AN: Hey again everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the fights in the last chapter, because here comes its conclusion. These two chapters set up a lot for the later story, but only the slightest hints. I wonder if anyone will guess what I have planned.

Keyslinger Roxas: Unfortunately for my favorite Nobody, I don't have any plans for Roxas in this story. He is awesome, I know, but I feel like since he was 'growing a Heart' by the time he fused with Sora, and Ansem said that Sora could somehow bring back people who don't exist anymore, Roxas might have his own body and stories to tell apart from Sora by now. While I do love Roxas, I don't know at the moment how to fit that in to where this is going. As for the Sixth Foreteller theory, I had never heard of it before you mentioned it, somehow. It actually fits in really nicely with some things I have planned that are central to the story, so you can bet it will show up eventually.

Warrior of Six Blades: I'm glad that the first half of the fight entertained. I basically try to imagine the most over the top fight I can, then push it a little. I'm glad it's working so far. As for Cinder's mistake last chapter, I am aware it seemed a tad out of character for a schemer like her. Don't worry, she had a reason.

Chapter 6: The Seeker of Light and the Silver Eyes

Sora grinned as the energy of his Drive Form began rolling off of his shoulders, filling the air with a faint yellow glow that jumped jaggedly around his body. The Guardian Soul Keyblade in his left hand was held in front of him, spinning in his open palm. Yellow electricity followed the two ends of the weapon as it twisted. In his right hand, the Sleeping Lion Keyblade shuddered as similar energy pulsed down its length. He grinned victoriously when he saw that none of Xehanort's partners had come after him yet. "Oh, come on. Where's all that big talk you were giving me a minute ago?" he asked, his gaze locking onto Cinder. Her face was full of the same serene anger as always, the only visible change to her form a black burn mark on her shoulder. Sora smiled at that spot where her attack had rebounded during his Drive Shift. No response came from the woman, and Sora laughed. "Really, nothing?"

Xehanort sighed at the caution of his partners, though he understood their reticence to attack the boy. He had already stood his ground against Xehanort himself, and now he was twice as powerful. Still, he was of no danger to the Keyblade Master himself; Xehanort scoffed, "You really believe you are capable of defeating all of us at the same time, Sora? You could barely hold up when you and Riku both were arrayed against me."

The Keyblade wielder grinned. "I know I can defeat you, Xehanort," he retorted. He dashed towards Xehanort, and Ruby was astonished to see that Sora was moving like a lightning bolt, a hundred times faster than he'd been moving before the sudden shift. It didn't seem too fast for Xehanort, though, because his Keyblade came up to attack the incoming Keyblade wielder. The black Keyblade arced towards where Sora's head was going to be, ready to decapitate him effortlessly.

Then just like that, Sora disappeared, leaving nothing but a blur of black lines where he'd been a moment before. Xehanort's eyes widened in fear. "What in Dust!?" Mercury asked, watching as Sora disappeared. He looked around wildly, worry on his face. "I'm fast, but..."

"Yeah, you're definitely not this fast," a voice said behind him. Mercury spun, raising his leg to block the attack or to kill his attacker, but he just wasn't quick enough. The gunmetal Keyblade crashed into the silver speedster's shoulder and the massive force sent him tumbling through the forest with a resounding crack, the shattering of a tree through which he flew. Sora's secondary Keyblade drifted to his side, almost as if it had a mind of its own, and caught a slash from Cinder's twin blades. Ruby's eyes widened as she saw the lightning run down the blade of the Keyblade again. The energy channeled through Cinder's weapons before she could do anything, and she was thrown back with the sound of thunder. She collided with the young man as he began to get up, and he slammed into the tree again. Cinder struggled to get up, but fell to one knee; Mercury slowly fell from the tree trunk and slammed face first into the ground. Then Sora twisted mid air, wrapping the incoming chains of Emerald's weapons around his wrist. "Thunder!" The energy ran down her chains and she screamed as Sora continued spinning, crashing Sleeping Lion into Xehanort's Keyblade and throwing the woman away, again crashing into the other two and creating a pile of bad guys.

"Impressive!" Xehanort complimented as he struggled against the young Keyblade Master's weapon. Sora's secondary weapon collided with Xehanort's too, driving the old man back a half step. "You're almost there! Almost a Master! If you would give in to Darkness... then you could be a real master of the Keyblade!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Sora said, grinning wildly. He flipped over Xehanort and his Keyblades spun around him in perpendicular circles, covered with fire. He forced himself to fly downwards, trying to burn his opponent from above. Xehanort swiftly dashed backwards to effortlessly avoid the blow. "I've beaten you tons of times, so why would I give up?"

"Defeated me? Ha!" Xehanort snorted as he regained his footing. He scoffed again and rushed towards Sora, the two of them moving even faster than they had during their earlier battle. It was like Sora's sudden power up had reinvigorated the old man, drawing out his own reserves of power just as much as the boy's. "You barely survived with the aid of a half dozen true Keyblade Masters and the strength of Yen Sid at your back. Your masters are truly failures if you believe that you are as powerful as you could become. Or liars, perhaps."

"Like I've said, even if I'm not strong enough, my friends make me strong," Sora retorted. He shot a ring of Firaga at the old Keyblade Master. He raised his Keyblade and spun it in a circle, leaving behind a trail of Darkness. The wispy circle seemed to solidify into a ring of black stone, and it flew forward. It collided with the fire, causing a massive explosion. Smoke filled the area between Sora and his enemy. Suddenly, the old man jumped through the smog, slashing his Keyblade down at Sora's left shoulder. Sora raised his offhand Keyblade and it spun around into a red blur, like a saw bringing a shower of sparks against Xehanort's weapon. Sora shoved off of this point of contact and stabbed forward with his other Keyblade. The old man moved to dodge, but Sora was prepared. A flash of white light later, and Xehanort was driven back a step, his chest covered with ice.

