(Previously in 'DEATH COMES TO EVERYONE':)
Blanche Moonflower hadn't changed a lot physically...well except the size and her eyes. She was no longer a young 6'2' Wolf Faunus, now she looked about 11 feet tall and her eyes, now pupilless, looked like living yellowish fires.
But what caught everyone's attention was not her size or eyes... but the beautiful armor she was wearing.
(Imagine Athena Cloth in Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas with wing-shaped hair clips instead of the original helmet and a rapier instead of the shield and staff)
Made of gold and white, this armor gave the impression that Blanche was a Goddess descended from Heaven to mingle with common Mortals ! The people present were in awe at Blanche's new appearance but the most surprised person present was without contest the White Wolf Faunus herself !
She looked at her new body and armor with stars in her eyes before looking up at Thanatos who had a look of happiness and satisfaction on his face before he cleared his throat. Once everyone's eyes were on him, the embodiment of Death spoke in a solemn tone.
"I welcome you to your new life : Blanche... Your old life is no more... You have now received the powers of Life and Creation and they granted you the guardianship of all Living Forms on Remnant ! Respect yournewduty, protect the Balance of this world and enjoy your Immortality with pride and dignity !"
Blanche's eyes watered as she looked up at him and he gave her a warm smile in response before he found himself being hugged tightly by a crying White Wolf Faunus. Ignoring the cheers of happiness and the congratulations from the other occupants of the room, the two Immortals simply hugged one another happily.
They now knew that they would be together for all eternity... And they were fine with it.
00/(Present Time)/00
11 years...
It had been eleven years since Thanatos defeated the God of Light and the God of Darkness...
11 years since the lovely Blanche Moonflower became the embodiment of Life...
So many things happened since that day...
Thanato and Blanche decided to help in the reconstruction, much to the appreciation of many people. The former used his magic to rebuilt some of the destroyed buildings but places such as the Police Station were left behind.
Why ?
Because Blanche told him of the local policemen who were mostly racists and their treatments toward Faunuskind. The Policemen, of course, were angered by this but had cowered in fear when Thanatos started to sermon them for their actions.
Speaking of Blanche... she became a really good Deity.
At first, she had been a bit overwhelmed by her new functions (and her new powers as well) but as time passed, the gorgeous Wolf Faunus grew accustomed to it thanks to the tutelage of her lover Thanatos.
The embodiment of Death was surprised by how quickly she mastered her new gifts but didn't complain. In fact, he was proud of his 'apprentice' as barely a few months (three to be precise) later, she didn't needed his help anymore.
Now she was equal with him in therm of power and strength... and a natural in her use of Magic.
With her new statue as embodiment of Life, Blanche knew that she couldn't resided permanently among the mortals so she decided to move in with Thanatos and after saying goodbyes to their friends, they left the Mortal Plane.
Needless to say that the Underworld had changed DRASTICALLY after Blanche's arrival.
Why ?
Apparently when Blanche saw how Thanatos' Kingdom looked like, she had stared at it with a blank expression on her face before looking at him to say bluntly
"This place is as cold and intimidating as you are !"
Thanatos, of course, denied it and it lead to them having their first argument. After a few minutes, the embodiment of Death bowed to her as he lost the argument, agreeing to reshape this place. A part of him was reluctant in doing so but the other part wanted to please Blanche.
Beside, he should have seen it coming with her moving with him...
For the next few days, the two lovers used their powers to completely change the area. Only the Palace was untouched as Blanche ADORED it. She particularly loved the architecture of the building and its inside was also to her liking. What she also liked was the concept of the Four Doors.
Anyway, after days of magical works and several discussion, Thanatos and Blanche were satisfied with the results.
Before, the Underworld was a void-like space, with reddish-pink sky and small rocky 'islands' floating in the air. But now, it looked more welcoming and far nicer than its previous state.
