Author's Note

Hey everyone!

I'm back from vacation and back to writing. I wanted to give a quick update and reiterate a few things I went over in the foreword for this fic. RWBY got picked up by VIZ! That's very exciting news, and I, personally, am eagerly waiting for more updates. I'm still going to continue working on this story as an alternate ending. I know volume ten hasn't officially been greenlit yet, but I maintain hope that we will get a proper ending for the story. If anything, this will be a good way to pass the time, and I still think it will be fun to see how many of my guesses pan out, and how far off some of them are.

I also wanted to remind everyone that I'm active on Archive of our Own as well. Given the recent issues with ffnet (again) I just wanted ya'll to know that this fic is up on another site as well.

Happy Reading,
-Flair

Chapter Sixteen

Jaune and Weiss were relaxing on one of Shade's balconies, taking in the evening air. A week had passed since the attack on the city, and Jaune's arm had almost completely healed. They were rested and ready, due to leave for Atlas tomorrow, and were enjoying one last night before they were back on a mission.

Jaune could see the crater that Theodore had left in the side of Shade below them and to the left. When asked about it, the headmaster had said, "I was a little over-enthusiastic to join the fight. May have overdone it just a tad." If Theodore's got that much power, that Beringel he fought must have been a monster, Jaune thought. Theodore was still in a sling himself, and while most of his bumps and bruises had healed, the headmaster still wasn't back to full strength after his intense battle with Salem's experimental grimm.

The city was spread below them, twinkling in the dimming light. From his vantage, Jaune could see the cranes at the city gate, working around the clock to repair the damage that the blind worm had done. Other than the first courtyard and the buildings right inside the gate, the damage to the city had been minimal. Everyone considered this a well fought victory, and in a way, it had been, but Jaune knew that the enemy hadn't really been looking to flatten Vacuo. They had been after the Asturias twins, and they had gotten what they wanted.

Weiss was humming contentedly next to him, her head nestled on his shoulder. He felt the familiar warmth in his chest, followed by a newer wave of something that was almost like guilt. He'd been meaning to talk to Weiss about it, but hadn't found a good way to broach the subject.

The thing was, with his time in the Ever After, Jaune was significantly older than his schoolmates. Like, their parents age, basically. And that felt a little weird. His time spent in the other world continued to fade, dreamlike, and he continued to lose more and more of the memories he had made, but he still carried a huge weight of time with him. Weiss didn't seem to mind, his friends didn't seem to mind, but still, Jaune felt a bit awkward about the whole thing.

He was comfortable with Weiss, and he didn't want to mess things up. The old ache of grief in his chest disappeared when he was with her, and he felt at peace for the first time in years. He wanted to keep that. Still, he wanted to clear the air and make sure she knew how things sat with him. It was just a matter of figuring out how to do it.

He opened his mouth, and instead of telling Weiss how he was feeling, asked, "How do you think things are going with Qrow and Willow?" Dammit Jaune, you coward, he thought immediately after.

Weiss raised her head to look at him, frowning. "Mother seems rather taken with him. I'm particularly enthused, but maybe they'll be good for each other. I'm trying not to think about it too much, honestly."

"They make a fun juxtaposition, I think. The high class lady and the rough and tumble Huntsmen," Jaune said, trying for a light tone and not quite succeeding.

"Fun might not be the word I'd use. They do both have their demons to work out. I just hope they don't relapse and start drinking again," Weiss said, still frowning.

"I dunno, I think maybe they can keep each other straight, give each other encouragement if one of them is struggling," Jaune said.

"Or they'll take each other back down. Really Jaune, I'm glad Mom seems happy, but I'd rather not think about it, please. The idea of her dating again is just weird. Especially when its Qrow."

"Are they dating though? I know Qrow has been a bit cagey about the whole thing. Ruby and Yang have been teasing him pretty relentlessly."

"I don't know, and I'm trying not to think about it too much," Weiss said pointedly, starting to get annoyed.

