More delays, even worse heckling, and lousy lousy abuse reporting are only some of the bullshit I've had to deal with
Disclaimer: RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, Kingdom Hearts to Square-Enix, Bálor to me.
Sora had fought a lot of strange creatures in his journey: Giant behemoth Heartless, a sorceress that became a dragon, demented villains that had various other forms, whatever the heck Pete was..So the rampaging snake Grimm heading toward him weren't exactly something to be too startled at, but the fact that they started making a beeline for Zwei was something that kept the Keybearer on his toes.
"Zwei!" Sora would take off like a speeding bullet to scoop up the Corgi before he could be eaten up like a bite-sized snack, leaping away just in time to avoid the hail of bullets from Coco's minigun which derailed the King Taijutu's momentum as the others began springing into action and fighting one of their own. "Thank goodness I managed to keep you safe, Ruby would've killed me if you had gotten hurt." The corgi would look up at his spiky-haired guardian before barking loudly as another snake burst out of the ground and prepared to devour the duo, only for the Keybearer to leap back and use Reflect to keep from being turned into dinner. "It's been a while since I had to use that spell, or any spell in general. Geez, all that training in the Sleeping Worlds has really changed my fighting style." He would sigh before letting Zwei down onto the ground before summoning his Keyblade and charging into the fray of battle, unaware that the Corgi was bravely following in behind him.
Emerald hated that she was forced to be playing the good guy, oh how she loathed it! Almost as much as she hated partnering with that smug asshole Mercury, but an order from her mistress was absolute and she wouldn't dare defy her. But that didn't mean she wouldn't vent her frustration upon the enemies before moving forward and making sure that their plan moved along without any further issue.
"Goddamned idiots! I can't believe we have to waste our time rescuing some hapless moron!" She would be ranting to herself as she cut through a King Taijutu's belly before decapitating the beast before sparing a glance around the battlefield: Blake had been quick to dispatch the Taijutu in her path before leaping in to help Coco, who had been slowly whittling away at the snake-like Grimm with her minigun. Sora and Zwei on the other hand were having a touch more trouble with their opponents as the azure-eyed young man seemed to be having more difficulty, the Key-using young man was doing his best to hold off the Grimm while trying to protect his furry companion. "Oh for crying out loud!" The verdant-haired thief would snarl as she switched her weapons from their sickle form to pistols as she aimed for one of the creatures eyes, grinning as the Grimm bellowed out in anger and pain as Sora noticed the opening and dispatched the beast before channeling his inner-light and transforming his Keyblade into a Naginata-type weapon and stabbing the snake in its belly.
"Thanks for the help, it was getting a little ugly back there." He would give her a big exuberant smile before the Naginata disappeared from its spot in a flash of light before reappearing in his hands as the good old Kingdom Key. "It's Emerald right? You're a good fighter, I don't understand why you don't do more in the sparring sessions."
This would pique the young woman's interest as she raised an eyebrow, it was rare for her to receive some kind of compliment without Mercury throwing in a quick jab at how she "wanted" him, or being followed up by an icy threat courtesy of Cinder who would then follow that up with more loving words. "I just try not to show off too much, it's just about getting in and getting the job done like a real professional would." She would give him a very muted smile before holstering her weapons and moving forward and following the rest of the group who were already resuming their hike, Zwei would trot back over to Sora and sniff the ground around them curiously. It had been a while since the little dog had been outside of Beacon's walls, not since Team RWBY's excursion to Mountain Glenn some time ago where they had been assigned to find any signs of the White Fang who were rumored to be operating out of the area.
"Oh! That's right, I should give you something to help you follow his scent!" The Keybearer would pull out a scrap of clothing that Ruby had decided to give him before leaving and kneel down, letting the Corgi absorb the scent of Ruby's missing companion before Zwei would bark suddenly and begin following a trail that only he could follow.
