AN: Yo! Sorry it's been so long. I had finals. It was rough but it's over! Not a moment too soon, honestly.

Anyways, I'm excited for Christmas, being home with my family, and having fun. I hope you guys all have a good time, too!

Anyways, my favorite part of ANs, responses!

To gamelover41592: Thanks! Yeah, I am doing the Kingdom Hearts 2 formula of coming back, though I'll be doing most worlds three times and one of them twice with something else replacing the third go of that world. It'll be good, though, so don't worry.

To cturner971/Chretner: I'm always excited when I post. I love this story. I'm happy the fight with Lionheart was as intense as I'd meant for it to be, and I thought it was a good change from the movie itself to fit the KH style a bit more.

To GuestWithIdeas: Hey, there's no such thing as late reviewing to me. I'm just glad that you did it at all! And you're right; one of the big themes for the story is trust, and it'll stay important from here on out. I've been thinking over ways to include Volume 5 in this story and... I have a few ideas for a third SMHS story that I hope to get to after this one, and that's the place Oscar would fit the best, actually. Specific characters might pop up during this one section later on; I'll figure it out as I watch Volume 5. No, Adam isn't the one behind Zootopia. What's happening in Zootopia is connected to the big threat of the story, though not necessarily because the antagonist planned it. After all, not everything in KH is Xehanort's fault. Most, sure, but not all. The Academy's connection with Remnant's governments should also be delved into more, even if it isn't key to this specific story. As for Emerald, Mercury, and Genie, I do have some fun planned there. They have to run into Sora eventually and have a reunion, right?

To Remnant7: I'm glad this has been great so far! I do love Devil is a Part Timer! It's just an absurdly good series; like it really shouldn't be as good as it is. Sadly, I don't really think I'll use it. I'm trying to limit the worlds to four. It was just a personal choice to avoid spreading myself too thin on things. But you're right; the theme of dark versus evil is going to come into play soon.

Chapter 12: Homecoming

"Is... is Yang ever going to stop chasing Sora?" Jaune wondered aloud, having watched Yang chase Sora for nearly an hour. The sun was high in the sky, now, approaching the overhead of midday. He grimaced as one of her Firaga spells soared through the air and exploded behind Sora, the Keyblade wielder jumping over the attack to dodge it. Glass exploded out from where the flames hit the sand and Sora landed on one foot, barely keeping his balance to keep running away.

"Speaking from personal experience, no," Qrow muttered. He was hanging upside down from a tree, ice keeping him frozen to its trunk."She will hunt until she kills."

"Or until someone stronger forcefully stops her," Winter pointed out.

"Stronger?" Qrow smirked. Winter narrowed her eyes and began smirking evilly over at Qrow and summoning a shower of ice along the edge of her sword. The wall of frost holding him began to creep towards his jawline.

"W-W-Winter... C-Cold..." Qrow muttered, to no avail. "St-stop, p-please."

"Shh... The cold will prevent your brain cells from dying," Winter elaborated as she walked over and crouched to stand face to face with Qrow. "Which must be a problem given you think I'm not stronger than you."

"Win..." Qrow growled behind gritted teeth.

"She's right, though. Yang's going to do this until someone stops her," Ruby said with a shrug. She watched Sora barely dodge another fireball.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "And... you aren't going to do it?"

Ruby thought for a moment before, in her family's trademark manner, shrugged and said, "... Nope..."

Jaune rubbed the bridge of his nose, exasperated. "You're gonna make me do it, aren't you?" Jaune grumbled.

"... Yup..."

Jaune sighed in defeat before pushing himself up to his feet. "Yang!" he shouted, hands cupped around his mouth. "Yang! Hey, Yang! Stop! We have things we need to talk with him about, remember!?"

"Don't care!" Yang screamed. A thunderbolt struck Sora's heels and he yelped.

"If you don't, I'll tell them about which animal you were!"

The blonde slid to a stop and glared over at Jaune. "You wouldn't dare, Dog Breath..."

"Hop to it," he retorted before crossing his arms and glaring at her.

There was a tense silence as the two glared at one another for a full minute before, finally, Yang relented and walked back over to Jaune and her sister. Sora watched her go for a little while, hiding behind a tree for a minute. "Uh... is it safe to come out now?"

"I think so, Sora," Winter stated simply. She motioned for him to come back and he soon decided to sprint towards everyone.

"Thanks a lot, Rubes," Sora grumbled jokingly. "You let your uncle and sister attack me without doing anything to save me!?"

Ruby glared dryly at him. "You could've easily beaten both of them if they were together," she pointed out.

"Easily!?" Yang and Qrow shouted indignantly.

"Don't be silly, Qrow, you know it's true," Winter interjected, patting his cheek patronizingly.

"No it's not..." he grumbled, sounding like a petulant child.

"Come on, Qrow, I could easily beat you guys if I felt like it," Sora pointed out as he walked up, lacing his fingers together behind his head and grinning. "You've seen me fight, right?"

Jaune jumped in before Yang and Qrow, who were slowly boiling with rage at how everyone thought he could easily beat them – and also at how true it was – could explode. "Sora, it's great to see you again!" he jumped forward and hugged the other keyblade wielder. "It's been too long!"

"Jaune!" Sora wrapped his arms around his friend's back and grinned. "How are you, man?"

Jaune let go and took a step back. "Good, um... We, Yang and I, we just need to talk with you and Professor Ozpin."

"Oz isn't here." The group looked over at Qrow, still upside down on the tree. "He's busy dealing with the last few inspections of our brand new Beacon Two."

"More like Diet Beacon," Ruby said pointedly, pride for her school – the school where she would be working in the next few months – beating out her manners. She smirked and crossed her arms, doing her best Weiss impression. "We all know which school is best!"

"Yeah, up top!" Yang shouted. She and Ruby clapped hands together as Sora and their uncle glared at the sisters. "Oh, what, we hurt your feelings?"

