AN: Howdy.

Sorry this took longer than the last few chapters, I was finishing up chapters for my other stories.

Responses! Yay!

To Gravenimage: I've always heard about the dads cleaning shotguns while a daughter is on a date, but Ruby's family takes that to a whole new and much scarier level.

To gamelover41592: Thanks. The backstory is going to keep showing up in every chapter for a while.

To warrior of six blades: Yes, Cinder is going to get angrier and angrier about being pushed away which is going to make her more and more blind to Salem's games, not that she cared anyways. I'm also glad you like Fenrir. It's my favorite Keyblade, style wise, given that it's the only one shaped like a modern key. I hope they make more like that eventually and explain why it's so different from the others.

To grimlock987: Yes, Raven indeed has a Nobody who is going to show up later. As for the D-Links, I've had that planned since the beginning. He'll make connections with his old friends eventually, and with the other characters in the story, too.

To Wlyman2009: I agree. Square really hasn't released any definitive reason for Sora not having his own Keyblade from the start. Since some people just get them and Sora's Heart is stronger than pretty much everyone else's, and on top of that has the ability to use everyone else's strength to bolster his own. Maybe he does have his own, he's just been using other ones the entire time we've seen him. The Kingdom Key D isn't Mickey's 'base Keyblade' given he had to go out and find it, so maybe the Kingdom Key isn't Sora's, kind of like how Aqua could use her Keyblade and the Master Keeper before she tried to save Terra. I hope we find out soon.

To Guest(A): Thanks. I'm glad that my explanations for everything are assuaging your worries about Sora. By the end of the story, he'll be on top again and have the capability to go toe to toe with anybody. I know that One Piece would do a great KH crossover, but I personally haven't had any ideas for one. It would work thematically, that's for sure.

To ShadicZX: Yeah, Two Becomes One would have made sense too. I just really like Fenrir's style and thought it fit best with RWBY. Beyond that, I thought that getting it from a character who is trying to save someone else from their Darkness made it a good one to use.

To sethman610: Yeah, when I was writing Mar I based him heavily off of Marluxia in style. Chain of Memories was the first KH game I'd ever played, so he holds a special place in my Heart. As for Merlin... Time travel rules in KH are not clear at all. Xehanort says you can't travel back or forwards unless you get rid of your body, but Sora and the others go body and soul into Timeless River? And then the other Xehanorts are brought to the future with their bodies? It's all just really confusing. Yen Sid, I believe, said he could read the future from the Stars once, so maybe Merlin's knowledge of the future has something to do with that? As for this story, Merlin will not be making a door, but it does raise interesting questions about what he can and can't do. Even though he's the Sword in the Stone version, he is still Merlin, and that alone means he should already be almost as strong as Yen Sid when it comes to magic.

Anyways, enjoy! If you aren't already planning on it, please drop a review.

Chapter 23: Arrivals

Sora looked around at the city of Vale as their ship set down, wondering what all they would find in the city that Ozpin had yet to reveal to them. Fenrir's still unfamiliar weight on his hip made his gait uneven during his walk down the ramp from the ship, exacerbating the weight of his pack over his shoulders. "It's been so very long," Ozpin said, coming up from behind the young man. His eyes had a sad, longing look in them as they locked onto the towers of Beacon Academy miles away. The huge Dragon was still perched precariously upon the shattered towers, locked in an eternal roar of rage and fear. "I do not know if I was truly prepared for this destruction. It... I should have been." The old man turned around and watched Sun, Ren, and Nora approach. The three of them had changed their outfits just like Sora and Ruby had. "Are you ready?"

Sun was dressed in a warmer, white and black checkerboard flannel shirt with the collar popped. The sleeves were rolled up so the top quarter of his gauntlets could fit snugly beneath them. His golden monkey emblem could be seen both on his necklace and on the image that had been sewed into the left side of the chest, laying atop the pocket. He still wore his blue cargo pants with white belt and chain. "Do we have to wear all these clothes?" he asked, pointing at his chest and frowning. "It feels like it's way too much."

"Would you rather freeze?" Nora asked, snorting. "Silly. You've never really gone through winter in Vale before, have you?" She laughed again, the massive hammer on her back jostling. She was dressed in similar clothes to what was usual for her, save for the fact that she had a pink heat shirt beneath her usual armored corset and white stockings that were tucked into her shoes.

"Besides, you're only wearing a warm shirt," Ren pointed out simply. He was wearing a tailcoat of mainly black with green highlights and magenta cuffs midway down his forearms; the inside was a dark red felt good for retaining heat when necessary. The jacket was open over a deep green shirt emblazoned with a small, magenta lotus flower slightly off center to the left. His pants were a shade or two darker, though retained their white-tan coloring and his black shoes remained the same. His hair was out of its usual ponytail and instead flowed freely to the middle of his back. Whenever asked about that change, he claimed it was because 'Nora likes to play with my hair.' "You refused anything else we suggested for you."

Sora had agreed with Sun, initially. He himself was no fan of piling on clothes given his home island's climate. However, it seemed that the loss of the Keyblade had its own annoying side effects as beyond being slower and weaker: where once the young man was capable of surviving in any climate with virtually any choice of clothing, now he was forced to actually think about what he was wearing in order to survive or retain a degree of comfort. He had been forced to buy a heavy jacket with the last of his chunk of the prize money Haven had given him. It was similar to the ones the Organization had used, except for the gray fur lining in the hood and sleeves. The first time Ozpin had seen it, his eyes had been filled with a sort of dark recognition of their own. "Sun, take it from me – something's gotta give," Sora pointed out, grimacing sympathetically at the Faunus. "Better a shirt than frostbite, right?"

"I miss the desert," Sun grumbled awkwardly, letting his hands fall to dangle at his sides. "Heat, the sun. Oh, the beach. Bikinis."

"You could always take Blake when this is all over," Ren said, some of his new, mockingly dry sense of humor shining through. Sun glanced over in annoyance, earning only a smirk from the ninja.

