Remnant of the Key

by lyokoMARVELanime

Adopted from FandomBard12. Four Keybladers meet four huntresses while on a quest to recover a lost friend. Now, their destinies shall become intertwined as they fight against darkness of both Remnant and beyond. The question is, just what else will come from this meeting between the two?

6. An Easy Day

[cue "Mission Impossible Theme"]

Mysterious Figure: [suddenly drops into the room, and spins left and right as if to show he's ready to make any kind of move at a moment's notice. Upon seeing he's clear, he then jumps and rolls away to duck behind a desk. Slowly peaking up, he glances about his surroundings, trying to determine if the area is safe for him to proceed through. Confirming he's clear, he quickly vaults over the desk to swiftly move across the room, and then quietly slams up against the wall by a door. Reaching out with one hand the figure steadily opens the door, and uses a mirror to peak inside, making sure that the coast is clear before stealthily moving inside and hiding behind a large, potted plant. Slowly moving out from his hiding place, the man tip-toes across the room, carefully...carefully...Not willing to trigger any kind of trap that may be sprung at any moment. Upon reaching the main desk in the room, he steadily creeps around to the side that the chair is on, never noticing that he's not as alone in the room as he thinks]

Ruby: Hey lyoko!

Mysterious Figure: [leaps about ten feet in the air in fright before ducking behind the desk chair] AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NO! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT, I SWEAR! [peaks one eye open when no pain is felt, allowing him to see a confused and slightly startled Ruby] Oh, Ruby...It's just you. For a second there, I thought...Wait. [looks around the room for a minute] There isn't anything that is distinctly Yang-shaped hiding anywhere near you, is there?

Ruby: Uh...No? I haven't seen Yang since I lost your trails after last chapter's author's note.

Mysterious Figure aka AN: [finally relaxes a little] Oh, Phew! Good. I'm pretty sure she's still...a little upset with me for what I accidentally did to her last chapter.

Ruby: You mean the fact that your spoiler prevention gag cut off some of her hair?

AN: I was going for a cream pie thrower, I swear! I don't know how I got the flying buzz saws instead, but no matter what I say, she still thinks I did it on purpose!

Sora: Well, to be fair, you do have a certain tendency...

AN: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NO PLEASE, I BEG YOU! HAVE MERCY! [realizes who he's talking to] Oh, Sora. Never mind. Okay, who else is here right now? Seriously, I don't think my nerves or my heart can take anymore of you suddenly appearing out of nowhere today.

Ruby: Pretty sure that it's just us for the moment. The others are all somewhere else in the building doing whatever. You know, like rehearsals for future chapters/scenes, hanging out in the arcade room, or just looking over their scripts before rehearsals.

Sora: Though that still begs the question on whether or not you're going to freak out like that all day whenever someone suddenly comes up to you.

AN: Until I hear that Yang has either been calmed down or restrained until she has calmed down, most likely, so let's start answering some reviews and get today's chapter started before anyone else comes in and makes me freak out like Donald Duck after he's received a particularly bad scare, shall we?

Ruby&Sora (aka RoseHeart): Sure thing. [blush upon seeing the extra name in parenthesis]

AN: Hehehe, aw, aren't they cute? [grins a little more when Sora&Ruby's blushes deepen] Ahem, welcome back everyone, to Remnant of the Key, and as you can all see, I have survived the gauntlet I had been facing after last chapter; the gauntlet that is...the wrath of an angry...Yang Xiao Long!

[audience laughter]

Oh ha, ha, ha. Laugh it up, but don't expect me to take that risk again any time soon. Even I'm not that crazy. Anyways, I said we were gonna answer some reviews, so let's answer some reviews!

Starting it off, "CT7567Rules", as I'm sure I've mentioned in the past, it's not always accidentally forgetting that I don't answer all of your reviews. It's more like there really isn't anything I can say in response to them. Believe me, I do appreciate the praise, but I can't always find a great way to express my thanks. Just know that I do appreciate it, even if I don't say it. Either way though, glad to hear you're loving the story so far, and don't worry, the excitement isn't going to end any time soon, even if this chapter is providing a bit of a break from the action, in a manner of speaking.

Now, "Dragon Rider 66", while you're suggestion on what Sora's Semblance could be isn't bad, I can't help but feel like he can already do that, given that we always get a new Keyblade after clearing every world's story in the Kingdom Hearts games. To answer your question about the Big Hero 6 crossover matter, I've never really thought about it too much. It's just one of those things that have never really clicked many ideas into my mind at any point. And unfortunately, I have no plans on starting up any more stories at this time.

Sora: Heard that one before.

AN: This time I mean it! And I mean that I really mean it! Unless it's something like the Spider-Verse special for my Code Avengers series or something, I'm not starting anymore new projects for a long time. [pauses for dramatic effect] I hope. Either way, sorry to disappoint anyone who was hoping to see me try my hand at a Big Hero 6 story, crossover or otherwise. It's just not in the cards right now.

Speaking of which, "Dracus6", I'm not going to be starting any new stories after this one, especially since I have very little to absolutely no knowledge about Fire Emblem Three Houses beyond what I've seen in commercials for it.

Following it up with a response to "Monkey D. Conan", it's going to be a lot longer than you think before any of Team RWBY learn about Kairi, but I wouldn't worry too much about how it effects the rate of development in Sora and Ruby's relationship, or Yang's need to play matchmaker. Also, as far as Pyrrha's fate is concerned, I wouldn't worry about that too much. As I've mentioned before, I have no intention of breaking up Arkos. Those two are just so good together! Thanks for the suggestions on what I could do for Team SLVR's Semblances too; they're something I'm definitely going to take into consideration, but I'm still open to ideas, so everyone, if you haven't already, feel free to offer up your own suggestions at any time, at least until I reach a point where I do have Team SLVR's Auras fully unlocked at least.

"GuestWithIdeas", you may want to double check the details on those facts of yours, but your additional proof is still good all the same. Glad you and so many others are approving of the fact that Jaune is more competent in this story than most people give him credit for.

Finally, "Anonymaton", I can't blame you for not noticing that Weiss was left-handed right away. I actually had not really occurred to me until I rewatched a few episodes/battles she was in that had her taking a prominent role of some kind. In point of fact, from what I've noticed, there actually seems to be a lot of characters in RWBY that are left-handed besides Weiss, including both Ruby and Cardin. Trust me, I looked this stuff up just to be sure of it. As for the cookies you want to send up, just send them to "Studio of lyokoMARVELanime", and the guys will know where to go from there. Though at the moment, I think a need a few more tools for distracting Yang than I do Ruby, to be honest.

Sora&Ruby: Ya think?

AN: No one likes a smart-alack, let alone two. Now, let's get onto the show for today, shall we? Onward to the adventure, everyone!

I do not own anything from either the Kingdom Hearts or RWBY franchises, or any other franchise mentioned in this story.

---

Chapter 6: An Easy Day

Ozpin was not having a great day right now. Things had started out rather simple and pleasant to be certain, even if it had included an unexpected visit from Jaune Arc. The young man had come up to his office with his head held high and a determined look on his face, all so he could inform the headmaster of something that others would have been very afraid to admit. Ozpin had let Jaune give his piece and listened intently as the young man confessed to how he had faked his transcripts in order to get into Beacon, and did not once interrupt, feeling that the boy needed to get it all off his chest first and foremost. When Jaune had finished, Ozpin ended up dropping quite the bombshell on the leader of Team JNPR by admitting that he had known all along that Jaune's transcripts were a forgery. Needless to say, Jaune was left surprised by this, and had not hesitated to ask why he was allowed into Beacon despite the fact that Ozpin had known about all of that from the start.

"There's only so much that you can learn about someone from things like transcripts, or applications, or any other piece of information that you can find on a paper, Mister Arc. When I'm looking through the various applications for students that wish to enter Beacon, I try to look beyond all of that; to see a hopeful student's character, and where they come from. I'm well aware of your family's history as it pertains to the world of huntsmen, but what you may not know, is that while your ancestors were all great warriors, they were even better strategists and leaders. It was my belief that you held that same, latent talent within you, and what I've seen and heard about you thus far, even before the first day of the term, has certainly proven my hunch correct," Ozpin had explained.

That definitely made Jaune feel better if his relaxed and reassured posture was anything to go by, and Ozpin felt that had settled things for the boy. What he had not expected was that before Jaune left, the boy would bring up the matter of the Heartless to him. Naturally, Ozpin had tried to play things off by acting like he did not know, as it would not do for that information to get out, until Jaune admitted that Team SLVR had told him and a few of their other classmates about the dwellers of darkness when they appeared during initiation. Realizing this, Ozpin went on to explain that while he did know about the Heartless, he had been sworn to secrecy by the person who told him for the same reasons that Sora and his friends had given the boy back in the Emerald Forest, and Jaune seemed willing to accept that. Of course, that brings things back around to why Ozpin's day had turned sour, because it was at that point that Jaune revealed to him that he and Cardin were attacked by the Heartless in the Forever Fall Forest.

As much as he hated to admit it, there were times when Ozpin was just as prone to the less fortunate tendencies of his friend Ironwood as the Atlesian general was, and chief among the list of those times was when the safety of his students was threatened like that. He was well aware that he could not always keep his students safe, seeing as they were being trained to become warriors that would battle against the creatures of Grimm, but the Heartless were just one example of a much different threat that he was not willing to expose them to if he could help it. It would not be as much of a problem if the Heartless had only appeared wherever the Keybearers of Team SLVR were, but hearing that some of them had not just appeared, but attacked some students while not a single one of Sora's team was around, at least at the time, was definitely cause for concern, and something that he felt needed a very drastic response. Hence the reason why he was currently speaking with Yen Sid via their old communication method at this very moment.

