AN: Heyyo! I'm excited this is turning out so well so far and that my ultimate plan is still undiscovered... Muhahahaha! Oh, did I reveal I have an ultimate plan? Oh, no...

So I'm glad that my that fight scenes and set pieces so far have been so entertaining, I've been putting a lot of time and energy into them. There's something about the intense, frenetic energy of Kingdom Hearts and RWBY that just demands the fights be awesome. Qrow's my favorite character in RWBY, so I hope any fight he's in turns out to be jaw dropping, especially one with our favorite Keyblade wielder. We haven't seen much of Qrow's scythe wielding in the show, yet, so I hope my – ahem – spin on his scythe fighting made sense. We haven't seen much of professional Huntsmen in action, but I got the feeling that Qrow was second to only Oz. Who knows what he could do sober?

To warrior of six blades: you are really onto something with Sora's use of Dust. And here I was hoping I could keep it a secret for longer... Yeah, the Dust'll be how Sora will enter Drive Forms in this story, though he won't quite figure it out for a while. Sora in the games probably wouldn't exactly be described as overwhelmingly book smart. He has good instincts, so he might have a hunch but not much more. As for Xehanort, he's never been one to throw away broken toys, especially ones as powerful as the χ -blade. Who knows what the remnant of the weapon could do on Remnant?

I want to say thanks to everyone reading this. If you like it, please leave a review!

Chapter 3: Promises of the Heart

Sora walked alongside Ruby and the remains of team JNPR quietly, thumbs looped through the straps of his bag, a tough backpack that was filled with his tent, some food, pajamas, and some sleeping clothes. The pack itself was mostly simple, though the technology of the planet had let him design it himself, to an extent. The bag itself was white, mostly, with red stripes crossing over in an 'X' on the face. The thing that Sora liked the most, however, was the presence of the black crown that adorned the sides of the pack and was also placed over the intersection of the two stripes. It was the exact same crown dangling from his necklace, three pronged with two circular dips between the inner peak and the two outer peaks.

Sora glanced over at the four warriors to his right, each of them walking silently and staring at the ground. He frowned and shook his head. They were friends and they enjoyed each others company, but they were so... sad. Each and every one of them had the same lost look on their faces, like they didn't know what to do without the person they'd lost. Sora definitely understood that feeling, as he was pretty sure he'd acted the exact same way when he'd first lost Riku and Kairi and shown up in Traverse Town all those adventures ago. It had taken Donald and Goofy... falling out of the sky and giving him hope to see how he was acting. Sora smiled slightly – he knew what he had to do.

"So did you guys know there's a type of ship that runs on smiling?" he asked, suddenly breaking the silence and drawing the attention of each of the four. They all had the same incredulous look plastered to their faces – even the stoic Ren. "Really. I even got to pilot it in battle. Smiling isn't easy to do when a Hear – enemy is close to shooting you down, but you really learn how to have a sunny disposition even in the darkest moments. It's great, just coursing through.. the air."

"Are you making a joke about how down we've been?" Jaune asked, shooting a sarcastic glare at Sora. "Because a ship that's powered by smiling? That's... that's impossible, Sora."

Sora grinned and shook his head. "I thought the same thing, too," he said, shrugging as he did. Then he let his hands drop from his pack and he waved them around animatedly. "But they're so cool. I mean, yeah, I only thought of it because you're reminding me of how I felt before my first ride in one. I'd lost my friends and I was scared I'd never find them. That I would never beat the Darkness. It turns out, all you need to beat the Darkness is to be the Light. Like I said, my job was making hope, and you guys just looked like... well, like you needed some."

"The Grimm are attracted to negative emotions," Ren pointed out simply, tossing a glance at Sora before returning his attention to the treeline. Sora knew the ninja was looking for Grimm who might start attacking, and he didn't seem big on smiling anyways. Still, Sora knew he'd get the serious ninja to laugh if it was the last thing he did!

"That too," Sora agreed, taking note of it. That was something they hadn't told him – probably because it was common knowledge on Remnant. He jogged ahead of the others and turned around. As he walked backwards, he began to grin as widely as he had when he'd first met Donald and Goofy. "See, it isn't that hard. Don't worry, be happy!"

"Is that a song?" Jaune asked dryly.

Sora's smile slipped away as he walked backwards. "N-no. Maybe? Look, I'm just saying you should try it out," he explained, placing his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky. Then he suddenly looked back down, fingers stretching his mouth and his eyes both staring at the tip of his nose. "Nyaaaah!"

Nora was the first to start laughing, just a quiet giggle at first. Then she erupted in laughter and twirled happily on one foot like a crazy ballerina, crashing into Ren when she did. This caused Ruby and Jaune to fall to their knees in sudden laughter, watching the usually poised Ren struggle to pull himself out from under the shaking, laughing form of Nora Valkyrie. "Nora. You're crushing me," the dark haired ninja groaned, reaching around her to try and pull her weapon from her back. "Magnihild – Ugh! – is crushing me..."

Sora by this point was also clutching his gut and laughing on the ground, gasping for air and feeling tears come to his eyes. The entire forest was ringing with the laughter of the four friends – because, as usual, Ren was not quite joining in. Sora wasn't sure Ren could even breathe under the intense weight of Nora's weapon. "Help," he groaned, dramatically reaching out towards Jaune's doubled over form. He started flailing. "Actually, help."

