AN: In case you are one of the people who missed it last chapter because I, like a moron, forgot to post the name of the chapter on the first chapter, I'm going to tell you what it is. But first, wow, how did I forget that? I'd edited and rechecked everything like four times and I forgot that one simple thing. Anyways, Chapter 1 was known as The End, a reference to the last line of Ozpin in the first Chapter of this Fic. I felt so stupid replacing that just twenty minutes after actually posting it. If you aren't one of those first few viewers of the story or if you read it before and after I fixed that, welp... you knew. Sorry for rehashing.
Chapter 2: A Dusty, Old Crow
Sora walked around with his hands clasped behind his head, staring up at the sky outside of his tent... which Ruby and her friends had also bought. He chuckled to himself. Sora knew he had a lot to repay them for already, so he was glad he was helping them find Cinder. From everything the four had told him, that woman was almost as dangerous as Xehanort at times. Jaune had been the one to see her in combat the most and seemed the most weary of her... but also the one with the most personal hatred of the villain. The group had been quiet about the specifics of what she had done to them, and Jaune was even more quiet than the rest. All Sora knew was that the young man's face grew incredibly dark whenever the subject of Cinder Fall was brought up; she had hurt him personally. "She... killed someone we knew. A friend," Ren had explained eventually. He glanced down, then back up. "It hit Jaune the hardest." Sora may not have understood how Jaune felt, but he could imagine. He was sure he'd have had trouble holding himself together if Xehanort had actually been successful in killing either Riku or Kairi.
Riku and Kairi. Sora sighed and gazed at a single distant star, wondering if he was even looking in the right direction. It hurt to know he was in the middle of a world he had never seen before with no way to contact his friends. His friends had no chance of ever finding him. Sora smiled to himself: when had that ever stopped them before? Sora knew that, if he was anywhere a Gummi Ship could get to, they'd find him eventually, or he'd find them if he had to. Somehow. Sora sighed and shook the thoughts from his mind, knowing worrying about it when he couldn't do anything to fix it would be pointless.
Turning his mind to other matters, Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of red Dust. From what he understood, this stuff let people use something a lot like magic. Instead of using their own internal energy, this Dust supplied the energy for the Huntsmen's and Huntress's mystical abilities, as well as augmenting their own inherent preternatural abilities. Ruby and her friends called these skills a "Semblance," a skill that was unique to them. Sora thought it resembled magic more than anything else, letting them use their own energy to utilize a supernatural skill. They had let him borrow some to look at, to try and understand it. Not that he was making much headway – magical theory had always been Donald's strong point.
"Wow. And here I thought that the blonde didn't pay attention on watch," a voice grumbled from the darkness of the forest. Sora turned and looked down lazily, staring at where the voice was drifting from.
"I'm paying attention," Sora responded while pocketing the Dust. He walked towards the source of the voice and grinned. "Well. Mostly." Sora held his hand out towards the source of the voice and the Kingdom Key answered his call. "Now, who are you? Usually, only people who are trying to threaten my friends hide in the shadows."
A man in a white and gray shirt stepped out of the shadows. The sleeves of his shirt, which looked like a semi-formal coat, were rolled up to his elbows, revealing a charcoal inside that matched the collar of the shirt. The shirt itself was buttoned save for the top two buttons, opening in deep a 'V.' From the collar of the shirt drifted a tattered, angular cape. The tattered cloth was a blood red, not dissimilar from the color of Ruby's own cloak. The man wore black pants with matching, formal looking boots. The Stranger's face was an angry scowl, with gray and black bangs obscuring his red eyes and unkempt fuzz coating his jawline. There was a sword-like hunk of metal clipped to his lower back. "And in my experience, strangers who show up out of nowhere and randomly offer their help to sixteen year old girls usually don't have the best people for friends," the man replied menacingly. He pulled his sword from his back, the rest of the blade shooting out to nearly double its length. The Stranger raised his hand and flicked his bangs out of his eyes, letting them glare at Sora in all their cool fury. "So, maybe you deserve to be threatened, huh?"
Sora raised his Keyblade barely in time to block the incoming blow of the Stranger's sword, the move surprisingly fast given the size of the weapon. Sora grunted in exertion, struggling against the man's surprisingly powerful blow. The Stranger's thin form hid his deceptive strength rather well, just like Sora's own. The Keyblade wielder gasped in surprise when the Stranger spun around the blade lock and delivered a sharp kick to Sora's back, sending him flying away from the camp. Fast, strong, and clever? It was looking to be a good fight.
Sora crashed through low hanging tree branches, each blow throwing off his attempts to right himself midair. Eventually, he tumbled to the ground and rolled to his feet, slamming the Keyblade into the ground to slow him as he continued to slide. When he came to a stop, he raised the Keyblade again to block the glowing Dust bullets flying at him from the rapidly approaching Stranger's weapon. "Reflect!" Sora shouted, the walls of light erupting around him and sending the projectiles back at the Stranger. He dodged the bullets and flicked his wrist, returning his weapon to its sword form.
"Who are you?" the Stranger snapped at Sora, delivering a flurry of attacks that Sora was even struggling to keep up with. Eventually, the Keyblade wielder saw an opening and took it, twisting with the force of the Stranger's attack and bringing his weapon down... on empty air.
"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Sora shouted, glancing around and seeing the other warrior standing in the treetops. Sora tensed his legs and jumped after the Stranger, bringing the Keyblade around him as he approached. The blow collided with the flat of the Stranger's weapon and he shoved back, sending Sora rebounding across the forest. His feet soon touched the branches of another tree.
Sora took a breath, steadying himself as he started to dip off of the tree. He swung the Keyblade out teeth first and used it to swing around the branch and flip to stand atop it. Another volley of Dust bullets flew at Sora from where the man stood and the Keyblade wielder batted them away as quickly as he could, ignoring the ones that were going wide. "I haven't had a fight this good in a while," the Stranger noted, already on the same branch as Sora. The Keyblade wielder's eyes widened in shock at the man's speed and he jumped from the branch on which he stood, barely dodging the blow of the man's sword. The weapon cleaved cleanly through the huge branch where Sora had stood just moments before, sending the wood tumbling down into the depths below. "You're pretty good."
