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?

13. Scouting Things Out

AN: Okay, it took a little bit longer than I thought, but we've got it up and running. That's right. We're back again with another thrilling chapter in...Remnant of the Key!

[audience applause]

Yeah, that's right. You know you're excited and ready. Some of you are just dancing with anticipation, while others just can't stop dancing. [throws a look to the side before muttering] Literally.

JNPR: [dancing to "Shine" as said song plays]

AN: Guys seriously. That chapter's over! You can stop dancing now.

Nora: Hey come on! Don't be a hater!

AN: I'm not a hater, Nora. I'm just telling you to stop dancing when the chapter about the actual dance is already over.

Jaune: Can't help it. It's a great song!

Ren: It's hard to believe how long it's been since we all first performed to that song.

Pyrrha: Yes, that was lovely, and full of grand memories.

Nora: Not to mention some funny ones too, like how Jaune wore a dress for the whole thing.

Jaune: Hey, an Arc never goes back on his word, but I do wish you guys would stop bringing that up.

Ren: Of course, it's not like that's the only song that we can enjoy. I've found a few that I like as well since we first came to this studio.

Nora: Yeah me too. You guys wanna listen?

Pyrrha: That sounds grand.

AN: Okay. Where have I seen this before?

Nora: Oh! Me first! Listen to this! [taps her Scroll to cue up a song]

[cue "Revolution" by Orange aka Generator Rex theme song]

Ren: Not bad.

NPR: [dance along to the song for a few minutes until Nora stops it]

Nora: If you think that's good, how about this one?

[cue "121" from A Goofy Movie]

Pyrrha: Wonderful!

NPR: [dance to song until Nora stops it]

Ren: If I may be allowed to share some of my music next? I believe I have at least one that is quite enjoyable. [taps Scroll to cue up a song]

[cue "A Million Dreams" from The Greatest Showman]

Nora: Oh, I loved that movie!

NPR: [dance along until the song stops]

Ren: What about you, Pyrrha?

Pyrrha: Well, I did find one or two songs that I really liked. [taps Scroll]

[cue "Lesson Number 1" from Mulan 2]

Nora: Sweet!

NPR: [dance to song until it stops]

Ren: That seems like a very appropriate song for you, Pyrrha.

Nora: And that just leaves our fearless leader to share.

AN: [while watching Jaune try to avoid playing any songs for the group] I'm telling you I've seen this somewhere before, and not just in another author's note, either.

Jaune: No! I don't want to. They're mine.

Nora: Play one!

Jaune: Don't you be pushing my buttons! [looks to the side and gasps] Professor Goodwitch!

NPR: [gasps in surprise as they turn around, only to see no one there]

Ren: [looks to see Jaune trying to make a break for it] Hey!

Nora: Hold it! [taps Scroll to cue up funny chase scene music] Get him!

Jaune: AAAAHHHH!

Ren: Get back here! [chases him with the rest of the girls]

Jaune: Come on, guys! This isn't funny!

AN: Okay...I'm just gonna let them hash this out and start today's chapter, if nobody minds. Review answers are going to happen in the ending note today after we go over details and reasonings for things that happened in the chapter, so without further ado...

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

---

Chapter 13: Scouting Things Out

While the dance had been a resounding success that was enjoyed by everyone for one reason or another, there was just no hiding what had happened in the backdrop, at least for Ozpin, Ironwood, Goodwitch, and Aqua. The general had wasted no time telling the other three about what had happened at the CCT, and while they were all relieved that Sora and Ruby were both unharmed, it was the fact that someone had snuck into the school and the tower for some unknown purpose that really had them worried. Hearing that one of the people involved had been wearing an Organization coat and seemed to know about Sora enough to know what his magic was capable of had raised a few more red flags for Aqua, and she had immediately notified Yen Sid, Mickey, and Riku afterwards.

When they heard about all of this, Riku and Mickey wanted to go to Remnant right away so that they could help get to the bottom of the mystery, but Yen Sid had shot that idea down right away. His reasons for doing so was that they had already taken a huge risk by having so many of their current Keyblade wielders on Remnant just last night, and that they needed to avoid drawing the Heartless to Remnant anymore than they likely already had been with the number of wielders that was already on said world. The entire time he spoke though, the three masters all felt like he was just looking for excuses or that he had now used the same tired excuse multiple times now, but for what reason, none of them could say for sure. Whatever the case, Yen Sid had not given them any chances to argue, as he had ended the conversation right then and there by stating that until they had at least dealt with the Nobodies that were on Remnant, no other wielders were to go to Remnant save for the ones who were already there.

Out of everything in the conversation, that last order was the part that Mickey, Riku, and Aqua liked the least. They understood the reasoning of course, but the way he had given the order had left them all feeling like they had been treated as disobedient dogs. Even Mickey could not remember his former teacher ever talking like that to him; not even when the mouse king had tried on his master's magic hat and nearly flooded the Mysterious Tower, so did that mean that Yen Sid knew something more about the matter and was refusing to tell them? Just what could have one of the most powerful sorcerers in all the worlds, and a former Keyblade master like Yen Sid so worried? These were questions that plagued the three's minds quite a bit, but at the moment, Aqua was unable to really think about that.

Since she was the only Keyblade master on Remnant at the moment, Aqua's previous duty as Yen Sid's speaker on recent matters had taken on a more permanent nature, and that meant she now had to attend the meeting that Ozpin, Ironwood, and Goodwitch were having in the Beacon headmaster's office to discuss what had happened last night. Of course, it may have been stretching things a little to call this a meeting, because so far, Ironwood was just ranting about things that they already knew and choices that were being made in response to that information. She was able to calmly handle it for now, but there was only so much that Aqua could take of Ironwood's ravings before it started to wear on her, and judging by how he was tiredly rubbing his brow, Ozpin was not doing much better, and he had far more experience dealing with the general than she did.

"They were here," James reiterated for the fourth or fifth time that morning, much to both Ozpin and Aqua's annoyance. Of course, one other person was just as irritated, and she was the one who actually spoke up.

"Yes, thank you James. We are all very much aware of that, both from the initial report, and from the last few times you said that," Goodwitch said. She had not raised her voice, but she did still use a tone of voice that she normally only reserved for misbehaving students.

"Fantastic! You're aware," James shot back in kind, his sarcasm plain as the nose on his face. "What I want to know is if we're going to actually do something about it or just keep staying the course while continuing to ignore what's right in front of us?"

"And what exactly do you suggest we do, General? Chase after someone who's already long gone? Maybe storm the hideout that we don't know the location of," Aqua questioned before Glynda or Ozpin could answer him. When Ironwood did not say anything in response, Aqua took that as her cue to press on. "No one is ignoring anything, whether it's right in front of them or not, but we can't take any action when we have so little information or options to act on. Doing otherwise would be reckless and dangerous for us, any troops that we send out, and the general public."

Ozpin and Goodwitch were not going to lie; seeing Ironwood being cowed so heavily into seeing reason by Aqua gave them a hint of satisfaction that made them smile a little bit. Really, as a general, James should already have known all of this without needing someone to spell it out for him, and it seemed like he had realized that given the look on his face after Aqua had done so, but they both knew that James Ironwood was not one to back down so easily, even if it was out irrationality. Just when he was opening his mouth to retaliate Aqua's points with whatever ridiculous retort he had in store, the alert for the door suddenly rang out, letting them know that the late arrivals of this meeting were finally here.

'Consider yourself lucky to have been saved by the bell, James,' Ozpin thought with no little amount of smugness as he stood up and granted the people outside permission to enter.

"Hey, sorry we're late," Sora apologized on his and Ruby's behalf.

"Let me guess: you overslept, right Sora," Aqua lightly teased.

"No. I got held up trying to help get Axel out of bed. Again," Sora insisted.

"Yeah, and someone hit the buttons for all the other floors on the elevator on the way up here," Ruby added on. When she noticed the strange looks she was getting after that, Ruby quickly added, "It wasn't us."

The adults in the room then turned to Sora, and knowing what they were thinking, Sora instantly said, "It wasn't! It was some jerk from Vacuo or something. I think."

"Uh-huh," Aqua muttered with a knowing smile. Clearly she was enjoying the two's nervousness.

"Thank you both for coming, Ruby and Sora," Ozpin nodded, wanting to get down to business and out of the silliness, even if he was starting it with some simple small talk. "How are you both feeling?"

"Pretty good, all things considered," Sora shrugged with Ruby nodding in agreement.

Apparently, he had unknowingly given Aqua an opening, because the blue haired woman had instantly smirked and said, "I'd have thought you two would be a lot better than just 'pretty good,' considering the recent developments in your relationship."

"Oh? Just what recent developments would those be," Ozpin asked, his voice taking on a teasing tone of his own while his expression of honest intrigue was clearly just a front, unlike Goodwitch and Ironwood's.

"You mean you didn't notice, Professor," Aqua innocently asked as she pulled out her Gummiphone. Clicking it on and then scrolling over to her photo gallery, Aqua happily showed off a certain collection of pictures to the three teachers and said, "As of last night, our two young heroes are now officially a couple!"

If the pictures of Sora and Ruby at the dance were not proof enough, the bright red blushes that they now had certainly was, and while they were both shocked by this, Goodwitch and Ironwood would not call this anything other than good news. The fact that the two looked so cute together and how beautiful Aqua's pictures of them were had very little to do with it. Ozpin on the other hand was doing his best to not grin and cheer over the news of this development, having believed that this was likely to happen even before the two had met each other, but he did still intend to throw his own little private party later on.

"That does explain a great deal," Goodwitch eventually remarked with a smile. She had noticed just how much better Sora looked at the dance last night and when he came in, and she was more than certain that Ruby had something to do with that improvement. Not that she intended to give the new couple a break on their work at any point in the future, mind you.

"Aqua, please," Sora begged, wanting her to not embarrass them right now.

"Oh, but you two are just so cute! Last night especially," Aqua cooed, half-teasingly, half-genuinely.

"Uh-um…Are-aren't we supposed to be talking about what happened at the Beacon Tower last night," Ruby stuttered as she struggled to get her blush under control.

"Yeah! Let's uh…Let's talk about that. You know, since it seems a little more important than whether or not me and Ruby are a couple," Sora insisted. He quickly realized how that might sound to Ruby and turned to her as he said, "Not that us being together isn't very important, too. I mean, it is really important, to me, but in this situation…"

"Relax, Sora. I know what you meant," Ruby reassured him, taking his hand to show that she meant it. She probably should have stopped there, but she could not help herself from leaning in and giving him a quick peck on the cheek as she added, "It's still really sweet that you think so highly of us being together though."

"Ahem. Can we get back on topic, please," Ironwood coughed just when Sora was starting to goofily grin, making everyone straighten up and remember where they were again. He then walked over to the two students and said, "Now, Ruby, Sora, I feel it's appropriate to tell you both that I think what you did last night is exactly what being huntsmen is all about. You both recognized a threat, you took action, and you did the very best you could."

"Thank you, sir," Ruby nodded happily, no longer flustered, and a little relieved to find out that she and Sora did not seem to be in trouble. She had been a little worried about that, even with Sora insisting otherwise, so it was certainly good to hear. Besides, it was not all that often that she received praise for her good work like that.

Sora just shrugged and rested his hands behind his head as he said, "It's no big deal. At this point, it's really just second nature for me to go and try to stop bad guys."

"You say that like you've done so quite a bit now," Ironwood noted.

"Because he has," Aqua informed the general. "Sora's actually saved more worlds than any Keyblade wielder of this day and age, save for Master Yen Sid."

"Uh Aqua…" Sora started to say, thinking his surrogate big sister had accidentally slipped up in her praising of him.

"Its okay, Sora. Ironwood is well aware of the secret," Aqua reassured him, much to his relief. "Anyways, he's bested the likes of various different villains, some of the most dangerous of Heartless, rescued countless people, and it's also because of Sora that the Second Keyblade War was won."

"Come on, Aqua. You're making it sound like I'm some kind of superhero or something," Sora brushed off, now blushing for an entirely different reason.

"And you're being far too modest," Aqua countered with a smile. "Or did you forget how you were the one who defeated Master Xehanort in the end, and then used the power of the χ-blade to make sure that Kingdom Hearts could be sealed for good?"

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that he's the one who…?" Ironwood started to ask, but was ultimately unable to finish due to how shocked he was. 'This boy is the one who ended a war that would have destroyed all the worlds?'

Apparently Ironwood's shock was even more entertaining than the way he had been talked down by Aqua earlier, because Ozpin just barely managed to keep his chuckles contained, and Goodwitch was no better considering a small, un-lady-like snort had slipped out from her. "Really James, after meeting Aqua, you probably should have been better prepared for such surprises like that," Ozpin could not help but tease.

Hearing that remark helped Ironwood to regain his composure, as he said, "My apologies. I was just…well, when Aqua told me about the Second Keyblade War, I was not expecting the person who had ended it to be so young."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Sora shrugged. "But really, it's not like I did all that much. It was really more luck and having good friends on my side that allowed me to win."

"And now you're being extremely too modest," Aqua admonished.

"No, really. It wasn't my skill or power that won me the fight against Xehanort. It was my heart more than anything, and a whole lot of luck," Sora continued trying to insist, only for someone to gently grasp his hand before he could keep going.

"Sora, just take the compliments. If they want to make you seem like the greatest hero that ever lived, you might as well let them," Ruby gently told him.

Sora could see her point, and let out a resigned sigh of defeat knowing that she was right. Not that it was going to stop him from getting down to the heart of the matter. "So, last night the general said that you would want to talk to us about the intruders," he prompted. "I mean, we don't mind, but only if you really think it would help you catch them."

"Whether it would help or not remains to be seen, but we do still want to hear anything you can tell us about them," Ozpin requested.

"Like what," Ruby asked, wanting to know if they were looking for anything specific.

"Was there anyone else with them? Did they look familiar to either of you? Things like that," Goodwitch provided as examples.

Ruby and Sora took a minute to think before the former just sighed and said, "I don't really know. That was the first time I ever saw someone wearing an Organization coat in person, and the woman was wearing a mask the whole time."

"Not to mention that she seemed like she was trying really hard to keep quiet, considering that she never said anything," Sora pointed out.

"What about the man in the coat? Was there anything familiar about him," Aqua asked.

"I'm…I'm not sure," Sora thought aloud. "His voice sounded a little familiar, but the way he spoke was really weird and cryptic. Plus, he kept his hood up the entire time, so I couldn't see his face, but I'm sure that he knew how to use magic with how he just deflected most of my spells with his bare hands."

"Can you remember anything that the man said to you, Sora," Aqua asked.

"I doubt it really means much. All he said was a warning about using some of my more powerful spells in the communications room, and a bunch of other gibberish. Something about how someone else wore the Organization coats before they were used by the Organization. And something about how his original self was forgotten by history while he watched it happen," Sora recalled as best he could. "He also talked like I had met him somewhere before, but I don't really know where."

