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It was 4 years after the death of Salem and the extinction of the Grimm, and the world was finally moving on.
Colonisation efforts were finally underway, peace talks between the 5 kingdoms of New Mantle, Vale, Vacuo, Mistral, and Menagerie were going smoothly, and explorers and pioneers were sketching out brave new lands and spaces across Remnant without fear of Salem nor the Grimm. The Land of Darkness in particular was a hotbed for colonisation and exploration trips, with entire teams numbering that of a small settlement running around the entire continent, just trying to map it out. It would take decades for all of these new adventurers and former Huntsmen to map out this strange new world that they found themselves in, perhaps even a century or 2. Remnant was a big world, of course.
But that didn't really matter. Not entirely. The Grimm were gone, now and forever. All that was left was for humanity to crawl out of the hovels that they had made for themselves, and finally take their destiny into their own hands.
A little bit of context, to clear up any confusion:
After Salem had arrived in Atlas, and after its subsequent fall, Teams RWBY and ALPN, as well as their collective allies, retreated to Vacuo, where they picked up Teams SSSN and CFVY, and then, after a climactic battle in Shade Academy, where Salem used the remnants of the extremist cell known as the Crown as her proxy force before invading herself, they all travelled back to Vale, where they picked up the Relic of Choice, and together, formed a brand new alliance.
The Global Alliance.
(It was just a placeholder name. They had no idea that it was going to stick with so many people.)
And so, with their newly conscripted forces from Atlas, Vacuo, and Vale, and with the help of Menagerie and the new White Fang, as well as the aid of Mistral, the Global Alliance grew from just a gathering of people into a supranational kingdom, and one of the most powerful factions to ever walk the planet. This, combined with the powers of the Relic of Choice and Creation, allowed the G.A. the power that it needed to push into the Grimmlands and begin the final battle against Salem.
It was massive, with all of mankind battling against all of the Grimm, pushed with their backs against the wall as they died by the millions, taking billions of Grimm along with them.
It had also been costly. As said above, millions of people had died, but so had friends and family. Maria and Pietro gave their lives to stop a massive horde of Apathy from overwhelming them, and most of the Happy Huntresses, sans for Fiona, had been killed fighting Tyrian, Watts, and Hazel, though not before taking those 3 with them. Penny had almost been completely destroyed again after tanking a blast from the reawakened Wyvern Grimm, Willow had died from that same blast, and Winter had lost her legs after almost being swallowed whole by it. It had only been through the sacrifice of Glynda Goodwitch that had finally killed the Wyvern. Meanwhile, Team CRDL had all given their lives to bring down the massive castle that had once belonged to Salem on top of her head, and entire teams worth, such as NDGO and ARBN, had been killed, while some like Team FNKI had only had one survivor to their name. Neon Katt would join the ranks of Ciel Soleli, Nolan Porfirio, Iris Marilla, and Olive Gashely as lone survivors of entire team wipes.
And yet, despite all of the bloodshed, and all of the horror and war that surrounded them, mankind did what the likes of Ozpin and Salem had long thought was impossible:
They succeeded.
They drove the knife through Salem's back, and summoned the gods. In their judgement, they deemed, finally, that mankind was worthy of its continued existence.
It was only after a ruthless tongue lashing from the likes of Nora, Ruby, Yang, and everyone else that the Brother Gods decided to undo their mistakes, and learn from them. And so, for once in their long lives, they gave mankind a kindness.
They allowed Salem and Ozpin to move on.
No one would ever forget the smiles on both of their faces as they finally passed on into the afterlife, the ghostly images of their souls holding hands as they floated up into the clouds, and finally found peace.
With that, a great wave of light and magic was washed over the world, and then taken away. All of the Grimm left with it. The Grimm pools were left empty, and the Grimm were destroyed in the droves, never to be seen again.
Semblances were also taken with them, as were the magical properties of dust. All that they were left as now was just useless, colourful rocks, only good for pearls in necklaces.
As so, the Brother Gods left, taking all trace of themselves with them, and humanity rejoiced.
And then, it began to rebuild.
There was a time of mourning, of course, for all those that had been lost, but this had coincided with a time for reconstruction and resolution. With the uselessness of dust now evident, this had been the first problem that the people of Remnant now faced. Everything ran on dust, from basic electrical networks to the most advanced and complicated systems ever imaginable. Without dust and its magical properties, everything on Remnant ground to a halt.
