AN:
To Sethman610: I forgot to answer this question last chapter. I don't have any plans for Keyblades showing up in Weiss, Blake, or Yang's hands, but once Sora meets up with them all and has the time, he'll make Wayfinders for them.
To Kingofclubs8129: Thanks. The wait is over!
To Guest: Yeah, I know the Sora and Blake convo was not long enough, but there should be more once things calm down again. As for the wait for the new game, damn it feels like it's been a thousand years already. And they just keep pushing it back... Ugh! I hope it actually gets released on its next expected date.
To gamelover41592: Thanks. I love Zwei, too!
To warrior of six blades: Yeah, Jaune's pretty misguided right now, but he'll get snapped out of it eventually. That said, he's not all the way gone even now. Morrigan's life hasn't played out yet; she's still got a lot of mileage left, but so does Yang of course. I'm glad you like the parts with Skye and Oz; I love trying to figure out ways for these two universe's pasts to click.
Chapter 29: Emotional Flux
Blake was incredibly nervous, for many, many reasons. Not the least of which was learning that Cinder and her boss were apparently only a single murder away from destroying the world. Of course, then there was also the fact that Neo was still at large and Adam was no doubt still looking for her, which would be much easier now that she was with Sora and Ozpin on their adventure to save the world. And then there was the big one – Yang. Sun saw how she was starting to get nervous and shook her softly by the shoulders. She looked over and he gave her a cocky smile that said everything would be alright. It calmed her nerves a little. And she smiled back. "This is Yang we're talking about, Blake," the monkey Faunus said. He elbowed her lightly and grinned. "She'll probably make fun of you before anything else." The Faunus lit up. "Speaking of! Neptune! Guys – can we play the video Yang sent... in front of him?"
"No," Ozpin muttered as he prepared the large Scroll for their video conference.
"Please?" Sun begged the ancient wizard. "Bright spot in dark times!"
Ozpin glared at the young man over his glasses. "Or not," Sun muttered in a defeated tone. He grimaced nervously and scratched the back of his head. "So, uh... Sora! You excited to see Ruby again?"
The blue eyed boy smiled dreamily at that. "Yep. We haven't spoken all that much, even since I've woken up, so a longer conversation will be great," he said excitedly.
"Whoa there, Tiger," Nora snorted. She giggled and punched Sora in the arm. "Take it easy."
"Ha ha," Sora muttered painfully. He rubbed his shoulder to calm the blooming bruise he had just received from the berserker before he broke out into actual laughter.
"And we should focus first on the issues that have arisen recently," Ozpin explained. He walked over to the couch and sat down next to the others.
"I know a lot of bad stuff is happening, Oz, but that's exactly why we're so excited to see everybody!" Sora exclaimed.
"Banzai," Blake agreed, her voice sounding excited despite remaining in its monotone.
"Indeed," Ren said with a nod.
"Yay!" Nora shouted, standing up suddenly and drawing her hammer. Everything flew away, including the Scroll. Ozpin glared at the young woman, who had yet to return her weapon to her back and was now skipping around the room.
"Well... maybe we shouldn't be that excited," Sun pointed out as Nora's hammer approached a load bearing pillar of the building.
Ozpin dashed into the weapon's path and grabbed hold of the handle. "Miss Valkyrie, please," he grunted. The red head just shrugged and put her weapon away before skipping happily over to where she had been sitting with Ren's arm around her shoulders.
"Now, if we aren't going to have any more outbursts," Ozpin said while giving Nora a pointed glare. She pointed at herself in mock innocence and Ren snickered with her. The former Headmaster rolled his eyes and and placed the Scroll back where it belonged. "Now, the call should connect any -"
"Okay, so how do I get video?" Qrow grumbled. There was a voice in the background. "Well, sorry that not all of us have used the brand new Scrolls only a Schnee can afford, Ice Queen! Really?! Why you – Hey!" There was another moment of darkness before an annoyed woman with white hair and blue eyes appeared. She looked over her shoulder at Qrow. "Yeah, well... Shut up."
"Hey, Qrow!" Sora shouted, waving at the veteran Huntsman. "I see you've finally stopped denying your feelings?"
"About?" Qrow threatened with a murderous gleam in his eyes.
Sora was saved from having to respond by the sudden emergence of a ball of red. "Sora!"
"Ruby!" Sora shouted back.
"Neptune!"
"Sun!"
"Nora!" Nora shouted, causing everyone else to nearly fall to their faces from sheer confusion, even Ren.
The entire time this was going on, Blake and one other person had remained rather quiet. "Yang..." the cat Faunus mumbled quietly. Everyone else immediately quieted down on both sides of the screen and glanced nervously between the two members of Team RWBY. Save for Ozpin, of course. He was tapping his fingers against the head of his cane, waiting for this to be over so he could talk about something more pressing.
The blonde crossed her arms and leaned back into the white leather couch she was sitting on. Her right hand immediately caught attention as it was a bright yellow and far bulkier than her left. Whereas everyone else held in their comments about how cool the prosthetic limb looked or how tough the bombshell looked with the spiked knuckle plates, Blake was stuck remembering Adam slashing effortlessly through the blonde's substantial Aura and cleanly slicing off her arm. Blake suddenly had a very powerful urge to run away, as was habit for the young woman, but stopped when she felt light pressure on her right hand. Sun was holding tight and smiled supportively.
