We've finally caught up, but I'll also be heading back and writing Weiss's route for volumes 4 and 5.
I own nothing.
Chapter 49: I Am Enough

(Y/N) faced the three mirrors, understanding instinctively what he had to do. Without a moment's hesitation, he plunged into the smallest of the mirrors, finding himself in a familiar forest, at the foot of a scene that would plague his nightmares for the rest of his life. His baby self sat at the edge of the flower field, staring blankly at the two bodies that laid unmoving amongst the bloodstained petals, a menagerie of eyes seemingly leering at the two of them from the shadows.
"We can't save them...can we?" Baby (Y/N) asked, his words nearly catching in his throat.
(Y/N)'s gaze dropped to the soil, it too seemingly stained crimson. "We can't stop what's already happened. The past can't be changed."
"The stories always make it sound so easy. The heroes win, evil is stopped, good always wins...but that's just a lie. Bad people seem to always win and good people die for it." His younger self stated. "What's the point of being a hero if everything is for nothing? If evil always wins, what's the point?"
The shadows seemed to creep towards the younger version of (Y/N), claws of dread and despair reaching out to plunge him into an abyss.
The older version remained steadfast. "The point is that evil only wins when we think like that! So long as at least one person is willing to stand up to the darkness, even if it's impossible, there's always hope. Because if just one person stands up-,"
The claws were halted by a figure wielding a shield and spear, her autumn glow scattering the shadows as she turned and smiled at the boys gently.
(Y/N) smiled back at her, his heart feeling lighter. "Then another person can be encouraged to do the same. Courage inspires courage, and kindness inspires kindness."
The image of Pyrrha nodded to him before vanishing. Baby (Y/N) stood up as a gust of wind blew, taking with it the image of their first tragedy and leaving them floating in a void. His younger self turned to him with a contemplative.
"If you could go back and change it, would you?"
(Y/N) paused for a moment, unsure how to answer.
"I don't know. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I could see our parents again. Sometimes I wish I could just go back and be who I was, but that would mean never meeting my friends or my sisters. If I never met them, I don't think I'd be me anymore."
Baby (Y/N) smiled, holding out a tiny hand. "Then who are you now, (Y/N)?"
The older dragon took his hand as his younger self vanished. At once, he felt his tail return to him, flicking back and forth, happy to be reunited. He then glanced ahead of him as the next mirror appeared before him, dull and chipped in random places. Having an idea of where this mirror led to next, (Y/N) took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and plunged into the darkness.
When he felt hard concrete beneath his feet, silence did not greet the boy's ears. Around him, sounds of screaming, shouting, crying, and gun shots echoed in his ears, whirling in an unending tornado of noise. Summoning his courage, (Y/N)'s (E/C) colored eyes opened, reflecting a setting the dragon had wished to never see again: the lab, the dark place, the pit of his trauma.
Before him was the room that had made up the majority of his time there: a dimly lit room with only a single, dirty window barely within reach to offer muddled sunlight. Cages barely big enough for medium sized dogs were stacked on top of each other, covering the walls as the captives within whimpered, moaned, and cried in fear. The children, all beneath the age of ten, curled up in fear as the fighting grew closer. The awful stench of blood, vomit, and infection made the air nearly unbreathable as the children who were still alive in their cages tried desperately not to be noticed, hoping to whatever god was willing to listen that for once they would be left alone.
If there was, they would've stopped this long before it came to this.
The iron door at the end of the hall, the one that had swallowed so many of the children before, suddenly swung open. (Y/N) growled, readying himself to fight, only to stop himself as the scientist fell over dead, a gaping wound in his abdomen. It was just as he told his younger self: he couldn't change the past.
The weapon the white coat was carrying, some short of gun, plummeted to the floor, bouncing once before its trigger discharged. The round ricocheted off several cages before miraculously hitting the lock of a single cage in just a way that the mechanism crumbled, swinging the door open. From this perspective, (Y/N) now comprehended how lucky he truly had been to escape that. Hearing more footsteps approaching, he looked into the cage, seeing Timid curled up inside as frightened as the other children.
"You need to run." He urged his younger self.
Timid looked at him blankly. "We shouldn't have survived."
"We did survive and that's the end of it."
"Why us?" Timid demanded. "Why are we always the one who escapes, the one left to remember them. Sometimes, I just wish we hadn't..."
Timid choked back the words which had always bounced around in the darkest parts of (Y/N)'s mind. Perhaps it would've been easier to lay down and accept his fate that, to have not escaped and been left the only survivor, the only one who knew the horrors of that lab. However, what kept those thoughts trapped in the dark were the memories of the good times, of what had come before and since.
