Hello and welcome to another installment of KHRWBY! Now we begin volume 2. Really glad for all the positive reviews. Now, let's get to it.
As usual, I own nothing.
(Flashback)
After chasing Pluto for answers to King Mickey's whereabouts, the gang lost track of the yellow-colored dog. By that time, it was getting late, so Sapphire and the others agreed to rest for the night.
Sapphire was already missing the Gummi Ship. The seats might not be comfortable, but it was better than sleeping on the ground. Not to mention Donald and Goofy's snoring!
Seeing that she wasn't getting anymore sleep, Sapphire sits up. She then rubs her eyes before glancing at Donald and Goofy sawing logs.
"Note to self: Buy earplugs." Sapphire thinks with a frown.
"Can't sleep?"
Sapphire turns her head to see Sora sitting up looking at her.
"I can probably deal with sleeping on the ground." Sapphire says with an uneasy smile. "But the snoring?"
Sora nods with a small smile. "I hear ya."
Sapphire giggles as Sora chuckles. After a moment, the two stop. Sora then stands up.
"You wanna take a walk?" Sora asks.
"Kay." Sapphire says with a smile as she stands up.
Sapphire and Sora soon find themselves at a crossroads. They then look up to the starry sky's. Suddenly, Sapphire stiffens. Sora not far behind her as the two feel a dark presence behind them.
"Along the road ahead lies something you need."
Startled by the voice, Sapphire and Sora turn sharply towards it. But are confused when the find nothing but an empty road. The two then look around before feeling that same presence behind them. Turning, Sapphire and Sora are surprised to see a figure in a black coat. The person looks like the one the two heroes encountered in Hollow Bastion but doesn't have the same overwhelming presence he had.
"However, in order to claim it, you must lose something that is dear to you." The figure says.
The mysterious figure turns around and, to Sapphire and Sora's shock, suddenly disappears.
"Who was that?" Sapphire asks.
"Dunno." Sora says while shaking his head.
Sapphire and Sora look down the road the mystery man vanished on.
"Think he went that way?" Sora asks.
"Probably." Sapphire says.
Sora looks towards Sapphire. "I'm gonna get Donald and Goofy. I've got a feeling that guy knows something."
"Yeah." Sapphire says. "I feel the same way."
Sora turns around and rushes to find Donald and Goofy. Sapphire however continues to stare at the road.
"...I've got a bad feeling about this." Sapphire says while placing a hand on her chest.
A few minutes later, Sapphire and the gang are seen walking down a grey path. Somehow, the environment around them became more ominous. After walking for a bit, the gang sees a strange looking castle that had pieces of it in the ground. With nowhere else to go, the gang *Static* *Static* *Static*
ERROR DETECTED WITHIN SUBJECTS MEMORY! CODE 0101010101010101010...! ENGAGING EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN!
(Flashback ends)
As a ship flies through the skies over Vale, the owner of the Dust shop "From Dust Till Dawn" is seen hanging a sign declaring its re-opening. As he climbs down from his ladder, he stumbles and falls. Emerald Sustrai then appears next to him.
"'Scuse me, sorry." Emerald says with a giggle. "I'm not really from around here."
Emerald helps the Shopkeeper to his feet. She then pulls out a piece of paper and shows it to him.
"Would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop?" Emerald asks.
The Shopkeeper looks it over. He then smiles and nods.
A few minutes later, Emerald walks away from the shop owner as both wave goodbye. She then passes Mercury Black at a corner.
"I knew you were lost." Mercury says in amusement.
Emerald produces a wallet with Lien and waves it in Mercury's face. "Mercury, I will seriously pay you to shut up."
Mercury shakes his head. "That's not your money."
"But it can be yours for 5 minutes of silence." Emerald says imploringly.
Mercury thinks for a moment before shaking his head again. "No deal."
"Fine." Emerald says with a scoff. She then takes the Lien and tosses the wallet and walks away.
"Whatever." Mercury says before following his... partner. "You want me."
More of the city is shown, including a café where two extras sit chatting. Mercury and Emerald are seen walking through the city.
"So, how much farther?" Mercury asks.
"A few blocks." Emerald says.
Mercury groans. "Ugh... this place is so dull."
"Eh, I kinda like it." Emerald says with a shrug. "Tall buildings, diverse culture..."
"And nice dopey people who are easy to pickpocket." Mercury says.
Emerald stops, prompting Mercury to stop as she puts her hands on her hips. "That's every city."
"Ooh, Emerald! Master thief!" Mercury says, playing the victim. "Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by!"
Emerald glares at him, groaning angrily. She then walks away from him.
Mercury sighs. "You're no fun today."
Mercury follows behind Emerald. However, the two pass by two... odd individuals. Emerald pays them no mind, but Mercury can't help but look back and stare at what looks like a green skinned witch and a humanoid cat.
Mercury raises and eyebrow. "A little early for Halloween, ain't it?"
