Snippet 237

Cold Conclusion Finality

Genre: Hurt and Comfort/Angst/Family

Pairs: None

Parody: RWBY

AU-Type: Canon-eqsue AU

Tags: V9 AU, A take on what if Salem won, Salem has come full circle, The ending is inspired in part by the Justice League (the DCAU one) that inspired this trilogy

It was so cold…knowing they were last people alive made it worse. All Ruby could remember from a blast of wind blowing them away and swallowing them away before it all went to black. Ruby thought she was dead until she started to feel warm again.

Ruby's eyes fluttered open as she looked around. She was in a room, namely one that was warm. A big blanket was on her body as she saw the others were in similar states. They were waking up.

"Are we dead?" Weiss asked.

"No, but you came close."

That voice got them all on their feet as Salem entered the room, however there was a clear change as the Queen of Grimm looked like she had in the past. Human, and not corrupted by the Grimm pool.

"You! How are you even still alive?" Raven snarled.

"The same reason this planet is still here. The Brothers are sadistic." Salem said. "Do you even know how long it's been?"

That got the group look Salem before she dropped the bombshell. It had been fifty years since they vanished.

"When I summoned them, they saw humanity was scattered but united against me. They killed them anyway. Wouldn't even touch me as they razed the planet. Left me alone on this wasteland and they fucked off to who knows where." Salem said bluntly.

The group winced. Arguably, Team RWBY had each other…along with Neo and Jaune for company on the island. But the idea of spending fifty years wandering a wasteland immortal and alone was torture.

"But why save us?" Raven asked.

"Because I wasn't going to let the chance for company slip by…and because when I was healing you…I noticed you have the same regenerative immortality…I do." Salem said as the group balked. "Even I haven't saved you, you would just awoken somehow."

"So, we can't even join our friends in the afterlife!" Jaune said frantic before falling to his knees. "What about Ozpin?!"

"He's gone for good." Salem said as Jaune punched a wall.

"This is all your fault!" Yang groaned grabbing Salem by the collar. "I…"

"Look hurting me isn't going to sate your anger. Do you know how many suicide attempts I had in the last fifty years? More than any punches you can throw in a few sparse seconds." Salem said dryly as Yang deflated. "Besides, I am not solely to blame for all of this. You didn't exactly much good attempts to stop me."

"She's not wrong there." Raven said as everyone looked at her. "Well, we wouldn't be here if you all succeeded."

"I actually was able to see the past." Salem said. "It's funny that you gave Ozma grief on lies where the one screaming for no more lies is a hypocrite."

RWB looked at Yang who looked pensive.

"Not surprised you backed your sister in lying to Ironwood. Real genius move there." Salem said sarcastically as Ruby looked downcast. "History repeated itself only…there was no last-minute save."

Ruby looked like she wanted to break down, Yang just let Salem go to punch a wall instead, and Raven just shook her head in disbelief. Neo was impassive looking up to Salem.

"Oh, Neo…was it? Yeah, I can also Ruby didn't kill Torchwick. That was a Grimm who did it…Cinder lied to you, but I figured you'd realize that given Ruby doesn't have the guts to kill anyone despite having the chance to kill Cinder several times." Salem said as Neo simply looked besides herself.

"Where are we exactly?" Weiss asked.

"Atlas. I reworked their escape plan and made a new floating city that expands to a massive spaceship." Salem said before showing them outside. "I was planning on leaving Remnant for good…because the planet is dying."

"Dying? How does a planet die?" Taiyang said.

"Unstable core due to the Brothers. I was planning on leaving, but something was keeping me here…and I see it was you all." Salem remarked. "Right on time…"

"How long do we have until the planet…" Weiss said.

"Less than two weeks." Salem admitted.

"Fifty years. Zwei…" Taiyang said sadly.

Salem put a hand on Taiyang's shoulder before leaving the room to return with a corgi.

"He's not Zwei, but this is his descendant, Fünfrr. I was collecting animals for breeding, perseveration, and to have a food source." Salem said as Taiyang took him up. "Zwei was a good dog, he comforted me on my worse days."

