Gordeau waited for the screen to keep going, but much to his shock, it didn't. In fact, everyone seemed to have frozen in place except for himself, Jinn, and Oscar.

"Glad to see I can still do that," Jinn noted as she stretched, "Now no one can hear you except for Oscar, so spill, what's going on here?"

Gordeau looked at Oscar who just shrugged, "I won't tell if you don't want me to."

Gordeau smiled at the boy, before turning back to Jinn, "Okay then. Let's start from the beginning, shall we?"

"I was transported to this place when I was fifteen. I stayed for about five years, watching and figuring out where you were, Jinn. I had learned about the relics from watching and was determined to help find them."

Jinn nodded, "You've told me this before."

"I know," Gordeau nodded, "But I want to be as honest with you as I can. I soon figured out where you were and asked for permission to return to the world. It was granted on the condition I return in ten years."

He looked down, "Then I found you and we hit it off. I was the first person you'd ever seen and you were someone like me, with knowledge we shouldn't have had. It was a strange relationship, but we made it work."

Jinn nodded and smiled fondly, "I remember, but then you…"

Gordeau held up his hand, "Please, let me finish. I met you, Jinn, and I didn't want to leave. I wanted to spend as much time with you as possible, so I delayed getting back to Dad so that we could be together."

"I know," Jinn nodded, "Which is why I don't understand what came next…"

Gordeau sighed, "I know. I had to come back, but your purpose wasn't done yet. Dad needed you to make things right. So when I had to leave, I had to leave you both."

Oscar watched with sorrow for the two. They appeared to have had genuine feelings for each other, but were separated by their respective duties.

"But you promised…" Jinn scowled.

"I tried," Gordeau growled, "I came back and the first thing I did was research how I could separate you from the lamp. I discovered that, if you were brought here, the lamps rules would have no effect on you, and we could have been together."

He shook his head, "I wanted to come back for you. I always did."

"But you couldn't," Jinn sighed, "Because of the other promise that was made that day."

"Exactly," Gordeau nodded, "He didn't keep his end of the promise, which means that you were still needed on Remnant. I didn't know he was going to keep you stuck in that lamp."

"But he did," Jinn scowled, "And it was your fault. I was stuck in that lamp, only coming out once every century to answer the same question over and over again. I can't forgive you for that."

"I know," Gordeau nodded, "I should've known, but he was so optimistic that he could do it then. But when he gave up, I think all three of us did."

"Wait…" Oscar shook his head, "What promise? What are we talking about?"

"The real reason he's mad at his father," Jinn noted.

"It's not because he forgot about you?" Oscar questioned, "That's what I had gathered."

"No he didn't forget about me," Gordeau sighed, "He forgot our promise…"

The world around the three moved again as the viewing continued. Ozpin could've sworn he caught Oscar staring at him in disdain, but shrugged it off because just about everyone did that these days.

Back in Agrabah, Jinn turned to Ruby, "If you ever need my help, just call me and I'll be right there!"

Ruby nodded and turned to Aladdin. "Here," Aladdin handed Ruby Jinn's old lamp, "I don't know how much help it will be, but take this with you. Please find May for me."

"Well, I can't attach that to the Keyblade," Ruby muttered.

"Huh?" Jaune asked, "Why would that be a thing?"

"I've noticed a pattern," Ruby explained, "Everytime we leave a world, except for Traverse Town, I get a new Keyblade."

"Right," Nora nodded, "And the keychains are what changes the blade."

"But there's no way I can attach the lamp to it," Ruby noted.

"I've got this Al," Jinn smirked and cast a magic spell on the lamp, turning it into a keychain. The keychain had Jinn's lamp on it. It snapped to Ruby's Keyblade just like the ones from Roy and Raven did. Her Keyblade turned into a bright yellow metal with blue highlights.

"That one is called…" Gordeau started, but Nora interrupted him.

"Three Wishes?" Nora guessed.

"Yes," Gordeau nodded with a smirk.

"How did you know?" Pyrrha asked.

"I guessed," Nora admitted, "But it makes sense, coming from Jinn's lamp."

"Speaking of," Jinn sighed, "I guess it's time for me to go back in."

"Why don't you stay out for a little while?" Oscar suggested, "I'd like to hear your opinions as well."

Jinn smirked at the boy, "Well, if the man with the lamp says so…"

"Thanks, Aladdin, Jinn," Ruby said, "I will."

The trio left Agrabah and Ruby let out a sigh, "We find one and now have to add another to our list."

"Someone mentioned it already," Qrow noted, "But yeah, we don't have the best track record with that."

"Yeah," Qrow grumbled, "We found Weiss, but we're still missing Pyrrha, Princess Blake, Saphron, and now May."

Winter sighed, "This is getting harder and harder by the minute." She plotted a course for the next world before stating, "Well, we have a report to read."

"Ansem's report," Ozpin sat up, "It should help clear up somethings."

"Oh, yeah!" Ruby sat up quickly, "Ansem's report!"