"Yang, we're busy, remember?" Jaune hissed.

"Ugh... yeah, you're right..." she mumbled. She sighed and glanced at Qrow. A somewhat guilty look crossed her features and she was forced to look away.

Her unusual, sudden, somber mood caught the old warrior's attention immediately. "What is it?" Qrow asked. Flames erupted in his hands and the ice around him melted quickly. His hand shot out and caught him before he could hit the ground and he flipped to the balls of his feet. "Yang, what's wrong?" Jaune frowned and wondered the same himself. Yang hadn't been this quiet and conflicted in a long time. She'd been loud, even when her mom had showed up. Angry and lou – Jaune could nearly have slapped himself. He'd been too invested in OJ to see it; Morrigan had more of an effect on Yang than he'd thought.

The brawler sighed, a deep noise that traveled from deep in her lungs. "A lot happened, Uncle Qrow." She looked up and shook her head, a forced grin on her face. "We ran into Mom's Nobody! She's fine. Angry, as usual, maybe a little... oh, you know... Bitchy. Tried to kill us! Lost her, though. Too bad."

Jaune frowned. "So, tell him who saved us, Vomit Boy!" Yang shouted over at him suddenly.

He flinched and stared at her forced grin for a while. "Uh..." She didn't want to talk about Raven's Nobody anymore. About her mom trying to kill her. Well, least he could do is help her with that. "Okay, Yang. Er... I met – I mean, we met another Keyblade Wielder."

"Wow! Who is he?" Ruby shouted, eyes wide. "No, better questions! What'd the Keyblade look like!? Can he transform it!? Into what!? Oh! Oh! Oh! Does he carry around another weapon!?"

Jaune suddenly felt very unsure about how to answer these questions. They were all very tied up with the first question. "Uh... He's me."

Everyone flinched back, eyes wide at the honestly unbelievable news. "A... Another Jaune?" Ruby muttered in disbelief.

Sora became uncharacteristically serious. "A replica?" he asked, memories of Xehanort's final body returned. He briefly worried the other Keyblade wielder had somehow survived. Perhaps he had returned following the death of his Nobody... But then who had killed his Heartless?

"No. At least, we're pretty sure that he isn't," Jaune explained, shaking his arms in front of himself. "Actually, he's real! One hundred percent certified Jaune Arc."

"Ugh..." Yang groaned. "Those are the exact same words OJ used..."

"Exactly. More proof me and OJ are both real Jaune Arc," Jaune pointed out. It just earned another groan from Yang.

"So what happened? Who is he if not a Replica?" Sora asked. He was scratching his cheek, trying to come up with an answer on his own. "You say he's real, so not a shapeshifter... A time traveler, maybe? Like Xehanort did?"

Yang shook her head. "No. It's a bit weirder than that."

"He's from another universe," Jaune blurted out, unsure of how else to say it.

Everyone except Winter just blinked in confusion. The CEO of Schnee Industries frowned and placed a hand on her chin. "Some of our company's scientists had been hypothesizing the existence of other universes that exist parallel to ours. I had always assumed that the theory would lead to the conclusion that the worlds you travel to in the Gummi Ship are those universes, but the existence of this other Jaune..." She looked up. "I don't understand it much myself, I've really only glanced at their research. At the very least, I agree it's possible."

"You're cute when you know things."

Winter looked over at Qrow, who was grinning at her, a sly grin on his features. "If that were the measurement of cute, Qrow, how could anyone be attracted to you?" she mocked the warrior.

"I know some things you like," he said, the grin turning more and more lewd.

Winter blushed. "Qrow, not now!" she hissed.

"Yeah, I'd rather not hear about you two... You knowing..." Yang glanced over at Ruby and Sora. "Especially in front of the kids."

"Kids?" Ruby asked indignantly

Sora scratched the back of his head. "What's 'you knowing?'" He grinned sheepishly and looked around at everyone's unamused glares. His cheeks turned a bright red. "O-oh... Right, I really should've gotten that."

"So, about OJ. What's his story?" Qrow cut in.

"It's... not good," Jaune said. He shook his head. "He used Xehanort's Keyblade to help his version of Ruby fight Salem after everyone else had died. You, Ren, Nora, Weiss, Qrow, Ozpin – everybody. They lost."

Qrow's jaw went slack for a moment, then tightened with shock and rage. "Oh..."

"Yeah," Jaune said.

"He woke up here after you guys beat Salem and kick started the universe," Yang continued. She gestured at her sister and Sora. "He's been keeping an eye on all of us, but not too close. He says he didn't think we'd like another Jaune around." Yang looked over at their Jaune. "To be fair, one is a handful already."

"... Was that a pun about your robot hand?" Jaune asked, deflated

The blonde bombshell grinned. "Always."

"That was pretty bad, Sis" Ruby said, looking pained.

Sora looked like he agreed, and he laughed at everything. "The worst."

"Tai would've liked it," Qrow said with a shrug. "But his humor is worse than yours, Yang."

"Can we just get back to the task at hand?" Jaune asked, knowing more time dedicated to this would only mean more Yang puns.

"Now you too?" Sora asked. He shook his head at Jaune. "Come on, Jaune, you've been spending too much time with Yang."

"That was an accident!" Jaune snapped, desperately hoping that he hadn't meant to do it. Surely it had just slipped out, right?

"Okay, sure," Yang said, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. She winked before leaning in and whispering, "I'm so proud!"

The Keyblade Warrior deflated. "It was an accident..." Jaune muttered.

"Irregardless of those two and their poor attempts at humor," Winter said, her commanding tone drowning out the protestations of Jaune that it had been an accident, "we should refocus on the question of... 'OJ.'" She turned back to Jaune and Yang. "Well? What is his goal?"

"To keep going. Move into another timeline until he finds a version of Pyrrha without another one of me – of us," Jaune explained, placing his hand on the armor covering his torso. "He just wants to find a place he can belong."

