Chapter 6: Never Alone
Weiss visited her teammates' cliff. She was now 100 years old, and she was ready. She wore a red cloak around her neck, similar to the one Ruby always wore, even with her Beacon Academy uniform. She set down three bouquets of flowers that matched each of her teammates' respective colors.
"Hey Ruby," she said. "I think this will be the last time I see this place alive. I came by to see you one last time to find comfort before I join you and our teammates here. I had a good run, though it would have been better with you there by my side in the sense of life, but these things happen. As huntresses, we lived and witnessed others experiencing loss. But we did make Earth better, like you had hoped when telling Blake something about that back in Beacon." Weiss felt the gentle breeze of the wind and smiled.
"As for Blake and Yang, they were the best friends of my life, while you were the best blessing I've ever been given. When we became partners, I didn't know better, and acted ungrateful for what I had. Atlas was the worst kingdom to grow up in with a father like Jacques, and his assertive influence rubbed me the wrong way. But when I learned to accept you, you became more than the unworthy girl I thought of you." She shook her head as she cringed at the memory of upsetting Ruby. "You became someone I could count on, someone who actually cared about me for the first time in my life, and our relationship grew beyond a friendship even after we were separated and reunited after Beacon and other tragedies we both survived."
A small tear ran down her eye, but she then finished her speech to her departed partner. "I loved you for all the things you've done for me, even if it was to your detriment. I wanted to repay you by dedicating my life to you, doing what I knew you and our friends would have done in life. I hope you can hear me, and that we can be together again soon. Until then, goodbye…" and she turned around to leave, looking over her shoulder one last time to see the graves of her team and Team STRQ, before hearing the comforting whisper of a long, forgotten voice.
"I'll see you soon, my snow angel."
This made Weiss' smile grow wider, and she went on her way.
Only three days had passed, and Weiss' health declined rapidly by then. She had long accepted this inevitability, and asked her nurses to leave her alone in her final hours. It was peaceful in bed there, in her hospital room, too peaceful for a member of the lively Team RWBY. She remembered her life and the people who made it better than her childhood. Her eyes saw a vase of flowers by the window of her room. They were red and white roses. She then looked through the window to see a pair of bumblebees sitting on the flowers on the other side of the windowsill. Both the roses and the bees reminded her of the beautiful bond of her team. How Ruby was her beloved partner, and how Blake and Yang had come a long way since making amends at Haven.
Then came one last surprise. Moments before her death, Winter suddenly appeared. Weiss had never seen her since she died and gave the Winter maiden powers to her. Those powers had since been taken by the gods to ensure that they'd never get into evil hands like Cinder's again when Salem was defeated. "Hello, Weiss. I've come to see you off for your reunion with your family of friends. I'm sorry for not being there for you when I should have been, but I'm here for you in your final moments to comfort you. I love you, my dear sister…"
Weiss shed her final tears. Just like her teammates, her sister was there for her in the end. "Thank you, Winter… I love… you… too…" she smiled as she closed her eyes, energy finally spent, and she passed away…
Everything was quiet, dark, but peaceful. Then, Weiss smelled the scent of roses. She felt a blissful warmth unlike anything comprehend-able in life. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw a pair of silver ones staring back at her, beaming with a familiar expression of care.
"Hi Weiss." That short sentence was all Ruby needed to say before the Schnee began to cry as she hugged her tightly upon recognition. But she was very happy. She was truly back with her long lost love.
"Ruby… Oh, Ruby I love you so much…" Weiss breathed instinctively as she cried. Breathing was more of a habit than a vital necessity wherever they were now. Ruby pulled back to caress her cheek and wipe away her tears, before kissing her queen to make her sorrows go away.
"I love you too, my snow angel. You're not alone anymore."
"I was never alone, Ruby. I learned that from you and our friends."
"Speaking of which, Weiss, they're all here to see you, too!"
Indeed, Blake, Yang, Team JNPR, Penny, Oscar, and even Emerald were nearby, and Ruby gestured them to come over.
"Salutations, best friend Weiss!" Penny cheered.
"Hello again!" Pyrrha sang.
"It's so nice to see you again, Weiss," Jaune smiled.
"It's about time you got here, Ice Queen!" Nora teased.
"We've all been waiting for you to join us," Ren explained.
"I missed you as well, Weiss," Emerald admitted.
"The gang's all here," Oscar said, "right Blake? Yang?"
The Faunus and her blonde lover smiled to Oscar, then each other, and finally to Ruby and Weiss.
"Yes Oscar," Blake answered.
"It is," Yang agreed.
They held their arms open, and Weiss couldn't run to hug them with Ruby fast enough.
Soon, her gravestone was placed right between Ruby and Blake's. Yang's wish was finally fulfilled. Laid to rest at the same cliff, Team RWBY is now together in death and beyond. Team JNPR had a memorial in the form of three statues that were Jaune, Ren, and Nora organized around the front of Pyrrha's. A plaque said, "In loving memory of Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie. The teammates who outlived Nikos after the Fall of Beacon, and gave their lives for our future."
It was a bittersweet happy ever after they've all come to accept. Team RWBY and Team JNPR as well as their close friends were now at peace together forevermore.
Author's note: Here we are, ladies and gentlemen, the final chapter of this bittersweet story. I included Penny and Emerald because I realized I didn't do anything with her besides mention her death, and Emerald because she's a redeemed character as far as the canon showed. Winter was the first important person in Weiss' life, so I wanted a brief scene to show her comforting her dying sister before she goes to reunite with her best friends. I figured that the deceased maiden becomes a part of their successor in terms of spirit, so that Winter was still around in case she died. I'll still do stories around here, but considerably less gut wrenching than this.
