"So, uh… try and not freak out about this place, please? The Master gave it to me, and I didn't really have a choice…"

"...How many places did Eraqus own?" Blake asked as she looked up at the large house, supporting her partner's weight as they made their way up the walkway and ignored the mutterings behind them. And there were a lot of those.

'What happened to them?'

'Are they heroes?'

'I didn't hear anything about a villain fight…'

"It's a long story," Ruby said, fumbling with a key before sighing and handing it to Zack. Blake looked at Ruby in confusion.

"Couldn't you have just used your Keyblade for that?"

"I still need to give the key to Zack at some point if he's gonna stay here," Ruby said.

"And you're fine with me being here?" Zack said, unlocking the door and pushing it open.

"Oh, yeah. Place will just gather dust otherwise," Ruby said, "There's not much, it's not fully furnished... I think, but should be enough for us to lick our wounds… after a few runs to a store."

"Do they take lien here?"

"I might have some drachma in my pants," Zack said.

"What about these?" Yang said, lifting one of the two chests she was carrying, Pyrrha holding the other two. Mickey had, before departing for a date with his wife, pointed out that his kingdom was doing fine economically, and he really didn't need to extra gil.

"...Now's when it'd be great to have a moogle around," Ruby sighed, "I swear, they must have an encyclopedia of every world and what it us-"

"Not every world, Kupo. Just most of them."

Blake drew Gambol Shroud in a flash, doing her best to turn with Ruby as everyone else did the same. Master Defender flashed into existence in Ruby's free hand, while Ember Celica clicked into place around Yang's fists and Zack and Pyrrha drew their swords, ready to atta-

Oh dear sweet… it was adorable.

Floating in the air was a hologram of a small, white plushy-like creature with purple bat wings and a red ball hanging from his head. It tilted its head, the slitted eyes moving closer together, "Sorry, did I scare you, Kupo?"

"We're just a bit jumpy," Ruby said, putting Master Defender down with a sigh, "What's there a projector in my house, Mog?"

"You know him?" Blake asked.

"He runs the shop at the Garden," Ruby said.

"Braig came and paid for a projector, Kupo. Said I wouldn't even need to pay for the extra space. I guess it's because it's in your house! I don't normally do home service, Kupo, but you four are good money. I guess it's you eight, now."

"Yeah," Ruby said, "I'm not sure how often I'll be dropping by, but knowing where there's a projector helps. So, does this world take gil?"

"Give me a second, Kupo," Mog vanished, leaving everyone to awkwardly find places to sit. Finally, the adorable creature reappeared, "Found the answer!"

"Which is?" Ruby prompted.

"No, Kupo!"

"What does that even mean?" Yang said, "you keep saying Kupo…"

"Kupo means kupo," Mog said, as if that explained anything, "anyways, lucky for you, they use yen. There's an almost one to one exchange rate from yen to gil at the moment, Kupo. Would you like to do so?"

"Sure," Ruby said, grabbing one of the chests and heaving it onto a device next to the holographic projector. There was a flash of light, then the chest was gone.

"Let's s- KUPO!" Everyone jumped, "You didn't say it was in gold!"

"So?"

"The exchange rate from yen to gil is even! The exchange rate from gold to gil is low because of alchemy, but the exchange rate for this to yen on that world? You'll be good for a while, Kupo, but, um… I'm gonna need an hour to get that yen ready for transfer. Ok, Kupo?"

"Yeah," Ruby, "that's fine, Mog. Thanks for your help."

"Anytime," Mog said, before flicking away.

"I'm gonna try this scroll," Yang said, poking the wall mounted one. Ruby had evidently been wrong when she claimed it to be not fully furnished, "just give us some noise."

"Sounds good," Ruby said, "You alright, Zack?"

"Yeah," Zack said, stretching, "I'm gonna do some squats while we talk. Work out the kinks, ya know?"

-X Ruby X-

Ruby looked around the furnished house, trying to hide the frown. Had the Master done this?

'Course I did, Lux. I wasn't gonna get you a place to say and then leave you to furnish it. There's aid supplies in the cupboard next to the TV.

Thanks…

Any time. Later, and by that I mean 'when you've recovered but before you head back to Remnant', meet me on the beach. We got something to talk about.

Ok, then.

"There's first aid supplies in the cupboard," Ruby said, yawning as the adrenaline made its way out of her system, resting her head on Blake's shoulder as they sat on the couch.