Jaune sighed, coming down from his laughter in fits and bursts. He reached down to help drag his friend out from beneath Nora and guide him to his feet. "Better?" Jaune asked before glancing down at Nora and laughing again. Ren smiled slightly in agreement and closed his eyes; his chin hit his chest and he soaked in the still ringing laughter of Nora, Ruby, Jaune, and Sora.

Eventually, that too died down. "Okay, okay. We needed that," Ruby admitted as she stopped laughing. She looked up and saw Sora's outstretched hand, which she took to pull herself up. "Thanks, but how did you know that would work?"

"Have you met Nora?" Sora asked, crossing his arms and raising one eyebrow in question.

"Hm... good point," Ruby admitted with a shrug. She smiled, barely holding back her laughter. She grinned and placed her fists on her hips. "I haven't laughed that hard in while."

"It felt good," Jaune said, smiling slightly. He sighed glanced up at the sky. "We should make camp soon. It's getting dark." He glanced over at Sora.

"Let's just make our way a little further," Ruby said, pulling out a map. "Patch Harbor is only a little further away, and it would be better to camp out where the town's guards patrol." She began walking off, followed quickly by Sora and the others.

They walked in silence for a while before Sora was pulled back by Jaune. "What's up?" the Keyblade wielder asked the blonde, the two walking slower than the others so they could talk alone. Sora took a deep breath when Jaune didn't respond and stared up at the sky. "Cat got your tongue, Jaune?"

"Will you help train me to fight?" the blonde boy suddenly asked. Sora turned to his new friend, hands still laced behind his head. Sora noticed Jaune's face was more serious than he'd ever seen it, but not sullen or sad like it usually was when the swordsman wasn't smiling. Sora recognized the look – it was one he'd seen on his own face tons of times. Riku's even more. Sora blinked simply, causing Jaune to sigh. "Before Pyrrha, my – our friend – died, she was helping me get stronger. I'm not exactly the best fighter, but I'm getting better. You're... wow. I want to keep getting stronger, as strong as you are."

"Why?" Sora asked, stopping and staring at the swordsman. He let his hands drop to his side and his grin was gone.

"I – what?" Jaune asked, stunned.

"Why do you want to get stronger?" Sora asked. He crossed his arms and set his brow. "Tell me why and I'll tell you if I will."

Jaune opened and closed his mouth. "Because I want to get stronger. That way I can fight-"

"That's what you want," Sora said impatiently. He shook his head and sighed. "Tell me why you want that." He put his hands behind his head again and walked after Ruby and the others.

Jaune considered the question for a while. Why did he want to get stronger? Why did he want to be a Huntsman? Was it just because his entire family had been powerful warriors, or because he wanted adventure? Those both seemed like part of it, but they weren't why he wanted to become stronger. And he knew it wasn't just for the sake of becoming more powerful, either.

"Okay, let me put it another way. I'm going to ask you a few questions, and I only want your honest answers," Sora explained. He grinned and held up one finger. "I'll give you time to think about why you want to be stronger. Meet me after we make camp and I'll ask you the questions, okay Jaune? And don't forget your weapon."

R W B Y

Sora was gazing up at the sky a good distance away from the camp, going over the fight with Qrow in his head. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd underestimated the Huntsmen and Huntresses at first, and likely overestimated his own strength as well. His fight with Xehanort had been the toughest that he'd ever been through, but he still had to remind himself that he barely even won by default when aided by Riku, Kairi, King Mickey and the others. He had assumed that, after 'winning' that fight, almost nothing he met would be a challenge for him.

How boring would that have been?

Sora grinned and let his fists fall to his hips, his gaze falling simultaneously to keep watch for any Grimm who might have made their way past Patch Harbor's patrols. Snow was dusted across the ground and falling from the sky, reminding Sora of the time he'd spent at Beast's castle. "Memories," he said, clutching his necklace and smiling fondly. Sora wondered what Beast and Belle – or rather Prince Adam and Belle – were up to now.

He turned his mind back to the questions he was going to ask Jaune, and the three faces those questions had adopted when he'd been asked. Wakka, Tidus, and Selphie. It had been a long time since he'd seen those three, and h had next to no idea what had happened to them. He had always been closer to Riku and Kairi than with them, those three forming their own trio on the Islands much like Sora's. Still, they were good friends with good hearts. What are you so afraid of? What do you want out of life? What's most important to you? Sora hadn't thought on them since his own journey had begun, and had only remembered them when Jaune had asked for training. Sora was curious about what the blonde's answers would be.

So he began to ask the young Huntsman. "What are you so afraid of?"

"Um... excuse me?" Jaune asked in his usual confused tone.

Sora turned around and stuffed his hands in his pockets, shielding them at least a little from the freezing air. After living on a tropical island his whole life, snow would always take quite a bit of getting used to, no matter how long he was around it. For Sora, it almost felt... wrong to not be surrounded by sun and sand. "What are you so afraid of?" he asked again. "Question one. What are you so afraid of?"

Jaune glanced at the ground and began rubbing his left forearm nervously. Sora noticed that the young man's eyes were glazed over with what could quickly become tears, the signs of memories he was trying to both keep in his Heart and shove out of his mind forever. "I, uh... Miss Goodwitch?"

"Jaune," Sora said after a few minutes, not wanting to rush Jaune but also wanting the swordsman to confront his own Heart, "you have to answer the questions. That was the deal."

"I know, I know," Jaune said, raising his hands defensively before running them through his hair. He blinked away his tears and coughed before nodding as if to reset his determination. "Okay. What am I afraid of? That's the question right?"

