AN: Hey, everybody! I liked the last chapter, too. Especially the Qrow and Winter parts, given my huge love for that specific pairing. It will also be, unfortunately, the last chapter for a short while where the happy outweighs the sad by such a wide margin. At least for a little while. Things are soon to get worse for the heroes of this story.
Now, for question responses!
To Keyslinger Roxas: I certainly agree it would be a good idea, and I believe Yen Sid would be able to set up such a alternate pocket of time if it became absolutely necessary. However, in this story at least, I don't think that Sora is quite so accomplished with Magic just yet, given it would be like an inverse Stopza. And, as we'll see next chapter, Xehanort is in the waiting portion of his plans. His loss to Sora has him less collected than he usually is.
To sethman610: Yes, I definitely have plans for Penny. It's my opinion that Ruby, unlike Jaune, would be quick to acknowledge it would do little good to fixate on the death of the people she loved. She is a woman of action, as we've seen, and she has accepted what can't be changed. But Penny's fate probably can be altered.
Chapter 17: Reopened Wounds
Sora and Ruby sat beside one another on top of some boxes in the cargo hold of their floating transportation, hands touching. With them in the floating ship – a smaller training center that could be manned by a skeleton crew and which Qrow had said cost him more favors than he'd care to admit – which had already begun its journey to Vacuo, were Ren and Nora, the Berserker nearly strangling her partner in a bear hug at the moment; Jaune, standing between the two duos playing video games on his Scroll; Qrow, who was leaning against the door of a broom closet and staring silently at the ground; and, finally, Raven Branwen herself standing beside her brother across from the semi circle of children.
The accomplished Huntress looked... well, neither Sora nor Ruby could quite place it. But she had been standing there silently for about half an hour trying to gather the courage to talk about whatever it was she and Qrow thought they needed to tell the younger warriors. Qrow meanwhile looked like he could tell them basically anything without flinching, but he decided to wait for his sister to try and ready herself for the moment. Another few minutes passed by, accompanied only by the noise of lasers from Jaune's game – LaserTeam 3: The Re-Lasering Part 2: The Re-Teaming.
Finally, the somber woman made her choice to begin speaking. "Put that damn thing down, Blondie," she began suddenly. Jaune froze and looked up at her. His hands slowly drifted shut, closing the Scroll; he placed it back into his pocket, Raven's eyes never leaving his hands. When the Scroll was finally put away, Raven frowned for a moment before beginning in earnest. Or not. "And you two lovebirds – stop with the hugging." Nora slowly let go of the nearly unconscious Ren. Sora and Ruby glanced at each other for a moment, wondering if they'd get the same death glare from Yang's mom as the others had, before looking back at Raven. "I need all of you to listen to me, kiddos. What you guys are about to hear is not to be repeated. Ever. Under any circumstances... Nora." The Berserker looked around before pointing at herself. "Yes, you. Loudmouth. It's dangerous for people to know this, all of it, so we're not telling you this lightly. It's because we have to... Qrow, start us off."
The Huntsman looked over at his twin sister for a moment then nodded. His gaze returned to drift over the children, eyes locking on Ruby especially. "So... I guess we'll start with the biggest thing that I know. You know how they say Ozpin is dead as a doornail?" He shoved off from the wall, his movements increasingly smooth as he continued to limit his once terrifyingly large alcohol intake. "That's not quite true."
Ruby jumped forward, rose petals flying from her shoulders suddenly. "Headmaster Ozpin is alive? Then why isn't he here, why isn't he helping? If anyone could have stopped all this, it's him! He's the strongest Huntsman in the world!"
"Thanks, kiddo," Qrow said dryly. He shook his head after a moment and gestured at his sister. "I think this is more in your wheelhouse, Rae."
The Huntress nodded solemnly. "Yeah," she responded quietly. "He's been spying on Salem, trying to find out what exactly the enemy's plans are. Other than that, he hasn't been too... open with what he's doing besides starving and being tortured."
"So who is Salem?" Jaune asked, sitting down on another box of stuff. He looked around at the other kids. "Why are they working for Xehanort?"
Raven shrugged and grunted in annoyance. "Pin has this bad habit of not telling anyone anything. Especially not the people he trusts," the woman explained as she crossed her arms. "Salem's a woman, pale and about as scary as Xehanort. Beyond that, I can only share what I've heard her say when she's taunting Pin, but that could be lies." She went silent and her gaze drifted to the ground. She shivered. "I hope it's lies." Her eyes moved up to lock on Ruby and Raven frowned.
Sora stared worriedly at the older woman. She didn't seem the kind to scare easy. "Are you okay?" the Keyblade Wielder asked. Raven tore her gaze from Ruby and shook her head. "What is it you've heard her say?"
"Salem is terrifying, okay? She doesn't just want to destroy the Huntsmen or the Kingdoms. She's not an ideological terrorist fighting for her own twisted view of things," Raven began explaining, her explanation even catching Qrow's attention. Raven searched for words as fear gripped her Heart and her hands moved uselessly in front of her. Finally: "She wants death. That's it. For everyone in the world. Ozpin is putting a lot of faith into all of you." She looked between Sora and Ruby, gesturing at them both. "Especially you two."
"Me? How does he know about me?" the young man asked, one eyebrow raised to convey his confusion. He began to stammer. "I mean, I've never even met him!"
"Well, this is as good a place as any to start part two of what Oz has been hiding," Qrow cut in before his sister could continue. He sighed and placed his hands in his pockets. "So, the story of the Four Maidens. You know it, right?"
