Ozpin frowned a bit, his attention drifting from the screen towards Winter Schnee and from her to his son who was looking at the screen with a sense of amusement.
Leaning back a bit he had to admit he was extremely surprised at Winter Schnee suddenly having access to magic.
He had done various things over his life in attempts to give humanity back the gift of magic and only had minor successes. Qrow and Raven had been capable of unlocking a rather minor feat of Magic and dear Glynda's Semblance had been enhanced quite a bit by him to an extent that she could compete with a Maiden in battle.
But completely unlocking magic? He had been incapable of doing so. Which was a huge hindrance to his plans to defeat Salem as he was only one person and the Maiden powers, while powerful, were merely Elemental Magic making it restricted in use. A Maiden never would be able to grant someone animal-form for instance like he did for the Branwens. So any attempt to flat out overpower his Wife was doomed from the start.
Having Winter become a Mage was a great boon to his cause. Originally, Ironwood had been grooming her to become the Winter Maiden but now that role could be given to someone else once Fria passed on, giving them two powerful warriors on their side instead of just one.
Still, Ozpin frowned as his eyes continued to linger on his son. What was Vert's plan?
Meanwhile, Weiss was attempting to get her sister back to reality.
"Winter?" she asked, "Are you good?"
Winter finally snapped out of her shock, "Of… of course."
She sighed, "This just might take some time to get used to is all."
"That mean we're good to keep going?" Qrow asked, "I want to see what I can do, if the Ice Queen can do that."
Everyone nodded and the screen picked back up.
Back on Destiny Islands, Ruby got off her boat and readied herself for the day. Reece was standing on the dock waiting for her, "Hey, Ruby, have you heard about the legendary power of the paopu fruit?"
"Didn't Weiss talk about that last time?" Ilia asked, "Why are we hearing it again?"
"Maybe jump rope girl knows more about it?" Neo suggested.
"They say," Reece continued, "if you share it with someone you really care for, it binds you together forever and ever through eternity!"
Reece sighed, "It's so romantic. I gotta try it sometime."
Ruby laughed nervously, "That's great Reece, I got things to do today though. Do you know where I can find Weiss and Pyrrha?"
"Oh," Reece snapped away from her thoughts, "They went to the other side of the island. Not sure what you guys are doing back there, but I hope you finish it soon!"
"Is the raft a secret?" Jaune asked.
"Probably," Pyrrha nodded, "If we're trying to leave and other people knew about it, someone might try and stop us."
Ruby nodded, "Thanks, Reece. See you later!" she walked towards the other side of the island, but ran into Arslan.
Apparently, it was explain your plans to Ruby day because Arslan started talking before Ruby could move past, "Me and Fox, we are gonna do a little explorin' today."
She pointed to a small cave by the waterfall, "You know, to the secret place at the base of that tree."
"I feel like that place is going to be important later," Ren noted.
"Yeah," Blake agreed, "Why mention it if it wasn't?"
"There's gotta be something there, ya?" Arslan finished.
"Sure," Ruby shrugged, "But I gotta go meet up with Weiss and Pyrrha, catch you later!"
She ran off and ran right into Fox, "I think you've gotten stronger!"
"Yes!" Ruby cheered for herself, "I'm glad to see he appreciates my work."
Ruby beamed at the compliment but Fox wasn't finished, "but odds are you're still no match for Weiss. We took her on three-to-one last time, and she whipped us all."
Weiss smirked, "But I'm obviously better here."
"Yeah," Ruby challenged, "I bet I could take on all three of them and win too!"
Ruby shrugged but Fox egged her on, "Well, I guess Pyrrha can always count on her."
Ruby growled, "I could do that bring it on."
"Time to put your money where your mouth is Red," Roman noted.
"I think she's got this!" Nora cheered, "Go get 'em Ruby!"
Fox grinned and quickly gathered Arslan and Reece.
Ruby knew she needed a strategy. Reece would be the easiest to take out, but she was the lowest threat. Arslan would keep her distance, so she'd be the hardest to hit, but her attacks didn't hit hard. Ruby decided that taking Fox out first while dodging the other two would be her best bet.
"A solid strategy," Raven nodded, "But when you focus on the strongest first, the weaker ones can surprise you."
"A few small hits are worth it," Yang shrugged.
"Yeah, for you," Ruby countered, "You can go for the strongest first, because the weaker ones make you more powerful!"
"Let's just see if this Ruby is as adaptable as ours is," Qrow suggested.
The quartet gathered on the beach and the fight began. True enough, Arslan ran to a range while Reece and Fox closed in. Ruby dodged Reece's attack and parried Fox's.
