AN:
Long time no see, huh?
Yeah... So I watched the last KH2.8 trailer on Saturday and then the RWBY Vol 4 trailer today (10/3) all the way through, and I just couldn't help but blast through finishing the next chapter. Trust me, most of the following ones will have breaks longer than 4 days.
Wow, that RWBY trailer was awesome! I'm really happy that the time jump is only a few months in the show. Nothing against long time skips, but I was worried they were going to go off the rails with changing things. The animation looks a lot more fluid and Ruby especially looks insanely awesome. I'm guessing that 'superspeed' isn't really her Semblance given how much she defied gravity and bounced off of thin air and separated into three rockets.
Responses:
To gamelover41592: Keep your eyes peeled for Salem's "Origin" as it were. Other topic: I can't wait until everyone's actually together. I'm thinking a beach day, right now.
To sethman610: Don't worry. I don't have any plans to ruin the Oathkeeper charm, and Sora wouldn't get angry anyways. He'd be more worried about who could get that close to Ruby, almost killing her. As for Riku x Blake, I think it would actually be pretty realistic. For as similar as Ruby and Sora are, Blake and Riku are even more. Well, maybe Riku is a little more openly light hearted, but they are the heroes in their universes that bring the Darkness.
To Kingofclubs8129: I'm not sure if I'm planning on going into detail about where most of Sora's friends' Hearts have gone, but I could see her having Riku's. For now, most characters from RWBY have the Hearts of the people they're based off of. I'm planning on going into a little more detail later, but the χ -blade's first destruction created the Princesses of Heart, so I'd assume that the incomplete destruction in chapter one would have a different effect and revert some of those Hearts to normal. If I had to go with someone having Riku's Heart in this story, I'd go with Jaune. He's obsessed with power in the name of saving people, even if it takes him deep into the shadows.
To warrior of six blades: Don't worry, it won't be too long before we find out who ordered the Heartless attack.
To CraZramblinGhost: Yeah, when I'm here the chapters tend to be released when I really should be sleeping so I can wake up for class. Erg... Onwards: I'm glad my responses are well received, and even more glad my Keyblade War segments won you over. Yeah, I plan on having Blake use Darkness to an extent, especially since her Semblance is shadows. I don't know if this chapter is as torturous as I would have liked originally, but I didn't want it to drag on super long. I needed to touch on a lot of stuff. Besides, Sora's been facing this same issue for over 7 chapters at this point; it's time to move on for him. It won't be long until the Master Defender shows up.
To grimlock987: You know, maybe he can. Who doesn't love robot arms, after all?
To guest: Oh, I plan on it.
To EonGoddess: Wow, thanks. Those are really high praises that you're giving me, and also huge reliefs. I sometimes worry that I'm straying too far from the baseline of Sora or the others or changing their character too fast when I'm developing the story. So don't worry, everyone struggles with keeping characterization. I love how Sora can overcome any obstacle, but it doesn't always make for good drama. My favorite part of KH1 was actually when Sora lost the Keyblade. The entire time he was smiles and laughter, but when that happened he almost fell apart at first. I think Sora needs to face some more things that are beyond him so he can really grow. And yeah, Ruby is definitely going to learn how to transform her Keyblade pretty soon, and of course it'll be a scythe. I am also incredibly excited for Volume 4. Like I said above, the trailer made me write basically half of this. And its plot is going to affect this somewhat. I already put the Beringel in earlier and I plan on introducing some of Ruby's abilities from the trailer and beyond once I get to see more.
Chapter 27: Red
"There's a moment we make a decision, not to cower and crash to the ground.
The moment we face our worst demons: our courage found." – "I May Fall"
"Sora, you lazy bum! This is the second day in a row I've found you snoozing down here!" Kairi admonished Sora. She was standing in front of him, her hands on her knees, her eyes shut, and a huge grin on her face. She was wearing her usual outfit, A purple skirt over shorts with a white shirt and various bands along the length of her arms.
"Jeez, give me a break, Kairi!" Sora responded between his own snickers. He ran a hand through the sand covered spikes on his head, and Kairi laughed as the beach fell out of his hair, including a smaller crab or two. The landed on his red jumpsuit and he swept them off with white gloved hands. "It was just a nap."
"What, did another huge black thing swallow you up? Can't use the same excuse twice, Sora," Kari pointed out before she stood up to her full height. She reached out to help Sora up and he grabbed the yellow wristband on her left hand. The red head pulled and stumbled backwards until Sora got to his feet, his over sized yellow shoes stabilizing the both of them. "Admit it, you're just trying to get out of helping with the Highwind II!"
Sora rolled his eyes. Crossing his arms, he said, "Come on, Kairi, that's just mean." He yawned suddenly and swayed from side to side, vision tunneling. "Though now that you mention it, maybe I could use some more sleep."
"Yeah, the storm kept me up all night, too," Kairi responded. She grabbed hold of her left forearm behind her back before turning to look up at the tree houses. "We're lucky anything survived."
Sora grimaced and looked up at the buildings too. "Yeah." There were huge holes in some of the structures, and a few collapsed bridges. The overall structures remained, and it was still easy enough to get to all the areas, but Sora was sure their parents wouldn't want them trying their luck. "We should probably wait for our parents to help us fix all this stuff."
"Hey, you two, I'm not going to do all the work," Riku shouted from the path, carrying a plank of wood over his shoulder as he came into view. "What, did Sora have another weird dream?"
"It wasn't a dream – " Sora stopped suddenly and laughed. "Deja vu."
"You're starting to sound like a broken record, buddy," the white haired boy in the blue pants and yellow shirt pointed out sarcastically. Riku shrugged and tossed the beam of wood into the sand near them. "Whatever. Go back to sleep like the little kid you are, Sora."
"You're not even a year older than me, Riku," Sora retorted, annoyed at his older friend. He walked over to the plank and lifted it up by himself, not one to be outshone by his best friend. "This all that's left of the raft?"
"Well, this and coconuts," Riku said. He jumped down from the path and landed with a thud in the beach, sending specks of sand flying everywhere. Sora dropped the wood and began to wipe the sand from his face. "But those are probably miles away by now if you really want to try fishing them out."
"I bet I could get more than you," Sora brashly challenged.
"In your dreams, Sora," Riku retorted, already tightening his gloves and readying to dive in the water. Sora took his position beside him.
"No! We'll never finish if you two do that," Kairi begged, jumping in front of them. "Come on! We need to replace everything we lost in the storm, guys!"
"But I need to put Riku in his place," Sora whined halfheartedly.
"If you could have done that, the raft would have a different name. What's the score now..? Five to none?"
