This is it! The final chapter is upon us! It has been one wild ride, but I'll save all that crap for later. Now though, review response time! Dragonsoul1; Yang would be proud of that pun. Guest; Well, glad you liked the story as a whole. As for your request, I don't mind at all. Just bare in mind that there are certain things I don't do (see my profile page for a bunch of rules) and at the moment I'm going to focus on my other story and finish that before starting anything new, so it could be a while. But yeah, feel free to pop in your suggestion. Abrams 1559; I take it a mass murderer being disintegrated isn't enough for you then? The WovenMantis; Thank you for that compliment. As for who screwed Overwatch...you'll see. Metalex; I couldn't resist putting it in. Crushcommando; If it's any consolation, Reaper was my favourite Hero to play during the Open Beta, so it wasn't exactly easy to do. Dragon; Yes he has, now he can binge himself to unconsciousness in peace! And finally OutlastTheDark; Well, I'm sure we all would become aggressive if we came face to face with the man/woman/thing that murdered someone extremely close to you in front of your very eyes. I understood that reference! And yeah, Generators are useful...except when they're used as weapons of mass destruction. Now, on with the show!

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Chapter 24- A Harvest Ends

One Week Later…

Ozpin watched from his office as the Vytal Arena slowly hovered over Vale, having arrived only yesterday afternoon. Students once again populated the school grounds, no longer fearing what lurked in the shadows. After the botched raid by Talon, many who had survived were imprisoned by Vale and Atlas authorities, with only a few managing to escape. Talon operations also seemed to die down quickly afterwards, not just in Vale, but across all of the Four Kingdoms. It was admittedly suspicious, but for now, they had enough room to breathe.

"Ozpin, Ruby Rose is ready to see you now." a robotic yet soothing female voice announced, causing Ozpin to turn away from the window.

"Thank you Athena, let her in." Ozpin replied, brushing off his jacket as he took a seat at his desk.

"Of course sir." the AI, now identified as Athena, responded.

Athena had been a gift from Winston some time after the battle. Better make that Professor Winston now. It was a form of 'thank you' present for giving him a job with fresh material to work with, it was the least Ozpin could offer both him and Jack Morrison, though the only the former had accepted. He had been developing Athena for a few weeks to help manage the former Overwatch Academy, but seeing as he wasn't going to be there for much longer, he felt it would better serve him instead. He had at first scoffed at the idea of an AI helping manage the Academy, but Athena had proven she was more then a simple Atlas Military AI, and surprisingly helped lighten his work load. Seconds later, the doors to his office opened, and Ruby Rose stepped out clad in her uniform.

"Athena, could you please leave us for a moment?" Ozpin asked, glancing at his screen slightly as he spoke.

"Of course sir, I will run a diagnostics check on our systems if that is acceptable." Athena offered, the screen turning a faint blue colour as she spoke.

"Make it so Athena." Ozpin replied, nodding as Athena's symbol disappeared from his screen, indicating that the AI had left the office. "Thank you for seeing me Miss Rose. Please take a seat."

Ruby quickly stepped forward, taking a seat opposite Ozpin. It was silent for a few seconds before anyone finally spoke.

"How are you, Miss Rose?" Ozpin finally asked, leaning back in his chair slightly whilst his fingers interlocked with one another.

"Fine I guess..." Ruby replied, rubbing the back of her head as she slowly looked around the office. "Sorry for asking but is there a reason you asked to see me sir?"

"I asked you here so that I may congratulate you Miss Rose." Ozpin responded, his arms open wide as he straightened up slightly. "Not only did you stop a dangerous mass murderer in his tracks, but you saved the school as well."

"Actually, Jack did most of the work." Ruby sheepishly laughed, rubbing the back of her head slowly. "Besides, I only did what any one else would have done."

"Indeed you did." Ozpin stated, quickly standing up from his chair and walking towards her. "But you acted where others refrained. It was you who chose to pursue Reaper, and it was you who struck the final blow."

"Thank you sir." Ruby replied, bowing her head lightly.

"But I want you to remember, Reaper was once a Huntsman that let his drive for vengeance dominate him." Ozpin warned, reassuringly squeezing Ruby's shoulder. "You are a Huntress, yet you are still young. Do not let vengeance consume you as it did him. It wouldn't be what Qrow or your Mother wanted."

Ruby looked away slightly as Ozpin let his hand slip from her shoulder and back to behind his back. Did Ozpin know that the reason- the main reason- she went after Reaper was because of Qrow? And was there more then he let on about Reaper? Did he have allies that still lived that were in some way responsible? Ruby lightly shook her head as she banished those thoughts from her mind. She wasn't going to let vengeance consume her. She wasn't going to become another Reaper.