She landed a hit on Fox right as one of Arslan's balls flew past her face. She gathered herself and readied up to face another of Fox's blows.
"So far, so good," Harriet nodded.
"But she lost track of Reece," Clover noted.
In all that though, she had lost track of Reece and now felt a small thump on her head. Reece had struck her with the handle of the rope. This distraction left an opening for Fox to jump in and land a combo.
"Ouch," Ruby winced for her counterpart.
"She's too aggressive," Robyn advised, "If she had waited a minute, she could've knocked Reece out right there."
Ruby grunted. This was not how she pictured this fight going. She quickly thought up a new strategy. Parry Fox, then attack Reece until she was knocked out. She executed this plan perfectly. After a few quick blows, Reece was out.
"Just as adaptable," Weiss smiled, "You're really good at coming up with plans on the fly."
Ruby smiled at the compliment.
Now Ruby focused of attacking Fox while dodging the continuous stream of balls from Arslan.
Fox made a mistake however, he tripped as he went in for a strike. Ruby took advantage and knocked him out.
"Ooh," Tai winced, "Tough break!"
"It happens to everyone," Summer nodded.
"Some more than others," Qrow grumbled.
Left with only Arslan, she repeated her original strategy; knock the balls back then close with a combo.
Ruby finished off Arslan in a pant. She was exhausted, but she had won. Now she was that much closer to being better than Weiss.
"Ugh," Emerald groaned, "This reminds me of those boring sparring classes we had to sit through."
"I was just thinking the same thing," Mercury nodded.
"Great fight, Ruby," Fox congratulated, "You really are getting stronger!"
Ruby beamed, "Thanks, Fox!" she smiled before a look of shock appeared on her face, "Uh-oh. I was supposed to meet Weiss and Pyrrha, oh they're gonna be so mad!" She ran off to the other side of the island where she found Weiss waiting for her.
"Yep!" Yang chuckled, "That's Ruby!"
"Reminds me of the time she forgot that board game in the library," Weiss laughed lightly.
Ruby grumbled in embarrassment.
"Hey, Ruby," Weiss called out, "Our raft still needs a name."
"Okay," Ruby thought, "Well, it's me, Weiss, and Pyrrha so…"
"Ooh, ooh, ooh," Nora started, but Ren stopped her.
"Nora, it's not that kind of ship," he said.
Nora grumbled as she settled back down.
"I dunno," Ruby admitted, "I guess I don't know about naming boats."
"Let's see," Weiss thought, "How about Mytenaster?"
Ruby looked at her incredulously.
"I've gotta say," Yang chuckled, "Your weapon's okay and all, but it's got a dumb name."
"It's not dumb!" Weiss protested.
Weiss scoffed, "Okay, what would you call it then?"
"Let's see," Ruby thought, "Crescent Rose!"
"That doesn't make any sense for a boat," Weiss shook her head.
"Doesn't have to, I like it!" Ruby smiled.
"Hey, how 'bout," Weiss suggested with a grin.
Ruby grinned right back, "The usual?"
"Let's do it!" Weiss agreed.
"I'm worried about what 'the usual' is," Weiss stated.
"Whatever it is, it sounds like it happens a lot," Penny noted.
Pyrrha had heard the commotion and appeared across a bridge, "You girls at it again? All right, I'll be the judge."
On the far end of the clearing they were in, there was a tree with a star on it sitting on a rock wall.
"The usual rules apply: take any route you want. The first one to tag the star and make it back here wins." She explained.
"A foot race?" Weiss groaned.
Ruby giggled, "Now this I can win!"
Blake raised an eyebrow and leaned to Yang, "Is it just me, or are they getting more competitive from watching this?"
Yang shrugged, "Maybe it's Weiss's way of flirting?"
"If I win," Ruby wagered, "Then I'm captain. And if you win…"
She was interrupted as Weiss said, "I get to share the paopu with Pyrrha."
"Oh, I get it now," Ruby realized, "We're both after Pyrrha."
Pyrrha blushed at the new attention, "I'm sorry, but I'm not into girls…"
"Don't worry," Weiss quickly stated, "We know you have Jaune, and the pairings we've seen so far don't always apply to us."
"Yeah," Sun nodded, "Look at me and Velvet!"
"Huh?" Ruby asked in shock.
"Deal?" Weiss asked, "The winner gets to share a paopu with Pyrrha."
"Wha… Wait a minute…" Ruby tried to argue.
"Okay," Pyrrha called out oblivious to the deal, "On my count."
"Doesn't look like Ruby's okay with that," Oscar noted.
"Well, it was just supposed to be for what the raft's name was," Velvet added, "The extra bet was not something she wanted to leave to a race."