Blake took a deep breath and looked over at her former partner. "I... I'm – How are you Yang?"
The blond's face contorted to a snarl and she pointed one robotic finger at Blake, causing the Faunus to sink into the black couch she was sitting on. "Blake..."
"Yang, I'm so –" the girl whimpered in response.
"How dare you?!" Yang snapped.
"Yang, uh, I thought you were -" Ruby tried to cut in, only for Yang to cover her younger sister's mouth with her free hand.
"How dare you do this to me!?" she yelled. It was then that Sora saw the nearly invisible sparkle in the blonde's eyes. He looked down to hide his grin at what was about to happen.
"I'm sorry, I was just scared -"
"You are not the blonde of this team, Blake!" Yang snapped, breaking off the Faunus' response. "I understand trying to look as good as me, but you can't just steal someone's style, dammit!"
"W-what?" Blake inquired softly.
Yang's angry glare slowly shifted to a smile. "Come on, how could I stay angry with my best friend, you idiot?" the blonde asked mockingly. She gave a robotic thumbs up to her friend. "Besides, now I've got this awesome robot puncher! If you want to blame yourself, just know everything came out better than before."
Blake stared at her partner before bursting out into quiet, subdued laughter. "I think it's called a fist, not a 'puncher,' but I'm glad you like it," she responded between laughs. She brought one hand up to scratch her face and hide the tears of happiness that were starting to well up in her eyes. She wiped them off as discreetly as possible, then smiled back at the screen.
"Can you believe it!? Team RWBY, back together again!" Ruby shouted. She brought her fists near her chest and bent over a little, squealing like an overly excited little girl in a candy store. "Well, not together like normal, like all in the same place together, but together in like the way we're all on a Team again kicking butt and taking names! YAAAAAAAY!" Sora laughed. He didn't think he'd ever seen Ruby this excited.
"Yes, and while we are all quite happy, it's we convened to share what intelligence and resources we have managed to gather over the past month," Ozpin cut in before anyone else could begin to get excited. "I promise, you can enjoy time together once we have discussed what we need to."
"I-E... Business before -" Qrow was cut off by a stern glare from Winter. He shrugged and looked back at the screen. "Pleasure."
Winter groaned for a moment. "Sadly, he is correct. We need to talk about DISC and my f-"
"And Penny!" Ruby interjected.
Qrow sighed. "That's not possible, Ruby," he said apologetically. "Even if it's... the same project, it'd be someone else at best something else at worst."
"No. You're wrong," Ruby huffed. She crossed her arms and let her pupils drift to the right side of her eyes.
"Wait, where did you see this?" Ozpin asked.
Qrow ran a hand through his hair and moved to answer. Winter cut him off however. "That is the more pressing matter," the platinum blonde explained. She uncrossed and recrossed her legs again before clasping her hands on her knees. "BF-0705. Blue Fairy research code 0-7-0-5 on the bottom level of the complex, if Ruby is correct."
"I am right," Ruby grumbled, insulted at the mere concept that she didn't know what she was doing.
Winter continued as if no one had said anything at all. "And this placement in the deepest depths of a facility which even the General had no clearance to enter, along with it being guarded by -"
"By Penny!" Ruby shouted in the background.
"- this android... Blue Fairy is what designed DISC, and my father is in control of the organization. 0705 or 0706 must be where DISC is housed."
Sora looked past Winter at Ruby, who was dying to scream 'AND PENNY!' one more time.
"Well, I suppose this could be passed off as good news," Ozpin muttered, also sweeping Ruby's shouting to the side for the time being. Once their more pressing concerns were done with he would take a look at this to help her. "Until now no one I could trust had the slightest idea as to Blue Fairy's current location. And this confirms that DISC's deployment is an inevitability."
"Why would you say that, Oz?" Sora inquired. Qrow raised an eyebrow at how informal the young man was being with Ozpin, but noticed that the old warrior didn't say anything about it. That meant he considered the kid his equal.
"Because, Sora," Ozpin began, confirming Qrow's suspicions. He didn't really think he had anything else to teach the kid if he ever called him by his first name. "Even if the weapon is not deployed now, the technology exists and that guarantees its use eventually. True, it could be used for good, even in battle. But Miss Schnee's father is an easily excited individual. If he has a weapon, it is because he will use it."
"Unfortunately, that is quite the apt description of my father," Winter muttered angrily. She sighed. "If not used against Vale in an ill advised response to whatever this Salem is planning, DISC would only be used against another group who would not deserve such aggression."
Sora frowned at that. Even having known people like Xehanort or Salem, it was still hard to believe that people could do such bad things. Then again, Jaune and Riku were testaments to good people doing bad things, and Sora suddenly understood it a lot more. Even Ozpin had done something terrible once he'd been backed into the wall; Sora was starting to understand that much. "But how can we stop it?"
"For now? We try to do this the right way," Qrow explained. He shrugged. "The Vale Council sent someone to deal with DISC – Argent Arc."
"Jaune's dad!?" Sora, Ruby, and the remaining members of team JNPR shouted as one. Sora's hand immediately fell to Fenrir's hilt and his shoulders fell. He piped up before the others. "What did you tell him?"
"Nothing yet," Qrow explained with a disappointed shrug. "Thought it best we go over this first. Oz?"
