AN:
So, I'm not quite sure if I've said this yet, but everyone except Ruby on Team RWBY will be wearing their alt uniforms from season two, despite the introduction of the time skip outfits. You know, since there wasn't one in this. They'll probably show up at the end, though. The Yang one already did for a little while. My favorite right now is Blake's – I think it's the coolest redesign.
To gamelover41592: I love Qrow/Winter! I'm happy the buildup is going well, too. I actually had to cut some parts from this chapter to keep pacing right.
To Gravenimage: Can't wait? You won't have to wait long! Next chapter we'll have the girl show up with fists flaming.
To grimlock987: Kind of. Sora is going to need help, but it won't be the same guy as him. Xehanort's body was a nearly broken down Replica so if his Nobody shows up it'll be a very broken one this time.
To guest(A): You don't have to wait for that miracle. Sora won't be getting his Keyblade for a little while, but he's going to get something very soon. And I'm with you – Kingdom Hearts has infinite Crossover potential given pretty much everything about it. Different worlds, a common 'friendship' theme. It might be one of the easiest to attach to combine with other stories.
To sethman610: Oh yeah. KH may be amazing, but some of the explanations for things are completely insane. DDD is nuts, and this is a franchise where the main character had to use physical cards to remember how to fight while in a magic castle. It's amazing, but it can be a lot. As for Tai, Oz needed someone to go check in on the other Maidens, so he'll be showing up more once Salem's group is after them.
To warrior of six blades: Neo is going to be super dangerous when she gets back. Her Illusion Semblance was a bit stronger than Emerald's, and her fight with Sora is going to be really important when it happens. Fenrir is going to be better against Heartless than the wooden sword was; strong Hearted people like Leon could use steel weapons to kill Heartless after all.
To LightJakRises: Thanks, I put a lot of thought into the story before I started it.
To ShadicZX: I wouldn't mind some help on team up Limits like in KH2. I mostly come up with them as I'm writing, but help would be great so I can plan it out better! Thanks!
To Guest(B): I can't wait for any of those! KH3 especially, given we've been waiting for that for over a decade!
To xblaster956: Thanks for the compliments! I hope to keep impressing you with the story's direction.
Chapter 24: White
"Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the Heart has no metrics or forms of measure. And all of it... Irreplaceable"
Ruby groaned as she sat down in her seat at the theater, her mind shifting between her intense dislike for clothes she couldn't easily fight in – her high heels especially – and her excitement over seeing her partner again. Neptune placed himself to her left and tried to hide the excited grin that was spreading across his face. "Whoa there, Neptune," Ruby said, hitting him with her elbow. "Calm down, buddy. We're in the front row, do you want the first thing Weiss sees before she starts singing to be your creepy daydreaming face?" Neptune didn't respond. He looked down and continued trying to calm himself.
Things were even more awkward to Ruby's right. Qrow sat immediately next to her, hands clasped in his lap while he stared straight ahead with his best forced calm face. He was wearing the tie he had worn to the dance in Haven, but that was the only change in his outfit. It was obvious, even to the most novice observer who took everything at face value – for example, Ruby – that he was deeply uncomfortable however. He had scooched as far left as his seat would allow, since to the man's right sat the source of his discomfort, a tall woman dressed in all white. Winter didn't look much calmer than Qrow did, however. She was as far right in her seat as she could be, fingers tapping against her thighs and a similarly forced smiling gracing her features. "Is this thing going to start anytime soon?" Qrow asked, voice gruff and tired.
Ruby silently was wondering the same thing, tugging at the fabric of her dress where she sat. The sooner it began, the sooner they could talk to Weiss. The sooner they talked to Weiss, the sooner they could get the team back together. The sooner they got the band back together, the sooner she could change out of this Godforsaken dress. Ruby was itching for a fight, something to do other than just wait. "I'm bored," she groaned, leaning back in her seat and staring at the white and red ceiling. "Can't we just go backstage and get her?"
"And alert my father to your presence?" Winter asked without looking over at the young woman. She shook her head almost imperceptibly. "You would never see my younger sister again unless she was surrounded by a dozen of my peers. Effectively, you would never Weiss... ever again."
"Fine," Ruby muttered angrily.
"Sit up straight," Winter said, her tone communicating she was done listening to whining. Ruby shot up and suddenly found herself sitting like the platinum blonde, one leg crossed over the other and hands clasped in her lap.
"H-how did you do that?" Ruby wondered as she tried to return to how she was sitting before. She wasn't succeeding. Winter looked over at Ruby from the corner of her eyes, and the younger woman swore she saw a smile form on the Specialist's features. Ruby glanced over at Qrow and for the first time thought the man was going to have a very interesting life if he kept chasing after the woman. She knew better than to voice her suspicions, and instead turned her thoughts to purposefully avoiding the Keyblade. Having that suddenly appear from thin air would draw way too much attention to her and her friends, and probably wind up getting them captured by the Atlesian Military. Qrow had made it clear that everyone wanted to know what a Keyblade was and how to get one, so the only reason she wasn't already underground being experimented upon was because of Winter. That could easily change if the Schnee patriarch saw the magical weapon, however.
The lights dimmed a moment later and a deep quiet overtook the theater, almost deathly. A single beam of light collided with the velvet curtains atop the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome... Weiss Schnee performing Mirror," a voice called over the sound system. As soon as the last word's echo faded into the silent buzz of the air, the curtains slowly began to part from the top. The circular beam of light shot forward to reveal a young woman with white hair. She looked remarkably like Winter, though her face somehow seemed less severe and much more innocent. Ruby supposed that made sense – she was still the only member of the Team to have not seen the deaths and pain of friends so intimately.