Mercury shakes his head before following after Emerald. Unaware that the witch, Maleficent looks back at the duo with interest.
Mercury catches up to Emerald, only to raise an eyebrow as he sees the thief looking at the window of their target's business.
"Aren't we supposed to go in?" Mercury asks.
"Shush!" Emerald says while glancing at her partner. She then beckons Mercury to look inside the window.
Inside Tukson's Book Trade is their target, Tukson. Along with a girl with black hair with blue tips and silver eyes chatting with Tukson.
"Isn't that the girl Cinder told us about?" Mercury asks.
"Yep." Emerald says with narrowed eyes. "Sapphire Rose."
Emerald and Mercury watch as Sapphire laughs along with their target as he places a few books on the counter.
"She doesn't look so tough." Mercury says.
"Remember what Cinder said?" Emerald asks as she side glances Mercury. "She's dangerous. And our new "friend" said it's too early to engage her now."
Mercury frowns. "So? What do we do?"
Emerald steps away from the window. "We pull back. Looks like Tukson got off lucky today."
Mercury scoffs as he and Emerald walk away from the store. A few seconds later, Sapphire is seen existing the bookstore with a few books. She waves at Tukson as she leaves. Tukson waves back as he watches Sapphire leave. He then glances around before going back inside his store and closing the blinds.
Tukson never knew that Sapphires visit had saved his life that day. And neither did Sapphire.
Sapphire hums a song to herself as she walks the streets of Vale.
"It's too bad Tukson's moving to Vacuo." Sapphire says. "He really did have every book under the sun."
Sapphire is taken out of her thoughts by the sound of her Scroll ringing.
"Yes?" Sapphire asks while answering her phone. After a few minutes...
"THEY WHAT!?" Sapphire yells as her screams echo.
Back at Beacon Academy, teams RWBY and JNPR had just had the mother of all food fights. Even Rehxia had been roped into the fight. Sun Wukong and his partner, Neptune Vasilias had stuck around to see the show. By the end of it, the entire cafeteria was a mess, RWBY, Rhexia and JNPR were covered in food and Neptune was purple thanks to a few soda cans.
The cafeteria doors open and Glynda enters the room growling. She proceeds to use telekinesis to re-organize the room.
"Children, please." Glynda seethes while adjusting her glasses. "Do not play with your food!"
Nora burps aloud as both Team JNPR and Team RWBY try and fail to compose themselves. A screaming Yang then crashes from the ceiling into one of the tables. Glynda grumbles. Ozpin approaches and places a hand on her shoulder.
"Let it go." Ozpin says.
Glynda sighs. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."
"And they will be, but right now they're still children." Ozpin says as team RWBY laughs together. "So why not let them play the part?" Ozpin walks away from Glynda. "After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever."
Glynda sighs once more as she watches her boss leave. She is then forced to move away as an enraged Sapphire stomps into the cafeteria after shoving Sun and Neptune aside.
"A FOOD FIGHT!?" Sapphire exclaims.
All the laughter in the cafeteria stops as teams RWBY, JNPR and Rhexia pale. Like a squeaky door, the students fearfully turn towards Sapphire.
"Ohhhhh... no...!" Ruby and Yang fearfully whimper.
One thing to know about Sapphire is that she takes her cooking seriously. To her, something like a food fight is classified as an insult to food. Ruby and Yang learned that the hard way after an incident from back when they were kids dubbed "The Sloppy Joe Incident".
"Crap baskets." Jaune whimpers fearfully.
"How dare you...?" Sapphire asks with a snarl. "Food is supposed to be eaten. Not used as a weapon. To do so is an insult to chefs everywhere!"
"N-n-now sis." Ruby stutters with her hands held up placatingly. "W-w-we can talk this-"
Unacceptable!" Sapphire interrupts while stomping her feet.
With a squeak, Ruby jumps into Yang's arms as the others look at Sapphire fearfully.
"UNACCEPTABLE!" Sapphire screams.
In an old warehouse, the White Fang are moving crates as Emerald and Mercury enter. Roman soon spots them.
"Oh look, she sent the kids again." Roman says, feigning happiness. He then approaches the two from behind and wraps his arms around them in a group hug. "This is turning out just like the divorce."
Emerald shivers in disgust as she and Mercury push Roman away.
"Spare us the thought of you procreating." Emerald says with a frown.
"That was a joke." Roman says. He then produces a piece of paper. "And this... just might tell me where you two have been all day."
"What?" Emerald asks in shock as she pats her pockets.
"I'm a professional, sweetheart." Roman says smugly. "Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something."
Roman looks at the paper. He then frowns before looking back at Emerald and Mercury.
"Why do you have this address?" Roman asks with narrowed eyes.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald asks.
"Yeah, I would." Roman says. "Now where have you been all day?"
Mercury steps up to Roman. "Cleaning up your problems. ...Or at least we would've."
"First off; I had that under control." Roman says with a raised eyebrow. "Second; What are you talking about?"