However, thankfully, there had been a solution. Weiss had stepped forward, and had teamed up with her estranged brother Whitely to remake the Schnee Dust Company into something new, and something arguably greater. Combined with the mechanical intellect and creativity of the likes of Penny Polendina, Velvet Scarletina, and the crippled Winter Schnee, as well as the sponsorship of the new White Fang (Now headed by Ilia, Sun, and Blake), As well as the entirety of Menagerie (Now recognised as the 5 Kingdom of Remnant), They turned the SDC into the Corpus R&D Network, or the CRDN, in the memory of one of Remnant's fallen heroes, now one of the biggest technological developers on all of Remnant, and the leading supplier of the Global Alliance, replacing dust power plants with hydro, solar, magma, and wind power, and providing electricity back to Remnant once more.
Meanwhile, with Menagerie now rightfully recognised as the 5th Kingdom of Remnant, and the Global Alliance now holding strong, Blake, Ilia, and Sun would turn the new White Fang into the leading political party of the GA, and one of the strongest advocates for peace on Remnant, as they worked together to supervise and hash out the peace terms of all of the kingdoms.
However, not everyone was content with the political life. Yang (Now in a relationship with Blake, Sun, and Ilia, all at the same time, which confused a lot of people and just sounded like a lot of work to everybody else) Would go on to explore the world, and would join Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port in mapping out new swaths of the planet, putting her name down in history as one of the greatest explorers of all of Remnant. And if she just so happened to be able to beat up a lot of bad guys along the way? Well, without any aura or semblance it would be a lot trickier, but it was still a major bonus.
Now, if only she could get Oobleck to slow down, or Port to at least speed up.
Ren and Nora, however, would finally settle down, and make themselves official (That's right, they were now together-together, at last). Without the Grimm, they didn't need to worry about sleeping with a gun in their hands, and now recognised as 2 of the greatest heroes on Remnant, they never needed to worry about being hungry ever again. The 2 of them led the reconstruction of New Kuroyuri, and the settlement would grow from just a simple down into one of the most prosperous cities on the planet. Nora and Ren would have a brief stint as the joint mayors of the city, before retiring and moving up to the top of one of the mountains nearby, creating a mountain train track and locomotive to get up and down the steep hill, turning the former cave of the Nuckelavee into one of the most visited burial grounds on Remnant, and creating a home for themselves, where they would be married and live. From what was heard, Nora was now pregnant with their first child. He would have to remember to be there at her baby shower, or do only girls do that?
Speaking of which, and Jaune? Well, he found himself to be in a position that he never thought he'd be in.
Leadership of the entire world.
"We had reports of a few pirate clans harassing Valerian shipping near the coast of Patch", Miltia informed him matter-of-factly as she read off of a scrollpad, looking regal in her custom red outfit that looked like something between a formal dress and a military uniform, complete with paddings and bulletproof vest. She looked up to Jaune behind his desk in the plain circular room that they stood in, the light from outside shining through the grand window behind him as she then said, "They were calling themselves the Picotee Pirates. Yang and the Fifth Naval Guard have already dealt with them, luckily, and now they're just mopping up. Casualties are almost none existent, and only on the pirates end. They surrendered without much of a fight."
"Put the captain of the Selene Sokal up for promotion, as well as the gunnery crew of the Aravas for putting down the pirates' flagship", Jaune said as he reviewed the after action report on his own scrollpad, before chuckling at one humorous footnote, and saying, "Also, remind Yang that protocol dictates for us to wait for orders to engage the enemy rather than running in head first."
Miltia smiled and chuckled, "I shall endeavour to send her a letter filled with many frowny faces", she laughed at the memory of it all. Despite tempering herself during the Grimm War, Yang Xiao Long still had a penchant for charging in head first into situations.
Jaune's mind drifted off, and he smiled idly at the memory of the blonde haired girl, without putting much thought into it, challenging both of the Malachite twins of a spar, thinking that it was going to be easy, even without their aura.
Both of the twins would savour the butt kicking that they had delivered to her that day. The 3 of them would begin a friendly rivalry with each other from then on, regularly challenging each other to spars every time that they would meet up with each other.
His mind drifted back, and he then asked, "What about the new White Fang? Has Blake been handling the New Mantlian disputes well, or does she need any intervention from the GA legislation again?"