Weiss Schnee's slightly sad frown was accented by the bright light; she probably wanted to be there even less than Ruby did. The young woman was wearing a white dress with black accents and a popped collar; it had black double breasted buttons that gave the young woman a clean, business like look rather than her usual princess style. Black style lines highlighted the shape of the dress-jacket. Ruby knew from memory that the back of the dress had a print of the Schnee Snowflake in a collor matching her eyes. The skirt of the dress had a warm albeit frilly black fabric that filled the space around the woman's legs and ended slightly above the thigh high, black stockings that edged just above her white, leathery boots. One thin, icicle like earring hung from each of Weiss' earlobes. The young woman opened her pale blue eyes, the sad frown extending into them.
Well, until she caught sight of Ruby Rose in the front row. Ruby, despite knowing she should remain quiet, could simply not contain herself. She stood up and, waving her left hand above her head as she did and cupping the other around her mouth, shouted at the top of her lungs, "WEISS! HEY BEST BUDDY!"
Weiss cringed with every syllable, shrinking further and further away from the source of the noise. That didn't stop her from smiling with every syllable, though. Idiot, she thought fondly of her partner.
"I'm here too!" Weiss' eyes followed the source of the second voice to lock onto a familiar blue head of hair. Neptune was trying to play it cool, but he couldn't hide the goofy smile spreading across his face.
Idiots, she noted, smile still widening.
"Idiots," Winter grumbled under her breath, knowing this would not end well. She looked up at the box her father had reserved, not knowing if it was good or bad that it was empty. She'd been... distracted walking in and hadn't noted if he had been there. She sighed when the lights began to brighten above them, a sign that what had just happened had indeed been noticed by the theater goers.
"Apologies, there seems to be trouble makers in the first row."
"And that's our cue to leave," Winter told her group. She looked up at her sister and motioned for her to meet them outside before grabbing Qrow, who grabbed Ruby, and bolted. Ruby's hand shot out to keep balance and she grabbed Neptune by the collar, the two of them being dragged along behind the two veteran Huntsmen.
"Bye, Best Friend!" Ruby shouted as she bounced along the ground. Weiss shook her head and turned to sneak out before her father's bodyguards could get to her.
"Bye, Snow Angel!" Weiss froze and blushed, torn between the blinding, livid rage springing from the mere idea that she had been called such in public, and a level of over excited giddiness at seeing Neptune and her best friend once more. Again, not that she would ever admit Ruby was her best friend. The twin feelings only lasted for a moment before the heiress knew she had no more time left to squander smiling like a dunce in front of hundreds of spectators, so she soon sprinted off stage despite the cries of the announcer for someone to stop her. She couldn't be stopped now, she had friends to see. Not that she would betray just how excited she was, of course. That would be unbecoming of a young woman of Weiss' station, especially in front of Winter!
R W B Y
The bullhead was silent, save for the loud whir of the powerful engines that kept the huge block of metal soaring towards the peak of the cliff hanging above Vale's capital city. Sora could tell that neither of the teachers in the hold were enthusiastic about what was happening, given that the young man had not shown the great advancement towards gaining a Keyblade that they had all hoped. He was better with Fenrir, but he was still not sure if he would do well fighting against the huge numbers of Grimm that would be waiting for him and Ozpin. If he wasn't, he knew it was his own fault: he'd basically threatened to go even if they didn't let him.
Ozpin didn't seem to mind, of course. He was just smiling with his eyes shut, as if he was enjoying a leisurely ride through the country. His cane was laid across his lap with the handle in his right hand, the only indication that he was ready for a fight at all. Beneath that facade of relaxation, Sora knew that the green suited former Keyblade Master was likely an explosion of stress. Ozpin had been at, essentially, war for over twelve centuries with the only person to whom he could really relate. Sora had at first believed Ozpin could simply easily force himself to be happier, like Sora himself could. But the young man had gotten better over the years at seeing what people really thought, and saw the truth behind the stance. Ozpin's knuckles were white where they wrapped around the weapon across his legs, and his jaw was clenched tight behind his carefree smile. He had escaped his incarceration at the hands of Salem, but only at the cost of his saviors' strength. They were going to reclaim the Journal, perhaps accelerating Sora's reclamation of his abilities and the future defeat of Salem's darkness. But even Sora's endless optimism had also become somewhat tempered by the knowledge that the other shoe would inevitably drop.
Miss Goodwitch, on the other hand, was not quite as good at hiding her true feelings about this... misadventure upon which Sora and Ozpin were about to embark. She was definitely more calm and well put together than she had been when Sora had first met her, though Sora was starting to understand that the professor was usually hovering somewhere between completely focused and absurdly stressed. She was standing, which seemed the only way she could take part in any sort of flight, just beside the door to the cockpit. This of course annoyed the pilot to no end, especially since she was barely fighting off the desire to run in and take over the airship with every small bout of turbulence. Her struggle with that desire seemed to be the only thing that made the former Headmaster truly smile. "We will be there soon, Glynda," Ozpin said placatingly after one of her near episodes. She merely glared at him with a look that could freeze fire. It only served to broaden the man's amused smirk. There was another bout of turbulence and the Bullhead's pilot slammed the door shut before Glynda could flinch towards the controls.
"Beginning descent," the pilot announced, relief at the shutting of the door evident in her voice. From the stories Jaune had told him, most people respected Goodwitch but were more than happy to not be around her. Sora's head fell despite himself while he thought of Jaune, thinking of the other young man. Sora knew it was only a matter of time before either he crossed blades with the blonde warrior or Ruby did. Sora wasn't sure who would fare worse against the new Keyblade Wielder being trained by the creator of the first Keyblades herself – a novice Keyblade Wielder with only a month of training or a Keyblade Master without his weapon? Sora was quickly thrown from his thoughts when the bullhead shook again, the airship slamming against the grounds of Beacon Academy.