"He never even attacked us. Just kept most of Sora's spells from hitting his partner until he got the chance to teleport them both out. I never even saw if he had a weapon on him," Ruby added on. "The woman fought with glass, but I don't think that was her Semblance. Her clothing lit up whenever she attacked."

"Hmm…this information regarding the man does seem a little strange and worrying," Goodwitch stated. "But the woman you fought sounds somewhat familiar."

"Are you saying that you've met her, Professor Goodwitch," Aqua asked.

"I'm not certain, but from what these two have said, she sounds a lot like the woman I fought the night Ozpin and I met Ruby, save for the glass," the blonde revealed.

"What're the chances that they're the same person then," Aqua proposed.

"Not all that high. Embedding Dust into clothing is an age-old technique that anyone could do," Ironwood waved off.

Aqua let out a small huff of annoyance upon hearing that, and then said, "So then we're back to square one, with no clue on just who they are or where they could likely be, and only guesswork as to whether or not they were working on their own or for someone else."

"Wait…Do you think these people could be connected to Torchwick, the White Fang, and the Nobodies that have been seen in Vale recently," Ruby asked, having deduced that may very well be why they were so interested in this topic.

"It's possible," Ozpin admitted as he scratched his chin in thought. "But we still lack any evidence that might link the two together."

Aqua could not help but wonder why Ozpin would say it like that. From where she was standing, it was like he was fishing for something from the two, or trying to give them some kind of opening, but Aqua doubted that either Ruby or Sora could possibly know something that might tie these mystery people in with the recent upsurge in Nobodies, or with the activities of Torchwick and the White Fang. Then again, this was Sora she was talking about, so the chances he might know such information was pretty good, and if the way he had gotten that information was not a method that would normally be approved of, then Ozpin giving them this opening was probably a good thing. She did not want to know what kind of trouble Sora and his friends would be in otherwise, and she doubted that Sora did either.

Ruby must have seen this opening as well, and from the small nod that Sora gave her, he had seen it too, so she saw no harm in finally giving up the information that they had uncovered in their teams' investigation now. "Actually, now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure the guy did mention something about a hideout right before they left," Ruby said.

"Oh, yeah, I remember now. He told his partner that they needed to get back to their base in the Southeast just before General Ironwood showed up. I guess he must've noticed that the general was on his way before we had and decided that it was too risky to stick around for any longer," Sora added on, attempting to help Ruby's little white lie sound more legitimate.

"Right! He even mentioned that it was just outside the kingdom," Ruby finished.

"Interesting," Ozpin knowingly smirked. When no one said anything more, Sora and Ruby started to wonder if they had slipped up at some point, but they relaxed a little more when Ozpin next said, "Thank you for your time, Ruby and Sora. I think we should be able to take it from here. You can both go and spend some time with your friends now, if you'd like. After all, you have a big day ahead of yourselves."

"Sure do. First missions as Beacon students! I can't wait," Sora cheered, making Aqua smile at this latest show of how the old Sora really was back at long last.

"Glad we could help," Ruby bade in farewell as she and Sora made their way to the elevator.

"Oh, and Miss Rose, Mister Hikari," Ozpin called out, getting the couple's attention once again. "Please try and be…discreet about this matter, at least for now. We wouldn't want anyone getting worked up if this turns out to be nothing."

"Yes sir," Ruby and Sora both nodded, and with that, the two finally departed from the office, only exchanging a low-five once they were out of the other four's sights.

Since the two students had left the room when they did, they missed out on seeing the smile that Ironwood was now giving Aqua, and one would have a difficult time describing it as anything other than smug, no matter what the general said to the contrary. "Well Aqua, you asked for options that we could act on, and now we have one," Ironwood informed the Keyblade master, calling back to her earlier statement. "Now that we know they're in the Southeast, we can send as many troops as possible there to find out exactly what's going on and eradicate anyone who stands in our way. I can have a team ready in a matter of hours."

"A team or an army, because if it's anything like the fleet you brought when you first arrived here, which you claimed was here because you were being cautious, then I'm a little more inclined to believe it would be the latter," Aqua questioned.

"Maybe that's exactly what we should be sending. It would ensure that we would eliminate the threat before it can become anymore serious," Ironwood insisted, not knowing that he was not just irritating Aqua with his words.

"You truly never change," Goodwitch huffed, making Ironwood turn to her. "Even now, your answer to everything involves a triumphant display of military bravado that is far more excessive than necessary! You treat every situation like it's a contest of measuring d…"

"Glynda," Ozpin interrupted before Goodwitch could finish her angry statement, not knowing that he had beaten Aqua to the punch.

"…Well he does," Goodwitch muttered under her breath while still just being loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Still, you should probably be glad that there aren't any students here right now. I doubt that's the kind of example you want to set for them as a teacher," Aqua lightly joked, attempting to alleviate the aggression that was starting to build in the room.

Thankfully, she did at least get a smile out of the deputy headmistress, but Ozpin was still keeping his mind on the matters at hand. "Regardless of that, Glynda is right," he said. "I would love to end this situation once and for all; we all would, but we must remember that this could very well go beyond Vale, beyond Beacon. If this truly is part of some master plan that we don't know the final move for, we must not be so bold, nor can we risk the spread of panic."

It was hard to know if Ironwood understood any of this, as he still seemed insistent on pursuing his course of action. "Ozpin, I have served you faithfully for years, and I do trust in the judgment of your allies from other worlds," he began, but he made no effort to hide his grim tone of voice. "But if you seriously mean to tell me that your plan is to really hold the defenses and wait…"

"It is not," Ozpin interrupted, finally raising his voice when he shot up out of his seat. Though it may have been directed at Ironwood, Goodwitch could not help but flinch back a little along with the general, as she knew as well as James just how dangerous it could prove to be when Ozpin was angry or even annoyed enough to that point. Thankfully, he seemed to keep his emotions in check, for he spoke a little more calmly when he next spoke. Even if there was a small edge to his voice. "You're a general, James, so try at least thinking like one before you commit to any hasty actions."

"I agree with Ozpin," Aqua nodded. "If we were to use your plan and send as many soldiers as possible, we would leave Vale vulnerable and with very little or no defense, and that may be just what our enemies want. Even if we send a massive army into the Southeast, just outside the kingdom or otherwise, that's still a lot of ground to cover, and it could take a great deal of time. Time in which the kingdom would be unable to properly protect itself from any attacks, be it from the Grimm, the Heartless, the Nobodies, or even anything else."

"We have students from all four of the huntsmen academies here at Beacon right now," Ironwood started to remind her.

"And a good number of them are about to go who-knows-where on missions that could take several weeks to complete," Aqua finished for him. "Besides that, would you really want to send those kids into a battle like that without anyone other than the people in this room to help them? Not to seem disrespectful to their skills and abilities, but they are still just children. More than that, there are other flaws in your plan to consider as well."

"Such as," Ironwood pressed.

"Sending such a large force into action like that isn't hard to hide, and our enemies would certainly see you coming and disperse before we could even get close enough to get troops on the ground, never mind actually finding the exact location of their base. All we would accomplish at that point would be merely setting them back for an uncertain period of time," Aqua explained as simply as she could. "If we are going to do something, we need to make sure we have all the facts before taking action."

"With that said, I ask you once again to think like a general and not a man acting out of panic," Ozpin pleaded with his friend. "When you're preparing to go to war, who do you send in first: the flag-bearer or the scouts?"

That seemed to finally get through to Ironwood, though he still seemed hesitant to accept the well-reasoned arguments. Still, he nodded in agreement with the two's points, but he still had one question about the whole thing. "What about these Nobodies? Most of our forces aren't equipped or trained to deal with them, so how would you suggest we handle that?"

"By leaving it to the people who are equipped, trained, and experienced with handling them," Aqua answered. She then turned to Ozpin and said, "That is of course, assuming you don't any problems with the mission I have in mind, or with the team that I would like to take it on, Professor."

Ozpin merely smiled as he sat down again, steepling his fingers before him as he leaned forward and said, "I'm all ears, Master Aqua."

The other two teachers/defenders of Remnant were also curious, and it was not long before that curiosity was satisfied. Sure, Glynda was a little hesitant to accept the idea, but she would admit that the idea was much more sound than anything else that they could try. Ironwood was a bit more skeptical, but in the end, he was willing to accept that the people Aqua had in mind for dealing with these strange creatures that had invaded Remnant were the best suited for just such a job.

---

Despite Ozpin's request to keep things about their meeting on the down-low, Ruby and Sora could not help but spill the beans the minute that they next saw their respective teammates. Then again, considering that the rest of both Teams RWBY and SLVR were waiting for them in the former's room when they finally got back, eager to ask their leaders about what had happened, it would have been silly to think that they had any choice but to share what the meeting was about. The only other thing that anyone could think of talking to the two about was Ruby and Sora's new relationship status, and they had already had enough of that from Aqua as it was. The last thing they needed was to hear any of their friends, or more accurately, Yang and Lea doing the same. Speaking of which, Sora had quickly sent a text to Aqua asking her to not give either of those two any of her pictures for later use, but he doubted that would stop Yang or Lea for very long. The fact that the blue haired woman replied that she was not going to make any promises did very little to help ease his worries.

A few minutes later, Ruby and Sora had explained everything; from their confrontation at Beacon Tower, to the ending of their meeting with Ozpin and the others. They had left out the story about their fight with the mystery people last night because they did not want anyone to worry when they were trying to enjoy the dance, be it them or their friends, so there was no better time to talk about it than right now. Of course, that eventually got around to the point where they had to bring up how they shared the information that they gathered from their investigation, and while some of them were relieved that someone now knew about this besides them, their reactions to hearing about how the two leaders had shared that info was a little mixed.

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't have told them about that, but it was certainly a very risky move," Weiss stated once again.

"Risky or not, we were gonna have to tell someone about what we found out sooner or later. Better to tell when the opportunity comes up like it did here than at a later time when we don't have any reasonable excuse to play off of," Lea defended with a shrug.

"He has a point," Ventus agreed. "Some of the stuff we did in our investigation could have a reasonable excuse, like you being concerned about how so much stuff from your company was stolen after getting to Vale, but I doubt that anyone would be too thrilled to learn what we did to find out the rest. Plus, someone was bound to ask questions regarding how Blake knew how to find that White Fang rally, and I doubt we'd be able to play it off as dumb luck."

Weiss had to admit that the two boys had a point. The last thing any of them wanted right now was for someone to find out about Blake's history with the White Fang, and there was a very good reason why they had changed their appearances for the duration of their investigation that night. Sure, the guys could probably get away with it by saying that they were doing their jobs as Keyblade wielders, especially since Nobodies had shown up during the fight, but there was very little chance that Team RWBY would have gotten off with just a stern scolding or detention.

Blake had realized all of that already, and smiled at both her leader and Team SLVR's as she said, "Whatever the case, I think you both handled it well. You got our information to someone that could make good use of it, you did it in a way that allowed us to avoid getting into any serious trouble, and now, Ozpin and the others have a little more to go on in stopping Torchwick and his plans for the White Fang and the Nobodies."

Ruby was certainly reassured by Blake's vote of confidence, but there was something about the contemplative look on Sora's face that had her concerned. "Is everything okay, Sora?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "It just feels like it was too easy."

"What do you mean," Roxas asked.

"Call me crazy, but it feels like Ozpin deliberately let us know about the possibility of a connection between that mystery girl and her partner, and Torchwick and the White Fang because he somehow knew we had been looking into the latter," Sora explained.

Everyone was quiet for a minute, wondering if Sora might have a point in what he said, until Lea finally said, "Yeah, you're right."

"I am?"

"You are crazy. Clearly all the world hopping's gotten to you at last."

Sora just shot his tall friend a flat look for his joke, even while the others laughed a bit at it, save for Ruby. She could not explain why, but for some reason, what Sora said made a certain sense to her when she thought about it. Not only that, but it also reminded her of the first time she met Ozpin and found out that he had footage of her fight with Torchwick and his goons. Knowing this, she had to wonder if Ozpin did know something about their investigation. If he had no trouble getting access to footage like that, who knew what else Ozpin could find out about, whether it was at the school or just anywhere in Vale? She eventually just shrugged it off, thinking that it did not matter in the end. If Ozpin did know something, he had clearly kept it to himself, so she might as well be grateful for that at least.

Ruby must not have hidden her concern as well as she thought, because Yang was still able to take notice of how quiet she had become after Sora's comments, and lucky for her little sister, the blonde had the perfect cure for that. "Hey, no reason to be getting so down when there's a lot more good news to go around," Yang announced.

"What kind of good news," Sora asked, his contemplative look vanishing faster than it had appeared while his curiosity grew along with Ruby's.

"See, that's the thing: I don't actually know for sure what it is yet," Yang admitted as she picked up something that was resting on one of the desks in Team RWBY's room. "All I know is that this package from dad came in while you guys were meeting with Aqua and the Profs. As eager as I was to know what it is, I figured Ruby would kill me if I opened it without her, so I managed to hold off until you two got back."

"Ooh! Something from home," Ruby squealed happily, her previous worries all but forgotten as she rushed over to grab the cylindrical package from her sister.

Yang just let Ruby have her fun at trying to get the package away from her, but as it turned out, the blonde's eagerness and curiosity had at least prompted her to try and sneak a peek inside so the seals were already a little loose. As such, when Yang gave the cylinder a little shake, the item inside slid out and plopped down on the floor. Everyone just stared at it for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the sisters' dad had sent them, but jumped back a little when it bounced up and down a couple of times.

On the thing's last bounce, the thing unfurled into its proper shape, and everyone drew a little closer to see what this odd object was, some with growing curiosity, and others with a bit of worry. What they found was the most probably the last thing that anyone other than Ruby and Yang were expecting, because there, sitting happily before the two teams, was a little corgi with black and white fur, and smiling like no tomorrow. For a second, some of them thought that they were seeing things, until the dog finally barked at them, drawing surprised yelps out of everyone in the room as they jumped back in either excitement or fright.

"What the…?!" Lea and Roxas both screamed.

"Great Kingdom Hearts!" Ven exclaimed.

"WAAA-AAAH," was the reaction of literally everyone else, though Blake's seemed a little fearful than the others, while Ruby and Yang were especially excited.

"ZWEI," Ruby happily cheered before scooping the dog up into her arms, letting it happily lick her face the minute she had him. "Aw, I missed you, too! Ah, st-stop it! Ahaha!"

"Wait, wait, wait! Your dad sent you a dog," Roxas questioned.

"In the mail?!" Weiss added on, incredulously.

"Not A dog. Our doggy," Ruby corrected.

"Oh, well in that case…Your dad sent you YOUR dog through the mail," Lea asked just as incredulously as Weiss had. The next thing anyone knew, he had swiped the package that Zwei was in from Yang and started examining it closely as he asked, "How'd he even get the pup in this thing? There's no way it should be possible for a dog, that size or otherwise to fit in here."

