This is the last installment of this fic. Plenty of you are probably cheering that this heart wrenching work is finally going to be over. I know that I am a bit relieved... *sigh* Enjoy the epilogue.

Epilogue

Adam

"Um, hey Weiss. How have you been. I've been good. I, uh, I reformed the White Fang. It took a while and a lot of bloodshed, but it was accomplished. Too many people wanted to fight me on the change. We kept that attitude, that deadly, poisonous motto for too long, ya know." I stand beside her grave, caressing the memorial statue towering above me that was just placed here. Ruby commissioned it after she got her first job, and it's beautiful. "You look like an angel, love. I think you would have loved it." I smile at her sadly. "But, um, Blake's second in command now. She's absolutely brilliant at public relations. I would never have thought that she would have been able to pull it off."

"Ruby, I know Ruby visits as often as she can. I've kept up with, though. I have a special division dedicated to making sure she never gets in too deep." I laugh. "She definitely hates me for that. Um, Yang only ever contacts Blake, so it's really hard to ever pinpoint her if she doesn't want to be found. I think the last time she called, she was in Vacuo."

"And, um," I rake my hand over my face, "I stopped wearing my mask a couple of months ago. I think you'd be happy about that, too." I lick my lips before giving a shaky laugh.

I take a deep breath and look at the bouquet of roses in my hand. "I brought six. I even looked up all of the meanings for you. Six means I miss you. I didn't know that, but it's an old tradition, I think." I pluck the pink one from the group. "Pink stands for so many things that I feel when I think of you. Happiness, thankfulness, and admiration. I'm happy you were in my life, if only for a little while. I'm eternally thankful for the change that you catalyzed within me. I admire you, your beauty, inside and out, your strength, your love for others. They all inspired me." I place the rose at the statue's foot.

I pull a peach colored rose from the mix. "This one, this one represents the gratitude I show you now. You opened my life to so much. Nothing I have done in the past years would have ever happened if I hadn't kidnapped you that night." I give a shaky laugh that is swiftly turning to tears. I lay that one right beside the pink one.

When I reach for the next rose, my fingertips brush over it before I hold it up. "The white rose was something that I've been working on. I never imagined myself fully worthy of you. I'm still not entirely deserving, but I feel worthier, ya know? This is for all of the hard work and atonement you inspired within me." I bite my lip as I lay the rose down.

I can feel the tears sliding down my cheeks now, but I keep a smile. "This rose, the yellow rose, symbolizes friendship. I believe that we had developed one before you left. I would like to hope so, at least." I look at the sky, take a deep breath, and look back at the rose. "It also represents the joy you brought me when you spoke, when you laughed, when you held me. It was like nothing else in this world, and I just wish I could hear you and hold you again." I lay it down carefully beside the others.

I wipe some tears from my eyes before taking the next rose in my hand. "The red rose is many things, but I like to settle on the love aspect of its meaning. It's the manifestation of and the tangible belief that I love you and always will." I lay it down tenderly, on her foot this time.

I hold up the very last rose up. "This one, this one has a few ominous meanings. The black rose can mean an assortment of things. Death, destruction, but I chose it for the meaning that I think fits right now. It's a time of endings and beginnings. I know that I won't see you in this life, but after this, after I die, I'll find you again, and that's when everything will begin again, and I hope that we can do things right." I lay the last rose down and stare at the angel before me. "One day, my love, one day."

I turn to Blake and nod. "I'm ready to go. I've said what I needed, or at least what I prepared." I steal one last glance at the statue before wiping my tears away fully and going back to what I've been doing for the past five years without you.

Ruby

I look up at the statue and smile. "You know, Weiss, it's been hectic without you. I don't have a single person to watch my back during missions anymore." I hide my lips behind my hand and stage whisper to her. "Those goons that Adam sends don't count." I pep back up a bit. "But, you know, life is definitely exciting! Far off places, fighting Grimm, rewards, and even meeting new people! It's so cool. You should have been there, Weiss." I hang my head at that. "I should have been there, Weiss. I could have stopped it. I could have been fast enough." I look up at the marble statue. "But I wasn't there, Weiss. I couldn't stop it. I wasn't there to be fast enough. I'm sorry." The wind blows through my hair, and I could have sworn that her voice just called me a dolt. I smile through my tears. "I know." I whisper it lightly. "I am a dolt, but I was your dolt, your partner, your friend, and I miss you so much."

I feel a hand fall onto my shoulder, and I look up to see Yang smiling softly at me in comfort. "Is it my turn, yet, sis?"

I wipe my tears and nod. "Yeah. I just finished. Go ahead." I go back to lean against the tree that Yang had previously been at.

Yang

I clear my throat. "Hey there, Ice Queen, or should I call you Snow Angel now? I mean, Ruby did get your statue in the form of an angel after all." I look up at the sky as I let that pun sink in. "I, um, I found my mom." I hum in thought. "That's about as much as I achieved and all. Blake and Ruby have been way more active than me in the world." I laugh. "I take down a few baddies or a couple Grimm every now and then, but, um, I'm not really helping their whole 'save the world' thing. It's nothing personal, but I kinda just like to roam and stuff. I kinda burned out my little bit of determination when I found my mom."