Glynda took a deep breath and turned to Sora and Ozpin. "I do not like this," she restated calmly, her eyes narrowing and her glare growing hotter – passionately concerned, one could say. She coughed and cleared the emotion from her mind. She pressed a button on the wall and the door to the vehicle opened on the side of the hold. Sora glanced over instinctively and saw that they had landed on a cliff outcropping that overlooked the Emerald Forest. "Which is why you will be back here in three hours or every Huntsman from here to Atlas will be hunting you down."
"Three hours?" Ozpin asked, a ghost of a smirk on his features. He nodded and his smirk became an honest albeit quiet smile. "We will be back by then, Glynda. I assure you." Ozpin wrapped his arm around Sora's shoulder and began to pull him from the ship. "Perhaps after this we can launch Sora into the forest off of this cliff, hm? He needs the training."
"What?" Sora managed to get out before the gray haired man dragged him from the dryly unamused woman's presence. He blinked and was suddenly standing outside of the Bullhead on the cliff's edge. Goodwitch, standing on the cusp of the Bullhead's entrance, let her eyes soften and she shook her head in amusement. Her right hand twitched to wave them off, but it stopped before it even began to rise. Instead, the woman let her head dip just barely before rising to stare straight ahead again. She slammed her hand onto the controls for the door and it slid shut in front of her.
Ozpin watched the Bullhead rise with his same quiet smile before looking down at Sora. "We should go. Three hours is not quite as long as it seems, given the concentration of Grimm in the region," he said once the Bullhead was a few miles from the cliff face. The man turned towards the towering spires of Beacon and failed to hold in a sigh of contentment. "Home. Even destroyed, it is quite nice to be back." He took a breath before motioning for Sora to follow him down the path towards the Emerald towers. "We should hurry if you wish to avoid needless battles with Grimm."
"Right," Sora said, following Ozpin. He frowned. "Wait, 'If I wish to avoid battles?'"
Ozpin laughed once and tossed his cane into the air, gabbing the center and walking calmly along in front of Sora. "Mister Nomura, we are still trying to train you. That will not happen if I am fighting your battles for you, will it?"
Sora looked over at Ozpin dryly. "Are you sure it's not just because you're a little lazy?" the young man asked. When Ozpin smirked without denying it, Sora's head fell in disbelief. "Why am I even surprised?"
Around half an hour later, the two of them were standing a few hundred yards from Beacon's main gate, examining the sea of shadowy flesh and bone dry masks that milled about in front of them. The creatures would occasionally roar in rage and desire towards the massive dragon, a silent sentinel far above waiting for the forces of Darkness to reignite its power. "So that's where we're going, isn't it?" Sora asked, gesturing up at the petrified monster.
"Not quite," the old man muttered quietly. He pointed just past the gates of the school, towards a statue of a young man and woman standing victoriously on a cliff edge above a statue of a Beowolf. The woman was dressed in a hooded raiment that reminded Sora vaguely of Ruby, and the man in armor and a sword raised above his head so he looked like Jaune. "There is a small compartment within the statue. It contains the Journal, as well as other items of a... personal nature." Ozpin fell silent for a while then cleared his throat. "Anyways, you'll need a plan to get us over there."
"Any help?" Sora asked.
"You're clever. Figure it out," Ozpin responded.
Sora narrowed his eyes on the man. "Gee, thanks," he muttered before turning his attention on the entrance to the school's grounds. The Grimm were swarming the area, filling the grounds of the school and growing more and more dense – and more and more dangerous individually – the closer to the Dragon one got. However, there were very few of the creatures nearby that had the ability of flight, and the creatures avoided the statue itself like it was poisonous. As soon as they got there, they might be able to ignore the vast majority of Grimm before making their way back. Whatever else Ozpin was hiding in there, it must have an intense Light aura to keep away those creatures. Sora let his gaze drift to his left and saw a locker. Ruby and the others had said something about them... He grinned and pointed. "There. We'll use that to get over there."
Ozpin smiled and nodded without looking over. "You found an answer," he said, swinging to a standing position and walking towards the rocket powered locker with Sora. "Allow me." He shut the door and began to type a set of numbers into the screen on the front. "There we go." He grabbed Sora's arm with one hand and jammed his cane into the metal finish with his other. "Hold on tight." Sora's eyes widened and he grabbed onto Ozpin's arm just as the rockets activated and the locker shot up with enough force to nearly take Sora's arm from it's socket. He screamed in a combination of fear and fun while the two of them flew through the sky.
Until the ride suddenly ended in a rain of stone and metal. Sora's body hurt all over and he groaned. "Ow. Bad idea," he muttered when he pushed himself to his feet. Ozpin, of course, had landed softly on his feet, one foot atop the end of the locker so he looked like a hero ready to run off into battle. Sora looked around and saw a thousand angry, evil eyes locked on him and Ozpin. Thankfully, Ozpin was keeping something there that kept the creatures away. Ozpin himself was staring directly into the eyes of the Beowolf statue with a heavy frown. Wordlessly, the man walked towards the statue and reached into its open mouth before quickly removing it.
The statues themselves whirred with a loud, angry groan and began to move. The Grimm hissed and was dragged forward, past the cliff carving. There was a loud clank and a small door slid open suddenly on the wall. A small door opened with a quiet clink, and Ozpin motioned for the young man to walk towards it. Sora nodded and did as he was told, pushing himself to his feet and standing beside the veteran warrior. Ozpin stood stone still and looked away from the opening. "Go ahead, young man. I will..." he looked out at the monsters surrounding them. "Go ahead."
