A/N: Hello everyone. I hope you're all safe in these difficult times. 2020 has been an absolute bitch so far, and we sadly still have about nine months left.

Anyways, enough of that. Thank you so much for the support in the previous chapter! I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical on whether or not I should jump straight into this story, but I've been inspired to write this lately and with not much to do at home, I decided eh, why not? I'd like to thank everyone who favorited/followed/reviewed this story, it really means a lot to me that people out there take the time to read what I write.

Please do note that as the title suggests, this fic is an AU fic. This specifically means that this fic ignores the parts of KH3's ending where Sora and Kairi have their intimate moment and where Sora disappears. Apologies for not making that clear in the first chapter.

I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! Also, please be warned that the latter part of this chapter contains violence. Reader's discretion is advised.

To Mushroom Kingdom Warrior: Hello! Please check your inbox, as I sent you a PM in reply to your reviews for Black Ice and this fic. Thank you!

Lastly, if anyone has clarifications regarding this chapter, please refer to the A/N at the end of this chapter as I address a few details that may help you understand why certain scenes were written the way they were for this one. Without further ado, on to the actual chapter!

Roxas rested his head against one of the Gummi Ship's windows and hugged his knees to his chest. He let out a deep sigh, finding comfort in the scene of twinkling stars before him. A part of him couldn't help but wish his best friends were present to enjoy the scenery alongside him. However, the more logical part of him was glad that they were in a much safer place than he was.

The thought of the two people closest to him made him think about his newly-assigned task. He had to admit that the nature of their mission was rather…unique. For one, it was the first time he'd ever work with three other Keyblade wielders for a considerable amount of time. He'd fought alongside quite a few in the battle against Xehanort, but he'd never really gone on an entire journey with them. Even his time with Xion and Axel was not this…structured. Another interesting fact was that everyone on his party was directly connected to Sora one way or another. He himself used to be Sora's 'nobody', Ven 'gave' his heart to Sora, and Vanitas was related to Ven (and looked almost exactly like Sora).

They were basically relatives with each other.

The mere notion almost made him shake his head in disbelief.

"Hey, Roxas" a voice greeted behind him. He craned his neck and suppressed a smirk. Speak of the devil, there stood the very brunet that was occupying a segment of his current stream of thoughts. The boy shot him a friendly smile before gesturing to the spot beside him "Mind if I join you?"

Roxas shook his head and scooted over "Not at all"

"Thanks" Sora sat down and mirrored his position, leaning against the opposite side of the window and holding his knees to his chest, making it so that their bodies were facing each other with their gazes trained outside.

A comfortable silence settled between the two. While they themselves didn't interact as much as they did with their respective trios, they were able to call each other close friends. On Sora's part, that was hardly out of the ordinary; the brunet just seemed to befriend pretty much everyone he comes across. As for Roxas, his close connection with his former 'somebody' made trusting him almost second-nature. The two have essentially been through so much together to the point where one knew the other as well as he knew himself.

It's almost as if they were twins.

"Can't sleep?" Sora asked, breaking the silence.

The blond responded with a lazy shrug "Nah. Just thinking about things"

"Like what, if you don't mind?"

"This journey of ours. It's my first time going on one with you guys" he smirked "Well, at least, as a real person"

Sora chuckled at his reply "I guess so. It's nice to finally be actually around you. I've always wondered what questing alongside you would be like"

"I hope I don't disappoint you then" Roxas jokingly remarked.

The two shared a laugh before another silence enveloped them. This time though, there was an easy smile on Sora's face, and the corner of Roxas' lips were curved upwards.

But like earlier, the silence was not meant to last.

Roxas didn't know if it was a mere whim or something more complex, but seemingly out of nowhere, he felt a strange inclination to check up on his companion. Perhaps it was a byproduct of being 'one' with the brunet for a considerable amount of time, but he felt like something was amiss. Deciding to trust his instincts (something he rarely did), he voiced out his concern.

"Are you okay, Sora?" he asked, shifting his gaze to the brunet as he spoke.

