AN: It's time for us to completely wrap up Volume 3.

Without further ado, let's get to it.

Chapter 76

The flying elephant disappeared when that bright flash of light happened and Ruby hit the ground. Neo was still riding it when it disappeared, and she opened her umbrella up to gently drift downwards. She saw Ruby lying on the ground in front of Flames, who was writhing around on the ground and screaming. The dragon, surprisingly enough, looked like it had turned to stone, frozen next to the tower in an expression of great pain. Champ was sitting over Ruby, checking to see if she was okay, and Mama Blue was unconscious under a pile of rubble.

Neo landed on the ground, taking a good look at Flames. The left side of her face was mangled, and she was missing the eye on that side. On top of that, the skin on her left arm had been burned away.

Neo smirked at seeing her in so much pain.

Stupid bitch.

Seeing that Champ seemed to have things covered with Ruby, Neo approached the writhing Flames, drawing her small dagger out of the handle of her umbrella. Flames looked up at her with her remaining eye.

"Please," she said, her voice raspy from screaming. Neo looked down at her in scorn. She wasn't going to get any mercy.

She raised the blade, ready to plunge it into the woman's chest, when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She opened her umbrella just in time to block a hail of bullets fired at her by Midriff, who was running at her with Leg Day. She didn't remember him having that burn scar on his face.

"Cinder!" the green-haired girl shouted, standing defensively in front of her. "What the hell are you doing?!" Neo just leveled a glare at her, raising her weapon in a defensive stance.

If it weren't for the woman currently writhing in pain, her dad would still…

She wasn't about to let anyone get in the way of her revenge.

Flames weakly grabbed onto Midriff's leg.

"Emerald, please," she said. "Help me."

"Cinder…" the green-haired girl said in concern, before looking back at Neo with a glare. They stared each other down for a few seconds before Neo's eyes widened.

Wait, wasn't her Semblance…?

Neo charged at Midriff, thrusting her dagger straight at her chest.

And then the girl disappeared with a shimmer, along with Flames and Leg Day.

Damn it!

She sheathed her dagger, looking around for any sign of where they might have gone to, but all three of them had disappeared without a trace. She turned around to leave when a voice stopped her.

"Please, wait!" Champ called out, now standing next to the pile of rubble that was burying Mama Blue. "Can you help me lift this? We need to get her out of there." Neo looked at the trapped woman, and then back towards where Flames may have gone before silently sighing and walking over next to Champ.

They both grabbed onto a piece of the rubble, and Champ looked up at her.

"Okay, on three," Champ said. "One, two, three!" They both strained their muscles, pulling the slab of concrete up and off of Mama Blue.

Neo made the mistake of looking down at the unconscious woman.

It wasn't pretty. Her legs had been mangled by the building falling on her, and there was a slight unnatural bend near the bottom of her spine.

"AQUA!" a male voice yelled, and a man in a red cape ran up and gently pulled her out from the rubble now that the girls were holding up the largest piece. He carried her several feet away before laying her down and cradling her head in his arms. "No, honey, please," he muttered to himself, placing two fingers against her neck to check her pulse. From the sigh he let out, Neo assumed that meant she was still breathing. He looked around at the destruction: the destroyed tower, the petrified dragon, and unconscious Ruby, and then looked back down at Mama Blue cradled in his arms. "What happened?" he asked.

"Cinder did this," Champ answered. "The professor tried to save me, but the dragon dropped the Tower on her. Then Ruby showed up, and some bright light shot out from her eyes. The dragon froze, she hurt Cinder really badly, and then she passed out. Emerald and Mercury already took Cinder away."

"Damn it," the man said, holding Mama Blue a little more tightly.

"Qrow!" a voice shouted that Neo really didn't want to hear. She saw general Irondouche running towards them with a few of his soldiers.

"James!" the caped man yelled. The General stopped when they got close, pulled out a pistol, and pointed it at Neo.

"Neo Politan, you're under arrest!" he shouted.

"James, please, Aqua needs medical attention!" Qrow shouted, making the general look down and see Mama Blue. Neo decided now was the time to leave.

Using her Semblance, she disappeared without anyone noticing.

Pyrrha sat in a hospital bed, holding a plastic stick in her hand. What Cinder had told her came as a shock, so the second she was admitted to the hospital, she had requested a pregnancy test.

It was positive.

She had spent that past half-an-hour just staring at the stick, not sure what she should do with this information.

She was going to be a mother, and she had no doubt that Jaune was the father. What would her mother say? What was Jaune going to think?!

It didn't take long for the full consequences of what they had done to finally hit her. The only thing she had ever wanted to do with her life was become a Huntress, and now it looked like her career was coming to an end before it even had the chance to begin.