"Five to one!" Sora shouted indignantly. "You tripped over a tree in our last fight." Riku's face immediately went red, eliciting laughter from both of his friends. "Ah, and it'll be six to five at the end of the day!"
"I'll still be in the lead then," Riku shot back before getting out of his running stance. He sighed and grabbed the plank again. "Okay, I'll take this over there. There should be tons of broken tree trunks around if we start looking." He walked towards the Paopu tree's Island and Kairi followed a moment later.
Sora groaned and followed. He'd wanted to beat Riku. "Hey, wait up!" Sora shouted and he sprinted after Ruby – Sora snorted and shook his head as he ran. He knew that girl in his dream had probably been the dream version of Kairi, especially since they... Sora fought off his blush before getting to his friends. He slid to a walk beside Riku and Kairi, then laced his fingers at the base of his head.
"So what did you dream about?" Kairi asked innocently when he caught up.
Sora chuckled nervously. "Oh, uh. Wow, I barely remember..." Sora mumbled. He scratched his cheek and grimaced: the only thing he remembered was kissing the girl that had looked a little bit like Kairi. "The storm! It was monsters in my dream. They were like these weird shadow things, and they kidnapped you guys, and there was a giant key..."
"Wow. You had a monster nightmare?" Riku mocked, eliciting an eye roll from his friend. "Cliche. What else happened, Scaredy Cat?"
"A giant key... saber? Yeah, that sounds right. Keysaber. I met a giant talking dog and a duck and a mouse. And Riku turned evil -"
"Hey!" Riku shouted indignantly. He dropped the plank and glared at Sora where they had all stopped.
"- and Kairi's Heart was... gone. Riku was taken over by a weird old guy ghost thing and tried to kill me," Sora explained further.
"It feels like the only thing you remembered was that I'm the bad guy," Riku grumbled. He leaned against the raised pathway and frowned at the ground. "What next, I tried to destroy the universe?"
"Yeah!" Sora shouted. "How'd you know?"
"I'm starting to understand why you'd turn evil," Kairi laughed at Riku.
"Shut up," the white haired boy growled, holding back his own laughter behind the facade.
"And I saved Kairi. And then... I – I saved you and we saved the world and you disappeared..." Sora fell silent and looked up at the bridge just above them. A tall, stoic boy with white hair stood there with his arms crossed. He was wearing jeans and a puffy, yellow vest along with bandages wrapped around his left wrist. The man matched Sora's gaze for a while before walking towards the Paopu island. Sora shook his head and the man disappeared; Sora sighed in relief.
"Are you okay, Sora?" Kairi asked, her worry evident on her face.
Sora looked down and smiled. "Yeah. Yeah. R-Riku, you... Uh, you disappeared and I tried to find you. Looked across a million different worlds and I met all these weird people, like a wizard and – Anyways, we saved the world again. Then again. See, you were a hero!"
"Finally," Riku grumbled, still insulted.
"And then?" Kairi asked.
"You guys... died," Sora mumbled. He thought he saw someone up in the tree house window, a woman with red hair and a pink jumper. It looked a lot like Kairi. It was Kairi. From his dream at least. Sora shrugged. "And then..." Sora blushed when he thought about that Ruby girl again. He gulped nervously and grinned at his friends. "W-well it was a just a dream, right? W-w-why are you guys so interested?"
Riku and Kairi smiled at each other before turning to Sora. "That sounded like a deflection," Riku pointed out. He grinned evilly.
"Tell us, come on!" Kairi asked, much more interested now. Nothing like not wanting to talk about something to make someone really want to listen.
"C-come on," Sora mumbled. His blush only continued to deepen with every syllable.
"Your subconscious mind killed us. You owe us the rest of that dream," Riku pointed out, hungry for something with which he could poke fun at his friend.
"I bet he's just being a lazy bum again," Kairi muttered.
"I'll tell you if you beat me in a fight," Sora said quickly, hoping to get out of this conversation and break his losing streak against his friend. He drew his wooden sword from his belt and shook it in front of him.
"So you'll tell me," Riku remarked. He drew his own sword and jumped up the ledge. He looked down at Sora and shrugged. "Just telling it like it is."
"Boys," Kairi scoffed. She laughed as Sora tried to make the jump, too, but instead landed gut first on the edge. "You think you could jump higher?"
"Yes," Sora wheezed from the ground.
He slowly pushed himself up while Riku laughed boisterously at him. The older boy sheathed his weapon and shook his head at Sora. "Okay, that was more than enough to make up for whatever embarrassing thing you dreamed about," Riku pointed out. He grabbed his friend's shoulder and laughed. "I'm not going to embarrass you twice."
"Too bad some of your dream wasn't real," Kairi said suddenly, walking sensibly up the stairs until she was next to her friends. "We got to visit a ton of worlds, it sounds like."
"I was possessed and you had no Heart. Sora got to explore worlds," Riku countered. "I'll stick with the tried and true raft method, like they say that guy did all those years ago. The X guy."
"Xehanort," Sora mumbled.
"Yeah, that's what Grandma said his name was," Riku said with a nonchalant shrug. He looked around. "You go check the Paopu Island for logs. Kairi and me'll go get new coconuts and fish. I – Sora, you okay?"
Sora nodded and turned away. He placed his hand on his cheek and felt a stream of liquid running down his cheek. "I... guess that dream really freaked me out," Sora said disarmingly. He looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, I'll head over there." Then he took off across the bridge at a sprint, ignoring the pounding in his head and the tears on his cheeks. Why was he crying?
He began to grab some of the logs from the nearby trees that had been destroyed in the storm. He dragged them to the bridge one after the other and tossed them down onto the beach beside the one Riku had found. The tedium of the job calmed Sora down and distracted from the pain he'd been going through for some reason. When he had cleaned out the island, Sora sighed and returned to stare out over the water. When he jumped on top of the Paopu tree, he grabbed one of the fruit and stared down at it. The sight of the star made his Heart hurt for some reason.
He sat down where he was standing on the tree and started to take deep breaths, trying to calm himself and stem the tide of tears running down his face. Why was he crying? Why did it feel like he'd forgotten someone!? "Jeez Sora, what's got you so down? This isn't like you!"
"I know, Riku. 'Go get the food for the raft,'" Sora assured. He rubbed his face anxiously, not wanting to show any semblance of weakness around his best friend, especially when he couldn't even begin to explain what was going on with him.
"You know it isn't your fault, right?" Kairi asked, walking up on Sora's other side.
"Guys, I -" Sora turned around and froze. It wasn't Riku and Kairi standing just behind him, but those two older people who'd shown up and disappeared. No, they'd been... fake, hallucinations! This was a hallucination! But then why did he talk to them knowing they weren't real? "Who are you g-guys?"