"I can understand that, but he does know he can belong with all of us, right?" Sora pointed out, a sad frown gracing his features.

Ruby agreed with a vigorous nod. "If he's you, then that means he's our friend. He'll always belong with us."

Qrow asked the important question. "Can he be trusted?" Everyone's heads whipped towards the veteran Huntsman. The man crossed his arms and sighed at the angry looks the younger warriors were giving him, though Winter seemed to understand where the question was coming from. "Look, I don't know what else to ask. We have no idea if his world was exactly like ours before Salem destroyed it or if it wasn't. If he told you it is, he's the only one who can corroborate his own story. That's not evid-"

"He can be trusted." Jaune looked over at Yang, who had taken a step forward upon speaking. She clenched her fist at her side for a moment before releasing the tension, saying, "He's like Jaune, he saved our lives from Morrigan, and he just wants to move on. Jaune trusts him, so I trust him."

Jaune felt his mouth go dry. She had said she'd trust OJ if Jaune did, but... but saying it in front of everyone and defending OJ to Qrow. He flinched when he noticed her lilac eyes on him. "He asked for our help, owned up to any mistakes he made, and is willing to help us when we need it. He's trustworthy. Right, Jaune?"

"Y-yeah," he said. He wanted to say thanks or to hug Yang. One felt like it wasn't enough, and the other one made Jaune feel like Qrow would decapitate him. "He's trustworthy." Qrow narrowed his eyes at the blondes, but said nothing more. In fact, the beach became awkwardly silent.

"Well, if you two think so, I think it'll all be fine!" Sora said, lacing his fingers together at the base of his skull. He grinned. "But enough about him, tell us about all your other adventures!"

"What other weapons did you see!?" Ruby shouted eagerly, ignoring the tension on the beach just like Sora.

"Well, we also found Emerald and Mercury. They're not doing anything... too wrong," Jaune explained with a shrug. "They actually helped us out of a tough spot."

Yang nodded before she took over, saying, "And we found Cloud and Sephiroth."

"What!?" Sora jumped forward and grabbed Yang by the shoulders. "You what?"

"Cloud and Sephiroth. We lost them on this world Gaia, but there was big swords and connected Hearts. We think they're alive, but..."

"Cloud's alive," Sora muttered resolutely, completely sure. He let out a light, relieved laugh and ran a hand through his hair, the surprise finally hitting him. "D-did he remember the Keyblade? Me?!"

Jaune's eyes drifted to the ground. "He didn't remember anything, Sora..." Jaune mumbled, voice apologetic.

"Oh... Well, it's not the first time my friends have forgotten who I am!" Sora said, face becoming bright after a brief moment of pain. "It probably won't be the last!"

Jaune grinned at the younger man's upbeat attitude. "Well, where'd you guys -" Then a pink and silver missile hit him in the back and he landed face first in the sand.

"JAUNE!" a pair of familiar, excited voices shouted.

"I told you not to attack him, you moro – Sister! How are you?" another voice, this one haughty and cold, though it audibly flinched when the person it belonged to saw Winter.

"Oh, just let them have their fun, Weiss," Blake said, her monotone voice barely betrayed by a quiver of laughter. "It's been five months for all of us!"

"Blake!"

"Weiss!"

"Yang!"

"Ruby!"

"Neptune!"

"Sun!"

"NORA!"

Jaune groaned as the weight on his back disappeared and he was allowed to push himself up to his feet. "Ow... AGH!" he groaned, rubbing the small of his back, then he turned around and screamed as he was lifted off the ground, the sudden force making his eyes slam shut. He opened them after a moment of being bounced up and down, two pairs of arms wrapped around his shoulders. "Guys!" He hugged Ren and Nora back, tightening the embrace and laughing along with the two of them, bouncing in a circle.

Qrow kept frowning. He'd have to talk with Oz about all this.

"Guys, what have you been up to?" Jaune asked, laughter still permeating his words when they finally let him down to the ground. He looked between them grin widening all the time.

"We've been helping out with everything going in Vale throughout the past few months," Ren explained. He smiled softly as his hand slipped into Nora's, the movement completely natural after their months together. The smile disappeared slightly when he began to speak again. "The Heartless keep appearing in the cities and towns, taking people. Everyone is afraid and the councils have no idea how to counter them yet, so we've been offering our services to show Huntsmen how to fight them." Ren grew quiet and frowned. "People are afraid, and the Grimm can tell."

"But we're keeping people safe. It's helping a lot!" Nora said, her boundless joy shining through. She rolled her eyes. "Honestly the most annoying part is how the Councils keep asking about Sora and the Keyblade. They get all flushed and creepy. Seriously, I swear that every time their eyes turned into keys and shot out of their heads!"

"That was a dream, it was one time, and you said they all looked like Spruce Willis," Ren pointed out dryly. "Though I will concede they are quite pushy when it comes to the Keyblade. Almost no one knows anything, so they keep offering us money, cars, anything that they think will make us talk."

"Dammit," Qrow grumbled upon hearing this. He looked over at Winter. "I thought your little outburst would have at least gotten Oz and the kids a year of peace."

"I had assumed they would only go after Schnee Corporation for information," Winter gave her own opinion on the councils' hunt for information. "We are heavily involved in the day to day operations on Destiny Island, and the others who know anything are very close to Sora and Ruby."

"People like the Councilors don't understand connections like that. Politicians'd sell each other out for a few hundred Lien, so they'll go after the kids thinking they're the same," Qrow explained sadly. He sometimes wished for the ignorant hope of his youth. "Of course, somehow, they do care about keeping the Kingdoms alive. Can't be corrupt if the country is gone."

The beach got awkwardly quiet again. "So... Jaune... You know what it is in a few days, right?"

"What?" the blonde asked, not noticing the pained look on his team mate's face.

