AN: Sorry this took a little more time, but I was on vacation all last week and ironically, didn't have as much time to write.

Once again, thank you to Lord Maximus for the help with this chapter.

Chapter 88

Aqua stood in the middle of her dorm room, wearing the Academy uniform that James had given her, Keyblade in hand as she worked through some basic exercises with it.

"Good to see you're so diligent," James's voice said, startling her a little bit. She turned around to see him standing in the doorway. "I wish Qrow had the same habits."

"He can be diligent when he wants to be," Aqua said in her husband's defense. "He just needs something that he's interested in."

Like her, for example. He was very interested in her, and oh so very diligent.

"I suppose," the general said.

"So, what did you need?" Aqua asked. The general took a deep breath in, as if he was trying to work up the nerve to ask something.

"I would like to ask for your permission for our scientists to study your Keyblade," he said.

"What?' Aqua asked. She really should have seen that one coming.

"Your weapon is unlike anything I have ever seen, and would be instrumental in the defense of Atlas," he explained. "Making sure that Atlas is safe is and always will be my top priority. With my soldiers wielding Keyblades of their very own, nothing would ever threaten my home again. So please, allow us to study it."

Aqua sighed deeply.

"I can't," she said.

"Why not?" James asked, seeming to get a little aggravated. Aqua stood silently for a few seconds.

"Did I ever tell you about how I grew up?" she asked.

"How is that relevant?"

"It's relevant because it explains why I refuse to give anyone else besides Ruby the Keyblade," she said, sitting down on her bed. "I was raised as a member of an ancient order, one whose history spans back centuries. There used to be thousands of us, until a war broke out amongst our members."

"A War?" the general asked.

"Yes," Aqua answered. "One that almost brought about an end of all things. I've seen the devastation myself. It was called the Keyblade War among our order. Thousands of Keybearers fought over control of Kingdom Hearts, leaving utter devastation in their wake. By the time the War was over, there were very few of us left. In fact, by the time I began my training, there were only 6 of us: Myself, my friends Terra and Ven, our Master Eraqus, his friend Master Xehanort, and his apprentice Vanitas. You will never understand the destruction caused by thousands of Keybearers, but I've seen it firsthand. So trust me when I say, giving Keyblades to an army is a very bad idea. It's why I won't give one to anyone else besides Ruby."

"But you'd rather have only two people horde that much power to themselves?" James asked.

"It's better than our order being wiped out," Aqua countered. "And as a Master, it's my prerogative who I choose to share this power with."

"What do you mean, 'wiped out'?"

"I grew up in a monastery in the mountains," Aqua said. "I don't even know where I was born, or who my parents were. The only family I ever knew was Master Eraqus, Terra, and Ven." She paused for a second, her fists clenching to grab hold of the blankets of her bed. "…And then eleven years ago, we were betrayed."

"By who?"

"Xehanort." She said, her teeth clenched in anger at saying his name. "He and his apprentice, Vanitas, betrayed our order in pursuit of greater power. He destroyed the temple where we trained, and killed Master Eraqus and Terra. Vanitas and Ven killed each other, and then I was finally able to kill Xehanort." She was embellishing the story quite a bit, but it was necessary to avoid him learning the truth about other worlds. "I know from personal experience how corrupting the influence of a Keyblade can be, and the last thing this world needs is another Xehanort. You can't guarantee that one of your soldiers won't become that, so I refuse to allow it. As a Master, I will never pass it along to anyone else. When Ruby becomes a Master, how many apprentices she chooses to take will be her decision, and hers alone, but for now, it's mine. This has nothing to do with whether or not I trust you, but this decision is made from personal experience. It's my personal opinion that too many Keyblades can be very dangerous. And besides, it's a power that comes from the Heart. You can't just recreate it."

James stood there, his hands behind his back, not saying anything for several seconds.

"…I understand," he finally said. "You're carrying the future of your order, of your entire way of life, on your shoulders. I can't say I'm not disappointed, but I at least… appreciate your honesty."

She inwardly winced a little, since she hadn't been entirely honest.

"And I appreciate your understanding," she said. "Was there anything else?"

"There was, actually," James said. "I also came to ask if you wanted to explore Atlas a little?"

"Really?" she asked. "What brought this on?"

"Well, with the exception of the party, you've been cooped up in the Academy since you arrived in Atlas. I figured you would like an opportunity to get out, see the sights, and stretch your legs a little." Aqua raised an eyebrow at his phrasing. "That wasn't intended as a joke."