(Y/N) stepped out of the way, allowing the dim light of the dirty window to reach the edge of Timid's cell.
"Maybe it would've been easier to just let things end that day. I can't speak for all of them, but I knew a few of the kids in here begged for death more than once. But when the chance came, we ran, we ran and we didn't stop because we didn't want that to be the end of our story. Why? Because despite everything, despite the hell the world put us through, we knew there was something better out there. We wanted to live." He glanced around the other cages. "Maybe we could have done more to save them, or maybe trying to would've left no survivors. We'll never know."
Another ethereal figure appeared before the cage, her smile as bright and friendly as the day they first met her in Vale.
"I won't be guilted for surviving. We made a choice to escape, and we found a new life out there. It came with new pain, but after everything, it was worth it."
Penny nodded to him and vanished as Timid crawled out of the cage, now standing in the light casted by the window. Like before, the area around them vanished, leaving them in a void.
"We were meant to live a life." Timid stated. "We wanted to live a life. Is that what you're saying?"
(Y/N) nodded. "Everyone is meant to live a life. It can hurt, but there are things, people, that make the pain worth it. That's what I've come to learn anyways."
Timid held out his hand. "Who are you now, (Y/N)?"
Again, he took his younger self's hand, feeling a missing part reconnect with the rest of him. The last mirror appeared before him, so dark that it gave no reflection. Calmly, he stepped through, this time not finding himself in a place he had been before, but a place he had seen and knew of:
The domain of the god of darkness.
He stood at the edge of the dark pool that Salem had flung herself into, once upon a time. Across, Feral stared at him, unblinking.
(Y/N) glanced around, not sure why his dark half had brought them here.
"I really don't know what to say to you." The boy admitted. "What is it you want?"
"Survival." Feral growled.
"And I want to live. Seems we can both get what we want."
"You're too weak." Feral snarled, marching towards him. "You care for enemies more than your own safety. You tried to talk down a mad man and got us shot. You tried to reach out to the goodness in the witch who hunted us for centuries. You even chose to trust someone who stabbed us in the back. Your bleeding heart has only ever led us to more pain and death!"
"It was better than being alone in the world!" (Y/N) snapped back. "Even if it left me with more scars, I don't care. I don't regret the bonds I've created."
The dark half huffed. "Yet for all your bluster, you're too weak to protect yourself, let alone others. That's why I'm here, to do what you can't and keep us alive."
(Y/N) took a deep breath.
"Maybe I am weak. So many times, I just didn't have the strength to overcome the darkness and it cost us. But you know what? Weakness can be rectified." He stepped forward, standing at arm's length of Feral. "I know I'll never be free of you. You're a part of me, one I don't want to admit is there, but a part of me, nonetheless. I can't let fear dictate me, because if I did all that time ago, we wouldn't be here."
Feral's eyes narrowed his eyes, only to click his tongue.
"I'll always be here, waiting."
"I know. And I'll be ready."
The world and Feral vanished, leaving (Y/N) alone again. Looking down at himself, he saw he was whole once more. Despite it only being a few days at most, it felt like he hadn't been like this in a long time.
He was him.
Suddenly, a new figure emerged from the darkness. It wasn't any of his pieces or anyone familiar. They were a tall, humanoid figure composed of robotic, slightly rusted parts. They wore a leather apron (Y/N) recognized as belonging to a blacksmith, and despite their eye sockets being hollow, they had a serene expression.
"Who...are you?" The boy asked.
The figure nodded. "My role is to guide and repair those who have lost their way. However, you've seemed to have done so on your own."
(Y/N) smiled, looking down at his charm bracelet. "I'm never alone."
The stranger smiled. "No, I suppose you are not."
"Do you...happen to know how I ended up separated like that? I still haven't quite figured it out."
Turning, the figure motioned the boy to follow as they walked deeper into the void.
"Ascension for us Ever Afterans is a journey unique to each individual. To become what we need to be, we must ultimately decide what that is. In your case, you arrived in this world conflicted, scared, and weighed down by a burden you've shackled yourself with."
(Y/N) looked down. "I...some part of me always felt guilty for surviving when others didn't. I tried letting go cause I know that's not what they wanted for me, but when I found out about Penny and Atlas...I felt like it just confirmed every one of my worst fears. No matter what I did, I'd always be that same scared little kid, powerless to stop anything."
"But you aren't." The figure said, stopping in front of one final mirror and standing aside to let the boy see his reflection. "Like the people of this world, you have been reborn into a new self. Perhaps not in the way we do, but can you say for certain you haven't changed?"
(Y/N) stared at his reflection as it flashed between his different pieces, the point of what this person was trying to say started to click his mind.
