AN: Yay! We've made it to Haven! That means we get to start seeing how a certain golden haired Faunus and his Blue-haired flirt of a friend are doing.

To Violet-the-Hero: Neo may show up when the group returns to Vale later on. However, Roman looked pretty dead when the Gryphon ate him, so I think he's out of the picture.

Anyways, enjoy, and please leave a review if you like it!

Chapter 10: Haven

"Finally!" Jaune cried, tumbling down the ramp from the cruise ship, face greener than Ren's shirt. He began to cry happily and tried to hug the ground. He nuzzled his head against the stone, drawing weird looks from the group of men and women exiting the boat after him. He sighed happily and just laid there for a moment. "Never again will I leave you..."

"But we don't know what's going to happen after we find whatever we need here," Sora whispered to Ruby. He grimaced and gestured over his shoulder. "And then, we have to get you guys home."

"Just let him have this," Ruby said, patting Sora's shoulder. "Jaune definitely doesn't want to think about another boat or Dragonfly ride right now."

Sora laughed. "Yeah. Good point," he said, grinning at her. He threw his hand over her shoulder. "I didn't think of that." He sputtered as he realized and tore his arm away, grinning nervously.

Ruby stammered just as nervously for a moment. "I, um... Thanks..." She held her hands up, encouraging Sora to look up. She took a deep breath to steady herself, then announced in a loud voice, trying to stave off any anxiety, "In other topics – here we are! Haven Academy, the best part of Mistral!"

Sora looked up and whistled at the awesome sight. The huge city-like school was truly impressive, created from gleaming white marble pillars and shining golden domes. It sat at the top of a huge hill, the buildings and stairs built right into the earth and the shining figures of ancient warriors towering above to act as silent sentinels for the students and Kingdom as a whole. "Um... wow," Sora whispered, eyes drifting from statue to gargantuan statue. One was of a man in an old time suit, a cane in his hands with his heels together as he faced out over the sea. Facing east was a woman with a large shield dressed in form fitting armor with a short sword aimed ahead over the top of the shield. Gazing towards the west was another woman, this one adorned in long robes and wielding a long staff tipped with a Dust crystal. The fourth was facing away from them, though Sora was sure it was just as impressive. All of them, also made of 100 percent pure marble. Above it all floated a circular Colosseum built from dozens of stacking arches, small white statues glittering in the alcoves as the sunlight passed over them.

"Haven Academy, the White Palace of Mistral," Ren said, walking up behind Sora and Ruby, Nora at his side. He crossed his arms and stared up at the marble facades staring compassionately out over the landscape. He began pointing at each of the huge figures in turn. "Guarded by the Pantheon, the four founders of the four academies. South for Beacon, East for Haven, North for Atlas, and West for Shade."

"That one kind of looks like Headmaster Ozpin," Ruby remarked, pointing up at the one staring above them. Sora studied the stoic, barely smiling face of the man. He had a messy mop of hair that dangled just into his eyes and a sharp, angular chin. Even in carving, his eyes and smirk gave him the look of a man who knew more than he let on; he reminded Sora more than a little of Yen Sid with that smirk.

"How long ago were the academies founded?" Sora asked, dragging his eyes away from the odly familiar statue. He began walking towards the academy with the others, helping Jaune to push himself to his feet, the Knight still thankful for his new safety from his crippling motion sickness.

"Eighty years, give or take," Jaune responded. Ren, Ruby, and Nora glanced at him in confusion. "Hey! I had to write like, six extra essays for Professor Port and Professor – Doctor Oobleck first year. I know, for instance, Vale's academies have been led by members of Headmaster Ozpin's family since the start. That's his... I don't really know. His grandpa or maybe his great grandpa? The books didn't really give a specific answer for that one."

Ruby hummed in interest. "But he looks exactly like Headmaster Ozpin," she muttered, beginning to frown. She shrugged after a few minutes of study, dismissing the oddities. "Hm... weird."

"Excuse me, what are you doing here?" a woman inquired, walking up to the exploring five kids. She had a pair of fox ears poking out from beneath her mane of orange hair that twitched while staring down at the children. She had eyes matching her hair that narrowed when they didn't answer immediately. "Well?"

Ruby took a breath to respond, then giggled nervously instead. Jaune piped up first, "Um... We're um..."

"They're here for the tournament," a familiar voice shouted dryly. Sora stumbled forward as a pair of arms wrapped around the entire group's shoulders and the slight smell of alcohol tinged the air. "Obviously!"

"T-tournament?" Ruby asked, glancing up at her uncle. "Uncle Qrow, what do -"

"To win, really," the Huntsman said, grinning down at the woman. "Imagine that, the heroes of the Beacon Academy incident claiming victory in the tournament meant to raise Lien for reopening Beacon. It's a regular redemption story! Crowds will go crazy for it! And I trained two of them, so it's really just a matter of time!"

"Qrow?" Sora asked. He turned to glance up at the Huntsman, who was still smiling drunkenly. "What are you -"

"Yep, my niece and this weirdo," he said with a grin, ruffling Sora's hair and causing the cutting off Sora's question before he could voice it. "Two of the best fighters I've ever seen. I'm sorry, but Haven won't stand a chance!"

The Faunus teacher glanced from the grinning Huntsman down to the confused students, then shot them a huge grin. "I highly doubt that our academy will flounder so spectacularly," the Faunus woman retorted, crossing her arms and glaring at Qrow with a grin of imminent victory. "Our teams have only gotten better in the past months." Then she walked away, eyes locked on Qrow over her shoulder. He shot her a flirty wave and look, causing her to blush and look away.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted excitedly as the woman left, jumping up on her uncle and tackling the man to the ground. He groaned as he hit the floor, his niece basically choking him with a hug. "It's so good to see you! How was your trip? Did you fight anyone or see any cool weapons!?"