"Yes. What are you so afraid of?" Sora repeated, still not moving. He didn't sound angry, just completely calm. He wondered if he looked like Riku at all when he tried acting like this. It felt weird.

"I guess... being different. Everyone else I know is so strong, so cool, and I'm... not," Jaune said, glancing at the ground.

"Disagree, but... okay," Sora said with a shrug. He scratched his chin then returned his hands to his pockets. "Now what's next..? Oh, right! Jaune, what do you want out of life?"

Jaune smiled sadly and nodded, unafraid to answer the questions now. "I want to be strong, like Pyrrha was," the boy knight explained. He let his hand rest on his sword as he continued. "I want to be a shield."

Sora smiled. "Really?" he asked. He grinned wider and nodded in agreement. "That sounds exactly like what I expected, Jaune. Okay, last question. Ready?"

Jaune nodded seriously. "Okay, then," Sora muttered. He stared Jaune in the eye and grew serious. "I think I already know the answer, but I want to hear you say it anyways. What is most important to you?"

Jaune opened his mouth to reply, then stopped and stared at the ground. "That's a question whose answer has always been the same thing," Jaune said quietly. His fists clenched at his side and Sora could see a familiar Darkness hanging from the man's shoulders. But also an equally familiar Light. "I didn't know it until recently, I guess. I'd always thought it was something else, that power and fame were the most important things. Like if I didn't have those, I couldn't say that I'd succeeded where even my parents thought I'd fail. But when Pyrrha died... that's when I understood. I would do anything for the people I care about. They're the real measure of my success, especially Ren, Nora, Ruby and – and Pyrrha."

Sora nodded solemnly, feeling like he understood the young Huntsman in Training better now, but also like his hunches regarding Jaune's Heart had turned out to be right. "So do you know the answer to the question I asked before? Do you know why you want to become stronger?" he asked the blonde Huntsman. Sora summoned the Keyblade to his hand and slammed it blade first into the ground so it stuck out perpendicular from the snow. The weapon quivered as Sora leaned over on top of it.

"I want to be strong so I can protect the people I care about," Jaune said, the reason why Sora had asked those specific questions dawning on him. He reached down to Crocea Mors and slid it off of his belt. He drew the sword from its sheathe and extended the scabbard into his shield. "I want to save the people I care about no matter what the cost could be."

Sora frowned. No matter the cost..? He shook his head, clearing the sting of those familiar and troubling words. There was a powerful Light to them, if Jaune didn't go too far with it. Sora doubted he would, though. "Well, you answered the question," Sora said, placing his hands on the handle of the Keyblade and yanking it from the ground. He twirled it in one hand and placed it at his side. "I agreed to help you train if you answered it, so I'm ready to help. I'll have to warn you, though, it won't be an easy time. You might get bruised."

Jaune raised his shield. "I'm not afraid," he said with a grin. Then he rushed at Sora, swinging his blade at Sora's head. The Keyblade wielder sidestepped the attack before bringing his Keyblade around to collide with Jaune's shield. The force of the blow caused the blonde man to stumble backwards; Sora let him regain his footing before rushing at him.

"You need to set your feet wider, otherwise your shield's defense won't matter when someone hits you," Sora said, bringing the Keyblade down to collide with Jaune. The boy brought his shield up, blocking the blow. Sora spun around the boy's defense and brought his Keyblade around in a flash-quick attack. He forced the Keyblade to stop just a short distance from Jaune's head. "Better. But you have a sword and a shield. Don't only defend against my blows, okay? You can only stop me from attacking if you keep me on my toes." Sora jumped back and held the Keyblade in front of him. "Again."

Sora raised the Keyblade and caught Jaune's attack near the basket of the weapon, then used his superior leverage to shove the sword out of his way and attack with the Keyblade. Jaune brought his shield up in time to block the blow. The Keyblade and Crocea Mors collided with a clear pang that echoed through the empty forest. Jaune used the force of the attack to spin and bring his sword around in counter. In response, Sora brought his off hand around and placed it against Jaune's shield, shoving off and bringing the Keyblade up to block the attack. "Great!" Sora shouted excitedly. He flipped over the swordsmen's next attack and flew into the air above Jaune. Seeing how Jaune had succeeded in countering him so far, the Keyblade wielder decided to turn things up. He wanted to find out how he should fight when training with Jaune to help him to the maximum. "Ready?"

Sora slammed his Keyblade down, this time faster than before. Jaune brought his shield up, the edge glancing against Sora's weapon and causing the Kingdom Key to slide to the side. Sora spun midair to bring the Keyblade down again as he fell, this time the brunt of the blow crashing against the other side of the shield. The massive force behind the attack caused Jaune's arm to bend and his defensive wall to fall away. The end of the Keyblade slammed into Jaune's shoulder and the Huntsman was thrown back into a tree. Snow from the branches above fell down to cover him in a tall pile.

"Jaune!" Sora cried out, dismissing the Kingdom Key and rushing towards where Jaune had landed. "Jaune, I'm sorry! Are you okay? Jaune!" He began to tunnel away at the snow with his hands, trying fervently to help the Huntsman and make sure he was okay.

Sora's eyes lit up and he growled at himself. Summoning the Keyblade, he said, "Stupid! Agh! Cure!" He held the Keyblade straight up, summoning a circle of green energy and ringing bells that healed himself and the young man buried under the snow. "Come on... Jaune!" Sora continued digging, ignoring the numb pain that was shooting through his fingers as he tore at the pile of snow. Finally, the pile creaked and fell away as Jaune surged to his feet.

