AN:
Hey, sorry it's been so long. It's a little paradoxical, but I actually have less time for this when I'm on Christmas break. I'm always doing things with my family, so I'm really never in front of my computer until I'm back at college. Which, now I am. And it's freezing here in Chicago, so I'll probably have more time inside.
That said, I did get to watch some RWBY, and it's really the first time Ruby's Hero complex got in the way. Like, sure Qrow was hurt and all, but I had the feeling that he had everything under control until he had to save Ruby from that falling building. He was awesome, especially when he just started beating Tyrian with his fists. Nice. On the Weiss side of things, I'm still not a huge fan of Jacques' character, and I do like Whitley's ultra-creep factor. Still waiting on Mrs. Schnee, though. Weiss and Winter have to take after her, right?
Responses...
To gamelover41592: Thanks. I was excited to put Skye in there as a way to end the flashbacks and bring them around to the present. I decided on the Master Keeper as his new weapon mainly because it seems like it has some sort of connection to the KHUX storyline. Also, since Aqua was going to give Sora her Keyblade until finding out Terra had done that for Riku, so I feel like he might one day obtain the Keyblade she uses now anyways.
To Warden of Lore: I get that. Balance is pretty good, but I liked the idea that Sora didn't need to balance Light and Dark even if some people like Riku do to be the best they can. Everyone needs their own way to follow the real moral north, as long as they're following it. I'm glad it was still awesome despite being not what you expected.
To Soul's Release: Thanks! I've always liked that quote from the first game and thought it was pretty apt for Sora's path in this second half of the story.
To warrior of six blades: Yeah, even if Sora has used Darkness so far, I felt like there were extenuating circumstances regarding that. So I felt like keeping him strictly a Light user made sense. And, yep, this is the start of the last fight. Well, not this chapter. Like I said, there's a two chapter 'breather' before the last fight begins.
To Remnant7: Thanks! I spend a lot of time on those fight scenes. The Keyblade is just the Master Keeper/Master Defender that showed up in BBS.
To Kingofclubs8129: Unfortunately, I don't have any plans for a new Drive Form to be introduced, but Sora will definitely not be fighting with one Keyblade at the end. Now that he's accepted his Darkness is there and there's no reason to wall it off if he can just resist it, it's like all the strength he had is just... there. More like how Roxas just has two Keyblades without having to transform.
Chapter 36: Aftershocks
Qrow sat silently with his arms crossed as he waited for the jury made up of people from Vale, Vacuo, and Mistral that had been visiting Atlas a week earlier when the DISC had been activated in Vale. Along with them were non-voting Atlesian 'counselors' who could have their voices heard during deliberations, but would not contribute to the decision itself as they were believed to be 'inherently biased.' Qrow supposed that was true, seeing as the people on trial were both Atlesian and also claimed to have done it for the good of their Kingdom, but he still believed they should have been allowed more of a say as true peers of the criminals. Qrow shook his head; Sora was rubbing off on him a little.
He let his gaze drift as he continued waiting. Eventually, it found a tight bun of purest white beside a similarly colored hat. Qrow pursed his lips and frowned sympathetically. Ice Queen and her mother were here, as they had been for every day of this expedited trial. Ice Queen Jr. wasn't present, as she was with Ruby and the others, being distracted from what could happen. Her father may have tried to unleash genocide on an unsuspecting public, but he was still her father. She didn't need to see him possibly get sentenced to death. Ice Queen and her mother, however... Well, to be here was expected of them. She'd grown somewhat distant over that week, spending more and more time around her mother and siblings since news of Jacques' arrest had hit. Even if they wouldn't admit it, they'd needed her to be a rock, so she'd become one. At that, Qrow's mind returned to Summer in the aftermath of his sister's disappearance. She'd held Tai together...
Qrow noticed suddenly he was on his feet, walking along the aisle that divided the gallery of the courtroom. He was dressed nicely, for once. Actually nicely. Black pants and suit jacket with a gray shirt and a blood red tie tightened all the way on his throat. He hadn't known why he'd dressed like this upon waking, but he was starting to wonder if it had been an unconscious compulsion. Now that he thought about it, was he doing this because, well, because Ice Queen shouldn't have to be the rock? Surely her father's arrest was affecting her just as heavily as well? He didn't really question it when he slid into the otherwise empty bench beside Winter Schnee. Her mother looked over, across the young woman. Ice Queen had her mother's features and the trademark hair of her father, it appeared. The woman's eyes narrowed dangerously, as if warning this intruder away with threat of violence, and Qrow honestly considered it for a moment.