Where previously stood nothing but air and dark ground, now stood fields of green grass and beautiful flowers of white, pink and yellow. We could also see hills and forests surrounding the Palace and it front of the staircase, was a large circular fountain where water poured out of the mouth of a statue... which strangely looked like a Wolf.
Far away from there, a large and wide river filled with crystal water could be seen flowing. The sound of water was simply soothing and Thanatos had to admit that so far, the changes were good.
Later, Blanche used her powers to create a fake sun so days and night could be clearly show in the Underworld. Thanatos himself had find it really useful... while cursing himself for not having thought of that sooner.
The Wolf Faunus also decided to create a little garden to give a personal touch at the Palace. Thanatos had been intrigued by her idea and soon enough accepted.
A fundamental rule : 'Always keep your girl happy'.
The embodiment of Death had decided to let her create the garden as it was her idea and the results had been really amazing.
Situated at the back of the Palace, the garden was really big and wide ,maybe as wide as the Quidditch Pitch, but much more beautiful to look at : a large field of green grass where flowers of different varieties and colors could be seen there and then.
But what really caught the eye was the big tree standing in the middle of the garden : it was a Magnolia Tree with pink and white flowers.
Even Salem had nothing bad to say about the changes Blanche made.
Speaking of the former Queen of Grimm, she was now accustomed to her life in the Underworld and looked happier than ever. Salem took her new role as Guardian of Limbo really seriously and so far was doing a great job. Some of the souls present liked her and it was not rare to see her entertaining them every now and then.
Without the curse hanging on her head, the former Queen of Grimm could released her kind and patient nature.
Of course, from time to time, she would pass some time with her daughters in Elysium. As time passed, she and Blanche became really good friends and could sometimes be seen chatting with one another... talking about whatever they wanted.
Which was good as it would have been terrible if these two couldn't stand one another...
Anyway, another thing that changed was the fact both women knew his past.
How did they know ?
After months of uncertainty, Thanatos decided to reveal to truth to not only Blanche but Salem as well and needless to say that both of them were shocked to hear that once he had been a Human Being... a Magical one at that !
They promised to not tell anyone as the embodiment of Death humbly asked them not too... in exchange he would told them everything he knew about his former world... which he did.
Blanche, after hearing his description on some of the Creatures he told them about had an idea : what if the Underworld could host some of those Creatures ?
After all, the Mortal Plane had Living-Beings apart of Humans and Faunus then why not the Realm of the Dead ?
After telling her idea to both her lover and Salem, both of them agreed that it was a MAGNIFICENT idea and so... they went to work... or more like Blanche went to work with the help of Thanatos.
Before creating the creatures who will live in the Underworld, the two had to decided on which ones to make... Thanatos refused to have Acromantulas in the area as he had a bad memory of the Giant Spiders. Blanche agreed as she understood his point of view.
After some discussion, they finally agreed of a small lists of candidates : Unicorns, Griffins, Kneazles, Hippogriffs, Dryads, Mermaids, Hippocampus and Pegasi. Of course, normal Birds and Fishes will be added. Salem had been confused by some of the Creatures on the list and after some explanation, she thought it was a good idea to have some running around.
It took Blanche a week but in the end, she managed to create the Creatures in question and it was Thanatos that placed them in their respective area. Never before the Underworld had looked so... ALIVE !
It was rich of a fauna the Mortal Plane didn't possess !
Sure Elysium was filled with Creatures as well but they were normal animals not mystical ones !
Salem herself was stunned by the new change and got to keep one of the new creatures as a pet : an Hippogriff she named Silverwing.
But things had not only changed in the Underworld...
But the Mortal Plane as well !
How so ?
Thanks to the reporter, everyone now knew of the existence of Thanatos and needless to say that the repercussions were abysmal. With the revelation of Death having a physical Body and being the judge of the Souls, many people started to think about their actions or what they should do with this knowledge.
Some people thought the media to be fake but most of them didn't and so decided it was time to change things.