"Sora wouldn't," Nora supplied in a sing song.
Qrow grunted at the young woman. "Hm... that's a good point. Fine, Keyboy, you get the abridged version," Qrow told Sora. Qrow frowned and wondered how to begin for a moment. "Well, can't beat the classics I guess. Once upon a time in a land not as far away as you'd think, there was a man who had lived alone in his hut for centuries. This man was a powerful wizard, who wielded magic even more powerful than that of our two friends over here." His eyes fell on Sora and Ruby. "The man's abilities far exceeded the uses of mere Dust. They -"
"So much for the 'abridged' version," Raven muttered dryly as her brother began to weave a tale.
"Fine, slightly abridged then," Qrow spat at his sister. "I'll speed things up. Now, where was I?" Qrow rubbed his chin for a moment. "Right! So, the Wizard had grown angry and bitter over his many, many years of guarding Remnant's most terrible secrets. He let the world he had once desired to protect fall apart.
"On one winter's day, he saw a young woman outside of his home. She looked like the snow that surrounded her, purest white and cool, as she sat beneath the tree near his home. The wizard asked who this woman was. She claimed to be a woman named Winter who was on a dangerous mission and was waiting for her sisters. She continued to meditate beneath the tree, and her natural calm infected the Wizard. He soon found himself deep in meditation, too.
"Later, likely after many nights staring at his whiskey before meditating with the woman outside of his home, it was spring. A second girl appeared, this one vibrant and youthful. Spring, who was on a dangerous mission and waiting for her sisters. Upon seeing the Wizard's home, destroyed by his own neglect and age, she immediately – and despite the man's many protests – set about repairing it. She planted new seeds, began to till the soil for food. The Wizard could only watch her ignore his protests and bring new life to the world he had begun to resent.
"Then -"
"Let me guess! Let me guess!" Nora screamed, causing Qrow to look over at her with a cross between annoyance and murder in his eyes. "Summer, on a mission, waiting for her sisters!"
Qrow ground his teeth together, angry at being interrupted. Sora laughed quietly; he'd never have pegged Qrow as the type to love telling a story. "Yes. Good job," Qrow said, his words in stark contrast to his tone. "Anyways... She spent the following months teasing the Wizard for his seclusion from the world, laughing at his stubborn, asinine desire to hide himself off in his hut when there was an entire world outside to see with new adventures to find. Wiz found his once heavy Heart could not argue with her, and he began to interact with the three girls daily.
"Then – and if anyone interrupts me, I will begin using my scythe," he looked over slowly at Nora whose mouth was wide open with the words 'Fall, mission, sisters' on the tip of her tongue. She laughed sheepishly and sat down next to Ren, who was shaking his head to hide his laughter. "THEN! Then came a day when he and the three young women completed the harvest and were setting a feast. Mountains of fruit and vegetables, meats cooked to perfection – you know, made in a crockpot with some whiskey and... never mind – the feast had everything." He pointed at Nora.
The Berserker shrieked in excitement. "'My name is Autumn -"
"Fall" Qrow interjected, though it didn't stop Nora from talking.
"- and I am on a mission. I am here to meet my sisters!' YAY!"
"Then she asked who he was. Oz said these next words every time he told the story, like they were the official canon. 'Me? Well, I am but an old hermit – I have lived in these woods alone for centuries and I'm afraid my story is not very interesting, as I have no one to love and nothing to my name.'
"The fourth sister replied by pointing out the feast, his home reborn, and the three women sitting with him. She said that he should recognize the beauty that was present in his life, as some were not lucky enough even to have any at all.
"The Wizard looked upon everything around him, the women who had brought hope back into his Heart, the world that suddenly seemed so bright despite the Darkness he had fought to destroy for so long. All he could wonder was why. Why help a grumpy man who had lost all hope and love for the world? That confused the girls. They responded by saying that it was not because he was special that they had done anything for him, merely that he had needed help. They would do the same for anyone. He asked what reward they desired. They earnestly told the Wizard that they wanted nothing in return, no gift for doing the right thing.
"But he didn't care. They deserved it. So he gathered all the power within his form and released it. The power was bestowed upon the four sisters so that they could do as they had said and help anyone that needed help."
"What does an old story have to do with the Headmaster?" Ren inquired calmly.
Qrow nodded. "Good question. About the seventh time Oz told me that story – after a shit ton of drinks, and that guy could drink me under the table, mind you – he added something else to the end. 'Qrow,' he said, eyes tearing up. 'Qrow, those four young women, they had the smallest, most honest souls I had ever encountered on Remnant until that moment. They desired only to see the world become something... more. I gave everything I had to them because I saw the future that could be if I started to care once again, and it was bright. They had the rare, beautiful ability to create hope; for the first time in more than three hundred years, I thought the evils I had tried to hold back for so long could be defeated, if not by them then by those that followed in their footsteps. I still believe that their Hearts will be what saves Remnant from what is coming.'"
The room was quiet, not one of the children sure what to do as they processed Qrow's story. Even Sora seemed at a loss when he considered what the Huntsman had just said. A man who had lived for centuries? That seemed like a lot to swallow. Could he have seen the Keyblade War... or maybe even taken part in it? Either way, neither Qrow nor Raven were the kind to keep a prank going for that long without laughing. And since no 'Gotcha!' came around, the five kids knew they had to accept what had just been said.