"So are you," Sora admitted, panting as he pulled himself up onto another branch. The Keyblade reappeared in his hand and he raised the weapon in front of him. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you're not the best fight I've had recently."
"I don't care," the man said, pushing his bangs out of his eyes again. The Stranger was smiling now, though the same distrustful anger was still in his eyes. He raised his sword and jumped towards Sora.
The Keyblade wielder raised his weapon. "Freeze!" he shouted, sending an explosion of ice rushing at the mysterious swordsman. The man grunted in surprise, then again in pain as he hit the Blizzaga spell and it froze him solid. He began to fall, all momentum lost, and Sora grinned triumphantly.
Too soon, perhaps, as the ice shattered around the man, who landed heavily on the forest floor. The Stranger glared up at Sora, eyebrows together in an angry 'V.' "How's that possible?" he asked, raising his strange sword in front of him defensively. His red eyes were cautious now, worried. He was examining Sora, calculating the fight now. "I don't see any Dust on you, so it can't be that. And you used that wall earlier, so it can't be your Semblance..."
"There's that word again," Sora groaned, shaking his head. "Don't know what you're looking for here, but you can tell me after I beat you." Sora jumped from the branch right at the caped warrior, slashing at the man. The Stranger brought his weapon up and it bore the quick series of attacks, sending sparks flying into the air. Sora dashed backwards and let the Keyblade gather Light until it glowed, then sent it flying towards the attacking stranger.
The man's eyes widened and he dashed to the side, avoiding the spinning Strike Raid. Sora summoned the Keyblade back to his hand and let it fly again, crashing into the ground where the Stranger had been a moment before. He did this again and again until the man had made his way around Sora in a circle, rolling back to his feet where the first gash mark from the Keyblade's attack was still smoking. "You aren't making me think you're less dangerous," the man growled, taking a step towards the frustrated Keyblade warrior. "I -" the man was cut off by a roar in the distance. The two men screamed as they were then slammed into by a Goliath and sent flying over the forest below.
"I... Blame... YOU!" Sora screamed, voice becoming increasingly distant as the two of them flew through the air. Sora turned his Keyblade to the side, shooting a Firaga off and flying to intercept the other warrior. Their weapons crashed against each other with the clink of metal on metal, trading blows as they continued to tumble away. "Who are you!?"
"The guy who is gonna beat you down," the Stranger replied, flicking his wrist and firing a series of shots at Sora. The Keyblade wielder scoffed in reply and raised a Reflect shield, deflecting the projectiles. At that, though, the Stranger grinned; as soon as the shield was down, Sora felt the edge of the weapon slam into his shoulder and send him tumbling downwards. He was thankful, for not the first time, that the Keyblade made him strong enough to resist blade edges. Still, it hurt, and crashing into the ground with enough force to leave an impact crater hurt even worse.
Sora groaned and pushed himself to his feet, drawing the Keyblade as he did. He glanced around, seeing that he – and his mysterious attacker – were together in a forest clearing. "Cure," Sora groaned, holding the Kingdom Key straight up and letting the green energy bathe his skin in its healing glow. Still: "Ow..."
"You're a tough one," the Stranger said as he landed softly on his feet just a short distance away. The man's huge sword-like weapon was still clutched in his hand. "If I trusted you, I'd say congratulations." He twisted his blade backhand and rushed at Sora, who raised the Keyblade to deflect the attack. He rushed forward as well, and brought his weapon up to collide with the sword. However, both Sora and the warrior stopped suddenly as there was an angry roar in the distance. The Stranger's weapon wavered side to side a few inches away from Sora's Keyblade. "Oh, what now?"
A mass of black and white began to flood into the clearing from all sides, creatures writhing across the ground like snakes, sprinting on all fours like wolves, and even huge ravens screaming as they flew through the sky.
Sora looked up at the Stranger. The Stranger looked down at Sora. The Stranger looked over at the approaching Grimm. Sora looked over at the approaching Grimm. Sora turned back to the Stranger. The Stranger returned his annoyed glare to Sora. The Grimm continued to rush towards the two. Sora sighed in annoyance and let his Keyblade drop to his side. The Stranger nodded in agreement after heaving his own heavy, annoyed sigh. Then the two turned at the same time and sprinted towards the approaching army of Grimm. "I've never seen this many Grimm congregating at once," the Stranger growled, annoyed. He dashed around an attack and dismembered a Beowolf before letting Sora cleave it in half. "Not to attack just two people."
The man's weapon began to whir, the blade extending and separating. The man turned on a dime, whipping the weapon around as the handle extended into a long, curved staff of red and black. Sora noted that there were gears in what had once been the handle of the weapon, grinding and whirring together as they caused the weapon to shift into its new form. The blade curved around as the weapon spun around its master, cleaving a half-dozen of the Grimm as they approached. "A scythe!" Sora said in surprise. Two days and he'd already seen two scythe wielders who had enough skill to not kill themselves using it.
"Quit gawking," the Stranger growled, letting the scythe roll over his shoulders to bisect an encroaching Griffon that was ready to attack Sora from behind. Sora nodded and returned the favor, jumping over the Stranger and jamming the blade of the Kingdom Key through the mask of an Alpha Beowolf. The creature turned to black Dust in moments and Sora shot a Firaga into the mass of monsters, burning them away.
"Thunder!" Sora shouted as he landed, raising the Keyblade above his head and calling down lightning. The electricity crashed into the ground with the sound of explosions, electrifying and killin most of the Grimm that surrounded him. There was a loud roar from above, and Sora glanced up at the approaching Nevermore.
