Weiss Schnee-Vasilias walked down the sterile hallway for what seemed to be the hundredth time. It was alarming at how familiar she had become with the facility, but she had only been at Vale General Hospital since that morning.

Phoenix had been admitted to the facility for 2 weeks now.

She took note of the blonde detective that was sound asleep in the corner, bags were apparent under Yang's eyes and her usually vibrant blonde mane was subdued, the luscious locks falling uncharacteristically flat. Weiss grabbed a hold of the blanket in the detective's lap and laid it over her properly to make sure her life long friend wouldn't catch a cold. Yang wasn't a complete idiot after all.

She took note of the time on her scroll, visiting hours were supposed to be over in 15 minutes. Family members were permitted to stay behind.

But Rose was a different case.

"Hey…" Weiss shook her daughter gently who fell asleep at Phoenix's bedside, her precious daughter didn't stir and it came as no surprise to the Schnee business mogul – Rose flew out to Vale as soon as she caught wind of the news. Since then, the SDC heiress refused to come back home until Nix was better, she threw a tantrum the first few nights when the nurses wouldn't allow her to stay in the hospital. Coaxing from Blake had convinced Rose to comply with the requests.

"Come on, sweetie…" Her tone was gentle as she didn't want to stir Yang, the detective hadn't slept in her bed since Nix was admitted. Not that Rose wasn't better off, Weiss saw from a glance that her daughter had lost a bit of weight and her usual sharp glare was replaced by a far off look.

"...I want to stay…" Rose's voice was scratchy and raw, her eyes were bloodshot red as she looked up at her Mother, "In case Nix wakes up while I'm gone."

The Fighter Pilot fell into a coma after being recovered by the Huntsmen from Mistral.

Blake filled in Weiss on the incident; Phoenix was shot down after providing air support to Base Jericho. The Huntsmen were quick to rally up and make a push to where Nix had crash-landed. Blake mentioned that a personal letter came through the mail from the Mistral Huntsmen Commander detailing the unit's appreciating for Nix's heroic efforts – lauding the Fighter Pilot as the key reason they were able to re-secure Base Jericho in the wake of the Blood Dust Uprising – is what the media was coining it as. Extra military effort was being applied in Vacuo to put down the unified forces of the illegal Dust mining companies for good.

Last Weiss checked through her connections in military operations, the illegal Dust mining companies wouldn't stand a chance against a combined military campaign by all the Kingdoms of Remnant.

Apparently, Phoenix was found 30 yards from the wreckage of her airship with a Dust pistol in hand and a few dead enemies surrounded her. The Huntsmen were surprised at the tenacity of the Fighter Pilot. She had suffered blunt force trauma to the side of her face, took on 7 bullet wounds, and suffered from broken ribs, a fracture left leg…

Weiss took a look over at Phoenix, her left arm – or what was left of it, remained bandage. She saw that Nix would be left with a couple of scars on the left side of her face, the head bandages were removed a few days ago once the stiches healed up.

Rose frowned as she looked over her friend, "Mother… Nix won't be able to fly anymore…"

"She still can, she can get a cybernetic arm like General Ironwood who lost a few limbs during the Grimm War. She'll just have to go through a couple of trials before Vale's Air Division will let her back in an airship." The Schnee matriarch placed a hand on her daughter's back.

"Really?" Rose perked up, a glint of relief could be seen in her eyes, "She… she can still fly." A tear threatened to spill, but her hand quickly wiped it away. A flash of silver wings caught Weiss' eye as she saw that her daughter was holding on to the badge. "Thank… Thank Dust…" More tears began to spill as Rose tried in vain to wipe them away.

Swiftly, Weiss wrapped both her arms around her daughter and began to rub her back soothingly. It pained her to have her daughter cry in her own arms and it she felt powerless to try to do anything to help remedy the situation.

