followers surrendering to the overwhelming numbers of forces Blake brought with her, only proving Nicolas' point right. A searchlight then shined down on him.

"You can try and make me regret coming here, Adam, but honestly... I've got more important things to deal with." Blake said.

Adam let out a frustrated growl and swung his sword at Nick, but the necromancer simply caught the blade and thrusted forward with his hammer, smacking Adam in the face with the top of said hammer as if he was shooting pool one-handed. Nicolas then spun and smashed him in the head with hammer, breaking Adam's aura and his mask, sending him tumbling through across the ground. Adam got up, covering the left side of his face, before noticing he was right next to the bushes leading into the forest. Adam ran away into the bushes and trees "Oh, I love it when they run." Nicolas said, about to pursue Adam.

"Nic, wait!" Blake called after him.

"But he's just ahead. I can catch him and end him for what he did to you!" Nicolas said.

"He wants to lure us away so he can pick us off. We need to protect the school and the people here. Besides... now he can see what it feels like to run away." She told him, then smiled. "Thank you." She added.

Nicolas smiled back. "Anything for you, Blake." He said. Their attentions were then drawn to Haven's Great Hall where he and Blake saw their old friends and allies fighting off their enemies.

"Our teams aren't complete without us. Ready to make them whole again?" He asked.

"Let's do it." She said as they ran to finish the fight.

Back inside the Great Hall, Hazel launched fireballs from his fists with his fire-Dust enhanced arms at Weiss' summoned Queen Lancer. The Lancer dodged out of the way of the blasts as Weiss fired at Hazel with her Glyphs while Yang continued to assault the man. Meanwhile, Jaune and Ren defended themselves from Mercury and Emerald's shots. As for Pyrrha, Draco, Saphyra and myself, we were busy defending Nora and our new daughter from the demons.

"Emerald and Mercury are already more than enough. These demon Grimm are just overkill!" Jaune said, deflecting the claws of a Fury while blocking Mercury's next attack.

"Not to mention, Hazel." Ren said as he dodged a fireball the brute managed to throw after kicking Yang back into a wall.

"I don't know how that big guy is still standing. He recharges his Aura faster than I've ever seen!"

"Why don't you just give up already?!" Yang snapped as she punched the man back, but he stopped himself and charged right in again.

Oscar watched Qrow fly in with his bird form, before transforming back into his usual self. Qrow grunted in pain and held his side. "He's sheer willpower." The Huntsman grunted, still feeling the pain from that last big hit he took.

A blast landed near Oscar, who quickly took cover behind a nearby column. "We just need to get him to his limit!" Ozpin said from within Oscar.

"We'd already have him down by now if it weren't for these Grimm!" Draco said, knocking them back.

I held back a Riot and stabbed it in the sides of my neck with my wing spears. "It doesn't help they're based on some of the strongest low-level demons I've ever seen." I said, still in demon form throwing away the riot, then breathing a stream of fire on a Fury that rushed in.

"If we had a couple more hands on deck, we'd be able to do more than simply hold the line and we could start fighting back!" Pyrrha said as she stabbed at the Riot trying to get past her shield.

The Queen Lancer summon is then shown fired down on another Fury, which dodged the attack and then leapt on the Wasp creature, clawing at it viciously. Hazel used the opportunity to launch a combined fire and lightning attack which caused the Lancer summon to dissipate. Weiss stared in shock as her summon disappeared. Suddenly, Blake jumped in and kicked Hazel to the ground before jumping next to Yang, Weiss and Ruby.

Then, Nicolas jumped in as well, landing between Mercury and Emerald. "Peekaboo!" He said, spinning in a circle with his hammer out, knocking the two of them away, then using his hammer like the one from Smash Brothers, smashing a number of Grimm and almost immediately lightening the load on our side. He then stopped in front of us. "Hey, guys! What did I miss?" He asked.

"Nick! Good to see you, buddy!" Draco said, hugging him. "As for what you missed..." He began, before taking a deep breath, then speaking as if he was set to 4 times his normal speed, quickly explaining the events we've gone through. "So, yeah. Now you're caught up." He said, back to normal.

