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?

15. Dark Breach

AN: [seen talking with a random, faceless person (think the covered-in-shadows-people from RWBY Vol. 1 for better visual) who's likely got a receptionist or secretary-type job] Okay, so you've got things all lined up, right?

Dude at the Desk: [nods in reply]

AN: Next round of updates all cleared for both Remnant of the Key and our other projects?

Dude at the Desk: [nods again]

AN: Rehearsals for future chapters and stories underway and/or scheduled?

Dude at the Desk: [nods again]

AN: Pros and Cons lists for studio expansion to things like YouTube or deviantart set?

Dude at the Desk: [nods with a happy thumbs-up]

AN: Okay, great! I've just sent you a list of some other stuff I need you to do. You're probably going to be busy for the rest of the day, maybe most of tomorrow, so I'd hurry and get going now, if I were you.

Dude at the Desk: [droops head down in despair]

AN: Oh, don't give me that look. You know what you signed up for when you said you...Oh! Crap! Audience has arrived! Ruby! Sora! I thought you guys promised to not let me lose track of time!

Ruby: [suddenly appears next to him via her Semblance] Sorry! I was busy rewatching the third episode of RWBY Volume 7 again. It's just so cool!

AN: The episode, the stuff that happened in it, or the weapons and weapon upgrades?

Ruby: Yes.

AN: [playfully eye-rolls] And what's Sora's excuse?

Sora: [suddenly appears on lyoko's other side] Sorry! Sorry! I was...uh...Doing my job!

AN: Your job?

Sora: Yep! My job as a Keyblade master.

AN: Uh-huh. And what does that mean? What exactly were you doing?

Sora: Well...I was...patrolling!

AN: Patrolling where?

Sora: Oh, you know. At that place...near the thing...where we all went that one time.

AN: Riiight. And that would be...?

Sora: Uuuuummmm...Hey! Shouldn't we be getting a move on so we don't keep everyone waiting much longer?

AN: Oh, alright fine! But we're not done talking about this. Ruby, Sora, to the studio!

Ruby,Sora,&AN: [all rush into the study, where lyoko slides up a picture frame, and flips a switch to open the bookcase, revealing the fireman's poles behind it, and they all quickly hop on and slide down said poles until they are dropped into the studio]

AN: Hello one and all! And welcome to the newest chapter for Remnant of the Key! Yeah, sorry we're a little late, but apparently...

[audience laughing for some reason]

What? What's everybody laughing about?

Yang: Um, lyoko? [points at lyoko, Ruby, and Sora]

AN: [looks at himself, Ruby, and Sora to see that they're currently in Batman, Batgirl, and Nightwing outfits, respectively] DA-AH! What the heck?! Stupid thing slid us into the wrong outfits!

Ruby: [pausing to look herself over in a mirror] Hm? I don't know. I think I look pretty good.

Sora: Yeah, me too. [grinning as he flexes his muscles as he does the same as Ruby]

AN: [muttering] Note to self, fix this later. [normal voice] MAKE-UP! WARDROBE!

[requested teams rush in and quickly work to fix up Ruby, Sora, and lyoko with their usual attire in a flurry of speed and clouds before disappearing again]

Ah, that's a bit more like it. Now, then, as I was saying, the reason for our tardiness is because the two who were supposed to let me know when you all were here had forgotten to do so. We know Ruby's reason, but Sora's yet to specify.

Sora: I told you! I was patrolling!

AN: Patrolling what?

Sora: [glances side-to-side nervously] Um...[mutters his answer]

AN: What was that?

Sora: [coughing] Star-Wrs-rk!

AN: Excuse me?

Sora: ...I was checking out the Star Wars Park at Disney World! Okay?!

AN: YOU WERE CHECKING OUT THE STAR WARS PARK?!

Lea: And that's more important than your job?

Sora: What?! You guys all told me to meet you there! But then I couldn't find you. So I had to go by myself.

AN: Whoa, whoa! Hold on! You guys all went to the Star Wars Park at Walt Disney World's Hollywood Studios without me?!

Literally Everyone other than Sora: [various responses that are variations of no]

Roxas: Come on, lyoko. We would never do something like that to you. Well, most of us wouldn't. Unlike some other people I could mention. [indicating Sora with that last bit]

Sora: Oh, thanks for throwing me under the Keyblade Glider, buddy!

AN: So? How was it?

Sora: It was great! There were all kinds of cool rides, characters to meet, and I felt like I was exploring entirely different worlds! I mean, I know I normally do, but this was like, I could do it just by walking around. And there was even this one ride, where you could test out these super fast vehicles! And a time machine inside of a giant ball!

Ventus: Whoa, wait a minute! What was that last one?

Sora: There was a ride like a time machine inside of a giant ball.

Ventus: Yeah...Sora, that's not the Star Wars Park. That was EPCOT.

Sora: What?

AN: Yeah, dude. That was EPCOT.

Sora: Oh. Well, never mind then.

AN: Okay, so...while we all help Sora get a little better oriented with the layout of the Walt Disney World theme park (and while I question how any of these guys managed to even go to Disney World without me), please enjoy today's chapter everyone!

Blake: By the way, who was that weird guy at the reception desk?

AN: Temporary assistant. Figured I'd do a test run to see how well that would work out for me in helping me to manage things around here. Anyways, time to start the story. Run the disclaimer! Go!

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

---

Chapter 15: Dark Breach

It looked like it was going to be another beautiful morning at Beacon Academy, even if it was still just the getting to be mid-dawn. Not that it brought down the spirits of Team JNPR as they prepared to leave for their mission. Sure, they were just shadowing the sheriff of a nearby village, but given that they were finally going on a mission as huntsmen, they had ample reason to be excited. The fact that it took them outside the kingdom only added a little extra boost to their eagerness, but out of all of them, it seemed that Ren and Nora were the most excited for this little adventure that they would be going on, even if the latter was the only one that was actually showing it as she skipped along to the waiting bullhead that would transport them to their destination.

The only break in this excitement was Jaune, as he had a perpetual look of concern on his face ever since he woke up that morning. Sometime in the middle of the night, he had gotten a call from Ruby, but when he answered, all he heard was static, and then the call disconnected. He probably could have just passed it off as Ruby attempting to call him from a point that was out of the CCT's range, which would make sense since the girls had told them yesterday that they would be going outside the kingdom for their mission too, but Jaune knew that Ruby would not have tried calling him while she was on a mission just to talk. Something just felt really wrong about the whole thing, and he said so to his teammates as well.

"I'm sure there's nothing to worry about," Pyrrha had easily reassured him.

"Yeah, it was probably just a butt-dial," Nora added, not breaking her happy stride for a second.

"Are you sure," Jaune asked, still worried all the same.

"Jaune, Team RWBY has always done excellently whenever they were in the field, so I highly doubt that they're really in any kind of trouble. We should focus on our own mission for now," Ren reasoned out for him.

Jaune knew that his friend was probably right, but even with all of those reassurances, he did not feel much better. "I don't know guys. I've just got a really bad feeling in my gut that's telling me something happened," he informed them.

Pyrrha could understand what that was like. Her own gut-instincts had saved her in many of her previous matches over the years just as much as her talents and skills had, but it was not like they were able to really do all that much right now. They did not even know exactly where it was that Team RWBY had gone for their mission, and even if they did, they still had their own assignment to take care of. Unless something really huge came up, they could not just abandon their mission. She was about to tell Jaune all of this, when they all heard someone shouting out for them.

"Wait! Don't leave yet," the person called, making Team JNPR turn to see Xion rushing over to them as fast as she could. She must have been running for quite some time, because when she finally stopped, she was panting really hard while trying to form a complete sentence. "Call…Roxas…City…Grimm…Heartless…Teams RWBY….SLVR…"

"Whoa, whoa! Easy," Jaune tried to placate the girl, seeing the panic in her eyes that coupled with her exhaustion.

"Take a deep breath, Xion, then tell us what's wrong," Ren calmly instructed.

Xion did as asked, and after finally getting some air into her lungs again, she managed to relay the message she was trying to give them. "I just got a call from Roxas. The city's being attacked by the Grimm!"

As if to prove her point, a siren could be heard going off from Vale City, and barely even seconds later, the school's alarms began blaring as well. "That tears it. We're changing our mission," Jaune decided. "Everyone onboard!"

"Wait, you didn't let me finish! It's not just the Grimm," Xion rapidly called out, getting Team JNPR to pause once more so they could hear the rest of what she had to say. "There's Heartless and Nobodies in the city too, and the former have already claimed a good number of people, increasing their numbers. At the rate Roxas says they're going, it's only a matter of time before nearly every nearby Grimm has gotten into Vale, or worse, the entire city is overrun by Heartless, and maybe even a few new Nobodies too."

"All the more reason for us to get there as fast as we can," Jaune reasoned, before he had a moment of clarity to think of something else about all this stuff Xion just told him.

"How does Roxas know about all of that anyway," Pyrrha asked, having had the same thought as her boyfriend.

"Because Teams RWBY and SLVR are already there trying to stop all of those monsters right now," Xion revealed.

"WHAT?! They're fighting all of that without us?! Why is it always those guys who get the best action," Nora demanded out of both worry and annoyance.

"Figure it out later. We've got to hurry if we want to help them, and the bullhead isn't nearly fast enough," Xion told her.

"It's the only way we have of getting there that's readily available," Ren pointed out.

"Not necessarily," Xion stated, already starting to tap her Gummiwatch to cue up a certain set of commands. "Have you guys gotten over any sickness you might feel from using the gummi ship's teleporter?"

The members of Team JNPR all gained looks of understanding then and immediately nodded to say she should do it. Just when Xion was about to send the command to the stealth gummi ship, someone from behind her said, "The ship's teleporter won't be able to transport you into an area where a fight's already happening. At least not without the proper override commands."

Turning around to face the speaker, Xion gasped at the sight of Terra approaching them, all decked out in his regular battle attire. "Terra? I thought you had left after the dance was over," she remarked.