"I believe in this matter, I will defer to our young allies, here," the ancient wizard said with a small smile. "They are Mister Arc's friends, and thus deserve to make this decision."
"We tell him," Ruby said, raising her fist in front of her.
"As soon as possible!" Sora agreed, doing the same.
Blake bit her lip. It was still hard to believe that Jaune would do something as drastic as try to help an evil sorceress destroy the world. Not because she didn't expect people to do that when angry, but because he wasn't like her. She had become a terrorist because of her family's deaths and to help the Fang, but she was... Darker than Jaune and the others. He'd always been goofy and kind, not angry and cruel. Maybe... Maybe his dad could help snap him back to reality. "Agreed," she muttered.
"This is the guy that told Jaune to make those cheesy jokes to girls? Can he be trusted?" Weiss joked. No one laughed. "I thought that one would at least get laughs!"
"Two syllables, Icy. Ti-ming," Yang chastised, shoving the heiress to the side before sticking her fist with a thumbs up towards the screen. "I'm fired up for this one! Eh?" She got less of a response than Weiss. "Fine... My vote is 'Tell him.' Jerks." Weiss just stuck her tongue out at the brawler.
"Wait, there's a different option than telling him?" Nora asked, causing all the other younger warriors to laugh in agreement. "No, really, there is?"
"She means to say, 'We're in,'" Ren said with a small grin on his face. She nodded and held her hand out like the others with Ren following suit.
"Well, when you put it that way, how could anyone disagree?" Sun asked, with he and Neptune following suit. "Maybe Jaune's dad can knock him out of this like water knocks out Neptune!"
Neptune glowered at his friend and, for once, decided to respond in kind. "Or how Neptune gets knocked out just by thinking about his 'Kitten.'"
The Faunus jolted and looked over nervously at Blake, who was glaring at him in a combination of her own embarrassment and anger. "Kitten?" she inquired.
"Uh... Uh..."
"So now that we know how to approach that issue, it's time we move on to the next," Ozpin cut in, saving Sun from having to answer. The warrior's face grew grim. "I assume Taiyang called you as well?"
"Yeah. I've been trying to get in touch with the Ledenica since I got here, but she isn't picking up my calls," he explained with a shrug. His cape rustled against the couch and he leaned forward. "I'll keep trying but..."
Weiss frowned and looked over at her sister. "Wouldn't General Ironwood know about this? Maybe where she is?"
The elder Schnee shook her head. "No. Save Qrow and Ozpin himself, no one knew the locations of the Maidens or their travel plans. We were aware one lived in Atlas, and assumed others were present in the other Kingdoms. To form a balance of power, as it were."
"Not far off, Ice Queen," Qrow grunted, none of his usual sarcasm present.
"So... We're really just at square one still? Nothing has changed?" Sora asked suddenly. Ozpin looked over, surprised that the young man would be that blunt and angry. It didn't seem normal. Sora sighed and crossed his arms while getting his 'deep thought' face on. "Look, I know we needed to talk about all this stuff, but we didn't actually solve anything. We don't know who to talk to about the Winter Maiden, and we don't know how to get to DISC and destroy it. We should focus on the problem we can learn more about, or at least we –" he gestured at himself and the other younger group of warriors. "– can learn more about. Penny, Morrigan, Neo, and the Heartless that are showing up now."
Ruby smiled appreciatively and nodded. "He's right," she said resolutely. She was happy Sora had believed it was Penny without a second thought. "Penny's our friend as much as Jaune, and she needs our help."
"And Sora said my mom is... there still. If I can take out Morrigan, and maybe find her Heartless, she could come back!" Yang said, a quiet smile on her face for once. "And then she could help us deal with all this other stuff!"
Ozpin hated to admit it, but the children were right. All they had done was make decisions thus far that amounted to little more than 'Keep doing what you are doing.' Perhaps approaching these smaller problems would allow them a way to examine the larger ones more closely. Penny especially, he realized. If she was down there – or whatever had become of her was – then it stood to reason that Doctor Polendina might have the answers. "You're right," Ozpin muttered.
"Don't think I've ever heard Oz say that to someone before," Qrow grunted.
Ozpin ignored the comment and turned to Winter. "Can you set up a meeting between Miss Rose and Doctor Polendina?" he asked the Specialist.
"Probably. Why?" she asked.
"Ruby said that he was Penny's 'Father,' yes?" he asked, turning to look at the young woman. She jolted upright from picking her nose and nodded at breakneck speeds. "Then it stands to reason he cares for her as a person, not just as a weapon or a guardian. What did she look like when you saw her, Miss Rose?"
"Er... no skin, not a lot of... her in her eyes. Just a robot, but it was Penny. I know it!" she affirmed resolutely.
"But Oz, we saw her..." Qrow trailed off for his niece's sake.
"I knew someone like Penny," Sora said suddenly. The others looked over in surprise, even Ozpin. He had known someone like a robot with a soul and a Heart? "His name was Pinocchio. He was a wooden puppet. He could... fall apart, I guess. But when he was put back together he was still himself. I'd bet Penny's the same."
"That settles it. Let's go make a house call!" Yang shouted, surging to her feet and knocking their Scroll down.
"Yang!" Qrow shouted, exasperated.
"Heh... Whoops!"
