Smaller, More Honest Souls:DAWNOVERDUSK

by MasterCaedus

Decades after Sora and Ruby met & saved the World, they live happy lives with their daughter, Dawn. However, all things must end one day, including joy. When Salem returns and kidnaps Ruby, Dawn decides that she & her best friend, Oscar, will defy Sora to chase her. Fearing for Dawn, Sora sends Dove Schnee to bring them home. But Salem's plan is far different than any expect...

1. A New Dawn

AN: Hello! I guess one good thing about an essentially worldwide quarantine is that there isn't a lot to do... so I really got all of the ideas for this hammered out in a weekend. Bonuses to having even less to do than I had expected. I hope you're all okay. Healthy and all that. Keeping busy and sane. I myself have caught up to episode 94 of Critical Role campaign 2. It's been a long week and a half. Two weeks? Crap, a while. It gets hard without consistent sunlight to really tell.

First of all, if you have not yet read the previous two stories in the Smaller, More Honest Souls series, I recommend reading those first. Both are going to be used as setup for the events of this story, and the motivations of both heroes and villains. The twists for those stories will very quickly be spoiled by being mentioned outright. Additionally, this is all obviously AU. The idea of KH3 happened, but differently. And everything after Volume 3 of RWBY is not part of this, aside from a few inspirations here and there.

Now, I hope you enjoy this story. It is... I hope something you will all enjoy reading. Twists, turns, and fights are on their way. I hope between a a post Volume 3 character who is... a little OOC just because he has a worse backstory now, and some OCs, and more Sora, some more Ruby. Jaune and Yang. I hope you like it, like I said. I thought it would take way longer to get this out. But like I said, not a lot to do in my apartment alone all day.

Also. This is the last Smaller, More Honest Souls story. I'm not saying I'll definitely never come back, but I believe after this... I will have exhausted what I can write for this for the foreseeable future. Who knows, maybe I'll have some crazy idea and do more. Or maybe there will be occasional one shots. Or maybe this is it. Either way, I'm pretty happy with the path so far, and I'm looking forward to walking to its end with all of you. I'm really happy that so many of you stuck with a story that, even after so much more RWBY and Kingdom Hearts was released, still manages to capture at least something that those series already inspire.

Well, some quick responses to the reviews of the last chapter of Arc of Redemption:

To Gamelover41592: I'm glad you liked AoR's ending. Thanks for sticking to here.

To jacalman: I'm happy you loved AoR. It was a lot of fun to write, and I hope different enough from the first story to be fresh.

To Chretner: Well, every ride has to end sometime. In this case, so another one can begin. Here's to one last, final ride!

To Chaos-Guard: Thank you again. I'd actually never played any Devil May Cry game before you suggested 5, but now I can see why they are so popular. That is some crazy fun combat. Smokin', Sexy Style, one might say. So thank you for helping me find the Video Game world for this story.

For everyone else, that means these are the final world lineups for the journey in this story:

My Hero Academia – Anime

Fate/Stay Night: UBWA – Abridged

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Anime(2)

Devil May Cry 5 – Video Game

Yep. I decided to not do a Disney World. I couldn't think of one that I really... connected to this story. Not like Brotherhood, which might be my favorite Anime of all time. I rewatch it every year. Also, FMA is a Square property, so I just thought that was a funny way to include it. Square Enix's Shonen Gangan Magazine published the original manga. Gotta dig it.

Well, here we go. Have fun with the first two chapters, and let's enjoy this ride!

Someone once told me that even the most brilliant of Lights eventually flicker and die.

But...

I've also been told that, even if the Heart gives in, deep down, there's a Light that never goes out.

So, then...

Where does that leave me?

Smaller, More Honest Souls:DAWN/DUSK

Chapter One:A New Dawn

The girl raised her sword above her head and jumped as far as she could, striking down a monster that had begun charging at her. The creature was cleaved in two with a single blow before she turned and kicked at another, sending it flying away. She laughed at the battle and charged after it, slashing through the many creatures that tried to stop her. She danced between them or charged through their attack in turn, doing whatever she needed. She leaped from the high cliff and landed with a thud, scrambling between more attacks before coming to her feet and killing another monster. She turned and blocked the heavy blow from the monsters' leader, and she fell to her back. The creature continued to press down, trying to kill her. She threw her head to one side to avoid its sharp jaws, then in the other direction to avoid its next bite. She shoved hard with the sword and it reeled back, then buried her weapon in its gut. With another massive shove, its body hit the ground beside her and she got up to her feet. She knew it looked impossible, with all these creatures rushing at her, but she wouldn't give up! No one in her family ever gave up! She fought and fought and fought, cutting down all the monsters before they could get close.

And then the biggest one of all came in. Huge spikes coming out of its head, a gnarled, dangerous claw on its right arm. It lumbered in and roared, charging the girl. She shrieked and swung but the attack was blocked and she was lifted into the air. "Roar! I got you!" The monster vanished. The spiked horns became brown, slightly spiky hair. The monster's arm became a robotic limb with a warm palm. And the sharp teeth became a wide, disarmingly happy grin.

The girl laughed, the noise bursting forth from her tiny lungs, and threw her arms in every direction. "Higher, Daddy!" she shouted when he tossed her up. He obliged with a wide grin, sending her up to nearly touch the ceiling. "Ha ha ha! Yay!" He caught her easily before bringing her into a tight hug.

Dawn Nomura snuggled into her daddy, a contented smile on her face. Her hands clutched at the casual outfit her father wore when he put Neptunia in charge, a loose red jacket with black jeans and boots. "Happy Birthday, my little Sunrise," Sora muttered into her hair, almost identical to her mother's other than the length reaching down to the middle of her back and the slight spiking at the front that echoed his own hair, keeping stray strands out of her face. Her silver eyes came up to him, wide and excited. "Did you defeat all the monsters, you big hero?"

"Duh, Daddy!" she exclaimed, waving the toy sword around again. "I'm an awesome Keyblade wielder beating up the bad guys and the Hurtlizzes!"

Sora chuckled at that and ran a hand through her hair. "Well, I hope that no more monsters show up on your birthday and ruin the party." Her eyes widened even more and she began to bounce up and down in his arms. "Now, it's bath time before we do anything, okay?"

"No, I wanna play more!" she shouted with a pout.