"Oh, no, I don't think that it'll go that far. Not like the political dispute in Mistral", Miltia added in, "However, there has been a protest recently in New Mantle, led by a humanistic centralist group calling themselves the Free Men. They seem to have the idea that Menagerie is not a true kingdom, and that the Faunus as a whole are trying to take over their homes, especially with the CRDN being funded by Menagerie and backed by the new White Fang. There's been no violence, luckily, and both sides have made it clear that they do not wish for nor will carry out any violence on the other, so security won't need to be a big issue. Blake is already asking that she, Ilia, and Sun, be able to hold a conference in New Mantle to be able to ease tensions."
He nodded, "I won't put it against Ilia to be tight on security, so she'll have it handled. And we both know that Sun'll be there to make sure that Blake doesn't react too... Passionately about anything. New Mantle isn't exactly the most tolerant place on Remnant, especially with a group calling themselves the White Fang running about, no matter how many times Blake can put the word 'New' in the name."
Jaune had been one of the many people who had disagreed with Blake in her decision to keep the name of her old group. Too much bad stuff had happened under the name of the White Fang, especially under Adam and Salem. Too many people would see it as a sign of... Well, as a sign of something not good. A sign of a Faunus supremacy group rising up from the ashes once more. However, despite this, Blake had insisted on keeping the name. It meant too much to her, as if she could reform it, then it would mean the world to her.
Jaune bit his lip. For all that she had grown, Blake was still somewhat naïve. He hadn't thought that she'd be so, but... Well, she always did tend to look at things through a black and white lens. It wasn't a fault of her own, but... It was still something.
"I'll call her before we head out on our flight. Figure out more of the details", he got a nod in response, and Jaune continued with, "How's everything in the CRDN doing anyways? I know that Weiss wanted to talk to me about something, but she wanted to arrange a meeting first before she said anything."
In all honestly, he was... Unsure as to how to feel about Weiss technically being his subordinate. He knew that, as a former Huntsman team leader, he had already outranked her, but still, it was quite jarring to hear her report to him about technological developments and breakthroughs, along with Penny and Velvet.
He bit down a brief grimace. In all honesty, he had never known that he was going to be a leader of anything, in all honesty. When he had been given official leadership of the GA back when they had started the organisation, it had been mostly a formality and only served as a figurehead role. The GA was never meant to be anymore than a temporary alliance. It was never meant to serve as an official supranational state, nor was it meant to serve as the leading governmental body of all 5 kingdoms and beyond across all of Remnant.
Actually, kingdoms? The kingdoms hardly served any purpose anymore. In the eyes of the public, according to interviews, polls, and assessments of public opinion, the kingdoms were now nothing more than a formality, just a name. Perhaps one day there would be no kingdoms. Perhaps one day the likes of New Mantle, Mistral, Menagerie, Vacuo, and Vale, would simply be names for cities that stood along the likes of New Kuroyuri, Patch, and Argus?
He was never meant to serve as leader across all of Remnant, and yet, here he was. It was a role that, like the other times he had been pressed into leadership, he hadn't been entirely comfortable with, but he figured that someone had to do it, so here he was.
He remembered the looks on the council's faces when they realised that, they'd have to answer to a 19-year old boy with spiky hair (Now 23-year old man going back to the classic shaggy haircut). They had absolutely bulked at the idea of answering to him, and even now, after everything that had happened, they still balked at it. They were in no position to do anything about it, though, but still, they didn't like it.
(However, despite the graveness of the situation at the time, he would treasure the look on their faces, looking more like wide mouthed guppies than anything else.
He was less proud of the fact that he had laughed at it, though. That wasn't a very good first impression.)
Jaune internally sighed. Not like it would matter soon enough. He was planning on stepping down as leader of the Global Alliance soon anyways. Being the dictator of a whole planet didn't sit well with him, despite all of the good that others were telling him he was doing. It didn't feel right. It felt like a betrayal of his own ideals, being the sole commanding force of an entire planet.
It made him feel too much like Ozpin and Salem, and he didn't like it.
(Before anyone asked, he liked Oscar, but he didn't like Ozpin. He still didn't, even after everything. Ozpin was gone now, and he wasn't going to spit on his grave or desecrate his legacy or anything stupid and petty like that, but that didn't mean that he had to like the guy.)
He was already setting up a new council- A new parliament, a new democracy- With Blake or Ghira or Kali or someone else as its head, preferably something that would serve for all of the kingdoms and independent cities of Remnant. Melanie had been a particular asset in that regards, haranguing and flattering all of these politicians into coming together into what will soon be the first ever Parliament of Remnant (They would think of a better name later. Let's hope this one doesn't stick as well).
