AN:
Hey!
So, first I just want to do a more general response, specifically to a few people(warrior of six blades; sethman610; Kingofclubs8129): I had no clue that so many people thought that poorly of Papa Schnee. I can see where it's coming from, I guess, but even since season 1 I've never assumed he was a 'bad guy.' And Winter didn't seem like the kind to let anyone seriously hurt her little sister, especially her dad. I hope he's not evil in the show so much as just... well Weiss in the first few episodes, being all snooty and strict rather than actually nasty.
To gamelover41592: Yeah, I think everyone in the story will agree with you about Blake's current hairstyle...
To grimlock987: I don't have any plans for a serious Baymax appearance, but he could be one of the cameo characters in either Doctor Polendina's home/workshop or the Blue Fairy research facility when we explore it.
To warrior of six blades: Yeah, I wanted Neo to survive for now so that Sora, Ruby, and the others have... mini bosses I guess for the final battle with Salem. As for how Blake'll react to Sora, I hope that this chapter starts the process okay for now.
To sethman610: A lot of people have requested that idea so far, so many in fact that I've decided to add in the section of the story with a video call in the next chapter.
To Guest: If I do actually follow up on the spin off idea, it'll be something pretty similar to that. The concept of the worlds is going to return, but they won't be the same Disney ones for the most part. Anime definitely and a few other ones that I'll hint at later. For now I'm just going to keep the concept open if I want to do it later.
To EonGoddess: I'm glad the feels were better than I thought. Yes, the Foretellers are the previous holders of the Sora groups' Hearts, and the furthest I was going to go to confirming that was the picture Sora found in Beacon's statue. The Heartless and Nobody of Raven are going to be pretty important on the Atlas side of things. I also totally get calling her Vexran when you think of her. I thought about going with the 'traditional' naming scheme at first too, so I definitely get it. Thanks for thinking I'm a good writer, and I can't wait to see your stories, too!
Chapter 28: The Past is Present
The city of Vale was full of life, a vibrant Light that dared the Darkness to try devouring it. The world was full of joy and hope on this day, the result of having risen above the destruction that had nearly ended their entire Kingdom. Beacon Academy's new location was entering its second year of life, signifying that guardians would always exist even in the darkest moments of the world. The city's repairs had finally completed their final phase, reopening entire shops and businesses that had been wiped from the map more than a year earlier. To celebrate this renaissance of their city, the Council of Vale was throwing a large festival complete with food and drink and games, with stories and actors everywhere hazarding a guess at what the brilliant light that had defeated the Dragon really was.
It was among this great festival of lights that a figure dressed in a black cloak stepped out of a column of swirling blackness at the center of an alleyway. The hooded head looked around to both the left and right, the only noise coming from the figure the slight jangling of the zippers on his coat. He had been bouncing from place to place to postpone this for a while, coming home and seeing his... former allies again. It would end with a fight, even he could see that. The figure stepped away from the swirling darkness and the energy disappeared with a vworp, the gate from the region in Mistral where he had been closing with it.
After a few moments, he reached the edge of the alleyway and frowned beneath his hood. It was too much like the last time he had seen her before she died. Jaune shoved those thoughts from his mind and put his hands in his pockets before walking into the crowd. His cloak clanked slightly as he moved, a result of the armor that had been strapped onto the shoulders and torso. The armor was mainly gray, save for its silver trim and a small, golden rising sun emblem in the center of his left pauldron. The coat was fitted at the wrists so it wouldn't get in the way of his grip when he was fighting. The only thing that he still had from who he used to be was his hairstyle, his fingerless gloves, and an old and smelly pair of socks. The armor was made of a very familiar metal – the dense and powerful plate of his old shield had been useful after all, as plating over the Darkness infused main material of the Keyblade Wielder's armor.
"... heard something happened up at the old school." Jaune turned towards this conversation with renewed interest. Two men were talking in hushed tones – one an old man with gray, balding hair and the other younger with a clean mop of black. Jaune cocked his head to the side and neared them. He stopped at the stand nearest and bought a large chicken kabob that made his mouth water – a chef Salem was not.
"What was it?" the older man asked between bites of a donut.
The younger man shrugged. "No idea. But the lady I was talking to said she was hired by that Goodwitch lady to take two guys up there and then pick 'em up in a bullhead last month. Said one of 'em looked like the old Headmaster of Beacon, you know the one I'm talking about? The dead and disgraced one?" Jaune couldn't help but smile a little at that remark. Ozpin had done a lot to make himself worthy of being disgraced, after all. "The other one was a kid. Goodwitch and the guy argued a bit about taking the kid."
"When was this?"
"That light show someone set off? Not a light show," the man explained. "Explosions. The old guy and the kid came back without a scratch on 'em, which means they killed something up there. They risked waking up that dragon!"
"Pfft, yeah right," the old guy said dismissively.
Jaune believed what had been said. Ozpin and Sora were in Vale, it appeared, and going after something valuable in Beacon. But those men were right: what would be so important that Ozpin and Sora would risk waking up a huge monster that could destroy the city, murdering the entire population therein with no one capable of stopping it? Salem claimed that this Journal had abilities far above even what the Keyblade could accomplish – a gate through time. Jaune basically inhaled his kabob and walked past the pair who had begun speaking about an upcoming Huntsman Battle and who would win. He turned to walk back down the alleyway he'd arrived in and the world went black, the emptiness replacing Vale with the dimly lit Beacon Academy grounds.
The air rustled with his arrival. His presence was at once equally prey and predator to the army of Grimm that encroached on the once impregnable school's grounds. He wondered why they resisted their urge to destroy him, and suddenly realized it was because of his newfound affinity for the Darkness. They hated him and wanted to kill him because he had a Heart, but they recognized what was part of him now – that he was like them. He wasn't sure if he liked that.
