The return to Vale was met with more combat. Though Salem was gone as far as they are aware, the only guarantee that they had was that the Grimm no longer had much in the way of command. Brought back down to their base instincts, huntsmen and huntresses turned the tide easily enough. Raven alone could take out quite the number of their horde and with another Maiden, such matters were simple.

"Is it done?" Ozpin asked. Jeanne couldn't read the expression on Oscar's face. Hope? Dread? "Is she…"

Jeanne nodded. "It is done."

Ozpin stumbled and Oscar regained control. "He… He says he needs a moment."

"That's fine."

Wiping out what remained of the Grimm, there was little in the way celebrations. Most were simply exhausted physically to even cheer. There was still more to be done. For one, they needed to bring all of the wounded to be cared for. Those that had been lost, individuals that none of them recognize had to be buried.

It was only after that they had cleaned up—as well as they could anyway—that there was some kind of celebration. It was somber and quiet, too exhausted for anything extravagant. Drinks were shared, most of which were non-alcoholic, that comes later. Sitting by fire for warmth, most were simply content to be able to properly sleep and rest.

There were still the few who had to stay and watch but their duties were lightened at the absence of Grimm. They could still see them, there over the distance but they were small in number and certainly weren't gathered as an organized group at all.

The reunion with headmistress Goodwitch certainly had some sort of reaction. Not only at the sight of Ozpin's latest incarnation but also the return of Raven. That didn't last long as Raven went back to her tribe, not even willing to stay for Yang's sake.

"We shouldn't be too surprised about that, should we?" Jaune asked. To Yang, he said, "sorry Yang."

"Don't be." Yang waved it off. "Too much to expect from her really."

After times of reunions, catching up, and some anger at Ozpin for having kept his secret—he had chosen to be open with it now—it was then that things started to calm down. There was hardly any normalcy in Vale for months with the refugees of Vacuo still around. The kingdoms of Remnant had been reduced to three with Vale having the biggest need of aid.

Atlas arrived months later, providing some kind of aid after Winter made her report. It had been a shock to most that she was already in Vale when she should still have been in Argus. Even by flight, she should still be on the same kingdom as Mistral.

Without their huntsmen licenses, teams CRDL and RWBY were stuck behind in the rebuilding process of Vale. JNPR, formality speaking, had authority over them. Her majesty, Queen Nora of the Castle, certainly made that known to them. It was only by Ren's intervention that they weren't able to have another food fight during the break hour.

Oscar was mainly in professor Goodwitch's presence, as an adviser of sort on account of having Ozpin. Publicly, he was one of the youngest huntsmen to have ever been licensed and was certainly lacking in physical conditioning. However, his experience as a farmhand had aided them all in getting the lay of the land.

Jaune and Pyrrha were out as a pair, insistence by the latter. Jaune's little miracle working was also doing wonders here as people were able to find more of those missing people. Jeanne was thankful that he didn't start healing the wounded. Even with the excuse of a semblance, there was no guarding him from what would happen if it kept up.

Vale could never be the same. With Vacuo's refugees, it was expected that there would be an mixing of cultures as residents of both kingdoms continued to mingle. Huntsmen and huntresses were the least affected by this. Clothing and fashion changes were the most obvious. Without Shade Academy, the students of Vacuo had mostly transferred to Vale.

Mistral's Haven Academy was no longer running and in desperate need of huntsmen to take over. The remaining ones there were scrambling to get the school up and running.

"I think I can handle that much," said Ozpin. "Of course, I will need some time to build a resume."

"I'm sure that can be arranged, Ozpin," Goodwitch replied.

/-/

It had taken years for Remnant to enjoy itself once again. Grimm still roamed much of the landscape but without Salem, they were easily dealt with having turned into nothing more than more dangerous animals. Driven by their instincts and base designs, Grimm attacked wherever negativity was most present.

Mistral had the easiest time of recover. When the aged Oscar Pine, the youngest licensed huntsman in history, took up office as headmaster of the rebuilt Haven Academy, much of the school had been repurposed and remade into something greater.

The people there, huntsmen and civilian, had proven themselves quite capable of self-defense that huntsmen weren't always as needed as before. It certainly helped the rebuilt towns and settlements in lasting longer against the common fodder while the bigger and more terrifying Grimm were handled by the professionals.

Argus had become a sort of city-state since then. With it being the most well-off place in Remnant, it was practically independent of the greater kingdom of Mistral. It still remained a loyal city to the kingdom though, and their placement only strengthened the alliance that Mistral had with Atlas.

Speaking of Atlas, the floating city was making a resurgence of technology. With their weapons and armaments having aided in their defense, they had begun expanding further on their continent while also providing their allies with the same technology.

