What Remains ~ RWBY

Part 5

Yangs P.O.V.

"Well they sure look like they're having fun." Blake jabs. I follow her eyes to see Ruby and Oscar, or what I assume is Ruby and Oscar somewhere under all the red and green petals. Before I know it I'm smiling.

"A little too much fun if you ask me." I say, tackling her playfully in a hug, making her laugh.

"I'm just glad to see her acting like her old self." Weiss smiles.

Blake and I turn to look at her.

"How so?" Blake asks.

Weiss shakes her head, "Since he's gotten back, she smiles more, laughs more. Look at her, she's using her semblance for fun. I haven't seen her do that since we beat Salem."

Weiss is right. When the war ended, Ruby left all the parts of her huntress identity behind, only using her semblance when it was practical. But here she is, a swarm of rose petals dragging Oscar through every room, all the while laughing louder than she has in months. It's almost like shes...

"A kid again." Blake says, "She's acting like a kid again. I remember when I first met her, she had this childlike naivety about her. Back then, I thought it would be her biggest downfall, but over the years, its been her greatest strength. It's what made her capable of inspiring others. It's what made her a great leader. After we won, it's like she lost that. Maybe she didn't have a need for it anymore, whatever it is, I'm glad it's back."

I pull Blake tighter, kissing her temple. She's always been so observant, always watching. Everyday she shows me something new, even about myself. It's one of the reasons why I love her so much.

"Still," I grouse, "Why does it have to be that little twerp of all people to make her happy again?"

Weiss laughs, "He's strong too you know. Stronger than I think any of us give him credit for. He's not the little farm boy he was when we met him. And he's not Ozpin either, that part of him is gone."

I sigh. I don't have an issue with Oscar, not really. He's proved himself to me time and time again, going as for as to sacrifice his own life for the sake of the world. It's an ideal we all like to believe we share, but when it comes down to it...I don't know how many of us would really follow through the way he did. If anything, I'm glad it's him, because I know now that Oscar's the type of person to do anything for the people he cares about. It's the idea of Ruby growing up that's the problem.

"Is she really twenty-one already?" I marvel, shaking my head.

"Yep, I cant believe it's been so long since we all met." Weiss says, "It seems like only yesterday she was sixteen and blowing her self up right in this courtyard."

I crack a grin, Blake does too, and before we know it we're all laughing. We've come a long way as a team, further than the four of us ever could have imagined. I glance off in the distance to see Ren, Nora and Jaune, Nora sitting high on her boyfriend's shoulders and poking Jaune's fluffy gold hair with a stick. We've all grown, every single one of us. We lost people along the way, JNR more than anyone, but we're still here. And not only are we alive, but we're together.

"We did pretty good for a bunch of kids didn't we?"

Blake and Weiss both look at me with identical smiles, then stare back up at the school proudly.

"We sure did."

Ruby's P.O.V.

When I get back to the rest of the group, I'm still smiling.

"Glad you could join us," Yang jokes, "Try and look less happy will you? We got work to do. Where's Dorothy?"

"I took him up to Ozpin's office. I told him to come down when he's ready."

Nora shivers, "That place is terrifying!"

"That's because every time you went up there it was because you were in trouble Nora," Ren sighs.

"Still," she whispers, "It was spooky."

"EVERYONE SHUT UP I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!" Yang booms, golden hair flaming. We all turn to look at her, knowing better than to disobey her.

"Thank you," she smiles, her hair floating gently back into place, "Just thought I'd let you all know, there's only one room left."

Silence.

"Did you ninnies not hear me?"

"No, no we heard you," I rush, "I just...wow. Which room is left?"

Yang grins, "I was hoping you'd ask that."

With plenty of her trademark dramatic flare, Yang marches over to the double doors down the hall and kicks them open with a grunt.

"I present to you, the dance room."

Once our eyes adjust to the light, we're confronted with total chaos. Pillars crumbled, chandeliers shattered on the floor, wooden boards splintered, broken windows. But beneath it all, we can see the remains of the room we shared so many memories in. The last place we really got to feel like kids. Beneath the rubble, the damage done by our enemies years ago, there is the essence of hope that made us capable of defeating them.

"Wow." Jaune gasps.

"Wow is right. It feels like only yesterday we were here for the dance." Blake says. We all stare in silence. The last time we were here, we were just kids with a dream, still tied up in our heads like teenagers should be. Suddenly, I miss my friends, the ones that are still scattered around the world helping in any way they can. Sun, Neptune, Velvet, Coco, Illia, Penny. Some of them I haven't seen in years.

"Well, there's plenty of work to do. I guess we better get started." Weiss sighs.

"How can I help?" says a voice behind us. I turn to him and smile. Yang laughs.

"Time to get sweeping Dorothy."

After a few days work, the dance room is almost exactly the way it was five years ago. It's surreal, that after three months of work, we're so close to the end. But at the same time, there's a tone of sadness, uncertainty, fear, that I can feel between all of us without needing to say a word. We knew this wouldn't last forever, it was just a temporary gig that Qrow tossed us to keep us busy for a while. After this, none of us really know where we'll go. So we tried not to think about it, to convince ourselves that what we're doing now is important, despite knowing it was just a way of keeping us out of trouble while we recovered. Now we're facing the uncertainty we've been trying to keep away for so long. What's left for us now? Now that Salem's defeated and the world is safe. Now that the memories are so painful I cant even bare to look at Crescent Rose without feeling sick. I'm twenty-one and the only thing I know how to do is fight, but what good is a huntress who cant even wield her weapon?

The sun is going down, and we've all started to finish up our jobs and drift to the centre of the room to rest. Once we're all there, we sit in silence for a while, until Jaune finally says what we're all thinking.

"So, what now?" It should be a simple question, and without context it probably is. But for us, the question is more terrifying than any Grimm. Monsters we know how to handle. But life? That's a different story.

"I don't know." Weiss admits.

"None of us do," Ren says calmly, "But one thing is for sure, whatever we choose we'll choose together. No matter where we go. We're all in the same boat, and we'll tackle this like a team, just like always."

I've always admired Ren for his wisdom, I just hope that this time he's right.

"Well this is a bummer," Nora groans, "Come on! Look at all the work we've done! We should be celebrating not freaking out about what's next."

"Nora's right," Blake says, "When was the last time we had actual fun?"

Across from me, I see Yang's eyes light up, red swirling around in her purple pupils, signalling that a new idea has entered her mind.

"Oh my god.." She gasps. We all stare at her in confusion, waiting for her to let us in on what she's thinking. She stands up dramatically and spins around, gesturing to the room around us.

"Isn't it obvious?" she exclaims. We all hold our breaths, waiting for the stroke of genius that will cure all of our worries.

"We should have a dance!"