The irony was astounding. She had fallen in love with a boy who shared her dream, and because of one night of passion, they both would likely have to give up their dreams.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her.

There were only three people who knew about Pyrrha's pregnancy: Cinder, Professor Ozpin, and Pyrrha herself.

What if she never told Jaune? If he never found out about the baby, then he wouldn't have to give up on his dream. Being a Huntsman meant everything to him, and she was the one that made it possible for him to become one. It wouldn't be fair for her to then be the reason for him to have to give up.

Once the thought was in her head, it wouldn't leave.

Pyrrha already knew she would be going back to Argus to be with her family and have her baby, so the only way to make sure Jaune didn't know was…

The thought brought tears to her eyes, but in her mind, this was the only way.

Ruby slowly opened her eyes, quickly realizing that she was lying down in her bed at home. Yang's bed was across the room, though it was empty. Her sister had clearly been there recently, though, since the covers were messy like she had just gotten out of it. She looked right next to her bed and saw her father asleep in a chair. Noticeably, there was no bottle of alcohol near him.

"Dad?" she asked, making him stir. He opened his eyes, which instantly widened when he realized that she was up. "What are you doing here?"

"Ruby!" he said happily, kneeling next to her bed. "You're awake!"

"Ugh, what happened?" she asked, holding her head, which still hurt slightly.

"Your uncle Qrow found you, unconscious," her dad explained. "You and Aqua. He got you out of there, and brought you home safe."

"Wait! Mom!" Ruby said suddenly, looking at Dad desperately. "Is she alright?!" He looked like he was struggling to find the answer to that question.

"She's uh… she's gonna be alright," he said. "I think… she's just gonna need time to get used to how things are going to be from now on."

"What happened to the school?" she asked. "And Vale? Were they able to clear out the Grimm?"

"Things in Vale are under control," her father answered. "But the school… it's not that simple. That thing, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you did a number on it. But it's not disappearing. It's…kind of…frozen. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it keeps attracting more Grimm to the school."

"I did…what?" Ruby asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"Hm?"

"You said I did a number on it," Ruby said. "What do you mean?"

"I…look that's not important right now. We can talk about it later. Things are just…kind of a mess."

"It's always a mess," Uncle Qrow suddenly said from the doorway. "Good to see you're awake, kiddo." He looked at her father. "Can you give us a minute?"

"What, I can't stay?" Dad asked, sounding offended.

"Tai," Uncle Qrow said sternly. Ruby sighed. Sometimes it felt like she was the only one willing to give Dad another chance. With a sigh of frustration, her father stood up, kissed her on the forehead, and left the room. Uncle Qrow took the chair Dad had previously occupied, slumping down in it as if he hadn't had a chance to rest in days.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Um…I kind of hurt…all over," she said, making her uncle chuckle.

"That makes sense, after what you did."

"You guys keep saying that. That I did something. What are you talking about?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Uncle Qrow asked.

"I flew over to where the tower used to be, and then I saw Mom…" she shuddered at the memory of her mother half buried under concrete. "Is she really okay?" Uncle Qrow sighed, clearly in melancholy.

"She got hurt pretty badly, but she'll live." He gestured for her to continue.

"So, I got to the tower, and I saw Pyrrha and Mom…and Cinder…" She still couldn't believe that she had been the one responsible for everything. "And then everything went white."

"Anything else?"

"I remember… my head hurting."

"The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?" her uncle asked.

"I…I don't know," she said. "I think it was something about…"

"Silver eyes," he interrupted her. "That's an extremely rare trait."

"So?"

"That Keyblade isn't the only thing that makes you special," Uncle Qrow said. "It's the same way your mother was special. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago. Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down." He chuckled. "It's a ridiculous story."

"And I'm one of them?"

"Well, there's a frozen dragon currently at Beacon, and you didn't have to lift a finger against it, so I'd say so." His face fell. "Ozpin's missing. Something's been set in motion. With Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where he left off."

"Well, how can I help?' Ruby asked.

"The best way you can help right now is to get some rest," he said, standing up from his chair so her could give her a kiss on the forehead like her father had. "You're in no condition to go anywhere right now, and our enemy's trail leads all the way to Haven. That'd be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you." He opened the door to leave the room, when Ruby heard Yang's voice from the hallway.

"Is she awake?" Yang asked.

"Yup," their uncle answered, standing aside to let Yang into the room.

"Yang—" Ruby greeted, but was stunned when she saw the stump that used to be her sister's right arm. Without hesitation, Ruby used her Semblance to fly out of the bed and nearly tackle Yang in a tearful hug. "What happened?!" Ruby asked.

"…Blake's psychotic ex-boyfriend happened," Yang answered, wrapping her remaining arm (Ruby's heart wrenched having to clarify it like that) around her.