When Blanche was revealed to the people of Remnant that she was now the embodiment of LIFE (apparently someone had seen her ascension and had told the media) ... point of views were mixed.
The Racists thought it was OUTRAGEOUS that the represent of Life was a member of the 'Lesser' Specie but many staid neutral. Many girls had been jealous at Blanche for having the Hot-Scary-Guy all for herself but they would be lying to themselves if they said it wasn't romantic.
After all, the two of them would live together for eternity.
If it is not romantic then I don't know what that it...
However, our Immortals didn't cared about what people said about that : they had each other and that all mattered. Sadly, they decided to stop coming to the Mortal Plane until things would get better as they didn't want to be mobbed by people (try to guess why).
Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Emerald, Amber, Summer (who had been given a second chance in life by Thanatos), Glynda, the rest of Beacon STAFF and all the people close to them understood their decisions even if it saddened them.
The Fall Maiden was still allowed to come whenever she wanted but in the end, Amber asked Thanatos if it was possible to include more people than her for VISIT TIME.
The embodiment of Death had hesitated at first but then shook his head in response. When asked why, his answer caused everyone to nod their heads in acknowledgment : if he allowed it and one of them accidentally let it slip, Chaos would break loose and their lives will turn to the worse as many people would want to get such a gift.
Amber was now the only person able to visit the Underworld without consequences. However, Blanche had decided that it might be a good idea for them to come to THEM but in another appearance to avoid being mobbed.
The idea was accepted unanimously and from then on, the two Immortals would come to the Mortal Plane when they had free times. However, it was difficult given their responsibilities...for not only our favorite couple but also for their friends.
Once school was rebuilt, classes started again and their Mortal Friends were busier than ever to catch up what they missed. Amber restarted her own classes with Emerald as her assistant.
Willow Schnee, Ironwood and his clowns (along with Penny) went back to Atlas along with the other students of Atlas Academy. Winter, much to everyone's shock, had started to date Sienna Khan and so far, things were good... they even got married at one point.
The students of Haven and Shade Academy had left to their respective schools as well...
Ghira and Kali returned to Menagerie after staying a few days with their daughter.
Meanwhile, the whole world was coming to therm about what had happened so far... Of course, despite the knowledge that Immortal Beings lived among them, life hadn't changed much.
Despite it, the two Immortals always managed to find time to visit their friends in the Mortal Plane :
4 years after the Battle of Beacon, Thanatos and Blanche (who had turned into different forms) went to the Academy to congratulate their friends when they graduated with flying colors ! Team RWBY and Team JNPR became official Huntsmen and Huntresses afterwards.
But it didn't stop there : the two also attended the weddings of Jaune and Pyrrha; Weiss and Ruby; Blake and Yang; Amber and Emerald; Nora and Ren... and Winter and Sienna. Yes these two got married after some time.
However, during those times, a miracle also took place : Blanche became pregnant with Thanatos' children.
Yes you hear me right... Barely a year after becoming embodiment of Life, the White Wolf Faunus was discovered to be carrying lives within her.
The embodiment of Death had been ecstatic at the news and when they heard about it, their friends congratulated them. Thanatos had done everything he could so his girl would have anything she wanted and be as comfortable as possible.
Salem had teasingly commented that he looked adorable being all worried like that which earned her a glare from her 'Boss'. Of course she wasn't affected by it, much to his chagrin.
Nine months later, Thanatos and Blanche became the proud parents of two adorable little ones. Of course they were like their parents = deities. But let me present you the kids :
-The first one was a girl named Hedwig (in memory of Thanatos' loyal familiar) who was ironically a Snowy Owl Faunus with black and white hair, yellow eyes and feathers covering her arms.
-The second kid was a boy named Zephyr who inherited the white hair of his mother and blue eyes. Thanatos had questioned his wife about it and Blanche told him that her grandmother had blue eyes. Unlike Hedwig, he was human in appearance.
