AUTHOR'S NOTES: The last chapter of "On RWBY Wings III," wrapping up most of the remaining threads of this story arc.

The Sea of Japan

Near Nishinoshima, Japan

21 June 2001

Emerald Sustrai shook herself, trying to stay awake, and checked her watch. The sun was starting to get very low on the horizon, and she'd been in the water for an hour. Even in summer, the Sea of Japan was cold, and she knew she was starting to suffer the first signs of exposure. The air battle above had long since ended, with the survivors headed back to their respective bases. It hadn't gone well for Salem's forces: Emerald had only seen Mercury manage to escape, though there was a good chance Cinder had managed to kill both Vernal and Raven Branwen; Emerald hoped so, anyway. She'd seen Hazel land in the water as well, but he could be miles away by now—assuming he was still alive.

She continued to hold Weiss Schnee's head out of the water. Weiss had gone in and out of consciousness, and even when awake, didn't quite seem to realize where she was. Emerald checked the other woman's pulse. It was still there, but it seemed weaker. She wondered if Weiss had internal bleeding somewhere.

Finally, as Emerald threw saltwater into her face to keep herself from drifting off again, she heard the thrum of helicopter blades. To her surprise, they seemed to be coming from two directions at once, though sound carried strangely over the water. The question was, who was it? Before they had taken off from Vladivivostok, the portly head of the Malachite Gang—known only as Lil' Miss—had informed them that anyone who got shot down over the Sea of Japan could expect a rescue, but only if there were no enemy aircraft around.

Emerald though the louder sounds were coming from the east, so she looked in that direction. In the twilight, she saw lights of a helicopter. "I guess it doesn't matter," she said aloud. "We've got to get picked up or we're both going to die." Keeping one arm around Weiss, Emerald brought up a slightly waterlogged leg and pulled a pen flare from a strap around her ankle. She twisted the top of the flare, pointed it towards the lights, and touched a button. The flare sputtered and then fired with a sharp report that startled her and woke up Weiss. It ignited, bathing the area in bright red. Emerald tossed the used flare aside and grabbed another one, but it wasn't necessary: the helicopter turned in her direction. Her heart sank a little: it was a JASDF UH-60 Blackhawk, painted in white and yellow. Still, it would beat being in the water any longer; at least prison would be warm.

Then she saw the lights of another helicopter, approaching from the west. This one was painted black, making it nearly invisible in the twilight, and it looked like a fat bug, with two main rotors instead of the more common main rotor and tail rotor combination. It stopped short of them and hovered; Emerald recognized it as an ancient Kamov Ka-25, and given its paint job, it was undoubtedly from the Malachites.

The JASDF helicopter stopped over them, its rotorwash blowing cold water into their faces. Weiss blinked. "Emerald?" she said, recognition flooding her face. She had not noticed who it was to this point. "Emerald Sustrai?"

Emerald did not answer and waved with her free arm as a rescue sling was lowered from the helicopter. The Blackhawk descended more, and a wetsuited diver jumped into the water next to them. He swam over, grabbing the sling. Emerald remembered something Weiss had babbled earlier. "Weiss!" she shouted. "Can you feel your legs?"

"I'm…I'm not sure…" Emerald reached down, got a bit of Weiss' right thigh between her fingers, and pinched hard. "Ow!" Weiss shouted, adding a bit of angry German behind it.

The diver got to them. "She's got two broken legs!" Emerald yelled over the rotorwash. "I don't think her back is broken! Might have a concussion!" The diver nodded, and made hand signals to the lineman above them. The sling was pulled back up, and a rescue basket lowered into the water instead. As gently as he could, the diver got Weiss into the stretcher. Emerald squeezed Weiss' hand. Weiss squeezed back as she was pulled upwards. Emerald treaded water as until the other pilot was safely aboard, then looked at the diver. "Anata wa eigo o hanashimasu ka?" she asked, one of the few phrases of Japanese she knew.

"I speak English!" the diver yelled back.

Emerald pointed to the Ka-25. "That's my ride, okay?"

The diver nodded. "Good luck!"