"I did, but then I got a distress call from Aqua, and since we happened to be close by, we came as quickly as we could to help out," Terra explained. He then continued on from what he was saying earlier, by adding, "You won't be able to use the stealth gummi ship's teleporter to get you all there since Xion isn't registered as one of its crew members, but I can get all of us out there using the teleporter on the ship that we flew in on."

Jaune and Xion were both about to thank him for that assistance when one particular part of what he said registered in their minds. "Did you say 'we came as quickly as we could'? And 'the ship that we flew in on'," the former asked.

"Yes, he did, because he was referring to himself, and me," revealed Naminé as she stepped out from behind Terra with a smile on her face.

"And us, too. Plus, we ran into a few other friends that said that they wanted to help our pals stop this attack. If you fellas don't mind the extra company that is," a high-pitched voice added, prompting everyone to turn and see another seven people approaching.

Four of the people in this group were recognized by Team JNPR as their seniors in Team CFVY, but the other three were folks that they had only heard of from Sora, Ruby, and the rest of their friends. Seeing them here now put quite the astonished faces onto the team of first year Beacon students, while Xion could only grin excitedly for what this meant for the monsters they were about to face. "Oh, those monsters are in trouble now."

---

At that very moment, Teams RWBY and SLVR had managed to get clear of the crash site and make it into the middle of the square where they would have all of the various monsters' attention. In that time, the square had been mostly evacuated so that there were no civilians left to worry about. Sure, part of that was because a few had been taken by the Heartless, but none of them could think about that right now. They were a little more preoccupied with the numerous Beowolves, the many Deathstalkers, the big King Taijitu, the various different Nobodies, and all the Heartless that currently had them surrounded.

You would think that they could breathe a few sighs of relief from the fact that there were only Pureblood Heartless, but given that literally almost every type of Pureblood Heartless was in the area, the guys would have to disagree. For the most part, the Heartless consisted of the various different Element Cores, along with a few different Shadows and Neoshadows. Along with them though, were also several Invisibles and Darkballs, and when you added in the several Flutterings that acted as additional air support, you would be able to understand very easily why the guys were glad that they were not also having to deal with any Demon Towers, Darksides, or Shadow Stalkers at the very least. Never mind the Dark Hide that Aqua had once told them about, or that Lich that Sora had faced in order to save his friends during the final battles of the Second Keyblade War.

They wanted to question why there did not seem to be any Emblem Heartless among the dwellers of darkness's number, but there was no time to do that, as the giant snake-like Grimm let out a loud screech of a hiss that seemed to signal its side to attack. As the monsters charged, Team RWBY readied their weapons and battle stances, while Team SLVR did the same, and like that, the battle had begun. Ruby was the first to attack by leaping forward and slamming her scythe into the ground, wedging the blade there so that she could use it to spin around and kick several Grimm either down or back. Upon coming out of her final spin, Ruby removed her scythe from the ground, fired a blast from its sniper to get airborne, and then dove back in for a severe, spinning slash that slew several Grimm at once. Some of the Neoshadows made to pounce at Ruby after sinking into the ground, but thankfully, Sora saw them coming, and easily cut them all down before they could even touch a hair on her head. Using the momentum of his attack, Sora then spun around as he raised his Keyblade high into the air, and called down his most powerful lightning spell to destroy several more Shadows and Neoshadows that were in his and Ruby's vicinity.

As her sister and Sora continued their respective assaults, Yang went for a more upfront and direct approach by just blasting forward and then using a Creep as a springboard so she could get airborne and bombard several Grimm at once with Ember Celica. She even managed to score some hits on a few Berserkers and Assassins, but it was not until she had to pause and reload that she finally took notice of the giant Nevermores that were closing in from behind her. With little time to do anything else, Yang just crossed her arms in front of her to block the overgrown birds' attack as best she could, but thankfully, Lea managed to catch her before she hit the ground. The redhead then proceeded to retaliate against the Nevermores for their attack by throwing several fire spells at them with several vicious swings of his Keyblade, and after setting Yang down again, he transformed said blade into his chakrams, set them ablaze, and then tossed them at all the Flutterings that were trying to close in on the two of them. Several Water and Fire Cores then decided to come after Lea at that point, apparently having realized just how effective his preferred fighting style would be against them, and that was Yang's cue to return his earlier save by blasting them all away with her gauntlets, or just straight up bashing them with some hard kicks and punches, leaving them open for when Lea finished them off with some simple slash attacks after changing his chakrams back into his Keyblade again.

"Thanks for that, Hot-Stuff," Lea nodded to the blonde.

"Anytime, Handsome," Yang flirted back with a wink. She and Lea were both brought back to their current situation pretty quickly though, when a strong gust of wind suddenly blew an Earth Core away from her.

"Hey, do you guys mind lending the rest of us a hand, here," Roxas called out as he followed up his Aerora spell with a quick blast of water magic from Oathkeeper. "We're still in the middle of a fight, you know!"

Blake proceeded to prove his point a little more, by slashing a Beowolf down with some simple swings of Gambol Shroud, and then changing the sword into its gun mode as she crouched down and proceeded to fire on any Grimm, Heartless, or Nobodies that were still surrounding them. Most of the Grimm failed to get through Blake's barrage, and a few Nobodies fell as well, but there were still several Assassins that managed to get through with some Heartless. Roxas was able to help out with that problem, utilizing his usual show of skill with two blades, coupled with a few blasts of magic. For the most part, his magic attacks were several blasts of dark magic from Oblivion, while Oathkeeper fired off some light spells that he used to either attack, defend, or even both and that certainly helped in preventing their side from losing any ground.

Ventus and Weiss were showcasing a very impressive display of swordsmanship as well as they each cut down several different varieties of monsters. It did not matter if it was the Grimm, the Heartless, or the Nobodies. If they dared to approach these two, then they were swiftly dealt with by one or the other. In fact, with the way that these two were working together, it almost seemed like they were dancing. Even when Weiss used her glyphs to enhance her attacks, Ventus was able to capitalize on the chance it offered, by launching after the Reapers and Ninjas that had been scattered about in said attack. Sure, it left him a little open to the Snipers that had already started to take aim on him, but Weiss was able to deal with them thanks to a few Dust-enhanced attacks.

As Yang proceeded to start tag-teaming with Lea on several different Grimm, Invisibles, and Darkballs, even going so far as to punt a car into a large group of them, she started to take notice of something rather odd about their adversaries. "Hey, is it me, or are some of these guys fighting each other," she asked the others.

Lea had just cleared out some of the last Darkballs that had been hounding him, so he did not think it was too big of a problem if he paused to better analyze what was happening on the enemy's side to confirm what Yang had mentioned. "Huh, you're right," Lea confirmed as he cut down another Invisible that was coming from behind him without even looking. "It looks like the Grimm aren't really getting along with our old buddies from the dark realm and the realm of nothing."

Upon hearing his friend's confirmation, Ventus spared a quick glance around after sending his Keyblade flying in a Blizzard Raid, knowing that would freeze every target it hit in place for a brief time, and saw that it was a little more specific than that. "Looks to me that it's more the Heartless and the Grimm than it is the Nobodies," Ventus clarified. "And from the way they're going, it almost seems like the Heartless are attacking the Grimm as the Grimm are going after the Heartless."

None of the others could really believe what they had just heard, but when they got the chance to spare a look, they saw that Ventus seemed to be right. One minute the two dark creatures were working together, and then the next, it seemed like they were wrestling with one another in an attempt to prove their superiority over the other. It made sense that the Grimm would do so, given that they were drawn to negative emotions and that the Heartless were probably packed full of them, but it did nothing to explain why the Heartless were attacking the Grimm so viciously. Even Sora found this very confusing.

"What's going on? I've never seen the Heartless attack other monsters like this before," the wielder of Kingdom Key recalled aloud even as he kept attacking the enemies who came close to him. "Sure, they've fought against the Nobodies in the past, but that was only when Maleficent told them to back when the first Organization XIII was causing trouble. They've never attacked another monster of any kind without orders before."

"Maybe they just don't like the competition," Ruby offered after slicing up several more Grimm and Nobodies with her scythe.

"No…This doesn't look like that," Ventus disagreed, and he then squinted his eyes at the two battling monsters as if he could gain a better understanding by studying them a little more carefully. "It almost looks like…like a dispute between siblings or something."

Weiss was about to voice her own disputes against Ven's idea, but the more she saw of the Grimm and Heartless that were battling it out with each other, the more she had to start agreeing with him. Sure, she had never had fights like that with her own siblings, but she had heard of and seen a few other siblings having such disagreements. Even Yang and Ruby got into some arguments that escalated to that point every now and then, but then again, that was usually on a more joking level. Either way, seeing the Heartless fight the Grimm like this was certainly strange, and none of them could help but question it.

"Why would the Grimm and the Heartless be fighting each other like that," Blake asked her friends as she shot down a few more Nevermores.

"Don't ask us. The only times we've ever seen the two together was during the Initiation and that time in the Forever Fall forest," Lea reminded her as he set a few more Nobodies and Heartless ablaze with his magic.

"Maybe it's got something to do with how there are now so many Heartless in the same place this time around," Roxas suggested.

"We'll figure it out later! Right now, we need to focus on making sure none of these guys get outside the square," Sora told his friends.

"He's right! We can't let them get any further out into the city than they already have," Ruby agreed. "Keep fighting and give it everything you've got!"

"Easier said than done, Rubes! It's starting look like every time we destroy one of these things another five of the others take its place," Yang protested.

He did not want to agree with Yang on that, but Ventus could not see any way to argue her point. "She's right; there's way too many of them! We're not going to make it on our own at this rate!"

The loud roar of the King Taijitu only helped to drive the two blondes' point home for Ruby, never mind the fact that it had slithered around to glare down at her like in preparation to attack, but just when Ruby was about to use her Semblance to get away from the snake, a loud bang reached her ears. Shortly after that, a bright pink blur came sailing through the air, as a familiar voice shouted, "Nora, smash!"