Ruby opened her mouth tentatively. No sound escaped her lips for a moment as she considered what came next. Finally, she began with an incredibly confused and unsure, "Professor Ozpin is... an immortal wizard?"
"I don't know how, and I'm not even sure he knew either, but he doesn't age," Raven cut in, eyeing her brother angrily for what she deemed a far too wordy explanation. "The statue doesn't just look like him, it is him. He founded Beacon, organized the Vytal Treaty, and did more for this world than anyone else has ever done since. Never asked for thanks, just help."
"His power? What happened to it when the... 'Maidens' died?" Ren asked after another moment of silence. He frowned as he stared at Raven and Qrow; his voice was shaking on every fourth word. "Energy does not merely disappear. Did it return to the Headmaster, then?"
"No. It moved down the line, always to a young woman who fit the profile for each of the women. Winter is always quiet and calculating. Spring, bouncy and excited. Summer, a thrill seeker. And Fall, one who sees what others will not," Raven explained. She shrugged and moved her hands up and down; as one went up, the other retreated back down. "Pin always had a weird way of knowing when and where the power would move, though. Like it still had a link with him. Except the last time."
"That's what you were doing with Pyrrha?" Jaune asked, breaking his silence with an angry growl. The others looked over to see his angry glare locked with Qrow's blank eyes. "Trying to make her a weapon?"
"A hero," Qrow countered.
Jaune shook his head. "She... Cinder took it. That's what happened to her when she killed that woman in the Aura Transfer machine. She took one of those abilities!" Jaune snapped, putting the puzzle together before any of his friends. "Why didn't he tell anyone, why didn't he stop the attacks!?"
Qrow remained silent for a while, taking in Jaune's rage. Sora and Ruby both recognized the look in the man's eyes; he not only thought he deserved this anger, but he recognized it like an old friend as well. Eventually, though, he knew he couldn't let it continue. "Because, as I told your girlfriend, that used to be what we did. Started a war that almost killed everyone eighty years ago. Better a secret guarded by those who can keep it than a truth anyone can find."
"It didn't stop them from finding it, though!" Jaune protested. Again, Qrow didn't argue with that. Despite their caution and painstaking attempts to hide the Maidens, the Fall Maiden had gone dark. And without Oz, Qrow was less and less sure what was going on with the other three. Summer had been in Vacuo three months earlier, but that intel had grown unreliable. He knew Spring was still hiding out on Menagerie, the real reason Grimm avoided the place like the plague. And Winter was somewhere in Atlas' borders. Seemed like the enemy knew more than he did, sometimes. "And you were so overconfident, it ended up killing Pyrrha and destroying an entire kingdom!"
"Jaune," Ren muttered, standing up and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "That's not fair, they tried."
"And it wasn't good enough," Qrow admitted blankly. He nodded and sighed. "Go on, Blondie. Let it all out, I can take it. I dished it out myself when Su – when it happened to me. But give it a while and you'll see that we did the right thing, regardless of what you want to think right now."
Sora shook his head in disagreement with Qrow. "I think you should have trusted everyone," he said. He'd brought the same opinion to King Mickey and Yen Sid more than a few times when talking about the Keyblade and existence of other worlds, and he had earned the exact same angry and surprised stares he was getting from Raven and Qrow right then. Ruby even was looking at him with a disapproving glare; she trusted her uncle no matter what. "Your Hearts were in the right place, but you need to trust people. They'll surprise you."
Ruby frowned, torn between her loyalty to her uncle and her belief that what Sora had said was indeed true. She wasn't angry when secrets were kept from her – such as the survival of Yang's mom, or Ozpin, or where Sora had come from – more just hurt people thought she couldn't be trusted. "I wish that were true, Keyboy," Qrow muttered dryly, his voice full of experience that told him the young man was wrong.
"Well, if that's the case, why even tell us?" Jaune snapped, though less sharp than before.
"Ozpin always had his eyes on a couple teams in every generation. Ours was one. Teams RWBY and JNPR were others," Raven explained. She laughed dryly. "It was already only a matter of time before you learned all this stuff, then you started chasing answers, too? You've helped us more in six months than we've helped in twenty years. Pin thinks you can stop everything that's coming."
"Speak for yourself," Qrow remarked indignantly. "You may have been acting lazy, but I've helped plenty, Rae."
"Did they just say Ruby, Sora, and those guys are the chosen ones?"
The entire room froze as a second voice began to drift out of the closet behind Raven and Qrow. "How would I know? You haven't moved your big head from the door since we got in here!" Their disagreements forgotten, the younger warriors and the older ones exchanged looks before looking at the door again. "Dammit! Don't step on my tail!"
Qrow and Raven looked at one another for a moment before raising their right hands slowly. Each brought their fist down three times before making a change – Qrow let two fingers out while Raven let her hand open completely. Qrow laughed victoriously and took a step back, motioning grandiosely for his sister to open the door. She glared at him venomously, then reached back to her belt quickly and slashed through the door. There was a slight groan for a moment as her weapon returned to its sheathe; as the hilt clicked into place, the door fell apart to reveal a blue haired human and a golden haired Faunus stuck in the middle of a very unimpressive fight.
"Oh... hey guys! Long time no see!" Sun shouted as he let go for Neptune's face. "How've you been?"
Sora grinned nervously as Qrow's eyes moved slowly and almost instinctively towards him. "So... I may have helped some friends sneak aboard..." the Keyblade Wielder muttered, embarrassed and kind of scared by Qrow's face. "Oops..."