"Right. Sorry," Jaune said. "Other things on my mind, I guess."

"Trying to avoid something?" Weiss asked, blue eyes glittering in the setting sun.

Damn, she's sharp. "Uh. Yes. No, I don't know. Not sure how to bring it up."

"You've been distant off and on ever since we got back. You've been through a lot. If you need to talk about something, I'm here for you," Weiss said encouragingly.

"I have been through a lot. I know time passed differently in the Ever After, but I still spent a long time there without any of you. Like, a long time," Jaune said, not willing to meet Weiss's gaze.

"Is that what you're worried about?" Weiss asked.

"I mean, yeah. Regardless of how you factor it, mentally, I'm old enough to be your dad," Jaune said, shifting uncomfortably.

Weiss surprised him by laughing. "Maybe I like an older man. But really, Jaune, I don't think it's that big a deal. We've known each other for a while now, and yes, you went through a lot on your own in the Ever After, but at heart you're still the same Jaune I've known from the last few years."

"Am I though?" Jaune asked, doubting her, doubting himself. "How do you know I'm still the same person I was before?"

"Jaune; you're kind and selfless, loyal, honest, willing to admit your mistakes, and you're always there to help people. I still see that in you. You're a wonderful person, and despite my initial impressions of you when we first met, over time I've fallen in love with you," Weiss said as she looked up at him, eyes gleaming, bright spots of color high on her cheeks.

Oh. OH. Jaune's heart started to beat faster. "Weiss, I"-

She turned away, suddenly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, that was very sudden."

She loves me. Even knowing everything that she does, my years spent alone, the bitterness and anger, what happened with Penny, she loves me, Jaune thought with wonder. He gently turned her face back to his and looked into her eyes. "Thank you. I love you too."

She kissed him then, throwing her arms around his neck. He responded, cautiously at first, and then with more passion. They broke apart after a long moment, looking into each other's eyes.

"What made you change your mind about me?" Jaune asked, his curiosity winning out over his desire not to ruin the moment.

"Honestly? It started with the dance, back at Beacon. When you convinced Neptune to come talk to me, despite being interested in me yourself. That showed me that you could be mature about things. And then you saved my life at Haven, and you've just been there, always, being a good friend and a good person. Is it really that surprising I fell for you?"

"A little, yeah," Jaune said.

Weiss playfully smacked his arm, and then nestled her head back onto his shoulder. "You're everything my father wasn't, Jaune. That means a lot to me. Yang can talk crap all she wants about 'daddy issues', but the heart wants what it wants."

Jaune cleared his throat, embarrassed again. "Ah man, she hasn't hit me with that one yet."

"Oh, don't worry about her. I'll put her in her place if I need to. Let's get back to enjoying the night, before we have to go off and back into the fight again."

Jaune wrapped an arm around Weiss and kissed the top of her head. "You got it."

Together, they looked out over the city, hearts at peace.

Blake, Yang, and Emerald were hanging out at the White Fang's new office in the middle of the city. They had spent the last couple of days helping to move supplies into the new warehouse and were now just chatting and relaxing. Blake kept an eye out for Ilia, hoping to talk with her, but Ilia had steadfastly kept her distance, much to Blake's sorrow. Ilia had been very withdrawn for a couple days after learning about Blake and Yang's relationship, and still didn't like to be in the same room as the couple. Blake was hoping that their friendship could continue, but that didn't seem likely at the moment. As Blake thought about this, melancholy, Yang suddenly and explosively sneezed. Blake nearly jumped out of her skin and flattened her ears in annoyance.

"'Scuse me. That came out of nowhere," Yang said as Blake settled back in beside her, ears twitching.

"Someone's talking about you," Emerald called from the other side of the room. Fen was next to her, face set in a mask of concentration as he attempted the sleight of hand trick Emerald had been teaching him. His focus was so intense he hadn't flinched at the sneeze, and he continued to shuffle the deck of cards he was holding.