The minute the blur met with the King Taijitu, the overgrown snake was slammed into the ground, and was dead within seconds of the boom. Said explosion served as the final confirmation of Nora's arrival, and it was only seconds later that the rest of Team JNPR appeared on the scene as well, armed and ready. Seeing their friends had finally arrived certainly helped to reassure Ruby and Sora that they were not going to be fighting this battle alone, and that further proven when Nora and Ren easily took down several different Grimm seconds later.

Jaune and Pyrrha did not let their teammates get all the action though, as they too were quickly rushing the various opponents. It was no surprise that Pyrrha was handling any monsters that came across her path with little effort as usual, but it did come off as impressive to some of them as to how well Jaune was handling himself in the fight. A few simple sword slashes was all he needed to bring down several Creeps and Beowolves, and not only that, but he even managed to destroy at least one of each just by stabbing them with the pointed end of his shield. At one point, Jaune spun around and tossed his shield like a Frisbee, allowing it to either cut through or just knock down several different Beowolves. Ren was able to easily deal with the ones that were sliced down, giving Jaune the perfect chance to retrieve his shield, even as he continued to cut through the Creeps that were between him and the item in question. Just seconds after Jaune had retrieved the shield, an Ursa appeared behind him, but Jaune barely even flinched from hearing it land, and instead, just spun around to cut at its lower legs, throwing it off balance enough for him to deal another pair of blows that brought it down within seconds.

Pyrrha had to smile at seeing how much her training with Jaune had helped him to improve, and she likely would have run over to give him a big hug for his efforts just now if they were not in the middle of a fight. Since they were, she opted instead for simply blasting some Beowolves that came up behind her partner while his guard was down using her weapon's rifle mode, after which she charged forward and cut down a few more that were attempting to hit him from the other side. Jaune must have been more aware than Pyrrha gave him credit for, as he was soon jumping back into action by covering her almost as easily as she had him by slicing apart some Creeps that had tried to charge her.

"We really do make a great team, huh Pyrrha," Jaune remarked to the redhead.

"Yes, we do," Pyrrha agreed with a smile that only grew when she took a quick second to kiss Jaune's cheek as thanks for his recent rescue and saw how he grinned to her in response.

Before they could get serious again, someone from close by suddenly shouted, "Nobody move! Junior Detectives!"

"We have badges, so you know its official," another person shouted, and everyone, even the monsters, all paused to turn and give disbelieving looks to Sun and Neptune as they flashed said badges out at everyone in the general area.

Much like the last time when someone said "Nobody move" while there were Nobodies in the area, the Nobodies all quickly converged on the two boys, eager to attack. The only reason why they were not instantly beaten down by the massive hammers of the Berserkers was because Xion took this time to jump in and blast them all with an ice spell before cutting them down seconds later. "Are you two here to play," Xion then angrily demanded of the two boys. "No? Then shut up and fight!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Sun and Neptune both stuttered in reply as they quickly drew their weapons. They were both still having nightmares about what Xion had done to them after they decided to stop for noodles when Teams RWBY and SLVR were fighting that Paladin.

Seeing Xion join in on the fight definitely gave the Keyblade wielders some relief, since it meant that they were now going to have some much more effective backup in dealing with the Heartless and Nobodies, at least in the more permanent sense. That relief only grew more when Naminé suddenly appeared on the scene and made mincemeat out of several different Heartless and Nobodies in a matter of seconds. Upon turning to the nearest group of Nobodies, the blonde girl's attacks seemed to become a little more vicious, even when she was casting spells, but then again, that was probably because the Nobodies she was fighting at that moment were all Reapers and Ninjas. When he realized that, Lea quickly understood why Naminé was fighting that way, so he simply shrugged and told the others not to worry about before returning to action again.

After one final Ninja was cut down, Naminé paused to take a few breathes, at which point, Roxas and Blake both made their way over to check on her, having been the closest to her position at the time. "Feeling better, Sis," Roxas asked.

"Yeah. Much better," Naminé panted with a small smile. "That felt so good."

"Apparently," Blake commented. "Why'd you attack those Nobodies like that?"

"Let's just say that I still have a few issues that I never managed to deal with in regards to their former bosses," Naminé replied with a knowing tone.

Hearing that, Blake could not help but wonder, "Do all of you guys have issues with these Larxene and Marluxia people you keep telling us about?"

"Hey, it's justified in my case. Marluxia kept me locked up in a castle while using me as a tool and later a hostage to take control of Sora, and Larxene took every chance she could get to mock, belittle, and torture me in any way she could think of," Naminé revealed.

"…Yeah, okay. You're justified in that case," Blake agreed after a brief moment's consideration, now liking the two Nobodies in question even less than she did before.

The three then returned to the fight soon after, with Blake moving over to where Sun had commenced beating down any enemy he could with his staff, while Neptune provided him with covering fire. The blue haired boy had to roll aside so he could avoid getting cleaved in two by a Reaper from behind, and that same Nobody was swiftly dealt with when Terra swooped in with a powerful swing of his Keyblade. What really grabbed Neptune's attention though was how the man in question had a faint golden brown glow around him, and how each of his attacks were being unleashed at a very impressive speed while packing an impressive amount of power.

Leaping into the air after one last slash, Terra drew his Keyblade back to its zenith, and shouted, "Command Style: Critical Impact!"

Just as quickly as he had jumped into the air, Terra came back down, and struck the ground with his Keyblade, unleashing a powerful shockwave out from where he struck. Said shockwave dealt an impressive amount of damage, as it destroyed nearly every enemy in the surrounding area, be they Heartless, Grimm, or Nobodies. The survivors were quick to fall soon after, as Terra unleashed the power of his Windcutter ability, allowing him to perform a powerful spinning attack that created a whirlwind to send those enemies flying as they were reduced to dust and ashes.

"Whoa! Now that's cool," Neptune praised while changing his rifle into guandao mode so that he could easily land a sweeping attack of his own that cut down some enemies that had surrounded him.

Right when Terra was about to return the compliment with one of his own, someone had leapt over both him and Neptune and landed a powerful, slamming attack of their own using their massive sword, sending several enemies flying into the air if they were not already destroyed. The person behind said attack turned out to be Yatsuhashi, and he made quick work of any enemies that were still close to him, while Velvet and Fox easily dealt with the ones he had scattered. What was really impressive about the other two was that they were doing so using nothing but some simple kicks and punches, at least until Fox decided to use his weapons to land several slashes and punches on a particularly large Grimm that ultimately led to it exploding. The result of said explosion was that the spikes on its back were sent flying through several of the other Grimm, and a few Nobodies and Heartless even ended up injured as well.

When some of those same spikes came at her, Coco merely batted them aside with her shoulder bag, and proceeded to strut through the battlefield like there was not some kind of disaster around her at the moment. "Nice hustle, Fox. Good job," Coco praised her teammate with a quick slap to his butt, and she then stopped before one particularly large Beowolf. Lowering her shades, Coco decided to spare a few words for the Grimm in front of her before she took it down. "You just destroyed my favorite clothing store. Prepare to die."

The Beowolf must have felt a little insulted by how casually Coco was acting in its presence, because it let out an angry roar as it tried to swat her with its claws. In response, Coco just batted the offending claws away with her bag, and then, much to the surprise of everyone who was not on her team, kicked the Grimm in his groin. When the beast fell to the ground, Coco then slammed her bag down on its head, and just like that, the monster was dead.

"What the hell?! Just what does she have in that bag," Lea gasped.

"Just keep watching, and you'll see in a minute," Coco informed him after batting away a few more Grimm with said bag and a few quick kicks. She had to pause for a second when she saw Velvet rushing over to her and preparing to attack, and quickly said, "Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Vel. Don't waste that here after spending all of the past semester building it up."

Coco then clicked a control on her bag, and the others could only gape in surprise when it unfolded into a huge, minigun that she used to plow down every Grimm in front of her in a matter of seconds. No matter what size the monsters were, nor how tough their armor, Coco was able to destroy every single one like they were nothing. The only reason that the Heartless and Nobodies survived was because this was the first time that Team CFVY had fought against said creatures, so they were not used to dealing with said creatures or the amount of punishment necessary for fighting them. Luckily, they had plenty of people who were used to such thing to back them up, as Ruby proved when she used her scythe to cut down several different enemies at once. Too bad for her that there were a lot more than she was able to reach, but she soon discovered that they had not hit the limit on the reinforcements they were getting just yet.

"THUNDAZA," someone loudly warbled, and like that, an incredible rain of lightning bolts came down on the monsters that were still approaching Ruby and her seniors. What really stunned Ruby though, was that she had recognized that voice, even if she only met the speaker one time before now.

Turning around, Ruby grinned while throwing a thankful salute to none other than the court magician of Disney Castle himself, as Donald Duck proceeded to blast even more enemies into dust with his magic, or even just by simply bashing them over the head with his staff. It was not just Donald either, because Goofy came bashing through the bad guys with his shield almost immediately after, and while the two best friends were mainly focusing their attention on the Heartless and Nobodies, they did spare more than a few hits for the Grimm as well. Ruby was not the only one who noticed the two's arrival, and Sora showed it when he moved to stand alongside of them.

"Donald! Goofy! Let's hit 'em together," Sora called out.

"You've got it, Sora," Donald confirmed as he and his two friends leapt up, with Goofy front and center.

"Alright! My shield's ready when you are, fellers," Goofy confirmed, and with that, the three lined up behind Goofy as he expanded his shield to a larger size.

Shortly afterwards, the three all lit up with an aura of power while Goofy's shield began to glow as bright as the sun, and together, they all shouted, "Trinity Shield Attack!"

The three then blasted forwards like a rocket, destroying anything that was in their path, directly or otherwise, with a dazzling aura of energy and power surrounding them to make the attack hurt even if they were not directly targeting the bad guys. The results were several Grimm, Heartless, and Nobodies being destroyed, much to everyone's shock and disbelief. "Now that's what I call teamwork," Coco nodded in approval.