"Oh, good," Aqua said, sighing in relief. She loved Yang, she really did, but for a second there, she thought she hadn't escaped the puns.

"Anyway, I'll be having someone accompany you," James said.

"You're assigning me a chaperone?" Aqua asked, raising an eyebrow again.

"No, it's not like that," James said, clearing his throat. "I thought 'tour guide' would be more appropriate."

"I'm a big girl, James. I can look after myself," Aqua stated, crossing her arms.

"I know but we still want to make sure that your new vertebra won't suddenly give out on you when you're not in the Academy. And the tour guide happens to be a student, and a former teammate of Penny's," James said as the door opened and in walked the so-called tour guide. "Aqua, this is Ciel Soleil."

"A pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Ciel said, bowing politely.

"Miss Soleil, I want you to give Mrs. Branwen a tour of the Academy and perhaps the city of Atlas," James said to the girl, who nodded. "And Aqua, if you plan on doing any shopping, you can forward me the bill." Aqua raised an eyebrow.

"That's… really generous of you, James. But I'm not a freeloader and I already owe you for the operation."

"Please, you earned this. You may have politely refused my offer, but you were still brave enough to take a chance to get your legs back, and you've been a very interesting sparring partner," James said, rolling his shoulders. "I was fearing I was starting to get rusty."

"No more rusty than me," Aqua said with a sigh. "All right, I'll accept."

"Thank you," James said, turning to leave.

"And James," she said, stopping him. "No more spoiling me. I'm just another Huntress like you and Qrow, and I expect to be treated as such."

"Of course," he said, leaving the room. Aqua turned toward her young guide.

"So, where to first?" she asked.

"I believe a tour of the Academy is first on the itinerary," the girl said, leading the way out of Aqua's room. "After that, if you would like, we could go shopping, per General Ironwood's suggestion."

"Sounds good," Aqua said. She had been thinking about updating her wardrobe for a few days, now, and this would provide the perfect opportunity.

Getting an idea, Aqua pulled out her scroll and contacted a certain blonde woman.

She was sure she could squeeze a trip to Mantle into this little tour.

Several hours, and several shops later, Aqua and Ciel walked into the airship terminal that led down to Mantle, a shopping bag in Aqua's hand containing her new combat gear.

She was currently wearing the other outfit she had purchased. It consisted of a black leather jacket over a long-sleeved blue sweater, and a long black skirt.

Ciel was… interesting. From what Aqua gathered, she was obsessed with keeping a schedule, and was rather shy around people, but was doing her best to follow protocol and answer Aqua's questions, despite clearly being uncomfortable. When Aqua had tried to ask her about any hobbies, Ciel had stated that taking up any activities that were not related to their training was discouraged at Atlas.

Aqua couldn't help but wonder if the girl would have thrived at Beacon, which was significantly less regimented. It was kind of sad to see a girl so young seemingly being afraid to express herself.

It didn't take Aqua long to spot the women she had contacted.

"Robyn!" May!" she greeted to them. They turned and waved to her.

"Hey, Aqua," Robyn greeted. "Glad to see you took up my offer."

"Well, I was out anyway, and figured now would be a good time to see Mantle," Aqua said. Robyn looked over at the girl accompanying her.

"And who's this?"

Aqua smiled as Ciel stepped behind her.

"This is Ciel, my tour guide."

"Tour guide?" Robyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"James assigned her. She's been showing me around Atlas and pointed to a few clothing stores. I didn't pack a whole lot before coming here and thought a new wardrobe was in order," Aqua said, seeing Ciel looked nervous to be around the two Happy Huntresses. "Don't worry. She's just a little shy because she's used to following a very strict schedule."

"Clearly," May said with an amused smile. "So is she coming along?"

"Coming along?" Ciel asked, peeking out from behind Aqua.

"Robyn and May have offered to show me around Mantle," Aqua said with a smile. Ciel's eyes widened.

"But Miss Aqua, we have to be back at the Academy in two hours and thirty-five minutes!" Robyn chuckled.

"You weren't kidding about the strict schedule."

Ciel stepped behind Aqua again, looking warily at Robyn.

"Calm down, Ciel. I promise you these two don't bite," Aqua said, rolling her eyes. "It won't be that long. Just a few places."

Ciel wanted to argue some more, but May slipped behind her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Relax. We'll show you how to loosen up a bit."

Blake ran through the tress, chasing after the masked girl that had been spying on her.

She could accept that the Fang considered her an enemy after everything she did in Vale, but if they were going after her parents…

The spy was startled by Sun shouting from above her.

