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Yang is rudely awakened by the sun shining bright in her eyes. Her head is pounding, and she feels like her left eye has just gained its own pulse.
“Fuck,” she curses under her breath.
Blearily, she blinks her drowsiness away and painstakingly drags herself from under the sheets, propping herself up on an elbow as she squints around the unfamiliar room.
The room looks like something straight out of a kid obsessed with origami’s wildest dreams, with everything seeming to be made out of paper.
What… happened, and where the hell is she?
She winces as the sunlight streaming through the window hit her eyes once more. With a deep breath, she forces herself to think back to what happened before she completely blacked out.
After a tearful reunion with Blake, they’d set out to find Ruby and Weiss as soon as possible, and perhaps come across her prosthetic arm. Their ventures are nothing short of chaotic, however, having caused a ruckus with the Jinxy Peddler and getting caught up with the Red Prince.
They managed to get away with the help of that damn “cat,” but not without being shrunk to the size of a figurine and having to stay perched on said odd cat in hopes that it would lead them to some solution to their literal teeny tiny predicament.
Followed by very nearly tearing their own ears out after having to listen and answer the hundreds and thousands of question the curious cat asked, they’d encountered the herbalist who gave them one hell of a trip.
And then they had to sit through even more of the curious cat’s most curious musings.
With time, however, they soon found themselves on a giant lily pad, with the cat leading them on a search for a potion to help them grow back to their normal size.
Of course, as per usual, it didn’t go as planned, with a Jabberwalker suddenly making its appearance in the process of making the parfait.
And then…
And then there were blurry figures, red petals scattering in the air and hazy spectral creatures emerging from the ground, then Blake…
Blake.
Yang springs to her feet, her heart racing as her head whips around the room, eyes wide with panic as her gaze frantically flickers across the room in search of her partner.
Palms cold, and heart beating in her ears, it immediately comes to a slow as her eyes land on a familiar pair of cat ears poking from under the covers on the bed across hers.
With a sigh of relief, Yang quickly crosses the small room, kneeling by Blake’s side. Carefully, she lowered the blanket, revealing Blake’s sleeping face.
Finally given an instant to breathe, Yang watches the steady rise and fall of her partner’s chest, taking a moment to appreciate the small noises of Blake’s gentle snoring.
She then brushes some of Blake’s hair from her face before taking the back of her hand and pressing it against Blake’s forehead, checking for warmth, just to be sure .
Blake purrs, ears twitching at her touch. Without waking, she nuzzles against Yang’s hand, rubbing her head against Yang’s palm like a content cat.
Yang smiles fondly, her shoulders relaxing as the tension leaves her body, a feeling of serenity washing over her as she watched over her partner sleeping.
For a moment, everything is right.
They’re together.
Safe.
There’s a soft knock at the door, and Yang looks over her shoulder just in time to see the door slowly creak open, revealing… a star?
A yellow star. A yellow paper star.
The star waddles into the room, its edges rustling softly like leaves of trees on a windy day. Despite it being faceless, Yang somehow distinguishes it as it ‘perks up’ upon ‘seeing’ her.
And then it starts speaking.
“Oh! You are awake! How wonderful!” it says, its voice high-pitched and cheerful.
Yang blinks, stunned. “What the… who are you?”
The star beams. Well, it would’ve, if only it had a face. “We are the Paper Pleasers! Would you please kindly tell us what you are so that we may properly serve you?”
Yang stares at the star, and then somewhere else, almost like in a sitcom when the main character stares at the camera.
Before she could even think to ask a question, however, she hears a loud boom in the distance, which has Yang promptly jumping to her feet and Blake sitting up groggily.
“Yang?” she calls out, clearly still half-asleep. “What was that?”
“I’m not sure,” Yang answers, bracing her gauntlets. “Let me check it out.” Yang darts for the door, and Blake, still rubbing her eyes, begrudgingly gets out of bed, following Yang.
Yang doesn’t know what she was expecting when she decided to step out of the room, but it certainly wasn’t… this.
This is a village entirely made out of paper. Every house, every lamppost, every path, every patch of grass or piece of rock, it was all made out of paper, all folded intricately from the ground up.
