AN: Hey everyone, I have the final chapter here. Thank you for all the support the series has gotten. This is it, the final stage of the last route. I had a lot of choices for the ending, but this is the outcome I wanted to put out for everyone. Is this the one were Neo finally saves Roman? Or does something else happen to make this end of our mute girl's journey? Hope you enjoy this chapter, leave a review with your comments and questions, and have a nice day.

…

A short time earlier.

Roman sat in his cell with his head down. Suddenly, light shined on his hair as the hatch open, causing a grin on the orange-haired criminal's face. He looked towards his releaser with a sinister chuckle starting, but stop upon realizing who it was, "Red!?" Roman called out to Ruby, "Why are you-" He said before seeing his bodyguard walking into his line of sight, "Neo, what's going on?"

"Listen, Roman," Ruby spoke up, "I don't like you and you don't like me." She said with the orange-haired criminal's eyes half open, "However, we need your help to stop a bigger threat."

"You mean Cinder," Roman inferred with Neo nodding, but he turned to the red hooded girl with a smirk, "You think you can beat her, Red?"

"…I'm not sure." Ruby responded, then turn to Neo, "According to her, I have some special eyebeam powers that could hurt Cinder a lot… She thinks."

"Uh, Neo?" Roman commented, "I said you had an overactive imagination, but… really?" He said with Neo smirking. The orange-haired criminal then sighed.

Ruby then turned back to Roman, "Look, she says Cinder will be coming here for part of the plan you were going to do." She then turned back to Neo, "We're going to stop her." Ruby said with Neo nodding.

"No, Cinder will kill you!" Roman said in worry towards Neo, but the mute girl turned to him with a confident grin. He was left without words for a second before sighing, "You seem pretty sure of yourself." He then had a matching grin, "Okay, looks like we're switching sides." He said before looking to Ruby, "Don't get the wrong idea, I'm by no means turning over a new leaf."

"You're just picking the side you think will win." Ruby responded with a slight scowl, then looked to Neo, "That's what she said you would say."

"Exactly," Roman responded, "And this time, I think I will bet on Red." He said before looking back to Neo, "So, what do you need me to do?" He asked with the mute girl smirking.

Present time.

Neo dashed towards Cinder with the blade of Hush already extended. Cinder prepared to interpret the attack but gasped as Neo's body shattered. A recently fired round from Crescent Rose shot through the glass clone as was heading towards Cinder. She blocked the bullet with her blade, casing Ruby to grit her teeth. The red-hooded girl changed her weapon to its scythe form before rushing into close combat, to which Cinder responded in kind. Their blades clashed with ever swing, but Ruby was starting to get push back. Suddenly, Cinder spin kicked Ruby in the gut while combining her short swords. While Ruby was launched back, Cinder had created her bow with a flaming arrow already strung. She released the fire projectile, aiming directly for her opponent's heart. Ruby gasped before a large explosion enveloped her area. Cinder lowered her bow while smirking.

However, that smile faded as the smoke cleared. Neo stood in its path, the canopy of Hush tanking the arrow with only minor burn marks. Ruby looked back to Neo, but the two did not say a word before they reposed their weapons. Both rushed Cinder at the same time, forcing her to break her weapon back into two short swords. She parried the swings of her foes with each blade in hand. However, her dominance in the battle was falling. Neo saw an opening and jabbed Cinder in the face with the handle of her umbrella. While stunned, Cinder managed to barely see the downwards strike of Crescent Rose. She jumped back to avoid the strike, causing the weapon to be embedded in the floor. Ruby grinned as she was still locked on, firing a round from her snipe rifle. Cinder blocked again, then quick fired bullet shattered the short sword in the left hand.

"Tsk," Cinder scoffed as Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose and Neo reposed with Hush, "The two of you starting to annoy me." She said with Neo scowling, but the black-haired woman grinned, "You're not worth it, but I suppose I can get some practice with my soon to be full maiden power." She said with her right eye glowing with an orange aura.