Sora sighed and gave her a look. "If you don't take a bath now, you won't be clean when Mommy gets home from her meeting. And that means you won't be able to get her present..."

The girl gasped and struggled against his arms. "Fine, I'll take a bath! Hurry, Daddy! Hurry!"

Sora smiled and did as his daughter commanded, taking her to the bath. He grabbed her bath toys and let her play in there for a while before pulling her out and drying her off. He pulled out her birthday outfit, carefully picked out by the little girl and her aunt the night before, and helped her put it on. A puffy white shirt beneath a deep crimson jumper and skirt. Dark violet, almost black, tights and shiny black flats. He helped dry her hair and combed it like Yang had shown him – after beating him every time he got it wrong – and braided it. Again, Yang. Dawn hummed a tune while her legs waved beneath the chair. "Faster...!" she whined as he enared the end.

"Dawn..." he said disapprovingly, stopping what he was doing.

She sighed and gave him puppy dog eyes in the mirror. Oh, dammit. She learned too well from Ruby. He sighed. "I suppose since it's your birthday, I can let you off with a warning," he muttered, eliciting a joyful laugh from the little girl. He finished tying a bow that matched her tights into her braid and tapped her shoulders. "What do you think? Adorable, right?"

Dawn frowned and reached up to her hair, pushing the spikes up a bit. "There. Now I'm the most beautifulestest."

Sora smiled and nodded. "The most beautifulestest," he agreed with a light chuckle at the little girl's words. He reached out and grabbed her hand. "Come on, my Sunrise. We should hurry over to the hangar so we can see Mommy come in, okay?"

Dawn nodded excitedly and rushed ahead, pulling her father behind her. "Where are Auntie Yang and Uncle Jauney?" she asked as they went. "They put me to bed, so I want them to be here today!"

"They had to take your cousin on a special mission. She's going to help save people from monsters," Sora explained, his smile faltering for a moment. They said they'd be back by now... They could handle themselves, but something must have been happening they hadn't been prepared for. He shook these thoughts from his mind; he trusted he'd trained Dove well enough, and that Jaune and Yang could handle anything. For now, he had his daughter's birthday to worry about.

Dawn began talking about everything as they went through the Keyblade Academy. Occasionally, they would pass apprentices who wished the girl a happy birthday, having grown used to her presence in the school, often as a welcome distraction from classes and a spark of fun and joy. A few even believed she would be a student one day, but that was something he and Ruby argued about even if playfully. She wanted to be the one to teach their daughter how to fight, as a Huntress at Beacon Academy. That was years off. The Keyblade often came to people younger than that, he pointed out. She had unilaterally decided that they would have a duel over it one day. Sora knew Qrow would be selling tickets for that one.

They passed the Kingdom Key D, hanging on a large archway near the war room where he would send out the Keyblade Wielders on their missions and debrief people arriving from the hangar. He smiled sadly at the weapon, missing both of his teachers deeply in that moment. Mickey, who had been the one to use that Keyblade in the first place and had helped him so much on his path to help Kairi and Riku. And Ozpin, who had died not long before Dawn's birth, his true age catching up with him. He'd been so gray and slow at the end, but so ready. Unafraid, he had said, because he trusted that he had trained Sora, Ruby, Qrow, and a thousand others well enough to keep every world safe for a very long time. He still wished that they could have met Dawn. He wished his parents could have met her. But he knew that, through him, they did know her. And that was enough to make him happy.

He blinked and they were in front of the hangar. He must have been lost in his thoughts for a moment longer than he'd been aware. He smiled and gripped his daughter's hand tight. "Daddy, when do I get to start learning how to fight?"

Sora glanced down at her. "Well, your mommy and me still have to talk about how to do it. There's... well, we'll figure it out. Soon, I promise," he told her with a smile. "And who knows, maybe you won't want to train eventually."

She gave him a look of absurd disbelief. "Daddy, don't be dumb."

Sora sighed and rubbed her head. "You are our daughter," he chuckled, having already known she wouldn't choose anything else.

The two turned as the small, single occupant Gummi Ship shot towards the hangar bay and decelerated suddenly, turning and drifting slower towards them. The red and black ship was built for speed and attack, just like its pilot. The pilot drifted in, turning more, and the ship softly landed. The glowing engines whined to a stop, cooling down. Then the exit ramp slid down, equalizing the interior and exterior pressure of the ship. Dawn began to bounce up and down on her heels, so Sora let go of her and let her charge forward. "Mommy!" The woman was barely halfway down the ramp, her long, tattered cloak fluttering behind her and hood pulled up, when Dawn slammed into her gut.

"Agh!" Ruby Nomura screamed as the tiny misslie threw her off balance, tumbling into the hard surface of the ramp. "Ow, Dawn, a little warning next time!"

Dawn just laughed in her arms, hugging her tight. "Mommy, you're home!"

The Headmistress of Beacon Academy smiled and looped her arms around her daughter, pushing up and hugging her tight. "Of course I am, Silly!" She stood up and twirled, drawing laughter from the little girl. "I just had to tell some silly billies they were being silly!"

The little girl laughed. "Silly billies!" Dawn agreed. She turned her gaze to her mother's and frowned. "But where are Auntie Yang and Uncle Jauney? They said they'd be here last night!"

Ruby looked past her daughter with a bit of alarm, hidden from the little girl. "They... aren't home yet?" she asked, gaze locked with her husband's.

"No, but I'm sure they will be," he replied resolutely. "But... I'll send Gaius and Neptumia to check if they don't report in soon. After all, they promised Dove they'd be back soon."

"Dove better come back with a gift," the little girl huffed simply.

χ χ χ

Dove was certain that this was not the kind of gift that her younger cousin had had in mind for her birthday. Oh, she wished she was home, playing with the younger girl. More a sister than a cousin, really. Any child who hurt Dawn's feelings had felt her wrath. And any game that the girl had played always included Dove, always the two heroes fighting the monsters together... She anxiously wrapped her left hand in the white capelet draped over that shoulder, gifted to her by her father years earlier, then released it to portray courage. With her other hand, she brushed dirt off of her white and red formal style battle suit.