R W B Y
Qrow grimaced as he stood outside of Argent's hotel room, Ice Queen at his side. He had never been good at the whole 'giving bad news' kind of thing. Especially not to friends; Argent had been something of a mentor to him back in the Beacon days, something he'd never told anyone, even the rest of STRQ. Of course, it had been a bit of a quid pro quo type deal. Argent was terrible with the ladies, and Qrow had helped him out with that. Well, 'helped.' He'd ignored every bit of Qrow's advice until he had finally found a girl who enjoyed his terrible pick up lines. From how Ruby and the others talked about Jaune, Argent had passed on his idiocy to the next generation. "Are you nervous?" Winter asked suddenly.
"No!" Qrow shouted indignantly.
"Really? Because you've fastened your cape twelve times. And that's just in the four minutes we've been standing in front of this door," she pointed out dryly. "Are you afraid to knock, then?"
"No..." Qrow muttered quietly, though still incredibly indignant.
"Fine. I'll knock," Winter said dismissively, rapping her knuckles against the door even while Qrow tried to stop her.
"Yeah, who's there?" Argent's voice called from within.
"Qrow and the..." Winter rolled her eyes before saying, "'The Specialist.'"
Argent walked up to the door and opened it. "When I said you could come to talk to me anytime, I didn't mean with the enemy at your hip," Argent muttered exasperatedly. He gestured at the woman with his head.
"She's not the enemy," Qrow said forcefully, surprising Winter with his resolute tone. His voice grew soft when he continued, however. "I'm sorry, but we're here to be bearers of bad news."
Argent shrugged. "What else is new?" he grumbled. He took a step back. "Come on in, then."
Qrow and Winter did just that, entering the Atlesian Suite. It was, as almost everything else in the Kingdom was, furnished entirely in monochrome. Argent noticed Qrow's glare at the white chair. "Yeah, I wish they had some more greens and blues than this," he remarked, before cocking his head to the side and shrugging. "Of course, that might just be me getting homesick."
"Yeah... Uh, Argent I think it'd be best if you sat down," Qrow explained. He was wringing his hands and licking his lips over and over again. Winter grabbed his shoulder and shook her head imperceptibly to calm him.
"What could be so bad?" Argent asked mockingly, though he did as Qrow had suggested.
"So, um... Your son, he..."
"Ugh, Jaune. So, Beacon found out that his transcripts were fake?" Argent inquired. The Huntsman shook his head and crossed his arms. "I told him not to do it. Said it was stupid, but he wouldn't budge. I love the kid to death, but... Just not a fighter."
"Actually, he fights pretty damn nice, now," Qrow grunted. He knew that Ruby would want him to defend her friend, even if he was fallen. "But that's not the problem."
"Well, thank you for being so damn cryptic, Qrow, but I'd like to know whatever news you're delivering before I die of old age," Argent grunted. He looked from Qrow and over to Winter. "Well, it doesn't look like he's going to say anything, but I can tell you love to just sour people's days. It's a Schnee staple after all."
Winter narrowed her eyes but decided not to take the bait, though she came dangerously close. "Argent, stop," Qrow cut in. He sighed. "Look, Argent, I've got some bad news about your kid. He's fine, physically, but he's taken a lot of emotional damage. He's in a bad place, Argent, and he has been for a while."
Argent sighed. "So, Jaune had a mental breakdown?" Argent asked. He shook his head. Even he had thought Jaune stronger than that. "Where is he? I'll leave now."
"No, that's not it. H-have you ever thought about the one wish that would break you?" Qrow asked suddenly. "Your Price?"
"I don't have a price, Qrow," he responded to avoid the question.
"Not money, idiot," Qrow snapped. "The Price... The person or thing you'd go Dark for."
Argent grew uncomfortable. "Why are you bringing this up, Qrow?" he murmured.
Qrow growled, then snapped, "Answer the question."
"My kids. Jaune. It's why I faked his transcripts," Argent explained, his voice barely a whisper.
"Good, then maybe you can understand him at least," Qrow muttered. He sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh and laced his fingers together in his lap. "Jaune met the one person who could pay his price, Argent. That's what I've been trying to tell you."
"Th – No. No, Jaune may not be strong when it comes to a fight, but his spirit wouldn't bend like that," Argent said. He stood up and shook his head. "Qrow, that boy overlooked common sense about himself to go to Beacon. He doesn't know the blade of a sword from its pommel and he can't swing one to save his life. He's a good kid. Stupid, but good."
"Yeah. Stupid for a girl who got murdered because he wasn't strong enough to save her," Qrow explained without glancing up at the man. "Or at least that's what keeps going through his head."
Argent let his gaze fall. "Qrow, I don't believe you," Argent said. He sat down and shook his head. "No, I can't believe you. Jaune... Jaune's my boy, Qrow. He's stupid and reckless but he's maybe the strongest kid in the world and he would not do evil for anything."
"Doesn't change that he did," Qrow said apologetically. The scythe wielder stood up and shrugged. "His friends thought you should know, 'cause maybe you'll be able to smack some sense into him if you keep an eye out." Qrow waited for Argent to respond, but even five minutes later nothing had happened. "Keep in touch, Argent. Call me when you're ready." Qrow turned around and walked away with Winter. He shut the door behind them and continued walking a moment later.
"Are you okay?" Winter asked when they were some distance from the suite.