The Huntsman pushed himself to his feet, hugging the young woman back. "Hey, calm down, Ruby. We have all the time in the world to talk about this stuff," he said, peeling her off of him and placing her on the ground. He smiled down at her. "We do have a lot to... talk..." His gaze drifted up and his eyes widened in fear. "Um... just, meet me at sign up for the tournament in... three hours. We can talk about everything then. Pool our resources. I, er, saw an old friend I need to talk to." He glanced back down at Ruby and shot her a smile before waving the group goodbye and sprinting off.

"Well, suddenly all of Ruby make a lot more sense."

Ruby looked up and grinned. "Sun!" she shouted at the monkey Faunus dangling upside down from a street lamp. He had golden, layered hair that matched his tail to the shade. His white button up shirt was open and dangling behind his head. He uncrossed his legs, which were covered by blue jeans rolled up to the middle of his calf and fell to the ground, landing on his feet with only a slight jingle as the chain at his hip shook. He placed his red-armored gauntlets behind his head and grinned at the group. "It's so good to see you!"

"And it's great to see you too, Ruby," he said, jumping forward and hugging the four Beacon students. "Neptune'll be thrilled!" He let go of the group and turned to Sora. "Oh, and you got a boyfriend!"

"I, uh... that's Sora," Ruby muttered, her face turning bright red. She quickly pulled her hood up to hide the deep blush. She made a mental note to stop poking so much fun at Ren and Nora. "We are, that is we're..."

"We're, um... Just... friends," Sora finished, extending his hand to Sun. He chuckled nervously. "I've heard a lot about you! I like the chain."

"Really? Neptune keeps making fun of me for it," Sun said, grabbing it in his left hand while he shook Sora's with his right.

"Nah, I used to have one, too," Sora said, grinning at the Faunus as they let go of each other's hands. Sora laced his hands together behind his head. "Back on my home island, everyone had them!"

"I knew they'd be fast friends," Nora whispered happily to the rest of the Beacon group. "They're both so crazy and outgoing!"

"Nora, you do hear the irony there, right?" Jaune whispered back at her. She just blinked back at him, non-plussed. The Huntsman sighed and shook his head, returning his attention to Sora and Sun, who were busy talking about Destiny islands.

"I definitely want to go there!" Sun said excitedly. He gazed up at the sky and sighed. "Swimming and tree climbing every day? And it sounds like they've got better choices in style than Mistral with its... suits. Ugh. I hate the uniforms so much!"

"Speaking of, where's yours?" Ruby asked. Pulling her hood down now that her blush had disappeared.

"Do you really think he dresses up for anything or anyone other than..." another person asked, jogging up and panting. He bent over and grasped his knees. He heaved a heavy breath, then stood straight and began to say a name, only for an angry glare from the Faunus to cut him off. "Well, you know who. Jeez, Sun, way to wait for me!"

"It's not my fault you're so slow, Neptune," the Faunus said, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at his friend.

"You swam here!" the other boy snapped. Sora looked over at him more closely. He was dressed the exact opposite of his friend, wearing a red, armored suit jacket with a button up and tie beneath it. A pair of yellow goggles were strapped around his forehead, just beneath his carefully prepared blue hair. Black, fingerless shooting gloves with large buckles were strapped around his wrists, which went with the silver laser rifle strapped over his back. His face grew deathly white and his eyes widened. "Y-you know I... um... don't like -"

"You're afraid of the water!" Sun shouted, arms raised. "Just say it, Man!"

"Dude!" Neptune hissed, waving at Sun to not shout it out for everyone to hear. "Come on! It's embarrassing enough that you know."

"I mean, you use a trident, you're named Neptune. Your parents are both expert swimmers -"

"Okay! I get it!" Neptune snapped, cutting off his friend's mocking. He took a breath and smoothed out his hair before turning to Sora. "Hi, I'm Neptune. Sun's cooler, and better dressed friend."

Sun sighed. "That's fair," he admitted quietly.

Sora raised an eyebrow, but took Neptune's hand anyways. The blue haired boy with his honest grin and the golden haired Faunus seemed to be good friends, despite their wildly differing styles and behaviors. "I'm Sora," he said, grinning back. "I'm a friend of Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren."

"How'd you guys meet?"

"It's not like th – oh," Ruby said, grinning and blushing as she did. The question had been directed at the entire group. She coughed and straightened up, glancing between Neptune and Sun as she did. "Uh... We've got a lot to talk about, guys."

R W B Y

"Um... just, meet me at sign up for the tournament in... three hours. We can talk about everything then. Pool our resources. I, er, saw an old friend I need to talk to," Qrow narrowed his eyes before putting up a smile and glancing back down at his niece and her friends, then raised a hand and waved quickly before running through the group of kids and sprinting after a ghost. The woman tossed a red eyed glare over her shoulder, stopping for just a moment to do so, then turned away and walked away through the crowd. Qrow slowly advanced on the red and black armored Huntress, shoving his way through the crowd. When he finally broke through, however, she was nowhere to be seen.

Qrow groaned and reached into his jacket pocket, grabbing a flask that he opened with the ease of familiarity. "Goddammit, Rae," he snarled quietly before lifting the flask to take a deep drink of the whiskey.

"Do you want to repeat that?"