The mission had started off badly. They'd arrived in the dead of night, the speed of the Gummi Ship bringing them to the farming community in just a few minutes, which meant that the Heartless there would be at their strongest. And both them and the Grimm would be nearly invisible. But it quickly became worse. Despite their attempts to land nearby, the ship came under attack from Heartless and Grimm as soon as they arrived. Wyverns, Nevermore, and some Heartless that Dove had yet to memorize from the Bestiary compiled by Master Sora and those who had traveled the World. Their assault had driven the Gummi Ship away twice before Master Jaune had wheeled it away to land elsewhere. It took little time to find such a place with how fast the ship was, but that also meant they had moved quite far away.

And then began a trek through the forest. Hours long, filled with constant battle against Heartless and Grimm. Master Jaune and Aunt Yang had taken to starting a game when Dove had grown... unnerved by the constant Darkness and fighting. Each kill of a creature increased their own individual 'count,' and a race began to see how many each person could defeat. It had managed to brighten Dove's spirits somewhat, even if both Master Jaune and Aunt Yang had moved their numbers into the hundreds before she broke twenty.

It went that way for some time. Monsters would attack from the Darkness, intent on murdering them. The three would then exterminate the creatures before finally making their way forward once again. Even once they finally arrived in the town, it was simply a more overhwelming level of the same, except there were bodies of innocents. Dove could only see those humans and faunus cut down by Grimm, or the signs of those devoured by the Heartless. There was no one left. Wyverns swooped in when she was distracted by the horror of it, only for a wave of Master Jaune's Darkness to eradicate them. "I'll go with Dove, Sunshine," Aunt Yang had said. "You check that side, we'll check this side."

"I could do it on my own," Dove protested, more for appearances than because she felt that way. She was happy her overbearing aunt was coming with her.

The two had charged towards the farms on one end of the small town, having seen Grimm and Heartless congregating in that direction. Dove's Keyblade, Ash Fall, had flashed in her hand. The gray weapon was shaped not unlike a falchion, curving and more broad at the tip, and was one of the few Keyblades to possess a visible edge. Along its back edge, from within the Keyblade it appeared that a flame burned, curling up and around into a shape very similar to the family crest of the Schnee, a snowflake. But the gray and the flames made it clear it was not snow: it was crystallized ash, an image that was echoed by the weapon's Keychain. The guard of the weapon was of swirling, interlinked ash crystals linked in a perfect circle.

She twirled and flipped between the creatures, carving into them with the blade's edge while Aunt Yang's blows vaporized the monsters by the dozen. It was impressive, even though they would return somewhere else later without the power of a Keyblade to end them. Dove ran at her aunt and leaped up off her back, flipping and summoning a Glyph midair she used to bounce up further to decapitate an injured Wyvern. She spun downward and aimed the blade again, easily using the momentum to throw an Ursa Major off its balance before leaping forward and burying the Keyblade in its chest.

When the monsters outside were done, they had to take care of the ones inside of a specific home, where many more of the creatures had centered upon. Mostly Heartless, as many Grimm were far too large to make their way into the house. Aunt Yang had to limit herself in there so as not to burn the building down, and so it took longer than expected. But soon, they found themselves upstairs, hearing a woman's voice. Then the chittering of Heartless. A scream. No more.

Dove and Yang killed the creatures in the woman's bedroom very quickly. "So, see anything?" Aunt Yang asked. Testing her.

Dove frowned and looked around. The room was a mess. Chaotic and deadly. She felt her gaze linger on the door to the closet, marked by the claws and attacks of Heartless. They'd pulled the door open and drawn a scream of terror from the boy within. Black hair, tanned skin, hazel eyes, and he was curled up, alone in the dark of the closet, and crying as he stared up at her. Her hand clenched her cloak again. Master Sora had told him something a friend had told him once: a hero must always smile, because the ones who smile are the strongest of all. It was about helping them be brave once more. She forced a soft smile for a moment before she bent down and placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched at the contact, but she rubbed his shoulder and he calmed slightly. "I'm Dove," she began, a warm smile on her face. He met her eyes, still sniffling and sobbing quietly. His eyes flickered to the Keyblade she'd leaned against the door frame beside them. "Yeah, I'm a Keyblade Wielder, like Sora. You know who that is, right?" The boy nodded slowly. She wasn't quite sure if he did know, but the name at least was familiar. "He sent me here to save anyone I could find... And we found you. What's your name?"

"O-Oscar," the boy muttered sadly. His voice, Dove sadly noted. He couldn't be older than Dawn with a voice like that. He rubbed his hand against his eyes. "M-my aunt... she... She..." He turned his eyes into his knees and began to sob again.

"I'm sorry," Dove said. She glanced over her shoulder, where Yang was guarding her back from monsters, then back at the boy. "Oscar. We're going to help you get away. Your ant, she put you in here to save you, right? Well, we're going to save you." She moved her hand from his arm and stood up, holding it out to him.

He stared up at her eyes, then sniffled and reached out to grab her hand. "O-okay..."

"Oh, shit!"

Dove pulled the boy into her arms and they rushed to the window, where Aunt Yang was staring out in horror. Dove pulled the young boy in to hide his face from the window.

Slowly pushing itself out of the ground, barely visible against the sky save for its burning yellow eyes, was one of the largest Heartless that Dove had ever seen. In fact, it was one of the largest Heartless in the Bestiary, nearly ten times her own height. Its head was covered in evil, quivering tentacles of Darkness that became a mockery of hair. A pureblood that Sora had written much about, Dark and evil. Its chest eclipsed the moon that hung low in the sky, the Heart-like cavity imposing its shape on the moon. A Darkside.

The boy in her arms stiffened in fear as the creature let out a roar. Not a true sound. No, it was the same Dark, silent roar that echoed within the Heart. Aunt Yang snarled and grabbed Dove. "Keep the kid safe and get him back to the Gummi Ship. Jaune and I will deal with this." Dove hesitated for a moment, wanting to help, but the kid began to cry again. "Go!"

Dove nodded and lifted the boy into her arms, sprinting away with the Glyphs beneath her feet used to send her moving faster and faster. The world became a blur, but when she cast a glance over her shoulder she could still see the Darkside, its eyes locked upon her even as Light and Flame exploded around it. Aunt Yang and Master Jaune were battling it hard, despite the flames plummeting from the sky and the Heartless it tore from the Realm of Dark. She knew they would win, having read of their old victories during her training. The war with the Other Jaune, the battles with the Nobody Horde that had encroached on the worlds with the rebirth of the Heartless. A single Darkside was not outside of their power. But she knew they were dangerous, and a sign the Heartless were desperately searching for something.