"They came here, Yen Sid. Not once, but twice," Ozpin reiterated for what seemed like the third time as he spoke into the enchanted mirror, hoping that his emphasis on the fact what somehow get a reaction out of the old wizard. "The first time I could easily pass off as just a matter of the Heartless following their nature and sensing Sora and the others, but the second time…They attacked two of my students, and I shudder to think what might have happened to them had Mister Sheru and Mister Firebrand not arrived when they did."

Yen Sid just stared back at Ozpin through the mirror, stroking his beard a little in contemplative thought, before he replied, "It is rather peculiar that the Heartless would suddenly become this active after all this time. While they will always remain so long as darkness exists in people's hearts, their appearances and attacks do tend to become much fewer and less likely after certain events have taken place, such as the recent Keyblade War."

"You almost make it sound as though it is the fault of the young Keybearers that they are here now," Ozpin noted with a small, albeit well-disguised glare. Yen Sid may have sent the boys to him, but they were still Ozpin's students, and he did not like it when his students were insulted in even the smallest of ways.

"That was not my intention, I assure you," Yen Sid calmly said. "However, I had hoped that they would not appear for some time so that Sora and the others may carry out their quest in peace. As for what could have spurned them into action so suddenly, my suspicion is only as good as your own, old friend."

"Still, I can't believe that it is merely a coincidence that they've appeared here twice now. I must insist that you send more of the current Keyblade wielders to Remnant at once, if not for the safety of my students, then certainly for the safety of my world," Ozpin almost begged, now truly feeling as though he sounded like James.

"Please, Ozma, calm yourself," Yen Sid requested, thinking that using Ozpin's old name would help him to see how frantic he was at this moment. When the headmaster remained silent afterwards, Yen Sid then revealed, "It would be unwise to send so many wielders of the Keyblade to Remnant if it is as you fear. You forget that the Heartless are drawn to those with the power of the Keyblade out of an instinct to destroy such individuals before they are destroyed. If we were to send several more wielders to your world all at once, there is no question that the number of Heartless on Remnant will grow exponentially in a very short amount of time. Though, that is not the only reason why I cannot send any more of our current Keyblade wielders to Remnant at this time."

While the first thing that Yen Sid said was nothing new to Ozpin, hearing that there was another reason certainly was, and a little worrying as well. "What other reason is there," he hesitantly asked.

"Remnant is not the only world that the Heartless have to prey upon, and recently, Masters Riku and Aqua have informed me that other worlds have suddenly seen an upsurge in Heartless as well. It is nothing too drastic at the moment, but rather, the sudden rise is similar to the rate of appearances that it seems your world has experienced. For the moment, we are taking a more cautious approach, and at this very moment, Riku, Aqua, and my former apprentice, Mickey, are leading efforts in patrolling the worlds for any further sightings of Heartless, with certain worlds taking higher priority than others," Yen Sid explained in full.

"The worlds that are home to the Princesses of Heart, you mean," Ozpin guessed.

"Both old and new," Yen Sid confirmed. "I know that you suspect that one of the New Seven Hearts is on Remnant, but given that Sora and his friends are already taking an extended stay on your world…"

"…I understand," Ozpin finally sighed in defeat as the communication between him and his fellow wizard finally came to a close. It was clear that even without the acts of caution that Yen Sid and the other Keybearers were taking, he would not be receiving any additional help from other worlds just yet, but all the same, it would have been nice if he was told that at least one of the current wielders, be it a master or otherwise, could be spared for the sake of Remnant. After all, aside from protecting the people, he still suspected that the fifth of the New Seven Hearts may be on Remnant, while Yen Sid had a strong hunch that the missing Kairi had been sent here after she was struck down by Xehanort, but then again, those were both only guesses for now. When you added in the fact that Sora and his friends were all likely to be here on this world for quite a while, it made sense why Yen Sid was not too worried. At least, that was the reasoning that Ozpin was trying to give in an attempt to reassure himself of his old friend's current plans, but even so, there was a small niggling in the back of his mind that was not quite as certain.

---

"Aw, yeah! Weekend's here, baby! Bring on the chill and the thrill," Lea was cheering at that very same moment as he rushed out the door of Team SLVR's room. Just because Ozpin's day was not going too well, did not mean that the same was true for everyone else, because it was in fact the weekend and many students were just itching to get their weekend plans started, much like the redheaded pyro. Of course, while Lea was ready to take a more relaxed, and likely wild approach to his weekend, others had been planning on taking a more responsible avenue for the start of their weekend.

"Axel, wait! We agreed we'd do our homework first thing before…" Roxas tried calling out, only for Lea to be out the door while slamming it behind him. "Aaaaand he's already gone. Great. I swear, him and Demyx always seem like they were competing for the laziest members in the Organization, and it doesn't look like he's ever stopped."

"It could be worse. He could've ended up burning all of his assignments as a show of how little he cares about them," Ventus said in an attempt to cheer up his friend. "Besides, you've still got us to study with."

"Actually, just you. I'm heading to the library to do some research," Sora informed them.

"But what about your homework," Roxas inquired.

"I did it last night before I went out for my usual late training," Sora revealed, surprising both blondes when he said that. "You guys probably didn't notice because you had joined Axel in basically celebrating that the weekend was finally here." When he heard no attempts at protest or denial from either one, Sora felt that was it, until he turned to see the shocked looks that they were giving him, and he quickly started to feel a little defensive. "What?"

"You finished all of your weekend homework already," Roxas asked.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Sora confirmed.

"You finished all of your weekend homework already," Ventus repeated, his voice more disbelieving than Roxas's.

"Yes," Sora nodded, now going from defensive to annoyed. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because it's you," Roxas said, earning a scowl from the brunette. "Dude, don't take it the wrong way, but everyone knows you're a lazy bum. That wasn't just a playful nickname exclusive to…uh, your trio of friends from the islands."

While Roxas had managed to stop himself from mentioning Kairi's name, Sora still knew what he actually meant when he said that, and his scowl grew even more. "Time's change. People change," Sora informed him in a clipped tone of voice.

"Didn't you once promise to never change," Roxas asked, reminding Sora that he had full knowledge about certain events in Sora's past.

"I never said that they completely change," Sora pointed out with a huff. He then marched to the door and said, "Now, like I said, if you guys need me, I'll be in the library doing research. Namely, research that should help us in finishing the actual job we came here to do, or did you all forget that we aren't just here to attend classes and play huntsmen?"

Neither boy could say anything in response to that, but even if they did have something to say, Sora had already marched out the door for his destination. He had not meant to snap at the two in the way he had, but Sora was getting more than a little frustrated in how little they had managed to find in regards to Kairi since coming here. Nearly every day that he was not in class, studying, or practicing with his Keyblade, he had spent in the library or any other location that he thought could provide him with information that could be used in locating the missing Princess of Heart, and yet, no matter where he looked, the results were always the same: nothing. There was not a single news report or rumor about a strange girl with red hair suddenly appearing out of nowhere, not one picture of someone looking similar to Kairi, and not even a trace of any sign that Kairi was anywhere on Remnant, at least as far as Vale was concerned. Of course, Sora did not just look in one place and think that was it; he went back to some things so that he could check again on more than one occasion, only to be left just as disappointed as the last time he had investigated that avenue.

More and more, it seemed like he was not going to have much luck in finding Kairi in Vale, even with people coming into the kingdom for the Vytal Festival that he and the others kept hearing about, but then again, it was not like the students from other schools were due to arrive just yet. It was going to be a good amount of time before that happened, and if Kairi had chosen to enroll in one of the other combat schools like Team SLVR had, there was always a chance that she would be coming to Vale that way. Even she was not, there was still a chance that the students from those other schools had seen or at least heard about her, so Sora was beginning to think he would have to place his bets on that slim chance. That was not to say he was not already expanding his search to the other kingdoms, but there was only so much he could learn about Mistral, Vacuo, and Atlas, never mind the countries that they were all based in from Beacon's library or really any part of Vale in general.

Despite all of his previous set-backs, though, Sora was still determined to keep trying, because he was sure that Kairi was here on Remnant somewhere. He may not be fully trusting of Yen Sid, but he doubted the old wizard would have sent his team here on a guess, or at least not one that did not have a strong basis to it, so Sora just had to believe that Kairi was here. He was just about to the elevator when he suddenly ran across a certain huntress-in-training, her red cloak flapping behind her a little as she nearly ran into him. She probably would have too had she not noticed him at the last second and skidded to a halt as quickly as she could.

"Oh, hey Sora," Ruby greeted with a smile once she had straightened up again. "What're you doing?"

"Hey Ruby. Nothing much," Sora waved in return, his scowl now completely gone in place of a faint smile. "I was just heading to the library."

"Let me guess: you wanted to get your weekend homework out of the way, too," Ruby asked.

"No, I did it all last night, and yes, I know that's surprising," Sora said with a roll of his eyes. Before he could continue, he ended up stopping short when Ruby next spoke.

"Nope."

"What," Sora asked.

"Nope," Ruby repeated as simply as she had the first time. "You may seem lazy to some, but I can tell that when you set your mind to something, you don't quit until it's done."

"But what if it's something that's really important," Sora questioned, thinking back to some of the times when he and his friends were working on that raft they were planning to use to travel to other worlds.

"Mmm….Nope," Ruby said once again, her smile only vanishing when she paused to act like she was thinking it over.

Her response got a brief laugh out of Sora before he commented, "Thanks, I needed that. It's nice to know that not everyone thinks of me as a lazy bum. At least, not entirely." He then thought back to Ruby's guess and asked, "Were you planning to do your homework at the library, too?"

"Nope. I did most of mine last night, too. I was planning on leaving the rest for later tonight so that Yang doesn't have an excuse to try and drag me along to some of the clubs she likes going to," Ruby admitted without shame. "Blake on the other hand, did go to the library just a little while ago for that reason. Either that or to check out some new books to read." That got her a nod from Sora in understanding, since he knew that Blake almost always had a book with her whenever possible, and Ruby then asked, "So what were you going to do at the library?"