"Gotcha!" he shouted, trying to get the drop on her. She jumped out of the way, and kept moving, leaving Blake to keep chasing her. "Hey, wait up!"

"Don't let her out of your sight!" Blake reprimanded him, chasing the spy onto a nearby rooftop. The girl slid under a pipe, stopping to slice it open, releasing steam in an attempt to impede Blake's progress. Blake slid under the pipe, completely bypassing the steam. Blake stood and faced the spy, seeing that she was still carrying the scroll that she had likely been recording them on.

"Why are you watching me?!" Blake demanded. Sun landed on the rooftop behind the girl, making her turn around.

"Give it up!" he shouted. "I'm not above hitting a girl, you—EEP!" he fell backwards to avoid an attack from the spy's weapon, which seemed to be a thin sword that could extend into a whip. Blake rushed forward and kicked the scroll out of the spy's hand. The girl ducked underneath Blake's follow-up attack and kicked the black-haired cat Faunus away. The girl dove for the scroll, only for Sun to tackle her.

"Grab the scroll!" he shouted. "Seems someone thinks it's important!"

"Get off!" the spy shouted, before headbutting Sun. He lost his grip on her, as the impact was hard enough to crack her mask. The spy threw Sun off of her, and tried to race Blake to the scroll, but then four clones of Sun tackled her. Blake looked over at him, who was standing still with his hands clasped in front of him to concentrate on maintaining his Semblance.

"Quit staring and grab it!" he yelled to her, and Blake ran to grab the scroll. Sun couldn't hold it anymore, and released his Semblance. He fell to his knees, his Aura drained. The spy got up, pointing her weapon at Blake. "Blake, watch out!"

Blake grabbed the scroll and quickly turned to face the spy, only to see her mask crumble from her face.

A freckled face that Blake knew well.

"Ilia," she said.

"Wait, you know her?!" Sun asked. "But she doesn't even look like a f—AGH!" He was cut off when Ilia stabbed him in the shoulder with her whip, sending an electric charge through it. She yelled in pain and fell.

"Sun!" Blake shouted in concern.

"Give it to me," Ilia said.

"No," Blake said resolutely.

"You shouldn't have come back," Ilia said, and Blake could swear that she sounded almost sad. Ilia raised her weapon, but then a new figure punched her in the face, sending the chameleon Faunus sprawling to the ground. Blake's eyes widened in surprise, as she realized that she recognized the woman that just slugged her old friend.

It was a cat Faunus, with black hair and a tail.

"Tifa?" Blake asked. Her fellow black-haired cat assumed a fighting stance, staring down at Ilia, who was getting back on her feet.

"Tifa, what are you doing?" Ilia demanded.

"I could ask you the same thing," Tifa said. "You said the White Fang works to improve the lives of Faunus everywhere. So why are you attacking these two?"

"They attacked me!" Ilia tried to say in her own defense.

"Because you were spying on me!" Blake countered.

"I'll ask again," Tifa said. "Why are you doing this to your fellow Faunus?"

"She's a traitor to the White Fang!" Ilia said, pointing at Blake. "And he's a traitor to Faunuskind!" She pointed at Sun, who was unconscious at this point. "Studying at the Academies, befriending humans! The same people that spit on and enslave us!" Ilia raised her weapon. "If you're going to stand there and help them, then you're a traitor, too!"

"Go help your friend," Tifa said. "I've got this." Blake nodded, and ran to go check on Sun. Ilia roared, and swung her whip at Tifa, who rolled out of the way. She delivered a series of punches to Ilia's body before kicking her in the stomach, knocking her back. Ilia recovered quickly, swinging her electrified whip at Tifa.

The older woman, for her part, simply caught the sword.

"What?" Ilia gasped. To her surprise, the electricity seemed to just course through Tifa, until Ilia's charge disappeared. She pressed the button on the handle again, but no more electricity was generated.

"How about that?" Tifa asked, before punching Ilia in the gut with an electrified fist. Ilia was sent flying over the street to the rooftop next door, her Aura shattering upon impact with Tifa's fist.

To the girl's credit, she was able to recover fairly quickly, hobbling away as fast as she could.

"Tifa!" Blake called before Tifa could pursue. "Please, help! Sun's hurt really bad!" Tifa contemplated going after Ilia for a second, but changed her mind, instead joining Blake, who was kneeling next to Sun, her hand on his bleeding wound. "No, no, no, not again," Blake muttered under her breath. "Hold on, Sun, just hold on."