He placed a hand on the mirror. "I'm not the same person anymore. Is that what you're trying to tell me? Even if that's true, I still feel like myself. I'm still (Y/N)."
The figure's expression softened. "Perhaps that's because (Y/N) is who you needed to be. (Y/N) is enough."
The words echoed in his ears warmly. (Y/N) is enough. (Y/N) has always been enough. There would always be fights he'd lose, but at the end of the day, so long as he kept fighting to protect others and be with the people he loved, that would be enough.
He turned to the stranger. "Thank you."
They nodded. "So you have chosen again. Remember this lesson and lay down the burden you've carried."
As they began to walk away, (Y/N) reach out. "Wait! My sister, are you-?"
"Just as you've chosen your path, she must choose for herself. I will guide her, but the choice alone is hers."
The boy sighed before feeling something in his pocket. Reaching in, he pulled out the familiar emblem Ruby's mother had given to her years ago.
"Can I at least give her a message?" He held out the emblem. "Please tell her: my sisters...have always been enough for me."
The stranger smiled once more, taking the emblem and vanishing. (Y/N) blinked, finding himself at the carving of Ruby once more. Before he had time to get his bearings, he heard the telltale signs of battle nearby. Trusting Ruby was in good hands, he flew over and saw the cat toying with Jaune and the others in front of a massive gate. Somehow, they had managed to knock the cat out of Neo, but now they were a bipedal, monochrome, behemoth (or as I like to call it, Incineroar's no fun cousin). Seizing the opportunity, (Y/N) charged in with a roar. The cat instinctively turned to him, giving Yang the opportunity to slug them in the gut, sending them skidding towards the brother. With a smirk, (Y/N) planted foot and swung his tail, knocking the beast into the branches. The girls beamed as they saw their brother standing tall. In contrast, the cat curled their lips at the sight of him before sneering.
"Oh look, the little dragons finally put themselves back together! Don't you tire of having to patch yourselves up. Really, you already have so many cracks."
(Y/N) did not speak, only putting on a taunting smirk and motioning for the cat to come at him. Growling at being mocked, the beast charged, swinging their claws. The dragon boy dodged and weaved seamlessly through the attacks, as if he could predict the feline's every move. His body felt so light, so nimble, he felt as if he could dodge lightning. The whole group stared in awe. The young boy had never shown this level of fluidity in his movements or speed. It was as if up to this point, (Y/N) had been wearing weights and decided now was the time to take them off.
The dragon slid between the cat's legs and kicked the back of their knee, bringing them down. By the time they got up to face him again, (Y/N) had activated Yang's charm and delivered a devastating right hook across their face, causing them to skid away. If the cat had traditional fangs, the boy would have surely knocked a few out by now.
The creature groaned, cracking its neck.
"Get. Up." (Y/N) ordered.
The cat cackled. "Why go through this ridiculous song and dance. It doesn't matter if you're one being or four. At the end of it all, you are broken! You'll always be broken! Struggle all you want, but you'll always be weak! Destined to lose everything and everyone! So why even bother to continue?"
The girls, hearing their brother being mocked, finally snapped out of their stupor and began to charge, only for (Y/N) to hold up an arm, signaling them to back off. Despite the harsh words, the boy was smiling, not once turning away from the cat's seething look.
"Maybe I will continue to fail, maybe I am weak, but that's the nice thing about weakness: it means I can keep growing, changing, and finding reasons to live!"
The cat scoffed, eyeing the still incapacitated. "How delusional. You'll only end up like her then: driven to the point of emptiness by clinging to bonds with those destined to fade away forever!"
(Y/N) drew his blades, prepared to put an end to this monster once and for all. "None of them are truly gone. Their hopes, their dreams, they still exist in our world in some form. And the bonds we share, they live on in me!"
The cat roared, leaping at him, only to be met with a stalemate.
"I don't understand why you willingly choose suffering!?"
The boy just smirked back. "I don't want to suffer, why would I? But if walking that road means being with my family and protecting those I care about, then it's all worth it!"
Just then, what (Y/N) had truly been stalling for came to pass as a brilliant flash of silver light blinded them all, causing him and the cat to spring apart. They all turned to see Ruby, herself, wielding Crescent Rose, her eyes beaming with a glow that they had been lacking for a long time.
"Ruby!" Weiss shouted.
Yang nearly let out a sob of relief. "You're you!"
"But how?" Blake asked, turning to (Y/N).
The boy looked at Ruby, smiling. "We just needed to be us."
The cat let out a horrendous cackle. "How PUR-FECT!"