Winter pulled out the paper and began to read, "Report number one: Much of my life has been dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge."

"That knowledge has guarded this world well. Not a soul doubts that. I am blessed with my people's smiles and respect."

Ozpin's enthusiasm dropped upon hearing that. He had that twice, actually. Once as Ozma, the hero, and again as the King of Vale. He'd had people's respect, but in the end, he had failed both times. He sighed as he hoped he could at least get the smiles back.

"But though I am called a sage, there are things I do not understand."

"I believe darkness sleeps in every heart, no matter how pure. Given the chance, the smallest drop can spread and swallow the heart. I have witnessed it many times."

"Didn't that come up once already?" Yang asked.

"It did," Blake nodded, "And then Gordeau mentioned something about light also residing in every heart."

"Right," Gordeau nodded, "It's up to you to choose which one to use."

"Darkness… Darkness of the heart."

"How is it born? How does it come to affect us so?"

"As ruler of this world, I must find the answers."

"I must find them before the world is lost to those taken by the darkness."

"Sounds like they're determined to find answers," Lionheart noted, "Not that I blame them in this instant."

"Huh," Ruby thought as Winter finished, "Not a lot to go on there."

"No," Winter sighed, "We may have to find more of them to get any information."

"I hope they do," Winter noted, "They could use every advantage they can get, and I would like to know more about the Heartless, just incase they show up in our world."

Everyone shuddered at the thought.

Suddenly an alert blared across the ship. Winter turned around and looked out the window. A large object hung in their path.

"What is that?" Clover asked.

"I dunno," Roman noted, "But it's huge, whatever it is."

"What is that?" She asked.

"Wow," Ruby said in awe, "It's huge!"

The object flew towards them it revealed itself as a large whale. "It's a giant whale!" Qrow exclaimed.

"Hey, Merc," Emerald nudged her partner, "Doesn't that remind you of…"

Mercury cocked his head, "Yeah, it does. More of a real animal but definitely similar."

"It's Monstro!" Jiminy shouted, "He's a whale of a whale, and vicious besides!"

Monstro flew past again and positioned himself in front of the ship.

"I don't think I like where this is going," Velvet noted.

"Get out of there, Red!" Neo yelled.

"Whoa!" Winter yelled, "I'm getting us out of here!"

Monstro charged the ship and opened his mouth as Qrow yelled, "It's too late! He's going to swallow us!"

"Brings a whole new meaning to inside the belly of the beast," Tai pointed out with a chuckle.

"Must you do that?" Raven rolled her eyes.

Monstro closed his mouth around the ship and everything went white for Ruby. Suddenly, she was remembering something from her past.

"It's true! I saw it with my own eyes!" a young Ruby, who was wearing a red hoodie, told a young Weiss, who was wearing a white t-shirt.

Yang and Winter dawed.

"I remember Ruby when she was that age," Yang smiled fondly,

"I recall Weiss in a similar fashion," Winter agreed, before dropping the pretext just a tad, "I do wish I had spent more time with you, and not just doing what Father wanted."

"It's alright," Weiss smiled at her sister, "I think we ended up just fine."

The two walked across the island and Weiss scoffed, "You sure you didn't just hear it this time?"

"What difference does it make?" Ruby waved her off, "There's a huge monster in there, I tell you!"

Qrow chuckled, "Uh, oh. One of the pipsqueaks adventures again."

"Hey!" Ruby protested, but Yang laughed back.

"Remember the time she swore there was a monster under the sink?" Yang recalled.

"If I remember right, it was just the garbage disposal," Tai chuckled.

Ruby began to blush in embarrassment.

"All right," Weiss humored her, "Suppose there really is a monster. Do you think we can beat it by ourselves, Ruby?"

"No problem!" Ruby said confidently, "Let's do it!"

"The voice of reason as usual," Blake smiled at Weiss.

"But that was Ruby every time," Tai recalled, "There was a monster somewhere, and she was gonna get it no matter what."

Ruby's embarrassment turned to slight pride upon hearing this.

They walked to the Secret Place when Ruby stopped, "Listen! There! Can you hear it growling?"

Weiss listened and she did hear a noise coming from the cave, "Okay, we've gotta be careful."

"While I appreciate that she's taking it seriously," Robyn noted, "It seems like a strange thing to be serious about."

"I'm probably humoring her at this point," Weiss shrugged, "I don't think I believe there's a monster in the cave."

They entered the Secret Place to find nothing but a hole in the top of the cave. "See that?" Weiss stated proudly, "It was just the wind making that noise."

"Aw, man," Ruby pouted, "I wish it was a monster!"

"Why are we seeing this?" Lionheart wondered, "Weren't our heroes just swallowed by a whale?"

"This must be important later on," Blake noted before going wide-eyed, "Or it means that Ruby and Weiss are going to clash soon."

Weiss sighed. She knew it had to happen at some point, but she didn't want it to.

Something caught Ruby's attention, "Hold on! What's that over there?"

