RWBY is property of Roosterteeth! I only own my characters.
EPILOGUE
Twenty years later...
"Mother, we have to go!" a young boy yelled up the stairs, tapping his foot impatiently on the regal-blue carpets of his home.
"Do you really need to shout, Roy?" a woman with dark hair poked her head around the corner. "Good morning, by the way."
"Morning, Anise," the white-haired boy, Weiss' son, replied. "Shouldn't you be out of the house being a hero to children by now?" Anise had become something of an idol to the young masses in Atlas, a Huntress wielding powerful winds to slay Grimm around the Kingdom in droves. Somewhere along the way, people had started putting the Bloodline of Wind's face on posters, a fact she was none to pleased about, but didn't have the time to track down and stop. Roy often rejoiced in teasing her about it.
"Well, I wanted to see you off," Anise shrugged and pushed a loose strand of long dark hair out of her eyes. "It's a testament to your skill that Beacon accepted you early. They don't accept fifteen-year-old students too often. "
"I suppose," Roy tilted his head and crossed his arms. "I'm not exactly the first or the only one to get in early though... I heard there's been an increase in younger students getting brought in."
"That's true," Anise said, "but it doesn't stop you from being an impressive student on your own. Don't let the fact that there are other early entries bother you."
"Right..." the young Schnee boy sighed and ran a hand through his combed white hair. "Oh, if you're seeing me off, does that mean Aunt Winter will be as well?"
"Winter had an emergency call come in from the company," Anise shook her head sadly. "Councilor Ironwood called, so she had to run off to speak with him. It's probably something to do with a project from the Atlas Science Center. She said to wish you the best, though."
"Oh, I see. I'll be sure to thank her when-"
"Sorry, Roy!" Weiss came rushing down the stairs of the Schnee manor, finishing buttoning up her jacket. "Ready to go?"
"I was just waiting for you," Roy answered, picking up his bags from the ground at his feet.
"Are you sure you have everything?" Weiss asked, quickly fiddling with her son's hair and simple snow-white coat so they were straightened. "Clothes? Dust? Books? Toothb-"
"I have them, Mother," Roy chuckled, gently pushing his parent's hand away from his hair. He didn't want to show up at Beacon looking like some primped up prince. He had to make a good first impression. Weiss placed both her hands on her son's shoulders and smiled.
"You grew up so fast," she said softly. "It feels like it was only yesterday that I was leaving for Beacon..." A pair of joy-filled tears rolled down Weiss' cheeks. "It breaks my heart to see you go..."
"Mother, I'm going to school, not my funeral," Roy laughed. "I'll be back for holidays."
"You're right, I'm being overly dramatic about this," Weiss nodded. "Oh, you have the picture and list I gave you, right?"
"I have it right here," Roy answered, pulling a small paper photograph from his pocket. The frozen image was one Weiss had taken with her team and friends when she had graduated from Beacon almost two decades ago. Written on the back was a list of the names of all the people in the picture. Weiss hadn't had the time to see them personally in years, but she'd kept in contact whenever she could.
"Alright, be sure to ask any of them for help if you need it," Weiss said with a smile. "I think we've delayed you enough at this point, let's get on our way."
"Reviewing all the students one more time, are we?"
Glynda looked up from the terminal screen in front of her as a man knocked on the door frame of the headmaster's office at Beacon Academy. The office had changed a lot since Ozpin had left. For one, Glynda had removed those infernal gears that constantly made noise.
"Mr. Greene," the headmistress nodded, returning her gaze to her screen. "I trust you've prepared your classroom?"
"As much as it's going to be," Alex smiled. "I prefer a more hands-on approach to teaching combat techniques. Written work is more of Cinder's domain."
"Well, the students you both have had over the last decade seem to appreciate your methods," Glynda stated idly. "What about our two newest instructors? Have you helped them settle in?"
"Luna and I set Ruby up in Peter's old office, and last I checked, D and Firo were helping Blake get everything together for her class. It's still a little hard to accept that Bartholomew and Peter both retired at the same time," Alex replied.
