Epilogue

A Chapter by Miles W.

The Epilogue to War of Seasons

The War is Over

The Battle is Won

But What Joy is there In Victory,

When All You Have to Show For it

Is Carnage?

Airships continued to descend on the smoldering field. Students, Huntsmen and Huntresses were airlifted out from the battle back to Beacon for medical treatment or rest. The ships that Weiss managed to bring were not enough for everybody, but enough to get started. There were few words spoken outside of the general chatter and conversation trying to get everybody out of Aequo. Anima was handcuffed and locked into the first available transport to the prison. Ozpin was still woozy from his experience, and was transported back to Beacon for rest and monitoring, but not much medical attention was required. However, despite the fact that he did not need healing in the physical sense, his mind appeared to have gone quiet, as he fell asleep into a coma. The Relic of Life proved helpful for restoring stamina and Aura, but it couldn’t be used quickly enough to heal everybody, so it was reserved for those in critical condition. Jacob and the rest of Team JCTB were flown out fairly early so that they could scan Jacob with modern medical equipment to make sure there were no traces of the Relic of Death’s virus in his system. Just about everybody else slowly but surely made their way back home by airship, still without saying much of anything. Nathan’s unconscious body was airlifted out and sent back to Beacon, being kept in a medical pod, while being kept under secure guard by a few still functioning and controllable Atlesian Knights. As the last of the airships left the area, Memoriare watched and chuckled with a slight cough.

“Truly impressive” he said sitting down on the ground. “Use a pawn who is oblivious to the nature of the larger picture, and consume him with hatred so that he inadvertently opens the final door. Now, all I have to do is wait for them to arrive.”

Three Days After the Battle of Aequo

Beacon Academy

Medical Center

Healing Can Be Difficult

And Can Tax and Damage the Soul Irreparably

But Stand by Your Friends

And You Can Overcome

The Greatest Storms

The halls were surprisingly quiet. While several major injuries were still being treated, after some rest and medical attention, the natural Aura’s of everybody harmed started to slowly but surely heal their broken bodies. Jaune, Christy and Bovia each helped out with offering any amount of Aura they could spare through each of their own methods. Ty walked down the hallway with Brooklyn and saw Christy exiting one of the rooms. They waved her down and she smiled when she saw them approaching.

“How you holding up?” Ty asked as Christy ran over to join them.

“A lot better actually” she said stretching her arms. “It helps when we don’t have any big threats looming over our heads and one of our closest friends isn’t about to die from some ancient magical artifact.”

“Speaking of that friend,” Brooklyn said walking past her, “we were on our way to see him. Care to join us?”

“I’d love to!” With that, they made their way down the hallway to Jacob’s room, where when they entered, the found him not in a hospital bed, but sitting on one of the couches looking out the window.

“Getting bored in here I take it?” Ty said jokingly. Jacob turned and smiled seeing his old teammates enter the room.

“I get why they want to monitor me,” he said as he offered people some of the spare seats around the room, “but honestly, I think it’s kind of pointless. My body feels fine. The Relic basically flushed everything out of my system. I almost feel ten years younger.”

“Maybe I should get in on this Relic juice then” Christy joked as she stretched to crack her back. “My old injury from when I fought that Hibernis guy when we were kids is flaring up again. And my Aura isn’t doing much to help with that.”

“You’re not going to get access to the Relics anytime soon if the council has anything to say about it” Jacob said with a sigh.

“Where do they think they can lock them up this time?” Brooklyn asked leaning against the wall. “The only vault that nobody knew about was the one in Atlas, the one in Mistral got blown open, one was hidden in a cave, and the other was practically in hell. Not many options for keeping them safe in those locations going forward.

“They’re trying to figure things out if there are any hidden secrets in Ozpin’s old journals and records right now. But it’s tough because he’s been around for so long, and we only know about our current world, not the world he’s lived in. Plus, with Ozpin still stuck in his coma, there’s no telling how long it will be before we get any kind of information critical to how we can better protect these ancient things.”

“So Ozpin’s still asleep?”

“Last I heard at least. And since there’s no medical history about somebody being used as a living battery between the realms of the living and the dead, we have no idea when he’ll wake up from this, if he ever wakes up from this.”

“Well that’s just great” Ty said throwing his hands in the air. “I know the Order is all but dead at this point, but who’s to say by doing what he did, Nathan didn’t accidentally wake up some kind of ancient evil that was brought to life because Ozpin stirred his coffee the wrong way ten thousand years ago?”