Just as he thought his will would give out, Winter placed her hand on her mother's shoulder and whispered something. The woman raised one eyebrow before sighing and returning her attention to her hands. Qrow slowly but surely eased back into his seat, also keeping his eyes straight ahead. For once, the perennially sarcastic and talkative Qrow Branwen was at a loss for words, though the feeling that he should find them persisted in his gut, wriggling around with an odd combination of sympathy and guilt he had never really felt before. His grip tightened on his knees while his mouth grew increasingly dry. The feeling in his gut grew until he turned towards Winter. "Ice -"
He was cut off when the doors opened suddenly, the white painted wood echoing out with a monstrous crash that filled the room. Qrow swallowed what he was about to say; Jacques Schnee was being led into the court room in chains, accompanied by the now former members of the Atlesian Council. The five humans were led together to a black table on one side of the room and forced to sit down. Across from them, on a higher platform with a white podium at the center, a door opened and General Jimmy walked out with the look of a man appointed Judge and Executioner. Thankfully, the jury entered a moment later and sat down almost completely in sync. It was quite the odd sight for members of the four disparate Kingdoms to act as one, even if they were allies in name.
General Jimmy took a step forward and placed his hands on the podium. He cleared his throat once and surveyed the room slowly, his eyes briefly lingering on three people: Jacques, Winter, and – finally – Qrow. The scythe wielder met the man's gaze for the half-moment it rested on him, taking comfort in the sparks of rivalry that still existed between them, though it had become much more friendly as of late. Jimmy's aid had been quiet, but far from being without risk. "Do you have anything else to say for yourselves before the verdict of the jury is read?" Ironwood inquired of the conspirators who sat before him. The criminals were dressed all in black jumpsuits, white letters and numbers emblazoned on the backs. It was a stark departure from Jacques' usual wardrobe.
The other members of the accused turned almost subconsciously towards Jacques, expecting him to say something – anything – more in their defense. Being seen as innocent was out of the question, given the makeup of the jury, but swaying Ironwood towards leniency... Well, less likely things had occurred. The accused's faces began to pale when Jacques remained momentarily silent, and what he eventually said did nothing to return color to their faces. "You presupposed our guilt without any care for the reasons or extenuating circumstances before this trial even began, James," the former Schnee Patriarch said, his voice quiet and broken. He was not too broken, it appeared, to lightly insult Ironwood with familiarity even now. He looked up at the General and his face didn't change in the slightest. "So why don't you do us all a favor and get on with this?" Qrow saw Ice Queen stiffen in the corner of his vision, though from rage or disappointment in her father he wasn't quite sure.
"Fine then," Ironwood sighed. He turned towards the jury expectantly.
"We the Jury find the defendants guilty of all accused War Crimes," the elected speaker said. He said more, but Qrow didn't hear it. He was too focused on staring at Winter with his peripheral vision, watching how her face had frozen over into a mask of paradoxically serene anger. The same one she had tried to use when they had seen each other at the Vytal Festival. That... hadn't turned out so well. He placed his hand on hers, a silent and invisible movement no one would see. She moved her hand away before their skin had even touched.
"Your punishment for this eventuality was decided by the remaining Headmasters," Ironwood stated when the Jury finished handing out the verdict. The room grew very quiet and Winter stiffened again. Ironwood glanced down and muttered something to himself. From what Qrow could read from his lips, it involved cursing and Ozpin. Jimmy looked up at the accused again and nodded. "For the many crimes of which you are accused, you are sentenced to lifetime imprisonment. No visitation. No communication with the outside world. No communication with anyone save each other. Your guards will be automated by an off-site server, your custodians simpler – but nearly indestructible – android models. You will die in prison, but you will live there as well. Take that as mercy or cruelty, it is your decision."
Ice Queen surged to her feet and walked calmly past Qrow. He, flustered, watched her go for a moment just like everyone else in the room was watching. She was wearing a gray and blue outfit not unlike her battle attire in style, though the tail was longer and more decorative while the sleeves were tight enough to constrict movement to an extent. Qrow knew what she was doing, that she was making herself uncomfortable. He followed her out and into the main body of the building a second later. Her gray-black heels clicked with every step, and Qrow somehow was struggling to even keep the divide between them at what it was. He quickened his pace in an effort to catch up, jogging past the woman and jumping in her path. "Winter, I -" He was pushed out of her path by a icy Beowolf pinning him to the wall.
"I am uninterested in whatever it is you have to say, Qrow," the woman growled, her voice filled with more fiery rage than he had ever heard from her before. She was more the cold type, after all.
"Maybe not," Qrow said when she stopped in front of the exit. News crews were congregated outside, talking excitedly amongst themselves as they waited for the first glimpse of the disgraced Schnee family. Normal people were scattered among them, signs raised either for her father or for his death. Winter glanced at the ground and took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for something no one should have to prepare for: being branded the child of a monster. Her work to prevent the destruction would quickly be forgotten because of her blood ties, her bravery undone by her father's fears.
Winter allowed herself a moment of weakness. It's not fair, she thought as she placed her hands over her face and held off the tears that would ruin her makeup. She needed to appear together, strong and defiant to the last. It was the only way. Then she pushed down the emotions and stepped into the fray.
Questions and lights bombarded her from every angle, deafening her and blinding her all at once. She blinked when she realized she had not prepared herself enough for what was happening. She had not truly been ready for the accusations that were being hurled at her. She took a half-stumbling step backwards. Was this all it took to break through her Specialist Training? Accusations and emotional pain!?
