Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. RWBY belongs to Monty Oum and Rooster Teeth.

In the wee early hours of morning, Ruby sat scribbling away at her desk, a black backpack with a red rose design hanging from her chair. She thought back to her days in Signal, a Huntress in training barely out of her tweens with stars in her eyes and a mind filled with heroics and fairy-tale adventures. In retrospect, her own adventure had ended up quite different. Beacon had become a second home for her, and she was quite wistful to be leaving it during its time of need. Her eyes fell to Crescent Rose as her hand grew still in its work, her beloved scythe sitting before her on the table. It had carried her through many battles in the past and hopefully through many more as she mentally prepared herself for the coming journey, a journey she was admittedly frightened to be undertaking. She drew in a shuddering breath as she finished her letter, a farewell note to her family.

"Are you ready?"

She hadn't noticed Raine come in, his voice soft and considerate. He still wasn't comfortable bringing her along with him but her mind was set. She refused to take no for an answer.

"Almost. There's just one more thing I need to do," she answered as she folded the letter into an envelope.

Switching off the dim desk light, she stood from her seat and placed the envelope upon the neatly tucked covers of her bed.

"When do you think we can come back?" she asked quietly.

"I honestly don't know," he admitted. "It's not too late Ruby. I don't want you to make a choice you'll regret."

She faced him and smiled a soft smile.

"I won't regret a thing if I'm with you."

Raine felt his heart ache for the girl he fell so deeply in love with as she stepped forward and wrapped him in an embrace under the moonlight filtering in through the window.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," came her tender answer.

She gave him a soft, loving kiss as she broke the embrace, then swung her pack upon her shoulders and stowed away Crescent Rose at the small of her back. Hand in hand, the two Caelesti quietly made their way downstairs and out of the house, their skin kissed by the cool, autumn air. They never looked back.

They walked for a time with Ruby taking the lead. Raine said nothing as she led him down an old dirt path through the woods, her demeanor taking on a more somber tone despite the certainty in her strides. This path was well known to her, the young Huntress having taken it countless times over the years. It was during long walks like these that she immersed herself fully with her surroundings; the rustle of tree limbs in the breeze, the slight crunch of frost beneath the soles of her boots foretelling the coming of Winter. She breathed in the night air deeply, the sensation clearing her mind and relaxing her body.

She subconsciously drew upon her meditation lessons that Raine had drilled into her several months ago, and all at once the forest opened up to her. She saw the open field where she had slain a pack of Beowolves shortly after her fifteenth birthday. She saw the small town surrounding Signal Academy where she and her childhood friends would run through the streets pretending to be great slayers of monsters. She saw her home, full of love and memories that she would treasure deeply, but most importantly, she saw the cliffs overlooking the vast oceans between Vale and Vacuo, as well as the marker that stood all by its lonesome in the moonlight; a white stone with a blooming rose carved into its face.

Ruby released Raine's hand and stepped forward, her boyfriend choosing to remain still and give her the space she needed. Her steps were slow and deliberate, as if she feared a quicker pace would shatter the quiet calm of night, and as she came to a halt in front of her mother's memorial stone, she lowered to her knees and began to speak.

"Hey mom. I'm not sure when I'll be able to talk to you again so I wanted to say this now before... well, I guess I should just say it. I'm leaving mom. A lot of things have happened, big things and not all of them kind, things that have really made me think about what I'm doing as a Huntress. You know, I still don't know why you left that day, not fully anyway but I think I'm beginning to understand you more. The world is hurting, and I want to help it heal. I think that's the reason why you still went on missions, still risked your life for others you barely knew, because so few others would do the same."

Ruby paused for a moment and reached into her cloak. From it she pulled a single, white rose, her fingers mindful of the thorns. She gently laid the fully bloomed flower at the foot of the marker.

"I've always asked you to watch over me my whole life, but now I'm asking for something different. Please watch over Dad and Yang from now on. Keep them safe and happy. Don't let them feel any sadness about my being gone, because I'm in good hands. Thank you mom. Thank you... for everything."