"I need a boost!" Sora shouted at the Stranger, running at him and pointing up. The scythe wielder glanced up, quickly understanding what Sora meant, then looked back down and nodded before spinning his weapon around him to create a safe zone. He then let the weapon rest in his shoulders and crouched, letting Sora jump on top of the handle of the scythe before jumping up and giving the boy the boost he needed to jump on his own and fly upwards at the Nevermore.
"I cry fowl!" Sora shouted as he approached the huge bird. "Ha. Get it?" The Nevermore didn't respond. "Eh, tough crowd." Sora reached out to grab the huge bird, letting his hand run through the creature's feathers to stop him so he could land on its back. "Time to make you a flightless bird." He slashed down with the Keyblade, cutting through the wing of the huge creature.
The Nevermore shrieked in pain, twirling through the air as it lost its balance with the loss of its wing. Sora whooped excitedly as the bird plummeted downward, the young man holding onto its feathers and twirling his weapon above his head. "Waaaahoooo!" he screamed, bringing his weapon down again to slash off the other wing. The Nevermore screeched, its life slipping away from it to fade away into black Dust once again. "Oh, ride's over?" Sora sighed and jumped from the decaying Grimm, landing on the back of a nearby Griffon. Slicing its head off, he jumped to the next, repeating the process again and again until landing in the horde once more.
"Impressive," the Stranger admitted as he beheaded an Ursa and began rapidly spinning his scythe to gain momentum, eventually stopping and letting the razor sharp weapon slice a Deathstalker into two uneven pieces.
"Right back at you," Sora muttered, catching the jaws of a Beowolf on his Keyblade before kicking off its chest and freezing it solid. He twisted as he flew through the air, beheading a huge Ursa as he passed it.
Sora rolled as he hit the ground and groaned. This was taking too long. "It's like Radiant Garden all over again," he groaned as he cut off the arm of a Beowolf and shot a Graviga onto another nearby group of Boarbatusks, the hog-like Grimm squealing as they were crushed beneath their own suddenly massive weight. Finally, he sighed and raised his Keyblade. "STOP!"
The area around Sora went silent as the spell worked its, ahem, magic. The Grimm were frozen, though neither Sora nor the Stranger were. "It's only temporary," Sora told the Stranger when he saw the 'time to fight' glint in the man's eye. "Monsters first, fight later." Sora turned and began hacking away at the countless monsters.
R W B Y
Ruby was suddenly awoken by the noise of a screeching Nevermore not too far away. "What was that!?" she asked, dashing out of her tent with scythe at the ready. She looked around and frowned worriedly. Someone was missing. "Where's Sora?"
"Uh, Ruby?" Jaune said, dumbfounded and staring past her.
"What is it?" Ruby asked, looking over at the blonde.
"Um..." he said, before he pointed at the sky. Ruby raised an eyebrow, but she did as he suggested and turned to gaze off into the distance. Her jaw immediately dropped and she understood just what had surprised Jaune into a stupor.
Ruby was watching, dumbstruck, as a Nevermore in the distance began to tumble from the sky, one of its wings separated from its body. It was surrounded by a cloud of screeching Griffons, all of them swarming the body. There was another hideous screech as the Grimm's other wing was torn off, dissolving into dust as soon as it was separated from the Grimm's transient body. The creature began trailing black Dust as it fell, going the same way as its appendage. "So... he's over there, you think?"
"Seeing as he's the only one I've ever seen do something like that, it's probably a safe bet," Jaune muttered. He grimaced as the Nevermore shrieked, then glanced over at Ruby. "So I think we should go over there and help him, seeing as that is a lot of Grimm."
There was a collective roar of death as the Nevermore crashed, the noise of hundreds of Grimm dying at once. "I don't think he needs it," Nora supplied. Lightning fell from the sky, and even more Grimm screamed as they died. "I reaaaally don't think he needs it."
"Still... it wold be interesting to see more of how he fights," Ren countered. There was an explosion in the distance. "Very interesting."
Ruby grinned giddily and twirled her scythe to its sniper format. "Then let's go!" she shouted eagerly. "I can't wait to see that Keyblade thingy in action again!"
R W B Y
Sora dashed to the side, barely dodging the whirlwind strike of the Stranger's scythe. The two of them had long before annihilated the remains of the Grimm horde, and the Stranger had quickly turned on the Keyblade wielder again. "Oh, come on, we were working so well together!" Sora shouted, flipping horizontally over the Dust bullets the man fired. Sora used the momentum of his spin to bring the Keyblade crashing down on the Scythe's blade.
The Stranger smiled happily at that and twirled the scythe again, easily pulling the Keyblade from Sora's hand and sending it flying. Sora jumped backwards, flipping to land on his hands and handspring out of the extended reach of the scythe again. Sora landed on his feet, summoning his Keyblade back to his hand as he crouched. The Stranger's eyes widened in surprise as the weapon flashed back into Sora's hand; he glanced over his shoulder at where the Keyblade should have landed and saw it was gone. "That's an interesting trick," the Stranger said, running towards Sora with the blade of his scythe dragging behind him.
Sora brought his Keyblade up to block the incoming blow, causing it to rebound off of his weapon. The Stranger used that force to spin around and attack faster than most could block. As it was, even Sora barely blocked the blow in time and stumbled to the side when the scythe crashed against the Keyblade. Sora brought the Keyblade up as he turned and shot a Firaga at the Stranger. He brought the scythe down, slicing through the spell while firing another volley of Dust bullets at Sora again. The Keyblade wielder batted them back at the Stranger and rushed forward, bringing the Keyblade around in a sweeping strike that collided with the handle of the scythe. Sora flipped, using the weapons connection as a pivot, and snap-kicked the Stranger's head. Sora flipped through the air and rolled back to his feet, even as the Stranger fell to his back.
"Not bad," the scythe wielder grunted, pushing himself up to his feet. His red eye glinted as he grinned at Sora. "Oz always said you'd be strong, though I have to admit that I am a little underwhelmed."