Seriously, don't rush yourself, Lux. It doesn't matter if it's five hours or five days, I'll be there. You just… you did well today, Ruby. Take your time. It's not important, there's no training, no job, I just want to talk. Face to hood.

Ruby blinked at the click, eyes turning towards Yang, who was holding up her Scroll, "What?"

"You two," Yang said with a giggle, snapping another picture.

"You're lucky I'm too tired to go over there," Blake sighed, resting her head against Ruby.

"Ok," Pyrrha said, "I found… I only recognize a few of these things."

"Let me see?" Ruby said, holding out her hands to take the box. Instead were rolls of gauze, creams, potions and ethers, "Keyblader's health kit. Wrap up my leg? I'm gonna drink a potion and then black out until Mog gets back to us."

"I'll take one too," Blake said.

"You didn't even get hit!" Yang said.

"I'm pretty sure he sprained my shoulder when he ripped out of the ribbon," Blake said, rubbing the opposite shoulder from Ruby and leaving her to grumble, "and it's not a contest Yang. We know you got hurt."

"Yeah, because if it was a contest, Ruby won!" Yang barked.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. We should all take one," Ruby said, chugging the potion and snuggling in as Pyrrha reached down. Were there any blan-

Bedrooms.

Man, he was on point today.

Yeah, well that's what happens when MY STUDENT DECIDES TO DO SOMETHING STUPID!

"You alright?" Blake asked.

"Migraine," Ruby said simply, "Zack, there's some blankets upstairs. Do you mind getting one?"

Sorry. You just worried me there. I trust D when the chips are down… but that wasn't the smartest thing you've ever done, Lux.

"Yeah, sure," Zack said, jogging upstairs.

Ruby closed her eyes to the rhythmic feeling of the bandage wrapping around her leg and the cool feeling of a potion spreading to deal with aches and pains.

She really hoped Diabolos didn't have something to bug her with

I'll tell him to leave you alone. We can deal with what he did when we see each other. Sleep tight, Lux. You're gonna need it for the teasing.

-X Pyrrha X-

Pyrrha stepped back, watching Ruby and Blake nap gently as Zack tucked a blanket over them. Yang lifted her Scroll, taking another picture of them, "Really?"

"They're adorable," Yang said, before lowering the Scroll and touching her face. A somber look came across her face even as the injury healed, "there's gonna be scarring, isn't there?"

"Some light, probably," Pyrrha said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Yang asked.

"If I had just been a few seconds faster, you wouldn't have been hurt."

"Oh," Yang said, voice droll, "Don't worry about it. That Sephin-guy was like a hurricane from hell. I could barely keep up with him for most of the fight."

"Yeah," Zack said, "I'm surprised you gu… uh girls could keep up with him."

"Yeah?' Yang drawled.

"Yeah! You gotta be super strong, for him to be as tired as he was when I got there! And his hand was like…"

Pyrrha was sure her skin turned a light green as she thought about it, "I'm pretty sure I saw a phalanx coming out of…"

"His whaf?" Zack asked, "What's a phalanx formation gotta do with Sephiroth? Were there other people there? Did I miss them?"

"No, Pyrrha said, shaking her head and cracking a small smile at the storm of questions. Zack was… excitable. But then the smile faded, and she reached down, running her right thumb over the middle finger. She thought it was there, "the phalanges, finger bones… I saw one coming out of his wrist…"

Silence fell like a shroud, both Yang and Pyrrha glancing at the sleeping form of Ruby. She… whatever that purple blade had been, it wasn't something Pyrrha wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"Alright, I'm ba- oh, what happened to them, Kupo?" Mog suddenly reappeared, tilting his head and dropping his voice as soon as he saw the sleeping partners.

"We had a rough day, uh… Mog, right?" Yang said.

"Yep! That's me, Kupo-! Uh… Kupo. Mog, your one stop shop for all your adventurous needs. Including exchange rates, apparently. What happened to your hair?"

"...Part of that rough day," Yang said, "I need to cut it. Considering how much he burned, I could probably just take some scissors to it."

"I can help!" Zack offered cheerfully, a wide grin on his face, "My pops was a barber!"

"They had barbers there?"

"Yeah!" Zack said, "he wanted me to take after him but I wanted to be a hero. One the whole world talked about because he was so strong!"