I smile at her, ready to divulge the bit of gossip that I had accumulated. "You know, I think I know a bit of a secret. I think Blake is totally seeing that monkey-boy. You know the one. Sun was his name. She totally thinks she's keeping it a secret, but I figured it out ages ago. Sneaky little kitty ain't that good of a ninja."

I laugh but quickly grew serious again. "I'm worried about Ruby, though." I steal a glance her way. "She's not invincible, you know, and I feel like she's getting more and more reckless. Shocking, isn't it, that this is coming from me, right? I wish you were here to pull her back and drag her to safety by her cloak." I touch the monument and frown. "I really miss you. I mean, we weren't exactly the best of friends, but we were friends and teammates. We were close, at least in my eyes. I hope we meet again someday, after this life." I take a deep breath and turn to leave. "Come on, Ruby. You have a flight in the morning, and I don't want you to blame me for missing it."

Ruby snorts. "I'd blame you anyways, and you know it."

I throw my arm around her and we both start walking to Bumblebee. "Sorry for actually wanting to be around you, sis. I'll try to dial it back a little." I pause for a fraction of a second while smiling down at her and that hopeful expression. "Not." I don't want to lose you so soon. I just want to spend as much time as I can with you while I can. Please, stay safe.

Blake

"Hey, again. Been a long time, hasn't it? Probably about a year since I've been here." I sigh as I sit on the grass with my back against the monument. "I should have come sooner to give you an update and all, but there's just so much to do. The White Fang has come a long way, and it's all because of Adam. He really dug in deep to remold it. It's beautiful, really." I bite my lip as I toy with the grass around me. "There's not really much that has happened in my life that everybody else hasn't already filled you in on. As you know, I'm not much of a social person outside of necessity."

I lay my head back against the marble and stare at the sky. "I know Yang already told you of her suspicions about Sun and me. I can verify that. It's true. He and I started dating a couple of months ago. Ever since Beacon, there's just been this bit of fascination there, and we got together. It's nice, I guess, having someone there for me, someone to have my back." I sigh heavily. "You need to be here, Weiss. You could have been that person for Adam. He's running himself absolutely ragged with all of the work he's been putting into legal and moral equality for all Faunus. I'm pretty sure that you would have dragged him away or at least taken half of the work to lighten his load." I laugh bitterly. "If only you were here." I stand up and start to walk away from the monument. "See you later Weiss. I'll be back sooner the next time. Promise."

Winter

I drop to my knees. Even after so long and coming here so often, it's still too much. "Hello, sister dearest. I miss you so very much. I know I say it every single time I come here, but that never changes. I do miss you, and I'll always miss you."

I wipe the tears that are starting to form. "There's good news and bad news since I last came here. You know how I told you that Father was ill? Well, he's passed. It was an affair, truly. He tried to pass a man off as his heir at the last minute, but the legal processes weren't yet complete. I'm to be the CEO now, and I don't know if I can do it. Weiss, you were so much better than I am at this stuff. I can do business, but you knew it like the back of your hand. I'm not ready. I don't think I ever will be." I hang my head in shame, crying. "I wish you were here. You'd know what to do. Hell, I wouldn't even have to take up the mantle if you were here."

I bite my lip. "I'm here, just rambling about my problems, aren't I?" I wipe my eyes again. "I'm sorry. I just don't know who else to turn to. You're still the best problem-solver I know." I smile as I stand up. "I'll be back next week to tell you how everything goes, sister dearest. Love you." I take a deep breath and return to the car to travel to the board meeting that will solidify my position as CEO. New tears fall every time I come here, and it never stops. I miss you, Weiss, so very much.

The wind blows on every visit, signifying her presence. That marble statue never loses its gleam, and tears constantly water the ground around the grave. Love is tangible, surrounding that area in a sea of comfort. The roses are still there, but they somehow fell into the soil to bloom. Now, there are six uniquely colored bushes at the base of that statue, signifying the love and dedication of those that visit her. That snow angel represents the coming together of so many people, so many factions. It only took the death of a single girl to catalyze one of the single most existential merging of societies that Remnant has ever known.

A/N: Well, that's the end. I really think that that was a nice fic, if sad. I feel like I just had to get a bit of depression out somehow, and this was a perfect way to get it done. Sorry if I traumatized any of you. I apologize profusely.

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P.S. What the hell is with all the fucking threats? I've taken them pretty well, knowing most of you are joking, but it's really a very bad thing to have to open up to right when you wake up in the morning. It puts a damper on my entire day! I don't appreciate the extra depression that winds up heaped on my shoulders. Think next time you make a review please. Would you like to get those kind of reviews? Most of you would answer 'No.' Well, neither do I. I can take criticism, but that's taking it way too far. Say something like, 'Well that was unexpected' or 'I'm crying so much right now' or even 'That pissed me off.' I can take that, but heck, threatening death is a bit too much... Sorry for the rant, but I just had to say it. That's it. Thanks for reading. I hope you don't hold this one story against me.