"Hey kiddo," Yang's tired voice softly echoed in the room, "Head back to our place before the nurses get mad again." A soft smile as her lilac eyes caught sight of ice blue ones that were filled with worry. "I'll keep watch of our little ace pilot here during the night." She glanced over at Phoenix who remained deathly still.

"Do you need anything?" Weiss asked as she motioned for Rose to go on ahead, the Schnee heiress complied hesitantly as she shot a parting glance to her childhood friend.

Yang waited for Rose to head down the hallway and out of earshot, "I'll be fine, Blake brought me dinner earlier… She seems fine and all, but I know she's broken up on the inside. Blake couldn't bear to be in here for long… not without breaking down."

"And you?" Weiss placed a reassuring hand on the detective's shoulder, "How broken up are you?"

Yang scoffed as she looked down at the floor, "The sight of Nix's heart beat is what's keeping me together right now… I can' t bear to be away from my daughter for long, what if something happens while I'm not paying attention?" She clenched her jaw, "Weiss…" A steadying breathe, "She really did take after Ruby, didn't she?"

The Schnee-Vasilias nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah… Ruby would have been proud."

"She would be, wouldn't she?" A silent shudder erupted throughout the blond detective.

Wordlessly, Weiss wrapped her arms around her dear friend as Yang clutched to her like a lifeline. Sobs racked the detective's entire body, the business mogul sniffed quietly as lone tears fell down both her eyes.

"I… I can't bury another family member. I don't have the strength to."

"Hey Snow Angel." Neptune's soft voice could be heard through the Scroll as Weiss video chatted her husband, "How's it going over there? Holding up okay?"

Weiss nodded, "I dropped off some food at the hospital for Rose and Yang, I've been keeping Blake company for the most part… But she just asked me to leave her be for a bit." A frown, after coming back from the hospital to the Xiao-Long Belladonna resident, Blake was quick to excuse herself.

"It's tough… I know…" The graying blue haired man sighed heavily, "Take as much time as you need, don't worry about the company, I'll take care of things while you're gone." A weary smile.

"Dear…. I'm sorry to thrust you into things alone." She apologized.

"Babe, don't worry about it. You have more important things to do, and one of those is to take care of Rose." He reassured, "Tell her I love her. I got to go soon, I've got a meeting coming up." A bitter smile graced Neptune's lips, "Say hi to Nix for me… and tell her to wake up soon because I hate seeing everyone like this."

"I will." Weiss smiled back at her husband, "I'll let you know what Nix says when she wakes up."

It now marked 3 weeks since Phoenix fell into her coma.

With that the conversation ended as Weiss switched her Scroll off. She flipped her head to the door of the guest room as she heard a rustling with the doorknob. The door gently opened to reveal the black haired Faunus as she wore a rather grim expression on her face.

"Hey," Weiss greeted as she motioned for Blake to come inside.

"Hey." Blake sighed as she took a seat on top of the neatly made bed, Weiss sat at the desk of the guest room. Judging from the red eyes that the writer sported, the Schnee business mogul guessed that she had been crying since their return from the hospital.

"Did you want to talk?" Weiss tried as she took a seat next to her friend.

The writer took a deep breathe, a much younger Blake would have shook her head, but she willed herself to open up to the woman beside her, "Weiss… what if Nix doesn't wake up? I… I overheard something the nurses were saying when we left."

"Which is what?" The white haired woman raised a brow at the revelation.

The room was so quiet that Weiss could hear the hard swallowing of Blake's throat, "I heard them say that with every day that passes the chances of her not waking up increases… and so does the possibility of her dying." Tears welled up in the Faunus' eyes.

Weiss was quick to throw her arms around her; wordlessly she rubbed her friend's back. With all her heart, she wanted to tell Blake that what the nurses said wasn't true and that they shouldn't have been gossiping like that… at least not so close that Blake's sensitive ears could pick up the hushed conversation.

But the Schnee mogul knew better than that. Instead, she looked for something with more impact… with more truth to them.

"Believe in your daughter, she's strong and she takes after the absolute best qualities of both her mothers." The words were gentle, but firm as Weiss knew it in her heart that Blake took comfort in them.