"Now, off you go." Ozpin stated, a small smile on his face as he nodded to the door. "You may be a hero, but that doesn't mean you can skip lessons. Besides, you and your friends have a tournament to prepare for."

Ruby nodded quickly, nearly jumping out of her chair as she made her way to the door and back to her Team Mates.

"And Ruby?" Ozpin suddenly shouted, causing her to pause in her tracks and spin around to face Ozpin. "Qrow would be proud of you."

Ruby smiled lightly as Ozpin said those words, the door quickly closing as she left the office. Ozpin stood there a while longer, before returning to his desk, Athena's symbol suddenly popping up on the screen.

"Sir, all systems are functioning at an above average percent." Athena stated as Ozpin pushed his chair in slightly.

"That is good to hear Athena." Ozpin replied, though his mind was focused on another task at hand.

Qrow had been a valuable ally against Salem and her forces, and with him dead he no longer had an informant in the field. However, there was another who could help him. Someone Qrow said he would trust with his life, someone who had the skills he needed…

"Athena, contact ID 3945_49." Ozpin ordered, Athena responding immediately to the command.

"Anything else sir?" Athena asked, the screen in front of him showing the specified contact.

"I want this call to be off the record and secure." Ozpin stated, pushing his glasses up slightly as he spoke. "We can't risk anyone listening in on this."

"Of course sir." Athena replied, waiting a few seconds as she checked the connection was secure before speaking once again. "Contacting ID 3945_49."

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Soldier 76 watched with crossed arms as Winston guided a group of delivery men carrying the remains of a Bastion unit into his new quarters. The automaton must have been extremely heavy, considering that four heavily built men each holding equal weight were struggling to hold the robot as they carried it into Winston's office.

"Easy now..." Winston murmured, signalling for the delivery men to raise the robot higher. "Bang the head and you'll mess up its systems."

"Is that bad?" one of the delivery men asked, his voice strained from carrying the robot all the way from outside the Academy entrance.

"If by bad you mean will it kill us all, then no." Winston reassured, earning a sigh of relief from the delivery men. "Though they get an extreme fascination with birds for some reason..."

It was less then a minute later until the delivery men finally placed the Bastion unit on the ground, each one of them panting heavily as they slowly slumped themselves on the floor.

"Was that the last one?" one of the delivery men asked, wiping his forehead clean of sweat.

"Let's see..." Winston murmured to himself, looking around as he counted the Bastion units already in his quarters, all of them in varying conditions. "Yes, that's all of them. Thank you for your assistance."

The delivery men sighed in relief as they slowly got up off the floor and made their way out of the office, each one at their own pace. Soldier 76 stood out of the shadows soon afterwards, his mask in hand, Winston not even noticing his arrival.

"So, you're a Professor now?" Soldier 76 grunted, chuckling slightly to himself. "Isn't there meant to be a bunch of interviews and qualification requirements you need before getting a job?"

Winston spun around quickly to face Soldier 76, the surprised look on his face turning into a relaxed grin as Soldier 76 approached. "What can I say? Guess I made a good first impression."

"So, what are you teaching these runts anyway?" Soldier 76 asked, tossing his mask into the air lightly before catching it.

"Advanced Science and Robotics." Winston replied, turning around as he began to observe the decapitated head of a Bastion unit. "I've heard I may have a problem with some of the Students but it should be nothing I can't handle."

"I feel sorry for the runts that try anything with you..." Soldier 76 grunted, looking around at the office.

"I heard Ozpin offered you a job here as well as an Assistant Combat Instructor to Goodwitch." Winston then spoke up, turning around again to face Soldier 76 again. "Why did you decline?"

"You know why." Soldier 76 stated, causing Winston to sigh slightly. "The only reason he offered us those jobs is because he needs us for something. He may not say it, or even mean it, but to him we're just pawns in a game of chess...and I don't want to know who he's playing against."

"So what will you do?" Winston asked, stepping forward slightly as he spoke.

"Gabriel was right about one thing, Overwatch got hit by someone. And I intend to find out who it was." Soldier 76 answered, turning to face the doorway. "And I can't do that whilst teaching a bunch of children."

"I see..." Winston murmured, sighing again as he rubbed his face before holding out his hand. "I wish you luck in your mission then Huntsman."

"I'm not a Huntsman..." Soldier 76 replied, pausing as he placed the mask on his face with an audible hiss and click before turning to face Winston again. "I'm just a Soldier."

Soldier 76 then grasped Winston's hand and shook it sharply, before retreating into the shadows, Winston smiling slightly to himself.

"We'll make a Huntsman out of you yet Jack..." Winston murmured, turning to face a nearby Bastion unit before clapping his hands together. "Right then, let's see what we can make out of you then..."

"Professor Winston," the all to familiar voice of Athena suddenly spoke up, causing Winston to freeze as he faced his computer terminal. "the Students for your first lesson are waiting to enter. Shall I allow them access."