Sora grinned at the fallen Keyblade Master. "In fact, I'd say you're starting to show your age, Xehanort," he taunted as he tensed his legs. He jumped forward and moved to attack the old man once more.

"It is called experience, boy," Xehanort retorted, launching forward the same as his opponent. The air exploded as the two met halfway, the full force of their attacks sending the pine needles on the surrounding trees suddenly disappearing in the powerful wind. "Something a child like you embarrassingly lacks."

R W B Y

Cinder was enraptured. Throughout her entire life, she had been searching for power. The power to undo anything, to destroy whatever crossed her path. She had driven herself to master every form of combat of which she was capable. When that knowledge had exhausted itself, she had decided to follow the path of intense study of Dust and its uses, granting her immense control over the substance and its almost magical abilities. Then she had finally learned of the powers of the Maidens, and thought it would be the most power she could achieve. She could remake Destiny with that power. Remake all of Remnant and become more. She finally had the strength to stand against any.

And then she had met the girl in the red hood. For all intents and purposes, a completely normal girl. A slightly insane one. But just a normal girl. Certainly nothing special when compared with the skill of the Nikos girl, the raw power of her blonde sister, the resources of the Schnee child, nor with the sordid past of the Faunus girl. She was nothing. And then Cinder had killed the Nikos girl, the one that they had attempted to give the powers of the maiden, and that silly little child had become something else entirely. Cinder knew it was foolish at that point, but she had expected the last of the Silver Eyed warriors to have died more than a decade earlier. Their power, though rarely capable of being controlled, was far beyond that of any single Maiden in terms of raw, unrestrained power. Magic, one could say.

But this..? These Keyblades were a step beyond even the skills of the Maidens. Should she obtain one – or two, as the boy demonstrated – she would be virtually indestructible. Combined with the power of the Maiden of Autumn, her workings of Dust, and her incredible swordplay, there was no limit to what she could achieve. Xehanort, the boy... Salem, perhaps? They would all be nothing beside her strength.

"Good job, Cindy," Mercury hissed from beside her, bringing her iresome stare full force down upon the boy. "You had me going, thinking you were smart. Anyone could have seen that was a trap. He basically told us!"

"Of course it was," Cinder replied, glaring at Mercury with enough anger to melt steel. She returned her gaze to the battle and watched the two combatants move like beams of Light and Darkness, neither succeeding in outclassing the other's speed. "That boy is too honest for things like traps."

"Then why'd you attack him like an idiot!?" Mercury snapped.

Cinder's eye began to glow as she turned her stare back on the boy. Fire tingled beneath her palm. "Do you wish to rephrase that?" she asked, her words stilted.

Mercury gulped. "W-what are you planning?" he asked eventually.

Cinder continued to glare at him. "I needed to see," she finally replied. She gestured at Sora, who was busy trading innumerable blows with Xehanort. "That boy's power. Xehanort's power. I needed to know just how strong they were."

"I told you she had a reason," Emerald growled at Mercury from Cinder's other side. Cinder glanced over at the girl, who frowned. "But why?"

"Why else?" Cinder asked. She began to stare at the weapons in Sora's hands. "We're going to find a way to take one."

R W B Y

Sora laughed and threw both of his keyblades, spinning them telekinetically as they collided with Xehanort's. Sparks flew everywhere, the unbreakable weapons trying to destroy one another, until Sora dashed behind Xehanort. He summoned the Sleeping Lion back to his main hand and slashed at Xehanort's head again. The man snapped in pain as the weapon collided with his head and he was sent into the ground. Sora summoned the other Keyblade back to his hand and jumped into the air, ready to bring both blades down on Xehanort and end it. "Enough!" Xehanort screamed.

Sora grunted in pain as he was thrown back by an explosion of Dark power, the black energy shooting up from the now standing Xehanort and into the sky. The man growled and raised his left hand, causing a familiar creature to appear at his heels. Sora's eyes widened as he saw something he thought had died – Ansem's Shadow. The creature was a grotesque monster, an incredibly bandaged being of pure Darkness. An empty hole in the shape of a heart was in the center of its chest. It's eyes were an evil yellow, and its head had its own cruel looking crown shape; its face was a permanent, evil grin. Sora was... scared, just a little. Still, he played it off. "I knew you were holding out on me," Sora said, narrowing his eyes. It didn't matter what Xehanort began throwing at him – Sora would be able to take it and then some. "Bring it on, Xehanort!"

"Oh, I will," the old man said. He grinned, and the Shadow disappeared. Sora's eyes widened, and he dashed to the side, barely dodging the huge claw that had erupted from the ground where he had stood. "I must say, some part of me is sad you are about to die. I see so much of myself in you. Of course, perhaps you will surprise me."

"I've made a living on that," Sora retorted, rolling to his feet. A vortex of inky blackness appeared beneath his feet, and he jumped to the side again, the Shadow's attack instead obliterating the tree branches above where he had stood. Sora jumped towards Xehanort, waiting for the inevitable attack from the shadow. Xehanort's hand dashed towards Sora, and the young man grinned. He spun the Keyblades around his body and cast a Sparkga, creating a wall of light around him just as the Shadow appeared. It crashed into the light and screamed, the energy burning it and forcing it to return to its master's side. The magic around Sora disappeared and he brought his Keyblades down on Xehanort's with enough force that the man brought both hands onto his own weapon to resist him. "I've always stopped you before."