“We can only focus on what’s in front of us for right now” Christy said with a sigh. “It seems that each generation has to deal with some world-breaking threat that tests their limits and potential. I just hope I can do a good enough job as a teacher to prepare them not just for what we already know about, but the unexpected.”

“Those kids just fought a war far greater than anything we ever experienced when we were growing up” Jacob said with a smile. “I think you’ve got some special kids on your hands Professor Curtiss.” Christy smiled and gave Jacob a hug, which he happily returned. He then stood up and walked towards the door. “It’s almost time” he said with a sigh. “You guys ready?”

Bovia sat down in the break room and took a big swig of water from her water bottle, then poured the rest into her hair. Her body then took that water and absorbed it into her body, replenishing her aura.

“Couldn’t you just use the faucet?” Terra’s voice cut in. Bovia looked up and saw her teammates standing in the door with smiles on their faces. She smiled herself and held up her water bottle.

“I could, but honestly I don’t want my hair to clog up the sink or anything like that. Plus, it looks kind of weird.”

“It can’t look any weirder than pouring water on your head like a sports drink commercial” Arri said with a chuckle. They all smiled and Bovia walked over to join them.

“Everybody holding up all right?” she asked as she approached them. “Nobody needs anything?”

“Nope” Arri said putting her hands behind her head. “We were just going to go and check in on Hera and the rest of her team before Ember heads off to do her thing.”

“Right….”Bovia said trailing off. “How you holding up with all of this Ember?”

“About as well as I can” Ember said with a sigh. “But I’ll deal with it soon enough. Let’s go check in on Hera. I still need to grab Gray before we head over, and I think Hera wants to join us as well.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time then” Bovia said moving past them towards the door. “I know where her room is. Follow me.”

Hera had a stern look on her face as she stared into Sora’s eyes. She then slammed a card down on a table.

“I cast Lightning Bolt!” she yelled in excitement. “I do three damage to your Beowolf and attack you directly with my Brigadier General!”

“Gosh dang it!” Sora yelled throwing his hand on the table in defeat. “How did you manage to get so many consecutively good draws?!”

“I think most stories call it ‘believing in the heart of the cards’ or something stupid like that” Gray said with a chuckle. Sora groaned in annoyance and picked up his cards.

“What about one more game, huh? We’ve still got time, right?”

“Not for much longer” Bovia said cutting in as Team BEAT entered the room. They all smiled when they entered and sat down. Arri looked around the room in confusion.

“Where’s Aurora?” she asked.

“With her family” Gray said with a sigh. “I don’t blame her. Given everything that’s happened over the course of the last week.”

“Fair enough” Arri said pulling up next to Hera’s bed. “How you holding up sis?”

“About as well as I can” Hera said with a smile. “I mean, physically I’m fine, but internally? It really feels out of whack in there.”

“Salem’s still asleep, huh?”

“Yeah. She told me once she finally went into what she called hibernation was that it was because she used up too much power inside my body without taking over me completely in our dimension. She didn’t want to trade places with me, so she’s just letting her spirit rest. The trick is, she’s been a part of me for all my life. Now that she’s sleeping, it’s almost as if a piece of myself is missing. I know we had only started talking a few weeks ago, but she’s always been there you know? Maybe not talking to me directly, but silently guiding me and giving me power to help in battle.”

“You’ll see her again” Arri said rubbing her sister’s hair. “I know you will.” Hera smiled, and hugged Arri. Gray then walked over to Ember, who was hanging out back in the corner watching things play out.

“How soon are they planning on…..” Gray asked trailing off.

“Soon” Ember said stepping forward. “Arri, Hera, if you want to do this, we need to leave now.”

“All right” Hera said getting out of bed. “I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Beacon Amphitheater

Walking Alone Is a Path Many Consider

No Danger of Hurting Others

But Family is Much More

Than Simple Bonds

It Changes People Through Time

And Can Save Those

Lost In Shadows.

Blake watched as Aurora and Miles continued to spar with one another. Aurora pressed her strikes as swiftly as possible, while Miles continued to parry them with relative ease.

“You need to rely less on your Semblance kiddo” Miles said as he blocked an attack and leapt backwards. “You’ll be completely drained before the fight is even over.”

“I need to be faster” she said running full speed towards him. “You almost died because I wasn’t fast enough. I need to become better. Stronger. I need to improve my skills.” As Aurora rushed forward to attack again, Miles quickly and easily disarmed her and knocked her swords to the side. Aurora prepared for the next attack from her father, but instead of that, Miles tossed his blades to the side and enveloped Aurora in a big hug.

