Red like Roses

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Kingdom Hearts, or the characters associated with them as they are the property of Monty Oum, Rooster Teeth, Tetsuya Nomura, and Square Enix in respect to who they are associated with.

"Talking"

Thoughts

Ch. 11

Weiss, Blake, and Yang were watching their leader running around as they couldn't understand what she was up too.

"Hey uhh Ruby, what are you doing?" the fiery blond asked.

"Getting ready for the Vytal festival tournament".

"OK" Weiss slurred. "But why do you need all that for?" pointing out all the random items little red seemed to have been gathering.

"Because I'm going to need it".

"Really?" Blake then questioned. "And how's that?"

"Because we are going on a training trip!" Ruby shouted out excitedly.

"A training trip?" Yang said quizzically. "Aren't we getting close to the tournament already? What's the point in trying to squeeze in anymore training right now? We should be relaxing".

"I promise it's going to be worth are while!"

Looking between each other, the girls decided to roll with it since their leader insisted on it.

"OK, so are we going to need anything?" Weiss asked.

"Everything" said Ruby. "We are going to need a lot of stuff for this trip as where we are going might get a little complicated".

Not sure what she meant they shrugged. Since Ruby didn't want to elaborate where they were going, they just got whatever they thought they would need.

With little red busy with what they assumed would be their traveling arrangements, that left the rest of the team to go to town for other purchases.

"Better make sure you're well prepared" Ruby called out. "Where we are going might get a little dangerous".

Unnerved by that little detail, Ruby had a bit of a bad knack of understatements. Thus, if she said it was dangerous then it's something not to be underestimated.

Though Weiss and Ruby had a good variety of support magic it was also good to stock up supplies in case of emergencies. Purchasing some food related items, hygiene products, and other gear for travel they were all then stored within Blake's shadow.

As they were going to be leaving Beacon tomorrow, they needed to think up any last-minute things they want to do to prepare themselves for whatever training from hell Ruby had planned for them.

Splitting off, they all had an idea what they wanted to do.

~ Beacon (training grounds) ~

Blake had quite a handful of semblances she was interested in learning.

But with limited time and not knowing what she was compatible with, she just had to go with what she could acquire for the time being.

Catching up with team CFVY, she had decided to spend the day hanging around Velvet. Her semblance of muscle mimicry would certainly help her in the long run cut down on training time when it came to techniques or certain skills.

After a bit of talking, they found themselves in the training areas as Velvet requested that she wanted to take many pictures of her.

"But why?" Blake asked curiously.

"Just a hobby of mine" Velvet smiled as she pulled out her camera.

"Anything in particular?"

"Actually yes" as the rabbit eared fanus waved over her teammates. "Just have a light spar with them so I can take pictures of you in action".

Doing just that Blake went head to head against Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi. She could see why they were second year students as they were quite skilled in their own specialties.

Fox was the scout/ranger. He was good at hitting hard and fast before you even knew he was there.

Yatsuhashi was the tanker who can take hits and give them back just as hard.

Lastly was Coco who was able to double as both a rear support and heavy assault.

Needing to adjust her tactics in her bout with each of them, Velvet eagerly took many pictures each time her keyblade changed forms.

By the end of their match, it was quite fruitful as she was able to learn a lot from them. But even more then that she was able to acquire Velvet's semblance.

As for the rabbit eared fanus, she was delighted as she couldn't wait to develop these images.

~ Beacon academy ~

Elsewhere Weiss was sitting next to a waterfall as she was in quiet meditation.

To strengthen her magic she needed to balance both her mind and spirit.

That in turn would maximize her overall efficiency.

Taking soft controlled breaths, her keyblade materialized as it floated in front of her as it started to orbit. Through this breathing exercise she discovered she could spread her power outwards before drawing it back into herself which increased her magic reserves and rejuvenation. Kind of like training weights for magic.

However, this type of practice only worked when she was completely focused and thus why she was out here alone.

According to Ruby, her magic would become better than hers if she kept this up. But seeing some of the things her leader was able to do it was going to be some time till then.

Once an hour had passed there was something she wanted to try. Learning what keychains were able to do, it opened up new possibilities.

One example was Jaune's keychain. Like the guy in question, her key transformed into something rather plain looking. But that only hid its real potential. It took a while to understand since Jaune himself didn't even know what his semblance was. But apparently his ability was amplification.

She didn't quite know how much her magic increased. Yet she was easily using two to three times more power then her usual output. However, it did come at an obvious cost. She may have an easier time casting more powerful spells but it was still based on basic universal principle as she couldn't use more energy then she had. But it was good to have in the event she needed the extra fire power.