"So you keep saying," Xehanort growled. He angled his weapon and Sora's Keyblades slid down its length, letting the man twist around Sora's defense and slash at Sora from behind with the Dark Keyblade. At Sora's front, Xehanort directed his Shadow to attack once again, aiming to capture the boy so that Xehanort could finally deliver the last blow. Sora responded to this attack by spinning to face Xehanort and raising his blades to either side, catching both the attacks. Sora then jumped, holding himself up on the attacks, and delivered a heavy drop kick to Xehanort's chest. Sora flipped midair to land on his feet while the Shadow and its master flew back, rushing towards a tree. Just before they crashed, however, the shadow melted away and a portal of Darkness appeared in the trunk of the tree. Xehanort disappeared into the blackness and reappeared moments later behind Sora. He gripped the boy's throat and tossed him into the air. "But I don't see it that way." He brought his Keyblade around with both hands and the blow collided in the center of Sora's back, sending him tumbling through the forest. Tree trunk after tree trunk shattered from the force of the blows and Sora disappeared into the shadows of the forest.

"Then how do you see it?" Sora asked as the last crash's echo died away. Xehanort smirked and closed his eyes, knowing that his Shadow would alert him should anything actually put him in danger. He was slightly surprised when it did, a moment later. Sora was speeding out of the shadows, Keyblades held side by side. He swung them forward, aiming them at Xehanort, and twin balls of energy began to charge at the ends of the two weapons, light being drawn in from Sora's heart and the light of Remnant's Heart. Eventually, the growing events of energy began to pull at each other until the spheres of light eventually merged into one much larger orb of energy. Xehanort even looked a little worried when he saw what was happening. Still, though, Sora didn't release the attack, instead opting to get even closer to his opponent.

Xehanort leveled his Keyblade at Sora and his Shadow grew over his shoulders. It placed its hands around the tip of its master's weapon and Darkness began to pulse from it, forming a nascent blast around the tip of the weapon much as Sora was doing with the light. The air seemed to grow colder in that forest, and the snow that had not melted from the fires of the battle began to sparkle less in the sunlight as the power of the Shadow Ball grew and grew. "Everything you have done so far has only secured the destruction of everyone and everything you have ever loved," Xehanort responded. His face split into an evil smile, and he let the explosion of energy on the end of his Keyblade go just as Sora did the same. The black ball of Darkness flew towards Sora, trailing an aura of evil. Sora's projectile left the space behind it brighter and warmer.

Ruby gasped as Sora appeared next to her and the others, Keyblades spinning in front of his outstretched hands. "Reflect!" he shouted as the orbs neared each other. The wall of energy shot up around them, barely erected in time to take the full force of a massive explosion of energy. Sora grunted in exertion, struggling to keep his arms up and the wall of magic from falling. The world outside of the wall was gone, blocked out by the clashing energies of Light and Darkness that swirled around, creating a void of nothingness. Sora gasped in pain, but continued standing, keeping the wall up. He wasn't going to let it fall, even while the yellow energy pouring from his body began to falter. His clothes flashed to their original colors for a moment. He was about to reach his limit.

Then, just as the void faded and the world returned, Sora fell to his knees. His clothes flashed with the same bright light as before, and the yellow faded away, leaving Sora in his normal clothes. The wall disappeared, and the group was left to gaze out at the crater surrounding them. They stood on the only remaining patch of grass, suspended on the stone which it had sat just moments before. Neither Cinder, Xehanort, nor any of the others were anywhere to be seen. "I guess I won," Sora said, tossing a grin over his shoulder at the others. They stared in shock at the young man, until the still unconscious Jaune began to top sideways, the tree holding him up now long gone, and crashed to the ground.

Sora slowly, shakily stood up and grinned over the crater. "I won!"

"No, you did not," a sinister voice replied. A portal of Darkness appeared at the epicenter of the crater, and four figures walked slowly out. Cinder, Mercury, then Emerald. Finally, Xehanort walked into view, the portal drifting shut behind him. No longer was his Shadow visible, but he looked more confident than ever. He was grinning like a maniac. "You have never defeated me, though you did impress me. You show promise, Sora; if this were another life, perhaps you would not have to die."

Sora narrowed his eyes angrily and summoned the Kingdom Key back to his hand. Ruby wanted nothing more than to help Sora, but she felt something that she hadn't felt before, especially not in a battle, no matter against whom the fight had been. She felt completely, horribly, by a mile, outclassed. She took a deep, worried breath, and stared at Sora. Her mind flashed back to one of their conversations with Sora. He had said that their week so far had been calm and easy. When she saw Xehanort, she began to understand just what he meant. He fought people like Xehanort on a daily basis? "Sora..." Ruby muttered, worried about him. He was panting heavily, body shuddering with every intake of air. He looked like he couldn't take a lot more fighting.

"Ruby," Sora said hoarsely. "I can hold them off while you three get Jaune out of here."

Ruby looked back up at him in surprise. "But you'd -"

Sora didn't respond in denial or affirmation. Ruby furrowed her brow and looked over at Nora and Ren. "Get him out of here," she told them, gesturing at Jaune. She stood up and walked up to stand beside Sora, twirling her weapon. She slammed the blade into the ground and pulled, overextending the blade, then spun the weapon around and held it at the ready across her back. "We'll handle things until you get away."

"Ruby, I'm not going to let my friends -"

"We'll both get out of here," she interjected. Sora just stared at her in wonder.

Then he remembered what he believed most of all – his friends are his power. "Glad to have you by my side," Sora grinned, then turned back to stare at the waiting Xehanort. "We're only distracting them, then we run."