No one ended up answering Lea's question, as Yang was more focused on the matter of how their dad had sent Zwei through the mail. Although, it seemed like she was waving that off too, as her only answer was to say, "Oh relax. He does stuff like this all the time."

"Your father or your dog," Blake asked, prompting a few of the group to turn to her, only to realize that she was not standing next to them anymore. Another quick inspection of the room soon allowed them to see that she had actually perched herself up on Ruby's bed, while she eyed Zwei like she was expecting him to attack at any second.

"Blake, what're you doing up there," Roxas asked in bewilderment.

"Nothing. Just…finding a more comfortable spot to sit in," Blake tried to play off.

"On Ruby's bed? Which in and of itself looks like a bit of a chore to get onto," Roxas continued to question.

"…Yes. Why else would I be up here and putting distance between me and the little mu-Zwei?"

"Oh my stars," Ventus could not help but chuckle. It just seemed too funny to him when he figured out why Blake was really up there right now. "You're scared of Yang and Ruby's dog, aren't you?"

"No I'm not," Blake denied far too quickly.

"You are! You're totally scared of him," Ventus insisted.

"Shut up! I am not," Blake insisted, but the way her bow flattened while her face turned red were both obvious clues that spoke volumes of both her embarrassment and how honest she was being.

"Okay, then come down here and say hi to Zwei," Ventus challenged.

Blake took a quick look at the corgi and scooted further back in her hiding place before she said, "No. I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"Because I just don't."

"And you're scared."

"I am NOT!"

"Alright Ven, that's enough. Whatever her reasons are for not coming over to say hi to Zwei are her business, so let's just leave it at that," Roxas finally said as he came to Blake's defense, much to the cat Faunus's relief.

"Seriously, are we just going to ignore the fact that this dog was just in a package that it could not possibly have fit into," Lea questioned again, only for everyone to ignore him once more, as they all grew tense upon seeing Weiss move closer to Ruby and her pet.

"Are you telling me that this mangy…drooling…mutt…" Weiss began, making everyone think that it was growing more and more likely that the resident Ice Queen (or Ice Princess, if you were to ask Sora and his friends) was going to strike again, but after staring at Zwei's happy little face for just a few seconds, she ended up changing her tune in a very unexpected way. "…is going to wive with us forevah? Oh yes he is! Yes he is! Oh, isn't he just so adorable!"

While Ruby and Yang just smiled at Weiss's total 180, and Blake glowered a little, the guys all just stood there with dumbfounded looks on their faces, not quite believing what they were seeing right now. "…Wow. I did not see that coming," Roxas finally admitted after watching Weiss cooing and petting Zwei for a few more minutes.

"I don't think any of us did," Sora told his former Nobody.

"First Neptune and now a cute little corgi? Man, your competition for Ice Princess's heart just keeps on growing, Ven," Lea could not help but tease. His reward for that remark earned him a very hard elbow in the gut from a very irate Ventus. "OW! Sora," Lea whined, sounding like a little kid that was tattling on someone.

"Ven, don't go hitting Lea when he makes you mad," Sora tiredly told his partner, almost sounding like a parent when he did. At least until his smile turned a little more playful. "Just grab a glass of water and pour it on him."

"On second thought, forget I said anything," Lea quickly stated. "I'm just going to go back to figuring out how someone could get Zwei into this cylinder now, seeing as I'm the only one who seems to care about that."

The rest of the boys just rolled their eyes at their taller friend, while Ventus quickly made a mental note on ideas for gifts that he could give Weiss for her birthday or a similar holiday in the future, but their attention was soon drawn back to their canine visitor when Zwei suddenly perked up, leapt out of Ruby's arms, and quickly bounded over to Sora. Upon reaching the Keybearer, Zwei started sniffing at his feet for a few seconds, while slowly circling him, reminding everyone a little of when Sora first met Yang. After letting Zwei continue his run around of his person, Sora finally just knelt down and held his hand out to the corgi, letting Zwei stop sniff him a little more before he finally began going between rolling over and running around in a circle a few times as he barked at the boy.

"Okay, anyone else wondering why Zwei is suddenly so interested in Sora," Roxas questioned.

"I don't know. Maybe it's because when he sniffs at Sora, he can smell a little bit of Ru…" Ventus started to say, only to be silenced when Yang jabbed him in the arm. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Just hush," Yang whispered with a quick wink.

Seeing that made Ventus a little suspicious of the older sister, thinking that she knew exactly what was going on and had something to do with it, but he turned back to Sora and Zwei when he heard the former laughing a bit. Everyone was then treated to the sight of Sora getting licked in the face by Zwei as he fished around in one of his pockets for something, until he finally pulled it out.

"Hey Zwei, you want a treat? Huh, you wanna treat, boy," Sora cooed as he waved around a dog treat for the corgi, getting several excited barks in response. "Okay, here you go." Zwei quickly gobbled up the dog treat, and barked happily to show his approval of the snack before he leapt up into Sora's arms and began licking his face again, much to Sora's laughing amusement. "Aw, yeah, you're just a good little puppy, aren't you? Who's a good boy? You a good boy, Zwei? Yes you are."

Ruby could not help but grin as she rushed over and wrapped her arms around both her boyfriend and her dog, happy to see that the two were getting along so well, while Yang just smirked knowingly as she declared, "And like that, Sora's two-for-two."

"Okay, what did you do," Ventus asked of his fellow blonde, unable to keep his curiosity at bay any longer.

"A while back, Dad and I trained Zwei so that he could help judge any potential boyfriends that Ruby might get. Ruby loves that little dog of ours, so anyone who didn't show as much love for him as she does was likely going to get the boot," Yang explained.

"Right. What was he going to do? Bite Sora's hand and then pee on his shoe," Lea humorously questioned while he continued looking the cylinder over.

"As a start. Did I mention that Dad and Uncle Qrow would sometimes bring Zwei with them on some of their missions as huntsmen, meaning that he's more than capable of fighting with us," Yang playfully questioned with a knowing grin.

That was not something that any of the others had expected, and they were not sure if Sora had even heard it, given how enamored he and Ruby were over playing with Zwei at the moment. If he had, they were pretty sure he probably would have stopped dead in his tracks and backed away, but then again, this was Sora, so it was more likely that it would not have mattered. The guy could make friends with anyone, and no one needed to say anything to remind everyone of that fact. Of course, the matter of Zwei being capable of fighting alongside huntsmen was another story.

"Okay, I know we're all a little surprised by this news, but at this point, I have to wonder why that would be the case. I mean, some of us have seen things way harder to believe than that, and then some," Lea reasoned out. He then smirked a little and said, "Besides, the image of that dog tearing apart monsters like they're chew toys is kinda amusing in a way, even if it still doesn't explain how he could've fit into this package!"

"Great. Glad to see everyone likes the dog for various reasons, but can we please make sure that it stays away from my belongings. And my books. And especially my bows," Blake requested almost frantically.

"I'm a little more curious about why your dad would send Zwei to you in the first place. Not that there's anything wrong with having a loyal pet around, but…" Ventus reminded everyone.

"Oh hey, maybe this can explain it," Lea offered as he fished a letter out of the cylinder and handed it over to Yang so she could read it.

Taking the note from Lea, Yang then read it aloud for everyone. "'Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei to you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need, but if you do end up needing to get more, you can just put it on my regular tab at the pet shop we normally go to. Love you both, Taiyang.'"

Hearing that last part, Lea finally ceased his inspection of the cylinder so that he could scoff in disbelief, not noticing how Zwei had perked up at the mention of food and rushed over to him, apparently knowing that he was holding said treats. "Yeah right," Lea stated as he turned the cylinder over and began shaking it a little. "The dog is one thing, but there's no way that I'm gonna be able to just turn this thing over and have more than maybe two or three cans of dog food come out of…"

Right when Lea was about to finish, a small mountain of dog food tins came falling out on the last shake he gave to the cylinder. Some of them fell on Zwei, with the pup acting like it had not happened afterwards, while the rest fell on the foot of the dumbfounded redhead who was now turning his disbelieving gaze between the cans and the cylinder they were just in. "What…I…but…How," Lea stuttered.

"Geez Axel, calm down," Roxas told his friend, despite knowing that it would not probably do any good. Sure, he was curious about how it was possible to fit Zwei and all of that dog food into the package, but not to the point that it seemed his best from was.

"Well that answers one question, but it also raises a new problem: how're we supposed to take care of him when we're all going to be gone for a week on missions at least. We can't just leave him here by himself," Weiss reminded everyone.

"We won't have to. After all, not ALL of us are going to be leaving on a mission," Roxas stated, earning him confused looks from everyone else. "Seriously guys? Don't tell me you actually forgot that at least one member of our little circle of friends isn't going to be going on any huntsmen missions this week." Still the looks continued, making him slap his forehead as he sighed and explained it to them. "Guys, Xion's going to be here! You know because she's not an official student, remember? I'm sure she won't mind taking care of Zwei while we're gone."

"Are you sure that she can," Ruby asked, hesitant to let someone else take care of her doggy, even if they were a friend.

"Positive. She does some volunteer work taking care of the dogs and cats at the Twilight Town animal center when we're not busy doing other stuff. Trust me, she can handle it," Roxas revealed with a smile. Lea paused in his mutterings to smile for a brief second as well after hearing that, since he knew that Xion's volunteer work at said shelter also played a huge part in helping her to make amends with Isa, due to how the former Number VII actually had a regular job there.

"Well, I'd say that just about settles that," Yang shrugged, feeling satisfied that someone would be able to look after Zwei for them while they were on their missions. "I'm just surprised that Dad didn't send a can opener for all of this too."

Right when she said that, said kitchen tool dropped out of the cylinder and onto Lea's, making the redhead yelp in pain when it hit him. "He did," Lea grumbled. "That's probably the only thing that should have had any business being in this along with two or three of these tins."

The others just amusedly shook their heads a little at the redhead, right at the very moment when Goodwitch's voice could be heard over the PA system. "Would all first year students please report to the amphitheater," the deputy headmistress requested. "You will be receiving your first official assignments there following an assembly with the rest of your fellow students."

"And that would be our cue to head on out. See you there, ladies," Roxas informed Team RWBY as he began leading his best friend out of the room, somehow managing to pry the cylinder he was studying from his hands. "Come on, Lea. You can stress about silly stuff later. We've got to stop by Xion's room and ask her to look after Zwei while we're gone."

"It's not silly! There is no possible way that the dog alone could have fit into that package," Lea continued to insist as he let Roxas push him out.

Ventus just sighed at the two while sparing the girls a brief wave of farewell. His smile grew a little more when he looked at Weiss, and the heiress definitely seemed to notice, given the small smile and blush on her face. She managed to play it off by sparing a quick goodbye for Zwei as she followed Yang out the door, with Blake scurrying along behind them as she leapt over furniture to avoid the corgi. With everyone else now gone, all that was left was Sora and Ruby, the former of which only pausing so that he could give Zwei one last treat before he left with his team before he turned to the scythe wielder with a smile.

Ruby was about to ask what Sora was smiling about when he surprised her by walking up and kissing her on the cheek. "For good luck on whatever mission your team gets today," Sora whispered in her ear, and like that he was gone from the room again.

The young huntress-in-training just stood ramrod still for a moment, still not quite used to receiving such signs of affection from Sora, but still smiled in the end as she gently rubbed the cheek Sora had kissed. It was not until she heard Zwei let out a small whimper at having realized all of his new friends had left that Ruby finally came out of her daze, and upon turning to her loyal corgi, Ruby felt a sense of worry overcome her. She had no problem letting Xion care for the dog while she and her team was away on their mission, but at the same time, she did not want to leave Zwei behind after they were just reunited, so it barely took her more than a few seconds before she ultimately came up with a rather sneaky plan.

---

"Will you just let it go, man," Ventus tiredly asked of Lea once they had all gathered in the amphitheater, a sense of nostalgia falling over them and the rest of their friends as they huddled together in the audience with the rest of the students while Ozpin and Goodwitch stood on stage, waiting for everyone to finish filing in.

"No! I am not letting it go until I figure out how the dog, the dog food, and that can opener could all have possibly fit into that package," Lea insisted.

"Axel, you do remember that we can carry entire tents in our pockets and still have room for a lot of other stuff, right," Roxas questioned.

"Yeah, because our pockets are magic, like the rest of our clothes. That was an ordinary, cardboard, small cylinder! There was no way that it should've been capable of storing all of that inside of it," Lea countered.

Just when Roxas was about to offer up another counter point, Weiss stepped into the conversation and asked, "Wait, you mean to tell me you guys have magic pockets that allow you to carry around a tent as though it were spare change?"

"Not just one tent. Several tents," Ventus admitted. "And again, we'd still have room for a lot of other stuff. How do you think we're all able to carry so many Potions and Ethers with us all the time?"

"Well, I always thought you guys tended to leave most of that to Sora since he has more pockets than the rest of you," Blake shamelessly admitted.

The three boys all shared a look with one another before they finally all said, "Well, you're not entirely wrong."

"About what," Sora asked as he joined the rest of the group, with Ruby following behind him a few seconds later after she had dropped off her backpack with the rest of her team's bags.

"Nothing. Just talking about how you guys have magic pockets, and how these guys tend to make you into a pack mule anyways," Yang informed him.

Instead of getting upset, Sora just shrugged like it was no big deal and said, "Hey, when you have so many of them, it just makes sense that you end up carrying more than anyone else. If you think I've got it bad though, you should see how much stuff me and Donald made Goofy carry on our first quest together."

Everyone got a good laugh out of that, until Ventus suddenly hushed them all. "Quiet down, guys. Ozpin's about to start this thing."

"Here's hoping that he's a little more uplifting than he was with his welcome speech," Lea commented, with everyone nodding along in agreement. Even now, there was just something about the speech Ozpin gave back then that seemed very off to them.

Speaking of the headmaster, Ozpin had just stepped up to the mike on stage, and cleared his throat to ensure he had everyone's attention before he began. "Today we stand together, united," Ozpin said proudly. "Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, and Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant, together as one; a feat that many of our predecessors had once thought impossible. On this day nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self expression, and as you are all well aware that was something many could not stand for."

"I'd certainly hope not," Sora muttered. "Where would anyone be without any form of art or self expression? It'd be like trying to make someone get rid of a key part of themselves."

His friends all agreed with him wholeheartedly on that, and their smiles grew a little more upon hearing the next part of Ozpin's speech. "As a result, those who opposed this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come, and it was a trend that is held to this very day."

'That explains so much,' the guys all thought as one, each of them having noted quite a few times how so many people on Remnant had a name that shared some similarity or connection to at least one specific color.

"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity," Ozpin carried on with little pause. "As I have said, today we stand together, united, but much like any other ties of friendship and camaraderie this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today while the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsmen and huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman or huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days, and others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. Regardless of whatever path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

A round of applause quickly followed the conclusion of Ozpin's speech, even as he moved off the stage and allowed the students to begin dispersing so that they could browse through the list of missions that were now being displayed on the screens that activated along the perimeter of the amphitheater. Of course, there were very few who would be harder pressed to have clapped louder or more excitedly than the boys of Team SLVR, much to the girls' amusement.