Weiss followed Ruby's gaze to the door in the Secret Place. She walked over to examine it, "A window, or maybe a door? It won't open."

"Still nothing there," Sun shook his head, "That place hasn't changed much over the years."

"Geez," Ruby complained, "Is that really all that's in here?"

Weiss scoffed, "What do you expect in a boring place like this."

"Hey, Ruby," Weiss started as Ruby looked at her, "When we grow up, let's get off this island. We'll go on real adventures, not this kid stuff!"

Yang raised an eyebrow, "So, I know that Weiss wanted to leave, but that sounded strange coming from her. I mean if I had said it…"

"It would be believable," Jaune agreed, "But from Weiss it's just weird."

"Sure," Ruby agreed easily, "But isn't there anything fun to do now?"

"Hey," she got an idea, "You know that new girl at the mayor's house? Did you hear?"

"Me," Pyrrha noted, "I'm the new girl."

"Well, at least you're not the reason Weiss wanted to leave," Ren pointed out, "She made it seem like that earlier, but she'd been thinking it before you even got to the island."

Ruby's flashback ended and she regained consciousness. Winter and Qrow were standing by a pile of debris looking up at it.

Winter was angry, "Knock it off!" she yelled.

"Now we might actually be able to find out what happened," Neo inched forward.

"At least we're all okay," Winter noted.

"But who are you yelling at this time?" Harriet joked.

Ruby walked over. Qrow had his shield above his head again. He turned and looked at Ruby, "Hey, Ruby. Are you okay?"

Ruby tilted her head in confusion, "What are you guys doing?" she looked around before asking another question, "Where are we, anyway?"

"Inside the whale?" Roman noted, "Did she forget already?"

Suddenly, a small box flew at Ruby. She quickly jumped out of the way.

"I think that big ol' whale Monstro just swallowed us." Qrow guessed.

Neptune shuddered before steading himself, "Hey, it's okay. The whales in space not underwater!"

He got a strange look from quite a few people. Some were about to comment, but Sun just held up three fingers and counted down.

"…Actually that's way worse!" Neptune panicked, "We know nothing about space! It could be worse than water!"

Ruby looked around and saw he was right. They were standing in Monstro's mouth. Thankfully, she also saw their ship nearby, mostly undamaged.

Qrow looked at the box and chuckled, "And for today's weather: expect showers."

"Is now really a good time to be joking about that?" Raven scolded.

Qrow shrugged, "Hey, the ship looks fine. I don't think we're actually trapped in here."

A box flew and connected with his shield with a clang. The impact sent a shock through his arm, "Heavy showers," he grumbled.

Winter smirked, "With the amount of times that's happened, you should just keep the shield there."

"Yeah," Tai agreed, "I feel like if you move it you're gonna get hit in the head."

"Hey!" Winter shouted to where the boxes were flying from, "Who's there?"

From on top of the debris, Pinocchio stuck his head out, "It's me."

"Oh," Winter said in realization, "It's just Pinocchio."

3…2…1… "PINOCCHIO!" she shouted in realization.

"How'd he get there?" Jaune wondered, "Didn't Jiminy tell him to stay put?"

Penny blushed green, "He probably ignored Jiminy and went to find his father anyway. It's what I would do."

Gordeau smirked at the girl's honesty.

"Pinocchio?" Jiminy asked as he leapt out of Ruby's hood.

Pinocchio walked away holding a large gummi block. "Pinocch, where are you going?" Jiminy called after him, "Pinocch!"

"Come on, everybody!" Jiminy waved them on, "After him! Quick!"

The word 'Mostro' appeared on the screen with the whale himself behind it. Ruby looked around the mouth and saw the wreckage of many ships stacked up high.

Neo rolled her eyes, "Going by Red's logic in the last world, I don't know how they plan on getting up there."

"But they have to find some way," Velvet nodded, "Pinocchio shouldn't even be there in the first place."

One ship looked more intact than the others, "I bet that's where he's headed."

Winter looked around but didn't see a way over, "But how do we get there?"

"We could swim…" Qrow suggested with a slight gag.

Neptune shuddered, while the rest of the audience gagged.

"That's disgusting!" Winter protested.

"I agree," Harriet noted, "But if it's the only way…"

"Yeah," Sun added, "At least the pool I jumped into was only water."

"I don't see a different way," Ruby sighed, "Let's just hope we don't have to go any farther in."

Blake shook her head, "So they're going to have to go farther in."

Emerald nodded, "Whenever they say stuff like that, you know it's gonna happen."

She and Qrow waded into to water. Winter gagged but followed.

The trio swam toward the boat, disgusted the whole way. Standing on the boat was an old man with white hair and a mustache. He wore a white shirt and a brown vest. He also wore black pants and black shoes. He also had on a pair of glasses.

"I assume that's Geppetto?" Ozpin guessed.

"So Pinocchio found his father inside the whale?" Lionheart wondered, "What a resourceful boy."

