AN: Hello!
So, now that Ozpin's a part of this story, I've decided on a last name for Sora, given that the old man often refers to people by their last names. I thought Nomura, given the man is essentially Sora's dad, would be a good idea.
Secondly, I partially based Ruby's new outfit on her Slayer outfit from Season 2, as well as art I found on Google. The art also partially inspired the Keyblade idea I had for Ruby's weapon, though I also had my own ideas before seeing it that I thought integrated well. Nonetheless, if my otherwise terrible college English teacher taught me anything, it's that cited credit should go to... well, as of now the name on the page I've found is Razenix-Angel, but that could change at any moment.
Now for responses:
To Gravenimage: Thanks. I hope the story continues to only get better!
To gamelover51592: I can't wait for all of you to see how this plays out, and to see the Salem-Ozpin relationship pre-Keyblade War.
To goddragonking: I'll try to update as quickly as possible. It's been easier lately, so I've been making up for lost time.
To anonymous: Sora is indeed going to become much stronger, but it'll be a process. And his outfit is... well, I have the core concept planned out. I just want to pin down specifics still, but it'll be a bit like KH3 or KH2 Sora crossed with Roxas from Twilight Town.
To warrior of six blades: Salem's backstory is only beginning. You'll see some of it in this chapter, but in this story she's a lot more dangerous than just some Keyblade Master. Her ties with Oz run deep. And I've been playing a lot of KHUX recently, so take that hint as you will. I'm with yyou on the parts with Zwei. Aside from Qrow and Ruby, he might by my favorite character from the show. It was super out of left field, in the best way, when he showed up. And Raven... I'm sad she's gone. Well, 'gone;' losing one's Heart and dying in the KH universe aren't as mutually exclusive as they appear, are they?
To 7: And Salem still hasn't reached her full strength, yet.
To Wlyman2009: I agree, but it wouldn't have changed much aside from keeping Sora from getting worried. Maybe one less terrible thing weighing on his Heart could have kept him from almost giving in to his Darkness, though.
To sethman610: Don't worry too much about Sora. Even without a Keyblade he's dangerous, and I wouldn't quite count him out yet. Besides, I told Keyslinger Roxas that the Rebirth Theory would factor pretty heavily into this story, so I doubt Sora has seen the last of his Keyblade Master years.
And, finally, more of a... retort, I suppose.
To Guest who likes cursing too much: I am glad that you raised criticism, as it is a mark that last chapter was indeed as controversial as I'd believed. Though you did it incredibly poorly, if I'm being honest. When you decide to criticize someone, regardless of who it is or for what reason it is done, you should generally live by the rule of 'Don't Curse; No Personal Attacks.' When you don't live by that rule, it makes you sound juvenile. Also, 'bitch Ruby?' If you don't like Ruby, why are you here? Look, there's not going to be Keyblades left and right – just Ruby and Jaune, for obvious reasons. Finally, I am also a dude. X-Y chromosome pair, the whole shebang. Now, if you want to talk calmly about this, message me and I will try to alleviate your worries. Or you could just wait and see what's going to happen. Chill, dude, it'll be okay.
Finally, that was a lot of reviews. Thanks! Now, enjoy.
Chapter 21: Awakening
Salem watched the portal of Darkness shut with a grim smile, enjoying the terror that had been present on the face of Taiyang Xiao Long following the death of his first wife right in front of him.
Well, perhaps 'death' wasn't the right term. Perhaps it was more of a restructuring, a rebirth into the Darkness that would soon consume everything.
Salem looked up and her evil smile widened almost imperceptibly. There was a swirling mass of Darkness not far above the woman's head, positioned right in the spot where Raven Xiao Long's Heart had been devoured by the Darkness. Salem raised her outstretched Keyblade up to the mass, surrounding it with Darkness as she did. When the black aura surrounding the weapon touched that of the orb, the sphere contracted to a minuscule point and fell to the ground in front of Salem.
The sound of writhing bodies and scratching nails began to arise from the puddle of evil on the ground, as if something was trying to escape its cocoon and become something beautiful and terrible. Soon, a clawed arm erupted from the Darkness and slammed into the ground beside it. It was deep black and covered in grey and white feathers that ran up its elbow. The hand ended in four, dangerous looking claws. The arm was soon followed by its mirror image, which gripped the ground on the other side of the Darkness. The two arms strained for a moment, lifting a great mass through the small opening. Suddenly, there was a loud squelch noise, and two black, feathery wings shot through the Darkness and fanned out to almost fifteen feet wingspan. A white beaked visage followed, yellow eyes glowing against its black and gray skin. It pushed itself further out of the portal, revealing red, armored appendages that ended in long, red blades beneath the upper arms; the chest of the creature had a large shape carved from it. An empty Heart.
Salem walked forward and placed her hand on the creature's beak as the large monster's talons landed softly on the ground and it rose to be the height of its former, Human body. The Heartless' head cocked to the side and it hissed in confusion at the being before it. All the creature could see was that the pale woman had a brilliant Heart and an equally brilliant one held in her hand. The bird like Heartless growled and snapped its beak before lashing out with both of its bladed appendages at Salem. The woman just snarled and coated her hand in Darkness before pulling down on the Heartless' beak and slamming it face first into the ground. The monster shrieked and scrabbled against the ground, trying to stand and destroy the being who had so effortlessly defeated it, but to no avail. After a while, it stopped, recognizing the taint in Salem's Heart as one akin to its own. The woman released it and allowed the monster to slowly stand up.
"W-w-what is that?"
