Chapter 56: Epilogue – Future

"Very good Azuna. Always keep in contact with him and you'll have it in no time," a dark haired woman told her young pupil. The blonde gave her a confident grin and with another motion, the giant Ursa finally succumbed to her command. "Good, I see that you managed to do it."

" 'Course I did. Anyone could with your advice, Serena," the girl replied confidently, scratching the Grimm's ears. The woman nodded her head and told the girl that she could leave now if she wanted to. "Okay. Have a good day then," Azuna replied, packing her bag before leaving the classroom.

Serena sighed and went over to her desk to gather her own belongings. While she did, she couldn't help but indulge in past memories.

It had been six years since she'd come to this world. Six years since she'd met Ruby, Azuna and the Grimm. But, most important, it had been exactly six years since she'd met Adam in the forest that day. The memory was still vivid and she still smiled at how he had been so cold towards her when now, he was the sweetest husband a woman could hope for.

But other than that, things in Remnant had also changed. The most prominent change was the fact that Faunus were now officially a part of the government and had their own party to represent them. People listened to them as well, and coexistence had never been as peaceful as now. Same with the Grimm. Huntsmen and Huntresses still existed, but instead of slaying the creatures, they now turned them into harmless animals.

After the other kingdoms had gotten wind of Ozpin employing a teacher that could control and tame Grimm, they had sent some of their own teachers over to Beacon. They had the mission to learn all they could from the young woman, then return to their kingdom and teach what they learned at their own Academies. People had been somewhat skeptical at first, and the older teachers were annoyed by the fact that someone much younger was to teach them.

But the initial difficulties had been overcome and training had been absolved. Now, every school and academy taught Huntsmen and Huntresses in training on how to interact with Grimm. They had the mission to go out into the world and soothe the creatures, which they had achieved quite well. There was never more balance and harmony in the entire world than now.

"You ready to go?"

A voice tore Serena out of her thoughts and she looked over to the door to see her husband lean against the doorframe, as he did so often. In all this time, he hadn't changed a bit. He was still handsome, still somewhat cocky and even more adorable than before. And even though he was already 29 years old, he still had a somewhat playful side to him. This was shown especially when dealing with the kids.

"Coming," the raven head replied, closing her bag and strapping it over her shoulder. Walking up to the Faunus, she gave him a peck on the cheek and off the two were. They took the usual route: across campus, down the many stairs and into the city of Vale. Turning another corner, they walked up until they were in front of a yellow painted house. A small yard lined the forefront and extended to the back of the building and the laughter and cries of children were heard.

Pushing open the little gate that kept the kids from going outside, the pair walked up the few steps until they were standing on the little front porch, ringing the doorbell. A few seconds later, a young woman with brown hair pulled up into a messy bun and warm chocolate eyes opened the door and greeted them.

"Ah, mister and misses Taurus, good to see you again. I'll call the kids right away," she said, one boy looking shyly past her leg and up at the two. Serena gave the child a gentle smile and a small wink, while Adam just stared at him. The boy shrunk under the red-eyed gaze and, noticing what her husband was doing, she gave him a shove of the arm. Getting the hint, the man smiled at the boy and squatted down to ruffled his hair. The kid gave a happy laugh before running back into the house.

"You really need to learn how to act around children. You're scaring someone every time we come here," Serena whispered to him when he stood tall again. It was true; even the woman that had opened the door, Mary, had been quite intimidated the first few times the two parents came to pick up their children. It was because of his natural aura of power and command that most people were a little more than tense around Adam.

"What? It's not my fault that I have the kind of aura I do. Plus, I can't do anything against my height or looks," Adam tried to defend himself, though he knew that he would not win this battle. When it came to children, his wife was absolutely protective of them and wouldn't let him off easily.

"Just try to give them at least a smile."

"Yeah, I know," Adam said, already knowing how this was working and just playing along.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

A pair of feet swiftly made their way towards the two adults and their legs were soon hugged by two small girls. Both smiled at the kids before squatting down and returning the hug, Adam ruffling his girls' hair even though he knew that they didn't like it.

"Daddy! You're ruining my hair!" the oldest by three minutes, Malina, complained. The girl was a sweetheart, but sometimes surprisingly focused on her appearance. She tried getting back some shape into her dark brown-reddish hair while Adam gave a low chuckle, always amused by his daughter's obsession with her hair.