"What?" Ruby asked. "That Adam guy?"

"Yeah. I saw him stab Blake, and charged at him. I don't even really know what happened, but when I woke up… well…" Ruby's grip on Yang tightened.

"I don't…I don't know what to do…" Ruby said. "I don't know how to help you."

"Sometimes, there isn't anything you can do," Yang said sadly. "This isn't going away. At least you're safe. I don't what I would do if anything happened to you."

Ruby pulled back from the hug, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Where are Weiss and Blake?"

"Weiss's father came for her," Yang said.

"What does that mean?" Ruby asked.

"No one outside of Vale knows what happened here. Before the tower fell, the last thing people saw was Atlas attacking innocent people and Grimm destroying the city. Everyone's scared. No one knows who to trust. So, Weiss's father came to drag her back to Atlas, where he thinks it's safe. She's gone."

"What about Blake?" Ruby could see Yang's jaw clench.

"She ran," Yang practically spat the words out. "Sun saw her go. After we got to the city, she just ran."

"But…why?!" Ruby asked.

"Don't know," Yang said. "She couldn't even be bothered to come and make sure any of us were okay. She knew we were hurt. She knew Mom was injured. But she just left."

"How…How is Mom?" Ruby asked. Dad and Uncle Qrow had both said she was okay, but they had seemed a little hesitant. If there was one thing she could trust about Yang, it's that she wouldn't try to hide the truth from her.

"…It's pretty bad," Yang said, affirming Ruby's fears. "I think you'd better come see it."

Ruby wasn't entirely prepared for the state her mom was in.

Instead of standing tall as she always did, she was sitting down in a wheelchair. Instead of the quiet confidence she had always exuded, she was staring blankly out the window of their living room.

Someone who Ruby had always looked up to as the embodiment of strength, beauty, and courage, now just looked so…defeated. Even Mom's depression after the incident with the artificial Kingdom Hearts hadn't been this bad.

"M-Mom?" Ruby asked, tears beginning to well up in her eyes again. Mom averted her blank stare from the window to look up at her. She offered a sad attempt at a smile.

"Hey, sweetie," she said. "You're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Mom!" Ruby yelled, tears flowing freely down her face as she hugged Mom. Why was she asking about Ruby? She clearly was in worse shape! "I… I don't…" Ruby couldn't even form the words. "H-How bad is it?"

"Doctors said one of the vertebrae in my lower spine was crushed," Mom answered sadly. "Total paralysis from the waist, down."

"B-But you have a Keyblade!" Ruby said. "C-Can't you heal it?"

Mom extended out her hand, summoning her Keyblade. She raised it into the air.

"Heal," she said, surrounding herself in a green glow. "Already tried it. I was able to mend the bones in my legs, but there are some things even magic can't fix."

"B-But there has to be something we can do!" Ruby insisted.

"Ruby," Mom said. "Stop. Sometimes, bad things just happen. The important thing is that you're okay."

"That's not the important thing!" Ruby said. "What about you?"

"Ruby, right now you're Remnant's only Keyblade Wielder," Mom explained. "You have an important job to do."

"I'm not going," Ruby said quietly.

"Hm?"

"I said I'm not going anywhere!" Ruby repeated, louder this time. "You and Yang are hurt! I'm not going anywhere without you!"

"Ruby…" Mom said. "You can't…"

"I don't care."

Ruby slowly stalked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her and slumping onto her bed. She buried her face into her pillow, doing her best not to cry again.

She was only there for a few minutes before he heard a tapping at her window. She looked up in confusion, and the tapping sound was heard again. Curious, Ruby got up and opened the window, only for a short girl with pink-and-brown hair and carrying an umbrella to hop into her room.

"Neo?" Ruby asked. The girl turned around to look at her, and Ruby noticed a new addition to her wardrobe: a black bowler hat. Without warning and without thinking, Ruby pulled Neo into a hug, startling the shorter girl. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry we couldn't save him." After a second, Neo gently pat her on the back, seemingly to reassure her that there were no hard feelings. They pulled away from the hug, and Neo held up her thumb questioningly, gesturing with her other hand at Ruby.

"Are you…asking if I'm okay?" Ruby asked. Neo nodded. "Wait, did you come to check on me?" Neo nodded again, a slight blush on her face this time. "Aw, thanks. I'm fine. My mom and sister are hurt pretty badly, though. My sister, Yang, she's the one you fought on the train, she lost her arm. And Mom… she's paralyzed." Neo put a hand on her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic look.