That didn't explain why so few of the creatures were trying to get into the city, however. Some would probably say that whatever the Huntsmen down in Vale were doing, it kept the creatures away. Jaune was slightly more skeptical regarding the men and women's abilities against a group this size; they were far too attracted to the Dragon's comatose form to wander far. He looked over at a Beowolf that hissed angrily at him, and Jaune summoned his Keyblade in a flash of black and white. The Grimm roared angrily and leaped right towards him with claws extended, only to receive a powerful slash to the face. The creature disappeared in a burst of Black Dust that slowly rose into the sky. The remaining Grimm leered cautiously at him and the weapon in his hands. Jaune swept it out to his side, remembering a time not so long ago when creatures such as these would have presented a true challenge for him. What a different time that was, when he couldn't defend his friends.
Back when he had them. Jaune shoved this annoying voice away with the knowledge that he'd be seeing Pyrrha soon if everything went right. Anything and everything else was secondary, even if it hurt to think about that. Jaune walked forward, past the statue at the center of the front courtyard, and into the decrepit remains of the school.
As he walked through what had once been his greatest dream in the world, he could not help but reminisce on things both good and bad that happened in those halls. He clenched his fists as he thought back on Cardin Winchester and everything that idiot had done to him. He thought about Ozpin and the machine that had been at the center of all this. Then he thought about meeting Ren and Nora and all of his friends, and he missed them again. He sighed and shook his head as he walked into the atrium leading to Ozpin's office. Where she had died. Jaune stepped into the empty elevator shaft and tossed his Keyblade in front of him. It flashed and turned into a pair of wings that floated to his back. Using them, Jaune shot straight up and into the destroyed office.
He landed near the Dragon's wing and looked up at its screaming maw far above. The Keyblade returned to his hand, and Jaune began to look around for the book. It was likely that Sora and Oz had already taken the Journal, but it was worth a try at the very least in case they had to leave it behind or if Ozpin left anything else behind that could be useful. He raised his Keyblade above his head and summoned a ball of magnetic energy to lift the gears and rubble from the battles that had taken place there. He walked beneath the metal that now swirled above him and looked for any sign of this journal he could find. He crouched beside the remains of Ozpin's desk and pulled at the drawers only to come up empty. Jaune snarled and snap kicked the desk off the edge of the tower. "Dammit," he snapped. He stood up and watched it tumble through the air, landing right in the center of...
Jaune stood up and cocked his head to the side. The area around the statue was completely devoid of Grimm, as if they were avoiding it. Jaune looked over his shoulder one more time to see if anything called to him, then stepped off of the tower's edge. The wind whipped around him, causing his hair to fly away from his calm features. He wanted away from this place and the memories that came with it; they made it hard to do what he needed to do. The Keyblade Wielder landed on the ground with a heavy thud, causing stone and dust to fly up around him. A few brave – or stupid – Grimm rushed him and he sent them to oblivion without a second look. He walked into the empty circle and raised his Keyblade towards the statue. A ball of Light appeared at the tip, swirling with power, then shot from the tip of the Keyblade in a thin stream of white energy. There was a loud and clear click, and the Grimm at the base slid to the side, revealing a small hole in the statue.
The young man walked forward and dismissed his weapon so he could reach in with both hands. He took from the opening a small metal box. He flicked it open and looked inside. No book. Jaune growled and nearly tossed the box away before seeing something else. A Keychain that was sliding across the metal with every movement. He picked it up, ignoring the picture, and then tossed the box to the side. The picture's frame shattered from the impact, but Jaune did not hear. He was too busy studying the Keychain he had found. Gray and Green – obviously it belonged to Ozpin at one point in time. He thought about destroying the weapon's Heart, but decided against it. Salem had said doing something like that had the capability to release an astronomical amount of energy, energy that if used correctly could begin the process of resuscitating the Dragon for the next phase of Salem's plan. Something that would be meaningless if she did not have the book in her hands. The young man pocketed the Keychain and spun on his heel, disappearing into a portal of Darkness.
R W B Y
Qrow flipped the page of the magazine over and clicked his tongue. "These are short skirts in Atlas? Come on, I've seen pants that show more skin," he grumbled in annoyance. He sighed and tossed the magazine away before reaching to grab a weapons based one. As he leaned forward, he caught Winter staring icy daggers at him. "Is there a problem, Ice Queen?"
"You're acting like a lewd child," she snapped from where she sat at full attention, back straighter than the wall itself was. Qrow just raised his eyebrows and scoffed at the woman before leaning back. "I – Don't ignore me!"
"I don't know if doing that's possible when you're so damn loud," Qrow muttered. The temperature in the room dropped and the Huntsman looked nervously up at the Specialist. "I mean, um, you just seem more uptight than usual ever since we talked with your father. I didn't think you could be more uptight, but there you go proving me wrong!" Winter growled at Qrow, her mood worsening again. "Oh, come on, I've already embarrassed you in front of your dad. I've already embarrassed you in front of your boss when I beat you in that fight at the Vytal Festiv...al... -" Winter's eyes widened with pure, unadulterated murder and Qrow laughed nervously. "Ever since we, er, fought at the Vytal Festival... Look, the way I see it, expectations for me are probably so low that I'll impress them next time I see them. Besides, Jimmy and me have been... well, not friends I guess, but we've known each other longer than you've been a Huntress, Ice Queen."
"The General would accept nothing less than one's best," Winter snapped to reject his statement. She crossed her legs and looked away from the scythe wielder.
