AN: Again, sorry for the delay. Sadly, it's a little shorter, too.
In other news, I saw Spider-Man: No Way Home yesterday, and oh my God, it was SO GOOD!
I would like to thank Lord Maximus for the help with this chapter.
Onwards!
Chapter 112
It was a cloudy and rainy day, but that was likely appropriate for a funeral. Rain was pouring, and they were gathered in a cemetery on the edge of a lake. Everyone was dressed in either white clothing, or wore a white robe. Teams RWBY and JNR, along with Cloud, Oscar, and Qrow were in attendance, but there were others who didn't even know the two, like Ghira, Kali, Tifa, and Sun. In front of the two graves were Qrow, Ruby, and Yang.
On one tombstone was a picture of Aqua taken during her time at the festival just before the attack on Haven, smiling happily.
On the other was a picture of Raven from her days on Team STRQ.
The priest, who was dressed in appropriate clothing, stood by the tombstones as he started to speak. "We are here today to pay our respects to the dearly deceased. As it should be noted amidst our sorrow, let us never forget the joy and happiness that Professor Aqua Branwen brought to the people in her life. Aqua Branwen was a brave Huntress, a teacher, a wife, a mother, a professor, and a woman who would selflessly sacrifice herself for another. Aqua was a wonderful woman who would defend the world she lived in with her dying breath, and we will never forget her or her sacrifice."
The priest then stepped aside as Qrow stepped up with Ruby and Yang, taking the stand. He noticeably stumbled a bit.
"Out of all I can say for her… My wife… I can't describe how much Aqua impacted my life… all our lives. It didn't take her long to become the heart that brought our family closer together, and at a time when we were having… trouble. Even when facing down an army of Grimm, she did so without even blinking, and took them all down… And she looked like she was dancing instead of fighting each time she did." A tear rolled down his face, which he quickly wiped away. "She helped each of us out. With the girls, it was being a role model, and then a mother when she took it on herself to look after them when she didn't have to… With me… I'm not good with eulogies, but I can say this… Out of all the people I've met, friends and enemies, Aqua embodied the kindness and bravery that made living in this world… so damn beautiful."
Qrow then stopped and glanced to the other tombstone. "And… I know some of you will disagree with me, and I wouldn't blame you if you walked away from this, but I'll just say what I have to say for my sister and get it over with. Raven was… complicated. At one time she cared for other people, and would have given her all for anything she believed in. She pushed everyone's buttons and pushed them away later in life, even her family, to the point even I had given up on her. Well, given how she acted in her last moments… I like to think the person she used to be had come back… Just one last time when it mattered."
He looked at both graves. "…Sure gonna miss you. Both of you."
After the funeral was over, everyone walked away, except for Ruby, Yang, and Qrow. Both Aqua and Raven's graves had several candles and hibiscus flowers in a flower holder, and a fruit bowl in front of them. Qrow brought out Raven's Omen and gently placed it on the right side of Raven's grave. As for Aqua's grave, Ruby held up the Master Keeper and gently tapped against the grave.
"I know you wanted me to keep it, Mom, and I will. But when I carry out the promise I made to you back at Beacon… I promise here and now that I'll bring it back to you when I have." Ruby said before dismissing the Master Keeper.
Qrow pulled each of the girls into a hug for several seconds. "All right, I think it's time for you girls to head back to the house."
"Aren't you coming with us?" Yang asked.
"I'll catch up," he said, turning to walk away. "There's something I need to do first."
"We interrupt this program to bring you a breaking story," a news anchor suddenly said, catching Pyrrha's attention while she was sitting on the couch holding Achilles. She had been feeding him while some children's cartoons were on when the news interrupted them. She turned back to her son, deciding to ignore it. "We have received word that Haven Academy has been attacked!"
That got Pyrrha's attention.
"While details are scarce at the moment, we can confirm that the notorious terrorist group the White Fang was involved, along with an unknown group of assailants. However, the attack was ultimately thwarted by a group of brave Huntsmen and Huntresses, along with the surprise arrival of a militia of Faunus from Menagerie. While the attackers were driven off, we have unfortunately received confirmation that the only casualty suffered in the school's defense was our own Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart. A memorial service will be held for the Headmaster in the coming days. In the meantime, with the Headmaster gone, and most of the faculty mysteriously Missing in Action, Haven Academy is officially defunct for the time being. Arrangements are being made to transfer the remaining students to Atlas and Shade Academies, as Beacon has not yet been deemed safe. However, with this being the second Academy attacked in as many years, people are, perhaps rightfully, beginning to worry if any school is safe."