She continued to run, eventually sliding to a stop outside of the Gummi Ship. "We're going to be okay," she told the boy. She put him down in front of her and smiled. "We're going to be -"

"Miss Dove!" he shouted, raising his hand and pointing it behind her. She turned, and watched a thin beam of Light explode from the Keyblade that had appeared in his hand, spearing a Wyvern that had been ready to attack her from behind.

The girl's eyes whirled on the young boy, who tossed the weapon away and began to sob again. The monsters were looking for it, he said between sobs. The monsters wanted the key and they killed his aunt for it. It was all his fault. Dove grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. "Shh...It's going to be okay," she said before looking up at the growing dawn. "It's going to be okay."

χ χ χ

Dawn ran excitedly through the Keyblade Academy's open space, her friends trailing behind her and her brand new, dark-violet cloak. Just like her Mommy's. She laughed and bounced around, brandishing a toy sword as she led the group in battle against another group of her friends. The clash was, in her mind, epic. She laughed as she went up against a friend who was the child of two Huntsmen, their skills from watching their parents evenly matched. These two leaders continued to duel even as their followers fought for glory around them, knowing that victory here would decide the battle. The war continued until she brought the toy weapon around and flicked her wrist, disarming him and bringing her weapon up to his throat. "I win!" she shouted.

The boy bit his lip to keep from saying 'Nuh uh' or that he'd let her win 'because it's her birthday.' His mother and father had raised him well enough to not act that spoiled, even if he really wanted to. Dawn laughed and patted his back. "The war is over! Now... it is time for cake!" she shouted, and the boy's face lit up, the entire thing smoothed over by the girl's charismatic order. The other kids cheered and followed after her, marching through the academy and up into where the adults had been talking about boring adult stuff. Like numbers and work. It was less boring than some adult stuff since they were mostly Huntsmen and Huntresses, so the ones who weren't were ecstatic to hear the stories. But she'd heard them a ton, and her daddy couldn't talk about the cool stuff from other worlds since not everyone knew about them like she did. Her mommy and daddy told her it was a special secret. Some of them knew, though – like her Uncle Toshi, the large man waving at her from across the room in a way that made his bunny ear shaped hair bounce and make her laugh.

"Cake time?" Sora asked when he saw them marching in, chanting the word cake over and over again.

"CAKE!" Dawn let loose in a deep voice, the others echoing her again.

Ruby chuckled and joined her husband. "Well, let's go get it, then," she said, and the two disappeared, coming back a moment later carrying a huge cake on a platter and placing it on a table. It was in the shape of a large, pink Heart that made her laugh. Some of the boys groaned, but remained excited for the cake.

And then the building began to shake. Outside, Dawn could see a red and yellow ship blazing through the sky towards the hangar. "Dove!" she shouted, running off and ignoring the cake. She sprinted through the Academy, her mother and Great Uncle Qrow right behind her. Sora had been left behind to monitor the party and keep everyone entertained, seeing as how those returning were closer to them. She burst through the doors to the hangar. "Dove, where were -"

Dove looked exhausted. And dirty. Even Auntie Yang and Uncle Jauney looked tired and worn, somewhat. And then, there was someone with them. Dove was leading a little boy out of the ship by his hand. "Headmistress!" Dove said, bowing slightly on reflex. Her hand tightened around the boy's. "This is -"

Dawn narrowed her eyes at the boy who had interrupted her birthday and was taking the attention of her cousin. On her birthday, she thought again. She frowned angrily and crossed her arms over her chest, then pouted at the wall. Ruby was too busy with Auntie Yang and Uncle Jauney to get angry at her, and Dove was too interested in the little stupid boy to care. She turned and marched off to her party. At least people there would pay attention to her.

χ χ χ

Oscar. Oscar Pine.

That was the boy's name, Dawn had learned. The boy that Dove fretted over. He'd lost everything, and really only trusted Dove so much because she'd saved him. So Dawn couldn't feel mad about that. She almost felt bad for him, really. Heartless and Grimm attacking his family. But then she learned he was the newest Keyblade Wielder, and she was jealous all over again! Her mommy and daddy had just had a big fight in front of everyone. Mommy had won and said they'd start soon. But they hadn't yet. And she didn't have a Keyblade, but this little boy did? He was four months younger than her, so why did he have one and not her?

She grumbled to herself while she walked along, her deep-violet hood pulled up over her headphones so she could be alone. After all, no one fun was here today. Just the kids of some Counselors from the Kingdoms who were as stupid and mean as their parents were. Dove was on another mission, not that it would have mattered. She would have just been spending time with the boy so he wouldn't just start sobbing all the time. She sighed and shook her head. No, she shouldn't be so mean, even if he was just a dumb crybaby boy.

She walked out of the Academy and danced around while the music played in her ears, completely sure she was safe. The Academy was the safest place on Remnant, after all. Keyblade Wielders would sense any monster that showed up and kill it, especially in the courtyard. She hummed along with the music and danced through the grass, twirling and coming to a stop. Her eyes narrowed and she scoffed, her joy frozen.

Oscar. Oscar Pine.

He was sitting and reading at the fountain, all alone. And for once, it looked like he was... smiling. Dawn's eyes stopped narrowing and she bit her cheek, feeling bad again. She didn't hate Oscar, she just... wanted her mommy and her daddy and her cousin to do stuff with her. Dove had barely been at her birthday, and barely talked with her since. And when she did, it always got cut short by Oscar acting like a little puppy running around looking for her. But now he almost looked normal, reading that book. Even from here she could tell it had cool pictures, because it was one of her favorites. The picture on the cover told her that much.

Her mood soured again as she saw the Counselors' children walking up. A bunch of mean kids, two years older than her. One, the leader named something something Winchester, was loudly guffawing in front of his lackeys. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, getting ready to turn back into the Academy to avoid the dummies. And then they pointed at Oscar and rushed over. The boy's anxiety flared immediately and he tried to back away, saying something as the older boys and girls ganged up on him, taking the book and shoving him to the ground. Winchester glanced at the book and laughed at the boy, then tossed the book into the fountain. Then he kicked Oscar.

Dawn didn't really know what came over her. These kids were a lot bigger than her. And some of them had even started basic Huntsman training with their parents. There were also a bunch of them. But she still sprinted down there, knowing one thing she had they didn't.