The Faunus pulled away as she tried to dry her tears, "Yeah… Nix really does."

"She loves her." Yang commented from outside Nix's hospital room, she peered in through the window as Rose once again fell asleep at the Faunus' bedside.

Blake looked at the pair, Weiss had left to go use the restroom not too long ago.

"I know." Amber eyes gazed at the two.

The blond detective sighed, "Come on Nix… come back to us…." She leaned her head against the glass as she furrowed her brows.

Blake bit her cheek as she held back tears – just the sight alone made her heart sink. Suddenly, a strong arm grabbed a hold of her as she felt herself getting pulled closer to her wife.

"C'mon Kitten, don't keep it in for too long." The comforting words were more than enough as the Faunus busted out into tears.

"Take me flying soon." Rose muttered, her white hair was put up in a messy bun, it had been 5 weeks now since Phoenix had been admitted into the hospital.

They had just gotten news that with the passing days, the chance of Nix waking up again was becoming slimmer and slimmer.

Rose held onto the Faunus' good hand, the red paracord bracelet had managed to stay intact during the incident. Yang had stopped coming to Nix's room everyday since the start of the fourth week, the Vale Police Department needed her back and the detective couldn't put off the call of duty.

Especially since both her sister and daughter have faithfully answered it's call on several occasions now.

"Phoenix…." Rose began as only the echo of the heart monitor could be heard in the otherwise quiet room, "Wake up, please… I need to tell you something. Something important."

Still no response from the sleeping Fighter Pilot.

The Heiress bit back a tear; she couldn't remember how many times she had cried since coming to Vale.

"Phoenix, I want to tell you that I'm sorry." The words finally came, but they might as well have fallen on deaf ears, "I'm sorry I ignored you after what happened in Atlas… I'm just… I was so confused." Her voice was a whisper, she swallowed hard as a lump formed in her throat, "I didn't know how to deal with what happened… I didn't know how to deal with… with my feelings." She paused as she looked for any sort of reaction from the Fighter Pilot.

Rose clutched on to Nix's hand, "Come back to me, please." She pleaded.

Only the heart monitor's steady beeping answered her pleas.

"I have to go back soon… but I don't want to leave you, not like this." She tried one more time as the lump grew, "I want to see you smiling at me, I want you to tell me that you're okay, I want you…. To tell me that…. That we'll be fine not matter what." Her face grew hot as the heart monitor continues it's steady pace.

"Please… Please don't leave me… don't leave me alone, not like this, not when I haven't told you… told you… " Rose Schnee-Vasilias lost her voice, for a second it became impossible to breathe, impossible to think, impossible to even move.

All she could do was stare forlornly at the patient in front of her.

A tear fell down her cheek, "Phoenix… I love you."

Rose sobbed into her sleeping childhood friend, "I love you so much, please don't leave me…. Please." The tears were uncontrollable as she clutched at the bedding, she could feel Nix's warmth, but it was nothing like it's usual comforting and protected feeling.

Phoenix felt hollow.

It only caused the girl to cry harder.

"You can't leave me." Rose's voice was muffled by the bedding, "You just can't… You're my best friend. You know almost everything about me. You know how to make me laugh, how to make me smile, how to get under my skin when you really want to." She recalled all their memories together while growing up, "You beat up the first boy to try to use me. You were there to help piece me together after my first break up. You were by my side when I got my diploma from Atlas University. You were always there."

The Heiress clutched on to the bedding harder, "If you leave me now, I don't know what I'll do…. I'm already struggling so hard without you here now."

Rose couldn't believe it, after spending their whole lives together, it would end like this. With a stupid Heiress realizing too late what she felt for the Fighter Pilot.

"I…. love… you…Rose."

Bloodshot dull blue eyes looked into hazy gold ones.

A small smile broke out on Phoenix's lips as Rose threw her arms around her and began to weep uncontrollably into Phoenix's chest.