She smiled back, turned, and began to swim. Her limbs felt like lead, and after a few strokes, the diver began to help her. A rescue sling was dropped from the Ka-25, and the diver helped Emerald into it, then gave a thumbs-up to the Malachite lineman above them. Emerald was finally dragged out of the water, and the diver swam back to the UH-60 to be picked up. The two helicopters then flew away from each other, the pilots giving the other a nod, both sides having decided without a word that there had been enough killing for one day.

Emerald helped the crewman pulled the sodden flight suit off of her; she didn't wear much beneath it, but modesty was a small price to pay for getting warm. Blankets were piled over her, and she smiled as warmth began to leach into her body. Even better was the hot thermos of tea pressed into her hands.

"So," a voice rumbled. "You survived."

Emerald turned and saw Hazel huddled in the corner, covered in blankets as well.

Naval Air Station Atsugi

Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

21 June 2001

"Yes!" Ruby cheered, jumping in the air. "Nora! Nora!" She stuffed her cell phone into a pocket of her flight suit, then ran from her F-16 to the battered A-10. Nora came out from under the nose, her crew chief looking as morose as she did. Magnhild would once more be headed for some time in the repair shop, but once more, the tough Warthog had survived another battle. It occurred to Ruby that, of both Ruby and Juniper Flights, Nora and Blake were the only ones who still had the aircraft they started Vytal Flag with. "They picked up Ren and Weiss!"

Nora immediately brightened. "Are they okay?"

"Ren is. No problem there. Weiss…" Ruby winced. "Weiss got busted up, but she should make it. They're bringing them to the naval hospital at Yokosuka."

"Well, hot damn!" Nora hugged Ruby with rib-bending force. "I knew I was right in flying back here!" Ruby grunted in pain and Nora let her go. She couldn't help but grin, though. Now she knew why Nora was so strong. Despite the terrible damage to the A-10, she'd insisted on flying back all the way to Atsugi, rather than risk being potentially away from Ren. Ruby also suspected there was pride involved too: Nora hadn't even declared an emergency, despite having one engine out, one rudder little more than a ragged hunk of metal, and barely enough fuel to reach home.

It must've shown in her eyes, because Nora nudged her, slapping the holed left wing of the Warthog; Ruby was sure she could stick her head through the cannon hole.. "No sweat. How's Crescent Rose?"

Ruby sighed. Her beloved F-16 was also going to end up back in the repair bay too, where it seemed to be spending a great deal of time. One wingtip looked as bad as Nora's rudder, and the wing wasn't much better. She'd also managed to get home; luckily, the damage looked worse than it was. "Guess Magnhild is going to have some company." Ruby heard bootsteps and turned. "Well, well! Nora, look! It's Ensign Ace in a Day!"

"Seriously?" Nora ducked under the wing of the A-10 and ran up to Oscar Pine, who had finished postflighting his F-18 and was walking over. "Cute boy Oscar!" She glomped him, to the point where she forced all the air out of his lungs, and he gasped. Then she picked him up. "Ace in one hop? Ace in your first combat? You are good, kid!" Nora conveniently forgot that she was barely two years older than Oscar. She set him down and Oscar leaned against the A-10, trying to suck in air. "Now all we need is Pyr and Yang!"

As if summoned, they heard jet engines, and a few seconds later, the distinctive, otherwordly shapes of the F-22 and F-23 flew over, then curved into the downwind leg. Ruby was surprised: she'd expected Yang to do a hard break over the base, probably throw in a victory roll in the process. Then again, she and Pyrrha were probably pretty low on fuel themselves. "C'mon, guys!" Ruby yelled, and began running across the tarmac.

Pyrrha and Yang taxied in and parked at the remotest part of the tarmac; there were already a small group of armed guards waiting next to Qrow's F-117. All three aircraft were stealthy, of course, and in the case of the Raptor and the Black Widow, brand new; they warranted being guarded. Yang followed the glowing wands of the ground crewman, then shut down the engines and leaned back in the seat, letting out her breath in a long sigh. It had been a very long day. She opened the canopy, pulled off her mask, and took off her helmet as the ladder was placed against the F-23.

Qrow came up the ladder. "You okay?" was the first words out of his mouth.

"I'm fine," Yang answered tiredly.