"Okay, now that was a good speech," Lea praised.

"No kidding. Almost makes me wonder why he didn't say something like that on the first day," Roxas commented.

"Well, this is a bit more important and special than something that happens every single year for him, and given the circumstances, he probably would feel a need to add a little extra flare," Ventus reasoned out. "Either way, I doubt anyone's not feeling a bit more excited after that."

"And we've got a few other reasons to be excited than everyone else," Sora told everyone. When the guys all looked at him in wonder, he happily explained, "If we're going to be working with a professional huntsman or huntress, then there's a chance that we might be able to snag a mission that would take us into the Southeast."

"Sora's right; this is perfect! We sign up with a mission like that, and we can easily get a chance to actually bring our whole mission to a close without having to wait," Ruby cottoned on.

"Yeah! We'll follow them around by day and give them the slip to catch our bad guys while taking down the monsters that don't belong on our world at night," Yang agreed.

"Sounds good to me," Lea smirked in equal agreement.

"But there's probably a bunch of different missions to choose from. Where do we even start," Roxas asked.

"How about with 'Search and Destroy?' Those tend to take people outside a kingdom more often than any other mission," Weiss suggested.

Everyone nodded to show their approval and quickly rushed over to the mission listings so that they could find their target choice. Lucky for them, Weiss's hunch proved to be good, as they quickly spotted a Grimm-destroying mission that was right where they wanted to be, and Ruby had not thought twice before going to sign her team up for it. The bad news was that when Ruby did enter her team's name, the computer just beeped in negative while displaying a message that said that the mission was not available to first year students, and thus immediately rejected the request for Team RWBY to participate in it.

"Yeah, that figures," Roxas muttered.

"Anyone else curious as to why a mission that first year students can't take on is being displayed here in the first place," Lea asked.

"Maybe they just decided to give us the general listings that everyone else normally gets so that the students can get an idea on how to sort through these things after they graduate and become professional huntsmen," Roxas offered in suggestion.

Ruby was about to give her own comment on the matter when she saw Sora typing his team's name in on the same mission that she had just tried to sign hers up for. "Uh Sora, sweetie, I don't think you're going to have much better luck signing up your team if it wouldn't take us," she told him.

"Hey, you never know. I mean, since Ozpin knows that we're Keyblade wielders, maybe he set things up so that we have special permissions for certain things," Sora reasoned out while explaining why he was trying his luck at it. Too bad for him, the computer gave him the same rejection message that it just gave to Ruby, prompting him to say, "Or maybe not."

"No, I think we do have such permissions. Namely, for when we have to go off on a mission to another world so long as it doesn't interfere with our classes that much," Ventus told his friend.

"That does make sense," Yang nodded.

"Either way, it looks like we're stuck," Blake commented.

"Maybe not," Ruby thought aloud with a smile.

Curious as to what the girl had in mind, Sora asked, "Have you got an idea, Ruby?"

"Yep! We mail ourselves there," Ruby happily announced.

At first, the group thought that the girl was joking, but from the look of things, she was completely serious, and that quickly brought deadpan looks onto all of their faces. Ruby did not seem too bothered by this, or like she even had the slightest clue as to why the others would be against her "brilliant" idea, and since Sora was not likely to break the news to her, gently or otherwise, Lea decided he would do it instead.

"Okay, first of all, does your family have some weird thing in your heads that makes you all think it's okay to send living beings through the mail," Lea asked as a start off before he got to the main topic he wanted to address. "Second, even if we were to consider going with the idea, there's no way that it would ever work."

"Perhaps, but it is still a rather interesting option," someone suddenly said in defense of Ruby's idea. Turning around, the two student teams were surprised to see Ozpin approaching them with a knowing smile on his face and an active Scroll in his hand as he continued to converse with the group. "Unfortunately, we had determined that the amount of Grimm in that area was far too extreme for first year students."

"Was this before or after you made it among the list of missions that would be displayed here for everyone," Roxas asked.

"Before. As you guessed earlier, Roxas, we do not organize these lists so that they're tailored to any specific group of huntsmen, and displaying the lists this way will help students to better prepare themselves for when they have to sort through mission lists as professional huntsmen," Ozpin explained. He then turned to speak directly to the group as he said, "You know, now that I think about it, that particular region seems to have become rather popular as of late. In fact, I have the sneaking suspicion that all of you would make your way there no matter which job you choose."

Upon hearing the headmaster's accusation, Yang, Blake, and Weiss all turned varying types of glares to their nervously smiling leader, while Roxas, Lea, and Ventus all fixed straight up accusing glares upon turning to Sora, who wore a nearly identical smile as Ruby's. It was pretty obvious who could have given Ozpin that idea, but neither Ruby nor Sora was planning on further confirming the suspicion. The former was just a little quicker in coming up with a response than her boyfriend. "Whatever makes you say that," Ruby tried to play off as innocently as she could.

Ozpin did not seem to be fooled, but it was hard to really tell given that he still had the same knowing smile, and his voice continued to hold a tone that made them think he was just putting on an act for them. "I'm still a bit curious as to how you all found yourselves at the docks last semester. Almost as curious as I am about how you really learned about this 'hideout' in the Southeast. Both certainly makes me wonder if either of these things has anything to do with why witnesses reported seeing robots, strange silver creatures, miniature tornados, strange fireworks, and rose petals flowing out of a dance club and into the streets sometime ago."

"Well, that first one was really more just luck of the draw, and the second is really just as Ruby and I told you this morning, Professor," Sora played off as best he could, thankful that he had been spending some time working on his poker face lately. "As for that last one…Well, I'm just as puzzled as you are. What about you guys? Do you have any ideas?"

"Nope, I can't think of anything," Lea shrugged.

"I've got nothing," Roxas smiled as innocently as he could.

"It's a real head-scratcher of a mystery," Ventus commented.

"Yeah. Uh, who knows," Ruby nervously laughed, making the others wonder if her input may end up giving them away.

If any of the five did accidentally say or do something that blew their cover though, Ozpin must have ignored it, because the next thing he said was not what any of them were expecting. "Whatever the case may be, it does seem unlikely that I'll ever find the exact answers I'm looking for," he sighed in false despair, only to perk up again seconds later. "Though, I do have a proposition for you all: instead of waiting for any of you to break the rules, how about we just bend them?"

A few taps on his Scroll later, and Ozpin seemed to have changed a few settings around so that Team RWBY was now assigned to the mission that they had been trying to get a place on, much to their surprise. Not that they were complaining mind you, at least until they realized that the boys were still not on the assignment. "Uh Professor, not that we're ungrateful for this or anything, but why isn't Sora's team on this assignment too," Ruby asked.

"Well, each mission can only have one first year team on it, especially in the case of missions like these," Ozpin explained, making everyone feel a little silly for a moment, since they had all forgotten about that fact. "But beyond that, I'm afraid that Team SLVR's mission was decided even before they entered the amphitheater."

"It was," the boys all chorused as one.

"Yes indeed," Ozpin nodded as he tapped the touch screen of his Scroll a few more times. "I could have sworn that I had sent that information to at least your team leader's Scroll already, but I suppose that it's better late than never. The huntress you'll be accompanying should be waiting for you outside right now, so I'd suggest you all go over these details and meet with her as quickly as you can."

As soon as he had finished saying that, Sora's Scroll went off, letting him know that he had just received a message, and he quickly pulled it out so that he could look at said message, confirming that it had come from the headmaster. Reading the subject line, Sora started to get a few ideas on just what their assignment was going to be, and soon shared a smirk with the rest of the boys that they each returned with a nod. "Well then, I guess we shouldn't keep her waiting," Sora determined aloud.

"Sora, wait," Ruby requested before he could move away. When the boy turned to face her again, Ruby cupped his face, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and said, "For good luck on your mission."

As flustered as he was, Sora still smiled happily at Ruby returning his earlier gesture, and seeing that brought relieved smiles to the rest of his friends as well. It was as sure of a sign as any that the old Sora really was back again, and none of the boys hesitated in shooting Ruby smiles of their own to show her how thankful they were for her part in bringing him back. Not that she really seemed to get it right away, mind you, but she was able to figure it out quickly enough.

---

"Man, it's been a while since we did a mission with just the four of us," Lea remarked as he and the rest of Team SLVR made their way through the courtyard and over to the airship landing pads.

"I know. It seems like we always have either Team RWBY or Team JNPR with us whenever we do something these days," Roxas recalled.

"Guess this would be a good chance to see how well we can do without them around to help us out," Ventus reasoned.

"Ven's right. We can't really say that we've improved or gotten better by attending this school if we're always teaming up with our friends from this world," Sora agreed. "If we can't handle a simple huntsman assignment on our own, then what's the point of being here aside from trying to find Kairi?"

The other boys may not totally share Sora's continued belief of Kairi being on Remnant, but they were happy to see that he was not breaking down and turning into an angsty, angry mess at the slightest mention of her now. Do not get them wrong; they were still not all that positive about their chances of finding the girl, but something about seeing Sora remaining certain that she was out there, even if he had now moved on to start a relationship with Ruby helped keep them from giving up completely. After all, just being at Beacon had helped them get the old Sora back, so maybe staying on Remnant would eventually help them to find their friend. Sora's return to his usual positive attitude was not going to save him from being teased though.

"I don't know, Sora. I'm not sure that you can handle being away from your precious rose for too long without suffering some kind of withdrawal," Roxas joked.

"Very funny, but I wouldn't talk if I were you, Mister Sea-Salt Ice Cream Addict," Sora easily shot back, not seeming the least bit bothered by Roxas's accusation.

As good as it was to see Sora fully taking part in the fun of teasing again, Roxas was not about to let that barb go without a fight. "I am not addicted! I can stop eating sea-salt ice cream any time I want."

Everyone just stared at the confident looking blonde for a minute, until Lea finally said, "Let me guess: that would be starting tomorrow, right?"

"…Maybe," Roxas hesitantly replied, his eyes skittishly darting back and forth.

Sora and Ventus both just rolled their eyes as they chuckled at their friend's expense, but before either of them could say more on the matter, Ventus caught sight of a few familiar faces heading their way from a recently landed airship. "Hey, look who's finally back," Ventus cheered as he waved to the approaching group.

When the other three turned to see who Ven was talking about, they all grinned just as much as he was upon seeing none other than Team CFVY heading their way, tired, but triumphant. "Hail the conquering huntsmen," Lea appraised as the two groups approached each other.

"I'm pretty sure that you should only be saying that if we had finished our mission on time," Coco waved off, even if it was still with a smile.

"Hey, if you're making it back with your whole team in one piece, then that's a victory in my book," Sora assured the second year team's leader. "Still, sorry that you guys missed out on the dance."

"Yeah, we all really missed you guys last night," Ventus added on.

"Oh, it's no big deal. There will be plenty other events that we can attend later on, especially when the Vytal Festival finally starts up," Velvet assured the boys. She was a little disappointed that they had missed the dance, but she was not going to let that get her down for too long, especially when there was a much bigger and more exciting event on the way.

"Besides, from what we've seen and heard, you boys had a pretty great time without us. Especially you, Lover boy," Coco remarked with a knowing smirk, looking directly at Sora when she said that last sentence.

"What do you mean by seen? How could you have seen anything when you weren't…" Ventus asked, but his mind quickly drew an easy answer for that before he had even finished. An answer that made him frown a little bit when it came to him. "Did you guys run into Aqua on your way here?"

"Oh yes! The pictures she showed us of the dance were certainly smashing," Velvet grinned happily. "You all looked so great in them and not just because of your outfits either. The emotion in every moment that she had captured was just breathtaking, the scenery was excellent, not to mention how she managed to get such great lighting in so many, and…"

"Okay, Velvet. I think they get the point," Coco chuckled. At another time, she would not be opposed to her normally shy friend getting so excited over this stuff, but to be honest, she wanted them to report in on their completion of the mission so that she could finally just collapse on a proper bed and sleep for a while.

"Right. Sorry about that," Velvet bashfully apologized.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We all know that you've got a real passion for photography, so it's only natural you'd get this excited about it," Sora assured her, since he did know that from all the times he and Roxas had hung out with the bunny-eared girl.

"Yeah, if anyone knows a few things about getting excited over stuff they like, it's this guy here," Lea teased while rubbing Sora on the head, much to everyone's amusement.

Their laughter only stopped when they heard someone clearing their throat, and Coco felt like smacking herself on the head for a minute. "Oh, right. We still haven't introduced you guys to the rest of our team," Coco realized as she waved the last two members of Team CFVY over. "Team SLVR, meet Fox Alistair and Yatsuhashi Daichi."

"Nice to meet you guys," Sora greeted while moving to shake hands with each of the two boys along with the rest of his friends as they introduced themselves.

In terms of appearance, the two boys of Team CFVY definitely made it hard for someone to miss them, each for their own reasons. The main reason in the case of Yatsuhashi was that he was so big that he towered over almost everyone. The only person in the area that seemed close to matching his height was Lea, and even then, the guys were sure that he had a few inches on the pyro. His black hair was shaved-short, and his attire consisted of pale green and brown colors, while reminding the Keybearers a little of the style of clothing that Terra normally wore. Rounding out Yatsuhashi's attire was a large sword that he carried on his back, easily telling the guys just what kind of fighting style he preferred.

Fox on the other hand was noticeable for a few different reasons; one of those being his dark brown skin that was marred with quite a few scars, namely along his arms and lips. His clothes were a bit more normal, at least compared to his mountainous teammate, consisting of an orange vest and black jeans, while his messy hair held a copper color to it. The thing that really grabbed the four Keybearers' attention was his rather blank eyes, indicating that he was likely blind, but they did not want to assume anything without asking.

Being the upfront and blunt type, Lea just blurted it out after he shook hands with Fox. "Hey, not to sound rude, but are you blind?"

Fox merely nodded in response, but since he did not say anything, the guys all assumed that Lea had offended him. "I'm sorry about him. Lea's not usually too great with certain social interactions," Roxas apologized.

Once again, Fox said nothing, but did seem to simply shrug as if to say he was not too bothered by it, confusing the guys a little bit, and prompting Velvet to finally step in. "Don't worry about it too much. Fox just isn't very talkative most of the time, especially with people he just met," she explained. "You didn't do or say anything to upset him."

"Well that's a relief," Sora sighed happily, glad to hear that Lea's big mouth had not gotten them into trouble with the blind boy.

At that point, Yatsuhashi spoke up and said, "Coco and Velvet told me you four are all excellent swordsmen."

"It's actually more these guys than me. I tend to prefer to change my Keyblade into the chakrams since I'm more experienced fighting with them, but I guess I'm alright," Lea confessed.

