AN: Okay, seriously, the more I look into the Age of Fairy Tales, the more confused I get. Like, how was Ven there? How long ago was it? Is reincarnation a thing in Kingdom Hearts? Ow, my brain.
In other news, I just saw the RWBY Volume 7 trailer last night, and I am pretty excited and honestly a little nervous. Here's hoping it doesn't take a nosedive like Volume 6 did. I'll also have to make sure I can get it to fit in with the story I have planned here.
Anyway, that's enough rambling. Let's get on with the chapter, which ended up being longer than I expected, hence why it took longer than I wanted it to.
Chapter 6
"We're almost there, babe," one of the bandits leading Aqua said.
The blue-haired woman had never felt so humiliated in her life. She was currently blindfolded with her hands bound in front of her, being led by a leash attached to her wrists by two bandits who absolutely had unsavory thoughts about her. Under ordinary circumstances, she would just summon her Keyblade and fight them off, but she sadly had no choice but to put herself in this position. After all, these bandits' leader had kidnapped Ruby, and she had otherwise no idea where to find her. And even if she could find the camp herself, if she showed up without the two men sent to escort her, then who knows what these scoundrels might do to the poor girl. So it was with great frustration that Aqua had to swallow her humiliation and allow the bandits to drag her through the woods towards their camp.
She continued walking forward blindly until she suddenly felt herself collide with the back of one of the bandits.
"Hey!" she said. "Why did we stop?"
"Shh!" The bandit she walked into silenced her. "I think I heard something."
"What is it?" she heard the other one asked. "Is it Grimm?"
"I'm not sure." A few tense seconds passed before Aqua heard the distinct "shing" of swords being unsheathed.
"What is it?" she asked. "What's there?"
"Just zip it!" One of the bandits snapped at her. "We'll handle it."
"There it is!" the other bandit yelled. "What are those things?"
"I've never seen anything like them!"
"Just kill them!" A few seconds passed, as Aqua heard the sounds of what was clearly a fight, when the noises suddenly stopped. She contemplated reaching up for her blindfold to see what happened, when she was suddenly yanked forward by the leash attached to her wrists, causing her to fall to the ground. She heard the two bandits laugh, and she growled in frustration at them before she felt hands grab her waist and lift her up.
"Hey!" she yelled, wrestling free of the hands. "Hands off!"
"Sorry, sweetheart," one of the bandits said with more than a hint of condescension to his voice. "Just needed to get you back on your feet so we could keep moving, is all."
"Let's just get moving," Aqua said, glaring at where she was assuming the bandit was behind the blindfold. She was yanked by her wrists again, but this time she was able to stay on her feet.
"This way," one of the men said.
Aqua was led by her wrists for what felt like several more minutes before she was told by the bandits to stop walking.
"We're here," one of them said. "Come here. You don't need the blindfold anymore." Aqua stepped towards the voice, and she felt a pair of hands untie the cloth around her eyes. The blindfold was removed, and she was forced to squint as her eyes had to adjust to the light after being in darkness for so long. When her eyes finally got used to the light, she saw the bandits standing in front of her, looking right at her. No, wait. They weren't looking at her. They weren't meeting her eyes. Their eyes were focused a little more downward.
Oh, those creeps!
Aqua's face instantly flushed as soon as she realized where they were looking, and she turned away, holding her arms in front of her chest defensively. "Hey!" she yelled angrily. "What do you think you're looking at?!"
"Sorry about that, honey," one of them said, his tone of voice indicating that he was not at all sorry. "We just haven't seen a hot little thing like you in a long time. You can't blame us for getting an eyeful while we still can."
"Yes," she said, glaring at him. "Yes, I absolutely can blame you."
"Whatever," the other bandit said. "Come on, we've kept the boss lady waiting long enough." He gave her leash another tug, prompting her to start walking. She looked towards her destination and saw a large circle of tall wooden posts built as a makeshift wall. They were approaching an open gate, and Aqua could see several tents on the inside of the circle. Once they crossed the threshold, several bandits stopped what they were doing to watch the trio walk towards the center of camp. Instantly Aqua heard several of the men whistling at her and calling out to her lustfully.
It's for Ruby, she thought, trying to keep herself calm so she didn't put her student in danger. It's for Ruby, it's for Ruby.