Everyone who had seen this display had to agree, but not all the combatants in this fight had the chance to do so, the most notable reason being because they had only just arrived on the scene. This was mainly applicable to Mercury and Emerald, who had only just appeared from a side street, but were already blasting and bashing away at any Grimm they could set their sights on. The only downside was that they seemed to be having a great deal more trouble with the Heartless and Nobodies than everyone else, and that was especially clear in Emerald's case when she ended up being bashed aside by a Berserker and then slashed several times over by some Neoshadows. As her latest attackers proceeded to surround and close in on her like predators preparing to pounce on their prey, Emerald began to get a little scared, right to the point where she actually closed her eyes when the monsters finally proceeded to attack, just waiting for the end to come. To her surprise, it never did. Instead, she felt something grab her arm and then pull her out of the way, while the sound of a sword swinging through the air followed by something big dropping to the ground filled her ears.

"Don't worry. You're safe now," a high-pitched voice said to her. As she started to open her eyes, she glimpsed a something blue, gold, and silver being swung up into the air, as her rescuer shouted, "HEAL!" Right after that, a green light washed over Emerald's body, and she felt her strength being returned to her along with all of her Aura. Slowly standing up, Emerald was just about to thank whoever this person who saved her was, only to not see them anywhere around her. At least, not until the person in question said, "Down here, Miss."

Looking down, Emerald was met with the sight of King Mickey Mouse himself, with the Star Cluster Keyblade gripped firmly in his hand. Naturally, she was a little stunned at the sight of the small king, and she could not help but voice the first thought she had after taking in his appearance. "Are you…some kind of Faunus?"

"Well, I guess in some way, I could be considered that," Mickey shrugged. "Are you okay, though?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm fine, Mister…"

"Oh, my name's Mickey. King Mickey Mouse, at your service."

As strange as the name sounded to Emerald, she was a little more caught up on the fact that this small guy was actually a king. "A pleasure to meet you, Sir…Uh, Your Majesty," Emerald stuttered, not sure how to address him.

"Gosh, there's no need to be so formal. Just call me Mickey," the king told her in an attempt to ease her nerves. "Now whaddya say we show these bunch of bullies what happens to folks that mess with our pals, Miss?"

Emerald smirked a little bit at that, and spun her pistols around while extending their blades as she said, "I think I can get on board with that, Mickey. Just don't call me 'Miss.' The name's Emerald."

"Nice to meet ya, Emerald," Mickey replied with a nod, and with that, the two entered the fight once again, though Mickey's part of the battle ended up being much more fantastic than Emerald's.

A loud crash soon pulled everyone's attention back to the big hole in the ground that so many of the different monsters were coming out of, and they all saw a Paladin climbing out of the ground. For a few seconds, most of them thought that they were going to have to fight it too, until Zwei suddenly leapt off from the top of it and head-butted the nearest Beowolf. For a few seconds, many of them could not help but think that Zwei had been piloting the mech, but then Oobleck stepped out from the cockpit, with Aqua leaping up from the hole soon after, and the two then commenced with blasting and slashing at any Grimm, Heartless, or Nobodies that dared to approach with their respective weapons.

"Damn. Doc's got game," Lea praised.

"Pretty sure he's not the only teacher you can say that about either," Roxas informed his friend as he saw Goodwitch stomping through the streets and blasting Grimm away from her with a few simple waves of her riding crop.

The deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy then waved her weapon of choice at the hole that the monsters were coming from, and before you could even think of saying anything, all the rubble and debris that had been thrown about by the crash was levitated back into its proper place, sealing up the hole to the point where it seemed like it had never even been there. Mickey and Aqua lent a few spells of their own to ensure that the monsters' entry point was completely sealed, but even with the Grimm now cut off from the battle, there were still quite a few Heartless and Nobodies left to deal with.

Seeing how many of the other-worldly enemies were left, Weiss spared a glance at Sora and asked, "Can't you summon Stitch back out again, or maybe one of your other summons now?"

"Are you crazy? That's something I've been trying to avoid doing while on Remnant. Most of my other powers can be shrugged off as part of either my Semblance or a unique manipulation of Dust, but my summons? Not a chance," Sora replied as softly as he could while still managing to deflect and destroy some Heartless and Nobodies that were coming after him.

"Well maybe we should try fighting Nobodies with Nobodies," Yang suggested with a look in Roxas's direction.

"Yeah, I don't think adding the Samurais into this fight would be a great idea right now, considering how all the other Nobodies that everyone has seen so far have been less than friendly," Roxas disputed.

"Well someone had better do something, because I don't think we can last much longer," Blake pointed out as she reloaded her pistol.

Sora glanced around the area for a brief second or two, and saw that Blake was right. With all the Heartless that were still around them, it was only a matter of time before everyone was too worn down to fight anymore, and that would give the Heartless and the Nobodies the perfect chance to finish them all off. So, Sora raised his Keyblade high into the air, while channeling a little light magic, and shouted, "In that case, everybody hop on!"

Ruby grinned excitedly knowing what was likely to come next, and she was not entirely wrong either. In a brilliant burst of colorful light, Sora, Ruby, Jaune, and Coco all found themselves seated in a large, spinning tea cup made out of lights, while three more appeared to house each of their other teammates. Lea, Yang, Nora, and Yatsuhashi could be seen riding in one cup, with Blake, Roxas, Ren, and Velvet in another, and finally, Weiss, Ventus, Pyrrha, and Fox occupied the last one, and from what everyone could tell, only the members of Team CFVY seemed to be surprised by the sudden theme park ride's appearance.

"What is going on," Yatsuhashi asked as his group's tea cup spun around, cutting through any enemies that they came across and bouncing off the walls they happened to hit.

"Ah yeah! Sora's busted out an Attraction Flow," Lea cheered happily as he took the wheel of their spinning vehicle.

"Attraction Flow," the big swordsman repeated in question.

"It's, uh…a special part of Sora's Semblance that he discovered a short while back," Ventus explained for Fox, who clearly had silently asked the same question as his teammate. "Basically, it allows him to use his powers to create various different theme-park-like rides that he can then use for various different attacks."

Roxas had just given that same explanation to Velvet, and in response, the bunny-eared girl had quickly scrambled to pull out her camera to take a few pictures of the whole thing as it happened. When she saw her riding mates looking at her in confusion, Velvet shrugged and said, "Sorry. I just wanted to get a few pictures of this, if for no other reason than to prove to myself later that this had happened."

Meanwhile, back in the teacup that Sora's group was riding in, the Keyblade wielder in question did not seem quite as happy as everyone else was with the ride that they had all boarded. "Mad Tea Cups? Seriously," Sora grumbled. "The one time I wanted Blaster Blaze."

"I'm guessing that you haven't quite mastered this particular ability yet, have you," Coco reasoned out, having just been given the same explanation on what was happening from Ruby.

"More or less. For the most part it tends to be completely random, but I thought I'd figured out how to get a specific ride by now," Sora explained. He shook his frustration off though, and said, "Well, doesn't matter. We can still work with this. You guys might want to hold onto your breakfast though."

"Oh, I don't have a good feeling about this," Jaune muttered to himself as Sora grabbed the wheel in the middle of their cup and gave it a hard spin. All at once, their cup was sent spinning around very rapidly, making the slices that they made through the remaining monsters even sharper than they already were, and that proved to be even more true when they kept spinning after rebounding off one of the walls. While Ruby and Coco both let out excited whoops from the ride, Jaune began to turn a little green, and muttered, "Yep. Definitely not having any good feelings about this now."

"Hey, hey! If you're gonna puke, do it over the side, Vomit-boy," Sora cautioned. "Last thing I need is to have to clean that off my shoes."

"Same goes for me, but with just any part of my outfit," Coco added.

Jaune was not the only one getting sick from all the spinning though, as Weiss and Velvet also seemed to be turning a little green as well, from what everyone could tell, but thankfully, all the crazy spinning that they were doing would eventually come to an end, right after Sora shouted, "Come on guys! Bring it in!"

The minute he gave that command, all four tea cups had fallen into formation with one another, and spun around in the circle they formed while still spinning in their respective positions, releasing a shower of sparks that did a massive amount of damage to both the surrounding enemies and the ones that were unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle of their formation. While the additional spinning did nothing to ease any of the queasy stomachs that were currently on the ride, it did end up destroying the last of the Heartless, and any Nobodies that were left were easily dealt with by Terra, Aqua, Xion, Naminé, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. By the time Sora's Attraction Flow had faded out, every last invading monster was destroyed, and the battle for Vale City had at last been won.

---

It was barely more than an hour later when the Atlesian military showed up to take Torchwick into custody, having received the right to detain him from Vale's authorities while in transit, and after a small party among all the friends who had helped them to save the city from the massive monster attack, and a quick debrief with Doctor Oobleck and Aqua to Ozpin and Ironwood on how the whole thing had happened in the first place, Teams RWBY and SLVR were finally able to get some time for themselves. Time that they decided to spend by watching the dawn skyline of Vale from Beacon's landing pads while reminiscing over all that had happened.

"Well, that certainly proved to be a lot more fruitful than I think any of us were expecting," Lea commented.

"Babe, just keep it simple and say we did it," Yang advised.

"Yeah. We really did do it," Blake remarked with a small smile of her own. A smile that she was sure she had not had on her face in a long time.

"We won," Roxas breathed out.

"If we don't extra credit for any of this though, I'm going to be seriously disappointed," Weiss informed them all.

"I wouldn't bet on that, Weiss. I mean, between the fact that this was all really just part of a normal assignment or two, and how a two-headed snake crushed a bakery, while some Berserkers collapsed an apartment complex, and some Neoshadows ripped up the streets, it seems pretty unlikely," Ventus reminded her.

"He's right. Plus, we didn't solve everything," Ruby reminded them. "A lot of people were hurt."

"If they were lucky, because the others were turned into Heartless," Sora added on. "Not to mention we don't even know why they did all of this, or who Torchwick's real boss was."