"Ow..." the swordsman groaned, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. His entire face was beet red and there was audible chattering as his entire body shivered violently. "S...so c-c-c-cold. Ow."

"Let me help," Sora said, placing the Keyblade beside Jaune and summoning a Fire spell to its tip. The magic flared up along the blade of the Kingdom Key and Sora waved the sword around Jaune like a magic wand. "Let's see... Fire Fire Fire! There!"

"Ow," Sora groaned sympathetically while looking at the newly charbroiled Jaune Arc, smoke rising from a small fire on his hair. The small flame traced its way up to his scalp and Sora laughed sheepishly. He leaned down and grabbed a handful of snow before dropping it on Jaune's head. "There. Um... how about we finish for the day?"

"One more time," Jaune said hollowly. Sora cocked his head to the side and grimaced. Jaune furrowed his brow and nodded. "One more fight."

Sora sighed and stepped back. "I'll tone it down –"

"No," Jaune said, his voice adamant. "Don't hold back any more than you already are."

"Jaune, you might get hurt," Sora replied calmly. He sighed when he saw the blonde's eyes – they were full of determination and unflinching resolve. He wanted nothing less than what Sora was already giving.

"I can't let you or Ruby or the others be the only ones who can fight people like Cinder," Jaune explained. He crouched down and fished Crocea Mors out from beneath the pile of snow. He tossed the pieces of freezing metal from hand to hand, letting them warm up before finally readying the sword and shield in front of him. "I couldn't help fight once and I can't help but wonder... if I had been able to... if maybe I'd been stronger -" Jaune caught himself and let his weapons fall to his side, a heavy frown on his face. His next words came out as little more than a fractured, sullen croak. "Maybe then Pyrrha would still be alive."

Sora sighed and brought the Kingdom Key up to rest over his right shoulder. "Okay. But only once more," he replied. He understood how the blonde felt, having seen Riku go through the exact same thing when Kairi had lost her heart so long ago. He'd been driven to do some terrible things, and Sora didn't want that to happen to Jaune. No, better Sora help him get stronger than run the risk of Xehanort worming his way into yet another person's Heart to get rid of his own weakened body, especially someone with such a strong Heart; Jaune reminded Sora of Riku too much, sometimes.

Sora brought the Keyblade down into his ready position. "Okay, Jaune. One more time," Sora agreed, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Then he rushed towards Jaune, swinging the Kingdom Key at the Huntsman's head.

Jaune brought his left arm up, taking the brunt of the attack with his shield, the force of Sora's blow causing an explosion of air. The resultant wind blew the remains of the snow pile at Jaune's feet away and cleared the ground around Sora and the Huntsman to reveal the frosted grass beneath. Jaune's blade shot up to attack Sora, but the Keyblade wielder summoned his weapon to his other hand and deflected the blow. The force of blade against blade sent Jaune spinning around the trunk of the tree behind him.

Sora tossed the Keyblade back to his dominant hand, turning to block the attack that came from the other side of the tree. He slid back across the slick ground as Jaune pressed his attack, trying to beat back the Keyblade wielder. Sora let Jaune deliver another blow, this one much sharper and sending Sora flying backwards. He jumped as he tumbled back and flipped, landing feet first against a tree. He jumped off towards Jaune, sweeping the Keyblade around until Arc raised his shield in defense. That was when Sora summoned the Keyblade to his other hand and slashed down at Jaune's head. The weapon clashed with Jaune's sword. Sora's attack broke through the Knight's defense, however, crashing into Jaune's shoulder. The Huntsman immediately found himself laying face down in the snow, legs sticking straight up above him.

Sora flipped once more through the air and landed lightly on his feet. He slashed the Keyblade in front of him twice before turning around and placing it on his shoulder. He looked down at Jaune's prone form and chuckled. "You did a lot better that time. I though you'd be able to block a quick change in attack direction like that; I'm glad to see I wasn't wrong."

"Thanks," came the muffled voice of Jaune in reply, the young man groaning in pain while he tried to push himself up. Sora grimaced sympathetically and pulled Jaune up by his hood. The warrior groaned. "Thanks..."

Sora grinned and dropped Jaune, whose skin shimmered white for a moment. "Ah, my Aura's gone," Jaune muttered, retracting his shield and sheathing his sword. The Huntsman turned and smiled at Sora, who stood there looking confused. Sora had heard Ruby and the others explain Aura and Dust a dozen times already and he still didn't quite understand it. The closest he could understand was that Aura was like a forcefield. "It's a good thing we're stopping, because I couldn't take another hit at all."

"That was a good first try," Sora said, dismissing the Kingdom Key and patting Jaune on the back. "It took me countless fights to get as good as you are now. And I have magic, so I have other things I can lean on. You're as good with your shield as Goofy ever was, that's for sure."

"Goofy?" Jaune asked.

"He's one of my best friends," Sora explained, glancing up at the sky. His eye caught on a gleaming star and he smiled. "He's a knight who only uses a shield – no swords. If you could see him fight, he'll jump around demolishing the enemy with nothing more than strikes from his shield. And he always was there to jump in and block if you needed help. It's what he was best at, being a shield." Sora looked down from the sky at Jaune. "You'd like him."