Neo then heard a cracking sound a few feet in front of her. The dust shards of the broken short sword began to ignite. Their explosion did not push back Ruby or Neo, but it did create a smokescreen. Ruby coughed before seeing the glowing eye through the smoke. She reeled back, unleashing a horizontal slash. While she cut the smoke, nothing was there. The red hooded girl gasped before seeing Cinder overhead, who was about to plunge her blade into her target's head.

However, Neo went to intercept like before, but Cinder anticipated it. With the short sword now glowing white-hot, she slashed through Hush and into Neo's right shoulder. The canopy caught fire as the hidden blade snapped. This heat cut through her aura in seconds. Neo was about to scream in agony but grit her teeth. She redirected her momentum and went for a kick to the head. Cinder grinned as she easily dodges, tightening her grip for a vital stab.

Suddenly, a bullet grazed against the right side of her head. While it did not take out her eye, it did shave off a few black hairs. Cinder scowled as she looked down at the barrel still smoking, with Ruby loading into another round to fire at her midair target. Cinder held out her empty left hand, causing fire to gather. Neo gasped before holding her arms to block the blast of heat. The unleashing of the sniper round and ball of fire launched simulations. Cinder was flung back by her own attack, causing the bullet to miss.

On the other end, Neo took the full force of the blast. The mid-air explosion launched Neo back at high speed, her body about to collide with a slab of metal. At the last second, Ruby rushed in and caught Neo before the collision, but then gasped at the damage. The mute girl's jacket sleeves where ash. Her forearms were a scorched red with the steam still evaporating. Neo's breathing was heavy, her mind starting to go blank from the pain. She still tried to push herself up, "Hey, you're too hurt to keep going." Ruby warned, "If this keeps going, you'll-" She said, but then felt a sudden heatwave.

Neo and Ruby turned to see Cinder holding a massive orb of fire over her head, "I think both of you will suffer that same fate." She said as Neo tried to stand up, putting her body between Ruby and Cinder, "What is this? When did you two become friends?" Cinder asked with Neo glaring, while Ruby had a look of worry, "No matter, the two of you can burn together!" she said before she was about to unleash the fireball.

However, a much smaller fireball hit hers first. Cinder had a look of confusion before realizing her attack was about to become unstable. She jumped back to dodge the explosion, then looked to the third-party attacker. With a scowl on her face, she saw Roman with his cane still smoking, "Hey Hot Stuff," Roman said with a smirk, tipping his bowler hat, "Hope you don't mind me cutting in."

"Roman," Cinder responded, "You've gone from failing me to betraying me now?"

"Don't act so surprised," Roman said with his smirk fading, "You were going to kill after this mission was done, regardless of if I did what you asked."

Cinder had a slight chuckle, "You're slightly smarting than I gave you credit for." She said, but then noticed Roman started laughing, "What's so funny? You should be scared for your life."

"Well, so should you. You're mission failed." Roman responded, "All your allies are gone and no Grimm are even close to the Kingdom."

"They don't matter to my plan. All of them were just distractions." Cinder said before reaching into her pocket, "I only need one to thing to keep everyone busy while I-" She said before stopping herself, realizing her pocket was empty. "What?" She said before hearing a slight giggle. In the distance, Neo smirked as she held up Cinder's scroll. Her mind flashed back to the moment right after she bashed Cinder in the face with Hush. In the stunned state, the mute girl stealthily pickpocketed her opponent. "You-" Cinder said with a scowl.

"You need that to take control of the robots." Roman interrupted, "And while you three were busy fighting, I did that uptight General one favor and broadcasted an anonymous distress call. One that leads back to here." He said before pointing at Cinder with his can, "Now, the only thing that's a distraction, is you."

"It's over Cinder, we won." Ruby declared with Cinder's eyes glowing with rage. However, a sudden fireball collided with the black-haired woman's blade, causing both to turn back to Roman.