C'mon everyone, I think we've finally got a lead!" The spiky-haired young man would begin chasing after the small dog, the others keeping a steady pace behind him as Emerald took up the rear of their little group.
"It's just one Faunus, why is Ozpin so gung-ho on having this guy brought back in one piece anyway? Is Cinder going to use him as some kind of leverage?" Emerald would keep walking while mulling over how strange this mission was beginning to get, with Sora and Coco being the only ones who were keeping their heads on straight. Their raven-haired leader had been coldly silent following her little freakout aboard the Bullhead, focused on the path ahead of her and seemingly nothing else judging by how quickly she had dispatched the King Taijutu targeting her. As for the dog, Emerald wasn't exactly sure if dogs could really think much outside of "Food." and "Entertain me dammit!", but it didn't matter to the dark-skinned thief as she kept her ears open for any sign of the Grimm.
"Just get the job done, get in and get out…just like a pro."
Back at Beacon Academy's amphitheater, Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc would be sparring on the dais, the two of them had managed to sneak into the place after hours as Goodwitch and Ozpin had been busy dealing with matters known only to themselves, and the other teams had kept themselves preoccupied with other projects. (Ruby finishing the final touches on the Plushie Club, Yang further modifying her bike to further withstand the intensity of future inventions, and Ren trying to create the world's biggest pancake without Nora trying to devour it.) so the duo thought of heading down and trying to relieve some stress and hash things out the old fashioned way.
"You've really improved on the basics Jaune, your stance and form have definitely gotten more solid." The spear maiden would smile proudly as her partner would parry her overhead strike with his shield, so far she had been playing soft and giving him the easiest of strikes in order to give themselves time to converse without having to worry about accidentally injuring one another. "You've definitely been training more often, perhaps with a certain cookie loving girl that we both know?" Pyrrha's emerald eyes would twinkle mischievously as she saw a dusting of red paint his boyish cheeks as he went in for a backhanded strike, only to have it deflected by her own shield. "I'll take that as a yes Mister Arc." She would feel a slight twinge of jealousy at his reaction towards mentioning Ruby, it was no small secret to the majority of the student body that she had held a small romantic candle for the fair-haired knight for much of their time at the academy, even Sora who was blatantly new and sometimes proven to be not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it came to most things Remnant had deduced that there was something special between JNPR's ace and the man who was called Jaune.
"Yeah..I guess I have been spending a little more time with Ruby lately, but can you blame me? With her usual goombah gone, I'm the go-to guy for anything extracurricular." He would sigh as he pictured his red-hooded friend no doubt hard at work putting her friend's prize plushies onto a special shelf she had designed herself. "It's not my fault that I know how to sew, growing up with seven sisters tends to do that to you." Jaune would feel himself getting frustrated with the fact that his cheeks were warming at the thought of spending more time with the crimsonette, wondering just what the heck was going on with his head. Ruby and himself were just friends, ever since their first day at Beacon they had held a kind of camaraderie that was usually seen in childhood pals, the two of them had both been named leader of their respective teams, and at times were often seen in each other's company at social gatherings. But the feelings between them were usually non- romantic and generally friendly towards one another.
At least until lately it seemed.
"Hello, Remnant to Jaune. Are you still here with me oh fearless leader?" Pyrrha recognized the somewhat harsh tone her voice had taken on, she had held some contempt for him back in their earlier days as a team. He had recently taken to hanging out with Cardin Winchester and his team seemingly out of the blue, despite the fact that the four individuals in question were well known bullies to other smaller freshman, as well as some of the Faunus students. It wasn't until a few days later following an incident involving an Ursa in Forever Fall that Jaune would come clean about the true circumstances behind their partnership came to light, the fair-haired knight had made it into Beacon Academy off the back of falsified transcripts (a detail which she was already well aware.) and Cardin had managed to overhear this and turn it to his advantage for a time. "You seem very distracted since I started bringing up Ruby, is there something you want to talk about?" The taller redhead would frown as she noticed her teammate's crestfallen expression before sheathing her weapon and sitting down at the edge of the dais, quietly patting the spot next to her. "It's no good practicing if your heart's not in it, besides I know that this is troubling you on some level."