She swung her hand down and the race began. Ruby ran to the bridge and began to cross. It was broken at some points so Ruby jumped across. She narrowly missed falling as one of the boards broke under her foot.
Weiss was right on her tail as she got off the bridge. Ruby ran down the beach and past the raft. She scaled a cliff and touched the star.
With Weiss still right on her heels, she jumped from tree to tree to make it back to the bridge. She crossed no problem and won the race.
"All right! I won!" Ruby cheered excitedly. She eagerly awaited Weiss to confirm their bet.
"And no one's surprised," Qrow shrugged, "Can't say she could even try and compete with you."
"Actually," Winter noted, "If she had used her time dilation glyphs she could have won."
"But neither of them used their semblances," Penny noted.
Yang gasped, "She's right! No rose petals!"
"So, no semblances then?" Lionheart asked, "I assume that also means there's no aura?"
"Not in the way you know it," Gordeau nodded, "But they do have a similar ability to take hits."
"Oh, lighten up," She shrugged, "It's just a name, after all." She walked off oblivious to the death glare Ruby was now sending her way.
Weiss paled, "I would never do that! If I make a deal, I'm going to keep it."
"That was low, other Ice Queen," Yang glared.
Ruby walked slowly to the raft where Pyrrha was waiting.
Pyrrha smiled at her, unaware of the bet and its consequences, "Today we collect provisions for our trip!" she said cheerfully.
She handed Ruby a bag, a canteen, and a list of items, "Ruby, you're looking for: one seagull egg, three mushrooms, two coconuts, three fish, and fill that canteen with drinking water."
"But not from the ocean!" Pyrrha added with a scowl.
"It was one time!" both versions of Ruby defended themselves.
"Oh, I remember that," Yang laughed, "I know you were little, Rubes, but come on! You should have known."
"Well, I won't forget now, cause you keep reminding me!" Ruby pouted.
Pyrrha rolled her eyes, "Bring everything back here when you're done."
Ruby left and spotted a mushroom in the small alcove nearby. She pushed a rock out of the way and grabbed it.
Ruby got to work on the coconuts by hitting the trees with her sword until they dropped two fresh coconuts for her. She smiled at her handiwork and went to find her next item.
"This feels like a fetch quest," Jaune noted.
"I hate fetch quests," Yang grumbled, "Always so boring."
She made her way back towards the other side of the island. On her way she spotted another mushroom growing quietly in a corner. The entire walk she sulked about her bet with Weiss.
When she got there, she swam around and caught three fish bare handed.
She spotted the egg in a tree. She quickly climbed her way up and grabbed it.
Ruby walked over to the waterfall, "There! Drinking water not from the ocean! Can I live it down now?"
"Nope!" her family teased.
She scoured the rest of the island for the missing mushroom. She looked everywhere. "Oh, man! I'm never gonna find that thing!" she pouted.
Then she remembered what Arslan said earlier, "Maybe the Secret Place has one in it!"
"You called it Renny!" Nora congratulated.
"Simple logic is all," Ren shrugged.
She made her way to the secret place. It was a small cave that ran in the roots of a giant tree. The rocks were all carved with strange drawings and there was a door with no handle.
"What kind of door has no handle?" Mercury asked.
"The kind people build when they want to trap people," Adam glared.
Ruby saw the mushroom and grabbed it, but the carving grabbed her attention. She remembered carving it with Pyrrha when they were younger.
The screen flashed back and young Ruby and Pyrrha were carving the rock. Ruby carved Pyrrha's face and Pyrrha carved Ruby's.
"That's really sweet," Velvet sighed, "They really are good friends, aren't they?"
Cinder rolled her eyes. She couldn't wait for the darkness to destroy this place.
Back in the present, Ruby began carving. When she was done, the rock now sported a hand extended from Ruby's face to Pyrrha's. It was holding a paopu fruit.
"I really must've upset her," Weiss looked down sadly, "I don't think I've ever seen Ruby like this before."
"I have," Yang nodded.
"Yeah, I used to get that way when I thought about Mom," Ruby nodded.
"And again yesterday," Yang added.
Ruby sighed as she looked at it. Suddenly, Ruby got the feeling she was being watched.
"Wh-Who's there?" she asked and turned around.
Standing behind her was a figure in a brown cloak. The cloak was so baggy it was impossible to make out any details.
The figure spoke in a feminine voice, "I've come to see the door to this world."
"Creepy…" Robyn noted.
Cinder perked up, "It would appear the darkness is coming."
"Huh?" Ruby asked confused by what the figure meant.
"This world has been connected," the figure stated matter-of-factly.