"Deal," Ruby said, smiling back at the Keyblade wielder. She held out her scythe and gestured. Sora looked at it, confused for a moment, then grinned. He grabbed onto the handle and jumped onto the blade, at which point she fired off a shot and began spinning, then firing off another shot. As she stopped, Sora jumped with the motion of the scythe and shot off like a rocket at Xehanort and Cinder. Ruby shot one last glare at her other friends. "Go!"

Sora laughed as he flew through the air, faster than he ever had before. This was going to be a massive hit. He turned to aim his Keyblade behind him and shot off a Firaga, increasing his speed even further. He brought the Kingdom Key around with the blast of another Firaga, and crashed into Xehanort.

The blow was finally the one that had enough force to send Xehanort flying backwards, tumbling over the lip of the crater and giving Sora and Ruby breathing room to deal with the other three while Ren and Nora got Jaune away from the battlefield. Sora raised his Keyblade in time to block the incoming blow of Mercury's leg, shattering the Silver Dust bullet against the Kingdom Key's blade. Since he was still midair, however, Sora flew back until righting himself and skidding across the surface of the crater. He raised his Keyblade to block Cinder's next attack, and soon found himself being glared down at by the woman with manic, hungry eyes. "How do you get one?" she asked, pressing down to prevent Sora from standing. If he weren't tired so tired, he would have already thrown her off. As it was, he was barely able to keep her at bay.

"What?" he asked, grunting. He fell to one knee to continue fighting against her. "What do you mean?"

"How do you obtain a Keyblade!" the woman snapped, lifting her blade and snap kicking Sora across the face. He stumbled backwards, spinning once before bringing his Keyblade up to take the next attack, deflecting it away with a move that caused his entire aching body to protest. He wished he could cast a Curaga to heal himself, but that would have only tired him out more by that point. It healed injuries, not the natural wear of a body. He'd already healed those after being thrown into the forest by Xehanort. Now, he was just tired. "Tell me now!"

"If you don't have one," Sora responded, deflecting another blow, "it's because your Heart isn't strong."

"Nonsense," Cinder growled, dismissing the boy's assertions. She jumped, stepping on his face to kick his head and flip away. As she soared above him, she tossed two fireballs at Sora. He shook his head from the force of her kick, then saw the fireballs. He looked down and grinned, easily batting the projectiles away to collide with Mercury and Emerald. They didn't dodge, distracted as they were with Ruby, and tumbled a short distance away. Ruby jumped after them while they were still off balance.

Sora dashed to where Cinder was going to land and swung, only to hit empty air as she shot flames from the soles of her feet and landed behind him. He continued with his blow and blocked her back stab. He groaned against the force of her attack, but nevertheless put one foot in front of the other to shove her back. He couldn't fail, no matter how much he hurt, when Ren, Nora, and Jaune were counting on him. Not to mention Ruby, who was busy fighting a two on one battle. He roared and pushed again, tossing Cinder away. "Keyblades choose their Masters based on how strong their Hearts are," Sora explained. He rushed after her with his Keyblade raised beside his head, both hands on the handle. He swung at her head as she landed, but she let her legs give and she continued to slide backwards on her back, rolling to her feet as she slowed. "If you don't have one, your Heart isn't strong enough!"

"Then how did you obtain one?" Cinder snapped, blasting a tornado at Sora. He grunted and was thrown back as it collided with him, spinning away to slide across the ground. Cinder jumped into the air, fire streaming from her feet. "I'll just kill you and take it, then!" She angled her feet, and fired off after Sora, ready for blood.

R W B Y

Ruby ducked beneath Mercury's blow and quickly spun her scythe up. She caught his leg in the crook of the weapon and spun on her heel, tossing the silver haired boy at his green haired partner. "Why would you do all this!?" Ruby shouted at them, dashing from side to side to avoid the fire of the two. She was moving more quickly than she ever had; she'd grown stronger in the past months. "I thought you were my friends!"

"Friends?" Emerald chuckled, twirling her weapons back to sickle form and running towards her opponent. Her green sickles flashed as she brought them down, but Ruby spun around them, scythe on her shoulders, and knocked the girl off her feet with the handle of the weapon. Ruby continued spinning until the muzzle was pointed away from Mercury, then fired. She shot towards him, slashing at him before he could get a shot off. Her attack collided with his leg, slicing through his clothes to reveal his prosthetic limbs.

"We couldn't stand you Little Red," Mercuy sneered, snapping his defense out and causing the young woman to flip over. She tossed her weapon at him like a helicopter blade, the scythe turning into a red and black blur that flew towards him. He lashed out with his leg, hitting the rapidly twisting handle and sending back at Ruby. She caught it and used the momentum to swing her weapon down with as much force as she could muster. Mercury's eyes widened and he jumped back to avoid the blow, betting an attack with the full force of his kick and Red's oddly disproportional strength would be enough to damage even his legs. Her crazy bimbo of a sister had managed, after all.

Emerald snorted as she rushed in to attack Ruby. The scythe wielder turned into a vortex of red, and both she and her scythe were suddenly gone. Emerald smirked and taunted the younger girl, turning towards where she had disappeared, "Yeah, every grating moment, it was just, 'Oh, let's be best friends. We can paint our nails, and try out clothes, and talk about cute boys -'"

"Oh, you'd talk to her about me?" Emerald jabbed at his partner.

"Mercury!" Emerald hissed, raising one of her weapons in a mock attack of the man. He shrugged in enjoyment of her anger and gestured with one hand at Ruby again. She was firing her gun off, approaching the two at break neck speed. "When this is over..."

"Your voice says I hate you," Mercury said, grabbing her arm. "But your clammy arm..." Emerald just growled. Mercury grinned at that and jumped, using the guns in his boots to give himself more liftoff. He spun and tossed Emerald at the place where Ruby would be in a moment. He laughed as she soared downward, slashing at Red.