"Maybe you don't need to hear anything I have to say," Qrow said, suddenly beside Winter. She turned on a dime, fist rising as she did. She didn't care what it would look like, she needed to take her anger out on someone! Anyone! And he would do – Her mind went blank when his arms wrapped around her shoulders and his chin rested against the top of her head, obscuring her from the view of the crowds. "But you need someone to be there with you, Ice Queen." Her fist fell to her side and she felt tears welling up in her eyes. She must have sniffled once, because his arms tightened around her sympathetically.
"I just want this to be over," she mumbled just loud enough for the man to hear.
He was quiet for a while, thinking about what to say. "It won't be okay, I'm not going to lie about it." Winter looked up in surprise, and he let her drift slightly away so their eyes could meet. "You deserve better than that. In your lifetime, everyone will always ask if whatever good you do will ever offset what he tried to do. But I don't think that's why you do those things. You do them because... it's who you are. Ice Queen, I never thought I'd tell you not to change."
He let go of her shoulder and wiped a tear off of her cheek. "Now, let's walk through these idiots and get something to eat?"
Winter smiled. "Well, I suppose I can slum it with you for now," she mocked before grabbing his hand. Her grip tightened, though it wasn't an uncomfortable hold for Qrow. She walked past him and he followed with his hand still in hers, igniting torrid rumors across the world that Winter Schnee, the daughter of the disgraced Jacques Schnee, was romantically involved with the famous Qrow Branwen. Well, not all gossip is false, it seems.
R W B Y
Ozpin watched Sora laughing and telling stories to the other... graduates, he supposed was the right term now. The current story involved one of Sora's old friends, Goofy, and one of the many times the giant man-dog had saved Sora's life. The young man's face and hands moved animatedly, every movement communicating the excitement of the moment he was reliving. The others were hanging on his story's every word, the images passing before their eyes. It seemed hard to believe that those warriors could still be so amazed by such events when they had seen Sora annihilate an entire army of Grimm in a single blow.
The destruction had been very limited due to that massive unleashing of power. Grimm that had invaded the city disappeared in a single moment, but they had been the least of the problems. While many of the Huntsmen in training had risen to their duty as the defenders of the innocent, there had also been a number who had run in the face of their fear. For some, this would ignite a fire to become better. In others... Less so. Worse still was the presence of criminals attacking in a flurry of opportunistic rioting that had ended up destroying a half dozen buildings all across the city. No lives had been lost, though, so they could say that the damage was truly meaningless.
Their group was all together at the docks of Vale's main city, preparing to leave the Kingdom and meet up with Qrow's group somewhere on the coast of Vacuo. Ozpin had thought extensively on where his former ally and lover's hideout could possibly be, and had come to a single conclusion regarding that. She was somewhere on the giant island that rested between Vacuo and Vale. Certainly, its Draconic shape and the similar nature of the giant Grimm that had thus far been encountered was likely just a coincidence, but the island was the only place on all of Remnant for which he could find no accounts of exploration whatsoever. Even the lands deep into Vale's wilderness had been conquered by Mankind at least once, if not more. The ancient wizard had often been distracted by events occurring throughout the world, so much so that he had simply supposed the region was fraught with danger; surely Salem must have been migratory, always remaining just a step ahead of him. It had been her way before, so he had never considered that she would remain in a single region for such a long period of time. Whenever she had appeared before to do battle with Ozpin's champions, the location had been seemingly random. Now, however, he knew she had a static base of operations.
"What are you thinking about?" Ozpin let his gaze drift slightly to the right, where a severe looking blonde woman walked up with a pair of coffee cups in her hands. Ozpin gave her a thankful smile and took his drink.
"We are nearing the end, Glynda. It's hard for an old man like myself to not reminisce in such a time," Ozpin responded with a dry smile. He took a deep drink of the coffee and sighed contentedly. Few were his creature comforts, but his time with Salem had denied him this one. It was a luxury he savored all the more now. "Thank you, Glynda."
"Hm," she said with a nod, keeping her eyes fixed on the young warriors. "What will you do after this?"
Ozpin coughed and nearly spat out his drink. "I... what do you mean?"
The blonde woman sighed in disappointment. "Ozpin, we have asked each and every student who has ever walked through the doors of Beacon Academy the question of what they will do with the skills we will teach them. And again we ask what they will do when they have completed their training and are ready to be sent out into the world as Huntsmen. For some, a life defending their home. For others, revenge. Others still seek to defend as many as possible. No matter what, when they fulfill their goal, they become aimless. Ozpin, as I understand it, this has been your goal for over a thousand years. You would not do well to be aimless," the woman explained simply.
Ozpin frowned at that. She was correct. Qrow himself had become aimless upon Summer's 'death,' to the point where he had lost his way. This was different enough, that Ozpin knew. But stil... What would he do then? Ozpin's eyes locked onto Sora once more as he said something that elicited quite the rare event – smiles erupted on the faces of each of the warriors surrounding him, including young Miss Belladonna. "So he's standing there, talking crazy. 'Argh, I'm going to destroy the world!'"
"Wait, Xehanort's Heartless was a pirate?"
Sora blanched at Sun's comment. "Um, I... No. That was... Heh..." He shook his head and decided to dodge the question. "Anyways, I decide to point out what everyone else thought was obvious... 'You're not Riku.'"