"My guess is that Monstro swallowed Geppetto before their world was destroyed," Robyn noted, "Pinocchio probably knew that and went after him."

"But why not tell us?" Ruby wondered, "We would've helped!"

"What have you got there, Pinocchio?" Geppetto asked.

"With this," Pinocchio explained, "We can get out of here, Father."

"He's not wrong," Pyrrha agreed, "But can they really make a whole Gummi ship out of one block?"

"If Geppetto is anything like my father, I'm sure he could," Penny smiled.

"Really?" Geppetto asked his boy, "With this big block? You think so?"

"It's true," Ruby stated as the trio climbed onto the boat.

Pinocchio and Geppetto turned to them as Ruby continued, "So, how did you end up here, Pinocchio?"

Ren realized something, "That's what he took from Roman's shop."

"So I was right," Robyn nodded.

"He was going whether you helped him or not," Clover chuckled.

"He has something in common with both Miss Roses," Ozpin agreed.

"Oh, my!" Geppetto exclaimed, "So the whale swallowed all of you, too? My goodness."

"Yeah," Ruby shrugged, "Looks like it."

"My name is Geppetto," he introduced himself, "I'm Pinocchio's father."

"When we got separated," Geppetto explained, "I traveled all over, looking for him. Thank goodness we're together again."

"I agree with him," Ruby smiled, "It doesn't matter where we are, but as long as I'm with all of you I feel at home."

Yang and Qrow smiled at her, feeling the same.

Weiss and Blake blushed. Weiss out of the feeling of being a part of Ruby's home, and Blake out of happiness at being included.

While Geppetto explained, something caught Pinocchio's attention. He looked over his shoulder and deeper into Monstro. There, running further in, was Weiss.

"Oh, no," Weiss paled, "What am I going to do this time?"

"Well, I'd say not to worry sister," Winter started, "But last time…"

"So," Geppetto continued as he lifted the gummi block, "You seem to know Pinocchio quite well. I hope he was a good boy in my absence. We've all had quite a journey, right, Pinocchio?"

Geppetto looked around, but Pinocchio had followed Weiss deeper into Monstro, "Pinocchio?" he called out.

"Well now he reminds me of you," Ruby smiled at Penny.

Penny blushed, "Even more than he already did?"

Ruby sighed, "We'll go get him, you just work on that gummi block."

"Bless you, girl," Geppetto nodded to her thankfully.

The trio ran off to follow Pinocchio. Just inside they saw the puppet hiding behind a wall.

"Is he playing hide and seek?" Nora asked with a chuckle, "If so, he's not doing a great job."

"What are you doing?" Ruby asked, "Come on, let's go back."

"You know," Qrow started with a drink, "Geppetto's awfully worried about you."

Pinocchio didn't move however. Ruby was getting agitated, "Pinocchio, stop fooling around! This is no time for games!"

"She's right," Raven nodded, "They're inside a giant whale. Not the best time to fool around."

"I wonder why he thinks it's a good idea?" Summer wondered.

The trio turned around to leave, when Weiss's voice called out, "But, Ruby, I thought you liked games."

Ruby turned around quickly to see Weiss standing next to Pinocchio. Weiss scoffed, "Or are you too cool to play them now that you have the Keyblade?"

"Wow," Emerald shook her head, "If I wasn't seeing it, I would've thought that was you Merc."

Mercury nodded, "Does seem like something I'd say."

"Weiss!" Ruby exclaimed in shock, "Wh-What are you doing here?"

Weiss shrugged, "Just playing with Pinocchio."

Weiss narrowed her eyes at her on screen self, "I must have a better reason than that."

Adam raised an eyebrow; he had a theory about that.

"You know what I mean!" Ruby scowled, "What about Pyrrha? Did you find her?"

"Maybe," Weiss smirked, "Catch us and maybe I'll tell you what I know."

"She's testing her," Adam nodded, "Seeing if Ruby cares enough to seek her out or if she has been abandoned."

"Come on!" Ruby yelled in frustration.

Weiss grabbed Pinocchio and ran farther into Monstro.

Ruby gave chase. Qrow looked at Winter before shrugging and taking off after. Winter sighed before following the two.

"Well if that was her goal, she just ruined it," Blake pointed out, "Now she won't know if Ruby's coming after her or Pinocchio."

"What is her goal?" Cinder wondered, "I doubt there is a Princess of Heart inside this whale, so Maleficent can't be happy she's here."

She shuddered before continuing, "And Maleficent seems like a person you don't want angry at you."

Unfortunately for the group, Monstro's insides were like a maze. The trio wandered for a while looking for any signs of Weiss or Pinocchio.

Eventually, they came upon a barrel. Like the Pot Spiders, it sprouted legs and charged.

"Barrel Spiders?" Nora asked.

"Barrel Spiders," Gordeau nodded.

Ruby readied herself to take them on, but it didn't charge. It just stood there and shook for a moment.

"What the…" she started, right as the barrel exploded.