"Wow. That's pretty crazy. I think we've got a handle on the Grimm now. And I've got Nora covered, too." He said, snapping his fingers and summoning a giant skeletal turtle, which blocked the path into the metal tent Saphyra had made for Nora. "Okay! Everyone can focus on fighting now!" He said.

I put a hand on the necromancer's shoulder at this. "Dammit, I missed you, you beautiful Deus Ex Machina." I told him.

"Glad to see you, too, man." He said.

I then looked to where Lionheart had retreated to. "I think you guys have things handled down here. I'm not letting Lionheart get away with this." I said, leaping up to the second floor and hurrying after the Headmaster.

Blake was then tending to her teammates. "Are you hurt?" She asked.

"N- No! I just remembered you being more of the quiet one." Weiss said.

Blake blushed at this, but smiled. "Well, if there was a time to make some noise, it's now." She explained.

"Couldn't have said it better myself." Yang agreed.

Blake looked down in shame, before looking back to her partner. "Yang, I-" She began, but then looked past Yang to see their enemies regrouping.

Hazel, Emerald, and Mercury slowly advanced toward the four of them. "Once we're done with all this, we can talk. For now, I hope you haven't gotten rusty while you've been gone." Yang told her.

Blake drew Gambol Shroud, while Ruby held up Crescent Rose. "Alright." Weiss said, holding Myrtenaster defensively. "Well, what's the plan, Ruby?" She asked.

"Bumblebee!" Ruby declared, Blake and Yang nodding to each other, before rushing in.

Down in the vault, Damion and Raven faced off for a moment, before Raven simply turned towards the vault, walking towards it and placing her hand upon it to open the door. "What do you think you're doing?" Damion demanded.

"Taking the relic, what else?" Raven asked simply, looking over her shoulder. "It's one more bargaining chip if Salem comes for me and my tribe. You should be happy I'm taking it. Now she won't come for you and your friends. You just focus on taking care of Yang." Raven said.

"Oh, now you care? After abandoning her as a child? After participating in an ambush meant to kill everyone, including her!? Don't even pretend like you care now. You clearly didn't care about her." Damion snapped, pointing to Vernal's dead body. "And she's been in her tribe probably most of her life, right? You knew her way more than you knew Yang, yet you still let that happen to her?" He questioned.

"Vernal's death was unfortunate, but unavoidable. Just like yours will be if you get in my way." Raven told him.

"Yet, you don't seem too broken up about her death. Also, if Cinder killed her, she probably would've syphoned the Maiden powers from her first. Yet here you stand with those powers. Which means Vernal was a decoy, so she was never the real Spring Maiden. What happened to her, then?" Damion continued to press Raven for answers, but the bandit leader simply scowled and looked away. "You killed her, didn't you? After you took her in once you stole her in the first place. What was it? Did you just want those powers for yourself, so you could be even stronger and you wouldn't have to rely on some magic girl to save your coward ass if you were in danger?" He demanded yet again.

"She was scared when we found her! Weak. No matter how much training I put her through, she never learned! She wasn't cut out for this world! And with those powers, she would've been hunted her entire life! What I did-" Raven barked at him.

"Was a selfish power grab that cost an innocent girl her life so you could protect yours." He declared.

"It was mercy!" Raven snapped.

"Mercy? That's pretty strange coming from someone who raids villages, stealing anything valuable, killing anyone who fights back and leaving the survivors for Grimm chow. From someone who set up an ambush to kill her own brother. Who does nothing but lie and manipulate everyone around them to make sure she stays alive. Who abandoned her own daughter and a happy life as a Huntress, doing the right thing, just to lead a bunch of thieving murderers." He countered.

"It's not that simple. You don't know me, you don't know what I've been through, the choices I've had to make!" Raven insisted.

"I think I know you pretty well. I've had to make a lot of the same choices you had to. Only I made the right ones. I made the choices I did to protect those who I cared about, what mattered most to me, regardless of my own wellbeing." He told her.

Raven eyes widened and looked away, before turning back to face her daughter's beloved again. "I've stared death in the face over and over again!" She snapped, her Maiden powers activating in her anger. "And every time I've spat in that face and survived, because I'm strong enough to do what others won't!" She snapped.