Ozpin smiled again as the laughter erupted again. "I can honestly say that I will be very happy to complete this goal. One should never have a single mission in mind for as long as I have." He turned to the woman and smiled, the expression bittersweet on his face. "I have been the vanguard of war for far too long, Glynda. I am tired, and I will be quite happy when this ends."
"Ozpin, do you expect to die?"
He ignored the question. "Thank you, my friend. I have enjoyed my time with you, perhaps more than I should have." He took another drink and the two fell silent. Finally: "I don't intend to die, Glynda. It is possible... It would simply be quite difficult. No, simply put I have already lived far too long as a chessmaster; perhaps it is time to step aside and allow someone else to guide the board."
"So you will leave."
"Perhaps," Ozpin said simply. "I have watched too many friends die, and I am unsure that I could watch the same happen once the reason I fight is gone." He smiled dryly. "Besides, I was a pretty good hermit once. The best, maybe. I wonder if I can reclaim my title as the man hiding behind his home's curtains."
"No. You'll be staying."
"And why is that?" Ozpin asked, bemused.
"Because, as I have learned from that young man, no one deserves to stand alone against their future. Not even a tired old man," she remarked. She looked over at Sora as she said this. "Regardless, this will be the last quiet moment you can speak with him. I would impart whatever wisdom it is you wish to impart, Ozpin."
Ozpin glanced over at her. "It's Oz, for you. And, understood, Headmaster Goodwitch." The woman's arms uncrossed in surprise. Then Ozpin began to walk towards Sora. "I promise, then, that I will see you again once this is over. It is no less than you deserve for being one of the best I have ever known, Glynda."
The woman's cheeks flushed unnoticeably and she shook her head at the man. "I'll hold you to that, Oz," she replied just loud enough for him to hear.
"So you traveled to the past and everything was black and white? I thought that only happened in TV flashbacks," Nora said.
"Yeah, it was weird. Especially when Pete showed up and punched himself in the face a few times!" Sora said brightly. He frowned. "It was weird to see that he used to be... good. Angry, but good. Even evil, he was more goofball than bad."
"Sora," Ozpin interjected. The young man turned around. "Would the rest of you excuse us? I have a question I would ask of our friend." His former students nodded and dragged Sun away as he jumped around, pretending to be Mickey Mouse, much to Blake's combination of chagrin and amusement.
"What's up, Oz?" Sora asked, leaning back and placing his interlocked fingers behind his head.
"You asked once of my past. Do you wish for me to tell you it now, Sora?" Ozpin asked.
Sora glanced down. "When I asked, you said you'd only tell me if I understood what you did."
Ozpin nodded. "And do you?"
Sora frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "You were wrong," he said simply, meeting the man's eyes with a resolute stare that caused him to cringe slightly. "But you knew that, and that's why you're not evil. You were just scared of Salem winning, so you weren't thinking straight. You stopped thinking with your Heart, and started thinking with your very scared head." Sora gestured at himself with a thumb and grinned widely. "Hey, it even happens to the best of us."
Ozpin smiled at that. "Well, I suppose it does," he agreed. He shrugged before finishing off his coffee, then tapped his cane on the ground reflexively. "It all began some twenty odd years before the Keyblade War, with a young and kind woman running away from some thugs..."
R W B Y
"Father, you have been crying ever since we began applying my new Synth-Skin," Penny said as her father continued to apply the fake skin to her arms. She was clothed now in her usual attire, the skin beneath the battle dress having been applied first so she could cover up as quickly as possible. After that had been her face, though she still lacked the copper-orange locks of hair that usually graced her head. Ruby had snickered at her friend and said she looked weird without eyebrows. Penny had demanded a mirror, and had immediately begun to laugh at the same odd sight adorning her face, though she wished for the hair atop her head to be returned as soon as possible. "Why?"
The blurry eyed Doctor Polendina smiled at his doctor, though the tears did not stop. "I am just so very happy, Penny," he explained kindly to his daughter. "I was worried I would never see you again before your friend came to me."
"Ruby is a great friend," Penny agreed with wide eyes, the movement of her brow up and down made odd by the lack of eyebrows.
"Oh, stop," Ruby muttered, half embarrassed. But given how she fidgeted, she was not opposed to hearing more compliments from them.
"I had never in my wildest dreams dared to hope you would find such companions, my little girl," the Doctor said. He paused his work and smiled down at his daughter, running a hand over her head. "It makes me so happy for you to enjoy this most human of things." Then he moved his hand back and forth, as if ruffling her hair, and returned to his work. Tears kept streaming from his eyes as the layer of skin being created approached his daughter's hand.
"How long until Penny is," Ruby's voice took on a tone even more cheery than usual, "'Combat Ready!?'"
Penny smiled and nodded vigorously at her father. "Yes, Father. When will I be combat ready?"
The old man raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Ruby and I conversed on the subject, Father," the android began simply, "and I will be accompanying her and her friends."