Tai winced at the scene, "Okay. Mental note, barrels explode."

Mercury chuckled, "Tack another point in the video game column."

"Ouch," Ruby muttered, before healing herself.

"Better take those out quickly next time," Winter advised.

Heartless spawned inside the whale as they traversed the path. Eventually, the ran into another new heartless.

This one had a purple body with a head and hands that weren't attached. It floated and one of its eyes hung out of its socket.

"Is that a ghost!" Velvet gasped in shock.

"A Search Ghost," Gordeau nodded, "I don't know if it makes it better or worse that it isn't a real ghost, just a Heartless."

"Just?" Oscar asked incredulously.

At first glance, the most frustrating part about them was that they stayed above the party and out of reach.

Ruby cast Gravity to bring them down to her level. She moved in to attack, but the ghost turned into a yellow ball and disappeared.

"Teleporting," Lionheart rolled his eyes, "Is there anything Heartless can't do?"

"Where'd they go?" Qrow asked as the party looked around. Suddenly he felt something rake down his back. The Search Ghost had appeared behind him. It stuck its hands in his back and pulled out some form of energy.

"What did it just do?" Neptune wondered.

"Qrow looks weaker than he did," Sun noted, "Maybe…"

Mercury shuddered, "It stole his energy. It's not pleasant."

Everyone but Emerald wondered what he was talking about, but didn't push the boy.

Ruby grimaced and then ordered, "Form up!"

They stood back to back so the Heartless couldn't get the drop on them. Watching closely, they were able to take them out.

"Those Heartless seemed tough," Jaune sighed, "Glad Ruby came up with a plan."

"Qrow didn't look too hurt though," Pyrrha pointed out, "I think those Heartless specialize in evading attacks."

"Like me," Neo noted, "I may not hit hard, but good luck getting a hit on me!"

They continued for awhile, going in circles many times before finding three more puppies, and eventually catching sight of Pinocchio running away.

Elsewhere inside the whale, Maleficent appeared to Weiss, "Why do you still care about that girl? She has all but deserted you for the Keyblade and her new companions, after all."

"It's a good thing," Raven sighed in relief, "But she's not nearly as good at manipulation as the Master of Masters was."

"And Weiss already knows Maleficent is using her," Ren nodded, "Which means she's unlikely to fall for it any time soon."

"I don't care about her," Weiss scoffed unconvincingly, "I was just messing with her a little."

Ruby winced, "But she does. I really hurt her by not looking for her earlier."

Ruby felt someone hug her. It was Weiss.

"It's okay, Ruby," Weiss stated, "I know you wouldn't really leave me behind, or stop looking for me if I was lost."

Ruby just sat there shocked for a moment before returning the hug.

"Oh, really?" Maleficent stated in amusement, "Of course you were."

"Beware the darkness in your heart," she advised, "The Heartless prey upon it."

"Mind your own business," Weiss shouted at her.

"I wonder how far this Weiss is going to go?" Blake wondered, "Maleficent seems to think she'll be consumed."

"Yeah, but Weiss is stronger than that," Yang scoffed, "No way she'd fall so easily."

Maleficent disappeared into a dark portal.

Shortly after Pinocchio ran into the chamber being chased by Ruby and her group. Pinocchio ran to the next chamber and Weiss turned to follow before Ruby called out, "Weiss!"

"What's the matter with you?" She asked incredulously, "What are you thinking? Don't you realize what you're doing?"

"Wrong thing to ask," Ilia winced, "That's just going to prove to Weiss that you care more about Pinocchio than her."

"But Red's right," Roman scowled, "The Ice Queen is taking a child away from his father just to prove a point."

All the parents, minus Ozpin, glared at the screen.

Weiss placed a hand on her hip and glared at Ruby, "I was about to ask you the same thing, Ruby."

"You only seem interested in running around," Weiss went on, "and showing off that Keyblade these days."

"That's not true!" Jaune noted, "Ruby's trying to save a lot of people."

Pyrrha smiled at him before countering, "But to Weiss, there's only one that matters."

Weiss glared at her, "Do you even want to save Pyrrha?"

"I do," Ruby said solemnly.

"That's what this is about?" Nora shook her head, "Ruby hasn't shut up about finding Weiss and Pyrrha!"

"But I don't know that," Weiss countered, "This me may not fully trust Maleficent, but I must believe her a little bit. I would guess she showed me clips of what Ruby's been up to, but selectively so that I wouldn't see that she really did care."

Suddenly Pinocchio screamed from the other chamber. Ruby and Weiss looked at each other, then charged in, followed by Winter and Qrow.

Inside was a large, yellow Heartless. It had long, green arms and its stomach was a large cage. Pinocchio was trapped inside.

"Parasite Cage," Gordeau noted.

Both Weiss and Ruby readied themselves, "You up for this?" Weiss asked.

"No problem," Ruby said confidently, "Let's do it!"

Adam narrowed his eyes, "So her goal wasn't to test Ruby."

