AN: Hey guys! Happy New Year!
Did everyone have a good Christmas season? I did! My parents got me and my sister foam Keyblades for Christmas, and they're awesome. My sister got a Rainfell, and it is so cool looking. I got a Kingdom Key, and I love it. It's so cool!
Anyways, time for a few responses:
To Gamelover41592: I thought it was a fun homecoming, too! I hope you enjoy the little bit of time Jaune gets to spend with his family in this chapter, a little intro for his SEVEN sisters. Honestly coming up with names was the absolute hardest part.
To ssjzohan: I hope that this family reunion – as short as it is – is as good as you hoped. I hope you did well on the ACT. I remember being stressed about those tests a lot.
To guest(ch 1 review): Hey... Jaune's great! Do not hate on that anxious bundle of nerves! He's too sweet for that.
To cturner971/Chretner: Yeah, this chapter isn't as combat heavy, either. There is a section at the end with OJ that's pretty important, actually. I've been watching a lot of FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood again, so I thought I'd toss in a couple Homunculi from a century or two before the show. If you think Jaune's meeting with his family is too short, don't worry. We'll be seeing them again. Really, whenever they pop back in to Remnant. And they definitely have to meet OJ at least once, right? We'll get to see Tai at least once or twice when they head back to Remnant, too. He's not in this chapter, though. As for KH3, ugh... I can't believe I've been waiting for it so long. I'm glad that -za spells are going to be included, though all we've seen of them is in the redone reaction menu.
Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I had fun making it.
Chapter 13: Where the Heart is
Yang was still more than a little uncomfortable around all of Jaune's family, as his seven sisters, mother, and father somehow made the large house appear small. Jaune's oldest sisters, Blanche and Rouge, were twins. They had graduated from Shade academy the year before Ozpin had decided that the discrepancies on Jaune's transcripts didn't matter, both members of team BRWN. They were the only two of his siblings that were full time Huntresses, and often worked together on missions even today. The two looked very similar, both taking after their mother in nearly every aspect, save their father's blue eyes. Blanche had shorter red hair, done in a pixie cut, and wore a pure white jacket with black pants and white shoes, the rising sun of her family's crest appearing on her left hip below an empty weapon sheathe. Rouge, meanwhile, wore a deep red that matched her fiery hair, a battle dress with black tights that led into black and red boots. Unlike her sister, Rouge had long hair done in a long braid running down her back. She vaguely reminded Yang of her own sister, and wondered if that had been one of the reasons that Jaune had been comfortable so quickly around Ruby on the first day at Beacon.
The next of Jaune's siblings were triplets named Soleil, Journe, and Aube. The first two had their father's bright yellow hair and mother's green eyes, standing a few inches taller than their mother and older siblings. Journe wore a yellow sundress and seemed to be the sister that was closest with Jaune, as she sat nearest to him and dominated the conversations with the young man, talking about her newborn son – Jaune. That had made the goofball's eyes tear up and he'd spent ten minutes crying before they could calm him down. Soleil wore a sky blue pantsuit; a small Schnee Corp. symbol was printed on her Scroll. Unlike her siblings, Aube was more evenly split between her parents. Her hair was an auburn-gold in a ponytail that kept most of her long hair out of her face. She had on a normal t-shirt that matched her hair and normal blue jeans. She was an inch taller than her mother and eldest sisters, but a good deal shorter than Jaune and her younger sisters.
Speaking of those younger sisters, Venus and Carli were the only two that had decided against attending a secondary Huntsman academy and had gone on to specialize only in other skills. Venus and Carli were fraternal twins, and Yang slightly felt bad for Carli upon seeing this. Venus was, put simply, a supermodel. And that wasn't just exaggeration. She was, literally, a supermodel. While her siblings were nine-to-fivers in some way, Venus had gone on to be a celebrity. Yang thought she remembered hearing Coco say something about a Venus once, but hadn't expected it to be Jaune's sister. She had long, slightly curled blonde hair and a thin face with a natural smirk. Her eyes were a rare blue-green and she was about the same height as Jaune, though her heels made her a good two inches taller. She was wearing, of course, a very nice and very custom looking dress of a rose pink. Yang was sure that the woman could get with almost anyone she wanted to.
Carli was also attractive, but Yang was sure that she had grown up being considered 'plain' in comparison to her sister. She was shorter, her hair less luxurious, her eyes a normal blue. She didn't look like she minded, however. She had a wider, more open smile than her twin as well as a more natural style to her outfit. A simple button up shirt, pink, with black pants and a pair of workout shoes on her feet. She looked modest, but not self deprecating. Proud of who she was, but not arrogant.
And all seven of them were talking at the same time. Most to Jaune.
Some of them to Yang. It still felt like too many.
"So, how is Jaune treating you?"
Yang sighed. She'd had to deal with this question now... six times? She couldn't even muster a joke anymore, at least not one she hadn't used twice by now. And with Jaune locked in conversation with Journe, looking at pictures of his new nephew, she couldn't even make him uncomfortable with them. "Honestly Carli? The boy doesn't understand women at all," Yang said before putting down a barbeque sandwich on its plate. She looked over at Jaune. "But he's a good guy. Maybe he'll manage to get a girl as good as me one day."
Carli took the information that Jaune was single in stride. "Well, we've been hoping he'd manage to find someone for years," she joked half heartedly. "Mom nearly had a heart attack out of happiness when Dad told us Jauney'd managed to land the girl on the Pumpkin Pete boxes." Her face soured in sadness. "And she cried for him when she heard about what happened at Beacon."
Yang nodded. "He just needed friends to get through it."
