Chapter 15: Aftermath

"I think the meeting can finally start," one of Mistral's two Consuls said as Qrow kicked open the door to the Central Table where all those involved in stopping Xehanort and Cinder were set to meet. Even Raven was there, her katana in its scabbard was leaning against the back of her seat as she glared over at her late brother. Qrow looked around at the various faces assembled around the table. Ice Queen, General Jimmy's proxy at the event, was staring at him with a vibrantly angry look. They both quickly looked away from one another as their gazes almost met. Beside her was Glyn looking at Qrow like he was one of her students late for a class, then Port and Oobleck arguing over what was more important – anecdotal history or what had faded into the past. Then the two Consuls – Marron Phoenix and Augusta Zuri – sat together at the top of the circular table. Marron was a man in his mid sixties who wore a maroon and gold suit to match his overly chestnut hair. Probably dyed it. Augusta wore a white dress with a capelet over her shoulders. Between those two was a machine displaying the blurred white silhouettes of the councils, each group leaders of the various Kingdoms who felt a need to listen in on the information that Qrow and the present Huntsmen would provide. Marron continued to speak condescendingly as Qrow took his seat between Raven on his left and – ugh – the Ice Queen on his right. "Now that the great Qrow Branwen is here."

"Sorry. I had to get drunk to tolerate you idiots," Qrow growled at the Consuls and other councilors. He heard a small snicker come from his left and a growl of annoyance from his right. He ignored Ice Queen and continued to shoot back at the angry and narrow eyed Consuls. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I somehow bruise the two egos the size of a barn over there when I walked into the room? Jeez, you make Jimmy look positively amazing to hang with." He glanced over at the Schnee. "You make sure to tell ol' Jimmy it turns out he isn't the least fun stick in the mud on Remnant." That earned him a dirty glare that he could only grin at.

"Moving on," Marron said, pushing past his desire to strangle the smirking Qrow. "Now that our guest of honor is here, we can finally hear his reports on everything he has seen since the Beacon Incident."

"Oh, now I'm honored?" Qrow asked the councilors mockingly. He put his hands up and did spirit fingers. "Yay."

"Mrs. Xiao Long, could you please control your brother?" Augusta asked, glaring at Qrow.

Raven shrugged. "Why? I like to laugh," she responded almost as mockingly as her brother. "Besides, no one can put a muzzle on him. So, so... so many have tried, and as of yet none have succeeded. Considering the looks he's giving her when she's not looking – hell, when she is looking – I'm hoping the platinum blonde might have a real chance."

Qrow choked on his spit and slammed his hand into the table. He laughed exaggeratedly at his sister's words. "Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! You're hilarious, Rae. Just... just hilarious," he said, turning slowly towards sister and snarling. He coughed and smiled nervously before turning back to the table and smoothing his shirt. "Um, how about we just start in, huh? I have visual aids, and..." He cast a glance over his shoulder at the red faced, barely holding in a scream of disgust. Qrow turned back to the table. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Tell us everything Ozpin hid from us prior to his demise," Marron demanded, clasping his hands authoritatively on the table. "Everything."

Qrow laughed once. "All due respect – which, isn't that much come to think of it – Oz kept things from you... politicians for a damn good reason. You're all... spineless vote grubbers. Not worth the time it would take to give you the basics. I'll tell you everything since the Incident. Probably nothing from before, unless you're really lucky and the drunk lets something slip!"

"We could just order you," Augusta threatened, narrowing her gaze on the Huntsman.

"You could certainly try," Qrow laughed. He continued speaking to the table. "I just told you morons that Oz kept things from all of you politicians, asked all of us to keep things from you, for a very good reason. Some of the secrets of this world are better as just that – secret."

"From the allied governments of the world? From the people?"

"Qrow, just bite the bullet," Raven muttered. Qrow looked over at her, surprised, and studied her face. After a moment, he nodded. Raven looked over at the Consuls. "Best thing about no one muzzling him – he can't help but talk."

"Ha," Qrow snapped. He placed his open palms on the table. "Cinder Fall is a person of interest in multiple crimes ranging back almost five years. All of them were low profile when taken as separate events, as the police did when considering them. When together... it becomes clear she built perhaps the most powerful criminal syndicate on Remnant, one that spans every Kingdom and was capable of bringing two Headmasters, one military, and four Kingdoms to a grinding halt."

"That wouldn't explain half of the feats she managed to accomplish at the Vytal Festival, nor here. These Grimm are larger than anything present even in most legends, yet she knew how to wake up creatures so old they had burrowed into nature itself. That does not seem the mark of a mere criminal," Marron pointed out. He glared at Qrow, waiting for some sort of response.

Qrow reached into his pocket and cycled through a few menus. "For months, Ozpin had said that Cinder – codenamed Queen – had a benefactor of some kind," he explained. He finished and an image of Xehanort, grainy and dark, appeared on the Scrolls of all others present. "We believe he was the one who was responsible, as of now. We also believe that he has another piece in play as a proxy for the time he wasn't present in the Kingdoms. This 'Salem' he mentioned when speaking with Cinder and her group. We have very little, if any, information on that. It could be a name or a code name for an individual or place, perhaps for a group."

"Cinder displayed abilities during the attack on Haven we'd never seen before. Do they have access to some kind of... odd Dust?" one of the other councilors asked over the machine, continuing on to the next topic of interest.

"It's something else," Raven cut in before her brother could say anything. She fidgeted as all eyes came to rest on her.

"What is it, then? Well, Mrs. Xiao Long?" Augusta asked, eyes widening at the prospect of a new kind of power.

"Something much older than Dust. It's connected, from what I understand, to the Grimm themselves," the woman in black and red explained. She shrugged and continued on. "He called it Darkness, I think. I'm sure that anyone with enough willpower can use it." Raven gestured over at Qrow, who nodded and activated a new file on his Scroll. "As long as they have enough hate in their Heart, it can come out on its own. From then on, it's just a matter of figuring it out yourself."

