AN: I haven't written a chapter this long in a while.
Once again, thanks to Lord Maximus for all the help.
Chapter 64
Aqua was confused when she saw Ruby and Yang enter the kitchen from outside.
Weren't they supposed to be in Mina's room?
She shook her head.
"About time you two joined us," she said. "Since you decided to pilfer two of the chairs for your blanket fort, you'll have to eat your eggs standing up."
"Alright," Yang said.
"Sorry about that, Mom," Ruby said.
"So, how was the fort?" Aqua asked Larmina, who was happily munching on her breakfast. "Was it fun?"
"Yup!" she said, a big smile on her face. "Come inside it with us later!"
"I'll make sure to do that," Aqua said, putting her serving of breakfast on a plate and sitting down at the table next to Qrow.
The scene before her was so happy.
So then why did it feel so wrong?
"HEY!" Yang yelled, thrashing around in her chair, her eyes blood red. "HELP!" She kicked her feet hard, making the chair skootch forward with an ugly scraping sound. "LET US OUT OF HERE, YOU ASSHOLES!"
"Yang, stop it," Ruby said. "The only people here all want us dead. They won't help us."
"Well, what if Mom hears?" Yang asked.
"They want to keep us as far away from her as possible," Ruby said. "Do you really think they'd let her come close enough to the shed to hear us?"
"Well, we gotta do something!" Yang said. "You heard what the fake us said! Kingdom Hearts is trying to merge with her and take over her heart! We don't know how much time we have left!"
"Which is why we need to stop wasting time calling for help that'll never come and try to think of a way out of here." Yang took a few deep breaths to calm down, and her eyes changed back to lilac.
"Okay," Yang said after a deep exhale. "What's the plan?" Ruby looked around the shed for a few seconds.
"If this place is as similar to the real world as I think it is, then the tools for working on your bike should be in here somewhere." She spotted in the corner, tucked under a shelf, was a half-open bag of tools. "Ah! There it is! Do you have anything in there that can cut through rope?"
"There should be a couple screwdrivers in there," Yang said. "But, uh, aren't you forgetting something?" She looked down pointedly at the ropes securing them to their chairs. "As long as we're stuck in these chairs, we can't get down there to get to the tools."
"Darn it," Ruby said in frustration, kicking her legs out. Yang started rocking her chair back and forth, finally succeeding in making it fall over.
"Ow," she said when she hit the floor, her arms unavailable to catch her fall.
"You okay?" Ruby asked.
"Yup," Yang said. "Peachy."
And then she slammed her own head against the floor.
"What are you doing?!" Ruby asked.
"Trying…" Yang said, hitting her head against the floor again. "…to take some damage. Get my Semblance going. Might be able to just brute-force my way out."
"Hold on, hold on," Ruby said. "Yang, hitting yourself is crazy."
"Well, how else are we getting out of here?" Yang asked impatiently. "You've never been good at magic without a Keyblade, and I'm sorry, but I don't exactly see how speed is going to help us when you'd just take the chair with you when you tried your Semblance."
"Take the chair with me?" Ruby asked. "Wait, that's it!" Ruby leaned forward, managing to plant her feet on the ground under the chair. She quickly kicked off the ground, pushing backwards and activating her Semblance at the same time. She sent herself careening towards the wall behind her, slamming the chair into it and shattering it to pieces. "Ow."
"Nice thinking, Rubes!" Yang said. Ruby, now free of the confines of the chair, started scooting along the ground towards the open tool bag.
A few minutes later, Yang used Ember Celica, which their fakes had forgotten to take off her, to blast through the hinges of the shed door. But once they were outside, they were greeted by two people.
One of them looked like Terra, but with silver hair and golden eyes. The other one was a boy wearing a black body suit and an all-black helmet.
"Terra?" Ruby asked, refusing to call a fake her Uncle.
"Vanitas," Yang said with a growl.
"You know him?" Ruby asked.
"That's the guy Mom, Weiss, and I fought at the Graveyard."
"Oh please," Vanitas said. "That imitation?"
"Says the imitation," Yang retorted. "You're not even the real Vanitas either, just a fake this world created like everything else."
"I'm as real as can be as long we're in here," Vanitas said. "Real enough to stop you, at least."