"You've forgotten me, Sora? It hasn't been that long has it?" the woman joked, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. Sora tried and failed to respond
"Sora, you'd hate it if we cried over you, right?" the man claiming to be Riku asked. He shook his friend by the shoulders and smiled. "Come on, you saved us! We survived and helped because of you."
"You saved Roxas, Ven, Namine, Xion, Lea, everybody. We didn't die because you disappeared, it was decades later," Kairi explained supportively. She hugged Sora's shoulders for a moment; Sora was surprised when he saw his clothes had suddenly changed – they were all black now.
"So move on already," Riku commanded. He grinned at his younger friend like Sora had grinned at him so many times, then punched Sora's shoulder and pulled the red hoodie up over his friend's head.
At this point, Sora was fully aware he was trapped in... something. He didn't pull the hood from his head, and when his voice came out it was that of his fourteen year old self again. "Riku, Kairi... There's no Darkness here. I don't know if I want to move on; I miss you guys. You -" Sora's voice caught in his throat and tears streamed down his cheeks. When he spoke again, his voice cracked, "I can never come home again. I'm alone."
"Alone?" a third voice asked. Sora froze and resisted the urge to turn around and pull his hood down. He instinctively knew he was back in the clothes he wore on Remna – he stopped himself from remembering the name of the world. Did he want to remember it or... "Sora, you'll hurt my feelings if you say that again!" Sora found himself turning around despite the fact that he was still wondering if he even should.
"You've always got someone, Sora, even if you didn't have us! And you're the one who said she's special, idiot." Sora pulled his hood down and was suddenly face to face with Ruby's pale face and smiling, silver eyes. His Heart skipped a beat and he knew what he was going to do, no matter what. Kairi laughed and hugged her friend from behind, Riku soon following suit. Riku said, "Come on, Sora, don't cry about us. That's not how you should remember friends. And besides, we are always with you."
"Yeah, dummy, how else would we be here? This is your Heart after all," Kairi pointed out. She smacked her friend in the back of the head lightly.
Sora didn't say anything. Tears kept streaming down his face while he stared at Ruby's face and she gave him a big thumbs up. "And don't forget we made a promise to see each other again, Sora!" Ruby shouted, her grin wiping away all of Sora's anguish. He felt a weight in his left hand and he looked down to see the Wayfinder he had made before parting ways with her.
"You're right," he said with a voice equally hollow and resolute, and the Wayfinder lit up like a star of ruby red in his palm. Sora turned on his heel, a bright red light erupting into being from both his right and left sides, the glow illuminating the entirety of the dark dance club. Fenrir was floating a few feet from right hand, a blood red handle longer than he was tall attached to the side of the weapon's basket to form a scythe.
The former Keyblade wielder buckled his Wayfinder to his hip and took a threatening step towards the figure standing in the center of the room. "How dare you do that to me!? How dare you show me the people I lost, the home I lost you sick, twisted..." Sora shook his head to cut himself off and calm his mind for the fight that was about to occur.
The criminal turned around and stared dumbfounded at her opponent, her eyes wondering just how this idiot could be awake. He'd been trapped in an illusion, there was no way he'd be able to break out! Sora placed the scythe's handle over his shoulders as he had seen Ruby do a thousand thousand times. Tears were streaming down from his angry and pained eyes. "I'm coming for you," he growled from behind gritted teeth, and a Firaga exploded at the end of the weapon. He was suddenly shooting forward like a rocket, scythe raised above him and ready to bisect his enemy. "NEO!"
R W B Y
Taiyang Xiao Long hated rain forests, for many reasons. The main one being that his daughters were currently a million miles away in – what was easiest the worst Kingdom to the man – Atlas. Those girls were going to have to meet the crazy Schnee patriarch who wanted to blow up Vale to make sure the Dragon wouldn't wake up. Well, at least he'd get to see them in a week or two now that he'd finally managed to track the Spring Maiden down in Menagerie's huge nature biomes. Apparently she had been living out on the Northern shore of the island for about a month now where the tundra and the rain forest met. He figured that made a twisted sort of sense, given her proclivity for, well, 'Spring.'
Tai stepped in something and groaned angrily. His foot resisted a little when he lifted it, but he could still walk. The smell would just stick to him now. Literally. And this led him to the second reason he hated rain forests – civilization had toilets. Tai adjusted his pack's position on his shoulders and set out again, hoping something would come after him so he could punch it hard enough to get rid of his frustration. Of course, they said animals could sense stuff like that, which probably helped keep them away. "I was sure Atlas was my least favorite place on the planet," he grumbled when a mosquito landed on his neck. He slapped it to death instantly. "I was wrong."
He reached the tree line a little while later and sighed happily. It was a beach – and one he wouldn't mind lounging on sometime if he ever got the chance. Someone – the Spring Maiden, he guessed – had set up lounge chairs and a CCT music system. "Okay, time to – Hey, handsome!" Tai turned and looked over at the woman who had exited a small shack in a burning red and black bikini that matched her bright red head of hair. "Oh! O-oh, hello," the woman said. She laughed nervously and grabbed a towel from a nearby chair, wrapping it around her body. "I... Hello."
"Right... Oz sent me," Tai cut her off. This girl was almost more awkward as Ruby. And that was really damn impressive. "You're in danger here, so he needs you to come with me."
"Hmm..." the woman grumbled. She clicked her tongue and shook her head in disappointment before continuing. The idea of a battle had snapped her into focus and she was no longer scared as she had been before. "You see, Ozpin has got this whole code phrase thing going on. You didn't give one to me yet, so..." She raised her hand and a green tinge erupted across her fingers. "One... Two..."
Tai rolled his eyes. "Belphaba of the West."
The glow disappeared. "Hmph... Wanted a fight with something that wasn't a Grimm," the woman grunted. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Business it is..."
"Taiyang. You can call me Tai, " he responded.
"Taiyang... Oh, you're... Summer Rose's... You know," the woman responded. She smiled and shrugged to try and dismiss the conversation. "Sorry. You said Oz wants me to leave?"
"Yes, now."
"Look, just because Amber got nabbed and killed doesn't mean I'm going to. She was a good person, it sucks," the woman said. She sat down in one of the many chairs she had thrown about on the beach. "But they haven't found Rana, Ledenica, or me yet."
"Rana disappeared almost three months ago now," Tai countered. That quieted the Spring maiden right down and she stood up with her arms crossed. "If you come with me we can get you somewhere safe and away from who ever it is that's hunting you."
"G – Just give me a moment," the Spring Maiden said and she began pacing up and down the beachfront.