"And here we are, Chocobro HQ," Robyn said as the group approached an office building down in Mantle. Aqua raised an eyebrow at the name. "…Again, Prompto picked it." Aqua chuckled.

This "Prompto" sounded like quite the character.

Robyn and May had seen fit to give Aqua and Ciel a full tour of Mantle, and Aqua was shocked at the state of the latter city. While Atlas was the picture of opulence and wealth, Mantle by comparison was much more dilapidated. There was even a large hole in the city's wall, which was actually why Aqua hadn't been able to meet the last two members of the Happy Huntresses, apparently named Joanna and Fiona, as they were needed for patrol. Instead, Robyn had decided to conclude the tour by having Aqua meet her little brother and his team.

She opened the door, stepping into the spacious office. It had a large couch with a TV along one wall, a small bar built-in, and a kitchen. She could see other rooms attached, making the office feel more like a fancy apartment.

"Hey, boys, you in?" Robyn called out.

"Ah, Miss Hill and Miss Marigold," a rather polite voice answered. Aqua looked, and behind the bar stood a tall, thin man with dark blond hair and glasses. He wore mostly black, with slacks, a dress shirt, and leather jacket all in that color. The only thing of a different color was his gloves, which were white. "Lovely to see you both again. And who is this?"

"Hey, Specs," Robyn greeted. "This is Aqua and Ciel. Girls, this is Ignis Scientia, a member of the… Chocobros."

"Still not used to it, eh?" he asked, extending his hand. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Aqua said, shaking his hand. Ciel chose to silently wave to him, still hiding behind Aqua. "Don't mind her, she's shy."

"I see," Ignis said, chuckling good-naturedly. "Anyway, can I get you anything? A drink, perhaps?"

"Specs here is one of the best chefs I've ever met," Robyn said, explaining things to Aqua. "I'll have a whisky, smooth."

"In that case, tea for me, please," Aqua said. "Ciel?"

"I-I'm fine," the girl said. Ignis nodded, and disappeared behind the bar.

"So, this is Ironwood's mysterious date?" a black-haired young man said, who Aqua just now realized had been sitting on the floor in front of the couch for some reason. He had black hair, and like Ignis, was wearing all black, consisting of a knee-length, short-sleeved jacket with a high collar, black gloves, baggy pants that stopped just below his knees, and black combat boots.

"I saw you talking to Weiss at the party," Aqua said. "Noctis, right?"

"Noctis Lucis Caelum, at your service," he said. "Glad to finally meet the talk of the town face-to-face." He then suddenly kicked the back of the couch, causing a larger, muscular man to sit up abruptly. "Gladio, wake up. We got guests."

"I'm up, I'm up," the big man said. His black hair was swept back, and he had a chin-strap beard on his face. Completing his rugged look was a scar over his left eye. He was wearing a black tank top with white pants, a pouch on his left leg, and brown boots. Since his shirt was sleeveless, Aqua could see that the man had tattoos along both arms. He looked at Aqua and Ciel in confusion. "Who are these two?"

"Gladio, this is the woman Ironwood brought to the dance," Noctis explained. "Her name is Aqua."

"Aqua Branwen," Aqua introduced herself. "And you would be?"

"Gladiolus Amicitia," the large man introduced himself, reaching down to grab a dark grey leather jacket. "But you can call me 'Gladio'." He looked behind Aqua at Ciel. "And this is?"

"Her name is Ciel," Aqua said. "Ironwood assigned her to me as a tour guide."

"More like spy," Noctis said dismissively.

"I-I'm not a spy," Ciel said.

"Go easy on the girl, Noct," a young blond man suddenly said, draping his arm around Noctis's shoulder, startling both Aqua and Ciel, who had no clue he was there. He wore a black coat, with black skinny jeans, brown boots, and a black beanie pulled over his head. "Sorry about that," he said with a chuckle.

"Introduce yourself, Squirt," Robyn said.

"Oh, right," the young man said, though Aqua already had a pretty good idea who he was. "I'm Prompto, Robyn's brother."

"Nice to meet you," Aqua said. "Robyn's told me about you."

"Really?!" he asked excitedly. "She did?! What did she say?!"

"Just that you were a little brat who tried stealing from me," Robyn said with a smirk.

"But that makes me sound terrible, Sis!" he complained.

"But it's true," Robyn said.

Aqua had heard this much from Robyn earlier. Prompto's parents were killed in a Grimm attack when he was young, leaving him on the streets of Mantle. He tried to steal from Robyn, but she decided to take him in.