Qrow sputtered and nearly dropped the flask. His quick reflexes let him easily grab hold of it, though the rest of the alcohol spilled out from the open top as he did. "Ugh... No. Dammit, Rae, can't you ever just walk up and talk to someone?" he growled as the last of the alcohol dripped from his flask and onto the ground. He sighed and screwed it closed before crossing his arms and glaring at his twin. "And why does the great and wondrous Raven Branwen grace me with her presence today?"

"Do I need a reason to see my least favorite brother?" she mocked back, placing one hand on her hip and smirking at Qrow.

"Generally, yes, you do need a reason to see your only brother. Especially since you never even see the rest of the family," he retorted while putting away the flask in his jacket pocket again. "Let me guess, whatever big and important news you've got you already delivered to Glyn, Fuscia, Aride, and Jimmy. You sure like to avoid me."

Raven scoffed and grabbed her brother's arm, dragging him away from the crowds. "Not so loud, Moron," she hissed as they stopped. She slapped the back of his head and he flinched playfully, bending his back and letting his shoulders hunch up. "And of course I went to see them first. They're not half as stupid as you can be."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess my hunt for Cinder and Xehanort, who by the way is way worse than anything Ozpin told us, isn't worth your time," Qrow retorted, leaning in to sneer at his sister. He turned away from her and walked over to lean against a pillar. "Look, I'm sorry. I've just been busy, okay? Ever since Oz died, I've been looking after Ruby and this Sora kid. And I've been dealing with some loose ends he left for me in Vale."

"Oh, and how is Ruby's Keyboy?" she smirked.

Qrow narrowed his eyes, bringing a tense silence between the two. Soon, however, he began laughing. After a couple seconds, his sister joined in and laughed with her brother. Their similar peals of joy were stifled so that no one would hear and try to find them. "Like, get a room, right?" he asked, leaning forward and placing one hand on his sister's shoulder for support. She did the same, leaning against him so the two held each other up. The laughter continued, unabated, for a while.

Finally, they had to slow down. Qrow reached into his jacket, the other side this time, and pulled out another flask. He opened it and offered it to Raven. The black haired woman shrugged and took it, bringing it up to take a deep draught before handing it back to Qrow. He grinned and took an equally deep drink before putting it away again. "Okay, Rae. What the hell could it be that made you willing to come and talk to the family you've been avoiding like the Grimm for two decades? Wait, no. You spend more time with the Grimm than with us."

"We're doing this again?" Raven asked, arms crossed and an angry eyebrow raised. "Come on, could you be any more predictable?" She held her hand out. "Cause if you are, I'm going to need another drink." Qrow scoffed and handed her the flask. She promptly drained it of its contents.

Qrow glared at her as she handed the empty flask back to him. "I only brought the two..." he whined.

"So you're cutting back?" Raven mocked, smirking at her brother.

"Shut up. What the hell is it you want to tell me, Rae?" Qrow snapped, screwing the top of the flask shut again and putting it away with a forlorn stare. "Why are you here?"

"You know, I almost don't want to tell you. Watch you squirm for a few more minutes," Raven said, a cruel grin coming to her face.

"Ha ha," Qrow muttered. He grit his teeth and snarled. "Please?"

"Well, if you're going to beg," Raven responded, smiling at her brother. "I got some good news for you. Pin's alive."

Qrow narrowed his eyes at his sister, then chuckled. "Tch... And?" he asked with a nonchalant shrug.

Raven straightened up, confused. She hissed in annoyance at her twin, then snapped, "What do you mean and?"

"I mean that the guy's been around since before we were Ruby's age, Rae. And he always knew eight more things than he ever let on. Even with you, Glyn, or I he was always hiding more secrets than he revealed," Qrow responded. He scoffed and shrugged again. "I just knew if everyone thought he was dead, it's because he wanted to be thought of as dead. Why? Who knows, who cares, etc. I trust him. Wait? Did everyone else think he was dead? Even Glyn?"

"Um, of course," Raven replied, glaring at her brother. "I think that would be the natural response to the destruction of Beacon's main tower while he was inside it."

"Ha! Did you stick around to see if Glyn's really over that paralyzing crush she had on him back when we were in school, or if she's just better at hiding it?" he asked, eyes wide with excitement. He held up both hands, palms opened towards his sister just as she began to respond. "Wait, no, let me guess!" He paused for a moment, then grinned wider and aimed an index finger at the woman. "She was skipping when she found out."

Raven stammered for a moment, then sighed and nodded. "Uh, yeah. She was. How did you –?"

Qrow doubled over, laughing to himself. "Oh! Oh, it's too good!" he exclaimed as his laughter died down. He tried to recover for a few more seconds, one hand up to tell his sister to wait. "Oh... oh, that's too good. Jimmy will be heartbroken. Oh, the Ice Queen will be feeling his pissed off attitude for months!"

"Ice Queen? Tell me, Brother, who is the object of your affections this time?" Raven asked, smirking at the fear growing on Qrow's face.

"Ew. One of Jimmy's 'specialists' and a Schnee heiress to boot," he muttered. He rolled his eyes as he thought of Winter. The Ice Queen was probably busy... buying things or acting all stuck up. "Ice Queen couldn't be more self interested if she tried."

"What, are you afraid your title as most self centered person on Remnant is in danger?" Raven mocked, her voice saccharine.

"Oh, please. I was always second to you," he retorted with a grin, quieting his sister. He sighed when he saw her indignant glare. "Jeez, sorry. Don't get all offended and run away for twenty years." He flashed his sister another mocking grin.

"This is getting so old," Raven muttered, looking away from her brother and crossing her arms.

"I've got twenty years worth of these," Qrow stated simply. He laughed once and moved himself into her field of vision. "Don't expect them to stop any time soon, Rae."