R W B Y

Sora walked through Patch Harbor with his friends, running from shop to shop and staring at the items he'd never seen before. Unfortunately, without Lien all he could do was window shop and dream about repaying his friends for their kindness. He wished he still had any Munny left, but he wasn't sure that the stores would take it. Of all the worlds Sora had ever visited, Remnant was the only one that used its own currency. He wished that the Grimm he killed would drop Lien like the Heartless had with Munny, because he'd be rich by now if that were the case. But they didn't, so he was still mooching off of Ruby and the others.

"So, if someone wanted to make some Lien quickly, how would I – one go about it?" Sora asked while he stared down at a multi-colored collection of dust through a window. Red, blue, yellow, white, and a bunch of other colors that all came in one big case. The individual colors were arranged in a wheel, their complement present directly across the circle. At the center was the white, gleaming and pure. He turned back and grinned at the Huntsmen he was traveling with. "Say, me, for instance."

"There's tons of ways to make extra lien," Ren said, examining his Scroll. The screen flashed for a moment before shutting off. "Hmph. The CCT is still down."

Ruby sighed dramatically. "Fine... so we're going to have to wait for Nora and Jaune to get back from the Harbor with prices for the trip to the Kingdom's mainland," she groaned, she looked around. "Oooh! Ice cream!" She took off in a blur of red and roses. Ren looked over to exchange looks with Sora, but he was already gone as well.

"ICE CREAM!" Ren heard the boy scream as he careened down the street after raised his hand up to the side of his head and smoothed his hair down, as Sora and Ruby's rush past him had blown it up to stick straight out towards his right shoulder. "I SCREAM YOU SCREAM!"

"They all scream for ice cream," Ren grumbled, shaking his head and glancing at the ground. "At least Nora -"

"IIIIIICEEEEE CREEAAAM!" The roar of hungry desire echoed through the Harbor town menacingly.

"Never mind," Ren said with a sigh. He clasped his hands behind his back and walked off towards the source of the ever increasing noise. "Yay."

"Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream, ice cream!" Nora was chanting, hopping from side to side excitedly in the line for the store. "Ren, oh my gosh, we're going to have ice cream! It's just like every Tuesday at the orphanage how they would take us all to get ice cream together in the town and we'd -"

"I'm excited, too," Ren said, not showing any of that excitement. Sora thought the ninja looked like he was depressed more than he was excited.

"Yyyyeah..." Sora muttered in 'agreement.' "So what flavor does everyone want?"

"Strawberry!" Ruby shouted, jumping up excitedly.

"I prefer organic avocado based ice cream," Ren said, drawing a disgusted glare from the others. "It is full of nutrients that ordinary ice cream does not contain at all."

"Ren's just boring," Nora half-joked, taunting her partner and slapping him on the back. He fell face first onto the ground. The incredibly strong woman grinned sheepishly. "Oops... Pancake for me! Did you guys know that pancakes are the only thing that Ren can cook without poisoning it?"

"Nora!" Ren said indignantly. He sighed. "She's right..."

"Vanilla," Jaune said, entirely too predictably. He glanced around at the disappointed looks of the others. "No? Cookie Dough, then."

"That's better, I guess," Sora said with a shrug. He glanced up at the ice cream shop – Snow's Frozen Treats, a Schnee Corp. Subsidiary! – and ran through the list of flavors. "Vanilla? No. Chocolate? Nah. Dragon!? Oh, Mushu... Ha! They have it!" Sora jumped in the air with one hand raised above his head. "Yes!"

"What do they have?" Ruby asked, advancing down the list to try and guess.

"Sea Salt Ice Cream," Sora said, a wide grin stretching across his face. He sighed and stared up at the sky, memories both his own and not his own running through his head. Roxas had enjoyed the flavor of the frozen treat while hanging out with Lea's nobody and Xion in Twilight Town. Since then, Sora had inherited that same appreciation for the ice cream and made dozens of his own memories containing the sweet as their focal point. "I can't believe they have it, it's great! The best – my favorite."

"Maybe I'll have to try that instead," Jaune muttered to himself.

"If I had any of my own lien, I'd buy some for all of you," Sora said, mouth watering in excitement. "Everyone should try it at least once. Or twice. Or a thousand times! I get it whenever I can!"

"Come on, Ren, if you aren't going to get triple banana bubblemint instead of your nasty 'healthy' ice cream, go for that!" Nora reprimanded the black and magenta haired ninja. "Come on, just try it!"

"Only if you do, too," Ren said, crossing his arms and knowing he'd won. She'd never change her mind from her usual pancake flavored confection.

"Fine," Nora said, calling his bluff. Ren flinched and groaned, suddenly acutely aware that he had been defeated. Still, what was the harm in trying?

"Ruby?" Sora asked.

"But... Strawberry," she muttered, tears streaming from her eyes. "No..."

"Five sea salt," Ren told the guy at the register.

"Twenty lien."

"Why?" Ruby groaned again sadly.

"Just try it," Sora said, walking up to the counter and grabbing the five ice creams. He tossed one to Nora and one to Ren before handing Jaune his – more coordinated the Huntsman may have become, but clumsy he remained. "Give it a chance." He grabbed Ruby's hand and stuffed the handle of the treat between her fingers.

"Strawberries," she cried even while bringing the Sea Salt ice cream to her mouth. Her face immediately cleared of any tears and he began to furiously devour the ice cream.

"Whoa, slow down," Sora said, taking his mouth from his own ice cream. "You'll get -"

"Brainfreeze!" Nora cried out from behind him.