The rotund man stood up defiantly for a moment, then shook his head and sat down. "And here comes the aspect of you making such friends, Penny, that I both regret and love," he said with a heavy sigh. He finished up applying the synthetic skin to her arm and pushed the machine away so he could reach for another. He moved on his rolling stool and positioned it at his daughter's scalp. He wrapped a strap around her chin and rolled down a visor that rested over her eyes and brow. "Independence."
"But you designed me to be independent and to grow, Father," Penny said over the quiet whir of the machine that covered her skull. "It confuses me why my acting like that would worry you?"
"Not worry. I regret it even while I treasure it," Doctor Polendina explained. He rubbed his face with his sleeve to wipe away his tears.
Ruby bit her cheek. This was probably what had gone through her father's mind when she had run off to save the world. She wondered if she should apologize for it. Not for leaving, of course. But for disappearing without saying good-bye. "Any good father wants his children to grow, but it still makes us sad when they become strong enough to walk on their own. It means we've done our job... but now we aren't needed anymore," Doctor Polendina said, cutting through Ruby's thoughts.
"Oh, don't be silly, Father. I'll always need you!" Penny shouted, eliciting a laugh that the Doctor tried and failed to stifle. The machine's whine slowly disappeared, and the doctor moved it from where it rested. "How do I look, Ruby?"
Ruby smiled at the android's copper hair. "Combat ready," she said, giving Penny a thumbs up.
Doctor Polendina sighed and nodded. "Yes. You are," he said before placing his hand on his daughter's shoulder so he could look into her eyes. "I could not stop you from going even if I wanted to, could I?"
"Of course not, Father. You told me I was supposed to help protect the people of Remnant, so that's what I'm going to do." Penny jumped from the table she had been resting upon and placed one hand on her hips and the other into the air above her. "I'm ready to do that!"
"I had no idea that I could be quite so proud of you until now, Penny," Doctor Polendina said. He looked over to Ruby and nodded. "You better keep my little girl safe, Ruby Rose. She is all that I have, so bring her home alive."
Ruby looked between Penny and the Doctor before meeting his steely gaze. "I'm planning on it. Everyone's going to survive."
R W B Y
Jaune Arc had finally returned, a battle of defiance and submission raging behind his blue eyes. His coat was frayed slightly at the edges, the only sign of his trip to destroy the DISC. He had a layer of dirt encrusted all over the surface of his boots and needles of pine wedged beneath the plates of armor that rested on his coat. Strapped to his belt was a trapezoid of metal with a blue handle, the weapon that Sora had made once Salem had taken his weapon. It would seem that she had underestimated the connection between Jaune and those she had influenced him to betray. The woman narrowed her eyes at Jaune, and the force of her gaze seemed to make his own eyes fall to the ground in fear.
"I have to admit, I had not expected you to act quite so brazen," Salem admitted. She clasped her hands together at the small of her back and began to walk slowly around the young man. His fists clenched as she did, the sign that he was waiting for her to attack him. To undo him completely. She had considered it, there was no point in denying it. "I probably should kill you." He turned around and raised his Keyblade reflexively. She ignored it and continued to walk around him.
"I won't, of course," she stated. The weapon in his hands dipped slightly. "You have your uses even still, Jaune Arc, my loyal traitor. You returned just as you promised you would." The Keyblade clanked as it rested at his side in one hand. "And yet, as I said, you acted so very brazen in defying me."
"I didn't do anything that you told me not to do," Jaune protested.
"But you did things you knew I would not allow, didn't you? You betrayed my desires, if not my commands." She stopped circling the young man and turned to face him directly. Her dark eyes narrowed and her hands unclasped to fall to her sides. There was a quiet ding, and the area surrounding the two of them glowed brightly with a shining square of power, and Jaune immediately knew he was trapped. He was barely capable of raising his Keyblade in time to block the attack that Salem had launched herself into. The blow rattled his entire form, and he felt himself begin to slide backwards through the Dust-infused dirt when the woman continued to push against him.
"You are far too independent for my liking, Boy," Salem snarled before shoving once more and sending the young man tipping over. He reached out with one hand and used it to flip back up to his feet just in time to see the Kingdom Key rushing horizontally at his skull. He moved quickly just past the attack's reach, the air in front of his throat whistling as the weapon cleaved through it. He jumped away from Salem to put distance between them then readied himself for battle. Salem did not follow suit for a moment, instead opting to stand straight up. "As I said, I will not kill you, Jaune. I will simply lock away the parts of you that I do not need."
Jaune's eyes widened in fear and he subconsciously placed a hand on his chest. "You're what?" he breathed.
Salem didn't bother responding again. She simply disappeared and reappeared behind him, weapon held in a backhand grip that she used to quickly swipe at Jaune's skull again. He raised his weapon at an angle, letting the blow glide over his head and helping him turn with the attack so he could land a blow to Salem with his fist. But, by the time he was ready to unleash said blow, she had already jumped away and reset their battle. Jaune gulped nervously at the thought of how incredibly outclassed he was. Was this how Cinder Fall had felt before their battle? His thoughts were cut off when her blade struck out once more.