"I'm... I don't even know," Qrow began, his fists shivering with rage. "I'm going to fu-"
"Qrow!" Raven snapped, punching her brother in the shoulder. She glared at him until he sighed and shrugged, then she grabbed Sun and Neptune in either hand before tossing them at Sora's feet. "What my idiot brother means to say is this: What the fuck!?"
"So you can curse in front of children?" Qrow muttered dryly.
"Shut up," Raven growled, cowing her brother. To Sora: "Why are these two here?"
"Sun wanted to visit home," Neptune explained. He paused for a moment then jabbed his Faunus friend in the ribs as they stood up. "And he figured you could take him to look for his Kitten."
Sun blushed and smacked his brother in arms upside the head. "And the blue idiot here wants to try and find his 'Snow Angel' in Atlas," Sun remarked. This time it was Neptune's turn to blush a deep red. "Besides, this way he doesn't even have to see the ocean when we fly to Vacuo. And Atlas. And, sure, I mean, I wouldn't mind going to Vale..."
Qrow stared at the two Haven students for a moment then sighed. "Well, I don't really feel like turning this hunk around even for the hour it would take to drop you two idiots off," he muttered. Everyone in the room let loose a breath of relief they hadn't known they'd been holding in. Then they immediately brought it back in as Qrow growled and raised one finger at the kids. "But you pull any kind of shit and I'll personally make sure you never meet my niece's friends ever again. Because you -" he pointed at Neptune "- will be swimming to Atlas, and you -" he pointed at Sun now "- will be floating beside him in a locked box."
Neptune and Sun glanced nervously at each other and gulped in synchronization. "O-okay, Ruby's very terrifying uncle," Sun said quietly.
Qrow glared at them for a while, then smiled softly. "Good. Got that out of the way," he muttered. "What's next, Rae?"
"Just something that pertains mostly to you, Qrow. It's up to you what you do with it," Raven said quietly, her eyes sad. "Let's... let's go speak alone."
Qrow frowned. His sister never acted like that. "Fine," he said with a shrug. He looked over at the kids. "Sora has a surprise for you guys up in the combat center; take your weapons but wait 'til I'm there to start."
"Wait," Ruby called, stopping them as they turned around. "Why not just portal us there?"
"Oz says you aren't ready," Raven explained after a momentary pause. She shook her head. "He wouldn't even want you going there in a month's time."
"So what caused your opinion to differ from his?" Ren asked, interested that anyone would disagree with Ozpin, the wisest warrior on all of Remnant.
Raven slowly raised her hand and pointed at Sora. "Keyboy over there did something I was sure was impossible when Oz said I shouldn't bring you guys to him. He destroyed Xehanort. Made the old guy look like a kid playing with a stick. If he could do that to Xehanort... maybe you guys can end all this now. Still, Pin would want you all as prepared as possible. It's cost him once already." With that, the Huntsman and his sister walked out of the room, leaving the stunned young warriors to their own thoughts on the coming war.
As they walked side by side, Raven was quiet. Qrow decided to follow her lead; she'd say what she wanted when she wanted to say it. "I'm glad you enjoyed your time with... 'Ice Queen,' Little Brother."
"By five minutes," Qrow muttered quietly, mostly out of habit. He looked over at his sister while they continued to walk. "And... thanks. I learned enough that it was a useful trip."
There was an extended pause as they walked. Raven seemed uncomfortable. "Qrow, she looks a lot like Summer," Raven said quickly while casting her eyes at the ground.
"Yeah, she does," Qrow agreed, thinking of Ruby. He laughed. "Good kid, too."
"Not Ruby," Raven clarified. She grabbed her brother by the shoulder and turned him towards her with sad eyes. "Not... Not Ruby, Qrow. Not Ruby."
"Then who?" the Huntsman asked, red eyes growing afraid as the moments ticked on. Raven remained wearily silent. "God dammit, Rae, who looks like Summer!?"
R W B Y
"Uncle Qrow, where's... I guess, um... Aunt Raven?" Ruby asked, at a loss for what she should call the swordswoman, given their convoluted family tree. She nodded after she said that, deciding that would be what she called Yang's mother.
"Hm?" Qrow asked, looking up at his niece. She and the others were gathered in the center of a small – compared to its larger brother – arena. His eyes were more red than usual, as if he had cried not too long ago. When he approached, Sora noted that Jaune inched away and traded his cheery smile for an angry glare. "Where's Rae..? Oh, she, uh... she has a couple things she needs to do. I'd call Firecracker when we get to Vacuo; she'll need to talk to you."
Ruby smiled as she understood what Qrow meant. "Okay," she said, happy for her sister.
"Now, you have something you want to start here, Sora?" Qrow asked as he wiped his eyes and forced a smirk onto his face. "Something difficult, right?"
Sora grinned and nodded. "So, I'm going to try to teach all of you how to use Light," he said suddenly. The room went quiet, mostly in awe. For Sun and Neptune, it was more in confusion, actually.
"Light?"
"Magic," Ren clarified curtly as he broke through his awe. He continued to stare at Sora. "Really? I am... You believe we are capable of such things?"
"Hey, you guys all risked your lives to fight Cinder and her goons when you knew about their Darkness. You guys even almost beat them!" Sora explained excitedly. He gestured around at each of them. "I think you guys could totally take them down the next time!" Sora smiled as their faces became more and more excited for what was coming. That excitement disappeared with the next thing Sora said. "And I think the best way to make someone find the one thing that sparks all their Light is to fight the deepest Darkness they can. And since I don't have any Heartless here for you to fight, I guess we'll have to just have you all be at your angriest... so bring it on.." Sora grimaced at his friends' wide eyed stares that begged him to say it was a joke. "Sorry."