Salem turned to the source of the voice. "Oh! Yes, I'd... I'd forgotten about you," she told the Knight, who was backed against the barrier holding him. He was staring at the Heartless with a combination of utter fear and morbid interest. Salem glanced past him at the unconscious forms of Cinder and her compatriots. "Yes, yes I'd forgotten about them as well. I suppose you should all meet." She raised her hand and readied to heal them, then stopped. "Ah, try not to kill Cinder would you? Unfortunately for your thirst for vengeance, she's necessary to my plans – which means she is necessary to bringing your beloved back."
Jaune glanced at the ground and then back up. Sullenly, he nodded. "Good. I would rather not deal with the trouble of finding yet another individual like her," the ancient witch said. She raised her keyblade and green light flashed around Cinder, knitting together the wounds of the young Maiden and the warriors with her. Before the light vanished, she lowered the barrier containing them. "Once in four centuries is long enough."
There was a groan as the fast one recovered first. "What kind of train slammed into me?" he asked himself with a groan. The young man rubbed his silver haired head and grimaced before opening his eyes. "Whoa, who's the scary looking one? And the bird thing next to her?"
"Quiet fool," Cinder snapped, shoving him aside before falling to one knee. "This is Salem."
"Great, she's only much more terrifying than you," Mercury muttered as quietly as possible. His gaze turned towards a solid chunk of ice stuck to the ground and his eyes widened.
"What happened to the Old Guy?" he asked, genuinely worried for the man. He sped towards him and grimaced. "I didn't think Keyboy had the killer edge needed to do this..." He leaned in closer and yelped. "His – His eyes just moved! He's alive!" He looked over his shoulder. "We gotta get him out of there."
"Except Sora didn't do this. And neither did any of his allies," Salem explained with a smile.
Mercury began to ask what she meant, but stopped in his tracks when he saw the weapon that dangled at Salem's side. "That's Keyboy's..."
"He was borrowing it," Salem explained boredly. "As for Xehanort, he grew too unruly to be depended upon." She smiled darkly at the young man. "I trust you understand that to betray me would be one of the more stupid ideas anyone could have." Mercury glanced over at the frozen Xehanort, then back at Salem; he gulped and quickly ran away so he could begin hiding behind Emerald.
"Brave," the thief remarked dryly.
"Shut up," Mercury shot back, keeping his eyes on the Salem woman. He cleared his throat and raised his voice. "And... um... what's that thing next to you? The big, angry bird monster? Should I be worried about this thing and its... hungry eyes that just keep..." The warrior swayed from side to side and laughed nervously to hide his complete terror. "That just keep following me?"
"And is that the blondie who hangs with little red?" Emerald asked, worriedly shrinking away with Merc from the young Huntsman glaring daggers at them. She thought of when he had gone full Dark and tried to murder her and Merc, and she shivered.
"Oh, we have so much to talk about," Salem said with a smile. She hefted the Keyblade to her shoulder and smiled. "But there are things to be done, so we'll deal with the basics." She summoned the Keyblade into her left hand, relishing the renewed feeling of power that came with the weapon's return, and slammed it into the creature's chest. It hissed, but did not move. "This is a Heartless, a creature of pure Darkness. If I'm correct, Xehanort told you more than enough about them."
"Well, as someone with plenty of Darkness in his Heart, I'm worried," Mercury remarked. He grimaced and stared at the creature. "Are you sure we can't let Xehanort out? I would feel much more comfortable..."
"No," Salem said simply. She walked around behind the creature and stared through the gaping cavity in its chest. "For now, don't get too close to this little beastie. I haven't given it a name yet, and you are all still very good servants. Especially you, Cinder."
The Maiden blushed and smiled appreciatively. "She looks like you," Mercury mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for Emerald to hear. "Even has the same brown stain on her nose."
"Asshole," Emerald hissed back.
"My point exactly," Mercury retorted, praying neither Cinder nor Salem had heard him. Both could beat him up and no one here would help him get out of that. Thankfully, either they didn't hear him or they didn't care. Given Cinder's personality, it was probably the first one.
"And Jaune... Yes, I promised you a Keyblade," Salem said, suddenly turning to ignore the three warriors.
Cinder's eyes flared up with flames. "What!?" she snapped, surging to her feet and glowering at the pale woman. "You would give him what I deserve -"
"I give him nothing," Salem growled. She turned her eyes to the Maiden and her red eyes glowed brighter, filled with rage and murder. Cinder's flaming eyes began to die down and she found herself slowly bending knee again. Salem continued to sneer down at Cinder for a while before returning her attention to Jaune, again seeming like she was surprised he was there. "Hello. Keyblade, yes..." Salem turned and walked over to Xehanort.
"I think she's insane," Emerald murmured over her shoulder at mercury.
"Oh thank God I'm not the only one who sees it," Mercury muttered under his breath. He crouched lower behind Emerald and looked over at Xehanort again. The frozen man's eyes were fixed on him, full of pleading and fear. Terror, really. Mercury felt a pang of sympathy for the man. "She's not really gonna kill him, is she?"
"If you betrayed me, I would murder you without a second thought," Cinder responded off handedly as she stood up to watch. She didn't even bother looking over her shoulder at the assassin, instead keeping her gaze fixed on the semi sane woman standing over Xehanort.
"Well, I suppose this as good a time as any to start in on building that army," Salem said. She summoned a flame to the tip of her Keyblade and melted the magic around the man. She flicked her wrist so the man would stand in front of her, then smiled dismissed her weapon. She reached forward with both hands and gripped the weapon sticking out of the man's gut. He roared in pain, but stayed standing by his own strength of will. "Do you have any last words for me, Xehanort?"
"He'll kill you," Xehanort said with a nasty grin.
"Because he defeated you?" Salem asked. She laughed caustically and stuffed the χ -blade's shattered tip into the ground. "He had a Keyblade when he fought you. My Keyblade. Now he has nothing."