"Well, at their ages, I'd say they deserved the rest," the headmistress said, sighing and taking her eyes off the scrolling text on the screen in front of her. Time hadn't been particularly kind to either her or Alex. Both of them had acquired numerous wrinkles and grayed hair. Alex, of course, was sporting the prosthetic leg that Ryland had built for him. "Actually, now that I think of it, how are Ryland and Yang?"
"They're doing fine," Alex smiled softly. "Though we probably have them to thank for our sudden influx of early acceptances."
"Indeed," Glynda nodded, taking a moment to type something out on her keyboard, "ever since that pair took to teaching at Signal, it's been a never-ending torrent of highly skilled fighters and builders. Mr. Averin's son and your daughter were the only the first of many. We have nearly twenty early entries this year alone: Mrs. Rose's and Mrs. Belladonna's daughters and the Schnee and Arc boys, to name a few." The headmistress hit a key on her terminal before standing to stretch. She took a moment to stride over to the large window that looked out over Vale. "Remnant has changed greatly in such a short time. It's not the world I grew up in, or even the world where Miss Rose or Miss Belladonna were raised." Alex walked over to join her at the window, his prosthetic lightly thudding against the floor with every other step.
"It's far from perfect, but I'd like to think the changes were ultimately for the better," the soldier stated, gazing through the glass of the window at the horizon. Multitudes of flying aircraft darted about the city, delivering people and cargo to their destinations. Tall skyscrapers dotted the skyline, some replacing the old buildings within the original wall of Vale, while others marked the areas where the people had successfully expanded beyond their original confines. One particular building caught Alex's eye, a mid-sized structure with a unique rooftop designed to look like the petals of an open flower. "You know, Ruby's in for a rough first year once students realize who she is."
"Well, she led the mission to retake Mountain Glenn, it made sense that the Council would try to recognize her for those efforts to boost morale," Glynda replied. "Though I must agree, I imagine that she will be rather occupied once the newest arrivals begin pestering her for autographs and pictures." The headmistress checked the time on her terminal screen. "It's nearly time, I should make sure that everything is in order before the students arrive."
"Cali!" a young woman's muffled voice called, accompanied by a series of knocks on the door of the girl's room. Cali pulled her set of custom headphones off of her head, the pair of cat ears atop her head twitching. The Faunus girl hopped off her bed, and yanked the door inward. On the other side of the wooden entryway was a pair of individuals, one girl and one boy, each bearing a pair of rabbit ears. "About time," the older girl, who had snow-white hair and red eyes, said, "you're going to miss your flight at this rate."
"Sorry, Pruina," Cali scratched the back of her head. "I lost track of the time, thanks for coming to get me."
"No problem," Pruina sighed, running a hand through her white hair, pushing up her right rabbit ear, which flopped slightly. "Just grab your stuff and let's go." Cali nodded and shoved the belongings she had yet to pack hurriedly into her bag, hefting the misshapen cloth bundle onto her back.
"Morning to you too, Rus," Cali greeted the male rabbit Faunus as she exited her room and closed the door behind her.
"Mornin', Cali," Rus replied with a yawn, his voice was tinged with a hint of the same accent his father had. He scratched the back of his head, which was covered in short dark-brown hair. "Feeling nervous?"
"A little," she smiled sheepishly. "I mean, going to Beacon is a pretty big deal. Plus, I don't know too many people there..."
"You'll do fine," Rus patted her on the back. "We should let Pruina drop us off before we make her late for work."
"Vale's criminals won't catch themselves, after all," Pruina winked, tapping the Vale police force badge on her chest. She quickly helped Cali balance her bag. The trio exited the apartment, shutting the door marked "Belladonna" as they stepped out into the hallway.
Roy took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart rate as he rode aboard a large dustplane headed towards Beacon. The spires of the academy rose high into the sky ahead, casting long shadows across the ground. It was equal parts foreboding and exciting for the Schnee boy.