"Yeah. That," Sora told Ruby, who smiled sheepishly at him. She began to eat the ice cream slower. Sora grinned and took another bite, grinning as he did. He turned to Jaune and sighed. "How much is the trip to Vale?"

"Two hundred lien each," Jaune said after glancing up and thinking back. "So... Ren?"

"We need nine hundred lien more than we have now," he muttered in explanation.

"Ouch," Sora grimaced, knowing the pain of being broke all too well by that point. "... So what did you guys pay for my clothes and tent?"

"Nine hundred lien," Ruby muttered dryly, drawing an embarrassed chuckle from the Keyblade wielder. Ruby finished her ice cream and whimpered sadly. "Oh... I guess we better go do jobs."

"Well, then what do we do?" Sora asked, finishing up his own ice cream and effortlessly tossing it over his shoulder and into a trash can.

"How did he manage to do that?" Jaune asked, glancing at Sora then at the trash can. "He's thirty feet from it!"

"I miss Weiss' credit card," Ruby muttered sadly. She sighed and looked up. "Okay. There has to be something we can do here for lien. Um... split up and meet here at the end of the day to compare what we've got?"

"We'll go look together," Ren said, grabbing Jaune – who was still staring at the trash can Sora had tossed his popsicle stick into without looking – and Nora – who was still crying about her brainfreeze – by their shirts.

Jaune looked up. "Team JNPR is on the case!" he said, then frowned sadly. "Or, team JNR, I guess."

"I'll take Sora to the other end of town to look," Ruby said, waving goodbye to her friends. She then grabbed Sora excitedly by the arm and began to drag him away. "Let's go, Sora!"

"Okay!" Sora agreed, struggling to gain his footing as the surprisingly strong Ruby Rose dragged him along. "Um, Ruby, I can walk you know?"

"Oops!" Ruby said. She nervously let go of Sora and he stumbled into step next to her. She pulled her hood over her head in embarrassment. "Just in a hurry."

"No problem!" Sora said, grinning and lacing his fingers behind his head as he walked. "So what kind of stuff are we looking for?"

"High paying, short time span," Ruby said. She smiled evilly. "Incredibly dangerous!"

There was a short pause. "You just want to get hired to go and kill Grimm," Sora pointed out, crossing his arms and gazing sidelong at Ruby. She grinned sheepishly and laughed, scratching the back of her head through her hood. Sora kept staring for a moment, causing Ruby to glance away and blush again. Finally, Sora shrugged in acquiescence and looked away from Ruby. "I'll take that as a yes. Well, that's usually how I made my Munny. I'm in. So how do we find one of those jobs?"

"Uhm..."

"You don't actually know, do you?" Sora asked, letting his hands fall to his side and his chin to his chest. He sighed. "Sounds like me, again."

"I thought it would just figure itself out!" Ruby argued, throwing her hands into the air and waving them about. Sora glanced over at her, causing her shoulders to slump beneath her cloak. Her voice was calmer now. "Times are tough, people need Huntsmen and Huntresses more than ever. I bet someone, somewhere in the harbor needs our help with something. It's what we do."

There was a scream in the distance. "Speaking of," Sora said, glancing at Ruby. They nodded at each other and drew their weapons, rushing off towards the source of the noise.

Patch Harbor was a moderately sized port, a necessity given the presence of Signal Academy towards the center of the island. Sora grinned despite himself as he glanced over at the ocean to his left. It felt right that he was on an island, like it was almost destiny that he'd landed there. Destiny and islands. "I grew up on an island, too," Sora said as he ran alongside Ruby, the Keyblade flashing to his hand.

"Really? What was it called?" Ruby said. She pulled Crescent Rose out and twirled it into its weapon form. "Warmer than Patch?"

"Destiny Islands. And let me just say I'm not used to snow and leave it at that," Sora explained with a grin. He rounded the next corner and raised his Keyblade beside his head like Riku would hold it. His eyes widened angrily and he shoved the blade forward when he saw a young woman surrounded by three angry looking men. A beam of light shot form the tip of the Kingdom Key, crashing into the woman and summoning a Reflega around her just as a dust bullet was launched at her. The energy bounced off of the wall, crashing into the weapon it was fired from and causing it to explode in its wielder's hand. "Less dangerous, too."

Ruby didn't reply. Sora only heard an explosion as she fired her sniper behind her and shot past him, the wind ruffling his hair as she passed by, scythe spinning through the air. Sora tracked her as she whipped the weapon around, causing a gust of wind that knocked down the man who was turning to aim at her even as the blade collided with the third mugger. There was a loud crash as he was sent flying into the wall, cracking the bricks that made the alley wall up. Sora saw the third man start to aim his weapon at Ruby's back and tossed his Keyblade, the strike raid shattering the man's weapon and breaking his hand. "I wouldn't try that again," Sora growled, raising his hand behind him and summoning the Keyblade back to his clenched fist. "It might turn out even worse for you."

"Uh, Sora, can you drop this wall?" Ruby asked, drawing Sora's attention back to her. Ruby was rapping her knuckles lightly against his Reflega and smiling caustically at him. He smiled and swept his Keyblade to his side, causing his wall of magic to disappear. Ruby smiled and turned back to the girl. "You okay?"

R W B Y

"You do realize the odds of you just running off and immediately finding the daughter of the Harbor Master being mugged are lower than your odds of being hired for a job that would have paid for our entire trip?" Ren asked as the group made their way onto the Dragonfly airship.