"Yeah, you're right," Qrow acquiesced. His grin turned wicked. "General Jimmy's just realized this is the best that I'm willing to offer."
"That's not true," Winter admonished angrily. She pointed at Qrow. "I'm not the only one who has been acting odd since the meeting with my father. Before that, you were acting much more mature. Now you're acting like... Like..."
"A drunkard, right?"
"That's not wrong..." Qrow didn't respond to that. Winter sighed a moment later and walked over to sit beside her ally and take a different path towards getting him to open up. "Until our meeting with him, a part of me had believed that my father would not engage in such a despicable act as aiding in the creation of DISC. It made logical sense, of course. There was no one else with the resources or ingenuity to create such a device. I... I knew that it was him. But I did not believe it. His reaction confirmed my fears and it hurts me still." Qrow at her over his magazine. "I am not angry that you embarrassed me, Qrow. I am angry that he embarrassed me. His Sins are mine to make up for, and I don't know if I could ever make up for one as deep as that." She fell silent and leaned forward where she sat, placing her elbows on her knees and clasping her hands in front of her face.
Qrow broke the silence some time later. "Nothing he does is on you. On your name, maybe, I won't deny that. But never on you, Ice Queen," Qrow said kindly. Even the old insult sounded more like an affectionate nickname now. He reached over and pulled Winter's chin up and towards him with the knuckle of his right index finger. He had a kind and quiet smile on his face, one that looked natural on him despite his usual sarcastic sneer. "And even if they were yours, you'd redeem every one of them." He flicked his wrist and his finger rapped lightly against her nose, making her jump back. Qrow grinned at her but didn't lean away. "Mopey isn't a good look on you, Ice Queen. Stick with arrogant, at least then you're closer to the mark on how good you are."
Winter gulped when she recognized how close their faces were to one another. It was odd – she had been secretly hoping to be this close to him for a while now. Yet now she found she could not do anything about it or act on her thoughts at all. "Why are are you acting differently, then?" she inquired suddenly, though she did not move, still paralyzed by fear.
Qrow scoffed and leaned back slightly. He broke eye contact and stared up at the ceiling. "Let's just say I've got unresolved issues, Ice Queen. Girl broke my heart, died, didn't die. Crazy stuff."
"Why would my father and a woman from your past be connected like that?" Winter inquired worriedly. She placed her hand on Qrow's bicep and clenched it lightly. Qrow blushed and let his pupil fall to the corner of his eye to catch Winter's. "What?"
"I -" He was cut off by the sudden opening of the door to General Ironwood's office.
"Thank you for your time, General, but if you tell me you know nothing about this it is either because you are grossly ignorant or you're lying to me," a man's voice came from the doorway. He exited, followed quickly by the general. This man was about six foot three, with armor adorning his shoulders and chest. A silver, rising sun was present on his left pauldron and was nearly invisible against the white. The armor rested over a skin tight black fabric that was tucked into a pair of gray cargo pants, themselves tucked into black combat boots. The man's hands were covered with a pair of black and silver, fingerless gloves balled up into fists. A messy mop of long, blonde hair outlined his face and the scars that covered it, though many were hidden by the beard that matched his hair save for a few strands of silvery gray that peeked out. "And either way, it is an insult to my intelligence."
He looked over at the two in the waiting room. "Qrow? Am I interrupting your time with this..." the man raised a distasteful eyebrow. "... Atlesian Specialist?"
"Argent," Qrow said, hiding a grimace. He wasn't sure what to do with the man. Qrow after all knew where Argent's kid was... metaphorically speaking. He didn't have time to think this one over, at the moment. "Nope, you're not. Not doing anything here." Qrow stood up and walked over to Argent, leaving behind a flustered and silent Winter Schnee. "What are you doing here, Argent?"
"I could ask the same of you, Kid," the older Huntsman replied. Argent crossed his arms and blinked once. "Oz's death must've hit you pretty hard if you ran all the way to Atlas."
Qrow fell quiet and shook his head. "I'm trying to keep something bad from happening, and Jimmy's my best chance at that."
"Well, good luck then," Arc said with a shrug. He looked over his shoulder at where Ironwood was looking at some files. "He's busy denying everything for which the Vale Council has actionable intel." He gave Qrow a nod of goodbye. "Qrow, come see me if you need any help. I'll talk with you later." He looked past him. "Specialist." Then he walked away, sword jangling on his hip.
"Qrow, Winter," Ironwood said, looking up from his intelligence. He placed his Scroll down and motioned for them to come in. Qrow looked over at Winter, who was now standing beside him, and was back to her angry, serious self. They walked in together. "What do you need?"
"I need you to tell me everything you know about DISC, and don't lie to me like you did with Argent," Qrow demanded, having quickly deduced what he had spoken with the other Huntsman about. Ironwood's face hardened. "It needs to be destroyed."
"Get him out of here," Ironwood commanded the Specialist. Qrow looked over, half expecting her to do so. Instead, she just remained perfectly still where she was. Ironwood glanced angrily over at her. "That was an order." She continued to stand still, causing Ironwood to laugh dryly. "Who are you and what have you done with Winter?"
"Sir, I believe what Qrow is asking is in both the best interest of this Kingdom and every other one. Where is the DISC?" she asked quietly. Qrow was a little taken aback that she'd say it that bluntly too.
Ironwood thought about denying he knew anything, but sighed instead. "Blue Fairy. There's no point in denying it, not to you two."
"So destroy it. It's terrible you would even consider using it -"
"I would never!" Ironwood snapped. He slammed his palms on his desk and surged to his feet and glared at the warrior in front of him. "I have been doing nothing but trying to keep it from happening since I learned about it. You know I would never agree to something so stupid and dishonorable. The ends do not always justify the means." He looked down and fell back into his chair. "Besides, I do not have control over Blue Fairy. That... 'honor' belongs to one of more import than I."
