AN: I'm happy for the positive reception the changes I made to Roman and Neo received.
Moving forward, my output is probably going to slow down dramatically, since the new semester start tomorrow, and provided my thesis goes well, it should be my last semester of grad school before I graduate with a Master's Degree. Since school will make it harder to find time to write, I'm just glad I was able to finish Volume 2 during Winter break.
With that said, I hope you enjoy this!
EDIT: I made a small change to make Aqua and Nora's appearance at the end of this chapter consistent with their appearances in the next couple of chapters.
Chapter 42
When the train barreled through the back wall of the cave, Team RWBY were thrown from the top, but thanks to Weiss's quick thinking, they were stunned, but otherwise unharmed. Ruby opened her eyes to the view of the bright sunny sky and buildings all around them. There was a siren blaring loudly, but Ruby ignored it for now in favor of checking on her team. Blake and Yang were getting up, and Weiss was sitting down and leaning against a piece of debris, but gave her a thumbs up so she knew the heiress was okay. Ruby sat up, and realized that she recognized where they had ended up.
It was Town Square, in the middle of Downtown Vale. And it was midday, so it was crowded. The said crowds had evidently noticed the train that had crashed up through the ground, and were gawking at the girls.
Then she heard a growl.
Ruby turned around, and saw a giant King Taijitu slither out of the hole, with a horde of Grimm following it.
The people screamed and ran for cover while the sirens kept blaring.
Ruby summoned her Keyblade.
Cinder and her team were walking towards the airship docks when they heard sirens blaring from the city. They stopped in their tracks and looked out towards Vale. Cinder narrowed her eyes.
"You don't think…" Emerald said, and she didn't have to finish her sentence for the other two to realize she was talking about Roman's train.
"Sure looks like it," Mercury confirmed.
"That's still days away!" Emerald said.
"So?" Mercury asked, looking to Cinder. "What do we do?"
"We do what 'good' Huntsmen are supposed to do," Cinder said. "Kill Grimm."
The King Taijitu roared, and all hell broke loose. The horde of Grimm had no one to fight in the city square besides Team RWBY, so it was up to the four of them to hold them off.
"Protect the citizens!" Ruby yelled. "Make sure the Grimm don't get past you!" Her team yelled an affirmative, and Ruby noticed a few Beowolves running after a group of citizens. She quickly used her Shotlock to zip over and slice them apart.
"Get to safety!" She shouted to them. "We'll hold them off!"
"Thank you!" A young woman carrying a child said before the crowd continued down the street away from the battle. She ran back into the fray, slicing at Ursai and Beowolves as she went, and ducking under a car thrown by her sister. She put her guard up when she saw the King Taijitu ready for an attack, but a gray blur ran past her.
Mercury launched himself off the ground, kicking the giant snake in one of its heads and firing the shotgun in his boot, flipping away from it. An arrow flew past her head, embedding in the Grimm's face and exploding, destroying one of the heads. Ruby turned around and saw Cinder standing with her bow raised. The two leaders nodded at each other, and jumped back into the fray.
Cinder had swapped out her bow for a pair of scimitars, and the two of them were relentless in their attacks, cutting down Grimm left and right. Along the way, she caught glimpses of Cinder's three teammates helping Team RWBY. They were interrupted when they heard a voice.
"Nobody move!" Sun shouted, flashing a badge. "Junior detectives!"
"We have badges so you know it's official!" Neptune said, flashing his own.
"Who cares about your stupid badges?!" Emerald shouted, taking the wind out of the boys' sails. "Just get down here and help us!"
The sky suddenly darkened, and the group looked up to see a large Atlesian warship hovering above them, along with several smaller escort ships. Hatches opened up on the underside of the ships, allowing Atlesian Knights to fall from them and deploy in the battle. Ruby realized that she let herself be distracted looking at the ship when she heard an Ursa roar behind her.
She was about to kill it when the machine guns on the battleship opened fire, filling the monster full of holes.
Much to her surprise and delight, she heard a bark, and looked back at the hole to see Zwei emerge completely unharmed, followed by Doctor Oobleck piloting a damaged Paladin. The little guy decided to join in on the fight, jumping down and headbutting a Beowolf.
Those obedience classes had been so worth it.
She also heard an airship fly down much lower, this one carrying Team CFVY and Professor Port. They jumped out, deploying their weapons. They were about to start fighting when a new creature appeared.
It was a floating black ball, with two tendrils on top and one below, with yellow eyes and a gaping mouth.
Ruby recognized it as a Darkball Heartless. It charged at Yatsuhashi, its jaws snapping shut repeatedly. Ruby quickly changed her Keyblade to its sniper form and shot it, making the Heartless disappear.
