AN: This is it! No further comment except please leave feedback! What do you think of this ending?
*A young man with silvering hair and tear stains on his cheeks slipped a small coin underneath Jasper's hands which were resting on his chest. The young man kissed two of his trembling fingers and used them to close Jasper's eyelids. Another tear fell down his cheek. Glynda had closed Theodora's eyelids during her burial. Now it was time for Oz to do it to someone else. Someone that he could've helped.
"Rest in peace, Jasper," Ozpin whispered. He then stepped back to allow two grave diggers from Atlas to close up the casket and set it in the ground in Forever Falls. As everyone attending the burial began to walk away, Ozpin stayed where he was, with Glynda standing next to him. Both Theodora and Jasper had been buried next to each other, even though Oz felt like Theodora deserved to be buried somewhere where she could rest alone.
Glynda stayed at Oz's side. "I'm sorry, Ozpin," she said.
The tears came in torrents now, threatening to break Ozpin down. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what I did to Jasper. I feel like this is all my fault. I could've helped—I could've helped him. I lied that I even knew him when he needed someone to stand up for him. It was all my—fault," Ozpin said. Glynda put a soft hand on his shoulder and turned him around so that he was facing her, looking into her beautiful green eyes.
"It's alright. Like I told Jasper, you made a mistake. It was his choice to become the monster that he became."
"I'm sorry for the way I acted when we were all training."
"It's alright."
"I'm sorry that—."
Glynda put her hand over Oz's mouth. "It's. Alright. You did good Ozpin. I'll miss my sister terribly, but it's not your fault she's dead."
Ozpin couldn't hold back any longer. He threw his arms around Glynda and sobbed into her shoulder. Glynda put her own arms around him and held him close. The words Ozpin heard in his dream from a month ago came trailing back to him.
Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest
Here he stood surrounded by red leaves everywhere in front of the graves of Theodora and Jasper. Two people had died, not just one, and he stood in a scarlet landscape where two people that had become such big parts of his life recently rested.**
*Ozpin sat beside his father's bed in the hospital. Haman had his arm in a cast and his eyes were bloodshot and heavy.
"Theodora?" He asked.
"She's gone, Dad. It wasn't your fault," Oz said, echoing Glynda's words.
"It sure feels like it is."
"I understand why you were doing what you were trying to do," Ozpin said.
"I miss her so much Ozpin. I miss your mother so much," Haman said, the beginning of a tear rising in his eye. Ozpin placed a comforting hand on his father's hand.
"I miss her too Dad. I've made mistakes too, and there's nothing I can do to undo them. Just rest now, okay?" He asked.
Haman sniffed. "Rest. Yeah. I'll try to do that."**
*Glynda walked into her bedroom back home to find a notebook sitting on the foot of her bed open to a page with only word written on it. When she got closer, she realized that the word was her name. She recognized it as Oobleck's handwriting.
"I plan to ask each one of us here why they want to be a Huntsman or Huntress," Glynda remembered Oobleck saying. She remembered how her answer was that she didn't know why she wanted to be a Huntress.
Sitting next to the notebook was a pen. She picked it up and rested the tip on the paper underneath her name. She started writing. She wanted to be a Huntress because the world needed one, even if it was just one. She couldn't continue to sit back and watch the world suffer from the creatures of Grimm preying on people and the Faunus terrorists resorting to unnecessary bloodshed. She felt the urge to make a change, and side with Ozpin to accept people from any and all walks of life so that they can train and become Huntsmen and Huntresses themselves.
But she was also decided on being a Huntress because that was what her sister wanted to be, and she would keep her mother's sword Beacon in memory of Theodora. Theodora would've wanted Glynda to pursue this, and Glynda had no objection to this. She proudly set the pen down when she finished and took the notebook out of her room, intending to give it back to Oobleck with the joy in finally having an answer to his complex question.**
*Collus sat down on his bed in his jail cell. He wore a prisoner's set of orange clothes, his eyes dark and brooding in the dim light.
In the eerie silence, ominous laughter cut through and chilled Collus' spine. He stood up and whirled around to face his son Roman watching him through the cell window.
"This place really suits you father. You should've been put in here a long time ago," he said.
"What do you think you'd gain by coming here to gloat?" Collus demanded. Roman chuckled.
"Because I don't have to worry about you anymore. Your club is now mine to do what I please. Your Faunus slave didn't press charges against me, so they handed the ownership over to me," Roman explained.
"You'd make a terrible manager," Collus said.
Roman nodded. "You're right father, which is why I'm not keeping it. I think I'll give it to someone like Hei."
"Leave me," Collus hissed.
"Why? I wouldn't miss this for the world," Roman replied, but he turned around and started walking away anyway. He laughed as he left, leaving Collus alone shivering in his cell as he dropped his head on his pillow.**
*Ozpin stood on the stage in the temple looking down at Oobleck, Peter, and Glynda. This was it. It was time to enact what Oz had been dreaming about for so long.