"Ha!" Qrow shouted as the young Huntsmen began to draw their weapons.
"I said all of you," Sora said as he summoned his Keyblade. Qrow stopped laughing and looked over at Sora fearfully. The Keyblade Wielder was grinning evilly and the Kingdom Key was soon leveled at Qrow. "Well? Get on with it."
"Don't go easy on him," Qrow growled as he drew his weapon and extended it into greatsword form.
"Weren't you just laughing at us?" Sun inquired while flourishing his gunchuks.
"Cast iron box in the middle of the ocean," Qrow threatened again, causing the Faunus to gulp in fear.
"Hey! What are you guys waiting for?" Sora asked, a cocky grin appearing suddenly on his face while his friends – and Qrow – slowly formed a circle around him. "Waiting won't make me go any easier on you." He looked over at Ruby and shrugged sheepishly. "Any of you."
"Am I sensing a breakup after only one date?" Neptune asked, hoping to throw off the Keyblade Wielder even the slightest bit. Even if Sora was distracted at all it wouldn't do much good, but the Huntsman would take what he could get.
"Ha," Ruby remarked dryly, sweeping out with the base of her weapon at the blue haired warrior, causing him to tumble to his back. "Sorry, just thought you should get a head start getting angry."
"I feel like this isn't fair," Sun muttered a few minutes later as he – and indeed everyone who wasn't Sora – nursed the minor wounds that remained from their seven on one fight with Sora. The Keyblade Wielder had managed to easily dodge and block every single one of the Huntsmen's attacks – even the simultaneous ones – after turning his outfit to a bright blue and his Keyblade to a black and white one. His bullet like counter attacks had stung, even through Aura, and with them he had managed to incapacitate each of the group in twenty painful, unproductive minutes. Jaune, surprisingly, had lasted the longest, no doubt due to how often he already trained with Sora and understood the Keyblade Wielder's style of fighting. "I mean... Ruby, how many times have you already used this stuff?"
Ruby glanced in annoyance over at Sun while she rubbed a sore burn on her shoulder. Eventually though, she had to admit that the Faunus was right. "Well... it didn't help me today, did it?" she pointed out. Indeed, no one in their group had been successful in unleashing any kind of Light magic, despite Sora's admittedly vague statement that they should find their 'brightest Light' in their Heart. Again, though, Jaune had come the closest. Everyone swore that they had seen his shield glowing a few times when he deflected the attacks, but no one could be sure. Qrow, who was busy laying on the ground, panting tiredly, had claimed more ardently than any that it had happened. An effect of this was Jaune vehemently denying he got even remotely close, due to his newfound resentment for the Huntsman.
"I hate not being young anymore," Qrow muttered sullenly as old aches rumbled through his body. Whatever had been on his mind before had been quickly shoved from his thoughts when the pain and exhaustion had settled in.
"Finally admitting you're an old man?" Ruby mocked as she walked over to her uncle. She lowered an arm to help him up and winced when a dull flash of pain ran through her shoulder. Still, Qrow took her hand and was soon sitting up.
"Call me old again," he dared in retort.
"Old!" Nora shouted, causing Qrow's face to fall in disappointment. Jaune quickly followed suit with Nora, and soon everyone was calling him old. Save for Jaune, it was good natured joking and laughter. "Older than dirt!"
"I hate children." Qrow groaned and pushed himself to his feet. He swayed for a minute, his vision tunneling, then held his hands out to regain his balance. "M'okay," he muttered as his vision returned. He shook his head and threw out a big yawn. "I'm... taking a nap. Yeah, that sounds nice."
"Good riddance," Jaune growled.
"You need to stop that," Sora said as he walked up. Jaune turned and crossed his arms angrily at the Keyblade Wielder. "Qrow – he's a good guy."
"He killed Pyrrha," Jaune snarled, crossing his arms and glaring after Qrow for a while.
"Cinder killed Pyrrha!" Ruby protested, throwing her arms up. She ignored the burning in her shoulder as she did, fixated as she was on defending her uncle.
"He didn't stop her," Jaune retorted quietly, face falling to the ground. He looked around at all of his friends' disapproving faces, then threw his hand up and began to walk away in a huff. "Whatever. Call me back when we're ready to train again."
The others watched him go for a moment. Ren sighed and moved to follow. "I'll talk to him -"
"No," Sora interjected, placing his hand on the warrior's shoulder. Ren turned around in confusion and stared at Sora questioningly. Sora shrugged. "We've already done all we can for him when it comes to Pyrrha. He just learned she'd been picked to be a target for Xehanort's goons by people she trusted and looked up to; it doesn't matter if he's wrong about this, he's angry about it."
"But we can still try to help him," Nora protested, coming up beside Ren.
Sora nodded. "Yeah. You can try," Sora agreed. He shrugged a moment later. "But it won't do any good. Right now Jaune wants to be angry, so it's up to him to beat that. Give him a night or two, he'll get better."
"I thought he was over this," Ruby muttered sadly as she watched the blonde go.
"Over losing someone he loved? Sure," Neptune said dryly. He shot a sidelong look at Ruby. "How long was it before your dad started Hunting again after... Well, you know."
