Chapter 17: Blurry

Midnight at Beacon had never seemed so peaceful before. The former students, now fully fledged huntsmen and huntresses, that had survived the three months of terror were now feeling confident in their chances for outlasting it. Those three months were hell, but now they felt like a distant nightmare. And as with every nightmare, they all come to an end.

It had been almost one month since the Dust Recovery Operations, and the Grimm menace had been slacking. According to Ruby, the time of the comet was coming to a close; Harbinger would soon leave Remnant's immediate area within the solar system. It was just a matter of time, and if the Grimm's slackening of attacks on urban centers and Dust mines was any indication, it would leave any day now.

This was the day that they'd all waited for.

But for now, they rested peacefully in their rooms with their surviving teammates, comrades, and friends. The night guard maintained vigil, but the lack of Grimm movement around Beacon made it seem as though any further watch over the walls was futile. All the same, the thirty some odd hunters who stood at attention on the walls never slumped, never slept during their post, never complained, and never went lax in their duty; one could never be too cautious.

Ruby was one of those resting, but she wasn't sleeping. She couldn't sleep. No, she knew what was coming; the final conflict was just around the corner. Her original prediction stated that it would be one year before they could muster up the force to charge into one final battle to attempt to eliminate the Grimm: up until now, her predictions have been partially wrong. Everything's been happening sooner than expected. Some events happened days before they were meant to, and others appeared months in advance. Four months into the crisis, and she already knew that the final battle was upon them. So very soon, it crept upon her.

The day she was destined to die.

Ruby lay in her bed staring at the ceiling, deep in thought. She was planning around her fate. She was afraid when Cardin died that there may be some balance to the universe; where there is death, there shall always be death. But then, she saved most of everyone else that was supposed to die. Sure, many of them died during the Battle for Beacon, but more lived than she had originally predicted. Red was never on the list of those killed, yet he died in the battle. Roman was also supposed to live on, but he was injured in a way that she never knew would happen, and he gave his life willingly. He did so with purpose.

To avoid watching her die. That was his reasoning. To honor the man whom she changed, she vowed to find away to save herself. There was no need to save the world anymore: there were plenty of hunters to clean up the Grimm once the comet passed. In her original premonition, only a handful survived to see the final battle. But now? At least two hundred former Beacon students were at the ready, prepared to destroy the Grimm. Ruby need only look below herself to see that they had a better chance at surviving. Weiss died during the recovery mission in her premonition, but not this time. This time Weiss survived, and she now slept peacefully in the bed below Ruby's.

She sighed and rolled over, hugging her pillow. The only reason for said action was to make her position more comfortable for her rib cage, rather than put unnecessary pressure on her body. This bed. This bed is where it all began. This is where she had the premonition, and its where her sister and friends had calmed her down, assuring her, promising her, that it was all just a nightmare. How right they all had been, just not in the sense that they thought originally.

But it doesn't matter now. The nightmare was about to pass. While Hell would linger a while longer, most of the world's religions believed that the world would be renewed through hellfire and trials; the rebirth of the world was at hand. The Grimm would linger and resume their wanton destruction of humans and faunus, but they would eventually be destroyed at the rate that the world was fighting back. Those fighting need only outlast these last months.

Glynda sat in her office. Not the office that once belonged to Ozpin, but her office from her teaching days. Four months; while the time is relatively short, those four agonizing months felt like an eternity. Soon, was all Glynda kept saying to herself. Soon the comet would pass, and soon the Grimm would face annihilation.

That was her hope. Sipping tea slowly, she ponders her options while gazing out of the window. The moon's fragmented pieces were coming together; it was almost a full moon tonight. It was oddly calming, and she even considered it to be beautiful.

Feeling strangely at peace, Glynda yawned; she was tired. She stood and exited the room to head for her personal quarters to prepare for bed.

Morning didn't come to slowly or to swiftly for anyone. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, everyone rested comfortably and peacefully. So calm was everyone that some almost forgot that there was a war against the Grimm being waged. Naturally, the shattered buildings that were scattered across Beacon's campus from Cinder's attack reminded them of such, but the dread they once felt didn't return.

The sun's warm rays pierced the rectangular window of Militia's room. The bright light hurt her eyes, though they were closed, so she turned away fromthe sun and buried her head into Sun's chest. The irony was not lost on her, as it brought a smile to her lips. The feel of her bare skin touching Sun's flesh brought her more joy that she felt she should have felt, but it wasn't something to complain about. She was enjoying every second that she was spending with Sun laying beside her.

Feeling her shift beside him, Sun also began to stir. He opened his eyes and gazed upon the black headed beauty that was curled up beside him. "Good morning, gorgeous," he whispered.

Militia moaned a response, clearly not wanting to wake up yet. Sun brushed her hair out of her face, which in her mind forced her to respond in proper. "Good morning," she answered back, her voice hoarse from lack of use. "What time is it?"

Sun glanced over at Militia's alarm clock. "It's a little after eight in the morning. Wanna get up?"

Militia was usually a morning person. However, she didn't want to ruin the beautiful scene that she felt she and sun had produced. As such, she shook her head in response. No, she stated mentally.

Sun poked her cheek gently. "Come on. I'll make you some breakfast in the cafeteria."

His girlfriend smiled. That does sound pretty good. Given, that it wasn't as good as just laying here with her personal ray of sunshine, but she admitted that she had to wake up properly eventually. She threw the blanket off of herself and Sun and stood up. Two months ago, her display would have made her extremely embarrassed, but she had grown so close to Sun that their shared nudity didn't bother her. Not as much, at least.

The pair dressed and left the building. They almost made it to the door to the cafeteria building when Militia noticed something. Something about her vision changed ever so slightly, and it took her a moment to notice what it was. "Did it get brighter all of a sudden?" she asked.

Sun paused. "You know, now that you mention it, it does seem like it isn't as bleak as it usually is." The pair looked up at the sky at the same time. What they saw shocked them and brought joy to their hearts. Rather, it was what they didn't see that made them so happy.

Harbinger was gone. They could see a small trace of the comet's tail lingering in the sky, but it was slowly fading out of view as the comet moved through the solar system at its sluggish pace. Other huntsmen and huntresses that were up this early noticed Sun and Militia and followed their gaze. Within minutes a cheer erupted throughout the campus. Anyone who was still asleep would be awake now, but they wouldn't be upset. On the contrary, they would be just as overjoyed as the rest.

Ruby herself stood on the roof of her dorm, much like she had right before she joined the fight for Beacon when Cinder attacked. Now, however, she didn't have her weapon at the ready. She stared up at the sky, accepting the dawn's warm embrace in the absence of the comet's cold embrace, and she smiled gently. She knew, in her heart, that Yang was somewhere, returning Ruby's smile in kind.

Song: Blurry-Puddle of Mudd

Author's Note

Yeah, it's another short chapter. But, hey, I love this chapter. I like what I did with Sun and Militia in this one. Something about that relationship (which, for the record, I have literally seen NOWHERE else but here) is just so endearing to me.

Not much else to say, except that I should be in bed right now. I have work tomorrow. Yay for picking up garbage and paving roads.

I will go ahead and admit something, though. I almost NEVER write ahead of myself for a story. But today, I decided to go ahead and write the Epilogue. I like it. Alot. Then again, I'm really, really, reallybiased in that opinion. Three more core chapters before you can read it though! Bear with me! We're almost done!

Till next time. :D