AN: Thank you again to Lord Maximus for the help with this chapter.

We'll be meeting someone very special today!

Onwards!

Chapter 79

Emerald watched through the window in disgust as several Beowolves emerged from a pool of black ooze far below her. She looked around at the land sprawling out before her, dark red and purple dominating the landscape.

She had been to Evernight Castle before, but it never got any less unsettling. It was Mercury's first time here, and he seemed to be just as uneasy as she was.

"Please, stop your gawking, girl," a pompous voice said from the table in the large room. "It's unsightly." Emerald turned to level a glare at the man who spoke, a jerkwad of a scientist named Arthur Watts. He was thin, wore a suit, and had a gaudy mustache. "Honestly, I have no idea what that useless woman was thinking bringing children into the fold."

"Don't call her that," Emerald growled.

"Why not?" Watts said. "She has failed spectacularly in everything she set out to do. What else would you call someone like that, if not 'useless'?" Emerald reached behind her for her pistols, causing one of the other men seated at the table to cackle.

He was a wiry man with a long ponytail, wearing a white jumpsuit. He was for some reason squatting in his chair instead of sitting in it like a normal person.

Well, "normal" is the absolute last word anyone would use to describe Tyrian Callows.

"Oh, the girl is ready to defend her mate," he said, continuing to cackle.

"Stay out of this, freak!" Emerald shouted.

"That's enough," the final man at the table said. His name was Hazel Rainart. He was a quiet man, large and muscular, with a deep voice to match. He wore a long green coat over a black bodysuit, and had a piercing gaze. "She'll be here soon."

Emerald's eyes widened and she relaxed her grip on her weapons. She sent one last glare at Watts before the large door to the meeting chamber opened, allowing the ruler of the castle to step before her servants.

Salem.

The room fell silent as she entered the room.

At her side was a woman with black hair, cut shorter than it once was. A black eyepatch covered the left side of her face, her hair falling over that, as well. She wore a long red dress with only one sleeve to cover her left arm, her right arm clad in a black opera glove. There was a slit running up along the right side of the dress, exposing the black tights she wore beneath it.

For Emerald, the most painful thing about seeing Cinder again was the blank, emotionless expression on her face. Gone was the confidence. Gone was the care for her Tea Leaf. Gone was any shred of emotion, or even any indication that she was at all aware of her surroundings. It made Emerald's heart ache, seeing her mentor reduced to this.

"Please," Salem said, strolling over to her throne at the head of the table. "Don't stop on my account. Exactly what were you taunting dear Emerald about, Arthur?"

"I don't know why Cinder insisted on bringing children into the fold," he explained.

"Why not? You yourself brought Cinder here as a child."

"Yes, and look at what had to be done to get her to cooperate," he pointed out, pissing Emerald off again. "And even with all of our help and your power, she still lost to the girl with the silver eyes."

"Yes," Hazel said. "We've dealt with their kind before. How is it a novice was able to best one of us?"

"My thoughts exactly," Watts continued. "Even with her new power, it should have been effortless."

"It is precisely because of the Maiden's power. It comes with a crippling weakness. The very parasite used to control her was killed when the girl used her power against her. Fortunately, I have replaced it with one far stronger." Emerald looked at Cinder in concern, who hadn't reacted to anything going on. "Dr. Watts, you are to take Cinder's place and meet with our informant in Mistral."

"Very good," the scientist said.

"Hazel, I'm sending you to the leader of the White Fang. Adam Taurus has arranged the meeting. The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same."

"As you wish."

"Emerald, you will be the one holding Cinder's leash," Salem said, looking at Emerald with those unsettling red eyes of hers.

"M-Me?" she asked.

"Yes. You seem quite close to her. Rest assured that she will follow any command you see fit to give her. Cinder, go." Without a word, the Fall Maiden complied, standing next to Emerald.

"And Tyrian?"

"Yes, my lady?" he asked enthusiastically.

"I want you to find the girl that did this to Cinder." He started giggling and clapping in elation. "And bring her to me." His shoulder slumped in disappointment before nodding. "She might be the answer I've been searching for.

"We need her Keyblade."