Xehanort appeared again as Qrow sent the file to all present. This time the old man stood nonchalantly across from Sora. It was a scene from when Sora and Ruby had fought Xehanort and Cinder in the Emerald Forest. Xehanort's Keyblade flashed in the video surveilance, crashing against Sora's with an almost lazy and disinterested flow. Raven continued her explanation: "His weapon is called a Keyblade. I don't know how or why, but it seems to increase his physical strength and speed, as well as his power with Darkness, exponentially. I don't think I've ever met any Huntsman who had a chance at surviving a battle with him unless he let them live." The battle between the two Keyblade wielders ended and disappeared from the Scrolls.

"What can you tell us about these Keyblades, then?" Glynda asked, intrigued to learn more about something Ozpin had even hid from her, Qrow, and Raven. She leaned forward and crossed her arms. "They seem to have attributes more akin to myth than reality."

"I have no clue what they are," Qrow said simply. The Huntsman grabbed his scythe and slammed it blade first into the round table, smirking as the Consuls flinched and were smacked in the face by wood chips flying from the impact. He put his hands in his pockets as he began to walk around the table. "What I do know is that every Huntsman's weapon is powered by, or at least is used to influence, Dust. With Dust, Huntsmen can do things that would otherwise be impossible. Create fire or ice from nothing, alter gravity and increase one's speed. Combined with the use of one's Semblance, the abilities of a Huntsmen stop just short of magic. Keyblade users are miles above that. They already have innate abilities surpassing those of the most accomplished Dust manipulator, and on top of that have skills that one could easily consider... impossible. Xehanort can heal any wound he and his allies receive with a single word, or summon storms to the sky with one hand. Hell, I've even seen a Keyblade stop time."

"What about how they are made, or where they come from? How can one be found? How can they be gained?" Marron asked, leaning forward with wild and hungry eyes like those of Augusta. Politicians, Qrow growled internally. Marron smiled and added on: "For the Huntsmen, of course?"

Qrow laughed as he finished his loop to his seat. He continued walking and laughing until he was behind Marron and Augusta. He leaned between them and grabbed them both by the shoulders. "Ha! Oh, you think if I even found out a way to get my hands on one I'd tell you two? You've seen what one of these guys can do when he's off the leash, you really think I'd let you guys -" he looked down at the screen where the other Councilors faceless forms stared across the table silently. "Let any of you have those things? I might as well declare another Great War right here and save you idiots the trouble of destroying the world."

"Destroying the world? You believe that putting such tools in the hands of the people would be a bad thing?" the Bureaucrat from Vacuo asked indignantly.

"The people? Sure. You guys? I'd trust a kid before I trust you morons. You've all got dirty little secrets that have way too much to do with everything that's happening," Qrow explained, shoving off of Marron and Augusta so that their heads nearly hit the table top. He jumped onto the table and walked across it, kicking his weapon up into his hand and holstering it on the back of his belt. "Atlas and their 'Blue Fairy' division." Ice Queen flinched and frowned. She excused herself and pushed herself to her feet while pulling out her Scroll as she quietly left the room. Qrow ignored her. "Mistral's more than liberal use of Marcus Black's services. How about Vacuo's experiments on weaponizing Grimm? Or how Vale's Councilors took bribes from Roman Torchwick? I mean, you idiots have a list of dirty laundry longer than that sea serpent was."

"Is that how you want to play this, then?" Augusta snapped, surging to her feet as well. She growled at the younger Huntsmen. "You trust a child before us? Then how about we talk about those children, hm? People you've been using as spies in sovereign territory, enacting operations without our consent. You damn Huntsmen and your Headmasters keep acting like there is nothing to which you are beholden, so how about we test that. Let's discuss the real threats here – you say that Xehanort is such a danger because he uses the Keyblade, then why is this Sora boy not a threat?"

"Sora?" Qrow asked eyes widening.

"You cannot be serious," someone said from the door. Qrow looked over and his eyes widened as he saw Ice Queen was the one backing him up. She slammed her thumb into the 'End Call' button and marched into the room with an angry glare across her face. "That boy just saved your damn lives and an entire Kingdom – if not more – in the past two days, all because of Qrow."

"Uh..." Qrow muttered blankly as Winter continued walking up to the table. She looked like she'd just gotten in a big argument with someone whose opinion she valued. And now she looked like she was about to start pounding in the faces of the idiots at the table. He frowned... she looked good passionate. After a moment, that thought caused him to shiver. That was a avenue of consideration he hoped to never take again.

"In fact, this building would be a pile of rubble without him. The death toll was limited to the astronomically small total of one hundred out of the twenty six thousand people who were present here for the event. Of that number, we have confirmed that forty were White Fang operatives killed during the fight. Four were Huntsmen whose bodies were found guarding the region where the epicenter of the blast was located. Six were White Fang found near those bodies – suiciders who cleared the location for the crash site. That leaves fifty – only fifty civilians dead. Thanks to Sora and Qrow, that number was not in the thousands as it could have been – as it was following the Beacon Incident. My family always taught me that you should thank your heroes, not spit on their sacrifices at the first opportunity."

Qrow just stared over at her, feeling uncomfortable. "Um... thanks, Ice Qu – Winter," he said, scratching the back of his head. He was anxious to get thanking her out of the way.

"Why are you thanking me?" she asked, turning her icy gaze towards Qrow once again. She looked him up and down. "I am merely pointing out the facts. None of which change the other fact that you are usually an undisciplined, filthy drunk."