A series of feminine squeals assaulted the young boy's ears as a crowd of girls surrounded a pair of male students. They were both thin yet muscular boys, though only one of them seemed to be relishing in the attention. The more charismatic of the two was a tall, lanky boy with a strange mix of red and golden hair. He wore a strange set of armor that looked like it had been greatly modified. Roy was able to pick out the name "Arc" amidst the shrieks of excitement. So, he was Mrs. Nikos and Mr. Arc's son? Roy shook his head at the arrogant expression on the other boy's face.
The boy that the Arc heir had dragged along with him was getting far less attention from the girls, a fact that he appeared to be thankful for. He was a shiftier, more nervous-looking person, with a set of black hair with a single jagged orange stripe of color running through it. He wore a dark-gray coat embroidered with designs of dark clouds and lightning. Roy checked the picture in his pocket again. It was possible that he was Mrs. Valkyrie and Mr. Lie's son.
"Whatcha staring at there?" a girl's voice jolted Roy out from his own thoughts. The young Schnee turned to find his personal space being invaded by a girl with bright orange hair and a pair of fox ears poking out of her head. She was eying him curiously, and reached out a hand in greeting. "Sia Midas, nice to meet ya."
"O-oh, Roy Schnee," he answered, nervously shaking the girl's hand.
"Oh, you're Miss Weiss' son," Sia nodded. "She and Miss Winter helped my Mum and Dad out way back. Lucky me that I ran into a friend!"
"Er... Right, of course," Roy found himself being swept up into the cheerful Faunus' rhythm against his will. Still, he supposed there were worse ways to make a friend.
"I'm sorry, could you please say your name one more time?" a receptionist asked an increasingly worried girl with a long mop of hair that slowly faded from orange to yellow.
"Ri Chu Zuanshi Felstrand-Xiao Long," the girl answered for what felt like the eightieth time. "I seriously need to get on this flight, I'm going to be late!"
"One moment, let me type your name in..." the receptionist said placatingly, but quickly paused. "Er... do you think you could spell it for me?"
"Ugh..." Ri laid her head on top of her arms for a moment before reaching out with a hand to grab the side of the terminal screen. There was a quick blip as her name appeared on the screen. "There, can I go now?"
"That looks like it's all in order," the receptionist nodded, handing Ri a ticket as it popped out of a printer. "Enjoy your time at Beacon, Miss Xiao Long."
"Yeah, yeah..." Ri sighed. Simply getting to her flight had been an ordeal.
"Ri, over here!" a boy and girl called out to her, waving their arms in the air to get her attention. Ri's knee-length orange skirt bobbed lightly as she jogged over to greet the pair. The boy was a tan-skinned individual with a kind expression, though he remained widely silent. He seemed fairly normal aside from the cropped bright lime-green hair on his head. The girl wore a hooded cloak with a black exterior and a bright-red interior. An embroidered design of a rose was emblazoned on her back, as well as smaller flowers that created a trim along the garment's edges. Underneath, she wore a simple black and red combat skirt, a lucky hand-me-down from her mother.
"Hi, Kaffir. Hi, Crim," Ri greeted, giving her short cloak-wearing cousin a quick hug. "You guys ready for this?"
"Yup," Crim gave her a thumbs-up. "I'm super excited! I get to be the youngest person ever accepted into Beacon! I even beat Mom's record!"
"Only by a couple months," Kaffir reminded her softly. "You'll be fifteen yourself soon enough."
"Way to rain on my parade, Kaf," Crim stuck out her tongue mockingly at the tall boy. Kaffir dodged the friendly kick she aimed in his direction.
"Attention all passengers, flight V-382 to Beacon Academy is departing in five minutes, please board at this time," the intercom blared out loudly.
"Let's go!" Ri shouted, sprinting off with her bag in her hand, and leaving her two companions to chase after her.