"Then I guess I should try and turn it up," Sora replied. He closed his hand above his heart and shut his eyes. "Give me strength..." He let his chin fall to his chest and concentrated, then he looked up with a grin. The air around him flew outward with an explosion of light.
The Stranger covered his eyes with one hand, flinching backwards instinctively. "What the?" he gasped and brought his scythe up to catch the weapon that suddenly flew at him. He stumbled backwards from the force of the attack and frowned. The kid hadn't been that strong just a second ago. He jumped to the side when he saw a blur dash into the air above him, escaping a blow that left a huge crater in the ground. When the dust cleared, the Stranger saw Sora standing at the center of the crater. All of his clothes had turned a red much brighter than the one his jacket had been moments before, and there were white and black fleur de lis on his shoulders and pant legs. In Sora's off hand was another Keyblade, this one purple and gold. The teeth were a gold moon curled around a star. A gray series of stars ran up the blade and ended at the wing shaped basket that curled around Sora's hand and ended in another star. The chain at the hilt ended in the same golden moon that the teeth contained.
"I wasn't sure I could do this anymore," Sora noted as he jumped out of the crater and landed in front of the scythe wielding warrior. "Good to know it's still an option. Now... how about we see how round three goes, hm?" Sora rushed towards the Stranger, twirling his twin Keyblades as he approached his opponent.
The Star Seeker collided with the scythe first, sending it spinning. The Stranger held on to the weapon and brought it around with the attack, only to have the attack blocked by the Kingdom Key. He huffed in pain when Sora brought the Star Seeker crashing into his chest. He growled in pain and surprise, tumbling through the air. As he landed, he twisted his scythe and brought it back to its sword form. It would be easier to defend against the strikes with the smaller weapon, but it still wouldn't be easy to hold up. He had to find a way to beat this kid, which was becoming a more and more difficult prospect with every surprise.
The Stranger brought his sword up just in time to block the strike from the Kingdom Key, reinforcing his weapon with his other arm. This left him open to the Star Seeker again, but the Stranger flipped over his weapon by the handle, tearing it from the blade lock and letting Sora's Keyblades crash against each other. The blow resulted in a loud, metallic clang followed by an explosion of air the scythe wielder tumbling through the air.
As he regained his senses, he raised his sword up and let the Keyblades crash against the flat of his blade. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?" he asked dryly while the Keyblade wielder pressed down on him. "Oz didn't say anything about two of these swords." Sora raised the Keyblades and brought them down again with enough force to shatter stone, the blow instead only causing the ringing of a bell against the Stranger's weapon. The Stranger grunted in discomfort as the force of the blow ran through him and into the ground. He knew by now that his Aura reserves were likely running dry, and it seemed like this kid was nowhere near tiring out. He growled to himself – You're not old, just yet.
"Oz? Who is that?" Sora asked, still slamming his Keyblades into the Stranger's blade. "I don't have time for games. Is that what Xehanort calls himself here?"
"Xehanort?" the Stranger growled. As the Keyblades came up again, he activated the transformation of his blade. The Keyblades came down between two segments of the weapon and it retracted, trapping them inside. The Stranger pushed up and brought the weapon around, firing Dust bullets at Sora as he was dragged behind the weapons.
The Keyblade wielder grunted in pain as each of the blasts collided with his face, burning slightly. Then the man activated his weapon's transformation again and tossed Sora at full speed into a nearby rock formation. Sora yelped as the stone shattered upon impact and he bounced across the ground. When he came to a rest, fragments of the shattered stone rained down on him, slashing through his arms. "Ow," he grumbled, uneasily putting his hands beside his head and springing to his feet in a single movement. He turned back to where the Stranger had been and summoned his Keyblades defensively.
"Nice try," the Stranger growled from behind him. Sora gasped in surprise before catching the weapon in his side again. He fell down and bounced off the ground from the sheer force before taking a heavy dropkick from the man and crashing into a nearby wall of dirt and stone created when the Nevermore's remains had crashed to the earth. "But they don't give out medals for trying in the real world, kid."
Sora groaned and pushed his way out of the stone and dirt that had covered him. He groaned in disappointment when he noticed that he had dropped out of his Valor Form, now back in his normal clothes. "Oh, come on," he sighed, summoning the Keyblade and cutting his way out of the pile. "Okay, you want some? Bring it on!" Sora clutched at his chest, reaching for that same energy to transform once more. However, his breath caught and he fell to his knees. He couldn't do it, even though he'd done it just moments before.
He glanced up at the approaching Stranger. It was obvious the warrior wasn't going to waste this opportunity of a newly weakened Sora, as his weapon was once again in the shape of a scythe and ready to cleave the young man in two. Sora angrily raised his Keyblade above his head and waited until the man drew near. He looked down and shut his eyes, hoping he would be in time. "Stop!"
Sora waited with bated breath for pain, but none came. He opened his eyes slowly and breathed a sigh of relief: the tip of the scythe had been stopped just above his forehead. The Keyblade wielder fell to his back and raised the Keyblade again. "Heal," he groaned. The green light flashed above him, renewing his strength. "Ow. I'll add this – you're the best one on one fight I've had in a while. If my friends were here, this would've been a lot easier, though."
The man didn't reply, frozen in time as he was. "Okay, let me just get up," Sora groaned, sitting up. He grabbed hold of the scythe's handle and used it to pull himself to his feet. "Thanks." Sora sighed and raised the Keyblade in front of him, holding it directly at the Stranger's throat. "Maybe now you'll answer some of my questions."
"I doubt it," the man replied as the magic wore off. He sighed and deactivated his weapon. "You can torture me however you want, but I'm not giving up Oz."
"Torture?" Sora asked. He dropped the Keyblade to his side. "I – I'd never do something like that."
"Sora! Sora are you – Uncle Qrow!?"