Qrow shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't have it any other way," he said, shaking his head in confusion. He looked over at the table, where Augusta and Marron were glancing down in embarrassment. The screen between them had shut off, the other councilors not wanting to hear logic any more. "What's the matter? Need some help with that freezer burn?"

Marron and Augusta remained silent for a while. "What about Aride?" Qrow suddenly asked. He still felt bad for all the lives lost. Physically in pain, actually. But he wasn't as broken as he could be. It hurt to admit, but he had been most worried about Ruby; the other deaths didn't shatter him in the same way hers would have. The evacuation that Ruby and her friends had succeeded in carrying out had in no small part helped the Huntsman to understand and pity his old friend, though not quite forgive her.

"Ah, yes. The former Headmaster Stole," Marron said, looking back up and composing himself. He fidgeted nervously. "I... She will be put on trial. I doubt that, even considering the fact she was under duress the entire time, the courts will be lenient. She may never see the the sun again. If she isn't put to death, that is."

Qrow nodded solemnly, eyes dry and absent of emotion. "I thought so," he said as Winter passed him. He glanced up and watched her inquisitively move by him, the woman shooting him an intense and equally inquisitive glare. Qrow coughed and looked away. "Um... Chrysos. He's dead, isn't he?"

"Yes," Augusta muttered, not wanting to glance up at Winter, who was sitting once again, nor Qrow, who continued to stand with his arms crossed. "We found him in a motel in the city. His... his throat was slit, and our investigators believe it to have been done shortly after the death of the Serpent. It appears that, despite their insistence otherwise, the terrorists never had any intention to leave him alive in exchange for Mrs. Stole's cooperation. Again, that will likely do little to help her case."

Qrow was silent for a while. "It's too bad." Qrow sighed and shrugged sadly before he turned towards the door and put his hands in his pockets. The meeting was over, and everyone there knew it. There was nothing else he wanted to hear from the Consuls and little to say to the others in front of those two idiots. He needed some time to himself, anyways.

Without looking over his shoulder, he said, "Almost forgot. Ice Queen... Thanks again." Then he opened the door and left the room without a second look, walking alone out of the main government building of Mistral. This city was more of a sprawl than Vale, with white marble buildings much shorter than his home's skyscrapers spreading out as far as his eye could see, with the buildings rising and falling with the seven hills that it had been built upon. Place also had better pizza than almost anywhere else.

"Oh, you aren't getting away so easily," Raven said, stepping up from behind him. She looped her arm over his shoulder and smiled at her twin. He just glared dryly back at her. "Are you okay? I remember Aride from battles long ago. She was a good woman."

"Was," Qrow echoed. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a flask. He started to unscrew the top, only for it to be stolen away by his sister. He reached for it, but she pulled it further away. "Give it back!"

"Oh, no you don't," Raven responded. She shoved her brother away and quickly downed the contents of the flask. She sighed contentedly then threw the flask over her shoulder, fending off her brother's attempts to grab it from the air.

"Ugh... that was a gift," he remarked, staring at the flask as it was crushed beneath the tire of a car. "From Oz."

"Eh, he'll buy you a new one when this is all over," Raven said with a shrug. She jabbed her finger into her brother's face. "But you smell like you had your other flask already. And filled it up and drank it again. And again. You said you were cutting back, and I think Summer's kid really approved of that. Hell, so did I." She grabbed her brother's shoulder again and smirked at him. "Besides – you can't get a date to the dance in three days if you're blackout drunk. At least not one you aren't paying for, little brother."

Qrow sighed. "By five minutes... why do you do that to me?"

"Cause winning is winning?" the swordswoman suggested, smacking the back of her brother's head. She laughed and shoved off of the other Huntsman. "Food? You're buying!"

Qrow scoffed. "I... fine. Pizza?"

Raven shrugged then nodded. "Pizza."

R W B Y

Xehanort hissed as he watched the skin of his forearm tightened and withered around his bones. His transformation of his physical form had already weakened his body far more than he had believed it would. On top of that, the intense fight with Sora had done little to help him recover; he had not expected to be put down so easily by anyone, much less a mere child. He hissed again and used his Keyblade to fix himself as well as he could. It would be temporary, he knew that much; as long as he was stuck inside a Replica of his younger body it would be only a matter of time before it fell apart from the strength of a Heart it was not built to contain. Unless he found a new body or was able to fix the χ -blade before his physical form fell apart, he would not survive.

Of course, he had found a candidate for doing what he had once done to Terra. Jaune was just one loss of a single friend away from giving in. His strength was not dissimilar to Sora's, reliant upon the strength of those around him to push him further into the Light. While it gave him great strength, he was not prepared for the intense pain that losing those pillars of Light would bring. Intense pain that would slowly push him further towards the shadows in his own Heart, and into the waiting grip of Xehanort.

Or perhaps the girl with the Silver Eyes could be of use. The χ -blade was forged from fragments – Hearts – of pure Light and Darkness originally. It was missing half of the components from either side of the divide, and her Heart could easily be used to fill a place in the shattered Light half of the ancient weapon. There were many Hearts on the Remnant that could be used to complete the Darkness in the χ -blade, and he was sure that he could find a way to pit them against warriors bound to the side of the Light, completing the guardian of Kingdom Hearts once more. Xehanort looked up at the shattered moon far above and his hand reached back to grasp the χ -blade's handle.

"What the hell was that?" Cinder snapped, disrupting the Keyblade Master's thoughts. He quickly pulled down his sleeve to hide his arm and turned towards her disinterestedly. The young woman had angry, burning eyes. Darkness was rising from her shoulders in tendrils of palpable rage. Her anger only grew as Xehanort laughed. "Do you think your failure to handle Sora is funny?"