And it was all on fire.
“What… the hell? ” Yang mumbles, unable to believe what she is seeing. “Who builds a town out of paper!?”
“Is that…” Blake trails off, ears perked in confusion as she internally debated whether she should be concerned. “What’s going on?” she asks cautiously.
“It’s nothing to worry about!” the Paper Pleaser says in that same cheery tone that Yang is already being driven to insanity with.
Yang looks over her shoulder, glaring at the star. “Nothing to worry about? Your town is on fire!”
Despite this, the star didn’t seem bothered at all in the slightest.
“It’s nothing out of the ordinary!” they even state proudly. “Besides, we have our heroes to protect us!”
As if on cue, a flurry of rose petals appeared in the air, swirling like a red tornado. From the petals emerged a figure with a red scythe in hand, rushing forward to scoop up the Paper Pleasers scattered about, moving them away from the flames.
And once they were all out of the way, white, glowing glyphs materialized in the air, glimmering like ice as a flurry of fine snow smothered the fires in a matter of seconds.
Yang’s palms grow cold. Are those…
A crowd of Paper Pleasers gather at the center of the town, all of them cheering as their beloved home is now safe and sound.
“Heeey!” a particularly loud one stands before the rest of the Paper Pleasers. “We cheer for the Red Reaper and the Pale star!” it exclaims, spurring on even more hurrahs from the Paper Pleasers.
The black and yellow pair find themselves gravitating to the gathering before them, making out the faces of the ‘heroes’ as they approached closer.
“Yang,” Blake’s eyes flit back and forth between the two figures and her partner, “tell me I’m not seeing things.”
Her heart is beating so loudly in her ears that she very nearly doesn’t hear Blake, but she shakes her head, staring right where the heroes stood. “I see them too.”
“Are those really… but they look…” Older? Wiser? Blake couldn’t even say, her mind not quite catching up and being able to make sense yet of what her eyes are seeing.
The Red Reaper, ‘Ruby’—though not quite the one she last saw before she fell into the void—was now visibly aged, her hair slightly longer and its color faded. The Pale Star, or rather, ‘Weiss’, no longer wore her hair in a braid but had it in a low ponytail resembling that of her mother’s, with fine lines clearly visible in both their faces.
“Alright! Everyone settle down!” ‘The Pale Star’ scolds, her tone a mix of exhaustion and fondness. There was no mistaking it, however—the voice, no doubt, belongs to Weiss.
Yang’s eyes lock onto a familiar pair of silver eyes, both of which seemed to be in just as much surprise as hers.
“Ruby?” she mutters.
Before Yang even knows it, a whirl of red roses is barrelling towards her, and Ruby pops out, tackling her into a hug.
“You’re okay!” Ruby cries, her voice shaky but full of relief. She holds onto Yang like the wind would blow her away. “You’re okay,” she repeats, quieter this time, as if she couldn’t believe it herself.
Yang stands frozen for a moment, stunned, tears pricking her eyes as her heart raced, threatening to leap out of her chest. But as her mind slowly caught up to what was happening, she found herself hugging her sister back, drawing circles on her back. Whether it was to comfort Ruby or herself, she didn’t know. All she knew was that her sister was here, alive and safe, and that was all that mattered.
“I’m okay,” Yang says, her voice cracking, the weight of her words sinking in like stone.
Figuring their conversation warranted a more private space, Ruby and Weiss lead Blake and Yang back to their home. Weiss excuses herself, however, quickly disappearing into their kitchen for something that they could feed their long-lost teammates, leaving Ruby to sit with them awkwardly in an unusual blanket of silence.
Why that is so is unclear to any of them. Was it the distance? The time?
For Blake and Yang, it has only been a day, maybe two. For Weiss and Ruby? Neither Yang nor Blake can even tell, but it has had to be years now.
Yang breaks the silence first, her voice low. “So... what now?”
Ruby shifts uncomfortably, her eyes downcast. “We don’t know. It’s been a lot—taking care of the Paper Pleasers, searching for you guys, and trying to find a way back home.”
“But now that we’re all together again, we might be able to make some real progress,” Weiss says as she sets down a tray of tea and some snacks, her tone sharp, but tinged with hope. “We’ve been at this for so long, and having you two here now changes things.”