"I thought the same thing of him many times before," Xehanort responded. He let his chin hit his chest. "Do your worst and stop prattling on. I think I understand why all those children thought of me as an overly didactic fool."
"Fine. But first, I need something of yours," Salem said calmly, albeit disappointed. She placed her Keyblade on the man's chest and tapped three times. His weapon appeared in his right hand, dangling loosely from his bloody fingers. Salem reached out and took the Keyblade, gingerly pulling it away by the gap in the center of its flat and laying it next to the χ -blade. "I really am sad it had to be this way. I liked you."
"We don't like anybody," Xehanort acknowledged with a snarl.
"No, I suppose we don't," Salem muttered. She grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and lifted him slowly up. "Is it painful to become a Heartless? If it is, scream so I can know." Then she tossed him over her shoulder an at the creature. The Heartless perked up and hissed as the being full of Darkness flew towards it. It chirped and jumped right at Xehanort's body, tearing through it in one swift movement. He didn't scream.
When Xehanort's Heart began to rise and disappear, Mercury grimaced. "That was the most disgusting thing I've ever seen," he noted with stilted words. There was a growl and another Heartless appeared, this one a hulking, black figure with bandages roping across its skin. Xehanort's shadow. It growled at the bird like creature, which slashed back with its knife like arms.
"Enough," Salem snapped. She had bent down to pick up the weapon she'd taken from Xehanort, and was now gesturing at the two now hissing Heartless. She glanced between them and motioned with her Keyblade. "Well? Go. I don't need you right now. Eat, build. Go." The yellow eyed monsters snarled and growled before disappearing in bursts of Darkness.
She stared at the spots where the Heartless had been moments earlier, then nodded in satisfaction and turned around. Cinder began to growl angrily when Salem walked towards Jaune with both Keyblades at the ready. Salem smiled and placed the black, gnarled weapon into Jaune's hand. "Good, one more thing done," Salem said cheerily. She turned towards Cinder and laughed at the young woman's disgusted snarl. "Oh, come now, darling. I haven't forgotten about you." Salem raised her free hand and snapped her fingers.
The world around them began to rumble, and the place where Ozpin had been just hours ago shook most violently. Slowly, directly across from the shackles, rose another, identical set. Imprisoned within the gemstones was a woman around the same age as Cinder. She had fiery orange hair and bright yellow eyes. Her mouth was covered by the gemstones. "Meet the Summer Maiden. She traveled from Vacuo to Mistral in order to hide from me. She was unsuccessful," Salem explained. She flourished her empty hand again and a white glove appeared in her open palm. Cinder's eyes lit up with excitement as she saw it. "Yes." Salem scoffed and tossed the glove to the other woman. "Just make sure that you take all the power this time. We don't need to hunt her down again."
Salem reached into her pocket and pulled out a small rectangle. Her eyes hardened as she opened it, scanning each of the pages. The more she looked at it, the more and more she became convinced that the original book was not unlike the one that Ozpin had written for his students so long ago – one capable of opening a portal in time to reconstruct the original Realm of Darkness, provided she gathered enough Darkness in the Hearts on the Remnant. "Yes..." She turned around and glared at the young warriors walking towards the Summer Maiden, an evil smile stretching across her face. "And when you're done, I'm going to need you to go book hunting. It's a rare first edition."
R W B Y
Sora first noted that he was warm. Incredibly, comfortably warm. As if he was on a bed, for the first time in forever. For a moment, he thought that everything that had happened over the past year and change had been a bad dream, that he was just waking up from a the nightmare he'd been stuck in following his failed Mark of Mastery exam. Then he remembered Ruby – no, there was no way it could have been a nightmare, not with her around. But everything else meant it definitely wasn't a dream. Not a nightmare, not a dream..? He groaned and pushed himself up, finding himself alone in a room of a wooden cabin. He gingerly grabbed the comforter that covered his lower body and looked down. He noticed not that the comforter was a silvery gray and covered in black, yellow, and white flower patterns. He also noted that he had no shirt on, with his left shoulder, gut, and both forearms instead wrapped in white bandaging littered with small patches of deep red. His skin had lost its usual tan, but he sensed that the pale white was a vast improvement from whatever it had been before.
Sora's eyes widened as fragments of memory flashed through his mind. Darkness, screaming. A flash of red light and roses followed by an explosive beam of Darkness. Claws against metal. Dark, evil laughter. His laughter. Then there was a bright flash of white Light and everything was gone. Sora sadly shook his head as he realized what had happened. More coherent memories from his time in his... Anti-Form were of his old friends. He knew it hadn't been real, but he knew what he'd seen. Riku and Kairi and the others growing old and dying, watching them slowly wither away or be consumed by Darkness while begging him to tell them why, why he had abandoned them. Why he had disappeared and let the World die. He'd also had dreams of Ruby – how much she hated him for not telling her the truth about her mother, for lying about everything.
Sora curled up, pulling his knees beneath the comforter up to his chest and cradling them. He winced as something in his side stung and stretched. He had lost everything, and that had broken him enough for Salem to turn him into... that.
Even though he knew it would only disappoint him further, Sora raised his right arm out in front of him and reached for that part of his Heart that had always been connected to the Kingdom Key before. It felt cold, empty. As if it had been cut off from everything. When he struggled to summon the weapon, that cold feeling only grew and Sora's hand became filled with nothing but empty air. After a few minutes of trying, Sora let his hand slowly drift back down to clutch his knees together. The young Keyblade Wielder's – former Keyblade Wielder's – head fell on top of his knees and his eyes filled with tears. He had lost it, all of it. His weapon, his friends, and the World he'd been born in had been replaced with emptiness, death, and a fractured Remnant.