Xehanort's laughter immediately ceased. He advanced on the woman, crossing the width of the cave in which they were recovering. The old man's yellow eyes burned in the darkness, somehow sucking away the little light that remained in the cave so that they became yellow orbs glowing dangerously like the gaze of a predator at night. "You believe I am jovial because of that? I am weakened now, my body a shattered shell of what it once was and of what it could be," he growled, his voice full of menace that even gave the Fall Maiden pause. The darkness seemed to coil around the old man, wrapping him even further in its embrace. As if he was almost at one with them. "The Seeker of Light has grown in power, that is true. Perhaps enough to challenge me as I am now. However, I am not as powerful as I could be. My power rots this body, tears at its insides like a disease. If I had the means to repair it, or to claim a new one, then you could be sure that Sora would not survive the day. I am his better – and he is yours. Do well to remember to whom you speak, Girl."

Cinder gulped, but decided to fight off her fear. "I only point out truths you are too scared to admit, Xehanort," she growled, stepping up towards the man. She resisted the urge to shove him back, knowing that would only end badly for her. "I planned the release of the Sea Serpent Grimm since before we were sent to find you. You assured me that you could handle Keyboy when the time came."

"That doesn't matter. The release of the Serpent succeeded in doing something much more important than inspiring fear," Xehanort responded with a chuckle. He turned on his heel and began to walk away, still laughing. "Its death succeeded in proving a hypothesis that I had about the girl. The one who defeated you prior to our meeting. The Silver Eyed girl."

"So it served your purposes, all else be damned?" Cinder asked with a growl.

"Is that so different from you?" Xehanort mocked as he whirled back on Cinder. He raised one finger as he began to refer to the two warriors scouting the land outside the cave. "Emerald. She dotes on you. Worships you. I bet you rescued her like she was an injured puppy. But that doesn't matter, because you only want a slave. Not someone who thirsts for your approval, not someone who can think for themselves. Her desire to earn your favor is meaningless to you." He raised his second finger. "And as for Mercury? Once his desire for battle and war has been sated, you will kill him. Or he will leave, and his absence will tug at the other one. Slowly tearing your slave out of your grasp. And, of course, there is the fact you have hidden the truth from both of them."

"Salem's existence and identity are -"

"Need to know? I understand, of course. After all, a pawn with too much knowledge is as useless as a broken one," Xehanort interjected. He smiled cruelly down at the Maiden. "Again – you would do well to know your place, Cinder Fall."

"I know my place. I know my Destiny," the woman spat, her eyes glowing by this point. "I am no pawn. I am a Queen!"

"And yet, even with that information granted you by Salem, you can do nothing to change it. You cannot escape your painful fate. Remember, Cinder, that any piece on a chess board is still a tool to be sacrificed by one who considers themselves the game's master," the Keyblade Master warned, earnestly interested in preventing Cinder's death. Salem and Xehanort both played a very long game, but his was not the same as hers. It would not do to lose a valuable piece if it could be turned at the opportune moment. "And your fate... well, many monarchs have fallen when the powers hiding in the shadows made themselves known. Remember that, Queen."

R W B Y

A few days after the attack by the now infamous Cinder and her old and scary accomplice, Tai and Yang had received a call from Qrow and Ruby. The public CCT had been shut down to prevent any panic and to keep the White Fang from easily communicating across the world, so this was probably the first communication they'd been able to get out of Mistral. All of Taiyang's rage at Ruby for running away from home or at Qrow for not sending her back had instantly evaporated the moment that the young woman and her red eyed uncle had appeared on screen. "Ruby, Sweetheart! You're okay!" Taiyang had shouted excitedly. He had nearly run right into the screen of the Scroll, his body instinctively rushing to embrace his daughter before he stopped himself.

Ruby smiled nervously at her father, rubbing her arm and struggling to meet his gaze. "Hi, Dad. Yang," she muttered to the two blondes. She looked up at them and grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of her head anxiously. "You, uh, you both know I'd never just die on you."

"Besides, I was there. I kept a cool head the whole time, and kept her safe," Qrow said, his 'I'm a dirty liar' grin flashing on his face.

"Sure," Taiyang said dryly, his glare slowly eroding the cocky look of his old team mate. "Because that was always your specialty, wasn't it Qrow..."

Qrow coughed as something was caught in his throat. "Anyways, uh, little Ruby here is the hero of the day again," Qrow said, smiling down at Ruby and ruffling her hair. The young Huntress shook her head and tried to wave off the embarrassing grip of her mentor. "She and Sora were the two who blew up that huge Sea Serpent. Destroyed the whole thing, just the two of 'em. It was... really, really impressive."

Taiyang's eyes fell to the ground for a moment. Ruby was becoming more and more like her mother every day: determined to fight against the deepest Darkness so that everyone had a chance to see the Light in everything that she could see. Of course, fighting for something like that usually ended up killing you. He quickly looked back up and smiled at Ruby. "Of course it was. I wouldn't expect anything less from my little girl! You used to do the same thing when you were a little girl playing Huntsmen with your sister. Aw, you were so cute, with your little toy swords, bouncing from wall to wall in a flurry of roses!" Taiyang sighed happily, lost in his memories. He shook his head and laughed. "So, when does your flight land at Patch? I'll have everything ready by the time you get home!"

Ruby and her uncle palled and glanced at one another. "Um..." Ruby muttered.

Yang narrowed her eyes on her sister. "It doesn't..." Yang noted simply. She glanced at the ground for a moment before surging to her feet and walking away to her room.

"Yang?" Ruby asked, worried her sister was angry with her.

"Firecracker?" Qrow and Tai asked simultaneously.

Yang didn't return, so Qrow sighed and decided to address the Goliath in the room. "She's right. Ruby isn't coming home, at least not any time soon," the caped warrior explained. He weathered Tai's rage filled glare. "You and I both know that a Huntsman's or Huntress's work isn't done until the final Grimm is cut down and the last criminal either locked in a cell or a coffin."