Then taking Winter's keychain, she did wonder what it would do if she equipped it. Since the glyph semblance was a family trait, all Schnee members shared the same ability. Hence in hindsight nothing might even happen.

Upon attaching it, her key became a much fancier form of Myrtenaster.

Swinging her blade and using her magic, there didn't seem to be any obvious differences then her base form.

But there was one skill she didn't try yet which was the signature ability of the glyph semblance.

Creating a few grimm, nothing seemed to have been different. But when it came to keyblades you needed to think bigger.

After a few experiments she finally understood what Winter's keychain did. It drastically expanded her summoning power as she was able to call even bigger and stronger creatures.

"Hmm, I think I'll call it grand summoning".

~ Vale ~

There wasn't any semblance ability Yang was interested in nor any skills she had any wish to learn.

Unlike her sister who was an all-rounder Weiss, Blake, and herself had a more focused path.

Weiss concentrated all her efforts into her magic.

Blake fit more of a role of scout or ranger.

While she herself preferred the role of tank. She didn't care for anything like delicacy or finesse. Just her proud fists were all she needed as she dedicated all her efforts into her physical parameters while her magic was more for support.

A part of her training was constantly testing just how far her fists could reach. The best way to test that limit was by fighting an opponent that can only be characterized as a monster.

Taking her speeder out to the distant borders of Vale, she looked for the biggest nastiest grimm she could test her fists against.

The lower tier grimm such as the beowolves, ursai, and boarbatusks were of no challenge to her anymore.

The higher tier ones like nevermores and deathstalkers definitely took some work to put down.

Geist type grimm varied depending on environments.

Then there were the special kinds that had evolved in peculiar ways that made even seasoned and veteran hunters and huntresses want to avoid them if they could. As confident as she was, she would dare not fight one alone without back up in the event things went sideways.

For what she decided to hunt today was a grimm simply known as goliath.

An ancient monster similar in shape to an elephant who was not only known for their strength but also for their heightened intelligence. For as long as the kingdoms have known, they have always traveled in packs just on the very border. No one really knew why. But as some had speculated, they seemed to have been waiting for something.

Hanging in the skies as she stood on her speeder, Yang looked down to the goliath herd as she took steady breaths. In battle there were no such things as absolute certainty as one mistake was all the difference in a fight.

However, that tingling sensation of fear before a battle only fed her excitement. Win? Lose? Life? Death? There was no telling what could happen. But there was only one real way to find out.

Diving off her speeder, her keyblade returned to her hands. Forming fire magic around herself, she hit the ground like a meteor instantly destroying two goliaths creating an impact crater in the ground.

"Let's get this party started shall we" Yang smirked.

Reacting to their attacker, one of the goliath's charged at her.

Grabbing it by the tusks, there was a clear difference in strength as she was being pushed back. Even anchoring her feet into the ground, the rock and dirt split apart. With one swipe of its trunk Yang went flying hitting the ground a few feet away.

The goliaths then coordinated their attacks as whoever was closest would go for the next hit.

Against the sheer size and strength difference, Yang was being rag dolled as she didn't have time to put up an appropriate counter. Being stomped into the ground, what looked like the biggest of them wanted to deal the finishing blow. As its massive foot came towering down Yang simply raised her hand up catching the attack.

A move that even surprised the goliath as it's opponent while holding it back just stood up and dusted off her clothes.

"My turn" said Yang as she clenched her right hand into a fist. Throwing her punch, the moment her fist connected all that kinetic force was transmitted within the grimm rippling at first before it exploded its entire body into shadowy mist.

Seeing what happened to one of their own, the other goliaths were completely on guard.

As much as the fiery blond could have toyed with them, she had other things to do that day. So, increasing her attack power even further her keyblade underwent a form change. Becoming mechanical looking gauntlets around her fists, her striking power became even more devastating.

For what seemed to be about an hour later, the entire topography was devastated.

All the goliaths were destroyed as the land was littered with craters and fissures from the rampage of one huntress.

Sitting on a boulder resting from the intense battle from moments before, Yang directed her attention to the blue skies above. Reaching out her hand as if grasping for something she wondered just how far she could go.

~ Beacon academy ~

"You guys ready?!" Ruby asked cheerfully.

"So where are we going exactly?" then asked Weiss.

"To another world! We're going to another world!"

"Pardon?" as Blake thought she might have heard wrong.

"Just watch" as Ruby closed her eyes as she held out Crescent Rose. From the tip a very bright light began to shine as a beam then fired out only for a portal to appear right in front of them.