Two years later, Blanche gave birth to more children :
- The first child was a girl whose name was Iris. She somehow got dark green hair and yellow-green eyes. Like Zephyr, she was human in appearance. Like Hedwig, she was a Faunus but not a Snowy Owl... but a Doe ! It had been a shock until Thanatos remembered that his mother's patronus was a Doe.
It might have influence it...
-The second child was a boy by the name of Perseus who inherited his father's black hair but thankfully not as messier and instead, looked as silky as his mother's. He also inherited the same blue eyes than Zephyr. Like his brothers, he was Human.
-The third little one was a girl whose name was Freya who inherited her mother's white hair and her father's green eyes. Like her sisters, she was a Faunus (a Snow Panther Faunus) and was the smallest of the group.
-The fourth and last child was a boy by the name of Orion (in memory of Sirius ORION Black) who got his mother's yellow eyes and his father's black hair. Unlike his brothers, he was a Faunus... a Brown Bear Faunus.
None of their children was a Wolf Faunus... which was shocking but not a really bad thing. Thanatos and Blanche loved their little ones dearly and the former always tried his best to be with them despite his duties to perform.
Of course, when they were unavailable, Salem would act as their babysitter... something the former Queen of Grimm didn't mind at all. The embodiments of Life and Death had, without a doubt, presented their little ones to their friends who had all cooed at how cute they were.
Seeing the little ones had given some of them the idea of having children of their own.
And they did... well of them them did :
-Weiss and Ruby adopted a little girl they named Crystal.
-Yang and Blake adopted a pair of Twins : a boy and a girl named Cayden and Jade respectively.
-Pyrrha and Jaune were the proud parents of a strong little girl they named Aries.
Ren and Nora decided to wait before thinking of the possibility of having children of their owns. The same was said to Winter and Sienna who were far too focused on their jobs at the moment.
As the years passed, life on Remnant turned calmer... sure the Creatures of Grimm were still annoyances but thanks to the courage and strength of their protectors... Humanity and Faunuskind could live in relative peace. Even better, thanks to the new change, more rights were given to the Faunus despite the few protests from some people.
Which was really good !
Not only for the Mortals but for Thanatos and Blanche as well...
Now how long it will take before another conflict break this peace ?
Who know... but hopefully it will not be too soon...
But now 11 years after the Battle of Beacon, things still looked good in the Mortal Plane. But it was the Underworld that interested us.
In the Hall, sitting on his throne, was the familiar form of Thanatos who was like usual, wearing his armor. Like he promised to Blanche a long time ago, he hadn't rebuilt his helmet which clearly showed the symbol on his forehead. The embodiment of Death had a calm look on his face as his eyes were closed. He was relaxing.
A few moments ago, Salem came to tell him that some Souls were ready to be judged again and he did. Some were allowed into Elysium to be reunited with their loved ones... but others weren't so lucky. Heck, a few even ended up in the Inferno. Once his work was done, he had allowed Salem to go to Elysium so she could pass some times with her daughters.
Which allowed him to FINALLY take a break...
But once again, the Universe had other plans...
Barely a minute later, he felt someone tugging his right arm and he opened his neon green eyes to see his eldest daughter, Hedwig, looking up at him with her yellow eyes. She, like the rest of her siblings were all 10 years old, but she was more mature than them.
The embodiment of Death had lost the number of time he had found her in the Library while her siblings were playing outside the Palace (palace that had been reshaped to add more rooms). Hedwig was a Bookworm... and a living encyclopedia. Even worse, sometimes she talked like an Old man would !
It was no wonder than Blanche and Thanatos made her the Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom.
"What can I do for you dear ?~" he asked his eldest daughter with a warm smile on his face.
"Mother wanted to see you outside..." Hedwig answered respectfully and in a calm tone.
Shooting a small glare at her, the embodiment of Death chuckled before going back on his feet "Very well... I have some free times anyway...Are you going to join me ?"