"I do bet she looks good in a bikini," Sun agreed off handedly. He glanced upwards, a dumb smile growing across his face as he imagined it. "Really good."

"Mister Wukong, do we really need to be party to your fantasies of my student?" Ozpin asked, snapping Sun out of his daydream. The Faunus coughed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Good. So, you are all ready, then?" He glanced over at Sora, who looked around nervously with his eyes. "No more daydreams of young women to worry about?"

Sora shook his head even as thoughts of Ruby began to enter it. "Erm, nope! Let's go do... whatever it is we're doing here!" he suggested with a grin. Ozpin smirked knowingly and began to walk away. Sora glanced over his shoulder at the other kids, who were looking at each other nervously. Ozpin still hadn't explained anything about what was going to happen next. Sora took this as a sign and sighed. "I'll ask him."

"Finally!" Sun shouted, his exasperation evident in his voice. He walked up to Sora and slapped him on the back. "I've been waiting all night for you to do something about this. We don't have a plan, or an idea of what we're doing. For instance... when are we, say, going to go looking for..."

"Don't slip into another daydream," Sora remarked, hitting his friend lightly with his shoulder. Sun chuckled sheepishly and Sora laughed. After a few minutes, Sora shrugged. "Fine, just give me a minute. Ruby wanted to know when we all got here." He pulled out his Scroll and typed up the message and sent it. Ruby was still in transit to Atlas, and her Scroll probably was still in Airship mode. He slid the communications machine shut and pocketed it again before frowning and walking off after the others.

He nodded at Sun when he passed and sped past them until he was side by side with Ozpin. "So everyone is wondering what we're doing here? You said we're here for that book and Ruby's friend, if she's still here," he said. Ozpin did not look like he was paying attention and continued to walk down the street. "I mean, what's the plan? Where are we going first?"

"Our first destination is the large complex in which Miss Xiao Long's apartment lies. I have a... nest egg set up with which I have bought enough of the rooms for us to all stay in comfort during our time here," Ozpin responded after a few steps, his gaze never drifting down. "I have sent a message for someone to meet us in a few days out by the Emerald Forest. She will likely some information on Miss Belladonna's whereabouts as well as a way for us to retrieve the Journal from..." His head nodded up towards the school again.

"Okay. Good. That's more information than you gave us earlier, at least," Sora muttered quietly. He frowned before he continued to speak. "But you're going to have to start telling us everything soon. You said I need to understand you, but I don't think I can do that if you don't tell me anything."

Ozpin sighed in defeat, knowing that the young man was correct. "Mister Nomura – Sora, there are very few people whom I trust. It is a result of many past mistakes, but being slow to trust has saved me from many similar betrayals," Ozpin explained, voice calm despite the pain that was evident in his words. "If I appear not to trust you, I am sorry. Truly. You are very much like him, my first student. He was good man. Trustworthy, kind, and dedicated to preserving life. I am sure that you are as well... But more than twelve centuries of habit is something quite difficult to break even for those deserving of it." He looked over his shoulder at the other three young warriors, who were joking and laughing together. "How is young Mister Arc's betrayal affecting you?"

Sora followed the man's eyes and the two stopped walking for a moment. "It's no reason to stop trusting anybody," Sora remarked, placing his hands on his hips and letting a soft smile tug at his lips.

"More and more you remind me of him," Ozpin said, letting out a soft laugh. He smiled down at Sora before walking over to the street. He raised his fee hand above his head and took a deep breath. "Taxi!"

R W B Y

Seventeen years before the First Great Keyblade War

"Can I?"

"No."

"Can I?"

"No."

"Can I? Can I? Can I? Can I? CAN I!?"

"No!" Ozpin finally snapped at Skye. He looked over at the blue eyes boy and growled. "You're staying here. Whatever it is that those City Guards saw, it killed people. People who have been fighting a lot longer than you have; you're thirteen, not a warrior."

"You're, what, twenty five? That's not that big a difference!" Skye protested, following Ozpin as he strapped on weapons and Potions for his hunt. "If I can help you guys stay alive, I'm going."

"I'm twice your age, Skye," the older warrior said, sliding a hand and a half sword into place on his belt over his long black coat. It was a black leather that traced all the way to the ground, with a hood lowered onto his back and two silver stars dangling outside of the silver zipper. It was something that Salem had made him, claiming that the material she'd used had an innate resistance to whatever other matter was in the χ -blade. Matter whose energy signature was starting to show up whenever people were disappearing in the city. "I think I know what's best."

"You act like you're my dad sometimes," the boy muttered dryly, crossing his arms over his chest. The young man was dressed in clothes most suitable for training in battle; Ozpin had decided to take young Skye under his wing after seeing the fire within his eyes and had even offered the kid a place to stay. For the past five years, Skye had been helping Ozpin out with his burgeoning defense business. Skye had said it should be called a Huntsman business, though Oz had shot that idea down immediately.

"Someone needs to tell you that you're not thinking. It's not exactly your strong suit, after all," Ozpin remarked dryly, picking up a metal walking stick that could disconnect into two, sword length rods of metal. Ozpin ran a hand through his hair upon seeing Skye's puppy dog eyes. "No. Once you can react fast enough to stop this -" Ozpin slapped the back of Skye's head before he could respond. "Then we could have a conversation."

"Oh, fine," Skye grumbled. He rubbed the spot where the blow had landed and shot Ozpin an annoyed glare. The older warrior was at the door, about to open it and leave. "I didn't want to hang out with your girlfriend anyways."

Ozpin laughed dryly and turned away from the door. "She's not my girlfriend," Ozpin said mirthfully, "and you two need to learn how to like each other. It's getting awkward."

"She's the one who doesn't like me. I keep trying to be nice to her and I'm still just the kid who broke in to see the χ -blade! You did it, too, and she doesn't even care!" Skye shouted defensively. He shrugged after a moment and laced his fingers behind his head. "Whatever. Go on your date, I'll be fine." He let himself fall into a chair and stare sadly at his mentor. "Alone." He put his head on his hands. "By myself."