Jaune would sigh quietly before sheathing Corcea Mors and settling down beside her, his own blue eyes staring down at his sneakers as he was lost in thought.
"I just feel like things are changing between me and Ruby lately, it's just that the more time we spend together and I get to know more about her that it's all starting to feel more intense." He would look to his partner for some kind of advice, only to receive a furrowed brow of confusion in reply as he struggled to find the words to properly explain the situation to her. "It's nothing physical so you don't have to worry about anything scandalous. But whenever we're together, I just..it feels like my heart is at peace. Like I can tell Ruby anything and she won't judge me, it's more like she'd either talk me down from the ledge or push me to go further." The fair-haired young knight would smile wistfully as he recalled the conversations the two of them had together, laughing and bonding as the two of them carefully repaired the Zwei-related damages to the missing wolf Faunus's plushies. Sometimes their hands would touch one another and he swore that there had been a brief charge between the pair.
"It's just static electricity silly, it's not like the universe is telling us that we're clearly meant to be or something." He knew that she had meant it to be dismissive of what he had inferred to the red-hooded young woman, but she hadn't been quick enough to hide the reddening of her cheeks as he looked her way.
"I know it's stupid to think that a bit of static electricity is a sign from whatever the heck's watching over us, but there are other things that make me wonder: The way my stomach seems to fill with butterflies whenever we're in that room, the way her face seems to light up whenever we see each other, it's just..I never imagined myself falling in love-"
Pyrrha had finally heard enough at that point, deciding to hop down from the dais and quickly make for the exit much to her partner's surprise. "I don't understand, I've been beside Jaune for as long as she has..I've been with him through the thick of battle and the trickiest of exams." She would quickly open and shut the door of the amphitheatre behind her even as Jaune called out to her once more, his voice filled with confusion and hurt at her sudden exit. "Were my intentions not clear? Should I have been more direct and outgoing like she is?" Rejection was very much a new feeling for Beacon's Maiden of Victory, even though her partner didn't explicitly imply that he preferred Ruby's company over her own. The very words that he had decided to use in that instant seemed to paint a very clear picture for the redhead, and it was one that she seemed unwilling to accept as she strode through the empty halls of Beacon, stopping as she saw the silver-eyed girl in question leaving the dorm room she was currently sharing with both her missing companion as well as the spiky-haired newcomer named Sora. "Why, what makes you so special to them that they flock to you like bees to a fragrant aroma?" Fueled by a growing jealousy towards her partner's recently revealed feelings toward the crimsonette and would begin making her way over to the younger Huntress, stopping once she heard the reaper praying in whispers as she gently ran her fingers over the strange wolf illustration etched beside the dorm room door.
"Please be okay..it's been lonely without you here to talk with, I'm doing my best to hold down the fort and try and keep things just the way you had it before you left but.." The crimsonette would chuckle quietly to herself as she shook her head, almost as if her missing friend were listening to her words. "We've got another roommate buddy, and we're gonna have to start moving things around again when you finally come home. I can already see that scowl on your face, you know that Ozpin was eventually gonna make you get a roomie..I guess that's why what we have counts as practice, even though I know how comfortable you are with it."
Pyrrha would stay quiet as she continued to eavesdrop on her younger friend as she continued to converse with the illustration, remembering that she was somewhat younger than most of the student body in question. Even her own roommate was a year older than her, although it never seemed to hinder what she wanted to do in life and instead seemed to push her further and make her do better. Much like Jaune had mentioned to her moments earlier.
"I know that it's stupid for me to keep doing this every night, but I feel like you can hear me..like you're still here with me even though I know that things are bad, and you're probably scared, or angry, or hurt..and I'm angry that I can't be there to help you!" The hand that had been hanging loosely at the younger woman's side would curl into a fist and start pounding at the wall in frustration, tears trickling from her eyes as she recalled part of an earlier conversation with Blake as she had lobbied to join the ragtag group upon their rescue mission.