The part that Aqua found the most impressive about the woman was that she was just barely 18 when she did that, meaning she was taking care of a child, and working her way through the Academy at the same time.

"Um," Ciel said nervously.

"Oh, sorry," Prompto said, looking at the girl. "Didn't mean to ignore you, there. What's your name?"

"Um, Ciel Soleil."

"Nice to meet ya!"

"Uh, likewise."

"Hey, Aqua, why don't you go put on your new combat gear?"

Robyn suggested. "I'm curious what it looks like."

"I guess, but what about Ciel?" she asked.

"We can keep her entertained," Noctis said. "We've got plenty of games around here."

"Um," Ciel said, still unsure of herself. Aqua chuckled.

"In that case, play nice with her," she said. "I won't be long."

"We will," Prompto said, patting Ciel on the back and leading her to the couch. "So, what do you think of King's Knight?"

"…What's King's Knight?" Ciel asked. The Chocobros stared at her in shock and horror.

"WHAT'S KING'S KNIGHT?!"

"Get that downloaded on her scroll right now!" Prompto ordered.

"On it!" Gladio said with a nod.

Robyn rolled her eyes.

A few minutes later, Aqua stepped back into the main room, wearing her new combat outfit, earning an impressed whistle from Robyn.

She was wearing a sleeveless black cropped top and her short black shorts, leaving her midriff exposed. Like before, she had pink straps crisscrossed over her chest, with her insignia in the center. On her left arm, she wore white and blue armor, similar in style to the kind that Terra wore. She had thigh-high stockings with armor over her left knee, and a blue cloth wrapped around her waist. Completing her outfit was her winged boots.

"Not bad," Robyn said, taking a seat at the bar. "Not bad at all."

"Thanks," Aqua said, joining the blonde. "So how's Ciel doing? She hasn't had a meltdown, has she?"

"No, but she might when the batteries on her scroll die out," Robyn snickered, pointing to the other side of the room.

Aqua looked over and smiled when she saw that Ciel was playing King's Knight with the Chocobros, and by the look on her face, she was playing rather competitively.

"Good. James has the students on a strict schedule at the Academy, and I was getting a little worried about her."

"It's always been a bit stiff there, but nothing that bad before the attack on Vale," Robyn said, somewhat somberly. Aqua was saddened at the reminder.

"Well, I can't blame James for that. We were both there. I was even crippled at Beacon." Robyn looked at Aqua, surprised.

"Crippled?"

"Yeah," Aqua said with a nod. "And before you ask, James offered me to be the first person to undergo an experimental new procedure to give me back my legs without an implant so I could return to active duty."

"An experimental new procedure?" Robyn asked as Ignis brought them their drinks, a tea for Aqua and a whiskey for Robyn.

"It's not something I should talk about," Aqua said, sipping her tea. "Nor would I recommend it to anyone you know with similar injuries. I was in danger of dying."

"I see," Robyn said. "You must have made quite an impression on him."

"You can say it was something like that," Aqua said with a nod. "He made an impression on me as well… After a rocky start."

"What do you mean?"

"He had me, my daughters, and their team thrown in the brig because he thought we were connected to a crime we didn't commit," Aqua explained. "He didn't even check with Ozpin to try and clear up any misunderstandings."

"Sounds like good old Ironwood," Robyn said, rolling her eyes. "Never thinks, just acts. Guy never listens to anyone around him, and he's got two seats on the Council, so he doesn't have to."

"That's something that's been on my mind since I first heard of him. How was able to able to secure two seats?" Aqua asked.

"Well, he was already an accomplished veteran by the time he became a general, but he surprised everyone by wanting to take the job as the Headmaster of Atlas Academy. Sure, he had his opponents, but he had allies, people in the military who looked up to him, plus no shortage of scientists whose projects he promised to fund," Robyn explained. "Good for Ironwood, not so good for Mantle."

"What do you mean?"

"Like the rest of Atlas, he's mostly indifferent to Mantle, even though it's our hard work that supplies to Dust he needs for his projects. He's not as bad as the elites, but he won't lift much of a finger to help. Our security and equipment are old and haven't been updated in years, the walls are the only thing keeping the Grimm out, which has a giant hole in it, by the way, and they won't even spare a hard light shield for us down here," Robyn explained. Aqua frowned.

"That bad?" she asked. "He told me he was willing to do whatever it takes to defend this kingdom."