"No. Argent's a friend, so I'd rather not have to tell him his son isn't exactly on the side of angels right now," he explained with a frown. He sighed and looked over at the woman. "Thanks for coming with me, Ice Queen. It was nice not to do it alone."
"Anytime, Qrow," she replied with her usual military tone.
"No, like..." Qrow stopped and grabbed her by the shoulders, spinning her lightly to face him. He smiled appreciatively "Really, Ice Queen. It means a lot that you came even though Argent is..."
"Even though he hates Specialists more than you do?" Winter asked. She raised one white eyebrow and smirked at him.
Qrow scoffed and nodded his head. "Yeah, well, you are sell outs," Qrow said mockingly, putting his face close to Winter's and smirking.
"I prefer the term 'professional,'" Winter mocked right back. She moved forward as well. "Implying, well, you're amateurs."
"Amateurs?" he asked, voice growing quiet. He bit his tongue, trying to clear his mind of the thoughts running through them. He wouldn't want Ruby to see them. He was surprised when even thinking that didn't stop the images flashing across the inside of his eyelids. He tried to say something else to Winter, but it just came out as a scoff.
She took it as a 'Really?' scoff. "Yes, and like I said," she muttered, her voice as quiet as Qrow's by this point, "'I'm a professional.'"
Qrow leaned in all the way first and tilted his head to the right just a little. He was taking shallow breaths through his mouth, trying not to scare her away. To say nothing of scaring himself off. Their lips brushed together for only the briefest moment at first, and Qrow felt what reminded him of a jolt of energy jumping between them. He almost flinched when he suddenly felt a pair of hands on his waist suddenly pull him in and then push him against the wall. In response Qrow slowly but steadily placed his hands on the heiress' hips. One thought ran through his mind for half a second before disappearing: Oh, God, those stupid kids were right...
"Qrow, I'm sorry I didn't believe you. It's just that – Oh. Oh God! No. NO! What is happening?!" someone screamed. Qrow and Winter both froze for a half moment and shoved away from one another. Winter's back slammed into the opposite wall of the hallway and the two both looked, terrified, over at the blonde source of the voice. Argent Arc was staring at Qrow with a look of pure disgust and terror plastered across his features. "You damn traitor. A specialist?" Qrow and Winter traded a silent, almost terrified glance, and then looked back at Argent. He was wagging his index finger around like a disappointed older brother. "Um... I will... I will come back later. Hopefully when you are doing something I can be less disappointed in about." Argent shook his head when he realized how that sounded. He put his index finger up again, this time to silence any mocking statements that Qrow may have had. "Not remotely what I meant!"
R W B Y
Ruby had to admit that one of the nicest military apartments in Atlas' was about the best description one could give for Doctor Polendina's home. Not only was it four stories of open and bright building with one way glass allowing light in but nothing within out. The best part was that nothing inside was the usual monochrome of the Atlesian military; the entire home was furnished with shades of green and copper, with impressionistic art and bright landscapes on the walls. Ruby guessed that this place and Doctor Polendina's kind personality had been quite the influence on Penny. Ruby took a deep breath and sighed happily as the smell of cookies wafted through the air. This place may have been heaven... She tensed her legs and zipped towards the kitchen to begin stuffing her face.
"Ruby, he hasn't even offered us those!" Weiss hissed. She ran up behind her partner and tried to pull her away from the warm snacks. "Yang help – not help eat the cookies!" Yang didn't hear her, as she was currently in the process of racing Ruby through the cookie supply. "Neptune -" He had also begun digging in. Weiss just sighed and stole one out from the pile before the other three could eat them all.
"Ahem!" The entire group snapped to attention, with three cookies hanging from Ruby's mouth as they stared at the butler standing outside of the kitchen. Ruby inhaled and the three cookies disappeared behind a nervous grin. "Doctor Polendina will see you now," the man said, turning to walk up the stairs. The group glanced at one another and followed him a moment later. Save Ruby, who had turned around to bring the plate with her. She stuffed another cookie in her mouth as she walked up the stairs behind her sister and laughed contentedly.
The butler stopped at the top of the stairs and pressed an intercom button beside a thick, steel door. "Come in," Doctor Polendina's voice called a moment later, followed by a hiss as the door slid open slightly. The butler gestured for the young warriors to enter without him and walked away. He did give Ruby a dirty glance for stealing the plate and cookies, but otherwise moved without incident. Ruby shrugged and stuck her tongue out at him before moving through the door with the others.
If the rest of the apartment was nice, this room was beyond impressive. One of the walls was made entirely of thick, one way mirror that bathed the entire room in light and a shutter that could be used to cover it when there wasn't enough light on the outside to serve the one way mirror function of the windows. The natural light made the entire two story room, with its sand colored wood floors and the projects in varying stages of completion, seem like a very welcoming and homely place. Ruby could see everything here. There was a floating, bird like robot darting around the room excitedly. It stopped in front of Ruby and chirped before circling her head and shooting off again. "Okay, this is just way too cool," Yang said as she approached a life sized Rock-Em Sock-Em robots. She pressed one of the buttons and a huge red fist delivered an uppercut to send the blue robots head flying. She looked over at Weiss and grinned. "Wanna lose?"