He figured that she had copied that from her aunt Yang.

"Hey sweetie, how was it? Did you have fun?" Serena asked her younger daughter, Ozea.

The girl was the quiet of the two and liked to be close to her mother, while Malina was more like her father: wild and uncontrollable. Ozea preferred to watch her mother in the kitchen when she cooked, sometimes helping if she could, or asked the woman to read to her. She loved stories, but her favorite ones were still the ones in which Serena told her how her and Adam met. She was a little romantic, just like Blake.

"We read the story of the four maidens," the child replied with a content smile.

"Oh really? You have to tell it to me at home," Serena said, caressing her child's cheek while smiling.

"Well then, should we go?" Adam asked, uprighting himself and taking Malina's little hand into his big one. Serena nodded, getting up and calling to Mary that they were leaving now. The woman bid them farewell and the family was off to their home.

With the twins arriving, they needed more space. So, the two had bought a house after three years of working at Beacon. They now lived more on the edge of the city, away from all the bustle, in a small but nice house. It had a front yard as well as a generous back yard. Each girl had their own bedroom (though they preferred to sleep together in one room) at the right side of the house while Adam and Serena had their bedroom at the other end of the hallway, adorned with a king-sized bed, walk-in closet and bathroom that held two basins, a shower as well as a bathtub and a separate toilet.

Down the stairs were the living room and dining room, both partially divided into two by a chimney that covered half the room. The kitchen was separate and they also had a guest toilet, as well as a garage in which a nice black car stood. Neither of the two used it to get to work since it was only five minutes to the next bus stop and they always brought their children to Kindergarten first before taking the bus to Beacon.

Kicking off their shoes, the girls made their way into the kitchen, where they waited for their mother and father. Every day, when they got home, they would sit at the kitchen table and eat a snack together, talking about the day and what they had experienced. Serena took out four bowls of fruit salad that she had prepared that morning, setting it down in front of each family member before she herself sat down and dug in.

"Mommy, aren't auntie Ruby and Yang coming tonight?" Malina asked, shoveling down her fruits and tilting her head slightly.

"That's right sweetie. And aunty Blake and Weiss will come as well, and some more people."

"And uncle Junior?" Ozea asked excitedly.

"Mhm," Serena hummed as means of reply to which the children cried out in joy. Both had a strong connection to Serena and Adam's friends and they were almost like second family to them. "Speaking of which, I have to start preparing dinner or I won't be finished for tonight. Would you like to help me Ozea?" she asked, looking at her youngest. The girl nodded her head and the two were soon bustling around in the kitchen while Adam was playing with Malina outside.

It was seven o'clock and Serena was just helping Malina put on her navy black dress when the doorbell rang.

"I got it!" Adam called, opening the door and letting in their guests.

Malina was the first of the twins to rush forward and crash into Yang's legs, almost knocking the young woman off balance. "Whoa there, little whirlwind. Not so fast," she laughed, bending down and ruffling the kid's hair like she always did.

Malina giggled and said, "Hey auntie Yang! Where's uncle Jasper?"

"Right here!" the male in question said, scooping the girl up in his arms from behind and tickling her. Malina squirmed in the brown-haired man's arms, playfully swatting at his hands. When he put her back down, she stuck out her tongue at him and ran off. "What a greeting," Jasper commented.

"You'll get used to it," his girlfriend replied, going over and hugging Serena who had just finished brushing Ozea's hair. The girl returned the gesture and went over to shake hands with Yang's company. The busty blonde had met the young Huntsman about two years ago and they had started dating one year ago and were now an official couple. Serena liked him; he was nice, fun to talk to and the kids loved him.

"Jasper, it's good to see you again. How have you been doing?" she asked, stepping a few steps back to stand beside her husband.

"Good so far, I guess," the man replied. Even though they had known each other for about a year now, Serena could still see that the man held a lot of respect for her. At first, he was even a bit scared of her, with her being the Grimm Tamer and all, but over time, he'd learned that she was just a normal girl.

"Come on in you two, have a seat," she said, leading them through the house and onto the decent terrasse that they had. The both sat down at the head of the table and the doorbell rang again, announcing the arrival of their other guests. Serena heard the greetings and laughter from the kitchen and walked back out to see all of them seated now.