Ruby had to stop in place, slashing into the air. The attack collided with Emerald's side, catching her. Ruby overextended the blade on Emerald's aura-enhanced body, and fired off the rifle again. She tossed the former thief, which caused the green haired ninja to slam into the ground. From there, Ruby jumped onto her back, catching the woman by surprise, and then jumped into the air, slamming the base of her scythe into the falling Mercury's temple. He tumbled, stunned, and slammed spread eagle into the ground. Ruby fell, and landed on Emerald's back again, then glanced down and said completely earnestly, "You two really do make a good couple."

"We. Aren't. A. COUPLE!" Emerald snapped, placing her palms on the ground and trying to stand. Ruby just shrugged and lashed out at her head, knocking the terrorist out. She glanced up to see Sora deflect another fireball from Cinder's hands. He jumped and raised his Keyblade above him before slamming it into her midsection. She hit the ground and the stone cracked where she landed. Sora drifted lazily to the ground, exercising his ability to glide slightly and hitting the ground with a quiet thud.

"Did we just... win?" Ruby asked, looking around in disbelief. She laughed and looked up. Ren, Nora, and Jaune were long gone and now waiting for Sora and Ruby to catch up with them. She looked over at Sora and smiled. "We won."

"We won!" Sora muttered in surprise. He looked up. "We -"

He was cut off by a black and silver Keyblade slamming into his side. "I think they did rather impressively," Xehanort said, stepping out of the portal of Darkness as Sora slid face down across the ground. The old man placed his Keyblade blade down on the ground in front of him and rested his hands on the base. "They certainly stood up longer than I believed they would against someone of your caliber, my dear boy. This Cinder woman... she's impressive, isn't she?"

Ruby moved as quickly as she could, firing off a flurry of dust bullets at the old man. He just lazily deflected the attacks, twisting his Keyblade so that the projectiles were sent wide by the teeth of the blade. He frowned and glanced over at the young woman, narrowing his gleaming yellow eyes. "You... seem familiar to me. Why is that?" he asked, brow furrowed. He lowered his blade to his side and walked towards the young woman. She narrowed her eyes and fired off another volley of bullets, each one true to mark and aimed directly between the man's eyes. He raised his hand and let the fire bounce off of the magic in his palm, each blow bringing a corresponding flash as the energy laden projectile ricocheted away from him. "Who are you?"

"Ruby!" Sora snapped, running towards Xehanort from the back. He slashed at Xehanort, and the man turned around to easily block the exhausted boy's attack, sliding his blade against Sora's to get closer. Finally, he grabbed the young man's wrist and twisted. Sora screamed in pain as he heard a loud crack, and the Keyblade fell from his injured hand. He summoned it to his other hand and brought it down. Xehanort moved to block the attack and break Sora's other wrist, but the boy stopped suddenly and jumped backwards. Green light flashed around him, and his wrist snapped back into place.

Ruby, meanwhile, had jumped away from Xehanort, firing her gun at him from behind as she did. She saw how bad things were about to get, and she had promised Sora that she'd run if it became necessary. They both had. And from where she stood, with Sora exhausted of all his energy and Ruby faced with the prospect of dueling with Xehanort, it was rapidly becoming necessary to run like there was no chance at victory. However...

"Oh, where do you think you're running, Girl?" a voice inquired behind and above her. She turned midair, swinging her scythe at the skull of the dark man taunting her. He laughed and caught the handle of the weapon as it came near. He spun midair, dragging Ruby behind him. When he finally let go, Ruby suddenly found herself bouncing as she hit the ground, then again being slammed into the stone by the weight of the old man on the middle of her back. "Ruby... why do you seem so familiar?"

Ruby could only groan in reply, trying to force herself to her feet. Xehanort merely moved one of his feet to the back of her throat and slammed her face back into the stone. "Get away from her!" Ruby heard Sora shout. His footsteps thudded as he approached, and there was a huge clang as his Keyblade met Xehanort's once again. The blow was just hard enough that the man took a step back, giving Ruby all the leverage she needed to push herself up and shove the man off of her. He didn't even stumble, instead just stepping back fluidly.

"Sora, is that rage I hear in your voice?" he asked the young man, smiling condescendingly. "Hate? And here I thought you weren't capable of touching the Darkness." Xehanort effortlessly deflected the next stab from the young Keyblade wielder, sending his weapon crashing into the slash that Ruby had sent his way. He then flipped over the two children, slashing his Keyblade as he was above them and knocking them both to the side. "But if you can, give it all to me."

"I won't let you hurt my friends," Sora said, recovering and raising his Keyblade in front of himself. He stepped between Xehanort and Ruby, eyes narrowed.

Xehanort stopped and cocked his head to the side. Then the puzzle clicked. "Oh! Ohhh..." Xehanort muttered excitedly. He cackled for a moment and let his eyes rest on the young woman who was forcing herself to her feet behind Sora. "I see it now. Yes!"

"What are you muttering about?" Sora growled, not moving from where he stood. He shifted his legs slightly and leveled his weapon at the old man. He jumped forward, aiming a blow at Xehanort's head. The old man just leaned ever so slightly to the side, keeping his gaze locked on Ruby. Sora growled in frustration and swept the Kingdom Key to the side to bisect the old man. His Keyblade was met in an instant by Xehanorts. "Tell me!"

Xehanort sighed then turned his attention from the young woman and back to Sora. "And why would I do that?" Xehanort asked. He chuckled and glanced over at Ruby. "I'll be with you in a moment." Then he flicked his wrist and Sora stumbled back. "I just have to deal with a pest for a moment."