"Excuse me, Sir, but who has control over it, then?" Winter inquired. She clasped her hands behind her back and stood at attention, expecting no answer but hoping for one.
Ironwood looked over at Winter. "I'm sure you both already know the answer to that question."
Qrow looked at her with worry in his Heart. "Ice Queen..." He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Winter shrugged it off. "Damn it, Father," she growled to herself, retreating into an icy shell. "Further the Sins you would have us inherit."
R W B Y
Morrigan jumped through the sky, soaring between the two buildings in the commercial district of Atlas' capital city. She summoned her blade into her hand and stabbed it into the metal, windowless side of a particularly tall building, then used the handle to spin up and crouch on its flat. She cocked her head to the side and glared down at her prey dozens of feet below. She really was lucky that no one ever bothered looking up, else this stalking would have been ended long ago.
The young blonde woman was talking with three other people about her age, one with long white hair dressed in the same color, another with a head of blue wearing red, and the last with red and black hair and a long red cape. Their names went through Morrigan's head for a moment before she shoved them away as extraneous data. Her only concern lay with killing the young blonde woman and purifying her own weakness.
Perhaps once the girl was dead, she would be able to destroy the creature hunting her as well...
She shut her eyes while trying to forget that moment, but it still played out in her mind. As soon as the black monster had grabbed onto her, she had been dragged through a portal of total Darkness. She could see nothing and hear nothing beyond the creature itself, the red blades of its arms frantically trying to bury themselves in her body. She had been barely able to stop every attack, her blade moving more by instinct and luck than true skill in such close quarters. It was not until the monster had dragged her out of the portal that she truly had a chance to do battle with it.
"What are you?" Morrigan had snapped upon rolling across the grass and to her feet. She raised her sword in front of her and glared at the creature. It slowly stood up to its full height and stretching its wings out to their full span. It shrieked again and rushed towards Morrigan to swing both of its blades at her head. She had slashed around in response and both of the red blades were buried in the ground. She used this connection point to spin around and deliver a powerful ax kick to the back of the monster's head.
Morrigan backflipped away after landing the blow and raised her blade to her shoulder, tip aimed directly at the creature. The monster pulled its head from the ground and looked directly at Morrigan with its yellow, hate filled eyes. The long, bony beak of the monster clicked before opening in a loud shriek. The powerful legs of the creature tensed for a moment and it leaped at Morrigan. She raised her weapon and let the monster crash into it, locking their blades together so she could get a closer look. A flicker of recognition ran through the Nobody's eyes as she and the creature studied one another. "Heh. Raven. I was wondering where you'd gone," Raven scoffed. The creature did not respond, though the yellow orbs floating in its shadowy skull turned red for a moment. Morrigan bathed her weapon in a bright red flame and shoved off from the monster. The flames traveled forward and exploded against the Heartless' chest even as Morrigan twirled to a safe distance. "Perhaps your destruction will be the first step on my journey to being whole."
The monster shrieked again, its claws pointed directly towards the Nobody and its wings raised far above its head. Its roar ran unabated for over five minutes. "Impressive," Morrigan taunted, somehow sure that whatever remained of Raven's weakness could hear her. "But you are no -" The creature turned suddenly and Morrigan could no longer sense the remains of Raven Xiao Long within it. The beak clicked and a small chirp came out before a portal of Darkness appeared in the creature's chest and it was sucked away, leaving Morrigan alone.
The Nobody had stood up and looked around, seeing nothing but an empty cabin in the woods.
But that was then, and this was now. Yang Xiao Long was below and attacking her would likely only attract the Heartless again. It was better for Morrigan to bide her time and find the ideal moment to kill the girl in a single blow rather than risk Raven's return. She let her eyes wander downward and she frowned. Someone else was stalking her quarry it seemed. She stood up straight and jumped across the street, plummeting towards the building below. She summoned a portal of Darkness in her path and appeared silently behind this other spy.
It was a man. He looked about his early to mid twenties, with hair that was streaks of pitch and fire dancing between each other. His shoulders were covered in a deep black suit jacket, with the back covered in an intricate, wilting rose. A sword and scabbard hung from a balled up black fist. Morrigan cocked her head to the side when the skin of the arm suddenly flared like a black flame. The man turned his head slightly, as if he had heard Morrigan's appearance, and the woman hurriedly summoned a shadowy mask to her face. "Who are you?" the man asked. His eyes were hidden behind a white bone mask, and a pair of well hidden black horns protruded from his scalp – a Faunus. Morrigan frowned behind her mask; this was Adam Taurus. His name ignited memories of intense rage, though not the hatred itself anymore. It was lucky Morrigan replaced her mask, or he would have attacked her as soon as he saw her face. "Well?"
Morrigan looked over the edge of the building at Yang playing around with her sister and friends. She clenched her fist and narrowed her red eyes on the blonde. "A fellow hunter of the things important to Raven Xiao Long."
Yang, meanwhile, was busy enjoying her time with her sister and the friend with whom she had been recently reunited. "And then our dad punched the dog so hard Zwei turned into a fire ball and slammed into the evil witch's stupid hair!" Yang shouted, punching in front of her excitedly.
"You let him turn your adorable little puppy into a weapon!?" Weiss shouted, aghast at the very idea of it. She reached suddenly into Ruby's pack and pulled the dog out, hugging him tightly. She began to speak to the animal like he was a baby. "Oh, wittle guy, I'm so sowwy, I'll pwotect you fwom dose evil peopwe."