Sora watched the man for a moment, then reached into the opening and pulled out a simple, metal box perhaps two feet by one foot with eight inches of depth. The Grimm hissed as the box graced the light of day. They retreated a few steps and Sora frowned in confusion. Sora stared at them for a few more seconds before he sat down on the edge of the statue's base and placed the box beside him. He flicked his thumb and the box's latch flipped upward so Sora could open it. Sora hesitated for a moment, unsure of what he would find within. But he knew it was what remained of his friends – no matter how sad it was they deserved to say goodbye. He took a single deep breath and flipped open the box's top.
Within were only a few items. The one that caught his eye first was the Journal, ancient and a worn out white color. A symbol shaped like Mickey's head was at the center, above a line that had a loopy name written atop it – Jiminy's signature. Sora let his open palm drag across it for a moment and he smiled sadly. He took it out and placed it softly at his side, having grown intrigued by the other things in the box.
Beneath where the book had been resting was a collection of items that Sora could tell were older than anything he could imagine. Mementos and artifacts from the place in which Ozpin had been born. There was a folded up letter with the name 'Salem' written across it, so Sora knew he should probably avoid that one. It didn't feel right to look at it, especially with its author likely standing only a few feet away, so he just moved on to the next item. It was a Keychain for a Keyblade, its links made up of gray and green metals. The pendant of the item itself was what looked like a curled up scorpion with a single, bright blue eye like the one on Riku or Xehanort's weapons. Sora picked it up and looked over at Ozpin. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked.
Ozpin glanced back at Sora for a moment from where he was standing, leaning against the cliff face of the statue, and nodded. "Yes. That is the Keychain of my first Keyblade, Libidious Sting," Ozpin explained, his eyes closing after only a second of taking in the face of the ancient remnant of his weapon. "It is all that remains since I shattered my ability to summon the weapon. But even memories such as that hold great power. I kept it here in the hope it would keep the Grimm away from the school. It did, until that creature appeared. Now all it can protect is this small circle of Light. It seems that is all I can protect."
Sora looked down at the Keychain in his open palm and cautiously placed it back into the box. For a moment he thought he understood Ozpin better, even what he had done to Pyrrha. Didn't allow it, didn't agree, but understood. Then it was gone. Sora stared at the Keychain for a little while longer before looking over at the final item within the box.
It was a picture frame, simple and made of a mahogany wood. The colors of the pictures were faded and grayed, but enough remained that Sora could see everything within. "That's..." he bit his lower lip, keeping back the words and fighting the tears in his eyes. He took the picture out and held it in front of his face with a sad smile. The picture was of eight people, two of whom were clearly older than the others. One of these adults was a man with gray hair and green clothes, a warm smile on his face beneath his green sunglasses. Ozpin. His arm was over the other adult's shoulders, this one a woman who smiled invitingly despite her striking appearance. Her red and black eyes and snow white hair – Sora knew that woman had to be Salem. They were... friends, it appeared. More, maybe.
But the thing that scared Sora the most was the six kids – all of them no older than fourteen – who were with them. One was a child with bright yellow hair and a wide, goofy smile. Another was a woman with blue hair and bright, knowledgeable but kind smile. Third was a boy with dark skin and brown hair taller than the first two, his long hair accompanied by a confident grin on his face. The fourth was boy with a serious face and white hair; his arms were crossed over the gold shirt adorning his chest while he fought off his smile that he had directed at the camera taking the photo. Fifth was a read headed girl whose eyes were shut, adding to the quiet strength of her kind smile. And finally Sora's eyes locked onto the spiky brown head, blue eyes, and wild laugh of the last boy. Of himself. Ventus. Aqua. Terra. Riku... Kairi. And himself. The tears welled up in his eyes again and he felt a few stream down his cheeks unbidden. "Damn it," he growled to himself, slamming his open palm into his eye to try and mop up the tears. His memories flashed through his head, moments spent with each of them, no matter how few there were. He buried his eyes in his sleeve and held off a sob.
"Ah, yes. That was a good day," Ozpin said when he saw what Sora had seen. He looked up when a low growl and rumble ran through the crowd of Grimm. "Unfortunately, you must pull yourself together, Mister Nomura. The creatures are -"
The man was cut off by a sudden explosion of Darkness from deep within the horde of Grimm, the black-purple energy spreading like fire until it towered above them in the distance. Ozpin twirled the weapon to grip it in one hand. "Behind me, Mister Nomura," he growled, readying his defense to protect the two of them. He palled, for he was for the first time in a very long time completely unsure of what he was about to face. Sora wasn't responding, instead just staring at the picture in his hands and sobbing quietly. "Mister Nomura..? Sora!"
Then the creature attacked, and Ozpin's eyes widened in fear. "No!" he whispered as the monster appeared in front of him, the gaping hole in its pitch chest describing the truth of what it was. A being that Ozpin had thought exterminated from this world before its birth. He could only say its name as it snaked its way through the Grimm that surrounded them, shrieking and tearing them apart. Destroying them, devouring them. The monster, with cloth straps wrapped around its body and giving it an even more evil and broken look, turned towards the source of Light and roared hungrily for their Hearts. Then it shot off right at Sora and Ozpin, it's malice filled yellow eyes seeming to absorb the entire world into the Darkness.
