Epilogue (Chimera love triangle)

The Mistral police officers who survived the helicopter crash reported Adam's **** and agreed to handle the body.

Blake and Ilia were very emotional on their run back to Haven academy. Throwing themselves straight back into dealing with the rest of Adam's operation was more important than how they felt about taking his life.

They are swiftly informed that Sun ran inside Haven academy by Kali once they reach Haven academy. Sun noticed there was a commotion taking place inside. It was some kind of battle. Blake and Ilia agree to enter the building while the police keep the rest of the Menagerie Guard away from the Haven academy for their own safety.

Blake and Ilia run inside Haven academy to find Yang standing atop a lift holding a glowing blue lamp. Emerald, Mercury and the huge man Ilia saw earlier were flanked by Ruby, Weiss, Sun, Nora, Ren and Jaune.

Emerald falls to her knees in despair, knowing that her mission was a total failure. The room's lights turn red. A towering pale figure emerges in the center of the room and howls like a poltergeist. Then, it vanishes without a trace. Emerald, Mercury and Hazel are nowhere to be seen after the apparition is gone.

"What was that?!" Blake shouts, breaking the silence of the room.

An injured farm boy holding a cane hobbles his way over from the corner of the room to approach Blake.

"That... was Salem... the master of Grimm..." Oscar answers.

Blake, Ilia and Sun share a similar look of terror across their faces- this is their first time hearing that the Grimm have a master.

Ruby, Weiss and Yang are more shocked to see Blake!

Ruby is first to run over and hug her. Weiss is slower to reach them, having recovered from a stab wound in her torso. Yang hands over the lamp to Oscar hurriedly, panicked from seeing Weiss has blood all over her dress. Weiss reassures her that she is fine thanks to Jaune's semblance. Finally, Yang makes eye contact with Blake within speaking distance. Given their last interaction, Yang is hesitant to hug Blake.

"Adam can't hurt you anymore... he's gone. I took care of him..." Blake confesses.

Acknowledging the damage Adam did to her makes Yang tear up. A great weight is lifted off her shoulders. She bawls while embracing her reassembled team in a group hug. This wholesome moment is bittersweet. Blake knows there is work to be done... though she does indulge in the moment of being reunited with her friends.

Oscar tells team RWBY that they need to get the lamp to Atlas. Adam's forces were clearly allies to Salem. She was more interested in the relics which the huntsmen academies guarded than empowering Faunus. Blake also learns from this conversation that Oscar is apparently housing the soul of Professor Ozpin!

Blake introduces Ilia to her team as her girlfriend. Yang is a little disappointed to hear that Blake is taken. However, Sun butting in their conversation gives Yang a few ideas on how she can rebound...

Yang encourages Sun to travel with them back to the farmhouse where Team RWBY and co have been staying while everyone figures what their next step is. Yang and Sun have a great fling together before travel arrangements are made towards Argus!

Sun is delegated the responsibility of handling the Menagerie Guard once Blake and Ilia agree on travelling with Team RWBY towards Atlas. Yang shares a deep kiss with Sun before parting ways to board Argus Limited.

The journey to Argus does not go according to plan. The relic of knowledge attracts a swarm of Grimm to attack the train. Blake and Ilia are **** to split up as Ruby makes the call to separate the train carriages.

Ilia travels with Team JNR in the front carriages. Team RWBY keeps the Grimm at bay in back carriages while keeping the relic with them.

The train crashes into the snow, leaving Team RWBY, Oscar, Qrow and a strange old lady stranded. Yang is furious at Ozpin for not telling them that the relic attracts Grimm earlier!

The ensuing argument leads to Ruby activating the relic of knowledge and asking Jinn (a spirit held within the relic) what secrets Ozpin is hiding from them.

The lengthy flashback through Ozpin's history of reincarnations tells the tale of a toxic romance. One that Ozpin had tried to bury for centuries. The illustration of Salem's manipulation hits a little too close to home for Blake.

Upon learning that Salem cannot be killed, Blake sympathises with Ozpin. She could only imagine how horrifying it must be dealing with such a wicked partner that cannot be stopped. Blake had the luxury of ending her feud with Adam permanently- Ozpin didn't.

While Yang and Qrow are quick to berate Ozpin, Blake shouts at them to leave him alone!

Blake defends Ozpin's choice to keep his history with Salem a secret, reminding her team that she kept plenty of secrets from them before enrolling at Beacon academy. They didn't understand what it was like being in a toxic relationship like she did.

Qrow did not feel as if Blake's rationale was good enough to justify Ozpin signing up humanity for a war they cannot win. Qrow dedicated his entire life to Ozpin for a lost cause because he didn't feel like he belonged anywhere!

What are they to do if Salem cannot be killed?

Blake fails to find an answer... Maria Calavera tells the group that finding shelter to figure things out was a better idea than freezing to ****. They take shelter in an abandoned home nearby. The inhabitants of Brunswick farm are found dead, rotting away in their beds. As the team splits up to look for supplies, Yang tells Blake upfront to not treat her differently because she lost an arm in private.

Their resolve is tested by a confrontation against Apathy Grimm. Blake is brought uncomfortably close to having her neck slit by an Apathy before Ruby activates her silver eyes. Team RWBY and co make it out of Brunswick farm alive. Relaying all that they had learned to Team JNR was another can of worms to be opened later... To make matters worse, Atlas' dust embargo made it illegal for anyone but Weiss to travel to Atlas.

Reunited in Argus, Team RWBY and Team JNR argue over what to do with the relic. When Jaune suggests just throwing the relic into the ocean, Ilia jumps in to give her two cents.

"Are you insane?! Do you have any idea what kind of Grimm are in the ocean?! You will attract them here, where your sister lives, if you do that! What is wrong with you people? Aren't you prepared to die for a cause?! So what if Salem cannot be killed! Life is worth fighting for! We cannot 'win' but we can **** a stalemate! That was the whole point of Ozpin separating the relics across the world. It's a chess move! You humans must be soft if you plan on giving up everything when the going gets tough!" Ilia shouts.

Ilia's outburst stuns the room. While not a huntsman herself, she puts huntsmen to shame. Jaune retracts his words and suggests stealing an Atlas airship to sneak in across the embargo. Snapped out of his self-loathing, Qrow gives his approval.

Ozpin takes a deep sigh of relief after Ilia defuses the room. He speaks through Oscar and thanks Ilia for explaining the logic behind his stalemate solution. However, seeing how upset his secrecy has made everyone, he promises no more secrets.

The plan to steal an Atlas airship goes off without a hitch the next day. Ilia did a pregnancy test in the morning which gave a negative result. Blake was happy to learn that their aura knotting did not add complications towards their Atlas mission. As advocates for Faunus, they had three objectives in Atlas separate from her team's agenda:

First, reopen Atlas' borders ASAP. Second, depose Jacques as CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. Third, get allies of the Faunus into the Atlas council.

Blake wanted to tie the knot in a different way with Ilia before any of that took place. Inside the Atlas airship, Blake reveals an engagement ring that she bought while shopping with Oscar and Weiss last night.

Sure, this all may feel a little rushed. What is life without taking some risks? Blake leaves herself open to the chance of another rejection, laying it all on the line for love. Except this time, Ilia is prepared to meet her in the middle- Ilia accepts Blake as her fiancé.