Sora looked up when he heard violently joyful yipping coming closer and closer. He raised one eyebrow and wiped the tears from his eyes before sliding his feet from the bed. He was wearing a pair of black sweatpants a little too long for him that were rolled up to his ankles to fit. Sora pushed off from the bed as the barking shot past the closed door of the room he was in, followed by the footsteps of a shouting young woman whose voice Sora didn't recognize. He walked over to the door, feeling a small, dull pain in his left leg every time it had to support his weight, and opened it. He looked to the right, down one hallway, and then down the other direction. There was a flash of bright blonde hair rounding a corner. The young man frowned and turned back into his room, rummaging around until he found a shirt. He threw it on as carefully as he could, then began walking towards where he had seen the yellow hair.
"Zwei! Stop!" the same voice shouted. Sora heard a dull thud coming from behind one open door, then a crash. The voice had turned into a pattern of speech people only used with dogs and babies. "Ha ha! Got you, you bad puppy!"
Sora raised one eyebrow and hobbled around the doorway. It was another bedroom, this one with bright yellow furnishings covering almost every inch of the walls and the bed's upholstery. Sitting in front of a table, a bunch of scattered things surrounding her, was a woman with wild, fiery yellow hair that nearly reached the top of her legs. She was looking at the wall, wrestling with or cradling something in her arms. She laughed as something small, black and white, and incredibly fast jumped from her arms and ran towards Sora. When the dog jumped at Sora, the young man yelped in surprise and barely caught the creature in time to not be tackled to the ground. "Who's th-" the woman asked, standing up. Sora caught sight of her reflection and his eyes widened.
The woman was beautiful, for sure. Her lilac eyes were filled with a smile that was only out shined by the one on her face, and she looked like she could hold her own in a fight. She was wearing a black and white leather jacket with a purple stone at her throat. And she was missing her right arm. Sora looked down when the image in front of him was replaced with a silhouette from within Jaune's Heart; he didn't feel like dwelling on another failure right then. Sora sadly began to scratch the dog's – Zwei's – ears.
"Oh, don't shield your eyes from my beauty! Sure, it's a lot after four weeks unconscious, but you never know when you'll get to see beauty like this again!" the woman exclaimed with a grin. Sora looked up, about to respond, only to shout out in a combination of surprise and pain when a blur of yellow slammed into his chest and tackled him to the ground.
Sora grimaced and rubbed his head, but knew he felt better than the dog. Zwei was whining about being crushed between two humans. When Sora opened his eyes, he was confronted with a sultry smile. "Hi, cutey," the woman said with a wink. Sora cringed; even he wasn't oblivious enough to ignore that.
"I have a... well, I had, at least, a – "
"I know. You're Ruby's boy toy," the woman said, pushing herself up and to her feet. She leaned down over the prone warrior and raised her eyebrows flirtatiously. "You're cuter than you are on TV."
"Thanks?" Sora muttered, clutching tight at the dog on his chest in fear. This woman was a lot... larger than life than her sister had described. "And you're Yang, aren't you?"
"As if anyone else could look this good," Yang said with mock self interest. She flipped her hair with her hand and grinned down at the young man again. "Sorry about dragon you down with me!"
Sora glanced from side to side with his eyes; he still hadn't gotten to his feet. He asked lamely, "What?"
Yang's shoulders fell and she growled. "Great, she got a boyfriend without a sense of humor. Just my luck," she grumbled to herself. Yang sighed and shrugged. "Well, better go tell Ruby you're awake." She turned to leave, then stopped before taking a single step. Only her eyes turned to look down at Sora, and he noticed with a fright that they were fiery red now. Her hair was starting to glow and float, flames jumping off of them. "If you hurt Ruby, what Qrow does to you will look hilarious compared to what I'll do." Then her eyes became lilac again and her hair fell, the eerie anger was replaced with a sweet smile. "Cya soon!" The woman disappeared, running at full speed down the hallway.
Sora gulped and pushed himself to a sitting position, groaning at the newfound pain in his shoulder. The dog in his arms whined happily and began to lick his face aggressively, the sensation causing even the morose Sora to laugh and scratch at the dog's back again. "Where is everybody, boy?" Sora asked the dog as his hand ran to the bottom of the dog's snout and the pup panted contentedly. The dog's head shot to the side, ears twitching. He barked at Sora, telling him to follow, then bolted down the hallway. Sora heaved a sigh and pushed himself to his feet as best he could, doing as the dog had commanded and following.
He walked through the home, occasionally stopping to examine the pictures on the walls. There were dozens of ones with Ruby and her sister, and one could easily trace their progression growing up. The earliest one that Sora saw was of a small, blonde baby shrieking joyfully in the arms of a lilac eyed man with similarly colored hair and... Raven. It looked like it had been replaced recently, maybe in the past few weeks. A few pictures down was one of the same man, his eyes filled with a ragged sadness despite his smile; he was holding in his outstretched hands a shrieking two year old with on fire hair and red eyes – Yang. Beside them was a woman wearing a white, hooded cape. She had a timid, but incredibly compassionate smile beneath her low hanging red and black hair and glimmering silver eyes. There was a bundle of red in her arms, from which peeked snow pale skin and wide silver orbs.
Sora smiled and continued walking, peeking at even more photographs. The man alone with his two kids: Yang with her hands raised ecstatically to the sky and a look of victory on her face, Ruby wearing a smaller, hood-less cape that was too big for her. It looked a lot like Qrow's. Other than those, there were a few of Qrow and the girls, of the two of them with their newly built weapons. A dying Ursai pack beneath Yang's feet, decapitated Beowolves behind a sweetly smiling Ruby.