"Uh…just some research," Sora hesitantly replied, not really all too sure how much of the truth he should tell Ruby. It was a little odd, if Sora was being honest. He had never had a problem admitting that he was looking for his friends to others in the past, but for some reason he could not begin to fathom, he felt worried about telling Ruby anything about his search for Kairi. He just chalked it up to how he was not in much of a mood to talk about Kairi with anyone in the end, but that still did not explain the hollow feeling that idea gave him.

"What's it for? Some possible weapon upgrades you could give your Keyblade," Ruby guessed. Her eyebrows then scrunched together in thought as she reasoned, "Then again, your Keyblade's already pretty awesome as it is, so I doubt you would really be thinking about upgrading it."

Sora could not help but laugh again, and that seemed to ease his nerves enough to admit at least part of the truth to Ruby. "Actually, there's someone I'm looking for. A friend of mine who went missing a while back, and someone told us that coming to Beacon would help us find them."

"Have you had any luck," Ruby asked, feeling curious. Not that you could blame her. This felt like a much deeper look into Team SLVR's history than she could remember anyone ever getting up until now.

The sad sigh that Sora let out was answer enough for her, but that did not stop him from giving a more elaborate answer all the same. "Not yet, but I know that they're out there, somewhere, and I've gotta find them."

It was a rather vague answer, and he had not even specified whether this person was a boy or girl, but all the same, Ruby could tell that whoever it was that Sora was looking for, it had to be someone special. Not just because Sora wore his heart on his sleeve, even if that was a big clue, but there was something in the way that Sora spoke and the weight that she saw in his eyes that told Ruby just how important this friend of his was to him. Seeing that, Ruby did not hesitate in asking her next question. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Huh? I…I don't really know," Sora stuttered in response, having not expected that. "You don't really have to…"

"Sure I do. After all, a huntress helps others in need, no matter what the task," Ruby reassured him. "Besides, I may not be as good at gathering information as Yang, but I do know a few things that could help."

Sora thought that over for a minute, and while he was not entirely sure about Ruby's claim regarding Yang's information gathering skills, it was not like he had all that much to lose right now by accepting Ruby's help. Besides, there was always the chance that she could see something that he had missed. After all, two heads are better than one, so it was with a grateful smile that Sora nodded in acceptance, and said, "Okay, sure. Thanks Ruby."

"No problem," Ruby replied with a grin. She then suddenly seemed to become a little more nervous, as she asked, "And afterwards, do you think…I mean…would you want to…"

"Want to what," Sora asked, a little confused by Ruby's sudden change.

"Would you…like to come with me to do some maintenance on our weapons," Ruby finally rushed out. It may seem like she was copping out of what she really wanted to ask, but for Ruby, this was a pretty big deal, since she preferred to do most of her weapon maintenance alone. Not that she had a problem with other people being around while she did all the necessary checks and cleanings for her precious Crescent Rose, but she did not normally invite other people to join her with it aside from her family. Not since she finally proved she could do it on her own a few years back. In Ruby's mind, this was a really big deal, and certain people (Yang) would go so far as to say that it was Ruby's idea of a date.

Sora was left a little confused by the request, and was about to say no since he wanted to spend as much time today as possible looking for clues about Kairi, but then he thought about how long it had been since he last did any kind of work to keep his Keyblade in top shape, be it his original, default blade, or any of the various Keychains in his collection. Sure, he normally brought them to the Moogles when it was time for a check-up, but he had picked up enough from watching them work to learn how to do a lot of the basic maintenance himself. Plus, the last thing he wanted was for his Keyblade to end up breaking in half like Riku's old one had when he and Mickey first went into the realm of darkness to look for Aqua. Add in how cute Ruby looked as she waited for his answer, and Sora found it hard to give any answer besides, "Sure. It's been a little while since I've done any work like that on my Keyblade."

"Oh, great! Well, let's get going," Ruby sighed in relief, while on the inside she was cheering like she had just gotten the best birthday present in the history of presents.

Sora could only smile a little more, as if knowing what Ruby was thinking right now, but he said nothing as the two of them made their way to the library so that they could look up any information about Kairi. Besides, he had to think of what to tell Ruby to look for when they got there, because he felt it would be better to keep any information about Kairi a secret if at all possible for now. He just was not sure if he really believed that the reason for that was just simply because of the fact Kairi was a Princess of Heart and a fellow Keyblade wielder, and his questioning of that only grew as Ruby drew a little closer to him, almost to the point where their hands were brushing against one another.

---

Despite how quickly he had rushed out, Lea did not have any actual plans for what he would do on this day off from classes. Sure, he could search the city for any signs of Kairi like Sora was doing in the library, or maybe even see if any of the stores on Remnant had sea-salt ice cream, at least as far as Vale was concerned, but right now, he just wanted to kick back and relax for a little bit. After all, contrary to popular belief, he was actually working just as hard as the rest of his friends in their efforts to maintain good grades and their cover, while simultaneously looking for clues on their missing princess, but on the side, he was in fact looking around at all the ice cream parlors and other stores in an effort to find his and Roxas's favorite cold treat. When you add all of that up, you could see why Lea would want a day where he just took it easy and forgot about all of his responsibilities, be it self-given or otherwise.

Lea was still trying to figure out what to do when he ended up passing by the school's parking garage. He honestly found it strange that Beacon would have something like that, but since he had heard a few students had their own rides for getting around, it did start to make sense they would have this. As far as Lea knew, there were very few people who would want to part from their own personal method of travel if they could help it, and he knew that he and the rest of the boys were the same way, or at least, most of them were. He was not one hundred percent sure about Roxas, since the closest thing Roxas has ever had to his own ride was a skateboard, but he knew that Sora and Ventus were very fond of their preferred vehicles for traveling the worlds. None of that was what drew Lea's attention though; it was what, or rather who was inside the garage at this very moment.

There, next to a very impressive motorcycle, with a small toolbox at her side, was none other than Yang, and much to Lea's surprise, the blonde girl had actually tied her hair back in a bit of a ponytail in order to keep it out of her way as she worked. It was surprising because the last time Lea had checked, Yang always let her hair remain in the same, cascading waterfall of messy locks that he had seen it in since he met her, but when he considered how much she loved her hair, it did make sense that she would tie it back so that there was little risk of getting it caught in something while she worked on the bike. Speaking of which, from what Lea could tell, the motorcycle itself was very impressive, and he just had to go over and ask her about it.

"Sweet ride, Blondie," Lea complimented with a whistle once he was close enough for Yang to hear him. "Please tell me she's yours."

"You better believe she is," Yang confirmed with pride as she set her current tool aside and turned to face him. "Good ol' Bumblebee's my pride and joy, and the fastest bike in all of Vale, I'm proud to say."

"Sounds like you built her with your own two hands," Lea noted as he drew a little closer, admiring the yellow and orange color scheme that it seemed to share with its owner.

"May as well have with the all the work I put into her after I first got it," Yang admitted with a small shrug. "When I turned sixteen and got my license, dad actually bought this thing for me from an old, used bike place. The thing was a total wreck back then, and needed a lot more than just a little elbow grease, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. A few modifications here, a quick patch job there, throw on a new coat of paint, and then the next thing you know, Bumblebee not only rides like a dream, but she races like the best dream."

"Well, I'm now officially jealous, and not just because of the fact that you actually have a ride this sweet, either. Any time that Roxas and I had the chance to drive something even close to this cool, he'd always insist on doing the driving, and Sora and Ven aren't that different either. They all say I'm horrible driver, when the truth is that I just like to go fast when I'm at the wheel," Lea said with a grin.

"How fast," Yang asked with a grin of her own.

"As fast as possible," Lea replied, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Nice! I'm pretty similar, so that's why I spent a lot of my time at some races after I finally finished working on Bumblebee," Yang revealed. "I ended up dialing it back quite a bit after a while, but I still like to take her to her best every now and then, or when the situation calls for it. Ruby hates it when I do, though."

"Hey, at least she can't stop you from driving," Lea shrugged. "I swear, every time I even think about asking if I can drive, the guys all get into a panic."

"Just because you like to go fast? That seems a little extreme," Yang wondered.

"Well, there's that…and there might also be a particular story from a while back in which I may or may not have crashed pretty badly, and which Roxas always feels like he needs to tell everyone about," Lea admitted at last. When Yang gave him a look that made it clear she knew there was more to the story, he finally admitted, "Okay, so I totaled the first car that me and Roxas ever drove, but in my defense, it had been a long time since I had last driven anything, let alone a car that was as loaded as that thing was. Plus, I'm pretty sure that it had some kind of crazy mind of its own."

Yang just nodded, not quite believing the story, but not intending to call Lea out on it either. After all, she was not there, so she had no place in doing so. All the same, it did make her a little nervous about letting the redhead even pretend to drive her precious bike, but what it did not do was dissuade her from making a different call in regards to this. "Say, I was actually just finishing up with Bumblebee's tune-up, and was going to take her for a spin to make sure everything was in order. You want to come with?"

"Is that a rhetorical question? Hell yeah," Lea instantly replied. "I was just looking for something to do anyway, besides spending all day sleeping, I mean."

"You'd really want to waste a perfectly good day like this inside, sleeping," Yang asked in astonishment.

"Hey, if there isn't anything to do besides homework…"

"Fair enough." With all of that said, Yang quickly packed up the rest of her tools, released her hair from the tie holding it back while shaking her head to let it all fly freely, and grabbed both her helmet and her aviators as she climbed aboard. She then reached into a side compartment to grab a spare helmet, and tossed it over to Lea as she patted the seat behind her invitingly. "Hop on."