"I don't suppose you'd be willing to get back in the shed?" Terra asked.
"No way!" Ruby said. "We're going to take Mom back!"
"How quick you both are to save your mother," a new voice said. "And yet have you not wondered if she even wants to be saved?" A portal appeared before them, and a man in a familiar black coat stepped out. Yang's eyes flashed red at the sight of him.
"Are you that bastard from before?" she demanded. "Is this your doing?"
The man chuckled as he took off his hood, revealing an elderly man with a bald head, a short silver goatee, dark skin, and golden eyes.
"I'm afraid not, but I am someone you know," the man said. "After all, this world was forged from Aqua's memories and the people created here are made from her strongest memories and desires. Both friend, family, and… others." Ruby couldn't help but shiver as she looked at this old man, seeing there was much more to him than meets the eye.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"You truly do not know? Did Aqua not tell you about her adventures? All of which were only made possible by me? How I was the one who engineered the path she took that led her to you, and the one responsible for the destinies of her friends? The boy who failed to become a blade and the apprentice who became my new vessel."
Ruby's eyes widened when she realized just who this man was. "It's you…"
The man's grin grew.
"That's it, I've had it!" Yang yelled, about to attack before Ruby stopped her. "Ruby?"
"Yang, be very careful around him," Ruby said, keeping a wary look on the man. "We know him… He's Xehanort." Now Yang's eyes widened.
"Xehanort? The bastard who made Mom's life hell?"
"You flatter me, Yang Xiao Long," Xehanort said with a chuckle. "Yes, I exist here as well as a manifestation of Aqua's deepest, strongest, and darkest memories along with Vanitas, and Terra's body under my control. Kingdom Hearts may have created a perfect world forged from the deepest and purest wishes of Aqua's heart, but Kingdom Hearts is both light and darkness, and thus we have been created, ironically to protect her."
"Protect her?" Yang growled. "You tried to kill her! You tricked her, took away her friends and destroyed her home! Even now, you're trying to help Kingdom Hearts take over her body!"
"And yet it was my design that brought her to you," Xehanort said, his eyes landing on Ruby. "Yes, a single light in the darkness that was enough to bring the foolish master who failed to save her friends to two girls, one of whom would be chosen to wield the Keyblade. I guided her to you, and it was because of me that she forged new bonds in this lonely world."
"That doesn't excuse what you did to her," Ruby retorted. "Let Mom go, now!"
"Why?" Terra asked. "Can't you see how happy she is here?"
"Of course they can't," Vanitas chuckled. "They can only see what they want. Two little girls desperately crying out for Mommy. Would bring a tear to the eye if it wasn't so sad."
"You're trying to steal her body!" Ruby yelled.
"Yes, but her mind would stay here," Xehanort said. "Even after her heart has been subsumed, her consciousness will remain here, in this dream, forever. This world was created in response to the deepest desires of Aqua's heart. A world free of the pain and burdens she had endured. A world lost, a family broken, and everything that she has sacrificed for two girls who wanted her to be their mother, to love and cherish them to fill the vacancy in their own hearts. To take over for their father who lost confidence in himself and asked her to step up to be the one to raise them.
"Even among this new family she has sacrificed so much, even denying herself the chance to have a child with the man to whom she has given her heart, all for the sake of the daughters whom desired her love and light simply to feel a mother's love again. She has sacrificed so much for you, why deny her the chance to truly have what she has always desired?"
Ruby and Yang were silent for a few seconds.
"Mom and Uncle Qrow didn't have kids… for us?" Ruby asked.
"She felt it would be a distraction from your training," Xehanort continued. "Now you see. What right do you have to deny her this? To live in a world free of pain. Soon she won't even remember the tragedies that befell her."
Yang chuckled.
"What's so funny, Blondie?" Vanitas asked.
"You just don't get it, do you?" she asked. "Life isn't about being free from suffering. In fact, we need a little misery every now and then."
"What do you mean?" Terra asked.
"We need the bad times so we know when things are good," Ruby explained. "Sure, perfection might be great at first, but if you ask me, it's a pretty hollow existence."
"You take the good and the bad, and you make the best of it," Yang said. "So, you're going to step aside, and we're going to bring Mom back."
Xehanort smiled.