Then Sora stood up and the Light returned in a bright flash. Sora stood between Ozpin and the Heartless, Fenrir in his right hand and a glowing star in his left that matched the fire in his stance. He brought it up to his chest and said, "Give me strength, guys. Lea, Ven, Aqua, Terra, Riku, Kairi, come on!" Fire shot out from the star in his hand, then air, water, earth rose from the ground followed by the Dark remains of the Grimm and finally the light itself. Each of them rose to form different shaped Keys that hovered above his shoulders with their tips pointed at the ground. Fenrir in his right hand began to glow bright, a blade of Light lengthening it and burning with rage. "Heartless!" Then Sora dashed forward, the giant keys following him like the top edge of a wing.
R W B Y
Fifteen Years before the First Great Keyblade War
The door exploded inward, the shards of wood and metal flying throughout the room and burying itself in the flesh of the criminals who had been waiting within. Cards fell to the table accompanied by grunts of surprise and pain while others shouted out as they slammed into the walls from the shock of it. Before any of them could draw their weapons, one of their number was surprised by an explosive ball of fire crashing into his chest. The man roared in sudden pain when the concussive force sent him flying into one of his comrades, the flames on his clothes spreading across his body and burning the other man, too. That was the point when all the others' weapons were drawn and readied, aimed towards the smoke filled doorway.
A lone man walked through the door, a shadowy figure obscured by the smoke. He had a hood pulled up over his head that disguised the shape of his head, and a coat that stretched all the way down to his ankles and the air rushing out of the building caused the coat to flutter lightly away from his body and reveal his dark green pants. A metal bar dangled from his loose grip in his left hand, and a matching one rested on top of his right shoulder. "You all have one chance to put down your weapons. That's all you're getting," the man explained, fingers tightening around his weapons while he began to shift his body into a fighting stance. Nobody moved. "Really? I thought one of you would at least be smart about this." He stood still and shook his hooded head in disappointment. "Fine. If this is what you truly desire."
The man didn't flinch when the men ran right at him, all twelve of them. He just waited until they and their weapons were close enough for him to raise his weapons above his head. "Wind!" An explosion of air appeared at his words, stunning the criminal warriors and sending them flying away. The hood of the man's coat flapped in the wind and fell from his head, revealing the gray hair and disappointed scowl of Ozpin. As soon as the last of his opponents slammed into the ground, he dashed ahead to finish them off one by one. He landed a swift blow into the first one's nose with his heel, jumping from the man's face and bringing both of his weapons over his head. They slammed into the next man's face. There was a loud crunch as the man's eye socket gave beneath the blow.
"Watch out!" Ozpin turned around and raised both of his escrima defensively in anticipation of the blow, only for a young man in a red jacket and black pants to slam feet first into the incoming criminal's face. The criminal groaned in pain while the boy back flipped off of his face. The young man grinned as he landed on his feet and drew his sword from his side. His spiky brown hair rustled while he shook his head at Ozpin. "Come on, Oz. Don't you always tell me to watch my back?"
Oz didn't respond to Skye's mocking statement, and instead tossed one of his weapons right past the young man's ear. That shut him up rather quickly, especially once it bounced right off of an opponent's face and clattered against the ground. "And I'm still telling you, it seems," the young man's mentor said dryly. He lashed out behind himself with his foot and another enemy fell to the ground like a useless sack of bricks. He placed his foot on the ground and raised his remaining weapon above his head. "Thunder!" Massive bolts of yellow electricity fell from the sky, stunning the remaining seven enemies and letting the third of their number easily dispatch them.
"So where do we go now, Salem?" Ozpin asked. He knelt and picked up his other escrima, placing them both in their holsters on his hips. He looked over at the woman as she wiped blood from the blade of her sword and sheathed it as well. Her face drifted upward, her disinterested glare locking onto Oz. The man shivered – fights always made her behave... oddly.
The glare turned into a small smile after a moment and she walked up to Oz and Skye. "You're getting good at that magic thing, Oz," she said while she smoothed out her black and red combat dress. She pulled a map out from a pack on her belt and unrolled it, examining the layout of the building they were in at the moment. "The three rooms are there – mine – there – Oz's. And the last one has a locked door, so the kid should have no problem getting in."
Skye shot Ozpin a dry look that rang with the words 'I told you so.' The warrior just shook his head and gave his own glare to Salem. "Oh, come on. I'm just having a little bit of fun," she said with a smile and a shrug.
"It's... it's fine," Ozpin said, quietly annoyed with how she treated the kid. Four years of it was getting bored and old. "If any of us find the children we get them out first then come help the others." The others nodded, and Ozpin drew them both into a hug. "Be careful, you two." Then he pushed them to arm's length and sprinted towards his door.
Salem and Skye glared at each other for a while, their mutual dislike clear on their faces. Still – "Don't get hurt. Oz'd cry for weeks if his girlfriend died," Skye stated, crossing his arms and smirking at the woman.
Salem glared down at him and shook her head. "And Oz has a soft spot for you, too," she finally muttered. She sighed and grabbed his shoulder. "So for his sake you stay alive, too." She and Skye smiled begrudgingly at one another and then ran in opposite directions.
Salem ran through the door to what she quickly saw was a laboratory with notes littered all around the tables and walls. She walked up to the nearest one and her eyes grew hungry while she examined it. The page, it was adorned with the image of the χ -blade, lines pointing towards it and describing some of its characteristics. She read through one of the paragraphs and giddily found that it was describing Darkness, but by a much less interesting name – Shadow. She continued through and found herself looking directly at images of children. Five, to be exact, and each of them individuals who had found themselves in the company of the χ -blade. Two girls and three boys that all looked very different. And just about the same age as Skye; the scientific part of her mind told Salem there was simply no chance that was a coincidence. Her eyes began to drift towards a theory on the makeup of the χ -blade when she was surprised from behind by an unknown voice.