Ozpin frowned sympathetically, then smiled widely. "Good!" then he turned around and walked through the door. He took a deep breath of the night time air and smiled contentedly. He pulled up his hood, completely obscuring his face in its shadow, then began to walk towards the location at which he was set to meet Salem. The city was mostly quiet at that time of night, with only the noises of music accompanying him on his walk. Most of the area around his office was safe of the crime wave, at least in part due to him being called on by the citizens of the area to help. This was his first job given to him by the City leadership itself, and that meant he would probably be called all over now. He'd have to lean more heavily on Skye to keep up the business in their home neighborhood.

After about a half hour of walking, Ozpin found himself standing outside of the entrance to the sewers where the murders had been taking place. He tapped his walking stick against the ground, anxious for his friend to get there. "Just like her to be late," he murmured, glancing up at the huge clock at the center of town. He unscrewed the rods from one another and twirled them a few times before reconnecting them.

"I know, I know! I'm sorry!" the woman shouted as she barreled down the street. She was wearing the same coat as Ozpin and carrying a dozen small instruments and writing notebooks peeking out precariously from the pack on her back and others on her hip. She slid to a stop next to Ozpin, leaning over and panting. "Sorry, I just got held up at the Academy. One of the other scholars keeps asking me on a date; just wants me to sneak him into the χ -blade chamber."

"Maybe he should just break in," Ozpin supplied while he pulled down his hood. At that she glowered at Ozpin, who returned it with a smirk. "I'll stop making the joke when you stop reacting, Salem."

"Fine. I'll get you back, though, Oz," Salem warned.

The man, no longer annoyed by the nickname after so long, just shrugged and drew the sword. He flipped it to a backhand and passed it over to Salem. "Stay close. We don't need another repeat of that time in the Southern District," he commanded while Salem grabbed the weapon and placed the flat on her shoulder.

"It's not like you lost the fingers," Salem retorted as if it were obvious. She shrugged at him and made a funny face at her partner, sticking her tongue out. "Just be more careful if you want to stay safe, you baby."

"You be careful so I can stay safe!" Ozpin growled, unscrewing the staff into twin rods again before jumping into the water and walking over to the large sewer grate at the end. The stench of decay wafted slowly towards him, almost visible in and above the water. Salem jumped after him and grabbed her nose. "Baby."

"Shut up," Salem hissed, pushing past him and into the sewer with her sword out in front of her. She pulled a device from her belt and activated it, bringing a huge burst of light into being in her hand. The water splashed with her every step, sending sewage flying out in her wake.

"You're walking heavy on purpose!" Oz shouted down the tunnel, giving her space so he wouldn't accidentally get something splashed into his face. After only a couple seconds, he walked in, too, ready for a fight.

"Obviously," the echo came from where the light glimmered a dozen feet away. She turned a corner a few seconds later and Ozpin was forced to find it without Light. He stumbled around before finding it and turning to see the Light again, hovering in Salem's left hand. She was looking back expectantly at her friend.

"Thanks for stopping," Ozpin said as he trudged through the filth and towards Salem. "There's not a lot of Light in here."

"Darkness," Salem said, peering around in place. "There's a lot of Darkness here."

Ozpin glanced over at her. "Um... what?"

"Darkness. It's the opposite of Light," Salem said without really paying any attention. She pushed forward again, examining the empty blackness.

"Says who?" Ozpin said as he fell into step with her, weapons at the ready for whatever it is they were hunting for. He thought he saw some glowing yellow eyes in the distance, but they disappeared a moment later.

"I'm the one who discovered it, I get to make the name," Salem told him, gesturing into the 'Darkness' surrounding them. She stopped and cocked her head to the side, peering deep into their surroundings. "I'm turning off the Light."

Ozpin made a sudden, surprised move. He grabbed her shoulders. "Do you want whatever this is to sneak up on us?" he asked.

"I'm not a moron Oz. Stay close so you don't lose your fingers," Salem retorted dryly. She shook the Orb, and the Light went out to leave them in total Darkness. Nothing happened, no creature came near and no evil presence could be felt. "I thought that this would work for sure."

"Um, Salem," Ozpin muttered fearfully. He lightly pushed her with his shoulder.

"Not now, Oz," she growled, looking around still.

"Salem!" Ozpin snapped again, yanking her towards him.

"What!? – Oh." Floating in front of Ozpin was a pair of yellow, glowing eyes filled with hunger and evil. Salem gulped down her fear and pulled out an instrument to start scanning whatever it was that floated in front of them. The creature began to chitter angrily and come closer, bright eyes burning like dangerous embers. "Yeah, Oz, this the thing. The attacking monster. The killing thing." The scanner in her hand began to whine, and two more pairs of eyes began to glow beside the first pair. "Um... things?" The whining grew in intensity, then died suddenly when the machine shorted out. "Oh, that's not good." A dozen more pairs of eyes began to sprout around the two humans, and the chittering melted together into a terrible chorus, assaulting their ears.

"Turn it back on!" Ozpin hissed from behind his teeth. He looked over at her, brow furrowed. "NOW!"

There was a sudden splash at their feet, and the Light suddenly shined again. Ozpin and Salem both took a terrified step back upon seeing the creatures with which they had just been confronted. They were huge, black skinned creatures that looked eerily like a devil. Black angel wings tipped with gold sprouted from its elbows and a tail with a large blade floated down from its back. Its toes and fingers were tipped with silver claws. Its purple horns came together above its skull like visage to create an image of an empty Heart – one also present on the being's chest. Each one held a large, impossibly sharp sword in its right hand. Ozpin looked around, counting them – perhaps fifteen in all. "Turn it back off?" Salem suggested fearfully.

That was when hell broke loose.

The nearest creature shrieked and charged at Salem, brandishing its sword above its head. She moved to dodge the attack, but the creature seemed to account for it and follow her. Ozpin dashed between them at the last minute, catching the blade on his weapons and struggling against the heavy weight of the creature. "Salem, get out of here! We can't handle this on our own!" he shouted, swinging the weapon away from him and delivering a blow to the creature's side. The metal merely passed through the monster's hide as if it was never there. "Never mind. Get something to blow these monsters up!"