"Anyone recognize that voice?" Neptune asked.
"No," Ozpin noted, "But something about it seems familiar…"
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Ruby asked still confused.
"Tied to the darkness," the figure continued, "soon to be completely eclipsed."
"So how does that work?" Mercury asked, "We open the door and Darkness pours out?"
"I don't think it will be that simple," Emerald shook her head.
"Well," Ruby declared, "whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this."
Ruby realized something, "Wait, where did you come from?"
"You do not yet know what lies beyond the door," the figure stated cryptically.
"Okay," Harriet squinted, "I know it's a different robe and voice, but I'm thinking Luxu."
"Who?" Lionheart asked.
After a quick explanation, Lionheart nodded, "Could be."
"So," Ruby pieced together, "You're from another world!"
"There is so very much to learn," the figure sighed, "You understand so little."
"Hey!" Ruby protested.
"Oh, yeah," Ruby challenged, "Well, you'll see. I'm gonna get out and learn what's out there!"
"A meaningless effort," the figure insulted, "One who knows nothing can understand nothing."
"Hey! Again!" Ruby pouted, "I both know and understand things!"
"You actually understand more than most, Miss Rose," Ozpin noted, "Though not everyone sees it."
Ruby decided to take the compliment and smiled.
Ruby glanced at the door next to her. She saw nothing there and looked back only to find the figure gone.
She shook it off. "If that woman is from another world, I'll see her soon anyway."
"It must take a lot to phase this Red," Neo noted.
"It's not just this one," Emerald sighed to Mercury, "I still don't get how they can be so happy all the time."
Mercury shrugged, "Ya know? I don't think they are. I think they just act it."
"Well how do they fake it then?" Emerald retorted.
She left the secret place and headed back to Pyrrha.
Pyrrha was leaning against the mast. She was making something.
"Hey, what's that?" Ruby asked.
"This?" Pyrrha held it up, "I'm making a necklace of thalassa shells."
"Anyone know what that's about?" Sun asked, but no one did.
"In the old days," she went on, "Sailors always wore thalassa shells."
"They were supposed to ensure a safe voyage," she finished.
"This will be a charm to help us find each other if we ever get separated." Pyrrha smiled at her thought, "The three of us will always be together."
"Ah, a good luck charm," Clover smirked, "Or you could just bring me along."
Qrow rolled his eyes, "Just make sure I'm not around."
"Right," Ruby nodded, "Oh! I got all the stuff we needed."
"Thanks, Ruby!" Pyrrha smiled, "Tired? Want to call it a day?"
Ruby yawned, "Yeah, let's go home."
"Okay," Pyrrha nodded, "Tomorrow's the big day. We should rest up!"
"Wow," Jaune was impressed, "Two days of prep time? They should probably wait a little longer. They need to be prepared for a lot if they're gonna be gone for a while."
Nora and Ren looked at Ruby.
"What?" Ruby complained, "I'd never hiked across a continent before! How was I supposed to know how long that was going to take!"
"You could've asked," Ren noted, "Nora and I had done it before."
The two headed to the dock. They noticed that Weiss's boat was gone, which meant she had gone home already.
Pyrrha walked over to the edge and sat to watch the sunset. Ruby joined her.
"You know," Pyrrha started, "Weiss has changed."
"What do you mean?" Ruby questioned.
"She's right," Winter nodded, "You have changed quite a bit, sister."
Weiss started to defend herself but Winter interrupted, "And I couldn't be happier. You had no friends and were never happy. But you found where you belong, and I'm glad."
Weiss smiled at her sister.
Qrow chuckled, "Sounds to me like you're thawing there, Ice Queen."
"You don't know everything about me," Winter shot back.
"Well," Pyrrha started, but didn't continue.
"You okay?" Ruby asked.
"Ruby," Pyrrha said excitedly, "let's take the raft and go, just the two of us!"
"Huh?" Pyrrha asked in shock.
"That's way out of the blue," Nora laughed, "I like this Pyrrha! I mean, I like you too Pyrrha, but this you is feisty and I like it!"
Pyrrha blinked and tried to comprehend what just happened.
"Huh?" Ruby asked in shock.
Pyrrha giggled, "Just kidding!"
"What's gotten into you?" Ruby asked, "You're the one that's changed, Pyrrha!"
"Maybe…" Pyrrha stated solemnly.
"You know," Pyrrha admitted, "I was a little afraid at first, but now I'm ready."
"No matter where I go," she went on, "or what I see, I know I can always come back here."
"A place to call home," Pyrrha nodded, "I'm glad I found one of my own."
Adam thought about that for a moment. He really didn't have a place to call home, did he? Maybe I should work on that? He thought.