"How horrible," Pyrrha said.
"What's horrible?" Saphron asked, walking into the living room with Adrian.
"Haven Academy was attacked," Pyrrha reported.
"What?" Saphron sat down on the couch, watching the news report.
"Apparently it was the White Fang, like Beacon, and Headmaster Lionheart died in the attack."
"Yeah, you're right. That is terrible."
"You never answered my question," Sienna said, glaring at where the man's face would be were it not covered in the shadow created by his hood.
"And which question was that?" the man asked, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.
"Who are you?"
"I'm pretty sure I already answered that," he said. "I'm the guy that saved you."
"I gathered that," Sienna said in annoyance. "I meant your name. Your purpose. Literally anything else other than that one fact."
"It's not important," the man said with a shrug.
"The hell it isn't!" Sienna said.
"Fine then, I just don't feel like telling you my name," he said. "The last name anyone ever used to refer to me was 'Master', but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be okay with that." Sienna quickly stood up, fists clenched, ready to punch this smug human. She didn't get very far before her knees buckled and she fell backwards to sit on the bed. "Careful, you're still a little woozy. You've been asleep for a long time."
"What the hell even happened to me?" she asked, holding her head with her hand. "The last thing I remember, Adam had marched into my throne room with a human, and then he lunged at me. Mind filling in the blanks?"
"It's pretty simple, really," the man said. "I stopped time right before Adam struck, used a glamor spell to make some nobody White Fang soldier look like you, they took the hit, Adam buried them thinking it was you, and you just woke up here."
"And you expect me to believe that you can do all that?"
"No," the man said simply. "That doesn't mean I didn't do it. You asked what happened, I'm telling you. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. But it's the only explanation you're getting."
"…Fine," Sienna said. "One thing that really doesn't make sense, though. If you saved me from Adam, why have I supposedly been 'asleep'?"
"That was me," the man said nonchalantly.
"What?" Sienna asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I put you to sleep and kept you here until you didn't need to be out of the picture anymore. I may have saved your life, but it was still important that the world thinks you're dead."
"Why?"
"Well, for starters, your 'death' meant Adam was able to take over the White Fang without incident, and under his rule, the Menagerie branch felt emboldened enough to attack Ghira and Kali Belladonna directly in their home."
"What?!"
"Luckily for them, that daughter of theirs was able to fight them off. After that, Adam took his forces and marched on Haven. Again, because of your loss, Blake gained the confidence to take back the White Fang with her parents, and the failed attack on the Belladonnas drove the Faunus of Menagerie to form a militia to fight against the White Fang. They thwarted the attack, and Adam fled into the wilds. I think at this point it's safe to say that the White Fang you created and Adam warped is all but finished. The only one left is Ghira's. It's ironic, isn't it? You drove Ghira out because you felt that your violent ways were right, only for the extremism that you fostered to lead to your undoing, and Ghira just waltzes right back in and takes over."
"So this is all my fault, is what you're saying?" Sienna asked.
"No, I'd still say Adam is at fault," the man said. "After all, he's the supremacist here."
"…"
"I know it's a lot to take in."
"Why?" Sienna asked.
"Hm?"
"Why did you save me? If my death was apparently so important, then why bother saving my life, instead of just letting me die and be the end of it?"
"I have a thing for cat girls," the man said, stunning Sienna.
"Excuse me?!" Sienna yelled. "I don't take kindly to people fetishizing us!"
"I'm kidding," the man said, putting his hands up. "Sort of. I wasn't kidding about the whole cat girl thing, but that's not why I saved you. It felt like a waste, is all."
"A waste?"
"Yup."
"…So, what now?" Sienna asked. "Are you going to let me leave, or are you going to take advantage of my untimely 'death' to indulge in your little fetish?"
"It's up to you," the man said. "You can do whatever you want now. Go after Adam, join Ghira, change your name and live as a farmer somewhere, stay here and let me 'indulge in my fetish', whatever."
"I'm definitely leaving," Sienna said, glaring at the man again. Why must he be so infuriating?
"I figured," the man said, reaching into his pocket. "Whatever it is you decide, you might want to start with Haven. That's where Adam was. And you're going to need this."
He pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Sienna, who quickly caught it. She looked down, and realized it was a long chain with blades at the end.
It was her weapon, the Cerberus Whip.