“Speaking of long…” Blake awkwardly starts, “how long exactly have you two been here?”
Weiss and Ruby exchange a glance. Ruby gives a small nod, and Weiss sighs.
“Ruby found me first when I fell,” Weiss starts. “We wanted to find you, but we needed some time to recuperate, so we put that plan off for just the day. The next day though, while we were looking for something to eat…”
“We came across this tree,” Ruby continues, “they had these strange fruits, and by that I mean they look like stopwatches. Some of them had even fallen off the branches, and we got curious, so Weiss and I tried collecting the ones that had fallen.”
“As soon as we did that, though, everything went wrong,” Weiss interjects.
Yang’s brows furrowed. “Wrong how? ”
“We thought the appearance of the fruits were just that. An appearance,” Ruby sighs. “The moment we made contact with the fruit itself, though, everything just… went back in time.”
“Went back in time?” Blake asks with a tilt of her head, baffled by what she’s hearing.
Ruby nods. “Yeah. It happened so fast, way too fast for us to realize what we just got ourselves into.”
“Everything around us reversed in just a blur”—Weiss adds with a grimace on her face—“the sun setting in the east and rising in the west, the trees themselves growing back into saplings, years passing by not even in a full minute.”
“And how did you,” Yang makes vague gestures with her hand, confusion apparent on her face, “how did you make it stop?”
“I panicked and threw the stopwatches on the ground,” Weiss answers, wincing at the memory. “They broke, and everything stopped.”
“But it was too late,” Ruby says, gritting her teeth. “We already got sent back in time.”
Blake gulped. “How far back?”
Weiss’ expression darkened. “Fifteen, give or take.”
“Years?” It was a stupid question, Blake knows, but she couldn’t quite wrap her head around it still.
“Yes, years,” Weiss affirms. “We were stuck. And try as we might, we couldn’t find a way to reverse it, or well, go forward again. We were well and truly stuck.”
“It wasn’t until Little found us that we finally picked up the pieces,” Ruby continues.
Yang squints. “ Little? ”
As though rehearsed, a brown mouse on its hind legs popped out from Ruby’s hood.
“Someone called?” the mouse—no. Little spoke.
Both Blake and Yang’s eyes widened. In shock or horror, no one knows.
“Little, this is Blake, our teammate. And this is Yang, my sister.”
Little gasps in awe, their eyes sparkling. “It’s so nice to finally meet you both!”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Little,” Blake manages while Yang opts to simply nod in agreement, prompting a small laugh from both Ruby and Weiss.
“As I was saying,” Ruby clears her throat, “Little here brought us to the Paper Pleasers.”
“They took us in after we saved their town. Ever since then, Ruby and I have been living with them,” Weiss goes on, though her expression quickly shifts to a mix of anxiety and uncertainty, and upon receiving a questioning look from both Blake and Yang, she sighs.
“Now, don’t get me wrong,” Weiss says hesitantly, “the Paper Pleasers are kind, but they can’t take care of themselves, Ruby and I… well, we can’t just leave them.”
Ruby nods, “For years now, we’ve been looking after them, but between trying to keep them safe, looking for the two of you while also searching for a way back to Remnant, it’s just been a lot,” she admits glumly.
“But now that there are more of us, perhaps we can do things more efficiently,” Weiss says cheerily, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby immediately perks up, a small smile replacing the worried expression on her face.
Blake and Yang exchange a look, both clearly not having fully processed everything that they had just been told. Yang herself felt a strange mixture of guilt and relief.
It was strange seeing Ruby like this.
Her sister. Her little sister, and Weiss, they’ve both been through hell and back, between the fall of Atlas, losing the relic, being stuck for years and having to navigate a world they couldn’t understand all by themselves…
Yang grits her teeth and clenches her fists.
A series of unfortunate events, right after the other, and she couldn’t even be there for the most of it.
“Hey,” Yang finds a gloved hand reaching for her own, and she looks up to find a pair of silver eyes, “I’m okay.”
It was odd. The eyes were her sister’s, but not quite at the same time. Still, the fact that Ruby is still in one piece all this time brought Yang comfort.