"Right?" she turned to Ruby for an answer.
"Yeah," Ruby agreed excitedly, "Of course!"
"That's good," Pyrrha sighed, "Ruby, don't ever change."
"Huh?" Ruby asked, oblivious to the meaning.
Pyrrha stood up and gazed at the sunset, "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great!"
"So, back to Winter and Uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked.
"Yes," Gordeau nodded, "And I apologize for the slow start, but everything's about to kick off."
Back at the castle, Queen Kali read the letter, "Winter, Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'."
"Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I gotta go check into it."
"That is suspicious," Robyn noted.
"And just like Blake," Yang added, "She saw something needed done and ran off to take care of it."
"Not anymore," Blake shook her head, "From now on, I'm coming to you first."
The two smiled at each other.
"There's someone with a 'key,' the key to our survival. So I need you and Qrow to find them, and stick with them. Got it?"
"I assume that means a Keyblade?" Ren asked.
"Yep," Gordeau nodded, "Way to pick up on that."
"We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Robyn. She'll point you in the right direction."
"So I know where to find the key?" Robyn asked.
"Looks that way," Roman nodded, "See? You are important."
"P.S. Would ya apologize to Mom for me? Thanks, friend."
Winter, Qrow, Kali, and Willow were all in a huge library. Zwei was sleeping in his doggy bed.
"Wait a minute!" Ruby stood up, "If Blake's the princess, and Zwei had a letter from her, that means…"
Blake went wide-eyed, "Oh no…"
"Zwei is Blake's dog!" Weiss giggled.
Zwei barked happily and walked over to Blake.
"No," she glared.
He just sat there and stared at her.
"No!" Blake denied.
Zwei turned to the screen, but sat down next to Blake's foot. She rolled her eyes, but ignored him, "Fine…"
"What does this mean?" Willow asked.
"Wow," Winter gasped, "Mother seems…"
"Sober?" Weiss pointed out.
Winter nodded, "It has been awhile since we've seen her that way."
"Now the fire makes more since," Qrow nodded, "Sorry for putting you through that kid."
Weiss raised an eyebrow, unsure of why he was apologizing to her. He wasn't HER uncle.
"It means," Kali sighed, "We'll just have to trust the princess."
"So how does my Mom know Mrs. Schnee?" Blake asked.
"Oh, they're long time friends," Gordeau noted, "I would also like to point out that, unless otherwise stated, no one is related to each other. So, for example, while Winter and Willow are still mother daughter, Weiss is not related to them in this universe."
Weiss and Winter looked at each other and shrugged. That was not the strangest thing that's happened in this universe so far.
Qrow sighed, "I sure hope she's all right."
Winter cleared her throat, "Your Highness, don't worry. We'll find the princess and this 'key.'"
Kali turned to Winter and smiled, "Thank you, both of you."
Winter turned to Willow, "Mother, can you take care of…"
Winter sighed, "I remember those days. Days when we could actually trust mother to do things for us."
"I wish they'd come back," Weiss sighed, "I miss mom."
Suddenly, Weiss felt a pressure around her. She looked up. Ruby was hugging her.
"It's okay, Weiss," Ruby comforted, "If my mom came back, and Uncle Qrow kicked his problem, maybe yours can too."
Weiss sniffled, "Thanks, Ruby."
"Of course," Willow smiled before turning her face soft, "You be careful, now, both of you."
"Oh," Kali remembered, "and to chronicle your travels, he will accompany you." She pointed to the desk.
"There's no one there…" Jaune pointed out.
"Wait for it…" Gordeau chuckled.
Winter squinted but didn't see anything. Suddenly a voice was heard from the desk and a small figure could be seen jumping up and down, "Over here!" It was a cricket wearing a small top hat, a tailcoat with a red vest and yellow shoes.
"A… cricket?" the room asked.
"Well, that certainly doesn't exist in our universe," Harriet noted.
"Different universe, different rules," Gordeau shrugged, "Some people exist in some universes, some don't."
"Cricket's the name," the cricket said, "Jiminy Cricket, at your service!" He bowed as he introduced himself.
"So Jiminy exists in this universe, but not in ours?" Penny asked.
"Yep," Gordeau nodded, "And he is only the first. Expect to see more later down the line."
Kali gave a farewell speech, "We hope for your safe return. Please help the princess."
Winter saluted and looked down the row of people sending her off. Queen Kali, Willow, and Qrow.
Wait… Qrow!?
Winter sighed, "How did we become partners?"
"Despite the antics," Tai noted, "I think you two would work well together. Now if only one of you would develop a sense of optimism."
Qrow didn't even try to protest. Winter started to, but realized she did tend to look on the pessimistic side.