She was finally back.

Phoenix Xiao-Long Belladonna stood proud in her dress blues, her flying wings pinned on the left side of her chest shone brilliantly in the sunset. She had just returned home with her parents after a ceremony in her honor. The Huntsmen team she supported was present, as was the rest of LIGHTHOUSE flight that had flown that fateful day. Speeches were given and medals were handed out, the now promoted Captain Phoenix X.L. Belladonna being the highlight of the show as she received top honors for her actions.

It had been nearly 6 months since Nix was shot down in the Vacuo desert, the late spring flower petals danced in the breeze. It had taken Nix a while to fully recover, the bullet wounds healed, but they left deep scars from where they had penetrated. Her left lynx ear was slightly torn and had healed back that way, but it didn't really cause any damage to her sensitive hearing. A long scar on the left side of her face seemed a lot softer in the glow of the sunset.

It was a beautiful day in Patch and the greenery showed an impressive view from a top the hill that she stood on.

She looked to the Mistral Huntsmen Coin from the Huntsmen Sergeant that she provided Close Air Support for. It bore the Mistral Huntsmen symbol on one side, while the other side contained a very familiar phrase.

'For Those I Love, I Will Sacrifice.'

"Have anything else to tell Ruby or Mom?" Yang asked as she looked down at the two headstones. Yang herself was clad in the Vale Police uniform – Phoenix could definitely see a younger Yang turning a fair amount of heads in that get up.

"Nothing else… but I think a thank you is in order." Phoenix smiled at the two headstones, "I wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for them."

Yang was taken back, "What do you mean?"

"Ma, I wasn't sure if I should say anything before, but after today I think at least you should know… I think I met Aunt Ruby, and maybe Grandma Summer… I wasn't sure what happened or how I managed to do all that alone. I honestly don't know how I managed to make it 30 yards away from the wreckage and manage to defend myself from those guys."

Yang remained silent as she looked her daughter in the eyes, those lilac eyes gave away to everything that was going on through the detective's head. Slowly, a small smile grew on her lips as she said a silent thank you to her sister.

Nix stood tall, "I think Aunt Ruby protected me and got me out of my cockpit… She promised me that she would keep me safe."

"Did… did she say anything else to you?" Yang was skeptical, which was natural because she had developed a habit to not take everything at face value. However, her instincts told her that her daughter wasn't lying.

Nix nodded, "She did… but she said it wasn't anything you guys didn't already know." Amber eyes looked to the spring sky, the beautiful sunset was vibrant and it made Nix think.

A troubled look crossed the Fighter Pilot's face as she looked down at her left arm.

"You okay kiddo?" Yang reached out and rubbed her daughter's back.

"I'm doing alright," Phoenix looked down at her cybernetic limb for her left hand, she had spent a few weeks in rehab getting used after she had awoken from her coma, "Ma… I'm turning in my separation paperwork tomorrow." The truth finally came out.

Yang was surprised at the sudden declaration, "I thought you couldn't wait to get back into the cockpit?" The detective was also deeply relieved at Nix's statement, she secretly dreaded the day for when her unit would give her the final go ahead to get back into an airship.

Phoenix looked down at Ruby's headstone, she placed a hand on it, "Aunt Ruby made me promise to love someone with all my heart. And I think I truly do love them… and I don't want to put them through this stress of something like this happening again. I was lucky to walk away from this one mostly intact."

Both the blonds chuckled at the small joke.

"Are you gonna tell me who this someone is?" Yang raised a brow.

Phoenix looked away, "You already know, Ma…" A light blush formed on the Faunus' face.

"Oh no, you're not getting off that easy." The detective teased, "I wanna hear you say it, especially after watching the two of you skirt around it for years now." A light punch was landed on Nix's shoulder.

Nix smiled at that, "Alright." Lilac eyes full of mirth looked into her daughter's gold ones, "Ma, I love Rose."

"Rose." Phoenix greeted as she stood at the bottom of the staircase in Schnee Manor, the red paracord bracelet could be seen around the Faunus' wrist.