"Strong enough!? Is that what you call hiding behind doubles and decoys and human shields? Is that what you call raiding villages that have no chance of fighting back. Is that what you call setting up an ambush to kill one of the few people who can match you? Because I call that being a coward who has to rely on cheap tricks and dirty tactics to save her own pathetic hide!" He countered.

Raven was now enraged. "Oh and you're much better? From what I've heard, you used to be an assassin, every bit as dirty and underhanded as me!" Raven snapped.

"You're right, I was. But I found out that was the wrong way. And I put myself on a better path, to be a better person to those around me. You're daughter helped me with that. And you're going to help me by letting me take that relic." He told her.

"And why would I do that?" She asked.

"Because you're afraid of Salem. You believe she's this unstoppable force that dwarfs even you maidens in power. So, let me ask you this: if you are afraid of her, why would you take two of the things she desperately needs? Because, let me tell you, I doubt she'll be happy once she learns this plan of her lackeys has failed. And she won't be in a merciful mood when she finds you with two of the final pieces to her puzzle." He told her. "So, instead, she could find me and my team. The people who aren't afraid of her. The people who CAN and WILL put her down. Permanently." He declared.

"So, you'd drag Yang into that danger?" She questioned.

"I told you to stop acting like you cared. We both know you really don't. And even if you did, you lost the RIGHT to care about her. You abandoned her. You gave her away to her father and you left her. And now you lured her into an ambush you know for a fact would turn deadly." He said, but then sighed. "But to answer your question, I know Yang because I WAS there for her. I know the kind of person she is. And if it meant protecting people from the evils Salem brings to them, even someone like you, who left her without a second thought, she would do it. And she will. And I'll be there beside her all the way, to love and protect and be there for her like you never were." He declared.

"I..." She began, but couldn't find any words.

Damion walked forward, bumping Raven out of the way as he did so. But then, he stopped and looked back one last time. "Raven...I only want to have to say this to you once...I will hurt you if you come near Yang or her friends. I have done the same as you, spit in the face of death, fought and survived, but unlike you, I have never wanted to abandon my friends, nor my sister...I wanted to be able to keep fighting and now that I'm back, I am going to do all that I can to fight for everyone I care about, but you...you decided to leave your daughter and those who have trusted you...If I find you, if you ever come near Yang or anyone from Team RWBY, I won't kill you...I wouldn't do that to Yang, but I will beat you within an inch of your life..." He warned her.

"You decided to kill an innocent girl because you felt she was weak, stole her powers, and that made you the judge of those who you don't seem for to wield the power of the Maidens...You're nothing but sick and twisted, thinking you have the right to decide who loves and who does! Who the hell do you think you are!?" Damion demanded as he continued, turning to face her as she stepped back in fear. "I swear, if I could I would end you right now, but only for Yang's sake I won't touch you, but give me any more of a reason to beat you till you're nothing but a broken body, spilling blood on the ground, bruised up, and left for dead, I will not hesitate to bury you! To kill an innocent girl is something only a fucking coward would do...If you love your daughter, if you really do, then you will need my warning and stay the fuck away from her..." He told her.

Raven could only tear up at this. "I'm sorry..." She sobbed a bit.

"You don't get to be sorry. Not after what you've done. Now get out of here." He ordered. He finally heard the noise of her portal opening and closing. Content with this, he made his way into the vault and grabbed the relic. As he took it in his hand, he could only sigh at his words. "I'm sorry, Yang... You deserve better than this. Than ANY of this." He said to himself as he looked back the way he came.

Back above ground, Lionheart burst into his office and ran behind his desk, frantically opening drawers trying to look for something. Suddenly, he heard ominous clicking noises and looked up to notice a Seer floating menacingly in front of his desk. A familiar voice comes from it. "And where might you be going?" Salem questioned.

Lionheart began stammering as the Seer approached, before managing to speak. "Uh, your grace!" He greeted, nervously chuckling. "I was just looking for something." He lied.

"Leonardo, do you have something you wish to tell me?" Salem questioned once again.