“Gosh dang it dad!” Aurora yelled trying to break free. “Let me go!”

“And here I thought you wanted to train with me just because you missed your old man” Miles said with a chuckle. Blake smiled when she saw this and walked over to the two of them, joining in the big group hug.

“You’ll get better sweetie” Blake said patting her daughters head. “But you have to grow first. Don’t be afraid of not being good enough. Just focus on getting better each and every day.”

“I don’t want to lose anybody ever again” Aurora said fighting off tears.

“And that’s a good desire to have” Miles said as a few tears rolled down his face. “I’ve tried to instill in both you and your brother the importance of being there for your friends and family, and I could not be prouder of you and your friends over the course of these last few months. You stepped up into some really dangerous situations that would have even made us hesitate in our youth. Yeah, I got taken and almost died, it happens. That’s the job. All you can focus on is getting better so that if it does happen, you get better and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“You say that so easily” Aurora said with a sigh. “How can you be so willing to accept failure?”

“It’s not failure kiddo. Because you didn’t fail trying to save me back on that mountain. I succeeded in saving you. Your mother and I will never hesitate if there is even a chance to save you before either one of us.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to try and do the same for you or my teammates.” The three of them hugged each other closer for a few more seconds, then suddenly Miles’ Scroll started buzzing. He let his daughter go and checked to see what it was. After reading the text, he sighed and started walking towards the exit.

“Is it time?” Blake asked as Miles continued to walk towards the door.

“Yeah” Miles said putting his swords away. “Go ahead and get food for our ride back to Menagerie. I won’t be long.”

“All right” Blake said with a weak smile. “Just text me when you’re done. I’ll drive us back home once you’re finished.”

“Thanks hon. I won’t be long.”

Ozpin’s Office

When Chaos and Pain Wreck the World,

Our Leaders are Usually the First

To Be Assigned Blame

There May Be Sour Spots Across Time,

But Those Who Truly Care For Others

Will Always Take the Steps to Protect

Anyone They Can

Before Themselves.

Ruby and Natalie continued to pour over the notes that were just strewn about Ozpin’s office, trying to get everything lined up for making sure everything was in proper order for keeping the school running in his absence while making sure the other school heads were in good shape as well. While Beanie could handle more of the bookkeeping and logistics, there was the small matter of making sure that the system to keep the four kingdoms safe would not collapse in on itself.

“So Sun,” Natalie said pulling out a file on Vacuo, “according to Ozpin’s notes, if you meet with the leaders of the villages in Sector Fourteen every few months, you can keep Professor Ozpin’s promise of keeping stability in the region.”

“I can take care of that” Sun said as he read through some more files on his end. “I just don’t understand why I wasn’t informed about this important task. If it’s related to my home, I should have been the one to take care of it.”

“Ozpin kept many secrets over the years” Pyrrha said folding her arms. “Even after we got invited to his inner circle. Alongside that, if he forged this relationship by himself, then it may not have been in our best interest to let anyone else but him deal with it.”

“So what’s different about now?”

“That’s obvious. We’ll just have to hope that those people out there are willing to respect us until Ozpin wakes up.”

“Still no word on his condition?” Ruby asked grabbing another file.

“We’ve always been in the dark when it comes to matters about magic” Weiss said with a sigh. “And no one currently living is skilled enough to know what to do with an entity who is basically made of nothing but magic.”

“We just need to focus on making sure we don’t make a mess of things until he does come back” Natalie said leaning on Ozpin’s desk. “There are a lot of moving pieces to deal with to make sure that the war is truly over. Interrogation of Anima Imperia is about to get underway. She’s the biggest lead we have to any remaining Order hideouts or plans they might have hiding in the shadows. If there are any stragglers within the Order still hiding out there in the world, we’ll find them.”

“We’d better” Beanie said pulling out even more files. “Don’t want another situation like what just happened ever again.”

“Things might get worse before they get better” Jaune said with a sigh. “We all thought Mortem was the worst of it, and here comes this whole new threat. Who’s to say that this is as far or as bad as things will get?”

“We don’t know” Natalie said pinching her forehead. “We just have to do the best we can to move forward. We can prepare for the worst, and when that fails, we’ll deal with it like we always do.” As she said this, the elevator doors opened, and Yang stepped into the room.

“It’s about time” she said holding the doors open. Natalie sighed, and walked towards the elevator, as did Beanie.

“Want me to go with you?” Ruby asked putting down the files she was holding.