"I knew we wouldn't be lucky," Mercury whispered to his group behind the trees. Not that it mattered with Emerald making the three of them invisible and silent. Except to the mosquitos, who had a nasty habit of swarming him. "Now she's going to leave and we're going to have to start this entire stupid thing over again. Fine, at least I'll never have to come to this damn jungle ever again and get eaten alive. Seriously, if all our work was pointless, maybe we should have just gone after the one in Atlas first. Less stupid bugs if we did. On the other hand we would have had to deal with mopey Adam Taurus... Never mind: this is better."
"Shut up and let me concentrate," Emerald growled to him from the other side of Cinder Fall.
He ignored the suggestion, as usual. "Though is this better than going back to Vale with Blondie? Whew, that is a tough one. He's gotten really..."
"Terrifying," Emerald suggested when she realized he wasn't going to be quiet.
"No, not quite. Is there a word for following what someone says like they're a cult leader promising you things that should be impossible? ...Oh, I know, Cinder-esque," Mercury joked. Crickets. "Wow, nothing. And here I expected to have someone tear my throat out or roast me alive or... something. I mean I am standing next to what is easily one of the most terrifying people in the world."
Cinder sighed and looked over at Mercury. "And what is that list?" she inquired. Merc gulped and decided not to answer – it would get him killed. "Oh no, you wanted to... Heh, you wanted to squeak mouse, then squeak. And know I will be expecting honesty."
Mercury looked past Cinder at Emerald, who shrugged worriedly. Merc returned his gaze to Cinder and opened his mouth to respond. "Salem, obviously, then – "
"I'm not leaving," the Spring Maiden said, and Mercury sighed in relief.
"Saved by the hermit," Merc breathed when Cinder finally turned back to watch and listen.
"Why not?" Taiyang asked angrily.
"Look, don't be all chauvinistic and think I can't take care of myself, okay Taiyang?" the Spring Maiden snapped.
"These people destroyed everything. Alliances between all the Kingdoms and summoned a Dragon from... The single strongest person I have ever met – more than Oz, and definitely more than you – was taken down by their ring leader," Taiyang said quietly. "And I'm not a Chauvinist. My... late wives and my daughters are stronger than me by a mile, each of them. I'm just honest."
"Fine, but it doesn't matter. The... 'Ring Leader' isn't going to come after me personally," the woman countered, her voice much more even now and slightly apologetic. "And even if they were, the people here rely on me. The Grimm would run through here in... three days, at most, with all the tourists. Thousands of casualties like that." She snapped her fingers. "I'm not risking anyone else's life just so I can be a little safe, okay?"
"Now you really sound like Ruby," Tai mumbled. Mercury laughed caustically at the remark. Taiyang sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I looked for you for just around a month here, and got nothing except... maybe some sort of scary tropical disease. And it was for something I could have just called to say apparently – check in more often. Tell us where you are. Stuff like that."
"You could stay a while," the Maiden offered a hint of flirtation in her voice.
"And on that note, I need to look for the next person on my list," Tai said, getting scared shivers and walking towards the tree line to try and escape the uncomfortable situation.
"Tell Ledenica she should visit sometime. That tundra would fit her frigid personality perfectly!" the Maiden shouted.
Taiyang grunted, happy she was no longer reminding him of his daughter. He didn't want either one of them to wind up as hermits in a Godforsaken jungle when they were his age. Hm, he supposed if he traded the jungle for the forest he would also hope they never became him either. Well, time for greener pastures. Metaphorically speaking, that is.
"Is he gone yet?" Mercury asked, his eyes shut while he leaned against a tree.
"No," Emerald whispered.
"Is he gone yet?" he asked again.
"No," Emerald hissed again.
"Is he -"
"If you ask again I will tear your throat out," Cinder said simply. Mercury immediately shut up.
"And here I thought you being quiet was impossible," Emerald remarked. She scoffed and and let her hands rise to massage her temples. Holding any illusion for so long was taxing, even with her semblance being enhanced by Darkness. "Finally. He's gone."
"Okay, let's go get her," Mercury suggested. He stood up and peered around the tree to look at the maiden, who had retrieved her weapon from inside and placed it on one of the chairs. "Looks like she's going with 'better safe than sorry.'"
"It won't matter," Cinder muttered. She stood up as well and walked through the furthest edge of Emerald's illusion. "I'll take what I want no matter what she does to stop me."
At that, the Spring Maiden grabbed her weapon from where it rested and turned towards the intruder in one fluid movement. The weapon activated in her hand and a monk's spade erupted into being, the staff red and the head a bright bronze. "And just who are you? How long were you there?"
"That guy was right – you're as stupid as Red for sure," Mercury said when Emerald dropped her illusion. "Hopefully not quite as good at fighting. I think she almost killed us last ti -" Cinder glared at him and he froze, much to the snickering enjoyment of Emerald.
The woman's eyes widened. "You're the ones that Qrow warned me about!" She twirled the spade around her body and raised her off hand in front of her. It began to glow with a dull green light as she prepared for battle, all anxiety gone from her face as she prepared to fight for her life. "You killed Rana and Amber."
"And you'll make three," Cinder pointed out mockingly. She pulled out her own weapons and the air began to burn around her
"So you're the one who stole Amber's powers. Did one of you take Rana's too?" the Spring Maiden snapped. As her emotions flared up, so too did the glow around her hand. Mercury glanced over his shoulder nervously, but shook his head. He'd thought he'd heard something, but there didn't seem to be anything there.
Cinder didn't respond with words. She instead jumped at her prey and ignited her weapons, bringing them both over her head in tandem. Mercury and Emerald followed suit, the silver haired warrior running at the Maiden from the left with black lightning tracing his every step. Emerald came from the other side and charged the chains of her Kurasigama using poison magic.
The maiden stood still, her spade parallel to her arm behind her and her other hand glowing with the same magic as for the past few minutes. She brought it up quickly, and all three of her attackers found themselves face down in the dirt with thick green vines wrapped around their bodies. "You really thought I was staying here for the beach?" the Spring Maiden asked incredulously. She closed her hand into a fist and the vines snaked their way around her enemies' bodies, tightening as they reached for each terrorists' throat.
Emerald broke out of her restraints first, the poison on her weapons' chains having degraded the flora holding her down. She twirled to her feet and her chains whipped around like a wild wall of poisoned metal. The Spring Maiden's eyes widened as the chains shot towards her, and she let herself fall to pass horizontally between two of the planes with her weapon tight against her side. She came out of the spin and into a butterfly attack, the spade flapping like a deadly wing at her only free opponent.
