Hey everyone, BassDS here back with the final part to this little two-shot story.

I'm glad the story is at least being read, so that's the best I can hope for, and I'm hoping you've found it enjoyable so far, and you find the end satisfying to your liking. Granted I will admit, everyone MIGHT seem pretty OC, and if it feels like that to any of you, I'm truly sorry; I'm at least trying. It's not often I venture into writing for another series after having work on one series for close to twelve years. It's not easy to adapt.

But anyway, I will say that despite being a two-shot, I have hopes to expand on the events that this last part of the story goes over that I laid out, so hopefully that's something you all can look forward to. Pairing wise...maybe not, but hey, everyone has their tastes.

But anyway, It's time to go ahead and give this small story an end that way it can hopefully make room for many more in the future.

Confessions

Part 2: A Knight And Rose In Love

Ruby could only stare up at the tree branch, completely caught off guard at the appearance of Pyrrha, a smile on her face as she jumped down to land in front of her.

"It's been some time, hasn't it, Ruby?"

Ruby could only look away, turning her head to avoid Pyrrha's eyes.

Pyrrha could tell just by looking at her body motions that the young girl was extremely troubled by her appearance. She knew exactly what was going on inside her.

"Ruby..." Pyrrha began to say, reaching out to grab her hand as Ruby instinctively pulled away, only for Pyrrha to grasp hold and pull her close. Soon she could see the tears of regret in her eyes.

"It..it should have been me...not you...if I had only been faster..."

"Ruby, listen to me. I don't blame you. Not one bit. I made my choice that night. We all make choices in our lives, maybe you could have saved me, but I knew going into that battle, I was severely outclassed, despite those odds, I tried anyway. For all we know, we both could have died that night, but in the end, only I did, and you lived. And because of that, look at what you've accomplished." Pyrrha smiled as he took her hand and held Ruby's chin, turning her head to make the young girl face her.

"But if you were still alive...Jaune would be so much happier; don't you see...because I couldn't save you, I've inflicted so much pain on his heart. Sometimes I wonder if he resents me for letting you die, and it doesn't make it any easier I'm in love with him!" Ruby confessed as tears began to well up; doing her best to contain her guilt.

"You and I both know Jaune very well; he's not the type of person to bare any resentment or hatred like that to a close friend. Ruby, we can't control every aspect of life; some people live, and some people die. I think Jaune knew that when we parted that night." Pyrrha added, her hand wiping away Ruby's tears.

Ruby did her best to regain her composure as she began to calm down and get her emotions in check.

"Jaune is very special to me. I love him, and I always will; it's like I told him, all my life it was like I was placed upon a pedestal, but he saw me for who I was; not what people think I am. And I'll always thank him for that. I can't be there for him, Ruby, but you can- for the both of us."

"I...I'm scared though...what if he doesn't feel the same way for me like I do for him? I've caused him so much pain because I couldn't save you."

"You never know unless you try. Yes, people never forget their first love; whether they break up, or if one dies, but in the end, if you don't move on, you'll just find yourself deep into a pit of despair. I don't ever want Jaune to feel that way for the rest of his life. Or you for that matter." Pyrrha smiled happily

Ruby's mind flashed back to what her mother had said; recalling their conversation, and that her mother had been in the same situation with her feelings with her father. Maybe Pyrrha's words had some truth to them after all.

Jaune continued to sit by Ruby's bed well into the night, waiting for any sign of Ruby regaining consciousness as he tried to sort out his own feelings.

"Hey, crater face...we're all waiting for you to wake up, " he began, affectionately using his nickname for her. "Your team, Ren and Nora…..especially me." he admitted as he looked out at the shattered moon.

"I've been dealing with a lot lately, just seeing you lay here; all these feelings I've been having for you; I've wondered if I even have the right to fall in love after not noticing how Pyrrha felt about me right up until the end...man do I still feel like an idiot. Then again, I did jump in front of a huge blast of flames to protect you, so maybe deep down, that was my heart willing me to sacrifice everything to protect the one I love just like Pyrrha did for me." Jaune admitted as he took hold of Ruby's hand and held it in his.