Yang elbowed the blue haired boy in the ribs and laughed. "Is that still attractive?" Yang joked to Neptune.
"Honestly, yes," Neptune said as he stared at Weiss. He grimaced in shame. "And I wonder what that says about me..." He looked over at Weiss, who had somehow managed to dress the now whining and annoyed dog in a tiny suit. Neptune teared up. "Why is that attractive too?" he whined.
"I don't know, but Zwei isn't happy about it," Ruby pointed out. The dog was currently trying to eat his way out of the white suit, only to be stopped every time when Weiss began to toss him into the air, catch him, and then embrace him tighter than a bear hug. She ignored the annoyed yipping in her ear every time and proceeded to dance down the street with the dog. "Dogs have always been her weakness. Probably because her dad never got her one."
"Okay, now I'm starting to feel ignored," Neptune muttered when Weiss' act with the dog entered its fifth, uninterrupted minute. Ruby patted him on the back before dashing forward and rescuing her dog from Weiss' assault. Zwei whined appreciatively and nuzzled into his owner's arms, leaving behind a crying Weiss.
"He's my dog!" Ruby shouted when Weiss reached out to steal Zwei back. Ruby hugged the dog and twisted away to protect him from her partner. "Stop attacking him!"
"I just want to love him!" Weiss snapped. She stomped her foot aggressively and pouted like any good and insulted heiress would.
"It's okay, Weiss," Neptune said, coming up behind her to give her a comforting hug. "I know... she's mean."
Ruby gasped at the insult. "Hey!" she muttered indignantly.
Yang took the dog from her sister and began undressing him. "I'm sorry, buddy," she said as she tossed the last of the dog clothes – which probably cost more than her outfit – to the ground. The blonde scratched behind Zwei's ears and smiled. "It'll be okay, Zwei, we'll just never let her play with you ever again." That elicited more dense tears from Weiss. Yang sighed sympathetically, then looked down at her dog with an apology in her eyes. "Usually..." Zwei glared over at Weiss angrily and was stolen away a moment later by the heiress. Thankfully, it was much less aggravating for the dog this time: Weiss only scratched softly behind his ears.
"So... talk to Sora recently?" Neptune asked to break the silence.
"He called me late last night to say they found a lead on Blake, but I haven't heard anything since," Ruby supplied with a shrug and frown. "I did have this weird dream about him last night, though..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Yang shouted. She elbowed her sister's shoulder and grinned mockingly. "You're not allowed to talk about stuff like that in public!"
Ruby blushed and shook her head vigorously. "N-no, I... I don't mean like that!" Her voice cracked and her gaze fell to the ground. She pulled her hood over her head and whimpered in embarrassment while her elder sister laughed boisterously at her. "Yang..."
"Oh, I'm just kidding," Yang said comfortingly. She placed her arm around the Keyblade Wielder's shoulders. "It's not like I heard you go, 'Oh Sora!'"
"Yang!" Ruby shouted, shoving her sister with her still occasionally surprising strength. The brawler flew away from Ruby and crashed into a building across the street. The younger girl yelped in surprise and ran over. "Yang, I'm sorry!"
"Woo! That got my blood pumping, Little Sis!" the blonde shouted excitedly. She pushed herself to her feet and glared down at her sister. "Oh we are sparring later; I want to see just how strong my baby sis has become!"
Suddenly Yang went silent and cocked her head to the side. "What is it, Yang?" Weiss asked when she and Neptune crossed the street.
"That's Doctor Polendina," the bombshell stated. She pointed directly across the street at a rotund man walking away from a short, unassuming building.
"The world's top robotics expert coming out of a place that sells hammers, nails, and 2 by 4's?" Neptune inquired bluntly. He shook his head. "I don't know if I buy that he wants to do some home improvements that much."
"He lives in one the nicest military apartments in the Kingdom," Weiss pointed out. "He couldn't do wooden home improvements there even if he wanted to." The three of them all turned to look directly at Ruby.
"W-what?" Ruby asked dumbly.
"Well you have something that opens any door," Yang pointed out.
"You're fast enough nobody would see you," Weiss tacked on.
"And we really want to know what's in there," Neptune finished.
"But Qrow and Winter said I shouldn't risk letting people know about the Keyblade!" Ruby hissed, terrified that – for once – she had to be the voice of reason. "Am I – Am I really the one who thinks this is a bad idea?"
Yang shrugged. "Chicken."
"God, fine," Ruby muttered, and she disappeared in a flash of red, running through the door that someone had just opened, and around the entire building until she found a door with only a key card reader . The Keyblade appeared in her hand and flashed, the card reader flashing with the same ruby red. The door slid open, and Ruby walked through the door while dismissing her Keyblade – no point risking things further.
She was in a long hallway which was, as was far too usual in Atlas, pure white. "Do they have any other colors in this Kingdom?" Ruby muttered sarcastically as she reached the first junction in the hallway. She looked to her right and saw a series of doors each with a serial number above them, then to the left to see an identical hallway. She shrugged and continued to go straight. She passed a dozen intersections before coming to a stairway. Ruby slowly opened the door and jumped down the stairwell to see how far she could go. She landed without a noise more than two dozen flights down and walked into the next room.
She looked around in confusion; the only other things in the room were two simple doors, almost identical. She shrugged and walked towards the right one on a whim. "BF-0705. Hm..." She looked around cautiously and reached out to touch the door with her right hand.
"Warning: Restricted Access." Ruby turned around and nearly jumped out of her skin when a metallic figure dropped from the ceiling. The young woman resisted the powerful urge to summon Crescent Rose and instead let BF-0705 shut behind her.