Ren looked nervous, as if he didn't want to say. Finally, he sighed, "Her birthday."

Jaune palled. "Oh..." Pyrrha. "I'd... I'd forgotten. It's – I mean, it's only been a couple weeks for me, so I... I can't believe that I..." He looked at the ground. How could he forget? He felt like he'd betrayed her memory by forgetting her birthday.

"Jaune, you didn't miss it, so don't worry," Nora stated, her grin turning into a soft smile. "Now that you understand time is so weird, you'll be here for it, won't you?"

"Yeah..." Jaune muttered, still troubled by the fact he had forgotten the anniversary of Beacon's fall was coming up. A year passed without Pyrrha and he was starting to feel... normal. That felt almost wrong.

He was torn from his thoughts by Sora's loud voice changing the topic of the conversation. "Well, what have the rest of you been up to?" he asked, eyes bright and a grin on his face as he looked around. His eyes caught Jaune's for a moment and it became clear he had done this for Jaune – he didn't want the other Keyblade Wielder fixated on something that wasn't his fault. Jaune silently thanked him for the distraction and focused on what Weiss was about to say.

"Well Neptune and I have been been quite busy," Weiss answered first, gesturing first at the blue haired young man at her side who was giving the ocean an untrusting glare, and then at herself. "Anyone who wants to teach at Atlas Academy has to undergo a three month training course overseen by an officer of the Atlesian military that deals with topics such as advanced military tactics, advanced combat training, and how to educate students."

"There was a physical test..." Neptune grumbled, crossing his arms and purposefully looking away from the water.

Weiss rolled her eyes and slapped Neptune's shoulder with her left hand. "Oh, he's just angry that we had to take a swim test."

"Oh... I thought you were over the whole 'afraid of water' thing," Ruby supplied, more than a little confused. "After all, you saved Weiss even though you were surrounded by fake water."

"Sorry you didn't pass," Yang said as sincerely as she could manage.

"I passed!" Neptune shouted indignantly.

Yang blinked once. "Then what's the problem?"

"I didn't like it," Neptune grumbled again.

"Welp, gotta toss him in the ocean before we leave!"

"SUN!" Neptune snapped at his best friend. His fists clenched at his sides and he took an angry step towards the laughing monkey Faunus. "Don't you dare!"

"Neptune..." Weiss muttered. She placed one hand on his shoulder. "Don't embarrass yourself."

Neptune deflated at the look in her eyes. He sighed, "You mean don't embarrass you, don't you?"

Yang laughed. "She means both!"

Neptune narrowed his eyes at the blonde brawler laughing boisterously at him, then sighed again. "Sorry, Snow Angel..."

Sun snorted, then under his breath chuckled and said, "Whipped..."

"Sun..."

"Sorry!" the golden haired Faunus said hurriedly upon hearing Blake's disappointed warning.

Sora and Ruby exchanged a glance, then both snorted and began to laugh at both Neptune and Sun. "Oh, you guys are both so funny to watch!" Ruby said between laughs. She stood up as tall as she could and made her voice mockingly deep. "'I'm Neptune and I don't like water!'"

Sora laughed harder before puffing his chest out, too. "'I'm Sun, and I think I'm tough!'"

"Children, both of you," Weiss scoffed, though she was smiling despite her mocking words towards the other warriors. "Dust, how did I manage to miss you two?"

"Our magnetic personalities?" Sora asked, appearing on her right side, a swirling Magnet spell in his right hand.

"We hold the keys to your friendship?" Ruby suggested, Crescent Rose appearing in her left hand in a bright flash.

Everyone laughed, save Yang. "Seriously!? If I'd made those jokes you'd all groan!" she snapped at the surrounding group.

"Maybe they just have better delivery," Blake said between light chuckles.

"Ugh... whatever," Yang hissed, her hair slowly taking on a dangerous, fiery glow. She slammed her foot into the sand and pointed at Blake, putting her finger directly in the cat Faunus' face. Desperate for a change of topic, the blonde bombshell shouted: "And what have you been up to, Blake? Sun hasn't tried any monkey business, has he?"

The laughter immediately ceased. Yang looked around at the group, now shaking their heads at her. "I... Seriously!?" she snapped.

Blake sighed and pushed her friend's finger out of her face. "Calm down, Yang, we all just need to accept some of us are good at some things, and some of us aren't. You can blow things up better than military grade Dust, but your jokes bomb." The blonde's eyebrow twitched at that joke, though no one laughed – they knew what was good for them. "And to answer your question, we've been looking for any remaining factions of the White Fang."

"We've beaten down dozens of White Fang idiot jerkwads that were running around trying to follow Adam Taurus' example of being an idiot jerkwad," Sun said, placing his fists on his hips. His tail curled up behind him a little bit.

"Or helping the cells that had wanted out of his plans from the start," Blake said. "The kinds of groups that were afraid of where Adam was leading them, that wanted to go back to the way the White Fang should have been. A force for equality and peace."

Sun laughed once. "You should have seen them when Blake started talking like this in front of them. Dust, I'm sure they would've elected you the new leader right there if you'd bothered to stay longer than five minutes!" he said, a wide grin on his face. "And who wouldn't want a leader like you? Pretty smart, pretty kind, pretty brave... pretty."

"Thanks for remaining serious, Sun," Blake muttered. She glanced away from him, and fought down a small blush on her cheeks. "The ethical imbalance still needs to be addressed peacefully. The next leader of the White Fang can't just come in and beat down every opinion that disagrees with hers."

"Oh, you think you'd get the job, too," Yang said, punching her old partner in the shoulder. The cat Faunus hissed in pain and began to rub her exposed shoulder. "What, you don't want to help lead the world into making a better society?"

Blake sighed and let her hand drop. "I'll just be happy to be part of it at all, Yang. You know that," she said simply.