"What are you talking about," Blake rolled her eyes.

"If she wanted to test Ruby," Adam explained, "She already has her answer and would leave now or fight her. There's no reason for Schnee to team up with her unless…"

Penny gasped, "She wants Pinocchio!"

They charged in and started their assault. The Parasite Cage swung its arms at Weiss, but she easily dodged and counter attacked.

It did the same thing to Ruby, who did the same thing. That seemed to be the cage's only attack so the combined power of the four took it down fairly quickly.

Ren raised an eyebrow, "That seemed too easy…"

"I hear ya," Qrow nodded, "All the Heartless seem to be getting stronger, so why'd this one go down so easily?"

The cage shivered in pain, but didn't disappear.

"Because it's not dead yet," Harriet pointed out, "It's retreating!"

"Like the older Grimm," Ozpin sighed, "It learned."

It grabbed the roof of the chamber with its arms and dropped Pinocchio before disappearing out of sight.

A hole in the floor opened up, and Pinocchio fell through it. Weiss leapt in seconds later followed shortly after by the trio.

"Why?" Winter wondered, "What could Weiss or Maleficent have to gain by capturing Pinocchio?"

"He's just a kid," Clover agreed, "Unless there's something we don't know about yet…"

Ruby, Winter, and Qrow landed on Geppetto's boat. The old man was calling out to someone, "Pinocchio! Pinocchio!"

"Please!" he pleaded, "Give me back my son!"

It turns out, he was pleading with Weiss, who now held an unconscious Pinocchio under her arm. "Sorry, old man," she said firmly, "I have some unfinished business with this puppet."

Weiss glared at her on screen self, "He's not a puppet! He's a kid. He has a heart just like you!"

Penny smiled and looked at Weiss, "Thank you, Weiss. That means a lot."

"He's no puppet!" Geppetto protested, "Pinocchio is my little boy!"

"He is unusual," Weiss admitted, "Not many puppets have hearts."

"What makes Pinocchio's heart different from anyone else's?" Velvet wondered, "I mean, the Doorknob in Wonderland had a heart."

"I'm not sure," Weiss looked away, "But maybe he can help someone who's lost theirs."

"Wait a minute," Ruby looked up in shock, "Are you talking about Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha gasped, "I lost my heart? That would mean…"

"That you're a Heartless," Jaune grimaced.

"But why would Weiss be after Pinocchio then?" Blake wondered, "It just doesn't add up..."

"What do you care about her?" Weiss snapped, before walking away and into a different passage.

"Miss Schnee is walking a dangerous path," Ozpin noted, "Trying to do everything in her power to bring a loved one back."

"Like Salem," Raven shuddered.

Weiss paled again. Having Ozpin compare her to Salem was horrifying.

"Pinocchio!" Geppetto called out before turning to Ruby again, "Please…"

"Don't worry, we'll find him," Ruby said assuredly, "And maybe beat some sense into Weiss too."

"Good," Weiss nodded, color coming back, "I need it."

"I still don't get what Pinocc has to do with any of this," Yang admitted, "It's not like he has Pyrrha's heart."

The trio looked for a way up to the door Weiss had walked through. Ruby noticed something shiny in the water. "What's this?" she questioned as she picked it up.

"Looks like another summon gem," Winter noted.

"Looks like we need to pay Glynda a visit after we're done here," Qrow noted.

"Guess we're headed back to Traverse Town next," Robyn noted, "Though not to see me this time."

"We get to see Pooh again though," Nora cheered, "Ruby found a page in Agrabah, remember."

Cinder groaned in annoyance.

Ruby nodded and looked around. The platform Weiss had been on was up above them at a decent height.

Neo rolled her eyes again, "C'mon, you can't tell me Red won't make that if she tried."

"Without my semblance, I don't think I could," Ruby shook her head.

"I don't see how we get up there…" Winter stated.

Ruby narrowed her gaze, "If Weiss can do it, I can do it."

She walked backward and leapt at the platform.

Surprising everyone, she actually grabbed the wooden platform and pulled herself up, "See? Nothing to it."

"Told ya she could make it," Neo stated smugly.

"And she did it by sheer stubbornness," Winter chuckled, "Not unlike another member of her family."

"That's literally all of us, Ice Queen," Qrow laughed, "But I get the meaning."

Winter and Qrow followed suit and turned to each other shocked.

"We must be getting stronger," Qrow noted.

"Well, come on," Ruby charged ahead.

The group followed Weiss into a chamber with many ledges on the walls. Surrounding a central platform, was a pool of acid.

"Are they in it's stomach?" Neptune gagged.

"I don't know," Ren noted, "The anatomy of this whale seems way off from what it should be."

Weiss stood and examined Pinocchio.

"Hey," Ruby shouted, "Let Pinocchio go, Weiss!"

"A puppet that's lost its heart to the Heartless," Weiss explained, "Maybe it holds the key to helping Pyrrha."