Lionheart didn't say anything for a bit, before telling Salem his response. "It was Cinder! She altered the plan! Huntsmen showed up here! Qrow! Several students, one with the Silver Eyes! And the demons as well! The White Fang attack, it was stopped!" He made excuses for himself, stammering a bit before he managed to continue. "I don't know that they'll be able to recover the Relic..." He said, pausing for a beat to try and think of an excuse for her not to kill him. "Your grace, I can still be of assistance! If I leave now, I- I can avoid the authorities and come find you, I'll do whatever it takes!" He pleaded. Another beat passed as he waited for a response, but received none. "Your grace?" He asked, but still received no response. It was clear now that she was no longer listening and was effectively done with him.

Out of options, Lionheart aimed his weapon at the Seer, but it used one of its tentacles to knock it off his wrist. Lionheart tried to run, but the Seer wrapped one of its tentacles around Lionheart's ankle, causing him to trip and fall. "Please, ma'am! I'll do anything! I can still be useful!" Lionheart begged pathetically. The Seer aimed its sharp tentacles at Lionheart. He tried to crawl away, but more tentacles wrapped around his body. "Please! PLEEEAAASE!" He continued to scream out in desperation. But despite his pleas, Lionheart was dragged towards the Seer.

However, before the Seer could finish the traitor, a blade of Ki flew between them and severed the tentacles and I now stood between the two, still in my demon form. I then looked to Lionheart. "You stay there. I'm not finished with you yet." I warned him, before turning in an instant and grabbing the Seer. "Alright, you floating hentai. Show me your boss. Now." I ordered.

Then, the dark mist began to swirl within the dark orb, finally letting the image of Salem appear. "Ah, so you are the infamous Sai Blade, one of the mighty demons of the Blade Clan. You're certainly more vulgar than I was expecting." She said.

"Sorry. I'm just a little pissed right now. Betrayal and ambushes tend to do that to me." I told her.

"So what is it you have to say to me? I doubt you'd abandon your friends and save a sniveling coward like Leonardo just so we could have a friendly chat." She wondered.

I crossed my arms at this. "I offer you an ultimatum. Whatever this quest you're on is, abandon it. Give up your hunt for the maidens and the relics and cease your attack on the Huntsman Academies. Do this and I'll forgive your transgressions. Or, you can stay on your current path and I promise, you'll suffer to the greatest degree imaginable as I choke the life out of you." I gave her the choice.

"Oh, please. How long has the Blade Clan been around? At least as long as I have, if not longer. And in all this time, they've never come for me. Why do you think that is?" She questioned with a smirk.

However, I simply returned the smirk. "Because you were never worth our time." I told her, causing her to scowl. "As far as my family was concerned, you were just another Grimm, not worth putting any effort into tracking down and killing. Even after what you did to the academies, my father would still say it's the humans' job to handle you. Because we have better things to do, killing demons, angels, aliens and other problems that make you look like nothing more than an ant." I taunted her.

She narrowed her eyes at this. "Is that so? Then why is it you are after me now. If I'm so low on your list of threats, surely one as powerful as you would be better suited to facing down one of these all powerful threats?" She pondered once more, before smirking. "Or are you simply seeking an audience with me to join me? Surely, you must know, no matter how much good in this world you do, humanity will never accept you and the other demons roaming our world, no matter how peaceful you are. They already fear the Faunus, imagine their reactions to horrific reptilian beasts from Hell walking amongst them. You would never be safe. You'd be hunted down to the last and destroyed." She taunted.

I scowled at this. "Always resorting to fear tactics. You really do never learn from your mistakes. Are you truly that stupid? Or just too self-absorbed to realize that the things you try are doomed to fail?" I questioned her for once. "Humanity is fearful of what they don't understand, yes. But most of them are capable learning and understanding. Overcoming that fear, while you just sit and stew in your misguided anger, hatred and blame for everyone else but yourself. I'm coming for you, but not because you've become a threat. I'm coming for you because you pissed me off. Cinder may have launched the attacks on Beacon, but you were the brain behind it. Without you, Cinder never would've been able to pull it off. But she did have you and she orchestrated YOUR plan that killed MY best friend and the woman I loved. So I'll tell you again: I'm coming for you and I promise you, not even immortality can save you from me." I warned her, before lunging forward and shattering the Seer between my dragon-like jaws. I then turned back to my human form and faced Lionheart.