"Kingdom of Atlas. People have forgotten Mantle was here first before the 'great' Atlas was lifted into the sky," Robyn said bitterly as she took a sip. "The Schnee Dust mines are practically a death sentence, but if the people don't work in those mines, we don't get Dust, we don't get Dust then we don't get paid, we don't get paid and we can't afford even a tiny bit of 'generosity' from Atlas's 'protection'."

Aqua sighed.

"My husband mentioned the SDC's treatment of workers and had plenty to say about Jacques himself. I had the displeasure of meeting him at the party for that charity fund, and I only went because his daughter was one of my students, Weiss Schnee."

"He's probably not happy to hear about someone supposedly being a long lost Schnee being on the loose in Atlas," Robyn said. "You'll have to be on guard around him."

Aqua's scroll beeped and she opened it, seeing a message.

"…Speak of the devil. Weiss just sent me an invitation…to meet with the rest of the family. And P.S….He's inviting the Marigolds over as well."

"Oh, good," Robyn chuckled while May rolled her eyes. "You must really make these people nervous. You're not going to go, are you?"

"I couldn't care less about whatever problems these families have with me," Aqua said with a sigh as she stood up. "But I'm worried about Weiss. Not only was she my daughter's teammate, but I consider her a friend as well. Ciel, we're leaving."

Ciel looked up from her game.

"Right now?"

"We've been gone for three hours, way past your curfew if you forgot."

Ciel yelped, quickly scrambling to turn the game off and put her scroll back in her pocket.

"Hey, if you guys are going back up to Atlas, I'll come with you," Prompto said.

"Why?" May asked.

"It's not too often that someone catches Robyn's attention. Any friend of my sister's is a friend of mine, and I want to get to know her a little better. Plus, I can teach Ciel some King's Knight tips."

"I swear, you're still such a kid sometimes," Robyn said. "Fine, come on."

"Come on, Cloud, just hold on," Ruby said, helping Jaune carry the blond mercenary on a makeshift stretcher. Ren, being more familiar with the Mistral area, led the group, with Uncle Qrow right behind him to serve as vanguard, and Nora taking up the rear. Cloud looked like he was barely holding on.

Ruby hated feeling so helpless. She knew exactly which spell would help him, but it was one she hadn't been able to learn, yet. For whatever reason, Esuna was always too difficult for her.

Not for the first time, she wished Mom was with them. She'd be able to help.

Cloud started another coughing fit, purple ooze flying out of his mouth.

"He's getting worse," Jaune commented.

"How much farther?" Ruby asked.

"We've gotta be close," Nora said.

"Well, if someone hadn't lost the map, maybe we'd have a better idea," Uncle Qrow said, sending a not-so-subtle look at Jaune.

"I feel like we're close to something," Ren said, before stopping in front of a road sign.

"What is it?" Ruby asked. The signpost read that to the left was "Kuroyuri", only it had been crossed out, and to the right was…

"Hey, hey!" Mistral!" Nora said. "We're on the right path!" She took another look at the sign, and for some reason, her expression fell. "Oh…"

"Does it say how close?!" Ruby asked.

"No," Ren answered. "And it looks like the path takes us up the mountains." Ruby and Jaune set Cloud's stretcher down.

"Guys, I don't know if all of us can make that climb," Jaune said.

"And it might be too difficult to keep him steady, depending on how treacherous the path is," Uncle Qrow said. Ruby walked up to the signpost to examine it more closely.

"Okay. Well, what about this place?" she asked, pointing at the other part of the sign. "Kuro… Kuroyuri? Can we get help there?"

"Doubt it," Uncle Qrow said. "Grimm destroyed that village years ago."

"But if it takes us around the mountains, it's the best bet we've got," Jaune said.

"It will take too long," Ren said, his voice surprisingly stern.

"The town would have had a doctor, right?" Ruby argued. "Maybe we could scavenge for medicine!"

"Right!" Jaune said with a nod.

"We're not going to find anything!" Ren suddenly shouted. "We just have to press on!"

Ruby's eyes widened, looking to the others, but Jaune and Uncle Qrow looked just as confused as she was. The only one that seemed to know what was up was Nora. Jaune stepped forward.

"Ren, why are you acting—"

"We can split up," Nora interrupted him, stepping beside Ren.

"Huh?" Ruby asked.

"Ren and I can cut through the mountains while the rest of you take Cloud around through the village."

"No, we're supposed to stick together," Jaune said. "We keep each other safe."

"We don't have time for safe!" Nora argued. "If we make it to Mistral, we'll bring back help! If we don't, at least we'll have a better view of the land! Up there, we can see if there's somewhere else we can go!"