"Yeah, we've met Sora, Ruby, Nora, and Ren," Carli said from the other side of the table. "They were the ones that told us about everything that happened. The trial. The conviction." She smiled. "And you busting him out and going on some secretive adventure."
Yang grinned. "He's more than holding his own," Yang admitted happily.
"You mind of I borrow her?" The two girls looked up at Jaune, who was standing way more relaxed than Yang had ever seen him before. Family could do that to people, she supposed.
"No problem," Carli said, getting up. She moved over and gave her brother a quick hug. "It's great to see you, Jauney."
He hugged her back before saying, "You too, Car." She let him go and smiled again before walking off to talk with Journe. Jaune sat down across from Yang.
"You look happy to be home," Yang noted. She grabbed her sandwich and took a messy bite.
"Yeah. It's good to see that they're all okay," he responded. A soft smile came to his face and he observed all of his family. "I'm really happy we got to see them."
Yang nodded before swallowing her bite. "But?"
Jaune groaned and buried his face in his hands. "How am I going to tell them about OJ?"
Yang stiffened at the mention of the other Jaune, but forced herself to calm down. She'd promised Jaune she'd trust him for now. "Well... 'Hey, there's another version of me running around. He'll probably never contact you because he's trying to leave soon anyways and doesn't want to feel like a spare?'"
"Blunt," Jaune retorted dryly, peeking out from between two of his fingers. "But I don't think blunt is good when they know their son is out there, kind of depressed and feeling like he doesn't matter."
Yang shrugged. "Point," she conceded. She took another bite. "Then... You could not tell them. If he's going to be gone anyways then maybe there's no point in getting them worried about something that they'll never deal with."
"No, I'm a terrible liar."
Yang smirked at him. "So you do know."
"Duh," Jaune noted, his glare asking how he couldn't know. "Who's good at lying to their family?"
"No, I meant... Never mind." Yang leaned forward. "So, then... What are you going to do?"
Jaune glared at her caustically. "You're a big help."
Yang shrugged. "I know."
Jaune fell silent and shut his fingers over his eyes again. "I'll... I'll... I'll..."
"'You'll you'll you'll' what?" Yang asked, trying to force him to make a decision. "We've been here for a few hours already, so you've gotta make a choice, Jauney."
He looked up at her solemnly. He sighed and replied, "Okay. But what choice?"
"Well, your dad is the only one who knows about other worlds. Oz and Sora will want to keep it that way," Yang pointed out. She rested her chin on her fist. "But some rules were made to be broken."
"Eh..." Jaune groaned, not sure if he agreed.
"There you go, you have your answer," Yang pointed out after a moment of thought. "You didn't want to break the rules. So don't."
"But that feels so... wrong?"
"Then tell them," Yang hissed, growing bored. "Make a choice and make it fast, Vom-"
"Then no!" he hissed at his partner, forced to voice what he thought was best by her threat of his old nickname. He looked over at them, frowning. "Maybe it's the wrong choice, but I don't want them to be hurt by this. Losing a kid – Mom and my sisters already went through it once. Dad told me that, when he got home after the trial, they thought they'd never see me again. And besides... OJ doesn't want to see them. I don't want them to be hurt by that."
"It's your choice, Plan Guy," Yang replied. She pushed herself up and grabbed her plate. "I'm gonna get another sandwich. You want one?"
Jaune looked up at her. "Yeah. I'll come with you." Then he stood up and the two walked to the kitchen side by side, neither sure if the right decision had been made. Regardless, their bond had deepened with this visit, a connection that would one day serve them well.
For now, there was still time to enjoy themselves.
S M H S
It was a sunny day, though Jaune didn't really feel that heat on his face or see the golden light around him passing through Beacon's emerald towers to turn green. For the second time in just a few days, Jaune and all of his friends were together again, though unlike last time not a one of them was happy. The usually bubbly Nora was sniffling and clinging to Ren, who had a steely look on his face that fought back his own tears. Ruby and the rest of her team were silently standing nearby, Sora, Neptune, and Sun standing beside them. Jaune was happy they were there with him. He brought one of his suit's sleeves up to his face to wipe tears from his eyes. He lowered it after a few moments and his gaze remained locked on the face present on the remade statue in the middle of Beacon Academy's courtyard. The Huntsman and Huntress were still present, as well as the Grimm beneath their feet. The only change was in the features of the woman. Her face was thinner than it had once been, and her outfit was far different. Gone was the hood the woman had worn, replaced by a familiar armor set complete with similarly fashioned sword and shield. Long hair hung in a pony tail with a small tiara resting atop her head. She had a kind, but nearly imperceptible smile. Pyrrha Nikos had no remains, save the armor melted down to create Jaune's own, so this was the closest thing she had to a grave besides the headstone present in her family's plot in Mistral. Jaune preferred this one, however. It felt closer to Pyrrha.
The Keyblade wielder's fists clenched in his pocket as he thought back to Pyrrha. The Vytal festival, which now seemed like a thousand years ago, ran through his mind again. But then other moments did as well. Training with her was a common one, and how she had saved his life was another. How she stood there, at the base of the tree, never even considering the possibility of mocking his inexperience. That moment described her personality rather well – going out of her way to help someone who couldn't do anything for her like it was no big deal.
He was silent, waiting to say what he really wanted until he was alone. Now was all of them remembering Pyrrha, and something in him wanted to let that remain. That group silence meant a lot to him, like they were listening for her. Like she was still there and talking to them. One by one, however, they started to trickle away with just a few words of goodbye. "I wish I could've met you, Pyrrha. Really met you, in this world. You seemed like a great friend," Sora said quietly, looking up at the statue with his hand clasped in Ruby's.