"Again," Blake wondered, "That doesn't add up. If Pyrrha was a Heartless, she'd either have turned into one of those creatures or ended up like Shay."

"But Pinocchio hasn't turned either," Penny noted, "If he has truly lost his heart, that could mean Pyrrha is the same way."

"How about it, Ruby?" Weiss asked as she held out her hand just like she did on the islands, "Let's join forces to save her."

"We can do it," she stated confidently before adding, "Together."

"Not like this," Ruby shook her head, "This is the wrong way to do it."

Weiss nodded, "There has to be a way to save Pyrrha without endangering Pinocchio."

Ruby dropped into her battle stance as Weiss approached.

"What?" Weiss asked incredulously, "You'd rather fight me? Over a puppet that has no heart?"

"That's true," Cinder agreed, "If the puppet has lost its heart, there's no reason to fight over it."

"Heart or no heart," Ruby scowled, as Jiminy jumped out of her hood, "At least he still has a conscience."

"Conscience?" Weiss scoffed.

"Yeah," Sun nodded, "Seems like you could use one right about now!"

"I believe Ruby just subtly told you you're on the wrong side, Sister," Winter nodded.

Weiss cocked her head, "I'm not used to Ruby being subtle."

"Hey!" Ruby protested.

"You might not hear it," Ruby continued with determination, "But right now it's loud and clear." Jiminy ran towards Pinocchio.

"And," Ruby finished, "It's telling me you're on the wrong side!"

"That's more what I expected," Weiss nodded.

"She's not wrong though," Yang noted, "You have to agree with that."

"Then you leave me no choice," Weiss said as she dropped into her battle stance.

Blake shuddered as this Weiss suddenly reminded her of Adam.

"There's always a choice!" Nora scoffed, "You don't have to hurt anyone!"

"Pinocchio!" Jiminy called out as he neared, "Oh, Pinocchio!"

"Jiminy," Pinocchio said weakly, "I'm not gonna make it."

Penny hiccuped, "Huh? Was that a lie?"

"I guess he's gonna be okay then!" Ruby said cheerfully.

Pinocchio's nose grew as he suddenly snapped awake, "Oh! I guess I'm okay!"

"So Pinocchio didn't lose his heart?" Harriet asked, "He was faking?"

"Which brings up my question, yet again," Blake sighed, "What don't we know?"

Suddenly, the Parasite Cage fell from the ceiling in between Ruby and Weiss.

"It's back," Pyrrha noted, "And it looks angry this time."

"Shouldn't be a problem," Ruby nodded, "We had him easy last time."

"But what if you have to fight both of us?" Weiss wondered quietly.

While Jiminy and Pinocchio ran out of the camber, Ruby readied up. Behind the cage, Weiss summoned a portal of darkness and disappeared.

Weiss went wide-eyed, "Did I just…"

"The only other person we've seen use that power is Maleficent," Lionheart noted, "That doesn't seem like an ability most could use."

"Well, at least they're not fighting yet," Velvet pointed out.

Ruby charged and used the same strategy as before. This time though, the acid got in the way. She had to use the platforms on the walls to maneuver around it.

"Makes traversal a little more difficult," Tai noted, "But I don't think it'll be a problem."

The cage also used a new move. It planted it's arms in the ground and swung its body at the party, connecting hard with Winter. She flew backwards and onto one of the ledges.

Winter winced, "You'd think we'd have learned to anticipate new moves by now."

"Yeah," Qrow noted, "But the only enemies we've fought more than once used the same moves they did previously. This is the first that's changed."

Ruby cast Cure on her and got her back in the fight. The cage had inadvertently put her in the best spot she could be in. She smirked when she saw that the cage had put her on the high ground and cast her spells down on it.

"Well, you have the high ground, Miss Schnee," Ozpin noted, "An advantageous position to be in when using magic."

Qrow blocked a swing from the cage and counter attacked. Ruby followed up his attack with a combo of her own, but that was when the cage unleashed its newest attack. It planted its arms in the acid and then spewed it all over Qrow and Ruby.

"Eww!" quite a few people gagged.

"That's gross!" Ruby shuddered.

Ruby felt the acid eat away at her, so she cast Cure on herself and Qrow used a potion. They were taking a beating in this battle, so Ruby decided it was time to call for help.

"Jinn!" she yelled.

"Hmm?" Jinn wondered, she'd been paying attention, but hadn't really seen anything to comment on yet.

"Time to see what you can do in battle," Oscar nodded to the blue woman.

Jinn appeared with a puff of smoke and a yell. "Let's get this guy, Ruby!" She shouted and cast Thunder, Gravity, and Blizzard on the cage before disappearing with a playful wave.

Raven whistled, "Wow this thing is tough. I'm not sure anything could stand up to that much magic."

"I do appear to have worn it down a little though," Jinn noted, "I hope you can finish the job Ruby."

Ruby huffed, exhausted. The cage still stood though. In a last ditch effort, Qrow threw his shield at it.