"Enough!" a commanding voice called, causing the catcalling and whistling to cease. Aqua looked towards the source of the voice, and saw a familiar figure exiting a red tent that was much larger than the other ones around it. She recognized the black hair, the red eyes, and the long sword sheathed at her waist.
This was Raven Branwen. The woman that had abandoned Yang at birth, the woman that ran away from her duty as a mother to be with a bunch of thieves and murderers. And most importantly, she was the woman that stole Ruby right out from under Aqua. The blue-haired Keyblade Master sent the woman a glare so full of hatred that would normally only be reserved for Xehanort himself. Raven returned her glare with a smirk, which only served to anger Aqua even further.
"Aqua," Raven said. "It's so nice to finally meet you face-to-face."
"The feeling isn't mutual," Aqua said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, come now. Don't be like that. There's no reason why we can't be friends."
"There's plenty of reasons," Aqua snapped, losing her patience for the bandit woman's coy attitude. "Where's Ruby?"
"Right to the point, I see," Raven said with a sigh. "She's here, she's safe, so don't worry."
"What do you want from me?"
"I just want to talk," the bandit leader said, her face neutral.
"Really? That's it? You kidnapped a little girl and dragged me all the way out here just to talk?" Aqua asked incredulously.
"There are some things I'm trying to figure out."
"Like what?"
"Like where you got that interesting sword. It lets you do some pretty amazing things. It's clearly not your Semblance, since you didn't have your Aura unlocked that time in the woods." Aqua's eyes widened in shock.
"How did you know about that?"
"I was there."
"How? I didn't see you."
"I have my ways."
How was this possible? How could this woman have been there in the woods when Ruby first summoned her Keyblade? She had seen Aqua take the hit from that Grimm? Wait a minute.
"Yang was there, too." She vocalized her sudden realization, pointing her words at the runaway mother.
"What?" Raven asked, not quite in shock, but clearly not expecting to be questioned about her daughter.
"Your daughter. She was in the woods that day, too."
"What about her?"
The nerve of this woman. Aqua silently swore to herself that if she ever had kids, she would never leave their side. Better to smother your kids with too much love than abandon them, after all.
"If you saw that she was there, if you saw that she was in trouble, why didn't you help?"
"You and my brother had it covered."
"So? You couldn't even see your own daughter?"
"I don't see how that's any of your business," Raven said, frowning at the blue-haired woman. "Besides, I promised that I would only ever save her once. Thanks to you, I didn't have to use it up so early."
"And that makes it OK?!" Aqua yelled. How could this woman have such a callous disregard for the safety of her own daughter? Saving her once? There shouldn't be any caveats to helping your child! "She's your daughter!"
"You need to stop talking about things you don't understand, girl," Raven's frown deepened, almost turning into a snarl.
"Well, what about Taiyang?" Aqua asked. Raven's frown disappeared, and she just looked at the blue-haired woman in confusion. "Your husband? Aren't you supposed to love him?" Much to Aqua's surprise, Raven's only response was to burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"
"Sorry," Raven said, wiping a tear out of her eye as she finally stopped laughing. "You honestly think I care at all about that weakling?" Aqua could only look at the bandit with confusion.
"I don't understand," she finally said.
"Let me explain something to you," Raven said, crossing her arms. "I never loved Tai." Aqua's eyes widened. "He was just entertainment. He's far too weak-willed for anything permanent between us. No, we dated a few times, we slept together a few times, but I was planning from the beginning on returning to the tribe after graduation. But thanks to that moron, my return had to be delayed."
"Delayed?"
"That idiot forgot to put a condom on a few nights before we graduated," she said bluntly, and Aqua felt her face turn red at the details that she absolutely did not need to know. "Next thing I knew, I was pregnant, and I had to wait almost a year to take my rightful place in the tribe. And as soon as I left, he turned to Summer, and now that she's gone, he spends his days at the bottom of a bottle. I had him pegged as weak the minute I met him. I would've taken Yang with me, but I couldn't risk her inheriting his weakness."
"What is wrong with you?" Aqua asked in disgust. This woman just kept sinking deeper and deeper.
"It's the philosophy of the tribe. 'The strong survive, the weak die'. I'm not surprised Qrow never told you about it. He'd rather keep following Ozpin on his fool's errand than have anything to do with his family." That last part thoroughly confused Aqua.