Seeing this magic happen right before their eyes, the other girls were stunned as they weren't sure how to react.

"Ruby . . . ." as Yang was the first to react. "What is this exactly?" as she approached the portal scanning it carefully.

"A pathway to another world" Ruby smiled.

"Hold on! Time out! Dial it back!" Weiss stepped in. "What do you mean another world? How is that even possible?"

"That's a bit of a long and complicated story. It will take a while to explain it all from the beginning" as little red gave a strained chuckle.

"How long have you known about this?" as Yang couldn't peel her eyes away from the portal.

"It's a little hard to say. It's something I kind of knew and kind of didn't at the same time".

Understanding the incident with the ancient keyblade, it was best to leave it as is.

"Just beyond there is another world . . . ." said Blake breathlessly.

"Lots of worlds out there with many different types of people" as Ruby couldn't help but give a warm smile. "You'll never know who you'll run into next".

"This is quite a big thing to drop on top of us don't you think?" Weiss questioned. Although she had a lot of things she wanted to ask, she ended up keeping it simple as she would have exploded from anxiousness. "Couldn't we have gone to somewhere simple instead of an entirely different world?!"

"Well truthfully I consider this more of a work vacation after everything that happened recently. Besides this way we can get more training in since time works differently between worlds. For a moment here could easily be hours, days, months, or even years elsewhere!"

"Ruby . . . . Don't you think we should discuss this?" Yang then asked as surprisingly she was being the voice of reason.

Looking to her friends and teammates she extended her hand out as she smiled to them. "It's going to be alright. And don't worry, I'll get us back here before 'this day' is even over".

As the girls looked to each other they then looked back to their leader as they nodded.

Taking each other's hands, little did they know they were about to take their first step into a grand adventure.

To be continued . . . .

Author's notes: I was debating with myself on which arc I should follow. One where they go traveling for a bit or the other of them finishing the Vytal festival arc. But in the end I decided that there was something I needed team RWBY to retrieve before the showdown. Aside from that I hope this chapter was OK and onto some commentary.

From all the known semblances, I believe Velvet's ability would definitely fit Blake well as that was how her class was defined. So as a scout/ranger/ninja/spy, muscle mimicry is a neat trick to have. There was illusion. But that will have to be attained another way.

The concept of magic in lore has never been discussed in detail in RWBY, FF, or kingdom hearts. So I just took a bit from here and there. With Weiss's combat style, it was best to just keep her primarily on a magic build. Now as far as they keychains are concerned, Jaune's would certainly have an amplification effect. But for Winter, I was honestly debating what would happen if you stacked two identical semblances with each other. Obvious answer, it would multiply. The one thing the glyph semblance is known for was creating those light grimm. So, conclusion she can summon some interesting things now.

Kinectic/energy absorption is a seriously broken ability. Thus Yang is a terrible opponent to fight in a head to head battle. Although this ability is a damn good defense, it's not perfect as noted in future chapters.

Concerning goliath class grimm, we don't know much about them as the only things we know is that they are one of the oldest grimm around, they are very intelligent, and assumingly quite strong as well. Other species of grimm as are still up in the air. But like the grimm that destroyed Lie Ren and Nora home village, there are special ones. How they are created, no one knows. So, we got to wait till more information on that is revealed. Though Salem was shown to be able to manipulate their forms it not certain if it requires a third party for them to become something very different.

Now this is where the timeline gets really weird and I start to question a lot of the once established ideas.

Time line wise, Daybreak town is where the five unions were and also the spark of the keyblade war. Then we have master Eraqus and the land of departure along with his disciples who are after the war. But rewind back to when Eraqus and Xehanort were kids, they used to live in Scala Ad Caelum which was in a way the homeworld of the keyblade wielders which I assume was built on top of the ruins of daybreak town. It's never clarified how much time had passed between them. But I would easily assume decades to centuries. However when it comes to different worlds, time definitely doesn't seem to work the same.

Travel wise, you would usually need a gummi ship, keyblade glider, a corridor of darkness, or a door of light to get around. But you see in KHUX, characters just opening doors with their keyblades to get around. But for the sake of the next few chapters I'll just use how the characters from KHUX gets around.

Speaking of worlds, so far, I only have two I absolutely want them to go too. I'm only doing five worlds before they return back to Remnant. So, if you like to suggest three more worlds then I am all ears.

If there are any questions or concerns feel free to ask as I'll try to answer them.

So thank you for reading as I would further my gratitude if you can review as well.