"You are interested in my research, it would seem." Salem drew her sword and turned on her heel, angling the weapon at the man standing opposite her in a white lab coat. He had white hair that reached the small of his back, deeply tanned skin, and burning yellow eyes. He looked to be around his mid thirties and deeply intelligent. "Aliux. And you are Salem, one of the current χ -blade scholars."
Salem raised one eyebrow. "How did you know that?" she asked, keeping her weapon on the man. No one save Oz, Skye, and certain Scholars knew that.
"The χ -blade, I've been studying it and its effects for a very long time," the scientist explained. He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled calmly. "The glint in your eyes. The weapon has Shadow in it, the same Shadow in you now."
"But you haven't seen it," the woman responded, her smile widening.
Aliux laughed. "No. No, I have not had the opportunity to follow my Calling. It's there, but it does not want me to see it," he said, his voice becoming hollow and angry with every word. "I wanted your book long ago. My men were stupid and your ally made short work of them. Then you took the other child from me. Both small losses, in the long run, but annoying nonetheless."
The man sighed and looked away from Salem before saying, "But this is not a small loss. How did you find me here?"
"We followed your men here. They're not very intelligent," Salem explained with a shrug. "I'd say you should look into hiring better thugs, but it wouldn't help since you're not going to have this job much longer."
The white haired man nodded, smirking as he did. "You're killing me, are you? You like the taste of Shadow."
"Darkness," Salem responded, shaking her head. "I'm not going to kill you."
Aliux nodded. "Yes you are. It's in that glint of Sh – Darkness." He reached down to his belt and pulled out a dagger. "I'm not going to let that happen, however." He rushed the pale woman and slashed at her throat. She brought her blade up to deflect the attack and lashed out with her foot. The blow landed in his gut and he stumbled backwards. Obviously, this man was not a fighter.
Salem, however, was. She ran forward and her sword flashed in her hand. It slid across Aliux' throat and his white coat was soon stained red. Salem blinked in surprise and looked down at the body, as if she was unsure just what had just happened. That she had liked it, for some reason. She stared at the blood suddenly pooling around the corpse and filling the room with a sickly sweet, ferrous smell. She dropped her sword hurriedly and began to edge away from the room, scared by what had just happened when her breath caught and she found herself staring at the notes on the χ -blade. She was torn, taking the notes or leaving them or destroying them...
"Guys! Guys, I found them!" Skye called. Salem looked over her shoulder for a moment, then made her choice.
When she found Skye, he was standing outside of the door to the cell in which. "That's the girl I got those losers to ignore when we met," the kid explained while pointing at a young woman with bright red hair. Ozpin frowned and examined each of the children – all of them were wearing rags and had bruises across their faces and bodies. He nodded seriously at the prisoners and smiled comfortingly. "It's gonna be okay, guys."
"Disgusting," Ozpin growled, livid at the idea that someone would do this to children. He looked over at Salem. "Did you see any indication as to -" his voice caught upon seeing the torture evident from their bruises "- as to why?"
Salem was silent for while, then looked up. "They've all seen it. Each of them. I destroyed the rest of what he had – no one should have these notes," she said quietly. Ozpin stared at her for a while, making her more and more uncomfortable before he finally nodded and looked back at the kids.
"I'm going to get you out of there, come on," Ozpin told the kids, nodding as he did. "It's going to be okay." He stood up and leveled his escrima on the lock of the door, summoning a burst of ice to explode against it. It hissed as it cooled and suddenly shattered from the freezing cold. The door hissed open and the five kids ran out – first the blue haired girl and brown haired boy helping a younger blonde boy out of the cell door. Next was the serious white haired boy and finally the innocent looking young woman with red hair. He grouped them together and began to shepherd them out of the building. "Let's get going."
"I'm Skye!" the young man shouted, introducing himself with his trademark friendly grin. He waited for a response, but when none came he looked over at the redhead girl. "What's your name?"
Salem watched them go and reached into her pocket to grip the notes she had taken. She pulled them out and studied them again for a moment. "The χ -blade calls out to a very specific group of people, ones with indomitable wills. However, the place in which the Call is felt is not the brain, as my dissections will attest; the weapon calls out to the Heart – the metaphysical core of one's being. My studies have found a way to access this core of one's being to study the call and affect the Heart, the designs for which have been include-" She clenched her fist and pocketed the notes again. This was the last key – she scoffed. That was an apt description for what she had found. She had everything she needed, now, to complete her experiments. She just hoped Oz would forgive her if he ever found out.
R W B Y
"WEISS!" The white haired woman looked up in surprise as a blur of red crashed into her and she was sent flying into the wall. Ruby was hugging her tight enough to make Yang jealous in the strength department. Ruby hugged her even tighter and Weiss began to choke while Ruby shouted, "Weiss it's so great to see you!"
Between gurgles Weiss managed to get out, "...Choking me... you... Dunce! Urgh!"
Ruby yelped in surprise and let go of her partner. "Sorry, best friend," she muttered a high pitched apology. She laughed nervously and clasped her fingers behind her head.
"You look like Sora doing that," Neptune said, coming to a stop beside Ruby. She laughed nervously again, letting her hands fall to her side and muttering in embarrassment. Neptune looked over at Weiss next and laughed. "Hey. Long time no see, Snow Angel." He looked at the ground, cheeks flushed red.