"Meteors fell from the sky, Qrow! I'm not letting my daughter be anywhere near that old freak!" Taiyang snapped, tearing the Scroll from its stand and bringing it close to his face. He narrowed his eyes at his daughter. "You're coming home. I'm coming to get you if I need to."

"No, I'm not," Ruby said simply, matching and overcoming her father's anger with the steadfast, almost glowing light of her silver eyes. "Jaune, Nora, Ren, Sora... they need me. And I won't let any of my friends get hurt ever again. Not like Yang was. Or Blake. Or Pyrrha! I have a chance to stop Cinder and Xehanort, and I'm taking it."

Taiyang glared angrily at his old team mate. "She gets this from you," he growled at Qrow. Taiyang sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Dust damn it. Fine, Ruby. Fine. You're too much like your mother to stop from doing something stupid if it's the 'right thing to do.' Love you. Call me lots, Ruby." With that, Tai shut off the Scroll and tossed it onto the couch.

"What the hell am I going to do with her?" Tai growled at himself in exasperation. He shook his head when he didn't get any ideas and walked to Yang's room. She hadn't taken Ruby's desire to stay away very well.

Taiyang knocked on the door. "Firecracker? Yang? Are you okay?" he asked loudly through the shut door. There was a series shuffling noises coming from across the doorway, then it creaked open slowly. Tai raised a worried eyebrow and entered slowly.

Yang was wearing her white and black leather biking jacket with sleeves ending in golden rings at her elbows – just over the abrupt end of her right arm – over her tight black shirt. A purple stone hung from her neck. On her remaining hand was a fingerless black glove she'd somehow managed to get on and one half of Ember Celica – her weapon. Her long blonde hair was shinier than Taiyang had seen it in a long while and his daughter looked happier than she'd seemed in that same amount of time. She wore two black and gold belts with a purple and lavender scrap of lace hanging from her left hip. She wore a black-gray mini skirt strapped to black stockings that were adorned with her signature emblem – a burning heart of flames – on the outsides and four golden studs above the knee. The stockings were tucked into a pair of black, strap tied boots with large white ribbons adorning both at the back of the top. Running alongside her, panting and barking happily, was a small ball of black and white fur. Zwei.

"Firecracker?" Taiyang asked as his daughter picked up a bag and walked past him, out of her room. Zwei barked excitedly and barreled after the young woman. Tai frowned and followed them, echoing his earlier question as he did. "Firecracker?"

"What is it, Dad?" Yang asked cheerfully as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out some leftovers. She tossed them into her bag and looked over at him with a simple smile.

"I... what are you doing?" Taiyang asked, examining his daughter and frowning. He raised his hands defensively. " I mean, I'm happy you're finally wearing clothes instead of your pajamas after five and a half months, but... what are you doing?"

Yang laughed and rifled around the fridge again. She grabbed a scrap of bacon and tossed it over her shoulder, Zwei leaping into the air to catch and swallow it. "Well, Ruby's still out there," she said, as if that answered the question. She pulled out a water bottle and placed it into the bag as well.

"You are not going after her, young lady!" Taiyang shouted, trying to sound authoritative.

His daughter's laughter definitely didn't help that goal along. "Of course not. Not yet, at least," Yang responded as she shut the refrigerator. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her Scroll. She turned on the screen and turned it around so her father could see the screen. "That Atlesian Headmaster's message about the prosthetic arm. It says that for the implant to work at its best, I'd need to be in top physical condition, Dad. And I haven't done anything in almost six months! I need to start running, and eating right, and beating people up! I need to start this training out with a Yang! Eh?"

Her father burst out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "That was a good one!" he shouted, stunned by her joke. Just as Ruby had long ago noticed, those two shared a sense of humor. Or lack thereof.

"Right? Nobody else gets comedy," Yang said, thinking back to when she'd tried that joke at the beginning of second semester, receiving only pained and forced laughter, at best. Disappointed silence at worst.

Taiyang sighed as he slowly brought his laughter under control and looked at his young daughter. She looked so much like her mother, right then. Ready to go out and get in a bar brawl just for the fun of it. He grinned at his memories – he supposed that was a lot like him, too. "I'm so proud of you," Taiyang muttered as he held back tears of pride. He walked forward and began tightly hugging his daughter. The Huntsman sighed contentedly as she slowly hugged him back. "I think it's great you're finally going to go out again. And you know what, how about I go with you? We can go for a run – I bet we'll Tai!" The two blondes who lacked any good sense of humor began laughing with one another, a bright spot of joy appearing in their lives after nearly half a year of sorrow and self pity. "It's good to have my little Firecracker back. Though, maybe we should take it slow and use weapons only when you're ready, hm?"

"Buzzkill," Yang replied simply, clutching her father closer. To herself: "I'm on my way, Ruby."

R W B Y

Sora sat outside of the CCT tower of Mistral, waiting for Ruby and her uncle to come back from talking with her dad. Jaune, Nora, and Ren were busy enjoying some "Team JNPR" bonding time out on the town, leaving Sora to wait alone. He didn't mind, of course. Sora had been looking for a chance to start looking through the book Xehanort had left him, and this was his biggest chance. He'd started by searching through the CCT for whatever information he could find on The Key of Destiny, and had somehow come up empty. The only information he'd found on the book was that it was a very unique item, but by no means valuable. Very few people knew it existed, and even fewer sought it out. It was based off of an old legend on Remnant, and had only been reprinted once, shortly before the Great War broke out. That event had killed its chances at becoming popular, and it had no chance to catch on during the post war revival of the arts, treated as it was like a relic from a broken past.