The silver eyed girl nodded sadly. "I'm sorry I didn't get there fast enough, Pyrrha," she muttered, tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffled and her grip on Sora's hand tightened. "I know you wouldn't want us to think like that, but I can't help it. I wonder what it would be like if I'd saved you, or if you'd won that fight. No matter what... I'm going to do the best I can to make sure nothing like that happens again."
She hugged Sora tight before walking over to Jaune. "We have to go, Jaune. Headmaster Goodwitch wants to talk about the school year and Sora needs to talk with Professor Ozpin. But if you need us, Doctor Polendena is installing a cross world communicator in the Gummi Ship!"
Jaune grunted an affirmative without looking away from the statue.
Blake and Sun left next, mentioning a lead with the White Fang they couldn't fall behind on. Something about a pair of Fennec Fox Faunus trying to kill Blake's parents – the original founders of the White Fang, she revealed. Pacifists, too. Weiss and Neptune weren't far behind, mentioning that they'd gotten a call about some monster that had been in Blue Fairy and needed to be hunted down. Yang asked her to find everything they could on Sephiroth and Cloud before they left and they promised to send her what they could find.
Nora and Ren were the last ones to leave. Ren was silent, as usual, and was saying what he felt needed to be said within his mind. Nora had told Pyrrha a story about what they were doing recently, forcing through her tears about when they'd taken a day to go meet her family. It made Jaune feel guilty he couldn't introduce himself. He was persona non grata across most of Remnant, given his trial. They didn't want to admit that they'd lost him, but they would gladly lock him up again if they found him. Sora and Ozpin helped schedule moments for him to be on Remnant, but for the most part that was only in Vale and the less inhabited parts of the other Kingdoms.
Eventually, those two left as well. "It was great to see you, Jaune!" Nora shouted, launching into a hug.
Ren nodded. "I hope it is not another five months before we meet again, Team Leader."
"Definitely not," he agreed with a smile. He hugged them both back and waved them off.
Yang watched them go, then turned back and took a step or two away. She needed to stay nearby, but it was only right to give Jaune as much privacy and space as she could before they headed back to the ship. Jaune took the step for what it was and began speaking. "Hey, Pyrrha. I – I'm sorry it's been so long. I've been helping people. Like I always wanted to. Can you believe it? I'm actually a hero. A real hero!" He scoffed and shook his head. "I owe it all to you. You – You taught me how to fight, how to be brave. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to actually do it. You – I mean, you showed me how to be a great person, but I wasn't. I hurt people. But I'm going to do the right thing from now on. I'll make you proud."
Jaune laughed nervously. "There's another me out there. He really wants to see you again so he's asked us – oh, right... I forgot to tell you. Yang and me, we're partners now. I'm helping her look for her mom and we've got all these friends out there now. She's been great." Yang smiled at that, flattered he thought highly of her like that. He kept speaking, "But, um, where was I? OJ – that's what we're calling the other me – he's just like me. He misses you and – we're going to help him find another version of you. Move on, you know, get a happy ending."
He sighed. "When you left my Heart – when you saved me from Salem, I mean. You, uh, you told me to find love again. I don't think I'm ready yet. Really, I'm not. I will be one day, when I've started feeling like that for someone else again. Maybe it'll be soon. Maybe it'll be years. I don't know. But you asked me to, so I will. But I'll always love you, Pyrrha. No matter what."
He turned back to Yang. "I'm ready to go," he said.
"Kay," Yang muttered. She cast a look up at the statue. I'll keep an eye on him for you, Pyrrha. Won't let anything happen to him. She looked back down. "Let's go."
She wrapped her arm around Jaune's shoulders and began to walk with him. "That was pretty nice, Jaune."
"Thanks, Yang," Jaune said, letting her give him a side hug.
The two turned on their heels when a noise familiar to the both of them erupted from behind. Keyblade and Ember Celica both were pointed at the portal of Darkness that had appeared, their wielders ready to destroy whatever came through.
Someone walked through and cast a look in their direction. "Hey, I -" His hands flew up. "Whoa! It's just me!"
They both lowered their weapons and stared at the newcomer. "Oh, OJ!" Jaune shouted. He dismissed his weapon and ran up. "How are you?"
"I'm not bad," OJ said, grinning and high fiving Jaune. His grin disappeared as he looked up at Pyrrha's statue.
"How did you get here through a Corridor of Darkness?" Yang asked, brow furrowed. Her weapon remained lowered, but the wariness in her voice was evident.
To be fair, it had surprised Jaune as well. "Um... that's a question."
good
OJ blinked and looked between them. "What? Y-you don't trust me just because I use the Darkness?" He shook his head and let out a hearty laugh.
Both Yang and Jaune were off put by this. "Uh... what?"
"It's just... Oh, guys? Have you ever actually listened to Sora?" OJ asked, his laughter slowing. He put his hands in his pockets and shook his head in disappointment. "Darkness isn't bad. Light's not good. They're forces of nature, you know that. They just are. Salem used the light, after all. And, I mean... Sora said his old friend Riku used Darkness. And Blake! Blake uses the Darkness and she's not evil. Yang, you'll vouch for your old partner not being evil, right?"
Yang shrugged. "Obviously," she said. She bit her cheek before sighing. "Okay, you've got a point. Using the Darkness doesn't make you evil. And you're Jaune. You wouldn't be evil."
"Yeah," OJ agreed. He looked over at Jaune. "So you shouldn't be scared of it. Just keep it under control like you've been doing and you'll get even stronger!"
"I – what?" Jaune asked, eyes wide. "I've been using the Darkness?"