"How did you—" she looked up to ask, but the man was gone. She looked back down at her weapon, and clenched her fists.
She knew her purpose.
Adam was going to pay for what he had done.
"Thundaga!" Riku shouted, raising his new Keyblade, The Braveheart, and raining down a barrage of lightning to decimate a large group of Shadows surrounding him. The new weapon was shaped more like a broadsword than most of the other Keyblades he had seen his friends using, as it lacked a singular set of teeth protruding out near the tip, similar to a weapon Sora used a while back called the Fenrir. Instead, the teeth of the weapon were carved into the blade itself all along it.
Riku quickly turned around and swung wide, taking out several more Shadows that tried to jump at him, before flipping backwards to stand back-to-back with Mickey, the king holding his new Keyblade, the Star Cluster. The two of them had returned to the Dark Meridian to try to pick up Aqua's trail, but just like last time, they were instantly swarmed.
"Something's wrong," Mickey said.
"What do you mean?" Riku asked.
"I was sure this was the place where I felt Aqua's presence last time, but it's completely gone now."
"What does that mean?" Riku asked.
"I don't know, but it might not be good. We need to wrap this up and find a way into Remnant, fast!"
"Yeah!" Riku said, before a Demon Tower sprouted up from below him, sending him flying and making him lose his grip on his Keyblade. He landed hard on the ground and bounced, landing on his face with Braveheart laying a few feet from him.
"Riku!" Mickey shouted in concern. Riku tried to pick himself up, but the Demon Tower swept over to him and swallowed him up.
He heard Mickey call out to him again, before everything went black.
"So, what are we supposed to do with this thing?" Weiss asked, sitting on a couch next to Blake with the Relic of Knowledge in the center of the room, Mushu perched on her shoulder. Nora and Oscar (or was it Ozpin right now? Blake was still trying to wrap her head around that) were sitting next to each other on a different couch, with Nora leaning up against the boy. Ren looked uneasy about the whole thing, making Blake curious about just how much she had missed, and his right hand, now missing the pinkie, was wrapped up in a bandage to try to hide the injury. Tifa and the blond man, whom Blake had learned was this "Cloud" person she had been looking for, were together, and Jaune was sitting in a chair. Ruby and Yang were upstairs in their room, and honestly, no one could blame them right now. Blake was still trying to process that Aqua was gone. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for those two. And their Uncle was currently nowhere to be found.
"We definitely need to get rid of it," Jaune said. "It was in its vault for a reason, so it being gone leaves it vulnerable for Salem to take it again."
"Yeah, but where?" Nora asked. "Yang is the Spring Maiden now. Can we have her lock it back in there and call it a day?"
"I'm afraid it isn't so simple," Oscar said, his voice sounding older and wiser than it really should. That tipped Blake off that Ozpin had taken over. "The vaults themselves were the most secure location, but they were simply one layer of security, and were placed beneath the schools for a reason. Under ordinary circumstances, the vaults would be surrounded by Huntsmen and Huntresses of the both the trained and still-in-training variety at all times. However, thanks to Leo's treachery, most of the faculty of Haven was killed by Salem's forces, so the school is defunct. It wouldn't do much good to simply place it back in the vault. All Salem would need to do is hire someone to kidnap Miss Xiao Long or Miss Rose, and she'd be able to retrieve it."
"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Cloud asked, crossing his arms.
"…Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a 'better' idea, but we need to move it somewhere safe."
"Yeah, we get that, but where?" Blake asked, clearly being able to tell that Ozpin was dodging the question.
"…I think the safest place for the Relic would be Atlas," he said, almost sounding sheepish about it.
…
"Are you insane?" Weiss asked.
"Regardless of how you feel about James, the fact remains that Atlas is the most secure Kingdom right now."
"Do I need to remind what Ironwood did to Aqua?" Weiss asked. "You know, the woman that just died? After all this, do you really think Ruby, Yang, and Qrow are going to even consider the possibility of trusting him, especially now that they've lost her?"
"Besides," Cloud said. "He went as far as to work with Jacques to keep her trapped there, what do you think he's going to do if we bring Ruby there?"
"I'm sure I can talk some sense into James," Ozpin insisted. "Regardless of his methods, his heart has always been in the right place. If I can talk to James, I can reason with him. Make him understand."
"What about Weiss?" Nora asked. "If we bring her to Atlas, she'll just get locked up again."
"What does this thing even do, anyway?" Jaune asked.