The heiress rolled her eyes and walked towards one of the other in progress machines. This one was a small radar dish of sorts pointed at a small terrarium. Weiss absently pressed a few buttons on the machine and it lit up like a Christmas tree. "Ooh!" The lights had been followed by the appearance of a snow storm in the terrarium. Weiss laughed, "It's a weather machine!"
"This place is a horror show..." Neptune grumbled.
Everyone turned towards him in shock that he would say that, but quickly understood when they saw he was surrounded by robotic copies of water creatures swimming through the air. "I feel like I'm under water," he groaned sadly as a tiny dolphin flipped through the air in front of him.
"I have to say, that's not the response I expected from those." The young warriors looked up and saw the portly figure of Doctor Polendina looking down at them from the second floor. He smiled. "Please, come up here. Don't be shy." He turned away and the noise of his work resumed.
Ruby shrugged and bolted up the stairs, arriving at the top of the stairs before the others had even taken their first step. Doctor Polendina turned around as her wind trail hit him and flinched in his seat. "You're... a fast one, aren't you?" he mumbled. He sighed and moved away from the machine he had been working on, a puffy white robot that looked incredibly huggable. The Doctor noticed what Ruby was staring at and let out a sigh. "Yes, it doesn't look like a weapon, does it?"
"Not at all," Ruby said. She looked around. "But, um, none of this does."
"Weaponry is all well and good, but it's not my passion," the Doctor responded. He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'd always preferred what I created to have reason to be created. Light, fun..." His voice trailed off and he glanced sourly at the ground.
"Like your daughter?" Yang asked, deciding it was the perfect time for that Rose-Branwen-Xiao Long brand of bluntness as she and the others reached the top of the stairs.
The Doctor sighed before nodding. "Yes. Like my daughter," he muttered. He slid out of his chair and walked towards the four Huntsmen. He looked between them before letting his eyes settle on Ruby. "You knew her very well, didn't you?"
Ruby nodded. "She's my friend," she stated simply.
"She did seem more bright before..." Doctor Polendina clenched his jaw and shook his head. "I did tell her not to sneak away, so she would be safe. I'm glad she didn't, if she was able found friends such as you." He smiled and nodded. "Yes, very glad. Now, what did you come to see me about? Winter Schnee does not vouch for many."
"Actually, we came to talk to you about your daughter," Weiss explained, her voice compassionate.
Doctor Polendina's eyes watered. "Look, I'm glad that you want to know more about her, but I'd rather not go into detail. She did not live a long enough life for -"
"I know she's in Blue Fairy," Ruby cut in, clenching her fists in front of her. She swept them apart. "Don't say she's not, I saw her!"
"You saw..?" Doctor Polendina fell into his chair. "That is... not Penny."
"I saw her myself. She's Penny!" Ruby cried, denying what the man is saying.
"What do you want to hear from me!?" the man snapped, causing everyone save Ruby to flinch at his growl. "Yes, the parts of Penny's Chassis were reappropriated by the Atlesian Military following the Vytal Festival. Yes, I was brought in to repair the damage. Is that what you want me to tell you?"
"No, I want you to tell me why she didn't recognize me," Ruby responded simply. She crossed her arms and glared up at the doctor's eyes, unwilling to budge on this.
Doctor Polendina clicked his tongue and shook his head, amused at the young woman's emotional fortitude. "Truly, I am glad that Penny knew you. It means her life was full while it lasted," the Doctor muttered to himself. He stood up straight a moment later and crossed his own arms, matching Ruby's intense glare to see if she would back down. He gave her a few moments and then nodded. With a louder tone of voice, he spoke now to the young woman. "My daughter was returned to me in pieces following the Incident at Beacon, where she was revealed and murdered on live broadcast. You have to understand that, following that debacle, the Atlesian government would have preferred I not risk rebuilding Penny. She had embarrassed them and they did not want to risk that. I grew increasingly desperate for any possibility of trying to save her..." He turned his gaze on Weiss. "That possibility came from your father, Miss Schnee."
"I can only assume how that ended," the heiress muttered, disappointed already.
"Yes. He said I could have everything I needed to rebuild her, but only if her memories prior to the battle were erased and he was given complete control over where she was assigned... I agreed." Doctor Polendina gestured at Ruby. "She doesn't remember you. She doesn't even think of me as her father because all that's left is defense protocols. I mean it when I saw that simply is not Penny anymore."
"You're wrong," Ruby responded almost immediately. "Or you're not paying attention. She's in there, she's fighting to come back out and remember who she is!"
"That is simply not scientifically possible," the Doctor murmured.
"But it's the truth," Ruby shouted. Polendina looked up at her, studying the intense determination in the young woman's silver eyes. He found himself believing it for a moment, hoping it was true. "So you can either help us save Penny, or you can tell us how to break in there so we can do it ourselves."
The Doctor let out a breath. "That would be illegal..." he pointed out simply.
"What else is new?" Weiss asked, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.
He crossed his arms. "And hot headed..."
"The best plans are!" Yang countered.
"... So what kind of father would I be if I did not help my daughter's incredibly stubborn friends save her?" the Doctor inquired, the spark of Hope alive in his eyes once again.