"Yeah! And the Light. How did you think you cast that Dual Spell?" OJ asked, confused by his counterpart's ignorance. He frowned. "The Blizzareflect? Your Heart cast a spell using your Light and one using your Darkness."
Awed by his mirror image, Jaune asked, "How do you know so much about this?"
"Well, I think my sense of Darkness is a bit better than yours. I can... 'smell' it, you know? I smelled some coming from you when you did it."
"You've been following us?" Yang asked, forcing her hostility down.
OJ nodded. "Yeah. I wanted to tell you what I found out – where all of the items on my list are!"
Jaune grinned. "Well lay it on us!"
OJ began to list places. "Okay, so the Hogyoku. We know that Aizen has that one. Then there's a world called Aincrad. It has something called a 'World Seed.' I haven't found it yet, but I know it's there. Then there's Gaia, with an ingot of Darkness called Black Materia. And that world of animals you guys were on – whatever's happening there, I think it has to do with whatever it is that can create Darkness in a Heart. I don't know what it is, but Heartless don't work that fast."
Yang blinked. "Those are all the places we've been..." she muttered, dumbfounded. "What are the odds?"
Jaune grinned. "The odds are great! We've been following our Hearts where they want us to go! We must be destined to help OJ!" he shouted exuberantly to the blonde brawler. "You see?"
"Y-yeah," Yang said, flashing Jaune an unsure smile. All the world's they had already been to? It felt too clean for it to be about helping just OJ. "But I just think something else is going on."
"Maybe someone else is after them, too," OJ suggested. He gestured at the both of them. "If you want a suggestion of where to start, I'd go with that Aincrad place. When I left, they looked to be gearing up for something big. Maybe they need your help?"
"We'll head there first," Yang agreed. She stared at OJ for a while, a look that was returned with equal intensity. "You came here for another reason?"
OJ laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head before turning to stare up at the statue. "You got me. I just thought I'd talk to her, you know? Even if it's not the same Pyrrha, I mean, she'd want to hear from me, right?"
"I know she would," Jaune answered solemnly. He stared at the statue, too. "Have you seen Mom and Dad?"
"... No." OJ turned back to Jaune and shook his head. "I don't think that I will, either. It just... it doesn't feel right, you know? I know that you made up with Mom and Dad. I'm happy for you, really, but – I didn't. And I don't want to deal with that more than once. When it's time to meet my parents again, I'll do it. But only when it's the last time I need to."
"They'd love to meet you. You're me – you're their son," Jaune implored, taking a step towards OJ.
"No," OJ said pointedly, ending the conversation and Jaune's approach. He clenched his fist and turned back to the statue. "Look, I've lost too many people, guys. I'm not willing to meet my parents just for a chance to abandon them. I'm waiting until I don't have to lose anyone else."
"You're going to lose us," Yang pointed out simply.
OJ nodded sadly, but didn't turn to her. "Yeah, I know. I wouldn't have even bothered you if I didn't need your help." He walked up to the statue and slowly, hesitantly, reached out to touch the stone. "Leaving you all behind is bad enough. Because I'd have to leave. Getting to Pyrrha matters more than... anything in this universe."
OJ looked back at Jaune again and extended his hand. "You're right, though. We're the same. Which means you feel the same way that I do. There's got to be more than one Pyrrha out there waiting for a knight in shining armor." He stared at Jaune, who was growing increasingly uncomfortable. "Hey, just think about it. A world where you never helped Salem. A world where Pyrrha is just... waiting for you."
Jaune immediately felt a growing pit of temptation in his Heart. Leave? Just leave his friends and go find the woman he had loved? He felt like a tremendous jerk for just considering it, but... he just couldn't help it. "I..." He shut his mouth when nothing else came out.
"Like I said, Jaune. Just think about it." He lowered his hand back to his pocket and looked at Yang. "I haven't seen anything of your mom since that fight, Yang. And I want you to know that I really appreciate your help. I'm keeping an eye out for her. I'll try to let you guys know if I do, because, well, I get looking for someone beyond your grasp. I'll help her get whole, just like you're helping me."
Yang felt her features soften very obviously. "Oh... Heh. Thanks, O – Jaune."
OJ grinned at the sound of someone using his name again. "Hey, we were friends for a while, Yang. And if it'll get you to trust me – to help me – I'm glad to."
Yang stared at Jaune's alternate timeline counterpart for a while before looking down at the ground. That pit of distrust in her gut made her feel so guilty now. "Thank you," she finally repeated, uncharacteristically quiet. She held out her hand to OJ. He stared at it for a half second, before grinning and taking it for a handshake. "Jaune's right – you're a cool guy."
"Right back at ya," OJ said. He grimaced. "Except, I mean, you're a girl! A cool girl."
Yang looked directly at Jaune. "He's definitely a Jaune Arc."
"Hey!" both Keyblade Wielders shouted indignantly.
S M H S
Ozpin sipped at his coffee as he examined the theoretical piece on parallel timelines that was present in his other hand. With the grace of a man who had done this for countless years, he used his thumb to dextrously turn the page and read on quietly. Glynda was on the other side of an open line, having asked for his advice on multiple matters regarding Beacon and the Vale Council throughout the day until the both of them had decided to just leave the call on and wait until another question or topic was brought up. Besides, even if they were both silent, the company was a nice change of pace. Glynda was mostly alone for now, planning the Beacon Entrance Test for the year, finding out how to fit in Miss Rose's class to all schedules so that the current seniors would learn everything that the incoming freshman students would learn throughout their entire careers at Beacon. Ozpin was also alone, as Qrow was either working on mapping out the island or spending what he called 'quality time' with Winter Schnee. And without any students incoming, the plans that Ozpin and Sora had begun working on – mostly Ozpin, honestly – were little more than rather boring table dressing.