"Maybe it was that mystery girl and her friend in the Organization coat that we ran into at the tower," Ruby suggested. "Speaking of which, we still don't even know who they are."

"Well…not every story has a neat and tidy ending," Weiss told the two leaders before they could stress out over any other details like that.

"Unless, you know, it was actually given some good writing," Lea disputed.

"Hey, there will be another day to get all of the answers to whatever questions we still have, and even if we don't find those answers, someone else will, and we'll know the minute that they do," Ventus assured everyone.

"Besides, a lot of dangerous people are behind bars, and several people were saved because we were there to stop the Heartless, Grimm, and Nobodies," Blake reminded them all. "I think those are all things that we can be proud of."

"Yeah, you're right," Ruby agreed, now feeling a lot better. "And if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them!"

"Doesn't matter if it's the Heartless, some random villains, or some other big threat. So long as we still hold onto the lights in our hearts that never goes out, and remember that our hearts are connected with one another's, no darkness will ever get the better of us," Sora proudly affirmed.

Hearing his friend say that, Roxas could not help but laugh out loud for a minute, earning him some questioning looks from the others. In response, he simply said, "Now that's definitely the Sora I know."

"Hear, hear," Ventus cheered.

"Good to have you back, bud," Lea agreed with his pals while patting Sora on the shoulder.

"Well, what can I say? Someone gave me a really good reason to come back," Sora replied as he gave a tender look to Ruby.

Seeing that look made Ruby blush and play with her bangs a little, but she did not bother to hide the smile it also brought to her face as well. The moment ended soon enough when Yang flopped down onto her back, with Zwei mimicking her as best he could, and she tiredly cheered, "Yay! Teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, flirting, heroics, go team, alright, good job. So, what do we do now?"

"I'd suggest training for the tournament, but I think we have that covered at this point," Weiss admitted.

"So then…" Blake asked, waiting for a suggestion from anyone else.

"Uh…Time for bed," Ruby offered.

"Oh please, yes," Weiss agreed without question, no longer trying to keep from sounding as tired as she felt.

"Absolutely," Blake nodded along with a yawn.

"I'm going to sleep forever," Yang groaned, eager to reunite with her bed.

"Trust me, that's not as fun as you think," Ventus joked, even if it was with a weary tone of voice. "But yeah, I could go for a nap at the very least."

"Nap? I feel like I'm going to fall into a coma the minute I lay down on anything that could be considered a bed after all of this," Lea confessed.

"For once, I agree with you," Roxas told his friend.

With that, the eight all stood up and departed for their dorms, ready to sleep away the rest of the day, and more than likely well into the next day. Halfway there though, Sora stopped in his tracks as a new idea entered his mind. Sure, it may have been a little crazy, and there was a chance that it could land him and the rest of his friends into some range of trouble, at the very least with a certain magician or even Yen Sid, but to Sora, it seemed like the perfect solution for what they should do going forward from here. Since he had stopped to think about this in the middle of the hallway, the rest of his team had quickly taken notice, and became curious about whatever was on his mind.

"What's the matter, Sora," Roxas asked.

"Well…you guys remember what Aqua said to us after that report we gave to Ozpin and Ironwood," Sora asked the guys.

"Kinda hard to forget since it means we won't be able to rest up as much as we'd like because of it," Lea informed him. "Why?"

"Well, I think I've got an idea on how to make it a little more fun," Sora told his friends with a smile that showed his excitement with a hint of mischief.

Seeing that look on Sora's face, the other three were now even more interested than ever, and Ventus made that clear for all of them when he said, "We're listening."

---

While heroes were celebrating their victories and, recovery and reconstruction efforts were being carried out, Cinder and her crew were standing off to the sides, watching it all happen from the shadows as they took in everything that had happened today. "Drawbacks aside, I'd call today a success," the ashen-haired woman declared.

"You're kidding right? Torchwick launched his part of the plan days early, and those stupid kids made a huge mess of things," Emerald reminded her.

"Yeah, and that's ignoring all the stuff we saw those Keyblade guys do here," Mercury pointed out. "They don't exactly seem like the pushovers that Luxu has implied they were."

"Funny. I don't remember ever saying that they were pushovers. But I do remember saying to be careful of them," Luxu's voice echoed around them, just seconds before the man in question appeared from his usual portal. "Geez, I go away to check out whether or not my old Keyblade's made its grand return yet, and everything goes to hell? Guess Roman wasn't quite all that he believed himself to be."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that just yet," Cinder waved off. "After all, sometimes, it pays lose a pawn to the enemy."

"Well what about the White Fang? A lot of their guys didn't make it out of those tunnels, so I doubt that they'll still be willing to listen to us," Mercury pointed out.

"Of course they won't. But they'll listen to me," a new individual said as he stepped up to the group.

The person in question was a young man with auburn hair that almost seemed to be a blood red color in the current light, and a pair of bull horns on his head, with the signature Grimm mask of the White Fang hiding half of his face from view. The rest of his attire was nearly all black, save for the red shirt he wore underneath his blazer, and the red thorn sigils on the bottom left hem of said coat. The only other deviations from his all-black attire were the blood red omega symbols on his gloves, and the white and red, wilting rose emblem on the back of his blazer. Rounding out his dangerous look, was the sword in a black sheath that he currently held in his left hand. In short, the man spelled danger to anyone who saw him.

"Adam Taurus. We meet at last," Luxu greeted with what sounded like a false cheer. He did not bother holding a hand out to the leader of the White Fang's Vale Faction, since he was sure that the bull Faunus would refuse on principle. "Gotta say, I've heard a lot of stories about you and your capabilities, and if anything I've heard is true, then you do some pretty great work."

"Spare me the empty compliments. All I care about is whether or not you intend to aid my people with something other than those silver creatures. From what I've heard, the Keyblade wielders were able to deal with them rather handily," Adam brushed off.

"I must admit, I'm a little concerned about that now, myself, given what we just saw earlier today, and that's without accounting for just how many Keyblade wielders appeared," Cinder said, leveling a questioning gaze at Luxu.

"Yeah, that was pretty impressive. Almost every Keyblade wielder right here on one world, right down to the little mouse king and his lackeys," Luxu recalled. "All we were missing was big, bad Riku and the little princess that couldn't, but then again, it's not like we should have been expecting the latter to show up at all."

"Hey, don't ignore the main problem. Some of your little Nobodies have even gone and joined the enemy's side, or did it escape your notice how all of the Samurai vanished from our ranks," Adam snarled.

"Oh, I noticed, and I'm telling you not to worry. It's just one group of Nobodies out of several others, all of which are still plenty strong and outnumber Kiddo's old crew by quite a bit," Luxu assured. He then held his hand out to the four as an image of a completely different creature flickered to life in his palm and added, "Besides, even if we do lose anymore of those empty husks, I've still got a whole other slew of creatures left up my sleeve to help us out. And these guys…Well, they're all a real nightmare."

Seeing the image of this one creature alone would have left the others a little dubious, but when Luxu went on to expand it so that it could include several others like that one, they started to feel a little more confident about their chances. In fact, if anyone saw Cinder's smirk at that moment, or the one that had formed on Luxu's face when he saw the satisfaction in his associates' eyes, they would have found more than a few chills running up their spines.

---

Despite what the eight friends had said earlier, Teams RWBY and SLVR ended up only sleeping until noon, but only because they did not want to be unable to fall asleep again when nighttime rolled around again. Thankfully, they did not need to worry about missing any classes, because the last ones of the semester had now come and gone, so they had not missed too much, and not only that, but they were also able to spend the rest of their day however they wanted. For the guys, that meant getting a few things cleared up with Ozpin and their fellow Keyblade wielders, but no matter how many times they asked, the girls could not get them to say what it was all for. The most they really got was having Sora promise that they would find out first thing tomorrow morning, and afterwards, they never got the chance to try and pry a hint out of them. Although, in Ruby's case, it was because she ended up spending the rest of the day just hanging out with Sora, while Ventus and Weiss did the same at the café he had mentioned to her during their investigation. Everyone insisted that the latter pair had been on a date, but Ven and Weiss both just brushed those accusations off. Not that they actually denied it, mind you.

In all honesty, Lea was the only one who spent the rest of his day alone, having not really felt up for doing too much of anything and claiming that he was still really worn out despite all the rest he had gotten. Normally Roxas would have called him lazy or out of shape at the very least, with Xion being the second one to do so, but this time, everyone figured that the redhead had more than earned a brief moment of laziness after all that they had gone through that morning. It was a refreshing change of pace in Lea's opinion, even if a part of him did miss the teasing remarks just a little bit.

By the time sunset had rolled around, Lea had really just done nothing but wander aimlessly around the school for the most part, if for no other reason than to make absolutely sure that he would be able to get some decent sleep that night. It certainly seemed to have worked, given how sluggish he felt as he started making his way back to the dorms, but just when he was passing through the main courtyard, Lea started to feel a little more alert when he saw that he was not as alone as he thought.

There, standing before him, was the woman that Roxas had told him about from the train; the one who had saved him and Yang from Neo. At least, Lea figured this was her, given that she matched the description Roxas had given him when the blonde gave him that message. Thinking of that sent a new wave of chills through his body, but he kept his cool and just stared at her for a few minutes, not wanting give her any openings in case she was hostile. For a time, the two just stood there, staring one another down, until eventually, Lea was starting to wonder if this lady had somehow found a way to sleep standing up or something. Given all the other crazy things he had seen in Remnant, including but not limited to how Zwei had first arrived at Beacon, Lea would not have been surprised if that was the case, but he figured that it was more reasonable to say she was waiting for him to say something first.

After waiting a few more minutes in silence, Lea finally called out to her, asking, "Excuse me, Miss, but is there something I can help you with?"

"That depends," the woman replied as she slowly reached up and removed her mask, letting Lea see her face in all of its glory. "On whether or not you can give me some answers that I like."