"Thanks," she said. "So, did you want to stay for dinner?" Neo shook her head, holding out her hand. With a shimmer of light, a wanted poster with her face on it appeared in her hand. "Oh, right, you're still considered a criminal. Well, what are you going to do now?" A shimmer climbed up Neo's body, gradually transforming her appearance into that of Cinder. "You're going after her?" Neo nodded. "Uncle Qrow said her trail leads back to Haven, so I'd start there if I were you." Neo looked surprised at that. "Good luck." Neo returned to her normal appearance, nodded resolutely, and walked back towards the window.

"And Neo?" Ruby called after her, making the multi-colored girl turn around. "Thanks again for coming to check on me." Neo nodded with a smile, and jumped out the window.

"I'll get it!" Ruby called out in response to the doorbell ringing. Winter had come, and the island had a thin blanket of snow covering it. Mom was sitting in her wheelchair, and Yang was sitting on the couch, the family having been watching a movie before their visitors arrived. Uncle Qrow was out in Vale, trying to help with the rebuilding efforts. Ruby opened the front door, being met with a surprise.

"Guys!" she said happily, seeing Jaune, Ren, and Nora on her front porch. She gave each of them a hug.

"Hey Ruby," Jaune said. "It's been a while. How have you been?"

"Pretty good I guess. All things considered," Ruby answered. "How about you?"

"We've been helping out with the rebuilding. It's going well."

"Come on in," Ruby said, gesturing for them to enter.

"Hey, Yang," Nora greeted, lacking her usual enthusiasm. "Hey Professor."

"Hey guys," Yang said.

"Nora, I'm not a professor of anything anymore," Mom said, spinning her wheelchair around to face them. "You can just call me Aqua."

"We're all glad to see that you're doing better," Ren said.

"I guess, all things considered," Yang said.

"So, where's Pyrrha?" Ruby asked, and the other members of JNPR's faces fell. "…What?"

"Pyrrha left," Ren said. "She went back home to Argus."

"…And she dumped me," Jaune said, his voice carrying more than a hint of bitterness.

"What?!" Ruby asked. "Why?"

"I wish I knew."

"That's terrible," Mom said. Ren put a comforting hand on Jaune's shoulder before looking at Mom.

"So, you wanted us to come," he said. Ruby looked at her in confusion.

"I did," Mom said. "I want the three of you to take Ruby to Mistral."

"What?" Ruby asked. "Mom, I—"

"Ruby, I know you don't want to leave us, but you have a job to do," Mom interrupted. "What happened at Beacon has made it abundantly clear that there's something going on, and as Remnant's only remaining active Keyblade Wielder, you have a responsibility to find out what it is and stop it."

"But… You need me here."

"I do," Mom said. "But that's the life of a Keybearer. Sometimes, you have to put personal feelings aside. Besides, I think you're ready."

"I don't want to leave you."

"Ruby," Yang said. "Don't worry about us. We can take care of ourselves. Go out there, find Cindy, and kick her ass for us."

"B-but I…"

"Ruby," Mom said. "I have always been proud of the woman you're quickly growing into. This is what all those years of training was for. Go out there, see Remnant, and find Cinder. And remember, even if we won't be there physically, your sister, your uncle and I will be there in spirit. We'll be rooting for you." Ruby was silent for a few seconds before she looked her mother in the eyes.

"…Okay," she said with a nod. "I'll do it. We'll go to Haven."

"Glad to have you on board," Ren said.

"It'll be an adventure!" Nora said happily.

"Hey Vomit Boy," Yang said. "You better make sure Ruby comes back in one piece. Even one-armed, I'll still kill you if she gets hurt." Jaune audibly gulped.

"Y-yes, ma'am."

In a far-off land, in a barren landscape of eternal night, stood a woman looking out on the balcony of a great castle, looking up at the shattered moon above her head.

She had deathly pale skin, with black veins running along her arms and face. She wore a long black dress, and her white hair was pulled up into an elegant bun.

"Ma'am," a tall man with a mustache said, interrupting her thoughts. "She has returned."

The woman turned around, a wicked smile appearing on her face.

She had been called many things. Mistress, Goddess, Ruler.

Her name was Salem.

And she was the Queen of the Grimm.

AN: Okay, since I know people are going to question how it's possible for Aqua to be paralyzed if she has a Keyblade and magical healing, I've always figured there were some injuries that couldn't be healed, even with magic. After all, Master Eraqus's face was scarred, and he couldn't heal those. As I said in an earlier author's note, my headcanon is that it can't heal burns, scar tissue, or nerve damage.

Also, Pyrrha basically broke up with Jaune for seemingly no reason so he doesn't know they're having a baby, and thus won't have to quit being a Hunstman in order to raise the said baby.

Yes, this is going to bite her later.

And that's a wrap for Volume 3! Next time, we'll be starting Volume 4, and I might take a little bit longer to get it out than usual, since I've been rethinking the direction I want this story to take from now on, and will be working to add more twists and turns to make it better. I'm excited for my new ideas!

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!