"So this is it…we just leave this planet and go where exactly…" Jaune said as Salem looked thoughtful.

"Not sure. I was working on an experimental machine that could jettison us through hyperspace. We could escape this universe to go to another." Salem said. "But it's only theoretical. However the case may be…it would be better than nothing."

The next few days were quiet. The group were visiting their homes…for the last time gathering personal effects. Neo had actually stuck around Salem, not really having a home to go to. Despite Neo's silence and look of utter calm, it was to hide how torn up she was on the inside. Immortality made killing Ruby pointless, more so given that Ruby did not even kill Torchwick as Cinder said. She took a little joy knowing Cinder got exactly what was coming. The question on her mind was simply, what to do now?

"Salem? I could use some advice."

Ruby had confronted Salem as she was garden.

"How do you handle being immortal?" Ruby asked.

"Ruby, you and I are different. Years of being alone and going past insanity have made me realize that I was a narcissistic sociopathic asshole who was the product of her upbringing and my bad decisions. I never truly felt the weight of immortality until that day I supposedly 'won'. If anything, you know through a period of insanity before you settle into the fact that you're still living. I found myself getting hobbies, gathering knowledge, just…doing something to not to be idle. I've come to cherish the fact that you all are here. One person being an immortal is torture, but a group of them can at least comfort the other."

Salem had spoken rather sagely and Ruby asked about her mother. Salem had revealed what had happened and Ruby just had this blank look on her face.

"Are you kidding me?" Ruby asked.

"No." Salem said bluntly watering the onions.

"So, my mom, the ultimate huntress, died by falling down the chairs of your castle." Ruby said bluntly.

"What reason would I have and what would I gain from lying to you? We're stuck with each other." Salem said plainly.

Ruby simply walked away completely lost for words. Yang, Taiyang, and Raven did not take it all that much better either. Maybe because it was not the grand heroic sacrifice, they were expecting. Anything that just was not so mundane.

Weiss had taken to drinking after finding her mother's aged wine collection. It was to numb the pain. Salem had told her how her father had died, and she blamed herself. She wanted her father to pay for his crimes, he did not want him murdered like that. Whitley came to mind as well hoping he, Willow, and Winter went out painlessly. Though from what Salem told her about the Brothers, that was…unlikely.

Blake spent several days laying about in Menagerie mulling about her failures alone. She could not exactly stand to be in the same room as Ruby or Yang. What cemented the immortality for her was when she woke up after using her weapon to do jigai.

She just woke up feeling her neck was fully healed and the blood on her throat was drying. She did not have the heart to try again. All it did was hurt. Ironically, the only person she could really talk to…was Weiss.

Jaune had not stayed long in visiting home and was back on the ship after only a day. He took to Salem's advice and was getting into gardening. It was not going to heal his trauma overnight, but it was something to do and a conversation with someone while doing it was something he needed. He took a little pleasure knowing Cinder was not exactly well-liked in her circle either.

Raven and Taiyang were spending their time reconnecting. They were talking through their issues as they wanted to come to a middle ground as they had each other. Raven had found and repaired Qrow's flask and weapon.

As the days past them by, the planet was crackling at the seams. Life around the planet was fading and losing its sheen. Four days before the supposed day of destruction, they all gathered at ready for launch. Space was beautiful but endless void, but the group opted to watch the planet explode from space as closure. As Remnant imploded on themselves, the immortals all took a drink in mourning.

"Despite the loss we all had, there is a silver lining." Salem said taking control of the ship. "We have each other and we have all the time in the world to come to peace with that."

"I guess we'll call you Captain Salem." Raven said. "Where to?"

"Not sure. But we can go anywhere." Salem said with a hint of excitement. "We can go anywhere."

~FIN~

(A/N: There you have it, a completed trilogy. This trilogy is a big reference to the JL episode, "Hereafter". Vandal Savage actually did make a spaceship to escape the ruined Earth, but opted not to go through with it as penance. Seeing that Cold Conclusion was not going to end with time travel, I went with the space angle. Considering Ironwood's plan, this is painfully ironic. But the question you're probably thinking is where are they going to end up, and do RWBY work through their issues? I personally leave it all in the air.)