Sun wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Aw, we're just teasing you! We know you'll get the job, so might as well make jokes about it while we still can!" he said, curling his tail around her waist. "Come on, at least now we'll have another story to tell at your inauguration party!"

"Sun, it doesn't matter. We still have a lot of work to do, remember?" she supplied coolly. "We'll be working at Shade academy teaching magic, remember? And then we'll have to hunt down Adam's top lieutenant."

"That chainsaw guy is still out there?" Weiss asked, voice slightly higher than usual. She frowned and thought back to her fight with the man on the train sent to blow a hole in Vale's defenses a few weeks before the Vytal Festival began. She shook her head as she realized she'd been barely a child with a weapon back then. Now? "Well, he won't stand a chance when you find him. We aren't the same children we were, and you beat the crazy jerk yourself. If he was Adam's second in command, you shouldn't have any trouble."

"Thanks, Weiss," Blake said, a real grin on her face. "Hard to believe that the first time we met you called all Faunus ruffians."

"Not all Faunus!" Weiss protested, sounding a bit like an indignant child.

"Wow, Weiss. I didn't know that, you big jerk," Sora joked, shaking his head in mock disappointment.

"Really? More of an Ice Queen than a Snow Angel," Neptune continued. He was gifted with a backhand that sent him to the ground. He groaned, his face buried in the sand. "Too far... got it..."

"Besides, this one is Ice Queen," Qrow said as he wrapped his arm around Winter's waist and pulled her close. He rested his chin on her shoulder and grinned. "But her love for me has thawed her frozen heart."

"You're lucky I like you," Winter growled at the man holding onto her. She leaned her head against his. "Very lucky."

"Obviously," Qrow agreed completely.

"Ew, we don't need to see you two canoodling!" Ruby said, waving her arms frantically in front of her as she commanded her uncle and Weiss' sister to separate. "Come on show some decorative!"

"Decorum," Weiss noted dryly.

"Yeah! Decor!"

"Still wrong," Blake pointed out.

"Look, why don't you kids just... go get changed." Qrow let go of Winter and pointed at the large ship adorned with an elegant Schnee snowflake that he and Winter had arrived in. Parked beside it was a pair of gummi ships along with a pair of smaller ships, and a dune buggy a short distance away.

"What about you two?" Jaune wondered aloud.

Qrow took on a lecherous grin. "Oh, you know... We'll make do."

Winter rolled her eyes. "We'll change after you," she corrected as she shoved him to the ground.

"Awesome! Time for our beach day!" Sora shouted, throwing his hands straight up and laughing excitedly. He turned and pointed at the ship. "Last one changed blows up the floaties!"

"Just remember no peeking, Keyboy, or I'm tearing your head off!" Yang snapped, shaking an angry, tightly closed fist at the back of the boy's head. "That said... I'm not gonna be last!" She took off, close behind him.

Jaune sprinted after her, keeping pace. "Me neither! I'm not doing that again!"

Neptune, Blake, Sun, and Ruby went next, with Ruby easily running to the front of the pack using her Semblance. "I... Hey! Guys! Wait up!" Weiss shouted angrily. She stamped her foot. "Neptune! Gah!" She took off after the others, too. "I swear, if I'm the last one out..!"

S M H S

Weiss cast the angriest glare she could manage at Neptune as she inserted the tip of Myrtenaster into the opening of the large floaty. He was standing beside her, just beyond the edge of the water's reach. "What, Snow Angel?" he asked. He grinned nervously. "Come on, you aren't really angry, are you?"

A weak Aero spell exploded from her weapon's tip and the float filled up. Weiss' anger flared up when Neptune chuckled nervously, and the pool toy exploded from the sudden burst of air pressure. "Ach!" Neptune shouted. He flinched backwards, then turned to look more closely at her angry glare. "Um... I'm sorry?"

Weiss' eyes narrowed and she pointed Myrtenaster at him. "Um... what's -"

"Watera!" she snapped, and a torrential spring of blue flew out of her fencing blade's tip, crashing into Neptune's chest and sending him soaring into the ocean. He landed with a huge splash between Sun and Sora, the explosion of water causing rain to fall over the two and the floats they were sitting on to flip over. Weiss stood up straight. "Now I'm less angry..."

"Hey! That was great!" Sora shouted as he surged out of the water. He turned and saw Neptune floating face up in the water. "And you really aren't freaking out about water anymore!"

"Aw, man. I wanted to make fun of you some more," Sun muttered sadly as he broke the surface too. "Good job, ruining my fun, Neptune!"

Neptune said nothing, simply floating there and staring up at the sky. "Did he die?" Sora asked, confused and unsure. He poked Neptune's cheek. No response.

"Hm... Let's see," Sun responded before slamming his hands down in the water around Neptune's head. The water splashed upward and slapped Neptune across the face.

"Hey!" the blue haired guy snapped, pulling his feet down and standing up. "Don't try that again you... jeez, just stop!"

"Woops!" Sun said, putting his hands up defensively. "That was an accident!"

"Yeah, right..." Neptune muttered, annoyed.

"Stop being so loud! I'm trying to relax," Qrow commanded from the long beach chair where he was laying down, sunglasses shielding his eyes as he tried to get a tan. Winter was in another chair, looking over Schnee Corp reports on her Scroll and taking slow drinks of a whiskey on the rocks. Qrow yawned and looked over at the woman beside him. "You have anything to add? One of the trouble makers is your responsibility, after all."

Winter didn't look up. "Weiss, remember that a good sneak attack will draw as little attention as possible."

Qrow looked up at Winter and caught her eye with the look on his face. "What?" she asked.

"God, you're amazing," he muttered sincerely before leaning back into the chair.

Winter blinked. "Obviously." Then she settled back into reading the reports on her Scroll.