"Red, get Neo out of here." Roman commented before reposing his cane, "I can keep her busy until the military comes back." He said before Cinder dashed towards him, her eyes full of murderous intent. Roman parried her attacks as best he could but struggled under her power. Ruby was about to rush in, but the orange-haired criminal yelled back, "GO!"

Ruby then nodded before helping Neo up, "Come on, let's go." She said before they started walking towards the ambulance airship Cinder had arrived on. However, Neo pushed Ruby away, "What are you doing?"

Neo knew what she was doing. Her plan was going so well, just like all the rest were. But like all the rest, she knew that there would be a moment where things would not go as she planned. This time, she knew when that moment would be. If she left Roman to fight Cinder alone, Cinder would kill him and possibly escape. Neo needed to defeat her right here, right now. That was why she needed Ruby to help but realized her flaw. The red hooded girl was not used to the power. To activate the silver eyes, Ruby had to see someone die. However, nobody else was here that Neo could afford to lose…. except.

Neo had a soft smile before taking out Cinder's scroll. She typed a quick message before tossing it to Ruby. As the red hooded girl caught it and read the message, Neo was already rushing into battle, "Please, save everyone but me." Ruby looked at the message in confusion before looking back to the battle, her eyes then widening.

Roman was staggered from one of Cinder's swings. She was about to slash him down but was tackled by Neo. The blade missed Roman, but he had a graver looked of panic come over his face. Without any form of defense, Neo could not overpower Cinder. The black-haired woman raised her white-hot blade as Neo knew her fate would come to an end.

The blade slashed down her body, cutting diagonally though her chest. "NEO!" Roman screamed as Ruby gasped, overcome with the sight she had just witnessed.

Neo shut her eyes in pain. She looked like she was about to scream but was only vomited blood. Cinder grinned at taking the one that had ruined her planes down. However, Neo reopened her eyes. With the colors swapped, she grinned at her foe. Cinder scowled back but then felt an odd light. She turned towards it, discovering it was an uncontrollable silver aura radiating from Ruby's eye. The aura expanded as Cinder felt its power rocketing towards her, "WHAT!?" Cinder screamed as the light enveloped her.

In that moment, Neo slowly closed her eyes.

…

With a faint chatter awakening her, Neo started to open her eyes. She was staring at the ceiling of an intensive care room of the Vale Hospital. With a confused looked, she saw the four members of Team RWBY talking to each other, "Neo!" Ruby said as she notices the mute girl sitting up, causing the rest of her team to turn.

"You're finally up." Yang commented, with Neo feeling a sharp pain in her chest, "Hey, take it easy."

"You've been out for a while." Weiss commented.

Neo look past her gown to see stitches were the Cinder had stashed her. The pain of the blade still echoed in her mind, but she thought that attack was fatal. "The doctors said you wouldn't have made if the cut wasn't partially cauterized." Ruby said, but Neo turned to her with a look of worry, "After what happened on the airship, Cinder couldn't get away before the military returned and caught her. She was is far worse condition than you were." The red hooded girl commented, "Ozpin talked with our team about… a lot of things. He told us we do not have to worry about Cinder anymore. That she would be returning the power she had stolen in the first place."

"He also thanked all our hard work in stopping this threat." Blake commented, "Not only that, but the White Fang in this region was dissolved with the imprisonment of Adam."

"Don't need to worry about him, that creep has Mercury and Emerald to keep each other company in jail." Yang commented, "The tournament wasn't even postponed, and I got second place to Pyrrha." She said with a confident smile.

"We didn't forget to mention your name in all of this," Weiss added on, "None of this wouldn't have been possible without your help. You saved thousands of lives." Weiss said with Neo slightly smiling. However, the white heiress could still see the sorrow in the mute girl's eyes at the thing the team had been avoiding, "But, you mainly want to know about what happened to Roman."