Aqua sat on the couch, snuggled up to Qrow and Larmina to watch a movie when she heard a loud bang from outside.
"What was that?" she asked.
"It's probably nothing," Qrow said.
No. It's not nothing.
"Are you sure?" she asked. Something about it seemed so familiar.
She blinked, and she was suddenly in her bedroom, Qrow closing the door behind them.
"So," he said. "The kids are out for a little bit. We've got the house to ourselves. You thinking what I'm thinking?"
She needed to investigate that noise.
"If what you're thinking is that you and I need to get in that bed, then I'm pretty sure we're thinking the same thing," she said, grabbing him by the collar and crashing her lips into his.
"Well, lookie here," Vanitas said as he summoned his Keyblade. "The little girls are getting all worked up. Wanting to fight for Mommy. Too bad one of you can't summon your own weapon here." Ruby stiffened, knowing Vanitas was right, but Yang stepped forward.
"We don't need a Keyblade to deal with the likes of you."
"Is that so?" Terra asked, summoning his own Keyblade.
"Yeah, after all we trained under the master who beat the three of you." Yang raised her fists. "And we'll give you the same treatment she did."
With that Yang thrust her fists forward, firing several shots at the villainous trio. Vanitas and Terra blocked the incoming shots while Xehanort vanished. Yang shot forward, delivering a punch at Vanitas that was blocked but the force was enough to send him skidding back. Rather than continue to attack Yang broke off and spun around, attacking Terra just as he charged at her.
Terra slashed but Yang stepped to the side and aimed back, using the recoil of Ember Celica to propel herself right into her opponent, kneeing him in the face. Terra stumbled back but Yang wasn't done as she delivered several punches to Terra before he could recover and finished with an upper cut that knocked him back. Watching a shadow fall on her Yang jumped out of the way as Vanitas leaped back into the fight, swinging his Keyblade down at her. Having memorized Vanitas's moves in that fight with Unversed copy of him, Yang had a pretty good understanding of how he fought.
Terra raised his Keyblade, firing a barrage of dark blasts at Yang, who fired several shots that cancelled them out. Vanitas charged in, slashing at her but Yang ducked and then jumped over his Keyblade. She hastily blocked a few strikes, working to build up power for her Semblance, but was careful to avoid any spells from either of her opponents.
The sound of an explosion took Aqua out of the moment, and she opened her eyes. She and Qrow had moved on to the bed, and had managed to half-undress each other, the two of them currently shirtless, though her bra was still on. She was lying on her back, with Qrow straddling on top of her. Their lips were still locked when she realized she had heard something.
"What was that?" she asked, pulling away from Qrow.
"It's nothing," he said, putting a finger to her lips.
He's lying.
She shook her head. Why did something feel so off?
She needed to investigate.
Did she? She didn't know.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "It sounded like something happened outside."
"It's nothing," he said again.
Yes, something was definitely wrong.
Why did she feel like he was lying to her?
Qrow had never dismissed her before. That's what was wrong.
"Are you ready to start?" he asked, picking up their usual instruments: a pair of handcuffs and a bright red ball gag. He took hold of her wrists, and moved them towards the headboard to secure them.
She needed to see what was going on, and if he wasn't going to take her seriously, then this was her last chance.
Besides, if it really was nothing, she could always apologize later. He'd probably enjoy punishing her, actually.
"Qrow," she said, before he could put the cuffs on her. "Can, uh, can I be on top this time?"
"How come?" he asked.
"I, uh, just want to switch it up a little," she lied.
"Sure," he said with a smirk, bending down to kiss her one last time before letting go of her wrists and climbing off of her. He laid down on his back, and she took his previous position, straddling him. She picked up the handcuffs, grabbed his wrists, and cuffed him to the headboard. Then she picked up the gag, shoved the ball into his mouth, and tightened the straps behind his head. He looked up at her with lustful eyes.
And then she got up and put her shirt back on.
"Hm?" he grunted, looking up at her in confusion.
"Sorry, honey," she said. "I have to go see what's going on. Something's…calling to me." His eyes widened in what looked like panic for some reason, and he started desperately pulling on his wrists, trying to get himself free. He tried shouting, but that was of course what the gag was for. Without another word, she opened the door and slipped out of the room, leaving her husband to his desperate flailing.