Emerald did not even flinch at the severity of the attack, and simply dodged each incoming attack before pulling back on the chain and expertly moving it so it caught the head of the Maiden's spade and wrapped around it. The Maiden let go of her weapon as soon as the chains pulled and performed a hand spring over another chain. As she flipped through the air, she tensed her legs again, and hit Emerald with a dropkick that got rid of her.
By this time, of course, the chains had already done their job and burned through Mercury and Cinder's vines. Cinder rolled backwards and shot a bolt of lightning at the falling Maiden. It hit her side, black electricity running all over her body. That and the force of the blow stunned her and she tumbled through the sand. She came to a rest face down. "Easy," Mercury said while lowering his smoking heel to the ground. He put his hands in his pockets and smirked over at the unconscious woman.
"Sure," Emerald groaned. She pushed herself up to her feet and glared at Mercury. "That's just because you weren't kicked by her."
Merc shrugged and began to walk over to her. "I'll get the left," he muttered. Emerald shook her head and moved towards the right hand. Cinder remained where she was, not even moving to put on her white glove. When Mercury and Emerald got near the Spring Maiden, the ground beneath them gave way, swallowing them up and slamming shut above them. Cinder had jumped into the air and hovered using powerful jets of flames that came out of her feet, thereby avoiding the sinkhole. Her eyes were surrounded by an orange aura shaped like the wing of a butterfly.
The Spring Maiden got up and glared at Cinder. "Tell me who has Rana's powers and I won't torture it out of you," the woman growled, her eyes glowing with their own emerald aura that mirrored Cinder Fall's.
"Fine," Cinder replied. She drifted to the ground, though the glow remained. The orange slowly shifted to a blue like the sky on a clear summer day.
The Spring Maiden took a step back and began to hyperventilate. "That's not – That's not possible! You can't have more than one -" She was cut off by a sudden deluge of water coming from the ocean, a jet of the stuff that crashed into her with the force of a truck. Were it not for her powerful aura, she would have died. As it was, she crashed through a tree trunk wider around than a pair of gorillas, the exploosion of bark echoing like lightning before whistling to crash down into the sea. Cinder ignored the gargantuan piece of wood that slammed next to her and bathed her in sand. She placed her weapons into their sheathe and walked slowly towards where her soaked opponent remained.
"It's magic, Flora. By definition it's impossible," Cinder explained when she walked up. She placed her hands behind her back and leaned forward to stare down at the woman with her broken arms and legs. Cinder sighed and twirled her right hand behind her back, summoning a portal of Darkness from which her party fell beside her. "I had hoped that would be a more interesting battle." Cinder pulled out her glove and pulled it tight against her hand. "Grab her, would you?"
Mercury and Emerald glanced at each other as they nursed their wounds. Still, they did as she commanded and lifted the woman up by her armpits. Flora screamed out in pain as her broken arms were jostled and her shattered legs dragged against the ground. Cinder advanced and aimed her palm directly at the center of Flora's face. "Had you not ever felt it, that incompleteness, that hunger? I thought it would be whole once I became the Fall Maiden, but it only got worse. So if I feel it, I know you must as well. It's a glass half full for me right now." The air hissed and a small scarab crawled its way out of a portal in Cinder's hand. "For you, it's about to be empty."
When Taiyang came back, having sprinted back upon hearing an echoing crack of thunder, he was faced with a woman whose last emotions remained etched on her face. Terror, hatred, and unending agony hidden beneath a deadly black substance that stretched diagonally across her face. He reached instinctively for his Scroll, but stopped once he realized that the small CCT tower on the island only worked in the main tourist area. "Dammit!" he snarled to himself.
R W B Y
Seven Years before the First Great Keyblade War
Oz stared down at the weapon he had left next to him while he finished examining the last of the books. He leaned back in his chair and ran one black gloved hand through his hair while he stared down at the page. The Keyblade had shown him the future, the irrefutable and immutable future and he hated it. He hated knowing what he now knew, but he could not escape the truth of it no matter what he did. The future was the one that must come to pass, even if he detested it so. He stood up and pulled his hood over his head, then walked to the door before the knocking even began. He slowly opened the door a crack and walked over to the chair in which he had been sitting a moment earlier.
"You wanted to see me?" Skye asked. He slid through the opening of the door and shut it silently behind him. His hood was also pulled up which made him almost identical to Ozpin . The Master motioned for his apprentice to come near.
Oz had cooled off somewhat after Salem's death, and realized that most of his students were not ready for Keyblades still – most of them had still been incapable of even using magic three years prior. Now, however, they were finally ready. This was the day they would receive their weapons and the Books of Prophecy he had written for them and begin to destroy the World. "Someone is controlling the Heartless, Skye," the old man said. He wasn't turning his attention from the book he had just finished. His gaze was fixed instead on the page he had left open. It was a Neoshadow. "Someone wants to destroy us all."
"Why?" Skye asked simply. It was a fair question to ask. Who could possibly be so insane they would risk the entire universe by using the Heartless as a weapon?
"Why else?" Ozpin supplied. He began to flip through pages until he came upon the one with only a simple Shadow Heartless, the purest most simple form of those Dark creatures. On the opposite page, a heavily stylized 'X.' "They want what everyone wants. The χ -blade."
"But we moved it after the fire. It's safe with us... Isn't it?" Skye supplied, waving his hands in front of him to assure his Master and himself. Ozpin turned in his chair and rested his arm atop the backrest of the wooden stool. Even from beneath his hood, Ozpin's worried glare was clearly evident. Skye fidgeted nervously and placed his hands in his pockets. "Isn't it?"
Ozpin looked down at the Book of Prophecy and then over at the page he had torn from its siblings, stacked atop four just like it. One face was clearly drawn and Ozpin slammed one of the other books on top of the stack so he would no longer have to look at it. "I... Here," Ozpin stood up and held his hand out. Skye flinched but remained silent when a black Keyblade appeared in Oz's fist.
The man stood still for a while, then tossed the heavy metal object at the younger man. Skye brought his hands up and stumbled backwards, the blade hitting his chest and falling into his outstretched arms. Skye looked between the weapon and Oz for a while, then shook his head. "Wait, we're all getting these at the same time, though!" he shouted. He moved his hand onto the handle and held the weapon tentatively out in front of him. "Why are you doing this?"
"We need to stop whoever this is from controlling the χ -blade," Oz stated simply, flipping lazily through the open Book of Prophecy again. "It's likely that they are not staying in this corner of our World, where we are. The Keyblades would make us naturally intriguing to this enemy of ours, and naturally dangerous. Which is likely why they took Salem."
"To make them a Keyblade!" Skye saw where Ozpin had been going. "But they're weapons of Light!"
"They're conduits, neither totally Light nor Dark despite whatever Affinities they have," Ozpin explained.
"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Skye joked.