They lunged at Ruby with a manic expression, and for a moment, (Y/N) again held the others back as Ruby taught the cat a valuable lesson in not underestimating her. Matching them blow for blow with Crescent Rose, Ruby began to make headway against their foe, using her Semblance to dodge a serious blow and lining up a powerful counter shot that she used the momentum of to put distance between her and the beast. Deciding enough was enough, the gang surrounded the cat, who fired a beam at them. Ruby again made use of her Semblance as (Y/N) flew away with Yang. Blake was the first to get in close, parrying the cat's blows, and distracting them long enough for Yang, now using her Semblance, to be dropped in and juggle the beast. As they were knocked away, Weiss froze their paws to the floor and launched a Nevermore summon at them. The cat blasted the summon to pieces, only for (Y/N) to appear from above and slam their head into the ground, allowing Weiss to further pin them for an incoming Ruby. The cat quickly used Neo's Semblance to escape, however, they made the mistake of leaping into the air, leaving them defenseless. (Y/N) vaulted himself into the feline's stomach, sending them soaring into an encirclement of Weiss's speed enhancing glyphs. With these, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and (Y/N) battered the cat with a flurry of attacks so fast, one could only make out blurs until all together, they slammed the beast to the ground. The cat, utterly decimated, was forced back into its smaller form as the group stared down at them.
"You're broken!" They kept insisting, looking at Ruby. "You break everything you touch! Like all humans! Weak! Confused! Incomplete!"
"No, you're wrong." Weiss stated.
Yang stood between her siblings. "She's never been any of those things."
Blake nodded. "That's why we follow her."
Ruby smiled at them before looking down at (Y/N). The boy gave her a toothy grin, noting the emblem pinned to her new hood. She then turned to march towards the door, the others following her.
"We're going to Remnant. You're staying here."
As they walked away, the cat attempted one final time to pounce, only to be snatched by a Jabberwalker and pulled into a whole pack of them that had suddenly appeared. The cat screeched, pleading for their life as they were gruesomely torn to shreds by the beasts. The girls looked on, horrified by the sight as Ruby and Weiss covered (Y/N)'s eyes and ears. When it was done, they turned their heads to see Neo, now on her feet and glaring in the direction of the cat. She then collapsed. For a heart beat, (Y/N) wanted to help her up, but stopped as the image of what she had done to Ruby flashed in his mind. He hadn't forgotten, and he wasn't ready to take that chance. Ruby seemed to have similar hesitations, before eventually everyone decided Jaune was their obvious priority and ran over to help him up. When he was back on his feet, they all piled into a group hug. The hooded girl seemed to melt in it, before taking her brother aside.
"So...your big sister's enough for you?"
He nodded. "She always has been."
Ruby wrapped her arms around him as he wrapped his wings around her.
"(Y/N), I am...so sorry."
"I am too."
The two eventually pulled apart, only for Ruby to playfully cover (Y/N)'s head with a hood he suddenly had on. Looking down, he saw the jacket he had been wearing for sometime now had been changed to a sleeker white one, one with the aforementioned hood and his emblem on the back.
Ruby smiled mischievously. "Seems like you're taking after me for once."
The boy just laughed before pulling the hood back down. Jaune then looked back at Neo.
"What about her?"
Neo drew her parasol, as if she were about to attack, only to pluck something from her pocket and toss it over to (Y/N). The boy caught it, opening his hand to see a little charm of an ice cream cone. Looking back up, he saw Neo give a bow before jumping off the ledge and floating down out of sight.
Ruby placed a hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder. "She'll find herself, one way or another."
Satisfied, the group turned head through the door, only for Ruby to once again linger behind.
"What's wrong?" Yang asked.
"When I was in the tree, I never saw Little." She said somberly. "I wish I could say thank you."
Blake's ears flattened. "Do you guys think we made things even worse in the Ever After? Just like Alyx did?"
"I'm...not sure." Ruby admitted. "I'd like to think we did at least a little good. Right?"
(Y/N) suddenly perked up as he turned towards the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Wait!" A voice called out as a much larger, more heroic looking Little came running out from the woodwork. "Do I know you?"
Ruby seemed bursting with excitement, only to compose herself a second later. "Oh, uh, I don't believe we've met yet. Please, what are you?"
"I'm..." the mouse paused, pondering it. "Well, you know, I haven't thought about it yet. You look like you have your wits about you. What do you think I am?"
Ruby didn't hesitate. "Well, to me, you seem like a friend."
"A guide." Blake added.
Weiss joined in. "A protector."
(Y/N) grinned. "A playmate."
"Adorable." Yang joked.
Ruby smiled before leaning down towards the mouse. "Do any of those sound close?"