"Why do you hesitate?"
Ruby jumped back, finding herself facing Master Xehanort who looked at her with an amused smile. Without her Keyblade Ruby only had her Semblance and she wasn't a very good fighter in hand-to-hand combat like Yang.
"You are the one chosen to bring the light back to Remnant, are you not? Has Aqua not trained you to defend yourself even without a Keyblade?" Xehanort chuckled in mock disappointment. :If so then she truly is still the foolish master I remember. Perhaps she is as blinded by her love of you as Eraqus was of his students."
"Shut up!" Ruby shouted. "Don't you dare talk about Mom like that!"
Xehanort simply let out an amused grunt, his arms folded behind his back.
"It is true. Eraqus could never allow himself to see beyond anything in absolutes and so it seems Aqua has inherited this flaw. She was blinded by her love of her friends and could not save them, and now she is blinded by the daughters who cannot save her."
"Watch me!" Ruby shouted, throwing a punch at Xehanort's head. Only he caught it easily and clenched his hand down on it, making Ruby grunt in pain.
"That was the same fire and drive Terra had. Eraqus warned him not to be so afraid of losing, but it was his fear that brought him to me." Xehanort held onto Ruby's hand as he lifted his arm up and surprisingly could hold Ruby above the ground despite his old age. "It was your light that brought Aqua to you just as it was the memories and desire's in Aqua's heart that created this world. You seek to free her but a single Heart, even with a Keyblade, cannot defy the will of Kingdom Hearts."
"Xehanort threw Ruby back with such strength she was sent flying right at the memory of her childhood home. Ruby somersaulted and planted her feet on the wall before shooting straight at Xehanort with her Semblance. She tried another punch but Xehanort easily sidestepped her, watching in amusement as she flew past him.
"Impressive use of your skill," Xehanort complimented, watching as Ruby flew around straight back at him. "But predictable."
He held up one hand, easily blocking Ruby and grabbing onto her red cloak around her neck. Ruby grunted as Xehanort held her up by her collar.
"Tell me, when Aqua told you of your destiny to bring the light back to your world did you truly believe it? Or were you just so happy to be granted the privilege of holding the greatest weapon ever?" Xehanort mused. "What happens when your world returns to light and your mother is allowed to leave? After all, the Keyblade Wielders are trusted to defend all worlds, not just one."
He once again threw Ruby and she hit the ground hard. As Xehanort slowly approached her, she managed to get to her knees.
"I know Mom has friends, people out there who need her," Ruby slowly said as she got back up. "But I know… She would never leave us. And… I'd be proud of her defending all the worlds… From people like you."
Xehanort chuckled, holding his hand out before him. His fingers twitched, and in a flash of darkness, a large, metallic Keyblade appeared in his hand.
"Bold words," he said. "With spirit like that, I can see why Aqua loves you so much. Unfortunately for you, she currently loves a different 'you'. And soon, you will no longer be alive to remind her of the difference."
He raised his Keyblade.
Aqua rushed outside, seeing Yang engaged in combat with Terra and Vanitas. Further away, Ruby was being tossed aside by an old bald man in a black coat, who then summoned a grey Keyblade. Her eyes widened.
Xehanort.
Xehanort.
Xehanort!
XEHANORT!
"Xehanort," she growled. And he was attacking Ruby!
Without hesitation, she summoned the Rainfell and charged ahead, blocking Xehanort's Keyblade just as it was about to strike her daughter.
"Mom!" Ruby said in relief.
"Aqua," Xehanort said in amusement.
"XEHANORT!" Aqua screamed, pushing against his Keyblade with hers. She threw all of her body weight against him, pushing him back. She took a swing at him, but the old man backflipped away with an agility that should have been impossible for his age. She looked down at the weapon in her hands. When had she gotten the Rainfell back?
Whatever. There were more important things to worry about.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm protecting you," Xehanort responded coolly. "From people who would take you away from your perfect dream."
"You mean my family?" she asked incredulously. "Was this all you? Did you figure out how to track me to Remnant?"
"I see your memories came back," he said, almost sounding disappointed. "To answer your question, no, it wasn't me. At least not the real Xehanort."
"What are you talking about?" Aqua demanded.