Which, coincidentally, was the reason that Ozpin had jumped at the opportunity to investigate how one would jump to a parallel time stream, combining his own knowledge of time travel and Darkness with the stories that Jaune had relayed to Sora and the items that this 'OJ' had claimed to need. So far, he had come to very few useful conclusions. One, perhaps, was intriguing enough. The items that OJ had described seemed to simulate the power of a χ -blade, creating Light and Darkness, balancing the forces, and strengthening them both. He honestly doubted that it would be nearly as strong as the weapon itself, but it was an incredibly dangerous group of items. Cataclysmically so if in the wrong hands. He flipped to the next page and continued reading.
"Ozpin," Glynda cut in. The former Headmaster lowered his book and looked towards the Scroll on the edge of his desk. He smiled softly, holding in a slight chuckle, as he saw the woman's once bunned hair now frazzled with loose strands sticking out in many directions.
"I will ask again, Glynda," Ozpin began as their eyes met, "when was the last time that you slept?"
"Too much to do," she replied before bringing her own highly caffeinated beverage up to her lips. "Besides, I'm not doing anything you didn't do."
"I was an immortal," Ozpin pointed out. He placed his own coffee – with less than half the caffeine he had relied on when overseeing Beacon and the world's defense from Salem – on the table. "My body repaired any damage that I did to it. You don't have that luxury."
"Then I'll stop next year," Glynda muttered dismissively. "There's too much to do with Beacon's reintroduction and setting up Magic lessons for Beacon's alumni." She let out a heavy sigh.
"Ah, yes... Your question?" Ozpin inquired. He softly placed his chin on his clasped hands and waited patiently.
The woman glanced up over her glasses' rims. "I just received a message from the Vale Council," she began explaining. She took another drink before setting it down and smoothing her hair back. "They are insisting on installing their own Huntsmen in the school. Apparently after the events of Beacon's Fall, they have decided we need more 'impartial oversight' than I alone cannot provide."
"Wording it like that makes refusing seem traitorous," Ozpin said, agreeing with the woman's thoughts on the matter. "They have always been more interested in interfering than actually helping, however. Hm... You may just have to accept this, Glynda. I can give you the names of a few Huntsmen that they would agree to have on staff as this 'oversight' who would be less interested in actually interfering as much as keeping guard."
"That would be useful," Glynda agreed. She sighed and removed her glasses, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Ozpin, why did you trust me with this?"
Ozpin raised an eyebrow in confusion and lowered his hands to the table. "What do you mean?" he asked in surprise. "Who else would I have picked?"
"Why didn't you stay?" she clarified. She gestured at him. "There was so much to do, and the world needed someone it could respect at the helm. The world needed you."
"As I had said, a thousand years at the helm was more than enough. Sora needed me... and you will not only be enough, Glynda, you will excel," Ozpin said comfortingly. "You always have. Besides, you helped me run that school for years, Glynda. And you can lean on Peter and Bartholomew. Even Miss Rose is more than prepared for more responsibility. You are more than prepared to run that school yourself, but you do not need to do it by yourself. I believe Sora would say something along the lines of... 'your friends are your power?'"
Glynda laughed, though that quickly turned to a yawn. "I suppose that is the case," she agreed. "I am simply used to being the one relied upon, not the one who must rely."
"A lesson we must all learn as we grow." Ozpin smiled sadly and leaned back as he thought of that moment for him, when Salem had faked her own kidnapping by the Heartless and he became a leader in his own right. "A difficult one for some, but you were a much faster learner than I."
Glynda accepted the compliment with a smile, but soon sighed and shook her head, saying, "With so much to do, I just keep worrying I'm burning the candle at both ends, Ozpin. Soon there will be nothing left."
"Yes, well..." Ozpin frowned and stood up suddenly, running to the bookshelf and searching while a pit of fear grew heavier and heavier in his soul.
"Ozpin? Ozpin! Oz, what is it!?" Glynda inquired as the sound of books being tossed to the ground. The gray haired man sprinted back to the desk and slammed a study back on the desk, flipping madly through it. "Ozpin, please."
"What you said just reminded me of something, Glynda," Ozpin explained as he continued flipping through the pages and scanning their contents. He continued like that for a few seconds before finding what he was looking for and slamming the study flat. "I read it a few days ago after Sora called me from Vacuo about this OJ. The story goes that his world was exterminated by Salem, fading away completely into the Darkness. Now, from what I've found, the scientists of Schnee Corporation have found that the most easily punctured walls of the universe are present in regions of the universe filled with Dark Matter. Now, the universe is full of Dark Matter, but it has an incredibly high density in the Realm of Darkness. Extrapolating this, we can determine that the weakest point, when opened, will punch a hole into a location of similar density in the next universe. Since this world was the only one that existed at that time and Beacon had been purified by Light, and OJ was the only Light left in his world, he appeared at Beacon Academy when he crossed over.
"This means," he paused and sighed. "This means the universe would be linked entirely to two Realms of Darkness."
"And how does my comment relate to this?" Glynda inquired.
Ozpin glanced at her. "Imagine the Realm of Darkness as a vacuum. If you place two vacuums on either side of an otherwise airtight, but fragile container, what will happen?"
Glynda froze. "Our universe would be ripped apart from the opposing forces as the two Realms of Darkness dragged everything towards themselves."
Ozpin nodded. "Our entire universe would be turned to less than Light or Darkness – pure Nothingness as matter was gripped between two black holes and shredded. Nothing could save even one of the worlds that exists – not the Light in children's Hearts, not a Keyblade wielder. It would simply... cease to be."