Salem yelped and jumped past the next incoming sword strike before trying to cut through the monster. It merely hissed and let the blade pass uselessly through its arm before lashing out with its tail to attack again. Salem batted the attack away with her sword, and turned just in time to dodge another sword attack from yet another monster. "If I could, I would!" Salem shouted over at her friend, who was busy spinning as fast as he could between the repeated strikes of three monsters, as if dancing just beyond their reach.

"We're fighting a losing battle," he growled, jumping on top of the next attack and kicking the sword into its owner's head. This time, lasting damage was dealt when the blade buried itself deep into the monster's face and it shrieked before dissolving into Darkness. "Use their own swords on them!"

He immediately had to duck beneath an attack and block another one. He missed the third, this one slamming into his side. He was sent flying, his weapons falling from his hands, and rolled through the sewage to his feet. He immediately tried to wipe his face off and spit out whatever it was he had almost swallowed."God, that's disgusting!" His eyes widened a moment later when he realized he hadn't been cut in half. "The coats! Salem, the coats are like armor!"

"I told you they'd work!" she shouted, though she sounded just as surprised as her ally. She raised her sword and slapped away the next attack. "Though that doesn't change the fact you were just thrown fifteen feet by one hit. Hard to survive something like that."

"Point," Oz ceded as he sidestepped another creature's attack and shoved the sword into a different creature. The one hit by the attack hissed and died while the other one's tail whipped out at Oz. He dodged the attack and grabbed the tail. With a jump, he wrapped the creature's tail around its hand and began to yank the monster's sword towards its skull. It lowered its blade and sliced through its own tail to escape, spinning around to try and bury its blade in the stumbling Ozpin. He was able to jump away from the assault at the last minute. "We need to run."

"Oz, I think they're swarming me!" Salem shouted, voice terrified. Oz turned to see the woman beset by the remaining creatures. "I wanted to be popular once, but this is overdoing it!"

"Salem!" Ozpin screamed, sprinting towards her. He jumped and tried to dropkick one of the monsters away, only for it to backhand him away. He grunted in pain and landed face down in the muck. When his lungs started to burn, he woke up and forced himself to his feet. He saw Salem was in a much worse position, however, with the monsters grabbing her and lifting her above their heads.

"Oz, why am I always the Damsel in Distress!?" the woman screamed while the claws of the monsters tried to rip her coat off and shred her to pieces. When the zipper began to shred, she shrieked angrily. "Never mind, just get me the hell out of this!"

"Get away from her!" Ozpin shouted again, running towards the monsters, only to earn yet another slap from the creatures. He tumbled across the sewer and stood up. He felt anger rising in his chest, but more importantly a desire to protect his friend. He wouldn't let her die at the hands of these... monsters. On a deep impulse, as if by instinct, the man brought his hands out in front of him and roared as loudly as possible: "Get away from her!" Light began to glow in his palms for a moment, growing with the cresecendo of anger in his chest, before firing off to create a wide beam of energy that shot toward the creatures. They shrieked in pain and hatred as the light slammed into their bodies. Smoke rose from them, their forms dissolving suddenly and their swords disappearing from their hands. There was a surprised yelp and a splash when Salem hit the water, but Oz didn't stop there. The Light kept coming, the energy burning the creatures away so much that even their ashen remains became nothingness.

When the monsters finally disappeared completely, Ozpin let his hands fall to his side. "Huh," he grunted, intrigued by what he had just done. "Weird." Then the world began to fade to a tunnel and he fell face first into the sewage.

He was woken up a few moments later by a few slaps to his face by an incredibly pale hand. "Ow," he grunted, pressing his palm against his eye in an attempt to placate the pounding headache that was deafening his perceptions. He opened the other, just barely, and saw Salem sitting over him with her coat open to reveal her sewage encrusted clothes. He felt another slap across his face, which immediately woke him up. "Hey, stop it!"

"Just making sure you're not dead. Calm down," Salem said, standing up and offering her hand to her friend. He groaned and took it and she pulled him to his feet. Oz looked around and saw they were out of the sewer and were no longer alone. Next to them on the cobblestone was a young man with blue eyes, wearing a black shirt and pants.

"Skye. I said not to come," Ozpin growled.

"And miss you shoot lasers from your hands?" The kid scoffed and shook his head, saying, "No way."

"I do seem to remember something like that," Ozpin said, deciding to castigate his student later. "Whatever that was."

"Light, Oz. You... you summoned Light," Salem cut in, an excited look on her face. She shook her friend by the shoulders. "We have to try to get you to do it again! Maybe you could teach us how to do it!"

"Light? Yeah, that's what it looked like," the man said. He grimaced and tried to take a step forward, only for the world to start tipping sideways again. He was stopped from falling by two pairs of hands grabbing hold of his coat.

"Let's just get you home Oz. We can talk about this later," Skye told his friend, motioning for Salem to help him distribute the man's weight. "Maybe we can even get you guys a shower – you reek."

"Those things were so powerful," Ozpin noted, pained. He glanced over at Salem under his right arm. "What do you think they were?"

"Darkness," Salem responded hungrily.

R W B Y

Ruby's Scroll beeped as she deactivated its Airship mode and walked down the ramp. She checked the message and smiled softly. She tapped in her own message about their safety and pocketed the device. "They all made it to Vale safely," she said, turning around and waving at her allies.

Ruby shivered slightly and looked up. The sky was a dull gray with snow drifting down to coat the ground. Atlas had once been known as Mantle, in a different time, named for the volcanic heat that had made the north pole of the world habitable since time immemorial. Still, the region was not known for weather that was very conducive to crop growth, but Mantle had been at the forefront of Dust mining and technology for almost its entire history. Ruby glanced back down and waited for her annoyingly slow allies to catch up.