"What does Ozpin have to do with anything?"
"Nevermind," Raven said with a shake of her head. "This wasn't why I wanted to talk to you."
"Fine," Aqua sighed. "What do I have to do to leave here safely with Ruby?" Raven had a look of genuine confusion at her words.
"I think there was a misunderstanding somewhere."
"What kind of misunderstanding?"
"The girl won't be leaving." Aqua's mind completely shut down at this. "She'll be staying here with us. The only thing I need to find out is if you'll be joining her, or if I'll be sending you back to my brother in pieces."
"Wha—" Aqua couldn't find the words. This woman had no intention of letting Ruby go? Then why go to all this trouble? Why even give Aqua the option of showing up? She had to know Aqua wouldn't stand for this. These were all questions floating around in Aqua's head, but she was too shocked to verbalize them.
"Let me put it to you another way since you seem to be having trouble understanding," Raven said, her smile returning. "Ruby Rose will be staying here to become a part of our tribe. You can either join the tribe, too, or I kill you where you stand." Aqua was finally able to regain your composure.
"Why do you want us?" She asked, glaring at the woman yet again.
"Isn't it obvious? I've seen the things those weapons of yours are capable of. I would be a fool to not want it for myself. The girl is still young, so she can be molded into one of us. I'm only going to give you this one chance, but I really only need the girl. You'd just be helpful in teaching her how to use it, and showing me how to get my own." Aqua scoffed at that last statement, causing Raven to lift an eyebrow in her direction.
"Don't kid yourself," Aqua said. "A murderer like you will never be worthy of wielding a Keyblade." Raven chuckled a little bit.
"Whether I'm 'worthy' or not doesn't really matter to me. All I care about is getting that power in my tribe. So, I'm going to give you your two options again. Either you can stay alive by joining your student in my tribe, or you die. So, which will it be?"
"I pick a third option," Aqua said, causing Raven to scowl at her.
"What third option?"
"I take you down and leave here with Ruby. There's no way in Hell I'm leaving her here with you." She honestly surprised herself with her language. She had never been one to swear, but this woman had just pissed her off that much. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, and they've caused me to lose everyone I've ever cared about. Training Ruby is my chance to finally do something right, and I will not let you take it from me."
"Is that your answer?" Raven asked, her right hand starting to move towards her sword. Aqua's only response was to summon her Keyblade, her bound wrists forcing her to grip it with both hands. "Fine, then." She gestured to the men surrounding Aqua. "Boys, kill her."
Aqua quickly spun around, using her Keyblade to block a sword slash from a bandit that charged her from behind. It just so happened that the first man to attack her had been the one that had dragged her by the wrists. She was going to enjoy this. He pressed his blade up against hers, and leaned his face close to hers, grinning madly.
"Don't worry, babe," he sneered, "I promise this won't hurt."
"I don't," she responded, causing the bandit to furrow his brow in confusion. She abruptly lowered her Keyblade. The bandit stumbled forward without the other weapon pressed up against his, and before he had a chance to recover, she hit him straight in the chin, knocking him onto the ground. She could see that he wasn't unconscious, as his Aura had absorbed some of the impact, but he was clearly still disoriented. Before she could follow up, however, she saw another bandit charge at her, and it happened to be the other man that escorted her to the camp. He swung his sword to her left, and she used her Keyblade to deflect it. She saw him prepare for an overhead swing, so she did something nobody expected.
She dismissed her Keyblade.
The bandit brought his sword down, and Aqua stepped back slightly, holding her bound wrists out in front of her. The sword passed right through the ropes, freeing her hands. She re-summoned her Keyblade, and coated it in flames. She dashed towards the bandit, spinning her Keyblade in front of her, hitting the bandit multiple times and burning right through his Aura, knocking him to the ground. She noticed that the first bandit was getting back up, so she coated her Keyblade in ice and threw it at him, freezing him solid. She shot herself towards him, and bashed her Keyblade against his chest, shattering the ice and his Aura at the same time. Looking around, she saw that all of the bandits had surrounded her, and several of them were pointing guns at her. She focused her attention all around her, making sure to "lock on" to as many of the bandits' heads as possible, while also making sure to aim at Raven multiple times. She surrounded herself in light, and began spinning in place, shooting small bolts of light from the tips of her Keyblade almost constantly. She spun several times, before finally releasing multiple bolts at once in a large explosion. When the dust cleared, half the bandits were lying on the ground unconscious. Raven, unfortunately, was holding her sword and had used it to deflect the bolts of light fired at her.