This wasn't good. With this many Grimm and this much chaos, there was no way that there was only one Heartless.
More were coming, and she had a pretty good idea from where.
Glynda used her Semblance to throw Grimm away from her without even looking at them or breaking her stride.
What were the odds? What were the damn odds that Ozpin sends those girls out to look for the White Fang and a train crashes up through the ground in the middle of Downtown Vale? And that a whole horde of Grimm would come with it? She would be having words with the Headmaster after this.
He was just lucky that Aqua was away right now.
She approached the gaping hole in the ground, and gripped the fallen rubble surrounding it with her Semblance, moving the pieces back together to seal the hole.
Or at least, that was her intention.
Instead, when she put the pieces back together, something started pushing back against her. She applied a little more force to her Semblance to try and force the hole closed, but she was overpowered and a tsunami of small black creatures poured out of the opening, swallowing her up.
Ruby was horrified when the wave of Heartless broke through the opening. Professor Goodwitch, Doctor Oobleck, Zwei, Blake, and Weiss were closest to the hole, so they were swept away by the tide first. It kept going, swallowing up Emerald, Mercury, and Mynt, too.
More pillars of Shadows broke through the ground, too, and before anyone could react, Team CFVY and Professor Port were taken, too. Another one popped up, taking Sun and Neptune. Ruby saw a wave headed right for her, but someone pushed her out of the way.
To her horror, it was Yang, who was scooped up in her place.
"YANG!" Ruby screamed, reaching out for her sister, but the wave of Heartless carried her up and out of her reach.
Ruby fell to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes as she watched her only sister be taken from her.
By now, the waves of Heartless had combined, forming what could only be described as a massive tornado of Shadows. The Atlesian ships fired on them, but their shots didn't do much to quell the numbers.
Ruby barely registered someone shaking her shoulders.
"Ruby!" Cinder yelled. "You have to get up!"
"Yang…" Ruby said, her voice devoid of emotion. Why should she get up? Her sister was gone. What was the point?
"Ruby!" Cinder yelled again, but Ruby didn't answer. "Do you think Yang would want you to roll over and die?!"
"…She's gone," Ruby said. She saw another wave headed towards them, and found that didn't have the energy to try and avoid it.
"Damn it, Ruby!" Cinder yelled, and stepped in front of her. When the swarm came, it picked the both of them up.
I'm so sorry, Mom, Ruby thought before she was sucked into the storm. It looks like I didn't have what it takes after all. At least Yang and I will see Mommy again.
"Seriously?" a male voice asked. "You're really willing to let it end here? What kind of Keyblade wielder are you?"
"Huh?" Ruby asked, opening her eyes to a black void. She sat up, and saw that she was sitting on a stained-glass platform. It was red, and featured an image of her brandishing Crescent Rose prominently on the surface. All around the image of her were round portraits of the faces of her friends: Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Mom, Uncle Qrow, and Cinder. Standing on the opposite end of the platform was a man in a long black coat with the hood pulled up. His face was shrouded in the hood's shadow. "Who are you? Where am I?" She asked.
"Who I am really isn't important," the man said. "As for where you are, well, I pulled you into your Heart so we could have a little chat about giving up."
"My Heart?" She asked. "How is that possible? This isn't the afterlife?"
"Why would you be in the afterlife?" The man asked, tilting his head. "You aren't dead. Not yet at least."
"I'm not?" She asked. "But the Heartless swallowed all of us up."
"So? You still have time."
"Does that mean…?" Ruby asked, her eyes widening.
"Yup," he said, walking towards her. "You still have time to save your sister. But you need her help to do it."
"What do you mean?"
"Use the hearts connected to yours." He pointed at the Wayfinder around her neck. "You already have a physical bond with two other strong Hearts. You just have to tap into it, and Bingo! You know, if you hadn't given up so easily, you could have figured this out yourself and I wouldn't have had to go out of my way to tell you."
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it. Just don't quit again next time things get a little hard, or I'll drag you back here and again and beat some sense into you next time. Now go and be a Keyblade Wielder, damn it."
When Ruby next opened her eyes, it felt like she was floating underwater. She could see all around her, her friends were floating as well, unconscious in a viscous black void. She could see the Professors, Blake and Weiss, Team CFVY, Team FMBS, Sun and Neptune, Zwei…
…And Yang.
Ruby swam through the darkness to reach her sister, putting a hand on Yang's shoulder and shaking her. She wouldn't wake up, but then their Wayfinders started to glow. Yang opened her eyes suddenly, and immediately started to panic after realizing where she was, but was stopped when Ruby threw her arms around her. Yang hugged her back, and they saw another glow, coming from Cinder's Wayfinder. Cinder opened her eyes, too, and quickly noticed Ruby and Yang, and swam over to them.