"You do not think..." Glynda began quietly, unsure if she could even believe it herself. She swallowed her fear. "This other version of Jaune Arc. At his core, he has to be at least similar to the boy himself. He wouldn't know, would he?"
Ozpin considered everything silently. Was it possible that this other version of Mister Arc was not only aware of the possibility, but more than comfortable with following through with it? He suddenly felt guilty for considering the possibility and shook his head. Despite the horrors that this version of the young warrior had survived, he was Mister Arc at the core. Jaune had refused such tactics upon coming to his senses. If this Jaune had really fought against Salem as he said, refusing to go through such evils as destroying his world in an attempt to regain Miss Nikos' companionship, then Ozpin doubted the boy would be willing to do it now. That meant that the boy did not know... he hoped. "No. For now, I am unwilling to believe that, Glynda," Ozpin replied finally. "OJ was trained as a Huntsman by Beacon Academy. He fought against Salem. I believe it is more likely he does not know."
"Then we must simply send communications to Mister Arc and Miss Xiao Long," Glynda stated.
Ozpin nodded in agreement. "Yes, that seems like the best course of action. I will try to send communications now, Glynda." He stood up and ran a tired hand through his hair. "Hopefully that will be enough to inform OJ that he has to stop searching. That these items must be scattered to the farthest ends of the World or destroyed if possible."
"Then I will leave you to that, Ozpin. Thank you for helping me, " Glynda said. She was quiet for a moment. "If it becomes too much for you then please ask me for help. I am here for you, too."
Ozpin stared at the woman. "Thank you Glynda. You are an excellent friend. Better than I deserve," he stated simply. "Goodbye."
She smiled. "Goodbye." Then the line cut off.
He smiled, then ran off to the communications room outfitted with the new inter-world communications Scroll. Despite his optimism... the pit of worry in his gut just wouldn't abate. He hoped nothing bad was about to happen.
S M H S
"Em?"
"Yeah, Merc?"
"What do you think a... 'Sheeptar the Sheep King' actually looks like?" the gray haired boy asked while he checked the straps of his gun boots. They seemed tight enough when he did, so he stood up and began to stretch while looking over at his partner.
Emerald was currently in the process of checking her twin sickle-guns for ammo, though the rules of this world seemed to imply that guns were not allowed. Magic seemed... rare, but acceptable. Apparently a pair of dumb but well meaning blondes had shown up on this world forever ago and helped the players on the front lines beat the first floor. Most people, after that fight, assumed magic had been added in following Kayaba's message to the players. Still, checking her guns was part of her pre-battle ritual. It made her feel safe.
"Sheeptar?" Emerald asked, thoughtfully spinning her sickles at both sides and looking at the sky. "A fluffy Xenomorph? From that Journey Weaver movie?"
"That sounds... ew," Merc muttered, a shiver running down his back at the idea of the creepy alien covered in light, pink fluff. "Why'd you put that idea in my head, Em?"
Emerald stopped spinning her weapons and gave him a pointed glare. "You asked!"
"... So?" he asked, mock innocence in his voice. He spun around and did a kick, leaving his heel an inch away from Em's face. She didn't flinch. "You think it'll try to eat our brains?"
She smacked his foot down and glared at him through half lidded, incredibly unamused eyes. "If it does, you'll be safe."
"Ouch," Mercury said as he got close. He crossed his arms. "You're so cruel."
"You know you want me," Emerald replied, a wry smirk on her face.
Mercury took a surprised step back. "Wha –? Em, that's my line!"
"Oh, it is?" she asked, the smirk never leaving her face. "What are you going to do about it?"
Merc narrowed his eyes at her. "Since when did you get flirty instead of mean?"
"Since when would that bother you?" Emerald retorted.
Merc shrugged. "I guess you're right." He held out his hand to her and placed the other over his heart. "Now you're ready to show your love for me!"
Emerald cringed. "Ew..." she said as cruelly as she could manage.
"To quote you quoting me, 'You know you want me.'"
"I should have known not to try to play this game with you," Emerald muttered, annoyed. She sheathed her weapons and cast a glance around before rubbing the lamp and allowing the blue smoke to explode out of it.
"YRRRREAGH!" Genie yawned obnoxiously while he stretched and came out into the world again. He stopped and glanced between the two warriors. "Oh, hey Al. Silver the Hedgehog."
"Blue," Mercury muttered coolly in reply.
The Genie of the Lamp grinned at the warrior. "You enjoying that Schnee-S-Schnee?"
"You tricked me..." Mercury said, gesturing with a threatening finger at the Genie. "We didn't even know you existed when I made that wish!"
"Sorry, Silver. Don't make the rules, I just create impossible wishes with my cosmic power," Genie said. He looked down at Emerald. "And since I'm out, I guess that means you want a wish?"
Emerald glanced down. "No, I – I don't know." She glanced away from the Genie and shook her head. "I guess I just thought it had been a while since you'd been out, you know? And it might be a long time until we can let you out again, okay? Just, so, get a stretch or something."
Mercury raised an eyebrow. "You want to do that? He draws attention, you know." He leaned against the wall and stared directly at her.
"There's no one here," Emerald dismissed his worries.
"You just wanted to give me some time?" Genie asked, staring at Emerald. He grinned and looped behind Emerald to hug both her and her partner. "Ah, Al, I knew you were getting back to your old self!"
"My old self?" Emerald repeated dryly.
Mercury shook his head and separated himself. "I'll never understand your insistence on that, Blue," the assassin said simply. "You know we aren't anybody you used to know."
"Well, give the boy a prize! He's right!" Genie shouted, his body changing shapes into an old man in a suit, his tail a microphone in his hand. He shifted back. "I don't recognize you."