Sora remained as he was. Seconds passed, and Roxas began to think that maybe his counterpart didn't hear him. That was until he looked closer and noticed that the brunet's smile turned…sad. The blond's brows furrowed in worry, but he did not pry any further and instead waited patiently for Sora's response.

After what felt like hours, Sora gave him a reply that only heightened his concern. With his smile looking more like a grimace at this point, Sora shakily answered "I will be"

A myriad of questions swam through Roxas' mind. It was rare to see the normally effervescent boy look so…vulnerable. Even when he still resided in Sora's heart, Roxas could not remember ever seeing him in such a state. Not even in the most seemingly hopeless of situations. What happened to him? Surely it was something serious if it affected him this much?

In the end though, Roxas decided that now was not the time to pester the brunet with questions. He reached out and rested a hand on his companion's shoulder, communicating words that would've otherwise taken him minutes to come up with in an instant.

It seemed to work for the most part, as Sora turned to meet his gaze and gave him an appreciative nod.

"Thanks, Roxas" Sora said as his smile turned a tad bit more genuine.

Roxas nodded back and retracted his hand.

The two then resumed their earlier stances and continued to gaze upon the countless stars before them in silence.

"This is…interesting" Ven mumbled as he took in his surroundings. In all honesty, none of them knew what to expect of Remnant exactly. Master Yen Sid mentioned that it was a world that had 'nearly fallen to the darkness', so they (except Vanitas) braced themselves to be thrust into the heart of a war-torn settlement or something along those lines.

Instead they wound up in a place that…smelled strongly of…fish.

Fish.

Ven suddenly gagged and clamped a hand over his mouth. The overpowering scent rendered him defenseless in mere seconds. After all these years, the very odor of the cursed seafood was still more than enough to utterly nauseate him.

"Ven? You okay?" he heard Sora ask from beside him, his tone filled with concern.

The older blond took a few moments to gather himself. Once he was confident that he wasn't going to throw up on the spot, he grumbled "Yeah, I just don't like fish"

Sora's mouth formed the shape of an 'o' "Oh" he then pouted "That sucks. I like fish"

Ven shuddered at the brunet's statement "I normally don't mind, but this is…a bit too much"

Sora scrunched up his nose "Ah, yeah, kinda. But I mean, we are in a port"

"We should decide on what to do next" Roxas interjected. He glanced at his older lookalike and grimaced "…after Ven settles down"

"I'm fine" Ven cleared his throat and took a deep, calming breath "I'm fine. Alright, first things first; why don't we see what kind of currency folks have around here? That way, we can convert all the Munny we have and find ourselves a place to settle in for the time being"

Roxas nodded in agreement "Sounds good"

"Yep!" Sora chirped in.

Ven took one last sigh to himself before a determined expression plastered itself on his face "Let's get going then"

The four headed off. As they walked, the three blue-eyed boys continued their discussion on their next courses of action.

"Let's ask around for directions. We might end up spending the entire day walking if we don't" Ven suggested.

Sora shrugged and clasped his hands behind his head "Eh. I don't really mind. Besides, it's always more fun to figure things out on our own"

Roxas rolled his eyes "Do you even know how to ask for directions, Sora? I've never seen you actually try during all your adventures. Not even once"

The brunet smiled sheepishly "Asking around's not really my thing. I just, y'know, wing it"

Ven simply smiled and shook his head in amusement.

Their exchange was cut short when they noticed two figures standing several meters ahead of them. Ven's smile turned into a grin; with any luck, they should be able to gather some useful information and finally start their journey properly. As they neared the said figures, they began to overhear parts of their conversation.

"P-please, don't hu-hurt me. I s-s-swear the Dust shipments di-didn't arrive t-t-today" one of them stammered in a clearly frightened tone.

The other one let out what sounded like a growl "Are a few containers of Dust really worth your pathetic life, human? I will ask you one last time: WHERE are the Dust shipments?"