"Good ol' Keyblade Master luck," Sora said with a grin. "Follow your heart and you'll find what you need to find."

"I don't understand!" Nora exclaimed jovially as she walked past Ren.

"Our club has jackets," Jaune muttered in confused agreement, following Ren and Nora up the ramp and into the inside of the airship.

"It sure was nice of him to pay for our ride," Sora said, deciding to instead make his way to the outside viewing ledge of the airship. Ruby followed him after a half-moment's hesitation. Sora scratched his head. "I almost wish he hadn't given us this much."

Ruby smiled. Sora's so kind. It's cute – Ruby coughed at her own inner thoughts and tripped on her own feet. "You okay?" Sora asked as he leaned against the guardrail for the Dragonfly.

Ruby steadied herself and blushed. "Y-yeah. I'm fine," she said, turning and gazing down at the ocean. There was a steady whir as the Dust generators of the ship began to start up, the energy from the mystical power source causing the ship's wings to beat in tandem and the wind-Dust generator to force the ship into the air. Ruby shook with the movement and tumbled to the side, falling into Sora, who caught her with one arm. She looked up and noticed their faces were uncomfortably close, but his face was calm like he didn't realize it at all. In fact, he just had the same innocent, silly smile on his face. She pushed off from his chest and her blush only deepened. "Thanks." It only managed to come out as a squeak, turning her the same color as her namesake crystal.

Sora smiled. "No problem!" he exclaimed, shutting his eyes and letting his grin widen. Sora let his left hand fall to the railing again and reached into his pocket to pull out a star shaped charm. It glistened in the light of the sunset, bringing a softer, simpler smile to the Keyblade wielder's face. Ruby examined his face as he stared almost lovingly at the charm.

She continued to stare at Sora for a while, waiting for some response from him. The minutes dragged on and on until, finally, the sun dipped beneath the edge of the world and was replaced slowly by the shattered moon above. "So what is that?" Ruby finally asked, snapping Sora out of his reverie. She walked over and gripped the railing next to him. His back was to the railing while her face gazed out above the sea. "That little charm you're holding. What is it?"

Sora smiled and brought up the star. "It's called a Wayfinder," he said, showing the star to Ruby. It was made from five shells laced together with string around a small crown. There was a simple, white chain running from the 'top' of the star, where there was also a simply drawn face with brown, spiky hair.

"I see the resemblance," she said, causing Sora to laugh. She smiled at the noise. "What is a Wayfinder, then?"

"A promise," Sora explained, rubbing his thumb across the center. "On my home island, there's this fruit shaped like a star. A paopu fruit. Legend says that if two people share one, their Hearts become linked forever."

"Oh," Ruby said, the meaning of the words dawning on her. She sighed and stared down at the sea below, her eyes half-lidded. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"'Lucky..?'" Sora palled and shook his head, fervently trying to deny what she'd implied. He wasn't sure if he meant it, though. "N-no, it's not like – uhm, she's one of my best friends. She's a Keyblade wielder, like me and she made this. It's a promise that Riku, Kairi, and I will always find our way back to each other no matter what."

"Lucky them," Ruby said. She sighed and looked back up at him. "I like it. It's really cool."

"Yeah. Apparently they have other uses, too, for Keyblade wielders," Sora said with a shrug. "This blue haired lady I know says if two people both have one of them, then they can fight like each other. Like if you had one, my Keyblade could become a scythe like yours and I could shoot around in a blur of roses. That is, if it's true. She was kind of delirious from decades of hunger when she said that."

"So I could use a Keyblade?" she asked, frothing at the mouth at the very idea of such a thing.

"Well, maybe," Sora said, placing the Wayfinder back into his pocket gingerly. It was one of his very few items that survived his journey among the Lanes Between and even fewer that lasted through his fall to Remnant. "Though, more likely you'd just be able to use the same skills that I do."

"Oh. Well, I guess I could deal with that," Ruby said. She raised her hand and made a gun out of her fingers. "Thunder!"

Sora snorted and nodded. "That's probably closer," he said, laughing along with the girl. "Though I don't think my voice is that high when I do it."

"Your voice cracks every time!" Ruby retorted, falling back into laughter. Sora stared at her, unamused for a moment. Then the Keyblade wielder clutched his gut as they continued to guffaw together. He laughed until he lost his balance, tumbling to the metal floor of the viewing ledge. He was followed quickly by Ruby, who hit the wall and slid down, then lost her balance again and tumbled to the ground beside him.

"Okay. Maybe it does," Sora admitted as soon as he calmed down. He sighed contentedly and propped himself up on his elbow, looking over at Ruby who was doing the same. "As for if you can use a Keyblade? King Mickey and Master Yen Sid used to always say that anyone who has a strong enough Heart can summon their own Keyblade."

"So why don't more people have them?" Ruby asked, tracing her finger across the ground.

"There was a War," Sora said, rolling until he was on his back again. He stared up at the sky, the story burned into his mind.

"Why haven't I heard about it?" Ruby asked. "I didn't always listen in Professor Port's class, but I remember the wars we talked about..."

Sora flinched. He'd been revealing too much. "Not a... War, I guess," he murmured, trying to explain it away. "All I know is that the Keyblade wielders fought for something powerful, and they almost all ended up killing each other. Good. Evil. Light. Dark. They all died for the χ -blade."

"Keyblade?"