"That's what I was worried about," Raven muttered before placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. She twirled the dials of Dust then began to pull her weapon from its scabbard.

"Hey," Qrow said, reaching out to place his hand on his sister's before she could teleport away again. "Lunch? It'd be nice to actually catch up, Rae. You know I love trading barbs, but it's hard to talk the real stuff when we're both being sarcastic."

Raven frowned and opened her mouth to refuse, but stopped when she saw the pleading look on her brother's face. She sighed and shook her head. "Fine. But no noodles. I've wanted to eat a burger for twenty years now."

"You always got the glamorous missions," Qrow muttered, slapping his sister on the back and leading her towards the Kingdom's main city. He smiled and shut his eyes as they walked together, letting his chin hit his chest to hide the real smile. "Well, I may know a place or two. As long as you're buying."

Raven laughed once. "Wait, you think I have Lien?"

"Mooching. Just like when we were kids," Qrow sighed before looping an arm around his sister's shoulders to hug her from the side. "Ah, I missed you, Rae."

"And, despite my best efforts, I missed you too," Raven replied, looping her arm around her brother and hugging him back. She grinned and shot her twin a grin. "Little brother."

Qrow growled at the woman, glaring at her out of the corner of his eye. "By five minutes!"

R W B Y

Sora waited with the rest of the group, hands laced behind his head as he leaned back in the windowsill of Team SSSN's dorm room at Haven Academy, the breeze passing through the open window behind him ruffling his hair slightly. Ruby was taking up the other half of it, with Nora sitting on the floor next to her, humming to herself, and Ren next to her, his head swaying lightly with her humming. Jaune was in a chair between Neptune and Ren, with Sun finishing the circle hanging from a set of bars running across the ceiling. "So, those people are coming here?" Sun asked, his eyes hardening angrily. He let his gaze drift out of the window.

"And that's not the half of it," Jaune cut in. He grimaced and continued to explain. "They've got this old guy helping them out now. Like a crazy strong old guy."

"The destruction at Beacon seems like nothing when compared with his power," Ren agreed solemnly. He frowned when he remembered the destruction in the Emerald Forests.

"His name is Xehanort," Sora stated, drawing Neptune and Sun's attention. "I've been following him for months to try and take him back to people who can fix everything he's done. Or at least make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else."

Ruby glanced over at Sora as he said this, then returned her attention to the group. "We need to find them and make sure they don't escape again. Maybe then we can get the whole world back on track," she said. Her mind flashed to her sister, then to Blake. "Maybe even help people save themselves."

"If only everyone agreed with you," Sun muttered, crossing his arms and glaring at the floor. He looked up at Ruby, trying to inject joy back into his eyes. "I just mean... I do. I agree, stopping these guys is definitely the most important thing. And I'm sure the Headmaster will be totally open to helping, especially if your weird uncle tells her what's going on."

"You'd have better luck getting Ren to smile," Sora noted, glaring at the Huntsmen. Ren just shrugged at him, denying Sora victory once again.

"You're fighting a losing battle, Sora," Neptune said, sighing and shaking his head. "Almost like trying to get this guy to wear anything that covers his chest."

"Hey, Sora's on my side with the style, Neptune," Sun responded, shooting a triumphant grin at his friend.

Neptune sighed and shook his head sadly. "So there's two of him now? Great. Maybe I can at least get one of them to suit up for the dance after the tournament," Neptune muttered. He glanced up suddenly, a twinkle in his eye. "Which reminds me, have you heard from Weiss yet, Ruby?"

"Um... no," Ruby responded, raising an interested eyebrow. "Why?"

"Oh. We talked for a while once the CCT came back up," Neptune explained, scratching his head. He gestured at Ruby. "She said she was going to try and talk to you, but then she stopped talking to me at all. I'd assumed she'd gotten through to you."

Ruby shook her head. "No, she didn't," she explained worriedly. She frowned and glanced at the ground. "It might be her dad. He's the one who took her back to Atlas after everything happened, and it sounded like he didn't even want her going to Beacon at all."

Neptune breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I was getting worried she'd just lost interest in me," he said, scratching his cheek nervously and blushing. It looked like feeling embarrassed or more than shallowly interested in a girl was a new experience for the blue haired young man.

"Dude, she was crazy about you, even when you flirted with those girls during your fight," Jaune said loudly. He laughed at Neptune's embarrassed grimace. "She told them to wipe the floor with you; it was hilarious!"

"You see, Ruby? I told you that they were trying to get back to you," Sora said, raising a hand to Ruby and waiting for a high five. She obliged with a soft smile and Sora laughed. "After this, I'll help you bust her out. How about it?"

Ruby's eyes widened. "I..." She smiled and nodded. "Thanks." Her face grew serious. "Now, about the task at hand..."

"Right," Sora said, turning back to Neptune and Sun. "So, has anything seemed... weird, lately?"

"You mean besides all of the Huntsmen from the other academies?" Sun asked, shaking off some dark thoughts hanging over his head. "Because even then, totally. Nobody'll say anything, but the whole world is scared that what happened at Beacon will happen at another academy next. But they haven't done anything about it, here or any of the others. No extra security, no investigations. It's like they're just... waiting. And the news is pretty bad, too. Apparently, this tournament's the first time that the Kingdoms have even talked in months."

"People are afraid," Neptune said, "and fear attracts the Grimm. So everyone's just trying to pretend they aren't afraid. Nobody's doing it well; Grimm attacks are up since the Beacon attack. Still, they'd rather let everyone believe that the problem was because of some rivalry between Ozpin and the Atlesian Headmaster."