Neptune, however, sprinted past her before she could say anything else and he hugged the ground. He soon began to sob; between the shakes that rattled his entire body, he said, "Oh, thank God we're not above water anymore! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"You've got weird friends, Ruby," Qrow said as he approached. He crossed his arms and shook his head while staring disapprovingly down at the young man. Qrow sighed as the sobbing of joy redoubled and he looked over at Ruby. "And of course they did. It was like a one night flight."

"Oh, Sun is going to be so happy," Yang said as she pulled out her Scroll and video taped Neptune's newest episode on the ground. "Between this and all his fits on the Dragonfly, Sun's gonna have a field day!"

"Yang," Ruby said disapprovingly, though she didn't stop her sister from sending the video. She leaned over and grinned. "Remix it to music!"

"Oh, yes," Yang agreed, pocketing her Scroll when Qrow glanced over. She grinned at her uncle and held her thumb up. "Let's go, Uncle Qrow! Heh... Rhyming."

Qrow shook his head in disbelief. "You are far too much of your father's daughter," he muttered. He glanced up as Neptune came out of his inverse panic attack and walked over. "So, you guys want to hear the plan or are we just going to keep messing around? I mean, you guys do know I'm all for messing around."

"Well, we can't always be lazy like you old people, Uncle Qrow," Ruby supplied innocently. Ignoring the veteran Huntsman's growl of annoyance, she turned to her sister. "Step one! You are getting your arm!"

"Do you need a hand with anything before that, though?" Yang inquired, eliciting a round of groans from those with her. "Oh, I'm going to have a field day with all this new material!"

"Never mind. Step one is banning Yang from making jokes," Ruby muttered, almost physically in pain from how bad that joke was. She placed her hand on her sister's shoulder and sighed sympathetically. "Ever again." She looked over at Qrow and raised two fingers. "Step two is getting her new arm so we can finally begin the process of getting those terrible jokes out of her system! Uncle Qrow, where are we going if we want to do that?"

"Ugh..." the Huntsman groaned, grabbing his hair and hissing. "Just give me a minute to come to terms with it."

"What about Weiss?" Neptune asked, wondering when he could find her.

"We'll deal with that after Qrow stops being a baby and tells us where we're going," Ruby responded, crossing her arms and glaring at her uncle. "Qrow..."

"You know I hate Jimmy," Qrow growled, smoothing down the hair he had just messed up. He took a breath. "And then there's Ice Queen."

"Weiss'll be there!?" Neptune asked excitedly.

"No. Uncle Qrow's frenemy, I want to say. Oh, his Weiss!" Ruby explained, causing her uncle to cringe and glare at her. "Weiss' older sister is General Ironwood's... assistant?"

"Nah, she's his Gofer," Yang corrected with a grin.

"Like the people who play the game with the clubs?"

"That's golfer," Neptune told Ruby.

"Like the animal?" Ruby asked, voice low.

"That's... gofer. Huh," Yang muttered, placing her hand on top of her head. "Weird..."

"Winter's his protege," Qrow cut in, putting up his hand to stop any of the younger warriors from saying anything else stupid. "And unlike you idiots, I know that Schnees make worse friends than they make enemies. And they make bad enemies."

"Well..." Ruby considered, her mind flashing to every individual time that her partner had referred to her as a dunce, moron, idiot, fool, or – Ruby's personal favorite – a 'driveling, empty headed, child.' "Nah, Weiss is super fun!"

"If she's remembering the same things I am, Ruby's weirder than I thought," Yang told her uncle, both of them a little confused by Ruby's eccentricities. "And that would say a lot."

"I can hear you, you know?" Ruby asked dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. Yang just shrugged nonchalantly. With a sigh, Ruby turned to her uncle and continued to speak. "Where are we going and how are we getting there?"

"Usually, getting in to talk with General Jimmy would be difficult. He'll pop in unannounced, but God forbid you show up without turning in signed forms in triplicate that you had an appointment with him. Even for Oz," Qrow explained, motioning for the young warriors to follow him out and into the city. The snow began to pick up, flashing in the bright lights of the city. Even Vale was small compared to Atlas, with the towers stretching far above the clouds. The only thing that showed they were definitely up there was a huge, glowing snowflake that would occasionally appear when the clouds parted slightly. Qrow caught sight of the glowing symbol and grimaced. "But I've got an in."

He pulled out his Scroll and turned around towards his crew. "No jokes about cold or ice when you meet her. That's my shtick," he demanded of Yang as he lifted the device to his ear and waited for the person he was calling to pick up. A moment later, he fidgeted nervously and laughed. "Hi, Ice Queen... Yeah, it's good to talk to you too? Yep. So, hey, could I ask you a favor?" He paused and waited for a response. "Yes, it is actually important. No, it's not alcohol. I need to meet with Ji – General Ironwood. Now. Yeah, I'm at the Airport actually, just landed a private flight. Great – see you soon."

"Hey, I think your uncle likes her!" Neptune said mockingly. Qrow gave the young man an icy glare that a Schnee could be jealous of. "Weiss said she's kind of scary."

"Aw... Neptune could be your brother in law, Uncle Qrow!" Yang joked. The Schnee like glare turned on Yang this time, but the fiery girl just brushed it off with a smile.

"I think you've been spending too much time around Weiss' sister," Ruby said next. The glare became exasperated and Qrow slammed his palms into his eyes. "I think Mom would like that." Qrow opened his fingers over one eye and looked down at the young woman. She was smiling supportively, silver eyes wide and kind. It almost felt like Summer herself was saying it to him. Despite himself, Qrow smiled. "So where are we getting picked up?"

He shook his head and let his hands fall to his side. No point in postponing the pain. "Come on," he said, waving his arm for the three kids to follow him into the airport. "It's apparently bad manners to keep a Schnee waiting."

R W B Y

Sora held Fenrir out in front of him in a defensive stance, waiting to use it until the rampaging Alpha Beowolf he was fighting got close enough for it to matter. With the Keyblade, that attack could have been launched from virtually anywhere, but as he was now? His magic was weaker, he couldn't use Light like he used to, and he was only had a fraction of the speed and strength upon which he relied so heavily.