Ven exchanged a look with Sora and Roxas, as if trying to confirm if they heard the same words he just did. The suspicious looks on their faces told him everything he needed to know. His senses immediately went on high-alert; something in his gut told him that the two weren't engaged in just a simple conversation.

"I d-d-don't kn-know! I-I swear!" the panicked one repeated. Ven quickened his steps but made sure to move as silently as he could. As he got closer, he saw that one of them had a hand wrapped around the other's neck. The former was wearing a sleeveless black shirt, black pants, black gloves, silver boots, a white vest, and an odd-looking white mask. The latter on the other hand, donned a simple navy-blue jumpsuit and brown shoes. Both individuals appeared and sounded to be male.

From how the jumpsuit-clad fellow was starting to wheeze, Ven knew exactly which side he and his friends were on.

"Then you are of no use to me" the masked man sneered. In one swift motion, he drew his knife and sunk its tip into the other man's abdomen. His unsuspecting victim let out a strangled gasp as his eyes widened.

The three boys sprang into action.

In the blink of an eye, the masked man found himself pinned to the ground. The sudden and forceful impact knocked the wind out of him, as evidenced by the audible exhale that escaped his lips. He blearily looked up to see what was happening—a poor decision. A flash of white light sped towards him before he lost consciousness.

Upon being released from the perpetrator's grip, the other man stumbled and fell backwards. Only to be caught halfway down by someone's arms. He vaguely felt himself be gently lowered to the ground; if it weren't for the fact that his senses were starting to go numb, he might've had half the brain to wonder what was about to happen to him next.

"Mister, can you hear me?" he heard someone ask followed by several light taps on his left cheek.

He turned to the source of the voice as he shakily panted for breath. He saw what appeared to be spiky brown hair and blue eyes.

"P-please" he croaked out "he-help…"

Sora gulped and turned to Ven "How bad is it?" the brunet was unable to conceal the slight panic in his tone.

Ven deftly undid the buttons of the man's jumpsuit to get a better look at the stab wound. He narrowed his eyes at what he saw "It doesn't look too good. We need to get him help fast" the blond extended an open palm towards the spot where the knife was still stuck and casted a healing spell "That should numb the pain for a little bit. We better get moving"

Roxas jogged over to them and crouched beside Ven "What now?"

"We take him to a healer" Sora answered, earning a nod from Roxas.

Ven turned to his younger lookalike "How about the other one?"

Roxas shook his head "Don't worry about him. I knocked him out before he knew what hit him"

Ven furrowed a brow "Did he see you?"

"No. I'd be surprised if he even remembers what happened"

"Alright" Ven nodded "Let's go"

"We should get—" Sora began but froze mid-sentence.

This caught the attention of his blond friends. Ven and Roxas shifted their gazes to the brunet with questioning looks on their faces "Get what?" Ven asked. The two found Sora staring at something to their right with wide, disbelieving eyes. They followed his gaze, then their eyes threatened to bulge out of their sockets.

There was Vanitas, walking ahead without a care in the world. The raven-haired boy believed that his involvement in the incident between the two men was completely unnecessary. For one, he, quite frankly, didn't give a damn about the affairs of the denizens of Remnant. He was only here because his new master gave him a task to complete—nothing more, nothing less. Second, he was certain that the three blue-eyed idiots would be able to handle anything that comes up fine on their own. They were 'aspiring Keyblade Masters' after all.

As he kept walking, he heard a booming voice call out "You there!"

The boy simply ignored the sound and continued his leisurely tread. Moments later, three masked figures wearing the exact same attire as the man Roxas knocked out earlier entered his line of sight. They were walking towards him at a pace just a notch faster than his own, with about half an arm's length of distance between each other.

"You lost, twerp?"

"This isn't the place for the likes of you, kid"

"I'd run now if I were you"

Vanitas' expression remained impassive. The one in the middle among the three scowled "Hey! We're talking to you!"

Still no reaction.

Angered, the one on the left grit his teeth and quickened his steps. As he neared the infuriating teen, he sneered "When we talk, you respond, you stupid human!" The masked man made a grab at the brat to teach him a lesson.