"..." Oz had been in a Dark place after Salem's kidnapping and, likely, death. Darkness had come to him much more easily than he would ever admit, and the Keyblade had strengthened that energy source as well.
Skye knew when to drop a topic, though. He sighed. "We need to get everyone their Keyblades and start looking for this guy!"
Ozpin remained silent for a long while, just flipping through the book. "Guess you better get started then," Ozpin said. He shut the book slowly, purposely avoiding the last page and the face drawn upon it. He made his voice sound happier than it was. "Unfortunately, you'll have to go it alone from here on out."
Skye looked up in surprise and his hood nearly fluttered from his head. "But what about the others?"
Oz stood up and handed the Book to his apprentice. Skye dismissed his new weapon and took the Book from his Master. "One of them is a traitor," Oz said. He reached down to grab his weapon, then dismissed it. He turned around and began to gather books and other materials and place them into a bag. "It's in the Book."
"What's a book have to do with that?" Skye wondered as he flipped through pages more and more frantically. "They – Oz, they're my friends. They're good people."
"Everything. It's a transcription of the future," Ozpin explained shortly. He looked around for a moment and ran over to a shelf to collect some more things.
"Of the... Oz, this says the World is going to end. Sh-shouldn't we stop that?" Skye asked. Ozpin stopped what he was doing and let his clenched fists fall to his sides. After a moment, he let his hands unclench and he sighed. "Shouldn't we try to save everybody?"
"There are three outcomes behind the Door to the Future that the Keyblade has unlocked, Skye. In all of them, people begin to collect Light, ostensibly to protect it, though many do it merely to amass power for themselves or some alliance. The first ending: The event I detail in there, the Keyblade War, is averted. Light continues to be gathered until, eventually, all of it is stockpiled. With Light being jealously stolen, the greed in people's Hearts turns it all to Darkness. The World ends and never returns." Ozpin wasn't looking back at his apprentice as he said all this, instead staring at the intersection of wall and floor at his feet. "The second ending: The Keyblade War occurs because all of us search for the Adversary. Our strength is spread far too thin, hatred grows between us and we are picked off one at a time by the forces of Darkness. The World ends and never returns."
"And the third?" Skye asked.
Ozpin turned around and smiled beneath his hood. "That is the ending we will choose in this story. Unfortunately, it requires much from the two of us. And, sadly, for the events in that book to occur." Oz sighed and fought off tears before saying, "Go to the last page."
Skye looked down at the open book in his hands for a while, then flipped to the end. He gasped and shook his head. "N-no, not – "
"Yes."
Skye fell silent. "Oz, you're asking me to help make sure they try to kill each other!" he screamed. He threw the book at his Master, and the man simply caught it as if it were moving at a snail's pace. "I can't do that to my friends!"
"The truest expression of one's Heart is when they put their life on the line for what they believe in. It is the only way that those who do not betray the Light can come together when the time is right, Skye. They must know who they can trust, but that trust can only come from the deepest Darkness in their relationship," Ozpin explained. He walked over to his student and handed over the book once more. "I took that page from their books. They will know there is a traitor, but not that person's identity. They have to hate each other to become the generals of the Keyblade War. Only then will the Armies of the Light defeat that of the Darkness."
"Then why does it say that 'On that day shall Darkness prevail and Light expire?'" Skye challenged.
"I anticipated their actions. If they try to prevent the war, it is only inevitable that it shall happen. The traitor will go to the Adversary with this knowledge, that Light is doomed. The others will fight to protect it. Light's survival can only occur if our enemy believes they will be victorious."
"What's to stop them from giving the χ -blade to this Adversary now?"
"Simple. I moved it somewhere they won't find it," Ozpin said. He turned around and began to pack again.
"I'm not going to even ask."
"Good," Oz grunted.
Skye was quiet for a long while as Ozpin began to rifle through things and pack. "You going somewhere?"
Oz glanced at his student. "No," Ozpin stated as he turned back to the bag he had packed. He closed the bag up and brought it over to his student. "You are. That's the last part of my plan, Skye: you pretend to be me and search for our Adversary elsewhere in the World. With 'me' gone, they will likely return here, to the home of the χ -blade."
"Why give me this Keyblade?" Skye inquired. He took the bag and roped it over his shoulders then summoned his Keyblade to his hand. He studied the black and white lines intently, wondering why his was the way it was.
"I will separate myself from them so as to avoid raising suspicion. I am not you after all," Ozpin said, ignoring the question. He stopped after a moment and looked over at his apprentice. His shoulders slumped. "That Keyblade I gave you – it was the first she ever made. Telling them that will stop them from assuming anything is wrong. I need my Keyblade though – she chose it for me personally."
"You didn't tell us that," Skye said. He hefted his weapon over his shoulder and sighed. "Yeah, you'll want to keep it, then. What should I do now?"
"You'll each be getting different names – you saw them, they're in the book." Skye nodded in recognition. "I assume you know what to name them all?" Skye nodded again. "Named for their greatest weaknesses. The wrath they feel or the jealousy they inspire. Mine will be Luxu." For his greatest weakness was just wanting to touch Salem one more time. He might even give in to the Darkness for that...
Skye looked down at the ground and bit his cheek beneath his hood. It might work – he and Oz were about the same height now, and they looked identical with the hoods of their Black Coats up. And if Oz stayed away from the others, Skye doubted they would be any the wiser. "I've never even been outside the city before, Oz."
"Don't you want to see all the World out there? All the people and all the Hearts and all the Light worth defending? Our enemy must be doing things to the World beyond Daybreak Town. Those plans must be defeated to weaken the Adversary for our final battle. Go, the World needs you, just as this city needs me."
R W B Y
Sora slashed down with his scythe and Neo barely dodged it, flipping backwards to avoid the blade of the weapon. Fenrir dragged through the ground, leaving a huge, two foot deep scar in the tile and the cement below it. Sora didn't let any of its momentum disappear with the drag, however, and continued the arc of the attack. He spun where he stood and turned the upward arc into a horizontal one aimed at where Neo's head would be when she came to her feet. The woman made her first vocal noise of the night – a single yelp of fear – and brought her umbrella up to deflect the attack above her. Sora responded by sliding his hands up the handle and swinging the weapon in a shorter arc. The base of the handle slammed into Neo's legs and she hit the ground.
Sora didn't say anything as he moved, his tears drying on his face he was moving so fast. He brought the scythe above his head and readied to deliver a heavy blow into his enemy's midsection. Neo's mismatched eyes glinted with fear and she rolled away from the incoming blow before getting to her feet. She raised her hand and launched a beam of Darkness at Sora. His world went dark again and he saw sand and sun once again. "NO!" he roared. There was the sound of shattering glass, and he bowled through the illusion shoulder first. Neo gulped and turned on her heel to run away.