Weiss clears her throat, her voice going back to its usual composed tone. “I’m sure this has all been overwhelming for all of us,” she says. “We should take the day to rest, I’m sure you both need it especially,” she gestures at Blake and Yang.
Blake nods slowly. “You’re right, this is a lot.”
“Rest sounds good right now,” Yang agrees, despite her still racing mind. A moment to pause might just be exactly what she needs right now.
“Tomorrow, we can regroup and make a plan. But for now, it’ll be better if everyone takes a breather,” Ruby says firmly.
Finally having gotten some food in their stomachs, Blake and Weiss volunteer to patrol for the afternoon. Yang is pretty sure it’s just an excuse to give her and Ruby some time to catch up. Still, she isn’t complaining—it’s something they very much need, after all.
With how different Ruby looked now, Yang couldn’t help but keep glancing at her. She found herself particularly drawn to the golden band wrapped around Ruby’s ring finger.
Staring is rude, Yang Xiao-Long , she briefly hears her father’s voice scolding her, and she can’t help but scoff, shaking her head.
“You can just ask, you know?” Ruby chuckles, Yang’s uneasiness not getting past her.
“Did you and Weiss… I mean… did you two…?” Yang cautiously asks, gesturing at the ring.
Get married.
She’s asking if they got married.
And Ruby’s cheeks flush as she realizes this. She follows Yang’s gaze to her hand, shifting awkwardly while fiddling with the said ring.
“No… maybe . Kind of… yes?” Ruby admits quietly, a hint of guilt in her words, though a small, nostalgic smile still tugs at her lips. “It’s more so an engagement ring, nothing official. But with the time that we’ve both spent together, it’s been some kind of… unspoken understanding between Weiss and I. We’d still love to have an actual wedding back home though.”
Yang laughs softly, “dad’s going to be devastated that he couldn’t be there to see you and Weiss get engaged, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” Ruby laughs as well, already imagining the look on her father’s face when he finds out that he’d completely missed his baby’s engagement. “But hey, there’s still you and Blake. He could still get that chance.”
The cogs in Yang’s brain come to a screeching halt, her expression shifting so fast that Ruby nearly chokes on her own laugh.
“What about me and Blake?” Yang asks, trying to save face. A pathetic attempt, she knows.
Ruby gives Yang a knowing look, her lips curling into a mischievous smirk. “Oh, come on. After everything you two have been through, you still haven’t figured things out?”
An uncharacteristic pink paints Yang’s cheeks. She sits up a little straighter, crossing her arms defensively.
“We’re getting there!” she says, voice unusually high. “I just…” Yang sighs, her shoulders slumping. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, you know?”
At this, Ruby’s smile softens, “I get it, but trust me, you have nothing to worry about,” she says, her teasing tone giving way to one of genuine concern. “You and Blake are perfect for each other.”
“Besides,” Ruby’s grin returns, “Weiss herself threatened to throw the two of you back into the void if you don’t get together.”
Yang snorts, “Yeah, that does sound like Weiss.”
Their giggles fill the room, but as the laughter fades, Yang is once again swept up in the whirlwind of thoughts racing through her mind.
“This is so… bizarre,” Yang admits, her voice quieter now.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m so used to being the big sister. It just never crossed my mind that we’d end up like this,” Yang says wistfully. “I’ve always been the one looking out for you, the one always protecting you. And now, look at us. You’ve moved on, gotten engaged. You’ve found a life here, and I’m the one still figuring things out.”
“Yang, you’ve always been my big sister. You are my big sister, and I could’ve never asked for anyone better. Sure, we’ve gone through some… changes but,” Ruby reaches out and gently takes her sister’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You’re still my big sister, and that’s never going to change.”
“Since when did you become so wise?” Yang quips, trying to lighten the mood, having never liked being vulnerable.
“Since accidentally sending myself back in time about a little over a decade,” Ruby jokes.
“Rubes.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m happy for you.”
“You’ll get your girl soon enough,” Ruby can’t help but tease.
“Never mind.” Yang rolls her eyes, prompting a laugh from Ruby.