He dashed after the boy, grinning maniacally. "You know, it's going to be nice to finally be done with you," Xehanort noted as he slammed through Sora's defense, breaking Sora's grasp on his weapon. "You show far too much promise for one who follows the light so blindly." He brought his knee up into Sora's face, breaking the boy's nose. "I just -" He brought his Keyblade down on Sora's back, and the young man hit the ground with a thud. "- despise -" He slammed the Keyblade down on the prone Sora again, and the young man screamed in pain. "- you damn -" He kicked Sora in the side, flipping the boy as he did. "- children."

Xehanort grabbed Sora by the throat and and slammed his head into the ground, then lifted him again and did it again. "Sora!" Ruby shouted. Xehanort turned and shook his head, firing off a Stop spell at the girl and freezing her.

"Don't... touch her," Sora wheezed, raising his hands weakly to clutch at the fingers wrapped tight around his throat. He weakly pulled at them to try and pry them off.

"Oh, you're still alive!" Xehanort noted with surprise. He scoffed and smiled at the battered and bleeding Keyblade wielder clutched in his off hand. "This is why I hate you. You just won't die when it's your time. You keep coming back for your friends. You, Terra, Aqua, Ventus – ah, Ventus!"

Sora didn't quite register what the old man was saying. He still spoke about the young woman with the scythe. "Leave them... alone," he demanded. Blackness encroached for a moment on his vision.

Xehanort laughed and slammed Sora into the ground again, the boy's body letting loose the noise of a thundering crack. Sora wheezed, trying to breathe in at all as Xehanort smiled. "Ventus. Yes, you are so like my wayward apprentice. So I how about I use that to my advantage, Sora?"

"Go... to hell," Sora groaned, weakly raising his hand to try and summon the Kingdom Key. The weapon arrived in a flash of light; Sora's grip on the weapon was shaky, and it shivered weakly in the air.

"That's impressive," Xehanort admitted, as he lowered the teeth of his Keyblade to Sora's chest. He grabbed the Kingdom Key and tore it from Sora's hands with his free arm. He tossed the weapon away and smiled down at the boy. "It only proves that this will likely work. I hope you are finally ready to die, Sora. It has truly been far too long." His Keyblade began to glow ominously above Sora's chest.

"NO!" Ruby screamed. Xehanort turned, one eyebrow raised, and was hit full force by a wall of pure, silver Light.

"Ruby..?" Sora groaned as the white filled his vision, the world disappearing. Then he blacked out and the beautiful Light disappeared along with consciousness.

R W B Y

Sora woke up and groaned, a dull ache running through his entire body. Though, not quite the intense pain he'd expected after his fight with Xehanort. Had that silver Light healed him, or was it something else? Regardless of which, he had trouble forcing himself to sit up and open his eyes. He was in his tent, light leaking in through the fabric. He clutched at the dull throbbing in his head caused by the dim light and decided to lie back down and shut his eyes again. "Ow," he groaned, and pulled his sleeping bag up over his eyes to block everything out. It didn't stop the pain in his head, though. Voices picked up outside of his tent and he shook his head as he realized what was coming. "No..."

The entrance to the tent flew open, flooding the enclosed space with bright light. He placed his hands over his eyes to block the light out even more and groaned. "You're awake!" Ruby shouted. Sora groaned again – sound hurt almost as much as bright lights did right then. He felt a body land on top of his own.

"Oomph!" He groaned in pain. Then another. He groaned again. Then another. He couldn't breathe at that point. And then Nora, still with her hammer strapped to her back, decided to jump right on top of the pile. Sora's entire body flared up in misery; he made a noise somewhere between a groan and choking. "Hg-lrk!"

"We're glad your okay!" Ruby groaned from beneath the pile, Magnihild's weight crushing her just as much as it was Sora.

"Tkkr-l!" Sora said, slamming his arm into the ground as his vision began to tunnel.

Ruby understood. "Nora!" she croaked.

"Huh?" the ginger powerhouse asked. She looked down at the reddening faces of the four beneath her and grinned sheepishly. She pushed herself off of them, eliciting a collective groan as she pushed them down, and a collective sigh of relief as she hit the ground and the weight of her weapon left them. "Oops! Sorry!"

"Guys! Still crushing me!" Sora told the other three, and they slowly began piling off of him. He hissed and sat up with them, gingerly rubbing his neck. "A-a-a-ow..."

Ruby glanced around at the cramped quarters. "Maybe we should take this outside?" she asked.

"Good idea," Sora said, opening one eye to match gazes with Ruby. She looked worried as she stared at him. So he grinned disarmingly, the infectious nature of his grin causing her to smile back. "I'm fine. Come on, let's talk. Maybe eat? I'm starving!" He pushed himself out of his sleeping bag, ignoring the creaking in his body as he did, and exited the tent. They were situated at the center of a clearing in the woods, obviously far from the battlefield where he had crossed blades with Xehanort and his minions again. The Keyblade was laying against a tree trunk near his tent. Sora walked over to pick it up, then dismissed it. He turned around, and saw that everyone was sitting together at the center of the camp, weapons on the ground beside them. There was food being passed around, so Sora – whose stomach was rumbling like thunder – happily took a seat with them. He grabbed a chicken leg and began tearing into it.

They were all quiet for a while, appreciating that they had survived that fight at all. Finally Sora sighed and looked up at them. "So, I'm guessing you all have questions," he said with a frown. He looked over at Ruby and furrowed his brow. "I have a few of my own." He let his gaze linger for a moment, then he looked around and smiled. "So... shoot."

Jaune was the first to speak up. "First of all... I'm sorry for attacking you," he muttered. He glanced at the ground, trying to hide his face from Sora. He looked back up at Sora's calm gaze, then returned his own to the ground yet again. "I don't know what happened. I just..."