And in doing so, he signed his very own death warrant.

Before the man's gloved hand could make contact with any part of Vanitas, the raven-haired boy vanished into thin air.

He didn't give the masked idiot time to even gasp.

A fraction of a heartbeat later, Vanitas reappeared behind the man and threw a forceful punch aimed at the back of the latter's head. The blow was so powerful that the sound of the teen's fist connecting with its target seemed to echo across every corner of Remnant. The man was instantly paralyzed and dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Another millisecond later, Vanitas materialized in front of the two other unfortunate souls that provoked him. He made quick work of them—a solid kick for one, and a hard elbow for the other; both strikes landed cleanly on their faces. The two fell unconscious, joining their other comrade on the ground.

Vanitas straightened himself and turned to look upon the aftermath of his outburst. There was blood trickling down two of his victims' heads—the one he kicked and the one he elbowed. A part of him felt that maybe he shouldn't have done what he just did, but he couldn't bring himself to say (or perhaps admit) that he was guilty. No, they shouldn't have messed with him. He would've left them alone had they not gotten in his way.

"Vanitas!" Sora exclaimed as he ran towards his raven-haired lookalike. Once he was close enough, he stopped and rested a hand on the older boy's shoulder.

Vanitas' face twisted into a scowl. He violently shook the brunet's hand off his shoulder and shot him a nasty glare "Don't touch me" he said through gritted teeth.

Roxas, who followed closely behind Sora, was able to witness the exchange between the two. With narrowed eyes, he stood protectively in front of the brunet and met Vanitas' glare head on "What's your problem?" he asked.

Vanitas sneered "Tch. Stay out of my business, blondie. Unless you want me to beat you to a pulp too"

Roxas took a step forward so that he and the raven-head were almost literally face-to-face "I'd like to see you try" he challenged.

Vanitas' fists clenched "Why you—"

"Enough!" Ven exclaimed, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. The older blond wedged his arms between Roxas and Vanitas to force them apart. He then stood between the two, a disapproving expression on his face. He turned to Vanitas first "Vanitas, we don't operate with violence. We're here to investigate a sensitive matter, not hurt the locals. Don't think with your fists" he chastised firmly.

Vanitas turned his murderous glare towards him "Just stay the fuck out of my way"

Ven rolled his eyes and turned to Roxas "Roxas, I know you mean well, but there's no point in aggravating the situation any further. Nothing good will result from that"

Roxas exhaled and gave a noncommittal shrug. He turned to the unconscious bodies that suffered Vanitas' wrath and approached them. He crouched beside them and checked their necks for pulses with his fingers. Moments later, Roxas turned to his companions and nodded "They're still alive"

It was Vanitas who rolled his eyes this time "Of course they are. What do you take me for? An idiot? I know better than to just kill people" the raven-head declared smugly.

Roxas glared daggers at the older teen. He was about to spit out an unpleasant retort when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. The blond looked up and saw Sora looking him in the eye. The brunet shook his head at him, as if telling him that Vanitas wasn't worth it. Roxas sighed and begrudgingly nodded. His friend was right.

Ventus closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

This was going to a looooong journey…

He took a deep breath and turned to Sora "Sora, head into town and see if you can find help; preferably from a healer. The three of us will stay here and hold down the fort" The blond then flashed the brunet a small smile "I figured that you have the best chance of succeeding seeing as you're the most talented at befriending people out of the four of us"

Sora's lips twisted into a toned-down version of his signature grin. He nodded and held a thumb up "Gotcha! I'll be right back!" he exclaimed before taking off.

Ven turned back to his other companions. His smile dimmed as he began to think of ideas on how to take care of the wounded man while making sure Roxas and Vanitas don't murder each other.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ven saw Vanitas begin to move. The blond tensed for a moment and prepared himself to stop the raven-head lest he do something stupid again. He relaxed when he realized that his counterpart only went to lean against the dock railings.