He trembled in fear at this. "I'm sorry... Please. I never wanted to work for her! But there's no stopping her! And there's no stopping the Grimm! If I wanted to survive, I didn't have a choice." He pleaded.

I sighed at this. "I understand. You were scared. Emotion makes us do foolish things. But you were still a Huntsman, who vowed to give his life protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. And not only that, you sold out other Huntsmen to be killed and aided in the fall of Beacon, that killed so many potential future Huntsman. I won't kill you, but these actions can't be forgiven. And you'll answer for them." I said, grabbing him and leading him back to the others.

Back at Haven, Oscar and Qrow forced back an exhausted Hazel, while Ruby and her friends held off Emerald and Mercury who were exhausted as well. "That's enough! Just give up." Ruby ordered.

"Yeah, prison food isn't so bad. You'll even learn to like it!" Draco agreed.

"Just make sure you don't upset your prison husbands." Nicolas taunted as well.

Mercury snarled and yells in frustration, slamming his fist into the ground. "It's not over! Cinder will come back! And Phoenix! They'll have the Relic and they'll stop all of you! She won't let us down." Emerald insisted.

The platform leading to the vault was heard coming back up. Everyone stared as Damion came back up with the Relic of Knowledge in his hand. "So that was a fucking lie." He told Emerald, who looked in surprise as Cinder didn't come back up.

At the same time, I burst through the doors with a restrained Lionheart in tow. "And in case you thought Lionheart could get you out of this... He ain't gonna." I added as the Lion Faunus simply looked down in shame.

All of our friends look up at and smiled. "Sai..." Nora and Pyrrha said together.

"Way to go, Damion." Yang said, smiling at him, to which he winked.

I walked up to Damion as he stepped off the platform. "Nice relic. All I got was this traitor." I said, gesturing to Lionheart.

"Hey, that's still pretty good. It would be a shame if he got off Scott-free." The vampire said.

"I mean, Salem was about to kill him, but I thought prison was better." I explained.

"Either way, I'd say that's a win in our book." Damion assured me.

"Yeah." I said, before thinking about something. "You, uh... Didn't kill my son, did you? Or Yang's mother?" I asked.

"No. I gave them both a chance because they were important to you and Yang. If they try anything again, though, they're dead." He explained.

"Fair enough." I admitted.

Hazel seethed while tears stream from Emerald's eyes. We then met back up with our friends and began enjoying each other's company, completely ignoring the villains now, since they were essentially beaten. Emerald fell to her knees and began to sob. Mercury and Hazel slowly backed away.

"Emerald, get up, we need to go." Mercury told her. Emerald shook her head and remained stationary. "Emerald!" Mercury snapped

Emerald looked around as her breathing got frantic. She held her head and let out a loud scream, activating her Semblance. Suddenly, the room turned dark as black smoke rose from the ground nearby. From it, a giant effigy of Salem, limbs bent and deformed, towered above everyone in the room. "That's a huge bitch!" Draco cried out.

"But you know what they say: the bigger they are..." I began, leaping towards the monstrosity.

The giant Salem opened her eyes and let out an ear-piercing scream as it swooped down over everyone. Everything went black for a moment. Afterwards, everything returned to normal, Ruby shaking in fear as she came to terms with what she had just witnessed. Everyone in the room was still present, with the exception of Emerald, Mercury and Hazel, who had disappeared. I was on the floor from having jumped at an illusion and hit nothing. "Huh. Maybe we shouldn't have just treated them like a joke." I said.

"Wha- what was that?" Blake asked.

"An illusion. But an accurate one. That... was Salem." Ozpin told us.

Outside, Hazel was seen running and carrying an unconscious Emerald over his shoulder, with Mercury following not too far behind him. Up in the tree branches, Adam watched his allies run, before he too left.

And underneath Haven in the vault, Phoenix woke up from being stabbed and saw that both he and Cinder had hit an underwater lake and were sinking rapidly. "Mother, no!" He shouted, holding her and quickly swimming to the surface. He then breached the surface and swam to the edge of the water, beginning the process of unfreezing the still frozen Cinder. "Damion Castro. You may be as much of a threat as my father is. Perhaps even greater. But your time will come. First you, then the Rose girl... and then finally my dearest sister and my father." He declared.