Lea did just that, but hesitated for a minute as he contemplated holding onto Yang herself or the back of his seat. He may have seemed like a confident ladies man, but he was not going to make any assumptions about what was acceptable in this situation. Thankfully, Yang seemed to have noticed this, and shot him a grin while saying, "You can hold onto me if you want. I won't bite…Much."

Lea just smirked in return as he wrapped his arms around the blonde, and with a quick rev of the engine, the two had rocketed out of the parking garage and down onto the road from Beacon to the city of Vale, both of them letting out excited cheers at the thrill from riding the bike all the way. After a while though, Lea called out over the wind, "So, was there anywhere in particular you were planning to go, or is this just a ride for the thrills?"

"I've got one or two places I wanted to stop at, but I doubt you'd be too interested in helping me with what's basically a few chores," Yang informed him.

"Hey, like I said, anything's better than just sitting at a desk doing homework," Lea reminded her, and that earned him quite the brilliant smile from the blonde as they raced onward into and through the city. If anyone knew what Yang had in mind though, some of them would probably have run away in fear of what these two fiery individuals may end up causing.

---

It had taken some searching, but Blake finally managed to find a book that really interested her on her most recent trip to the library, and she most certainly was not disappointed by her choice of reading material. It was quite the story, but at the same time, there were a few things in it that were oddly familiar to her in a few ways. Not in the sense that it seemed to reflect on things she had been through in her life, be it in the past or right now, but like she had seen or heard some things in the story somewhere before. She just could not put her finger on where. This mystery had made her contemplate finding a more comfortable seat than the desk chair she was sitting in at the moment, or just checking the book out for a little while so she could read it cover to cover a few times through in an effort to puzzle out the mystery, until she heard someone clearing their throat behind her.

"Do you mind if I grab a seat here? It seems like everywhere else is taken or just has a bunch of work piled onto the table to the point where there's barely any room for my stuff," the person asked, and Blake turned around to see Roxas standing there with a backpack slung over his shoulder.

Seeing that it was one of the quieter members of Team SLVR, Blake just smiled and indicated the seat across from her with a nod, granting his request, and Roxas was soon placing a few textbooks and notes on the desk so that he could set to work on his assignments. The two sat in silence for a little while, not really feeling a need to talk with each other all that much, until Blake finally noticed a fair amount of time had passed without any of Roxas's teammates showing up. It was not uncommon for a student to spend a long time without the rest of their team, or even their partner, but Blake had noticed that more often than not, Team SLVR tended to be tied together at the hip, especially in the case of Roxas and Lea, and if any one of them was on their own, it was either because of circumstances beyond their control, or it was only a short time before one of the others suddenly popped up. Since there was no sign of any of Roxas's friends showing up yet, Blake could not help but feel curious.

"Where are the rest of your teammates? I figured that they would've shown up by now to help with your homework," Blake asked once she had marked her place in her book, not seeing any reason to beat around the bush.

"Sora finished all of his last night, apparently, and Axel took off for somewhere this morning before I could say anything to get him to help out," Roxas explained. He then chuckled as he added, "Typical of the latter, surprising about the former."

"I can understand why you would consider Lea's actions typical, but why are Sora's surprising," Blake questioned, now feeling really confused.

"Sora's spent a lot of his life being a bit of a lazy bum, and only really getting serious when a situation especially calls for it, so I didn't really figure he would get any kind of weekend homework done until the end of the weekend. Haven't you noticed," Roxas questioned.

"Not really. I always got the impression that he was just as serious about this stuff as Ruby," Blake confessed. Her smile then grew a little more as she added, "It actually seems like those two were cut from the same cloth most days."

"Tell me about it," Roxas agreed with his own smile. He paused in his work though when he caught a glimpse of the artwork on Blake's book, and discreetly turned back to take another look, just to make sure he was not seeing things. Sure enough though, there on the cover of the girl's book, was an image that looked a lot like the χ-blade, and Roxas was now both worried and curious at the same time. "Where'd you find that book?"

"It was in one of the more out-of-the-way areas of the library's fiction section," Blake revealed as she raised the book up to better show it off, allowing Roxas to see that the image of the legendary blade seemed to be flanked by very rough pictures of a Shadow Heartless and what Roxas assumed was a Dream Eater, given what he had heard from Sora's descriptions of the creatures, and what he had seen from his time in Sora's heart. "The blade on the cover actually reminded me a little of your team's swords so I thought it might be interesting, or that it may tell me a few things about the legends that they're based off of."

"You don't say," Roxas mused. He then studied the cover for a few more minutes before he asked, "What's it called?"

"Well, from what I can tell, it looks like it's called Back Cover χ Unchained: Age of Fairy Tales, but it's hard to really tell. The cover's text is really faded," Blake admitted as she squinted at the cover, trying to decipher the title in order to determine if she was reading it right, while at the same time pronouncing the χ in the title as "kye" as opposed to "key".

"Interesting," Roxas quietly mused, still thinking on whether or not he should mention any of this to the others. Of course, he would need to know a little more about it first. "Is it any good?"

"Seems that way so far," Blake shrugged, but still happy to tell Roxas about her latest literary find. "The story seems to be about a time before the Grimm ever existed, and when people wielded incredible magic and swords that seemed similar to your Keyblades, until suddenly, there was a big fight that led to a war while giving rise to the first bits of darkness. From what I've read so far, it looks like the people were divided into several groups called Unions, all of which eventually ended up fighting one another for control of some incredible power until the world was destroyed."

"But then it was rebuilt through the light in the hearts of children, right," Roxas continued on for her in question.

"Well…yeah, that's actually the part I just got to. How'd you know," Blake asked.

"It sounds a lot like a childhood story that a friend of mine really loved as a kid," Roxas revealed. "A tale about how long ago, everyone lived together in one world, all bathed in the warmth of the greatest light to ever exist, until the first darkness was born in their hearts and they began fighting over that light. When the world was reborn through the light in the hearts of children though, it returned as several separate worlds that were divided by powerful walls, while that great light they had been fighting over remained asleep in the deepest darkness."

"That does sound a lot like what happened in the book, at least based on what I've read up until now," Blake admitted with a contemplative look. Her face then fell into a sad expression as she said, "I guess that just means…nothing good ever lasts forever, and is always meant to disappear into shadows."

"Actually, the moral of the story is just the opposite," Roxas corrected. "I may be messing up the wording a little, or at least not making it quite as good as when Sora or our friend puts it, but the real moral of the story is that, even if the darkness does prove to be too much and overwhelms us, there's always a light deep inside that never goes out. All you have to do is believe in that light and whatever grants it power, and then, darkness would never be able to keep a hold on you."

Hearing that did seem to cheer Blake up quite a bit if her smile was any indication, and the two soon returned to what they were previously doing. Roxas, so that he could finally get his homework done, and Blake so that she could find out if her book had a good ending, or at the very least, one that was as hopeful as Roxas indicated his friend's story seemed to be. Thinking on that, Blake chanced a small glance at the blonde from the corner of her eye, wondering once again about the many mysteries surrounding him and his friends. Out of everyone in their group of friends, Blake felt like she had noticed far more strange things about Team SLVR than anyone else, and she was still curious about some of the odd conversations she had manage to overhear from time to time.

Not only that, but she finally realized why so much of the book she was reading seemed so seemed familiar to her. The warriors in it were not using swords that were similar to Team SLVR's Keyblades; they were in fact using Keyblades. The way that the book described many of the weapons held just too many similarities to the incredible blades that Roxas and his friends used in battle to be a coincidence, and a few of the monsters that she read about them fighting seemed a lot like the Heartless that the four boys had told them about back in the Emerald Forest. Sure, it was a little silly to base some suspicions on a book she found in the library's fiction section, but all the same, she had seen Roxas, Sora, Lea, and Ventus all perform feats that seemed impossible or like something out of a story, so she had to wonder if it was possible that there was a connection between this book's tale and Team SLVR, be it in general or just in terms of their history.

---

While Ventus had wanted to get his homework done right away, he was not going to just jump right into it without making sure his mind was completely focused on the work, and the first full day of a weekend was never a time when he was able to get that focused on the schoolwork. He was just too busy thinking about a lot of fun stuff he could be doing instead, along with wondering about what his friends might be doing. Besides, it was not like he was waiting until the end of the day before starting his work when Sunday rolled around. He actually got right to work the minute he got up, and spent the day at his desk or wherever else he needed to be in order to finish until it was all done. By that logic, he was not being lazy like most other kids, just smart about knowing when he could or could not keep his mind in the game. At least, that was what he would say. Right now though, as he wandered about Beacon's campus, he was starting to think that maybe it would have been a good idea to actually do some work, because with Sora looking for clues about Kairi, Roxas studying, and Lea off doing who-knows-what, Ventus really could not find too much to do.

The blonde Keybearer had already checked in with Team JNPR to see if they wanted to hang out, but when he saw the intense workouts they were doing, he figured that it would be better to leave them to it. More accurately, when he saw the stuff that Nora was doing and trying to get the rest of her teammates to do, he got scared and ran off before she could try and drag him into it. There was no way he was going to risk his neck lifting weights as heavy as those things Nora was somehow lifting over her head looked to be, especially since all the others were not even able to get theirs off the ground. He was pretty sure that he heard some of Pyrrha's bones breaking as she tried and failed to get them up. The strangeness of Team JNPR's powerhouse aside, Ventus's next idea was to track down the girls of Team RWBY, but so far, he had not had any luck, as they had already gone off to do their own thing as well, so he was left to just wander around on his own.