Sora slowly opened up the book and began to read through the novel, looking for any hint at what Xehanort had meant for him to find. He wasn't usually the kind to sit around and read, but he had experience with dense material after finding all of Xehanort's old notes and experiment records. What he read was odd, and somewhat familiar. The first chapter seemed to contain sparse information about an event eerily similar to the Keyblade War, an event whose existence was usually hidden from all who were not Masters of the Keyblade itself. However, the book did not call it by that name, instead opting to give it the title of "The Shattering."

"Oooh! Is that the weird book the old guy gave you?" Nora's voice called out. Sora shut the book and looked up to see Ren, Nora, and Jaune walking across the square. He jumped to his feet and slipped the book back into his pocket. "Find anything good yet?"

"Maybe," Sora said with a shrug. He grinned over at the others. "What's up with you guys?"

"Oh!" Nora shouted, excitedly bouncing from side to side. "Ren asked me to the dance in two days! And, I don't think as just friends, like maybe more than friends, but I don't know. Ren! What do you think about it?"

The green clad huntsman laughed at Nora's excitement and confusion. "Of course, Nora. How many times will I have to assure you?" he asked, an actual smile appearing on his face as he looked over at the girl.

"And I was a very awkward third wheel," Jaune said, turning away from his team mates who were smiling at each other like lovesick puppies. He shook his head at Sora, who laughed at his friend's mock pain. "Well, I take it Ruby and Qrow aren't back from talking with her dad and sister yet?"

"Just went in," Sora replied, gesturing over at the tower's doors with his thumb. "Why?"

"Well, we were planning on going to eat soon and thought we'd get you guys first so we could all celebrate together," Ren explained, his face stoic once more. His hand was dangling close to that of Nora, his index finger wrapped around hers.

"Are you sure? You two can -"

"We insist!" Nora shouted, hands firing into as she screamed excitedly.

The Keyblade Wielder laughed. "Okay," he said in agreement. He looked around. "Where we headed?"

"I'll take you there," Jaune said, grabbing Sora's shoulder and pulling him away. "Nora and Ren'll wait here for Ruby and lead her there."

"Why don't we all just wait?" Sora asked, confused.

Jaune stopped and glanced back at Nora and Ren. They motioned furiously with their hands for Jaune to come up with something. "Right... uh... Someone needs to get our names in so the wait will... take... less time...?"

Sora stared blankly at Jaune for a while. He cocked his head to the side for a moment, then grinned. "Cool! Let's get going!"

As Jaune and Sora walked away, Ren and Nora glanced at one another. "He... fell for that?" Nora asked, stunned by Sora's lack of ability to see through any form of deception by his friends.

"I... guess so," Ren said, also stunned.

Nora grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to the bench. "Come on! Let's wait over there!"

Jaune and Sora, while Ren and Nora waited for Ruby, were walking through the city side by side. "So, where we headed?" Sora asked again, hands laced together behind his head. He looked over at Jaune, one eyebrow raised as he did.

"I, um, we're on our way there," Jaune said, stumbling over his words. He pointed straight ahead. "Just keep walking!"

"Cool! But, what kind of food is it?" Sora asked further.

"Why are you asking so many questions!?" Jaune shouted a bit too hurriedly.

"What's wrong?" Sora inquired obliviously.

"I – oh, look, we're here!" Jaune shouted, pulling Sora to the right and straight into the restaurant.

"You wait right here," Jaune said, stopping beside the door and motioning for the Keyblade wielder, who was growing ever more confused, to stand still. "I'll go put our name in. Then I gotta use the restroom."

"O... kay," Sora muttered. He shrugged at how weird things were as Jaune walked away and... whispered to the hostess. Even Sora had to admit his friends were acting weird right then. "Whatever."

Sora looked around. The restaurant was dimly lit by candles, the illumination casting light shadows across the room. Outside, where the sun was beginning to set, there was another table being prepared much the same beneath a black umbrella. It had two chairs that overlooked the ocean, which was beginning to glimmer. "Hm... this doesn't seem like a place a bunch of people go to to celebrate together..." Sora muttered to himself. He looked over at the faces assembled in the dining area. "Why are all the tables two person only? We'll need... three tables if Qrow decides to eat with us." Sora crossed his arms and shrugged. It wouldn't be too difficult to move the tables – even if they were heavy, he could probably lift them himself with the strength the Keyblade afforded him.

"Sir." Sora looked up at the Hostess. She smiled, holding a pair of menus beneath her left arm. "Sir, your table is ready."

"Cool!" Sora said with a grin. The woman smiled back and gestured for Sora to follow her. He did so, the woman leading him into the dining area and past a few tables. She hooked a hard left and entered another room, leading Sora past a few tables of couples making faces and laughing with one another. Sora was busy looking for the place where three of the small, circular tables were put together for him and his friends.

The woman continued to the end of the room and opened a door. "Just out here," she said as Sora passed her. Sora blinked and looked around in confusion as the woman placed the two menus she had been carrying down on the table. "Um... aren't there supposed to be -" Sora was cut off as the door opened again and slammed shut, leaving Sora alone at the table for two. "More... tables?" he finished.

Sora sighed to himself and shrugged, figuring that he could ask about it when the hostess came back with the others. He pulled out one of the chairs and sat down with a happy sigh. He picked up one of the menus and began to go through the list of items he could order. After a couple seconds, he put it down on the table again and craned his neck to see the street, looking for Ren, Nora, and Ruby. He was much more surprised to see Jaune running away from the restaurant, in the direction opposite the CCT tower. "Um... what's going on?" Sora asked himself as his eyes followed the blonde knight's path down the hill. As Jaune disappeared, Sora blinked and leaned back in his chair. Why would Jaune leave him here at the restaurant alone? Sora shook his head, not really caring why. They'd all show up eventually.

At the top of the hill, Ruby and Qrow were exiting the CCT tower together, their conversation with Yang and Taiyang having just finished up. "I wonder what had Yang acting like that," Ruby muttered, a little disappointed in her sister. "I wish she was as fired up as she usually is. Then at least I'd know if she was angry with me."