“It’s all good Ruby” Natalie said giving Ruby a quick kiss on the cheek before stepping into the elevator. “Keep working on things here and catch me up once I get back. I won’t be long.” Ruby nodded her head, and the elevator doors closed, leaving everyone to return to the work at hand.

Beacon Airship Docks

Darkness Has Consumed

Light Has Expired

A Soul Once Brimming With Hope

Now Wallows In Shadows of Hate

And Lost In the Thralls of Sleep

Divided From Friends

And Family

Several soldiers marched towards an airship, transporting a medical tank flanked by doctors. They reached the bay doors, and propped the tank upright. Nathan floated in the vat of healing goo; his body completely limp. He was completely unconscious and not reacting to anything at all. The vat was about to be loaded onto the airship, when everybody came together by the tank. The wind was blowing softly, a few leaves carried across the courtyard. Yang stepped forward towards the doctors by the vat.

“Is there really nothing else you can do?” she asked them.

“Not here at least” the doctor said pulling up Nathan’s file. “He’s been in a coma ever since the battle ended. And our technology isn’t the best for getting him out of it. Once we get him to Atlas, the best doctors will do what they can to bring him out of his coma so that he can stand trial for his crimes against the four kingdoms.” Yang sighed and walked over to the vat, the doctors waving the guards away to let everybody have a moment. Yang stood in front of the vat, and punched it lightly.

“You idiot….” She said with tears in her eyes. “Why did I not do anything more to try and stop you? Why did you go down this path? First my birth mother, and now you? How many more family members am I going to let hurt me before I step up and stop things like this from happening?” She walked away angrily, wiping away her tears. Hera was the next to go up. She walked up to the vat, and shook her head.

“We were one big happy family Uncle Nathan” Hera said with a sigh. “Too bad you didn’t see that until some random monster dug their claws into your brain.” She stepped away and joined her aunt. Arri stepped up to the vat next, wiping away her own tears.

“I still remember the first time I met you, Aunt Yang, and Ember. I always thought you were some of the most amazing and loving people in the world. You had it all. A loving wife, an incredible daughter, and a group of friends who truly loved you. I hope I never become anything like what you are now.” Arri then took her leave to join the others, and Brooklyn stepped up next, her arms folded.

“You were a great warrior and a great friend. You always fought for what was right and you fought for your friends before yourself. I hope that person isn’t gone forever, because I much preferred that person to the one you are now.” Having said her piece, Brooklyn joined the others who were already finished. Evan followed next, his blank face now had a few tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Aequo was a beautiful place. It’s where I met you, Jacob and Beanie. We were inseparable. Maybe if I had never left back then, things could have been different. But life isn’t left to chance. And I am not going to let your actions drag me down into the abyss as well.” Evan stepped aside, and Christy stepped up next. She had no more tears to cry, just words from the heart.

“You always made an effort to help others whenever they needed it. Even if it was for some stupid things that weren’t life or death. Whenever I hit some hard times, you were a constant friend, giving me support and helping me with whatever I needed. Even after we graduated, I felt like I could call you and talk for hours about whatever I needed. Now it seems like if I even tried to talk to you like this, you would immediately ignore me and complain about your own minor problems. Problems that you yourself created but would blame others for. When the governments put those sanctions on you, I fought to try and keep them from going all the way with putting you in prison. Maybe I should have let them. Because I would have rather you to spend time in prison than to see the person you have become now.” Christy touched the glass one last time, and joined the others. Ty was next, and lowered his head at Nathan’s vat.

“It’s heartbreaking man. I was out working hard to protect this world that we love, and you were busy getting your head filled with lies by some stupid head shrink. When I heard about what you did with Ember’s graduation, I was about ready to cut ties with you once and for all. Your personal battles and vendettas with the Order was one thing. We may not have seen eye to eyes, but I always respected your opinion and remained wary to make sure you were at least on the right path. And while it looked like you were, I should have seen right away that I should have stepped up and actually done something. I shouldn’t have just stayed back and let things progress. You were somebody I once respected. Now that’s gone. I don’t even truly know you anymore.” Ty then took his leave to join the others off to the side. Beanie followed after him and placed his hand on the vat.

“When I met up with you again back when we were just students, it brought me back to those happy days back in Aequo. We were happy, carefree and just a bunch of kids. And when you got your own family, I saw a similar spark. A spark of joy and hope. But when I saw you when you were running the sons of Aequo? I saw nothing but anger and hatred. I saw nothing of the man I once called my friend. And now, you’ve done worse. I tried my best with what you were giving me, but I had had enough. I want my friend back. I don’t like whatever this is that has taken his place.” Beanie took his hand off the vat, and joined the others. Jacob then took his turn, and approached the vat.