As Ruby climbed to her feet, she wiped the moisture from her eyes and took in a deep breath. A light gust of wind then rolled across the cliff, fluttering her hair with its gentle caress. She looked down at the maker one last time, her eyes tracing the epitaph she'd recited time and time again.

Summer Rose; Thus Kindly I Scatter

This would be the last time in a long time she would lay her eyes upon her mother's memorial. Leaving felt so surreal, as if she was walking in a dream she couldn't escape, but it was time to be a big girl now. She turned towards her companion and gave a confident smile.

"Okay. Let's go."

Tai whistled a cheerful tune to himself as he carried a breakfast platter up the stairs. Despite everything that had happened, he was still happy to have his girls back home. Watching them leave for Beacon, particularly Ruby who got in two years early, was more difficult to bear than he expected. She really was growing up fast, but that didn't mean he couldn't savor this moments for a little while longer. With a smile on his face, he came up to the bedroom door of his youngest and knocked.

"Ruby! Rise and shine, I brought breakfast for you!" he called out.

He frowned when no reply came.

"Ruby? Are you awake sweetheart?" he called again, but was once more met with silence.

Balancing the tray in one hand, he reached forward with the other and swung open the door. To his great surprise, he was met with an empty room. Ruby was never an early riser to begin with, but maybe her time at Beacon had changed things? That was when his eyes fell upon the envelope sitting on her bed, and he dropped the tray with a clatter.

"Oh no..." he whispered and ran inside.

He immediately went to the closet to find many of her outfits to be missing. Her beloved scythe was nowhere to be found either. In a panic, he rushed out of the room and bolted towards the guest room where Raine had been staying. He was met with the same emptiness as his daughter's.

"Damn it Raine!" he bellowed, prompting Yang, Qrow, and Amber to all emerge from their own rooms.

"Jeez dad, can you get any louder?" griped Yang.

"I will once I get my hands on that menace of a teammate of yours!" he yelled fuming.

"Alright Tai, just take a deep breath," Qrow patronized with a grimace. "What has your panties tied in such a bunch this early in the morning?"

Tai shot Qrow a glare as he rounded on Amber's confused face.

"Your son ran off with my daughter!"

She blinked in response for a moment.

"That's not right. He was in his bed where I left him before I turned in," she denied as she went to check his room.

Sure enough, she was met with a perfectly made but empty bed. The clothes she had left for him on the chair were missing as well.

"Oh dear..." she sighed.

At the same time, Yang and Qrow went to investigate Ruby's room, the latter already tearing open the envelope the wayward rose had left behind. He snorted as his eyes scanned over his niece's message.

"Can't say I'm too surprised," he commented as he handed the letter over to Yang's eager hands.

"Hey Dad," Yang began as she read aloud. "Sorry I had to say goodbye like this, but if I told you in person you'd probably try to stop me. By the time you find this, Raine and I will be gone. Before you get any ideas, no we're not running away to get married. I know about the Maidens and I know about Salem, but I don't really know what it means to have eyes like mine, so I need answers. Raine is going to find his father, so I'm going with him. Please don't try to come find us. Yang's still too hot headed without you there to keep her in line, but maybe with Amber around the both of you can finally teach her to keep her temper down? Love you sis!"

Yang made a sour face at her little sister's jab. Pointedly ignoring Qrow's snickers at her expense, she continued.

"Anyway, I wanted to say that I love you all and that I'll be seeing you again someday. Your loving daughter, Ruby. P.S, tell Uncle Qrow to stop drinking so much!"

"Not gonna happen," Qrow commented with his arms crossed as Yang set aside the letter on the desk.

She sighed and looked to her uncle, ignoring Tai and Amber's bickering in the hallway.

"Well what now?" she asked, her face oddly impassive. "Should we go after them?"

"We certainly could," he answered with a shrug. "Do you want to?"