She was meaner when she wanted to be. "Hey, Dummies!" she shouted angrily, tearing her headphones down and swinging with her leg right between Winchester's legs. He screamed in pain and fell to his knees, and all the others turned to the little girl at once, her tiny fists shaking in a combination of anger and fear as they moved towards her and their downed leader. "You leave him alone!"

"You stupid twerp!" Winchester gasped, voice a bunch higher than it usually was as he staggered to his feet. He raised his finger and jabbed into her shoulder. "Back off or we'll make you!"

"Whatever, Fart-chester!" she snapped back, drawing a few light laughs from his lackeys. A glare silenced them. And while he was looking away, she kicked him in the same place again. He hit the ground and began to cry. "I told you to leave us alone, you big baby!"

And then the others joined in. She gave as good as she got, punching and kicking and biting all of them. Eventually, they decided it was more trouble than it was worth and dragged their leader away from Dawn. She glared after them, ignoring her bloodied nose and lip so she could scowl at them. Her knuckles were covered in their blood, but hurt a lot. She didn't know hitting people hurt that much; how could Auntie Yang do it all the time?

She spat out the blood from the ones she'd bitten and turned, wiping her bloody nose on her sleeve. "Well, you okay?"

Oscar yelped and scrambled away. Dawn rolled her eyes and marched past him, reaching in to grab the picture book from the fountain. She frowned at the soggy pages and growled. "I liked this book..." she turned and glared at Winchester's lackeys. "I'm gonna go beat them up!"

"No!" Oscar grabbed her arm and turned her around. He let go suddenly and sat down on the fountain's edge, scooting away and shivering. She stared at him, frowning, then shrugged and plopped herself down right next to him. He jumped and scooted away, only for her to scoot after him. This happened a few more times before, finally, he surrendered to his fate and let her sit beside him. "... Thank you for helping me..."

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, well, Winchester's a big poop face. I wasn't going to let him hurt Dove's puppy," she replied, the anger replaced with confusion as to why he was thanking her.

"P-puppy?" Oscar asked in surprise. He let his head fall. "I-I-I'm not a puppy..."

"You follow her around like one," she pointed out, annoyed he'd even try to say she was wrong about this. She laughed and shook her head. "Even Drei wasn't as bad when he was an actual puppy."

Oscar clammed up at that, fiddling with his thumbs. Dawn sighed and looked at the picture book again. "I liked this one," she muttered. She began to pout and huff angrily.

"... Me, too!" Oscar finally said, looking up at her and smiling. He looked away quickly. "W-what's your name?"

"I'm Dawn! Sora's my daddy and Ruby's my mommy, and I'm gonna be the best ever one day!" she shouted, surging to her feet and aiming a finger at the sky. "The bestest ever! I'll even use the pretty gold Keyblade Daddy hung up on the wall!"

"R-really?" Oscar asked, eyes wide. He nervously got to his feet too. "I-I'm Oscar. B-but you can call me Oz!"

She glared at him for a moment, thinking it over. "Oz? That's a dumb nick name," she said, shoving him lightly. "No way, Oscar, not happening."

"No it isn't!" the boy shouted indignantly. "Master Sora said he had a friend called Oz!"

"Still dumb. I'm just gonna call you Oscar. Or Puppy, when you act like one around Dove," she said. She grabbed his arm. "We're friends now, got it? You stick with me and I'll keep you safe."

"I – Yeah!" Oscar shouted, rushing to keep up with her.

"Come on, there's a yummy ice cream place over there and Daddy gave me some Lien to get some!" Dawn shouted, going faster and dragging him even more. "It's got this yummy Sea Salt Ice Cream!"

"W-wait up!" Oscar cried, nearly tripping when her cloak hit his face. "Agh!" He fell to his knees and immediately began to sob and cry again.

Dawn sighed and turned around. "We aren't getting ice cream, are we?" she asked, annoyed with her new friend. He just kept sobbing. "Okay, okay, come on, you aren't hurt, you crybaby."

χ χ χ

Five Years Later

Dawn sprinted through the doors of the hangar, silver eyes wide and excited. Her longer cloak fluttered in the wind when she sprinted further into the academy at a speed that Ruby could only surpass with her Semblance, though she was moving much slower with her infant son, Chalcedon, in her arms. And that was what Dawn was so excited about – she had discovered her Semblance, and it. Was. AWESOME! She had discovered her Semblance while training with her mom for the S.E.E., or theSignal Entrance Exam. She was going to kick butt there, now. Easily be one of the best. Sure, it wasn't a Keyblade, but there was plenty of time for that. "DadDadDadDadDad!" she shouted, rushing through the Academy while her mother rushed after her. "DadDadDadDadDad!"

She charged into the training room, where Oscar and some of the other Keyblade Apprentices were training with Sora in an effort to unlock their own Semblances. "Dad, I did it!" she shouted, rushing ahead and slamming into him for a hug. She pulled away and turned to Oscar. "Oscar, I did it! I got my Semblance!"

Some of the other kids groaned at being reminded they hadn't done that yet but she had, but Oscar just got excited. "That's great, Dawn," he told her, giving her a high five. His smile vanished. "I-I haven't yet, but... What's yours?"

"Oh, it's so cool!" she shouted. She pulled out a pellet of Red Dust.

Ruby charged in and her eyes widened. "Uh, maybe you shouldn't do it so close to -"

But Dawn had already channeled her Aura into the pellet. There was a bright explosion and the apprentices were thrown backwards, even Oscar. When the energy finally disappeared, she was standing in front of him, changed. Her cloak had begun to glow a bright red, and her outfit was now all black and red. There was a slight energy coming off of her. She grinned and vanished, reappearing in a blur of lines a few feet away. "Look, I'm so fast now!" She blurred again and suddenly Oscar was on his feet and she was in front of him. This close, he could see lightning sparking from her hair, which was a shade more red than black now. "And strong, watch this!" She reappeared next to a table and lifted it overhead, then ran it over to Oscar and put it down in front of him. "It's just like my dad's, but even faster!"

Oscar's eyes went wide. "That's... I wonder if there's any special magical capabilities that these afford you. And how many forms your Semblance can take! After all, Master Sora has some that specialize in magic or fighting or a ton of other things depending on the Dust he uses..."

