THE SNAP - EPILOGUE
AIRSHIP
As she sits near a window, grasping her head and crying as she shakes, Weiss slowly taps her head on the nearby wall. Her foot was going up and down and her grasp loosens. Weiss lowers her hands and stops hitting the wall, her head resting on it. Sniffling, she just stays there, shaken from having seen her partner die. She tries to calm herself down, only for her emotions to take over again as she continues to cry.
In another room, shaking and her arms wrapped around her legs, Blake sits in the corner of the room she's in. Sobbing softly, she recalls watching Sun die in front of her, making her shaking more violent.
"Blake."
Blake nods as she hears footsteps getting closer to her. Ghira watches sadly as his daughter sobs in the corner.
"Blake." Ghira said. "Please. Stand."
Blake doesn't move for a few seconds, remaining in her same position. But eventually, she calms herself down and slowly stands up. Sniffling, she continues to stare at the ground.
"How...how's Mom?" She asks.
"A few bruises and a sprained ankle." Ghira answered. "That is all she got. She'll be okay. But I'm here, because I wanted to see how you are doing."
"...I...I'm not okay, Dad." Blake said as she tries to contain her sobs.
She begins to fall, as her legs loses feeling. But Blake manages to catch herself by grasping the nearby dresser. Ghira helps her to the nearby bed and they both sit down.
Ghira sighs before talking. "Talk to me, Blake. Just tell me."
Blake, shaking, turns to look at Ghira before turning back to the ground. "I...I watched Sun...die in front of me. I kil...I killed that...that maniac who went after Mom. I..." Tears fall down her face. "My team leader...my friend...Yang's sister, Ruby...died. She was only 16. And Yang couldn't do anything but watch as her sister vanished into nothing. I can't...I'm hurting, Dad. I'm hurting a lot."
Ghira quickly grabs Blake and holds her daughter, who is shaking and sobbing.
In another room of the airship, Jaune stands and stares outside the window, watching the clouds pass by. He then turns his head and looks at Nora, who is sitting nearby, eyes wide and having tears falling her face. He walks to Nora and proceeds to crouch in front of her.
"Hey."
Nora doesn't respond to Jaune, still staring at the ground. Jaune grabs Nora and slightly shake her. No response.
Jaune sighs. "Come on. Let me help you to bed, then."
Jaune carefully helps Nora up and walks her to the nearby bed. He helps her lie down on the bed and puts the blanket over her. Jaune sees that her eyes are still wide and staring at the wall in front of her.
"Just get some sleep. Okay?"
No response. Not even a nod. Jaune then proceeds to walk towards the door and exits, slowly closing the door behind him. Shakily sighing, he proceeds to walk down the hallway.
And in another room, lying on the floor, Yang stares at the picture frame that's on the floor. The glass broken, and a picture slightly hanging from the frame. Yang looks at the picture. It has her, Ruby and Taiyang in it, posing with their house behind them. Tears fall down her face sideways, knowing that she would never see them again. She would then hear a thump from outside her room. Yang then slowly sits up and drags herself to the nearby wall and places her ear on it.
Outside the room, Jaune takes out his Scroll and presses a couple buttons. His hands shaking, he slowly places it on his hear, waiting for someone to answer.
"Hello?"
"...Mom?" Jaune shakily asked. He hears a shaking gasp from his Scroll.
"Jaune?...My Jauney?"
Jaune sniffles loudly as he nods. "Yeah. It's me, Mom. I'm okay. And I'm safe."
"Oh my beautiful boy." Jaune hears her mother beginning to sob.
"Mom." Jaune said, tears falling. "I'm coming home. I don't know when. But I'm coming home. Okay? I'm coming back home. And I'm sorry for leaving you all, without letting you know. I'm sorry."
"Oh sweetheart. I...I can't imagine what you've been through. I just can't. Where...where are you?"
"I'm in an airship." Jaune shakily answered. "We just entered Vale and we're making a couple stops. But I'll be home today."
He wipes his tears away before continuing. "I promise, Mom. I promise, I'll make up for leaving you. I'll make us all an amazing dinner, once I'm back. You, me, Dad...all of us. Together after a long time."