Ruby smirked, ready to land the killing blow on the large Geist-possessed rock in front of her, but the team, JNNR or RNJR, they couldn't decide, was suddenly surrounded by those weird white creatures.

"Oh, come on!" Ruby complained. "Out of the way!" She looked up at the rock, and to her surprise, it started to back away, as if it was too scared to come near them. She saw the ghost-like Grimm exit the rock it was possessing, the stone falling to the ground while it flew away.

"Wait!" Jaune yelled, "Don't let it get away!"

"I got it!" Nora shouted, pointing her grenade launcher at it. But before she could fire, a black-clad blond man jumped out from the forest, slashing it with a giant sword loosely wrapped in bandages.

"Who?" Ruby asked, looking at the man in confusion. He stood up, resting the sword against his shoulder. He had spiky blond hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, baggy black pants, and black combat boots. He had a metal pauldron on one shoulder, and gloves.

"Look alive!" the man shouted. "You still have more to deal with!"

"Oh, right!" Ruby said, the team quickly dispatching the weird creatures. Ruby looked back up at the newcomer, only to see him looking at her weapon. "Thanks for the help," she said.

"It was nothing," he said dismissively. "Is that a Keyblade?"

Ruby tensed up.

"How did you know that?" she asked.

"I've met another kid that can use one," the man answered. "Sora, his name was." Ruby gasped.

"Are we supposed to know who that is?" Nora asked.

"Uh, give us a second!" Ruby said, using her Semblance to carry her and the stranger further away.

"What the?" he asked when they were far enough away.

"You know Sora?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down so the others didn't hear her. "Does that mean you're from another world?!"

"U-Uh, yeah," he said, a little uncomfortable with her exuberance.

"That's so cool!" she said, still trying her best to whisper. "What's your world like? What's it called? Your weapon is so cool! How'd you get here?!"

"Hold on, hold on," the man said. "Slow down. I'm actually not sure how I got here."

"You're not?" she asked.

"No, but this is nothing new," he said. "I'm looking for someone. His name is Sephiroth. He has silver hair, wears black, and carries a long sword. You seen anyone like that?" Ruby shook her head.

"Oh, I know!" she said, bringing them back over with the rest of the team with her Semblance. "Why don't you come with us?"

"What?" he asked.

"What's going on?" Jaune asked.

"Why are we inviting the cool stranger to come with us?" Nora asked.

"He's trying to find someone," Ruby said. "We're on our way to Mistral. It's the closest Kingdom from here, so your friend would most likely be there."

"He's not my friend," The man said. "Besides, I don't know any of you, and babysitting a bunch of kids isn't exactly how I planned to look for him."

"Well, I'm Ruby," Ruby said. "There, now we're not strangers. This is Jaune, Ren, and Nora. And we can take care of ourselves. Sora's probably strong, too, right? I have the same weapon as him. Come on, you'll have a better chance of finding this Sephiroth guy if you stick with a group. Besides, travelling together is fun!" The man sighed, before strapping his sword to his back.

"Ruby, I would advice against this," Ren said. "He's a Huntsman. He's probably busy."

"Actually, I'm not a Huntsman," the man said. "I'm a mercenary." Ruby adopted a big smile on her face.

"In that case, we'll hire you!" she said.

"What?" the man asked.

"Yup, that settles it!" she said. "I'll be your new client, so I order you to travel with us and let us help you find Sephiroth!"

"…You're not gonna take no for an answer, are you?" the man asked. "Fine. I'll have you know, I don't come cheap."

"That's fine," Ruby said. "We're about to get paid for killing that Geist, anyway. Come on." The team, plus their new mercenary companion, turned to head back to the village. "Oh, by the way, what's your name?"

"…Cloud," he said. "Cloud Strife."

"Man, I hate homework."

Aqua had turned away from the dishes in the sink to see Ruby and Yang grumbling over their homework. It wasn't like they were bad students, but they hated doing homework. Not that Aqua would know why it was such a drag since she had been raised in a temple, but she understood the girls needed to keep up their studies.

"Come on, girls," Tai said with a sigh, rubbing his head. "You know this is important."

"But we've been doing it for an hour," Yang whined. "Can we take a break?"

"If we did that you'd forget about it until tomorrow," Tai replied. Aqua finished the dishes as an idea hit her.