Qrow smiled at her and saluted. Winter growled and grabbed him, "You're coming too!"
She pulled him out of the room.
"And we're also the comic relief," Winter sighed, "At least I got magic."
"There it is!" Tai cheered.
They made their way down a flight of stairs. Qrow was talking to Jiminy, "So, Jiminy, your world disappeared too?"
"It was terrible," Jiminy admitted, "We were scattered. And as far as I can see, I'm the only one who made it to this castle."
"The worlds are disappearing?" Harriet narrowed her eyes, "And you're sure I'm not involved?"
"You're not," Gordeau nodded, "I'm sure."
"Qrow?" Winter asked expectantly.
"Right, right," Qrow waved off, "While we're in other worlds, we can't let on where we're from," he stated uncaringly, "We've gotta protect the world border."
"Order!" Winter corrected with a scoff.
"Right," Qrow shrugged, "World Order."
"World Order?" Winter asked.
"Basically that only certain people can travel the worlds, and if you do, don't let other people know there are other worlds," Gordeau explained, "It also means travelers don't interfere with the affairs of other worlds."
"How does that even work?" Neptune rolled his eyes, "Just by going to the other world you interfered."
"Yep," Gordeau nodded, "Good job figuring that out. Really, the only thing they try to do is not let on there are other worlds."
"Probably need new duds when we get there, huh Ice Queen?" He reasoned.
They made their way into a large room. It had lots of gears all turning in place.
In the middle of the room sat a vehicle of some kind.
"What is that?" Ruby asked in awe.
"I would guess it is our vessel for traveling the worlds," Winter explained.
Winter approached a yellow tube and cleared her throat, "Winter Schnee to launch crew. Anytime you're ready."
On the other end of the tube stood a man. He had brown hair, a black shirt with a dark blue over coat, a brown belt, grey pants, and brown gloves. He saluted as another man ran behind him. He had darker skin, dark brown hair, a small beard, and was wearing a cream-colored shirt with a sleeveless blue tailcoat, brown gloves, and grey pants.
"Those two," Qrow sighed, "Probably the worst Huntsmen I've run into in a long time."
"The train security team?" Nora asked, "Yeah, they were."
"What were their names again?" Yang asked.
"The one in front is Dee and the one running is Dudley," Ren remembered.
Dudley pulled a lever and the machines roared to life.
Dee and Dudley watched as mechanical arms reached over and grabbed Winter and Qrow.
They were transported upside down. Qrow didn't care and let his arms dangle, while Winter crossed hers in frustration.
"Why do we have to travel in such an undignified manner?" Winter scoffed.
"Eh, I don't mind," Qrow shrugged.
"See?" Tai noted.
Zwei appeared and leapt into the ship.
A large door opened to reveal a runway. The ship was primed for takeoff.
Kali and Willow approached and watched in anticipation. Winter looked out the window and gave a nod to her mother.
The engines on the back of the ship fired. Takeoff would occur any minute.
"This looks epic!" Nora moved to the edge of her seat.
"Blast off!" Winter ordered with a point.
An arrow appeared over the runway that pointed down. A door under the ship opened and it fell through.
Winter and Qrow screamed as the ship free fell. As soon as the ship was free of the world however, the engines fired and the duo sped off to their destination.
Nora died laughing, "That was awesome! More ships should take off like that!"
"It would be a lot more fun," Mercury agreed.
Ruby lay in bed. She was daydreaming about the trip she and her best friends were about to undertake.
She looked at her ceiling where a model boat hung. Pyrrha's words came back to her head, "I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."
Ruby smiled at the thought and looked outside. She saw the island the three built their raft on. There were black storm clouds hanging over it.
"A storm?" she asked herself, "Oh no! The raft!" She leapt out of bed and out the window.
"That doesn't look good," Ilia noted.
A voice called out, "Ruby, dinner's ready. Come on down. Ruby?"
But Ruby was already gone and in her boat. She made her way to the island.
She reached the island and looked up. Hanging in the sky was a large ball of darkness.
"Wow, the figure was right," Weiss noted, "The darkness came."
"That means…" Ruby gasped.
"The islands are the next to go," Pyrrha sighed.
"What's that?" Ruby wondered.
She hopped on to the dock and noticed something, "Weiss's boat. And Pyrrha's!" They had all had the same idea when the storm hit.
Suddenly, she heard a noise. All around her, the shadows from her dream appeared. She recoiled in shock and drew her sword.
"The Grimm?" Yang gasped, "Run Ruby!"
She attacked, but the wooden weapon did no damage to the creatures.