“Sooo…” Blake unusually breaks the silence first, “how’s married life?” she asks, her tone teasing but carrying genuine warmth.
Weiss chuckles, because of course Blake notices.
“We’re not married married yet, but it’s been amazing,” she answers with an ear-to-ear grin. “You and Yang should try it,” she teases back.
“Whatever do you mean?” Blake says, feigning ignorance.
Weiss, ever the drama queen, rolls her eyes, unimpressed at Blake’s attempt at playing coy. “Oh, please. Everyone knows the two of you are in love. Except you yourselves, apparently.”
“ Excuse me? ” the pitch of Blake’s voice rises comically high, and the oddly pink sky reflecting on her skin is the only thing saving her from Weiss’ spotting the blush on her cheeks.
Weiss lets out a snort, a big, knowing grin on her face. “You didn’t deny it.”
Blake opens and closes her mouth like a fish out of water, fumbling for something to snap back at Weiss, only to huff in frustration when she finds nothing.
“Well,” Blake sighs in defeat, “I guess there’s always been… a bit of a chemistry.”
Weiss very nearly smacks the back of her head. “You guess? ”
Blake turns to face her, ears perking up at her tone. She blinks, the intensity of Weiss’ expression catching her off guard.
Deciding to poke the bear, Blake feigns cluelessness, muttering the one word that would surely drive Weiss insane.
“What?”
Weiss narrows her eyes at the faunus. “Blake Belladonna, don’t make me drag your head out of your ass.”
For a long, absurd moment, the two simply stared at each other. With Blake wide-eyed, in disbelief of Weiss’ outburst, and Weiss looking like she was about to pop a vessel, her eye twitching.
Then, all at once, the tension breaks, and the two burst into laughter. Blake doubles over, clutching her stomach, while Weiss lets out a rare, uninhibited cackle.
“Oh,” Blake wipes a tear from her eye, still giggly, “I missed this.”
“Me too,” Weiss admits, her tone softer now. “Really, though, if you two don’t get together, we’re leaving you two behind until you figure it out.”
“You wouldn’t, you’d miss us too much,” Blake shoots back.
Weiss chuckles. “So you better figure it out.”
Gentle sunlight spills over the kitchen, casting a warm glow over the room. The pan sizzling softly, and the smell of bacon and freshly brewed coffee, along with the crisp morning air, makes for a warm scene.
Ruby stands at the stove, humming a random tune as she flips a pancake in the skillet.
Weiss is behind her, still half-asleep, face burrowed into ruby’s shoulder while her arms are wrapped snugly around ruby’s waist.
It’s peaceful
Up until the point where Yang walks in.
“This is sickening,” Yang says in a deadpan voice, dramatically pausing at the doorway as she watches Weiss clinging onto Ruby. “Don’t you two have a village to take care of?”
“Hey!” Ruby tries to glare over her shoulder, but with Weiss attached to her like a koala, she settles for an eye roll. “We had to watch you and Blake make out with your eyes for a good three years,” Ruby shoots back.
“That’s not!” Yang sputters, caught off guard.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear anything,” Blake interrupts.
Yang jumps as Blake suddenly pops up behind her. “Don’t do that!”
“And no, you can relax. We have some time before they start up a ruckus,” Ruby adds, paying Yang no mind as she returns to her pancakes.
“Since when did Ruby learn to cook again?” Blake switches the topic instead, dragging Yang to take a seat at the table.
“Had to learn after we fell,” Ruby says with shrugs, “We didn’t really have anyone else to help us with cooking, so I picked it up.”
“And this hugging thing?” Yang says, gaze flicking between Ruby and Weiss, her left eye twitching as she points vaguely at Weiss, who still very much had her arms wrapped around Ruby, showing absolutely no sign of letting go anytime soon.
Ruby chuckles. “Took years to develop. You should be proud of her,” she replies.
“Excuse me,” Weiss finally cuts in, “can we not talk like I’m not here?” she grumbles, though she immediately returns to her previous state of clinging onto Ruby like her life depends on it.
“Sorry, honey,” Ruby says with a giggle, “I was just teasing.”
Yang visibly grimaces. “ Honey? ” she repeats as though scandalized, even making a gagging noise for effect. “I can’t believe this.”