Sora gulped down his fear when his eyes crossed those of the stoic Ozpin, who stood above with a coffee in his left hand. This fight was going to be incredibly dangerous, that was true. Ozpin had made it clear that he would do little to help the young man in his fight with the powerful Grimm; this was their first attempt at forcing Sora's Heart to instinctively reach towards the Master Keeper. If the pit of fear that was worming its way down Sora's spine was any indication, it wasn't going well so far.

Sora looked back up at the Grimm, which was now basically on top of him. It roared and swept at Sora's right side with one of its huge claws, and Sora brought his blade around in an instinctive block. Again, had he still been the owner of the Kingdom Key the attack would have merely ricocheted off and given him a huge opening to deal massive damage to the creature. Instead, the palm of the monster hit and he was sent into the side of a tree. He jumped to his feet as quickly as he could and made a mental note to dodge instead of blocking next time. The Grimm was already rushing him, and Sora put that note to work right then and there. He rolled beneath the next swipe of the claw and swiped over his head at its wrist while coming to his feet. The attack left a gash along the monster's flesh, though it only seemed to annoy the bony monster. Its other claw slammed into his back a moment later and he tumbled across the ground.

"Master your fear, Mister Nomura!" Ozpin shouted from atop the small cliff upon which he was perched. His eyes were looking down at Sora through the centers of his green glasses. "A Keyblade Master does not react to the actions of a monster, he acts! Enforce your will on this battle. Dictate what occurs."

"Easy for you to say," Sora grumbled, ducking beneath the next blow and launching a comparatively weak Fira at the Grimm. It shrugged off the flames and brought both hands above its head for a powerful slam. Sora yelped and performed a dodge roll to escape its radius, thankfully avoiding any damage. He flicked a small trigger at the base of the basket and whipped his hand forward. He let go of Fenrir a moment later and it flew away from him on a thin, metallic string, the other end attached to his wrist. Just as it was about to reach the Grimm, he flicked his wrist back and the tip of the blade slashed through its shoulder and returned to Sora. The monster roared in pain and Sora grinned pridefully. He whipped it forward again, this time aiming for the monster's open maw.

The Beowolf almost looked like it was grinning at Sora when it raised its claw and grabbed the incoming blade. It tugged upward on the weapon and Sora, who instinctively refused to let go of the weapon, followed it. The Grimm slammed its fist into the ground and Sora followed, a crater forming where his body had slammed into the ground. "Ow..." he groaned, but that was not the end. The blade flew upward again then down once more. The crater deepened and Sora could hear a laughing growl echo above him. Moments later, a hunk of metal clattered uselessly next to his head. Sora yanked his arm towards his body, the wiring connecting the weapon to his wrist tensing up and retracting to drag it back to its owner.

The Grimm shrieked angrily and brought its left hand down at him, ready to flatten him against the ground. His fingers wrapped around the handle of Fenrir at the last moment and he spun across the ground with the weapon straight out. The monster's movement combined with that of the weapon, and the Grimm's claw completely dissolved before it even hit Sora. The monster shrieked in pain and kicked Sora away when he got up to his knees. He fell to his back, and the Grimm was on top of him before he could do anything to respond. He stared defiantly up at the monster's maw, long teeth approaching his face. "Oz!" Sora shouted, afraid for his life.

The Grimm flew off of him, a force slamming into it that was so strong its chest caved in and its body immediately began to disintegrate. "Headmaster, if I was not so excited at your return right now, I would do to you what I just did to that Grimm," an angry, strict voice snapped. Sora rolled over and pushed himself to his knees to see a woman in a purple cape walking towards him, her blonde bun and curls highlighting her pretty albeit severe face. Her riding crop somehow brought the entire look together.

"Ah, Ms. Goodwitch! I'm so happy to see your smile again," Ozpin responded, taking a single light step forward to land noiselessly at the bottom of the cliff, none of the coffee in the open topped mug so much as splashing out of its container.. Sora watched that with a bitter sigh – he had been able to do that barely a month earlier. "It's slightly less frown like than it was before the Vytal festival!"

"Hilarious, Headmaster," the strict faced professor growled, coming to a stop a few feet from Ozpin. He placed her riding crop into the holster on her hip before crossing her arms and shooting an incredibly angry glare at the man. It turned softer – barely – when it turned towards Sora. "Are you alright, Sora?"

The former Keyblade Wielder gulped nervously and stood up slowly. He deactivated Fenrir and placed it onto his hip before nodding. "I'm fine," he responded before glancing between Ozpin and Goodwitch.

"No, you're not. A warrior cannot second guess every decision he makes in battle," the woman said bluntly before looking back at Ozpin. "With all due respect, I do not believe he is ready for battles such as this. Given what you told me of his recent losses, I do not know if he is ready for battles of any kind. He is a child."

"Hm. Not long ago I had to encourage you to allow our students time to be children," Ozpin noted with a small smile. His smile turned sad and he looked over at Sora. "But perhaps you are right. Given what this young man has faced and what he must face in the future, I may have tried to push him too far too quickly. You have my apologies, Mister Nomura."

Sora glanced between the two of them blankly. "I don't think -"

Ozpin cut him off, a sympathetic look on his face. "You're afraid. You have never gone through what you are right now. You lost your Keyblade once before, but you did not know how it had come into being. You lost your friends before, but they were always just within reach. You faced danger, but you were not facing then what you face now. As I keep saying, I often confuse you for him."

"For whom, Ozpin?" Goodwitch inquired, her usual tone replaced with one of interest.

"There is much I must tell you, Glynda," the ancient warrior said, looking over at her. "But first – do you know a way for us to enter the school's grounds?"

"Do you intend to go with him?" the woman asked Sora, her icy glare causing him to freeze for a moment and behave like a deer in headlights. "Answer me, Sora!"

"Of course," he finally said. He was confused why she'd ask, really. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I?"