"Unless we promised you both a reward for finishing your homework," she said with a sly smile. Both girls perked up as Aqua walked over to them.

"A reward?" Ruby asked. Aqua nodded.

"You know how my Semblance lets me summon copies of people I've met from other worlds." Both girls nodded, feeling excited at seeing a cool new summon. "Okay then," Aqua said, summoning a small glyph. "Tinker Bell!"

Both girls were surprised, but a little disappointed when a pixie, a tiny little woman with fairy wings appeared in front of them.

"Girls, this is Tinker Bell," Aqua introduced.

"She's so tiny and cute!" Ruby gushed.

"Yeah… but how is she a reward?" Yang asked skeptically. Tinker Bell flew around the girls, coating them in glowing dust that made Ruby giggle a bit.

"Now, I want you girls to think only happy thoughts," Aqua instructed. "It doesn't have to be specific. It can be a memory, or a dream, or just something that makes you happy."

"Like training with my awesome Keyblade, eating cookies for breakfast like on my birthday, picking strawberries in the fields to make cookies, or—" Ruby rambled on, not realizing she was slowly lifting off the ground.

"Ruby!" Yang and Tai gaped as the little girl reached the ceiling.

Ruby finally realized she was floating off the ground and let out a yelp before she fell. Luckily Aqua caught her, chuckling at the shocked look on the little girl's face.

"How was that?" Aqua asked with a smile.

"How-how-how-how did you do that?!" Ruby gaped at her.

"Tinker Bell has the power to cover you in pixie dust," Aqua explained as she put Ruby down. This dust can help you fly when you think happy thoughts. You like that surprise?

"Yeah! She can make us fly?!" Ruby exclaimed in pure shock and excitement that Yang mirrored. "That is so cool!"

"Yep," Aqua said, holding up a finger. "But…if I bring out Tinker Bell you have to promise me something."

"Anything!" Ruby and Yang exclaimed.

"You must promise to finish your homework with your father," Aqua answered, causing both girls to groan. "Finish your homework and I'll bring Tinker Bell back and we can go have some fun flying."

The thought of flying caused both girls to grin in excitement as they rushed back to the table.

"I'll finish my homework first!" Ruby called out.

"Not before me!" Yang challenged. "You already had a turn flying!"

"It was just floating! That wasn't real flying!" Tai looked at Aqua with a small smile.

"Pixie dust, huh?"

"Help your girls finish their homework and I'll help you fly, too," Aqua retorted with a smile.

"Tai?"

Tai waved awkwardly as he walked onto the front porch, where Aqua was sitting in her wheelchair.

"Hey Aqua. How are you holding up?" He winced at the stupid question he had just asked when he was here to try and help in some way. To her credit, Aqua just shrugged.

"As well as I can be."

"Yeah, sorry," Tai said as he sat down on the front step. "Where's Yang?"

"I convinced her to do some jogging in the mornings. Good exercise to keep her in shape since she's pretty much carrying both of us," Aqua answered. "Usually at least a mile before she comes back since she's scared to leave me alone. I hope I can convince her to work out a bit longer than that, but one step at a time."

"Good," Tai said, looking out at the woods. "Again, I'm sorry."

"Come on, I'm not that fragile," Aqua said, rolling her eyes.

"No, not that. I mean, sorry for the trouble I caused you years ago. Putting the girls on you was pretty cowardly of me to do, even if I was trying to get clean," Tai clarified, his voice filled with remorse. "Sure cost me, didn't it?" Aqua sighed, knowing this would be the talk he would have to have with Yang.

"I wasn't happy about your decision at the time… but I have no regrets. We all understand it's been hard on you."

"And it wasn't hard on the girls?" Tai asked with a scoff. "Now who's acting like who's fragile?"

"Tai, don't be so quick to judge yourself. You're still here, alive and breathing, and you still love them," Aqua said. "That counts."

"Tell that to Qrow and Yang," Tai said with a bitter smile.

"Qrow, he's just uncomfortable now because he realizes how his own drinking was hurting the girls even if he wasn't around as much. And Yang, she loves, Tai. She still does," Aqua replied. "Yes, she's angry and she's hurt but she knows. Even if she's being stubborn about it. If it makes you feel better I've tried convincing her to at least make a small effort to ask you for help, but even I can't get her to budge on a few things."