Neo nodded before turning to Ruby, who had a look of remorse on her face, "I'm so sorry." Ruby responded as Neo's eyes went white, "After I used my powers, I blacked out. When I came to, it was while you were getting surgery. At the airship…they couldn't find Roman." She said before looking down a large paper bag, pulling something out, "All we could find, was this." Ruby said before showing Neo the black bowler hat. The feather was tattered, and the rim was slightly scorched.

Neo took the hat in her trembling hands. Tears started to run down her face as she hugged the last piece of her One Thing close. She closed her eyes to scream, but no voice came out… But as Neo opened her eyes, she was still in the hospital bed. She had not gone back to that moment like before. This time, she was stuck with this route of events. Her tears flowed more as she held the hat tighter. She had failed.

While Neo could save almost everyone, she could never save Roman.

Ten days later.

Out of the hospital, Neo had finally fully recovered. She looked on at a small airship, a small bag at her side. In turning around, Team RWBY was there, "So, this is how you want Ozpin to repay you for saving the kingdom?" Blake asked, "You're just going to leave?" Neo nodded.

"You could join Beacon to become a huntress?" Ruby offered, but Neo shook her head from side to side.

"It's your choice," Weiss said, "You have enough liens from the headmaster to start a whole new life."

"But if you go back to the evil route." Yang said before hitting her fists together, "I'll be the one to knock you out."

Neo giggled before swapping her eye colors. She then smiled before bowing towards Team RWBY. The four members of the team did not say a word but did have a soft smile as well. The mute girl boarded her airship and closed the hatch. Upon reaching the driver seat, she started the vehicle before it took off. With one last look at her temporary allies, Neo saw them wave goodbye before she rocketed off into the distance.

After a few minutes of piloting, Neo noticed and auto control button. With a smirk, she pressed it with the airship now piloting itself. She sighed while leaning back into her seat, but then looked back at her bag. In reaching inside, she pulled out the bowler hat. While she had lost her One Thing, she at least had something left to remember him now. Neo placed the hat on her head, causing a tear to run down her face.

However, something felt off. She took off the hat and examined the inside. Her eyes went white as she saw something hidden in the interior stitching. A small piece of paper with a set of coordinates and a single message in familiar handwriting. Guess Who? Neo instantly took control of the airship and followed the coordinates.

At close to sunset, Neo had made her way to a destroyed cityscape. One free from humans and Grimm activity. She landed on top of a large parking complex, spotting the same ambulance she had awoke in many times before. She quickly scanned the area but did not find anyone.

However, the sky was turning an orange from the setting sun. She turned to the light, and that was when she saw him. His cane in hand, his while long coat, his orange hair like a candle's flame. As the sun illuminated him, Roman turned to face Neo, a small smile on his face. Neo's eyes ran with tears of joy. She dashed towards Roman and hugged him as tight as she could, knowing he was real. Roman's smile grew more sincere as he patted her head.

"Thank you, Neo." Her One Thing spoke in a soft voice, "Thank you for saving me."

Chapter 10 – They Lived Happily Ever After

AN: There you go, Neo did it. She was able to stop Cinder before her plan could even get moving, saved Vale from falling, and rescue her One Thing from a terrible fate. Neo had a lot of bad luck in the first few attempts, so the final one was when things went more than her way in the end. Like I said, I had multiple conclusions for this series. I debated Neo staying dead in the end and even one were this was all a dream from the cannon timeline. However, both were not something I liked, and I could tell the readers would not have either. I do not know what Neo's fate in the cannon series will be. However, I liked this ending right here because it showed how much Neo grew and sacrificed for the sake of others. In helping everyone achieve their best fate, she was rewarded with her own happy ending to this story. That is what I love about every arc in Re: Zero and what I wanted to do here. The second season will be coming out soon and that arc is going to be amazing. That is all for now, thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed Re: Neo.