"How the hell did she do that?" One of the bandits asked.
"She punched right through their Auras," another said.
"You'll pay for that!" A third one shouted.
"Everybody stay back!" Raven shouted, stepping forward. "She's mine."
Aqua turned to face her, activating her Aura, covering her body in a cool blue glow. She learned from last time. That sword of Raven's was deadly. She couldn't afford to take a hit from her unprotected, even if it meant sacrificing her magic. She took her usual stance, back straight, Keyblade held at her side, feet together, and left hand slightly outstretched. She stared Raven down for a few tense seconds, and then the bandit leader charged at her.
"What's all that noise?" Cinder asked. Up until a few minutes ago, the cage that Ruby was sharing with the older girl had been surrounded by bandits, but they suddenly cleared out a few minutes ago. Then the girls heard shouts and loud noises that seemed to come from the center of the camp.
"Sounds like a fight," Ruby replied. "Oh! I bet that's someone who came to save us!"
"I doubt it," Cinder said sadly. "A couple of them probably got drunk and started fighting." Ruby pouted at the black-haired girl. "Ruby, the sooner you accept that we aren't being saved the better."
"Nope," Ruby said. "I'm not giving up!" She gave her ropes another tug, but they wouldn't budge. She couldn't reach the knot for the rope tying her wrists together. She'd need help.
Oh, wait. There was somebody else in the cage with her.
She rolled over onto her side and inched towards Cinder.
"What are you doing?" the older girl asked.
"Can you untie my hands?"
"Why?"
"I got an idea."
"What are you going to do about the cage being locked?"
"I got this. But I need to be free. Come on, I'll unite you when you're done." Cinder thought about it for a minute.
"Fine," she finally said, rolling over onto her own side and inching towards Ruby's back. Once she was close enough to feel the rope binding Ruby's wrists, she started feeling around for the knot. "Found it," she said.
"Is that the best you can do?" Raven asked tauntingly, looking down at Aqua on the ground. "I have to say, I'm not impressed." Aqua sent a glare up at the black-haired woman. She got up and charged at her, but it was nowhere as fast as it would be if she could use her Keyblade abilities. She swung her weapon at Raven, but the bandit leader easily deflected it. Aqua had raised her Aura in order to avoid being seriously injured if Raven managed to get inside her guard and land a hit, but at the cost of her magic and Keyblade abilities. While she had protection from her attacks, she was forced to rely on purely her swordsmanship, which she found out was lacking compared to the bandit leader's.
Aqua swung her Keyblade again, but Raven raised up her sword to block it. She grinned at the blue-haired woman, and kicked her in the stomach, dropping her guard before slashing her across the chest, her blue Aura rising up to protect her.
Oh, yeah. Raven fought dirty, too.
Aqua raised her Keyblade to block a swipe from Raven, but the force of the impact sent her sliding backwards.
"Come on," Raven taunted. "Aren't you going to use any of your magic?" Aqua glared at the bandit again.
She wants to see magic? Aqua thought. Fine, then. She dropped her Aura and raised her Keyblade high into the air.
"Thundaga!"
A ring of lighting surrounded her, convening on her Keyblade. It traveled up the weapon before flying straight up out of the tip. Raven's shot open and she looked up, right as a giant bolt of lightning shot straight down on her head. Dust was kicked up from the impact, obscuring Raven from view. Aqua lowered her Keyblade, looking at the spot where Raven was standing in resignation, when she suddenly saw a stream of ice flow along the ground, and before she had a chance to react, the ice flow hit her in the legs, freezing her feet to the ground. She looked up at the dust cloud, and her eyes widened as Raven emerged, completely unscathed, but her sword's blade was white instead of the usual red. She looked at the Keyblade Master and smirked.
How did she do that? Aqua thought. How did she walk away from a Thundaga?
"OK," Raven said. "My turn." She sheathed her sword, and Aqua saw a mechanism spinning, until it stopped on the color red. The bandit leader unsheathed her sword, the original red blade returning. Suddenly, the blade coated itself in flames, and Raven swung it, sending a blast of fire straight at Aqua. In a panic, Aqua raised her Aura again and braced for impact, her frozen feet leaving her unable to dodge.