"I am happy to announce today that this place is now a home for young people that want to be trained to become Huntsmen and Huntresses. We know the world needs more of those, and it's our responsibility to gift the world with just that. That being said, this academy will be named Beacon, as a symbol to people from all walks of life that they can come and learn without fear of discrimination and rejection. As we continue training a little while longer before we accept our first population of students, remember to train yourselves and each other to take on the responsibility you have been given," Ozpin said.
He held back from saying something else that he wanted to save for a special time later.**
*The sun was setting, painting the sky in peach. The Lioness stood a few feet away from the entrance of the abandoned temple, which was now Ozpin's academy. She felt her fingers brush across her daggers.
"So, what's the verdict?" Ozpin asked her as he stepped up to stand next to her.
"The idea of joining your academy is too easy to pass on. I'm in," the Lioness answered. She folded her ams.
"I know its been rough for you for a long time. I hope your stay here will help you," Ozpin said.
"Yeah. I just hope Qrow doesn't show up in the flesh any time soon," the Lioness remarked.
"Don't worry. He's busy starting his own academy. He's naming it Signal."
The Lioness raised an eyebrow. She liked the name. It had a nice ring to it.
"I just hope you can forgive Qrow some day. The three of us got along so well together before you were taken away from your family," Ozpin pointed out.
"We'll see," the Lioness said. She breathed a long and heavy sigh, allowing herself to embrace the cool air embracing her face. She still didn't even look at Oz.
"This will be a good place for me to be while I look for my daughter," she said.
It was Ozpin's turn now to raise an eyebrow. "Your daughter? What's her name?"
The Lioness didn't answer for what felt like an eternity. "Blake. Blake Belladonna."
"Signal," Ozpin said. The Lioness reacted to her real name being spoken and finally turned to look at Oz.
"You'll find her," Ozpin assured her. Signal knew that Oz was only saying that to make her feel better, even though there was no guarantee she would actually succeed. But despite that, she felt better from Oz's words.**
*Ozpin was still awake when Glynda came into his room and stared down at him.
"Nightmare?" Oz asked.
Glynda nodded. "Some things just never change I guess."
"No, I guess they don't," Ozpin replied with a shrug. He got out of bed and followed Glynda. They made their way up to Beacon Academy and walked into the usual large room with the stage. Ozpin was surprised to see a small coconut cake sitting on the stage.
"I know your birthday is three weeks away, but I couldn't wait any longer," Glynda said. She started walking towards the cake to cut it.
"Glynda," Oz said. Glynda stopped and turned to face her mentor and best friend.
"I was saving this for a time when we're alone. I am appointing you to be assistant Headmaster at Beacon Academy," Oz announced. Glynda gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. Her gorgeous eyes widened.
"Professor Ozpin—," she started.
Ozpin walked up to Glynda and locked his lips against Glynda's, deep and sweet. The two of them were content where they were. They didn't want to leave. They didn't want to separate. They were a team, and nothing was going to change that. The two started to sway side to side as a slow, basic dance and their lips eventually separated and Glynda rested her head against Ozpin's, looking deep into his eyes.
We're a team. It's a brand new chapter, Ozpin thought to himself as he fully surrendered himself to the moment.
"I won't take 'no' for an answer."**
AN: Well that's it for this volume. Fortunately, this isn't the end of Team Ozpin. I have components for an amazing storyline for a second volume. Originally, there wasn't going to be a second volume, but I can't bear the idea of passing up the chance to tell a new story that I think transcends the story of the first volume. Seriously guys, it's going to be wild!
Before publishing the first chapter for Volume 2 however, there are few other stories I'll be doing first. I decided to do something outside of my comfort zone, so I came up with an idea for a...Thor romantic comedy. Alongside that, I'll be writing a short sequel series for my other fanfic series The Silvan Elf, so keep an eye out for that one!
Thank you for the support and feedback! I honestly didn't expect to receive the level of support I got. This series was originally an experiment that I didn't really think was going to grow into anything big, but now it's getting a second volume! Thanks again!
Acknowledgements and Dedication
Normally I don't dedicate my stories to anyone in particular, but for this one, I dedicate this series to Monty Oum, the creator of RWBY who passed away on February of 2015. RWBY is still being made in order to continue Monty's legacy, but his passing was very sad news for me and RWBY fans and other people that loved Monty's work. He was a massive inspiration that I'll always remember. Rest in peace Monty. We love you.
Elfin Maid - I'd like to thank Elfin Maid for once again being so supportive with my fanfics. Please check out her fanfics, she's a very talented writer.
Gabriel - I'd like to thank a personal friend of mine Gabriel who has been a great supporter of this series. His positive words have been an encouragement to me to keep going.
I'd like to thank the Rooster Teeth crew for creating such a fun series, gifting us with a world thats so much fun to play around in. Miles Luna, Kerry Shawcross, and Gray G. Haddock are extraordinarily talented people who work hard on this show, and their determination to keep going despite Monty's absence is admirable and I wish them the best of luck!
Follow me as a Favorite Author to keep an eye out for more fanfics by me! I always love coming up with surprises.