Sora looked over his shoulder at Ruby. She looked surprised and worried... for Sora. "Uncle!?" he asked, glancing over at his assailant. "Qrow!?"
The scythe wielder wasted no time, looping his scythe around Sora's throat. "Finally got you," he said.
"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted, rushing forward. She grabbed her weapon from her belt and twirled it until it was at the ready. Qrow easily leaped away from her attack, still holding Sora by the throat. "Let him go!"
"Ruby, stay out of this," Qrow growled, keeping out of her way. He pulled the weapon closer to Sora's throat and the Keyblade wielder gulped nervously as the metal touched his skin.
"So, is all your family like this?" Jaune asked Ruby, sword and shield still drawn and at the ready. "Or just Yang and your uncle?"
"Uhm... heh?" Ruby replied with an embarrassed smile. She sighed and deactivated her scythe while turning back to her uncle. "Uncle Qrow, let him go."
"That's not an option, kiddo," he replied, pulling the weapon closer to Sora's throat. "I... don't trust him."
"Well I do," Ruby said simply, walking up to her uncle and crossing her arms.
Qrow stared down at her, jaw shaking angrily. "Urgh. Fine," he growled. There was a whir as the gears in the scythe shifted. The metal retracted and folded up once again, segments of the blade slowly clicking together. He twirled the weapon at his side and clipped it to the back of his belt beneath his cape. "But only because you're giving me puppy eyes, Ruby."
"Thanks," Sora whispered lamely, rubbing the line on his throat where the scythe had been pressed a moment before. He glanced over his shoulder again. "This guy's your... Uncle?" He looked down at Ruby's inactive weapon, then over at Qrow's. "I can see the resemblance."
"So I suppose you're going to want to talk," Qrow asked his niece, crossing his arms and sighing. Ruby nodded. "Great."
"One more thing," Ruby said seriously. She smiled widely and shrieked, hopping from side to side. "It's so good to see you!" She jumped forward and hugged the man, making the two fall over onto the dirt.
R W B Y
"Tai's been worried sick ever since you disappeared," Qrow said as he sat near the fire. He groaned and clutched at his side before casting an angry glare in Sora's direction. He looked back over at Ruby and shook his head. "He would want me to take you back."
Ruby was quiet. "How's Yang?" she finally asked meekly, staring at her lap.
Qrow shrugged. "Same as she was. Not herself," Qrow said with a shrug. "Sullen and angry with bruised pride, letting something small stop her."
"Uncle Qrow," Ruby snapped.
"It's the truth, Ruby. She lost her arm, not her life; that never even stopped General Jimmy from fighting," he replied with a heavy sigh. "Your sister isn't showing that strength Tai keeps saying she has."
"I know," Ruby mumbled, losing herself in though. She looked up at her uncle. "But she will."
"If you say so," the Huntsman replied with a shrug. He looked over at Jaune, Nora, Ren, and finally Sora. "I've got more important things to worry about right now, Ruby. Including your friend here."
"Why were you attacking him?" Jaune asked before taking a bite of the chicken Ren had cooked. He coughed and nearly threw up when he tried to swallow the "food," which he promptly tossed away. "How do you ruin chicken?" Ren narrowed his eyes. "But you're a hunter, and Sora's... whatever Sora is."
"Yes, that's exactly why," Qrow growled. He turned to Sora and narrowed his eyes. "I know almost everyone who fights as well as you do, and none of them are a seventeen year old kid." He glanced between the kids faces, as if remembering something. "Anymore... So I wasn't excited when someone I didn't know or understand just showed up out of nowhere to get close to my niece."
Sora and Ruby blushed and looked at each other. "I... no. No it wasn't like that, I was just trying to be helpful!" Sora said nervously. He groaned and slammed his face into his hands. He sighed and looked up. "I just wanted to help out and find the guy I'm chasing down."
"That Xehanort guy you mentioned?" Qrow asked. He frowned. "I don't recognize the name, and I know about most of the big players in the criminal underworld, especially since the attack on Beacon."
"If you ever meet him, don't challenge him to a fight," Sora told the scythe wielder.
"I think I can take care of myself," Qrow scoffed. He gestured at Sora himself for evidence.
"Yeah, and I barely beat him when I was teamed up with eight of the best warriors in the universe," Sora said. He froze, hoping they didn't catch that.
"Really?" Qrow asked, narrowing his eyes. Sora nodded, breathing a quiet sigh of relief when it appeared he hadn't been found out. "Well, tell me what he looks like and I'll give you a call when I find him."
"He's an old bald guy with yellow eyes who dresses like a villain. It wouldn't be easy to miss him even if you weren't looking," Sora explained. He stood up and placed his hands into his pockets. He grunted in surprise, pulling the Dust container from his pocket. "Forgot about... this?" It was empty.
"Something wrong?" Qrow asked the kid.
"I... no. Thanks, I'd love some help to find Xehanort. He's dangerous," Sora said, pocketing the empty vial again. How had he used up Dust? The stuff wasn't used in any of his magical attacks – his strike raid on the Goliath was evidence enough for that. The vial must have just broken. "Dangerous enough to destroy the entire world on his own."
"I've been acquainted with the type," Qrow responded. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Well, now that I'm on the lookout for him, you don't have to hang around my niece and her friends."
"What?" Ruby asked, surging to her feet. "Why can't he stay with us?"
"There's no point if he doesn't need you to help him find his guy," Qrow responded without standing up. He leaned forward with his hands on his knees and growled. "I won't have you traveling around with some strange kid who fell from the sky. Especially if some crazy monster is going to try and kill him."
Ruby opened her mouth to snap at her uncle, but was cut off by Ren. "How did you know he fell from the sky?"
Qrow glanced over at the young ninja and growled. "You've been following us?" Nora asked. "Creepy. How come we didn't see you?"
"I'm a professional Huntsman, sweetheart," Qrow replied, a cocky smirk appearing on his face. "I don't get seen."