Roxas and Yang had both expressed their suspicions to him on this woman's identity, and now, Lea could definitely say without a doubt that they were right, because aside from her hair and eye color, the woman's face looked far too much like Yang's to be anyone else. "So, you're dear old, Mama Raven," Lea announced for her, even if he was leveling a glare at the woman the whole time. "Can't say that I'm so much as pleased, let alone flattered to meet you. Even I've never been that good of a liar."

Instead of seeming offended or upset, Raven merely scoffed with a dry smirk at the remark, and said, "Well, I wasn't really aiming to please you when I came here, and even if I was, I wouldn't have bothered since I know Yang's told you about me."

"You mean like how you basically abandoned her and your husband, and then didn't bother to show your face again even once as she was growing up," Lea accused.

"Maybe you didn't hear your friend when he told you that I saved her and him," Raven pointed out, sounding close to a snarl now.

"Right, because one good deed makes you Mom-of-the-Year," Lea brushed off with every ounce of sarcasm he could manage.

He seemed to have gotten under Raven's skin with that one, because she visibly took a deep breath to calm down again before she returned his gaze with a much more neutral one of her own. "Like I said, I'm not here to please you. I'm here for a different purpose."

"Yeah? Well let me tell you right now that you need to think very carefully about your next choice of words, because you won't like what happens if I don't like what I hear," Lea warned, his voice gaining a threatening edge to it that he had not used since his time as Axel.

Apparently his threat did not come as serious as he was hoping, because Raven just laughed for a little bit after hearing it. "And just what do you think that you will be able to do to me if that is the case," she asked in amusement.

This was the part that made Lea smirk a little as he said, "Well for starters, assuming you're as crazy about your hair as your daughter is hers, I think I might burn those long, black locks right off your head. And then…well, I'm sure that I could give someone around here quite the nice view once I've spread that fire a little further down. Say, onto your clothes?"

Now Raven was scowling at him. "You're lucky that my daughter seems to care for you so much. I've killed men for lesser things than that," she growled. "Now if you're done trying to dig your own grave, I suggest you hear what I have to say."

"And like I said, it better sound something like 'take me to my daughter', or else you won't like what happens," Lea cautioned.

Once again, Raven only smirked, and said, "Then I guess you'd better take your best shot, because I'm more interested in you. Well, you and your little friends from other worlds."

Normally, Lea would be demanding how she knew about that type of thing, but considering that she seemed pretty well-informed, he did not think he should really bother. After all, she had already proven that when she mentioned knowing that Yang had told him about her, even without him specifically saying the words, so it would not be too much of a stretch to assume that she knew about him and his friends too. Of course, the fact that she was curious about them was the only thing that was preventing him from doing everything he could to turn her into ashes right now. Keeping her alive would help him get some answers on why she was interested in them, and if there was anyone else that shared her interests for any of the same or similar reasons.

"And just what about us has you so curious? Is it because we're Yang's friends," Lea questioned, still trying to push her into doing something that would indicate she had some desire to be a good mother.

"I'm pretty sure your interests in her goes a little further than just friendship," Raven disputed with a dry chuckle. "But that's another matter for a different time. I'm only interested in this: how invested are you and your friends with Ozpin's little war?"

Now Lea was confused. "What're you talking about?"

"You don't have to pretend you don't know. I'm well aware of the whole story, just like I know your taskmaster Yen Sid is aware of it. More so than anyone else in Ozpin's circle of blind followers, so I'll ask again: how deep into Ozpin's war are you and your friends?"

"And I'll ask my question again: what are you talking about," Lea repeated.

Raven quietly stared at him for a brief spell this time, gauging the truth of his words, before she finally smirked and started to laugh a bit. "Oh my Oum. You really don't know, do you," she asked. "Amazing how Yen Sid would send his devoted little errand boys here and not tell them anything about why Ozpin would really want Keyblade wielders on Remnant, especially now of all times."

"Lady, we're not here for Ozpin or some 'secret war' that you think he and Yen Sid are apparently fighting. We're only here for two reasons: to learn how to become better Keyblade wielders, and find our missing friend," Lea finally laid out for her.

"You mean, the lost Princess of Heart," Raven inquired, knowingly. That one caught Lea off-guard, right to the point where he finally dropped any stoic and angry exterior just enough for his surprise to be visible to Raven. "Yes, I'm well aware of her, and of just how precious she is to your leader, so let me spare you any further trouble: she's not here. I'm able to see and hear more things on this world than even the best spies could ever hope or dream of hearing, and I've not once come across even a single glimpse of your missing princess. Guess your friend's just going to have to settle for Summer's kid, now won't he?"

Hearing Raven's last remark pulled Lea back into focus, and he was soon glaring at her again as he made his next remark. "And I'm supposed to believe you, of all people? Someone who ran away and abandoned their kid instead of sticking around like a real parent would have?"

"You can believe whatever you want; it doesn't matter to me," Raven waved off. If she was offended by his words, she was doing a damn good job of hiding it. "What does matter is what you all will do once you find out what Ozpin and Yen Sid are both hiding from you."

"Meaning," Lea prompted.

"That boy who's now in a relationship with Summer's daughter is just like said girl and her mother: pure, honest, and naïve, and his blonde partner isn't really much better," Raven explained, indirectly insulting Sora and Ventus as she did. "But you and your other friend…you two have a look about you both that says you've seen and dealt with the realities of life, and know how to make decisions based on more than just simple feelings. Not to mention this whole conversation has made it clear that you know how to ask questions instead of just accepting things at face-value. When you learn the truth, and I guarantee that there will come a day that you do, I'm sure that you'll see what I did and want out. You'll understand just how pointless Ozpin's war is, and when that day comes, I'd be more than happy to welcome you and anyone else that comes with you into…"

"Okay, I'm gonna stop you right there and right now," Lea interrupted, now feeling more than a little angry. "I don't care about whatever beef you have with Ozpin or the old man, or even if there is some secret war going on behind the scenes that neither of them have told us about. If I do find out that it's true and it looks to be as bad as you claim, then I won't care about it, because I know that my friends will want to keep on fighting regardless. They'll find a way to pull out a win. They've all done it before and they will do it again, so I'm gonna stand with them no matter what. I already turned my back on my friends once before, and I'm not going to make that mistake again, no matter what happens. Unlike you, I'm not going to up and abandon everyone I care about just because I'm scared of how hard it might be."

Raven was definitely scowling now, but this time, it was with a mixture of anger and disappointment. Underneath that though, Lea could swear that he also saw a little bit of approval as well, but he scratched that off as nothing more than his own imagination. It was a little easier to do since Raven had spoken up again to voice her opinion on the matter. "You know, you sound just like my little brother," she sneered, clearly intending it as an insult.

"Considering that he's the one between the two of you who actually stuck around for his family, I think even you can understand why I'll be taking that as a compliment," Lea smirked in return.

Raven just huffed in retort and slid her mask back on as she turned to leave, but not without one last word of warning for him. "My offer will still be open if you change your mind, but if you don't, I wouldn't expect me to be so nice the next time we meet."

"Funny; I'm pretty sure you don't really know what that word means. If you did, maybe you wouldn't have walked out on your daughter," Lea shot back.

"I did what I had to do, and I don't need to explain my reasons to you. I doubt you could really understand why I had to leave for her sake," Raven told him.

"I think you mean that I don't believe you when you say that," Lea corrected.

Raven merely drew her sword, making Lea tense a little as if anticipating an attack. He would never admit that he let out a quiet sigh of relief when she merely swung the blade to open another one of her strange portals and then sheathed it again as she stepped through the vortex. "Remember my warning, Lea," Raven told him. "Oh, and we'll meet again."

When the wayward mother of Yang Xiao Long finally vanished from the courtyard, Lea could not help but hold his breath for a few more minutes as if anticipating any kind of surprise attack from her. Only after that time had passed did he finally let it out and mutter, "Well, that's probably the first thing she's said that I can both believe and agree with. And next time we meet, it better be for Yang's sake and not just some business thing on her part, because my little burning threat will definitely become a promise."

---

The next morning, Team RWBY was just about to head over to their Keyblade wielding friends' dorm to ask if they wanted to hang out, when they received a message on their Scrolls from Sora, asking for them to meet them out in the Emerald Forest after breakfast. The girls would have asked a few more questions about it, but he seemed insistent on getting nothing other than a yes or no in response to his message, so they ended up just sending a positive reply. Even when they saw the rest of Team SLVR at breakfast, they did not say anything. Just grinned and said that it was a surprise before inhaling their meals and heading out. Of course, they did mention that they should show up with their regular combat gear and packed for a long trip, but that was the most the girls got out of them. In the end, Ruby finally told her teammates that they should let the guys have their fun for now, and if this turned out to be a stupid prank, they would get the boys back later.

So, a few hours later, Team RWBY was trekking through the Emerald Forests with their weapons and packed bags, while Zwei followed dutifully after his owners and their teammates, much to Blake's disappointment. The cat Faunus had tried to convince Ruby to leave her dog behind, but her team leader just would not hear of it. In fact, Ruby ended up just giving Blake a sad puppy face as she pleaded for Blake to not ask her to leave Zwei behind, and the ex-White Fang member could not help but cave to her desire. She was still going to make sure that she did everything possible to avoid Zwei and keep him away from her belongings though.

Right as they were halfway to the meeting spot that Sora had pointed out for them after they agreed to meet him and his team there, they were surprised to find Team JNPR trudging along the same path as well, also armed and packed for a long trip like them. "Hey Jaune," Ruby called out. "Did Sora ask you guys to meet him out here too?"

"Yeah, but he wouldn't say why," Jaune confirmed. "Don't suppose you know anything about this, do you?"

"Nope; afraid not, Vomit-boy," Yang shrugged.

Jaune sighed both from disappointment and from hearing that nickname again. "Can we please let that die?"

"Sure, as soon as we all stop calling Weiss either Ice Queen or Ice Princess," Nora teased.

"Hey," the heiress in question snapped, much to everyone's laughing pleasure.