"Well I can definitely say it wasn't about them. Headmaster Ozpin had some weird vault under Beacon. That's what Cinder wanted to find. There was this... this machine in it. " he said, eyes glazing over. He frowned for a second before continuing, "Pyrrha got in the machine with this other woman and..."

"And what?" Sora asked, frowning worriedly.

He shook his head. "I... I think they were trying to transfer her Aura to Pyrrha," he muttered, casting his gaze down. That sent the entire room into a terrified silence.

Sora especially was disturbed by this revelation. While he had never met Ozpin, it appeared that everyone held him in high regard. Given everything Sora had heard about Aura, it reminded him of how his Heart and the Keyblade let him resist attacks that otherwise would have murdered him. Swords, Heartless, Darknes... Sephiroth. Sora grimaced internally at all of his fights with the One-Winged Angel and how he'd helped Cloud defeat the monster last. This machine made it sound like Ozpin had been trying to transfer part of someone's Heart into another, a far too Xehanort-ian tactic for one of the 'good guys' of this World. And one that made Sora wonder if this Ozpin guy had known more about the Worlds than anyone else, especially combined with his knowledge of the Keyblade and Xehanort's imminent threat.

"What do you think, Sora?"

The Keyblade wielder looked up suddenly, grinning sheepishly "I'm, uh, sorry. What?"

"If this sounds like something Xehanort would want. You said he's going to try to take someone's body, right?" Jaune repeated, looking over at Sora. "A Machine that transfers Aura like that couldn't be too far from letting him steal bodies."

"He wants to what?" Sun asked. He shuddered. "Dust, that's pretty damn evil."

"Even worse is that Xehanort doesn't need the machine," Sora explained, raising his hand and shaking his head. With a grin and some momentary concentration, he summoned the Keyblade to his hand. "Th-"

"What the Dust!?" Neptune screamed, his chair tipping backwards until he slammed into the ground. Sun glanced between the weapon and his friend on the ground then began laughing uncontrollably. Neptune glowered at his friend as he forced himself to his feet and lifted the chair back up. He sat down with a heavy sigh. "Thanks. Thanks, buddy. It's only a key half the size of a person that appeared out of thin air in a flash of light!"

"Sure. But, Dude, I didn't freak out!" Sun said between laughs. He looked over at the quiet Ruby, Sora, Jaune, and Ren, then over at the also laughing Nora. "I'm sorry, I know this is serious and all, but he's never flustered! Ever! Smooth as ice, all the time, so I take what I can get."

Neptune shoved his friend, causing him to sway like a pendulum from where he hung. This only made the Faunus laugh harder. Neptune just sighed and sat back down. "Ugh, just... just get on with it," he told Sora, waving his hands to go with the order. "He'll calm down eventually."

"We're used to it," Ren said, his eyes drifting over to Nora, who was also still laughing uncontrollably. His gaze didn't move. "Some of us far more than others."

Sora nodded. "I would have laughed, too, but this is really serious," he explained, raising the Keyblade in his hand again. Neptune frowned at that and shook his head. "Xehanort may find it interesting, but he doesn't need one. The Keyblade does more than just..."

"Everything?" Ren interjected dryly.

"Use magic," Sora said, glaring at Ren for a second. The Keyblade wielder then returned his gaze to Ruby continued to explain. "It can be used to do... a lot to Hearts. It can fragment a Heart. Or, like I did with Jaune, lock them from Darkness or Light. It can even remove Hearts from one body and move them into a new one."

"So he has everything he needs to win?" Neptune asked, worry tinging his voice. "Cause the end of the world doesn't sound fun."

"No," Sora said with a smile. He dismissed the Keyblade in a flash of light, nearly causing Neptune to fall over again. Sun stifled his laughter for the moment, letting Sora continue. "He needs certain bodies with certain powers, like I've told them before. He's after someone in our group." Sora resisted the urge to let his eyes flick towards Jaune as he said this. "And on top of that, the χ -blade is still broken. I don't know how he plans on fixing it, but he can't do anything he really wants until he fixes it. That gives me time. And if I can stop him here, then it won't matter."

That's when it really hit Sora: his time on Remnant was almost over, and this had been the longest he'd spent on any world in years. It was funny, but it was almost starting to feel like a home at that point, maybe even more than . "Of course, we have to find him here first," he said, sighing. "And now Qrow's put us in this tournament..."

"Which is perfect!" Ruby shouted, surging upward. She laughed and raised her hands above her, "Uncle Qrow you genius!" She looked around at the confused faces of everyone else. "Think about it. Being in the tournament will give us access to areas we wouldn't usually have, access even Uncle Qrow won't have. We'll be able to look for Cinder and Xehanort."

Sora nodded. "You're right. And I'm willing to bet that Xehanort is going to be taking an interest in this tournament, too. With this many warriors clashing, there's bound to be someone who could fill in as his new body," he pointed out. He grinned, knowing they finally had a chance to be at least one less step behind. "Remind me to thank your uncle when we see him, Ruby!"

She checked her Scroll and shouted. "Oh! Speaking of, it looks like sign up is about to start," she exclaimed. She slid the device shut and glanced around. "We better hurry, guys."

"Right," Sora agreed, grinning at the group. He surged to his feet and pointed down at the square where the students were congregating. "Last one there buys dinner!"

Nora's head shot up. "Free food?" she shrieked in joy and jumped out of the window past Sora, barely avoiding tearing out a chunk of the wall.