Mercury's face soured. "You see, you sounded happy about that."
"Did I?" Genie responded innocently. He shrugged and turned to Emerald again and met her glare. "Oh, I'm kidding, Al. Silver's fine. Still, it's really gracious of you to put up with him!"
"Yeah. It is," Emerald say with a glare at her friend.
Genie sighed. "Well, not everyone can be like Jas -"
"Hey, are you two lovebirds ready in there?" came a voice, immediately followed by a knock on the door to the room. The door knob began to turn and the door open.
"Gah!" Emerald and Mercury shouted in surprise, stumbling over one another in an attempt to reach the door and keep it from being opened.
"See ya, Al! Silver!" And the Genie disappeared.
"I – Ugh... What, you two idiots couldn't lock the door?" Kirito asked from the doorway.
Mercury, hands holding his body above Emerald with her legs outside of his, chuckled. "Um... how?"
Kirito felt a massive shadow overcome him. "What is it with idiots being completely unable to open the menu!? It's child's play – literally!" He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. "God, and I thought Dumb and Dumber were bad. They at least weren't constantly tripping over each other looking for an excuse like you two are."
"You got me!" Mercury responded before leaning down, puckering his lips.
"Asshole!" Emerald snapped, bringing her head up to slam into the bridge of his nose. He yelped and stumbled backwards to crash onto his back, yelping in pain the entire time. Emerald pushed herself to her knees and rubbed the place where her forehead had met his nose.
"Great, if I wanted to deal with a textbook Tsundere relationship I'd go hang around that psychopath with the rapier," Kirito grunted. He turned around and shook his head. "Sweet Merciful Buddha, how am I missing Dumb and Dumber now?" He turned his eyes back to them. "Don't do this on the battlefield, okay? I don't want to die because you aren't watching my back." Then he left and continued to shake his head, muttering about 'Maybe I should try to power level my alchemy skill before the raid tonight. Yeah, that might be fun...'
"What was that for!?" Mercury snapped, sitting up to glare Emerald in the eyes. He was clutching at his nose, angered by the pain.
"Trying to kiss me, idiot," Emerald hissed. She pushed herself to her feet and glared directly at him.
"I wasn't gonna!" Mercury whined. His hand left his uninjured nose. "It was a joke!"
"Some joke!"
"Ugh..." Mercury pushed himself up to his feet, Emerald following close behind. "I just mean you didn't have to attack me! Say stop and I will..."
"Really?" Emerald asked dryly. "I tell you to stop flirting with me all the time."
Mercury stared her in the eyes. "You do it right back and you smile whenever I do it."
Emerald sighed, forced to admit that it was true. "I know." She turned around and placed her hand on the doorframe. The green crystal above her head shined with a sad light, the emerald reflecting Emerald herself in Mercury's eyes. She spoke up soon, saying, "We need to get going, don't we?"
Merc nodded and ran up, looping his arm around her shoulder. Suddenly much more chipper, he shouted, "Of course! We'll show that girl-voiced whiner what this power couple can do! Who knows? Maybe we'll even scratch your new itch of saving other lives?"
Emerald scoffed. "Yeah!" she agreed. The two then sprinted off, neither fully aware that they were excited to fully try their hands at being heroes for once. "Sheeptar the Sheep King, your reign is at an end!"
S M H S
OJ was currently sprinting down a long hallway, shadows swirling through the dirt hallway behind him. "How dare a pathetic human like you steal from Father!?" the angry voice of a prideful child snapped, somehow sounding like it was part of the shadows themselves. Angry eyes with wine red irises and gnashing, sharp teeth appeared in the shadows closest to OJ, biting at his heels and trying to tear him apart.
"To be fair, if he wanted the book to not be stolen, he shouldn't have just left it out on that table!" OJ called over his shoulder. His grip on the book under his left arm tightened and he pumped his arms harder when his reply led to a spike of Darkness slamming into the stone beneath his feet.
"Return the book or suffer death, Human!" the voice snapped.
OJ laughed and shook his head. "Oh come on! I've met enough monsters to know you'll kill me anyways!" he laughed at the voice. He kept running, though, and eventually was forced to stop when he nearly ran face first into a man wearing a fur-lined vest. His hair was pitch black and spiked up, leaving his wine red eyes and the nasty grin on his face clearly visible. It made him look evil. Evil and Hungry.
"Hey, what are those cool clothes? Give 'em to me and maybe I'll let you live!"
"Greed..." the voice from the shadows said, a level of arrogant disgust evident. The movement behind OJ had ceased, the shadows retreating slightly. "I do not need your assistance."
"Well, Pops disagrees, Kiddo," the man replied. Greed, OJ told himself. The man cocked his head to the side, as if he could easily read the emotions on the shadows' "face." "Ah, don't be like that Pride. Father just told me to head over and cut him off. That said, I do want first dibs on him!"
Greed charged OJ, his skin turning sharp and charcoal until it covered his arms. Wicked claws glinting in the low light of the tunnel made their way towards OJ's throat. OJ jumped to the side, rolling across the ground as he barely dodged the attack. This Greed guy was fast. And, OJ noted, not human. "Hey, not bad, Kid. You might actually give me some fun!" Greed noted. He was standing with his claw where OJ's head had once been. Greed stood up slowly and readied his claws again. "Try to attack me back, too."
OJ pocketed the book. "Hey, if you keep attacking me, I might have to start fighting back," he warned. He placed his right hand in front of him and smirked. "And trust me, that wouldn't be good for you."
"Oh... then maybe we should actually have some fun!" Greed let his arms fall to his side, and the charcoal began to creep up his arms, down his chest, and eventually covered his face. His spiky hair disappeared and jagged teeth appeared in the bottom of his jaw.