"Hey, you're a lot better than you were the last time I saw you trying to fight with a sword," Roxas assured his friend. Sure, he was getting in a quick tease on him, but he really did mean what he said.

"Thanks buddy," Lea nodded, appreciating the compliment regardless of any teasing that was mixed in.

"Why do you ask, anyway," Ventus asked Yatsuhashi.

"I was curious if it would be too much trouble to ask any of you for a sparring match some time. It's been a while since I've fought against another swordsman that could provide me with a challenge," Yatsuhashi explained.

Hearing that brought a smile to the boys' faces. If they were being honest, it had been a while since they had been in a good match with another swordsman. Sure, Weiss and Blake were pretty good, and there was certainly no denying Pyrrha's skills or how Jaune was much better than ever now thanks to her help, but the guys had already fought each of them quite a few times now, so they generally knew what to expect from them. Having someone new to spar against was pretty exciting for them, but none more so than the person who answered Yatsuhashi's request.

"You got it. Next time we're all free, we'd be happy to go a few rounds," Sora said. He then smirked a little more as he added, "But don't think we're going to go easy on you."

"I would be disappointed if you did," Yatsuhashi stated with a matching smirk.

Lowering her shades a little, Coco could be seen giving Sora a quick once over as he shared this exchange with her giant friend, and she had to smile in satisfaction at what she now saw in him. 'Compared to the first time we met, he almost seems like an entirely different person,' she thought to herself. 'Now this definitely seems like the Sora I heard about in all those stories and rumors, and I definitely like what I'm seeing in him. Looks like Little Red snagged herself a good one.'

As much as she was enjoying the two boys making promises to hash it out in a battle of blades, Coco was still a little going to have to put it to an end, since she knew that she and her team needed to get at least a little rest after the events of their mission, so she soon cut in. "Alright fellas, you can work out more details for your sword fights later," Coco finally said. "I'd like to give our report and get to a bed, and I'm sure that Team SLVR, here has their own mission to take care of, right?"

"Yep. We were actually just heading out," Roxas confirmed. "So I guess we'll see you guys when we get back."

"Counting on it," Coco grinned in return as she began leading her team off to the school.

"Best of luck," Velvet waved in farewell as she departed with the rest of Team CFVY.

The guys all waved back to the second year team, and then turned so that they could head over to the airship that they were going to be taking to the sight of their mission, eager to finally see the huntress they were going to be working with. Given what they had seen of what their fellow students were capable of, there was little doubt that a full-fledged, genuine huntress was likely to be something very extraordinary when in action, so their excitement was quite palpable. Sure, they were excited over getting to see more of the kingdom of Vale, but that was a rather minor detail in the grander scheme of things in their minds.

When they finally reached the landing pad they were to report to, the boys were all very surprised at the sight of who was waiting for them. Sora and Lea were so shocked that their jaws were in danger of dropping off and never coming back up again, while Roxas could only gape in wide-eyed disbelief. Ventus was just as surprised as the rest of his team, but he still managed to regain his ability to speak after a few seconds or so.

"Why do I feel like I should've seen this coming," Ven questioned aloud.

"Maybe it has something to do with how those friends of yours from just a moment ago mentioned running into me when you stopped to talk with them," replied a very familiar blue haired Keyblade master, who continued to smile at the boys' collective surprise, no doubt enjoying it quite a bit.

---

A few hours later into the day and well into their mission, things were not going entirely as Team RWBY had expected. Most of the hype they held for working with a professional huntsman was killed the moment they realized that said huntsman was Doctor Oobleck of all people, but the history professor had shown that he knew exactly what he was doing once they had boarded the airship and explained to them why the area they were investigating for criminal activity was perfect for a secret organization to hide in. Upon arriving at he abandoned settlement of Mountain Glenn, more commonly known as one of Vale's greatest failures, he continued to show this when he explained exactly what they would need to do, and even when their initial plan went out the window, he still kept his cool regardless as he let them eliminate the Grimm that spotted them in their attempts to follow said creatures.

While originally their mission was to just eliminate the Grimm, since they were now also here to locate a hidden criminal base, Oobleck was of the idea that the soulless monsters would lead them to wherever the bad guys were hiding. It certainly made sense, given that Grimm were attracted to negative emotions, something that bad guys doubtlessly had in abundance, but unfortunately, every time they located a pack that could lead them to their prey, they ended up getting spotted very quickly. Not that it was too much of a problem, as Team RWBY were all armed and ready to fight at a moment's notice, and easily dispatched of every one of the deadly creatures when they attacked.

Still, after going at it for so long at almost a nonstop pace, the girls were starting to get a little worn out, but they were a little more annoyed that Oobleck was not really doing too much to help them fight. For the most part, he just seemed to be taking samples of various plants and debris from the area, while looking around like he was a scout that was investigating a battlefield after the battle was already underway. The only other thing he really seemed to do during their bouts was take a few more sips from his ever-present thermos that was most certainly filled with his usual coffee. Needless to say, Team RWBY was starting to get a little annoyed with their professor.

"Excellent work, girls," Oobleck suddenly praised them when they finally gained a chance to catch their breath. "Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any signs of criminal activity or operations in this sector. Oh well! Moving on."

While most of her teammates just stared at their teacher, wondering if that coffee was affecting his brain to the point where it made him think he did not need to do anything to help them, Ruby simply holstered her scythe with a quick twirl, waved for Zwei to follow her, and happily skipped after him. Her sister on the other hand was not going to keep quiet about her grievances, but before she could ask Oobleck anything, she noticed something very big falling from the sky and it did not take long to realize where it was going to land.

"Ruby, watch out!" Yang shouted.

"Huh," Ruby said as she glanced up to see what had Yang so worried. She let out a short sound of panic upon seeing the falling thing, and dove to the side, barely avoiding the fate of becoming street pizza when the object crashed onto the ground with loud boom.

"What in the world…" Oobleck gasped as he turned to see what had just literally fallen into their midst.

When the dust cleared from around the object, the five were all treated to the sight of a massive, muscular silver creature with thin upper arms, and large cylindrical gauntlets that almost covered its blocky, black hands. It seemed to hunch over a little bit, resting its weight on one hand, while holding its other arm out, and summoning forth a large, T-shaped hammer like weapon with a long, black handle, but otherwise, showed no signs of movement aside from how its body twisted as it turned its helmeted head about as if to better discern its location, or locate any threats. Oobleck was not entirely sure what to make of this creature, but even without seeing the familiar symbol on its left pectoral muscle, the girls all instantly knew what it likely was.

"That's…" Blake started to say.

"Another Nobody," Weiss finished as she spun the revolver to load up some Dust to attack with in her rapier.

"And since we've already seen what the Ninjas and Reapers look like, I'm guessing this would be our Berserker," Yang concluded while loading her gauntlets, ready to fire a shot if the high-ranking Dusk made any moves against her sister.

Ruby just glared up at the massive beast that had nearly flattened her, challenging it with her eyes to just try and come at her. She was just reaching to draw her scythe, when someone from up above them suddenly shouted, "Blizzaza!"

Just like that, a massive torrent of ice suddenly came falling from the sky, and not only froze the Berserker where it stood, but also seemed to damage it with several large, ice-spikes that were accompanied by a small, localized snow storm. Thankfully, Oobleck and Team RWBY were just out of the ice spell's range, and their positions also allowed them to have ringside seats for the moment when someone suddenly down from the sky with a downward slice that finished off the massive Dusk-type Nobody.

"Heh, not to sound like Yang or anything, but I always did think that those guys needed to learn how to chill out as much as Saïx did," the surprise attacker quipped as he stood up straight, granting the girls visual confirmation on who had just arrived on the scene.

"Sora?" Ruby called out.

"Oh, hey Ruby," Sora casually greeted. His words and the person he was addressing quickly caught up with him a second later. "Wait…Ruby?! What're you doing here?"

"We came out here for our mission. What're you doing here," Ruby questioned in return.

Right when Sora was about to answer, someone else suddenly shouted, "INCOMING!"

Sora immediately spun around to look towards the speaker, and his eyes quickly widened before he finally answered Ruby's question. "I'll explain later! Move out of the way now!"

No one felt the need to question Sora after hearing that earlier warning, and everyone that was still close to where he and Ruby were standing immediately dove away from said position, just in time for a silver blur to slam into the ground, creating a small explosion. Following that explosion came several more Dusks, along with some Reapers and Ninjas, and some spiky looking ones that the girls did not recognize, but those same Nobodies did not stick around for long, because Lea came flying in with them, and made quick work of the Dusks after changing his Keyblade into chakrams. After slashing apart so many Dusks, Lea coated the chakrams with flames and sent them flying at the Reapers and Ninjas that were now rushing him. Many of the Nobodies fell to the burning, spiked wheels, and any that did survive, Lea cut down after retrieving his weapons and turning them back into his Keyblade again.

Right when Lea was about to turn to the spiky-looking Nobodies, a loud battle cry echoed through the streets, and Roxas came swooping down to cut through them, with a fierce double-slash. More of those same, spiky Nobodies started charging him, but Roxas was ready with two powerful swings of Oblivion, the last of which he quickly followed up with a quick stab of Oathkeeper right at its center. Spinning around, Roxas then used his light-based Keyblade to send the Nobody he had stabbed flying into another Ninja, and then blasted them both with an ice spell before raising Oblivion high into the air so he could call down a shower of lightning bolts with it. When a few more Ninjas suddenly jumped out at him, Roxas merely used his light powers to jump clear, and then commenced a fast-paced dance of blades that slew each one of his attackers.

"I know I once said that traitors to the Organization needed to be destroyed, but even back then the line just wasn't me," Lea recalled as he blasted a few more Reapers and spiky Nobodies with some strong fire spells. "Doesn't mean I'm not still a little upset that the Assassins are now coming at me like they don't care about our history."

"I'm not crying over it. They were among the few that helped the regular Dusks with drawing on my face while I was sleeping, so this feels pretty satisfying for me," Roxas admitted after cutting down a few more Ninjas.

"Hey come on. I tried telling them to stop, but you know how short of an attention span most Dusks have," Lea shrugged in the defense of his former underlings.

Roxas was about to retort, but ended up never getting any words out as a powerful blast of wind suddenly blew past him, throwing another Berserker into a wall close to where he was standing. Following the wind blast and its massive passenger came Ventus who speedily made his towards the Berserker and destroyed it with Wayward Wind before it could summon its lost hammer back to its hand. Turning around so that he could slash at some of the Dusks that were flying after him, he only spared his friends a glance as he shouted, "How about a little less reminiscing, and a little more fighting?"

"Right. To be continued," Roxas agreed before he rushed off again, Keyblades ready for action, with Lea right beside him.

Sora joined the fray again not long after by blasting the Dusks with almost every type of basic spell he knew, until eventually, he used a Gravity spell to hold several in place so he could cut some more down. It was only after he had slain his foes that he realized he had managed to use said spell, and he continued the rest of the fight with an excited grin. It had been a long time since he was last able to use that particular variety of gravity magic, so his excitement was very understandable. He continued the show off how his larger arsenal of magic powers were steadily coming back by raising his Keyblade high to cast a quick Firaga Burst, which rained down several fireballs from one large orb in the sky above them, finishing off most of the remaining Nobodies, much to the relief of his teammates. At least they thought that they were all done, but they were soon proven wrong when a new squad of Berserkers suddenly materialized before them, hammers ready to start swinging.

"Seriously? You guys are better suited for guarding the gate, not patrolling the fields, so why does it seem like you're doing more of the latter," Lea demanded of the Dusks. He was not really expecting an answer, but he was getting a little too annoyed and winded to care.

Luckily for the boys, the answer Lea did receive was a powerful ice blast that froze all of the Berserkers where they stood, and it was not long afterwards that Aqua landed before them with Stormfall in her hands. "I'll handle these guys," she told the boys. "You four can take a break to catch your breath."

Team SLVR all nodded in agreement, and Ventus could not stop smiling even as he commented that this next part was going to be good, a sentiment that his teammates all shared. After all, seeing Aqua fight was a magical experience that one never got tired of watching. This time proved to be just as amazing after the Berserkers broke free from the ice, and Aqua then allowed them to draw closer, holding her position without so much as flinching, until almost the very last second when they right on top of her. At that point, Aqua summoned out a powerful magic barrier, repelling her attackers before they were ultimately frozen where they stood, not by ice magic, but by time magic. If one had blinked at that point, they would likely have missed a great deal, because with her opponents now frozen in time, Aqua took her chance to rush forward and unleash a powerful series of quick, precise strikes on each Berserker, right up until the moment they finally broke free from her spell. Too bad for them it was too little, too late, because after the spell had worn off, every bit of damage Aqua's attacks had inflicted hit them with all at once, making the Berserkers all go up in smoke as a result.

Aqua was not quite done yet, as several more Dusks suddenly appeared to attack, but their attempts only succeeded in striking air, since Aqua managed to cartwheel away before they could reach her, giving her the distance she needed to cast a quick Glacier spell, freezing the Dusks before sending them flying even further away from her. When she spotted some of the remaining Dusks trying to make a run for it, Aqua took quick aim with her Keyblade, and fired off a bolt of lightning that easily struck the central-most Nobody, which then shocked all the others around it. A quick sweep of her Keyblade mixed with some ice magic then allowed Aqua to create an ice path that she rode along using Flowmotion in order to get ahead of the very last few, and then leap into the air so that she could finish them off with a leaping strike that had the added bonus of an energy shockwave erupting from where she struck the ground.

With the final Nobodies destroyed, Aqua dismissed her Keyblade, signaling for the boys to stand down as well. What she did not realize was that the end of their fight had also been the beginning of a round of questions from the huntresses and huntsman who were also in the area. It became clear for her very soon, though; namely at the moment when Ruby suddenly appeared next to Sora, with the rest of her team following after her with various different looks fixated on the boys.

"Okay, if all the monsters are gone, can you please tell us what you all are doing here? We thought you were on a different mission," Ruby requested of the Keyblade-wielding team.

"Technically, we are on a different mission. It just happens to be the same as yours," Sora answered at last.

"Yeah, except for the fact that we're following a different trail," Lea added on.

"Meaning…" Weiss prompted.

"Instead of following the Grimm to the bad guys' hideout, we're following a trail of Nobodies," Ventus explained. "Turns out that when she wasn't telling you guys and the rest of our friends embarrassing stories about the four of us, going crazy with her camera, or having a secret meeting with Ozpin, every time Aqua was on this world she was tracking the Nobodies. Apparently, this is the only world that they've been especially active on."

"And since even the basic Dusks can think and plan, Aqua and Master Yen Sid agreed that it must mean that something pretty big must be going on," Roxas finished for his physical twin. "It wasn't until that meeting Ruby and Sora had with her, Ozpin, and the others that she really found something that could lead to wherever it was that the Dusks were most likely hiding out these days, though, but it definitely seems to have helped a lot."

"What about the huntress you were supposed to be shadowing? You didn't ditch her, did you," Yang asked.