Sora glanced around. "Um... go?" he asked, turning on his heel and jumping out of the window. He laughed and caught the air beneath his outstretched arms, rocketing towards the sign up location by gliding away. He quickly caught up with, then passed the redhead who had more vertical than horizontal speed. Ruby, Ren, and Jaune glanced at each other, then Ruby rocketed out after Sora in a bullet of crimson with Ren sliding down a drainpipe on the wall.

Jaune sighed and looked over at the wildly grinning Neptune and Sun. "Heh... you guys are included in that bet," he said hurriedly before taking his own dive out of the window.

"What?" Sun shouted eyes wide with worry. He didn't want to lose. The Faunus grimaced and looked over at his friend. "Sorry buddy, but... swimming!" Then he jumped out of the window, too, leaving only a shell shocked Neptune behind.

R W B Y

Qrow sighed and looked down at his Scroll, foot tapping against the ground anxiously. "Kid, where are you?" he growled to himself, pocketing his Scroll and looking around the square. He shook his head and began to pace around, arms crossed over his chest. He took a few steps in either direction before checking the time again. "Couldn't they just be on time?" He let his hands fall to his side and shivered. "Punctuality. I sound like the Ice Queen."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and let his chin fall to his chest, itching to go out and do something. Also, he hadn't had a drink since Raven had stolen his second flask, so he was feeling a little thirsty. "Hey, that kid can fly!" Qrow opened one eye when he heard that, though he didn't look up.

"I think it looks more like gliding," another person responded. Qrow's other eye opened.

"Y- Hey! Watch out!"

Qrow's head flew up just in time for a fast moving, human sized projectile to slam into his chest. "Ow," he groaned, glancing at Sora who was atop him, grinning sheepishly. "Get off -"

"Look out!"

Qrow groaned. "Not agai- Ooof!" he shouted when a red missile slammed into their pile. He wheezed his next command. "Get off!"

"Look ou– you know, it won't help at this point, anyway."

There was another heavy impact as a streak of pink and steel slammed into all three of them. That one was the heaviest, and he suddenly found himself having difficulty breathing. "Ugh! Get... off!" he tried to shout at the kids still recovering from their fall. He was able to slide his hands to his chest and somehow roll the pile off of him.

The air rushed back into his lungs faster than was comfortable and he hissed in pain again. "Ooof..." he groaned, rubbing the place where the three kids had hit him. "That's going to bruise." He narrowed his eyes and glared down at the three embarrassed kids. "You're late!" he snapped, moving his hand to his aching neck, grimacing and groaning as he did. "And where are the other two?"

"Jaune's on his way," a quiet voice said from above, a young man in green walking into Qrow's field of vision. Ren held out his hand to help the Huntsman to his feet, something the elder warrior graciously accepted. With a small effort, Ren pulled Qrow to his feet and the Huntsman dusted himself off.

"I'M HERE! I'M HERE!" the blonde screamed, tumbling to the ground at Qrow's feet and panting. With great effort, he pushed himself up and rolled over onto his back, a relieved smile on his face. "I'm... not last..."

"Neither am I!" Sun shouted gleefully, falling from the sky and rolling to his feet beside Jaune. He pumped his fist and began to dance. He stopped and held up three fingers. After a second, he let one fall. Then another. "Which means..."

"Dammit Sun!" Neptune shouted, tackling his friend to the ground as Sun's last finger curled into a fist. "That was low!"

"And... you brought friends," Qrow muttered, glaring at the two Haven students. "Of course you did." He shook his head and looked between the kids who were busy pushing themselves to their feet. "So, I take it your buddies went over the rules with you?"

"We thought you had," Sun responded as he blocked an incoming blow from Neptune's fist. "I mean, you are the one who basically forced this on them."

"First off: shut up. Secondly: you gave a man who already has too much on his plate even more to do. Because why wouldn't you?" Qrow growled, earning a shrug from the two Haven students, who immediately continued their brawl.. "Tch... fine. Listen up, Ruby... and others, cause I'm only sayin' this once."

"Hear you loud and clear!" Ruby said, saluting her uncle.

Qrow tried to groan, but couldn't stop himself from smiling at his niece's boundless happiness. Meeting Sora had been good for her, for all those kids. They were a lot... brighter since it happened. "Okay, Kid. It's pretty different from the Vytal Festival's tournament. Almost the opposite," he said, placing his hands on his hips and glancing from side to side. He motioned with his hand as he explained. "For one, this tournament starts at the one on one stage. You register in teams of up to six and slowly work your way up the ranks. If your team makes it past the singles round, you enter doubles. If only one of you makes it through singles, you fight two on one."

"Like that's gonna happen," Ruby snorted, waving her Uncle's amused glare off.

"I'm sure. Anyway," Qrow continued, shooting a sidelong look at his overexcited relative, "the advancement style is the same for the next round. At that point, however much of each team made it through regroups for a team Battle Royale."

"And Team SSSN is going to take the trophy home," Sun said, grinning at his friends.

"Sure. If my niece doesn't wipe the floor with you first," Qrow retorted while laughing. He sighed and turned back to Ruby. "Also, the school's done something I only ever thought Pete Port was crazy enough to do... capture a bunch of Grimm. At any time, during any of the fights, they could let them loose in the arena. It's supposed to show people the Grimm aren't a threat, even to you students. I wouldn't expect anything more than a few Ursas. Maybe a Deathstalker or Nevermore in the Royale. Tests how a leader 'prioritizes.' There's no bonus points or anything for killing them, but you don't win until all enemies are down and out. If you both fail, teachers'll step in and save your asses."

"Like that's gonna happen," Sora snorted, waving Qrow's amused glare off.