"Hello!" Ruby said nervously. She took a step towards the crouching figure. "Who are you?"
"Vocal Identification... Unknown. Intruder alert." Ruby frowned... why was that voice familiar? The figure stood up to full height and Ruby's eyes widened fearfully. The robot was about the same height as Ruby and looked human in shape. Bright green eyes glared emotionlessly out from the robot's skull, and Ruby suddenly understood why the voice was so familiar. "Objective, Terminate."
"P-Penny!" Ruby shouted somewhere between excited and worried. She took another step forward. "Penny, is that -" The robot widened its stance and shivered before a dozen razor sharp and incredibly familiar swords on strings extended from her back. "Penny, it is you!" One of the swords lashed out at Ruby, and she turned up the speed to dodge behind her robotic friend. "Penny, how is this possible!?" The swords crashed into where she was standing again, but Ruby had already run off again. "Penny! Penny, it's Ruby!"
"Identification logged." The android said before its voice changed suddenly to be Ruby's. "It's Ruby!"
Ruby grimaced. "That's my voice?" she asked. Ruby shook her head. "They say nobody likes recordings of their voices." She effortlessly jumped out of the way of the next attack and grimaced. She couldn't summon her Keyblade here if she wanted the Schnee father to not find out – not that she even wanted to summon it. She could really hurt Penny if she did that! Ruby sighed and decided on the only available course of action. She frowned at the ground. "I'll be back for you, Penny. I promise." Then she turned around and ran into the stairway, the robot hot on her heels. Ruby tensed her legs up for a moment and shot up in a torpedo of roses, finally getting more than two dozen stories of distance between her and the android. Ruby landed without a noise and ran out of the research base at a full sprint.
"GUYS WE GOTTA GO!" Ruby shouted. She grabbed her three friends by the arms and pulled them along fast enough to give them each massive whiplash if they didn't have powerful Auras. Before anyone could ask another question about it, Ruby set her jaw and cut them off. "We need to talk to Doctor Polendina about how Penny's down there!"
R W B Y
Twelve hours and a couple calls to Ruby after rescuing Blake, both halves of their group were all caught up with events. Yang and Blake had yet to see or talk to each other, but they had a group wide video call scheduled for that weekend. For now, everyone besides Ruby and Sora only had information from a few snippets of conversation and the videos Yang had sent them of Neptune freaking out near water to the sound of music. It was amazing.
"So how long are you going to be blonde?" Sora asked suddenly as he took a break from watching Ozpin try to teach Blake how to use magic. He placed his hands on his feet, which were placed sole to sole in front of him as he sat. The cat Faunus stopped trying to channel any arcane energies and glared over at Sora dryly, as if to ask if he was seriously asking such a pointless question. "Really, because... It just... It just doesn't fit. Yang and Ruby'll agree with me. Maybe not Weiss, but I've never met her so I wouldn't know about that."
Blake shook her head. She'd already seen him fight, and he was capable of seeing through what he described as the most realistic representation of what he wanted most in the world. So he was strong and smart. But he kept acting like a five year old sometimes! The Faunus laughed inwardly; he and Ruby deserved each other. "A month or two. It's long lasting, so I didn't have to worry about applying it all the time," she explained. She sheathed Gambol Shroud on her back and walked over to sit beside him so he could take his turn sparring with Ozpin. The headmaster himself was currently taking his Scroll out and answering a call, so they had some time.
"We haven't talked much yet, have we?" Sora asked. He took his clasped hands off of his feet and smiled over at the Faunus. She sighed and pulled out her book. She wasn't much for dealing with new people.
"It's not that weird," Blake muttered calmly. She wished someone she was more comfortable around was there. Sora may have saved her life, but she new next to nothing about him yet. Of course, the best way to fix that would be to talk to him, but she didn't really know him yet so... She'd rather avoid this specific circuit of thought. "We've only known each other for about a day, after all." She fell quiet and hoped that Sora wouldn't try to say anything to her from then on. Maybe with everyone else around she'd feel better about talking to him. Or maybe not?
Sora frowned and looked back down at his feet. He wanted to make her more comfortable around him. Sora glanced over at Blake nervously, and upon catching sight of the novel in her hands the former Keyblade Wielder grimaced. "The Key of Destiny... That's an... interesting book."
"You've read it?" Blake asked in surprise. Sora didn't seem the sit down and read a thousand page book with entire section that read more like a science textbook than a story. She coughed nervously and hoped that he didn't take the surprise in her voice as an insult. "I, erm... I just mean, it's a very rare book."
Sora nodded. "Yeah, it is," he said. Blake breathed a sigh of relief – he wasn't offended. It was like he didn't even... notice... Blake almost fell face first into the open book when she realized he really hadn't noticed. "It's also, heh...about me." Blake raised one incredulous eyebrow. "No, really, I'm not lying! I know it sounds impossible, but..."
"There are many impossible things in the world of Remnant. Headmaster Ozpin is apparently an immortal wizard, so I'm willing to believe in time travel," Blake stated. She folded up the book and looked down at the cover. If this were true, then it was possible that Sora really had known the Golden Mouse, one of her greatest heroes! Don't blow this... "But I would appreciate hearing the story from the hero himself. The, uh, book isn't very specific."
Sora's smile widened. "Ask away!" he shouted. He was obviously glad to find some way to connect with the Faunus and show he was a good guy.
Blake smiled appreciatively and asked her first question: "So... these Keyblades. What are they?"