Ruby frowned and looked at the ground. Her mom's death and Raven's disappearance – assumed as a death – had broken her dad, so much so that he really only was able to work as a Huntsman's Teacher at Signal, and even then only part time as a replacement for Qrow during his gallivanting missions across the world for Ozpin. It had been almost twenty years before Ruby's father had even considered going on another mission at all, and even then it had been a far cry from a real one that involved hunting Grimm far from home or taking down a group of criminals.
She didn't quite understand sulking after something bad happened or someone died. Her father, Yang, and even Jaune allowed themselves to be pulled into the pit of sadness whenever these things were brought up. Ruby had lost people too, she had lost Pyrrha and Penny and even her own mother. "But why does he want to be sad?" Ruby inquired, understanding lost to her. "It doesn't help anything."
"But it is easy," Ren suggested, shaking his head at his best friend and closing the conversation. Eventually everyone milled about for a moment, tired and injured, but mostly focused on the possible fallout from what had just happened. Sora knew it would blow over soon. After all, Jaune had a strong Heart and wanted to protect his friends. He just... he just needed time.
"Let's go eat," Sora said, grabbing his friends by the shoulders and smiling. "We'll start up again tomorrow so you guys can have a night to rest. I won't take it as short as I did today." Everyone groaned in pain at that, leaving Sora to laugh as he walked along with them.
R W B Y
Sora lay awake in the room he had been assigned by Qrow, staring intently at the first page of the chapter in The Key of Destiny that he had been stuck on for hours. Something about it just kept bugging him, so he would start the chapter over again and again with the intent of seeing more clearly what itched at his mind. Forty readings in and he still couldn't find what he was looking for, merely that it was surely what Xehanort wanted him to find.
"Chapter Twenty-Six
Though the Heart of All Worlds descended upon that mountainous crossroads of power hungry and lost Souls on the twilight hour of that day, the battle had already been raging for years. Light and Darkness had been growing closer and closer to that final conflict due to the strength of the most powerful of the Keyblade Masters. Some were the scions of the Light destined to defend it until death, and the others disciples of great Darkness that worshiped at the altar of chaos. Both sides led many warriors into that battle, be they wielders of the Keys or simple warriors who had lent their Hearts to the calling of either side, but only those greatest Masters truly mattered.
The resulting battle could only be described as... apocalyptic. The entire landscape had been transformed by the sheer force of the power being traded by the Keyblade Wielders..."
Sora frowned as he read all that, feeling like he had read already read what bothered him. The Keyblade wielder rubbed his eyes, tired from trying and failing to teach his friends and then from reading through the entire book again. After another moment of forcing himself awake, Sora shook his head and flipped back to earlier in the book, to another scene that bothered him. Maybe time away from what he had been reading would give him fresh eyes for it later. Not that it had been much help when he had been struggling with the passage he had just turned back to, a section from the last chapter.
"… the Heart of a world is reflected in its sky. At least, that's one explanation: since all Worlds originally were one, their Hearts echo the same things in their skies. It's why they all share one sky.
When Kingdom Hearts appeared above that battlefield, so too did it appear above all worlds. A beautiful, heart shaped moon that radiated pure light and warmth to all who gazed upon it. The Shattering destroyed that, however. Darkness rushed across the World, devouring and obscuring everything. It was shattered, its pieces sent further into the black abyss that contained them. My friends were lost to me in just a few moments. Most of them likely died in the Shattering. A few I eventually found once again, when the Light hiding within the Hearts of children guided some of those pieces back from the abyss, though none were complete. They were fragments, remnants of what they had once been. An island here, a continent there. The sky, for the first time, was devoid of stars. Despite every Keyblade sworn to the service of Darkness being cast, lifeless, to the ground, the Light had not truly been victorious.
And yet, this remnant provides hope. Perhaps, if it could be saved from the endless nothingness, eventually so too would others return. A simple spark can ignite hope, breathe fire into the Hearts of the weary. I hope that this account will survive to see that hope return and to warn the smaller, more honest souls who will defend the world again."
Sora growled to himself as he reached the end of the book. He slammed it shut and, a half second later, threw it against the wall. He knew something in there was bothering him, but he just couldn't figure it out at all. Sora buried his face in his hands for a short while and tried to figure it out before realizing it was a fruitless pursuit. Sora groaned and swept his legs from his bed, making the decision to get a snack instead of slamming his head against the wall looking for answers. It would probably be more useful, too. He pocketed the book as he left the room, in case he needed to confirm any sudden epiphanies that came to him.
Sora worked his way through the hallways of the training facility, yawning periodically as he did. It was late at night, and everyone else was long since asleep. No one had been very interested in speaking with anyone else, given the beat down Sora had given them all that morning. Qrow especially seemed quiet and worried, as if something really weighed heavily on his mind. Sora assumed it had something to do with whatever Qrow had spoken about with Raven, and so decided not to push for more information, at least not yet. Sora felt – despite their difference in age, Qrow's unhealthy cynicism, and Sora's boundless optimism – that the two of them were friends, so Qrow would tell him sooner or later.
The Keyblade wielder soon found himself in the kitchen. He walked over to the huge fridge and pulled out some MRE's before throwing one into the microwave and the rest back into the refrigerator. He punched in the time for it to cook, then let his thoughts on Xehanort's book absorb him once again.
The book mentioned the Shattering as when Darkness consumed everything. Sora knew that to be when Kingdom Hearts disappeared into Darkness. Therefore, it was something he already knew – Xehanort wouldn't care if Sora found something he already obviously knew. Furthermore, the attributes of the worlds that the book described were things Sora had learned at the beginning of his journey, basic knowledge for travelers of the Lanes Between. If anything, the only new information that these books provided was that someone in Remnant's history had found a long forgotten explanation of the Keyblade War.