"I don't know, but I'm so excited to –" the glow vanished and Dawn blinked, then fell backwards to lean against the table, her eyes swirling. "Ugh... tired..."

"Dawn," Ruby sighed, grabbing hold of her daughter and lifting her to her feet. She looked over at a shocked Sora, then the grumbling apprentices. Finally, back at her daughter. "You know this isn't your personal playground..." She moved over to Sora and handed him their son. The boy and the father cooed at one another excitedly. "You need to listen and be more mature."

"Seems a little hypocritical comin' from you, Kiddo." Dawn's eyes widened in joy and she turned, seeing her Uncle Qrow and Dove standing in the doorway. Qrow's eyes crinkled at Ruby's annoyed glare. "I seem to remember food fights, pranks, and massive games of tag happening when you were at Beacon. And that's just when you were a teacher, not even when you were a student Miss Headmistress."

Dawn pulled out of her mom's grasp and rushed her Great Uncle and Cousin, pulling them into a hug. "Dove! Uncle Qrow!" She shouted. She pushed away and jumped excitedly. "Did you see? Did you!?"

"It was awesome, Sunrise," Dove agreed with a nod, causing the silver eyed girl to grow even more excited. "But... maybe you should have listened to Headmistress Ruby?"

"I – I – I a-ag-g-gree!"

Dawn rolled her eyes and marched over to Oscar... before slamming a fist into his shoulder. "Shut up, Puppy."

Dove raised a confused eyebrow, then shook the feeling off. "Thanks for the support, Dove. Unlike some people," Ruby said, shooting her uncle a glare. Then proving him right by sticking her tongue out at him like a five year old.

"I j-just wish I kn-knew how to us-se mine," Oscar said, still blushing beet red and rubbing the shoulder Dawn had smacked. It hurt, even with the durability afforded him by the Keyblade.

"Well, just try to focus on it, you know? It's like... you gotta feel for this warm spot in your Heart, you know?" Dawn struggled to explained. She huffed and put her hands up, swirling them around each other like grasping a sphere. "I... I know! Hold my hand while I do mine!" She grabbed his hand.

Ruby rushed towards her daughter. "Dawn, don't you dare -"

Too late, the explosion happened again. Dawn grinned as the table beside her turned to ash and she looked over at her friend. "There, that better?"

Ruby rushed over and pulled her daughter from Oscar, grabbing the surprised young man's arm. "Dawn, I keep telling you to stop! And you're interrupting your father's class! Tell her, Sora!"

Sora nodded. "She's right, Sunrise. You're being -"

"I get it!" Oscar shouted, interrupting his master. "It's like... this?"

There was a green flash this time, filling the room. Everyone's vision cleared... and then Ruby stumbled backwards, clutching her chest. Her eyes glowed and slowly turned a clear, ocean blue. "I..." She shook her head and looked up at her husband. "Sora? But you vanished after –" She rushed forward and buried her face in his chest, sobbing now. Everyone watched her, stunned by the sudden change in Ruby's behavior. She took a deep, ragged breath. "Sora, we've missed you so much! Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy... We've all missed you so much! Where have you been, why -" She pushed back and stared into his surprised eyes. "You're old... and tall..."

"Hey, I'm not that old!" Sora protested indignantly. "Come on, Ruby, that's mean to say to your husba – Did you say Riku?" His eyes widened with recognition. Then happiness. Then terror. "No way..."

"Ruby?" The woman looked down at her clothes, then arched around to look at her cloak. "Oh... I... see..." She turned back to Sora and reached out, placing a hand on his face. Sora blinked once and stood stock still, staring into the blue eyes of his old friend. "I missed you, Sora."

Sora smiled sadly. "I missed you too, Kairi," he said. He patted her shoulder sadly and hesitated in saying what he wanted to say. But he did say it. "But... I'm sorry, but you..."

Kairi's smile faltered and tears came to her borrowed eyes. "I know," she said, voice cracking. She nodded, slow and sad. "I know... I'm happy you found a life when you came back. Riku was always scared you'd end up moping around if you showed up again and we weren't there to help you."

"I almost did. She brought me out of it," Sora explained. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tight. Then he placed her hand on Chalcedon and then gestured with his head at a very confused Dawn. "This is our son, and that's our daughter. Chalcedon and Dawn."

"... Hi, lady in my mom's body," Dawn muttered, mostly unsure she was right when she said that. Kairi waved back, an earnest joy on her face.

Kairi smiled and hugged Sora again, tears streaming from her eyes as she thought of a lifetime the two of them never had. But now she knew, without a doubt, that he did have a lifetime, now. He wasn't dead. And that was enough. "They're adorable, Sora. Then tell her I... said thank you. Someone has to take care of you, Lazy Bum." A green glow emanated from the woman for a moment, and she looked around wildly, eyes silver once again. "Huh? Wha?" She looked up at Sora. "Sora, you're crying, what happened?"

Sora just grabbed hold of her tight and buried his face in her hair. "I love you, Ruby. To the ends of the universe."

Oscar inched away slowly. "Uh... that wasn't me," he whispered to Dawn. "R-right?"

"Oh, that was definitely you," she replied, shaking her head. "Jeez, you discover your Semblance and put... I wanna say my dad's ex girlfriend in my mom's body. Good luck living that one down with these guys." She gestured at the other Keyblade Apprentices, who were already laughing at Oscar and talking about circulating the story. "I'm going to tell everybody."

"Dawn! Don't make f-fun of me in f-front of Dove!" She turned and glared at him... and her fist slammed into his other shoulder. "O-ow! Dawn, come on!"

"Sora, you're acting weird!" Ruby cried out, struggling against the powerful hug her husband had looped her into. The baby warbled and grabbed tight on their mother, feeding off the joy in the room. Dawn laughed at her parents for a moment, enjoying them being so lovey dovey, as always. "Sora, you're basically giving me a shower of tears! Stoooooop!"

Dawn felt her smile slip and she turned to her mom and dad. In their story of how they'd met and saved the World, they'd said that Ruby was a 'Princess' of some kind. A pure being with no Darkness in her Heart, a duty that was passed from Soul to Soul as the Heart was reborn through the ages, countless times throughout history. And, once, that Heart had belonged to a young woman named Kairi. Sora's first love from when he was a kid, before the World was destroyed by Xehanort. It still made her dad sad, sometimes, the people he missed. She punched Oscar again, "Good job, Idiot!" she joked. "You made my dad cry!"