All that Jaune was doing was making sure that there was something left behind for when he was gone.
Maybe he would take up Blake, Weiss, and Ren's suggestion about becoming an advisory figure for this new council, and not an actual leader, like Miltia was to him. Maybe someone along those lines when the people elected their first prime minister when they got the voting system sorted out. However, the rest of his heart really just wasn't into it. He had done his duty, and wasn't looking for anymore leadership roles anymore. He would finish his work here as head of the Global Alliance, and then, once it was all done, he would hang Crocea Mors over his fireplace, and let it finally rest.
"Weiss was able to give me a little slip, unlike you", Miltia's smile broke him out of his thoughts, "A little bit of a womanly touch, of course."
"Please teach me how to do that, it would save me so much hassle in the boardrooms and meetings."
Miltia smiled again at his comment- And it was always that regal, formal smile that had just a bit of mirth hidden away in it that he always found so damn enticing- But then she went serious, and said, "Yeah, I know what she wants. She thinks her alpha R&D team have made a breakthrough in developing their semi-organic biotech limb replacements for amputees, and she wants to run it by you."
Jaune's eyes widened, and he let out a low whistle. Biotech was something that Weiss had stumbled onto by accident, and now she was obsessed with the idea of it. Biological technology, and the ability to give amputees their arms and legs back, as well as feelings and sensations in them to make them whole again. Jaune figured that it all had something to do with Yang and her loss of a limb, and Penny and her lack of a real body, and he couldn't say that he disapproved of the idea of it all, but still, it paid to be cautious.
"Tell her to schedule a meeting with us when we get back in a week's time", Jaune said as he moved to get up, "Anything else?"
"Well, I know that Coco and Neon want to talk to you about some new fashion designs for our wardrobe", Miltia laughed, "They are convinced that we're too blasé about our wardrobe."
When the teams had all split up to go about their various new paths and roles and positions and whatnot within the Global Alliance and out, Coco and Neon had started dating, due to their shared loneliness, Neon's due to her team dying, Coco's due to her team splitting up to go about their own ways. They had moved into Coco's family home, started up their own fashion business which, with the sponsorship of the GA, had blossomed into a massive franchise that had stores in every city on the planet, and recently, the 2 CEOs of Rainbow's Blossom had said that they were thinking about getting married, though they were planning on leaving it for a little while longer, till they were properly comfortable with each other.
"Yes, well, tell the 2 of them that they'll have to wait until a week's time in order to tell me about their latest fashion trends", Jaune chuckled, "I'm sure that they have a few outfits that they'd want Neo to try on until then."
When Neo had been arrested following the end of the Grimm War, she had been given 10 consecutive life sentences, meaning that, if she could even life that long, she would be in prison for around 1000 years. One of the sentences given to her was community service, and Coco and Neon had been using that time to make her try on children's clothing after children's clothing, complete with makeup and everything.
Jaune smiled at the thought. The 2 of them were putting in extra effort to make her life a living hell of shame and embarrassment. He couldn't say that she didn't deserve it.
"Anything else?" he asked, to which he got a shake of the head as a reply, "No? Good. When our flight?"
"In about an hour, First Minister Arc", Miltia said with his full title (Something which he hadn't chosen for himself), "I've already had our bags packed and loaded onto the airship. I know how important your nephew's birthday is to you."
Jaune smiled. He liked Miltia, and he wasn't ashamed of admitting it. She liked how on top of things she was. He was pretty sure that he would've failed as a leader a long time ago if it wasn't for her, "Thanks, Mil. What on Remnant would I be without you?"
"Probably better off than now", Miltia said with a shrug, "Not really sure what I contribute around here, if I'm honest."
"You contribute a great deal, Mil. Don't sell yourself so short", Jaune reprimanded her with a gentle smile, "I'm pretty sure I'd be dead in a ditch right now if it wasn't for you."
Miltia smiled in turn, "Pretty sure you should be giving yourself the same advice."
"Eh, agree to disagree", he shrugged, before rubbing the back of his head, and letting a slight dusting emerge on his cheeks emerge, "Hey, um, during the week, I was wondering... Um..."
"Yes?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and a slight grin.
"Um... If we could... Maybe go the movies afterwards... Or maybe out to dinner, somewhere... Hopefully where someone won't recognise us, at least", now I know how Pyrrha feels...
Miltia's smile reached her ears, "I would love to."