Small beams of light shot out from Yang and Cinder's Wayfinders, and fired into Ruby's. She felt an urge in her left hand, and Crescent Rose appeared in a flash of light. It was glowing a brilliant gold, and Ruby raised it above her head and swung downwards.
The tornado of Heartless disappeared when Ruby swung her Keyblade, a bright light causing them to dissolve.
Unfortunately, the people trapped inside of it were still in midair, and had no choice but to fall back down to the ground. The group all predictably screamed when they realized they were falling.
Ruby decided that she needed to do something.
She locked on to all to all of her friends (and Zwei) and used her Shotlock to zoom over to each one. Only instead of attacking them, she grabbed onto to each one and moved them into a giant group right above her. Her pointed her Keyblade below them, and cast several Aero spells under the group to slow down their fall until they landed in a heap, confused, but unharmed. Ruby quickly sat up.
"Professor Goodwitch!" She shouted. "The hole!"
"Uh, right," the blonde professor said, raising her riding crop and using her Semblance to close up the hole like she had originally intended.
The group had gathered around in the town square to watch Emerald and Mercury drag Torchwick towards one of Atlas' airships.
"Oh, I can't believe you caught me," he said mockingly. "You really taught me the error of my ways." An Atlesian Knight grabbed him by the arm. "Hey, watch the hat!" The two Knights carried him up the ramp, and Emerald and Mercury approached Team RWBY.
"Well, that's done," Emerald said.
"Nice work," Cinder said, making Emerald smile.
"Well, what now?" Mercury asked.
"Now?" Yang asked. "This." She grabbed Mercury by the collar and pulled, crashing her lips into his. His eyes widened, and Yang pulled back just as fiercely. "We almost died," she said. "Had to do it."
"Can we do that again?" he asked, putting his hands on her waist.
"Sure," she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck and putting her hands together behind his head. They leaned in for another kiss, this one longer, deeper, and more passionate.
Ruby wanted to puke.
Team RWBY sat on the edge of the landing platform at Beacon, watching the setting sun. Zwei was in Ruby's lap, happily accepting belly rubs from his favorite girl.
In Ruby's humble opinion anyway.
"Well, we did it," Yang said.
"We did it," Blake repeated.
"If we don't get extra credit for that, I'm going to be seriously disappointed," Weiss said.
"Weiss, we got swallowed up by Heartless hurricane," Yang said. "I wouldn't count on it."
"Plus, I mean, we didn't solve everything," Ruby said. "A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't even know why they did this."
"Well, not every story has a neat and tidy ending," Weiss said.
"We might not have all the answers, but we do have a lot of dangerous people behind bars," Blake said. "And I think that's something we could be proud of." Ruby looked at her happily, as this was a very different tone than the one she had just a few days ago.
"Yeah!" Ruby said. "And if anyone tries something like this again, we'll be there to stop them." Yang flopped down onto her back.
"Yay, teamwork, camaraderie, good guys, go team, alright, good job…" she said. "So, what now?"
"Well, I'd suggest training for the tournament, but I guess we have that covered at this point," Weiss said.
"So then…" Blake said.
"Uhh… Time for bed?" Ruby suggested, and her team eagerly agreed. They stood up and began to walk back to campus, when they saw another Bullhead arrive.
When the doors opened, they saw Mom standing in it, a worried expression on her face. For some reason, she was dressed like some weird dancer from some nerdy fantasy game. Team RWBY became very worried when they saw a medical team rushing towards the airship. They ran towards the bullhead in concern, and watched the medical team carry out Pyrrha of all people on a stretcher.
"Mom!" Ruby called. "What happened?"
"And what are you wearing?" Yang asked.
"It's a long story," Mom said, stepping out of the airship while the rest of team JNPR followed Pyrrha to the infirmary. They noticed Nora was dressed in a similar weird outfit as Mom. A man with black hair who was for some reason only wearing a pair of black shorts and nothing else, with a large sword strapped to his back also jumped out of the Bullhead.
"I'll handle the report for Ozpin," the man said. "You take some time with your kids, Aqua."
"Thanks, Jecht," she said. "I'll give my side of the report later."
"Got it," he said, and walked away.
"Who's that?" Weiss asked.
"And why is he shirtless?" Blake asked.
"That's Jecht," she said. "He's the Huntsman we had to assist.
"Who cares about that?" Yang asked. "What happened to Pyrrha?"
"Opzin?" Jayson Winchester's voice said over a video message. Ozpin didn't answer him, instead looking out his window. "Ozpin!"