χ χ χ

The figure marched slowly through the darkness of the Keyblade Academy. The security within was... lacking, she had to admit. So assured of the technology and Light protecting him, his family, and his students, Sora had become complacent. Though, judging from her memories, he had never exactly been a dedicated planner. Even decades with Oz helping him couldn't completely rectify that. After all, vigilance was borne from suffering, and Sora and Ruby had never truly experienced suffering like that. The figure paused and leaned in to their room. At least, until tonight. The woman raised her hand and carved arcane symbols, sending Darkness towards the sleeping Princess, then moved quickly away from the sleeping pair.

Ruby's eyes slid open slowly and she shot up. "Hmph... Cookie," she muttered. She stumbled up to her feet and began to wander, half asleep, through the building in a search for a cookie. She grunted and finally made it to the family's private kitchen, opening the fridge and pouring milk before going into the pantry and pulling out cookies. She smiled, still half asleep, and began to enjoy her midnight snack.

The intruder cocked her head to the side, observing the Princess in silence. "You just going to keep watching?" Ruby wondered after downing the milk in one gulp. She turned, eyes glowing bright silver, and slowly stood up. Her sweatpants and sleeping shirt suddenly seemed dangerous in the eerie, silver glow. Even with the cartoon Beowolves on it. Still a child, even as an adult. "Or are you going to tell me what you're here for?"

The intruder took a slow breath, then held her hands out. Black Dust, once burned away from this island, slowly congealed into her right hand in the form of a long, dark sword. She held it tight and stayed where she was. Ruby snarled and threw her hand back, summoning her Keyblade and charging forward without transforming it, the hallways too small to move into the form she was more comfortable with. The blade crashed into the intruder's and moved into another blow immediately, each deflected expertly by the intruder. The blade of Dust and the Keyblade sparked with each point of contact. The intruder pulled the Darkness around her, hiding her features from the silver glow, and deflected another blow before counter attacking. Her sword came down then up quickly, her free hand looping around and crafting a dagger she brought at Ruby's side. The Keyblade Master dodged expertly and jumped away, aiming the tip of her weapon at the intruder. Most powerful magic was out of the question, she knew, because of their enclosed space and how close they were to Ruby's family, but it could still be dangerous. Without a word of casting, a thorny, whirling rosebush made of red light appeared in the air, like chains whipping towards the intruder to imprison her.

The intruder hopped from foot to foot for a moment, then charged forward. She leaped between the chains, swirling and carving the others apart so she could get to the other side and cross her blade with Ruby's again. "Damn, that was good," Ruby admitted as they struggled against one another. The intruder didn't respond, simply breaking their lock and spinning around Ruby, finally landing a strike to her shoulder, shallow and glancing as it was. Ruby whirled on her and shattered the Dust sword with a single strike, her heel crashing into its flat and sending a burst of Light magic through the weapon to make it explode. The intruder snarled and ducked beneath the next attack, reshaping the sword in her hand to be a dagger and flipping both it and the one in her off hand into backhand grips. She slashed at Ruby's side, but hit only air. The Keyblade Wielder turned and slammed a foot into her shoulder, accompanied by a bright Light spell. The intruder was thrown back, the Darkness coating her vanishing.

She rolled through the hallway, snarling in annoyance and pain, then slid to a stop and panted at the ground. Ruby leaped through the air, roaring, and brought her Keyblade down in a final attack.

Only for it to stop when she saw who she was attacking, recognition flashing in her eyes. "That's impossible..!" she muttered before a Darkness infused hand slammed into her face and the Sleep spell overtook her consciousness.

χ χ χ

Sora's eyes flew open as soon as the Light spell was cast, his finely tuned senses waking him even in the depths of sleep. Then he felt it, crawling across his skin. There was Darkness here, some kind of intricate spell cast here. The hair on his neck bristled with rage. Here, in his home!? He turned to where his wife should be and froze. "Ruby..." The wounds from earlier that day were still strong, the appearance of Kairi's... Soul in Ruby's Heart had left him raw and weak, for many reasons. That he could see an old friend was one. His terror at the thought of Ruby forever losing her own body, even to an old friend, was another. He sprang off the bed in a single movement and summoned the Master Keeper and No Name both, then sprinted towards the source of the spell.

What he saw when he arrived left him hollow. Red, glowing eyes. Bright white hair. Horror flashed through his Heart at her appearance again, nearly two decades after her death. "Sora," Salem said, gazing calmly at him as she held Ruby in her arms. The black tendrils on her pale skin crinkled at the sides of her eyes. Eyes that, somehow, did not contain that same exact type of madness they had all those years before. No, now they were calm and focused. She was... whole. His grip on his Keyblades tightened. "Still afraid of me?"

"Let my wife go," he commanded with all the considerable authority granted to him on account of having killed the person in front of him at one point. He slammed the Keyblades in front of him and summoned a huge glow of his Light to them. "Now."

Salem stared at him with the same odd look, making no move to listen to his request. She looked down at the unconscious woman in her grip, then turned up to Sora. And she smirked. "No."

This was the Salem he remembered. The one that haunted his nightmares, still, sometimes, to this day. Evil, cruel, and capable of controlling others' emotions as if it was a magic she had created herself. He charged her, faster than he ever had before. "You won't –!"

She vanished in a Corridor of Darkness before he could reach her, the doorway swallowing her and his wife. He slashed through where they had been a moment before, the Light and his Keyblades vanishing from his grip. He turned and stared at the spot for a few moments, his brain and Heart struggling to process what had just happened. The raw wounds of his short conversation with Kairi suddenly tore open all at once, amplified by his sudden loss of his wife, of his daughter and son being left without their mother, and of losing to her again. He fell to his knees and slammed his fist into the ground. Her. He'd lost to her! He'd lost Ruby to her!

Fire and anguish built in his chest, but were quickly replaced. Rage. Hot and cold, bubbling and frozen, filled his veins and consumed those emotions. He slammed his fist into the ground again and the stone cracked underneath his monstrous strength. Sora surged to his feet and roared, summoning his Keyblade and slamming into the ground. Stone shattered and flew into the air. "SALEM!" he screamed into the sky.