"Gets that from her mother…" Tai said and stopped himself.

"Which one?" Aqua asked, raising an eyebrow.

"…That's a pretty good question," Tai said. To his surprise, Aqua chuckled, which he soon followed. "You should know I plan to order a new arm for her from Atlas."

"Oh?" Aqua asked. Tai nodded.

"Might be the only way to help her."

"It might be," Aqua said with a nod.

"There might be a way to get you your legs back, but that kind of implant requires you to use your Aura to power it. Not good for battle and if your Aura breaks…"

"I lose my legs again," Aqua finished for him.

"Yeah. Not sure how much difference your Keyblade could make," Tai admitted. Aqua was uncertain how she felt about that but pushed it aside for now.

"One thing at a time, Tai. Yang's the priority right now." Tai couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know it astounds me."

"What does?"

"How natural you are as a mother to her and Ruby. Actually, you were like this before you became their new mom, which is probably why they love you so much. All this time thinking about others, you never stop to work out your own needs," Tai explained. "Summer was like that too." Aqua glanced at Tai.

"Ruby is, too."

"Yeah… On her way to Haven?" Tai asked.

"She's not alone. She has friends and Qrow is tagging along," Aqua answered, smiling softly. "May not be what we planned but she's ready for this. She's ready to see Remnant, the good and the bad. Her eyes, her Keyblade, and her heart that allows her to reach out to everyone, even enemies is her greatest strength. I have faith in her."

"… Me too," Tai said with a smile, closing his eyes for a moment. "But we got our own things to do."

"You're going to try reaching out to Yang again?" Aqua asked.

"I've got to. I couldn't be the dad she needed when she was little but I've got to now when she needs help." Tai stood up. "You've done a lot of good for her, Aqua, and I can't thank you enough."

"You'll never have to," Aqua said, shaking her head.

"No, I do. But now I have to step up for all our sakes." Tai looked to her. "You can try and rest now and see how things turn up for you and don't hesitate to ask me for help if you need it. You've more than earned it."

"We truly can't thank you enough," the town's mayor said, shaking Ruby's hand enthusiastically. Team RNJR had turned in the Geist job, while Cloud chose to hang back and wait, since it technically wasn't his job.

"Just doing our job, sir," Ruby said.

"That Geist had been plaguing our village for weeks. We were beginning to wonder if we'd have to relocate."

"Well, we're on our way to Mistral," Ruby said. "You could always come along with us if you don't feel safe."

"No offense, but we can't exactly keep an entire town's worth of people safe," Cloud chimed in. The mayor chuckled good-naturedly.

"I take it you're not from around these parts. Anima is a large continent. I'm afraid our people would never survive the long trek to Mistral. It may be safer in the Kingdoms, but we prefer our way of life. I just wish we could pay you more."

"Our previous arrangement is more than sufficient," Ren said. Team RNJR bowed respectfully, and they walked away.

"Where to now?" Cloud asked.

"The blacksmith," Jaune answered. "We have to pick up my new sword."

"You went into battle against the Geist without a sword?" Cloud asked, his eyebrow raised.

"Uh, well, I'm more the, uh, 'strategy' guy," Jaune said uncertainly.

"Uh-huh," Cloud said, totally unconvinced.

Cloud leaned against the wall outside o the blacksmith shop, letting the kids do their thing. The Buster Sword was leaned up against the wall next to him.

He had told Ruby that he would go with them if he was paid, but really, he had a pretty strong feeling that if he wanted to find Sephiroth, sticking with her was the way to go.

After all, she had a Keyblade, and Sora had led him directly to his prey on two separate occasions. He had a feeling that if he stuck with her, it was only a matter of time until he ran into the man he was looking for.

His greatest enemy.

And his greatest failure.

But why did they have to be so damn energetic? Except for that Ren kid. He was alright.

A caw above him drew Cloud's attention to a bird landing on a perch above him. The bird looked right at him, it's red eyes seeming to gaze right into his soul. Cloud narrowed his eyes in suspicion, as the bird flew in the space between buildings next to the shop. He stepped away from the wall, picking up the Buster Sword and sheathing it behind him. He approached the corner when someone grabbed him by the collar.