Back at Haven, Blake sighed in relief now that the battle was over, before she heard the sounds of her parents and Sun running into the great hall. The Belladonnas shared a hug together while Sun looked on. "The police rounded up the remaining White Fang members. Haven is safe." Kali informed her daughter.

"Unfortunately, it appears that Adam escaped." Ghira said, to which they all looked down.

"It's okay." Ilia assured them, walking into the building. "He was the only one to escape tonight. Those in the White Fang that followed him? Won't support a leader that abandons his people. He won't have their help after this. He'll have no one at all. And the White Fang will be left divided." She said.

Nicolas then walked up to them. "And if he ever tries to mess with you again, I'll be more than happy to leave HIM divided." He assured Blake.

"We've been fighting amongst ourselves for too long. Perhaps it's time for a new brotherhood. A new family for Faunus truly working towards a better world." Ghira declared.

"And they'll need a new leader." Kali added, to which Ghira nodded in acknowledgement.

Sun peeked behind Ghira and noticed his old friends from Beacon, waving to them. He then wrapped his tail around Blake and grabbed Nicolas' shoulder to turn them around and had them see their old friends too. Blake slowly walked towards them nervously, but Nicolas put his arm around her shoulders and the two shared a smile, before he walked her there more confidently while Sun and her parents smiled.

As team RWBY had their reunion, Qrow walked up to Damion and took the relic. "What happened down there?" He asked.

"Cinder killed Vernal. It turns out she was just a decoy. Raven was the real Spring Maiden. I worked with her to stop Cinder and Phoenix, then I told her off. She's still alive, but she has a lot to think about." Damion explained.

Qrow sighed at this, but smiled. "Thanks, Damion. You did good out there. Sai was saying how good it'd be to have you back... And I think he was right." He said, taking the relic and going over to Oscar.

Damion and Nicolas both walked up to Draco and I. I looked at the revived vampire at this point. "So, you handled business down there, I guess. Did you kill Cinder, or my kid?" I asked him.

"No. Cinder's basically an ice cube now, but she'll live. And I spared your son. But if they come after us again, it's gonna be the last time." He explained.

"Good." I said without any emotion.

We simply stood there for a few moments, before Draco started to chuckle, then laughed a bit, at which point Nicolas and I joined in as well. And soon enough, Damion joined in and our team shared a manly group hug. "Oh, man! It is so good to see you guys!" Draco said.

"Oh, damn, I missed you guys!" Nicolas laughed.

"I was almost thinking the four of us would never be together again. That we'd never see you or Damion again." I admitted, looking at Nicolas, then Damion.

"Hey, it takes more than death to stop any one of us. You guys were great out there, too. Heck, Pyrrha and I wouldn't be back if you hadn't taken down Cinder like that. I can be together with Yang and my sister again because of you two. So thank you." Damion said gratefully to Draco and I.

"Maybe, but with everything that went wrong here today, we wouldn't have made it out of here without the two of you. I'd say that makes us even." I said, patting his back.

"Team BDSS forever!" Draco declared.

Then, with their team's reunion finished, team RWBY walked up to us, Yang walking further than the rest of her team and hugging Damion, crying. "Never leave me again... Please... I can't take any more loss in my life. I can't lose anything else. I need you." She sobbed into his chest.

He then put his arms around her and held her close. "I'm sorry. I never should've put you through that. And I should've been able to be there for you with everything you went through with Adam and your arm. But I promise, I'll never put you through that again. And I'll be here whenever you need me." He promised her.

And of course, there was one more team that had lost a member, but was now reunited, Pyrrha embracing each other member of Team JNPR. "I missed you all so much." She told them as she hugged Ren.

"I know Sai told us he could have you brought back, but I thought he just wasn't accepting your loss. I never thought we'd see you again. I never thought we'd have THIS again." He said, referring to the hug she was sharing.

She then hugged Jaune, who began to sob. "I just wish you would've let me be there with you. We were partners and best friends, but you just ran off on your own without me. I could've helped. If things had been different, if I'd have been there, maybe you wouldn't have died. You could've been here with Sai all this time." He said sadly.