Like he expected, the Snowy Owl Faunus shook her head in response "Sorry Father... but I found this amazing book..."
"I understand your love for books dear but as your father, I order you to go outside and play with your brothers and sisters !" he told her in a kind but stern tone.
Hedwig wanted to protest but wisely choose to nod her head in acceptance. Sighing, Thanatos then gently putted a hand on her shoulder before saying kindly "You can still the read the book later if you want~"
The Owl Faunus smiled to brighten a bit at those words and nodded at him with a smile. Ruffling her hair with fondness and ignoring the whine she released at that, father and daughter then left the Great Hall to end straight toward the Palace's Garden.
As they stepped outside the building, Hedwig rushed forward , leaving behind Thanatos who took a moment to stare at the reddish-pink sky of the Underworld where we could see some black shapes flying in the air.
Even if it had been 11 years, he was still not getting used in seeing Griffins or Hippogryffs (or Pegasi) flying in the sky of the Underworld.
Shaking his head, the embodiment of Death then looked away from the sky to look at the garden where he saw his entire family gathered there : Hedwig was sitting against the Magnolia Tree, chatting with her sister Iris and her brother Zephyr ; Perseus was playing with his brother while little Freya was with her mother.
Blanche was not wearing her armor but normal clothes consisted of a long white robes and nice shoes. Thanatos smiled as he decided to join in by changing his attire. No more was he wearing his armor, he was now wearing look dark robes... similar to the ones he wore in the Wizarding World.
Still smiling, the embodiment of Death stepped closer and Blanche's wolf ears twitched before her yellow eyes landed on him.
"Well well well look who decided to join us~" Blanche greeted him with a wolfish smirk.
"Ha ha ha, really funny but if you prefer I can still go back insid-" Thanatos began to say only to stop when someone hugged his leg tightly.
"You stay !" Freya pouted at him as her spotted fluffy tail wagged behind her.
Chuckling as his youngest daughter, the embodiment of Death gently picked her up before hugging her "I'm no going anywhere princess~"
The Snow Panther Faunus smiled at her father before hugging him back, her arms wrapped around his neck. Of all his children, Freya was the most affectionate one... and the most beautiful of his girls.
That why both parents decided to make her the Goddess of Beauty and Love.
"Daddy !" another voice echoed from nearby and Thanatos turned his head to see Iris rushing toward him with a bright smile.
Little Iris was not only a careful and gentle girl but really close with plants and animals. Her parents noticed the way the many Creatures of the Underworld reacted to her and once they had caught her petting the belly of a Griffin ! The plants themselves seemed to move when she was around.
That's way she was given the title of Goddess of Nature.
The Doe Faunus barreled into him and he found himself on his back, laughing all the while as he was pinned by two of his daughters under the amused eyes of Blanche Moonflower.
"Boys ! We need your help here !" Iris called out mischievously to her brothers who stopped their game to look at them.
"COMING !" Perseus cried out as he rushed toward his father and sisters with Orion following him in a slower pace.
Perseus was as carefree as Freya and Iris but could be calm and collected when necessary. He also showed his parents that he seemed to have an affinity with Water and he showed it one day during a game of Hide-and-Seek. He hid in the Great River and asked the Mermaids there to not tell his siblings about his location... which they did.
After 2 hours, the parents went to look for him and were shocked once they find him. After a small talk, he had been punished but was allowed to go to the water whenever he wanted. He was the best swimmer of all their children.
Both that and his ability to control and breath underwater were the reasons he was given the title of God of Water.
Orion was much calmer than Perseus but like the rest of his siblings had a mischievous streak. He was also the strongest of them all but knew how to control his strength. Thanatos and Blanche were amazed by how humble he was. He also had a sharp mind when it came to defend something he believed was right.
One day, during a game between Iris and Perseus, things almost turned bad after Iris won the game. Orion was the one who stopped the fight and managed to stop both parties without using his strength... only words. He also reprimanded Perseus for having moved a piece (they played chess) when Iris looked away.