Glynda ignored Sora's question and looked over at Ozpin again. Her eyes hardened even further, and Sora could see that it almost physically pained her to refuse Ozpin. "Then I won't tell you. Not until that young man is ready."

"I am ready," Sora protested, throwing his hands up in protest. "That book has my best friends' last words in it. I'm going to go and get it!"

"Then you will do it without my help," Goodwitch said, sweeping her hand in front of her. Her telekinesis pushed him across the ground and away from her. "I will not be a reason for you to go out and die instead of facing whatever is really troubling you. I am an educator and Huntress, so my duty is to protecting your life before it is to doing as anyone, even Ozpin, asks."

Ozpin smiled, but remained silent. As he took a slow drink of his coffee, he decided that this may be the best way to start Sora down his path once again. He had been afraid ever since his defeat at the hands of Salem. What better way existed to recover one's courage than being forced to stand up to Glynda Goodwitch, the most commanding presence on all of Remnant?

"Then I'll attack it head on, just like I've done every time I've needed to before!" Sora shouted back, matching glares with the woman. He took a step forward and Glynda, who usually appeared seven feet tall with laser eyes and fire breath in the eyes of anyone except Ozpin, suddenly looked very small to Sora. "So you can either help me, or I can fight every monster there to find the book."

Glynda remained silent, her frigid glare studying Sora intently, calculatingly. She could read it as plainly as if it was written on his forehead: Sora really would do something that stupid and reckless. "Three days. Then, regardless of whether you are ready or not, Sora, I will help the two of you into the Quarantine Zone."

"And do you have any news on Miss Belladonna's whereabouts?" Ozpin asked after momentary silence. He took a sip from his coffee and cocked his head to the side as he waited for an answer.

"None so far, I'm afraid." Glynda clasped her hands in front of her at her waist and shook her head. She took a deep breath before letting out a sigh and glancing at her former boss with apologetic eyes. "As far as I am aware, Blake Belladonna is... gone."

R W B Y

Ruby sat anxiously between her sister on her right and Neptune on her left, glancing between her incredibly uncomfortable uncle on one side of the limo's white and red interior and the equally uncomfortable Winter Schnee on the other side. Every so often, the two adult Huntsmen would glance at each other before looking away nervously. Every second of it seemed to stretch on for hours, quickly eroding all of her willpower. Finally, Ruby could take no more. "Could you please just call her Ice Queen," she began before turning to Weiss' older sister, "and can you call him a miserable Drunk? I think that would be better than..." Ruby waved her hands violently at the almost physical tension in front of her.

"Yes, I feel much the same, Ruby," Winter noted, uncrossing and then recrossing her legs. She frowned and, with what almost looked like a physical exertion on her part, forced a smile and looked over at Qrow. From behind the gritted teeth in her fake smile, Winter's words came out with a falsely comfortable tone. "Qrow, it is good to see you again. How are you?"

"My sister died for real this time, I learned my... best friend's body was stolen by Ozpin's evil ex girlfriend, and I am now stuck in a small metal box for the seventy-third straight hour," Qrow responded as dryly as possible. He looked up at Winter with half lidded eyes and cracked a sarcastic smile. "So, I guess you could say everything is just about normal. Wait! I don't drink anymore. I know that was pretty much my defining character trait for you, so sorry." He looked around anxiously and grabbed his knees. "And how are you, Winter?" It sounded like he wanted her to know that he did not want her sympathies.

"Please say everything's cool, please say everything's cool, please say everything's cool," Yang muttered under her breath.

"I am fine," Winter replied, voice even this time. The lack of bad jokes elicited a very audible cry of disappointment from Yang. Winter and Qrow looked over at her, neither of them amused, then back at one another. "There is no problem in my life with which you should trouble yourself." Her face fell slightly when she began to ignore Qrow's wishes. "I am sorry about your sister and your friend, however. Whatever you may believe, I am not heartless."

Qrow let out his pent up breath in a dry laugh. "Sorry, you just said something kind of funny. Inside joke," he explained with a shrug. "Maybe I'll explain it later. Besides, I never thought you were, Ice Queen."

Winter bit the inside of her cheek to hide her blush. "Well, you have always appeared just as rude as are," she responded immediately, turning away from Qrow.

"Oh God, we were joking before. You do like her," Neptune whispered, though it sounded like a surprised shout in the silence of the limo.

"You guys were joking?" Ruby asked. She grunted in surprise. "I knew they liked each other ever since they tried to kill each other in the Vale Courtyard."

Both Qrow and Winter immediately cringed and pointed at one another. "Him? Nev -"

"Not in her wildest dr -"

"Miss Schnee, we have arrived at Military Headquarters and Medical Center," the limo driver said, rolling down the airtight divide between him and his passengers. He raised one bored eyebrow as he examined Qrow and Winter pointing at each other, then sighed and wordlessly rolled the divide back into place. He muttered something about "Rich girls and ruffians."

Ruby was the first one to break the silence that had spread out over their heads. "Let's go!" she shouted cheerfully. She shoved the door open and shot out of the car in a torpedo of flowers, vaulting through the door of the building before Yang even made it out of the car itself. The young woman n red was then confronted by two rather burly men in white and black, official looking military suits. Unbidden, Crescent Rose suddenly appeared in her hand in its customary flash of red Light. "I swear that was an accident." The men both growled and pulled out their guns, leveling them at the young woman's head.

The automatic doors hissed open before anyone could do anything stupid and the rest of Ruby's party walked through the doors, headed by the top Atlesian specialist. "Stand down. She is with me," Winter commanded, shoving the two men apart like they were doors in her way when she got close enough, followed soon by Qrow, Neptune, and Yang. She began to lead them down the only path they could go down – a single hallway with an ending about thirty feet down.

Ruby glanced at both of the soldiers nervously before the Keyblade suddenly disappeared. "I... am with her," she repeated, slowly shuffling past their growling visages and casting a nervous smile at them when she passed them. Ruby gave a quick, and probably incredibly sloppy, military salute before rocketing off after the rest of her group.