Sora looked up and walked down to the window when he heard an explosion, and he looked outside. Yang was shouting excitedly, telling some sort of story. No, it was a joke. He could tell from the way that Ren and Nora groaned in pain from her mere words. Those two were sitting close together, hands touching lightly on the grass beneath them; they both had a sad look about them. Sora shifted his gaze. Sun was busy flicking water from a stream right at his team mate, laughing hysterically at the other young man's response to his actions. Then Sora saw the source of the explosion.
Everyone's heads turned to watch a young woman flip through the air, a red, silver, and black weapon in her left hand raised in front of her. A Blizzaga followed her, slamming into the weapon as she landed and bouncing off. Qrow rushed at her from beyond the sight of the window, spells following him. Ruby was soon forced to deal with his incredible sword skills and the spells that came for her. Despite the fact that Qrow and the spellcaster were obviously holding back to an extent, Ruby was doing really well. Her swordsmanship was pretty good for someone who had only ever used a scythe. Sora frowned. Speaking of, where was Crescent Rose?
He hobbled over to the door and walked outside. It was warm, but there was a crisp, autumnal tinge to the air. The leaves were already orange and red, falling from the trees above and scattering all across the ground. "Yep, there he is!" Yang said, gesturing with her arm at Sora.
"Sora!" Nora shouted, jumping up and dragging her boyfriend behind across the ground. The former Keyblade Master grimaced and readied himself to have the young huntress and her partner slam into him at full speed. He was already cringing away when she slammed into him and sent him flying back into the outer wall of the cabin. "You're okay!"
"I think that would be a matter of perspective," Ren said from the ground. He raised an eyebrow at Nora's sheepish grin and pushed himself to his feet. The ninja grimaced apologetically at Sora, whose face was growing more and more purple as Nora's hug continued to strangle him. Ren placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's good to see you."
"Finally. Thought you were never gonna wake up," Sun said, suddenly dangling from the roof above Sora, who was inching closer and closer to unconsciousness.
"I've got this!" Neptune shouted. Sora gurgled beneath the sudden wave that had slammed into Nora, Ren, and him before slowly drifting down to the grass. He twitched, one hand to the sky as he lay on his back, half drowned. Neptune grimaced and laughed sheepishly. "Um... whoops."
"Good job, loser," Sun joked from where he was hanging.
"Guys, did you kill Sora?" Ruby asked as she jogged up, followed by her dad, Ozpin, Qrow, and Yang.
Ruby was dressed in new clothes, though the style was distinctly her. She had a grey, sweater like shirt on. It was beneath a black corset laced together with red stitching, itself beneath a black, gray, and red short sleeved jacket whose design reminded Sora of his own old jackets, save for the metal that was overlaid onto its left shoulder like armor. Her skirt was red, with a huge, black rose embroidered on the right side of the front that was partially hid by her corset. She had black stockings on that were tucked into black and red, knee high strap boots. Her cape was buckled into the lapels of the jacket by crosses and thorns.
What surprised Sora so much, however, was the weapon she was holding in her right hand. He forced himself to his feet and pointed at it. "Th-that's -"
"A Keyblade. Indeed Mr. Nomura," Ozpin said. Sora looked over at the man, who was leaning agaisnt a gear themed cane in his hands. He was wearing a new, dark green suit with a lighter green scarf wrapped so much around his throat. A small, cross shaped broach with an emerald at the center was in the center of it, aligned perfectly with the golden buttons of his suit. He was clean shaven, now, and had a pair of green sunglasses perched on the end of his nose. The man cocked his head to the side and tapped his cane against the ground again. "It would seem we have quite a lot to talk about, young man. And for that, I must apologize."
R W B Y
Twenty-four Years Prior to the First Great Keyblade War
The young woman sprinted down the brightly lit streets of her home, a city by the name of Daybreak Town. The source of all light was shining far above the World, bathing everything in its brilliant light. It was much brighter during the day, appearing instead with a much more mellow glow at night. But, at the moment, the young woman was sprinting away from something entirely foreign to her. People were trying to attack her, to take what she held in her arms, books on the study of the great Kingdom Hearts and the light that it gave freely to the world. Or, more accurately, on the weapon that was hidden somewhere in town that was used to defend the Heart of the World from any and all non-existent threats. "Just give it to us, dammit!" one of the men shouted as he whirled the corner after her. The woman shrieked in fear and redoubled her efforts to get away, which was not the easiest thing to do when wearing long, flowing robes of pink and white. Sure, in Daybreak Town that color pairing was natural camouflage, but it didn't help when they were so close.
"Please, just leave me alone!" the young woman begged over her shoulder, her red and black eyes filled with tears and fear as she raced away as quickly as she could. She looked forward and clutched the books to her chest even tighter. "Please... just leave me alone!"
"Give us them books, girl!" the other man shouted, his heavy footsteps pounding against the pavement behind her, catching up fast. She ran as fast as she could and broke through into a side square of Daybreak Town, with a small assortment of people milling about. Her hood fell and revealed her snow white hair done up in a simple bun. Her lower lip was quivering as she stared at the two large men that were approaching her. They lumbered to a stop in front of her and held their hands out expectantly. "We've been promised a lot of Munny for them, kid. Hand it over and nobody gets hurt."
"I – I can't!" the girl shouted back, glancing around and begging for help from the people around her. None of them knew what to do, as events like this attack had become more and more common over the past months. Where once they had been rare occurrences performed only by the most demented and broken individuals, they now happened almost daily and were performed by many who could only be described as 'in their right minds.' Most people just ignored it, as far as the young woman had heard. And knew, now. No one was paying what was happening to her any mind. She bit her lower lip and glared at the two men. "Go away. Please. Y-you don't have to do this..!"
"If we want to get paid, yeah. Yeah we do," the man on the girl's left said. He was huge, probably almost six and a half feet tall with a shirt that barely fit over his huge muscles. In his right hand was a club of some sort, and it looked like it was made out of metal. Cruel, sharp points erupted from the surface of the weapon as he angled it towards the girl. "Give us them books or it'll be bad for you."