"I'm ready to tell you everything...because if I don't I'll regret it for the rest of my life, and I'll be damned if it's the second time I fail to do so." he paused for a moment, doing his best to will the words out of his mouth. "I love you, Ruby, I'm here for you, so please, come back to us...to me." He said, gripping her hand tighter. "And when you wake up, I'll tell you again, and every day after."

Outside the room, Yang was sitting against the wall, having listened into Jaune's lone confession as she smiled before dozing off. She knew her sister was in good hands for the night.

"Well...it looks like it's time for me to go." Pyrrha said, looking down at her hand as it began to fade away, sparkles of light illuminating her body as it began to rise up from her legs.

"Pyrrha..." Ruby somberly said.

"It was good to see you again, Ruby. I just wish we had talked more when I was alive. But there's no point in dwelling on the past when you have the future to look forward to. And for you, your future is with Jaune just as his future is with you. So please; tell him how you feel, and take care of him for me, alright?" the warrior smiled.

"I will...I promise." Ruby said, using her sleeve to wipe tears away as she smiled back.

Pyrrha's body was soon completely glowing, and the bright light dimmed down as she faded away.

Ruby soon realized her body was glowing the same way Pyrrha's did. It was time for her to be back with her friends and family.

With Jaune.

"I'm ready..." she confidently said, soon vanishing from the rose-filled plain as well.

"Morning, early birds." Yang said as she looked on at Weiss, with Blake, Ren and Nora in tow behind her.

"Any changes to Ruby's condition, yet?" Ren asked.

"Nothing so far." Yang said taking a sip of the coffee she procured from the cafeteria.

"How's Jaune holding up?" asked Nora.

"Been by her side all night. I'm honestly not even sure he slept." replied Yang as she took another sip.

"He's really dedicated to being beside her through all this, isn't he?" Weiss asked.

"More than you think..." Yang stated, her mind trailing back to Jaune's lone conversation to Ruby from last night.

"I hate to change the subject, but now that all the chaos has died down, what's next for all of us?" Ren asked.

"Well..." Weiss began. "Turns out my father was involved in some under-the-table dust dealings, which might I add, backfired. And since several documents he had with my brother's name on them implicated him in the mix, he's in the same boat as our father, so the board has since turned back to me; so you're looking at the new president of the Schnee Dust Company...well...it'll be made official in about a week or so, granted we still have a lot of work to do to get Remnant back to normal after the hell Salem rained down."

"I haven't actually decided yet. Now that my father's back in control of the White Fang, it all seems pointless now; this whole war brought human and faunas together to battle one common enemy, but now that it's over, I've thought about trying to maintain the peace between both sides." Blake contemplated.

"Ren and I'd be happy to help in any way we can if you need it!" Nora pipped in.

"Same goes for me; I'll gladly lend any assistance possible." Weiss added.

"What about you, Yang?" Blake asked.

"Eh, I'll figure that out in time. Whenever Ruby wakes up, I'd say some quality family time is in order after everything we've been through." she said.

Jaune sat back in his chair, sleeping soundly until he felt something stir in his hand that slowly began to wake him.

Then it hit him: it was Ruby's hand...and it was moving!

"Ruby!" Jaune snapped out of his sleepiness instantly as he turned toward her, slowly her eyes began to open up, her silver orbs slowly revealing themselves.

Quickly getting up, while also causing him pain from his burn injury, Jaune rushed down the hall to the small lobby where Yang and the others sat talking to pass the time.

"Jaune?" Ren asked as he looked up to see his team leader.

"Ruby...Ruby's waking up!" his face lit up with happiness.

"Sis!?" Yang muttered as she headed toward the exit with Jaune following suit, and everyone else making their way after them until they came to the room.

"Oh...hey guys..." she smiled a bit as she struggled to prop herself up.

"Easy there, baby sister." Yang said, moving closer to help Ruby sit up. "You sure did take your damn sweet time waking up, you know that?"

"How long have I been out?"

"About two days." Weiss answered.

"I don't really remember much...what all happened?" Ruby asked.

"You. Were. Awesome!" Nora exclaimed. "One minute Salem's got you on the ropes, then you go all god mode and wipe her our of existence!"