Blake giggles beside her. “Well, you better get used to it.”
Yang groans dramatically, leaning back against her chair in defeat.
Their laughter dies down, and the group sits in a comfortable silence, each of them basking in the rare moment of calm that’s settled around them. Eventually, Ruby finally serves breakfast, and Weiss joins her, gracefully handing out plates of warm food to the table. Soon enough, they’re all digging in, the clinking of silverware and the soft murmur of voices filling the room as they recount stories from their childhood, from when they were just children hoping to become huntresses.
But just as they’re easing into the rhythm of the conversation, a low rumble rolls through the valley, vibrating the surrounding air. Plates and utensils tremble on the table, as the ground beneath them shakes with an ominous force.
“What’s going on?” Blake is the first to speak.
They all share an uncertain and concerned glance, and without a second to spare, the four spring into action, grabbing their weapons and rushing outside.
And there they see it—a horde of Jabberwalkers tearing across the field.
But among them, a figure stands out. A familiar hat, a pink parasol twirling above.
Ruby’s gaze hardened. “ Neo. ”
“Ruby, wait!” Weiss calls, reaching out to hold Ruby back, but she’s gone before Weiss can even stop her, disappearing into a flurry of roses, like a red bullet heading directly at Neo.
“Go, catch up to her!” Yang exclaims at Weiss, “We’ll take care of the Jabberwalkers!”
“No! It’s too dangerous for you two!” Furious, Weiss plunges her rapier into the ground, and multiple glyphs form across the field. Tall figures emerge from the glyphs, rising before them like a wall of ice, eerily rearing their heads just like—
Jabberwalkers.
Weiss can summon Jabberwalkers.
On any other day, Yang might’ve let out a gasp and geeked out about it, but now was not the time for that.
The heiress’ summons let out a piercing shriek before lunging towards the horde of Neo’s Jabberwalkers, which immediately sends them scattering, enough to clear a path.
“You two go! Get to Ruby!” Weiss calls out to Blake and Yang.
Blake hesitates, seeing the chaos unfolding. “But-”
“I’ll be fine! We’ve survived here for years!” she reassures the two of them.
Blake and Yang both share an uncertain glance, ultimately, although reluctantly, making a beeline for the hill.
The pair charge through the field, dodging out of the way of Weiss’ summons and the Jabberwalkers clashing.
Over the hill, Ruby moves in swift arcs, slicing through Neo’s clones, splintering them into dozens of shards with each hit. Rose petals whirl in her wake as Neo counters, taunting Ruby back, their battle a storm of petals and pink shards.
Seeing Blake and Yang quickly approaching, however, frustration flickers in Neo’s face.
She grunts, realizing she’s been outnumbered, and knocks Ruby back, placing a clone in her stead as Ruby lunges at her. Before Ruby can recognize the real her, she’s already a good distance away, and Ruby huffs as she spots her in the treeline.
Mockingly, Neo tips her hat, as if she'd just finished a grand performance, and turns away.
“Ruby! Ruby, no!” Yang yanks Ruby back just as she’s about to bolt forward.
“Ruby, hey,” Blake calls out, “Are you alright?”
Before Ruby can respond, Weiss tackles her into a fierce hug. “Don’t do that ever again!”
Ruby closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, grounding herself in Weiss’ embrace.
Just as the world seems to offer them a moment of reprieve…
“Fuck,” Yang swears under her breath.
The three immediately turn to her, following her gaze. And to their horror, while they had been distracted with Neo, the paper stars had constructed a tower of large and heavy stones.
If toppled over, it would surely…
They watch as the tower sways, and for a moment, time feels like it slows. Eventually, it falls forward, completely smashing through the dam.
In an instant, it bursts open with water, flooding the town faster than any of them could even actually register what was happening.
The jabberwalkers were just a distraction.
This is what Neo had meant to happen in the first place. For them to let their guard down.
To fail.
Again.
Ruby, helpless, falls to her knees. While Weiss stands frozen, her hand clasped against her mouth, both with their eyes wide as they watch the paper pleasers, the town that they’ve worked so hard to protect all these years, break apart and melt in the flood.