Sora shook his head. " χ -blade. It's this... old thing. The Keyblades are just copies of the χ -blade. Xehanort tried to rebuild it and bring the W- the battle back," Sora explained. He summoned the Kingdom Key and held it above his head, staring at the blade. "He used me and my friends to build it." He smiled in victory. "So we broke it."

"You... broke an ancient weapon?" Ruby asked. Sora nodded, grinning. He flinched when her fist collided with his shoulder. "How dare you destroy something like that, Sora? A nice little weapon?!"

"That could've destroyed the world!" Sora countered, raising his left hand to his face to block her hand. "At least no one can fight over it now."

"Ha. Sure," Ruby said, shaking her head and lowering her fist to her side. "You know, Sora, your friends are pretty lucky to have you."

"Yeah, you are," Sora said with an overly confident grin.

Ruby chuckled and leaned back, clasping her hands behind her head to gaze up at the sky with Sora, who dismissed the Kingdom Key and did the same. "You know what I mean," Ruby said, done with the jokes.

The lights far above twinkled dimly and Sora wondered which one was where his friends could be. It had only been a few days – almost a week – since Sora's arrival on Remnant, and he wasn't ready to give up hope just yet. They'd look forever, if they needed to. "No," he murmured as another star glittered far above. "I have them, Donald, Goofy. They'll never stop looking for me. There's all the people I've met along the way. And now I have you guys, too. I think that, if anyone's the lucky one, it's me."

Ruby blushed and smiled. "Oh, shut your face," she mumbled, biting her cheek and glancing away from Sora. "What are... friends for?"

Sora didn't respond. "Sora?" Ruby asked, looking over at the Keyblade wielder. She leaned in close. "Hello? Eeek!" She flinched back as a loud, thunderous snore erupted from the Keyblade wielder's throat and flew across the skies behind them.

Ruby sighed and shook her head. "Good night, Sora," she said. She yawned and stretched, her eyes drifting shut. "See ya tomorrow..." Then there was another snore as Ruby herself drifted off to sleep.

R W B Y

Raven was not one to be easily frightened. She'd been operating in the Grimmlands for almost twenty years by herself, fighting against some of the most dangerous enemies all of Remnant had to offer all by herself. In that time, she'd fought creatures thought long dead by even Ozpin and her brother. Monsters that would give even the angriest, oldest Grimm pause in its desire to kill and maim. She had faced them all, destroyed them all with the strength of her sword and her soul. She was sure she could beat Ozpin in a fight at this point, even if he wasn't chained up and half-dead at Salem's feet.

In fact, since abandoning Tai and Yang, she'd only been scared by one thing. It was consistent terror, one she'd had to fight off every day. This Salem woman who presided over the Darkness of the Grimmlands was a whole other breed. Raven didn't exactly believe in 'evil,' but she was willing to make an exception when she saw this woman. She made Summer look tan, with hair almost as white as her skin. Deep black eyes with red irises and black, vein-like strings reaching across her entire body.

When Salem had sent her little pet, Cinder Fall, out into the world to look for someone, Raven had to admit that she had been intrigued. So, she'd decided to follow the young Fall Maiden back to the Land of Light and find out what she was looking for. It had to be more interesting than a half-dead Ozpin, after all.

Now Raven Branwen could say she was scared of two things.

The old man was so very much like Salem while being so incredibly different. His very presence coated the air around him with Darkness, tugged at the Light and devoured it. Sometimes, Darkness physically radiated from his shoulders, casting out for something to kill, something to hurt. It chilled Raven to the very core, which said nothing of his weapons. One was a shattered sword, but she still felt like it made her own blade look like nothing in comparison. The other was nothing more than a black key the size of a sword. It looked like Darkness given form, something that wanted to cast out Light and end it. It made Raven both wonder and shudder at what Salem must wield if the man wielded that.

Raven watched the four walking down the pathway towards Haven. She shuddered. She'd had enough. Raven waited until they were out of sight, then unsheathed her sword. In a single slash, she cut open reality to reveal a portal of Darkness. "Well, well," a magnetically disturbing voice behind her said. "What's a broken light like you doing making shadows?"

Raven turned, simultaneously bringing her sword to bear at the person who had managed to get the drop on her. Her red and black weapon came around faster than most could even perceive, only to collide with the black, twisted weapon of the old man. "You shouldn't play with forces you don't understand, little girl."

Raven didn't respond, instead bringing her sword around to attack again. She unleashed a flurry of lightning quick strikes, but each movement of her blade collided with empty air as the man easily sidestepped every attack. "Is this the best the Remnant has to offer?" Xehanort asked, his blazing yellow eyes fixated on the woman's Grimm mask that hid her identity. "That's... disappointing. What has Salem been up to that she hasn't exterminated all of you yet?"

The man took a step back. "This bores me," he said, his weapon disappearing. "I will not waste my time and energy on one who does not understand power, not when the Seeker of Light has already walked upon this same ground."

"I am no pushover," Raven finally said, her voice a low, long forgotten growl.

"Perhaps to one who has not mastered the Keyblade," Xehanort admitted. He turned away from the woman. "As for me, my companions are probably starting to understand that my shadow is the one traveling with them. I should return before they start looking for me. As for you? Live and know that I exist. Let that terrify you, let it fester. Perhaps when you understand the Darkness you will be a more interesting pawn."

As soon as he left, Raven fell to her knees. "Who the hell are you?" she asked, her arms and legs frozen with fear. "Xehanort? Salem? What are you two?"