Jaune growled and threw his hands out to either side, causing the Keyblade he held to flash with Darkness and change shape into a shortsword and shield. He deflected the attack with his shield while simultaneously stabbing at Salem's throat. She easily maneuvered out of the way and elbowed Jaune in the temple as she spun. The warrior was dazed for a moment and stumbled to the side, where he received a kick in his midsection that sent him crashing into the wall furthest from where they battled. The energy crackled and sparked violently as he hit it, and Jaune shouted out in pain, only to hit the ground and give a quieter groan. "Of course, that does not mean I cannot have fun with you before I rid you of your desire to betray me." Jaune looked up and saw that Salem now stood above him. He struggled to get to his feet and raised his shield defensively above him.
Salem snorted and shook her head derisively. "If that is what you want," she said with a shrug. Then she raised her Keyblade above her head in both hands and rained down a flurry of the most powerful blows she could muster on the young man's shield. It rattled mightily with every blow, and he tried as hard as he could to resist the force that ran through his arms. He dropped the short sword and placed his other hand upon the back of the shield so he could resist the attacks. It was a pointless endeavor, but he still did it knowing that she would soon either break through his defenses or merely go around them.
It was the previous that occurred first, blade crashing into his shield so hard that his arms buckled and the metal slammed into his forehead. Jaune's body gave out and his face crashed into the dirt. The shield bounced and rolled away from him before disappearing concurrently with the shortsword. Jaune groaned and tried to rise to his hands and knees, only to be stopped by a foot atop the back of his neck that forced him back to the ground. "You are stupid to continue your struggle, Boy," she spat. She lifted her foot and kicked him. Jaune rolled across the ground a short way, coming to a stop on his back.
Jaune took slow, heavy breaths as she approached him. He had to move! He had to fight! Yet, he found that his body wasn't listening to him at the moment. It screamed and wailed against his every thought, like a machine broken by abuse. Which, he supposed, it was. "You destroyed DISC. But that I could have forgiven. It was useless, it had played its part in the grand scheme of things," she said as she walked towards the young man's prone form. "And doing so saved Ozpin and his students. I appreciated that, even. Killing them with my own hands will be much more rewarding than allowing an underling to try their hand at it once more." She stopped above him and let the Keyblade rest upon her shoulder. "But I could never forgive that you went out of your way to save and defend a Keyblade Wielder. Sora. You made sure he survived, you did not destroy him even knowing that his re-emergence would create the only plausible threat to my plans. I had no idea he could even manage to summon that Keyblade. I thought it destroyed, and yet he did it. He killed my Dragon, and now he and the girl together pose a great threat to me." She raised her weapon to Jaune's throat and thought, if only for the briefest moment, of killing him and ignoring her plans. It would bring her some small amount of satisfaction, if nothing else. The blade drifted above Jaune's chest when she thought better of it.
Jaune shut his eyes in fear before opening them defiantly. "I didn't betray you, and they may never be my friends again... But I'd betray you now even knowing that!"
"I know. You can only keep a bright Heart in the Darkness for so long, Jaune." Then the blade of the Kingdom Keeper glowed with an aura of both Darkness and Light... and was thrust into the young man's chest.
Jaune cried out in pain and rage as the blade phased through his armor and flesh to cut deep into his Heart. He could hear parts of himself being locked away, the brightest of his Lights being made invisible by walls of impenetrable steel. The young man panicked as he tried desperately to stop this, to resist it. He heard a familiar voice telling him it would be okay before the last wall rose and everything fell silent.
Salem took a step back from where the young man lay, and dismissed her weapon. She waited patiently for what felt like many long minutes before the young man stood up. He remained stock still, hair a curtain that hid his eyes as he stared at the ground. "Well?" Salem finally asked. His eyes rose to meet hers, and they were a burning yellow. Salem allowed herself a small, triumphant smile. "That's what I thought."
R W B Y
"OH! I can't wait for you to meet Sora!" Ruby shouted to Weiss and Nora, bouncing up and down on the docks as their private ship from Atlas to the strip of shoreline in Vacuo that Ozpin had designated. It was near the equator of the world, and thus much warmer. Ruby liked the winter and all, but she would be glad to get away from the frozen top of the world and somewhere nicer before their final, climactic battle with the queen of Darkness, evil, and all things generally not fun. And Jaune, but she hoped she could give him the Wayfinder and help bring him back to his senses. "You'll love him! Especially Weiss. He's a lot like me!"
The heiress glanced at her partner with half lidded eyes. "Joy," she muttered before crossing her arms. "Another dolt."
"I was unaware dolt meant something good, friend Weiss!" Nora announced eagerly.
"It doesn't – oh, forget it," Weiss grumbled.
Qrow snickered as he watched the exchange going on across from him. Even though Ruby was such a silly little kid sometimes, she was somehow finding herself playing the street smart mentor to a completely naive girl. He'd never have guessed it would happen like this. "Ruby looks incredibly confident, Qrow."
The Huntsman turned, hands in his pockets, to talk with Ironwood. "Well, she can beat me in a fight. You can't even do that, Jimmy," he responded with a smirk.
General Ironwood shook his head, amused by the man's actions. "I'm sorry that you had to deal with all this, Qrow. I wish our problems did not have to be yours, too."