Weiss did the same. "Hi yourself, Neptune," she responded with a girlish giggle, much to the delight of Ruby. The younger girl began to chant a song about 'K-I-S-S-I-N-G!' until Weiss glared angrily at her. The white haired heiress stomped her foot on the ground like she was about to throw a tantrum and huffed: "Stop it!"
"Weiss," Winter snapped as she walked up, causing the younger Schnee to yelp in surprise and fear. The young woman mumbled an apology and clasped her hands in front of her, staring at the ground and trying to fight off the intense red growing in her cheeks. Winter stopped and crossed her arms and began to tap her toes against the ground. "I am afraid I did not hear that, Sister."
"Sorry, Ruby," Weiss grumbled loud enough for all present to hear.
"I humbly accept your apology, my good woman!" Ruby responded in her most affected 'well mannered' voice. She curtsied poorly and wobbled in her heels. "Oo-eep!" She began to slowly topple, but swung her arms up and spun them around in a barely successful attempt at reclaiming her balance. She slowly stood up and placed her hands proudly on her hips. She raised one finger and pointed it at Qrow while clicking her tongue and winking. "Nailed it."
"I cannot believe this is the Neptune individual my sister finds herself incapable of talking about without blushing like a school girl," Winter said, causing Neptune to smile and wiggle his blue eyebrows at Weiss. Winter frowned. "I must say, I am disappointed – I had always assumed my sister would have enjoyed the company of more serious suitors."
Neptune's head whipped towards Winter and he growled. "You're one to talk," he mocked. "You want to make out with Qrow."
"Please stop," the Huntsman cut in before this could continue. And also to keep Winter, whose hand was drifting closer and closer to the sword she had on her hip, from murdering the young blue headed man. He raised his hands in front of him to calm the woman, grabbing her arm and pulling it away from her weapon. "We have things we need to talk about."
"Like... where's that boy with the big key?" Weiss asked. She frowned. "And how's Yang doing?"
"Sora's in Vale, looking for Blake. Oh, I can't wait for you to meet him! He's great and fun and a great fighter!" Ruby shouted excitedly. Then she raised her hands above her. "And Yang's here!"
"What? Where is she?" Weiss asked, eyes sparkling and joy in her voice.
"She's getting a new arm!" Ruby shouted excitedly. She made robotic like moves and beeped a few times. "When we pick her up tomorrow morning, she's gonna be a cyborg... Yang thinks it's almost better than having her old arm." Ruby snickered, rolled her eyes, and flipped her wrist like it was a joke. "The weirdo."
Yang is the weirdo? Weiss thought while looking dryly at Ruby. Of course, what did it say about Weiss that all her friends acted like that? It probably made her the weird one, if she was being honest with herself. "Why are you here the -" Weiss froze and looked over at her sister, who was smiling coyly. "So you're finally helping me get out, then?"
"Your friends have a place to stay and need your help. What better time would there be for you to go to your friends than when they are already here, Sister?" Winter asked, her smile warming as she looked at Weiss. She placed her hand on her hip and pulled out the weapon she had hidden behind her own.
"Myrtenaster!" Weiss shouted, reaching out to grab the rapier filled with different Dust. She took the needle thin blade's handle in her right hand and twirled it a few times, accustoming herself to the weight her father had confiscated. "How did you manage to get it out of the mansion?"
"Please. I am an Atlesian Specialist, Sister. How could I fail to do so?" Winter asked, smiling smugly.
"Now you're even sounding like Qrow," Neptune pointed out, freezing when Winter's icy, terrifying, rage filled glare landed suddenly on him. "Eep! Um..." he cleared his throat, trying to un-crack his voice. "Sorry. Sorry... Ma'am."
"That''s better," Winter said, enjoying the terror she had struck into the young man's Heart. She leaned in close after casting a glance at Weiss. "I take it no threats need to be made?"
"Nope!" Neptune responded, voice cracking terribly once again.
"Move," Qrow commanded suddenly, moving faster than the eye could see and sliding to a stop behind Winter. His sword was out, hand held against the flat to keep it despite the sudden shockwave of energy that had crashed into it. He grimaced and began to slide back inch by inch. "Damn it, Winter, I said move!"
The woman nodded and suddenly grabbed hold of her sister and Neptune, diving out of the way while Qrow angled his weapon and sent the energy rebounding straight up. The air around him exploded as it did and he was soon surrounded by a swirling circle of dust. He readied his weapon in front of him and stared towards the hole in the fog through which the black energy had come. "Ruby, get ready."
The girl in red nodded and ran up beside him. She swept her hand across her body and Crescent Rose appeared in her hand, its customary flash of red surprising the heiress. "What is that!?" she shouted while her older sister ran her out of the path of danger. She was unceremoniously dumped, along with Neptune, to the ground so Winter could draw her weapon.
"Later. Prepare for battle, Sister," Winter snapped, looking around and waiting for their attacker to reveal itself once more. She flicked a small switch on the weapon's handle and grabbed the secondary blade that shot out from the center of the main weapon. The Specialist looked towards Qrow. "That energy was the same kind present at Haven."
"Yeah. It is," Qrow responded, voice low and cautious. He looked around and shook his head. "I'll scout it out; be back in a few." He sheathed his weapon and ran into the darkness, his namesake appearing from the shadows and flying off a few seconds later. Everyone else looked at each other, worry in their eyes, and moved to stand in a circle so they could more easily see what they were facing.
"Um, what could possibly be attacking us right now?" Neptune muttered. The explosion of energy had caused the theater itself to go into lockdown, so the area was completely silent. He heard a rustling noise, and the street lamps around them suddenly flickered out. "Great. That's not... terrifying at all."