"Raven?"

"She's alive. Probably halfway to California by now." It was an exaggeration; unless Raven had a tanker hidden away somewhere, she'd have to find a hidey hole to land at. The problem was, Yang knew, Raven almost certainly had such hidey-holes all over the Pacific. Yang motioned at a box about the size of a household computer printer, sitting on her legs. "JINN," she explained quietly. "The mobile version. She's pretty chatty when you switch her on."

"She?" Qrow asked.

"Tell you later." He helped her unstrap, and took the box, climbing down the ladder first. She barely had time to turn around before Ruby tackled her. Yang staggered back. "You're okay, Sis!" Ruby yelled, but she was mystified as to why Yang began crying into her sister's shoulder.

The next morning, Pyrrha Nikos was sitting in a lounge chair on the verandah behind the VOQ. As a reward for not getting killed, all the pilots of Ruby and Norn Flights had the day off. Pyrrha was dressed casually, in shorts and a tank top that proclaimed loudly EUROPEAN HEALTH BATHS. She couldn't recall ever going to a place called European Health Baths, and she wondered if she'd accidentally borrowed it from Yang; since it fit over her height and larger-than-average bosom, Pyrrha strongly suspected it was indeed the blonde's. She stared into the sky, twirling Jaune's dogtag between her fingers. It was a beautiful, clear day.

The patio door opened and shut, and Ruby walked out with a yawn. "'Morning, Pyrrha."

"Good morning," Pyrrha returned. "Sleep well?"

"Mm-hmm." Not long after Yang had landed had come the word that the White Fang had surrendered at Ashiya. It wasn't quite all good news—they'd learned later that Adam Taurus had managed to escape—but a win was a win. "Did you?"

"Fairly well."

"That's good." Ruby fell into the chair next to Pyrrha. "Oh, hey, Fuji's out! Cool!"

Pyrrha smiled; it took genuine effort to stay depressed around Ruby Rose. "Have you heard anything about Weiss?"

"They operated on her last night, but she's going to be okay." I hope, Ruby added to herself. "They're supposed to call us when we can go visit her over in Yokosuka." Pyrrha smothered a giggle; Ruby was pronouncing it Yoko Suka, rather than the correct Yokus'ka. "We're gonna party when Weiss gets out!"

Pyrrha suddenly felt the black cloud of depression descend, and cursed herself for it. There was no reason to be depressed. In fact, there was every reason to be not only happy, but satisfied. "I shot down Cinder Fall," she said at length.

"Yeah, that's what Yang said. Nice going." Ruby held up a hand for a high-five, but Pyrrha didn't respond. "Pyr?"

The Greek girl didn't seem to hear her. "No ejection. I made sure. She went in. The crash was survivable, but she didn't come up."

"That seems exclusively beneficial," Ruby answered. She didn't understand Pyrrha's melancholy. She supposed there might be some guilt over shooting down another human being, but Cinder, in Ruby's opinion, barely counted as such. Some people were just better off being dead.

"Right," Pyrrha said. "So why do I just feel…empty?"

"Guilty?" Ruby asked.

"Not really. Cinder did almost kill Weiss, and she probably killed that F-5 pilot—Raven's wingman—and would have killed Raven…maybe. Yang's mother is one hell of a pilot. We saw the dogfight from a distance." Pyrrha flipped the dogtag around again. "I should feel wonderful. I've gotten revenge for Jaune. I killed the woman who killed him. I don't understand why I don't."

"Well…maybe because you've been so obsessed with it. Now that Cinder's dead, you don't know what to do with yourself." It made sense to Ruby.

"That's quite possible." Pyrrha sighed. "I screwed up yesterday, Ruby. I broke formation. I lost my temper. I jeopardized the mission." She ran her fingers over the dogtag. "I've been out here wondering if I should turn in my wings. Go home, back to Greece."

"What would you do?"

Pyrrha laughed softly. "That's just it. I don't know. All I ever wanted to be was a fighter pilot. I love to fly. I could get a job flying commercial easily, but flying along in a 747 is hardly a replacement for flying a F-16. Maybe if I live to retirement age, maybe then."