"No!" Sora shouted, and he moved as quickly as he had back when he had his Keyblade. Just a black blur that appeared in front of Neo and was replaced with him, black coat fluttering out behind him from the sudden change in direction and scythe raised in both hands above his head. His mouth was a thin, determined line full of pure rage. "You're not getting away so easily." He slashed down and landed a blow on Neo's midsection. The criminal was suddenly bouncing across the ground and into a tower of speakers. There was a dull rumble above her, and the speakers crashed down on top of her.
Sora advanced on the pile of electronics and held the weapon out in front of him, carefully ready to to deflect whatever attack came next. There was an explosion of Darkness from within the pile of speakers and Sora dodged the first one. He jumped slightly over it and landed on the face before jumping up to one above it. He did this a few more times, bouncing higher and higher, then on the last one cast a Firaga behind him and shot towards the smoking source of the explosion. He twirled the weapon around his body a few times to give it extra momentum, and finally slashed down at his target. The blade buried itself in Neo's shoulder and through her entire body. Sora's eyes widened in surprise. "Um.. did I..?" The sound of shattering glass came again, and the body disappeared around Fenrir's blade. Sora spun on his heel and raised his glowing weapon defensively – he was now surrounded by a veritable army of Neos, each pacing a few steps to the left and right with their weapons clacking noisily against the ground.
"They're illusions, only one of them can hurt you!" Blake shouted from across the room. To demonstrate, she stood up suddenly on the other side of the DJ's table and fired into the crowd of Neo's. The ones she hit shattered in a single hit. Sora grinned and dashed towards the closest one. The Neo sidestepped his blow – barely – and punched him in the face. Sora stumbled back a half step, but he was energized. He'd gone half speed to make sure he could see if this Neo was the real one. He slashed out, much faster this time, and bisected the Neo. She shattered like glass. Sora looked accusingly over at Blake, and the woman shrugged. "So... maybe they can hurt you!"
It was at that point that all of the Neos converged on Sora in a mob. He dodged a stab from the umbrella's tip and destroyed his attacker with his scythe. He moved into defending himself from the next and slapped a kick away before firing a blizzard into the illusion's gut. He shot flames next, shattering a group of them coming at him, and was thrown the other direction. With one swing another three were gone and he landed feet first on another. He shot a Firaga from the base of his feet and slammed the base of the weapon into another Neo's face. It shattered. "Gah, are any of you real!?" Sora snapped as the last ten or so Neos advanced on him. His eyes widened. Of course... He gripped the bottom of the weapon's handle to give him as much length as he could, and with one sweeping blow that extended all around him, the last of the Neos disappeared accompanied by the sound of shattering glass. "Nope. Apparently not."
Sora placed the base of the scythe on the ground beside him and the glow of both his weapon and the Wayfinder at his hip died out. Fenrir drifted back into Sora's hand and he sprinted towards where Sun was laying unconscious on the ground. "You okay?" the young man asked after casting a Cura. Sun sat up, still woozy, and nodded... before tipping over to the ground. Sora dashed forward and grabbed his friend by the shoulders. "Okay buddy, let's get you up." Sora deactivated his weapon and put it away before grabbing Sun's shoulder and helping him to his feet. Sora looked over at Blake who was trying to sneak out of the building. "Hey! Grab his weapon!"
The girl stopped. She walked towards Sora and Sun. "Something is weird about your head," Sora noted as he helped Sun stumble towards the door. Blake stared at him like he was an idiot. "No, really! Something's off!"
"Those are her ears, dum dum," Sun grunted from his buddy's shoulder.
"Sun!" Blake hissed angrily, though she supposed Sora had seen her ears. She didn't know much about the boy, but she would rather not risk him being one of those people wearing black masks and beating Faunus to –
"Oh, you're a Faunus!" Sora shouted, the word echoing around the empty club. He held his free hand out to her. "I didn't know that."
"Sh... s'secret," the dazed monkey Faunus groaned.
"Oh, um... Look, I... I just meant that in the picture Ruby showed me, you had black hair," Sora explained dumbly. Blake stared at him like he was joking. He had to be joking, he'd assumed she was human, didn't notice her ears, and... no response. "Why are you blonde?" Blake nearly fell flat on her face at that. She hoped Weiss never met Sora – he'd probably learn to respond to 'Dunce' or 'Moron' before his own name.
"I dyed it," Blake said without a hint of condescension. Figures Ruby would find a boy almost as thoughtless as she could be... and just as good in a fight. Sora grinned in embarrassment and ignored Sun's weak, semi-mocking laughter.
"You aren't... freaked out?" Blake asked as they neared the doors.
"Why? Because of the ears?" Sora asked. He snorted and shook his head like it was just a big joke. "Nah, that's nothing. Donald and Goofy didn't even surprise me, and they were a three foot tall duck and a seven foot tall... Dog, I wanna say?"
"Blake! Blake!" Sun hissed. He smiled when she leaned in. "He knew the Golden Mouse!"
Blake shook her head and smiled down at Sun. "Let's... get that concussion checked out before you say anything else crazy, okay Sun?" Blake suggested.
"Oh, by the way -" The doors flew in, and a single man stood in the center of the opening. Ren and Nora were staring at him in disbelief, because he had just kicked down the huge double doors. "Ozpin isn't dead. You know, I can't wait to talk to you more. From how Ruby and Yang talk about you, you sound pretty great!"
R W B Y
The patriarch of the Schnee family sat busy at his desk, calmly typing up reports for the Schnee Dust Company. One would think, with his youngest daughter having been missing for a month, that he would have been an emotional wreck. However, his daughter's cohorts were not nearly as clever as they would have liked to believe, nor was Winter good enough a liar to make him believe she was not involved in the deception. In fact, the man had a large number of people constantly informing him of his daughter's whereabouts. Speaking of...
The man stood up and walked to his front door. While he had butlers and servants for his huge estate, he was of the belief that a man should never hand over work which he is capable of completing himself. When one relied on others to do the smallest things for them, one became foolish. When one became foolish, they became docile. When one became docile, they became weak. The head of the Schnee family would never allow himself to fall into that trap. He was responsible for the vast majority of the world's Dust supply; if he allowed himself to become weak, the world would be in far too precarious a position for his liking. He reached the door of the mansion a few moments later, and opened it to come face to face with his own daughter's fist raised to knock. "Winter, Weiss..." he stopped and looked past them. "... and company. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Wow... is your dad psychic?" the young woman in red asked quietly.
"No," Weiss admonished her younger friend. "He's been watching us."