"But Jaune, with how powerful Cinder was, you might have died if you were there." She told him.

"I know, but you would've been alive. And I would've died protecting you. That's all I could ask for, dying doing what's right. Besides, then Sai would've just had me brought back now." Jaune said, looking away.

Pyrrha made him look back. But then you wouldn't have grown as much as you have. You've become a great warrior, Jaune. Worthy of being called a Huntsman." She reminded him.

Nora then walked up, holding Sora in one hand, with her other hand on Saphyra's back. "Besides, if Pyrrha hadn't been turned to dust, Saphyra wouldn't be here now. Which meant we might not have survived after the Nucklavee attack. And then I wouldn't have had our baby Sora here." She said, nuzzling her daughter.

Saphyra then walked up to Pyrrha, who knelt down to be at her daughters level. Saphyra began to tear up a bit at this and hugged her mother. "Mommy! I know I never knew you before you died, but I still missed you so much!" She said.

Pyrrha was surprised by the hug, but smiled and returned it. "There, there. It's alright, sweetie." She said, before gently pushing her back a bit. "You may not have been born the real or natural way, but I promise, the love I have for you is as real and natural as it can be. And I will do my best to be the mother you need." She promised.

I walked up to their team and smiled, embracing Pyrrha and Saphyra, then running my hand over Sora's head. "It's certainly been a crazy ride we've been on, but that's what family is, nothing if not unexpected. But you love them for it and you'd do anything for them. And I'll do everything I can to keep you all safe." I promised them.

"No." Pyrrha said, before placing a hand on my shoulder. "We'll keep each other safe." She said, before we shared a kiss.

Qrow, still holding the Relic, then approached a panting Oscar, who was kneeling on the ground. "I don't know how, but we did it, Oz. You okay?" He asked.

"I'm alright." Oscar said, back in control.

"Kid?" Qrow asked worriedly.

"He's resting. Too much energy fighting." Oscar explained weakly.

"Hey, don't strain yourself!" Qrow told him worriedly.

"No! He had... a message..." Oscar explained, taking a few more pants. "We must... get the Lamp to... Atlas." He managed to finish, before he groaned and fell, but Qrow caught him.

He laid the exhausted farm boy on the ground and looked over as our three teams finished our embraces. Qrow then stood back up and looked to the Relic he held in his hand. The lamp was seen glowing brightly as the indistinct whispered are heard again, to which Qrow sighed. Draco, however, had caught the conversation. "Back to Atlas? Wow. That must suck for you, Weiss. You know, considering how hard you worked to get out of Atlas and away from your bastard father, but now we're going back to Atlas and back to where your father has influence." Draco said, leaning closer and closer to Weiss as steam shout out of her ears at this news.

"Oh, son of a-" The heiress began.

"Language!" Draco and I shouted together.

A/N: FINALLY! I'm finally done with Volume 5! I don't think it was the worst volume, but man, it had a lot of holes to fix, not to mention barely any action to speak of except for Yang's fight with the bandits in the beginning and the last quarter of the episodes. But still, we got through it and I have plans to make Volume 6 go significantly smoother.

So, for anyone who thought maybe I was too harsh on Raven... NO. No, I was not. I HATE how everyone and their mother seems to think "Oh, she cried and says she's sorry. All is forgiven!". NO! That is not how it works. Heck, by that logic, CINDER cried like 3 or 4 times in Volume 8, so I guess that means she's forgiven! But, in all seriousness: saying sorry doesn't excuse the fact she abandoned Yang and left her hungry for answers her whole life, which put her life in danger MULTIPLE times (that flashback in Volume 2, plus her Yellow Trailer), tormented Ruby as a child (according to the DC comics) and what else... oh, yeah! Allowed her to fall into an ambush that was already meant to kill her beloved uncle, which she knew Yang and her beloved sister would fall into as well, because of her planning with Cinder and Watts when they showed up at the bandit camp. Sorry just DOESN'T cut it. If you think so, that's fine, but in the eyes of me and my friends, Raven is and always will be the scum of RWBY, even more so than Cinder.

But that being said, I still hope you enjoyed this story and I hope you're looking forward to the next volume!