"Hey! Who's ready for some fun!?" Ruby sprinted out of the ship, having run back in to grab something a moment before. She was dressed in a one piece that made Sora blush the same deep red as its main color, it had black, rose-stem like designs that traced from her back, down the curve of her side and to her back again. Yang and Jaune were behind her, walking side by side. He was dressed in a pair of shorts, white with golden trim and a golden sun design running down the outside of either leg. Yang, meanwhile, was in a two piece, mainly yellow with black ties on the top and both sides of the bottom. Ruby held a volleyball above her head and roared. "VOLLEYBALL!"

"Ruby. Quiet."

"Sorry, Uncle Qrow," she muttered sheepishly. Sora looked up at her and smiled, hoping Yang couldn't see him staring. She did and managed to catch his eye with a quick flare up of her hair that only Sora – and Jaune, who stood right next to her and received the brunt of the sudden flame's heat – noticed. "I'm just excited for us to play a game like this again! A day of fun in the sun!"

"Without a volleyball net?" Sun asked quizzically.

"Nope. Miss Last Place? If you'd do the honors?" Ruby asked the white haired huntress next to her. Weiss glowered at her for a full minute before slamming Myrtenaster into the ground. Ice magic exploded through the ground and shot up, creating a lattice a few feet above the sandy surface and trailing out to the edge of the ocean itself to create another pole rooted in the beach. Ruby raised the volleyball over her head again. "VOLLEYBALL!"

"What'll the teams be?" Sora asked, sprinting up to the beach in his black and red, crown print shorts. "Who against who?"

"Dibs on captain!" Weiss snapped before the conversation could continue. She coughed nervously and smoothed down her swimsuit cover, an all white terrycloth jumpsuit. "I'll be one of the captains."

"Okay, then I'll be the other," Sun said. He gestured at Weiss. "You pick first, Icy."

"Ruby," Weiss said immediately.

"That was fast..." Sora muttered quietly.

Sun laughed. "Then I'll choose Yang."

"Blake."

"That's dirty..." Sun muttered. He grabbed Neptune by the shoulder. "Neptune!"

"Ren!"

"Nora."

"Sora," Weiss said with a devious grin.

"I... dammit..." Sun muttered. How could he forget..? "Jaune."

"I feel a little insulted," Jaune muttered as the teams separated. "Last pick?"

Yang grabbed him around the neck with her left arm. "Ah, you were only being compared to Sora. Don't take it so personally!"

"Sure," Jaune grumbled. Nonetheless, he dragged his feet across the sand with Yang to stand a little bit away from one side of the frozen net. She took a spot next to him and shook her head, grinning. "What?"

"You must be standing there to catch a look when I spike the ball, huh?" she asked, giving him a wink.

Jaune blanched, then blushed. "Yang, you stood there after me," he pointed out. He turned back to the net. "And why are you teasing me in a different way now?"

"You haven't been sick in the ship in forever, so how can I tease you like I always have?" Yang said. She laughed at Jaune's uncomfortable glare, but stopped when she realized it wasn't uncomfortable. It was pained. "Hey... you okay?"

Jaune looked over. "Fine," he said. He shook his head. "I'm fine."

Yang nodded, not believing the Keyblade wielder. She bit her cheek, thinking."So. You want to introduce me to your sisters tomorrow?" Jaune turned to Yang, eyes wide with surprise. She had her hands on her hips and was watching as Sora tossed the ball up and down in his left hand to serve it and start the game. Yang smiled softly before saying, "I mean, I should really meet my partner's family, shouldn't I? And you know they'll want to meet me. Who wouldn't?"

Jaune stared at her for a moment. "Yeah. I'll call my dad and set it up..." He kept staring at her. "Why not?" He looked back at Sora just as the Keyblade Master tossed the ball up. "Thanks, Yang."

Yang shrugged and watched the ball come right at her. "I just want everyone to have the pleasure of meeting me." She jumped up, black and yellow robotic arm raised above her head, and slammed it into the white sphere. The volleyball bent around her hand for a moment, then the ball rocketed right at Weiss. The heiress grinned coolly and threw her fist out straight at the ball, summoning a glyph that sent it back over the net without any issue.

"Sure," Jaune replied with a grin before getting into the game himself. Sun set the ball and Jaune moved under it. He brought his hands up together, one under the other, and the ball soared to the other side. Ren easily met it, jumping and slamming his heel into the ball as it went high. Nora met it with a wild haymaker to return it to the other side.

"Do you feel outclassed here?" Jaune asked Neptune as the ball continued to be tossed back and forth by ninjas and superhumanly strong fighters.

"Oh, horribly," Neptune responded when Sora jumped fifteen feet into the air and summoned a single reflect hexagon to his hand. The volleyball rebounded at full speed and flew right for the two.

"Blizzareflect!" Jaune shouted, surprise overtaking him. A thin wall of magical ice appeared in front of the two, protecting them from the volleyball that – somehow – had flames appearing all around it. The ball froze over and rebounded immediately, the ice all over it messing with its arc and causing it to land with a dull thud between Weiss and Ren.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Even Qrow and Winter were staring with surprise at the blonde Keyblade wielder and the ice wall slowly turning back into light in front of him. The game was mostly forgotten by its players, though Yang, who had seen this before, was walking over to the ball to continue playing. "So, I guess that makes it our point," she said, breaking the silence.

"Jaune, what was that!?" Sora shouted, sprinting over and looking at the wall with wide, impressed eyes. "That's so cool! I've never seen magic like this before!"

"Um... It's just kind of happened!" Jaune said while the last of the wall disappeared into Light. "I mean, here or before, it just... happened!"

"It's awesome!" Neptune shouted, eyes wide with admiration. "And not just because it saved our lives from Sora's rocket punch!"

"You were never in danger," Sora said innocently.

Neptune glared dryly at the Keyblade wielder for a moment before turning back to Jaune. "Can you show us how to do it?"

"Uh..." Jaune muttered, a blush coming to his face. He'd never been in this position before. He'd never had a skill no one else had – at least one that could be useful. Sure he could dance like a pro, but that couldn't help him fight. This, though... "I wish. Like I said, it just happens."