"Greed, do you really think it will take that much effort?" Pride mocked.
Greed's new face grinned. "I hope so!" Then he dashed at OJ again.
"What, you got a makeover? Am I supposed to be scared?" the Keyblade wielder asked, simply dodging the swiping claws that came at him. He ducked beneath one attack and turned, lashing out with an Aura infused foot that could crush bone. He was very surprised when nothing happened.
"A makeover? Well, Greed the Avaricious is quite the looker no matter what form he takes," Greed said of himself. He looked down at the foot on his abdomen. "You know, nothing can break it, but I almost felt that through my Ultimate Shield, kid. You aren't a normal human, are you?"
OJ blinked. "Uh..?" He yelped when Greed's claw suddenly came up and sent him flying back towards Pride. OJ spun and placed his feet on the ceiling, jumping to the ground before Pride could skewer him.
The Keyblade Wielder groaned and placed a hand on his face, surprised when they came off with a little blood. He could feel the scratches healing, his Aura going into overtime to sew his wounds shut. "Okay. An Ultimate Shield? I knew a girl once with an impregnable defense." He held his right hand out to his side, and the shadows and energy congealed around it until the Keyblade was dragged from wherever it rested so it could appear in OJ's fist. OJ's face grew somber. "The problem with thinking you're impregnable? Someone always comes along who can pregnate it." OJ frowned and a blush came to his cheeks when Greed began to snicker. "Er! I mean, who can break through it! I mean break through it! Ah, screw it!" He dashed forward and raised the Keyblade above his right shoulder.
"Impregnable isn't a bad word for the shield, Kid!" Greed snapped. He raised his arm to take the blow. "You won't get through i- Agh!" Greed shouted in pain and stumbled backwards. The Keyblade slamming against his arm had not managed to pierce the Ultimate Shield, but Greed definitely knew that the bone in his forearm had shattered upon impact. He grasped at it and glared at OJ. "How did you –?" He was cut off when another Keyblade slash came up at his jaw and nearly shattered it. He threw himself away from OJ and retracted the Ultimate Shield around his arm to heal the bone before he reformed it.
"Impregnable isn't something anyone can have. Human or whatever you are, there's always a key to killing you," He raised his Keyblade again and twirled it at his side before spinning his own body and slashing at the monster's throat again. The creature hissed and dodged the attack before slashing upward at OJ's chin. The warrior sidestepped the attack and brought the pommel of his Keyblade down on the monster's wrist, shattering it before he turned and jammed the teeth of the Keyblade into Greed's chest, the energy of his Aura covering the blade as he focused all of his strength into the blow. The monster flew back and slammed into the wall of the tunnel, hissing in pain. OJ frowned in surprise when he saw Greed force the shield to recede from his chest. A river of red leaked out, making it apparent that the attack had caused a pool of blood to appear 'beneath' the shield. A long red gash was being sewed shut by large, arcing blades of red lightning.
"How did you cut him?" the child's voice growled. OJ froze momentarily as a thin blade of Darkness appeared in front of his throat.
OJ jumped backwards and summoned up a Reflect wall to protect him from the other toothy attacks, using the force to rebound and attack Greed again. How had he managed to hurt Greed? When a blade of Darkness nearly slashed through his side, he decided the question could wait. He needed to focus. He looped the Keyblade's teeth around the Darkness and contorted his body around to avoid Greed's claws. "Little shit! Cutting me open!" Greed snapped. He turned on his heel and attacked with his left elbow.
OJ turned and blocked the attack with the flat of the Keyblade, then used the point of contact to spin around slash his Keyblade across Greed's right hand. He charged it with Aura again, wondering if that was why the last attack had so easily sliced through the monster's Ultimate Shield. It turned out to be the reason exactly, with the Keyblade's edge burning an even deeper black as it passed through Greed's arm like a hot knife through butter.
Greed shrieked out in pain and fell to his knees. "WHAT THE HELL!?" he screamed, clutching at his left hand, still connected to his arm. He screamed again and let the Shield disappear from his hand, and suddenly the hand fell from his arm and slammed into the ground, leaving only the bleeding stump of his right arm even while the scarlet energy began to recreate the lost flesh. "What kind of human can cut through my Shield!? I-It's the blade, isn't it? Give it to me!"
OJ moved past one of Pride's attacks and summoned a ball of Darkness to his hands. "No." He tossed the ball at Pride and rolled to his back, dodging a wild haymaker from Greed's claws. The sphere exploded between the two monsters, magical energies shredding Pride but bouncing uselessly off of Greed's skin. The Keyblade wielder used his momentum to swing back up to his feet and charge the Keyblade with his Aura again, already suspecting exactly what was going on. The tip of the weapon turned black and fazed beneath the Shield and into Greed's torso. "I will give you this though. Fire."
Greed's eyes widened as he exploded from the inside out. The Shield retained his form, if only for a moment, before it faded away to reveal that his body was ash. "FIRE!" OJ shouted again, with the attack this time launched towards the center of Pride's mass. The flames exploded in the center of the creature and it shrieked in pain as entire swaths of its body disappeared completely. Now, OJ had a chance to run with no one to attack him. And he was going to take it.
"I'd say it's been fun, but..." OJ shrugged. "Bye!" OJ turned on his heel and waved his arm, creating a rift of Darkness between worlds that he quickly sprinted through. He hoped this book on 'The Doorway of Truth' might be able to show him how to enter the Realm of Darkness. If he was lucky, he only had to wait for Jaune and Yang to find the other pieces and he'd be on his way to see Pyrrha any day now!