"The Darkness in your heart," Sora replied, drawing their attention again. His hands were clasped in his lap and he was staring at the point where his thumbs crossed. "I don't know what it was that silver guy was saying to you, but it really got to you. You hated him, with the deepest part of your Heart. It wasn't about stopping someone, it was about taking power. Mercilessly destroying. When people let their inner Darkness take over, not many of them can keep controlling themselves. It happened to my friends before – Riku, Terra. M-me. It has a way of making you do things. Hurt your family, your friends. Kill them."

Sora shook his head. "I don't blame you. If this is about that Pyrrha girl, I get it. My friend Riku was the same way, once. He lost himself to the Darkness when someone we care about got hurt, when she almost died. You just can't let losing your friends change you, not when they'd want you to be a good person."

"Still, I -"

Sora shook his head. "No. Don't apologize again. Just don't let it happen again. Guard your heart, because I don't know if I could lock your Darkness away again. It's dangerous for even a Keyblade Master to interfere with a Heart like that; you're lucky I didn't accidentally kill you." He sighed and waited for Jaune to continue, to ask further on the topic, but no such line came. Sora continued, "Who's next?"

"Why did your clothes change?" Ren asked next, clasping his hands. "That ability... I didn't understand what happened."

"And how did you get two Keyblades!?" Nora asked in excitement. "Most people can't get one, apparently, but you get to run around with two? Unfair."

"I'm not completely sure. Dust, whatever it is, seems to unlock a power that I thought I'd lost," he explained. "I can unlock my full potential, what my Heart hides away. I don't know too much about it, honestly. I was never the one to understand the why of stuff like this.

"I understand the second Keyblade more, though," Sora continued. "My Heart... it helped someone else's. My Heart connects with those of other people really easily. I don't know why. But the Keyblade, it belonged to him." Sora shook his head from side to side. "Eh... kind of. Once he woke up, he got it back. But by then, my Heart just... could. I had two Keyblades still. Probably because my Keyblades... belong to other people."

"What does that mean?" Jaune asked.

"I don't know. Ven's Keyblade is the second one. The first one I had was Riku's. They just kind of drifted over to me," Sora explained He shrugged. "I was just the right person at the right time."

"What is Xehanort?" Ruby asked, finally speaking up.

Sora shrugged again. "Bad. Really, really bad," Sora explained in fear. He shook his head and grimaced. "He's killed countless, and he's destroyed mi – many of lives. And he's more powerful than anyone I've ever met. That Shadow, the one that he used when fighting me? That was its weakest form. And now that he's here, he'll be working on the most dangerous thing he could. Getting a new body. He's done it before, stolen a body. If he gets a young body again with all of his knowledge and the strength of his heart... I don't know how strong he'd become then. He almost had the strength to take over the World more than once when he was already an old man, and I was only able to stop him with six other Keyblade Masters helping me."

Sora went quiet, then looked back at Ruby. "What did you do that sent him running?" he asked. "What was that silver light?"

"Wait, Ruby was the one who did that?" Jaune asked, confused.

Sora glanced between the nervous Ruby Rose and her friends. "You... didn't... tell them it was you?" Sora asked, raising one of his eyebrows in confusion. His eyes widened as it dawned on him. "This has happened before, hasn't it?"

"I do remember something similar happening at Beacon Tower, the night of..." Ren trailed off and glanced over at Jaune. He looked over to Ruby again. "That night. It was you?"

Ruby sighed and nodded. "Uncle Qrow didn't want me to tell anyone about it," Ruby said quietly. She looked around at the stunned faces of her partners. "And I don't know too much about it myself."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Just what did Qrow say?" he asked, leaning forward to listen intently. Anything that could punch a hole in Xehanort's defenses and send him running away with his tail between his legs was something that Sora wanted to know more about. It reminded him vaguely of a spell he'd worked out with Donald and Goofy once – Trinity Limit, which could destroy almost anything with purifying Light magic. "What was that flash?"

A figure in the treeline narrowed his eyes. He had told Ruby to keep quiet about it, but he hadn't expected her abilities to show up quite this soon. Hell, it had been a fluke they'd shown up at all! If Nikos hadn't died right in front of her, Ruby probably would never have found out what she could do. But this time, all it had taken was the scary old guy almost killing Sora? Qrow frowned and rubbed his stubble-covered chin. Did this mean Ruby was, somehow, learning how to control her Eyes? Would it come naturally to her? Qrow suddenly wished he'd pressed Summer for more information on this when she was alive.

The Huntsman shook his head to clear his thoughts and returned his attention to the still pensive Ruby. The chatterbox was being quiet again, which rarely happened. Qrow smiled softly, happy he hadn't interfered. The kids knew their limits now, even Sora. And especially Jaune.

Jaune. Whatever had come over him... Qrow made a mental note to pay close attention to him before leaving behind Ruby's group and flying directly to Haven. He didn't quite get the blonde boy, who acted like a harmless, ineffective, but good-natured goof ball half the time. One who apparently had a dark, murderous streak that would make him attack his friends.

Qrow gripped his scythe's handle. If it happened again, he'd have to get rid of the kid before he hurt Ruby. The Huntsman took a deep breath to calm himself, assuring his rampaging imagination that it was a fluke; Qrow released his weapon and returned to the form of his namesake before the kids could see him. He didn't exactly want Ruby chastising him for following her... again.