He pulled one out with a flourish and showed it to Emerald. "Is this your card?"

"You got it!" Emerald said laughing. "You're getting good at that, Fen. You're a natural."

Fen smiled in pleasure and ran off to show Khali his new trick. Yang watched him go with a smile on her face and turned to Emerald. "Good things, I hope. I gotta say, Em, you're really good with that kid. He adores you."

Emerald flushed, looking embarrassed. "Well, he needed someone to look after him."

"And you're a natural. I'm glad you're there for him," Blake said.

"I needed someone there for me when I was younger, and I didn't have anyone until Cinder showed up," Emerald said, frowning. "He reminds me a lot of, well, me. I just hope I'll be a better influence on him."

"Well, I think you're doing a bang-up job," Yang said. "Y'know, I was pretty heated at you and your friend for a while. Actually, I still need to settle the score with him. But you're doing OK, in my book."

"Merc is… not a good person, not really, but he's also not really the villain you think he is. We were both lied to about what Salem really wanted," Emerald said.

"I dunno, Em. He just helped break some bad people out of jail while good people died," Yang said with a frown.

Emerald sighed. "Yeah. I was hoping he would have left Salem by now."

"CVFY and the Aces have been after them for almost a week now. Maybe we'll hear something soon," Blake said.

"Maybe," Emerald replied doubtfully. "Mercury can handle himself in a fight, and Tyrian is a literal monster. That whole situation sucks."

"What happens, happens, I guess," Yang said with a shrug. "My money is on Coco and the others, but hopefully they all come out of it ok. By the by, how're you and Coco doing?" Yang asked Emerald slyly, eyebrows wiggling suggrestively.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about. I made up to her for the Vytal festival, that's it," Emerald said, flushing slightly, and then quickly changed topics. "This place is pretty nice compared to the old one, Blake. How'd your dad get it again?"

"The Schnees gave it to us, actually. Their company owned it and hadn't been using it. From what I understand they had to rehome some people that were living here, but they were all well taken care of. I think Willow got them all set up in one of the new housing developments that they've been working on," Blake said.

"Damn. That kid is really making an effort, huh?" Emerald said, vaguely impressed. "I always thought the Schnees were a bunch of rich, stuck-up snobs. Never thought I'd see the day they were working with the White Fang."

"They grow on you. Weiss used to be such a brat," Yang said, laughing. "But yeah, Whitley and Willow are really trying to get out from under Jacque's shadow."

"It's a good start, for sure. It makes me hopeful for the future." Blake looked towards Fen and Khali, making sure the boy was still out of earshot. "Of course, we still have a hard road ahead of us. There are still people out there that want us oppressed or dead. Dad told me there was a botched attack on the old warehouse the day Vacuo was attacked."

"No shit?" Emerald said. "You'd think with everything else going on people would try to be a little less murdery. We all share this world, and there's a crazy lady trying to blow it up or something. I know I had my eyes opened."

"Hear hear! To assholes turning a new leaf!" Yang said, raising a hand in a fake toast and winking at Emerald.

Emerald laughed. "To me! You guys really aren't so bad. Well, Ruby and Nora can still put out insane levels of cheer and energy that make no sense to me, but the rest of you are pretty chill, I guess."

"How do you think our fearless leader is doing right now?" Blake asked.

"Oh, I'm sure she's in heaven. Ciel is going over the flight plan with her and promised Ruby she'd let her test drive her Paladin. Rubes has been doing pretty good these last few days. Getting more and more back to her old self. It's good to see," Yang replied.

"That girl is an ever-flowing font of optimism," Emerald said. "I sometimes wish I had her outlook on life."

"Ruby is one of a kind, that's for sure," Blake said. "She's such an inspiration to so many people, just by being herself. I'm glad she's doing better now."

"I heard she had a moment in the market the other day," Emerald said.