Jaune blinked, "R-Really?"
A nod, and then, "Yep", she had picked up the habit of popping her Ps.
And then she leaned forward towards him, and instinctively, he leaned forward towards her, and then-
{KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK}
Both of them let out a huff of disappointment, but with both of their feelings shown to each other, they weren't terribly annoyed by it. Instead, they took a step apart from each other, took their formal postures once more, and Jaune said, "Come in."
The door opened, and one of their guards, a former Huntsman known as Dudley, whom Jaune had met on the Argus Limited so many years ago, leaned in with a tired expression, "Er, sir, sorry about the interruption, but... You've got a visitor."
With the look on his face and the way that he said that, Jaune knew immediately who it was. Miltia knew too, and she looked to him and said, "I'll wait nearby", before they both nodded to each other, and she took her leave through the door.
Jaune just sighed in turn. He could see her looking past Dudley and towards someone with an expression that he had only seen on one person before (With crimson red hair and emerald green eyes) And still couldn't understand what it meant for the life of him, but he knew who she was looking towards. With a turn of his heal, he sat back behind his desk in the plain circular room with the big window and the white washed walls, and said to Dudley, "Let her in."
A few seconds later, after a nod from Dudley, the doors opened wide, and a girl, now woman- In a black and red gothic dress with a spring in her step that once made him feel comfortable now made him feel the opposite, as well as with black to red hair and silver coloured eyes that hid a storm of feelings behind them that, for once, Jaune could understand perfectly- Walked in, a smile on her face that seemed too rehearsed, too synthetic and fake.
The years had been kind for Ruby Rose in terms of appearance. Gone were the traces of baby fat that had hugged onto her. Now, her face was sharp and her body was lean. However, whatever traces of muscle that had been on her 4 years ago were now gone, leaving her body thin and petite. Probably no need for muscles like that anymore when there were no Grimm to kill.
There was probably no need for Crescent Rose anymore, but Jaune knew for a fact that she still lugged it around wherever she could, jugging by the ammo strap that she kept slung over her shoulder. He imagined that the guards had to confiscate her redundant weapon at the entrance to the building, seeing as how she didn't have it with her now. He imagined that there were a lot of places she couldn't go to if she still had Crescent Rose with her. Many former Huntsmen had taken apart and scrapped their old mecha-shift weapons after the end of the Grimm War, seeing as there was no need for them anymore, but there were still some that held onto them like relics of their own, or family heirlooms.
Jaune internally chuckled at the irony, but then stopped himself. He knew why Ruby was here. It was the same reason that she always came around.
"Hey there, Jaune", she said to him with a wave and a smile.
Jaune nodded back, "Hey there, Ruby."
She looked around the plain room, slightly unimpressed, if the expression on her face was anything to go by, "Boy, you really haven't changed up this place at all, have you? I thought I told you to at least paint the walls a different shade when I was last around."
Jaune waved it off, "I'm going to be abdicating my seat of power soon, once the parliament is finally set up, so there's really no point in doing so. I'll leave it up for the first prime minister to be voted in to decide. Besides, I don't like adding in my own ornaments and decorations. It feels egotistical of me to do so."
It was true. His own sleeping chambers that he had been given was as barebones as his office, with the only decoration being a strip of red fabric that had been preserved in a golden and red picture frame, with a plaque made out of gold inscribed with Mistralian writing and nailed onto it. It was the best that he could afford, but less than she deserved. He could never repay her, but this was hopefully a start.
Ruby raised a humoured eyebrow, "I thought you were the first prime minister, O President Vomit Boy."
He rolled his eyes, "First Minister Arc is my official title, yes, but I had said 'The first prime minister to be voted in'. You and I both know that this was never a role that was meant to last. Once I've stepped down, I'm going to be going back to my family. They'll need someone to help them out on the farm after all. As well as someone to hopefully ward off the press."
Ruby changed the subject quite quickly, "Where is Crocea Mors anyways? I thought you promised that you'd treat it with a little more respect, like my Crescent Rose", she went to pat her weapon, but remembered that it wasn't there and cringed.
"My old sword? It's back home", Jaune shrugged, "Back over the fireplace. I don't need it anymore, and I've been told that Adrian likes looking and trying to play with it when he goes around with Saph and Terra. They're keeping it from him, because, y'know, it's sharp and pointy, but he's still curious about it."
Ruby smiled, "Hah, I doubt it. Maybe he wants to grow up to be like his uncle, one of the greatest heroes on Remnant!"