"Wow, Jimbo. That almost sounded like respect!" Qrow said. He elbowed the man in the robotic arm and grinned. "And for little old me, too? I'm flattered."
Ironwood simply smiled again. "I'll meet you there in a few days. I should be able to get an army of men and war droids together to help," Ironwood stated as he let his gaze drift out and into the horizon.
Qrow raised an eyebrow. "I... didn't ask for that."
"Didn't have to. Winter's friends don't have to," Ironwood explained with his own smirk. He looked around for a second. "Where is she, anyways? I thought for sure she would come to see you off."
Qrow shrugged and looked at the ground around him morosely. "I, er... Ice Queen's got a lot on her plate right now. She's got a family to keep from going crazy, so I get it. And a company that employs almost everybody through subsidiaries. Ol' Jacques may not have been born a Schnee, but he was damn good at making their family indispensable." He fell quiet for a while before looking over at Ironwood to say, "Still..."
Ironwood laughed once, a loud and echoing noise. "Never thought you'd be lovesick for an Atlesian Specialist, eh, Qrow?" he joked.
"I'm not some lovesick puppy," Qrow growled. "It's... hell, maybe I am. You'd know better than anyone, wouldn't you?"
Ironwood ignored the obvious joke about his feelings for Glynda. "What do you think Oz has planned?"
"Two kids kill the wicked witch? Hell if I know, Jim. If nothing else, I bet it's good," he replied.
"I'd drink to that if you hadn't stopped."
Qrow laughed at that. "I could still drink you under the table, Tin Man."
"I could use it. Brain's getting rusty from all the work."
"I swear, could your jokes be any worse, kids?" Qrow and Ironwood turned to see Argent Arc approaching with a small smile on his face. "Feathers, Major Metal."
"God, remind me again how you managed to get married with a sense of humor like that," Qrow said.
Argent shrugged. "Good luck and a wife with an actual sense of humor."
"Bad sense of humor, more like," Ironwood whispered to Qrow, eliciting laughter from the man.
When Qrow calmed down, he sighed and looked over to Argent again. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm coming with you, obviously. Jeez, I knew your sister was the smart one, but I didn't think you were stupid, Qrow," Argent joked. Qrow rolled his eyes. "Look, now that you and those kids resolved everything here, my mission's over. I'm due for some leave, anyways. Figured this might be fun."
"Preventing the apocalypse? Fun?" Ironwood asked.
"He just wants to save his kid," Qrow said without taking his eyes off of Argent. "Right?"
Argent shrugged. "That's... Yeah, that's the big reason," he admitted before looking down. Shame danced across his features. "I didn't believe in Jaune. At all, God, not at all. And he proved me wrong. I need to tell that boy I'm proud of him. Even if I only get to do it once."
Qrow placed his hand on the older man's shoulder. "They didn't put the Council to death. No matter what, Blondie'll make it, too."
"I suppose I should thank you, Mister Roboto," Argent told the general.
"Ozpin argued the hardest for it," the man deflected. He looked down at a watch on his wrist and grunted. He looked up and nodded at the two men with him. "I should be going. Preparations to make." He said a quick farewell and left shortly thereafter, leaving Qrow and Argent alone.
"You really think it'll be okay?" Argent asked after a while.
Qrow was about to answer when he saw a white limo drive up. The door opened a woman in a fitted white and blue dress stepped out. Qrow smiled. "Stranger things, Silver. Stranger things," he said, patting the man on his shoulder.
Argent rolled his eyes. "Go on, then. Play with your damn Atlesian." But, by then, he was already gone.
"Hi," Qrow said as he stopped in front of Winter. Her dress was all white, save for the single sleeve on her left arm that shifted slowly from white to blue. The woman's hair was done up in its usual bun, though it was much less tight than before. This allowed an odd strand or two of hair to dangle in front of her face, though the slight obscuring of her features did not seem to detract from her beauty at all."You look... Hah..."
She smiled fondly. "Thank you," she said simply. She placed a hand on his arm and nodded. "And not only for the compliment. I have appreciated your support, Drunkard."
"Someone needed to melt your Heart, Ice Queen," he responded with a grin. The both of them blushed slightly and looked away from one another.
"I will miss you, Qrow," the woman said.
"Good. Means you'll be happy when I come back," Qrow responded. He stepped towards Winter so their faces were nearly touching. He smiled. "I'll miss you, too."
Winter leaned forward slightly and Qrow breathed in apprehensively. Winter's lips never met his, however. "Good. That means you'll come back." She let her lips lightly touch his cheek before backing away and placing her hand on his chest. "Promise?"
Qrow smiled at the woman before getting an idea. "Tell you what, hold onto this for me," Qrow said. He reached up to his neck and took off the dangling cross from his throat. He moved it slowly to Winter's neck and let it hang on her neck. As he let his hands linger at her neck and shoulders. "There, it's like I'm never leaving."
"Drunkard."
"Ice Queen." He let himself be pulled into a kiss that was all too brief, then let himself be pushed away.
"I need to say goodbye to my sister."