“When I got my injury fighting you in the Dark Realm, it hurt like heck. I felt like my entire body was on fire, my brain was cooking, my skin was wanting to fall off, everything felt terrible. But that was nothing compared to the pain I felt when I found out that it was you who did it to me. I still remember that moment. You didn’t hesitate. You didn’t question your actions. You just took the blade, and ran it right through me without pause. Did you feel anything in that moment? Did any part of you regret what you had done? Maybe not, because days later, you were willing to kill the entire world just so you could replace it with people who blindly agreed with you. That isn’t balance, that’s chaos. I improve each and every day due to listening to those around me. I might not always agree with them, but I do listen, I think, and I move forward. You have entered a place where you only want to hear what you want to hear and refuse to grow. That is not the Nathan I remember.” With that, Jacob took his leave, and then Gray stepped forward.

“It was rough dad. When you and mom got into those arguments, it hurt me. I have some vague memories of when things were not as crazy. When you and mom would laugh, when we would play some fun board game with Ember, or even our training sessions. But you turned into a monster when you left to chase down the Order. Whenever you came back home, I wasn’t excited. I was scared. I wanted to avoid you at all costs. I hated talking to what you had become. I wanted to see my father, not some jerk bent on revenge.” Gray wiped away a few tears, and stepped off to the side as well. Natalie was the next to go, tears still running down her face.

“You took care of us when we had nowhere else to go” she said fighting through sobs. “You worked hard, and we found our way here. You kept working hard so that your children and all children would never have to experience what we experienced all those years ago in Aequo. What changed you? What made you like this? What killed the man I once called my brother?” Natalie continued to cry as she joined the others off to the side. Miles then stepped up, placing his hand on the glass.

“You know Nathan, it’s funny. I think about it sometimes, and I feel like our roles could have been reversed. Perhaps not in this exact scenario, but something similar to it. When I was younger, I had it in my head that it is more important to be alone. To distance myself from others so that I don’t hurt them. It took me a bit to even work up the courage to tell the girl I love that I even liked her because I was afraid of causing more hurt. That I would be hurting our friendship and that would be a far more dangerous possibility than just telling a girl I liked them and potentially having it go somewhere. And even beyond simple stupid things like that, I still had issues with keeping things bottled up. I could have very well become a worse person that I am now because I refused to trust my friends and open up about my feelings. But I’ve learned to not let my emotions get the better of me. I still have problems with it from time to time. But I came across these amazing people in my life. My friends. Our friends. You were somebody who really helped me find my place in the world, and improve myself. I looked up to you. You were a shining example to me that I shouldn’t seal everything away. I might be afraid that I might still hurt people sometimes, but I need to be willing to trust in our friendship no matter what. Now when I look at you? I see some monster who cares more about himself and his own ego rather than his own brothers and sisters. Goodbye Nathan.” With that, Miles joined the others, leaving just Ember to put her hand on the vat.

“Hey dad. You were my hero growing up. You were my inspiration to become a Huntress. When I first learned that it might have been possible that you were the one responsible for all of this, I refused to believe it. I couldn’t believe it. But here we are. You tried to gain power for yourself so that you could create your perfect world. But in the process, you didn’t realize that you already had a perfect world. Sure, it has its flaws and rough spots, but beautiful regardless. I’ve been talking with the rest of our family as well as my friends. It seems crazy that after everything that’s happened, I would still say I love you. But it’s true. I believe you’re still in there somewhere. You just have to find that inner strength within you in order to become better. It’s tough, but I forgive you dad. I forgive you for the hurt you put on me. I love you, and I hope I get to see you again someday. And when I do, I hope you take these up again.” As she said that last piece, Ember pulled out the two clubs that originally belonged to her father, and placed them inside the airship beside where the vat would be placed. “I hope I get to see you hold these again for the right reasons.” Ember started crying a little bit, and walked off to join the others on the side. The doctors signaled the guards, and the vat was placed inside the airship. The doors closed as tears and sniffles could be heard off to the side. As the airship doors closed, the shadows crept up closer on the vat, and over Nathan’s face, until nothing but darkness and nothingness was all that Nathan had inside his medical vat as company. The airship lifted up, and flew off towards the northern kingdom of Atlas. Everybody watched and slowly walked away. Ember still stood there, tears rolling down her face.

“Goodbye dad.”

RWBY
War of Seasons

The End.

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