Sora frowned and looked over at Ozpin before deciding how he'd answer the question. "They're... Hearts. Everyone else knows, so I don't think Ozpin'll be angry if I tell you," Sora explained. Blake wondered what he could mean by that. "Ozpin's ex-girlfriend, I think, she made them. Apparently by shattering strong Hearts she was able to create the first Keyblades. Other times, when trauma breaks people's Hearts, they can... grow from it. The Heart is healed and the old pieces, when there's enough, become a Keyblade. But not everyone can use one, and even among those who can use one, not everyone gets one. Either you're chosen by an existing Keyblade, or a Keyblade Wielder chooses you as their heir, or... you make one." He coughed nervously.
"Where is the one from the book?" Blake asked. She turned the book over and gestured at the gold and silver design on the cover. "Your Keyblade?"
Sora laughed once. "You like the hard questions, don't you?" he joked. Blake blushed, but remained adamant in the query. Sora smiled and nodded supportively to the Faunus. "Good. It's apparently one of the two strongest Keyblades once it's potential is unlocked. Anyways, it's not really mine. Salem, Ozpin's crazy ex, made it, and it listens to her before it listens to me. She took it and – made me try to kill Ruby and used it to kill Yang's mom."
"Yang's mom..?" Blake asked. Yang hadn't mentioned that in their call – she hadn't even mentioned that her mother was alive! "I... Why didn't she tell me?"
"Oh... she probably just wanted you not to worry about her," Sora explained for Ruby's sister. "You don't want to tell your best friends bad news right when you see them again, right?" Blake nodded, but still seemed worried that her friend had yet to forgive her. Sora decided to take her mind off the topic. "So, next question?"
Blake nodded silently for a while. "Okay," she said haltingly. She looked back up at Sora. "Tell me about your friends."
Sora smiled and nodded. "Hm... Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey. They were my best friends," Sora said. He looked up at the sky and leaned back until he collapsed in the cool grass of the Emerald Forest. "Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were... great. Mickey Mouse was a fighter, and would do anything it took to do the right thing, even if it meant leaving the people and places he loved. He was...more animal-like than Faunus. He was a three foot tall mouse with a Keyblade, so he was really cool. He helped teach me how to be a Keyblade Master! His best friends – and two of mine – were Donald Duck and Goofy Goof. They're like Mickey – except one was a duck and the other was a dog, like I said when we saved you. Donald was a wizard, and he knew magic better than anyone except wizards like Oz or Yen Sid. And Goofy was a Knight who didn't believe in using swords or any type of weapon except a shield, but that didn't stop him from destroying Heartless left and right!" He smiled fondly as he remembered his best friends, and it quickly became sheepish. "They were always reminding me not to let anyone know there were other worlds..."
Sora laughed it off a moment later. "Wasn't very good at that, it turns out! Anyways, Kairi was a girl I knew growing up. She, uh, looked a bit like Ruby and acted like her too. More timid, though, but she didn't grow up fighting monsters so..." Sora laughed nervously and sat up. Blake was staring at him intently, listening to his stories. "And Riku. He was quiet and kind of angry sometimes. But he... he was great. My best of best friends since I was a little kid... and my rival, I guess. He was always better at things than I was. Fighting, talking, Keyblades. He was great. He took Darkness, which is... evil in almost anyone's hands, and he used it to save the World. It takes a level head to do stuff like that, and I always looked up to him for being able to do that." Sora smiled and leaned back on his open palms. He smiled fondly and said, "I really miss them..."
His face lit up a moment later. "What about you? What's your story?" Sora asked. "I kind of always got the feeling from Ruby and the others that it was kind of a secret." He smiled kindly before hurriedly adding on. "N-not to be pushy or anything!"
"Well, if Ruby, Yang, Sun, and Headmaster Ozpin trust you, then I suppose there is literally no reason for me not to," Blake said, conceding defeat. "I'm... What do you know about the White Fang?"
"Probably what most people know," Sora said after a moment of looking at the sky. He turned his gaze back to Blake. "They used to be a group of people who wanted the world to be better, until about five years ago. Someone else took over, the guy who hurt Yang. Ever since then, they've been more like terrorists than heroes. I miss anything?"
Blake frowned. "That's pretty much it," she agreed, her voice gaining an angry edge. Sora raised a confused eyebrow. "I was there, since the beginning. Raised in it." Blake brought her knees up to her chest and let her chin and forearms rest atop them. "I was, I guess you'd say 'involved' with Adam, the current leader. He was my mentor and... more." She grew quiet and angry.
"Are you okay?" Sora inquired. Blake looked over sadly. "I'm... I'm sorry. You don't have to answer any more than that." Blake was a little astounded by the young man's behavior. She'd said that she had been a member of a group now known for killing thousands and he didn't even bat an eye.
"Don't you hate me?" Blake asked.
"Why? Ruby and Yang didn't," Sora replied simply. Blake smiled at that. No, they hadn't. "And besides, my friend Riku came back from worse. And Jaune will too. So, even if you eventually try to destroy the universe, you still won't be able to claim you're beyond redemption."
Blake snickered. "Fine," she said as her laughter died down. She was starting to understand just why Ruby was so attached to this boy. He was maybe too trusting. Blake put her hand on Sora's shoulder and smiled at him. "Thank you. Ruby and you are perfect for each other."
"Ah, I'm lucky to have her," Sora said sheepishly, turning ruby red as he did.
That was when Ozpin walked over. Sora frowned and placed his hands back on the grass. "Are... are you okay?" he asked. The old warrior was pale as snow and his hands were trembling.
"I'm afraid training for now will have to end. There are pressing concerns I must deal with," Ozpin explained with a forced calm.
"What happened?" Blake asked.
"The Spring Maiden was murdered. Salem has three of the four now," Ozpin explained to the air. He looked over at Sora and clenched his jaw. "She is one step away from having everything she needs to enact the world's destruction."