With a relieved sigh, Ven shifted his gaze towards Roxas, who was still crouched on the ground "I'll check on the stabbing victim. He lost consciousness just before you and Sora ran off" he gestured to the bodies near Roxas "You take care of them"

Roxas nodded "Will do" Ven returned his nod and jogged away. The younger blond turned his attention back to the collapsed masked individuals around him. He noted that there were cracks on all of their masks—a testament to Vanitas' strength. Curiously, he reached over with both hands and gently removed the mask of the figure nearest to him.

What he saw piqued his curiosity even further.

Were those…

…dog ears?

Sora returned about fifteen minutes or so later with several people in tow. With the help of the natives, they were able to call for the assistance they required. After a bit more of waiting, all sorts of personnel arrived at the docks, ranging from healers called 'paramedics', to peacekeepers called 'policemen'. The paramedics took over in caring for the injured, stabilizing them and transporting them to a place called a 'hospital'.

As the paramedics worked, the policemen pulled the group of four aside and questioned them. They made it clear that they were not in any trouble, and only wished to "gather accurate statements" from them. It also helped that the natives vouched for their innocence, as one of them happened to be "co-workers" with the man who was stabbed. Sora, Roxas, and Ven didn't miss the disdainful tone the policemen used whenever they referred to the masked men they encountered. They were apparently called 'faunus'—a species similar to humans, except for the fact that they share certain traits with animals (which, Roxas thought inwardly, would explain why one of them had dog ears). The faunus they ran into in particular were members of a "terrorist group" called the "White Fang". In other words, they were the absolute worst kind of faunus, as they seek to harm humans in whatever way they can.

While the three blue-eyed boys had questions they wanted to ask, they discreetly kept to themselves as to not give away their true identities. They found themselves having to 'improvise' in answering some of the questions the policemen asked them, such as where they were from, what they were doing at the docks at the time of the incident, and et cetera. Fortunately for them, the policemen didn't ask anything they couldn't get past with an intricate lie…or two.

Thank goodness for Master Yen Sid's parting gift.

"Well, that's all there is to it" a policeman who introduced himself as Pierson declared "Thanks for your help, you four. Our department's been having trouble with the White Fang for quite some time now. But with what you did today, let's just say our lives became a little bit easier" the uniformed man said with a smile.

Sora nodded "It's no problem, sir. We're glad to have helped"

Pierson chuckled "You're too kind, my boy" his look turned quizzical "If you don't mind me asking, would you four happen to be hunstmen-in-training?"

Roxas' eyes widened upon hearing the last term. He exchanged a quick look with Sora and Ven and found that they were just as taken aback as he was. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Roxas answered "No sir, we aren't. But we're actually hoping to be"

Pierson perked up and his smile brightened "Oh! In that case, let me repay you for the work you've done today. I'll write the four of you a recommendation letter that'll vouch for your skills. You can submit that along with your Beacon Academy application forms after you've filled out the necessary details. Drop by the Vale Police Department Station tomorrow noon. I'll have your letter ready by then. I'm not sure by how much, if at all, that'll actually help your chances of being accepted into Beacon, but it's the least I can do"

The trio's heads were just about to burst with questions. What was Beacon Academy? Where was Beacon Academy? How do you apply there? How do you get an application form? Where was the Vale Police Department Station?

Roxas blinked and nodded politely "We'd greatly appreciate that, sir. Thank you"

Ven nodded along, but it was more of an attempt to shake himself back to attention "If you don't mind, sir, may we ask a few questions? We're pretty new around here, as we mentioned earlier, so we don't know where certain places are"

An understanding expression appeared on Pierson's face "Of course! I'll do my best to accommodate"

"Thank you" Ven said curtly "First, may we ask where we can exchange for the currency in this place?"

Pierson tilted his head to the side "Oh, a currency exchange? There should be one in the next block over there" he gestured ahead of them "On the left end. You won't miss it"

Ven nodded "How about the Vale Police Department Station? Where is it located?"