Pyrrha was the only one to take pity on Jaune, and instead of laughing, she patted his shoulder as she said, "Don't worry, Jaune. I'll always think of you as a Noble Knight."

"Aw, thanks, Pyrrha," Jaune smiled in return, bringing a smile to his girlfriend's face at seeing she had cheered him up.

"More like her Noble Knight," Yang whispered to Blake with a knowing wink.

Blake did not hesitate to giggle in agreement with her partner's suggestive words, and would have offered some additional comment on the matter had they not spotted Sora waiting for them all just up ahead. It was not much longer after they saw him that Sora noticed their approach, and he happily waved them all over with his usual smile. Of course, it seemed especially bright when he turned to Ruby, and if anyone else noticed besides her, Ruby did not care. It just made her so happy to see that she could make him brighten up like that.

"Hey guys! Glad you could all make it," Sora greeted once the group of eight had stopped before him.

"Did you honestly think we weren't going to come after all the suspense you've built up when you asked us to rendezvous here," Weiss questioned.

"Well, you never know," Sora shrugged, indicating that he did have some doubts about one or two of them. "But, now that you're all here, you won't have to wait any longer to find out what I've got planned for us."

"And…what do you have planned," Yang asked.

"And what would it be for," Blake added.

"And is it going to be a lot of fun," Nora finished in her usual burst of energy.

"Well, I certainly think so," Sora replied to Nora's question. He then cleared his throat like he was about to make a big announcement, and said, "After we stopped the Breach, Aqua and the others learned that we all have some time off from classes until the start of the Vytal Festival, and its tournament. So, my team and I have been asked to start, as some of my friends put it, 'pulling our weight as Keyblade wielders' and begin patrolling other worlds again until the start of the festival."

"So does that mean…you're all leaving Remnant for a while," Ruby asked, worried that was the case.

"Not exactly. We are leaving Remnant for a while, as in all twelve of us," Sora happily corrected, and just like that, the others were starting to get a sneaking suspicion of what he was implying. A suspicion that Sora confirmed for them all when he continued on with his speech. "I talked it over with Aqua, Ozpin, and even Mickey just to be sure it would be okay, and since they've all given their approval, the only ones I need to ask now are you guys. Teams RWBY and JNPR, how would you guys like to join Team SLVR in a patrol of other worlds that will double as a special training trip to prepare for the Vytal Festival Tournament?"

Even after hearing him say it out loud, the two first year teams were still pretty surprised by the question. Sure, they had gone to other worlds with Sora and his friends before, but what he was suggesting was an entire journey to several worlds, similar to what Sora had been through on his past adventures! This was completely different from going to just one world for a simple job and then coming straight back to Remnant, and Sora certainly knew that given he had gone to all the trouble of talking to everyone he did to make sure it would be alright. Still, they all felt like they had to be sure that this was for real.

"Seriously?! You really want us…all of us…to go with you guys to a bunch of other worlds," Jaune asked for the collective group.

"Yep," Sora confirmed without a second thought. "I actually got the idea yesterday morning from Weiss."

"From me," Weiss repeated in question. "How did I give you this crazy idea?"

"You said it yourself, Weiss: there's not much we can do to prepare for the tournament on this world, but there's plenty of stuff on other worlds that can help with that," Sora elaborated. "Trust me; I know what I'm talking about. Which is why one of our stops on this tour will definitely be the world of Olympus; a world where heroes from all over gather at its famous coliseum to compete in amazing tournaments to show their mettle and that they have what it takes to be called true heroes."

"Awesome! Can we go there first? Can we go there first," Nora excitedly cheered.

"Easy Nora. It's only one of the places we're going to go, and there's a lot of other worlds that we can and need to go to as well," Sora gently reminded her, earning him a small stink eye from said hammer girl. "I can guarantee that we will be stopping on each of the home worlds of the Princesses of Heart, both previous and current, and a few others as well, besides Olympus. So, not only is there little chance of anyone being bored, but we'll also be getting in a lot of practice for the tournament and future battles as well."

"What other kinds of worlds should we expect to stop at," Ren inquired as calmly as he could. Even he was finding it a challenge to contain his excitement over the incredible opportunity that they were being presented with.

"A lot of places that I've told you guys about, for one, and I can definitely confirm that we'll be stopping at places like the Caribbean."

"That's the place full of pirates, right," Weiss recalled, a hint of disgust in her voice.

"Yep! Along with tons of great adventures at sea, and treasure that's just waiting to be discovered," Sora excitedly cheered, apparently not noticing how little fondness Weiss had for the mere idea of that stop.

"Awesome! We're in," Ruby decided for everyone.

"Whoa there, Ruby. I'm glad that you're eager to join, but this is optional for everyone. You don't have to come just because so much as just one of your teammates wants to go, but it would be a lot of fun if you guys did join in," Sora assured everyone.

"Hey, you don't even need to ask if I want in," Yang eagerly declared with a fist-pump.

"Well, I suppose it could be a fun experience, and being able to fight various kinds of enemies in locations that we're not accustomed to would go a long way in ensuring we'll be better prepared for the tournament," Weiss shrugged, albeit with a playful nature that said she was definitely going.

"I'm in," Blake confirmed, sealing the deal for the entirety of Team RWBY.

That just left Team JNPR, but their responses were not much different from their classmates'. "Of course we're going! Right Ren," Nora cheered.

Ren just smiled in answer to Nora, and bowed his head to Sora as he said, "I'm honored to accept this opportunity, Sora."

"That sounds grand," Pyrrha smiled happily. "We're all happy to join you and your team, Sora. Aren't we, Jaune?"

"Like any of us are gonna say no," Jaune confirmed to his partner with a grin of his own.

"Alright then," Sora cheered. He then tapped his Gummiwatch and allowed the stealth gummi ship to become visible to all as its main hatch opened up to allow them entry. "Teams SLVR, RWBY, and JNPR are now ready to set out on their first ever, shared adventure through the worlds!"

"Let's do this," Ruby cheered just as happily. "Banzai!"

"Banzai!" Jaune and Sora both echoed immediately after, and they all quickly rushed aboard the ship.

As they were heading up to the cockpit, Weiss had to ask once again just as final confirmation, "Are you sure that it's okay for you to bring all of us along with you on this?"

"Uh-huh. Like I said, I talked it over with Ozpin and Aqua, and since none of us have any classes between now and when the tournament starts, they saw no reason to argue with it," Sora assured her right when they arrived in the cockpit.

"It definitely helped when he mentioned that this would double as special training for everyone, too, and that we would all come back to Remnant at any moment if any of them should call us," Ventus added on from where he was sitting at the controls.

"Plus, getting a final okay from King Mickey definitely helped seal the deal, which is why we made sure that Sora asked him last," Roxas revealed. "If Sora went to him first, there's no way he would have cleared it with Aqua or Ozpin, and we definitely needed to get an okay from the latter to do any of this."

The rest of the conversation was spent with Sora telling the Remnant locals where they could store their bags and where their rooms on the ship would be, along with some additional highlight information on the places that they would be visiting. He wanted to keep as many details as possible a secret until they arrived at the worlds he planned for them to visit. The whole time that they were talking, only Yang noticed how quiet Lea was being right now.

Lea was not keeping to himself because he did not have anything to contribute; there were plenty of things he could have said about this whole trip. In point of fact, he had actually been thinking a few things over ever since his late, secret meeting with Raven. It had very little to do with the things she said though. Sure, there were a few things that made him wonder about the stuff that Yen Sid and Ozpin had kept from them, but that was not what really bothered him right now. What was really bothering him was the question of whether or not he should tell Yang that he had met with her mother.

Ever since Yang first told him about her quest to find her mom, Lea knew just how badly she wanted to track down Raven, so if she found out that the woman had actually been here at Beacon and did not give any indication that she wanted to see her, how would Yang react? Lea was very sure that she would be upset by the information, but would she be more upset with her mother or with him, the person she did actually want to see when she came here? He just did not know, and he was a little hesitant to approach the topic with anyone. The only thing that made this worse was how similar this felt to when he found out the truth about Xion and ended up keeping it from both her and Roxas. He did not want to repeat his past mistakes, but this felt wildly different from that at the same time, so he was left with little to no clue on what he should do. The only thing he was sure of was that he could curse Raven over a few thousand times for putting him in such a mess to begin with, but clearly his brooding had gone on a little longer than he thought, as Yang eventually came over to him with a worried look on her face.

"Hey, you okay," she asked.

"Uh…Yeah. Just…just had a rough time getting to sleep last night," Lea attempted to lie.

Yang seemed to buy it, but even if she had not, Sora did not give her a chance to question the redhead on his fib, as he had already taken his usual seat at the main controls, indicating that just about everyone was ready for takeoff. "Okay guys! Time to get this show on the road," Sora announced to everyone. "Grab a seat and buckle up!"

All at once, everyone was grabbing the nearest seat that they could find, with Team SLVR making sure that no one was sitting near any vital or important controls, especially in the case of Nora and Ruby. The last thing they needed was for anyone to touch something that they should not, especially while they were in midflight. "Team RWBY's all ready, Captain," Ruby announced for her team once the last of them had clicked their seatbelts into place.

"Team JNPR, ready to fly," Jaune called out seconds later.

"Alright! Team SLVR, sound off ship readiness," Sora called out to his boys. "Main power, fully online!"

"All engines and thrusters operational," Ventus reported from his station with a bit more excitement in his voice than usual. "Environmental control systems activated."

"Shields and armor systems fully charged and engaged," Roxas carried on afterwards. "Navigational systems activated. Cloaking system is now back online, and standing by to deactivate once we've cleared Remnant's world barrier."

"Weapons powered up and on standby. Teeny Ships standing by for deployment," Lea informed the team, sounding a little more serious than he normally did. His humorous side came out again when he hit a few more buttons that allowed a small rack to appear alongside Jaune's seat, and smirked as he added, "And barf bags are ready for those of us with weak stomachs."