The girl backed away slowly, clutching the books ever tighter against her chest. "I – I can't!" she protested before her legs hit the fountain. Everyone was staring at her now as the men advanced on her, club and sword raised threateningly. She fell and was sitting on the edge of the fountain now, pleading. "Please..."
"Sorry, girl. It's the job," the man with the club said without any sort of apology in his voice. He raised his club and readied to slam it into the young woman's skull.
"Could you spare some change?"
The burly man turned around, slowly lowering his weapon in confusion. In front of him, a few paces away from him and his partner, was a boy around the same age as the girl. He had gray hair that dangled over green sun glasses over his eyes, which were searching blindly for anything to latch onto. He was wearing dark green clothes – a scarf that trailed down to his mid back and was marked with a plain, emerald cross broach. His shirt was almost black, matching his jeans and shoes. He was hunched over slightly, holding a green cane out and slapping it against the ground. The girl gasped. "Run!" she hissed at the blind boy, but this just earned her an angry glare from the man.
"Go away, Idjit," the man with the sword growled, walking towards the young man with blade out.
"Are you going to leave this girl alone?" the young man asked with a scared tone, gesturing in the woman's vague direction. The man with the sword laughed and raised his weapon to kill him.
The young man sighed and stood up straight. "Unfortunate," he said, his voice taking a much more brave and disdainful tone. The man with the sword stopped in his tracks, which was a foolish decision by all accounts. The young man had him wide open.
The cane flew up like a sword in the young man's hand, slamming into the thug's chin and forcing him to backpedal wildly. From there the young man ducked beneath the incoming club blow and forcefully poked his cane's tip into the gut of his second opponent. The man doubled over, leaving room for the green clad warrior to stand up at full speed and slam the top of his head into the thug's nose.
When the thug jumped in surprise and pain, the young warrior lashed out using his weapon for a two handed strike that caused the man to flip and land on his back, where a black boot slammed into the side of his head.
Without even a moment's hesitation, the young man turned on his heel and threw the cane he had been holding. The weapon twirled in the air, glistening in the light, and landed tip first in the throat of the man with the sword. It bounced off and the warrior jumped forward, catching it midair and rolling to his feet to deliver a powerful elbow strike to the swordsman's temple. The thug went from gasping for air to falling to his back, unconscious.
The young man stared at the bodies of his opponents for a moment, waiting for either of them to wake up and attack again. When no such assault came, he tossed the cane he'd been holding onto the chest of one of them and grinned triumphantly. "Losers," he said as he ran a hand through his hair and it became much wilder. He shot a disgusted look at the passerbys watching him, and they began to scurry away. With a scoff, the young man turned to look at the girl and smiled as friendly as he could. "You okay?"
The girl glanced between the two bodies and gulped nervously. "Th-thank you," she whispered. She yelped as the boy approached and scooted away.
"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you," the boy said, his smile softening. He reached out with one hand, offering to help her up. "I'm Ozpin. What have you got there?"
The girl turned to the side, trying to hide the books. Still, he saw the titles on the spine. "Studies on the χ -blade?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. He whistled, impressed. "How'd a student get their hands on a book that rare?"
"I'm... I was told to deliver it to one of the scholars on the other side of the town," the girl said, deciding that if he was going to steal the book, it wasn't like she could stop him. Besides, he could have taken it already.
"Cool," Ozpin supplied, letting his hand fall and instead sitting next to the girl.
They were quiet for a while. "How do you know this book is rare?"
"Well, almost nobody's even seen the χ -blade, much less written about it," the kid explained with a shrug, staring up at the clear skies. He grinned sheepishly and looked over at the girl. "And my dad is a guard at the academy. He doesn't talk about it much or bring me with him usually, but I've seen that book a few times in the library when I break in."
"You what!?" the girl snapped in surprise.
"What? I get bored sometimes," he replied with a shrug. He grinned at the girl. "Don't you..."
She frowned and looked away. "Eh, forget I asked," Ozpin replied. He began to stare at the sky again, bathing in the light.
"Why did you save me?" the girl asked, glancing over her shoulder distrustfully. She eyed the boy's confused glare. "Why did you fight those guys?" She gestured at the still unconscious thugs with her head.
"Why wouldn't I?" Ozpin asked earnestly. His face grew sarcastic. "Should I not have? Are you evil and dangerous, because I didn't get that vibe when you tried to warn a blind kid to run away."
The girl blushed, cheeks ablaze, and turned away from Ozpin. She buried her face in the tops of the books for a while, then sighed and lifted it. "Salem. My name is Salem," she supplied in a quiet voice, not turning to look at the boy.
Ozpin looked over. "Salem, eh? Nice to meet you." He groaned and stood up, gesturing with his hand for the girl to follow. "Well, we better deliver that book, huh?"
"What?" Salem asked, looking up in surprise at Ozpin's smiling visage. "You'd help me? Why?"
"We're friends, right?" He laughed and began to walk off with hands in his pockets.
Salem smiled and blushed, her cheeks turning a soft pink. Then she looked up and noticed he was already all the way across the square. "Oz! Wait for me!" she shouted.
"Ugh, don't call me Oz! That's a terrible nickname," the boy groaned as she caught up to him, book still clutched in her arms. "How would you feel if I called you 'Sal?'"
"You won't, Oz," Salem responded smugly, walking past him.
Ozpin blushed when she could no longer see him and disguised it with a boisterous laugh. "Maybe not, but nobody calls me 'Oz.'"
"We'll see, Oz."