The fire blast knocked her into the air, the ice around her feet shattering. She fell to the ground, losing her grip on her Keyblade and causing it to disappear. She landed hard, her Aura flickering.
"I see," Raven said, walking towards her. "You can't use your magic and your Aura at the same time." Aqua struggled to get up, her Aura just barely holding out. "Well, that works out great for me." She held her sword with both hands, and got into a ready stance. "I'll finish this quick. Don't worry. The girl will grow up strong with us." She raised her sword and charged at the blue-haired Keyblade Master.
No, Aqua thought. No, I can't let it end like this. Ruby needs me. I can't let it end!
"No!" she yelled. And then there was a flash of light.
"I think I… Got it!" Cinder exclaimed, finally untying the ropes binding Ruby's wrists. The younger girl used her arms to lift the rope around her torso over her head, and then got to work on untying her ankles.
"Thanks," she said to the older girl once her ankles were free. "Your turn." She walked over to Cinder, who was still lying sideways on the ground, and tugged at the knot binding her wrists. After about a minute, she had the older girl completely free.
"Well, now what?" Cinder asked. "The cage door is still locked."
"I got this," Ruby replied, summoning her Keyblade to her left hand.
"What is that?" Cinder asked, raising an eyebrow at the weapon.
"It's a Keyblade."
"A Keyblade?"
"Yeah. 'Key' is in the name, so I figured it can unlock things."
"You figure?" Cinder asked, clearly skeptical.
"It'll work!" she insisted. "…I think." Cinder raised her eyebrows at the younger girl again. "Shut up. Just watch." She pointed her Keyblade at the door, waiting patiently for something to happen.
Come on, she thought. Stupid Keyblade. Just unlock the door.
"Nothing's happening," Cinder said.
"Hold on, let me focus." She waited a few more moments and was about to give up, when a ray of light suddenly shot out of the Keyblade and towards the cage door lock. "Yes!" she cheered, hugging her Keyblade to her chest affectionately. "I knew you wouldn't let me down, Keyblade!"
"No way," Cinder said in disbelief. She walked towards the cage door and pushed it. To her surprise, it swung right open.
"Come on!" Ruby said, walking out of the cage. "Let's get out of here." They took a few steps out of the cage when they heard a gruff voice address them.
"Hey! How'd you get out?" The girls turned around and saw a bandit standing a few feet away from him, drawing a knife. "Get back in that cage before I hurt you."
"No!" Ruby yelled, raising her Keyblade.
"Ruby, what are you doing?" Cinder asked, growing afraid. "We can't fight him!"
"'There will be times you have to fight'," Ruby recited from her dream. "'Keep your light burning strong'."
"What?" Cinder asked, eyes widening a little bit.
"We aren't going back in that cage. I'm gonna fight!" Cinder could only stare at the girl, her mouth agape.
"Fine, if that's how it's gonna be!" The bandit yelled before charging at her. Ruby held her Keyblade in front of her in both hands, bracing herself for the bandit's attack.
Before the bandit could reach her though, he was suddenly slashed across the chest by a very familiar sword. She followed the shaft of the sword to the hand holding it, and from there, its wielder, and she saw the red cape and grey shirt. He straightened up and turned around to face Ruby, allowing her to confirm that the man was in fact, her uncle. She immediately dismissed her Keyblade and tackled him.
"Uncle Qrow!" She yelled into his chest. "You came!"
"Ruby!" he said, eagerly returning the hug. "Are you OK? Did they hurt you?"
"I'm fine," she said, releasing the hug and looking back at Cinder, who was looking at the man in surprise. "See? I told you someone would come to save us!" Qrow was clearly surprised to see another girl that obviously wasn't a bandit in the camp.
"Who's this?" Qrow asked.
"This is my new friend Cinder," Ruby said, gesturing to the older girl.
"Cinder?" He asked, looking at her.
"Y-Yes, sir," she answered, blushing a little bit. "Cinder Fall."
"How long have they been holding you, Cinder?"
"A month." Qrow frowned at her answer.
"Looks like my sister has even more to answer for than I thought."