Ruby drew her knees up to her chest. Pyrrha suddenly realized Ruby was still wearing her pajamas. "Well, we could sure use you, Pyrrha. This thing isn't even close to over, you know. If you quit, it would just be a waste."

"Any idea where we're going next?"

"Not a clue. I doubt we'll be staying here. Given the buildup ol' Ironwood's doing in Europe right now, we might be headed there. Or maybe back to the States. I guess Arashikaze will materialize out of thin air to tell us, or something." She held out her hand. "Can I see that?"

"Certainly." Pyrrha handed over the dogtag, and Ruby stared at it for a long time. "Jaune was a good guy. I'm glad we got to burn a piano for him."

"So am I."

"Do you still have that message on your phone? I thought maybe Yang might want to hear it."

"Of course."

Ruby handed the tag back to Pyrrha. "Whatever you decide to do, Pyrrha, we got your back."

She smiled. "I know, Ruby. Thank you." Pyrrha took a breath and made a decision. It wasn't a hard decision; in fact, she wondered if she'd already made it long before she woke up that morning. If Jaune had been there, he would have agreed it was the best idea. "I suppose I'll hang around."

"Yay!" Ruby reached over and hugged Pyrrha, who was taken by surprise, though she supposed she shouldn't have been—she'd learned quite awhile ago that Ruby was a serial hugger.

The patio door slid open. "Whoa, did I interrupt something?" Yang grinned at them and held up her hands. "Don't ask, don't tell." Her eyes narrowed. "Pyrrha, is that my shirt?"

Ruby rolled off of Pyrrha to her feet. "I was just hugging Pyrrha because she's decided to stay on rather than go fly for the airlines."

"That's good," Yang said. "Flying commercial sucks." She idly inspected her fingernails. "Oh, by the way, Yokosuka Naval Hospital just called. Weiss is awake and as ornery as ever. Want to go bug the Ice Queen?"

"Do I ever!" Ruby pushed Yang back into the VOQ. "C'mon, Pyrrha! We can check and see if Ren's still alive too!" Ren was also at the hospital, for observation. So was Nora, who had loudly proclaimed she intended to do plenty of observation of Ren's anatomy. It occurred to Pyrrha that Ren might have been in more danger than Weiss. She got up off the chair, stretched, kissed the dogtag and put it into a pocket, and followed Ruby. Jet noise distracted her for a moment, and she looked up as a F-14 and a F-18 fly overhead in close formation. "The fleet must be back in," she observed, and went into the building.

Herrencheimsee (Schnee Manor)

Near Munich, Federal Republic of Germany

22 June 2001

Winter Schnee replaced the telephone in its cradle. "Well, well."

Whitley Schnee looked up from the newspaper; it was the London Daily Mail. "What is it?" Both siblings were in the sitting room, which for most people would be considered a very large living room. He took a drink from his soda and finished it. As he set it down, he half expected Klein Sieben to come out of nowhere and whisk away the empty can before it barely touched the table, but Klein had been summarily fired after Weiss' escape. Whitley had never even aroused suspicion, and he knew it was because Klein had taken all the responsibility on himself.

"Our sister," Winter explained. "It seems she got shot down over the Sea of Japan in a battle yesterday."

"Is she okay? And Japan? What's she doing there?"

"She suffered some injuries, but she should make a full recovery. That was her on the phone. As for what she's doing there, she was given orders to help the JASDF learn how to integrate DUST on their aircraft."

Whitley chuckled. "Oh, is that the excuse Ironwood made for Weiss going AWOL?"

"Yes." Winter kept her voice even. She had been upset at Weiss for risking her career, and proud of her for the moral integrity to do so. She hadn't been sure about Ironwood and Arashikaze's scheme of "detaching" Weiss to the JASDF, but the look on her father's face had convinced her otherwise.

"Must have been this big battle." Whitley held up the newspaper. The front page news was of the White Fang surrender at Ashiya, and the massive GRIMM attack on northern Japan that had been stopped cold. "It was all over the BBC this morning as well. I suppose that's it for the Fang, especially after they found ol' Sienna short a head up in Scotland."