R W B Y
Sora was sitting down, his friends all sitting around or leaning against the walls around him. They were giving Sora worried looks, like they didn't know how he was going to respond to all the things that had happened to him. Ruby especially looked worried, which made Sora feel terrible given he had lied to her. Ozpin stood at the head of the room with a coffee in one hand and his cane in the other, while Taiyang and Qrow leaned against opposite walls and bridging the gap between children and ancient wizard. "Mister Nomura, you are probably wondering even more than the others what is happening. Aside from the actions of Mister Arc, or the events that specifically deal with Miss Rose, recent events have the largest effect on you. After all, young man, for your peers what you have learned is merely a hidden history that was revealed to them, one so long ago it changes little about what must be done." Ozpin took a few steps forward and fiddled absently with his cane. "I have a certain appreciation for your situation, one with which I have had to come to terms myself."
Sora rubbed his wounded shoulder sadly. "So it's true, then? They're really gone?"
Ozpin glanced at the ground. "Many of the events that you took part in have become stories and legends in the culture of the Remnant, in no small part due to something that I found within the first months of my stay on the Remnant. A book, filled with the stories of a great adventurer and Keyblade Wielder. Your story."
"Wait, that's what the Key of Fate book or whatever it was called was about?" Sun asked from his lounging position as he snacked on a banana.
"Key of Destiny," Ozpin corrected, but he nodded. "Yes. The original transcript is currently safe in Vale, and it contains all of the information that I removed from the manuscript I published eighty five years ago. The Heartless that Sora encountered over the course of years, the individuals he met, and the events that transpired around them all. I used them to craft the first stories that would inspire generations of children and warriors to save the World."
"But how? It was about the Keyblade War. The one that -"
Ozpin shook his head, cutting off Sora. "I knew those events well. While not dissimilar, the events described in the book have... very distinct differences. No, it is a journal and account of your life, Mister Nomura."
"Jiminy's Journal..." Sora muttered. He looked up at Ozpin. "The original book – it's Jiminy's Journal then, isn't it?"
"That is the name that I found upon them, along with a dedication. 'To the only one of us who may have survived – Sora, we never forgot you, buddy,'" Ozpin quoted with a sad smile. He took a quick drink of his coffee to break the tension in his head, then continued. "They knew you had survived, or at least believed it. Given that the book survived, it is likely many of your friends did. There were already legends of the Demon Winged Angel and the Golden Mouse by the time I had arrived."
"Riku and Mickey," Sora finished. The young man nodded silently for a long while.
"Those are like nursery rhymes nowadays," Sun said, eyes full of wonder. "Legend was that the Golden Mouse – your friend Mickey was the first Faunus hero, from before... stuff. You knew him?"
"They made a cartoon about the Demon Winged Angel!" Nora shouted excitedly before she began to hum an old theme song.
"I had pajamas of him!" Ren noted suddenly, drawing a weird look from Sora.
"I believe the original manuscript should belong to you," Ozpin said, cutting off any more fanboy-ing and fangirl-ing. "You are the closest thing to next of kin that there could be for them, now."
Sora smiled graciously, but soon began to wonder about other things. "What is Salem? What are you? Really?"
Ozpin sighed and looked over at Qrow, holding out his coffee expectantly. "I'm clean, Oz," Qrow supplied with a shrug. Ozpin glared at Qrow in a combination of approval and disbelief.
He turned to look at Tai, who sighed and nodded. "I'll go get you some whiskey," the blonde muttered before walking away to open the door and leave. He came back a few minutes later and began to pour the bottle into Ozpin's coffee.
"Thank you, Taiyang," the old man muttered, suddenly sounding his age as he thought back on his terrible past. "As I said, I am quite familiar with the events of the First Keyblade War. A series of events that resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocents at the hands of those sworn to defend them. I suppose you could refer to me as a veteran of that war, and maybe even as the one responsible for it." Ozpin looked around at the confused faces of the other children and even the adults. "Long ago, there was only Light in the World. It was full of warmth. Then it started to... cast a shadow. During my child hood in a place called Daybreak Town, the only dangers were those that were natural. Animals, disasters. It was not until I came to be your age that it changed, and the Darkness that was most threatening to people was that of the Darkness within Hearts. People began to covet the Light for themselves, desiring the power that it brought. Salem and I were..." Ozpin's voice fell away and he bit the inside of his cheek. After another moment, he took a drink of the alcohol infused coffee and cleared his throat. "Salem created the first Keyblades, seven of them, and told me they could be used to fix the Darkness in the World. I accepted this, and gave six of them to my students. The one Xehanort used – it was one of those weapons. The first, and the one I had given to my most trusted student."
Ozpin sighed and took another drink. "She created the oldest Keyblades and many of the most powerful ones. Her pride was the one she took from you, a weapon with the impulse to seek out the strongest Heart in all of creation and bond to it." Ozpin stared Sora in the eye, and said, "Your Heart was indeed mighty, but the weapons she created have always remained loyal to her."
"So I'm..." Sora let the unspoken question hang in the air. "I'm not getting it back, am I?"
Ozpin sighed. "It's doubtful," he responded apologetically.
"But we can't give up," Ruby said confidently. "We're going to stop whatever she has planned and save the world!"
"Indeed, Miss Rose," Ozpin agreed, visibly glad that he could talk about something other than Sora's state. "The World is on a precipice, precisely where Salem wishes it to be. One push to either side and everything will follow suit. Unfortunately, she has many avenues to take towards victory, which means we must guard them all. Taiyang will travel to find the other Maidens, ensure that the two of them are still alive. If they are still alive."
"I'd protest, but my daughters wouldn't let me go with them anyways," the blonde grumbled. He shrugged. "Fine."