"U-um," Cinder stuttered nervously, "Sir?"
"Listen, kid," he said with a smirk, "None of this 'sir' stuff. I'm not that old. The name's Qrow."
"Um, OK, Qrow. A-Are you a Huntsman?"
"Yeah, I am." Cinder's face visibly lit up at that.
"That's so cool," she said in awe. Qrow couldn't help but chuckle at the admiration.
"Alright, come on, you two. I have to let Aqua know you're OK, and back her up if I have to."
"Aqua's here, too?!" Ruby asked excitedly.
"Yup," Qrow answered, "She's fighting my sister right now. Let's go."
"What the hell?" Raven asked, her sword pressed up against something, preventing her from following through on her attack. Aqua could only stare at the obstruction in shock. It was a crystalline object that had taken a shape that was familiar to the blue-haired Keyblade Master. It took the form of a tall anthropomorphic dog with long ears wearing armor and holding a small buckler shield, which it pushed up against Raven's sword. "What is this thing?"
"Goofy?" Aqua asked, disbelieving what she was seeing. How could her friend be here? And why did he look like that? The crystalline figure in front of her said nothing, and pushed Raven back off its shield. The bandit jumped backwards, putting distance between herself and Aqua.
"What is that?" Raven asked again. "Is that your Semblance?"
My Semblance? Aqua thought. Is this finally my Semblance?
"Well, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" Raven scowled. "Who would've thought your Semblance would allow you to summon? I thought only the Schnees could do that." Aqua continued to stare at the summoned construct, when she finally allowed herself to smile.
"Good to see you, Goofy," she said to the construct, standing up and summoning her Keyblade. Something feels different, she thought. I wonder if… She raised her Keyblade high into the sky. "Heal!" she shouted, and she was surrounded by a green light, relieving her of her fatigue. She saw Raven's eyes widen.
"I thought you couldn't use magic when your Aura was up," she said in surprise.
"I guess I should thank you," Aqua said. "Qrow told me that people sometimes discover their Semblance when they're in distress. And you did just that. It's thanks to you that I finally got my full power."
"This doesn't change anything," Raven sneered. "You still can't win."
"We'll see," Aqua said, finally able to smirk at the bandit leader, which just seemed to make her even angrier. Yeah, Aqua thought. How does it feel? "Let's go, Goofy!" She yelled, and the copy of Goofy lifted his left leg and threw his shield underneath it at the bandit.
She blocked it with her sword, but to her surprise, instead of bouncing off it, it curved around her sword and hit her straight in the face, causing her Aura to flash a dull gray. As if that wasn't enough, it still didn't fall as it was supposed to, and simply hit her in the face again. Aqua took the opportunity to charge at the bandit leader while she was preoccupied with being brained by a seemingly sentient thrown shield. Raven finally was able to compose herself, slashing at the shield with her sword. The blade of her katana lit ablaze again, and she fired off a stream of fire at the Goofy construct, shattering him instantly. Aqua jumped high in the air, bringing her Keyblade down on the bandit woman. The woman brought her sword up to intercept her, and then Aqua did the unexplainable.
She launched herself back up into the air without touching the ground.
Aqua's sudden elevation caused Raven to miss her attack, and her shock caused her to be unable to react to the blue-haired woman throwing her Keyblade straight down at her. It struck Raven in the chest, and Aqua quickly re-summoned it and propelled herself downwards, striking Raven again, causing her Aura to flare up again. Before the bandit could recover, she delivered several more blows, knocking Raven back. With some distance put between the two of them, Aqua decided to try reaching out with her Semblance again. She was surrounded by a bright light, a blue glyph appearing on the ground underneath her.
"Donald!" She shouted, and another crystalline anthropomorphic animal appeared in front of her, this time a small duck in wizard robes and a hat holding a small staff in its hand. It immediately launched a large fireball at Raven, but the bandit slashed her sword and diffused it. Aqua charged at her again while the Donald construct launched a blast of ice. However, Raven was ready for the combined onslaught this time. She fired another fire blast from her sword to dispel the ice, and blocked Aqua's attack. Instead of trying to counter, she jumped over Aqua and attacked the Donald construct directly, shattering him. Aqua called her Semblance again, causing the blue glyph to appear on the ground again. But the name she called stunned Raven.