"Oh, yeah. That was fun," Yang said, chortling. "She went out in her combat gear and got recognized and then mobbed. A whole bunch of people telling her they were so glad she was back, and that they were rooting for her, and all that. I think she even got propositioned by a couple people. Poor Ruby, she wasn't built for that kind of attention. Ultimately, though, I think it gave her a good boost. After she spent the rest of the day inside and ate an entire box of cookies, that is."

"I thought she handled it well, considering," Blake said, also laughing. "She's really come a long way from the awkward girl she was on her first day at Beacon."

"Yeah, pretty proud of her," Yang said, beaming. She stretched and checked her scroll. "Well, it's getting late. We should probably hit the sack so we're ready for take-off tomorrow."

Emerald waved at Fen. The little mouse boy scampered over, grinning. "Hey Fen, it's time for me to go. Remember, I'll be away for a few days, but I promise I'll check in as soon as I get back, ok?"

"Do you have to leave?" he asked, frowning up at Emerald.

"I do, I'm sorry," Emerald said, ruffling Fen's ears.

"We've got important Huntress business to do," Yang said, puffing her chest out. She deflated immediately as Blake poked her in the side, tickling her ribs.

"We'll make sure that Miss Emerald stays safe, ok Fen?" Blake said warmly, smiling down at the boy.

"Good," he said seriously. Then, to Emerald, "I'll keep practicing those tricks! I'll be so much better when you get back, just wait!"

"I'm counting on it! Take care of yourself, Fen."

Yang and Emerald waited outside as Blake took a moment to say goodbye to her parents, and then the trio made their way back to Shade. Tomorrow was a new day.

"Ren, I gotta say, you keep getting better and better in the kitchen. And I still can't believe you talked those ladies into letting you use their equipment." Nora and Ren were in the kitchens of Shade, and Ren had spent the last hour preparing dishes for a ravenous Nora.

Ren looked over at the quartet of women that handled much of the cooking for the Academy and smiled at them. They smiled back, one of them rather too hopefully, Nora thought. "They've been very kind. All I did was ask if I could cook for you, and they agreed," Ren said.

"Hmm," Nora said, eyeing the woman who had been eyeing her man. "I also think you're too pretty for your own good."

Ren just chuckled. "I think you have nothing to worry about. You're the only woman for me."

"Good. Now that you've finally expressed your interest, I'm never letting you go," Nora told him firmly.

He leaned in and kissed her. "I wouldn't let you. How're you feeling? Have you rested enough since the battle?"

"Pshh. I've been good to go for days. This girl is ready to get back to it!" Nora flexed ostentatiously, making sure the other women in the kitchen saw.

"You took a very large jolt of energy. I just want you to be healthy and safe," Ren said.

"Ah, I'm fine. That's what my semblance is made for. Besides, I think those scars I got in Atlas are like, conductors or something. Now that I've survived it once, the electricity just follows the channels that got made and I can store more."

"Um, I wouldn't be confident enough in that to keep testing it until a physician confirms it," Ren worried.

"Ren, it's ok, really. I recovered a lot faster this time than last time. It's sweet that you're worried though."

"I almost lost you then, I don't want that to happen again," he said, looking at her earnestly with his large, dark eyes.

"Dammit. You're too pretty to say no to. I'll be more careful, I promise."

"Good. Though it is fun to watch you be strong and hit stuff."

"Oh-ho, you like my muscles, eh? Well mama needs more protein! Chop chop!"

Ren just laughed, kissed her gently, and returned to the stove. After a moment Nora joined him and slipped an arm around his waist.

"I love you, Lie Ren," she said, pecking his cheek.

"I love you too, Nora."

A massive goliath trumpeted as it charged around a corner and down the street. Target locks blared, and Ruby squeezed the trigger of her joystick. She felt the tactile response of the shoulder mounted railgun firing, and saw one of the goliath's tusks shatter as the round found its target, but the creature kept its feet and kept coming.