His wandering is actually what led him to one of school's other gyms, namely the one that many students would go to for running their own combat practice without having to go through the process of setting up an official match in the arena. Unlike the main arena, this one was set up with a closed-off firing range for target practice, and a few small fighting rings that would allow one to practice their skills alone if they wanted, or just have a less spectacular match than what they would have in the combat arena, and it was in one of those small rings that he ended up finding Weiss, all geared up and waving her rapier around in a delicate dance of skill as per usual for her. At least, it seemed that way at first, but Ventus quickly realized that she seemed to be struggling with something, though it was a little obvious to anyone just from the frustrated huffs and grunts she let out every so often. Ven on the other hand, noticed a few other signs, in the fact that her movements seemed a little stiff at times, and a bit more measured than they should have been, like she was just starting to use them for the first time and she was attempting to rush through it without getting a basic grasp of the basics.

At first, Ventus had to wonder if he should be watching this, since he knew that Weiss was not too fond of people critiquing her about her skills most of the time, and especially when it came to things she was only just starting to try, but that idea was quickly cast adrift when Weiss finally threw her arms down with one last huff, and turned away from where she had been facing as if she were planning to just rage-quit from the whole thing. That spin ended up allowing her to lay eyes on Ventus, and her face turned bright red in embarrassment soon after. "Ven! I…Uh…What-what brings you to…" Weiss stuttered at first, before she finally asked the question that everyone does in these situations. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Just a few minutes. Sorry about barging in on…whatever you're doing, but the door was open, and I was really just wandering around trying to find something to do," Ventus explained in an attempt to alleviate the heiress of any worries.

"Oh, of course. No need to apologize," Weiss accepted with a nod. "You just caught me at a rather…upsetting moment."

"Yeah, I seem to be making a habit of that," Ventus joked in return. Weiss only looked at him questioningly, letting him know that his attempt at being funny had gone over her head, and prompting him to explain, "Remember at the end of our first day? That talk we had out on the terrace regarding your early…frustrations with Ruby?"

"Right. Another one of my less than finer moments," Weiss recalled as her blush of embarrassment returned once again, even if she was smiling a little in return. She let Ventus see that smile a little better as she asked, "I don't suppose it would be too much trouble if I could ask you to assist me with this as well, would it?"

"I'd be happy to help you out, Weiss, but I'm not sure how much help I can be if I don't even know what it is you're doing," Ventus informed her. Despite this fact, he was already moving to stand in the center of the small ring with Weiss, showing that he was willing to at least try no matter what the case may have been.

"Of course," Weiss conceded with a small bow of thanks all the same. It still took her a couple of minutes to bring herself to really explain what she had been doing though, because this was not something she really shared with anyone outside of her sister. "I was working on my Semblance, or more accurately, another extension of it."

Ventus just nodded with a hum, recognizing how important this was based off of that remark, but it did not stop his next question. "You know, I'm not sure if I ever asked this before, but just what is your Semblance anyway? I know it has something to do with those glyphs you create, but nothing more than that."

"Hm…And here I thought most everyone knew about the basics of that," Weiss muttered to herself. "Well, my Semblance is actually a hereditary one that all members of the Schnee family possess, assuming they've had their Aura unlocked, and they're born into it. The glyphs themselves can have a variety of effects based on the circumstances in which they are summoned. For example, the basic version allows me form solid surfaces on which I can stand for a brief moment, or push things in certain directions."

"Like when you used them to help Ruby run up that mountain in the Emerald Forest," Ventus guessed.

"Yes, that is one example. Of course, there are circumstances that can change how my glyphs work, either by my own actions, or by whatever Dust I decide to combine with them," Weiss continued from there. "The best example being when I form the black glyphs to hold things in place once they're caught within the glyph. I can create those using Gravity Dust."

"Wow. Sounds like your Semblance is able to do just about anything," Ventus commented.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Weiss chuckled in a small show of modesty. At least that was what it seemed like on the outside, but on the inside, she was feeling a little down due to the remark serving as a reminder of one particular ability she was still a long way away from mastering. She pushed that aside for the moment, not willing to dwell on the matter for very long, and instead returned her attention to the matter at hand. "Right now, I'm trying to work on the variety that I can use with Lightning Dust: Time Dilation."

"Time Dilation," Ventus repeated in wonder, his mind having flashed back to the various versions of time magic, and the methods that were used to allow Xehanort to gather his thirteen darknesses.

Weiss merely nodded to confirm he had heard her right, and went on to explain how it worked. "Basically, with that ability, anything or anyone that's within the glyph when its formed has their actions sped up for a brief time. I've only recently started working on it though, so I can't really form them very well, and even when I do, it takes a lot of concentration and drains my Aura a bit more than I would like. Not by a great extent, but still a great deal."

"So is that why you're practicing with it more than the others," Ventus asked.

"It's…one reason," Weiss admitted. "I've just got to get better with this ability, otherwise there's no way that I would be able to effectively use it in battle."

"I see," Ventus nodded in understanding, and he really did. It did not matter how good an ability may be if it took too much time or energy for you to properly use it. In a real fight, things that require you to pause for a long time can prove very hazardous to both yourself and any allies you are fighting with, so it only made sense that Weiss would want to work on one of her newest abilities more than the others. He had a hunch that she was hoping to have this particular glyph ready for the Vytal Festival Tournament, and while that may still be a little ways off, that was no excuse to slack on training.

"So, do you think that you might be able to help me with this," Weiss inquired.

"I can certainly try," Ventus nodded as he watched Weiss get back into her previous position. "Just try not to get too frustrated if it doesn't work as soon as you would like. Keeping a calm mind will help you a lot more than getting upset, and not just in battle either."

Weiss nodded to show she heard him, and after spinning the revolver in her rapier to the right selection of Dust, she set to work. It took a few tries before she actually formed the glyph in the way she was aiming for, but when she did, Ventus was certainly impressed by its effects. The minute its effects had taken hold, Weiss was racing across the ring at a speed that he was sure could equal his own when he was using his Fever Pitch Command Style, if not slightly faster. Still, when it came to an end, he also saw how tired Weiss was afterwards, but despite that, she was still determined to keep going. In that moment, it seemed to Ven like Weiss was trying to prove something, but it was hard to really tell to whom that could be. He doubted that it had anything to do with the matter of who her team's leader was, but all the same, it was clear that it was important for Weiss to show she could do this. She did succeed in using the glyph a second time in a row, but she ended up nearly passing out a result.

Seeing her starting to fall to the floor, Ventus immediately raced over and caught her in his arms. "Easy there," the blonde soothed. "Maybe you should take a break and sit down for a little while."

"Yeah…Maybe you're right," Weiss panted in return, letting Ven help her over to one of the benches in the room so that she could properly rest.

Once he had her seated on the bench, Ven went over and retrieved her sword for her, resting it next to the girl after he came back. That earned him a smile of thanks from Weiss, showing she was happy he had not allowed her precious Myrtenastor to be left lying around in the middle of the floor like that, and that also helped her to relax a little more as well. "So…do you think I did alright," she eventually asked him.

"Are you kidding? That was amazing," Ventus praised. "I'm sure that you'll have that Time Dilation glyph master in no time, as long as you remember to not do anything that would make you pass out from exhaustion."

"I know, but I just have to get better," Weiss confessed. "I have to prove that I've improved the next time I see Winter."

"Winter," Ventus asked.

"My older sister. She's a specialist in the Atlesian military, and one of the best at that," Weiss explained, her voice brimming with pride. "She actually trained me in how to fight, and helped me to get a start on how to use my glyphs, and not just the basics, but all the other abilities as well. I've always wanted to be just like her someday as a kid, and I still want to be like her, but I felt like I could do better by enrolling at Beacon as opposed to Atlas's huntsmen academy like she did. Besides, Winter had made it clear on more than one occasion that she does not want me to enlist in Atlas's military right after graduating like she did. I guess it was mainly because she wants me to live my own life and not one that's basically just a copy of hers or anyone else's."

"Sounds like you two are really close," Ventus noted with a smile.

"Yeah, we are," Weiss admitted, though her expression turned a little less happy when she did, and Ventus did not fail to notice. Not that Weiss was under the assumption that he would. "When I was little, a very big rift started to form between my parents, and things ended up turning very hard for everyone in my family. Sure, I still had both parents, but really, I think Winter spent more time raising me than my mother or my father did. I'm glad that I had her, but that doesn't really make up for the fact that it seemed like my parents let the issues they had with each other cause them to apparently forget about me most of the time."

Now Ven felt a little bad. He had not meant to stir up less than happy memories for Weiss, but it seemed like he had done so anyways. Being so much like Sora, Ventus could not stand to let a friend feel sad for long, and decided that it was his turn to share something with her. "I don't really remember my parents," Ventus confessed, surprising Weiss when he did. "Of course, that's not really saying much, since I can't really remember much of anything past a certain point in my life. A while back I was hurt really badly, and it caused me to forget most of my past aside from my own name. It also led to me ending up in a coma of sorts, but when I woke up, I saw the two people who would become my best friends there next to me, both of them really concerned and also happy to see that I was finally awake. Ever since then, whenever someone asks me to tell them about my family, Aqua and Terra are always the first ones I think about before anyone else. We may not be related, but they are definitely like my older brother and sister in every other way."

"That's really sweet of you, Ven," Weiss complimented, really feeling the emotion that carried in Ven's voice when he said that.

Ventus did not really react to that comment, but that did not mean he did not appreciate her words. Not that it stopped him from continuing his story. "For the longest time, I always felt like I had to prove to them that I could stand next to them, or even help them somehow. You couldn't really blame me though, considering how often they would treat me like a little kid, even if it was just as a playful teasing most of the time, but still, it didn't stop me from wanting to show them that I could take care of myself. That kind of thinking actually got me into more trouble than I care to admit, or remember in some cases."

Weiss could not help but giggle a bit at his last remark. The idea of Ventus getting into any kind of trouble because of his choices did seem a little silly to her, and from the look on Ven's face, it was clear he was not bothered by her laughing. "Did you ever manage to prove that to either of them," Weiss eventually asked after she had calmed down.