"Phoenix." Rose returned as she smiled ear to ear at the sight of her.

Like they had done almost countless times before, Rose ran to Phoenix and the Faunus caught the Heiress easily. She was mindful not to squeeze to hard with her left cybernetic arm as Aunt Weiss had told Phoenix that the arm was pretty strong as it was the top of the line material. Rose wrapped her arms around Phoenix's neck as she brought her childhood friend in closer.

Softly, the two kissed.

Rose broke away first, "So… so it's true then? You're not in the military anymore?"

Phoenix shook her head, "I received full retirement benefits because of the incident. Honestly I would have been fine with just separating, but Colonel Fume wasn't going to have any of that." She smiled as she stood before Rose a veteran of Vale's military now. "I'm a regular civilian now."

"You're far from regular." Rose joyfully replied as she hugged Nix tighter.

The two leaned in again, their lips playfully brushing against each other to try and get the other one to cave in and kiss full on. It was a playful type of teasing.

A soft cough could be heard at the top of the staircase.

Weiss Schnee-Vasilias had her arms crossed with an icy stare fixed on the blonde Faunus.

"You're still sleeping in the guest room, Phoenix Xiao-Long." Weiss huff, she purposefully excluded Belladonna, which keyed Nix to know that her Aunt was dead serious.

"Y-Yes… of course." Nix suddenly found the ground much more interesting, she didn't understand how Ma could deal with that icy stare every time she did something idiotic around the Ice Queen.

"Anyway… I left the thing you requested in my study." Weiss began to descend the stairs, "Just don't do anything stupid to them." She looked Phoenix in the eyes, "Please, they're precious to me." Another serious statement from the white haired woman.

"I'll take care of them, I'm here to return these too." Phoenix held up the familiar letters, they were the same ones that she had received in a package all those months ago.

The Schnee matriarch nodded her head, "I'll be heading to the company now." She began to make her way out the foyer before stopping dead in her track, "Nix… I'm glad you're back."

The Faunus nodded her head, "I am too. Have a good day at work, and tell Uncle Neptune I said hello."

"I will, I'll see you both when we're home in the evening." Weiss smiled at the two as she left the Manor.

Phoenix quickly motioned Rose to follow her up the steps and into Weiss' study.

"So what is it that you wanted to talk about in person?" Rose questioned as they made way to the study.

A small smile was on Nix's face as she turned around to grab a hold of Rose's hand, "It's a story."

"What kind of story?" The Schnee-Vasilias Heiress questioned as they entered the room. Immediately she caught sight of the familiar metal box sitting on top of her mother's desk.

With a slight tug, Nix caught Rose in her arms. Softly, she ran her good hand up and down Rose's back as she leaned her forehead closer to her. A soft kiss was planted at the tip of Heiress' nose, a clever smile was seen on the Fighter Pilot.

"A story about a Heiress and a Soldier falling in love."

With that, the Faunus carefully grabbed the metal box from the desk and opened up to see the rest of the letters located in there.

"Hey Weiss." A voice called the Schnee's attention to her.

Thoughtfully, Weiss ran her warm hands across the tone stomach of the Huntress next to her. Carefully letting her fingertips touch the crevice of those fine muscles before travelling upwards. She traced the valley of those exposed breasts before sliding two fingers across the collarbone.

Ruby shuddered at the touch, "That tickles."

"I know." Weiss smiled devilishly as she placed her hand back on to Ruby's side, she cuddled closer to her ex-girlfriend as they lay together basking in the after glow of their strenuous late night activities. A strong arm was wrapped around the Heiress' torso as Ruby ran her other hand through the luscious white curls. Weiss was mesmerized by the hypnotizing sensation, "What was it that you wanted to say?"

Silver eyes looked into those striking diamond like ones, for a minute Ruby wanted to finally blurt out the words she had been holding on to since she made that spontaneous decision to fly to Atlas. To try to rebuild this burnt bridge with her ex-girlfriend. To try to reconnect with someone she was once head over heels with. To try and get back with the one she loved.