"Eh, I'm sure she'll figure it all out," Qrow assured, ruffling his niece's hair. "Firecracker's just waiting for the right time to go off. When she does, it'll be spectacular. Just you wait."

"Ruby!" Nora shouted, drawing the young Huntress's attention. Ruby looked over and she and her uncle walked over to where the crazed berserker and her partner waited. "Hey! How was talking with your sister and dad!?"

"It was... weird. Yang was all serious and angry, and Dad tried to get me to come home," Ruby explained with a shrug. She sighed. "So, normal since the Dragon, I guess."

"Sorry," Ren said simply. He checked the time on his Scroll. "Oh! We're almost late for dinner."

Qrow checked his own Scroll. "Hm, me too. I'm meeting Raven to talk about what's next," he said. He laughed when he saw Ruby's worried face. "Don't worry, Kiddo. You and your friends are definitely coming with me to find this Salem person. And... I think it's time I let you in on some secrets, too. But that can wait till after you've had some fun at the dance."

"Dance? Fun? Sure," Ruby muttered, remembering her last attempt at 'enjoying' a dance. "With my luck, I'll probably get in a fight with another secret criminal and end up missing the entire thing..."

"Don't jinx it," Qrow laughed. He ruffled her hair again, enjoying her annoyed glare. "Okay. See you kids soon." He cast a funny glare at Nora and Ren before walking off with his hands in his pockets.

"Well, Jaune and Sora ran ahead to get a table for dinner," Ren said simply. He gestured over his shoulder. "They should be waiting for us by now."

"Cool! What's the restaurant?" Ruby asked, beginning to walk in the direction Ren had pointed a moment before.

"It's close. We'll be there faster than you can turn into a torpedo of roses!" Nora said cheerfully, marching off at the front of the group. They walked together for a few minutes, trading jokes and compliments.

"I'm glad you're finally awake, Ren," Ruby said, slapping her friend on the shoulder and casting a look at Nora. "And, of course, I bet Nora is, too."

"Yes," Ren acknowledged, smirking as he sidestepped the quiet laughter he had grown accustomed to. "She was incredibly excited when I asked her to the dance."

Ruby stopped in her tracks. "You what?" she asked. Ren just turned around and walked backwards down the hill. He smiled and nodded before turning around again.

Ruby felt awestruck. Ren and Nora had finally gotten over their 'Not together together' excuse and decided to go on a... a date? Well, it had to happen eventually, but Ruby hadn't expected it to be so soon. "Congratulations!" she shouted, dashing forward and looping one arm around the shoulders of either of her peers. She hugged them tight. "That's so great you guys! How did he ask?"

"Oh! He showed me what noise a sloth makes!" Nora shouted, her voice nearly deafening Ruby's right ear for a moment. Nora giggled sheepishly. "Sorry..."

"Well, first I – We'll tell you later, Ruby. We're here," Ren said, leading her to the door. He opened it and gestured for Ruby to enter. He and Nora followed her. Ren walked ahead as they entered the waiting area and spoke to the hostess. She walked over with him, smiling kindly. "So, they're -"

"Ren! I forgot that... THING!" Nora suddenly shouted. She jumped forward, crashing through four groups of customers and knocking over a vase that Ren barely caught before it would have shattered on the ground. He sighed in relief and placed it back on its stand as Nora continued to stammer and pull on his shoulder. "Remember! That thing down at the base of the hill! Come with me to pick it up!"

Ruby smiled and began to say helpfully, "Oh, I'll go with -"

"NO!" Ren and Nora shouted hurriedly. Ren scratched the back of his head and glanced up for a moment before raising his index finger to the ceiling, as if he had an idea. "No, uh, you know what? It's, um, a gift! For you. So we'll go get it and bring it back. Follow her, she'll take you to the table!" Ren let himself then be pulled out the door by his partner. "Sorryseeyousoon!" he shouted as quickly as he could while he was yanked out of the building.

Ruby watched the two go, confused for a moment. "Um... okay," she muttered before turning to follow the hostess towards the table. She was led into the dining area, then left into a second room full of tables and eventually outside. The door shut quickly behind her and she realized, suddenly, that no one else in the team would show up.

"Ruby! Finally, I've been waiting here eating bread alone for fifteen minutes!" the Keyblade wielder said as he grabbed another small loaf of bread from a basket at the center of the candle lit table and stuffed it whole into his mouth. Ruby flinched at the candles, then looked up at the umbrella, then over at the sunset whose light ricocheted off of the ocean like it was a sea of gems. "Where's everyone else?" Ruby slapped her forehead. Obviously, Sora wasn't in on this.

"They're not coming," she said as she sat down and grabbed some of the bread from the basket. She sighed and bit into it after a moment.

"Why?" Sora asked, ever oblivious to the deception of those closest to him. He bit into another loaf of bread and stared at Ruby with wide, naive eyes.

Ruby blushed and began to cycle her arms in front of her like a wheel. "Well, you know..."

"What?"

Ruby slapped her forehead again. "I think they want us to talk about something," Ruby pointed out, hoping that would help Sora understand.

But this was the guy who forgot he'd become a Heartless once. "What? What should we talk about?" he inquired honestly.

"So... maybe – just maybe – um... You know how we would always joke about Ren and Nora being together together?"

"Oh! They're going to the dance together!" Sora shouted, cheerfully going out on a tangent. "Finally, right?"

"Right," Ruby agreed with a smile and a laugh. She looked to the side and pulled her hood over her eyes to hide her deepening blush. She decided to pull away from the digression and back to the normal conversation. "But, um... so, those jokes, right?"

"Yeah? What about them?"