"That's actually the thing. I don't think I ever needed to," Ventus admitted. "Aqua and Terra both taught me a lot of what I know, and they know just what I'm capable of and that I can get better with time and effort. If anything, I just ended up realizing that the only one I was trying to prove anything to was myself, because both of them know that I'll be there to help them in a heartbeat if they're ever in trouble, and I'll bet it's the same way with you and your sister."

Weiss smiled in thanks for that, but there was still something that bothered her a little about Ven's story, and she just could not bring herself to refrain from asking. "Do you…ever wonder about your parents? Or any of your family?"

A solemn look fell onto Ven's face at that question, driving a brief period of silence in between the two until he finally answered, "Sometimes. I love the family that I've built for myself, but…I can't always help but lay awake at night wondering…"

Hearing that made Weiss feel saddened for the blonde, while at the same time making her wish she had not brought it up. She had not really meant to make him feel sad, but from what she could tell, Ventus was not too depressed by the fact, just a little sad, like it was merely nothing more than an unfortunate fact that he had been forced to live with for a long time now. The next thing either of them knew, Weiss was gently leaning against Ventus, resting her head on his shoulder as an attempt to comfort him, and Ven returned the gesture by leaning against her as well and resting his head on top of hers, both of them content to just try and offer some form of comfort to alleviate the other's sadness for the moment.

The two were so lost in the moment that they completely missed seeing Sora and Ruby passing by out in the hallway. Normally, it would have been difficult to notice anyone passing by from where they were, but with the way Ruby was happily skipping along to the school's workshop with Sora following after her with a faint smile on his face likely would have made it a little easier if Weiss and Ventus had been paying attention. The only reason why Sora's smile was not a little bigger at Ruby's most recent display of her unique brand of cuteness was because their searching for anything regarding Kairi had once again led to nothing but dead ends. He probably would have even been sulking the entire way over to the workshop, if not for the rest of the day, period, had Ruby not been there to at least attempt to cheer him up a little.

A few more eager skips later, and the two were stepping into Beacon's workshop, ready to get started on their respective maintenance work. Looking around the place, one could see that it had a very typical set-up for a weaponry forge at its base level, but there were also plenty of other features to the room that made it really stand out and show just how high-class a school Beacon was. Everything that they would need for doing the easier jobs on weapons like Ruby's and the more finer operations work that would require one to get a more delicate instrument was here in this room, resting in a specific toolbox, on a workbench, or hanging up on the wall with other tools. Another quick glance about allowed Sora to notice that it looked like someone, most likely Ozpin, had even added in a few things that he recognized from some of the Moogle shops as necessary equipment for working on Keyblades, but it seemed that Ruby was not paying any of it too much mind, as she was already claiming a table for them to use while gathering what she needed to give her precious scythe a check-up, as she had put it earlier on.

Ruby then treated Sora to quite the impressive show of craftsmanship as she used every tool at her disposal to make various adjustments on her scythe, be it in the form of cleaning or repairing, all the while muttering little notes to herself about what did or did not work. Sora may not really get a lot in terms of highly technical stuff, but he was still able to tell just how impressive something was just from the small cues that a person gave off when they were talking about the matter or just performing the necessary work, and from where he was standing, Ruby was doing some really impressive work on her already amazing scythe. It reminded him of when he first met Big Hero 6 and helped them make adjustments to their equipment so that they could better fight against the Heartless, but seeing Ruby do all of this on her own somehow made this even more impressive than that.

Eventually, Sora felt that he had to give some kind of comment on the girl's work ethic and skill, but found that he could barely say much more than one simple statement that probably put it really mildly, at least in his opinion. "You're really good at this."

Hearing that sudden bit of praise, no matter how small it may have been was what finally broke Ruby out of the little world she had gotten lost in while she worked, but she still managed to follow the necessary safety precautions before turning her attention onto Sora so she could properly reply, even if it was with a slightly bashful tone. "Thanks. I've had a lot of practice and a really good teacher," Ruby admitted while brushing her bangs back a little out of shyness.

"Oh yeah? Who was that," Sora inquired, honestly curious about the people who had taught Ruby the skills that had helped her get into Beacon two years early.

"My Uncle Qrow, one of the best huntsmen to ever graduate from Beacon, and the best scythe wielder ever, period," Ruby replied with pride. "He used to be a teacher at Signal a while back before he started taking on some really big and serious jobs as a huntsman. I was complete garbage before he took me under his wing, and now, I'm all like…Hooowaaaah! Witchaaaa!"

Sora could not help but laugh a bit at that last part, especially since Ruby did a few fancy little martial arts poses to go with her noises. Not that Ruby seemed to mind too much, given how she smiled a little seeing that he was amused, even if it was slightly at her expense. "So did he teach you all of your fighting abilities," Sora eventually managed to ask.

"Well, most of them, especially when it comes to anything relating to how to use my scythe, and all of this as well," Ruby replied, gesturing to Crescent Rose and the tools she was using at the moment to perform maintenance on the weapon. "My dad and Yang also taught me a few things in the way of hand-to-hand combat, but it's just…well, I wouldn't say I'm complete garbage at it, but I'm definitely not that great either."

"I can kinda relate," Sora admitted with a nod. "I'm not really able to fight very well without my Keyblade, or really just any kind of sword, and despite how poor my progress in improving is, my friends Aqua and Xion still insist on getting me to try and improve in that area at least a little." He then turned to glare off to the side as he muttered, "I can't believe Roxas forgot to mention just how good a fighter his girlfriend is even when she doesn't have a weapon, especially when it comes to magic."

"When it comes to what," Ruby asked, wondering if she had heard that last part right.

"Uh…Dust! When it comes to Dust," Sora rapidly corrected, hardly able to believe he had slipped up like that, hoping that Ruby would buy it, or that he would be able to divert her attention from the topic quickly enough. Thankfully, he did have a few ideas. "So, did your family teach you how to fight with any other weapons too? I mean, you must've learned how to use a few others since you like weapons so much, right?"

"Well, I did try out a couple of different things before I finally settled on my scythe, but Uncle Qrow did teach me a lot about how to use a sword as well while he was training me," Ruby admitted, seemingly forgetting about the odd thing that Sora had let slip just now, at least on the surface.

"Really? Cool," Sora grinned upon hearing that. "Hey, maybe you and me could have a sword match some time just so I can see how good you are. And if you want, I could even show you a few techniques that I learned too."

That made Ruby light up quite a bit, and she did not hesitate to accept the offer. Sure, she was better with her scythe than she was a sword, but her uncle did make it a point to make sure she was at least a little proficient with a blade, since it was one of the most common weapons among huntsmen aside from guns. If there was a chance Sora could help her get better, she was not going to pass up the opportunity. Thinking of that, Ruby felt that since he asked about her training, it was only right that she inquire about his. "What about you, Sora? Who taught you how to fight with your Keyblade?"

"No one, really," Sora revealed. "When it comes to most of my abilities with the Keyblade, I'm more self-taught than anything else. But as far as my swordplay is concerned, I learned a lot of that from my best friend, Riku. He's the best fighter back home, and actually became a full-fledged Keyblade master just a little while back."

"A Keyblade master," Ruby asked, not quite sure what that meant.

"It's basically a rank given to Keyblade wielders that have proven they have the skill, strength of heart, and the mindset to be a true master of the power that the Keyblade grants them. For a long time, I just thought it was title that was given to anyone who had a Keyblade, at least until Riku and I were asked to take the Mark of Mastery Exam," Sora explained. He could not help but frown a little when he added, "It still bums me out a little that we didn't both pass, but I'm really happy that Riku did. Even though…"

Ruby was not sure why, but there was something about the way that Sora trailed off at the end there that made her feel a little nervous all of a sudden. It almost felt like the room had suddenly turned colder along with Sora's eyes, and for some reason, she could swear that she saw a faint trace of true anger, if not hatred in them for the first time since she had ever met Sora. Sure, she had seen him get angry in the past, like when Weiss had been yelling at her on their first day, or when Cardin and his team were bullying others, but not like this. This was the kind of anger that was only directed at someone who you absolutely despised or felt had wronged you in a great way. Just as quickly as it came though, it disappeared again after Sora had blinked, and just like that, he was back to his usual, carefree self.

"Anyways, I should probably get to work on fixing up my Keyblade. I don't want to bother you too much while you're giving Crescent Rose her check-up," Sora happily informed Ruby, letting her know that the conversation was likely finished for now while he went to grab his own necessary tools.

Ruby was not necessarily complaining too much about the abrupt end to their conversation, but only because she did not like seeing Sora get upset, especially not in the way he nearly had just now. Even so, she would be lying if she said that there were not a lot of new questions forming in her mind about her friend, and Ruby was now starting to feel really hungry for some answers. Now was not really the time though, since she had no idea how long they would have the workshop to themselves like this, so she soon returned to her work once more. At least she was about to, until she realized she could not help but ask Sora about one last thing. "Hey Sora," she called, getting his attention again. "How big of a deal is it that you're friend became a Keyblade master?"

Even though she could still see a bit of upset feelings in his eyes, Ruby still saw a lot more pride in them as well when Sora answered, "He's now one of the youngest, if not the youngest Keyblade master ever, a title that was previously held by Aqua. Pretty cool, huh?"

Despite not knowing all of the details that surrounded all the things regarding Keyblades, Ruby had to admit that did sound really awesome, and she found herself grinning along with Sora for the rest of their time in the workshop, each of them giving their weapons the necessary attention that they needed to stay in their best shape.