"Yes, Councilman," Ozpin finally answered, looking at the screen. Vale's Council took up most of the screen, with a video of James in the corner.
"You've left us no choice!" Winchester yelled. "The Vytal Festival tournament cannot be broadcast, let alone held, if we are unable to ensure the safety of the citizens." Ozpin just took a sip from his mug, not reacting in the slightest. Councilor Winchester cleared his throat, indicating that he was expecting some kind of a reaction from the headmaster. "Therefore, we have reached out to the Atlas Council and together have decided that the best action is to appoint General Ironwood as head of security for the event."
"Thank you, Councilman," James said. "Our Kingdom is happy to lend as many troops as it takes to ensure that the event runs smoothly and safely as possible."
"And we thank you, General," Winchester said. Ozpin noticed the obvious hint of spite in his voice.
"Will that be all?" Ozpin asked.
"For now," Councilor Winchester answered. "But after the festival comes to a close, we are going to have a serious discussion about your position at Beacon Academy. General Ironwood's reports over the last few weeks have left us somewhat…concerned. I am sure you understand."
Ozpin glared daggers at James's video as the Council hung up.
"This is the right move, Ozpin," James said. "I promise, I will keep our people safe. You have to trust me." James hung up on the call, leaving Ozpin fuming.
When was James going to realize that he can't expect trust when he won't give it out?
Especially when he insists on screwing over his own allies.
Not for the first time, Ozpin wondered if inviting James was a mistake.
"You brought this on yourself," James said, looking at Beacon through the window of his flagship. He walked down the halls of his ship to the cellblock, approaching a single cell with multiple Knights guarding it. James opened the cell door, revealing Roman Torchwick sitting by himself in a small holding cell, his hat missing, and his arms strapped into a straitjacket with a tall, loose collar.
"Leave us," James ordered the Knights, and they walked away, leaving him alone with Torchwick. "I've been informed that so far you've refused to co-operate with the authorities."
"I know this might be hard to believe, General," Torchwick said, "But I'm not the biggest fan of local law enforcement."
"How about the world's strongest military power?"
"Yeah, not a great first impression," Torchwick said cheekily.
"I'm going to give you one chance," James said. "Who's really behind all this?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Torchwick asked. "You're looking at him."
"Hm, very well then," James said, turning around and walking out of the cell. He pulled out his scroll on the way.
"What's the matter, General? I thought you wanted to talk."
"The council's given me custody over you for as long as I see fit. So you can make yourself comfortable. Or as comfortable as you can. I can assure you we'll have plenty of time to talk."
"Oh, wonderful," Torchwick said, but his laughter was cut off by the door slamming shut.
Now, I have more important matters to attend to, he said, watching a video from right after that massive swarm of creatures disappeared.
Specifically, the part where Miss Rose summoned wind to slow everyone down.
James narrowed his eyes.
Cinder had gathered her team on a rooftop to discuss the plan, but Neo seemed to have no interest in it. She just sat on the edge, her knees pulled up to her chest.
Cinder did feel bad for the girl, but there was little she could do to comfort her. Her pain came form being forcefully separated from Roman, and he was only in prison right now because it was part of her plan. She doubted Neo would even want her comfort.
"Those stupid kids really made a mess of things," Emerald said.
"They did," Cinder said. "Nice job keeping your cover, though." Emerald preened at the praise.
"A lot of Faunus didn't make it out of the tunnels," Mercury said. "You still think the White Fang's gonna listen to us?"
"No," someone new said. They turned and saw a tall young man with brilliant red hair and a pair of horns sticking out of his head. He was wearing a black suit with red accents, and was carrying a katana sheathed in his left hand. His name was Adam Taurus.
"But they'll listen to me."
AN: Yes, I took a lot of inspiration from the botched first attempt at the Keyblade War from the end of Kingdom Hearts 3 with how the Breach ended. This was also a way for Ruby to finally start coming into her own as a Keyblade Wielder, as this was the first time she really utilized the power of Light.
And since I know people are going to ask, Ruby's silver eyes didn't activate when Yang was taken away because the Heartless had already swept up and absorbed all the Grimm, and the silver eyes only activate around Grimm, not Heartless.
So, the first Final Fantasy character I'm introducing from Team JNPR's mission was Jecht from Final Fantasy X. Surprisingly enough, no one guessed that I'd be adding FFX characters to this story. Well, someone suggested Yuna and Rikku, but they were already in KH2. You'll have to wait and see who the other one is, but it's someone else from FFX that's never been in Kingdom Hearts before.
So, next time, we have Team JNPR's mission, a short arc to bridge Volumes 2 and 3, and then Volume 3. Hopefully I can get these done in a reasonable amount of time.
As always, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next time!