But it was clear that Xehanort would not intend for Sora to see something so mundane. The Keyblade Wielder had met a few people like that in his travels, so it wasn't impossible to find that on yet another world. No, whatever Xehanort wanted Sora to find, it would be something that would further his plans. Or, maybe, it was meant as a mere distraction. If Sora focused on that book instead of on trying to figure out what Xehanort was up to, the old man might surprise him. Still, though, even that didn't seem likely. Xehanort had decided to give Sora a rare look into his plans for some reason, probably a bad one, but Sora still had to figure it out.
After another moment or two, the microwave went off and Sora pulled his snack out. He took it out of the kitchen and sat down at the first table in the dining area with a heavy frown adorning his features. The only light coming in was the incredibly bright moonlight coming in through a sunroof on the ceiling. The place was pretty empty, as everyone else was asleep and the arena was set on a course that was input before their journey had even begun, so there was no reason for anyone to be awake. Sora groaned and began to pick at the food absently; now that he had the food, he didn't even feel hungry. It was like his theories about Xehanort had already taken everything up. Sora took a bite to confirm this and sighed when he had trouble even swallowing. He angrily cast a Blizzaga on the food and took it back to the fridge. He stared at the chrome box for a while before returning to the table.
Sora pulled out his Keyblade and placed it calmly on the table as he sat down. The Kingdom Key glittered, even in the shadows. Sora pulled the book out and placed it beside the weapon, not for the first time noting the odd similarities between the Kingdom Key and the cover art of the book. The Key adorning the book came from a description of the keys making up the χ -blade that appeared early in the book. Did this imply a connection between Sora's weapon and the χ -blade beyond the Kingdom Key simply being a Keyblade? Sora had wondered about the connection before, though Yen Sid had told the young man not to worry about it: if such a secret connection in fact existed, it would be revealed eventually. "Do you have any ideas?" Sora asked the weapon absently. It didn't answer, though it did seem to glow brighter as the moon's light slowly bathed it through the window. Sora's gut feeling worsened and a thought half crossed his mind before retreating into his subconscious. Sora groaned again as he tried to remember the thought. "I'm not getting any sleep tonight, am I?"
R W B Y
"WAH!" Sora shouted as he fell out of the chair where he had fallen asleep, Keyblade still on the table in front of him next to the book. He sighed and pushed himself to his feet, wiping off the slobber from his face. He'd been drooling in his sleep, and the entire left side of his face was wet. He sighed and picked up the Keyblade while stifling a huge yawn. He then dismissed the weapon and pocketed the book again, swapping it out for his Scroll. "Dang it," he sighed. He was already almost late for training with Ruby and the others; that's what he got for staying up all night trying to understand something he'd be able to ignore in a month when Xehanort was beaten. Sora yawned again before running off.
He arrived a few minutes later in the training arena, where everyone save Nora and Ren was already assembled. "Where are they?" Sora asked Jaune a moment later.
"Probably making out," Sun interjected mockingly. He laughed at the face Jaune shot him.
"Probably," Jaune admitted a moment later. He was standing as far away as possible from Qrow, who was sitting alone in the corner and staring at his unopened flask that lay just outside his arms reach The personal secret Raven had told him the day prior, it seemed, still weighed heavily on his mind. "But where were you?"
"Reading Xehanort's book," Sora said as another yawn escaped him.
"Any luck?" Ruby asked as she stretched her shoulder. Sora noted, embarrassed, that it was the one he had hit with a series of Fira the other day. She switched arms and smiled at Sora, sending his stomach into butterflies.
He shook off his blush. "Heh, no. Not yet," he said. Sora shrugged with closed eyes and opened them again. "Still stuck on those same couple sections, actually."
Ruby walked over to Sora and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, causing his mind to go blank yet again. He still wasn't used to that. "Well, you could always ask him when we kick his -"
"Language!" Qrow hypocritically shouted from across the room, looking up and narrowing his eyes on his niece. Ruby just laughed sheepishly.
Sora's mind cleared up a moment later and he looked over at Ruby disapprovingly. "Are you trying to distract me?" he asked in surprise. He shot her a look of mock disapproval.
"Damn it!" Neptune cursed. He sighed sadly as everyone looked over at him. "I was hoping he wouldn't figure it out..."
"We're here! We're not late!" a man's voice shouted. There was a loud pounding of feet as... Ren dragged Nora into the room behind him. His eyes were wide and wild, and his hair disheveled. "We are not late!"
Nora just laughed as she flailed about in the air behind her partner, laughing and screaming like she was taking a roller-coaster ride. "Weee he he heee!" she screamed excitedly. Ren came to a quick stop a moment later and the Huntsman, usually incredibly cognizant of his surroundings, felt the full force of the Nora flailing behind him slamming into his back and sending him tumbling across the room. Nora continued screaming "YAY!" while they slid to a stop across the ground.
Sora raised an eyebrow as Ren looked up from beneath the still cheering Nora. "We're here," he groaned before letting his face fall to the ground.
The Keyblade wielder laughed at Ren for a moment before summoning the Keyblade to his hand. "Get up, we've got work to do," Sora said as he lowered the weapon to his side in a ready stance. Everyone save the two newest arrivals quickly pulled out their own weapons.