"No, but if we did, we wouldn't be alive right now," Ventus told them, earning him a small look from Aqua that made it clear how funny she thought that was. "What? It's true! Don't act like you didn't want to kill us after the last time we made you mad."

"Wait. Aqua's the huntress you were shadowing," Blake guessed.

"Officially speaking, yes, I am," Aqua confirmed for the group. "It took a little bit of convincing, but Ozpin was willing to help us set things up so that I'd be the huntress the boys would be working with on their mission. They're still receiving the credit they would if they had taken any of the other missions for first year Beacon students, but aside from that, it's really just a cover for us to do our jobs as Keyblade wielders. We had actually started a few miles out from the city, and spent the next few hours looking for any Dusks that might appear. When we finally did, we made sure to keep out of sight so that we could follow them, at least until we reached the edge of the town."

"To be honest, I'm kind of surprised Aqua didn't think to have us start here in the first place, considering that it's the perfect place for a hideout," Lea remarked.

"I couldn't agree more, my boy. Hence the very reason why we are here scouting for any signs of criminal activity based off the movements of the Grimm," Oobleck agreed before he suddenly rushed over to Aqua. "Master Aqua, pleasure to see you again, despite the short time that has passed since our last meeting."

"Nice to see you as well, Professor Oobleck," Aqua nodded in reply.

"That's Doctor Oobleck. I didn't go to all the trouble of earning a PhD for fun, thank you very much," the history professor corrected.

While the teacher and Keyblade master continued to converse with one another, Lea looked between Oobleck and the girls for a few seconds before he finally said, "Wait, are you telling me that your mission turned out to be saving the world with Doctor Oobleck?"

"Yeah, we know. It doesn't sound any better when you say it out loud," Ruby grumbled, having realized that herself when she tried to raise her team's spirits earlier on after they realized who the huntsman they were shadowing was.

What none of them expected was for Lea to suddenly burst out laughing, right to the point where he even doubled over from doing so. "Oh man, that sucks," he openly mocked between his chuckles. "I'm so glad that we weren't on your mission with you guys now!"

The girls all fixed pointed glares on the redhead for his remarks, but it did very little in getting Lea to stop laughing. In fact, it seemed like their glaring only encouraged him to laugh harder, until he ended up just falling to the ground from laughing so hard. His teammates on the other hand, while a bit amused by the fact at first, did not share in Lea's enjoyment, and ended up having their amusement crushed very quickly because of the redhead. That being said, was it really any surprise that they would end up siding with the girls in glaring at him when he did not stop after several minutes.

"Okay Lea, it's not that funny. Now knock it off before one of us makes you. Most likely Weiss," Sora ordered when they finally hit the five minute mark.

"Hey!"

"No offense, Weiss, but he is kind of justified on that one. You would be the most likely person to do something like that right now or at any time given the chance, really, considering how well you two get along," Ventus told the heiress.

Weiss could not argue with that reasoning, so she did not even try to and just nodded in concession of Ven's point. Instead, she decided to return to their original topic, and asked, "So how long were you all fighting those things for?"

"Um…Not sure," Ventus admitted as he crossed his arms in thought while Roxas finished the work on getting Lea to stop laughing. "Sora, how long were we fighting those Nobodies?"

"If you're asking for an exact amount of time, I couldn't tell you. All I know is that we'd been fighting them and a bunch of others ever since we reached the edge of Mountain Glenn," Sora confessed.

"You were fighting that one group for all that time," Ruby gasped, knowing that the edge of the ruined city was at least a couple hours away from their current position, even with Team SLVR and Aqua's magic powers.

"No, not just one group. This was actually the…I want to say third bunch, but I'm thinking it might've been the fifth one," Sora shrugged, showing just how uncertain he was of his guess.

"Actually it was just the fourth," Roxas corrected. "And in that time, we've officially confirmed that Axel's old underlings, the Assassins are working with our enemies."

"At the rate we're going though, I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into every form of high-ranking Nobody before we finally stop Torchwick and the White Fang," Lea panted.

Before the eight friends could go any further with their conversation, Oobleck suddenly appeared next to them, and announced, "Well then, students. After careful consideration on the matter, Master Aqua and I have determined that in order to better further our progress on this assignment, it would be best if we were to collaborate our efforts as we press onward through the city. Therefore, if none of you have any objections, Team SLVR and Master Aqua will be joining us from here on out."

If there were any objections, they were not going to be found amongst Team RWBY. After witnessing a little more of Aqua's abilities in a fight, they were eager to see what else the Keyblade master was capable of. Besides, none of them were going to refuse working with the guys after being left to think that they would not be seeing them until their respective missions were finished, so the girls happily agreed to the proposition with wide smiles. Team SLVR also agreed with this, since they knew full well that the girls could hold their own against enemies that were not of this world, and with that, they all began to proceed to the next area of the ruined city. They did not get very far before a certain corgi suddenly rushed over to Sora, barking happily at the sight of the boy.

"What the…? Zwei," Sora gasped.

"Ruff," was the only response that the dog gave him.

The rest of Sora's teammates all stared at the corgi, until Lea looked between them and asked, "You guys all see the adorable corgi too, right? It's not just me?"

"No, we can see Zwei too," Ventus confirmed.

"Okay. Next question: what is Zwei doing here?"

Sora had a pretty good guess on the answer to that question, and he did not hesitate in turning to his girlfriend. "Ruby? Did you have something to do with this," he asked.

Ruby let out a sheepish laugh as she admitted, "I may or may not have."

"And by that she means that she snuck Zwei onto our mission by hiding him in her backpack," Weiss clarified.

"Well, at least that makes more sense than the package her dad sent the dog in," Lea muttered to himself, still a little annoyed that he had yet to solve that mystery.

"Let it go, Axel," Roxas told his best friend.

"Wait a minute. Wait a minute!" Aqua interrupted, joining the conversation. "Are you seriously telling me that you came to an abandoned, urban wasteland teeming with death and hostility on a search for a secret criminal organization that's allied itself with dangerous creatures…with a pet?"

Before Ruby could answer, Oobleck stepped in again to answer for her. "Yes. An absolute stroke of brilliance on Miss Rose's part, wouldn't you agree," he asked, earning him bewildered looks from all the Keybearers. "After all, canines are very well known throughout history for their heightened sense of sound and incredibly perceptive noses. Making them excellent companions for a hunt such as ours."

While the rest of her teammates all rolled their eyes at both this and what they knew was going to come next, Ruby merely grinned as she proudly declared, "Yep. I'm a genius."

"More like teach over there was seduced by the dog's adorableness," Lea muttered to Aqua and his teammates.

Roxas on the other hand, had another way of disputing Ruby's claim, and did not hesitate to knowingly ask, "So Genius, did you let Xion know that you were bringing Zwei with you?"

The moment she heard that question, Ruby's grin vanished while her eyes widened a little bit, but she was just as quick to try and cover it up. "Uh…Sure. Of course I did. Left a note in our room for her and everything," Ruby nervously stuttered in response, but Roxas still kept his knowing look on her. She ended up caving when she realized why it was pointless to try and lie. "You already know I didn't, don't you?"

"Xion called us before we had been gone for even an hour, worried sick over the fact that she couldn't find Zwei anywhere," Roxas revealed. He then let out a tired sigh as he turned away and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to call my girlfriend back and tell her what happened before she has a panic attack from freaking out so much."

"Ehehehe…Uh, tell her I said sorry for forgetting to mention this to her," Ruby feebly called out.

"Well, now that we have at least that mystery solved, let's get a move on, shall we," Oobleck declared, spinning around to lead the march to their next area.

Sora, Ruby, and Aqua all shared a quick shrug over the doctor's enthusiasm, and then followed after Oobleck without much further questioning, but the rest of their party lingered behind for a few seconds. Part of it was because they wanted to wait for Roxas to finish his call, and the rest of it was so that the girls could air a few grievances about how their mission in Mountain Glenn was going so far to the guys. They were not too willing to complain to Oobleck about how much help he seemed to have been to them so far yet.

"Strangeness and technicalities aside, it does look like you guys got the better end of things when it comes to huntsmen/huntresses that you would be shadowing on your mission," Weiss commented to Ventus.

"I mean, I get that Oobleck isn't really your first pick, or really ours either, but he can't be that bad to work with," Ventus said in the teacher's defense.

"No, he's not bad, but I was kind of expecting to see a real huntsman in action while we were out here. You know, as in fighting, or at least helping us fight," Yang clarified for her fellow blonde. "At least Aqua seems willing to do that for you guys."

"Actually, that was the first time Aqua had joined in on the action. The rest of the time we've been out here, she's been keeping out of things for some reason," Lea admitted.

"Well, it's still more than what we've seen Doctor Oobleck doing," Yang huffed.

"Ah, but don't you see, my dear? I am in action," Oobleck clarified, showing that he had been able to hear them. "While you all have been keeping the Grimm and other nefarious creatures at bay, I've been scouring the ruins of this once great city for any signs of irregularity. Such signs that would in fact help in locating the targets of our hunt."

Seeing as there was not much point in talking behind their mission leaders' backs anymore, whether it was intended as rude or otherwise, Roxas looked to Aqua and asked, "Is that what you've been doing while we were fighting the Nobodies?"

"More or less," Aqua admitted. "Although, since I don't know this area as well as Doctor Oobleck, it's really more that I've been reaching out with my senses to try and pick up on any signs of odd magic or sensations that would indicate how close we are to locations that would have a large number of Nobodies. The larger the number, the more likely it is that we'll be close to the main base."

"An excellent way to proceed, Master Aqua," Oobleck praised. He then turned to the students around them and said, "Contrary to popular belief, not every mission that huntsmen take on is filled with daring and heroism. Sometimes it's just a heightened form of extermination, or what can even amount to a simple, mundane task."

"Like that one assignment we had when we went to the Forever Fall forest last semester," Lea asked under his breath.

"Exactly," Oobleck answered, once again showing that his hearing was better than the redhead had believed. "And I'm sure that the same can be said for your duties as Keyblade wielders, boys."

The boys were all about to ask how it seemed that Oobleck knew about certain details beyond what the general public knew, when Aqua admitted, "Ozpin told some of the key members of his staff about us, but only in terms of the most basic of details."

"Seriously?" Ventus asked in exasperation. "At this point I think we would be better off with a list of people who don't know our secret, at least in the case of this world."

"That being said, while our duties can't entirely be classified as Oobleck suggested, it does often times amount to that. At its core though, being a Keyblade master is a serious job; one that doesn't always involve fighting, and sometimes, it can even be a job that you can't do by using your powers," Aqua informed the boys.

"Whatever the profession you are pursuing, they are still jobs which you all signed up for," Oobleck finished on Aqua's behalf. "You do realize that, don't you?"

Since Sora and Ruby were a little ways ahead of the group, it seemed clear that the question was mostly directed at the other six students, and given how suddenly it had come up, none of them were really able to answer aside from Yang. Even then, the fiery powerhouse was a little hesitant in her answer. "Well, yeah…O-of course we do."

Oobleck did not seem entirely convinced, but he kept quiet on the matter for now. Aqua was the same way as the doctor, but since her eyes were not hidden behind glasses like Oobleck's, her curious gaze was able to be seen by everyone. The only reason neither the teacher nor the master were saying anything was because another pack of Grimm had just appeared; a pack that Ruby and Sora were already engaging in battle, so the rest of their respective teams quickly set to work in helping to clear out the Grimm.

---

It was not much longer afterwards that the team encountered several more packs of both Grimm and Nobodies, and while Team RWBY mainly handled the former with Team SLVR taking the latter, the two groups did mix it up every now and then so that they were all fighting a little of both. Sometimes they would fight one or the other, other times it was both at once, but it did not matter whatever the case was to the monsters, because they all ended up falling in the end. Despite that though, they did not seem to be finding any signs of the hidden criminal base that they were all hunting for, and it was starting to get pretty late in the day, so they would have to call it a day sooner or later. Not that it seemed to bother the two who were leading the scouting mission, because they were focusing on something other than the mission at hand.

Ever since that last exchange with the students, Oobleck and Aqua seemed a little preoccupied with something besides locating their criminal targets. It was not hard to figure out what it was either, as more often than not, they would give certain members of the two student teams an inquisitive look or two that none of them could figure out the reason for. To be honest, the people that did fall under those gazes, once they realized that they were getting them, started to feel like they were being judged as people for one reason or another. It was a little disconcerting, almost to the point where they were a bit thrown off their game during fights at one time or another, but they managed to shake it off and roll with whatever punches they missed or stumbled through, sure that Oobleck or Aqua would say something to them eventually.

That guess was good, because after another round of taking down Grimm, Oobleck finally confronted at least one of his targets on what was bothering him. "Tell me, Yang," he called out after approaching the blonde brawler. "Why did you choose this line of work?"

Yang was a bit thrown off by the fact he was asking this question now of all times, but she still managed to give an answer regardless. "Well, to fight monsters and save…"

"No, no, no, that is what you do. I'm asking why you do it. The honest reason as to why you want to be a huntress," Oobleck clarified before Yang could finish what he was sure was a textbook answer that anyone could give.

Yang was a little annoyed over being cut off like that, but she could understand why Oobleck had done it, so she figured she might as well indulge him on that. "The honest reason is actually pretty simple. I'm a thrill seeker, so I wanna travel around the world and get wrapped up in as many crazy adventures as I can. If I help people along the way, then that just makes it even better. It's a win-win, y'know?"

"…I see," Oobleck nodded, but Yang could tell that he was not really satisfied with her answer. She could not really blame him, considering that it did make her sound a little selfish, but a part of her did start to feel like her honest answer was lacking something to it after seeing his reaction.

Later on, Oobleck moved on to the next person he intended to question, this time while taking down a few notes as he watched her wrap up a recent fight. "How about you, Miss Schnee? A girl born into fame and fortune such as yourself certainly does need to worry about taking on extra work. So, why choose this over an easy, cushy job in Atlas like most would expect a member of your family to?"

Weiss had to take a minute to run her sword through a Beowolf that was foolish enough to try and pounce on her, and then spin around to blast a Dusk with a quick round of fire Dust, knocking it right into Roxas's range of attack before she answered, but she did really need the extra time to think it over when she did answer. "It's actually for the exact reason you just gave," Weiss informed the doctor. "I'm a Schnee, so I have a legacy of honor to uphold, but I can't do that by taking a desk job. Once I realized I was capable of fighting, there was no longer a question of what I do with my life. It was my duty, and I couldn't fulfill it by taking the easy way out."

As impressed as he was by Weiss's choice to take the more difficult road, Oobleck was still not really satisfied with her answer, despite how he had classified it. Even so, he still had one more member of Team RWBY to speak to on the matter, and it did not take nearly as long to approach her. He just had to wait for her to clear out a flock of Nevermores that had swarmed out through the door she had just cut through.