"I'll tell Oz about it! Maybe he knows how you can get it under control," Sora said. He held his hand up for a high five. "Jaune, if you can do that now on instinct, I can't wait to see if there's any other kinds of spells you can combine! You made up a whole new kind of magic, man!" Jaune raised his hand and clapped it against Sora's. "That's awesome!"

Jaune grinned nervously and tried to come up with a response. "I... heh..." He was at a lost for words, it seemed.

"Hey, I think this calls for a celebration!" Yang said. She pushed her way through the others, holding a pair of whiskey bottles in her right hand, one with the neck between her index and middle fingers and the other between her middle finger and ring finger.

"Yang!" Weiss hissed, glancing over her shoulder at where Qrow and Winter... Where had Qrow and Winter gone? Her eyes shut. The ship. Of course. The heiress turned back to Yang. "Ruby and Sora are too young!"

"Hey!" the two shouted indignantly.

"Which is why I got these," Yang said, rolling her eyes at Weiss. Her left hand came up, revealing a box of juice pouches. "For the kiddies."

"We're not kiddies!" Sora and Ruby snapped together.

S M H S

"This is good juice!" Sora whispered beside Ruby as they sipped through the straws.

"Mhm!" Ruby agreed with the straw in her mouth.

Yang couldn't help but laugh at the two younger warriors. "What?" Ruby asked when she caught sight of her sister. "What are you laughing at?"

Yang stopped laughing with a sigh. "Just... Never change, you two." Then she picked up the first bottle and unscrewed the top. She looked around at the others and grinned. "And the rest of us should party!" She took a swig of the alcohol and spat it out immediately. "This isn't whiskey!"

She brought the bottle up to her nose and sniffed. "W-water!? I..." She narrowed her eyes and tore the label off, revealing a white piece of paper with a crudely drawn, laughing crow perched on the messy words, Nice Try, Goldilocks. "How!?"

"Your uncle seems like he knows every trick in the book," Sun stated when Yang began showing everyone the label.

Weiss gave a relieved sigh. "What are you so happy about?" Yang asked.

"Our names aren't on it," she said. She smiled and pointed at her old team mate. "Only yours!"

Yang put down the first bottle, then picked up the other and tore the label off. Her eyes never left Weiss' the entire time, and showed no emotion either, and she revealed a message on the second bottle. It was a snowflake positioned behind well drawn letters spelling out, I am disappointed, sister.

Weiss' eyes fell to the ground. "Oh..." Her groan sounded eternal. Broken.

"It'll be okay, Snow. You didn't actually take them," Neptune pointed out placatingly. He put his arm around her shoulder. "I tell you what, we'll stuff it with the label on in Yang's things and everything will be her fault."

"WHAT!?" Yang snapped.

Weiss perked up. "Well, I suppose I can live with that," she muttered. She looked over at Neptune. "Though... Fine... I forgive you for abandoning me during the race."

"How gracious, Angel," he said with an overly done bow.

"If you try that, I'm killing you both! I'm not taking the fall for something you all agreed to!" she shouted. She pointed at everyone around her. "I'll drag you all down with me!"

Jaune sighed and buried his face in one hand. It didn't take veteran huntsmen to figure out ten young adults – one of them Yang – would steal booze at the beach. It also didn't take a genius to figure out that Ruby and Sora would get zero of the blame for this. They were sitting together laughing about juice like five year olds after all. For people who saved the world, they sometimes seemed... very, very young.

"Fine!" Yang's shout broke Jaune out of his thoughts. "If we can't drink, we'll do this other good thing I was thinking of!"

"I'm almost scared to ask, but what is that?" Blake asked. Nora was excitedly jumping up and down, somehow, despite the fact she was sitting down and Ren was watching her do so with a confused albeit impressed expression on his face.

Yang threw her fist into the air. "Strip poker! Everyone but the kids!"

The "Kids" didn't bother responding. They were currently engrossed in a fighting game they were playing against one another on their Scrolls.

There was no reply for a little while as everyone except Sora and Ruby stared in disbelief at the blonde's smug grin. She looked like she thought she'd come up with the best idea ever. "NO!" The entire group snapped.

Her fist fell and she rubbed the back of her neck, feeling slightly awkward as she did. "... Normal poker?"

S M H S

"Are you okay?" Yang asked from where she leaned against a pine tree, standing just next to Jaune. He was paralyzed, just staring through things instead of at them. His blue eyes were glazed over and his jaw was so tight it looked like he was about to shatter his teeth. He didn't respond, still frozen over completely. "Vomit Boy? Puppy? Jaune!"

His head snapped to the right and he locked eyes with the brawler. "Wha?" he asked, suddenly very confused. He shook his head. "Um... what's wrong? What's going on?"

"Jaune, you've been staring at the door to your childhood home for ten minutes. If you wait much longer, your dad is probably going to come out here and ruin the surprise himself. And do you want that after they worked so hard to get all seven of your sisters here from a bunch of different places nearly overnight?"

"I'm still surprised they managed to swing that. One night out of the blue?" Jaune asked with a chuckle. His smile grew. "They're a better family than I appreciated."

"Hey, I know all about unappreciated family," Yang said, placing one hand on her chest. "I am unappreciated family, remember?"

Jaune let out a dry laugh. "How could I forget? You being unappreciated means I almost die, though. I think awkward exchanges are a few levels better than that," Jaune pointed out, but this only earned him a grin from the brawler.

"I don't know. We get to fight because of mine," Yang retorted.

"We might fight here..." Jaune muttered, remembering how his sisters had all been much better than him at fighting when they were younger. They hadn't been passionate about it, however, and had gone on to do other things with their lives, leaving the one with the least natural talent to try to be a Huntsman. Still, they probably all kept up with their training, and Huntsman families generally had... rowdy reunions. He'd honestly been surprised that the beach trip hadn't ended with a massive brawl complete with drained Auras and Keyblades altering the landscape.