Ruby coughed as her voice left her for a moment. She gestured between Sora and herself. "So... Um..." she bit her lip and then sighed. Better to just say it. "So they and Jaune make the same jokes about us!"

Sora froze and his hand opened, the loaf of bread he'd been holding falling onto a small plate in front of him. "They... w-what?" he asked nervously. He looked around, as if suddenly realizing where he was. The romantically dim candles, the beautiful sunset, the entire restaurant being filled with couples. "Oh my God, we're on a date..."

Ruby gulped and laughed anxiously, saying, "Yep..."

Sora glanced up at Ruby, then down at his plate again. His cheeks were almost as red as her cloak by that point. "Um... Ha... uh," he groaned. He looked up and grinned, forcing a joking tone into his voice. "Oh, those... those guys and their... jokes..."

"Ha! Yeah," Ruby muttered cheerily. Her voice turned slightly to disappointment. "Jokes."

The two were silent for a while. Finally, "Um, Ruby -"

"Sora -"

They both stopped talking and looked down nervously. "Y-you first?" Ruby suggested after a brief pause.

Sora laughed. "I... sure," he said. He looked up at her, steeling himself. He'd never felt this flustered before in his life! "So, I actually have two things? Is that, er, okay?"

Ruby nodded, happy to have a few more minutes."Go ahead," she said, her voice breaking slightly as she pulled down her hood. She blushed again, but Sora didn't seem to notice and she pulled her hood down all the way.

"So... remember how you said I could tell you where I'm from when I was ready?" he asked. Ruby felt her heart skip. He was going to tell her some big secret!? That was... well, that meant he really trusted her. But, like... a friend, or... what? "Well, I want to tell you now. I – it's not... Um, I just feel like I want you to know. Even though Master Yen Sid and King Mickey will kill me for it." He laughed anxiously. "Um, just let me start over."

"Take your time," Ruby said, trying to figure out what she would say as she listened.

"Destiny Islands is... it's not on Remnant," Sora said, scratching his left hand nervously. He looked up at Ruby. "I'm from another world."

"Like an alien?!" Ruby asked. She hadn't expected a secret that big!

"No! No, I'm human," he assured her, putting his hands up as if that could stop her from freaking out. It wasn't working.

"A person from another planet. That's..."

"A lot. Yeah," Sora agreed, causing Ruby to laugh dryly.

"More than a lot, maybe," she responded, still a little awestruck.

Sora laughed at that. "Believe me, I get it. It's weird?" he asked, scratching the back of his head now and grinning. He sighed and looked down, avoiding Ruby's gaze. He was worried she'd be angry. "All the stories I've told you, they're true. They just... didn't happen here."

Ruby nodded, her mind beginning to process what she'd been trusted with. It explained a lot, in retrospect. He didn't know what Dust was, or a Faunus. The Great War hadn't even been part of his vocabulary. He didn't really have a Semblance, and he fell like a star from the sky. "I guess it's not that weird," she muttered.

Sora sighed in relief. "Really? Good," he said, laughing as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I... and, I guess this is the second thing, too. Um... I wanted to tell you first because, I, um... Well, Ruby, I like you. I mean, in a... well... I mean... Well, the jokes are right when they're about me."

Ruby's heart skipped another beat. Did he just..? "Did you just..?"

Sora grinned sheepishly. "I, um... I really like you. You're fun and smart and funny and clever and pretty and – well, now I'm rambling. Wow, is it hot out here? Or..." he began to stumble over his words, mumbling about how he was suddenly very thirsty.

"The jokes are right about me, too" Ruby suddenly said, causing the Keyblade wielder to freeze. "I was wondering... would you like to go to the dance in a not friends, more something else maybe kind of way? Great, now I'm rambling..."

Sora looked up at her, mouth very dry. "I... I'm happy about that. I... Yes. I do."

The door suddenly flew open, three bodies crashing onto the ground beside Sora and Ruby's table. "I said move from the door so I could listen!" Nora shouted, struggling to extricate herself from the top of the pile without hurting the others.

"It was my turn!" Ren retorted, struggling from the middle of the pile..

"We just got here! We couldn't just try and figure out a way for us all to listen in before we tried to figure out 'turns!?'" Jaune cried out, trying to shove Ren and Nora off of him.

The three stopped as the silence pressed in and they looked slowly up at the wide eyed, blushing Sora and Ruby. "Great. We missed it," Nora whined angrily. "They already talked about their feelings. Good job, Ren..."

"It was my turn!" he retorted again.

AN: ZWEI!

Also Yang. If you like her, I guess (GO YANG!).

Don't worry, we'll be seeing her again soon enough, kicking ass and taking names far outside of her season 3 weight class. But it wouldn't make sense for her to just jump back into Huntsman-ing after moping around for so long, right? She won't show up as a big fighter until at least chapter 20. Also, she'll be meeting up with Raven soon. Tai will be... probably angrier than his daughter.

To Keyslinger Roxas: I agree. Sora will eventually have to confront and accept that he has Darkness, even if he can't weaponize it quite like Riku can. The only way to overcome something is to acknowledge it exists, after all.

To 7(Guest): I hope her end goal is more than surprising enough to everyone.

To Warrior of Six Blades: I hope "-Za" magic will show up as spells or the ends of Limits at least in the third game as something that can radically change Heartless boss battles, too. It will also be showing up later in this story.

As for Salem, yes. Her short term plan isn't too different from Xehanort's, in that she's trying to find a new body. Whether she will get it...

Anyways, The Key of Destiny was not written by the old man, but we've met the person who put the story onto paper again. And, just for clarification, it isn't the Silver Eyes of Ruby Xehanort finds familiar. Rather, it's something else about her entirely. Though, I'm sure he has a few hypotheses on how or why they exist and why their powers are based on Light magic.

Also, I can't wait to see your story! Good luck!