And then the baby started to cry and his rage vanished, replaced with terror. The children – he had to make sure they were okay. He bolted back to his room and grabbed his son, checking him over. The warbling cries continued until he pulled him into a hug, staying there for a few moments simply happy the boy was still okay. "Sh.. Sh..." he whispered before turning towards the door. "Dawn." He hurried towards her door, moving as quickly as he could with the still screaming child in his arms. He threw the door open to find the young woman sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Dad..? Wha's goin' on?" she wondered sleepily. She yawned and blinked the sleep out of her eyes when she saw the terror on his face and heard the screaming baby in his arms. Her voice grew scared from his gaze. "D-Dad?! She jumped out of bed, still in her Keyblade and Rose pajamas, and rushed up. "Dad are you okay? Dad!"

Sora just fell to his knees, pulling his daughter into a tight hug with him and her brother, then he began to sob into her shoulder. Dawn's hands hesitated for a moment before hugging her father back. Sora just sobbed and clutched his family tighter, refusing to ever let them go. He hadn't been prepared. He'd been stupid. Complacent. And now Ruby had paid the price, stolen away by the worst monster he'd ever fought. His hands tightened on the two children, letting him take comfort in their presence and mere existence. They were still here. They remained, and he'd never let them be put in danger ever again, not from anything.

He swore, in that moment, to never let anything happen to them. They would never face this kind of danger, they would never rage, they would never die, they would never fight. They would never have enemies that would come in the night from death itself and take those they loved. They would never have anything hunt them like that. Not once he saved their mother and cut Salem down forever, making sure it would stick this time. Then they could go and live normal lives, like normal people.

He remembered his daughter's Semblance, a flash and burn so like his own. Form Boost. She'd been so happy to use it. She'd hate him when she never used it again.

They'd be normal because he'd rather have them alive and hating him than anything else.

χ χ χ

"I'm impressed we have even been able to get this far before entering the accelerated phase of the plan," Salem said as she observed the stasis units that lined the back wall, seven crafted to hold a single person each. For now, only four were occupied, the women inside completely still in their slumber. In one was a young woman with sharp ears dressed in a sky blue tunic. It had been... difficult to acquire her, between her home world's own Darkness that refused alliance and the incredibly Bright warrior who had tried to stop them. With the world's end at the hands of Heartess, however, they had managed to acquire the Princess eventually. In another was a human sized porcelain doll, given life through... dark rituals that even Salem had found dangerous. But despite that, it – she was a being of Light, driven to protect and guide the few beings of relative Light that lived in her world, so deep in the Realm of Twilight it nearly became the Realm of Darkness and even dipping into the Realm of Sleep. That world still lived; its own Dark creatures were too possessive of it, and this made Salem wonder what would happen to that world now, without the Doll there to help its 'heroes.' Probably something even worse than simply letting her Heartless devour it, unless Sora's Keyblade Wielders got involved. The third had been the easiest to obtain, and was the one who played the part of 'Princess' the best. Her dark skin had well applied makeup, her hair done up with a green, leaf like tiara. The dress followed the same lily pad design, and was nearly large enough to take up the stasis pod's entire area. Perhaps they should have waited to take her until after her wedding in the swamp had ended. Or earlier when she was still a frog...

But it was the last one that had been there the longest. The first she'd taken, and the most personal. Ruby Rose, still dressed in her sleeping clothes. It had been difficult to take her. As a Keyblade Wielder she had resisted the attempt far more than any of the others had up until that point. And given Salem was still so weak back then, it could very well had gone very differently if she had not managed to surprise the woman with her appearance. A cheap trick; she would rather have won and proved her own strength to herself. Not that it mattered anymore. She was strong once again, with a body no longer decrepit and broken by an ancient curse. Her gaze lingered on this Princess, who had killed her once upon a time. An experience she still, to an extent, remembered. To be fair, she had been insane back then, though she doubted either Ruby or Sora or any of their friends would recognize her current goal as anything but insanity either. Holding Ruby hostage for four years made any kind of logical approach to her goals... unlikely, on their part.

She turned back to the meeting table adorned with a simple, red 'χ', where her allies waited patiently in the Darkness. "Everything seems to be going well."

"I would hope so, Salem," the deep voice of the man in the black, skull like mask echoed over the table. His impeccable suit beneath the mask barely had a wrinkle when he crossed his arms. "I have had to take more time from plans in my own home to make our efforts here work."

"And I thank each of you for that sacrifice," Salem said simply. She ran a hand through her white hair and then smoothed her black dress, letting out a tired sigh. "Before our alliance began, I would have been hard pressed to advance the Plan by even a fraction of what we have achieved together."

"Of course, but do not mistake our alliance for friendship." Salem's gaze locked onto the ragged robes of a man to her right. The figure clutched at his side and he flinched suddenly, a barely audible grunt of pain escaping gritted teeth. His voice came out tired, dying, "We still have few assurances you will not betray us when this is over."

"Other than the word of a self-admitted genocidal maniac," the fourth voice said from Salem's left, the newest member of their small band. He brushed off one red sleeve. "But you'll excuse us if that doesn't make us feel better."

"I have no guarantee of your own loyalty either."

"Perhaps, but our goals remain in alliance," another man, this one in faded white robes said, voice analytical and emotionless. "And, we must admit, it so very rare that we find ourselves in a room with those we would even nearly consider our equals. Besides, we have little reason to betray one another. The χ-blade provides power in the infinite. Mathematically, dividing the infinite simply provides the infinite."

"Ha! Not a bad point," the man in the suit remarked caustically.

"And the little Shadow?" the man in red wondered caustically.

Salem sighed. Yes, her shadow. "My shadow? Loyal, for the foreseeable future."

The man in red muttered, "Hm... If you say so."

Salem frowned and glanced up. "Our time for this meeting is nearing its end." She lowered her gaze to the symbol on the table. "Until our next meeting." And then, one by one, they all disappeared, returning to their home worlds through Dark Corridors.

Salem waited for another few moments, turning back to the stasis pods. She was lucky Darkness was so much easier to congregate, the Thirteen Pieces able to be called from the Realm of Dark by virtue of the Darkness there simply being so overwhelming. It would take no time at all to get that piece of the weapon she hunted for. "Soon. It will all be over, soon." Then the Corridor appeared, summoned by her will, and she was swallowed up. The room and the Princesses of Heart within were alone once more.