"Motion sickness is a very common problem! How many times do I have to say it," Jaune huffed to show how little he appreciated the jab at him. "Besides, I made it through the last trip on this thing without getting sick."

"Well to be fair, this is going to be a lot longer than that one," Nora happily pointed out.

"I don't think that's helping, Nora," Ren told her when Jaune suddenly started to look a little pale after that reminder. Luckily Pyrrha was able to calm him down quickly enough.

"Either way, we are go for launch," Sora declared at last. "Let's go, stealth gummi! Next stop: adventures on other worlds!"

The excited cheers that followed Sora's declaration were likely loud enough to echo throughout the entire forest, if the Keybearers had to guess, and shortly after, the ship had lifted up off the ground, and blasted off into the skies, breaking through the world barrier of Remnant, and flying out into interspace with a promise of excitement for the heroes aboard the vessel.

---

AN: So yeah, I know. It's a lot shorter than the last few chapters, but really, this was all that was going to happen anyways in this chapter. I mean, come on! Did you really think I was going to have them all land on the first world of this world-travels-arc in this chapter? Come on! Get real. But anyways, let's run the list of what went down today, shall we?

Ironwood: Excuse me, but where were my forces in the battle?

AN: What, those tin-toys that seem like wannabe a Iron Legion? Yeah, they never showed up.

Ironwood: Yes, I saw that much. I'm asking why that was.

AN: Dude, look at what was in the battle, now back to me. Now look at your forces, back to me. I'm not your men, nor am I one of your robots. Now look over what happened, back to me. Ask yourself, and think carefully when you answer...Do you really think the Atlesian military needed to get involved, when there was already so much badass and awesomeness handling things? We had literally every Keyblade wielder other than Riku fighting it out, plus Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY, and...ugh, Mercury and Emerald, for what little they actually did. Oh, and Sun and Neptune actually helped too. Plus, when you finish things off with an Attraction Flow ability, how much of a contribution do you think Ironwood's wind-up toys are going to bring? Nothing but a clean-up crew that helps with taking Torchwick into custody.

Yang: Speaking of which, glad to see you actually got the dorks to help out a bit.

AN: Hey, I did mention that Xion's scolding of the two after the way they ditched you in the fight against Torchwick's mech a few chapters ago was going to come back to haunt them for a while. In an instance like this, it definitely shows a bit more.

Lea: Question! Over here! Why have Sora, Donald, and Goofy use that Trinity Shield ability as opposed to Trinity?

AN: Well, Trinity was a power that you could only ever really use in the final round against Xehanort in Kingdom Hearts 3, and Trinity Shield seems like it'd be an easier power to call on at a moment's notice. Plus, I just wanted to have Sora showcase how his years of working with those two have helped him to develop special powers and attacks like that to everyone on Remnant.

Sora: And what was with my dialogue about the Attraction Flow we used this time?

AN: Well, here's the way I see it, at least in the case of this story: Sora's Attraction Flow, while controllable, can be very random a lot of the time, kinda like how Ben 10's Omnitrix will sometimes mess up and give him the wrong alien, so obviously, Sora's not always going to get the Attraction Flow he wants. The specific dialogue that was used here for this one is drawn off the fact that most of the time when I'm playing Kingdom Hearts 3, Blaster Blaze is the one that I get most of the time. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against it, but there are some situations where I feel like some of the other ones would be a better option in those cases.

Blake: And then there's the fact that Adam's shown up at last, and it looks like Luxu has something else up his sleeve for later on besides Nobodies and Heartless.

AN: Indeed. But as to what the other creatures Luxu's bringing to the table are, my answer for now is this...Not telling!

Ruby: There's creatures in Kingdom Hearts called Not Telling?

Weiss: No, you dunce! He means that he's not going to tell us what they are!

Ruby: Oh...I knew that.

AN: You'll be waiting quite a while until you find out what nasty surprise Luxu has in store for our heroes is, but let's talk about the other big matter that happened here today...

Yang: The moment when Lea met with my mom. [glowers a little at the memory]

AN: Yeah, that. I figured Raven would curious about why the Keyblade wielders are really on Remnant, or at the very least, assume that they were Ozpin's newest lieutenants in his war against Salem, and since Lea has a certain history to him, he seemed like the most logical choice for her to approach. You know, that and the fact that he's dating her daughter, but that's a bit of a side note in this case. And oh, what's this? Yen Sid seems to be in on the big secret and has been keeping a few things from our favorite Kingdom Hearts heroes? What could that mean? Well, I mean, obviously Yen Sid was in on the secret, given that he referred to Ozpin as Ozma in previous chapters, but now it seems that Yen Sid's hiding that stuff from our heroes for another reason as well. What could that possibly be, you may ask? Oh, now won't that be a juicy little detail to find out later on.

And yeah, Lea's now stuck with a dilemma of whether or not he should tell Yang about his meeting with Raven. I mean, you would be too if you were in that position, right? Well, he's got plenty of time to get his stories straight on that matter, because now, comes this stories next arc, and it's not RWBY Vol. 3. No, it's this story's very own, original arc. The RWBY World Travels Arc!

Everyone other than AN: [just stares at him while crickets chirp]

AN: It's a working name for the moment, and it's the best I've got. So yeah, we're going to see those three teams going to a bunch of different worlds for the next arc of chapters, and let me go ahead and say now that there will be no original or new worlds appearing in this arc. Okay? There won't be any Star Wars, no Disney Channel Worlds, no Marvel worlds, none of that this time. We're sticking with worlds that Sora and the gang have visited in previous Kingdom Hearts games. Oh, and just to be clear, it won't just be Teams RWBY and JNPR the whole time. There will be moments when some of their other friends from Remnant join in as well, but only on certain worlds. I'll be keeping which friends and those specific worlds a secret for now though.

Roxas: That seems to be a reoccurring theme with you this time around.

AN: Only this time? Now then, let's answer some of last chapter's reviews, shall we?

"SuperSayainFever", there could be any number of explanations why Neo works for Torchwick, but do you really think she'd be better off with Joker of all people?! Look what the guy's done to Harley, or Jason Todd. Yeah, if we really want her to end up getting better, I think she'd be better off away from people as crazy as that clown.

"Dragon Rider 66", the reason why Sora's the only one who can use the summon charms at the moment is because he's got the most experience, and he hasn't had the chance to really teach them how to use them yet. Ven's never really used a honest summon before. The closest he's gotten is the D-Links, and that doesn't count. I'm pretty sure Roxas has never used anything like a summon charm either, and Lea...yeah, that should answer itself. Also, to answer your question about Roxas and the Samurais, it is similar to how Sora summons Dream Eaters for special attacks, but Roxas's use of the Samurais is a bit more elaborate than that, since the Samurais can think for themselves to a slightly larger extent than the Dream Eaters. You'll see just what I mean when Roxas calls them into action later on in the story. And yes, I'm well-aware of what this does for some people's expectations for Keyblade Legion.

"CT7567Rules", I'm pretty sure that those train cars were probably left down there from when the people were still using the train to get to and from Mountain Glenn, and the White Fang and Torchwick just fixed them up while adding some extra armaments or something. Sorry to say that we won't be seeing Spider-Man or Ahsoka getting summoned in this story though. This isn't the Keyblades Unleashed series. There's not going to be any original summons like that just yet.

"Monkey D. Conan", Xion finding out about what Neo typed to Roxas is a little up in the air at the moment. Probably going to be one of those things where it's all "what happened on the mission, stays on the mission", or something for now. If she does find out though, she's likely to be very flustered for a while though. Hard to say what would happen after that has passed at the moment. Ven's past will start off as something of a personal thing for him, if and/or when it starts coming into play, but it could expand a little more to have a larger effect on the story as a whole, at least in terms of the actual series. As for your questions about Winter and Qrow's reactions to their respective family members' new relationships...Yeah, I'm keeping all further family reactions to that topic under wraps for now. You'll see a bit more on that when we get to the revealing point. Same goes for what happens when Aqua and Winter meet.

"Spiderfan626", I can confirm a very real possibility of Neo's interest in Roxas and Xion both will more than likely carry over into SLVR Chibi when that becomes a thing. Also, any Final Fantasy characters that show up here likely won't be for a little while longer, unless they're ones that we've already seen show up. You know, if our heroes decide to visit Radiant Garden to check in on Leon and his crew at any point.

Now then, I think I've covered everything, so it's time to give you all a hint on what you should expect in the next chapter, and for the part of one of the RWBY World Travels Arc!

[crickets chirp again]

Shut up. That's quickly turning over to the point of not funny. More importantly, Onto the Preview!...

Another adventure through the worlds has begun, and this time, Sora's team is bigger than ever! Without wasting any time, the team heads for a world that they know to be home to one of the New Seven Princesses of Heart. Will Teams RWBY and JNPR be able to handle the differences of this world? What sort of adventures will they all get into with Sora's old friends? The only thing that's certain is that the whole thing will be a very hair-raising ride. Eh? Eh? Come on. You guys know that was good. I mean, they're all going to get really tangled up in some fun…I'm sorry! I'm pretty sure Yang somehow did a lot of the writing for this preview. Either way, the first stop on this tour of the worlds is coming, next time!

Yang: Hey! What was that supposed to mean about me writing some of that preview?

AN: Don't think I didn't see you sneaking into the writing room after finding out where you guys are going for the first world. I know you did!

Yang: [looks away to hide a sneaky grin that all but confirms it along with her knowing chuckles]

AN: Anyways, I'd better check on the assistant and see if he...

Weiss: Oh, he actually showed up a little while ago to give you this.

AN: [takes note from Weiss] What am I looking at here?...Okay, let's see..."Too much to handle...Your mind's far beyond my capabilities of keeping up with...official resignation due to how crazy this all..." Official resignation?! Oh no! I don't think so! We have a contract that says he can't quit until he's been working here for a full 24 hours! Hey, where is that guy! I need to get him back here!

Ruby: Yeah...I think he already left.

AN: Oh...Well...Never mind then. Guess that whole assistant idea worked about as well as expected. Anyways...

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