Trade of technology only increased and had a great boom as more of Remnant had been taken by civilizations expanding further outward beyond their walls. Resources were plentiful as untouched sources of Dust were enough to make other companies genuinely compete with the SDC, much to the former CEO's frustration.

The current CEO, Weiss Schnee, had made quite the number of changes within the company that reverted it back to those days of her grandfather while still retaining the status that her father had made. Many of the workers in those mines had been replaced by machines as the mines were still quite dangerous. Faunus workers had been properly compensated with some making their way up in the world. Having been made to fight for their survival, it was only expected from the Atlas council.

Mantle was doing fine as well. Its conditions had been improving steadily and even began to compete with Atlas on the world stage. Treated as equals, Mantle's representatives were as hands-on as they spoke on council grounds.

Menagerie, an island that had been cut off from the rest of the world, didn't need much aid. Most of the Grimm simply ignored them in favor of the major kingdoms. There were a few but it wasn't that it was too difficult. Blake Belladonna had revisited her home out of that worry. Talks of having its own CCT was in the works though some were still rather skeptical of having Atlas' people be around to set them up.

Vacuo was the loss of Remnant. Efforts had been made to reclaim it, most its people have chosen to stay in Vale. Using the now broken walls as building material, Vale expanded further outwards and soon made a rebound in population. Beacon Academy had been rebuilt and was bigger than before, hosting an even larger amount of students. In the end, Vacuo had become part of Vale.

There, Yang Xiao Long was busy living her wild adventures. She had no motivation to look for her mother anymore, having found contentment simply in the adventure of exploring much of Remnant's untamed wilds.

Ruby Rose was where anyone needed her most. Always in the thickest of Grimm attacks, she followed in her mother's footsteps of being the hero that most people could look up to. The difference is that Ruby always managed to come back home. Without threat of Salem, such matters were surprisingly simple enough.

CRDL had the strangest position. Content with simply being huntsmen, they chose to step into the background, being among the many huntsmen and huntresses that were out just doing their jobs. That didn't stop anyone, RWBY or JNPR, from dragging them along with whatever chaos that follows the two teams.

The Branwen tribe, no longer as much as banditry, had found their own little settlement and have made a home for themselves. Former bandits and their hostages lived together without much bad blood between them. Though, that didn't stop some from returning back to their former ways.

Those that had been loyal to Salem had been chased and hunted down. Tyrian Callows refused to give in and would only ever accept being a martyr in the name of his goddess. Poor faunus had wept when he claims that she had been taken away from him. They had to keep him restrained before he would actually commit to being a martyr.

Hazel was the most difficult one. Accusing Oscar to be a murderous parasite, everyone ignorant could only see a mad man when they had caught him. For all his anger and rage, Oscar Pine never once raised his voice and accepted every verbal berating that Hazel had thrown at him.

Watts proved himself to be as elusive as ever. Atlas was still trying to find the man.

As for JNPR themselves, their journeys resumed as they normally would have. Sometimes they would split up. Other times they would handle it together. One of the earliest things that they did once Vale was up and running as smooth as it did before was to return to Mistral. Their companionship with the new headmaster of Haven Academy plus their professional licenses being from this school had allowed them the easiest of access and even favors.

That favor was Kuroyuri, Ren and Nora's home. To the best of their memories, much of that old settlement had been rebuilt in similar style and aesthetic as it did before. A capsule of times before, those elders who were still around had been difficult to find but they eventually did. People that they had never met before that day were treated as though they were long-lost family and friend.

The next had been Shion. Requested by Jaune, the frequent camping sight of the Arc family was one that was meant for the future. With the addition of Jeanne, that meant that there was to be a bigger family in the years to come.

Outside of the rebuilt Haven Academy, there was a white marble statue in commemoration of team JNPR's exploits. Their journey across Anima had built up a reputation for themselves. The statue was in a manner similar to the one in Beacon. The difference here was that there was a clear image of JNPR's members there with Jeanne herself being at the head. The stone recreation of her flag was an impressive recreation with how it was carved to appear like it was flying in the wind.

"Is there really nothing that we can do about that?" Jeanne couldn't help but be a little red at the sight. They got the details right that it could be no mistake that it was her.

"People's choice, miss d'Arc." Oscar had adopted much of Ozpin's mannerisms that it was difficult to tell now who was speaking. The difference was found in the emotion behind those words. There was no sadness nor melancholy present; it was definitely Oscar.

"How is Ozpin doing?" Jeanne asked.

"Ozpin has stayed in the background. Whether humanity will actually be united is up to humanity themselves to decide. One thing he did say was that he was sure that it wouldn't be because of him." Oscar gave her a knowing look.