"Uncle Qrow, answer the question," Ruby demanded.
"Fine. Yes, I've been following you," he replied, finally standing up. He pulled a flask from his belt and began to chug the contents. "Forgive me for worrying about my niece, I must be out of line. Look, I was already heading for Haven. I just wanted to make sure you got at least a good start without dying."
"You don't think we could handle it?" Ruby snapped indignantly. She huffed and crossed her arms. "Gee... Thanks."
"You have a way of attracting people even I wouldn't like dealing with," the scythe wielder explained to placate her anger. "You're strong, Ruby, but Cinder is in a whole other league. I wasn't going to let a bunch of kids try to fight her."
"Well, then Sora should totally stick with us," Ruby said. "He's strong and she won't be expecting him – less than she'd be expecting you, at least."
"Yes, his skill is incredible," Ren supplied simply. He walked over to Jaune and tried to get him to eat more of the chicken.
"Amazing," Jaune agreed while angrily waving off his team mate's cooking. Ruby was glad that Jaune had improved over the past months, otherwise the sudden appearance of the incredibly strong Sora would have made the blonde boy sullen. His time with Pyrrha had obviously shown him he should instead learn from someone like that. "We're safer with him than with anyone."
"Except he's an unknown. And unknown variables can be more dangerous known bad ones," Qrow growled in explanation.
"Sora is staying with us," Ruby said. She turned to the young Keyblade wielder, who was still blushing. "Tell him."
Sora grinned sheepishly. "I... don't want to cause an argument between family," he explained. "But Ruby's right. I'm not leaving my friends hanging."
"You've known them for all of one day. You're not their friend," Qrow growled, grabbing the Keyblade wielder by the cuff of his sweatshirt. The fire crackled at the man's heels.
Sora narrowed his eyes and grabbed the scythe wielder's hands. One by one, he pried the fingers loose. "They are my friends," Sora explained as he tore the pinkies off of him and dropped to the ground. "They've already done so much for me, so I'll be helping them whether you like it or not, okay? So I suggest, you get used to the fact that I want to help Ruby, or just learn to deal with it, because I'm not abandoning my friends after I've already promised to help them."
"I could fight you over this," Qrow growled, hand already on the handle of his scythe-sword.
"Cause that turned out so well last time," Sora replied, Keyblade appearing in hand. The metal teeth cast the image of a crown – The one on his necklace, Qrow noted in amusement – onto the forest. "I'm not leaving them, because they want me around. Friends don't abandon friends, even if someone wants them to."
Qrow examined the faces of the four children around him. They were all very serious and, in Ruby's case especially, looked ready to go to war over this. Qrow knew he'd underestimated his niece; she wasn't just a little girl. He'd trusted her to run to Haven by herself so he could trust her with this. He had trained her, after all, so what was there to worry about? And if push came to shove... Qrow was certain she'd figure out some way to call on those Silver Eyes one more time. "Walk with me," Qrow growled at Sora, turning from the group and making his way for the edge of camp.
Sora frowned and looked over at Ruby. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I know he's your uncle, so -"
"Oh, he's just being overprotective," Ruby said, chuckling to herself. "Even highly trained warriors can get scared I guess."
Sora laughed. "Definitely," he said, turning back to Qrow. "I'll go see what he has to say. Oh, by the way, do you have any more of that Dust stuff? The vial I have must have gotten broken during my fight with Qrow."
"Hm... I don't think any of us can spare any extra right now," the Huntress-in-training replied, frowning and . "We were already running low, but I bet we can get some more on the way to Haven. There are bound to be some settlements with Dust shops between here and there in the Kingdom."
"Works for me. Maybe I'll even find a way to pay you guys back," Sora said with a grin.
Ruby scoffed and blushed. "Oh, there's no need," she stammered.
"Don't worry. I want to," Sora said. He grinned at the young woman and laced his fingers behind his head. "It's a promise, Ruby." He turned and ran over to Qrow, leaving Ruby to smile shyly after him.
"Ooooooh," Nora said, playfully mocking the red cloaked girl.
"Oh, shut your face," Ruby muttered, pulling her hood low over her head in order to hide her blushing cheeks. "Go talk to your boyfriend or something."
"Ren and I aren't together together!" Nora said nervously, chasing after the young scythe wielder and nervously waving her arms. "Why does everyone think that?"
R W B Y
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Sora asked, walking beside the scythe wielder. The Keyblade wielder had his fingers interlocked behind his head, smiling while he walked through the forest. "You know, that you didn't want Ruby to hear."
Qrow stammered and turned, sweeping his arms apart in a show of denial. "That's not – ugh," the veteran warrior groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose while Sora laughed at him. "Fine, you're right. You're not from around here – by which I mean, you aren't from Remnant, are you?"
It was Sora's turn to stammer and freeze. "N-n-no. That's not -"
"You said 'universe,' kiddo," Qrow pointed out. "And don't start trying to pass it off as 'I meant Remnant when I said universe,' because I'm not nearly as blindly trusting as my niece is. In fact, I'm more of the... distrustful type."
Sora studied Qrow's smirking face for a while. "I don't think that's quite true," Sora said, eyes fixed intently on Qrow's. The scythe wielder flinched back, disturbed by the confidence with which the young man had said it. Instead of responding through, he just narrowed his eyes intently, so Sora continued with his thought. "So you want to know about who I am."
"And why you lied to my niece. I'd make it good, too, because I would rather not go blow for blow again when Ruby is this close by," Qrow snapped, drawing his blade and holding it at Sora's throat. "Otherwise... well, I'm willing to bet that you get the idea."
"No need to threaten me, I'll tell you what you want to know," Sora said, heaving a sigh. He crossed his arms in front of him and sighed. "Master Yen Sid'll kill me for this. Keyblade wielders aren't supposed to let people know about other worlds, but there's not much choice if I want to help Ruby, is there?" Qrow growled an affirmative, making Sora chuckle and scratch the side of his head. "Well, I'm Sora. As you've guessed, I'm not from your world. I'm a Keyblade wielder, someone dedicated to saving the Worlds – all the worlds – from Darkness. Basically, bad guys and monsters called the Heartless. Though, this world seems to come with its own brand of evil."