Mercury crosses his arms. "A person of interest showed up, so we had to back off."
"Tukson's probably half-way to Vacuo by now because of your screw up." Emerald says while pointing at Roman.
"Listen you little street-rat." Roman says while pointing at Emerald. "If it were up to me, I would take you and your little punk friend here and..."
"Do what, Roman?"
The three criminals look up to see Cinder and her new associate on a platform above them. The two step onto an automated lift, riding it down to their level.
"Oh, don't stop on our account." The black coat says. "What were you going to do?"
Roman laughs nervously. "I'd, uh... not kill them?
"Cinder!" Emerald says joyfully. She then levels a small glare at their mystery partner.
"I thought I made it clear that you would eliminate the would-be runaway." Cinder says.
"I was going to..." Roman says weakly.
"He was going to escape to Vacuo!" Emerald says. "Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat."
"And you were stopped." The black coat says. "By whom?"
Mercury scoffs. "That Sapphire chick was there."
"...Is that so?" The dark figure says after a pause. He then paces back and forth "Just as well. It's still too early to confront her. Besides, you wouldn't stand a chance anyway."
Mercury looks offended by the dark figures comment. "Excuse me?"
"Look pal." Emerald says while pointing at the black coat. "You just barge your way into our group and think you can call the shots? We can handle some silver eyed brat."
The dark figure turns sharply at Emerald. "That "silver eyed brat" has seen and done things that your feeble minds can't imagine."
"Hey!" Mercury exclaims while stepping up to the dark figure. "Even if we do believe the stuff you've told us, how are we supposed to trust someone who won't show his face?"
"Enough!" Cinder says sternly while getting in between Mercury and the dark figure.
With a scoff, Mercury backs off while the dark figure dramatically and mockingly bows while stepping back. Cinder then looks towards Emerald and Mercury.
"You two didn't fight her." Cinder says "That girl has magic. Honest to brothers magic. And is therefore, dangerous." Cinder glances at the black coat figure. "Besides, our friend here has been nothing but beneficial to us."
Mercury rolls his eyes. "You mean beneficial to you. How's it going with those tutoring sessions anyway?"
Cinder ignores Mercury's jab at her and gives a sinister smile.
"Things are going quite well, actually." Cinder says. "It won't be long before Sapphire Rose no longer poses a problem for us."
"Don't get cocky." The dark figure says. "Word has it that the Master has apprentices. Two of which can use the Keyblade. You've still got a ways to go before you can have your rematch."
"Once I have what I desire from Beacon, along with your teachings, neither will be an issue." Cinder says confidently.
Cinder turns her attention to Roman, who was watching their argument with a raised eyebrow.
"And you." Cinder says. "Why wasn't this job done sooner?"
Roman thinks to himself before making dramatic gestures to all the containers of Dust in the warehouse.
"Sorry if I've been busy stealing every speck of Dust in the Kingdom!" Roman says.
"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski mask." Mercury says sarcastically. Making Emerald chuckle.
"Look around, kid." Roman says. "I've got this town running scared. Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty on an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials, and rounds than we know what to do with." Roman clenches his fist. "Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother."
"Oh, Roman." Cinder says while walking towards the gentleman thief. "Have a little faith." Cinder then places her hand on Roman's face. "You'll know what you need when you need to know it."
Roman seems to be entranced by Cinder, but then looks away with a grunt. Cinder then walks away.
"Besides, we're done with Dust." Cinder says.
Roman raises an eyebrow in confusion. "O...kay. Then what now?"
"We're moving." Cinder says while looking back. "Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight."
"Coordinates?" Roman asks.
"We're proceeding to phase two." Cinder says.
Cinder, Mercury and Emerald begin to walk away. Roman attempts to light a cigar but realizes it's missing. He then notices Emerald searching her pockets for something, but ultimately sighs in frustration. Making the orange haired thief raise an eyebrow.
"By the way..."
Roman jumps slightly as he realizes that the dark figure hasn't left yet.
"I'm going to be borrowing that little friend of yours for a bit." The black coat says.
Roman frowns while narrowing his eyes at the dark figure. "What do you want with her?"
The dark figure chuckles slightly. "Relax, she'll still be in one piece."
"Then why?" Roman asks with an edge.
"Call it a... plan B." The black coat says. He then walks away. "Never hurts to have a backup."
Roman frowns as he thinks about the dark figures words.
"One more thing..." The dark figure says.
Roman looks up to see the black coat figure holding his lighter.
"I'd be careful." The black coat says while looking back. "These things can kill you."
The dark figure snaps Romans lighter close.
And done!
So, this chapter is a little shorter than the pass one's. This was basically to introduce the next arc.
Now, I bet you're all wondering who our mystery Organization member is. For the record, it's NOT Xigbar. I'm sure you all can figure it out. I left a hint in his dialog with Roman.
See you next chapter. Until then, ja nee!