"Well," Mog said, "You're on the right world for that, Kupo."

"What'd ya mean?"

"Being a hero is a job on that world, Kupo. Pro-Heroing… or is it Pro-Heroics, Kupo? Whatever, they have schools for it."

Zack's blue eyes lit up, and he punched his fist, "Great! I'm gonna get into one of those schools!"

"Good luck, Japans don't make it easy, Kupo. Especially for someone a year or two older than the admittance age. Not saying it's impossible, but… you're gonna have to work for it."

"Isn't that what being a hero is all about?" Zack asked, "We gotta work our hardest to get as strong as possible so we can save as many people as possible! It's not a job for lazies."

"Hm… You're a funny kid, Kupo. I see why Ruby likes ya. Well, I'm guessing you'll be staying here for a while, Kupo?"

"Yeah!"

"Then call me every few months, I want to hear how this goes, Kupo. Anyways, I'll send over the money and some scissors. Have a good day, Kupo!"

"You too," Pyrrha said as the money appeared in a flash. Zack grabbed a pair of scissors off the chest, before turning to Yang.

"So, uh…"

"Let's go to the bathroom," Yang sighed, "I want to see what you're doing, if I have to get it done. Keep on sleepin' Rubes."

Ruby didn't respond, just snoring gently. Yang chuckled, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

- X Yang X-

Yang stared at herself in the mirror, a morse pair of red eyes staring back at her. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to clobbered Sephiroth, she wanted to do a bunch of things. But there was one thing she desperately didn't want, but had to do.

She had to sit here and let her hair get cut. Because a good portion of it was a blackened, charred mess. She swore, if it grew back white because of scar tissue, she was finding Sephiroth and strangling him with his own guts, damnit.

"Everything alright?" Zack asked.

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"Would you believe me if I said I believed you?" Zack shot back.

"No," Yang laughed, touching the splotchy, starburst scar across her left eye. It was barely visible, but visible nonetheless, "Guess I'm not pretty anymore…"

"Because of that scar?" Zack said, a frown pulling across his face, "that's not fair…"

"What?"

"Guy's get scars on their face," Zack said, tapping an X shaped scar on the side of his face, "and it makes them more handsome. But a scar can't make a girl prettier?"

"Smooth talker, huh?"

"One with a horrible track record with women," Zack said, "Tried it with Aqua, tried it with Ruby. Struck out both times. Same with you?"

"Ruby doesn't normally-"

"Yeah, I figured that one out," Zack said, "doesn't like guys?"

"Doesn't like people," Yang said. That was the best way to put it, she guessed, "How'd you get the scar?"

"Aqua and Terra," Zack said, "sparring accidents with both. Them, Ruby and Ven were trained by the same guy."

Yeah," Yang said, breathing in, "alright, get cutting, putting it off isn't gonna magically make it fix itself."

"It wasn't a question," Zack said, and began doing so, frowning at Yang's wince, "Am I pulling too hard?"

"No… I just… it sucks having to do this," Yang said, "I like my hair long. And I haven't really had anyone cut it that much since Summer died. Trimming, yeah, but like this…"

"Summer?"

"Ruby's mom," Yang said, eyes lowering "My stepmom. She was… she was the best mom ever. And I feel like I didn't do much to pay her back for that today."

"Because Ruby got hurt?"

"And she keeps getting hurt. I told her I was coming with her from now on to keep her safe and… I couldn't even fuckin' see Sephiroth move without a spell, man."

"Neither could I, and trust me, when you've sparred with Ruby and Ventus, that's a sign someone's above and beyond," Zack said, "Those two moved fast but Sephiroth? Sephiroth reminded me of Terra with Zantetsuken, except every move was that."

"Still," Yang said, fist clenched tight, "I need to get stronger. I'm gonna ask Dad, I'm gonna ask Ren, I'm gonna ask anyone at Beacon who uses hand-to-hand. I'm gonna get strong enough to protect Ruby."

"I could give you a couple of moves," Zack offered, dropping a pile of black hair, "I'm not the best at Pankration, that's Herc's thing, but you can't spar with someone without picking up some stuff."

"Thanks," Yang said, smiling at him in the mirror, "You're a good guy."

"You seem pretty nice too," Zack said, "and don't worry about the burn. It's nothing bad. Make you look like a warrior."