He was yanked around the corner and slammed into the wall, a sword pressed up against his neck. The owner of the sword was a man with black hair, red eyes, and a cape.

"Alright, pal," the man said. "Who the hell are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Cloud grunted, kicking the man in the chest hard enough to make him stumble backwards. Cloud kicked off the wall, grabbing the Buster Sword and using his momentum to bring it down hard. The other man was barely able to block, but was brought to his knees by the sheer force of Cloud's weapon.

"Damn, you're not messing around," the stranger said.

"Who are you?" Cloud demanded. "What's your problem?"

"You don't know me?" the man asked. "Guess you're not with her, then."

"Not with who?"

"Not important. What is important is what you're doing with the pipsqueak and her friends."

"She hired me," Cloud said. "What's it to you?" The man narrowed his eyes, before a bullet fired from his sword, the recoil sending him to the side and breaking the sword clash.

What?! Cloud thought. The man flipped over him, swinging his sword, Cloud blocking all of them before an overhead swing sent him skidding back into the street. Ruby and the others came bursting through the door.

"Cloud!" Ruby shouted in concern. "Are you okay?!" Cloud looked up where the man was, only to discover that he was gone.

Yang came back from her jog to see Mom's wheelchair empty and instantly panicked.

"Mom?!" She rushed into the house to see Mom… hovering off the ground with Tinker Bell floating around her as she got some cups out of the cupboard.

"Mom!" she gasped, initially thinking that her mother was standing up before she realized that her feet weren't touching the ground. "Wait, Tinker Bell?"

"Hey Yang," Mom said with a smile as she turned around and slowly hovered forward. "Sorry to shock you but I remembered that you don't need legs to fly."

Yang remembered Tinker Bell. Mom had used her to bribe her and Ruby into doing their homework when they were little. Finish it on time and Tinker Bell would sprinkle pixie dust on them. They would spend hours flying through the air with Mom as she kept a close eyes on them. Mom lowered the tea tray onto the table and then hovered back over to her wheelchair.

"I'll help you finish up," Yang said when Mom was situated back in her chair.

"Thanks, sweetie," Mom said, doing her best to get comfortable.

"Hey, uh, maybe later, we can go out and fly around, like old times?" Yang suggested. "It was probably pretty liberating, being out of your chair like that."

"It was," Mom said. "I think that would be lovely."

The others watched as Jaune stepped out of the blacksmith shop, wearing a slightly bulkier set of armor, with a freshly-sharpened sword. Apparently, he had made some upgrades to Crocea Mors, but he wouldn't tell them what they were.

"He cleans up alright, don't you think?" the blacksmith, a ram faunus, asked.

"He certainly does," Ren said.

"I still think a grenade launcher would've really brought the look together," Nora commented.

"Nothing's gonna stop Team RNJR now!" Ruby cheered.

"Still not a color," Ren said.

"It doesn't matter what we're called," Jaune said. "As long as we're together."

"You kids sure you won't stick around?" the blacksmith asked. "You've been real good to this town."

"Sorry, but we've got another mission."

"Mistral, right?" Cloud asked.

"Yup!" Nora said.

"We've heard the next village over has a working airship," Ren said.

"Mmm, no way to know for sure," the Blacksmith commented. "Scroll signals were weak enough out here back when Beacon Tower was still up. Haven't heard from Shion Village in a while."

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Ruby said optimistically. She waved to the blacksmith, who waved back, and the group turned to leave.

"Hey, you know, since we've got Cloud here now, shouldn't we change our team name?" Nora asked. "Can we fit a 'C' anywhere in 'RNJR'?" The man in question pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Something tells me this is going to be a long trip."

AN: Hell yeah, we've got Cloud in this story now! So, in KH2, Cloud and Sephiroth fought and then just vanished, and we have no idea what happened to them. So let's just say they ended up in Remnant. You have no idea how hard I fanboyed when I had Ruby say Sephiroth's name.

So, Cloud's personality in this story will be based more off of his personality from the FF7 Remake than his KH self, but he'll have the same backstory as his KH version, with him having given into the darkness once, creating Sephiroth.

Oh boy, am I excited!

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!