Jaune laughed in turn, "I doubt it", in all honesty, he hadn't really done much. It was through the hard work of everyone else that he had been able to do what they had wanted, both of him and for him. Changing the topic, he then said, "You know, Oscar and his aunt moved in next to the family home not too long ago. He says that you haven't seen him in a long time, last I called."
This got Ruby to pause, looking to the side of the room and holding her gaze at the plain wall. Her face went blank and her hands went still.
Jaune decided to press the issue, "Ruby-"
"There's actually a reason that I'm here, Jaune", he didn't like how she changed the subject. It was something that she always did when this kind of topic arose, but he let her continue on anyways, "I was just... I was just wondering, if there's... If there's anything that I can help with around here. Like- Like, if there's a bandit clan or something that I need to- I know that Yang's in the middle of a fight with a bunch of bad guys! If you just gave me permission, then I could-"
"Yang and the Fifth Naval Guard have already taken care of it", Jaune interrupted her with, "And there aren't any bandit clans around. Not anymore. You and I both know that there's enough for everyone to share without having to worry about the Grimm anymore. And besides, the global population is still drastically lowered from the end of the Grimm War, and not all of them are willing to leave the cities just yet. No bandit clan would be able to survive at all without anyone to prey on, and there aren't any small settlements yet, hence why there aren't any bandits."
Ruby twitched, "B-But what about- What about with the new White Fang? I know that there're tensions in New Mantle! If you want, I can-"
"The most that the tensions will rise to is non-violent protest. Both sides have given us their word of this, and Ilia is working with Ciel Soleli to assure the safety and security of everyone there, so there's no need to fret over it."
"..."
"Ruby?..."
"...What if there are... Any... Any Grimm?..."
Jaune winced, "Ruby, you and I both know that there aren't anymore Grimm. Not anymore. The Brother Gods gave us their word. Ozpin- Ozma and Salem gave us their word. We watched the Grimm pools bubble away and the Grimm die all around us. There aren't any left."
"We don't know that!" Ruby almost yelled at him as she approached his desk, slapping her hands down onto the table and going, "We don't know if- If- If there are! Maybe I can find them, and use my semblance to- No, no, I don't- Maybe I can use Crescent Rose to... To..."
She winced, and looked down, her eyes looking at the floor. Her hands clasped around the desk and squeezed. It did nothing.
A sad look came over Jaune's face. All he could do in response was sigh remorsefully, and began with, "Ruby?"
"...Yeah?"
"You need to let go."
She twitched, and let out a fake laugh, "I think you're the wrong person to be telling me that, Jaune."
Except he wasn't. He had moved on where she couldn't.
They had been there, together when they finally brought Cinder low. Mercury and Neo had defected earlier on after the latter had unsuccessfully tried to kill their master, and Emerald had followed sometime afterwards when she finally realised that Cinder would never care about her. All together, they had fought against Cinder, in a chaotic duel to defeat the fall maiden, at the height of her power. Mercury had sacrificed his life to save Emerald, but she had fallen not too long after when Cinder impaled her and let her bleed to death out of spite.
But in the end, it was Jaune who had run her through with Crocea Mors, finally killing her, and with that first, and last death by his hands, he felt not regret, not any predictable hollowness or remorse...
But satisfaction.
Not satisfaction in the fact that he had taken another life, not something as sociopathic as that, but satisfaction in the fact that Pyrrha had now been avenged. Her murderer was now silenced, before any of her petty plans could come to fruition, and Jaune had felt satisfaction in stopping them.
Pyrrha was now put to rest, and with it, the end of his quest. He could now, finally, move on.
And he had. Long past were the days where he would cry to sleep, or stay up and train to that old recording that he only ever opened up on a really bad day or when he was feeling nostalgic. Now, he had made sure to see a therapist about his grief and issues, and was now on the process of moving on and becoming a better person from it all. At least, as good as he could get.
He liked to think that Pyrrha was smiling down at him for trying to move on, for not letting his anger guide him anymore (He liked to think that Pyrrha was smiling even more because he had gotten rid of that spiky haircut of his. He was never going to let Nora style his hair ever again). He liked to think that she was up there, along with everyone else who had been lost in the Grimm War, and was smiling down on all of them for finally moving on from the horrors of the new world, and forging on towards something new.
Ruby, however, couldn't. She couldn't move on.
Despite, as insensitive as it sounds, not really loosing anyone.