R W B Y
Four Years Before the First Great Keyblade War
Ozpin's coat swayed side to side with every step he took towards the Great Library at the center of the city, one of the few buildings that his former students and their so-called 'Unions' avoided in their daily play fights over the Light. Save for the fact that his students' friendships had fractured and they were rapidly approaching physical violence, these battles were meaningless and cute. But the Darkness was there. War it would soon become. Oz put his hands in his pockets and glanced around from beneath the hood of his jacket. The Light above was quickly dimming, day giving way to night. And with that night would come the creatures of Darkness yet again. He would prefer to find what he was looking for before they came after him. That would increase the possibility that his former students would converge on him, which raised the possibility that they discovered who he truly was. Then the traitor would pass on that information and... Well, he preferred not to think about that.
Oz reached the building a few minutes later and rattled the locked door with the empty hope it was already open. He sighed and held his right hand out to summon his Keyblade. The scorpion appeared in a flash of emerald light and he tapped the weapon lightly on the door. It swung open on its own and he dismissed it, pocketing his hands and walking in without a noise. He stretched out with his foot at the last moment and shut the door behind him so nobody would notice he had broken in.
He walked in silence through the library's remade hallways for a while, ignoring the memories of the last time he had been there. Time may have eased the burden of pain that night held for him, but any sort of pain or emotional trauma had the negative effect of attracting the Heartless further. It was the scent of their prey, after all. That was also the reason he had kept the Keyblade out of his hands for now. It seemed like everything attracted Heartless.
Oz entered the Main Library and looked up, gazing at the floors upon floors of stacks upon stacks of books that coated the walls all the way up to the ceiling. The greatest bastion of collected knowledge in the known world. Ozpin shrugged and let his gaze fall to examine everything around him. He had discovered recently that the Adversary had not only been after Salem all those years ago, but also what the woman had been hiding there. Old plans he had found while rummaging, drunk, through her things pointed to the existence of a long forgotten extra room in the floor of the main Library. He took his hands from his pockets and began to look around for his way in. He blasted the tables and chairs out of the room with a wave of his left hand. They were new, which meant that the doorway was likely tied to the floor or one of the book shelves.
Oz looked around for a grand total of five minutes before he became exasperated with searching like this. He would rather risk a few easily killed monsters than look all night for something he may not even find. The Keyblade appeared in his hand again, this time with the tip facing the ground. The head of the weapon glowed for a moment until Ozpin twisted it as if it were in a lock. The ground beneath him groaned and rumbled. He dismissed the weapon as quickly as he could once again so he could look around for the entrance to the secret room.
"Kyaa!" Ozpin's shoulders fell when he realized he had not been fast enough in dismissing Libidious Sting, and the Heartless had found him. Ozpin sighed but nonetheless turned on his heel and summoned his weapon back to his hand. The blade caught the incoming attack of a Wyvern Heartless, sending the draconic creature crashing into the bookshelves. Ozpin quickly turned to the incoming Defender Heartless that was accompanying the Wyvern and looped the teeth of his weapon around the shield, tearing the weapon from its wielder's hands before spin kicking the creature face first into the ground.
The Heartless didn't seem to care, and simply disappeared in a pool of shadows. Ozpin ignored the monster that was surely moving to grab its weapon, and instead focused on the now recovered Wyvern. He twisted nimbly out of the creature's spinning dive and brought his Keyblade down on its neck. The creature hissed for a moment while the weapon dug into its body, then it exploded in a burst of shadows. Ozpin raised his Keyblade defensively and deflected the incoming ball of fire that the Defender had shot at him.
The Keyblade Wielder turned his hooded head to the monster and summoned a bolt of Thunder from the sky. The Defender groaned with the deep sound of metal bending and stumbled backwards. The energy had paralyzed long enough for Ozpin to appear beside the creature and bisect it with a swing of his Keyblade. The weapon disappeared from his hand just as soon as the creature disappeared from the room.
Ozpin looked around for a moment to wait for another Heartless to show up. When none did, he moved towards the place where he had heard the opening of the door. He found a book shelf that was slightly pulled away from the wall, behind which rested a stairway leading downward. He took a second to think about how he was going to find the last refuge of Salem, then shoved that from his mind and walked down the dark hallway with his hands in his pockets once again.
Ozpin stopped when he reached the room at the bottom of the stairs and summoned a sphere of Light to his right hand. He held it out in front of him and examined the pitch black room carefully. The room was empty, save for a table at the center of the floor covered in papers and an anvil of sorts in the corner. Oz clenched his fist and the Light floated above the table. He picked up a few of the papers and began to flip through them. It seemed this was where Salem had stored her most intensive research on the Keyblades. He finished the group of papers he had picked up and switched them out for another.
This one froze him. These papers weren't even in her handwriting, and had the name Aliux printed at the top. He slammed the papers down on the table. She had said she'd destroyed all of the notes that insane monster had when they attacked his compound and saved his students. This... this didn't make any sense. She had been lying to him? Wait, did that mean that the Keyblade had been built from the man's research on the kids? He read through the notes again and slammed them on the table, shattering the wood in half.
Ozpin summoned his Keyblade to his hand and threw it to the ground, horrified. He stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall, and he brought his hands up to clutch his head. "You... Salem, you killed people to make these..?" he asked. He slid to a sitting position and placed his head between his legs. What kind of person had she been if she would do that to someone!? What kind of person could he be if he had... if he had loved someone like that? Someone who would shatter Hearts to create a weapon? There was a hum and the wall behind him became clear. Ozpin looked over his shoulder... and saw a room of dozens of Keyblades. Every so often, one would flash and disappear, never to return. The word 'Failures' was painted across the wall. "How many people?"