"I'm sure," Qrow repeated, glancing between his niece and the Keyblade wielder. "Whenever you aren't on the field for the tournament, be on the lookout. The enemy's had their eyes on Haven for a while, and I doubt they'd fail to show their faces. Or, at least, someone's faces."

"Since they are likely disguise, our experiences with them mean we may be the only ones who will recognize them," Ren finished for Qrow.

"Right you are, Pinky," Qrow said, flashing his index finger in a gun shape at the young Huntsman. "I'll be looking for anything out of place, but I want you guys watching the fights. Chatting it up with the other contestants. See if you recognize anyone or anything specific. Once we have them in sight, we take them out one by one as quiet as we can."

Sora grimaced. "Quiet. Right," he muttered, scratching his cheek. Not his strong suit. And especially not if he got in a fight with Xehanort. "Um... and if quiet isn't an option?"

Qrow glared at the Keyblade wielder. "You better hope it's an option," he growled, eliciting nervous laughter from Sora. "But if it really is a no go, contact me. I'll be there fast as I can. I know you guys can handle yourselves, but I'd rather not deal with any big fallout."

"And you can call us any time," Neptune suggested, slapping Sun on the back as he did so. The Faunus nodded in excited agreement "As long as you take me along when you go get Weiss."

Sun laughed. "Wow, he really cares! That involves crossing miles of water."

Both Neptune and Jaune turned green. "Don't remind me," they whimpered in chorus, clutching their guts.

Qrow checked his Scroll as the kids laughed together. "Okay. Sign up is going to start any second," he said, placing it back in his pocket. "Go get checked in while I snoop around."

He turned around, then spun on his heel to point at Sora. "Almost forgot." He dug around in his pocket for a moment then laughed. "Ha! Here we go." He pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to the Keyblade wielder. He said, "Had these made this morning... You're my student, if anyone asks. They'll scan what's on that for your tournament info." Then he turned around again and waved as he walked towards the school, where no one would be for the next few hours. Unless they were trying to snoop around or be a criminal.

As they watched him go, Ruby smiled at her Uncle's back. "It's weird, but I think Ozpin's death was good for him," she said, smiling at the bittersweet thought. "He didn't even smell like a brewery." She shrugged and turned to the others. "Well, I guess we better sign in."

Neptune slapped Sun's shoulder. "Oh, right! We should go too," the Faunus said. He grinned at the Vale Huntsmen and their Keyblade wielder friend. " If we see you in the tournament, don't hold back." He waved goodbye to the group and ran off, Neptune at his side. "Good luck!"

"Like we'll need it," Jaune said confidently.

R W B Y

"And you really think I'll be able to keep us all disguised at once?" Emerald asked, fiddling with her recolored weapons nervously. Gone was the forested green, replaced instead with a deeper color more in line with her namesake. One less thing for her to worry about controlling. Mercury's boots had not been recolored. He had gotten overly indignant the moment she'd suggested it, actually. "Sure, I'm a lot stronger than I was... but..."

"Your strength should suffice for this test," Xehanort said, raising his hand, palm outward. "Though you will not need to disguise me. With training, a body is merely a vessel for the Heart within, and the Heart can alter the vessel as it needs." He twisted his palm towards himself, then waved his hand downward along the length of his body, his features suddenly beginning to change as his outstretched fingers passed them.

The old man grimaced in pain as his features changed in fits and starts, smoothing out as they did. His hunched over spine straightened and white hair sprouted from his skull. His goatee disappeared, and his features smoothed out. He frowned and shrugged off his jacket, then took off his gloves before concentrating once more. Black slowly began to fade in from the roots down its length, the second spike on the back smoothing out. A pair of matching black horns grew from within his hair, arching back then swirling down to stop parallel to his jawline. His gleaming yellow eyes slowly added in blue and grew to a vibrant aqua. "Tell me, how do I look?" he inquired, his voice much lighter and less hoarse. He smiled and held out his hand, summoning a flash of darkness to his hand. A blue and red blade formed in his fist, a mechanical looking demon wing. "Do I fit the part of a 'Huntsman?'" He swung the blade out to his side and stood as he had seen so many of his victims stand over the years.

"Damn," Mercury muttered, staring in awe at the 'old' man. "You can just make yourself look like anything you want, then?"

"Intriguing," Cinder muttered as she approached, her blades clipped to her back. "I assume that we won't be able to learn such a skill?"

"Unfortunately, no, my dear," he said. He shook his head. "No, that sounds too... old. Hmph. How about, 'No, you won't.' Yes, much better. Succinct, youthful. Anyways, you can't. Only a Keyblade Master wearing the form of another may control the projections of the Heart so." He groaned and clutched suddenly at his chest. He looked around at the perturbed faces of Salem's servants, then explained his pain. "And it comes, for now, with a price. I am not at my full strength while hidden, though I should be able to deal with most threats."

"And Sora?" Mercury asked caustically, grinning at the momentary flinch it elicited from Xehanort. "Still no worries?"

"He is as trusting as you say the Rose girl is," Xehanort said, glaring at Mercury. The younger man gulped nervously and his grin disappeared. Emerald slapped his shoulder disapprovingly. Xehanort returned his gaze to Cinder. "And even should he see through this deception – ah, falling into my speech pattern again. Ahem... And even if he does figure it out, I'll still be able to take him down. You three only need to worry about testing your new abilities against tho – them. Against them. If a battle between... me and Sora is decided upon by the tournament, I will throw the fight. I know my limits really well. As an added bonus, he won't suspect us anymore."

"Better," Emerald said of his adopted manner of speaking. Xehanort glanced in her direction and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Okay, so now that that's done," Mercury muttered. He crossed his arms and glanced around. "What do you get out of this?"