Yang hesitated for a moment. A part of her absolutely wanted to run after Ruby like Tai no doubt wanted to and drag her back by the collar, the younger girl kicking and screaming the entire way, but another part of her told her to stay put.

"Kinda yeah," she said truthfully. "Though to be honest, I was... sorta-maybe-perhaps going to do the same thing."

Qrow raised a brow at her confession.

"Yeah? With who? As far as I know, you don't have a boyfriend."

"It's... not a boy."

Qrow remained silent for the better part of a minute as he scrutinized his elder niece until relenting with a heavy sigh.

"I'm no one to judge but between Ruby disappearing, Tai raising hell, and you coming out of the closet, I really need a drink. It's not even 9 yet for God's sake."

Yang shook her head and laughed lightly as her uncle trudged out of the bedroom. Glancing one more time at Ruby's letter, she strode over to the window and threw it open, letting the cool morning air filter through. A content smile grazed her features as she leaned forward on the sill. Those two were probably headed to Vacuo if she had to guess. After all, it was Raine's home kingdom and a likely place for him to start his search.

"Keep your promise, Blue," Yang said quietly. "I'm holding you to it."

A smaller, more honest soul. It's true that a simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the hearts of the weary. The ability to derive strength from hope is undoubtedly Mankind's greatest attribute... which is why I will use all of my power to snuff it out. How does it feel? Knowing all of your time and effort has been for nothing?

In the ruins of Beacon Academy, swarms of Grimm roam and roost in the campus. Goliaths stride down the once brilliant causeways, scores of Creeps and Beowolves scurry between buildings and through alleys, flocks of Nevermore circle overhead and around the ravaged towers, all of them waiting... searching... at the behest of their Queen.

That your Guardians have failed you? That everything you've built will be torn down before your very eyes? Your faith in Mankind was not misplaced. When banded together, unified by a common enemy, they are a noticeable threat. But divide them... place doubt into their minds... and any semblance of power they once had will wash away.

In the refugee camps spread out across Patch, Atlas soldiers and Vale police officers struggle to keep two rabid crowds from descending upon each other in a blood-drunk frenzy. On one side were Humans, and on the other... were Faunus. Slurs, jeers, curses and trash were flung back and forth between the unruly masses, their anger and sorrow manifested in unbridled hatred and mistrust. Only the wary guards along the camp's perimeter as well as the supplement of Hunters who hadn't journeyed into the ruins of Vale kept wandering Grimm from entering the fray. One such Beowolf fell to the ground with a bullet hole in its skull, it's slayer doing her best to drown out the chaos she was leaving behind in the camp.

Blake took one last look over her shoulder as she clenched her favorite ribbon in her hand. She reminded herself countless times that she wasn't running or hiding, that she'd be back to fix all of the damage Adam and his followers had done, but that small sliver of doubt still festered within her like a parasite, sapping away her hopes and dreams of a better future. It was good she was leaving, for there was no telling what she might end up doing had she remained. Turning on her heel at the sound of a motorcycle's engine, she ran forward to meet with Yang and quickly climbed on board behind her partner. As Blake wrapped her arms securely around her partner's waist, Yang promptly yanked Bumblebee's throttle and sped off into the woods. The only sign of their departure was a light cloud of dust and a black ribbon left fluttering in the wind.

Of course they won't realize it at first. Like you, they'll cling to their fleeting hope... their aspirations... but this is merely the first move.

Weiss watched forlornly out of the cockpit of her sister's personal ship, the young Heiress gazing down upon the vast and rolling mountains of Sanus. Beacon had become her home away from home and it ached terribly to be leaving. She looked to her sister for support, the elder Schnee's face featureless and impassive as she silently piloted the craft, though she softened when she took notice of Weiss' outward uncertainty. She reached over and gave her sister's hand a reassuring squeeze with her own. No words were shared between the two, only quiet understanding.