"I hope so." Sienna Khan's death was the reason why Winter was even at Herrencheimsee, to inform her mother. There would be no more need for the front companies Willow had set up to pay protection money to the White Fang. Winter had been proud of her mother as well: Willow had broken out a bottle of schnapps to celebrate, then caught herself, and put the bottle away.

One of the household staff, a Faunus maid, walked into the sitting room. "Whitley, sir?" she said with a short bow. "Your father wishes to see you."

"About time." Whitley got off the couch, grabbed the soda can and handed it to the maid, and waved at his sister. "Well, I suppose I have to go see what His Lordship wants." He grinned. "You're smiling, Winter. Isn't that against regulations?"

Winter forced down the smile. "When the occasion merits, it is not."

"Why do I get the feeling that you've suddenly developed a desire to visit Japan?"

The eldest Schnee sibling instantly made her face a blank. "I have no idea what you're speaking about, Whitley."

"My arse." He said it in English, and walked off. The newspaper had fallen to the floor, and Winter bent to pick it up, and was handing it to the maid when suddenly she stopped, and stared. "Mein Gott."

"What is it, Miss Winter?" the maid asked.

Winter didn't reply, just looked at the article headline on page two. AIR VICE MARSHAL LEONARDO LIONHEART, DECORATED HERO OF THE RAF, DEAD OF A HEART ATTACK AT 58, it read.

Yokosuka Naval Hospital

Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan

22 June 2001

Weiss Schnee handed the phone back to the nurse, then leaned back against the pillows in the bed. She winced, and the nurse instantly noticed. "Are you in pain, Captain?"

"Not really," Weiss lied. "I'll take some painkillers after my friends leave." The nurse nodded, did a quick check of her vital signs, and left. Weiss tried to get more comfortable, only for little tendrils of agony to make their way up her left leg. "Shit," she whispered between clenched teeth.

The door creaked open, a metal hand snaked out, and the lights flickered on and off as it played with the switch. "Weiss, Yang. How do you read?"

"Ugh," Weiss replied, but with a smile. "Five-by."

Yang stepped into the room, only to nearly be taken out by Ruby, who seemed to blur until she reached Weiss. Weiss held up her hands. "Stop!" she shouted, and Ruby froze in mid-hug. "Ruby, do not hug me. I have an IV in my arm, a temperature gauge on my finger, a blood pressure cuff on my other arm, and sensors and tubes where I really wish there were no sensors and tubes. I also look like hell."

Ruby reflected that Weiss was not lying: her hair was brushed out over her shoulders, but there were deep bags under her eyes; the scar under her left eye seemed more prominent than usual, but that was because her skin was more pale than usual. There was a bandage over the bridge of her nose, which was badly bruised. The hospital gown certainly wasn't flattering either. Ruby leaned over, carefully, and kissed Weiss' forehead. Weiss screwed up her face. "What in the hell, Ruby Rose? Kissing me?"

"She was on top of Pyrrha earlier," Yang said, walking over to the other side of Weiss' bed. "I think there's something my sister needs to tell us."

"Don't ask, don't tell!" Ruby stuck out her tongue at her sister, then turned back to Weiss. "You don't look too bad, Weiss. You look strong enough to wrestle a gundark."

"Ugh. It's too early to hear you quoting sci-fi movies." Weiss pointed at Yang. "And don't you dare start with the puns. I have not missed that in the slightest."

"Ah, the Ice Queen's back," Yang laughed. She pulled up a seat. "So how bad did you get fucked up?"

"Love the bedside manner," Weiss quipped. "Well, let's see. I broke my left leg in two places and tore most of the ligaments in my knee. That's what I had to have surgery for, to repair those; otherwise, I probably wouldn't walk again. As it is, I'll likely have a small limp for the rest of my life, not to mention a lot of scars over what was rather perfect legs. Won't Father be disappointed," Weiss snorted. She motioned at her other leg. "The right leg suffered a greenstick fracture. I also have a bone bruise on my nose from my oxygen mask being torn off, suffered a mild concussion and shock, and managed to get a mild case of exposure from being in the Sea of Japan for over an hour." Weiss shrugged. "Other than that, I'm fine." She didn't feel like telling them about Emerald Sustrai saving her life, not just yet.