"The station's not too far from here, only about half an hour away actually. And that's assuming you'll be travelling by foot. It's located in the heart of the commercial district. Head further into the city, and you'll easily be able to find the station yourselves. Should you get lost, there are signs scattered pretty much everywhere around the city that'll point you in the right direction"

"Lastly, how do we apply to Beacon Academy?" Ven, even without knowing what exactly Beacon Academy was, decided to ask. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a place for huntsmen/aspiring huntsmen, which was exactly the kind of place they needed to get into in order to thicken their cover.

Pierson frowned "I'm afraid I can't be of much help with that. I'm not too familiar with the exact steps of the application process myself. You can, however, look it up on the internet. It shouldn't be too difficult to find at least someone you may contact for more information regarding that"

Ven shot the man a smile "I see. Thank you for your help, sir"

The policeman grinned "It was my pleasure. Thank you for your help as well, all of you" he nodded at the others, who either nodded or grinned back at him. "I'm afraid I must be off now. I still have reports to finish" he grumbled "See you around, lads. Take care of yourselves" the man bade with a wave before turning to walk away.

After Pierson left, Sora turned to his friends "I think that's our cue to get going"

Ven shook his head and began to lead the way to the currency exchange "I just hope we don't get caught up in anything as eventful as that this time around"

Roxas snorted under his breath "Too right"

A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that one. To be honest, I'm not sure if I did a good enough job with the White Fang scenes. A part of me feels like I rushed them? And that I didn't put more detail into what each character was thinking while stuff was going on and people were getting hurt. I also feel like I may not have done well in terms of scene continuity? I say this because maybe I did not make Sora, Roxas, and Ven pay enough attention to the stabbing victim, since they all ran over to Vanitas to confront him and no one stayed behind to take care of the wounded man. Please let me know if this style of writing is good enough for you guys, or if you want me to make them more detailed, or maybe even make them shorter. I'd love to hear what you guys think, so please either PM me or leave a review so I can make appropriate adjustments in the coming chapters.

In the next chapter, the four explore Vale and begin their application process to Beacon Academy. I hope you guys stay tuned for that!

Just a few chapter clarifications ahead, please feel free to skip this part of the A/N if you're good with everything already.

First and foremost, if it wasn't clear, Sora, Roxas, Ven, and Vanitas landed in the docks of Vale. Please do note that I am not aware if the docks are actually part of Vale's commercial district or if it's a completely separate area (and if it is, I'm not sure as to how far it exactly is from other parts of the city). I've searched online for threads and was unable to come across a solid, definitive answer to that. For the purposes of this chapter, I assumed that the docks are NEAR the commercial district as I implied in the policeman's dialogue.

Second, please do note that I am not completely knowledgeable on the application process to Beacon Academy. I've searched online forums as well for more details, but I also came up empty. As we know, Ruby was invited to take the entrance exam because of her display of skill, but I cannot remember how applicants were actually selected to take the examination. In other words, I'm not fully aware of the details regarding the pre-selection process for the entrance exam to Beacon. I do admit that I have not re-watched the first season to clarify this, but if I do overlook some details, please do point them out to me so I can correct them. It's been a while since I watched the first season of the show, hehe.

Third, if some of you are wondering why there didn't seem to be enough White Fang members in the White Fang scenes, I meant to imply that once the rest found out that other people were present at the docks, they decided to flee since they knew that the police/authorities wouldn't be far behind. Apologies if I wasn't too clear on that in the scenes, or if I didn't mention that detail in the actual chapter, but that's what I meant to portray.

Fourth, I have to admit that writing four different protagonists is turning out to be quite the challenge. Sometimes I feel like I'm giving too much dialogue for one person, and in turn am giving too little for another. Please do point it out if I'm starting to clearly favor one character over the other (among Sora, Roxas, Ven, and Vanitas). As much as possible, I want to write them all equally, but I do admit that I have a favorite among the four (which should be obvious by now given the other KHRWBY crossover fic I posted on this site). Still, I'll try to be as non-biased as possible for the sake of developing all four characters.

Thanks for your time everyone! Stay safe and healthy! I'll see you on the next chapter!