Jaune then hears her mother sobbing from his Scroll. "Mom? Mom, what's wrong?"
"...Jaune...your father..."
"What? What do you...is Dad okay? Just tell me, please."
Jaune hears nothing but his mother's heavy breathing, only to realize what that meant. "No. No, no, no. Please don't say it. Please."
"I'm sorry, baby. Your father's...he gone."
Jaune grabs his head and clenches his hair as he softly begins to sob. "Who else?"
"...Jasmine...Jade...Violet..." Sniffles. "...Sapphire."
Jaune's sobbing increases as he hears of his father, his three older sisters, as well as the youngest one, were victims of Salem's wrath.
"Jaune?"
Trying to slow down his breathing, Jaune speaks as his voice breaks. "I'll be home soon. Okay? I'll be home."
And before he gets a response back, he ends the call drops his Scroll. His hands are violently shaking as he hears footsteps. He slowly turns his head and he sees Velvet, who has a worried look on her face. He then tries to stand up. But when he does, Jaune feels his legs going weak. Velvet quickly grabs Jaune as he falls.
"I've got you." Velvet said, putting Juane's arm over her shoulders. "One step at a time. I'll lead you to your room."
Yang, having heard the whole thing, just sadly stares at nothing as more tears fall down her face. She does so as the footsteps from Velvet and Jaune become more fainter. She then lifts up her left arm, looking at her gauntlet. Yang slowly removes it from her arm and sets it on the ground. She would then stand up and proceeds to sit down on her bed, continuing to stare at the ground. After a few seconds, she proceeds to pick up the gauntlet.
THE NEXT DAY - PATCH
Yang places the gauntlet into a box filled with other stuff. She sadly closes the box and places it next to a couple more that were on the floor. Yang then proceeds to look around what's left of Ruby's room, which is nearly empty with the exception of the drawers and the bed. She then proceeds to sit on Ruby's bed. Shakily sighing, she turns her head and looks outside the window. Hey eyebrows raise as she stands up and quickly walks out of the room.
VALE - APARTMENT
Weiss opens her duffel-bag and proceeds to take out a few items. One of the items that she takes out is a picture. One with her and the rest of Team RWBY. She proceeds to set that on a nearby drawer and proceeds to grab a chair, set it in front of a window and sits down. She watches as nearby cars and people walk past her new home. Vale. Where she is scheduled to move the Dust Company to. The door to her apartment opens and Weiss slightly turns her head.
Winter, wearing casual clothing, closes the door behind her. She sees Weiss sitting down and walks to her sister until she rests on a counter.
"Settling in good?" She asked.
"...Yeah." Weiss answered. "It's a nice place. Nice recommendation." She lowers her head. "Ruby talked about this place once. Said she thought of moving here after Beacon." Sniffles and sighs. "It's just not fair, sis. It's not."
"I know." Winter said. "It wasn't fair. I know how much you cared for her. I saw it myself. I know what it's like, Weiss. To feel that way towards anyone that I cared about."
"How can I move on, then?" Weiss asked, her eyes watering.
"By doing exactly what you're doing." Winter answered. "Grieve now. Don't keep your emotions inside."
"But I don't want to!" Weiss exclaims. "It hurts inside. So...so much! I feel guilty, Winter. Guilty that I wan't strong enough. If I was, maybe I couldn't stopped Salem. Maybe-"
"Enough!" Winter exclaims as she stands up. "I assure of you, that I know a lot about guilt, Weiss!"
"Oh really?" Weiss said as she gets mad.
Winter then proceeds to walk around the apartment. "I've been in the military for years, Weiss. And I've seen my share of battles. Do you know how many soldiers we've lost over the years that I've enlisted?"
"...Countless, I'm sure."
"Not countless!" Winter exclaims as she turns to Weiss. "Counted. 5,362. Half of them were from the Fall of Beacon and our fight against Salem. And out of the total...1,834 were under my watch."
Weiss is shocked to hear this from her sister as she continued.