"…She has a point," Uncle Qrow said. Cloud coughed loudly again, reminding everyone of what was at stake. Jaune breathed in deeply through his nose.

"…Okay," he said. He took a step forward, pulling Ren into a hug. "Just take care of each other."

"We always have," Nora said.

Ruby, Jaune, and Uncle Qrow returned to Cloud's stretcher, the teens taking up their positions again, with Uncle Qrow serving as their guard. Ruby spared one more wave to the departing couple before they set out on their way.

…They were a couple, right?

"They're gonna be fine, Jaune," Ruby said.

"You don't know that."

"Okay, so what do the stars mean?" Ciel asked as she held her scroll out for Prompto to look at.

"It's a character's rarity," he explained. "Basically, the higher the stars, from one to five, the rarer they are. Rarer characters have higher base stats and abilities."

"This one is four stars," Ciel said. "So… that's good?"

"Yeah, it's good," he said happily. "But don't worry too much if you don't get a lot of five-stars. They're designed to drop very rarely."

"Fascinating," Ciel said, sounding genuinely interested. Aqua chuckled.

"Something funny?" Robyn asked.

"He reminds me of how my daughters and my husband get when they play their fighting games," Aqua explained. "I never got the appeal."

"I hear ya," Robyn said, before the women chuckled. "Still, I wish you could have gotten to meet the rest of the Happy Huntresses. Something tells me you'd get along great with them, especially Fiona."

"Oh, Fi's a sweetheart!" Prompto said from behind the two women. "She's way nicer to me than May and Joanna."

"I'm sure they're all nice people," Aqua said. May had left to go on patrol, so she wasn't here to defend herself anymore.

"Well, yeah, but Fi's the best," Prompto said.

"All of them are people I'd entrust my life to," Robyn said. "I would have liked to include you in their ranks, but I guess it's not meant to be."

"Sorry," Aqua said.

"No, I get it," Robyn said, looking back fondly at Prompto, who had returned to teaching Ciel about King's Knight. "Family is the most important thing we have."

"Too bad not everyone sees it that way," Aqua said sadly.

"…Yeah," Robyn said.

Aqua suddenly stopped in her tracks, feeling something was very wrong.

She summoned her Keyblade to block a swipe from the claws of a Neoshadow. She was going to attack it, but a gunshot went off, causing her to turn around and see that Prompto had drawn a revolver.

"Ciel, stay behind me!" Prompto said, getting in front of the girl.

"Why does she need to stay behind him?" Aqua said, taking a combat stance next to Robyn, who expanded the crossbow on her gauntlet.

"It's one of Ironwood's laws," Robyn, firing a bolt at an approaching Heartless. Anyone that doesn't have a Huntsman license isn't allowed to brandish their weapon in the Kingdom."

"What?!" Aqua asked, slashing at an approaching Soldier Heartless and killing it.

"What are these things?" Prompto asked.

"They're called Heartless," Aqua said. "I'll explain later. For now, kill them!"

"Man, that was wild," Prompto said, as the group entered the airship station to get back up to Atlas. "We should do this more often."

"I'd rather not," Robyn said. "The fact that these things can pop up anywhere makes it hard to prepare for them."

"Mrs. Branwen," a voice interrupted them, belonging to a man wearing the Atlesian Specialists uniform, only sleeveless and with a clover pin on the lapel. "My name is Clover Ebi. General Ironwood has sent me to retrieve you and Miss Soleil." Ciel shrunk back when her name was mentioned, having been out much later than she was apparently supposed to be.

"Clover," Robyn greeted half-heartedly.

"Robyn," Clover returned the greeting with a little more enthusiasm. Prompto said nothing, instead choosing to glare at him.

"You know each other?" Aqua asked.

"We were teammates back at the Academy," Clover said.

"Dated for a while, too, until he decided that his duty to Ironwood was more important than his responsibility to me," Robyn said with more than a little bitterness to her tone.

"Can, uh, can we not get into that right now?" Clover asked. "I'm just here to pick up Mrs. Branwen and Miss Soleil."

"Whatever," Robyn said, turning to leave. "It's been fun Aqua. Feel free to hit me up as long as you're in Atlas."

"Thanks, Robyn," Aqua said. "Bye, Prompto."

"Bye, Aqua, bye Ciel," he said, leaving with his sister. Aqua looked back at Clover.

"I take it the General isn't happy?"

"No, he's not."

Robyn stopped to look back, seeing Aqua and Ciel be loaded onto an airship with Clover.