"Hmm..." She hummed. "Somewhat...yeah, Somewhat. I'm not any one thing, I'm Somewhat of a lot of things!"
"It is a true pleasure to meet you Somewhat." Ruby said before the mouse bowed to her.
"It would be my honor to serve you."
Ruby's smile became a bit sad. "You've already done more for us than you know."
Somewhat looked at her, as if trying to remember something. "You do feel...familiar. Like a happy dream I can't remember."
"I'm so glad we got to meet you. I'm sure you'll help lots of people, but now we have to say goodbye."
Ruby knelt down and hugged Somewhat.
"It will be all right, Huntress." Somewhat assured her.
Ruby stood up as Jaune stepped in.
"Hey, Somewhat?"
The mouse gasped and ran to the blonde. "I am at your service!"
He smiled, patting Juniper's neck. "Will you look after Juniper? She means the world to me."
"I will never leave her side." Somewhat declared.
Parting from the hare, Juniper pulled the mouse onto her back and walked off, leaving the group to step through the door together. They shrieked as they plunged into another void, only this time, finding it more comforting. Eventually, their feet met invisible ground as they found themselves at what looked to be a forge, the stranger that had guided Ruby sitting before them.
"Welcome to my workshop." They greeted.
"Um..." Blake said, leaning towards Ruby. "Is this...the tree?"
"Something like that." The hooded girl said.
Jaune stepped forward, the stranger greeting him with a nod.
"I have been waiting a long time for you."
Jaune sighed. "Well, I made it."
"I'm glad you did."
Jaune looked down at the table they sat at, picking up a figure of Juniper from it. "Can you...answer a question for me? I need to know if it's true what the cat said. That Lewis went back and Alyx..."
"Yes." The stranger confirmed. "Only Lewis returned home. The Girl Who Fell Through the World is the story as he wished it had happened."
They suddenly stood up, revealing figures of two very familiar beings.
Weiss blinked. "Are those...?"
Ruby finished the question. "The brothers!"
The stranger nodded, picking up the statuettes. "Yes, these brothers were the Tree's earliest creations, and the first to inhabit the Ever After. Remarkable beings, very ambitious. The Tree did not perceive what they would become, but that is the joy of creating: the not knowing."
The stranger then dove into a story about how the brothers became the gods they knew, creating the Afterans and the Jabberwalkers, leading to a fight between the two about disrupting the supposed balance of their world, even though it seemed the Tree believed that balance could only be achieved by finding its own equilibrium, something neither brother learned as they were sent forth into the empty void that would become Remnant. Though it seemed the Tree also knew this as the door was always open for them to return home.
"And what truly remarkable things they accomplished." The stranger said, finishing the story. "Whenever the brothers' creations have come to the Ever After. The six of you have had a greater impact than you know, just like Alyx and Lewis did before you. Just like others will after you."
They held out a figure of Somewhat to emphasize the point.
"One small kindness, in one small moment, led to such a marvelous transformation. Just as one act of dishonesty caused an unfortunate change."
The figure switched to one of the cat.
"Alyx took back her promise to the cat." Jaune said.
"A terrible thing to have a broken heart, and there was no one to send them back to the Tree for repair."
"What will happen to Neo?" (Y/N) asked.
"She'll have a chance to repair her broken heart, and become something new." They twirled a knife between their fingers. "Such is balance."
Jaune blinked. "That's Alyx's knife. Wait, how do you have it?"
"When Alyx's life ended, she chose to leave a part of herself behind, a wish to fix what she had broken."
They handed Jaune the knife as a green light overtook him. In a flash, Jaune was suddenly reverted back to his younger self.
Jaune felt his face. "I can't believe it! It's been so...this...is what I sounded like?"
The girls snorted as (Y/N) placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Well, the good news is I won't have to shave you with my claws in your sleep now!"
Jaune looked at him. "Wait, I thought you were joking about that."
"I absolutely was not."
The stranger suddenly opened a gateway behind them, similar to the ones they entered through from Atlas.
"Where will this take us?" Ruby asked.
"To when you are needed more." They answered cryptically.
Ruby nodded as they all walked into the gateway together, Ruby and (Y/N) turning around to say a final thank you. As they emerged on the other side, they looked to see a city in the distance, surrounded by the airships from all Kingdoms, and in their hearts, they prepared to face the coming hurdles.

I wanted to give (Y/N) a new outfit, but I didn't find anything that inspired me, so for now, he has a new sleek white jacket with a hood and his emblem. If you guys find any good suggestions for new outfits, send me a link. Anyways, since we're all caught up, we are once again going back to finish up the last alternative route! See ya guys then!