"I've felt the weight of each of their deaths. I still do, some years after they died."
"Winter-"
"The thing I realized...is that to continue to be clear-headed, I had to grieve for those men and women that I lost. So I did. Each and every one."
Weiss sadly looks at the ground.
"Never let your emotions held inside yourself. Otherwise...you'll never be able to move forward. Ruby would want you to keep going. And the best thing that you could do-"
"Is to move forward." Weiss said.
Winter nods. "Yeah."
Weiss lifts her head and nods at Winter. She then proceeds to walk to her sister and gives her hug. Winter proceeds to hug Weiss back. And the two sisters just comfort each other.
AIRSHIP
Blake sits in her room, hands clasped together and staring at the ground. Her leg is shaking as she trembles. The door to her room opens and she lifts her head.
"Hey Blake." Ilia said with a worried look on her face. "Are you okay?"
"...I'll be fine." Blake said. "How long before we fly back home?"
"Pilot says by tonight, if there's no delays." Ilia answered.
Blake nods. "Perfect." She then sighs. "Just be ready. Who knows how many of our people we lost in Menagerie."
"And those we lost in the battle." Ilia said. "They will be missed. Sun...he'll be missed too."
"...Yeah." Blake said. "He will."
"Is there anything I can do?" Ilia asked.
Blake doesn't answer for a few seconds, before doing so. "I could use a friend right now."
Ilia responds to that by approaching Blake and hugging her. Blake hugs her back as tears fall down her face.
"If you ever need to talk to somebody...I'll be there." Ilia said.
"...Thank you."
PATCH
The front door to the house opens. Yang slowly exits her home and closes the door. She would then stare at Raven, who is a few feet away across from her. Yang would then slowly walk towards her mother.
"Yang-"
Is all that Raven says before, instead of a punch to the face, she gets a hug from Yang. Coming as a surprise, Raven just stands there as Yang begin to softly sob on her mother's shoulder. Raven's expression quickly turns to sadness before hugging back her daughter.
ARC FAMILY HOME
Jaune is at the cliff-side near his home, staring at the object on the ground. As he sighs, he turns to see Nora, who is sadly sitting on the ground and looking at the object. They both stare at the gravestone that has a lotus flower on it.
Lie Ren
They both just look at Ren's grave, before Jaune stares at the other 5 gravestones that lay nearby. Despite having no bodies to bury, Jaune decided to make graves, himself. Nora then proceeds to put a lotus flower on Ren's grave, before standing up and walking into the Arc family home. Jaune crouches down and moves the flower to a better spot on Ren's grave. He then nods before heading back to his home.
EVENING - PATCH
Yang sadly sits on the cliff-side, overlooking Summer's gravestone. As well as the 3 additional ones next to it. The gravestones of Qrow, Taiyang and...Ruby's.
Raven stands nearby, her arms crossed and sadly looking at the graves. Yang sniffles and wipes her nose with her sleeve before talking.
"I'll come by to see you guys. Every day, I will. I promise."
Yang then proceed to stand up and walks into the forest toward her home. Raven watches as her daughter slowly walks away, before sighing. She then proceeds to crouch in front of the graves. She puts her hands on Summer's, before taking out Qrow's flask and putting it on his grave. She then goes to take out a red bandanna. Staring at it, she places it on Taiyang's grave. She then takes out a silver rose. Ruby's brooch, which Yang managed to find, as it fell off during the fight against Salem. Raven then places the brooch on Ruby's grave, before standing up.
"I promise all of you. I'll keep her safe."
Raven then proceeds to turn around and walk into the forest. The 4 gravestones lay in the cliff-side. Ruby's brooch slides down and stops under her quote.
"Red like roses"
END OF RWBY: THE SNAP
Hey guys. So I decided to make an epilogue to this story, because I would really like to show the aftermath of the tragic chapter that killed off a lot of characters and show the impact of their deaths affecting those that they cared about. And I want to write a follow-up story in the future. One that would be completely different than my other stories. I will start writing that when I have a good idea for the first chapter.
Thank you all for reading. And I do hope you all have a nice day.