I want you back.

But the words never left, Ruby knew that it was too late. She had waited too long. She had been too unsure of herself.

Because after this 24-hour agreement of picking up where they last left off as a couple was over, Weiss Schnee would go back to reality.

And that reality was one with her being engaged to Neptune Vasilias.

"Nothing. I just missed you." Ruby glanced at the time; they had about 5 hours left in their agreement.

Weiss leaned up to catch the Soldier's lips, "I missed you too."

With a start, Weiss was interrupted from her memories.

Sighing, the business mogul turned her attention back to the paperwork she was working on before dozing off on an unintentional nap.

"Nix!" Rose shrieked as the ground was suddenly above her.

With expert control, Phoenix steered the aircraft to a right side up position.

"And that was a barrel roll." The pilot winked to her passenger that sat in the co-pilot seat next to her.

"Don't you dare do that again." Rose insisted as she managed to catch her breath. Despite her chastisement of the pilot, she did experience a certain thrill from the aerial maneuver.

Nix peered out at the broken moon that shone brilliantly in the dark velvet sky.

It was a beautiful night to be flying.

As promised, Nix had finally taken Rose flying in a T-II – which was an old trainer that was used for fighter pilots in the basic flying course before transitioning to the Type-F series of airships. The Atlas airport had the opportunity to rent out the trainers, with the proper qualifications and licenses.

Together, they flew around the city of Atlas.

Rose looked out her window as she caught sight of the snow-capped peaks of the mountains near the city, she saw them from a perspective she wouldn't be so quick to forget. The way the city shined in the veil of the night, the soft blue hum of the city lights echoed through out the dark sky.

Nix banked the airship into a turn, this gave the Heiress an excellent view of the buildings below them. She looked to the pilot and broke out in a smile at the sight. The Faunus had her head perched upwards as she kept both the view of the ground and the trajectory of the nose of the airship in view. The light in her eyes that danced with bliss, the permanent smirk that had remained there since they first took off, and then the red paracord bracelet around Nix's wrist.

A soft hand was placed over Nix's.

The former Fighter Pilot turned her gaze to the Heiress.

The two leaned in close, their lips brushing against each other.

The radio call over Nix's headset interrupted the two, it was telling them that they were expected to return to the airship dock in the next 15 minutes.

With a sigh, the pilot vectored them back towards the runway to land the borrowed bird.

The couple remained in silence as they walked out of the airport, they booked a hotel for the night across the street at Rose's insistence. They were to get ready into something more suitable for the five star restaurant dinner reservations.

Upon entering the hotel room to change, Nix immediately walked to the window to stare at the night sky above.

"You know, I almost forgot what it was like to be up there." She looked up at the moon.

The figure next to her placed a hand on her good arm, "I can see how you've fallen in love with flying."

Nix nodded, "I miss it."

"Do you regret getting out?" Rose questioned.

"I don't… especially after reading those letters together with you yesterday." A small smile.

"What makes you say that?" The older of the two raised a brow, it came as a bit of a shock at first when Nix told the story of Weiss and Ruby to her, but it quickly came to pass as the Fighter Pilot went on to describe the ethereal experience of meeting Ruby when her airship was shot down.

"Because… I think you're worth it, and I think Aunt Ruby would have done the same thing for Aunt Weiss if the circumstances were different." Phoenix replied.

All Rose could do was return the gesture, the two stayed like that in a comfortable silence. The city of Atlas sprawled out before them in their hotel room's floor to ceiling windows. They stayed on the top floor of the hotel as the city streets beneath them were barely made out.

At first, it was soft.

Rose could smell the scent of the forest and the light tinge of the soap that the Faunus used. Her hands cupped the pilot's cheek, slowly thumbing at the hard scar on Nix's face, and then steadily sliding into the blond short mane. A low purr could be felt from the Faunus' chest.