"if anything were to happen to you during the mission and you were to get hurt..Yang would never forgive me, and heaven help us all if he were to find out that you suffered due to his own screw-up." Deep down she knew that her feline teammate was correct, it honestly wasn't a question of her age or even her experience battling both the Grimm and the White Fang. Ozpin had apparently elected to choose this particular team of individuals for their abilities, knowledge of the enemy in question, or some combination of the two. The headmaster certainly wasn't the kind of man to toss a cluster of individual names in a hat and pick five at random, the man was methodical in every move he made.
Including allowing her to join the ranks of Beacon Academy two years before she was technically supposed to.
But this knowledge would do little to assuage the pain that her young heart was forced to endure as of late, her friends were out on a dangerous mission in enemy controlled territory to rescue another that had been captured.
It was then that Pyrrha decided to step out of the corner she had been hiding in and approach her grieving friend, gently laying a hand upon the younger girl's shoulder and spooking her out of her silent reverie as her emerald eyes met Ruby's silver ones.
"Pyrrha! What are you doing here, and how long were you listening?" The younger Huntress would blush slightly as the taller woman simply smiled in response to her question.
"Long enough to know that you're worried about your friend, someone you clearly love by what I managed to overhear." Whatever jealousy she had been experiencing beforehand had been left by the way side, it was clear that while her own partner was becoming infatuated with the young reaper due to the time they spent in closed quarters. Ruby clearly had her eyes set on the lone wolf who had taken up residence in the free dorm, and judging by how often she had seen the pair of them together in-between classes that the feeling was indeed mutual on Bálor's end as well. "He's going to be alright Ruby, he has friends out there searching for him, as well as those back here who clearly believe in the fact that he will return to them. Never let go of such faith, it's what keeps us all connected to one another no matter how far apart we may be. As long as we hold onto that belief in our hearts, we're never truly separated." The red-headed spear maiden would sigh quietly as a smile adorned her face, only to be met with a childish giggle from her younger counterpart.
"You've definitely been hanging around Sora haven't you, that sounds a lot like something he would say in this situation. Stuff about connections, and hearts." Ruby would smile to herself as she imagined the azure-eyed young man giving that same speech before following it up with a goofy smile, she wondered if the friends he'd left behind missed that smile and were holding onto that same faith Pyrrha spoke of. "Ya know, if I didn't know any better I swear you were starting to develop some kind of thing for our new friend." She would giggle even as Pyrrha's face began to redden at the thought of anything serious happening between the two of them, but she would smile nonetheless as her friend's cheery disposition had finally returned. Her happiness acting like a guiding star to her friends in need, even those lost in the darkness.
Lea would grumble quietly as he carefully moved his motorcycle Ifrit back into its hiding place outside of Yen Sid's tower, even though it was against his training to leave the tower. He needed some sort of freedom from Yen Sid's overwhelming presence and often went out into the worlds with his bike, and his run in with the blonde had definitely piqued his interest. "That girl had some kind of fire to her, kind of wish that I had had more time with her..at least without all the punching and strange diatribes." Still, he had to admit that she definitely had the kind of personality that he found amusing.
"There you are!" The warbled voice belonging to King Mickey's royal magician would jostle him out of whatever fantasy Lea was having, even as he whirled around to stare into the angry scowl of one Donald Duck. "We've been searching all over the castle for you mister!" He would quickly grab the startled redhead by his forearm before marching the wayward keybearer back inside the tower, despite the man's rushed attempt to explain where he had been.
As much as I'd love to rant on the amount of slander flung toward my recent stories, I'll let my stories speak for themselves. Trolls will be trolls, and the FNDM and I will continue to be at odds.
In the words of Eli Drake: That, is just a fact of life!