"Nora's right, Ruby. Because of you, Remnant now has a good chance at being a safer place and starting all over." Ren added.

"We're just glad to have you back with us." Blake said. "We wouldn't be Team RWBY without you."

"nor RNJR." Jaune smiled a bit, relieved that Ruby was now back to normal.

"It's good to be back."

"Dad should be here sometime tomorrow. With how crazy everything's been the past two days, it was hard for him to find a way off Patch." Yang said, leaning back in the chair to relax a bit.

"Well, the doctor said if all goes well, I should probably get out of here tomorrow too...it's not like I've got any broken bones or anything." Ruby added.

"Better than having a burn on your back. This thing still stings." Jaune's voice came as we walked into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Eh, apart from finding it a little weird to walk after having been knocked out for a few days, I'm doing just fine." Ruby replied.

Yang saw the perfect opportunity to give them some time alone and quickly began to brainstorm an excuse. "That reminds me...security told me I parked my bike in the wrong area of the parking lot..." she said getting up and pointing her fingers to the door. "So...I'mma go move it, last thing I want is a ticket. Back in a bit." she grinned and hastily made her way out, closing the door behind her.

"How's your burn doing?" Ruby asked Jaune, the young man sitting down in the chair.

"It's fine, nothing I can't handle." he replied. "Still stings a bit."

"Sorry...you took that blast, it was meant for me." she said.

"Hey, it was worth it in the end; after all, it kept you alive long enough. If I hadn't, and you died, Salem most likely would have won. I was willing to put my life on the line, and if she had been here, I know Pyrrha would have done the same. Any one of us would have."

Ruby looked down at her hands and held them together. Hearing Pyrrha's name made her uneasy and brought up the feelings of guilt once more as she brought her legs up to her chest and held them close.

"Jaune...there's something I need to know..."

"What's wrong, Rubes?" he asked.

"You...you loved...I mean, still love Pyrrha, don't you?"

Jaune had to take a moment before answering the young huntress. "Yes...I do. Even though I never had the chance to tell her. All I know is how she felt about me."

"Then tell me...do...do you blame me for her death?"

"Ruby, why would I blame you?"

"Because I was too slow to save her, Jaune! If I had been faster, I could have tried to save her; instead, I had to watch as Cinder fired that arrow into her chest and she died right in front of me!" she cried out a bit before putting her head in her knees.

"Ruby, I don't blame you for anything. I couldn't. What Pyrrha did...that was her choice. She knew the risks the situation presented, and..." he paused for a few moments. "I've made peace with that."

Ruby's silver eyes rose up to meet Jaune's pure blue orbs.

"I...I could never hate you for that. The things we do in life, the choices we make; they are ours and ours alone. And I've chosen that even though I still love Pyrrha, I shouldn't dwell on it; that's why I've decided to move on, I'll always love her, but I shouldn't let it stop me from finding love again..." he said as he took Ruby's hand in his. "Especially when the beautiful girl I love is sitting right in front of me; the girl I risked my life to protect and would do it again if need be."

"I'm not even sure when..." she stopped for a moment before continuing. "When I began to have feelings for you; but I kept them to myself, because I was worried of being rejected...because of me, Pyrrha died, and I was scared you would resent and blame me. So I never said anything..."

Ruby was shocked as in an instant, Jaune rose from the chair and brought her into a hug as he held her close.

"It's ok, Ruby. I'm at fault too...I was obsessed with feeling stupid for not noticing how Pyrrha felt, and I was just so conflicted when I began to fall in love with you; I hated myself for that, how could I fall in love with another when I couldn't even realize the feelings of another?"

After a moment, the two pulled back as Jaune looked into Ruby's eyes as he rubbed his thunb atop her hand. "I'm ready to move on with my life, and I want to do it with you by my side...because I love you, Ruby."

Ruby could only smile as she moved closer to his face and kissed him on the lips lightly. "I love you too, Jaune..." she said contently, only for Jaune to have her lips meet his again as they embraced and shared a more tender and passionate kiss.

They broke their kiss slowly before looking deeply into the other's eyes.

They were ready to move on, and they would do it together as they headed toward their new future.