"Qrow!" Aqua yelled, and a crystalline copy of the drunk Huntsman himself appeared and instantly charging at the bandit. Raven's face instantly contorted into a look of pure hatred. She blocked the attack from the Qrow construct, and then a sudden blast of fire launched out from her sword, shattering the copy of her brother.
"ENOUGH!" She roared, glaring at Aqua. "This has gone on long enough. I'm going to put you in the ground!" Aqua looked her right in the eyes, and she could swear they had started to glow. Before she could confirm it, however, a gunshot suddenly rang out, and a bullet impacted Raven in the head, bouncing off her Aura. Both women turned to look at where the shot came from, and were surprised to see Qrow, with his sword folded down to expose a gun barrel, which was pointed right at Raven. To Aqua's delight, next to him was Ruby and a girl she didn't recognize.
"Ruby!" She called happily, and the little girl gave her a cheery wave in greeting.
"Well, hello little brother," Raven said, her signature smugness returning.
"Shut up," Qrow snapped. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"I'm making sure power gets used the way it's supposed to be."
"What the hell does that mean?" He demanded.
"I mean this power would be put to actual use with us instead of being wasted with Ozpin."
"Why do you keep bringing up Ozpin?" Aqua asked.
"She's not working with Oz," Qrow said. "He talked to her, yeah, but she said no."
"Really?" Raven asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yes," Aqua said. "I told him I couldn't get involved in whatever it was he was trying to recruit me into."
"Interesting," Raven mused. "But I still can't let you leave here. I'll be taking that girl back."
"You'll do no such thing!" Aqua yelled.
"Raven," Qrow said, his voice almost sounding pleading. "Just let it go. I really don't want to have to put you down."
"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve," Raven said with the utmost confidence in herself, holding her sword in a ready position again.
Suddenly, a jagged sword fell from above them and embedded itself in the ground. Raven was suddenly surrounded by small purple flames that began to circle her. She looked at the flames in confusion, as they spun around her faster and faster, before closing in on her, blasting her backwards.
"What the hell?!" Qrow exclaimed. The flames reappeared next to the sword, coming back together and forming a new figure. It was a muscular, pitch-black body. It's body looked very human, but with two long claws for feet. On it's head were glowing yellow eyes, pointed ears, and two long purple antennae that formed a heart shape between them. It had vaguely demonic-shaped wings on its back and more angelic wings on it arms. It had a long tail with a circular blade on the end of it. What instantly drew the eye was the large heart-shaped hole in the middle if its chest. It grabbed the sword and yanked it out of the ground, and with a flap of its wings, floated above the ground.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Qrow asked again, clearly alarmed at the sight of the monster in front of him.
"It's a Heartless!" Aqua exclaimed, getting her Keyblade back into position. Almost as if on cue, several Shadows appeared around the new sword-wielding Heartless.
"Great," Qrow sighed. "Just our damn luck."
"Qrow," Aqua called. "You take care of the girls. Make sure nothing gets near them."
"Well, obviously," Qrow said. "What are you gonna do? I get fighting the small fry yourself, but what about the big guy? Can you take him alone?" She turned around and smiled at him.
"I won't be alone," she said, before calling upon her blue glyph again. "Mickey!" She shouted, and a crystalline figure was called forth again. It was short, with absurdly large mouse ears, and was carrying its own Keyblade. She set her summon on the Shadow Heartless while she crossed her arms in front of her. She began a glow brightly, energy swirling around her. She concentrated, activating a Style Change. The energy surrounding her suddenly exploded, leaving her body glowing with a pale blue. She heard the three people behind her gasp, as her Keyblade was now floating in front of her hand instead of being grasped by it. She charged at the Heartless, which swung its sword at her. She jumped to the side, and moved her arm upwards, sending her Keyblade spinning at the monster vertically. It struck home, and she spun her body sideways, her Keyblade circling her before launching itself back at the Heartless. Finally, she pointed her Keyblade at the monster, and a blast of energy exploded out, straight at the enemy. The Heartless flew backwards a few feet, before recovering and sticking its sword in the ground like before. It turned into several small flames again, surrounding Aqua. She looked around at the flames as they quickly encircled her, and just as they were about to meet, she made a mighty leap, landing right next to embedded sword. The Heartless reformed next to its weapon and reached for it, but Aqua knocked it away before grabbing the Heartless's own weapon in her left hand. She charged after the Heartless, throwing her Keyblade at it, before finally running up and stabbing it in the chest with its own weapon, disappearing in a puff of black smoke. Looking around, she saw that there were still some Shadows that her Mickey summon had yet to destroy. She started to spin in place, looking very much like a figure skater, as energy began to swirl around her, drawing in the Heartless around her. She gradually began to speed up her spinning, raising one leg straight up behind her until it was practically touching her raised hands. Finally, all the energy that had been swirling around her exploded outwards, killing all of the Heartless and making her lose her glow. She stood firm, panting heavily, before looking around the camp. All of the bandits were gone.