Ozpin nodded. "Miss Rose, I believe it is time for your team mates to return to the fold," Ozpin stated. Ruby's eyes widened and she began to look nervous. "Do not worry, they wait for you. Miss Rose, you will travel to Atlas to find Miss Schnee. She will be incredibly necessary to finding a way to sway her father from his current course of action and in investigating what is happening in Atlas' government now. Qrow, Mister Vasilias, Miss Xiao Long – you will travel with her. I believe you all have your own business in Atlas you must tend to, as well."
"Then who's gonna be looking for Blake?" Sun asked suddenly, barely able to contain the excitement in his voice. He was bouncing up and down in his seat with a scared smile.
"You, Mister Wukong, will aid Sora, Mister Lie, Miss Valkyrie, and myself in traveling to Vale where we will search for Miss Belladonna and look into the creature that has invaded my school," Ozpin said bitterly; his eyes flashed a hard green. Then he smiled softly and turned to Yang. "I believe you said you have a home in Vale, yes?"
"Oh, now I'd look like a jerk if I didn't offer it," Yang grumbled in half a joke. She shrugged. "Take it."
"Thank you, Miss Xiao Long," Ozpin said, smiling sympathetically at the young woman.
Ozpin looked up. "Now, I need to speak to Mister Nomura alone," he explained, ignoring the intrigued look of Qrow. "He deserve explanations only he would truly understand and appreciate." No one moved. "Go."
The word was not said forcefully, but it carried enough weight behind it that everyone left the room to prepare for their journeys. "I'm sorry, Yang," Ruby whispered as she gave the other woman a sad hug.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" The blonde asked. Her face was graced with semi-teary smile. "Mom died proving Dad was wrong – she did love us." Yang gave her sister another hug, then grabbed her hand and walked away. She winked at Sora over her shoulder, and the young man was made even more uncomfortable yet again.
Ruby rolled her eyes at her sister's antics and shoved her away with a laugh. She looked over her shoulder and waved at Sora. He smiled softly and waved back before she left he room. When the door finally shut, the room was completely silent.
"Was I the one who -" Sora began.
"Who killed Raven? No," Ozpin interjected sympathetically. He walked over to Sora and sat beside the boy, tapping his cane against the ground over and over again. "Salem was the one who is guilty of that particular sin. Your hands are free of blood, if not terror."
Sora breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God," he muttered breathlessly. He glanced at the ground and spun his thumbs around one another. "I was scared that I'd hurt someone when I was..." His mind flashed back to his nightmares from when he had been in his Anti Form. "That."
Ozpin nodded but remained otherwise silent. "Sora," he finally said. The young man turned to look at the ancient warrior then gestured with one hand for the silent Ozpin to continue. "I believe this should belong with you." He reached down to his belt beneath the tail of his coat and pulled out a white hilt and crossguard for a broken sword.
"Jaune's sword?" Sora asked. He shook his head. "No. Nuh uh. Ren, or Nora. His dad. One of them, it should go to one of them!"
"Mister Arc's team mates agreed that you should be the one using the weapon, at least for the time being. You and I will go to Signal tomorrow to build you a weapon for our trip to Vale. One you can use until -" Ozpin frowned and glanced away from Sora. When he looked back at the young man, his face was grave. "When a Heart is reborn, the memories of the Soul that it had once accompanied are wiped away. The Heart is made into a blank slate and readied for its new life and new Soul. Where the Soul goes... I do not know. But back to Hearts."
Ozpin stood up and walked to the nearest table, placing the mug on it and leaning against the wall. He peered down at Sora over the tops of his glasses' rims. "Sometimes, powerful Hearts are capable of holding on to the imprints of important memories. Love, enemies, friends. Even one's appearance " Ozpin explained to the young man. "For instance, Ruby is a Princess of Heart, which only increases the strength of her natural abilities. Her Heart was imprinted with memories of you, as I've learned. Vague, but memories nonetheless."
Sora processed this for a moment and then stopped breathing. "She's Kairi?" he asked.
"No. Kairi was an individual's Soul. The Heart of the Princess moved on as it has since the end of the First War, taking fragments of memory and personality important enough to become etched on the Heart through every life it has lived," Ozpin muttered calmly. He shook his head dismissively. "But that is not the Heart I would deem important right now. She must be defended, true, but she has the strength to do so herself. I wish to speak of your Heart, actually."
"Why mine? I'm just..."
"A young, normal boy. Yes. And no," Ozpin countered simply. He cocked his head to the side and studied Sora for a short while, taking in the boy's confused stare. "You have his eyes and hair, his smile. You look just like him."
"Who?" Sora asked, having gotten used to the cryptic stuff over the past few years. "Do I have the same Heart as your best friend from high school?"
"My greatest student. My heir," Ozpin said as if it were the most normal thing in the world to say. "I eventually began to wield a Keyblade I made on my own, a weapon not dissimilar to the Kingdom Key. Perhaps slightly more powerful, if I am correct. Before I became aware of Salem's moral failings, I had learned one of my apprentices had become obsessed with Darkness. I knew that... 'you,' for lack of a better term, were beyond reproach. So I gave to you the one thing you could use to protect your friends – my other students – from the one among them who would betray the others. My personal Keyblade, known as the Master Keeper."
"Okay," Sora said with an blank shrug. "Why didn't you use it against Salem?"
"It was lost to me for millennia. I thought it destroyed in the Shattering," the man muttered hollowly. "And then I gave up any Keyblade when I created the Maidens, separating – I can no longer use a Keyblade at all."
"Why is this important, then?" Sora inquired, staring obliviously at the other man the entire time.
"Keyblades form connections with Hearts, immutable ones that cannot be wiped away unless they are given up. You know that," Ozpin muttered. He looked up at Sora and smiled. "My Keyblade was not destroyed, as I thought it was, it instead lies within you Sora. You can still use that Keyblade."