The hooded girl cringed and pulled up her hood to hide her face. "All the time?" the girl squeaked.
"Yes, I did see footage of you eating about three hundred packages of cookies as well as your blatantly bad attempts at writing what I can only assume to be love letters," the patriarch of the Schnee dynasty said.
The man beside her looked down at his niece. "You ate all the cookies!?" he asked in mock indignation. "Traitor."
"Ah, the ruffian," Schnee noted. His gaze met his elder daughter's and a blush crept across her features.
"The what?" the ruffian asked blankly.
"Nothing!" Winter hissed at him.
He blinked and looked around. "Not Neptune... Wait!?" He pointed at himself in disbelief. "Ruffian? Me? This look took years to perfect, okay..." He glanced nervously at the ground and then back up at the white haired man. He coughed and scratched his head before carefully tacking on a "Sir?"
"Hmph. Not hopeless," Schnee noted curtly. He took a step back and out of the doorway and directed his next words to his daughter. "Please come inside, introduce our guests. I cannot wait to hear your reasoning for staying away for so long, or why you would decide to come back after... what did you call it? 'Escaping?'"
"Thank you, Father," Weiss said with just a perfect hint of the indignant rebellion of youth. He remembered acting like that with his own father decades prior.
"Pure white. How did I guess it?" the ruffian growled dryly. He motioned with his head towards the white leather couch. "Let me guess, never had a dog."
"Not for my daughters' lack of desire," the older man responded with a hint of humor to his voice. "They found the breeds that shed the least, or only had hair that matched with everything else. But animals are distractions." He narrowed his eyes on the ruffian and his words grew acerbic as he added that last part. "Now... introductions?"
"Of course," Winter said. She bowed her head slightly and raised her hand towards the ruffian. "This is Qrow Branwen."
"The old victor of the Vytal Tournament. Team... STRQ, was it?" the Schnee patriarch inquired. Qrow blinked slowly then nodded as confirmation. "Hm. My elder daughter was young at the time, but we were present for your victory. You performed... adequately."
Winter, never the one to miss a chance to annoy her father even at her own expense, said, "Yes. I was quite the fan, especially of you. A Qrow Branwen poster even adorned the wall near my bed – until Father tore it down and incinerated it," Winter said. Qrow stared at her incredulously and then down at the girl in red. He pointed at himself like it was a question. "He hated the idea I could ever want to be a Huntress."
"And you did it anyways," the old man muttered. "Much to my chagrin."
Winter smiled triumphantly and did not seem to intend to move on. This left Weiss to clear her throat. "This is Ruby -"
"Hello!" the young woman in red shouted excitedly. "I am pleased to... finally... adjourn-? Parley! Parley with you... No..."
"- and this is... Neptune," Weiss said, her arm wrapped through that of a young man with blue hair. He waved nervously at the man with his free hand and then grew quiet.
Mr. Schnee turned and looked over at the two standing with his youngest child. The young woman acted – and even looked – like an overly excited puppy while she bounced from side to side. When the dog pushed its head out from her pack, it only added to the effect. "Zwei, no!" the girl hissed. She turned over her shoulder and tried to shove it back down, but the dog resisted and kept yipping excitedly.
"You – How did I miss that you had a dog for over a month!? The food alone... He ate the cookies too!" Qrow shouted. He waved his fist violently in front of him and began yelling at his niece. "You'd choose a dog over your own uncle!?"
Weiss slammed her hand into her head and groaned. "...Dunces..." she growled below her breath. Mr. Schnee smiled to himself at that. Despite her insistence to the contrary, Weiss still held a deep albeit begrudging respect for her father's opinions in some matters. He doubted that his view of them would destroy the bonds between them, but she wanted him to like her friends.
He tore his attention from his daughter and his scowl returned. He studied the three visitors who had been brought before him to test for his approval. Sadly, that was a game unto itself. He wanted his elder daughter to get as far away from Qrow Branwen as possible – the stories of the man's... 'adventures' stretched across every corner of Remnant. No, Winter deserved much more than that man child. But would approving of him or disapproving of him drive a wedge between them before a romance truly began? If he was honest with himself, she probably did not care in the slightest what he wanted either way, so he should be honest with them. "I am appropriately underwhelmed by both this ruffian and his puppy of a niece," the rich man said bluntly. He turned his discerning eye on Neptune next. "And of you I have as much to say as you have had this entire time. Nothing. Perhaps I shall see if you are worthy of any attention. Perhaps not."
"Thanks..." Neptune whispered. He'd never not made an impression on someone before.
"Now, why are you really here?" the Dust magnate inquired of Winter.
"Scrap the DISC." That broke the man's composure.
He turned on Qrow, his furious blue eyes clashing with the other man's calm crimson. In his anger, he didn't even deny its existence. "You – How could you possible know about that?"
"Cause I'm not an idiot," Qrow retorted. The Schnee patriarch narrowed his eyes and considered the man for a moment. It seemed his first assessment of the man as a fool had been incorrect. Qrow had a sharp and disturbingly intelligent streak beneath his recovering alcoholic's facade. "Dust Ignition Seismic Controller. Using the friction generated by earthquakes to ignite Dust deposits – it's a pretty smart idea. Disturbing, but smart."
"It doesn't exist," the man responded belatedly.
"Father, you can't hide this from me. I have access to both company files and to military files," Winter pointed out.
"You wouldn't be cleared for those files -"
"The whispers are there and you raised me to be more resourceful than to look at only the first page." Winter smiled coolly.
"Get out," her father whispered. He turned around and placed his hand on a simple, white wooden chair.
"Fath-" Weiss began.
"I will not be questioned by children in my own home!" he screamed. He picked up the chair and threw it across the room in a rage. Weiss flinched and stared at where it had bounced off of the wall and shattered into its individual pieces. His face calmed and he took a deep breath. "I'm – I'm sorry, I -" Winter shook her head and grabbed her younger sister by the shoulder. She opened the door and began to drag her out. Qrow followed, hand on his weapon's hilt, and then Ruby and Neptune. "No, don't leave, daughter. Stay here. Winter! Weiss!" He stopped speaking when the door slammed shut in his face. The old man took a deep, staggering breath and leaned against the wall with his hands in his face.
He had not been prepared for that, for anything. He cursed himself silently for allowing his emotions to get the better of him, after all he had done to make sure such a thing never happened to his daughters. It was simply that DISC was... He stood up straight. DISC was necessary. It was the only way he would be able to defend his daughters, no matter what they believed or thought of him. As soon as something terrible happened, he would be there ready to destroy whatever evil may come. He would not rely on Huntsmen like Qrow to save him; if he became weak, the world would tip over the precarious edge and into the Darkness forever.