"And what about you, Blake," he asked as he took a quick peek into the building with her. "You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose."

Much like her teammates, Blake did not need to think about her answer; just how she was going to word it. Just because a few people knew about her history, it did not mean she intended to start telling everyone about it. "There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing," Blake stated, her passion for the matter clear in her voice. "Inequality, corruption, even simple hatred over things beyond someone's control. Someone has to stop it, even if they're the only one to try."

"Very well. How would they do that," Oobleck pressed, sounding a little more impressed with Blake's answer so far than he had with most of the others.

It was actually that question that made Blake falter a little, and she could barely say anything more than a simple, "I…uh…I'm not really sure."

"Hmm," Oobleck hummed before moving on, and Blake doubted that he had missed the disappointed look on her face, or that he was ignorant of the fact that it was directed at herself than anything else.

---

While Oobleck was questioning the girls on their reasons for why they wanted to be huntresses, Aqua was doing something similar with the boys of Team SLVR, at least in two of their cases. "So Lea, I've actually been wondering for a while now why you wanted to become a Keyblade wielder," she admitted the next time she had a free moment with the redhead, not knowing that she had actually asked him this at the same time that Oobleck had been questioning Yang.

"You serious? I wanted to become one because I had friends that I wanted to save," Lea reminded her.

"Yes, but even though all of the friends you were aiming to save have been safely freed from their hurt, you're still trying to be a Keyblade wielder, if not a master. Why is that," Aqua inquired.

Lea ended up dismissing Flame Liberator as he thought it over, before he finally decided to come clean. "Well, because I just love the adventure and the action," Lea confessed. "Plus, there's a reason why I'm always telling people to get stuff about me memorized. The more people who remember me, the more likely I'll be able to live on forever, at least in their memories. If part of that involves saving the worlds, or just saving the day, then I figure that makes things all the better."

"Really," Aqua hummed in thought, still feeling that Lea was keeping something to himself when he answered her.

Whether or not Lea was still hiding something, Aqua moved on to her next person to question: the young man who looked almost like an exact duplicate of her best friend/surrogate little brother. "What about you, Roxas," Aqua asked. "After all that had happened in your past, I would've thought you would want nothing to do with anything involving the Keyblade, so why keep going with this life?"

Roxas had just dealt with the Dusk Weiss had blasted over to him when Aqua asked, so he needed to take a little bit before he could answer her without feeling distracted. "Part of it is actually because of all the stuff that happened to me in the past," Roxas told her. "Out of everything that I've done, the one thing that always stands out is the fact that I'm a wielder of the Keyblade. Sure, there's other stuff that I'm good at, but this feels like the only thing that I'm really best at, so why try to ignore it?"

"I see," Aqua nodded before she moved on with trying to sense for any signs of their targets. She did not bother with questioning Ventus on his reasons though, as she felt that she already knew the answer he would give, and she was confident that he would give a satisfactory answer to the question.

Oobleck on the other hand was not so sure, so he had no problem in asking the boy in Aqua's place. "So Ventus, why do you wish to become a Keyblade master," he inquired. "You certainly seem to carry a sense of dedication to the cause you and your friends fight for."

"Being a Keyblade master is one of the few things that I've always dreamed about," Ventus automatically answered. "Me, Terra, and Aqua have all shared that dream for as long as we've known each other. I know it's not an easy thing to accomplish, but I don't care about that. I'm willing to put in the hard work so that I can stand alongside my friends as a true master and keep people safe from whatever darkness may threaten them."

"Interesting," Oobleck muttered. It was certainly a good answer, but it still felt a little lacking in Oobleck's mind, and given how the doctor had reacted, Ventus could not help but feel the same way. What they did not know, was that Aqua had overheard them, and was now giving Ventus a slightly worried look for what she had heard him say, but she did nothing more than that. She felt that it would be better for Ven to either open up or find the deeper reason behind his desire to be a Keyblade master without her interference.

With all of this going on, you would think that the leaders of the two student teams would be getting the same line of questioning too, especially since the next time Oobleck and Aqua saw them, Ruby and Sora were in the midst of playing with Zwei. The likelihood probably being even stronger, given that Ruby was using her scythe as part of a game of keep-away by sticking a big turkey on one end of it, while Sora was making clucking noises to encourage Zwei. At least until they realized that they had an audience for the game.

"Whoops!" Sora gasped as he swiped the chicken off Ruby's scythe while she quickly stowed her weapon away, trying to smile as innocently as Sora was as he attempted to laugh off their silliness.

"Sorry. Are we ready to keep going," Ruby asked, doing her best to act like she and Sora were not just goofing around with her dog.

Thankfully, Oobleck and Aqua were not too bothered by what they had witnessed. If anything, Aqua just looked amused. Oobleck on the other hand retained a sense of all-business, and waved off the question with his answer. "No, I think we've done as much as we can for today. It's going to be dark soon, so it would be best if we bunker down while we still have some light." He then passed his backpack over to Yang as he addressed both the blonde and the other girls he had just been questioning. "You three set up camp in that building, and please do make sure that no more of those…creatures are inside while you're at it. Your leader and I are going to secure the perimeter."

Aqua then turned to her group, namely Lea, Roxas, and Ventus, and said, "You three help the girls with setting up camp while Sora and I keep an eye on the surrounding area with Ruby and the doctor."

With that said and done, the perimeter patrol team of four, plus Zwei headed out to ensure that the area outside their camp ground was going to be secure, while the others just shot worried looks after their two leaders. After being questioned all day like they had been, they were a little concerned that Ruby and Sora were about to receive the same treatment, but if that was the case, then there was nothing they could do now. Yang just hoped that Oobleck took it easy on her sister, for Ruby's sake if nothing else.

---

It had barely been more than a few minutes since they had parted ways from the others to secure the perimeter, and while the ruins of Mountain Glenn did have a certain charm to them, Ruby and Sora quickly became bored with how little there was to do on this patrol. Oobleck was not really much help in avoiding their boredom, or distracting them from the uneasy quietness that they were feeling at the moment, and Aqua was pretty much the same way, even if she was humming a little tune that neither of them could name at the moment, despite how familiar it sounded to Sora. Her humming eventually came to a stop when they reached a small cliff, and it was around the same time that Ruby and Sora's eyes were met with something pretty amazing.

"What is that? It looks awesome," Ruby gasped in a near whisper.

"That, my dear girl, is a Grimm," Oobleck replied.

Sure enough, there, stomping through the distant tree line was a small pack of massive, elephant-like Grimm, growling lowly as they marched. Their animal form easily helped Sora and Ruby to better identify them as Goliaths, and while they had each seen pictures of these giants before, this was the first time either of them had seen a Goliath in person, let alone ones that were as big as these seemed to be. The tops of the tallest trees around these dangerous pachyderms barely even made it past the tops of their legs, and the added height they gained from the spikes on their backs made them seem even more intimidating. When one of them slowly turned in the group's direction, its burning red eyes gave Ruby and Sora the impression that it was liable to charge at any second, but instead, it just stood there for a few moments, until it finally turned away and continued following the others.

Both kids were confused as to why none of these Grimm were moving to attack them, even after one of them had clearly seen them, but they were not complaining, because it gave them ample time to arm up and prepare for battle. "Let's hurry and kill it," Ruby decided, her scythe now ready in its sniper rifle mode.

Oobleck cast that idea off very quickly. "I'm afraid that your sniper rifle will do nothing more than agitate a Grimm of that size, Ruby, and as powerful as they may be, your Keyblade will not do much more than that either, Sora."

"I'm sure I could take 'em," Sora insisted. "Besides, we have to take them out before they can attack us, right?"

"Not necessarily," Aqua disputed. "Just because the Keyblade is powerful enough to destroy a good number of Heartless in one blow, doesn't mean it can destroy everything just as easily, and this would be one such enemy that you would certainly struggle with."

"Besides, you have no reason to fret, Sora. Those Goliaths are not concerned with us," Oobleck assured both the spiky haired boy and Ruby. Seeing that the two students remained unconvinced, Oobleck decided to delve a little deeper into the reason for his lack of concern. "Children, not every Grimm is mindless. Or rather not every Grimm is still mindless. You see, the Grimm you see before you are so powerful, so superior to the Grimm you've each fought up until now that they've undoubtedly lived hundreds of years."

"Hundreds of years," Sora repeated, wondering why no huntsmen have tried to destroy these Grimm before now.

"Yes, and in that time between killing humans and attacking our borders, they've done one important thing: they've learned."

"Learned what," Ruby asked.

"That when they attack our borders, they're likely to die, and what we lack in strength, we make up for in will. And most importantly, that killing one human, will only bring more. Essentially, they've learned that in order to continue surviving, they need to avoid our borders and attacking humans as much as possible."

"If that's the case, then why are they still so close to the city," Ruby pointed out.

"Yeah, what're they still doing here," Sora agreed.

Oobleck answered with only one word. "Waiting."

That simple answer sent more than a few nervous shivers up Ruby and Sora's spines, right to the point where they barely even registered that they had stored their weapons away again after Oobleck and Aqua had moved away. Even after hearing Oobleck's reasoning, Sora was still not so sure that it was smart to leave those Goliaths alone. Aqua must have noticed this, as she was soon pausing in their departure from that cliff so that she could talk with him about it.

"Is something bothering you, Sora," she asked.

"Well…I know that Doctor Oobleck says that we don't need to worry about them, but isn't it the job of huntsmen to destroy Grimm? I mean, they're dangerous, and their darkness is a threat to all of Remnant, so shouldn't we at least try and do something," Sora explained as best he could.

"It's true that the Grimm are dangerous, and that darkness can be dangerous if left unchecked, no matter what form it takes, but at the same time, it can be just as dangerous to fight the darkness, even with light," Aqua answered.

"Huh? How can it be dangerous to fight darkness with light," Sora asked, with Ruby looking just as interested as he was. "I mean, we do that all the time."

"Only when it grows especially strong, like with the Heartless or during any of the schemes that Xehanort had devised over the years," Aqua corrected for him. "In such cases, it is vital that we use our lights to push it back, but if we do so recklessly, we would risk allowing the light to become just as dangerous as the darkness. You can't always fight darkness with light, Sora, no matter how tempting it may be."

"But if we can't use our light to fight it, then how else can we fight against the darkness," Sora inquired, seeing a few flaws in what Aqua was saying. "I know Riku found a way to do so, but does that mean we need to use more darkness to fight against darkness?"

"That is one way, but even that can prove dangerous," Aqua cautioned. "Especially to those who haven't built up an immunity to the dark like Riku has."

"So how do we stop the darkness for good if we can't use light to do it," Sora finally asked.

Hearing that question, Aqua ended up chuckling a little before she said, "You know, despite how long I know it's been, to me, it still feels like it was only a few days ago when I asked someone else that exact same question, and I can only tell you what they told me back then: you may still be too young to know for sure, but if you continue on your journeys and experience more things, in time, you may find your own answer. Just trust in your dreams and in your heart. After all, neither have ever led you very far astray before, so why would they start now?"

Sora would argue about his experiences in the sleeping worlds or more recently, the dilemma he faced before he and Ruby got together, but he knew that Aqua was mainly referring to the times when it mattered most, and she was right to say that Sora's heart had always led him down the right path. Knowing that, Sora could only nod in agreement, and Ruby had to grin a little too, thinking that it was advice that she should take to heart as well in the future. Still, there was at least one other thing that she was curious about.

"Doctor Oobleck," the young, red reaper called out, getting a hum of wonder from her professor. "I was wondering…"

"Why Aqua and I have been interrogating each of your teammates all day," Oobleck guessed before Ruby could finish.

As curious as she was about that, it was not what Ruby wanted to ask. "No, I actually wanted to ask…why you wanted to become a huntsman."

Oobleck had to admit, he had not been expecting to have his question turned around on him like that, and he had to smile a little to show Ruby how impressed he was that she had done so when he replied. "Tell me Ruby, Sora; what do you see when you look around at our current surroundings?"

"Umm…Lots of old buildings…empty streets," Ruby answered a little uncertainly.

Sora was not much better off than her. "I don't know…a lot of destroyed streets and broken stuff…a bunch of plants growing out from the ground in places that they normally wouldn't be…"

Seeing the two struggle to find an answer that may satisfy him, Oobleck finally took pity and gave them his own answer to the question. "I see lives that could've been saved, and dreams that were cut short before they had a chance to be realized," the doctor informed his students. "As a huntsman, it is my job to protect the people, and although I am capable of doing it with traditional weaponry, I believe I can make a much larger difference if I do it with my mind. As a teacher, I am able to take knowledge, the most powerful weapon of them all, and place it into the hands of every student that passes through my classroom. I look at this wasteland and I see lives that could've been saved, but I also see an opportunity. An opportunity to study these ruins and learn from this tragedy, and therefore become stronger." He then turned to his students again, and proudly declared, "I am a huntsman, Ruby and Sora, because there is nothing else in this world, I would rather be, and I believe I am right to assume that the same can be said for you as well in regards to your desire to be a Keyblade master, Master Aqua."

Aqua simply smiled to the professor as she nodded and said, "That would be a pretty accurate guess." Turning to address Ruby and Sora, Aqua then added, "Like Ven said earlier, being a Keyblade master is a dream that he and I have long shared with Terra, but for me, it was not just because of a bond of friendship. I've always wanted to make sure that I could save as many people as I could from falling to darkness, even if it was at the cost of my life. There's always a chance that someone could fall down the wrong path, but I believe that so long as we all hold onto our faith in what's right and in the people closest to us, we can overcome even the greatest darkness, and that is a belief I try my best to share with as many people as I can on every world I travel to. Like Doctor Oobleck, I can see the opportunity to learn how to become better that these ruins present to us, and if I can pass along the knowledge and faith necessary to avoid another tragedy like what happened here, then I believe that not only will I become stronger, but that those around me will as well. Like Doctor Oobleck said, I am a Keyblade master, because there's truly nothing else in this or any world that I would rather be."

Sora and Ruby smiled widely at hearing those answers, feeling very satisfied by the response that they had given, and from there, they proceeded to finish their perimeter patrol in silence, save for Zwei's panting and quiet barks. At least it was quiet, until Ruby decided to ask Aqua about something else she was wondering for a little bit now.

"Hey Aqua, what was that song you were humming just a moment ago," Ruby asked. "It sounded like it was something really pretty."

"It is," Aqua confirmed. "It's actually a song that my mother would sing to me when I had trouble sleeping, a long time ago before Master Eraqus took me in and started training me, when I was really little. Every time I had a nightmare, she would always at least hum that song for me, and after we all came to the Land of Departure, I would sometimes sing it for Ven and Terra for the same reasons." She then smiled a little bashfully as she requested, "Just don't ever tell them I told you about that, please? I kind of promised them I would never say anything about it to anyone."

"Our lips are sealed," Ruby promised, making a zipping motion across her mouth to further prove that.

"It actually reminded me of something I've heard a few times before somewhere," Sora then admitted. "Any chance you could sing a little bit of it for us?"