"Alright, we're here," Rus smiled as he and Cali stepped off their flight. The young cat Faunus gaped at the towering academy with wide eyes. "That's about the same reaction I had my first year too." The rabbit Faunus checked the watch on his wrist. "Tell you what, Cali, why don't you head straight down to the first-year orientation, I'm going to go track down my team."
"Just head straight down the path, right?" Cali asked nervously, suddenly becoming extremely self-aware about the other students milling about the academy's landing pad.
"You'll be fine, Cali. I believe in you," Rus nodded and gave her a reassuring wave before departing in a different direction from the ocean of awe-struck first-years.
"O-okay..." Cali felt a shiver travel down her spine. She took a deep breath and quickly covered her head wither her headphones, drowning out the surrounding noise of the crowd. Music always helped calm her down and clear her mind. She steeled herself and strode off towards the main building of the academy.
Meanwhile, Rus jogged his way towards the meeting spot he had arranged with his team, a small cluster of trees that had sprung up in the middle of the grass at the Southeastern corner of the campus. The brown-haired rabbit Faunus caught sight of a girl with aquamarine hair leaning aginst one of the trees.
"Well, I figured at least you'd be here on time," Rus greeted. "Hi, Umi."
"Morning, Rus," Alex and Luna's daughter smiled with a tilt of her head. "I convinced my Mom and Dad to give me a ride when they left for Beacon last week, I've been unpacked since then."
"I see," Rus nodded. "So, how were things on Patch before you headed over?"
"Cherri was trying out growing all sorts of weird fruit in her garden again," Umi giggled. "Amber, Melody, and Agni were trying to reel her in after she grew this four-story tall tree in their yard."
"I'd imagine Azalea was just watching and shaking her head," Rus laughed. He'd always enjoyed spending time with the Maidens whenever he visited Crim, Umi, Azalea, or Ri on Patch with his parents. From what Rus understood, it had only been Melody, Amber, and Cherri on the island at first, but Agni, the new Maiden of Summer, had joined them shortly after they had arrived. Then, the number had grown to five when Azalea had been born.
"Speaking of Azalea," Umi said seriously, "last time I talked with her, it felt like something was bothering her. She told me nothing was wrong, but she looked... conflicted."
"We'll ask her again once she shows up," Rus replied, "maybe she'll be in a more open mood."
"You'd think after being friends for so long, she'd be a bit more honest with us," the aquamarine-haired girl sighed.
"Talking about our mutual aloof and angelic teammate, are we?" a second girl's voice inquired as its owner approached. The newcomer was a relatively short girl with long, wavy multicolored hair, though both Rus and Umi knew it wasn't naturally that way, despite how often the girl claimed it was. In reality, the third member of their team had only really inherited her mother's height and father's fashion sense. In testament to the latter, she was dressed in a tailed white coat with red trim and black dress pants.
"You're late, Saffron," Rus responded, tapping the watch on his wrist. The newly-arrived girl waved her hand dismissively.
"Fashionably late, Rus. There's a difference," Saffron Torchwick winked as she found a spot to lean against a tree. "So, what's this about Azalea?"
"She's been distant," Umi answered, "and I mean, more than usual."
"Guess we'll have to ask her later," Saffron shrugged. "Have you two seen her?" Umi and Rus could only shake their heads.
Azalea sighed as she sat atop the roof of one of Beacon's spires. Technically, she wasn't supposed to be able to access such a high place, but no place was out of reach for her. To say that her feelings were divided were an understatement.
A steady gust of wind blew the girl's long white hair out behind her in wild streams as her eyes scanned the ground below. Twin orbs of bright amethyst hue gazed down at the small dots of students milling about the academy's vast plaza.
Azalea wasn't sure what to make of herself anymore. It felt like she had lived a lie for her entire existence. Recently, she had been getting strange flashes of memories that were not her own. In these scenes, she would watch from behind another person's eyes on a world she did not recognize as they killed countless people. Just thinking about the memories made her skin crawl.