"You going to be able to fly again?" Ruby asked, leaning over the bedrail.

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I've just outlined how I'm lucky to be alive, and the first thing that Ruby asks is if I'll be able to fly again. You really do have a one-track mind, you dolt."

"Well?" Ruby demanded.

Weiss smiled. "Yes. But not for a month, at the earliest, and possibly longer. The leg is going to need some rehabilitation."

Yang twiddled her metal fingers at her. "I know how that goes. At least they didn't have to cut your leg off."

Weiss leaned back and looked at the ceiling. "I thought I'd broken my back. I couldn't feel my legs. The doctors said it was just shock, and a minor compression of the spine." She looked at Ruby. "Before you ask, I can feel my legs. Unfortunately, at the moment."

Yang motioned at the door. "You know, the package store is just down the street. I could get you a schnapps chaser for all those painkillers."

"I'd prefer if you left trying to kill me to Cinder Fall. Speaking of which—"

"Pyrrha got her over Tsushima. No ejection." There was no humor in Yang's voice, which had gone completely flat.

"And the objective?" Weiss asked cryptically.

"All secure."

"So. Mission accomplished, for once." Weiss sucked in her breath as she moved her leg, sending more snakes of pain up the nerves. Yang helped her settle her leg more comfortably. "That colonel in Tijuana is going to be very angry at me."

"We'll find you something else," Ruby reassured her.

"I was thinking a C-130," Yang put in, her smile returning.

Weiss' retort was cut off by a hesitant knock on the door. The nurse stuck her head into the room. "Captain Schnee? You have another visitor. It's not scheduled, but she said she'd like to see you, if it's all right."

Weiss wondered who it could be. She had a feeling Winter was going to fly out to see her, but unless Winter had harnessed warp speed, it wasn't her. "Who is it?"

The door opened all the way. "Um…me," said Blake Belladonna.

Weiss, Ruby and Yang all gaped at her in shock. Blake was dressed in her flight suit, and she'd clearly just come from flying. She stepped hesitatingly into the room, and the nurse closed the door. "I…I heard what happened," Blake said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Sun and I…we were at Ashiya yesterday, when the White Fang…we flew over the pole from Menagerie, you see, and…and we ran Adam off, and…when I heard, we flew up from there this morning…" She stopped, her hands trembling at her side. "I…I didn't bring you anything…"

Weiss wiped her eyes. "You brought yourself. Come here, Blake." She motioned at Blake's sweat-stained flight suit. "But, uh…you'd better not touch anything."

Ruby came around the bed, tears drifting down her face. "Blake? Is it really you?"

"Y-Yeah," Blake struggled out, and then couldn't stop herself. She began to cry as Ruby tenderly hugged her. "I'm sorry," she struggled out through the sobs.

Weiss looked at Yang, who had not gotten up, and now was not even looking at Blake. "Yang," she whispered. "Remember what we talked about."

"Yeah." Yang got up and turned around. Blake looked at her, eyes bright with tears, and then fell on the artificial arm. The Faunus girl suddenly looked like she was going to vomit. "Oh God," Blake exclaimed, pushed Ruby back, and fled for the door. Her fingers had closed on the doorknob when an iron grip grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. Blake closed her eyes, expecting the punch and hoping for it, but instead felt Yang's arms close around her. "Hey there, Blakey," Yang said softly. "Good to see you."

"Oh God, Yang. Oh my God." Blake put her head on Yang's shoulder and bawled. "I'm so sorry, Yang. I'm so sorry. I did that to you…oh, Yang, I'm sorry…"

"You didn't do this to me." Yang steered Blake back to the bed. They would need to talk, both women knew, and Blake had felt the tension in Yang's body. There was much to talk about. It could, however, wait. Ruby came over and put her arms around Blake, as Yang held her right hand. Blake reached out her left and took hold of Weiss' hands. She looked up, yellow meeting pale blue. "You look like hell," Blake commented, and Weiss started laughing. Then they all did.

Ruby Flight was together again.

This ends "On RWBY Wings III: Reaper Flight." Watch for "On RWBY Wings IV: Journey to the West" in a week! The story of Ruby Flight is far from over…