"The Grimm," Qrow muttered.
"Yeah," Sora said. "They're a little like the Heartless. Less dangerous, though. Heartless steal Hearts; they make people into more of them."
"That's... worrisome," Qrow said, stroking his chin and considering what Sora said. "If the Grimm were like that..? Or if these creatures made their way to Remnant? Well, I get where you got your fighting abilities, I suppose... Keep going."
"I come from another world, a place called Destiny Islands. When I was fourteen, it was destroyed by the Heartless. They devoured its Heart, sending everyone living there across the worlds, including me and my best friends, Riku and Kairi. It turns out, it was Xehanort's fault. But he was calling himself Ansem back then, except that was inside Riku's body..? It... never mind. Anyways, with the help of my new friends Donald and Goody we found a way to defeat him and bring all the worlds back. Didn't stop Xehanort from failing two more times, and apparently fighting against me and my friends wasn't even the first time. He'd been prowling around trying to take over the worlds for decades by the time we met for the first time. He hurt tons of people along the way, including my friends."
"So you fought him? Barely a kid, and you fought the most dangerous criminal in the universe?" Qrow asked. "Tch. Forgive me if that sounds a little nuts."
"More nuts than a seventeen year old falling from the sky like a comet?" Sora asked. He smirked at the older warrior and crossed his arms.
"Touche," Qrow admitted with a shrug.
"Then it's your turn: why did you want to kill me so bad?" Sora asked. He grinned. "And don't give me the whole 'I didn't like the idea of a strange kid around my niece' thing you gave me earlier. You brought up that 'Oz' guy twice during our fight, and Ruby once. It wasn't about her."
"You're more observant than I gave you credit," Qrow said, one eyebrow up. He looked subtly impressed of the kid.
"I told you I was paying attention," Sora said. He grinned and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Mostly."
Qrow sighed and began to walk down the path again, Sora close behind. "Oz was – is... a friend. We go way back, and he's always known what we were fighting before our worst enemies even knew they were in a fight. Ozpin was the headmaster of Beacon."
"Was?"
"The school – Beacon – it was destroyed. As for Ozpin? He disappeared, and I haven't been able to track him down," Qrow explained. He narrowed his eyes and growled at the young Keyblade wielder. "And I'm very good at tracking people down."
"So who took him?" Sora asked, eager to help however he could. Maybe he could get Qrow to trust him if he helped find this 'Ozpin.'
"Whoever ordered the attack on Beacon," Qrow replied. He leaned back, placing his back against a tree and sighing. Sora finally noticed just how exhausted the Hutsman looked, heavy set lines beneath his eyes and his shoulders slumped. The Huntsman pulled a flask from his belt and unscrewed the top with his thumb; he chugged the entirety of the contents in a single gulp. Qrow closed the flask and wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt. "Which is why I wanted to talk to you, actually."
"Hey, I didn't have anything to do with it!" Sora assured the scythe wielder.
Qrow laughed. "Tch. No, I'm starting to understand that," he said with a grin. "But, before he disappeared, Oz did say someone with one of those Keyblade things was behind all of this."
Sora's eyes widened. "Xehanort!" he growled. He slammed his fist into a nearby tree trunk and slapped his forehead. Sora growled, then yelled at himself. "I should have known! Of course he's involved! He always is."
"Xehanort? You keep talking about this guy and people are going to ask questions," Qrow joked. Then he frowned and his face grew serious. "He's dangerous enough to plan an attack when he's not even on Remnant?"
"Dangerous enough to destroy Remnant when he's not even here," Sora replied, turning a scowl towards Qrow. "He's a Keyblade Master – a real master. I'm... still 'in training,' to give you an idea of what that means."
Qrow palled and chuckled nervously. "That's... no big deal," he managed to growl, his courage unconvincing. "So you think he's been here before."
"He always did like long term plans," Sora said, taking his hand from the tree and running it through his hair. He groaned and began to scratch the back of his neck when his hand reached it. "He probably has tons of backup plans on tons of different worlds. Nothing's ever stopped him from hunting down Kingdom Hearts before, especially not something as small as a defeat."
Qrow considered this for a moment. "Well, I guess that's a good enough answer," the scythe wielder admitted, pushing off from the tree and sighing. "If this Xehanort guy is half as dangerous as you say, he may very well be behind this whole thing. And if that's the case, it would be best if someone who can go toe to toe with him is around my niece. She has a way of getting herself wrapped up in the middle of things she has no business dealing with."
"She can handle herself," Sora told the Huntsman.
"That's what she keeps saying," Qrow laughed. "And yet, I was the one who found her unconscious after freezing a dragon Grimm solid. She is special, Sora, so if she gets a single hair on her head hurt, you'll have to answer not only to me... but to her dad and her sister. I'm tougher than them, but one's her dad and the other's her half-sister who helped raise her. I wouldn't push your luck."
"I don't let my friends get hurt," Sora retorted, crossing his arms and glaring back at the Huntsman. Then Sora grinned and held out his hand. "Even you, Qrow."
The Huntsman took a step back, surprised by the innocent, wide eyed smile the young man had plastered to his face. "Tch," Qrow said, looking at the ground and shaking his head. "Why not?" Qrow reached out and clasped hands with the Keyblade wielder. "I'll be watching, so no funny moves, kid, or I'll be back with a vengeance."
Sora stammered and pulled against the man's hand. "It's – not like that!"
"She not good enough or something?" Qrow asked, laughing as the kid's eyes went wide and he stammered even more.
"Dusty, old crow," Sora finally managed to grumble.