Ruby walked towards the landfill with her hands in the pockets of her black coat, ignoring the gawkers as she went. Finally, ducking under a car stacked on top of a pair of refrigerators, Ruby met the Master's… hood, "Hi."

"Hey," the Master said, gesturing from the bed of the truck he was seated in, "C'mon up here, I want to talk."

"You said that earlier," Ruby said, climbing onto it with a detached sigh, "What's so important that can't just-"

Ruby froze as the Master silently reached out, pulling her into a light hug by the back of her head. After a minute of them standing like that, the Master spoke up, "This is about what happened at the bottom of the Styx. I don't ever want to hear you thinking like that again, understand me?"

"I-"

"I don't care, that Aqua gave you a Mark without thinking. I don't care, that some idiot," the Master snarled, "said he thinks you don't deserve it. I am the Master of Masters, and as such, and listen to me very closely, are you listening, Luxuria?"

"Yes," Ruby said.

"You deserve that Mark. I gave you the Mark when I gave Riku Chithiry-"

"You made a mistake!" Ruby snapped, pulling back and swinging for him. The Master weaved his head to the side, dodging the punch, "I keep making mistakes! I keep screwing up, and getting hurt, and… and…"

"And do you know how many times Aced fucked up after being named a Master? How about Ira? Or Galu? Or Invi? And don't get me started on Luxu or Ava. People screw up, Lux, it happens. And you did a lot of screwing up today, going after Tree-man was a dumb move. One that coulda ended with all of you dead if D and Phoenix weren't looking out for you. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Wha-?" Before Ruby could finish, pain spiked in her eye, a marble of fire falling from it before briefly exploding into a bird of fire that launched into the sky, "Wha-?"

"Did you really think you were completely alone?" The Master drawled, "there's a reason your eye was red… anyways, now that she's gone, as I was saying. You screwed up. You also did some good stuff. You managed to Break, even if it was with D's help. You went and got Mickey, and you destroyed Sephiroth's hand something fierce. The point is, Luxuria, that the world isn't pass-fail. It's not Light-Dark. There's shades of grey, there's gonna be times in the future where you did the right thing, but feel you screwed up. Today is one of those, learn from it."

"Is that all you called me here for?" Ruby asked, voice wavering.

"Nah," The Master said, pulling out a package wrapped in red paper, "I can monologue your ear off from world's away, I didn't need to be here for that. It's a couple of weeks early, but happy birthday. You need it, after the day you had."

Ruby caught the package, opening it… and her mouth falling open, "This is…"

"Yep. Black's nice and all, but I think red's more your color. Go on, put it on."

Ruby shrugged off the black coat, throwing on the red version immediately after. Touching the pull, Ruby's mouth went even drier as it dawned on her what it was… no way, "but, but-"

"No buts," the Master said, "I said it didn't I? You earned that Mark, you're gonna wear it proudly from now on. Understand?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, using the pull in the shape of the Mark of Mastery symbol to zip up the coat, "I… I…"

"And we're not done. Check the box."

Ruby looked down, frowning as she picked up a mask in the shape of… "A Deathstalker?"

"Scorpion, technically," the Master said, "but I figured I should shape it like something from your world."

"But why?" Ruby asked.

"Why?" The Master said, "Why!? Jeez, do I gotta explain everything!? Because you are Foreteller Luxuria of Union Scorpiones! And each Foreteller with a Union had a mask! So there's yours, put it on and pull up the hood, I want to see the ensemble."

Ruby did so, blinking as the inside of the mask projected an image of the Master, "It's… cameras?"

"Yep," the Master said, "gotta get with the times, Lux! And with the times we got! Don't go wearing that around Remnant, it'll make ya look like a Fang."

"Thanks," Ruby said, taking the mask off, "seriously, thank yo-"

"Don't thank me," the Master said, "I'm gonna be doing something that's gonna make you wonder stuff about me soon, and… just remember what I said about shades of grey, and just trust me. Ok?"

"Ok?" Ruby said.

What did that mean?

- X AN X-

Blech, that was saccharine for my taste, but important after Ruby's thoughts last chapter. Fun fact, Ruby was originally gonna get the coat and mask at the end of Fears, but I decided she needed a hug. And what's a better hug like a red coat and a high tech mask to help her with sniping (an actual hug. An actual hug would be better).

Thoughts? Questions? Opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?