Aqua was more than happy to grant that request, and the group was soon entranced by the sound of a very beautiful song filling the air via the blue haired Keyblade master's singing voice. "When you walk away, you don't hear me say, 'please, oh baby~. Don't go~.' Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight~. It's hard to let it go~…"

---

AN: [watches as Team JNPR's little run around continues before turning to you and the rest of the audience] Oh, hey guys! Glad to see you're still here, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. And yeah, Jaune's still running in an attempt to avoid playing any of his newly acquired music. I really thought they'd have wrapped this up by now.

JNPR: [comes running back into the room as Pyrrha makes to grab Jaune]

Nora: Go for it, Pyrrha! He's all yours!

Pyrrha: I've got him!

Nora: [finally stops the funny chase scene music]

Jaune: No! No!

Ren: Are you done?

Jaune: NOOOO!

Nora: Play one!

Pyrrha: [taps Jaune's Scroll to start the song]

[cue "For the First Time in Forever" from Frozen]

Ren: What in the...?!

Nora: No! No, no, no! I've already gotten that song stuck in my head for eternity after hearing Weiss sing along to it so much!

Pyrrha: For the love of Penny! Please don't let that play now!

Nora: REN! Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!

Jaune: [stops the song]

Ren: Why do you have that on your playlist?

Jaune: Because it's a nice song!

AN: He's right, you know. As are just about all the songs from Frozen. Now if we're all done being silly, I've got a few things to go over and reviews to answer.

Ahem, let's start this off with the details from today's chapter. First off, one of the things that I really liked best about the episodes that were featured in this chapter (aside from Zwei) were the speeches that Ozpin and Oobleck gave. There was just something about the way Ozpin spoke when he was talking about Remnant's history and how people refused to let all forms of art die out that really spoke to me. As something of an artist myself, I can really sympathize with those people who refused to let such a great thing die out. These days, it seems like more and more people care about things like sports more than anything else, and forget that things like music, painting, or even just simple writing are just as important for us as human beings as being able to kick/throw around a ball or whatever. That's just my rant on that matter.

As for Oobleck's speech to Ruby (or in this case, Ruby and Sora), I feel like it's a vital lesson that everyone learns at one point or another: that we should always pursue something because it's what we love it so much. More often than not, you see people doing jobs that they don't like or straight up hate, but still take on because they don't have anything else to do. Sure, that can mostly be applied to high school kids, or people who work in fast-food, but there are those of us who take on high-paying, important jobs who would rather be doing something else. Sure, sometimes that work can be enjoyable, but if we're not truly enjoying it because we love it a lot, then what's the point? As Walt Disney once said, "Most of my life I have done what I wanted to. I have fun on the job." That's something we should all look for in whatever career we pursue, and it's something I like to think that I'm doing by continuing to write and continuing on with the jobs that I have in addition to my writing work.

Jaune: Whoa. That's actually kind of inspirational.

AN: Thank you, and the same could be said for those two speeches, hence the reason why I did not try to change them too much. When something is already that good, it's hard to find a way to reword it.

Now, on other matters, let's talk the meeting that went down between Ruby, Sora, and the big dogs of teachers. Yeah, Aqua really let Ironwood have it this time, didn't she? I mean, come on, even I know that kind of thing, and I'm the farthest thing from any kind of military figure you can get, so why would Ironwood, a general, be so hasty to go and try plans like what he was suggesting? Sure, I get that Salem's bad news, but seriously? If the events of Volume 3 are any indication, Ironwood would've been more likely to play right into Cinder's hands a lot sooner if they went with his plan at the end of Volume 2. Plus, having Luxu/Xigbar/Braig/The-Dude-Who-Has-Too-Many-Names-Now being there made Ruby and Sora's little fib about how they learned about the base in the Southeast all the more believable, so you have to actually...th-thank...the bad guys for that. [grunts] I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. And I feel like I need a shower. Or five.

In regards to Zwei's arrival...Yeah, not much to say there. Honestly, how much explanation do you really need to explain away the cool/adorable that is Zwei.

Ruby: How about in regards to Yang training him to judge my boyfriends?

AN: Oh, right that. Well, I just thought it'd be a funny little thing to add in, plus it also helped to explain away the reasoning for certain things that would happen later on, like Zwei's part in a certain train battle.

Lea: Not to mention that it also helped you to bring up the matter of our magic pockets.

AN: Hey, it's not like I'm the first one to do that. Besides, it's a legit bit of reasoning when you think about it, given that you can actually carry around tents in the big Kingdom Hearts games and none of the crew has a backpack of any kind that would explain how they could carry them.

Speaking of stuff that gets some attention, Team SLVR has finally met the other members of Team CFVY at last, and it looks like they're all pretty cool with one another. Then again, when you're already cool with both Coco and Velvet, I guess it's only natural that the rest would follow soon after. And yeah, Yatsuhashi challenged the guys to a sword battle. Whether or not we see that happen later on remains to be seen, but it would be pretty cool to see it happening, right?

Moving on to the last bit of detailing to address. No, Teams RWBY and SLVR did not get the same mission, technically, but they did all end up at Mountain Glenn regardless. And yeah, you can now consider Aqua's cover as a professional huntress completely solidified with license and everything. Plus, Aqua also offered some wisdom of her own when she and Oobleck brought Ruby and Sora to see the Goliaths, before singing a little bit of good ol' "Simple and Clean" for everyone. Pretty nice way to wrap things up, wouldn't you say?

Sora: Yep. Now that's a song that can really take you back to some good times, now matter how many different games is been used in, or how many versions of it has been made.

AN: And look at that, Yang, Blake, and Weiss weren't the only ones to have their reasonings for their choice of profession questioned. 3/4s of Team SLVR was as well. I suppose some of you may be wondering why Aqua and Oobleck did not question Sora too, but his reasons for being a Keyblade wielder are pretty obvious, even though he was not technically chosen for it, or have much choice in the matter. Much like Ruby's reasons for wanting to be a huntress. As it has been stated before, Ruby and Sora are pretty much cut from the same cloth, so why question him on that stuff.

Speaking of that bit of questioning, I was originally going to have all of the matters surrounding that wrapped up in this chapter as well, but honestly, I figured it would be better to wrap things up where we did today, so it'll have to wait until next chapter before we see the heart-to-heart those six will be having.

Also, a little fun-fact for you all, in case you didn't already know, that bit Roxas mentioned about the Dusks drawing on his face while he was sleeping was an actual thing that happened in the Kingdom Hearts manga. Well, the 358/2 Days manga, anyway, but you get the idea. I just had to bring that up for the sake of additional humor.

Now moving onto the reviews, let's begin with a review that was repeated from last chapter as a little reminder of the fact we were unable to answer before. Namely, the review of "Disney24601". Ruby, start us off will you?

Ruby: Of course. Let's see, favorite Disney movie...I'd have to go with Bolt and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. There were just so many puppies! So cute! Favorite song..."You'll Be In My Heart", and my favorite of the KH games would have to be Kingdom Hearts 2 and Kingdom Hearts 3.

Weiss: Hmm, I'd say that my answer for the first question is tied between Mulan and Frozen, favorite song would be "Let It Go" and "Reflection", and my favorite game would have to be Birth By Sleep.

Blake: Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King (the classic animated version), "Everybody Wants to Be A Cat" (because it's true and we all know it) and "Belle", and my favorite game would probably be...358/2 Days. [notices everyone staring at her weirdly] What? I really like the story, and I can kind of identify with Roxas and Xion a little.

Yang: Okay, so...My favorites would have to be Mulan and The Love Bug, 'cause Herbie's one awesome car. Favorite song, "Friend Like Me" (both movie versions), and my favorite game would have to be the same as Ruby's.

Jaune: Hercules, definitely. Favorite song would have to be "Go the Distance" and "Zero to Hero". And my favorite game...I have to admit, I'm kinda tied between the big three of KH1, 2, and 3.

Pyrrha: There's so many to choose from, but I would have to say that Hercules and Mulan are my favorites. Favorite song would be Lesson Number 1 and Like Other Girls. And my favorite Kingdom Hearts Game would have to be either Birth By Sleep or Dream Drop Distance.

Nora: Mine are The Jungle Book, "Hakuna Matata", and Dream Drop Distance and Kingdom Hearts 3, cause you can turn the Keyblade into a hammer in that one!

Ren: [playfully eye rolls at Nora] Big Hero 6 and Toy Story would my favorite movies. "Make a Man Out of You" and "He Lives in You" for songs. Favorite games would definitely be Kingdom Hearts 1 and Birth By Sleep.

Sun: Favorite movie's gotta be Tarzan, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Robin Hood. Song, "Why Should I Worry" and "You've Got a Friend in Me". Games, I've gotta say Dream Drop Distance and KH3.

Neptune: I'd have to say my movie would have to be Monsters Inc.. Song, well, I have to agree with Sun's pick, and also "Streets of Gold". Game is definitely Birth By Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 3.

Velvet: If I had to pick just one movie, I'd probably say Zootopia. My favorite song would definitely be "You've Got a Friend in Me". And as for my favorite game...well, I'd probably say Kingdom Hearts 3 and 2.

AN: Wow. Nobody said Chain of Memories.

Sora: Like that's surprising? No one likes the combat system for that game, and most people only play through it because they want to be a completionist or something like that and don't want to skip over it.

Lea: I didn't even know you knew what it means to be a completionist, Sora.

Sora: Ha, ha, ha.

AN: Moving on with our next review answer...let's see...hmm...Oh! How about "cbustroyer"? First off, let me just say that my knowledge of weapons usually stops at the bare basics of stuff. Meaning things like rifle, sniper, handgun, etc, so sorry for not knowing that little bit about Magnums or whatever, but you can't really blame me for that...entirely. Also, don't worry. I've been thinking things over on other reasons for Oscar to leave home and venture out without Ozpin showing up in his head. It may even end up being a whole chapter that tells of what's happening with him and Kairi while everything else is going on with the main cast, so I hope that alleviates your worries a little bit. As for the matter of Ozpin fusing with Qrow, it's weird because it'd be awkward for Yang and Ruby once they find out the truth about Salem. Plus, that moment in Volume 6 when they found out, namely Qrow's reaction, wouldn't really be possible or have as much impact if he was sharing a body with Ozpin if you really think about it. If anyone deserved to give Ozpin a hard knuckle sandwich, it was definitely Qrow. Btw, my studio is capable of likely being able to kill Deadpool, and I have Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange on speed dial. You really think I'm worried about Chaos Magic?

"Spiderfan626", my good friend, hope you enjoyed Team SLVR's reactions to Zwei and how he arrived at Beacon. Also, it's going to be a pretty long time before Sora or anyone else realizes that Xigbar has moved up in the world to being a major big bad as opposed to a cryptic, annoying underling.

Xigbar/Luxu: Hey!

AN: And also, thanks for that little idea you gave me regarding Ven's reaction to Weiss's reaction over Zwei, even if it wasn't put in word for word.

"Monkey D. Conan", some of the couples are now official, yes, but there may still be a little bit of lingering doubt before they're official-official. Don't worry though. The next arc will get everything cemented in stone for all of them. I'd like to think that Yang's going to get in a fair bit of teasing on Windchill RoseHeart, but they will likely retaliate with some teasing to her over Golden Flame. As for how long it'll be before we get a full reveal on who the new Princess of Heart is...well, I'd be ready to only get the official confirmation by the time we reach some point in RWBY Volume 3.

To the "Guest" of 10/30/2019, to be perfectly honest...Ehehe...I may or may not have kinda, sorta...completely forgot about Isa for a little bit. In my defense though, just about all of the main focus heroes in Kingdom Hearts have Keyblades, and I really don't see Isa of all people getting one of those any time soon. Sure, Lea got one, but Isa? Psh! No way in any lifetime is that ever gonna happen...Though now that I think about it, I guess it could be a little interesting...Maybe...

"Anonymaton", glad you enjoyed so much of the last chapter, and especially the dance. As for your side question, we actually haven't had a chance to check out Lizz Robinett's KH lyrics yet, but we will be looking into that later on.

Moving right along to "Dragon Rider 66", thanks for all the compliments, and allow me to elaborate on a few of the curiosities you mentioned. In regards to Sora not recognizing Xigbar by his voice, well, two voices can sound very similar to one another, but the words spoken and how they speak can sound completely different. In my mind, Luxu talks a lot differently from Xigbar most of the time, so I'm kind of hoping that came across when I wrote those moments last chapter when he actually did speak. As for that suggestion you made about Kairi making a cameo appearance like you had in mind, I honestly had not thought of doing that until you said something. Like, I literally slapped myself in the face for missing out on that opportunity, but I will be using it later on for the end of another chapter in which Sora and Ruby share another special moment. No spoilers beyond that though.

"Hamm1999", honestly, no I was not thinking of "Friend Like Me" when I was writing the previous chapter. It was mostly songs that were slower, more heartfelt, and in certain cases, held a very romantic sense to them.

My next response is to "Helljumper206". I can honestly say...It's a bit of a mystery to me too, sometimes. I don't really try that hard; I just go with the flow, and if I do make any mistakes, I try to go back and fix them ASAP.

"CT7567Rules", regarding your question about Xion's dress, I didn't really draw too much basis for it. I just tried picturing something that I figured Xion would look cute in that would also accentuate her natural personality. And I'm with you on hoping Jacques and Whitley get what's coming to them in Volume 7. I honestly don't think I can wait if it gets put off until the next volume.

"Alby199800", don't worry. Windchill is going to live for quite a long time, regardless of whether or not Luxu has plans for Ventus.

Ruby: Oh, and by the way, everyone who wished me a happy birthday, early or otherwise last chapter, thanks so much! You guys are the best! Oh, and "Spiderfan626", thanks for the cookie. It was really delicious.

AN: Also, for anyone who's wondering, yeah, I have seen the first episode of Volume 7 now, and without going into detail or spoilers for anyone who hasn't yet for one reason or another...It was awesome! I seriously came close to jumping out of my seat at one certain point of the episode (if you've seen it, I'm sure you can all guess which part I'm talking about), and I'd say that this is a sign of Volume 7 being off to a great start. Not to mention that new theme song! Wow! Here's hoping everything that comes next and afterwards in this volume is just as good.

Now, I think that covers everything. Everything except our usual sneak peak into what comes next that is. So, what're we waiting for? Onto the Preview!...

Yang, Blake, and Weiss exchange a little heart-to-heart along with Lea, Roxas, and Ventus about what they truly want from their respective professions, but that may be the only good thing that happens on their first night at Mountain Glenn. At some point later on into the night, Ruby and Sora find themselves stumbling upon Roman Torchwick's base of operations, and despite being captured, the two manage to find a few clues on what the endgame seems to be. Too bad for them that it's already on track, and heading straight for Vale. The moment that Teams RWBY and SLVR have trained for is here, and it starts with derailing some villainous plans, next time.

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