Sure, she had lost Penny back in Beacon, but she was brought back to life by Pietro back in Atlas. Taiyang (Who was now regularly visiting Raven in prison) And Qrow were still around, as well as Yang, and Zwei now had a litter of corgi puppies with a female dog named Sal.
And yet, she couldn't move on.
She couldn't let her past go.
She couldn't let the Grimm War go.
"Ruby", Jaune began, "You need to move on. You can't keep living in the past like this. Trust me, I know what it's like, and, well, it sucks. It sucks a lot. So I feel like I have to be the one to tell you that-"
"I've tried, Jaune", Ruby barked, "I've tried to move on. I've tried to let go of my old dreams, and move on, but it doesn't work. I've tried to be a teacher for future Huntsmen, except there aren't going to be any future Huntsmen, are there? And I've tried to be an instructor in the army, and it didn't work. I've tried to be a soldier, and it didn't work. I've tried to be an actress, and it didn't work. A model, a singer, a freaking baker, and it didn't work!"
"Ruby-"
"I can't just- Just... Forget my dreams like everyone else somehow can, Jaune! I can't just forget, who I wanted to be!"
Jaune had gotten up from his desk, and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders, forcing her to look up at him, "Ruby, look at me", he half whispered reassuringly, "Look at me..."
"...All my life, I've wanted to become a Huntress...", Ruby bitterly muttered, tears welling in her eyes, "I've wanted to become a Huntress... I've wanted to help people... I can't do that anymore... I can't be a Huntress, I can't help people... People don't need my help anymore..."
She let her head fall against his chest.
"What am I supposed to do... If I can't help people... What am I supposed to do? I feel... I feel so worthless."
That was one of Ruby's biggest problem, why she couldn't move on: She had revolved her entire existence around being a Huntress, and around helping people. It had been her only ambition, and her only want in life. And yet, now, in a world where Huntsmen and Huntresses were no longer a prime profession, and there was no way to become one, thanks to the lack of aura, nor was there any need for them, thanks to the Grimm being wiped out by the Brother Gods, this had left Ruby without any sense of purpose.
With the Grimm gone, people were now able to help themselves without fear of reprisal, and it had left Ruby completely unneeded, and he was beginning to suspect that she loathed them for it.
"You know, there are other ways that you can help people", Jaune said, "Like-"
"Like what, a teacher? A psychiatrist? You think my mother would ever look down at me in approval if I ever did that? You think I would be doing her justice like that? You think that I would be able to help out so many people like that? And don't you dare say police officer, I've already tried that, and I was kicked out."
"Kicked out?" Jaune was shocked at that.
"For getting too emotionally invested in cases, and for harassing suspects and important individuals in cases, even though I was trying to help them!" Ruby yelled out, "Why doesn't anyone understand that?" she paused, and bit her lip, "What am I supposed to do? Everyone doesn't need my help, everyone doesn't need me. Nobody needs me... I wanna be needed... I wanna have worth..."
She looked up at him, and he had never seen her look so sad. So depressed. Why hadn't he noticed the bags under her eyes before?
"Don't look at me like that."
Jaune blinked, "Like what?"
"I said don't!" she ripped herself away from him, "Don't look at me like that. Don't look at me like I need pity. I don't- I don't! I just- I just want to help people, and no one needs me! I just... I just..."
Ruby looked up at him with unblinking eyes.
"Why doesn't anyone need me, Jaune? I've been everywhere, from the soup kitchens to the construction sites to everywhere, but it's never enough. No one needs me, Jaune… Why don't they?"
"Because maybe you're looking in the wrong place", Jaune went, hoping that his words were getting through to her, "Maybe instead of helping others, first, you should help yourself", See a therapist, Jaune wanted to say, Talk to someone about all of this. I don't know how to help you. I wish I did, but I don't.
Ruby shook her head fervently, "No, no, I can't do that. That would be selfish. I need to help others. There are others that need it more than me."
If there was any other problem that Ruby had, it was that: Her need to judge herself by the amount of people that she could help. She weighed her worth based on the amount of people that she saved. Jaune, and everyone else, had argued over and over again that she had saved the lives of everyone on the planet when she had used her silver eyes to weaken Salem and stop her from using the relics to kill the gods and then everything on Remnant, but that hadn't stopped her from viewing herself as worthless, no matter how much they tried.