Ozpin growled and slammed his fist into the ground. It didn't matter. He stood up slowly and dismissed his Keyblade. The world needed to be defended, and the Keyblades were the only way to do that, no matter how they were created. Oz summoned a Firaga to his hand and launched it at the center of the room, igniting the entire room in bright red flames. He turned around and walked away as the fires spread across the room and notes, burning away Salem's darkest secret. Maybe even the deepest Darkness could bring some Light into the world.
R W B Y
Sora sat down in the main square of Vale, reading through Jiminy's journal with a smile on his face. There were even some notes from the era following the birth of Remnant. He'd have to tell Sun and the others some of these stories about the Golden Mouse and the Demon Winged Angel. They'd love to hear about how Mickey and Riku gallivanting across early Remnant destroying the first monsters that threatened the people living on the world.
He flipped the page and smiled down at the stories of his friends fighting off the first Grimm born from the remains of the Keyblade Graveyard. It looked like this Dragon had actually been imprisoned by his friends in a nearby mountain. He wished he could have seen them take the things down, but for now he was just happy to know they had kept on being themselves even with everything going crazy. For now he was looking through it to find a way to help him use his new Keyblade. He was sure that Jiminy would have had some information either from their old adventures or from what happened during their time on Remnant that could help him.
Sora looked around and caught sight of someone in a black coat staring directly at him from the other side of the square, just at the edge of a ledge overlooking the park at the center. He had gray armor on the outside of the long coat on his shoulders and torso that looked really familiar to Sora. The figure crossed its arms over its chest and continued to stare intently at the young man with features invisible beneath the hood. Sora frowned and stood up, pocketing the book and pulling his own coat onto his shoulders and zipping it up again. Sora put his hand on Fenrir to show that he wasn't going to be scared off by whoever this was.
The other figure raised one hand above its head and the gray clouds above them swirled dangerously. Yellow and black Thunder crashed into the area surrounding Sora and this figure, sending the other people into a terrified frenzy. They ran through the square, parting around Sora and this other figure in their massive rush to escape what was about to become a raging battlefield. Sora waited patiently, keeping his gaze locked with the hooded figure's. He didn't like this. Maybe he could call Oz and the others if he was lucky – and the guy just raised one of those weird indestructible walls around the town square. Great.
The figure lowered its hand and the Thunder ceased. "Jaune," Sora said loudly as the figure began to approach him. Sora reached down to his belt and flicked his wrist, causing Fenrir to extend in his right hand. He bent his knees and got into a battle ready stance. "It's been too long."
The figure stopped moving as it came to stand about fifteen feet apart from him. He simultaneously raised his right hand out to his side and brought his left one up to the lip of his hood. The air around his right hand flashed black and white for a moment, and a familiar Keyblade appeared in his fist. Its basket formed from black demon wings and the ram placed at the center of the hilt. The bright blue demon eye at the top of the blade. Xehanort's weapon. The left hand drifted back for a moment and the hood fell.
Jaune hadn't changed much since he had abandoned them, though his eyes held a certain level of steely indifference they had never contained before. Sora let his weapon fall to his side as he examined his friend's angry glare. "I'm glad you're okay," Sora told the blonde.
The blonde ignored Sora. "I can't believe my luck. Just running into you," Jaune growled. He raised his weapon so the end was aimed at Sora. "Give me the book, and I'll leave."
"The book? – Wait, what would you want with Jiminy's Journal?" Sora asked, sweeping his left hand across his chest. "It's all I have of my old friends, so why would you want it?"
"Don't care to tell you," Jaune retorted without moving at all. "Just hand it the hell over."
Sora shook his head and glanced at the ground. "Just... Jaune, come back. We're still your friends!" he shouted, raising his head and shaking his hands in front of him. He reached into his pocket and tossed a small, yellow star to the blonde.
Jaune caught it with his left hand and looked down at it. "A... star?"
"A Wayfinder. It's a symbol of our friendship, Jaune," Sora explained calmly. He smiled and took a step towards the blonde warrior. "You're our friend. Just stop this and help us keep Salem from destroying everything! Come on, it'll be like old times!"
Jaune looked at the Wayfinder in his gloved hand and nodded slowly. "Pass," he grunted. He tossed the Wayfinder into the air and slashed down with his black and white weapon, shattering the glistening charm into a dozen pieces. Sora stopped in his tracks and stared sadly at his friend. The young man shut his eyes and looked down in defeat. "Give me the book. Now."
Sora narrowed his eyes on his opponent and crouched into a battle ready stance. "Then I guess we're going to have to have a fight," Sora stated resolutely.
Jaune's emotions showed on his face for the first time as a small smirk came to his face. "Trust me. It won't be much of a fight." Then he twisted so the Keyblade was parallel to the ground and his left arm was pointed directly at Sora. His left hand shined with a black aura for a moment. "Fire."
Sora's eyes widened at the black flames that suddenly shot towards him. "Oh, Dust..." the former Keyblade Wielder groaned. He raised his weapon defensively in front of him and prepared to try deflecting a blow he would've just walked around if he had a Keyblade. The black explosion came ever closer, seeming to slow down as it did. "This, uh, this is going to hurt."