"Right, of course." Winston sheepishly chuckled to himself, quickly turning away from the Bastion unit as he approached the doorway that led into his designated teaching area. He soon coughed nervously as he readjusted the chest piece of his armour, taking a deep breath whilst whispering words of encouragement to himself. "I can do this. If I can design and build a Chronal Accelerator in a few days then I can teach a bunch of Students..."

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"I thought Science would be boring but that was pretty fun." Yang chuckled as she and her Team Mates left the classroom.

"You only thought it was fun because Winston pretty much made Cardin wet himself in fear." Weiss countered, causing Blake to laugh to herself slightly as she recalled that specific moment.

"Yeah, that was pretty fun as well.." Yang mumbled to herself, laughing slightly as she also recalled the look in Cardin's eyes.

"So guys, we have a few hours until next lesson. What do you want to do?" Ruby asked, the other members of her Team stopping as they turned to face Ruby.

"I think we deserve a little break." Yang stated, cracking her knuckles as she stretched her arms. "You know, because we're heroes and stuff."

"Not so fast!" Weiss interrupted, crossing her arms quickly as she glared slightly at Yang who rolled her eyes in response. "We have a tournament to practice for, and we need to be on top form if we're going to stand a chance!"

"Oh please, we're like in the top percentage in Combat exercises in Beacon." Yang chuckled, her hands placed on her hips which was cocked to one side.

"Tell that to the Student from Mistral who was teleporting all over the place!" Weiss retorted quickly, a smug smile on her face.

"Oh yeah...what was her name again?" Yang mumbled as she tried to remember the Student in question.

"Oxton I think it was...or was it Tracey?" Blake mumbled as she too tried to remember the Student in question.

"Whoever they are, I agree with Weiss on this one." Ruby finally spoke up, pointing at Weiss as she spoke. "Besides, can't hurt to be prepared right?"

"Exactly!" Weiss concurred, the smug smile on her face becoming wider.

"Guess you're right." Yang murmured, rolling her shoulders forward slightly as she twisted her neck slightly. "Last one to the sparring hall has to wash Zwei!"

Yang, Weiss and Blake suddenly sped off to the sparring hall to avoid such a fate, yet Ruby lingered a while longer outside the classroom. After a few seconds, she looked up at the ceiling, a sad smile on her face as she continued to stare.

"Say hi to Mum for me Qrow..." Ruby whispered softly, before dashing off to catch up with her Team Mates. She may love that dog, but there was no way she was going to wash him!

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"Reaper and Talon failed miserably at their task," Cinder reported to Salem, a confident sneer on her face. "Just as planned."

"Good, with the threat of Talon and the Reaper extinguished, we have them in a false sense of security." Salem cooed in her ear, the writhing shadows around her gently easing her from the floor. "Rise, Cinder."

Cinder obeyed and slowly stood up, her hands clasped firmly at her sides as she awaited orders from her Mistress.

"The Vytal Festival will soon be upon us, and as our victory comes closer, so to does our greatest opposition."

"Ozpin." Cinder smirked, a small orb of fire hovering above her palm as she uttered the name. "When will we strike?"

"Near the Finals, I will give the order to the Grimm. Then you and your operatives will relay the same orders to the White Fang, Talon and what remains of the Shimada Clan." Salem responded, her voice turning into a soft whisper. "Soon victory shall be secured against the people of Vale. It started with Overwatch's Downfall, and it will end with Beacon's fall."

"I will take my leave, Mistress." Cinder whispered, turning around to leave the meditative state she was in, though stopped in her tracks to say one last thing. "A shame that the girl killed Reaper. Things may have gone a lot quicker with him still alive."

In response, Salem chuckled lightly to herself, causing Cinder to pause and turn again. "Were it so easy..."

Cinder narrowed her eyes in confusion at Salem's statement, only for a pool of shadow to appear before her. The pool shifted until it turned into an image, one that Cinder recognised as the Generator, though it had since been shut down until more secure fail-safes had been put in place.

Then, the sound of hushed whispers echoed in Cinder's mind as a stream of black smoke rose from the Generator floor and out of sight…

Fin.

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Well, I guess that ending is the perfect opportunity to announce I'll be doing a sequel. Yay? Anyway, sequel won't be here for a while as I'll be pouring all my time and energy into my RWBY/Fable Fan Fiction 'The Hero of Remnant', which will be moving up to Saturday. As for those who may be asking "How is Reaper still alive?", he survived a similar fate in the Overwatch Cinematic 'Recall'. I would just like to take this time however, to thank you all so much for reading this story. There have been good times and bad times, and really bad times, and whether you've been following from the very beginning or just joined recently, I thank you from the bottom of my cold, black heart.

Raging Archon out, for the final time.