Xehanort laughed dryly. "So very much," he explained, strapping his new weapon onto his belt, then bending down and picking up his jacket. He folded the gloves carefully and tucked them into the pockets of the jacket, then folded the jacket itself around the χ -blade. He placed the folded garment beneath his arm. "The Darkness that resides in all of you is strong, that is true. But my needs require something with more... Light. Something more along the lines of..." Xehanort gestured a circle in the air with his free hand. He smiled evilly and looked at both Mercury and Emerald. "More along the lines of a Knight than a Rogue."

R W B Y

"And here we are, folks! The first round of the Haven Tournament, where eighty percent of proceeds go to rebuilding Vale's illustrious Beacon Academy!" the announcer shouted from above the arena, the crowd roaring joyfully at her every word. "After the attack four months ago, the Kingdom has gotten classes back up and running at a secondary site, but they really want their emerald towers back up and running! Clean up is slow, but with enough funds, maybe they can finally get rid of that frozen dragon!"

"That would be nice, right Firecracker?" Taiyang Xiao-Long asked his daughter, forcing his worries for Ruby from his mind to try and get his eldest child's spirits up. He waved around the Beacon Academy pennants and smiled excitedly at the morose young woman. His wide grin turned to a disappointed sigh as her lilac eyes met his, blinked once, slowly, then returned to the television. The blanket she had draped over her legs as she lay across the couch barely moved, though her left hand drifted slowly over to the place where her arm ended. An envious look flashed on her face for a moment before returning to its normal, exhausted stare. "Firecracker..."

"You wanted me to come out here and watch this," Yang muttered, a noise barely louder than a whisper. Her eyes tracked to their edges to glare at her father. "So be quiet and let me watch it."

Taiyang sighed but amiably did as his daughter had asked. His daughter had always behaved more like him than her mother, but he'd always known that she more resembled the dead woman at her core. A power hungry thrill seeker with a heart of gold. But whenever things had gone poorly, Raven had gone introspective. While it would usually take her out of the action for a little while, it always ended with her making herself better. But, being the impatient person he was, Taiyang was hungering for his daughter to return to normal. He wanted more of their hilarious joking instead of this angry quiet all the time.

"... the first of these fights will occur in fifteen minutes. Let's see who our contestants will be..." The screen shifted to reveal a white rectangle with two black squares centered in both vertical halves. A tiny 'VS.' was placed at the center of the screen. After a moment, the two black squares flashed and were filled with a blur of colors. Slowly, that blur slowed until individual faces could be picked out every so often, slowing even further until it settled on two faces. One was of a young man with spiky, brown hair and a wide, infectious grin. Yang herself found her frown tug up for a half moment. The other was a young Faunus man with black hair and similarly colored horns curling around his ears. His smile – or smirk, rather – was filled with quiet cruelty and a clear belief in his own superiority. "Okay, let's see here... Our contestants for the first duel are Sora... um... no last name given. Okay, then just Sora until we figure out who let him file under a mononym. Anyways: Sora, the student of famed Huntsman Qrow Branwen -"

"What?!" Yang and Taiyang shouted simultaneously, leaning towards the screen as it focused on the spiky haired boy's face for a second. He looked way too innocent to be traveling with the alcoholic, womanizing Qrow day in and day out.

"And the other contestant is Yoru Yagi, of Vacuo. Huh, interesting. Again, Yoru is not a student of the formal Academies. Well, this will be quite the interesting fight to watch, eh folks?" the announcer asked.

"Hm. Qrow never told me about having a student. Well, good for him!" Taiyang said, a small smile on his face as he looked over at his daughter. She didn't respond, so he turned his gaze back to the screen. "You know, I wonder what kind of weapon the kid uses. Do you think Qrow taught him how to use a scythe, like with your sister, or-" Taiyang froze, eye twitching as the camera panned down to the place from where Sora, who holding a giant and unwieldy Key shaped sword, was walking out.

The young man was high-fiving his team mates. They all looked very familiar to Taiyang, but that's not what made him angry. Sure, the knight, the ginger, and the kid in green looked like they were students of Beacon, so of course he'd have recognized them. And Qrow was there, too. Not weird, given he was the kid's mentor. No, the thing that made Taiyang so unbelievably, incredibly, fire exploding from his hair angry was the young woman who Sora hugged before running off to take part in his battle. "Go Sora!" the young woman in a red, hooded cloak and black combat skirt shouted, hands cupped to her face as she screamed. "Kick his butt!"

"R-R-Ruby..." Yang turned to see what her father would do next. To his credit, he just twitched again while staring at the screen. She thought that was all he'd do, for a moment. But then he stood up slowly and spun on his heel, his face plastered with a manic and crazed grin. "I... am going to murder your uncle, Firecracker," he said quietly, popping each of his knuckles individually and loudly just for effect. His neck was shivering with rage, while his fists were completely still. "I'm going to go bird hunting. And I'll let Zwei have his way with the..." He turned to match his daughter's gaze. Laughing nervously, he scratched the back of his head. "I'm... uh... I just have to make a call. I'll be back in a sec, Firecracker." Then he bolted from the room, cursing quietly as he pulled his scroll form his pocket. "DAMMIT, QROW! You said you didn't know where she was you Dust blasted, drunk... bastard!"

Yang just returned her attention to the screen, where she had seen her sister just a second before. Despite herself, Yang could feel a small, teasing grin break out on her face. "Aww... Ruby's got a boyfriend," she singsonged to herself. She glanced around to make sure her dad had not seen or heard her, then forced her frown back onto her face and watched the battle with renewed interest. Quietly: "Go Ruby's boyfriend!"