---

Loud rambunctious laughter was the sound that echoed throughout the parking garage when Yang and Lea finally returned to Beacon much later that night. What had started out as a simple drive around Vale had soon turned into a major night on the town with Yang showing the fiery redhead all of her favorite hang-outs. Of course, Lea had made it a point to request that they stop at as many ice cream parlors as possible along the way, but only because he wanted to see if any of them carried sea-salt ice cream. So far, he and Roxas had no luck in finding the treat on Remnant, but that was not going to stop either one of the two former Nobodies anymore than today's lack of success in doing so. He was not too disappointed though, because all the places Yang had showed him proved to be a definitely a huge blast.

The girl seemed to know where every club in Vale was, and was apparently well-known at quite a few of them, given how loud and excited the room got whenever she walked into some of the places. There were a few places in which they had weapons pointed at them as soon as they had walked in the door, but Yang just shrugged them off like it was no big deal, and the owners of those guns were just as quick to lower their weapons. Not that the warning glare Lea had thrown at the pathetic excuses for would-be-attackers was not at least a little help in that regard, but the way Yang had maintained such a cool and confident swagger even in the face of possible danger certainly left Lea feeling really impressed. Then again, most of those guys did not seem like they would have been anything much compared to the other students at Beacon, or any of the Grimm that Lea had seen Yang take down in the past for that matter.

The rest of their time was spent just hanging out wherever they felt like, having fun, and in some cases, dancing the night away, at least while they were at the clubs. Yang had even tried to get them some drinks at one point, but Lea had quickly shot that idea down since he knew for a fact that Yang was still too young to be drinking, and he was not too eager to start doing so either. He was not about to risk getting anymore on Aqua's bad side than he and the others already were if she ever found out that he went drinking. Other than what was basically nonstop partying though, the two had ended up talking for quite a bit. There were a few things that came up that proved to be a little serious every now and then, but for the most part it was really just small talk about whatever random thing popped into their heads, or things that could be categorized as nothing really in particular. In the end, by the time that they finally got back to Beacon, despite the late hour, they were still feeling really hyped up and like they were having the time of their lives, and only part of it was because of all the stuff that was just mentioned.

"Man, I haven't had that much fun in what feels like forever," Lea laughed happily once Yang had parked her bike and they both climbed off. "I mean, did you see that one guy's face after you sucker punched him?! I can't believe he actually thought he was going to get a kiss from you!"

"What can I say? I know what I've got, and so does anyone else with eyes. It's a blessing and a cruse looking as good as I do," Yang boasted while she struck a few poses to show herself off to the redhead. She dropped the sexy stance she was holding shortly after when she recalled, "But I'm not the only one who was awesome in that fight. I mean, you actually managed to burn off all of the hair on that one guy's body, including his eyebrows with a huge inferno, and yet all of his clothes somehow got nothing but some ash on them! How is that even possible?"

"I've had a lot of practice. Like, you wouldn't believe how many times I had to try before I could do that perfectly. It was funny seeing the other guy freak out afterwards, but it was also pretty annoying when I couldn't get it just right," Lea admitted with a sly look, mentally recalling the memories of how badly Demyx would freak out after being suckered into helping him with those practices. The only thing that amazed Lea more was the fact that the lazy sitar player kept falling for those tricks. "Seriously though, I think the last time I had as much fun as that was probably back in the earlier days of mine and Roxas's friendship."

Hearing that, Yang could not help but note out loud, "You know, a lot of your stories seem to include Roxas in them."

"Do they? I guess I never really noticed too much," Lea remarked, but the grin on his face made Yang a little unsure about how truthful that statement was. "Then again, it's only natural that would be the case, considering we're best friends, and all."

"Sure, but don't you ever hang out with anyone else? I mean, being best friends with someone doesn't mean you can't have other friends," Yang pointed out.

"Hey, I never said that it did, and we do have other friends to hang out with, but when you've known someone as long as Roxas and I have known each other, and been through as much as we have together, you can't help but find the things you do with them a little more memorable," Lea shrugged in return. "Of course, I'm sure that more of Roxas's stories would probably be about him and his girlfriend, but considering that she was his best friend too before they got into a relationship, and is still one of my best friends…"

Yang just hummed in response to that, glad to hear a little bit more about the redhead's past life and his friends, and that really made her all the happier to have had him along with her for her most recent jaunt around town in an effort to find her birth mother. Thinking about that made her go back to how Lea had taken her admission to her and Ruby being half-sisters in such stride, and not only that, but he had even offered to help her with trying to find her wayward mother in any way that he could. When she asked him why he would do that, Lea's smile had turned a little more melancholy as he confessed to knowing something about wanting to find a missing family member so that you could get some kind of closure about things at the very least, but did not elaborate any further than that. It was another tack that Yang had to put on the board of mysteries surrounding Team SLVR, but she did not think on it too much for the rest of the day afterwards; she had been having too much as it was.

Lea had enjoyed the time just as much as Yang. Sure, when Yang told him about the whole half-sisters thing, it kind of came out of left field for him, but it was not that big of a surprise in the long run. He had mentioned that the two did not really look like they were related when they first met, and this just provided him with the full explanation behind that. What he found more impressive was that Yang still cared so much for her sister despite learning the truth and wanting to find her mother, and it reminded him a little of how he still cared so much for Roxas and Xion after they started to figure out the truth about themselves so long ago. Sure, he had not handled the situation as well as Yang seemed to be handling hers, but the comparison was still there, and he would not let anyone tell him differently.

Pushing aside the less favorable memories, Lea turned to Yang just as they had entered the elevator out of the garage and said, "Seriously though, hanging out with you is a real riot. We should do it again sometime and maybe with a little more fun added into the mix."

"Why Mister Firebrand, are asking me out on a date," Yang teased with a wide, knowing smirk.

"That depends on whether or not you say yes, Miss Xiao Long," Lea shot back easily.

Yang pretended to think it over for a minute or two, honestly liking the idea of hanging out with the man next to her again with just the two of them. Really, she could see herself actually going on a real date with Lea, if for no other reason than to at least test the waters to see if the bond between them was just a fun thing or something worth exploring a little deeper, but she wanted to see if he would squirm a little as he waited for her to answer. When he showed no signs of doing so, Yang was beginning to think nothing would break his confidence, but then she noticed that his eyes seemed to be losing their brave gleam, and that was more than enough for her to finally give in and end his pain before it really started.

"It would be my pleasure," Yang finally nodded in return just as the elevator dinged to signal their arrival onto the ground floor of Beacon's main building. "Just make sure you're not late, because I don't like it when men keep me waiting."

"No worries there. I always make it a point to be earlier for stuff that's especially important," Lea promised. "So, next Saturday then, same time as today?"

"Sounds perfect," Yang agreed, and with that, she walked off with a proud swagger, not knowing she was putting a small sway in her hips as she walked that Lea could not help but follow with his eyes.

"Hot damn," Lea quietly whistled, hardly believing his luck. The grin he had on his face afterwards persisted all the way back to his dorm, where he found the rest of the guys already gathered inside of.

Seeing that look, Roxas could not help but ask, "What's got you so happy? You didn't set fire to anything in Vale, did you?"

"Maybe, but I can confirm that I've lit a different kind of fire today," Lea grinned in reply. When the boys only looked at him in a silent request for elaboration, the redhead's smile seemed to widen a little more as he revealed, "Guess who's got two thumbs and a date next weekend. This guy!"

"Oh really? And who, pray tell, is the unlucky lady that we should pray for," Roxas joked, easily ducking away from the retaliating fist that his best friend threw at his head.

Letting go of the remark that Roxas had made, Lea still answered the question, by saying, "Just Team RWBY's resident powerhouse blonde."

"Wait, you mean you actually asked Yang out today? When," Ventus inquired.

"Just a few minutes ago, after spending some time in town with her. That girl knows how to turn a boring, peaceful day into a nonstop party," Lea revealed.

The other three boys just quietly looked amongst themselves for a minute, making Lea think that they were going to poke fun at him again in a way similar to how they had back on the airship when he first expressed some interest in Yang. He was not entirely wrong, but at the same time, it was still an inaccurate guess, as Sora asked, "Okay, so it's been about…what, half the semester now?"

"I'm pretty sure it's closer to a third of it," Ventus corrected. "Whose guess was the closest to that?"

"I believe that would be mine, fellas," Roxas declared. He then extended a hand out to the two and demanded, "Pay up."

Sora and Ventus only grumbled and groaned in response as they reached into their pockets and extracted a handful of munny that was promptly slapped into Roxas's hands, much Lea's disbelief. "What weird thing is going on here," the redhead demanded.

"We just had a little bet going on about how long it would take before you finally asked Yang out," Roxas shamelessly admitted as he counted his spoils. "Ven said it would've been at least halfway through the semester, while Sora figured that it would have been a little closer to the end on the off chance you wanted to make sure to not get anything wrong with her like the hopeless romantic that he is."

Apparently, Lea did not find this funny at all, given that his glare was burning through them to the point that they were sure it was as hot as his flames, but in the end, he figured he would just get back at them later. Besides, it was not like he had room to talk, considering that he had started a betting pool with Roxas and Ventus about how long it would be before Ruby and Sora ended up getting together, if at all. Sure, the blondes were skeptical about whether or not it would happen, right to the point where Ven had even placed a bet on it never happening at all, but they were still willing to humor Lea, if for no other reason than to get him to stop bugging them about it.

Moving on from the topic of bets, Lea plopped down on his bed, and looked to his friends as he asked, "So what'd you guys do all day? I mean, you did leave this room at least once, right?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, we did," Ventus confirmed, knowing that joking remark was Lea's way of saying he would get back at them later. "I actually helped Weiss practice with her Semblance a little bit."

"I was just in the library doing homework for the most part, but I did run into Blake while I was there," Roxas revealed, and from the look on his face, it seemed like this run in was a bit more serious than just a simple passing by. "She was reading quite the interesting book when I found her, and I think we should have a look at it as soon as possible."

"Seriously? We've already got enough books to look through as it is," Lea groaned, thinking that it was another boring textbook or something like that.