Azalea's mother had explained to her that she was something called a "Bloodline", a power different from that of a Maiden's, but still incredibly powerful and dangerous if misused. Over the long break between the beginning and end of her third year, Azalea had spent time talking with Anise, a friend among the confusing network of people her mother knew. Like her, Anise was also a Bloodline, and the older girl had managed to outline where the power had come from and why Azalea had it.
Listening to Anise's explanation had felt... surreal. It had been a lot to take in, and at the end of the day, it had left Azalea with far more questions than answers. From what she did understand, she was in the fledgling stages of an "awakening" Bloodline. Anise had said that how Azalea's ability would develop might be far different than her own, since she had been born on Earth and "traveled" to Remnant, but Azalea's parent's had been one from each world.
Azalea closed her eyes and shook her head. It hurt to think too deeply about her developing power. The white-haired girl took her scroll out from her pocket and flipped the screen on. The device's background image showed a picture of a younger version of Azalea's mother standing beside and hugging a young man with pale hair and complexion and a piercing pair of crimson eyes. Azalea let out a depressed sigh. This single picture, snapped by her Aunt Amber twenty years ago, was the only reason she even knew what her father, Chess, had looked like. She wished he had lived to meet her, perhaps he could have helped her understand what was happening to her...
Azalea held her scroll close to her chest for a few seconds, but the small device's heat did nothing to ease the cold feeling in her heart. She could rationalize it however she wanted, but it wasn't actually the Bloodline ability she was concerned about the most, it was her family. Her mother, Melody, was a warm and kindhearted woman, but Azalea knew that she couldn't simply lay all her problems at her parent's feet. Maybe she should talk to one of the others about her problems... but would they even understand? For many long minutes, Azalea sat silently on the rooftop, letting the stinging wind slash past her.
She shook her head again to clear her head. Years ago, Azalea's mother had reluctantly told her the story of how her father had died protecting her from a terrible "witch". Right at that moment, the young Azalea had decided her father had been nothing but a hero. Ever since then, she'd pursued becoming a Huntress, to try and live up to the idealized legacy she'd created.
Idly, Azalea heard the sounds of the first part of the initiation ceremony start. Professor Goodwitch's voice drifted through the air as the headmistress gave her speech inside the academy's great hall. As Azalea listened to the words, she felt her resolve harden once more, and she stood to look out over Vale and the rest of Remnant beyond.
"Like my predecessor, I prefer to keep things brief... You all have arrived here today believing that you are the next in line to protect our world from all that threatens it. You are wrong. As of this moment, you are all woefully unaware of the dangers and horrors that await you outside the confines of our Kingdoms. There are monsters far worse than Grimm that inhabit Remnant... but that is why you are truly here. Here, we will train and mold each and every one of you into a warrior capable of accomplishing the arduous task of defending the lives of our friends and family across the world... Welcome to Beacon Academy."
A/N: And that's it, folks. Thanks a ton for reading over the long course of this story. It has been a highly enjoyable experience to write and get the positive feedback that you all have given me. While I don't think Bloody Evolution turned out quite as well as Legends Scatter did, I still had a blast putting it to paper. Once again, thanks to all of you.
Skaana, Cipher96, Welcometodalolz, Stevealio163, ItzABlueWulf, AnalPoptarts, Xenolis, Dghornick, Hirshja, Halo's Roses, and numerous guests. Thank you all for leaving reviews over the main run of this story.
Now, for the Q&A. I will be allowing for one week in which you may field as many questions as you feel like via either a review or PM. The questions can pertain to literally anything you can think of.
The Q&A chapter will be posted on March 9th.
Reviews, Follows, and Favorites are always appreciated! Let me know what you think! Got a question for me? Go ahead and leave one in a review, or if you don't want to share the answer, send me a PM. I will answer as quickly as I am able.
REVIEW REPLIES
Cipher96: It took me a few times to get it, but yes, in a way you're right.
Skaana: Nope, Cherri and Ryan never got around to admitting their mutual attraction to each other. And even if they had, remember that Bloodline abilities only pass to the first-born, and Ryan already has a daughter back on Earth.