"Please do not wander too far away again. The military does not look kindly on spies with weapons wandering our halls," Winter said without looking over her shoulder. She clasped her hands in the small of her back and spoke authoritatively. "And I am sure they could even handle a single young woman with a Keyblade."

"You would be surprised," Qrow muttered, winking back at Ruby. She grinned and flashed her uncle a thumbs up. "You could maybe beat her. Jimmy, of course. But I'd still put my money on her over every other soulless, worthless Speciali – sorry." Qrow's gaze fell and he grimaced at his thoughtlessness.

Winter ignored him and continued leading them to the end of the hallway, only stopping when she reached the back wall. "Luckily, General Ironwood should be in the Medical Center's Prosthesis Wing right now, tuning his own cybernetics," the specialist said, pressing a button on the wall and taking a step back. After a short while, the wall lit up and slid apart to reveal a lift of white tile and reflective chrome surfaces. She walked in and turned around to face the exit, waiting for the rest of the group to follow. "Well?" Ruby and the others glanced at one another before filing in and standing nervously beside the stoic Specialist. The doors slid shut in front of them, and they were on their way to meet the commander of the most powerful military in the world.

The lift hummed quietly and began to fly upwards, though the group within remained completely silent. Winter swayed from side to side, unnaturally anxious given her usual icy demeanor. She became rigidly worried when the doors opened to reveal a man in regal military dress. His right hand had a white glove on it, covering his cybernetic fist. There was a gray vest beneath his long military coat, with a red tie beneath that. His hair was deep black was styled very formally on his head, a stray pair of hairs forming a cowlick on the right side of his forehead that highlighted a cybernetic implant above his gray eyes. His temples were covered in gray hair, giving him the appearance of a man slightly older than him. "Winter! I was just coming to see –" He stopped speaking when he caught sight of the people with the woman, his brow furrowing in annoyance when his eyes met the man's. "Qrow. It's... What a surprise..." He glanced past him at Yang, especially the air where her right forearm should have been. "Ah, I see. You're late." He held his gloved hand out to her. "Well, I can get you in there and started at least. Come along. It will be quite some time before the implantation is completed. Two days, perhaps. More, if she wants to include her weapon in the arm's design."

"Oh, hell yes!" Yang said, running past the general. She turned around past him. "See you in..."

"Four days."

"Four days! I'll give you guys a hand when I get out!" Yang shouted, already laughing boisterously at her own joke.

Ironwood took a step back, the joke already making him regret spending any time alone with the young woman. He lifted his head and took a breath. "Qrow. Winter," he said, looking at them both with heavy set eyes. He frowned and nodded as the doors began to close. "We'll speak about this later."

The lift began to fall immediately after the doors slid shut, leaving the group minus one member. They were silent for some time before Winter broke the silence. "My sister claimed that her sense of humor was terrible. I just didn't realize how terrible," Winter said, suddenly breaking the silence.

It elicited a laugh from everyone present, especially Qrow. "I didn't realize you had a sense of humor, Winter. It's nice to see that even you're human too."

"Um, speaking of Weiss," Neptune cut in before the Atlesian could retort and start a whole very weird way of flirting with Qrow. The blue haired boy suddenly sounded incredibly nervous. Winter looked over at the blue haired young man and his downcast face, raising one intrigued and snow-white eyebrow. "Can we... see her?"

Winter sighed and turned around to face them. "I may... have a way," she said after a long pause of consideration. She glanced between the three of them and bit her lip to consider the three. "You'll need to dress in more appropriate clothing if you wish to blend in at one of my younger sister's recitals."

R W B Y

Neo watched the blonde cat Faunus with deep interest, studying her from within her private booth within the bar. A bowl of her namesake was in front of her, half eaten and almost entirely melted into three distinct sections. She twirled the spoon, causing the three colors to spiral together at the center of the bowl before removing it and drawing something into the soup of ice cream. The colors traced over one another until the shape of a laughing monster. "Still hung up on Roman I see." The mute's hand wrapped around the handle of her umbrella and she brought it up threateningly. Her guest, however, didn't care. Cinder Fall, clearly not shy about revealing who she was, slid into place on the opposite side of the booth. Neo let her umbrella fall and looked over at her now unconscious guards. Why did she even bother paying them if they couldn't do anything right?

"Them? It's not like they could have stopped me even if I didn't sneak up on them," the mastermind of the Vytal plot said dismissively. She smirked when Emerald and Mercury rounded the corner and crossed their arms. "They couldn't even stop those two."

Neo rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and dropping her umbrella to lean against the booth. Cinder had quite the annoying need to make everything she did stand out, and that was coming from someone who dressed like an ice cream dish had landed on a mobster. Neo looked over at the Faunus she had been watching; her mark had disappeared. Neo cursed internally and returned her gaze to Cinder. She hated that woman; without her, Roman would still be alive.

"I'm not the one who killed him," Cinder pointed out simply. She placed her elbows on the table and tented her hands in front of her face. "Who was the last person with him?"

Red. Neo's eyes narrowed and she clenched her fist on the table, her hatred for the woman in front of her suddenly dwarfed by that she held for the Huntress in training.

"That's right. Ruby Rose," Cinder agreed, once again sounding as if she could read the mute's mind. "She killed the only person on this world you actually cared about. I'd say that is an unforgivable crime, wouldn't you?"

Neo glanced down and frowned. This woman was offering something, for some reason that meant this was what Cinder wanted even more than Neo desired it. Which meant that this was going to lead into something big – maybe even bigger than what Cinder had done in Vale and Haven before going silent. What the hell would all that time planning become? Neo nodded for Cinder to continue.

"How would you like to kill the person most important to her?" Cinder inquired with an evil smile. She stood up and held her hand out to Neo, making it clear there was no time to consider her response. "It seems like good payment for your continued aid, doesn't it?"

Neo reached up and, without any apprehension in her movements, took the woman's hand. "Good. Let's get going," Cinder pulled Neo out of the building, Mercury and Emerald following in their footsteps. "I can't wait to see the look on that little girl's face when Sora is dead in front of her."