"The Relic of Knowledge has the ability to answer any question asked of it," Ozpin explained. "However, it cannot tell the future, and it will only answer three questions every one hundred years."
"Hm, really?" Genie asked, suddenly materializing and looking at the Relic with interest. Ozpin's eyes shot open, and he looked as if he had seen a ghost. "You know, this sounds a lot like the lamp I was trapped in. You know, except mine could grant wishes, not just answer questions. Kinda lame, if you ask me."
"W-What? H-How?" Ozpin stammered, the color practically leaving his face. "What are you?"
"Oh, I'm Genie," the blue man answered. "Blake summoned me."
"And I don't recall summoning you this time," Blake said.
"Get used to it," Weiss said. "Mushu just sticks around."
Ozpin cleared his throat and composed himself. "Anyway. I'm afraid you won't be able to ask it anything at the moment. The questions were used before it was sealed away."
"Well, that still doesn't solve the question of what exactly we're going to do with it," Weiss said. "Even if you're right and you can convince General Ironwood to not dissect Ruby like a science experiment, you're still going to have to convince us that even stepping foot in Atlas is a good idea, and get them to agree to not murder him the second they lay eyes on him."
"I think we should shelve this discussion for a little bit," Tifa said, walking into the center of the room. "I think we should sleep on it, decide what to do in the morning, when maybe emotions aren't quite as high?"
"I like that idea," Nora said, before looking at Ozpin. "Now can I have Oscar back?"
"Very well," Ozpin said with a sigh, before his eyes glowed and Oscar was given back control. Nora happily pulled the boy backwards into a hug, a bright blush adorning his face.
Blake looked up sadly at the upper level.
"I really hope they're doing okay," she said, before Weiss put a supportive hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Weiss said. "They just need some time."
Cinder felt herself gently floating down, as if she was underwater. She opened her eyes, only to be met with pure blackness. For some reason, she didn't feel like she was drowning, so she just allowed herself to float down, eventually landing on a stained glass platform. She looked down, and the platform depicted herself, surrounded by portraits of Ruby, Yang, Aqua, Qrow, and Emerald. She looked around in confusion, before she heard a voice talk to her.
"So much to do, so little time…"
Riku opened his eyes, finding himself in a pitch black void.
"Mickey?" He called out. No answer. "Mickey!"
"He's not here," a voice suddenly said. Riku turned around in alarm, seeing a man with a very familiar long black coat with the hood pulled up.
"The Organization!" Riku yelled, summoning his Keyblade.
"Slow your role, there, kid," the man said. "Just because I'm wearing the coat, that doesn't mean I'm with the Organization. You should know that better than anyone, 'Ansem'." The man made air quotes as he said that name. "Actually, come to think of it, I'm pretty sure they ripped off my style. Wonder if I should sue."
"If you aren't with the Organization, then why are you here?" Riku asked.
"Well, I'm here to show you the way to Remnant, so put the attitude away."
"Show me to Remnant?"
"Yup. You see, Remnant's special," the man explained. "Not only is it buried deep in the Realm of Darkness, it's a world that you can't find unless you already know where it is. You're not getting there without help."
"Why are you showing me the way?"
"Because, they need all the help they can get," the man said, before snapping his fingers. Riku felt himself get pulled down, and desperately thrashed. "Make sure to keep your nose clean while you're there. And good luck!"
With a sudden force, Riku was yanked under and everything went black.
Riku suddenly felt himself falling, but it wasn't for very long before he landed on something soft.
"Ugh!" he grunted.
"Oof!" another voice said, this one much lighter in tone.
Confused, Riku tried to lift himself up, only to find himself looming over a girl around his age. One with bright silver eyes, opened wide, and black hair that turned red at the tips. Her face was bright red, and it didn't take Riku long to realize why.
He looked down, and realized he had landed in her bed. On top of her. And was now looming over her.
"Uh…hi?" he said awkwardly.
The girl screamed.
AN: Riku has now arrived in Remnant. I repeat, Riku has now arrived in Remnant. This is not a drill.
This is a moment I've been looking forward to for a while.
And for those wondering, the news report that Pyrrha watched only mentioned Leo because they didn't report Aqua's "death" so Salem wouldn't find out she's gone.
So, next time, Riku is going to have to get himself out of this compromising position, and meet the team.
I would like to remind everyone that this fic has a TV Tropes page! I'm looking to seeing it filled up!
As always, thank you very much for reading, and I'll see you all next time!