Thanks to his actions, he was given the title of God of Justice and Peace.
Back to topic, the embodiment of Death yelped in surprise when he found himself pinned by not two but FOUR children and this time Blanche couldn't hide her amusement as she laughed loudly from her seat.
"I can't take it ! There are too many of you ! Come on pick on somebody your own size ! Love help !" Thanatos dramatically said as he struggled to get out of his children's grip.
"I don't think I will love... You look so cute right now~" Blanche said with a hum and a wolfish smirk as her eyes shined with mischief.
Laying against the trunk of the Magnolia Tree, Zephyr and Hedwig were looking at the scene with amusement while making no move to help their father from his predicament.
Thanatos then used another tactic : putting a hand on his heart, he let his face fall on the side while dramatically pulling out his tongue, giving the impression he was dead. The kids stopped moving as they gazed at him
"Daddy... You are not dead..." Freya said as she looked at him, lowering her head closer.
"No !" Thanatos suddenly cried out as with a smirk as he swiftly turned his head toward her causing the children to jump away from him with loud laugh. Zephyr and Hedwig also giggled in amusement but they tried to hide it by covering their mouthes.
"Alright children that enough ! Give some room to your old dad~" Blanche told the children with a small grin.
Thanatos shot her a fake glare as he hissed back "I'm not old !"
"You are millenniums old honey ! So yes you ARE old compared to us ~" The Wolf Faunus retorted with a coo as she patted the top of his head tauntingly.
"Is it 'Pick on Thanatos' Day ?" the embodiment of Death grumbled to himself while shooting a glare at his wife.
"YES !" All the children, minus Hedwig and Zephyr, cried out at the same time alongside their mother before giggling loudly.
Thanatos grumbled something under his beard as he pinched the bridge of his nose with irritation. However, a smirk soon grew on his face as an idea passed through his mind
"Very well then... No cake for you..." he said with a shrug.
The laughers stopped quickly and the children (Perseus, Orion, Iris and Freya) all stared at him with horror while Hedwig and Zephyr looked at one another with amusement. Their younger siblings liked cakes of all kind so it was no surprise that they all had this reaction.
"NO ! WE WILL BE GOOD PLEASE DAD/DADDY !" they cried out in horror which caused Thanatos to smirk at them as they went as far as kneeling before him with pleading looks on their faces.
Blanche rolled her eyes in amusement before saying "Don't worry dears ! There are plenty of cakes for you~"
The children cheered at their mother who shot a triumphant look at a certain embodiment of Death who shot her an fake-annoyed glare in response.
" Can we have some now Mommy ?" Freya asked her mother with cute kitty eyes which was quickly mirrored by the rest of her siblings.
Blanche smiled tenderly at her little ones before kissing them on the forehead one by one "Of course my loves~!"
"THANK YOU MOMMY !" Perseus, Orion, Iris and Freya said at the same time before rushing back inside the Palace toward the kitchen.
Thanatos rolled his eyes in amusement before turning his head toward his eldest children "Make sure these four don't eat too much... Dinner is in a hour or two after all..."
Zephyr and Hedwig nodded their heads before bowing their heads at their parents and going after their younger siblings.
Zephyr, like his sister, was really protective of his siblings and was the calmer boy of the group. However, he was also the dreamers of the group and sometimes, we could see him with his 'head in the clouds'. His control over air and magic were also impressive. One day, he used his powers to fly ! He even became untouchable !
Because of this, his parents gave him the title of God of Air and Wind.
As the two disappeared out of sight, Thanatos looked at Blanche who both shared a smile before kissing one another.
"Maybe we should go after them don't you think love ?~" the embodiment of Death asked his wife tenderly.
"We should handsome~" the White Wolf Faunus cooed back with a warm smile before the two of them re-entered their home.
Let's hope those little rascals leave them some cake !
(The end)