Everyone gaped, "She beat them in the dream!" Velvet noted, "Why can't she beat them here?"
"Maybe it's the weapon?" Penny suggested, "I would not suggest fighting Grimm with a wooden sword."
"But Grimm still flinch, even when hit with something inconsequential," Raven noted, "Somethings not right with them."
She decided to run and find Weiss and Pyrrha. She looked over to the small island and saw Weiss standing there.
"Weiss!" She called out and made her way to the shack.
"Good, I found you!" Ruby smiled, "We can handle this together!"
Weiss raised an eyebrow, "Maybe. But without an effective weapon, running may be our best option."
Ruby approached Weiss, who amidst the chaos, was perfectly calm.
"Where's Pyrrha?" Ruby asked in panic, "I thought she was with you!"
"The door," Weiss started, "Has opened."
"Weiss…" Ruby pulled back, "You're being creepy again."
"This must be what the dream was foreshadowing," Blake noted.
"What?" Ruby asked.
"The door has opened, Ruby," Weiss repeated as she turned around, "Now we can go to the outside world!"
"What are you talking about?" Ruby yelled in panic, "We have to find Pyrrha!"
"Pyrrha's coming with us!" Weiss declared as she looked up at the ball in the sky, "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back."
"It's almost like Weiss planned this," Jaune noted.
"I wouldn't," Weiss turned away before wondering, "Would I?"
"We may never see our parents again," She continued, "There's no turning back."
"But this may be our only chance," Weiss reasoned, "We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"
She lowered her gaze to Ruby and held out her hand, just like she did in Ruby's dream.
"Weiss…" Ruby said worriedly.
Cinder smirked, "Another falls to darkness."
"I don't believe it," Weiss shook her head.
A pool of darkness appeared below Weiss. It began to absorb her.
Ruby ran forward to try and save her friend, only for darkness to grab her as well.
She struggled against it, trying to reach Weiss's hand to pull her out of it. Weiss just stood there calmly and allowed the darkness to take her.
The darkness surrounded the two.
"I don't like this," Penny noted.
"The world's falling to darkness," Harriet sighed, "Just wish the kids find a way to defend themselves."
Suddenly, a light flashed and the darkness dissipated. Ruby now stood alone on the island. In her hand was a Keyblade. It was silver with a gold, black, and blue handle. On its chain was the cat head symbol. Its teeth were the shape of a crown. Ruby could hear the shadows call out in panic, "Keyblade!"
Ruby's jaw dropped open.
"Ruby?" Weiss asked, "Ruby?"
"We lost her," Yang stood up, "I've got this."
She walked over and grabbed Ruby by the shoulders. She shook her sister.
"Huh? What?" Ruby snapped out of it.
"We lost you for a minute, Rubes," Yang chuckled.
"Oh yeah!" Ruby cheered, "I got a Keyblade!"
Ruby reasoned that she could fight the shadows now so fight them she did. She searched the island for Pyrrha, all the while fighting the shadows. Eventually, her search led her to the secret place, where she discovered a door covered the entrance.
"What's with the door?" Roman wondered.
"I dunno," Summer shrugged.
She opened the door and walked through. Pyrrha was standing in front of the no handled door. "Pyrrha!" Ruby called out.
Pyrrha turned around and looked into Ruby's eyes lifelessly. "Ruby…" she said weakly.
"What's wrong with Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.
"She looks…almost dead," Neo shuddered.
Suddenly, the door burst open with a gust of wind. It sent Pyrrha flying towards Ruby.
Ruby went to catch her, but Pyrrha disappeared on impact. Before Ruby could figure out what happened she was blown out of the Secret Place.
"Where'd she go?" Nora asked.
"Is this what you had planned?" Adam asked Cinder, "This is wrong… destroying the whole world like this."
"Really?" Mercury asked, "You're gonna draw that line?"
"Yes," Adam nodded, "There still needs to be a world for Faunus to be the dominate species."
Ruby landed on the beach. The wind had picked up and the sky was black. She looked up to see the ball of darkness much closer to her than it was originally. She looked around and realized this section of beach was floating in midair.
She heard a thud and turned around. Standing there was the giant shadow from her dream.
"This guy again," Clover grumbled.
"At least Ruby knows how to beat it," Oscar shrugged.
Ruby drew her Keyblade and did the same thing she did in the dream. The fight went exactly the same with Ruby emerging the victor.
The beast stopped attacking and the wind picked up. The beast was lifted into the ball of darkness.
Ruby grabbed a piece of wood that was sticking out of the ground. She held on for dear life as the wind ripped her feet out from under her.
"Yikes!" Ruby gasped, "I'd be freaking out right now!"