"It's good of you to let her be the one to go out there. I know you don't want to work at Schnee Dust."
"Someone needs to do it," Winter said over her shoulder.
Qrow nodded. "I guess someone'll have to keep you company while you deal with the job, then." Winter blushed and smiled as she turned away, then walked over to her sister. "See ya soon, Ice Queen."
"Well, aren't you two adorable," Argent mocked as he walked over.
"Shut up. People who met their wife by opening with the line, 'Argent Arc, hot stuff. Care for more hot stuff?' don't get to comment on anyone else's relationships."
R W B Y
Emerald and Mercury were hiding out together from Neo's men in Vale. The crazy ice cream girl was still working for Salem, and apparently their little 'defection' was worthy of being punished at the very least. They doubted Salem really cared, but that didn't stop her from sending Neo to kill them. So far, they'd done a good job of escaping her, but it probably couldn't happen forever. As it stood, this was one of their first quiet moments since she started chasing them down. Which, of course, meant Emerald was going to start asking questions. "So..." Emerald began from the window out of which she was looking.
Mercury raised his eyebrow. "'So...' what?" he asked despite knowing very well what this was about. He was laying on the couch of the room, his eyes locked on a single spot of the ceiling.
"Don't give me that bullshit!" Emerald snapped, earning an amused smirk from Mercury. "What the hell was that stuff you used to save us? Xehanort didn't teach us any of that stuff before kicking the bucket!"
Mercury laughed dryly. "Um... Well, he didn't teach you any of that stuff before kicking the bucket," he said. He offered her a mocking grin. "And I know that has to disappoint the teacher's pet in you."
"Shut up," Emerald snapped, and he did; his mouth immediately shut. She was actually angry about this. "Why didn't you use it to do something, dammit?"
"When?!" Mercury snapped. He surged to his feet. "When and what would I have done?"
"You could've saved Cinder!" Emerald growled. She stomped her foot and pointed at him. "Why didn't you do a goddamn thing?!"
"Like what?!" he shouted, raising his hands to shoulder level before letting them slap against his thighs. "In case you hadn't noticed, we were taken out at full strength by Keyboy, and Salem makes him look as scary as the kiddie ride at an amusement park!"
"We could've tried something," Emerald huffed.
"And fucking died maybe." Mercury sighed and ran one hand through his hair. "Look, Greenie, do you know how hard it was to keep that blast from breaking through my shield and killing us? Really. Goddamn. Hard. Like, if you hadn't gotten us out of there when you did, we would've died. Painfully. So, tell me exactly how I could've helped keep Cinder Fall, who by the way told us she was more than willing to kill us if she felt like it, from dying."
"We... we could've tried, right?"
"Okay, let me put it this way. Say... I'd been the one about to be killed by Salem. Do you and Cinder try to stop it?" he asked.
"I would," Emerald said simply.
Mercury snorted. "Don't lie."
"I'm not." Emerald looked indignant at what he'd said.
"Yeah, sure," he responded with a roll of his eyes. He gestured at Emerald. "Look, we need to come up with something to do, okay? I'd rather not hide out until the world ends."
Emerald shook her head and stated, "It's not going to end."
"Keyboy may have killed the dragon, but that doesn't matter if he can't even make it to fight Salem," Merc pointed out before falling back to sit on the couch. "Only way to get there is through portals of Darkness, and he can't make those."
"No, he can't..." Emerald muttered, a small smile coming to her face.
"Oh, hell no. I know that stupid smile. You want to do something stupid!" Mercury growled. He shook his head vigorously. "Uh-uh. We're going to wait this out so we can die in peace."
"Then why even bother saving our lives?" Emerald pointed out. "It was dangerous and stupid if we're just going to die anyways."
"Dammit, why did you have to point that out?" Merc snarled under his breath. He shook his head and looked up at Emerald. "Keyboy would never trust us. It's stupid. You're stupid. No. Nuh-uh. Stupid. Moron. You're making me look smart!"
"Oh, come on. Keyboy's into that whole 'everyone can be redeemed' thing."
"We don't want to be redeemed!" Mercury scoffed. "He knows one thing about both of us – we like killing. It's fun."
"But he also knows we'd rather not die. And Ozpin'll be there to smooth the whole thing over," Emerald pointed out. "Enemy of my enemy is my friend."
"Neither of us knows what friends are. That's Keyboy's thing, isn't it?"
"Exactly," she pointed out. "He'll love our help."
Mercury roared angrily, surging to his feet and kicking the couch hard enough to cut it in half. He took a few deep breaths before turning around and running his hands through his hair again. "Fine. You're not going to let this go, so fine. Let's go hang out with Ruby Rose and her band of sickeningly good friends."
"Not even that is going to change my mind... but nice try. It almost did," Emerald said.
"Fine. Let's just get this stupid shit over with," Mercury growled. He waved his hand to open a portal between them before pointing at Emerald. "But if we die because of this, I'm blaming you."
Emerald rolled her eyes. "So scary," she said before walking through the portal.
Mercury stood still for a moment. "I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?" he asked the air. There was no response, so he just sighed before following Emerald through the portal. "It's still stupid."