R W B Y

Xehanort stared down at the layer of pure magic that had encrusted around his arm, channeling Firaga through his palm to melt it. That Rose child, Ruby Rose, in the red hood was quite the interesting individual. He hadn't seen anyone save Cinder using magic on the Remnant thus far, so this other girl's sudden use of Light magic had been a thoroughly surprising and painful lesson. And one that only served to reinforce his hypothesis about who the girl was. As the last of the crystallized magic dripped off of his arm, shattering into a thousand sparks of energy as they hit the ground, he took the χ -blade from his back and tossed the weapon from hand to hand.

The children sent to collect Xehanort were nearby, sleeping off the effects of their one sided battle with Sora and the girl. He had cast a quick Cura over their bodies before letting them sleep off the effects; it wouldn't do to have dead pawns in the coming game. Especially when the pieces on the opposite end of the board were so powerful. He'd need to make them stronger before allowing them to interact with Sora and his allies again. He would have to teach them to harness the Darkness as a weapon. If they were successful, they would become exponentially more powerful and could, perhaps, stand against the forces of Light arrayed against them.

Of the three, Cinder of course held the most obvious potential for the powers of Darkness. It was obvious, in her eyes. Her entire life, from birth until that very moment, had been about creating and consuming power and the benefits that came with it. From her physical abilities to her control of Dust. Every movement was filled with a painful hunger for more power and control. Even how she acted with her followers, encouraging their fear and deference to her power. She had anger to spare, and Xehanort was more than ready to begin mining that vein.

Emerald was much the opposite. Despite her gruff exterior and facade of disgust for Mercury's antics, she wasn't much more than an obedient child. What she did, whatever Darkness she unleashed or committed, it was out of admiration for Cinder and her goals rather than any selfish desire for strength. The Darkest thing about Cinder's pet, in fact, was how far above others she believed herself to be. People besides her patron left her disinterested, dryly annoyed behind a mask of pleasantries and kindness. Except when it came to Mercury. In that case, the facade was the disgust and the truth was blushing and laughing inwardly at his antics. She hid it well, but few matters of the Heart could be hidden from a well trained Keyblade Master. All in all, she would do whatever she needed in order to help Cinder, including using the powers of Darkness.

Mercury was an interesting personality, all things considered. He was trained well, and was rather impulsive, prerequisites for the earlier stages of wielding the Darkness. Cinder had even said that the young man had murdered his father in a bloody, rage inspired duel. When asked, the young man was unrepentant, as if he had enjoyed the doing of the deed. It reminded Xehanort of himself, really, and how he had eventually massacred his own Master shortly after finding solace in the Darkness itself. Mercury showed good potential for battle, if it weren't for his lack of any and all seriousness. He cared little about taking power, nor what anyone thought of him. He instead acted upon his own hatred or in a desire to relieve his own boredom. He went along with Cinder's plans because it was a cure for boredom, and because he had suddenly found himself in the presence of someone for whose opinion he actually cared. Still, he could be taught.

And then there was Sora's friend. The blonde made every member of Cinder and her group seem like nothing, such was the depth of the Darkness residing in his incredibly strong Heart. Self loathing, his pure, utter hatred of Cinder. He desired nothing more and nothing less than complete and total vengeance. That was something that Xehanort understood deeply; hatred, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy in comparison with one's companions. He had played that card in the Hearts and souls of many, such as Terra and Riku. This boy was just another reflection of the Hearts that those two carried, a boy who wanted power to protect a friend. It was the easiest desire to pervert, love and friendship, because it was so strong. And Xehanort loved doing it.

"I know you're not asleep, Cinder," Xehanort finally said, turning to stare at the young woman's glowing, angry eyes. As he placed the χ -blade onto his back once more, he smiled at the young woman. The act sent a chill down even her spine. He gestured beside him. "Come. Speak your mind."

The young woman narrowed her eyes, but pushed herself to her feet. She was naturally cautious, only acting when it was necessary, such as when Xehanort and Sora had been posturing with each other, comparing Keyblade sizes. Still, she knew that Xehanort was at a level far beyond her; had he wished her ill, he would have let her die in the explosions of his battle with Sora... and then again in the power that she had unleashed in defense of the boy. "What is the Keyblade?" she asked as she neared Xehanort, cautiously pressing at the edge of the issue.

The Seeker of Darkness found it delightful that she thought she could hide her deep desires for the power of the Keyblade from him. She believed he would feel threatened if she gained that power. In truth, he felt no such thing. Of all the Keyblade wielders he had ever met, Sora had been by far the most powerful – well, the second most powerful, he corrected himself. Anyways, of all the Keyblade wielders that he had ever fought, none had ever posed a real threat to Xehanort. A nuisance? Perhaps. A being uniquely able to destroy his plans? Definitely. But a real threat capable of killing him? No, never. Not even Sora.

The simple fact of the matter was that Cinder was incapable of using one. Her Heart contained much Darkness, but it was weak. She had no Strength of Heart, instead acting like a parasite upon the raw power of Salem's force of will. She did everything for power, but that was it. No end to her means, just power. She was charismatic, clever. But a servant blindly enacting her master's orders was still a servant. But he decided that she did not need to know that. "What do you believe it to be?" he asked cryptically.

"A weapon of power," she remarked, the constant hungry glint in her eyes. "Power enough to destroy Destiny."

"Destiny?" Xehanort asked. He laughed dryly and nodded. "Perhaps you may see it that way. But no, it is a weapon of Destiny. It makes choices, enacts its own Will in choosing its Master. Those who wield them are chosen because they escaped their lesser Destiny and grew to embrace a new one."

"It could not make one escape their fate?" she asked.

"If one could not escape their Destiny without it, they would never be chosen," Xehanort said dismissively. He smiled into the Darkness. While Cinder may not have been worthy of the Keyblade, he had already met two that perhaps filled the criteria of becoming Keyblade Wielders. And one of them could easily be molded. "But Darkness... that you can learn on your own."