She opened up with her arm-mounted autocannon, and hundreds of rounds chewed up the street and peppered the skull plate of the huge grimm. It bellowed angrily and lowered its head as it gained momentum. Ruby twisted the Paladin's feet and sidestepped as the beast barreled past. She swung with the thunder maul on her left arm and felt the satisfying thump as it smashed into the goliath's flank. The grimm bellowed again in pain but stayed on its feet.

Ruby adapted quickly and spun the Paladin one hundred and eighty degrees on its horizontal axis, the legs staying in place as the torso rotated. It was a risky move, as it reduced her mobility drastically, but she wanted to make the kill. Her railgun spat another round that dug deep into the side of the goliath as it ponderously tried to turn, moving much more slowly than she had. Ruby kept up the pressure and fired the railgun again as the autocannon thundered.

The goliath finally went down, trumpeting balefully, its bulk dissolving into smoky ruin as it died. Ruby cheered as the simulation flashed MISSION COMPLETE across her screen. The cockpit opened and she jumped down, exclaiming happily.

"Ciel, that was awesome! That program is so good! Everything was so tactile and responsive. It really felt like I was in a fight. And the Paladin handles like a dream! I almost regret being a normal Huntress."

Ciel grinned at Ruby. "It is very good, isn't it? And you're a natural. I could have killed the goliath on the first pass, of course, but I know many cadets that failed that scenario, some multiple times."

"Oh it was so much fun! Can I go again?" Ruby was bouncing back and forth, eager for more.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Ruby," Oscar called from the side. "It's getting late."

"Aw, c'mon, one more go won't hurt."

"Oscar is right, I need to calibrate the Paladin and do checks on the Devilray. It is getting late," Ciel said.

"Oh, fine. Oscar, did you see me? I was awesome!"

Oscar, who had been watching the simulated fight via scroll, smiled and said, "You were awesome. A natural if I've even seen one."

Ruby beamed. "I really want to take one of those babies for a spin in a real fight. I felt so powerful."

"Ruby, you're a walking, talking ballistic missile. I've seen you take on things bigger than that goliath on foot before."

"Yeah but that's different! I was the machine! It was a feeling like no other! Tell him, Ciel."

"It is very exhilarating," Ciel agreed, tool kit already open as she worked on her mech.

"Ok, ok," Oscar laughed. "It did look fun. You think we're ready for tomorrow?"

"Oh, absolutely. We'll find everything that Dr. Polendina needs, I'm sure of it."

"You think it will work?" he asked, more quietly.

Ruby put a hand on his shoulder. "Positive. Dr. Polendina knows what he's doing. We'll get you two separated, I promise."

Oscar looked back at her, his hazel eyes meeting her silver ones. The moment stretched, and then he became keenly aware of Ozpin, trying very hard to hide in the back of his mind and not interfere with the moment, and it broke. He stepped back, clearing his throat and shuffling his feet. Ruby mirrored this and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Thanks, Ruby."

"Yeah, no problem, haha. Let's get back, yeah?"

They waved goodnight to Ciel and headed back for Shade. Oscar did his very best not to think about the moment with Ruby, and Ozpin did his very best to disappear into the background of their shared mind. He could no longer completely vanish, however, and Oscar felt the familiar stab of resentment at this. It was my mind first, he thought sulkily. And then, Sorry, Oz. I know you didn't ask for this either.

It's ok, Oscar. I get it. I'm very sorry to put you through this. I will do everything I can to make sure that this plan works, Ozpin thought to him.

What are our odds, do you think? Oscar asked him.

Honestly? Maybe fifty fifty. We've had the technology to move aura around between people for only a short time, and Pietro is the only person who has successfully managed it. And he's done it twice. If anyone can do it, it's him.

What if it fails?

It won't Oscar, Ozpin thought with as much reassurance as he could. Oscar could still sense the doubt underneath it, though. They were too far joined to hide things from each other anymore. Ozpin was worried that it would kill them. And while he would reincarnate, Oscar would be gone.

It better work, Oscar thought, stealing a glance at Ruby, who was walking with a bounce in her step, eyes bright and happy. It better.