There were all in all ten people now, plus the kids, Adam and her. Serena was glad that she'd made enough lasagne that it would hopefully satisfy all of them.

"Serena!" Ruby jumped up from her seat and used her semblance to rush over and crush the woman in a hug. She'd grown over time and was now the same height as Serena, but stronger than her due to her still wielding that over-sized scythe.

"Hey Ruby," she wheezed out, patting the girl on the back.

"Oops, sorry. Don't know my own strength yet," the speedster said, giving her a slight smirk. A habit she had picked up from her boyfriend she assumed. Said boyfriend walked over, as jovial as always, and shook hands with her, smirking all the while.

"Monster tamer," Roman said.

"Carrot head," Serena replied, her own smirk forming on her lips. They would always use those nicknames to greet each other. It was a playful banter that had gone on for quite some time between them. "I see you're still free and running."

"What can I say… I just can't get away from the little pest here," Torchwick replied, glancing at Ruby who smacked his arm playfully, sticking out her tongue. "And where's the little tornado?"

"Here uncle Roman!" Malina cried, jumping up into his arm and giving him a hug. Just like Ozea liked Junior for his calm and friendly demeanor, Malina liked the ex-criminal for his jokes and carefree attitude.

Serena went on to greet the other guests. Blake had come together with Sun (the two had started dating after the final big battle) and Weiss had come together with Neptune. Serena had laughed when she'd been told that, although his name was that of the greek god of water, he was afraid of water. But the young man was quite funny and, just like the others, he loved the kids.

Junior had come together with Neo and although nothing was official yet, Serena could feel that the bartender had a thing for the mute woman. Neo had brought the kids ice cream as a present and they had been a bit disappointed when their mother had told them that they could only eat it after dinner.

"Who wants something to drink?" Adam asked, uncorking the bottle and grabbing the first glass. Everyone had one, though Roman still teased Ruby about her being too young for alcohol to which she replied that she was already twenty-two and could very well drink, thank you.

Serena had a feeling that those two would never change.

Appetizer was filled with laughter, wild conversation and the occasional banter between Roman and Malina or Ruby, whichever was quicker to object. Dinner was the same, though quieter since they were all buys eating their food.

"So Ruby, I've been meaning to ask you… Is that an engagement ring on your finger?" Serena said, leaning over to the girl that sat opposite from her. Ruby blushed and nodded and Serena cried out in joy. "I can't believe you're going to marry!" she exclaimed.

"Who's going to marry?" Yang asked, oblivious to her sister's plans. When Serena pointed at the girl that was now as red as a tomato, Yang's eyes literally bulged out of her skull and her jaw dropped to the ground. "What?!"

"Um… Surprise," the silver-eyed girl said meekly, giving her sister a nervous grin. Yang only shook her head at her sister's air-headedness and looked over to glare at Roman who was snickering behind his hand.

"You better be good to her Torchwick. Or I swear I'll hunt you down," Yang threatened the orange head, pointing her fork at him to emphasize her statement. Adam smirked beside Serena, as did the girl herself and practically everyone else around the table.

"Yes, ma'am," Roman answered with a mock salute.

"Anyone else have a surprise in store?" Yang asked, looking around. Blake tentatively lifted her hand and told them that she and Sun were actually also planning on marrying, but only next year. Once again, the whole table went slack-jawed and some people even fell off their chairs when Weiss suddenly announced that she was pregnant! The evening became full of talking, planning weddings and talking about baby names.

But even with all that had happened, the future seemed to be bright for them all.

Serena wished that her family could be with her, but she had found people that were like family to her now, especially her husband, and she was sure that, if they were here with her right now, they would be happy for them. So she embraced every new day and enjoyed the time she spent with all her friends, husband and daughters.

And silently, she thanked God for giving her the chance to live in another world. She had never been happier before, and her life had only just begun.

THE END

A/N: I do not own RWBY or its characters. I do, however, own my OC Serena and any other OCs that appear in this story.

Yes, people this is it. The end. Finale. Finite.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed writing this story and receiving your thoughts, ideas, and personal opinions. We've come a long way and I think that this is a decent end for the first story which has given me so much joy.

And even with all that is actually going on in RWBY, I still hope that this story here was a relief to all of you from the tragedies and deaths we have witnessed so far in the show.

Once again, thank you all for sticking with me and I hope we will perhaps see us again in one of my future stories.