"Tell him that He will come for him." She shook her head. Honestly, that is a little much faith placed in her, isn't it? Hopefully she was wrong. "I'm sure that He isn't cruel for that."

"I'm sure he doesn't think that it matters. All that matters to him was that Salem gets to rest for once. He'll take this burden until Remnant itself has ended."

After their duties were done in Mistral, JNPR pretty much went wherever they felt themselves most helpful. Sometimes that was in Atlas, assisting the military there as they expanded their territories to further take more of the cold tundra. Other times, they would be in Menagerie, aiding development of that CCT while also being an extra hand at easing tension between the people there and the Atlas people. Blake certainly made sure that it was easier on that front.

In time, JNPR soon made their return to Vale. Unlike Mistral, they were treated with more normalcy. At least, as normal as they could be; there was no denying that JNPR began their ascent to fame in Vale. With Jeanne's little stunt of taking down that whale Grimm having witnesses, it only fed them further.

One night, as the two blondes of team JNPR were out there on the roofs of Beacon's rebuilt Academy, they could be found staring at the stars above them. They were allowed here as visitors.

"So," Jaune began. He now wore full armor and had started growing the stubbles of a beard. "Anything on your mind?"

"Only what to do now," Jeanne replied. In some strange way, she too had begun to age beyond herself. It was an experience that she never really had in that life of hers. "Never thought I would actually live out the rest of my life here."

But there was another thing. Jeanne knew that Jaune knows that. "But what is on your mind?"

Jeanne remained silent. It took a minute or two. "What happens after."

"After?"

"After all this. We become old, retire, then what?"

All things would come to an end eventually. For Jeanne, she would most likely return to the Throne. It wasn't that which scared her, it was the memories. How much of this would she keep? Would she even remember any of this? Being part of this team certainly was nice. If she could, she'd at least like to keep JNPR with her.

Jaune guessed her little plight. "I'm sure it will work out."

"That certain?"

"I mean." Jaune shrugged. "You being here was a miracle. You became another Maiden. I ended up being dragged into this miracle thing too. Who knows? Maybe we will see each other again. Heck, people have called me the young Rusted Knight lately."

Jeanne chuckled. "Not sure about the rust but Knight definitely sounds about right."

"Can you blame me? I think everyone wanted to be the Rusted Knight at some point."

Silence reigned between them.

"When do you think that we'll see each other again?"

"When Jaune?"

"Yeah, when."

"Not sure."

"Well I'll be looking forward to it."

"So would I, little brother. So would I."

/-/

As the aged form of Oscar Pine lay in bed, Ozpin felt the moment that his host had breathed his last. This was probably the first he ever had in a long time to have his host live out his life without much of his influence. Relatively at any rate. Ozpin still played the role of adviser for the retired headmaster of Haven but Oscar hadn't needed him once the former farmhand had gotten the hand of it.

Ozpin—Ozma sighed. Another life awaits me.

With Salem now gone, humanity is pretty much safe. Sure the Grimm are still an ever present threat but humanity doesn't need a reincarnating old man to guide them there. They'll handle it on their own. Of course, if they couldn't handle it, he could always guide the next host to that.

"I'm sorry," he said out loud. How long has it been since he last heard his own voice? His first voice? Either way, it wouldn't last long as the next host was being decided on.

It always began as a dark vision before the first light had entered the soon-to-be shared pair of eyes. Following that was the memories of those past lives slowly catching up to the host. Ozma could only hope that the next one would have a peaceful one as well. Not like he intends to take over at all, more of a passenger really. Just a mere witness to the passing of Remnant. It wasn't what he wanted at all but it was what he was willing to accept.

For that reason, it was a shock to him that the light he saw pretty much covered everything that he could see. Was he in some kind of fog? It was too bright to be mere fog. He couldn't feel the ground beneath his feet.

Taking steps forward, Ozma soon felt grass licking his feet. He was in a cloth of white. He stopped when he could see his hands.

"I know these hands," he said. "These are my hands. My hands."

"Still remember how that looks do you?" A male voice was heard.

Ozma turned and found that a man was there leaning against a gate. He turned to him and smiled. He had a wound on both of his hands.

"Where—"

The man interrupted Ozma. "Your wife's waiting for you."

Ozma paused. Then, he spoke again saying, "you're…"

The man didn't interrupt him this time. He simply smiled and let Ozma finish. When Ozma did not, he spoke. "It took a while but I'm certain that it is only right that she be her best when she sees you again. She had to be after everything she has done, after all." He gestured Ozma in. "Come. Now that you're here, there's a celebration to be had."

"Whose?"

"Why yours, of course. We always welcome those here with celebration. Salem herself requested that she wait for you though. Wished to have it like in the old days, she said."

AN: Technically, it ends here, the next one is more of an epilogue (I think) of sorts.