Blake wraps Weiss in an embrace, and Yang kneels right in front of Ruby.
She’s saying something, but to Ruby, it was all white noise.
Again, Ruby was careless, reckless— naive. She let her guard down, and even worse, she let everyone down.
The faces of those she’d lost, the faces of those she had oh, so utterly failed, flash right before her eyes, and the world seems to close in around her. The guilt, the loss, all come rushing back to her in humongous waves, threatening to drown her like the flood that had drowned the Paper Pleasers.
She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. All she can see now are the faces of those she had lost.
Pyrrha. Penny. Her mother. And now, the Paper Pleasers.
Gone.
All because of her—because she couldn’t save them.
Yang places a hand on Ruby’s shoulder, trying to steady her. “Ruby...”
Ruby stares blankly at the ground. “They’re gone.”
Yang shakes her a bit more firmly. “Ruby, look.”
“I couldn’t,” she chokes on her words, “I couldn’t save them.”
“Ruby”—Yang’s firm voice finally breaks Ruby out of her trance—“Look.” Yang moves aside, gesturing toward the field below the hill, where the waters had begun to recede.
In its wake, shimmering forms emerged—tiny, bright figures shaped like stars, made entirely of crystals, reminiscent of the Dust that people mined back in Remnant.
They glow with a soft, radiant light, picking up the pieces of the paper town that had been decimated in the flood.
Ruby blinks, looking at the scene in disbelief. She wipes the tears from her eyes, hoping for more clarity, as she couldn’t understand yet what she was seeing.
“What… who…?” she mutters weakly.
“It’s them,” Weiss whispers with awe in her voice. “Ruby, it’s the Paper Pleasers. They’re not gone, they just…”
“Changed.” Blake’s expression softens. “No. They evolved. ”
Ruby, still on her knees, stares down at the once Paper Pleasers—and now gem-like stars—wandering around the town.
Though her heart was still beating in her ears, the weight of her guilt finally began to lift, if only slightly. The realization that she didn’t actually fail them, slowly but steadily dawning on her.
They’re okay. Better than ever, even. If anything, her and Weiss’ attempts at trying to save them from themselves have only truly served to hold them back from becoming this better version of themselves.
Maybe, just maybe, things not going their way don’t always have to be a bad thing.
“So… I guess they won’t need protecting anymore.” Yang grins, earning herself an elbow to the rib from Blake.
“I guess not.” Ruby shakes her head at their antics and laughs. “We should stop by somewhere else before we leave, though,” she adds.
Ruby leads them to a clearing, wherein a bed of flowers lay neatly in the middle, a slab of stone sitting at its head.
“Is that…” Yang’s eyes narrow as reads the writing on the stone.
Here lies Penny Polendina.
Beloved Friend, Daughter, Hero of Remnant
“We found her a day or two before we found you,” Weiss explains.
“But I thought she…” Blake stalls, as if she herself was afraid of finding out. Was her memory betraying her? Penny was fine. More than fine.
Sharing in Blake’s confusion, “What happened?” Yang asks reluctantly.
“Right,” Weiss sighs, recalling she’d been the one to fall last, and therefore see Penny’s demise. “When you three fell, it was only up to Jaune, Penny, and me, to fend Cinder off.”
Yang’s heart sinks to her stomach, and Blake clenches her fist, bracing herself.
“Jaune tried to save Penny, but…” Weiss’ breath hitches in her throat, her voice breaking. “But she stopped him, and asked for him to… to kill her instead, so Cinder wouldn’t be able to get her power.”
“Oh.” Yang gulps, sharing a wary glance with her partner.
“It’s not fair,” Ruby murmurs, her voice heavy. “Of all of us, she deserved better.”
“Oh, Penny,” Blake laments solemnly.
Weiss wipes a tear from her eye. “She was so brave, even in the face of death.”
“We’ll never forget the sacrifices she made for us,” Blake says. “For everyone.”
“She would’ve loved it here,” Ruby muses.
Weiss chuckles, leaning her head against Ruby’s shoulder. “She would.”
“I’m sure she does. Rubes,” Yang says reassuringly.
“Yang’s right,” Blake smiles. “This place is beautiful.”