"Aw..." Nora said sadly as she realized they'd stopped moving. "Ride's over?" She sighedsadly and crossed her arms, then stood up and pulled Magnihild from her back. Ren pushed himself up after a few seconds, in more pain from Nora than from bruises left over from the day before. After a couple seconds he flicked his wrists and his twin guns flew from his sleeves, ready for the fight. He tossed a quick look at Nora, who smiled and saluted him. He smiled softly and shook his head as he returned his gaze to Sora.
"Waiting on you," Sora said again, deciding against using one of his Drive Forms for the moment. The battle the day before had lasted maybe fifteen minutes, which wasn't nearly enough time for them to figure out how to use the Light. Sora knew that they had very little time for him to try and figure out a curriculum, so he'd have to just get them frustrated instead of hurt.
Ruby was the first to make a move, firing off her sniper rifle and dashing right at Sora. He ducked beneath her wild swipe and raised his Keyblade beside him to take the incoming attack from Jaune's blade. He used a spin move to go around the Knight and used him as a shield to block an incoming volley of Ren's bullets. Jaune's shield came up in time to block them all. Sora pushed off of Jaune and jumped backwards, easily deflecting Nora's hammer. He felt the air buzz for a moment and turned around to catch Sun's staff on the basket of his Keyblade while dodging Neptune's covering fire. Sora looked over his shoulder and flipped over the incoming Ruby, letting her scythe slam into Sun's midsection and send him flying into his partner.
Sora then rolled backwards, coming face to face with a greatsword that nearly slammed into his head if he wasn't so fast. Qrow's attack quickly changed direction, even Sora having trouble to block it and jump away with its momentum. He spun in the air, dodging the attacks of his friends as they came before rolling across the ground. Qrow, Jaune, and Nora quickly surrounded the Keyblade Wielder and he began quickly, albeit calmly, deflecting the attacks from all sides. Qrow's blade was knocked upwards just as Sora slapped his hand into the head of Nora's hammer to send it away from slamming into him. It fired a moment later and Sora slipped around the sudden reversal of the hammer's path to feel a shield slam into his back. He stumbled forward for a moment, barely missing Nora's hammer and raising a reflect to take Qrow's attack.
As Qrow's weapon rebounded with a ding, Sora flipped over the Huntsman and kicked him in the back. Sora rolled across the ground to his feet while Qrow stumbled into Jaune. That was the moment things went wrong. "Get away!" Jaune snapped, eyes turning hard as he lashed out with his weapon at Qrow. Sora saw the Huntsman's momentary hesitation, the man wondering if allowing Jaune to attack him would somehow placate the young man or only feed his anger further. Qrow thought, apparently, it was the latter, since he raised his weapon and let the sword crash into the side of his own.
Jaune didn't care, however, and he launched into another attack on Qrow, forcing Sora to step in. "Stop it," Sora commanded as he ran up. Qrow, so far, was only blocking attacks and seemed unwilling to attempt any bodily harm on Jaune. The Knight, on the other hand, looked like he was out for blood. Sora jumped between the two and pulled a small red cylinder of Dust from the compartment in which he carried them, a quartet of dispensers on his belt that Ruby had devised shortly after the tournament to make it easier on him to pick them out. "Stop, Jaune. Don't make me ask again."
Jaune let his weapon fall to his side and he stared angrily at Sora for a while before sheathing his shield and sword then stamping off angrily. Sora looked over his shoulder at everyone else. "I'll... Maybe you were right, Ren. I'll check in on him." The ninja nodded and Sora ran off after Jaune. "Be back in a few minutes."
"Jaune. Jaune!" Sora snapped as he followed the angry Huntsman down the halls. Obviously, the Knight was ignoring him. Still, Sora was the faster of the two and he arrived beside Jaune with little effort. He grabbed the blonde's shoulder and stopped him quickly. "Jaune, what was that?"
"Shut up," Jaune grumbled, trying to shake off Sora's iron grip. He failed.
"Jaune, I tried to give you a night to think about this. I didn't think you'd do something so... wrong!" Sora shouted, letting go of Jaune when he became comfortable he wouldn't run away. "Qrow is our friend. Ruby's family. We don't attack people like that, ever."
"He's not my friend," Jaune growled, blonde hair casting a shadow over his eyes. He looked... Dark. "If he stays away from me, we'll be fine."
"I don't see that happening," Sora said simply, crossing his arms and scowling. "He just wants to do the right thing. So did Pyrrha. She accepted their -"
Jaune lashed out, shoving Sora backwards. "Don't say her name," Jaune snarled. He shoved Sora again, and the Keyblade Wielder took it with a heavy scowl. "None of you say that name. You never met her, Ruby didn't save her, and Qrow let her die."
"You're acting weird, Jaune. I wanted to give you time, but I thought you'd see what you needed to do. Qrow and Ozpin tried to do the right thing," Sora said, trying to placate the other young man. "At least try to see that. Try to see Pyrrha thought that, too. You said you were there, so you know that. Do you think she'd be happy you were resenting her last choi -"
Sora was cut off by a fist colliding with his face. It didn't do much damage, but it had surprised him that Jaune would do such a thing. "Go to hell," Jaune snapped as he walked away. Sora ignored the light stinging in his cheek as he watched his friend run from the hard truth. Maybe now he could try and let the truth sink in instead of running away from it. Sora shook his head and sighed before turning around to train with the others again. He'd done all for Jaune that he could right then; if the Knight didn't want to listen, that was his decision. Jaune would have to see the truth on his own, now.