So you send your guardians, your Huntsmen and Huntresses, your disheartened and broken Caelesti, and when they fail and you turn to your smaller soul, know that you send her to the same... pitiful demise.

Raine slowed and made a turn on the mountain road as he brought his motorcycle to a rolling stop, the old bike he had acquired so many months ago from the White Fang now now repainted a deep, midnight blue with his family crest on the rear fender; a hexagon with a windmill of arms spiraling into a six-pointed star as its "eye". Ruby rode on the back of the bike with her arms wrapped around his stomach, her hood pulled up and over her head. The two Caelesti looked down upon the Kingdom of Vale, saying their own goodbyes before speeding off into the wilderness under the midday sun.

And far to the East, beyond the boundaries of Mistral, beyond charted waters and familiar shores, the Lady of Grimm presided over her own, dark domain. Barren, rocky, and highlighted by massive violet crystals jutting up from the ground and pockmarks of viscous black pools from which her children were born, the Hellish landscape was a perfect home for the being known as Salem. Her gaze turned upwards to the blood red sky, dominated by the glowing form of the Shattered Moon and black clouds. Her victory was set in motion, and this time, she would let nothing stop her.

"This is the Beginning of the End, Ozpin... and I can't wait to watch you burn."

"Fiends... Humans... Faunus... misguided, destructive, selfish and cruel."

The unnatural chitterings of a Deathstalker broke the silence of the forest, its mighty form pushing its way through the foliage as it came upon the massive walls of Vale's southern border. Its crystal growths shined under the sun and cast dark reflections of purple across the ground.

"Her corrupted grow greater in number, young broodlings falling, taken by whisperings of sour song. Too many... too many... must be stopped. Need to be stopped."

The Deathstalker came upon the broken body of a young Faunus, a girl of blonde hair and a monkey's tail. She lay still, her clothing in tatters and her eyes caked over with blood; blind. She was unmoving... unresponsive... yet still breathed. Whether she was conscious or dreaming, the Deathstalker didn't know as she made no reaction to its presence.

"You felt pain, felt suffering, abandoned like us... by those you call friend," it hissed as it kneeled down before her. "But you live, struggle, cling to life. Like us."

It reached forward with its tail, the Deathstalker mindful of the razor sharp stinger filled with venom as it curled around the girl's body. Reverently, it picked her up with the greatest of care, like she was a porcelain doll at risk of shattering under the slightest of pressure. She was gently and securely lain between the Deathstalker's crystals, so that there was no risk of her falling off during the long march home.

"Merciful Fiend spared this Broodmother, so you too shall be spared. This is not your end, Faunus. You will help us... you will save us... you will defeat Usurper of Darkness."

Nothing more came from the Deathstalker as it turned and retreated into the forests. The Old Ones had spoken, and this one was Chosen. The Time of Man was ending, for they have been abandoned by their Gods... but life would endure as it always had... in one form or another.

A/N: We're here folks. With this chapter, I can say with certainty that the Warriors With Silver Eyes has come to an end and I have to admit, I'm both sad and relieved that I can mark this work as Complete. When I started this story back in 2016, I had no idea it would come this far or be as well received as many of you have expressed in reviews and PMs, and the overwhelming support I've had from the community is nothing short of incredible. It's because of all of you that we've made it to this point, and you have my unending gratitude.

So yes, this chapter is quite short in comparison to many others, but at this point I was down to picking which loose ends I wanted to tie up here and which ones I would leave for resolving in the Sequel which I have tentatively slated for a Fall release along with Vol 6. This story needed a send off, so I left just enough (hopefully) to keep folks interested without saying so much that it was dragged out. Either way, to quote Frodo Baggins on the shores of Mount Doom; "It's done."

As always, leave a review or send a PM if you want to discuss this final chapter or ask questions about the Sequel, though don't expect me to give away any major plot points haha. For now though, it is time for rest as I let my creative muses recharge. It's time to say goodbye for now. This is ZENxRaider23 signing off.