Yang pointed at the Keyblade Wielder with her robotic hand and her face took on an incredibly serious look. "Hey... don't raise a girl's hopes just to dash them," Yang commanded. She shook her head and crossed her arms again. "It's not cool. Not cool at all."

"I know. My mom taught me manners, Yang," Jaune responded dryly.

"Really? But it's bad manners to throw up on someone's shoes, you know."

Jaune sighed in defeat. "You cannot still hold a grudge about that," he muttered quietly, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You tell me, Vomit Boy." She grinned good naturedly.

Jaune smiled back. "Okay, just... No with the nickname. Please?" Jaune begged. He gestured at his home. "Seven sisters and the nickname 'Vomit Boy?' I'd never get out of this alive."

Yang groaned. She sounded like the request was giving her actual, real pain. "Ugh... Fine... But I get to choose the next world we get to visit. I'm thinking we restrict ourselves to places we've been until we fix things there completely."

"What, you don't want other places to be a challenge later on? We beat down Aizen and then never have trouble again?" He rolled his eyes. "I didn't think that was your style."

"You'd rather we spread ourselves thin?"

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "That was... oddly well thought out, Miss Punchy."

"Your last plan was howl like a wolf. When you were a dog. Some plan."

Jaune grimaced. "... Point..."

The two fell quiet for a few moments. "Okay. I guess it's time to head in," Jaune said. He looked over at Yang. "Do I look okay? No food in my teeth?" He grimaced to show her his pearly whites.

"You're as good as you're gonna get," Yang mocked with a shrug.

Jaune shrugged back. "I'll take it."

Yang scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, take the lead... Jaune."

"Wow, you're keeping your promise." He smiled, a quiet thank you, and moved towards the front door of his home. His heart began pounding as hard as it could and had somehow moved up to his throat. What if they didn't really want to see him? After all, it'd been five months since he had seen his dad... and over a year since he'd seen anyone else from his family. No! He couldn't think like that! They were his family! They loved him! They... Oh, God, he was a war criminal! How could he come home now? How could he – Wait, was he knocking on the door?

"Sunshine!" Jaune grinned nervously and let his mother jump forward to hug him, the woman's red hair hid her face from Yang and draped over his shoulder as she hugged him tight. Jaune anxiously up to her back and hugged her back, feeling slightly calmed by the woman's weight on his shoulder. "My baby is home!" She pushed off and began to kiss Jaune on his cheeks over and over again. "My baby is ho-o-ome!"

"Agh! Mom! Mom, come on! Mom!" Jaune shouted through laughter. The woman ignored him. "Mom, we have company!"

The assault immediately stopped and Yang was suddenly face to face with a very beautiful looking woman in a dark red shirt and blue jeans. She had a thin face, and a nose that was very clearly inherited by Jaune. Her bangs fell in the same way as his, too, unlike Argent's hair that swept apart in a cowlick. Furthermore, the woman was tall, maybe only an inch or two shorter than Yang herself. She looked like she had once been a fighter, and retained the figure for it, but now had the softer edge of a woman who had raised eight children very quickly to adulthood. There was a pink apron tied over her clothes. Same shade as Pyrrha's, Yang thought to herself when her eyes returned to the red hair.

"So... are you treating my son right?" she demanded, hands placed on her hips. She looked very threatening, with the apron almost making it more severe.

"Never," Yang replied simply. She crossed her arms. "It may surprise you, but -" she stifled a snicker "- Sunshine here needs tough love."

Jaune's mother narrowed her gaze on Yang. The blonde warrior was even beginning to feel uncomfortable herself, nearly withering under the gaze. Finally, Jaune's mom turned around and grabbed her son by the arms. "That right there is a keeper, Sunshine!"

"MOM!" Jaune snapped. He caught Yang's eye; the brawler was now not even bothering to hide her snickering from Jaune. She blew a kiss at him and he turned snow white, anger flashing through his veins. "You... Yang is a friend, Mom! She's too immature for anyone to date."

"Oh, and you're one to talk, Sunshine!"

"Stop it!" The two glared at one another silently.

"You two aren't together? Oh..." Jaune's mom looked disappointed. "All I want is for my Sunshine to find someone and be happy..." She sighed and stood up tall and held her hand out to Yang. "I'm Marzenna Arc. Everyone just calls me Marz."

Yang gave her partner a grin. "Yang Xiao Long. And Sunshine wishes he could score a girl like me." Her voice was cocky, but it was clearly a joke. She shrugged. "No, we're... Huntsman partners, nowadays. He's saved my life a few times."

Jaune turned beet red. Yang knew that he had always wanted his family to believe he could cut it as a Huntsman, so the fact she would compliment him in front of them meant a lot to him. Even if his mom was going to over react. "My little Sunshine is good at being a warrior?" Marz asked, eyes wide. She ran back and grabbed her son by the arm, dragging him behind her. "Everyone inside! Your sisters have been waiting for the surprise for over an hour!"

"Honey, are they –? Jaune!" Argent Arc shouted as she rounded the corner to the door. He was wearing a black and silver button up shirt with black slacks. His blonde beard was short, more scruff than the full beard it had been a few months earlier. His hair was the same, however. He walked up and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Jaune felt his breath catch. His dad – even now he wasn't used to that open pride in his dad's eyes. "Welcome home, Kiddo." Jaune couldn't hold it back anymore. Tears streamed from his face and he jumped forward, hugging his father. His mother watched for a moment and moved forward to hug the both of them.

"Hey, Mom! Dad! Where's this surprise?"

Yang palled as seven very similar looking girls appeared in the doorway. "JAUNEY!" The seven sprinted out and the family hug turned into a mosh pit.

"That's a big family..." Yang muttered, suddenly thankful she only had Ruby for a sibling.