It only encouraged the two to close whatever distance was still left.

The heat slowly rose throughout Nix's body, both of her hands clutched Rose by her waist. She could smell the peppermint and lavender that radiated from the Heiress. She was addicted to how silky her long hair felt as she ran her hands through them. She didn't realize that she had begun to deepen kiss even more.

A nibble turned into sucking on someone's lower lip.

Playful kisses on the neck turned into bites.

By the time they pulled away, the two managed to realize they were sitting on the bed with Rose in the pilot's lap.

Nix panted with the girl in her arms, her forehead rested on the Heiress' as she struggled to calm down, "My heart… it's beating so fast." The Faunus' voice was ragged.

Rose wasn't better off herself as words escaped her, delicately she placed a hand to feel Nix's heartbeat.

And she felt it.

Phoenix placed a hand on top of Rose's, she felt her heartbeat pick up as she felt her self drowning in the snow like eyes. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

Rose Schnee-Vasilias looked absolutely stunning in the moonlight.

All she could do was pull Rose in for another kiss.

Dinner reservations were thrown into the wind as muffled moans and breathless pants echoed throughout the room.

All that was left were two lovers entangled with other as they slept soundly through the rest of the night.

For those I love, I will sacrifice. Huntress 683. Ruby Rose.

With an invitation in hand, an older Weiss Schnee-Vasilias approached the head stone. Around her neck was a worn down leather throng that was attached to a an equally worn down metal coin.

Patch's gentle early autumn breeze blew, it caught the ends of business mogul's hair as she caught a bit of it and tucked it behind her ear.

"They're getting married soon, Neptune complained that it was too soon, that they haven't been officially dating for no longer than a year. But I think it's about time." She turned her attention to the invitation in hand.

"They decided to have their wedding in May, the day of your birthday more specifically." Weiss explained as she looked down at the wedding invitation, "And, what's especially put Yang into a knot, Nix is going to take Rose's last name." A small chuckle.

"I told her she didn't need to do that, but she insisted. She said it was a good name to carry… Yang nearly threw a fit when Phoenix told her that. I'm glad was Blake was there, other wise it would have been a true Yang-like rampage." Another laugh.

Carefully, she took a seat on the lawn below her as she sat eye level with the head stone, "Yang and Rose both told me something interesting, they told me that Nix met you." She placed a hand on the head stone and began to trace the letters that made up Ruby's name. "I imagine you really did had a hand in bringing her home safely, didn't you?"

With her other hand she picked up the coin, she traced the etchings of it, she her fingertips had memorized the various groves and nicks that coin had in it. The now warm metal was brought to her lips as she planted a firm kiss on the round metal object.

"Thank you, for keeping her safe. Please…. Keep doing your best to keep both of them safe now." Weiss requested as she looked down at the head stone.

A lone rose petal landed right next to Weiss' hand, all she could do was smile at it.

"Rose!" A visibly older blond Faunus called out from the bottom of the stairs, they had purchased a home together in Vale after Rose opened up a new branch headquarters in the very city. "Let's go before it gets too crowded!"

Rose Schnee-Vasilias came down the stairs dressed and ready to go. Her wedding band gleamed in the sunlight.

"We'll get there before it even fills up, we still have almost 2 hours before the ceremony starts." Rose berated as she walked up to her wife of nearly 20 years.

Phoenix Schnee (She decided to omit the Vasilias part after much insistence from her Ma) winked at her spouse, "I don't want to be late for our kid's graduation."

"I just can't believe that those two are already 18…" Rose sighed as she followed Nix out the door.

"I'm excited that they're 18, see what kind of adventures they'll go on… maybe break a few hearts along the way." A cheeky grin as Rose punched her wife in the shoulder. The two were going to take a private airship to Patch and meet up with their twins at Signal High School. The twins stayed at the school's dormitory for the duration of their schooling.

It had been an eventful 18 years of raising their fraternal twins – Crimson and Summer Schnee.

"Phoenix."