"I'm not old!" Qrow snapped in retort. This only succeeded in drawing more derisive laughter from the Keyblade wielder. "I'm not old!"
R W B Y
Cinder did not like being sent out for something as small and insignificant as a retrieval mission. She had been the one to unleash the Dragon Grimm upon that fool Ozpin's school. She had been the one to kill the Fall Maiden and thus gain the power of the maidens. She was one of the most powerful beings on Remnant, now. She had been the one trusted to plan the destruction of Ozpin's plans and the CCT. But now she and her faction were being sent out to merely look for a shooting star? It was an insult to be treated like that, and even worse it was as if she had forgotten all the work Cinder had done for her.
"Are we there yet?" the silver haired Mercury Black asked. Cinder turned to him with a glowing, angry glare. He wore black running pants, with black greaves filled with silver dust shotgun pellets. Cinder and the other girl, Emerald Sustrai, knew that beneath those weapons were two incredibly advanced and powerful cybernetic prosthetics. His legs had been destroyed in a battle with his father some time before, but the boy didn't seem to mind. He almost preferred it. His torso was covered by a black battle shirt that became a silvery blue that continued down to his waist. Armor of a silver that matched his hair covered his arms in two segments, ending with black fingerless gloves. An ornate, boot and wing shape was embroidered onto a war-mark that hung from the right side of his belt. He raised his hands defensively and, in a way that showed he was sorry despite his sarcastic tone, said, "Sorry."
"You idiot!" the other girl, Emerald, hissed. Her hair was the same color as her name, though her eyes were an almost ruby red. Her skin was dark and exotic, a sharp contrast to the incredibly pale partner she had in Mercury. Emerald wore a green and white crop top, the white starting just below her chest and wrapping around her throat and arms while the green covered her chest itself. She wore a gray, metallic band on her left arm and green battle gloves that covered her palm and the top of her head, wrapping only around her middle finger. Her brown belt held up matching leather riding pants over her cream colored jeans that ended just below her knees. Gladiator flats wrapped up to the center of her shins, the look of a woman ready for battle. Kurasigama guns the same shade as her hair were holstered in an 'X' across the small of her back. "We'll be there when we get there!"
"Oh, calm down, I was only asking," Mercury flippantly told the girl, waving his hand dismissively. "No need to get your panties in a bunch."
Emerald turned a tint of red matching her eyes. "Shut up, you idiot pig!"
Mercury grinned. "Tch. You want me," he said, drawing only more angry yelling from Emerald. Mercury smiled, appreciating the woman's angry yapping.
"Enough," Cinder snapped, an ephemeral glow in the shape of a wing coming from her eye; a miniature sun appeared in her hand. Cinder Fall, the most wanted woman in two of the Four Kingdoms, was not amused by her underlings' arguing.
Cinder wore an ornate red dress, the arms laced with red and yellow dust that traced in ornate patterns and glowed with her power. Her black hair fell down one of her shoulders and accented her beautiful, if cold and unfeeling, face. Her dress flared off in a tail behind her and revealed most of her legs, enough to make most men stare like fools. Her red and black heels gave her another couple inches for an imposing height of 5 feet 11 inches. Her right ear had a simple, golden hoop in it that glinted in her firelight. "Be silent and obey, or it won't be pretty."
Mercury shrugged to hide his fear while Emerald bowed deeply, always the more respectful and deferential of the two. Mercury was in this for the fun, Emerald because she worshiped the ground on which Cinder walked. Even Cinder could see they were an odd couple. "Why aren't we going after Red?" Mercury asked a moment later.
"Because this is more important," Cinder said, turning away and walking away.
"Than someone who can beat a Grimm the size of Beacon?" Mercury inquired. He immediately regretted it, falling backwards when Cinder slapped him to the side.
"Much," she hissed, drawing a visibly scared reaction even from the young man. "Don't. Question me."
"I... yes," Mercury said, glancing at the ground. He was afraid and ashamed.
"I approve," a slimy, rotten voice said. Cinder turned to the source of the voice, fireballs the size of skulls in her hands. It was an old man who said it, standing atop a stone outcropping near the group of criminals.
The old man had eyes of blazing yellow and filled with pure, unadulterated hatred for everything around him. He looked hungry, like he wanted to devour the universe and use the leftovers as a plaything. He was bald, showing more of his skin, which was of a similar shade to Emerald's. He had the notorious 'bad guy' goatee of pure white. He wore a deep black, leather trench coat over a white tunic. Two belts looped around his waist, one above the other, to keep it tight on his chest. One would think that, given his age, the tautness of the shirt would reveal his frailty. Instead, it revealed he was still very much a danger to anyone who fought him. White gloves covered his hands, reaching all the way up to his elbow. He wore black, angular boots that seemed to eat the light around him. Clasped to his back was a shattered weapon.
In the man's hand was a twisted, black weapon. It was built in the shape of a key, but it looked like it was built out of pure darkness. A demonic eye was placed at the end, and there was a devilish face built into the hilt. The basket was made of two, inward facing demon wings. A chain extended from the base to end in another ornate, demonic eye surrounded by angular, Dark runes.
"Who are you?" Cinder asked, aiming the fireballs at the old man.
In response, the old man laughed, his free hand arching painfully. He stared up at the broken moon in the sky and continued cackling. An aura of Darkness began to cover his shoulders, flowing down his body. Then he suddenly stopped, staring down at Cinder. "Take me to Salem."
"Salem?" Mercury asked. Cinder glanced over at her two confused underlings, then back at the old man.
"Weapons down," she told Mercury and Emerald even as she lowered her own attack.
"Wh-"
"Obey!" Cinder snapped, turning on Mercury again. He flinched back, but did as she commanded and stood at ease. She growled at the boy, then turned back to the old man. "Who are you?"
The old man smiled, a grin that could freeze a fire. "My name is Master Xehanort," he said, running his tongue over his teeth with every syllable of his name, like he loved the taste of it. "You would do well to remember it, Girl."