R W B Y Seven Years Before the First Great Keyblade War
Skye stood on amidst the meadow that overlooked Daybreak Town, stretching as he prepared to go out on his journey into the World to find the Adversary. It was going to be a long time before he saw home or any of his friends again, so he was really just stalling before he had to leave. He'd left as soon as he'd given his friends their books and Keyblades; he didn't want to say good bye to any of them or risk revealing who the traitor was. Besides, they all looked really silly in their new animal getups and he could barely hold back the laughter that rose in his chest every time he saw them. It was better than the tears he got when he thought about how they were going to try to kill each other from here on out. He wanted to be alone. Apparently Mark – Ira, he admonished himself – didn't get the message.
"Ira," Skye said as he continued to stretch, using the Keyblade's many powers to sound more like Oz. He glanced over his shoulder at the warrior dressed up like a white and blue unicorn and immediately almost broke into laughter. He somehow managed to fight it off, mostly because Oz and the others thought they all looked intimidating and cool. Still, all Skye could see was his friends with weird masks. He cleared his throat to get rid of this train of thought. "What is it?"
"I wish to speak with you about the book you gave us," Ira explained. The wind picked up, whipping about Skye's coat and Ira's cloak with its force.
Figures he's already read it, Skye joked to himself. "What about?" Skye feigned ignorance.
Ira growled in annoyance. "A few things... Why didn't Sk- Luxu get one?" Ira asked first.
Skye laughed. The renaming them confused them all too? Good. "He's not like you," Skye said, enjoying a chance to praise himself in front of his rival without being perceived as arrogant. "His path is different."
"You trust him more than us. We do not deserve to be treated so low just because he was your first student!" Ira snapped, his anger at being overlooked evident. Skye growled to himself and continued to stretch. Way to blow a gasket, Ira. "Apologies, Master, but I... We are all worried. He did not receive a Mark of Mastery with us and we have not seen him since. We merely wish to know what it is you did not give us in the books."
Skye shrugged. "Nothing too important," he lied. She placed his hands on his hips. "I gave you everything you need." That wasn't a lie, if Oz was right.
Ira scoffed, but went along with it. "Fine... But what of this Keyblade War? It... it will end everything?"
"Yup," Skye said, hoping he sounded nonchalant.
Apparently he did, because Ira growled angrily before sighing and trying to sound deferential. "I-isn't it our duty, as Keyblade Wielders, to prevent this war from taking place?" he begged, sounding sorrowful.
Skye remembered what Oz had said. "N-Nope. No, not possible," he said hurriedly. Ira went silent for a long time and Skye wondered if he'd revealed too much.
"I don't believe that." Skye let out a small sigh of relief and turned around to look at the other warrior. Ira was staring resolutely at the man he believed to be Ozpin. "I will achieve my goal, no matter what. Not even you know everything, Master. Your prophecies will not all come true."
Skye nodded. He turned around and picked up a puffy dandelion and raised it in front of his hooded face. "This world is... full of Light..." Skye sighed and walked up to the edge of the cliff, dropping the dandelion into the strengthening breeze to fly away as he did. "Make no mistake, Ira. Darkness will prevail, and Light expire. War or no, my job's up. I lost everything for it, so you kids can do it yourself now."
"Then you are no master of mine," Ira growled, his wrath shining through. He summoned his Keyblade, and Skye wondered for a moment if the white haired warrior was going to attack him. Ira didn't look sure for a moment, until he turned away and used his Keyblade to summon a portal of Light. Ira cast one last glance over his shoulder. "Coward." Then he walked through the gate and left Skye alone.
"I hope you're better at this than I am," Skye muttered. He pulled his hood down and looked over at where Oz was hiding.
The elder warrior pulled down his own hood and approached with a smirk on his face. "Nonsense, you were amazing. Ira didn't expect anything," Ozpin said. He placed his hand on his student's shoulder. "I'm sorry you have to do this, but it's only until they have become who they must."
"Doesn't make it easier. I want to trust them."
"I wish you could. Maybe the world could be saved, then," Ozpin stated hollowly. He looked out over the city and took his glasses from his face with his right hand. He held them out to his student. "I want you to have these. I keep pushing them onto my face when they slide, and... well, it's a dead giveaway."
Skye laughed and took the glasses from his mentor. "I don't think they'll fit my style," he said, but he nonetheless pocketed them. The two men stood silently beside one another for a while, ignoring the pregnant silence.
"I'm gonna miss you, Ozpin. I know it's what has to happen, and I don't like that, but I trust you. You wouldn't do anything this drastic without a really good reason," Skye finally said. He turned to Oz and wrapped his arms around the man's neck in a hug. "You're the best friend anyone could ask for, Ozpin."
Ozpin smiled and hugged his student back. "It's Oz to my friends," he finally admitted. He pushed his student to arm's length. "I just wish I could see you show the World who you are. It's going to be too long before I get to see." The warrior took a step back and glanced at the ground. "It's time for you to go."
"I know," Skye muttered. He pulled his hood back up and summoned his Keyblade to his hand.
"You decide on a name, yet?" Ozpin asked, another way to keep his student from leaving.
"Not yet," Skye said. He looked down at the weapon in his hand before summoning a swirl of Light to the tip. The energy shot from the Keyblade and tore open a swirling vortex of Light in front of the two. "I didn't get a name or animal like the others did, so no 'Righteous Wrath' or 'Serpent's Bite' for me. Only a matter of time, though. Right?"
"I'm sure," Ozpin said with a grin.
Skye looked at Oz one more time. "See you soon." Then he jumped off of the cliff and soared through the portal.
Ozpin nodded. "See you soon."