Eventually the wind was too much and the ball sucked her in.
"I wonder where Ruby will end up…" Nora wondered.
"I'm guessing she's gonna crash into Winter and Qrow," Blake guessed.
AN: Work is still running me ragged. Sorry guys. But hope you liked this chapter!
A quick note: As of this posting, I'm going back to edit two different chapters. The first Kingdom Hearts 1 chapter and whichever back cover chapter had Fiona/Ephemere in it. There are no major changes, just giving Fiona Ephemere's red scarf and Ruby Sora's crown necklace.
As you can see, some characters are staying their canon selves, but all Kingdom Hearts Original characters and all but one Final Fantasy Character have been changed to RWBY characters. Now, there are some stipulations to that, but only some of the Disney characters have been left alone. That should answer some questions. Jiminy is only the first.
Reviews
Bobbus the great: I'll see what I can do. I will do more, maybe not in between every viewing, but maybe every in story day they watch one.
Greer123: Glad you liked it! I didn't always plan on people getting new abilities, but once I did the magic just made sense for Winter and Donald was the perfect way to do that.
StrongGuy159: On it!
Keybladelight: See above. I'm still doing the storyline, but a RWBY character will be Xehanort.
Kame Rider Yokai: That's how I write my transcripts. I play the game or watch the media and write it as I go. Yang (being my personal favorite character {Fight me on it}) is cast as my personal favorite KH character {Also fight me if you figured it out}. I'm not spoiling it, but you'll see. And no, that is not the only reason I cast her there. I felt she fit the role as well.
Mastergamer14: Are those suggestions or guesses? If their suggestions, sorry already cast. If guesses, I'm not going to reveal anything else about it through the chapters. If you don't want to wait, I'll PM you the casting and you can see for yourself.
The Keeper of Worlds: Glad you're having fun.
Roktoof: Um, I don't. That should be pretty obvious. But the in world casting doesn't always reflect the watchers relationships so there's that.
Eliphas-Chaos: KH3 holds probably the biggest clue as to who Adam is, so I get it that you didn't get it right away. Some scenes from the manga (especially KH2's) will appear but I'm mostly sticking to the games.
Ulitma-owner: Yes. Yes she will.
Guest about Winter: Yes. Yes it does.
Guest about Adam: No. Go back and re-read the description, but ignore the hair color as we left it Adam's.
Carre: Sorry to disappoint, but I wanted those two to be Ruby characters. Glad you're still interested though. As to your other point, I might have. I read a few of them, but that's not the one that stuck out to me, (though at the moment I can't think of that one either.) You always review as a guest, so I can't message you, but if you're interested in me writing that one let me know.
Casting:
Pluto-Zwei: Should be pretty obvious why.
Jiminy Cricket-Canon: Without spoiling too much, there wasn't a good RWBY character to play Jiminy. Every RWBY character makes mistakes and Jiminy is the epidemy of good decisions.
Chip and Dale- Dee and Dudley: They just fit nicely into this role. Two characters who already know each other and have banter, it was perfect.
Poll (And it changed a lot this time!):
Tied for 10th: Emerald Sustrai, Salem (Blonde), and Velvet Scarlatina with 5
9th: Salem (Grimm) with 6
8th: Weiss Schnee with 7
7th: Blake Belladonna with 8
6th: Raven Branwen with 9
Tied for 5th: Glynda Goodwitch and Kali Belladonna with 10
Tied for 4th: Cinder Fall and Sienna Kahn with 11
3rd: Neo Politan with 15
Tied for 2nd: Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao-Long with 16
1st: Pyrrha Nikos with 18
Seating Chart:
Laps:-Ruby: Jinn;-Weiss: Zwei;-Sun: XXXXXXXX-;Roman: XXXX;-;Pyrrha: XXXXXX;-
Row one: Penny; Ruby; Weiss; Winter; Blake; Yang; Velvet; XXXX; Jaune; Pyrrha; Nora; Ren
Row two: XXX; XXXXXXXXXX; Neptune; Sun; Ilia; Neo; XXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXXXX; XXXXX
Row three: Taiyang; Summer; Raven; Qrow; Roman; Robyn; Leonardo; XXXXXX; Ozpin; Oscar; XXXXX; Gordeau
Row four: XXXXXX; XXXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXXXX; XXXX; XXXX; XX; XX; XXXXX; XXXXXXX; XXXXXX; XXX
Row Five: Clover; Harriet; XXXXXX; XXX; XXXX; XXXXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXX; XXXX; XXXX
Row Six: XXXX; XXXXXX; Adam; XXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXXX; XXXXX; XXXXX; Cinder; Emerald; Mercury
See you all next time!