She remembered a previous conversation she had with her newfound friend.

There was something she needed to say, and it was long overdue.

"Hey, Squir—Prompto," she said, her brother turning to look at her. "I know don't say this enough, but I'm proud of the man you've become."

Prompto smiled in pure happiness.

"Aw, really?" he said. "Thanks, Sis! I had a great example to follow."

Now it was Robyn's turn to smile.

"That was reckless of you to go down to Mantle," Ironwood said, looking out the window of his office with his arms folded behind his back. He hadn't let Aqua say so much as a single word before reprimanding her like she was some insubordinate student. "I never gave you or Miss Soleil permission."

"Last I checked, James, I don't answer to you," Aqua said, crossing her arms. "I'm not one of your specialists or your students. I'm a grown woman."

"I only say this because I'm trying to protect your secret, Aqua," Ironwood said, turning to face her. "You have stressed the need for secrecy but you went ahead and endangered yourself down there. And worst of all, you did so in the company of Robyn Hill."

"Using my Keyblade in battle isn't against any kind of law, James. As for my association with Robyn, that's not a crime, nor is it any of your business," Aqua calmly retorted. "She invited me down to see Mantle and I accepted."

"Are you aware that Robyn and her group have been causing trouble for me and Atlas? They're graduates from Atlas Academy, but have shown blatant disregard for Atlas's authority," Ironwood stated. "And as a student Ciel shouldn't have been down there."

"She mentioned you two don't see eye-to-eye but last I checked, a Huntsman or Huntress isn't meant to be solely loyal to the Kingdom they trained in. They are defenders of humanity," Aqua said, rolling her eyes. "As for Ciel, you assigned her to me even though I was against it. She was in no danger down there, until she refused to defend herself from the Heartless because of your law. Isn't the point of being a student so she can learn how to fight?"

"Atlas students are taught to respect the law, which states that they are forbidden to fight and carry weapons until they graduate. This isn't Beacon, Aqua," Ironwood said, sighing as he sat down.

"I'm well aware that this isn't Beacon, James, but that's beside the point. Why have a rule like that if the point is to teach students how to become warriors?" Aqua asked. "If there's a Grimm or Heartless attack right now your students wouldn't know what to do if that rule keeps them from acting."

"Our armies are well-prepared, Aqua. We're not taking any chances," Ironwood said, trying to reassure her. Only Aqua wasn't reassured at all.

"James, this kind of teaching stifles the creativity and growth in people who look to you to teach them how to be protectors. Being taught to sit back and let the army handle it is dangerous."

"Perhaps you should become a teacher here, then, and see if you can do better," James said. Aqua glared at him.

"I told you before, I don't plan to stay here. I have to get to Mistral and find my family." Ironwood breathed in deeply.

"…You're not going anywhere until I say you can."

"Excuse me?" Aqua asked.

"I am in charge of border security in the Kingdom, and until I give you permission, you won't be leaving Atlas."

"Maybe you didn't hear me earlier," Aqua said. "I. Don't. Answer. To. You. You may have helped me get my legs back, and I'm grateful for that, but you have no right to keep me from my family just because I went somewhere you didn't want me to."

"That's not it," James said. "The doctors haven't cleared you, yet. There are still tests they want to run."

"Clearly, I'm fine," Aqua said in exasperation. "I don't know what else they need to find out."

"Aqua, please, you're the first person that procedure was even attempted on," James argued. "It makes sense that there's still a lot we don't know, and I can't in good conscience allow you to go when we still don't know that you're truly back to 100%. This isn't a punishment. I'm just concerned."

"…Fine," Aqua said, walking up to his desk and leaning forwards. "But if you ever threaten me like that again, or try to keep me away from my husband and daughters, you precious 'authority' won't be enough to save you from me. Am I understood?"

"Yes," James said. "And if you ever threaten me like that again, I'll have you thrown in prison. Understood?"

"Understood," Aqua said.

"As long as we're in agreement," James said. "Now, if you'd please, get out of my office."

"Gladly."

AN: So, I started playing FFXV again to help get a better feel for the Chocobros, and a small part of me thinks I may have written Prompto as being just a little too childish. Whoops.

Anyway, yes, Tifa already has her Semblance. She can absorb the elemental energy from Dust and channel it into her body, rendering the Dust inert at the same time.

I'll be showing more of what the Chocobros can do in combat later, but for now Prompto fights using a revolver, and his Semblance gives him perfect knowledge of trajectories.

And we're starting to see Aqua and James butting heads a bit.

As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!