"All the people here were created by Kingdom Hearts to trap you in a dream," Ruby explained. "Kingdom Hearts wants to take over your Heart and body so it can find something hidden at Beacon."
"Is that why my memory's been hazy?" Aqua asked.
"Yes, that was us," Xehanort said. He looked down at her Keyblade. "Though, if you're still using that weapon, it means you're still partially under our control." He snapped his fingers, and Terra and Vanitas appeared at his side, along with portals that summoned fake versions of Ruby, Yang and Qrow. They all pointed at Aqua.
And then her head felt like it was going to explode.
She dropped to her knees, clutching her head in excruciating pain.
"Mom!" Ruby and Yang yelled, rushing to her side.
They were the real ones, right? It was becoming harder to tell.
Who was that old man?
Why were there two Ruby's? And two Yang's?
Where was Larmina?
"Mom! You have to fight it!" Yang shouted.
"You have to remember who you are!" Ruby yelled.
Who… Who was she?
The black-haired girl took one of the woman's hands in hers, while the blonde took the other hand.
"Mom, please!" The black-haired one said. "Look into our Hearts! Remember who we are! We're a family!"
She could see images in her mind.
Training two little girls.
Fighting a black-haired woman with a red sword to rescue one of them.
Reading bedtime stories.
Accepting the two of them as her daughters.
Her first night with Qrow.
Yang's first day at Signal.
Yang's first school dance.
Ruby's first day.
Comforting Yang when a classmate called her father a drunk.
The day Ruby had to start being homeschooled.
The day Qrow asked her to marry him.
The wedding,
Yang's graduation.
The girls' acceptance into Beacon.
The formation of Team RWBY.
How proud she was of her little girls.
How proud she would always be.
Aqua screamed, standing up tall and summoning her Keyblade. The Master Keeper. She shot forward and stabbed Xehanort right through the chest.
"You…" he said. "You would give up an eternity of happiness? A world of perfection?"
"I don't need perfection to be happy," Aqua said. "I just need them."
"But if you go back, you will only have to keep suffering and sacrificing."
"Isn't that a mother's job?" she asked. "If it means my daughters can be happy, I don't care what I have to give up. I'll keep sacrificing whatever if takes for them until they don't need me anymore."
"Mom…" Ruby said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears.
"I…I don't understand," Xehanort said before his body began to turn to dust. The other fakes began disintegrating, too, and then Aqua heard a voice.
"Mommy?" the voice said. Aqua's eyes shot over to see Larmina, slowly approaching her, the little girl's body gradually turning to dust. "Why?"
"Mina," Aqua said sadly.
"You promised," the girl said. "You promised nothing would ever hurt me. So why are you hurting me?! You liar!"
Aqua quickly scooped up the girl's disappearing body in her arms. Her brain knew this girl wasn't real.
But her heart hadn't caught up yet. Even though she knew better, this still felt like Aqua's little girl.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie," Aqua said, closing her eyes to stop the tears. "Mommy loves you. And I won't ever forget you. I hope that someday, I can meet you for real."
"Mommy, please!" Larmina pleaded one last time before her body faded completely.
Aqua slowly stood up and pointed her Keyblade at the sky. A large glowing Keyhole appeared above them, and a bright line of light shot out of the tip of her weapon, and into the Keyhole.
In a flash of light, the three of them were back in Ozpin's office.
Aqua fell to her knees. Ruby and Yang were right there with her, wrapping their arms around her.
In her daughters' warm embrace, she finally allowed herself to cry.
A man in a black coat stood on the roof of one of Beacon's dorms, looking up at Kingdom Hearts floating above the tower, watching as it slowly disappeared.
"Well, I certainly didn't see this one coming," the man said to no one in particular. "Still, that was very well done on their part. I'm surprised they actually managed to pull it off. Though it was a close call. Those fakes almost ripped her heart to pieces." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small charm. A picture of a circus tent was painted on the front of it. "I suppose our little rosebud deserves a reward for a job well done.
"A little gift from the Realm of Light."
AN: And that wraps up this little side arc. I hope you guys enjoyed how it ended!
Next, time, we're finally going to start Volume 3, and I'm super excited to get started!
Now that i think about it, it's kinda crazy that it's taking 65 chapters to get to Volume 3.
As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!