Winter, seeing the flying disc, hit it with Thunder.

Nora gasped, "Jaune!"

"Write it down! Quick!" Jaune agreed quickly as Nora jotted furiously in her notebook.

The electrically charged shield cut through and defeated the Heartless. It disappeared, but Monstro jolted.

"You got him!" Neptune congratulated.

"But Monstro doesn't seem too happy about it," Robyn noted, "You better get out, quick."

The entire area shook. "Run," Winter ordered.

"Back to the ship!" Qrow took off.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out, "Weiss, where are you?" she waited only a moment before taking off herself.

"Glad I learned from my mistake," Ruby smiled at herself, "I'm not giving up on her again."

"Thank you," Weiss smiled, "But I'm not sure my other self is going to get any better."

She grabbed a small orb with a clock on it before leaving.

The trio made their way back to Geppetto.

He had made a gummi ship out of the block and had loaded Pinocchio inside.

"Told you," Penny smiled, "He made that very quickly."

"Why hasn't he gotten in yet?" Clover wondered.

"Hurry, you three," he waved them over, "You can escape in this!"

"There doesn't look like there's a lot of room in there," Qrow noted.

"How will we all fit?" Winter asked.

"We won't," Geppetto noted sadly, "You three take good care of my Pinocchio for me."

"He must not know they have their own ship," Oscar smiled, "But it's a nice gesture."

"Pinocchio needs his father though," Penny pointed out, "He shouldn't be so willing to sacrifice himself." She looked down, remembering what her father had already sacrificed so that she could be there.

Neo looked at Roman again, but smiled as she knew they could be together again.

"Geppetto!" Jiminy protested, "You can't!"

"Thanks for the offer," Ruby shook her head, "But we have our own ship. Be with your son."

"Bless you, girl," Geppetto smiled at her as he got into the ship.

"That's my girl," Tai smiled at his daughter.

The small moment of family touched those who had lost their parents or other family members.

The trio took off, but not before Ruby picked Jiminy back up.

They got into the Highwind right as Monstro sneezed.

"Woah!" Ilia noted as the Gummi ship soared out of the whale, "I wonder where they'll end up?"

Elsewhere, Weiss stood in the cabin of a ship. Pyrrha lay on a couch, unresponsive.

"Oh," Blake started, slightly shocked, "Looks like we have an answer."

"I look," Pyrrha gasped, "Dead."

"But you're still breathing," Jaune pointed out as he watched Pyrrha's chest rise and fall.

"So she's lost her heart, but retained her form and not gone murderous?" Emerald wondered, "How did she do that?"

"So," Weiss stated sadly, "Pyrrha's like a lifeless puppet now?"

"Precisely," Maleficent agreed as she appeared in the room.

"And her heart was…" Weiss started.

"Taken by the Heartless, no doubt," Maleficent finished.

"No," Yang shook her head, "We've seen what the Heartless do to hearts."

"I feel like we're missing something important," Velvet squinted at the screen.

"But what?" Penny wondered

"Tell me!" Weiss turned around with determination, "What can I do?"

Maleficent smirked, "There are seven maidens of the purest heart. We call them the princesses of heart."

"We learned that in Agrabah," Raven nodded, "But why does she need them?"

"Gather them together," Maleficent explained, "And a door will open to the heart of all worlds."

Harriet and Clover gasped, "Kingdom Hearts!"

"She's trying to get Kingdom Hearts," Qrow whistled, "Considering the last time it was summoned the worlds were destroyed…"

"She cannot be allowed to do that!" Winter scowled.

For once, everyone in the room was in complete agreement.

"Within lies untold wisdom," Maleficent went on, "There, you will surely find a way to recover Pyrrha's heart."

"Oh no," Weiss gasped, "I think Maleficent just figured out how to manipulate me."

"Using the person you care most about," Cinder nodded, "It's a great strategy."

Weiss watched her warily, but Maleficent just smiled, "Now, I'll grant you a marvelous gift. The power to control the Heartless!"

An audible gasp was heard but nothing was said as the room just watched.

Maleficent raised her arms, revealing her robe to have wing like sleeve.

Green energy surged around Weiss and she smiled blissfully as she gained this new power. When it was absorbed she turned and looked at Pyrrha, "Soon, Pyrrha. Soon."

"No…" Weiss said through wide-eyes.

"We've already seen that Weiss isn't exactly in her right mind," Yang noted, "But with control of the Heartless…"

"She looked scary!" Nora agreed.

AN: Wow it's been awhile. If you've seen my bio or other story, I've already apologized for not posting in a while, but we're back!

I'll probably be bouncing back and forth between the two stories for the time being, but the wait for the next chapter won't be nearly as long this time.

No casting to go over, as Geppetto was left alone and he's the only new character this chapter.

I'm going to stop posting the seating chart, unless we update it or when new watchers are added.

And the poll goes blind now, so no update on that either!

As for reviews, well, it's been too long again, so just know that I'm back and I'll answer any questions next time!