"Careful," Ruby warned as more and more lights slowly died out. She shifted her grip on her Keyblade and took a deep breath to prepare herself. Whatever was coming felt familiar, and the Keyblade thrummed with angry anticipation every time the lights died out and the creature came in closer. "This thing is Dark."
They were interrupted by a sudden shriek in the circle they had made. Every one of them spun around just in time to get a powerful pulse of Darkness right in the face. Ruby, however, was lucky: her Keyblade had been held out in front of her when she turned around, and the pulse bounced off of the Reflect wall the blade instinctively summoned to defend its master. Unluckily, she got to face the creature by herself for the moment.
It was roughly seven feet tall and almost completely black. It had four arms, two of which ended in claws and feathery wings, the other two in long red blades. Red and black samurai styled armor hung from its hips above its bird legs that ended in huge white talons, which added to the bird motif on its face. The creature's face was composed of a long, almost Grimm like mask to create the head of a bird with burning yellow eyes. At the center of its chest, ringed by feathers, was a huge, empty hole shaped like a Heart. Ruby gulped in fear, thinking back on the stories Sora had told her. "Heartless."
Ruby wasted no time remaining scared, however and lashed out with her Keyblade, the weapon moving faster than it ever had before. The edge of the weapon was swiftly blocked by the twin blades of the creature's lower hands, which angled to lock her weapon in place. Ruby yelped and dashed to the right, letting go of the Keyblade and narrowly dodging the clawed hands of the monster's hands. She skidded to a stop behind the creature and held her hand out, grinning when her weapon reappeared in her hand and she slashed at the monster's leg. It fell to one knee and hissed as the weapon of Light burned its flesh and it felt pain. The monster shrieked and spun even faster than Ruby could have responded as little as a couple months ago, the brunt of its wing getting ready to crash into her midsection. Lucky for Ruby, the Keyblade made her much faster, and she managed to duck beneath the wing and swing her Keyblade in a two handed strike at the monster's head.
That, unfortunately, is when the heel of her right high heel snapped clean off from the force she was putting behind the blow. "Yak!" she screamed as her weight suddenly shifted, her right foot sliding forward and making the attack overshoot the monster by a good foot. The creature brought both of its claws down as fists right into the young woman's midsection and she slammed into the ground with enough force to shatter the concrete.
The entire battle between the two incredibly fast combatants had taken little more than ten seconds.
"Ruby!" Weiss shouted, standing up just in time to see the creature raise both of its blades above its head and prepare to skewer the young woman. Weiss growled and, on instinct, raised her right hand with two fingers raised at her side. Dozens of spinning glyphs appeared around the creature that had attacked them. It stopped what it was doing and looked around in surprise. Roaring, Weiss jabbed her blade forward, and the glyphs stopped spinning and began to glow incredibly bright. "Get away from my friend!"
Suddenly, from out of the glyphs, appeared hundreds of Beowolves made of pure ice. Ruby looked around, and all she could do was blink in surprise as the icy copies roared and rushed the black and red creature. Claws slammed into the icy Grimm as they approached, shattering them. Red blades cleaved others in the horde cleanly in two. But it was indeed a horde, and the creature could not guard itself in every direction for long. Icy fingers clawed at its face, a Beowolf biting at its neck as it hung from the bird monster's neck. A pair of them were holding back each of the creature's hands so another could maul its chest. "What's going – WHOA!" Ruby screamed as she was suddenly carted off by another Grimm. She watched the blue eyed monster examine her as it put her down beside its master before it turned around and galloped right at the Heartless. It looked like, for a moment, they would kill it.
Then another pulse of Darkness destroyed all of the icy facsimiles. "Um... best two out of three?" Ruby suggested as the creature began to advance on her and Weiss. It stopped a second later and turned its gaze into the clouds above. The feathers on its neck bristled angrily and it cooed before a black and red portal of Darkness appeared beneath it. Both creature and portal disappeared moments later.
"Ruby!" Qrow shouted as he landed in front of her a moment later, as if he had just fallen out of the sky. He panted heavily and black feathers began to drift lazily from above him. He picked up the young woman and hugged her tight. "You're okay, what was that thing?"
"That was... really cool," Neptune told Weiss while Ruby tried to shove her uncle away and get him to stop worrying about her. "How'd you do that?"
"It's the family semblance," Winter cut in before the blushing Weiss could respond. The younger woman shot her older sister an angry look that said she wanted to tell the boy herself. "Though even I have not managed manipulation on such a massive scale... I am... quite impressed with you, Sister."
Weiss grinned stupidly at the compliment from her over serious and difficult to please sister. "Well, I've been practicing a lot recently," she said, scratching her cheek and smiling.
"It shows," Winter said, a small but noticeable smile on her lips. She straightened and turned around when the sound of an explosion suddenly rang through the night air. The clouds above parted, replaced with the fiery bubble of light and smoke. "Oh, God no..."
"What's that building?" Qrow asked, putting Ruby down and turning to the Specialist. She didn't respond. "Winter! What's that building!?"
"The Military headquarters and Hospital. Where both the General and your niece currently reside, Qrow," the white haired woman suddenly responded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her Scroll, summoning a limo with a press of a button. "I am sorry, Sister, but your escape will have to wait."
"I'm going with you!" Weiss responded angrily, just at the same time as Ruby and Neptune shouted, "She's going with us!"
Winter and Qrow glared at the younger warriors for a while, tired of insubordination. Then they sighed in defeat as one and looked at each other. "Why did everything have to get crazy right now?" Qrow wondering, earning a weary nod of agreement from the Specialist. He shook his head and stared at the approaching headlights of the limo, heaving a heavy sigh as he did. "Hope your crazy father doesn't mind."