"Where'd they go?" She asked Qrow, who inexplicably had a slight blush on his face.
"Huh?" he asked dumbly.
"The bandits," she clarified.
"Oh, uh, I think Raven opened a portal and left. Aqua, what you just did…"
"Yes?" She asked after he trailed off.
"That was incredible," he said, making her blush at the praise.
"It was true what you said," she told him. "Stress really helped me unlock my Semblance." Suddenly, she was practically knocked over by a familiar red-clad little girl, who gave her one of her patented tackle-hugs.
"Aqua!" She yelled, tightening her grip on the woman.
"Ruby!" She returned the hug in earnest. "I'm so glad you're OK!" The girl looked up at her face.
"That was so cool!" The little girl said, her eyes full of awe for her teacher.
"Yeah, it was pretty cool," Aqua said a little sheepishly. She finally looked to the mysterious girl next to Qrow. She separated from Ruby and walked over to the unknown girl. The girl was looking at her in even more admiration than even Ruby was, if that was possible. "What's your name?" she asked the girl.
"Cinder Fall," the girl answered, still looking at Aqua as if she was the greatest human being on the planet.
"That's a very pretty name," she said with a smile. The girl absolutely beamed at the compliment.
"You're so strong," the girl said, the admiration clear in her voice.
"I guess I am."
"Can I be strong like you?"
"I'm sure you can," she said. She sent a questioning look to Qrow, wanting to know who this girl was.
"She said the tribe had her here for a month," Qrow said somberly. Aqua's eyes widened, and she instantly pulled Cinder into a hug, taking the girl by surprise.
"I'm so sorry," Aqua practically whispered. "How did you end up here?"
"The Grimm attacked my village," the girl said sadly. "I got separated from my family, and then those bandits picked me up. I thought I'd never be saved." Aqua could see that tears were starting to form in the girl's eyes, causing Aqua to tighten the hug.
"We'll get you back to your family," Aqua said. "I promise you." She continued to hug the girl, letting her get all her tears out of her system. To her surprise, Ruby appeared behind the girl and wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. Aqua looked at her student in approval, Ruby smiling back at her. After a few minutes, Cinder finally stopped crying, allowing Aqua and Ruby to let go of her, the older girl looking at them gratefully.
"Alright," Qrow said. "Let's get home. I'm sure Tai and Yang are worried sick."
"Yeah," Aqua nodded. "Let's go."
AN: Well, there you have it. Aqua has finally activated her Semblance. The vast majority of people who commented on what it could be suggested a summoning, so here it is.
Aqua's Semblance is called Wayfinder, and it allows her to summon a crystalline copy of anybody she considers a friend, as long as the person is still alive and their heart is intact. The copies have the same abilities as the person they are based off of, but they are destroyed very easily. So, in addition to getting her Semblance, she can now use her magic and Keyblade abilities at the same time that she's using her Aura. Honestly, the main reason that I gave her that problem in the first place was just to make it believable that Raven would give her such a difficult time. I have a feeling that Aqua would mop the floor with Raven if she had all of her abilities from the start, at least until Raven used her Maiden Powers, which she's trying to keep under wraps.
We also had a fight with an Invisible. I knew from the start going into this chapter that this was the Heartless that I wanted to interrupt Aqua's fight with Raven, because it just looks so damn cool. Plus it would come as a shock to Qrow and Ruby, who had never seen one that intimidating before.
And we got a little more time with Cinder, who clearly has an admiration for everyone's favorite Keyblade Master. Time will tell where this goes. I mean, I know where it's going, but you don't.
Anyway, thank you all for reading, and I'll see you next chapter.