"Yeah?" The Faunus looked down at her wife, the two were walking around the campus of Signal.

Rose merely leaned up and caught her lips before walking off with a smug look on her face.

"Hey!" Nix called out playfully as she caught up to the retreating white haired woman, "What was that for?" She held up Rose in her arms, Nix retained a lot of her strength as she didn't let her body's health fall to the way side after leaving the military.

Rose placed both her hands around Nix's neck, "I just felt like it." She placed her forehead on her wife's.

"Mother! Stop it!" Summer Schnee called out as she berated her parents, with golden eyes and snow-white hair, she was very reminiscent of Weiss in her younger years. Save for the Faunus ears that poked out of her long hair.

"You too, Mom. We're at school for Dust's sake." Crimson wasn't too far away from his twin sister.

Nix and Rose wasn't sure how, but Crimson inherited dark hair and steel grey eyes. The doctors explained that Nix was probably carrying the trait for dark hair since her Faunus ears were outlined in a black fur, but the silver eyes…. The doctors chalked it up to the impregnation procedure's rare quirks. Yang and Weiss were the first ones to take note of the silver eyes, both were taken back quiet a bit when Crimson opened his eyes for the first time.

Unlike his sister, Crimson didn't have any visible Faunus traits, other than his rather elongated canines.

"Hey! There are my two favorite grand kiddos!" A graying Yang appeared with open arms.

"Grandma Yang!" The two shouted together perfectly in sync. Not too far behind were Blake as well as Neptune and Weiss. The family had gotten together to watch Summer and Crimson's graduation take place.

The springtime weather was pleasant as usual, especially on Patch. Phoenix caught sight of the rose petals that floated in the wind.

All she could do was smile; surely a certain Soldier was proudly smiling down on her family. After all, the Fighter Pilot had done her best to uphold the promise she made to Ruby.

Which was to love Rose with all her heart.

Thank you for sticking with me until the end. I had a lot of fun writing this story, and I hope you few enjoyed it.

I will admit it was a little discouraging to continue with the story, so a big thank you to GrnDrgnzrd. Something about your words gave me the motivation to keep going and see this through to the end - which I'm very glad I did, this is probably one of my favorite stories to have written so far.

As for future projects... Well, check it out below. I'm still debating this one, I'll let it sit for a bit longer.

Hope you all enjoyed the read.

Cheers,

DevilRed

Excerpt from Gladiator - The Myth of the Reaper:

The sands.

The arena.

The crowd.

The Mistrali Mediterranean heat that beated down on her.

The blood of her opponent that stained the ground beneath her.

Eyes that once burned like hot iron in the forge had grown cold into dull steel.

Reaper – the word began as a whisper.

Reaper – like wild fire it began to spread.

Reaper! – as if the flood gates of Mistral's dams had broken free into the very arena.

The Reaper looked about the Arena as the crowds cheered, they cheered for the slave. Off in the marble stands stood her Master – she loathed the man for whom she served. The man who ripped her from her sister, tore apart a once small peaceful travelling band that her friends belonged to, a man who deserved the same fate as the dark monsters who roamed the lands of Remnant.

Dressed in an elegant that made up his tunic, Roman Torchwick held his arms open wide as the crowd hailed him further, the man who owned the Champion of the Arena. With an exaggerated motion, he brought a finger to his lips – and the crowd complied.

Her gaze was as worn down as the iron gladius in her hand; it waited for the pending judgment that would befall on to her opponent.

His arm outstretched with his thumb held in a neutral position. Predictably, his hand turned downward – forever sealing her opponents fate.

Ruby Rose turned by the heel to her opponent with her sword at the ready, shield long forgotten in the sand beside her. The gladiator before her was on his knees, a blank look on his face as he looked her in the eyes.

"It was an honor." He muttered.

She returned the gesture with a quick and painless death.

One day this slave will once again taste freedom, but for now The Champion of Mistral's Arena remained stoic as the stadium erupted in a roar.