Ruby was self sacrificial by nature, and always had a habit of putting other people's problems before her own. He remembered passing by a psychiatrist who had offhandedly mentioned that she was displaying the ripe symptoms of a saviour complex. He suspected now, with no one to look after or help by herself, it was giving her time to... Think, about her own issues.
Jaune and the others had asked her time and time again to see a therapist. They couldn't force the issue, therapy was a consensual thing, but he swore that if she kept this up, he was going to force her to see his old therapist and make him hammer it into her head that she wasn't worthless. Anything to get her to move on.
"Maybe... Maybe there are other people that you can help closer to home", Jaune asked out of desperation, "Like, your dad, or your uncle, or-"
"I don't talk to them anymore", she looked down once again, "Not Dad, not Uncle Qrow, not... Not Yang... Had a falling out."
Jaune's eyes widened in shock. He... He hadn't been expecting that. Yang and Ruby had always been close. As close as she had been to her dad and Qrow. To hear that they had a falling out... Well, it was heart breaking in of itself.
He internally swore to himself. Screw it, he was going to force the issue. If Ruby hated him for it, then so be it. As long as he got it into her head.
"Ruby", he began as strongly and as formally as he possibly could, "I know someone who you can-"
"Don't."
Dammit, he swore in his head.
"Don't say that I need a therapist or a psychiatrist or- Or whatever they're called. I don't need one."
He prided himself in his patience, but even that was beginning to run thin, "I think you do."
"I think I don't!"
"Then you're wrong!"
"I'm. Fine."
"Ruby, you are not fine and you damn well know it!" he snapped at her, "If you hate me for saying this then so be it, but you. Need. Help. What you're doing right now, Ruby, wallowing in your own self misery because you can't be a Huntress anymore, because you think that that was the only effective way that you can help people, it's- It's not healthy! It's not healthy in the slightest! You are killing yourself like this, Ruby! You're so adamant about being there for other people, and yet you can't process the thought of moving on and becoming something else like a- Like a doctor, or a teacher, or hell, even a farmer because it doesn't coincide with the dreams that you had as a child because you're so incitant on being something which doesn't exist anymore, all so that you can obtain your mum's approval when we both know that you've gotten it a long time ago!"
"Shut up."
"You defeated Salem- Salem!- The queen of the Grimm, all by yourself! You singlehandedly saved the life of every single person on Remnant! You should be content with that, not looking to destroy yourself over your damned saviour complex!"
"Shut up."
"For god's sake, look at yourself! How much have you slept in the last few days, or weeks, or even months? How much have you slept at all? How much time have you spent running around Remnant trying to help people, just to feel better about yourself!"
"Shut up!"
"Ruby, please, if not me, then just talk to someone! Anyone! Someone with at least the proper qualifications to know what the hell they're talking about, because you, being like this!" he gestured wildly to her, "Would Tai really want you to do this to yourself? Would Qrow or Yang? Would Penny? Would Pyrrha? Would Summer?"
"SHUT UP!"
He took a step back. He had never heard her scream like that before. Not even Cinder had riled up such a reaction. He finally realised what he had just said and regretted it. That last barb hadn't meant to sting as much as it did.
She gestured a thumb into her chest, wild tears in her eyes, "Being a Huntress is all that I have, Jaune! It's all that I've ever been and ever wanted! Without that I'm nothing! I'm less than nothing! I'm-"
The doors to the office opened up, and Jaune and Ruby looked behind themselves to see Miltia leaning through the door, "Miss Rose?" she asked in the most formal manner that she could muster, obviously spooked by the shouting from inside of the office. Behind her, Jaune could see the awkward form of Dudley, shuffling from side to side.
Ruby took one last spiteful glare at Jaune, and once she had gotten across that their bridges were now burnt, she just snarled out, "I was leaving anyways",-
"Ruby-"
-And then she marched out, shouldering Miltia as she left, before quickly marching down the hallway towards the exit, her footsteps echoing in the corridors.
Miltia didn't take it personally and just sighed, before looking at Jaune and going, "I'm sorry, Jaune, I should've stopped her, but I-"
"It's okay, Mil", Jaune said to her matter-of-factly, "It wasn't your fault. Rather, it was mine."
He looked down through the open doors, and now into the empty hallway. He should go after her, he knew that he should go after her and try t apologise and mend their bonds and just do something other than just standing in place and doing nothing.
But he didn't.
He just leaned back against his desk, and bitterly frowned at his own cowardice.
He didn't know what to do with her.
He just didn't know.