"This one's different," Roxas insisted. "I think it has something to do with the Keyblade."

"What makes you say that," Sora inquired.

Roxas glanced over to the door, almost as though he was checking to make sure it was closed and no one was on the other side of it, before he moved to close the window as well, just to be safe, and revealed to them, "It had a picture of the χ-blade on the cover."

That got everyone's attention, and killed the previously joyful and playful mood that had been in the room up until now. "Are you sure," Ventus asked, wanting to be absolutely certain that Roxas was not imagining things.

"The image was a little faded, given that the book looked really old, but I'm positive that I wasn't seeing things," Roxas confirmed. "Not only that, but from what Blake told me of the plot, it sounds like it might actually have some information on some old Keyblade history, like stuff that even Yen Sid doesn't know a lot about."

"That could be a problem then," Sora noted, earning him curious glances from the others that all questioned why he thought that. "If this book is something that anyone can find in the library, then there's a chance our cover may be at risk. It would only be a matter of time before someone started connecting the dots between that book and the origin of our powers."

"I don't think that would be the case. Blake said that she found it in an out-of-the-way spot in the library's fiction section, so there's a chance not that many people have found it until now. Besides, even if they did, it is still something from the fiction section, so they might think that we got the idea for our Keyblades from reading that book," Roxas reassured him.

"Here's hoping," Ventus shrugged in agreement. "Did you manage to get that book checked out?"

"Blake actually beat me to it. She seems really invested in the story, but she did promise to lend it to me the minute she was done," Roxas revealed.

"Well that's good news at least," Lea sighed, though he still had to wonder just how good that news was, given that he had seen Blake apparently watching some of them from time to time, almost like she suspected something. Hoping to put an end to the seriousness in the room, he turned to Sora and said, "Okay, lazy bum, what did you do today?"

"Just tried to find some clues that could lead us to Kairi's location on Remnant, and gave my Keyblades a bit of cleaning, repairing, and sharpening," Sora admitted. He left it at that for minute, thinking that the others would leave it alone if he did not say anything else, but his mouth ended up betraying him as he quietly muttered, "With Ruby."

It did not matter how quiet he had said those last two words, because the other three still managed to hear it, and they were all huddling around him with excited smiles that requested some extra details while promising that much teasing would follow even if he did not say anything. "I'm sorry, Sora, I'm not sure we heard that quite right," Lea said slowly, only for his voice to give away that this was a blatant lie. "I could've sworn that you mentioned a name just now. One that is normally attached to red hoods and roses, I believe?"

"Stop that," Sora ordered before the other two could even utter a word, showing that he was not buying the ignorant act even if Lea's faux innocent voice had not given it away. "You all know full well that I said Ruby. It's not like it's a big deal."

"I have to strongly disagree, considering that it seems you were spending a lot of time with Miss Rose just today alone, along with the fact that most of the time that you're not with us, you're most likely with her, assuming you're not doing any kind of work, be it for class or for your Keyblade training," Roxas pointed out.

"So? She's my friend. Is it suddenly a crime to hang out with friends," Sora asked.

"No, but you can't deny that you and Ruby hang out with each other more than anyone else. Besides, you just seem…I don't know, lighter whenever you hang out with Ruby," Ventus mentioned, hoping that Sora would not ask for him to elaborate on that. His wish was not granted.

"What's that supposed to mean," Sora asked, his tone both defensive and challenging at the same time, somehow.

"Well…uh…" Ventus stuttered, unable to really find a way to put it. When he continued struggling to do so, he immediately looked to the other two for help, only for Lea to back away while waving his hands in the negative.

Roxas on the other hand, did step up, and figured that while it would not hurt to be blunt about the matter, he would still not go in too deep either. "He means that you act more like your old self around Ruby," Roxas stated as simply as he could. "As in, the way you had been before the Second Keyblade War."

"Huh? What're you talking about? I'm still the same as I've ever been," Sora insisted.

"No, you're not, Sora. Ever since you woke up at Yen Sid's tower, you've been really distant from everyone and constantly training yourself to death, like the only thing that mattered was whatever the next fight or mission might be. The old Sora wouldn't have been like that. He'd get back up and brush his worries aside with a smile on his face that somehow reassured all of us that we'd make it through in the end. It wasn't until you met Ruby that we started seeing that side of you again," Roxas disputed.

Ventus and Lea were now getting a bit worried, feeling that Roxas was starting to poke a very dangerous bear by saying that, and it looked like Sora was prepared to prove that fear to be true, but thankfully, they were given a last minute save. Just as Sora was opening his mouth to retort, a familiar ringtone reached their ears, and they all knew that it was not coming from any of their Scrolls. Reaching into his pocket, Sora quickly extracted his Gummiphone to see that they were getting a call from someone, and immediately waved for everyone to gather around as he tapped the icon on the screen in order to answer. Not that he missed how Lea was muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "saved by the bell," mind you.

Sora's smile quickly returned though when he saw the face that appeared on his Gummiphone's screen upon answering, because it turned out to be his best friend who was calling them. "Sora! I'm glad you picked up," Riku said when he saw that his call was answered. "I was a little worried that I would have to leave a message or that I might've been calling at a bad time."

"Hey Riku, and no worries. You're timing couldn't be better. We were all just about to call it a night," Sora greeted as he informed his friend of the team's current status.

"So the others are all with you," Riku asked.

"Yep, all present and accounted for, oh mighty Master Riku," Lea joked with a lazy salute in greeting, while the other two just smiled or waved to show they were there too.

"Good. That makes things a little easier then," Riku sighed in relief, confusing the others as to what he would mean by that. Thankfully, Riku did not waste any time answering that unasked question. "We need your help."

The minute he heard that, Sora could start to see where this was going, and he instantly frowned as he told his friend, "Riku, I thought I made it clear to Yen Sid that we weren't leaving Remnant until…"

"I know, I know, and I wouldn't have called if it wasn't important, but this definitely counts as important," Riku interrupted, reassuring the four that he had not made the decision to contact them without thinking it over.

Looking between one another, the boys all recognized that they had picked up on the urgency in Riku's tone, along with the truthfulness that it carried when he said that this qualified as important enough to involve them, so they had no problem in hearing him out. "Well, don't leave us in suspense, pal. What's going on," Roxas asked.

Riku's response was a very simple one, but even with the few words he said, Team SLVR was still left incredibly worried once they heard the news update he had for them. "The Heartless are on the move, and in a much more aggressive way than what's considered as normal for them as of late."

Having had a couple of odd encounters with the Heartless already since coming to Remnant, the four could admit that they probably should have realized that Riku's call had something to do with the dark creatures, but that did not make hearing it any less worrisome. Sure, they knew that the Heartless were never really gone for good, but they had hoped that they were at least pushed back enough for the rest of the Keyblade wielders to handle on their own. What made Riku's news more worrisome though was the fact that he had confirmed for them that the Heartless were suddenly becoming more active on all the worlds again, and not just on Remnant, either. Add in the fact that Riku had said that it was in a more aggressive manner than usual, and they all had to agree with the first thing that Lea said after hearing this. "Should've known that a peaceful day like today would've been just the calm before the storm."

---

AN: I'll be honest, I feel like this chapter is a bit shorter than the last few, but considering the content of this chapter, I probably shouldn't be too surprised. It is mostly original content, and really geared more towards furthering more than a few connections and relationships between characters than anything else. That said, just a few quick bullet points, Sora and Ruby are getting closer, despite the fact that Sora's still not saying anything about her to Kairi, even though she had helped him with trying to find clues about her without knowing who he was looking for, we got a cute little Windchill moment there, and oh, look at that! Lea's asked out Yang! That didn't take long at all, now did it?

Ruby: Well, it's not like they've officially become a couple or anything yet.

AN: A very excellent point Ruby, but the fact that they are planning to go out on a date is still a pretty big thing, in the opinion of some people. Not to mention it helped Roxas to win a bet. Yeah, I did include that in there to be funny, and it was. Plus there was also that moment between Blake and Roxas to look into as well.

Sora: You mean the one part where they were talking about that book that Blake had found, right?

AN: Exactly! Just to be clear, yes, Blake's book is about the Age of Fairy Tales, aka the time of the Foretellers and their Unions, as well as the unions that came after, hence the title of the book. I'm sure most of you had already figured that out on your own, right? And before any of you ask, yes that does have the added benefit of helping Roxas form a stronger connection with Blake for later on in the story. Namely when a certain event from Volume 1 of RWBY occurs, if you get my meaning. Plus, there may or may not be a chance that having that book in there could be foreshadowing to events that are going to come about later in the story, just like many, if not every fairy tale we've heard about in RWBY has so far.

All-in-all, our heroes seemed to have had a very good day...only to have that day ruined when Riku called them about the Heartless. Yeah, they're always going to mess things up when they're going good for our Keyblade wielders, huh? But look on the bright side, at least you guys will see some nonstop, no-holds-barred Keyblade action next chapter! But that won't be all that we get next time. Here's a few ideas on what you can expect: Onto the Preview!...

Upon getting additional details about the recent activity regarding the Heartless and their friends' plans on how to respond to them, Team SLVR is ready to leap into action once again, and quickly fly the stealth gummi ship to the world that they were asked to protect. What they don't expect is that a certain group of huntresses end up accidentally stowing away on the ship, or that they would end up in battle against a Demon Tide upon arriving at their destination. Now, they not only have to worry about the Heartless, but also how they're going to explain away all of this to their friends from Beacon. Too bad it's looking like they'll have no choice but to come clean and admit the truth, and that won't even be the worst thing that the boys will have to deal with. Find out what their first mission to another world since coming to Remnant will lead to, and whether or not the two teams will survive their encounter with the powerful Heartless, next time.

Please read and review, and may your heart be your guiding key for your landing strategy.